Leo made laugh that sounded of much pain. Laugh was wrong, but Beast did not know why. Needed to wake Jane. Jane would know what to do about Leo. Beast pressed claws into Jane mind. Jane mind was sleeping, curled into ball like kit.
“I dreamed of angels and demons and the Flayer of Mithrans. I dreamed of my Katherine and my Grégoire. And I dreamed of my master. But Katherine and Grégoire are gone, no longer at their lairs. Of them all, you came to me.”
Beast did not move closer. Body tightened, paws close to body. Tail around hips and out of way. Was ready to leap far.
“Do you love me, my Jane?”
Beast did not answer. Jane did not love Leo. Beast loved Leo. Beast had always loved Leo. Was hard to think of love, of human thoughts for mate and kits, but Beast had always wanted Leo, biggest predator, for Jane-mate.
Jane took Bruiser as mate, and Beast loved Bruiser too. Maybe loved Bruiser more than Beast could ever have loved Leo. But old love for Leo was still in Beast heart and body. Smaller love, weaker love. But still was love.
Beast pressed claws harder into Jane mind.Jane must wake,Beast thought.
Jane came awake.Holy crap, where are we?
Beast showed Jane vision of levee. Vision of Leo. Jane peered through Beast eyes. Jane thought, like prayer of fear and amazement,Leo?
Is Leo. Did not kill humans he drank from.Beast showed Jane what had happened.
Is he sane?
Beast does not know. But rabid predator would have killed. Leo knows we are here. Calls usmy Jane.
Yeah. He would, if he was sane. Or sane-ish. Okay.
Leo breathed. Breath sounds were strange for vampires to make. Leo spoke. “Of them all, I could not bind you, yet you served me. In your own way.” Leo made strange sound of laughter again.
Shock went through Jane like arrow. Jane understoodwhy laugh was wrong. And now Beast understood. Leo was vamped out with fangs and wide night-eyes and claws on fingers. Was fully predator. Yet Leo laughed. Vampires could not laugh and be vampire at same time. Laughter brought them back to human selves. Should. But this time did not.
Leo breathed again. “You served. According to that blasted bedamned honor that seeps into the world from your heart and changes everything you touch. Unbound.Unboundyou stayed with me. Me, the Monster of New Orleans. Did you know that they called me that, for a time? The Monster of New Orleans.” He laughed, that odd, not-Leo laugh.
Beast did not like laugh sounds. Jane did not like sound. Human at Leo feet snored louder. Leo toed human again and snore stopped.
“That Monster of New Orleans told you of the worse monsters to come and shared the threat that you could protect your witch friends and, by extension, all of us. And you believed me. You believed when I told you. You stayed, and the monsters began to come, as I knew they would. Many of my enemies I couldn’t have destroyed alone. You were the wild card in this deadly game. Because of you, many lived who would have died. Including me.”
Strange not-laugh sound came from Leo. He raised his hand and looked at claws. Leo put hand on knee and tilted head to Beast. Was not-human motion. Was vampire motion, like snake. Leo looked at Beast. Beast tensed to leap, but Leo kept talking.
“You believed when even the witches themselves did not believe. My own people did not believe that I could die true dead, that I could fail to keep them safe. None of the others who drank saw the futures. No one believed that if I lost, the monsters would destroy everything and everyone. Did you see the barren, destroyed world they would bring?”
Crap,Jane thought.Yeah, I saw all that. But how the heck did Leo know that? Unless... Unless a timewalker showed him. Had Sabina showed him the possible futures with an amulet of power? Had an arcenciel? Or... Holy crap on a cracker. Did he see the possible futures in theblood he drank from the Son of Darkness, who once had an arcenciel trapped in crystal and was bitten by one...
If that’s the case, then Leo was... Leo was expecting me here in his city. He was waiting for me,Jane thought.
Beast thought,Leo attacked Jane when he saw-smelled Jane for first time. Jane burned Leo hand with silver cross. Leo did not recognize Jane.
Jane thought,Yeah. Right. So maybe his visions showed me only in puma-form, like a were-puma, or in half-form. Maybe his visions of the future never included my human face, only my half-form snout.
“And once again,” Leo said, “worse monsters are upon our doorsteps, worse monsters than I could ever hope to be.”
Leo turned head again. Beast could see Leo hair, Leo eyes, Leo skin. Could see burned skin places. Leo wore human clothes, with black shirt, shoes, and pants Jane liked, called jeans. Leo was vamped out. Liked Leo fangs, good killer predator fangs.
“I thought I had everything under control when you finally came to my city part human, partPuma concolor. I thought I could use you, bind you, keep you near until the time I needed you to kill my enemies. But they were far closer than I had known. I did not know they had replaced the son of my body with one of their own. I did not know that you would kill the Mithran who was not my son.”
Leo voice broke. Strange tears rolled down Leo face, blood tears. Leo smell was changing, anger-sick smell.
Leo looked at sky. “I do not have long. The dawn is near, and my healing is not complete. I must sleep, and there is still much to say. The thing that is my greatest enemy is coming to this country.My master.He is being drawn here because you set his plans awry, beginning the moment you killed Immanuel and revealed what he was. When you killed de Allyon and Grégoire killed le Batard, a thing my dearest friend would never have done had you not shown him a different way to live, a different life from running and hiding from the horrors of his past. All future possibilities began to change.
“When you became Dark Queen, my master could no longer wait. He set his plans in motion and sent ShaunMacLaughlinn to test you, to weaken you. If you survive Shaun’s treachery, my master will attack. He is the last great power behind all that was put in place between the Sons of Darkness, and the power that you freed when you killed the makers of my kind. The Heir comes.” The way he saidheirsounded like a title.
