Immortals After Dark 03 - No Rest for the Wicked

scampered past his leg, and from Sebastian’s reaction, Kaderin knew he’d never seen beings like these. He was hiding his surprise well, which was a good habit to have, since the denizens here would home in on all his reactions, seeking out a weakness.
    If he limped, their claws would be drawn to his leg. If he fell to his knees, their fangs would go for his jugular without thought. Such was the world of the Lore.
    “Valkyrie,” Bowen intoned from behind her. “I’ve something for you.”
    How dare he interrupt her staring? She turned and beheld... diamonds. A gorgeous diamond necklace, offered in his palm.
    One of the few Valkyrie weaknesses was the fact that glittering jewels could mesmerize them. Valkyrie had inherited the need to acquire from their goddess mother Freya, and stones like these held a fatal attraction of sorts. Not just any shiny bauble—cubic zirconia wouldn’t do it—but deep, vibrant diamonds.
    Valkyrie trained exhaustively to be able to resist, yet Kaderin hadn’t bothered in centuries. Aversion training tended to be tricky when there was no inclination to possess.
    Had Kaderin been a feeler, she would have been spellbound by the dazzling stones, as he obviously intended. She might have been fascinated by the way the temple’s fires illumined them, making them sparkle, or enthralled with the tiny pinprick spears of flame-red light. Glint, glint, glint...
    She jerked her gaze up. Odd that she wasn’t a feeler, and yet something very akin to fury was threading through her veins right now. “Very clever, Bowen. Yet your tricks won’t work with me.” But damn if they almost hadn’t. Shake it off. Don’t hand this weakness to him.
    When he grinned with satisfaction, she resisted the urge to glare and made her expression blank before she turned to find the vampire again. Two of the nymphs were trailing him.
    “These tricks work with other Valkyrie,” Bowen said. “Do they no’?”
    Without glancing away from Sebastian, she said, “Try it with Regin or Myst. Then let me know how that works out for you.”
    Could those nymph tramps stand any closer to Sebastian? Kaderin had never understood Myst’s particular dislike of them. Now Kaderin knew Myst was right—they were a bunch of little hookers.
    From behind Sebastian, one said, “I’d wear his corsage to an orgy any day,” giving him the long look.
    He turned, finding the nymphs in their gauzy, transparent clothing. The two didn’t bother hiding their lust, and to his credit, Sebastian didn’t drop his jaw the way a human male would have.
    Kaderin didn’t believe that, as a whole, the nymphs were more beautiful than the Valkyrie, but everything about them screamed, Easy lay! When you don’t want to work for it! And curiously, many males found that more appealing than the Valkyrie’s Do it and die, simian .
    “Mmm, hmm, mmm,” said the smaller of the two nymphs. “As good from the front as he is from the—”
    “No... ” The first paled and whispered, “He’s not a demon. He’s a vampire.”
    The other shook her head. “His eyes are clear. And he doesn’t smell like one.”
    Kaderin saw Sebastian’s brows draw together; no doubt he was wondering, What do vampires smell like?
    The first screamed, “Vampire!”
    When the two blended into the temple’s oaks, Sebastian looked as though he’d just prevented himself from taking a step back. All around him, beings became aware of him and scattered. Most turned humans would be delirious after this show. If anything, Sebastian stood straighter and looked even more arrogant than when he’d first appeared. With narrowed eyes, he scanned the area.
    She could imagine his thoughts. Yes, this situation was confounding, but he was here for a reason.
    To find his Bride. Because vampires who’d found their Brides didn’t tolerate losing them.

    Sebastian glanced up, and found Kaderin perched on the balcony railing above.
    She was here. By Christ, he’d succeeded.
    He’d traced to her.
    He almost exhaled heavily in relief, but he stifled the urge, keenly aware that all around him were beings—from nightmare and fantasy—and every eye was on him. When his relief turned to smug satisfaction over his feat, he hid his smirk.
    Then he realized what she was wearing. Clad in a sinfully short skirt, a leather jacket, and sleek half-boots, she sat with one bared leg hanging down, the other stretched out in front of her. Infuriated by the display, Sebastian glowered at the males