This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress, #5)(39)

“I’ll speak with him about that later,” Marie murmured, almost to herself.

I gave the single empty chair across from her a glance. “You mind?”

She waved a hand. “Please.”

“Bones?” I inquired, assuming I’d just sit on his lap.

“I’ll stand, Kitten.”

I settled myself in the chair. So far, things were going better than I expected. Marie hadn’t pitched a fit about Bones being here or the ghoul being dead. Maybe she thought Apollyon was as much of a threat as we did.

“You may remain, but you will stay silent while I speak with Cat, or I will remove you,” Marie said to Bones in a tone that dared him to argue.

My hopes plummeted with that single sentence. Bones folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall, looking for all the world like he was completely relaxed. I couldn’t feel his emotions—he’d locked them down tight upon entering the tunnel—but I bet his little half smile concealed a slew of uncharitable thoughts toward Marie. I couldn’t help but admire his blasé performance. I could never fake nonchalance that well when I was pissed.

I cleared my throat in the sudden uneasy silence. “So . . . how ’bout them Saints, huh?”

Marie’s sharp gaze didn’t leave mine. “The last time I saw you, you were still a half-breed. Tell me, Cat, how do you find being a full vampire?”

“It’s great,” I said, knowing she had something up her sleeve with this, but pretending it was a casual question. “I haven’t missed getting my period even once, and hey, no more counting calories. What’s not to love, right?”

She smiled at me, revealing pretty white teeth that contrasted nicely with her matte red lipstick. “You forgot to mention your ability to kill your first husband with a fireball.”

My answering smile froze on my face. I’d expected us to talk about Apollyon, not Gregor. He’d been the vampire whose blood was combined with a ghoul’s heart to raise Marie from the dead almost a hundred and fifty years ago, but Marie had wanted him dead, too, so I didn’t anticipate recriminations from her for killing him.

Marie’s a valuable ally, don’t lose your temper and give her an excuse to side with Apollyon, I reminded myself. Look at Bones. He almost seems bored even though he’s got to be as ticked as you over Marie bringing up Gregor.

“Because he cheated in his duel with Bones, the Guardian Council of Vampires cleared me of any wrongdoing,” I said, proud that my voice was very calm.

Marie leaned back in her chair, idly stroking the fabric. Part of me wondered where the secret door was in this room. That chair wasn’t a permanent fixture or it would be mildewed from the damp air, not to mention I didn’t believe Marie would leave herself without an alternate means of escape.

“Cheating, that doesn’t surprise me,” she commented. “Gregor’s arrogance always was his Achilles’ heel. Like bringing you to Paris when you were sixteen. I told him to come here instead. That his hometown would be the first place anyone would look for him, should his actions be discovered, but he didn’t listen.”

Everything in me froze. I didn’t dare glance at Bones again. The flash of rage that skipped across my subconscious before he recloaked his emotions told me he was thisclose to losing it at this revelation.

“So.” I couldn’t keep the edge from my tone if my life depended on it. “Gregor told you about his kidnapping plans for me back then?”

She continued to stroke her armrest, as though the tension in the room hadn’t become thick enough to cut. “Gregor told me many things. He trusted my loyalty to him as my only living sire. I don’t betray those I’ve sworn loyalty to. This shouldn’t surprise you. I told you last year that if Gregor’s claims of marriage to you were proved, I’d back his side.”

“You also told me a neat story about how you murdered your husband when he pushed you too far,” I replied sharply. “Well, I’d say tricking me into marrying him as a teenager, murdering my friend, forcibly changing my mother into a vampire, and trying to murder Bones by cheating in their duel all fell under the ‘too far’ category for me. Too bad for Gregor the vision he had of me when I was sixteen didn’t show the part about me using all those neat powers he wanted to control to kill him.”

“Underestimating you was Gregor’s mistake.” Marie didn’t move a muscle, but all of a sudden, I felt like a mouse staring at a hungry owl. “It won’t be mine. But”—a shrug—“no one can hide from death forever. No one, not even our kind. Death travels the world and passes through even the thickest walls we protect ourselves with. You should remember that.”

Was that a threat? “Not to be rude, Majestic, but it sounds like you’re telling me to watch my back with you.”

Marie grunted. “When you truly understand what it means, you’ll know how to defeat Apollyon.”

At last, we were getting on topic. I’d already figured out that I’d need to kill the ghoul to stop him, but if Marie wanted to feel like she was being all cool and cryptic with the advice, I’d play along.

“Okay. I’ll remember that.”

She smiled, genial and somehow terrifying at the same time. “You should. If you don’t, he’ll win.”