Blood Wine

By Harper Kingsley

Valerie Pendleton Hardaine has survived the death of his brother Kiernan and the loss of everything he has ever known before, even himself. And even though he tells himself that finding love with Justyn and Daeniel is more than worth the cost he's paid, it is still a battle for him to adapt to his new life as a vampire.

Then, when he thinks that he has finally found his place in the world, the human race is viciously attacked by aliens bent on genocide. The only choice is the exposure of a secret that has been kept for as long as there have been humans--the existence of vampires, lycanthropes, and Others.

Set between "Visions of Blood & Shadow" and "Tears of Blood & Glory," this bridging novel can stand on its own, covering decades of Valerie's new life. From flighty young man to soldier that will do anything, this is what shaped him in-between.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harper Kingsley
• Release date: May 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458175083

Harper Kingsley

Harper Kingsley is a science fiction and fantasy author living in Washington State.

Book preview

Blood Wine

By Harper Kingsley

Copyright 2011 Harper Kingsley

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

BOOK ONE

November 22, 2013

PROLOGUE

There was the sense of an approaching storm as he sat down in front of the TV that night. He switched on CNN and tried to tell himself everything was all right. There wasn't anything very big on the news. No natural or unnatural disasters had struck in the past night--everything was fine.

Somehow he couldn't make himself believe everything was going to be okay, though. The sense of impending doom was too powerful to ignore. He half-expected to look up and see a hammer about to crush him, as though he was someone in a cartoon or something.

He forced himself to watch TV; forced himself to sit there and watch even though something inside him said to run away, to cover his head and refuse to ever come out of the darkness. Something was going to happen, and he wasn't going to like it much.

For a month he had felt at loose ends, ever since Kiernan and Valerie disappeared. Neither had said anything; they just stopped coming in to work and stopped calling. Fear was just beginning to bloom--maybe something had happened to them, something terrible.

Now, this night, he knew he was going to finally find out what had happened to his sons. And he was afraid, more afraid than he had ever been. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what had happened to them. Couldn't bear it if it was something permanent and awful.

Daren Larsen sat staring at the TV with sightless eyes. The sense of coming pain was growing inside him. He was afraid.

Without conscious volition, his mind began to drift.

It was November already. Soon the city would be blanketed in snow and the children would be out playing. He would be able to listen to the high-pitched voices outside his window, would be able to enjoy the winter vicariously through young happiness.

He remembered when Kiernan and Valerie had been children. On snowy mornings they would wake up almost before sunrise, so excited he would begin to feel his own heart pound. He would make them eat breakfast, ignoring their fidgeting, then he would bundle them up in their snow pants and warm jackets with knit caps and scarves and heavy boots. They would be so impatient to go that they would be practically leaping out of their skins by the time he let them outside, their arms and legs twitching and their eyes rolling whitely as they waited to escape out into the freedom of snow.

He would watch them for awhile through the window as they played with neighborhood kids. There would be snowball fights and hundreds of snow angels. The street would ring with childish laughter and drivers had to be careful, though whenever it snowed the city practically shut down, so hit-and-runs in the snow were not much of a risk. Still, he would watch the boys like a hawk, calling warnings every once and awhile, forcing his adult responsibility on their childish joy.

He could remember one time when Kiernan was about ten and Valerie was eight. He had gone to make them hot chocolate and when he glanced back out the window he hadn't been able to see them. They were so little and he had always told them to stay right out front where he could see them, but looking out that window they hadn't been there. His heart had begun to pound and sweat had sprouted out all over his body. He had known something had happened.

Without waiting to put on his coat, he had slipped his boots on and run out of the townhouse. He had been completely frantic as he looked up and down the street, trying to see where they had gone. There were so many small footprints in the snow--the neighborhood children had been playing all day--he couldn't tell which were Kiernan and Valerie's.

He still didn't know how he'd known where to find them. It was still a mystery in his mind how he had gone straight to where they were. He had always told himself that he had heard them calling, but in his private heart he couldn't lie. He hadn't heard them. He had just known where they were.

Valerie had been a small boy for his age. He was short and reed thin and even in his heavy ski jacket he was tiny. Someone had left the lid off one of the curb grates, and being a naturally adventurous child Valerie had gone exploring. He had somehow slipped himself through the grate and hadn't been able to get back out. He had knocked the breath out of himself and twisted his ankle falling the ten feet down into the sewer.

When Kiernan went looking for his brother and found him trapped, he didn't even think about calling an adult to help. He told Valerie to stay where he was and walked a block down the street, pushing snow out of his way to find the round sewer lid.

By the time Daren went looking for them, Kiernan had made his way to Valerie and was trying to help his brother out of the hole. They tramped their way through the filth to the ladder Kiernan had used, but Valerie was having trouble getting out, and even though the younger boy was small, Kiernan wasn't strong enough to carry him up.

After climbing down and getting his sons, Daren hadn't been able to calm down for an hour. He just sat at the breakfast table staring at the boys, his heart caught in his throat. Valerie could have died falling in that hole. Kiernan might have gotten lost down in that labyrinth and no one would have found him.

It was that day that Daren truly realized how much they meant to him. Valerie might have only been his stepson, but they were both his children, and he loved them dearly. If something had happened to them he might have lost his mind. And what he would never forget was the fact that Kiernan hadn't come to him for help, had just gone down into the sewer by himself, wandering the darkness alone.

He blinked and found himself back in his living room, staring blankly at the flickering television screen. He still felt about a million miles away. That feeling of wrongness was stronger than it had ever been. Something was going to happen.

There was a knock at the door. Whoever was out there completely ignored the doorbell.

Daren's heart leapt, and he jumped to his feet, hurrying toward the foyer and the door. I'm coming! I'm coming!

The only person he knew that regularly knocked instead of ringing the bell was Valerie. It was something Valerie had begun doing years ago, back when he was a teenager and decided that he needed something to make him unique. He had never given up doing it, said it was one of his many quirks and served as a warning about who he was and what kind of person he was going to be. Kiernan and Daren had laughed.

Valerie! Daren shouted, jerking the door open. He was about to hurl himself at the boy when he froze, his eyes going wide in surprise. His breath caught with a hitching gasp.

The young man standing there was Valerie, but changed.

Always milky-pale, Valerie's skin was like new ivory, so clear a white it was almost a redefinition of the word. His glossy black hair sparkled with hidden lights, blinding. He was so beautiful that it was a pain in the chest, the complete perfection of his face a clarion call to the heartstrings. Standing there, he looked like a reason to go to war, a purpose and a pain all strung together in one package. He was gorgeous.

Valerie, Daren said again, dumbly. He just stood there with his hand on the doorknob. His brain seemed to have clicked offline.

A faint smile quirked Valerie's dark-rose lips, but there was a sadness hidden in the depths of his eyes. Though he was still young, there was a maturity about him that had never been there before, an age that rested heavily on his soul.

Strange though he appeared now, Daren threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around Valerie's shoulders, hugging him hard. He could feel bones through the boy's skin, he hugged so tight, but if it had been up to him he was never going to let go--not ever.

Oh Valerie, where were you? Daren asked, his voice muffled against Valerie's shoulder. He had never really noticed it before, but the boy was taller than him. Always before he had felt as if he towered above Valerie. This new sense of height was rather strange and surreal, another sign that the world had changed without his knowing it.

Valerie hugged him tight, then pulled away. There was a sad look on his face. Daren felt his heart sink. Kiernan.

Valerie grabbed his arm and pulled him into the apartment, closing the door with his foot. We have to talk, he said, his voice low.

Daren let himself be led over to the couch. He watched Valerie switch off the TV, then sit down next to him.

Valerie looked at him out of serious eyes, his lips, which tended to quirk with sly humor, were straight lines. There was a sudden hollow look to his face. For a second, Daren thought he saw the reflection of a meatless skull on that face, but it was just Valerie looking at him.

Something's happened, Valerie said, laying a hand on Daren's knee. Kiernan... Kiernan's dead.

What? that choked word pushed its way out of Daren's throat. He wanted to shout that it wasn't true, it was just a lie and a trick, Kiernan couldn't be dead, but he knew it wasn't a lie. He had felt something wrong with the world for the past month, and now that it had been identified as being Kiernan's death he knew it was horribly true. He still didn't want to believe, wanted to deny it with his last breath, and couldn't.

Valerie squeezed his knee. You're not going to believe this, but Kiernan died last month saving the world.

Saving the world, Daren repeated dumbly.

Valerie nodded. Yes. There was a man named Peter Abernathy that wanted to destroy the world. He was controlled by a... a dark power and tried to get Black Alistair to do his dirty work for him. But when Abernathy tried to kill me, Kiernan saved me and died. His death somehow killed Abernathy. Even now I... I still can't explain what happened. It's so confused in my own head, but I knew that you needed to know. Kiernan's dead. He's not coming back, not ever.

Daren sat back and stared at Valerie, his eyes roaming over that familiar, yet changed face. What happened to you? he asked. He wanted to scream about Kiernan's death, but all of a sudden there was an emptiness inside. It was too painful to face, so he would try to understand something simpler, something that wasn't going to kill him a bit at a time.

A sad smile shifted across Valerie's lips, a shadow of that usual quirk. I met these two men, Justyn and Daeniel, and they offered me a choice. They really liked me from the first night we met, and so they gave me a chance few people ever have: living the rest of my life then dying, or immortality.

When Daren opened his mouth, Valerie held up his hand. It's true. They Made me into a vampire, or at least, Justyn did. I'm going to live forever, and I suppose that that's great, but I... I keep thinking about Kiernan. I keep seeing his eyes and hearing his voice as he said he loved me and died. And sometimes it hurts so bad I can't... I can't let it go. If I didn't have Justyn and Daeniel I think I would lose my mind and do...something...

Oh God, he's lost his mind, Daren thought. Kiernan's dead, and Valerie's completely snapped.

No, no I haven't snapped, Valerie said. I just... I've never been very good at explaining things. Let me start at the beginning...

Sitting there, listening to Valerie tell him about the events of the month before, Daren couldn't help feeling sad and no little desperate. Valerie was insane. He had gone so far over the edge that maybe he was never going to come back.

When Valerie finished with his story, Daren held out his arms and hugged his son, holding him close and breathing him in. It's okay, he said. Everything's going to be okay.

Valerie pushed away and looked at him. I know you don't believe me, not yet, but you will. He held out his hand and magically there was a knife in it. Daren watched that glittering blade and felt his eyes go impossibly wide. He didn't know what Valerie was going to do with it, but he knew he would do anything to save Valerie, the only son he had left.

Valerie held out his other arm and brought the knife around in a sweeping arc. Daren tried to stop him, but the boy pushed him away with an effortless strength. The knife flashed silver and the milky-white skin of Valerie's left arm parted with painful ease. Blood welled up almost black.

Oh shit! Daren yelled, already jerking his shirt off over his head. He grabbed Valerie's arm, wrapped his shirt around it and pressed desperately, trying to stop the blood. Valerie had slashed his arm down to the bone. He had seen a glitter of white through the dark blood.

It's okay, Valerie said calmly, no pain in his voice. Look. He pulled his arm out of Daren's hands and began unwrapping the shirt.

No, Daren objected. Keep pressure on it or... His breath caught in his throat and he stared.

Valerie used the already ruined shirt to wipe up a smear of blood, but it was still easy to see. There was no cut on Valerie's arm. The skin was smooth and unbroken, that hideously deep slash gone as though it had never been.

See, Valerie said. I heal easily now. I am a vampire. I'm going to live forever and never die.

Oh. There was no breath in Daren's lungs.

By the time Valerie left, it was near dawn. They had spent the entire night talking. Daren believed everything Valerie had told him.

Valerie was a vampire and Kiernan was dead. One son was forever, and the other was less than dust and ashes.

He stood at the large bay window with the curtains pushed aside and stared out. The sky was beginning to lighten and there were already some early morning people wandering about.

When the sun began rising he watched a jogger hurry past, head bowed with effort, pushing against the wind--a man in a gray sweat suit and new-looking white sneakers. A man that probably had children and a life of his own and a day at work to look forward to. The man Daren had been a month ago.

Daren stood looking out the window for hours, his eyes feeling dry in his skull, no room for tears. He didn't know how long he stood there for sure, just knew there was nowhere else he had the strength to be. Then he saw the floating specks. They drifted down from the clear sky in a slow and gentle descent, looking as though there were only a couple, but landing to completely coat the ground.

It had started snowing, the world covering his loss with a blanket of white.

2014

CHAPTER ONE

There was something almost painful about knowing he had too much time on his hands. He could party for years on end and still have an eternity to look forward to. All of his goals were attainable and tomorrow was always going to come. Life stretched before him on into infinity. There was nothing he absolutely had to do because he could always put it off until tomorrow or the tomorrow after tomorrow after tomorrow. He had forever.

Valerie lay on blood-red silk sheets in the darkness of the guest bedroom and stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets pasted to the ceiling. They shone fluorescent yellow, almost beautiful in the dim stillness.

He was spending the day at Baldwin's apartment. He didn't really want to be here since he had only just met Baldwin, but Baldwin and Justyn were old friends and were both members of the Council, so that was that. Valerie hadn't really had any say in it at all, since he absolutely had to get out of the sun or he would fry. Either stay at the home of someone he didn't know, or burn to less than ashes. It wasn't really a very hard choice at all.

There was a sense of loneliness lying there. Justyn and Daeniel were in the living room talking to that strange vampire-boy. He had felt very uncomfortable and had retreated to this somewhat private place. He'd been lying here for hours, waiting for the day and Sleep to come.

Is this how forever is going to be? he wondered. Me always waiting for the oblivion of Sleep just to escape from people and situations I really don't want to face? There were no easy answers.

Valerie had been Made into a vampire on November 2, 2013, but sometimes he felt as though he had already lived for an eternity. So much had happened.

He had found love, lost a brother, helped save the world from destruction, and faced an irreversible bodily change. He didn't know how much more he could take, but he knew he had forever to face it in, which was almost worse than all the other stuff combined.

I'm scared of living forever, he thought. What am I going to do to keep myself from being completely bored with my life in ten years, or in a hundred years, or a thousand, or even in a million years? Justyn is thousands of years old and has the potential to live a whole lot longer than that. I can't even imagine being forty years old, what am I going to do when I'm forty thousand? Who am I going to be then? Will I still be me?

He closed his eyes, trying to wipe all thought from his head. He didn't want to think anymore, it hurt too bad.

He didn't know what he was going to do with this new life of his, but he knew he couldn't brood about it. He would just have to live his life and not allow himself to be trapped in the moment.

He owed it to Kiernan that he should have a good life. Kiernan had died to save him. He couldn't waste that sacrifice.

When the day came, he fell into the stillness of Sleep, the life leached from him until he lay deathly still upon the bed. As he drifted away, he had the sense of a heavy weight settling upon the world, the sun taking its place in the sky, dark goddess of a thousand dreams and day-lit memories, beautiful as a billion tomorrows. The poetry of Sleep enveloped him completely.

It felt as though he had barely closed his eyes when he was opening them and sitting up in bed, the sheets slipping down into his lap with a sliding kind of pleasure. The night had come, Awakening him to face his life again, still wondering what he was going to do and who he was going to be.

There was so much he didn't understand but that he was going to have to face. He had a new life here, and he was going to have to live it. Every single moment was precious, even if he did have the potential for an infinite number of them.

So you're finally Awake. He turned with startled surprise. He hadn't even known anyone was there.

Standing in a darkened corner of the room was an attractive young man wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with a green tee shirt over the top that matched his eyes. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, a little smile twisting his lips.

Who are you? Valerie asked, a little rudely because he hadn't expected anyone to be there. Waking up to find that strangers had watched you snore wasn't exactly a fresh-maker.

The boy grinned. My name's Dalyn. I came over last night with Daven. Justyn told me that you're new. I guess he thought I might be able to help you settle into your new life, you know, both of us having been Made in the last ten years and all that.

Valerie brought his knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms tight around them. He fought the sudden urge to clutch the blanket up close around his neck. He had never been shy before, there was no reason to start now.

I'm Valerie, he said. He didn't bother to add anything to his name, no middles and certainly no ends. After a lifetime of being known as Valerie Pendleton Hardaine, he had entered a world where last names were a hindrance and everyone was known by a first name and a reputation. He didn't know how he was going to cope with the new world order, but he knew he had to. There was no going back.

Looks like we both ended up with names that weren't on the 'everyday names' list for boys, Dalyn said, laughing. Oh well, I've heard some pretty weird ones in my time.

Valerie tried to force himself to react. He just didn't know what was going on in his own head. He was completely weirding out.

He looked at Dalyn for a long time. The guy was trying hard to be friendly, but something in Valerie warned him not to be too chummy too soon. Dalyn potentially might be a good friend, but then again he might not. Daeniel had talked to Valerie about the rivalries between various groups of vampires. It had scared the shit out of him.

For the first few years after his Making, Valerie was destined to be Justyn's loyal follower. Any vampire Lord Justyn decided he didn't like would instantly become Valerie's enemy too. And it wouldn't be just the Master he would have to worry about, but all of his or her followers.

So even though a part of him wanted to just open his heart and be friends with Dalyn, he had to seriously consider the consequences of such a relationship, because if Justyn and Daven had a falling out, he could be facing Dalyn as an enemy someday. And though he really wasn't sure what he would do in that kind of situation, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to rip the still beating heart out of someone he thought of in his head as being a good beer buddy.

He decided he would be pleasant, but he would not become too close to Dalyn. They had different Masters and always would, no matter how they might wish things were otherwise. Things had a tendency to go bad when things came down the line, and he didn't know what he would do if they went really wrong. He just didn't know enough about this brand new world.

When were you Made? Valerie asked, knowing it was a breach in vampire etiquette. He didn't care that he was being rude; he wanted his curiosity satisfied for once. There were only so many times when he could take the don't ask, don't tell approach to things without finally snapping. He just wasn't made for a life of secrecy and lies, his gregarious nature betraying him.

A faint smile quirked Dalyn's lips. I was Made in 2005 when I was twenty-three years old. Before becoming a vampire, I was a freak for the seven years after I ran away from home and a small town where I was universally feared and hated. Becoming Daven's property was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't regret it, not one little bit.

Why... Valerie had to pause and think through what he was going to say. Though it wasn't exactly blatant, there was a lot of pain there. Why did the people in your town hate you? he asked.

Dalyn shrugged. They found out I wasn't as much like them as they had always thought I was. It was obvious that that was all he was going to say about it.

Valerie decided to leave it alone. Though some people had been known to call him insensitive, he wasn't enough of a jerk to pry where he knew someone was really in pain. Not when he knew for certain that they really were hurting.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. So, what great wisdom are you supposed to teach me? How much of a Yoda are you supposed to be?

The corner of the bed dipped a little when Dalyn settled on it. Though he hadn't seen the other move, Valerie refused to flinch. Though he had barely gotten his proverbial toes wet in this world of magic, vampires and Others, he had learned that showing fear was a sign of weakness none of the monsters would hesitate to take advantage of. So he didn't flinch; didn't show any sign of surprise at all, just looked at Dalyn with a sort of quizzical non-expression and tried to ignore the hummingbird thrum of his heart pounding in his chest.

"Daven and Justyn have known each other for a long time, which isn't really much of a surprise. All of the old ones know each other, and usually if they're not outright enemies they're friends. Or at least they're pleasant to each other whenever they happen to meet, which doesn't really say a whole hell of a lot about the realms of unspoken rage percolating just beneath the surface.

"Daeniel suggested that we, you and I, get to know each other so that when we're old ones ourselves, we'll be allies. He also said that there is much that I don't know myself--things that we can only learn together. He was being very obnoxious when he said it, but I guess he was serious.

Our masters have decided that we should be friends. And from what Daeniel said about you, I figure you're someone I might like to know. Justyn and Daven would like it if we became close. Justyn said you needed to know someone close to your own age, and I guess that's me.

Valerie raised an eyebrow and smoothed a hand over the silk coverlet. He didn't really know what to say. His time as a vampire had taught him caution, and he could no longer tell when it was a good idea to trust other people. The whole world was different from what he had always thought it was, and he had to adapt.

Looking at Dalyn, Valerie seriously considered what he was going to do. He thought out the ramifications of being Dalyn's friend, trying to see what the future might bring, what hard choices he would have to make. There was so much possibility of pain here, too much for him to ever seriously want to face.

We can be friends, he finally said. Just... if our Masters become enemies someday...

We'll be on opposite sides, of course, Dalyn said. He laughed softly. We're both fairly intelligent. We know the way things are and have to be. And yet, still we are going to be good friends.

There was a familiar look in his eyes. Valerie was forcibly reminded of Alane the Dreamer and Julian Duncan. They had both had that same knowing look as they gazed at him, as though they knew all of his deepest secrets. It made him feel as though his forehead had turned to glass--everything inside of him pressed against the surface to be read.

Before meeting Justyn and Daeniel, Valerie had never imagined that there actually were mind-readers out there--people that could reach into his mind as easily as taking a breath. He also hadn't believed in vampires, elves and the living dead either. It just seemed to him that since meeting Justyn and Daeniel, his whole life had changed. And not simply because he was a vampire himself now.

He wondered if Dalyn really could read his mind, then decided it didn't matter. He wasn't exactly holding any earth-shattering secrets in trust. What he did worry about was liking Dalyn too much. He couldn't afford to become too close to anyone other than Justyn and Daeniel--not until he was older and stronger and wiser in what he could and could not do. He was just too damn new to the whole vampire lifestyle. He was a child in vampire terms, and he wasn't ready yet to play in adult games.

Valerie looked at Dalyn and rubbed his lips with one hand. I'm really new at this whole vampire thing, and I don't want to make a mistake, but I've decided that we can be friends, no holding back. You're the kind of person I'm pretty sure I want to spend my eternity knowing... and Justyn and Daeniel have pretty much vouched for you. So everything's copacetic in the ways that count.

One corner of Dalyn's mouth went up and an amused glint entered his eyes. I can't really fault your wanting to be thorough. We're friends.

They looked at each other, each needing the kind of friendship they hoped the other could provide. A kind of friendship that a master, no matter how charming and loving and wonderful, could never offer. There were just some moments when a friend was needed. Someone that could look at your life with something approaching objectivity. Someone that wasn't a lover and wouldn't be hurt by a bit of honest sentiment. There were just some times when a friend was a better balm for the soul than any lover, no matter how well loved, could be.

Though Valerie had only had months to accept his new life, he had to admit he had been missing good old-fashioned friendship. The sex had been great, and he had been fairly happy, but there were just some things he wasn't ready to discuss with Justyn and Daeniel yet and maybe never.

He didn't know, but looking at Dalyn, he could hope that he had maybe found a friend. And though his new life had taught him fear, his old life had taught him trust of others and he couldn't forget that, not so soon.

Maybe he would come to regret his choice, but that would be something for the future. Right now, all he could think was that he needed someone he could confide in. He needed someone to talk to before he went completely insane.

Valerie reached out a hand to Dalyn. Let's share a shake on what this is all about, and what it's gonna mean.

Dalyn smiled and took his hand. His grip was warm and close, a memory of all the friendships Valerie had known and thought lost forever. He couldn't help smiling.

Even if he came to regret this moment of camaraderie, Valerie couldn't help but to enjoy it. He had missed the idea of simple friendship and had perhaps subconsciously been angling for a way to have it back.

All he knew was that a feeling of joy went through him. It felt as though a hole in his soul had been filled up. He felt reborn and more alive than he had in awhile. It was a good thing.

He found Justyn in the living room talking to a vampire he assumed was Daven. Daeniel had disappeared somewhere, probably off hunting on his own. The guy was always Hungry.

Though he made no sound entering the room, Justyn broke off whatever he was saying and turned with a warm smile. He looked so beautiful sitting there, his black hair falling down his back with sparkles of iridescent blue threaded through it. His dark eyes were rimmed with defining kohl, making them narrower, more catlike. His skin was smooth and unbroken, made to be touched.

Seeing Justyn, Valerie was struck again by how lucky he was that such a beautiful being wanted to be with him. He had to wonder what he could have ever done to be granted such grace.

A smile curved his lips as he hurried across the room to sit next to Justyn. He sighed in contentment when the other slipped an arm over his shoulders, and he cuddled close.

Where's Dalyn?

Valerie turned at that oh-so-perfect voice to see Daven watching him from the chair opposite the couch. His silvery blue-gray eyes were so deep that Valerie had to wonder how his soul remained unpierced.

Daven looked only about eighteen or nineteen--younger than Valerie--though his eyes were shadowed with the centuries of his life. He had been Made by Baldwin Falkiri, and his House, of which he was the head, was the House of the Broken Idol, an affiliate of the House of the Black Sun, which was a kind of proof of his power. He may have looked like a kid, but he was not. He carried the weight of impossible responsibility and had the allies to back him up if he needed help.

The man was not handsome, but beautiful. From the nearly water-colorless strands of his shoulder-length hair to the point of his chin, his face could have been called feminine, except that there was something in him that went beyond the classifications of male and female. His body was built in all straight up and down lines, giving him a stature that belied his merely average height. If a person ignored the glaring vigor of his eyes, he could have passed himself off as a high-priced rent boy, just another fun time waiting to happen, but he wasn't. He was a deathless, eerily luminous vampire that had nothing to fear from the banality-driven mortal world.

There was something in Daven and