“Yeah right, like the faeries will just forget the whole unforgivable-crime-against-nature thing because of a little politicking. No offense,” I added quickly. Probably not a good idea to remind your host that he was an evil abomination spurned by the gods.

“None taken.” Simon smiled thinly again. “I am not a vampire. I am a chronicler.”

“What’s the difference?” I asked, and then winced. Tact is not my strong suit.

“Necromancers become vampires, though they find the term offensive.”

“Oh good, I’ll keep using it then. So, why go to Faerie? They can’t even feed there.”

“Maybe that’s not the point. They might just want to open up a dialogue,” Lex commented, looking concerned. “My sister in Denver has been monitoring the vamps in her area. They’ve been making overtures to the shifters, looking to form some sort of alliance.”

“I’ve heard something of that as well.”

“So they’re extending the hand of friendship to the other magical races. No good will come of this.”

“That’s quite pessimistic, Miss Morrow. Did you have additional questions?” Simon asked Lex.

“I need confirmation. Who put the mark on Cat’s life?”

“You already know the answer to that one, Duquesne.”

Lex swore again, and a sinking feeling settled into my stomach. Now that had to be Laura. I’d threatened one of her minions, one she valued as well. She wouldn’t take that kind of insult lightly.

“My advice to you would be to take her somewhere they cannot reach her until the trials are complete.”

“I know.” Lex nodded in agreement.

“Like Jamaica?” I asked. Can’t be a lot of vampires on a tropical island, after all. I could use a nice, relaxing vacation too. Both men chuckled at my idea, and Lex shook his head.

“Sorry, sugar, you’ll have to settle for something less exotic than that.”

“Great. Well, now what?”

“Now there is a matter of payment to settle.” For the first time I sensed genuine emotion from him, an eager interest.

“Cat, you go on up to the car, I’ll be right there,” Lex said, standing up. I was instantly suspicious, and more than a little insulted. What, it was male chauvinist time and the woman wasn’t allowed to know about important details like the bill?

“Why?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“Because I’m askin’ nicely.”

“I appreciate that, but I want to know why I’m being left out of this part of the discussion.”

“I believe the guardian would rather you not witness this.” Simon rose to his feet and walked around to the front of the desk, standing next to Lex’s chair.

“Witness what?” I frowned. I caught a strong wave of the smoky scent of vamp magic, and my jaw dropped. “Oh no way, are you crazy?”

“Cat-”

“What the hell kind of deal is this? ‘The Merchant of Venice’ package?”

“An interesting analogy, but I assure you it is not a pound of flesh that interests me.” Simon smiled, and there was an unmistakable predatory glint to the expression.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Cat.” Lex held out a hand toward me in a placating gesture, and I shot to my feet, backing away from them both. “Simon and I negotiated the payment before we came here.”

“Well I didn’t know that, and I wouldn’t have let you come here if I did,” I protested, still in shock.

“Which is why I didn’t tell you. Go on up to the car, I’ll be behind you in a minute.”

“No.”

“Let her stay then, it doesn’t matter to me,” Simon suggested.

“No, you can’t do this, Lex. This is my fault, you shouldn’t have to pay for information I need for my problems.” My voice cracked as it raised a panicked octave.

“Would you pay it then?” Simon asked, gazing at me contemplatively.

“Would-what?” I blinked. My train of thought ground to a screeching halt. Had I finally gone crazy enough to willingly offer my blood to a vampire? Or chronicler, rather. Whatever.

“No, she isn’t,” Lex said firmly. My mouth worked but no sound came out as I struggled to deal with the very concept of it. If I had given the matter more thought, I would have known the price of Simon’s help. We had no information to give him, and what else would a vampire place high value upon? The idea of letting him drink my blood was terrifying, disgusting, horrible beyond words.

But this was my problem. I agreed to petition to become Titania, I threatened my father, I lit those vamps up outside the Three Willows. This was my burden to bear, and I couldn’t let Lex suffer for it.

“Yes, I will,” I said in a small, frightened voice.

“No!”

“Done.” The vampire smiled. Furious, Lex leapt to his feet and for a strained moment looked as though he was going to take a swing at Simon, but he barely managed to keep himself in check, his body trembling with the force of his self-control.

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing, she can’t make this bargain,” Lex said, almost through gritted teeth. The peculiar mix of scents that made up guardian magic rose around him, and his face flushed with anger.

Simon smirked, appearing as though he very much enjoyed watching the guardian’s discomfort. “Just because she hasn’t been bitten before does not mean that Miss Morrow cannot understand the bargain. In fact, considering her past, I’m sure she has a keener understanding than you do. Don’t worry, I assure you that I won’t harm her.”

“I know you won’t harm her, that’s not what concerns me.”

“Then you should have stipulated the conditions of payment more carefully when you contacted me. Bluster all you want, Duquesne, she has agreed, and you can’t undo it. Think of this as an educational experience for you both-you’ll be more careful with your bargains in the future, and Miss Morrow will have the benefit of learning what it’s like to be bitten in a safe environment.”

The two men sized each other up, and I sneezed once and then again as the smoky vampire scent returned, saturating the air around us and mingling with the haze of Lex’s magic.

“Fine, whatever. Can we just get it over with?”

“Of course.” With liquid, otherworldly grace the vampire glided toward me and I stared at him, petrified with terror. Images of my mother’s broken body assaulted me, of her eyes frozen in an expression that urged me to run, to flee from the monsters which would be looking for me next.

I wasn’t sure what I expected him to do. Outside of horror films and Buffy the Vampire Slayer I’d never witnessed a vamp feeding before. Simon circled around behind me. He was tall, even taller than Lex, and I tried to look at him but he stopped me by gently turning my head toward Lex instead. Helpless, I watched as anger and frustration thrummed through him. I was going to be lectured after this, I could tell-provided of course I didn’t die on the spot from a fear-induced heart attack.

My hair was tied back into a loose braid, and I felt the vampire smooth it away from my neck as he tilted my head to the side, running his slender fingers tantalizingly slow down the side of my exposed throat. His touch was cold, and there was no warmth from his body as he pressed himself against me, bending down to hover above my pulse. Simon chuckled, and I felt his breath brush against my skin.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, my voice high and sharp.

“I was correct, wasn’t I? You’ve never been bitten before,” he whispered. I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’ll try to make this memorable then. Be sure to watch your guardian. His reaction is going to be most entertaining.”

Like a techno-dance beat my pulse throbbed deafening in my ears as I tensed for the coming strike, squeezing my eyes shut. There was a sharp moment of pain, like the quick slice of a knife, that made me gasp, and I fully expected agony to follow it. Much to my amazement, the sensation was pleasant-a warm fuzzy glow that reminded me of adding a shot or two of butterscotch schnapps to my mug of hot chocolate on a winter’s night. It was confusing-pleasurably confusing, but still not making any sort of sense to me. This was supposed to be awful, wasn’t it?