Brimstone Blues

  She’d never make that mistake again.

  She managed to roll onto her stomach. Then she knelt on the mattress and followed the rope to the bed frame with her hands.

  Amateurs. Never leave the prisoner’s legs loose. Good grief, even a kid would know that.

  The voice chuckled.

  Taz smiled despite the situation. It was Rafael’s chuckle.

  In the dim light she felt the knot and untied it, then her feet. Quietly, she moved to the door and listened.

  The voice said, “It’s clear.”

  The knob turned. The door was unlocked.

  Mistake number two. God, don’t these assholes watch movies? I guess they thought I’d be unconscious longer.

  Resting her head against the door, she sent her mind out, looking for anyone nearby. Suddenly, as clear as a TV picture, the hallway came into view.

  “It’s okay,” the voice said. “But around the corner there’s a guard at the top of the stairs.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She didn’t have time to analyze her apparently loosening grasp on reality. She would worry about it later. She carefully pulled the door open, just enough to sneak through, then shut it behind her. With the voice guiding her, she crept to the corner.

  “He’s facing away from you. There’s no one else around. The front door is at the bottom of the stairs and there’s no one outside.”

  “Thank you again, disembodied voice!” She no longer cared if she was going crazy. If it got her out of here alive, she’d quit griping about it.

  Even if it did sound like Rafe. She didn’t think she could ever bear to call it by his name, that would be too weird.

  Too painful.

  She’d have to nickname it at some point.

  Taz closed her eyes and focused on the guard. He was human, not vampire, not even a hybrid.

  Oh, make it just a little easier.

  She stepped around the corner. When he turned, she smiled. A goofy grin washed over his face. She pressed a finger to her mouth and he nodded, more than happy to help. She walked to him, her eyes locked on his. She owned him. She held her hand out for his gun and he relinquished it to her, butt first.

  How polite.

  The voice chuckled.

  She moved close enough for the man to hear her whisper. “You never saw me leave. As far as you know, I’m still tied up. If anyone asks, you checked a minute ago and I’m still out like a light.”

  He nodded, grinning like a kid who won his own candy store.

  “I need your car keys.”

  He handed them over, still smiling. “Blue Fiat,” he whispered. “Clutch sometimes sticks between first and second.”

  She smiled. “Have a good day.”

  “Thank you.”

  He would have anything but, once the shit hit the fan, but hey, why worry him now?

  The voice chuckled yet again.

  She listened for a warning from the voice and cautiously moved down the stairs.

  “No one’s around, Taz. It’s clear.”

  She slipped out the front door and took the guard’s car. It wasn’t difficult finding her way back to the city, but she needed to focus on the voice’s instructions to locate the building. Matthias still held a heavy mental block against the Tribunal, and even though she could sense he was close, she couldn’t communicate with him. He wasn’t powerful enough to hear her through his mental barrier this far away, and she had to tell him about Bartholomew.

  At least Matthias was alive. Once word reached Bartholomew that she’d escaped, would Matthias be safe?

  “Pull in here.”

  The helpful voice directed her into an underground parking garage and up a stairwell instead of the elevator.

  “Third floor.”

  She stuck her head through the door and saw the corridor was empty.

  “Ladies’ room.”

  Well, the voice wasn’t British. No car park, lift, or loo in the helpful advice.

  There was someone else in one of the stalls, and Taz turned to leave.

  “Wait, Taz.”

  She waited. An older woman emerged and smiled at her.

  “Ms. Proctor, I assume?” She washed her hands at the sink.

  Anastazia nodded, not sure if she was friend or foe.

  “Tell her what happened. She’s okay,” the voice encouraged.

  Taking a deep breath, Taz told the story, still not even sure who she was talking to. By the time she got to the doped tea, the woman held up a hand and stopped her. “We don’t have time for more, dear. Follow me,” and led her to a private office.

  Taz felt a test bump from the woman. She was hellishly strong, whoever she was.

  The woman nodded. “When you feel that, come in. I’ll make sure Matthias is kept safe. We must time this right or Torvald will sense something is amiss. I can protect my thoughts from him, he’s not stronger than me. You keep your barrier in place. Wait here until I call for you.”

  Taz nodded, and the woman patted her arm and left.

  “Who the hell is she, anyway?”

  The voice told her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Matthias, you must look at this from the Tribunal’s point of view,” Bartholomew said.

  Matthias gritted his teeth. “I take personal responsibility for her.” Taz was nearly two hours overdue. The last place he wanted to be was in the Tribunal chambers, verbally sparring with Bartholomew.

  “But can we risk her losing control?”

  “She was overcome by grief. She had only found out about her special nature a few days earlier, and was still not sure how to control her powers. When she fed me to save my life, it triggered an explosive chain reaction. Believe me, this is not something that will happen again.”

  Bartholomew sighed. “We cannot be sure of that. I understand you are very fond of her.”

  Matthias leaned across the table. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He stood and looked at them. “I will, as I said, take responsibility for her. If there is ever another issue, I will take care of it. Personally.”

  “You apparently don’t even know where she is right now. How can you take responsibility for a woman you cannot keep under your control?” Bartholomew’s confident smirk chilled Matthias to his core.

  Matthias fought the urge to rip the man’s head off.

  Dame Agnew spoke up. “I don’t see why we can’t trust Matthias to oversee her. Out of respect for Rafael, and Tobias, I think we should allow this.” She turned to Bartholomew. “Why are you so anxious to incarcerate her, Torvald?”

  Bartholomew’s face flushed. Matthias suddenly had a horrible feeling, a worry that there was more to Bartholomew’s protests than the common good, that maybe he had something to do with Taz’s sudden disappearance.

  Dame Agnew’s eyes flicked to his, and Matthias caught just the breath of a thought before she looked away again.

  “She’s safe, Matthias.”

  Matthias strengthened his barrier. Something was going on, and Dame Agnew knew what that something was. He knew he could trust her.

  Another member spoke up. “I have no problem with leaving her to Hawthorne’s supervision. I agree with Millicent. I think we should leave Anastazia alone. Had she wanted to kill someone, she could have easily hurt any of us back in Yellowstone. If I don’t hold a grudge against her for what she did, I don’t see why the Tribunal should.” He looked at Bartholomew. “Frankly, I wouldn’t have blamed her for killing Caroline. Obviously Anastazia showed great restraint by not immediately eliminating that traitor.”

  Matthias breathed a silent sigh of relief as the rest of the Tribunal nodded their heads.

  Dame Agnew called for a vote to allow Taz to stay free. All the members except Bartholomew raised their hands. He reluctantly joined them when it was apparent he was the lone holdout.

  Bartholomew fixed his gaze on Matthias. “We will hold you personally responsible for her. If she becomes uncont
rollable, you must neutralize her.”

  Matthias smirked. “Let’s not use pretty language. Say what you mean. If she gets out of control you want me to kill her, that’s what you’re saying.” While he spoke to the Tribunal body as a whole, his words and steely gaze were focused on Bartholomew. “None of you would do it, would you? You’d hire someone to do it. You couldn’t stand to do your own dirty work, could you?”

  “Matthias, she is very dangerous. You must admit that,” Bartholomew protested.

  “She is a loving, intelligent woman. If I catch any of you going after her, you will answer to me.”

  * * * *

  Matthias looked like he had been turning to leave when the door flew open. Anastazia walked in. She stood next to Matthias, looking at each Tribunal member in turn.

  “Some of you I’ve met before.”

  As she studied each one, most shrank before her gaze. Then she reached a very shocked Bartholomew. Taz smiled, walked forward, and stood in front of him. “Oh my, you’re a naughty boy, aren’t you?”

  He started to stand but the men on each side of him restrained him. They put their hands on his shoulders and securely held him in place.

  She closed her eyes and locked onto Bartholomew’s mind. “Matthias, do it.”

  With Bartholomew helpless, Matthias was able to look inside his mind. Finally, he nodded. “I invite all of you who are able to take a look into his mind before she releases him, and then we’ll see who’s truly dangerous.”

  All the members looked to Bartholomew, whose eyes were wild and searching.

  “You can’t do this—”

  “Shut up,” Anastazia said. “You are the one who put the Others onto me, who led them to Caroline. There weren’t many people who knew about me. Matthias. Rafael. Robertson and Albert, of course, and Tobias. And you. We already know Albert, Robertson, and Tobias are not the traitors.”

  Her expression darkened. “Not to mention you drugged me, you bastard. By the way, next time, tie the legs, lock the door, guard the prisoner, or fucking kill her before you leave. Oh wait, you won’t get a next time, asshat.” She waggled her fingers at him. “Buh-bye!”

  The phantom voice laughed, loud and hearty, and Taz struggled to maintain her composure.

  Anyone but Rafe. Couldn’t it sound like anyone but Rafe?

  Dame Agnew stood up. “All right, enough. Ms. Proctor, you can release him.”

  Anastazia nodded, stepped back, and Matthias was there supporting her as she swayed on her feet.

  The men on either side of Bartholomew tightened their grips as he thrashed against them. A third slipped a blindfold over his eyes so he couldn’t look at anyone and take them over. “You can’t do this to me! I am in charge here!”

  “Not anymore, Torvald,” Dame Agnew said. “You are hereby remanded to the custody of the Tribunal and are officially stripped of your ranking and position. Take him.” The two men hustled Bartholomew out of the room. Dame Agnew looked at Anastazia. “My dear,” she said, taking Taz’s hands in hers, “are you all right?”

  Taz nodded. “Thank you for not being afraid of me.”

  She smiled, touched Taz’s face. “Dear, I could never be afraid of someone with as kind a heart as yours.”

  That finished her. She cried. Dame Agnew hugged her.

  “It’s all right, dear,” she soothed like a mom. “Don’t worry, I remember how I felt after I first found out. And you’ve been through a lot.” She stepped back and looked at Matthias. “And you!” Dame Agnew poked him in the chest, hard, forcing him back a step. “You are a typical man.”

  Shocked, he took another step back. “What’d I do?”

  “You are honestly planning on marrying her and not letting her have a proper bridal shower?” She poked him again. “Would serve you right if she twisted your bollocks off!”

  Anastazia’s jaw nearly hit the floor. She wasn’t sure what stunned her more, how Dame Agnew went after Matthias, or the language she used.

  “Oh, don’t be so shocked dear,” she said, smiling at Taz. “I didn’t get to be this age by being a pushover. Remind me to show you my collection of ‘Your momma is so old…’ jokes.” She poked Matthias again. “You are not leaving until I’ve had a chance to throw this girl a proper party.”

  Matthias smiled and looked to Taz. “Well, love. I supposed we don’t have a choice.”

  They finally bid their leave and got Taz outside while Tim and Albert went for the car.

  “What I don’t understand, cara,” Matthias said, “is how Bartholomew got the drop on you?”

  “How the hell was I supposed to know he was crazy psycho guy? You told me not to probe. My intuition was going nuts, but you said trust you, so I did!” She left out the part about the phantom voice. She knew that couldn’t be explained away as hearing others’ thoughts. It was intelligent, responding to her and the situation.

  “Since when have you ever listened to me?” He hugged her. “You are going to be the death of me yet, you know that?”

  “Yeah, well for a guy who promised to protect me, I’ve stared death in the face more than I care to since we’ve met.”

  He laughed. “We’re a pair, aren’t we?”

  “A pair of what, I’m not sure. Come on, buy me a scone or some chips or bangers or something. I’m starving after going through that.” Using her powers like that still left her ravenous later.

  “I’ll bang you, you don’t watch out.” His sly smile melted her heart.

  “Is that a threat or a promise?” She laughed. “Bangers first, banging later, big guy.”

  He kissed her, taking her breath away. Then, with his lips by her ear, he whispered, “I’ll bang you all night, my dear. Just wait until we’re back at the hotel and I’ll show you.”

  She shivered against him. She had no willpower around him. None at all. She supposed it was a good thing she trusted him.

  “Food first, fuck later,” she whispered back. He squeezed her to him as she felt his interest growing hard against her leg.

  * * * *

  Instead of a party, Dame Agnew had them all over for brunch the next morning before they took care of a less pleasant task later in the afternoon. Halfway through it hit Taz that she felt more at ease with this group of people than she ever had in her life.

  Family.

  Even when her parents were alive, she never felt as at home as she did at that moment. She’d had friends in LA, but none were what she’d call close. She’d learned early in school who to befriend and who to keep at arm’s length because they only wanted her for her parents’ fame or money.

  It was a nice feeling, to belong.

  Now if she could get rid of the creeping feeling, life would be perfect. She didn’t even mind the voice anymore. If it was her new built-in security system, she’d learn to live with it.

  Somehow.

  * * * *

  After brunch, the men drove Taz to the Tribunal building for the interrogations. Caroline was easy to deal with. She didn’t fight them or speak throughout the process.

  Bartholomew, however, refused to go down without a fight.

  Taz clutched Matthias’ hand on one side, Tim’s on the other. Dame Agnew sat at the other end of the conference table as a blindfolded, screaming Bartholomew was escorted in and manacled to the chair. Taz immediately took control of his mind.

  She gripped the men’s hands as Matthias and Dame Agnew silently explored, deeply, finding as much information as they could. Taz didn’t have the stomach to follow them into the twisted depths of Bartholomew’s mind and simply waited, keeping his mental barriers disabled until the other two were finished nearly an hour later.

  Dame Agnew nodded. “We’re through, dear,” she whispered.

  Taz released him from her mental clutches. She felt like she needed a shower, his brain felt so slimy. The guards unshackled him and dragged him, kicking and screaming, from the room.

  Matthias looked grim. “So his name is Gerard.”

  “I??
?ve heard the name before,” Dame Agnew said, “but we don’t know much more about him now than we did.”

  “Only that his network is more extensive than we suspected.”

  “Yes.” She looked at Taz. “Are you all right, dear?”

  Taz shook her head and fought another bout of tears. “Not right now. It’s going to take some time.”

  “I understand.”

  “Why are you blindfolding him?”

  “Because he’s not strong enough to take someone over without visual contact. Unlike the three of us and Tobias, he has to look someone in the eye to take them over. If we blindfold him, he cannot do that.”

  “But Caroline…” Taz couldn’t finish.

  Dame Agnew’s voice sounded kind. “I suspect Rafe mistakenly invited her in. Normally, she would not have been able to take someone over without eye contact, either. Rafael was nearly as strong as Matthias.”

  Another wave of guilt. He’d invited Caroline in, thinking she was her.

  “What now?” Taz asked.

  “Dear, I need to ask you a favor,” Dame Agnew said.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “We have two new openings on the Tribunal, now that Bartholomew is incarcerated. I would like for you to take one of those positions.”

  Taz stared at her. “Uh, isn’t that a conflict? I thought Matthias was on the Tribunal?”

  “No, Taz,” he said. “I’m the adjunct representative of the North American Clan. Rafael was our official member seat on the Tribunal.”

  She looked at Dame Agnew. “What do I do?”

  “Basically help us keep tabs on what’s going on. It’s a lot of mostly boring stuff.”

  “Until you have two psychotic vampires pair up with the Others to try to vivisect someone?”

  She smiled. “Quite.”

  Taz looked at Matthias. “What do you think?”

  “It’s your decision. It might help prevent repeats of the incident.”

  Taz considered it. “Okay. I’m in. What happens with Bartholomew and Caroline?”

  “We’ll have a vote on it shortly,” Dame Agnew said. “As I’m sure you’ll understand, you must abstain.”