Eighteen
Saben was locked in a room expensively decorated with authentic Egyptian silk curtains and carpets. There was a Greek tapestry on the wall, bright threads depicting the arrival of Aphrodite to the shore. She could smell their authenticity, the whiff of travel dirt and rotting threads.
Two black suited security guards stood like severe pillars. They had no expression, their eyes veiled by shades. Saben stared at them briefly but knew they would give nothing away.
She sat, her back straight, her eyes roving the inside of the room with only distant thought of Celsia Verain waiting for her to return.
"Too many secrets." She whispered aloud and one vampire arched a dark brow.
She was haunted by the sight of the child, her son, a stranger to her with a name she didn't know. A child no one knew was conceived nor birthed. Her hands closed into fists but she remained seated, her ire receding to an acute sadness.
A door opened and a slip of a woman appeared, murmuring something to the guards who with an uneasy set to their mouths exited the room to guard it from the outside.
Saben stared at the woman, Thea Harman hadn't changed much in the years they had last seen one another. The witch eyes gleamed as if she were holding back tears. "You came back." There was no mistaking the venom in her voice.
"Evidently." Saben murmured.
"Why?"
"I will speak to Lord Descourdres alone on that matter." She said.
"Where have you been, can you tell me that at least?"
Saben shook her head from side to side. The years flashed through her mind, a glorious, bloody bright blur and she gripped the arm rests.
"We thought you'd been abducted or worse."
Saben could imagine the scene left behind at the safe house she had been concealed in for months. Geoff Deckard a rotting corpse on the floor impaled by a broken chair leg, blood and amniotic fluid greasing the floors, signs of a struggle and no Saben to be found.
"What could be worse than this?" She asked with a cold smile, revealing her fangs, eyes starting to glow with unearthly magic.
Thea's mouth clamped shut, her fingers uncurled from their indignant fists. "What happened to your baby?"
Saben's eyes slipped from Thea's fair face to the floor, she swallowed passed a lump forming thick in her throat. "My baby's gone."
*
"Let's start from the beginning shall we?"
Saben was sat in front of Thierry Descourdres, the first bitten vampire recorded in the histories of the Night. He was everything one could imagine of a vampire, beautiful to behold, with dark eyes drenched in the sorrows of more than one thousand lifetimes. Saben could feel his Power, something magnetic and compelling , though it was carefully controlled.
She shook her head in a non committal way. "I can only tell you what I know and it's not very much."
"We were in New York, it was an intimate show just twenty People called by a client who remained nameless." Saben remembered the night vividly because it was the first night back on the stage cradling a mic with a band surrounding her like armour.
The lights were ghostly, roaming the darkness, vampire eyes reflecting back at her and they were hungry. Her eyes had slipped to Celsia's face, her expression was cool as she face the crowd, wearing her bass guitar with a predatory grace, plucking strings with speed and precision.
The set was fast, furious, the crowd was not the usual mix of gutter punks, hardcore and metal heads. Young men and women in designer suits and couture dresses, cruel smiles and vicious glints in their eyes. An elite had been gathered but Saben had no interest in questioning why or who by.
Afterwards she had made her way to the bar, the bartender, Willie hadn't liked how young she looked as he'd placed a shot glass in front of her. Her throat no longer felt raw, there was no need to dry heave and pop pills to guide her into a dreamless sleep. She didn't dream anymore.
She was starting from scratch with a new set of pipes. It was the sound of celestial choirs, reaching notes a human could never known have existed. Profound, extreme, ecstatic vocals that dug deep and reached high. Drowning herself in sound and then alcohol.
"More." She waved absently at Willie.
She didn't turn to see who spoke but felt the presence of two vampires at her back.
"…thinking to lure us with blood feasts and circus acts." One vampire hissed.
"It's an interesting proposition." The other purred.
"To defer loyalty to Mezereon?"
"Consider it, Janeczek."
"Bah, consider."
"You want to be on the winning side when the end comes."
"Mezereon is not a side."
There was a chuckle.
"I must confess I am tempted, he always has been the most excellent host."
"Yes and I hear he has the best taste in-"
Saben's blood had run cold as the conversation unfolded and this she could not repeat to Lord Descourdres.
Mezereon had no other name, he was prolific in the old world, a meat trader, manager of the most elaborate flesh markets the Night had ever known. He traded in both human and Night World flesh, a lead supplier to vampire enclaves and darker circles. "We were paid, we left, there was nothing more after that except..."
"Yes?" Descourdres prompted.
She licked her lips thinking of a way to phrase her words. "Do you read the papers, my Lord?"
"Sometimes."
She reached into the cleavage of her dress, the lone vampire guard standing at her shoulder began to move but Thierry stopped him with the merest shake of his head. She slapped a sheaf of paper clippings on the desk. "Emil Montague was taken from his crib one week after I left that show, a few days late Safi and Sasi Keeping were taken from the courtyard of their house. There's more, each of them connected with the Night, each of them have witch blood."
"And you think this is Mezereon's work?"
"Certain."
Thierry Descourdres was not without suspicion but his interest was certainly piqued. "Forgive me, it's a strange thing to hear. Mezereon has never been a political figure and no trader would brazenly abduct children for the markets."
Saben shrugged. "I don't know shit about your vampire politics or subtleties, my Lord."
"I will take this information under advice."
Saben almost jumped up from her chair. "I want a guarantee."
Thierry's eyes flashed.
"I want you to guarantee the safety of-."
"I assure you Ms Frost, it's in my best interest to ensure every ally of the Day is protected."
She sat back in her chair and tried to calm her seething nerves. She had to know Lark was safe. She had to know that he would be protected.
"You used to be under our protection, what have you been doing since?" He asked though what he was really asking was how deep had she sunk into the Night, the vampires, the Council?
"Whatever I had to, to survive." She replied.
"And Celsia Verain?" Thierry leant forward dangerously. "I don't take kindly to you bringing enemies to my home."
"Verain is of no consequence to you." She said. "She's not a threat."
"And you can guarantee that?"
"There's nothing set in stone, my Lord." She conceded with a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes. "She has no stake in this."
"We'll have to consider what you've said, Saben." Thierry said and that was indication the suit to escort her away. "Take her to the south apartments." And make sure she stays there, was added silently though Saben could clearly hear him.
She allowed herself to be guided by the suit toward the south apartments but had no intention of staying there.
Charlie stood at the bottom of the hall, he stood as if he had been waiting for her to emerge from the office. He had been dressed for the ceremony but now his tie had been taken off, his collar was crooked. His eyes were red with emotion and when he met her eyes she could see the shiny veil of tears. "I thought you were-"
"I am." Dead, that is, she thought with a bitter smile.
"What happened?"
"We have orders, Charlie." The suit said and marched Saben past her old friend.
She was escorted down the staircase she found Blaise Harman waiting at the bottom.
Saben paused on the last step to take in the sight of the witch who was as glorious as a goddess in her fury, without preamble Blaise struck her hard about the face. "You stay away from my family." Hissed before turning her back to leave.
"What was that about?" The suit asked softly but Saben shook her head as if she didn't have a clue.