Guild Hunter 02 - Angels' Flight

decided to be Made. Don’t try to change them now.”
     
    “I didn’t know there’d be this much terror.” The female vampire met Ashwini’s eyes in the mirror. “Have you seen him? Met him?”
     
    At Ashwini’s nod, Monique continued. “Now imagine being alone in a room with him; imagine him walking around and around you while you stand there trying
not
to think about all the things he could do to you… knowing you’ll remain conscious for all of them.”
     
    “I don’t have to imagine,” Ashwini said, her throat husky with memory. “I’ve been on Guild rescue squads. I’ve seen vampires survive things no one should survive.”
     
    “It all heals,” Monique whispered. “I once saw Jean lose both her legs as punishment. They healed. I thought then that it wouldn’t be so bad. But the mind… it doesn’t heal.” Her gaze went to Janvier, but the other vampire was focused on the road, his torn face repairing itself before Ashwini’s eyes.
     
    He’d need blood soon, she realized. Lots of it. Already, hewas looking thinner, his bones stark against his skin. “Can you make it to Nazarach’s?” she asked.
     
    “Will you offer me your sweet blood if I say
non
?”
     
    “That answers the question.”
     
    A small smile, lines of white bracketing his mouth. “A favor,
cher
. Wipe the blood off my face.”
     
    Ripping off the bottom end of her T-shirt, she cleared the mess of it away from his eyes before doing the rest of his face. “You ever had to grow back a limb?”
     
    Cool shadows in the moss en. “Ask me when we’re alone.” His eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror for a second. “I would’ve thought you’d be one of Nazarach’s favorites, Monique. He likes beauty.”
     
    Monique shivered, wrapping her arms more firmly around herself in spite of the warm ambient temperature. “He likes pain more. I hope to God he never takes me to his bed.”
     
    “He hasn’t already?” Janvier made no attempt to hide his surprise.
     
    A thready laugh from the vampire in the backseat. “He says I need time to mature, to learn how to take the ‘pleasure’ he offers.”
     
    “Shit,” Ashwini muttered. “Now she’s making me feel sorry for her.”
     
    “Don’t,” Janvier said. “She made her choice. Now she’s trying to manipulate you.”
     
    “Of course she is.” Ashwini smiled at the look he shot her. “Monique here is hoping I’ll stand up for her against Nazarach, which’ll likely get me killed and take the spotlight off her.”
     
    A chill silence from the back. Then, “You’re smarter than you look, Guild Hunter.”
     
    “Gee, thanks.” Snorting, she rotated her shoulders to resettle her bones. “They teach us well at Guild Academy. Know what one of the first rules of hunting is?”
     
    “Enlighten me.” Ice dripped off the words.
     
    “Never, ever, feel sorry for a vampire. They’ll take that pity and use it to rip out your throat, smiling all the while.”
     
    “I was as human as you a year ago,” Monique said.
     
    “The operative word is ‘was.’” She took out her cell phone. “Now you’ve been Made, and now you’re what Nazarach Made you.”
     
    The angel was pleased to hear that his
pet
had been retrieved. “Bring her here, Guild Hunter. We have matters to discuss… and I’m sure she’s most anxious to reunite with her family.”
     
    A shwini recognized Antoine Beaumont and Simone Des chanel from their photos. Yet in none of the images she’d seen had their faces been sheened with a slick coating of pure, animal terror. Antoine hid it well, but his entire being was focused on the angel who stood so relaxed at the windows opposite the royal blue sofa where the other two sat. Simone, fragrant and sexy in a bright red dress, wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions. Her hands twisted over and over in her lap, while her eyes tracked Nazarach’s every tiny movement.
    When Ashwini and Janvier walked in with Monique—having made one very quick pit stop to buy her a pair of jeans and a T-shirt—Antoine’s eyes jerked toward his many-times-removed granddaughter, but Simone continued to keep her gaze on the most dangerous predator in the room.
     
    “Monique,” Nazarach said in a gentle voice that wrapped around Ashwini’s throat like a noose. “Come here, my sweet.”
     
    The golden-haired vampire walked toward her master on haling feet. “Sire, I didn’t choose to break my Contract. Please believe