Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(58)

A prison for a vampire king consisted of yards of silver chains and a coffin. I had seen Daniel in one. The sight still haunted my nightmares. “Is he still alive?”

The thought that he was still hanging around, desiccated and forever hungry in his prison horrified me.

“In a sense,” the vampire said. “Louis was devastated by the loss of Marie. He wanted to kill me and the alchemist. The other members of our new Council made Louis see reason when it came to me, though it took many years to repair our friendship. The alchemist had another way to repay Louis.”

My blood went cold as I realized what he was talking about. “The Blood Stone.”

“Yes. The alchemist made the Blood Stone from the living body of the vampire king. Of course, when the alchemist was done, the king was no longer alive in any way that we would recognize.”

The ramifications of what the Blood Stone was hit me like a tidal wave. I felt my stomach clench and nausea swept over me. “Oh god, Marcus, what have I done?” I barely heard my own words. I remembered the words Marini had said to me that night. I asked what the Blood Stone was and he told me it was merely what my husband felt every day. Marini had found a way to take the essence of the last king into his body. For a brief time, he was a king with all the strengths of one. “He can fight Daniel.”

Marcus turned my face toward him. “Yes, cara, I fear that he can. It would be better for Louis if he kills Daniel in a duel. It would be legal in a way and there would be nothing we could do. The effect doesn’t last for long, but he merely needs to get Daniel into a position where he loses a properly witnessed duel. After that, if he can, he will likely try to create another Blood Stone from Daniel.”

I was confused. “He’s had Daniel at his mercy before. Why wait until now?”

“Until now Daniel has been exactly what Louis needs,” Marcus explained. “Before Daniel rose, we were dangerously close to another civil war and Louis had lost the Blood Stone. He needed another king to keep everyone in line. He thought by keeping Daniel ignorant and properly training him that he could make Daniel his assassin, his executioner. I believed Daniel was worth more to him alive than dead. Now that he has the Blood Stone, that balance has tipped. He needs to kill Daniel while keeping the Council and the academics on his side. Louis has bigger plans, you see. The Council has become corrupt again. Louis wants to subjugate the supernatural world and once he has them, he’ll go after the humans. He has promised us the world if we follow him.”

“What did he promise you, Marcus?” What did Louis think could tempt Marcus into betraying his own strong beliefs?

Marcus laughed softly and brought my hand to his lips. “My dear, he promised me you. I’m to be your master once I help Louis trap Daniel. I’ve been promised that I will be allowed to take you to Venice and we’ll be left alone for the rest of your natural life. My city and my companion will be left untouched by any war that follows.”

“He is lying, Marcus.” I had to make him believe.

“I know, cara, and even if he wasn’t, I could not betray Daniel.” Marcus sat back, a sad look on his face. “I’ve waited too long for him to rise to throw it all away because I want a woman who can never love me.”

I didn’t want to go into that. It seemed cruel to agree with him. “Why has everyone else been corrupted but you remain true?”

“I believe it’s merely a part of who I am. Academics view the world differently. We study those around us. We’ve watched humanity grow up. We respect and even admire the works of man,” Marcus said. “Niko is also an academic. Daniel has two strong supporters on the Council, but we would be outvoted by the warriors if it came to that. The warriors…in the end they want war. Daniel is different. Daniel has you and, as much as I hate to admit it, he has Devinshea.”

“You obviously care for Daniel,” I said. “Why do you have to be so awful to Dev? He’s sacrificed a lot for this war of yours. If we win, it will be due in large part to him.”

“I know,” Marcus admitted. “Let me tell you another story that might help you understand. It involves the boy…I call him a boy, but god only knows how old he is. It involves the boy you met earlier today. The one called the oracle. He’s the one who sought me out many years ago and requested I get the Blood Stone off the plane. He introduced me to Miria. It was the first of several requests the oracle had of me, but there was one that is meaningful to our discussion. About a hundred years ago, the oracle came to me in Venice. He told me there was a young girl in Ireland who needed protection. I was to ensure that no vampire ever found her. When I made my way to a village in County Galway called Ballymoe, I found the girl and made sure she was protected. I became her family’s anonymous patron. The girl became a woman and married and later her grandson made his way to America.”

My eyes narrowed. “My father was born in Galway.”

“Yes, cara, it was your great grandmother I was supposed to protect. Even as a child she lit up the night. It was very difficult for me to watch her from afar, but I did it because I was promised my heart’s desire should I manage to keep the girl safe.”

“What did the oracle promise you?” It must have been impressive to keep a vampire from a truly brilliant companion. I had to wonder at that particular twist of fate. Had a vampire found my grandmother, she almost surely wouldn’t have had children. I wouldn’t exist without Marcus’s protection.