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"You will make a small donation for his service. And you will do so without complaint. Do you understand?" She leaned close and her lips brushed my lips, soft and silken and utterly inviting. I sucked in a deep breath and her tongue slid inside my mouth for just a moment--just long enough to wake my hunger. I tried to pull away but found myself firmly wrapped in her arms.
"Do as I say," she whispered in my ear. "If you resist, he will come off that throne of his and eat you down to the bones. Crawl is older than almost every vampire alive and you'd do best to appease him with a measly quarter cup of your blood. I'm trying to save your life here."
Her voice cut through the sudden haze of lust that her kiss had sparked off and, shaking, I nodded. She backed away and held up the dagger. "Give me your hand, child."
I held out my hand, trembling, praying to whatever god might be listening that she wasn't going to turn on me and slice me to ribbons for a feeding frenzy. She poised the blade above my palm and with one quick motion sliced through the pad near my thumb. The blade was ultra-sharp and a thin weal of blood rose up.
Crawl leaned forward, his eyes gleaming as he watched the blood seep out of my flesh. Convinced I'd been insane to allow her to bring me here, I tried to control my fear. Regina dragged me to the fountain and waved her hand over two of the flames, which died down immediately. She held my hand over the bubbling blood so my own dribbled into it. After about a quarter cup had been spilt, she gently pulled me back and leaned down, licking my hand clean. As it began to heal remarkably fast, a shudder ran through her and for yet another moment I worried about her self-control, but she let out a long breath and stood again.
The flames around the fountain rose once more and she turned to Crawl. "The payment has been made. Now tell me what I need to know."
Crawl scuttled forward, reminding me of a spider or a long-jointed crab, and leered at me. "She is the one. Tell her that you are correct. She will bring about the war and start the road to our reclamation. You've done well, lovely daughter."
I wanted to pull back, to turn tail and run because Crawl was giving me the creeps big-time and it seemed only a matter of time before he lunged for me and I'd be dead as a bug on the windshield. Splat.
Regina let out a soft laugh. "I thought so." She turned to me. "Long ago, Crawl advised the Vein Lords to form a tight net on every continent, to watch over the Indigo Court and keep track of where they were spreading. There is a war coming, Cicely." Her tone told me to ask no questions about it, but her words were icy and so confident that I believed her.
I glanced up at the Blood Oracle, who was leaning off the dais, like a long stick bug. He thrust his face through the flames surrounding the fountain and screamed as he lapped up the bubbling blood.
Regina gave me a soft smile, bowed low before Crawl who took no further notice of us, and led me back to the walkway. I was afraid he might come after us and kept glancing over my shoulder, but a few feet away from the dais, she said, "Have no fear. He is trapped there, unable to leave."
"Who is he?" I softly asked.
Still speaking softly, she said, "Crawl, descended from the blood of ancient warrior kings, is one of the most dangerous vampires walking the earth today, second only to the Queen. She made him. He's her pet. Not only do his second sight and psychic abilities defy categorization, but his entire focus is on preserving the Vampire Nation from harm, no matter what the cost, through his abilities to see into the future. He has no mercy, no fear, no love."
"Is he mad?"
"I suppose, in a way, seeing that he's so old no one knows when he was turned. But as for crazy, no--crazy like a fox, perhaps, but he knows what he does. He has full comprehension. He simply has outgrown any shred of humanity that he's ever had. If he was human to begin with."
"I know you may not want to tell me, but this war . . . it's with the Indigo Court, right? You say I'm a catalyst. Is that why you asked me here tonight?"
I was trying to sort out things. Crawl's words had sent more than shivers through me. There was a ring of truth about them that echoed in my gut.
"Cicely, I will be honest with you. We need you. And regardless of what you think, you need us. The Indigo Court is dangerous. Myst knows you are to bring about her downfall--she will not let you live. You know how they began."
"Yes, Geoffrey sired Myst. He did, didn't he? He's the Geoffrey who led the raid on the Unseelie Court."
Regina let out a soft huff. "Yes. Geoffrey was younger then, and had not developed the patience and foresight he now wields. The Vampire Nation simply seeks to be prepared to rectify a mistake we made so many years ago. So, we need you . . . and we are prepared to help you in return. If you do not agree, we will make your life a living hell. If you join forces with us, we'll do everything in our power to protect you and your friends. No more now, till we return to the others."
I decided to dare one last question, brought about by what Crawl had said to her. "Can I ask . . . are you Crawl's daughter? Did he sire you?"
She glanced down at me and her smile faded. "Lannan and I carry the power of the Blood Oracle within our veins. It has been a long and heavy life for my brother and me since Crawl first came to our land and took us."
And then, she motioned for me to step up to the crystal with her, and within a few moments, we were back in the hidden room.
As we entered Geoffrey's office, Regina motioned for me to sit down next to Leo and Rhiannon. Shaken and wanting nothing more than to go home, I acquiesced.
"We need your answer, Cicely. Will you accept our contract and hire your services out to us? Or will we be forced to take more drastic means?"
"You realize that you've left me with no choice," I said, already knowing what I was going to do. They were convinced they needed me. They'd as good as said that I was going to help them whether it was voluntary or not. I might as well get what I could out of it.
I cleared my throat. "Assent under threat of punishment isn't exactly conducive to good will. But before we get into semantics, yes, I will help you. On one condition. The Indigo Court has captured my aunt and our friend Peyton. If there's any way you can help us rescue them, then I willingly accept your offer."
"The offer is to you, only, but your friends are tacitly included by association," Geoffrey said. "I'm pleased that you've decided to make things easier. We will do what we can to help you rescue your loved ones. I was appalled to hear Myst's forces would dare to capture Heather, or to kill Marta. Speaking of the offer, Emissary, your brother stepped out to get the contract and the first month's payment."
Regina smiled at him. "Lannan will help on occasion. He's not always a stubborn mule." Turning to me, she added, "We believe in paying in advance for services." She beamed and I truly believed she was proud of what she was saying. "We don't want you to feel used in any way."
I bit my tongue. Pointing out again that I didn't have much of a choice, that they'd use me with or without my permission, didn't seem like the wisest move to make. After meeting Crawl, I really didn't want to get on their bad side or they might send me back to him to let him convince me to cooperate.
