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“I sent Will to the country. There are some vampire politics going on that put him at risk. They put anybody with wolf blood at risk. I need you to stay clear of the house. We can meet at one of our other rendezvous locations later. I can’t talk now.”
Candy was frowning as she nodded. “Is everything okay with you, sir?”
“I am unharmed.”
“Is this to do with what happened to the Library? That entire place has been cordoned off and they put up scaffolding and shields. Looks like it collapsed.”
“A sink hole, of sorts,” Maddox lied for a moment, before deciding not to. “Listen, Candy. My maker has risen. He does not approve of Will, and he usually brings death and destruction wherever he goes. Now would be a good time to move your family out of the city. Gideon usually only wakes to attend war. It seems peaceful enough for the moment, but you would be shocked how quickly peace can turn to conflict.”
“Will is in danger?”
“Everybody is in danger. Did you hear me, Candy? I said you need to move your family.”
“Right,” she said. “And William is in danger.”
“Don’t worry about Will,” he said, knowing she would do little else. Lora Candy’s guilt as the secret teen mother of the man he loved had become what he’d considered a constant threat to Will’s equilibrium. Her burgeoning need to confess was one of the lesser reasons he had taken Will away. The last thing the boy needed was to be confronted with more chaos from his past. At least she couldn’t find Will. He couldn’t find Will, at least, not directly. It would take a series of messages through confidential channels to find him now.
“Tell me about this maker of yours,” Candy said.
“Listen, Candy. I know you want to help, and your help will be useful at some point. But for now, the best thing you can do is move your family. They’re not safe here. Nobody is. You would be best to take them as far north, or south, as possible. If you want to make contact with me, call and we will meet elsewhere. Do not, under any circumstances, come to the house again. Understand?”
Candy nodded quickly. “So. What did you need me to do?”
“Be in contact when you have secured your family. I need to get back.”
* * *
“Where were you?”
Raymond was keeping tabs on him. Maddox hated that fact. Gideon looming above him was at least something in the natural order of things. Raymond being about the place and paying an inordinate amount of attention to him was just an irritant.
“Outside,” Maddox replied tersely. “I have business to attend to, Raymond. Surely you do too.”
“I’m attending Gideon,” Raymond said. “As you will be once he has recovered from a long period without feeding. I would clear your schedule, Maddox. Our maker is not in the mood to tolerate your waywardness any longer. He is unimpressed with the state he has found you in.”
“And what state is that?”
“You should be building an empire, Maddox. While our maker sleeps, it is your responsibility to continue his work. Instead, you’ve hidden yourself away and you’ve distracted yourself with unsuitable companion.”
Ray’s lecturing was unwanted, but at least it warned Mad as to what was likely coming down the pipeline. He doubted Gideon cared about empire building. The creature lived only to destroy what had been built since his last slumber. The Library having been designed to be destroyed at his rising was no coincidence. It was a very minor decoy, in truth. Gideon had destroyed much greater repositories of knowledge in his time, including the Library of Alexandria which was set to flame on Gideon’s whim. This monster did not merely haunt Maddox’s personal life, he was at the heart of much of the darkness in human history.
“I have no companion. Gideon didn’t like the pup, so I gave him away. Problem solved.”
“Liar.” Clawed fingernails scratched lightly down the back of Maddox’s neck, and a dark, but warm voice purred in his ear. It was another one of Gideon’s little foibles to appear at will without warning. Nothing was ever truly private from him. “Every time I nap for an extended period of time, you seem to think you can lie to me when I wake. You’re such a forgetful boy.”
Maddox stiffened. He did not want to react, but he could not help himself. Gideon’s essence flowed through Mads’ veins and made him what he was. They were deeply, intimately linked, and that meant there was much of Maddox he did not like about himself, and more than ever now Gideon was in his presence.
“I did send him away.”
“That’s a good way of saying you’ve hidden him. No doubt hoping I will forget, and that you will be able to sneak off to dally with him again. No, Maddox. You have my full attention now. I have been quite remiss over the years. I’ve let you go astray and look for solace and companionship in the most inappropriate of places. I will not allow that to happen again.”
Maddox turned to look Gideon dead in the eye. It was a mistake. He felt his will being drained, his resolve sapping. He felt his insides become outsides, his secrets becoming known.
“In the trees, is he? Best place for him,” Gideon said. “But enough about the flea-ridden ingrate you have allowed to occupy your precious bed and time. You and I have much to speak about. I understand you have built alliances with humans and their militaries. I also understand that old tensions have risen again between old enemies, while new powers have come to rise.”
When Gideon spoke, it was with a hunger and passion that terrified Maddox. He himself was no saint. He would never have pretended to be one. But he could already see the elements of Gideon’s plan falling into place. In the old days, when people were relatively rare and tribal, Gideon had toyed with them in matters of war. But their weapons and capacities for destruction were limited. That was no longer the case. Humanity now had enough firepower to destroy the world several times over, to black out the sun, to poison the earth…
“You look so worried,” Gideon smirked. “Absolutely adorable. Don’t worry. All will be well.”
