The curtains covering the back of the dais parted.

"What the fuck . . ." I caught myself before I said anything I'd regret.

Regina gave me a sharp look and I nodded, understanding her meaning. Shut the fuck up and do what I tell you.

There, sitting in front of us, sat a bent and twisted creature. Maybe he'd been human. Once. It was hard to tell. He sat on a cushion raised a good five feet above the dais, hunched over, his skin blackened from what looked like old, leathery burns--charred and long dried. His hair had devolved into ratted clumps, dreadlocks of the worst kind, and his eyes were glassy, unfettered by eyelids, which seemed to have been burnt away. He wore nothing but a crimson loincloth, and his ribs protruded so strongly that he looked like a stick figure or a praying mantis.

In front of him, a fountain of blood bubbled merrily, ringed by perpetual flames that neither wavered nor changed in intensity. They burned brightly, and the blood in the center smelled warm and sticky and fresh.

Regina stepped up to a pillow on the floor next to the fountain and knelt, her head down. "Great Father of the Sight, I come seeking your wisdom. Crawl, Blood Oracle of the Crimson Court, I seek your vision."

He let out a laughter that sounded like the wind whistling through dried corn husks and I smelled decay and dust and the scent of the tomb. "Regina, Crawl's favorite. The Blood Oracle recognizes you. Stand and ask, lovely bloody daughter, and offer payment for the Oracle's services."

She rose, her skirt brushing the ground. She was wearing a crimson leather bustier and a long black chiffon skirt. Now, she brushed back the skirt where it slit up one side to the thigh and pulled out a golden dagger. She turned toward me and motioned me forward.

"Wait--you aren't going to open my vein with that." I'd keep quiet as long as I thought I was relatively safe but this whole scenario wasn't quite what I'd expected, and things were looking worse the deeper into the night we went.

"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.

Rhiannon slowly held up her hand.

Regina laughed. "You have a question?"

"Yes," she said, softly. "We have some information on the Indigo Court, but there's so much we still don't know about them. They kidnapped my mother. Do you know what they want with her?"

Geoffrey stood, pacing behind his chair. After a moment, he let out a hollow sigh that had no breath behind it. "We have our suspicions. The members of the Vampire Nation generally don't pretend to be fond of most mortals. We--true vampires--abide by the Treaty of Supernatural Conduct because it allows us to live alongside your kind without being hunted except by those bearing grudges. But we do abide by the treaty--except for the rogues--and we honor our promises. The Indigo Court . . ." He paused and glanced at Regina.

"The Vampiric Fae are chaotic, far more chaotic than we are," she said, after a moment. "You may think us arrogant, but trust me, the world of the Indigo Court is far more dangerous than ours. They honor no treaty, no promises, and consider themselves above every rule except their own. They feed on blood and they feed on magic."

"Where we strive to find some compromise to walk among the living, they seek to make the living their slaves," Geoffrey said. "They hate us. We are their makers and they will never forgive us for being first to walk among the living dead. So they seek those with strength to ever add to their court, in order to eventually destroy us."

While I knew the feeling was mutual, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"We have a long history--" Regina paused as the door opened and Lannan Altos walked in. "Brother--you're back."

After an exaggerated bow in our direction, he handed a manila envelope to her. She kissed him deeply, tongue and all. I blinked. They'd apparently taken their brother-sister relationship to a whole new level.

"You're lovers? But you're related!" Leo blinked as the words burst out of his lips.

They looked at him, and Regina laughed. "Oh, truly, even the magic-born can seem so human at times. Yes, we are lovers, and yes, we are brother and sister. We are also best of friends and mated to rule over our family line."

Leo gulped out an "Oh."

"Any more questions?" she asked.

I decided to chance it. "Yes, actually. On that subject . . . if you are brother and sister, and mated, then why isn't Lannan an emissary, too?"

As she shook the papers out of the envelope and handed them to me, she shrugged. "The Crimson Queen doesn't care for my brother."

I quickly glanced at Lannan, hoping her answer hadn't brought up baggage he might be happy to take out on us, but he just let out a low laugh.

"True, very true. Regina is the mistress of courtly attendance. I do not suffer sycophants and toadies, and you must be diplomatic in order to do what my sister does. I am far from diplomatic."

Geoffrey let out a snort. "Lannan, you are the epitome of politeness when you choose to be and the biggest ass in the world when you choose to be. To work for the Queen," he added, "one must put aside one's ego and submit one's will directly to our beloved liege. And that, you will never do. You want to be cock of the walk, my friend."

Lannan shrugged and cracked a smile. "Can you blame me? I bow to no man, though I answer to the Queen when I must. I answer only to myself at all other times. And," he turned to Regina, "to my love." He reached out and brushed her fingertips with his and an audible spark broke the silence.

At that moment, they both swiveled their heads to look at me and I suddenly felt like fresh meat on the hoof. I quickly buried my nose in the contracts. They were clearly written, though I noticed one loophole that stipulated if I should fail to report to them daily, the Crimson Court had the right to "administer remedy." I also noticed they were offering me twenty-five hundred dollars a month to report to them on whatever I found out. Not bad money, for a job that didn't require eight-to-five or asking, "Do you want fries with that?"

"I'm not sure what this means, but it could mean, oh, so many things." I pointed to the clause. "What kind of remedies are you talking about?" Actually, I had some idea, thanks to skimming through A History of the Vampire Nation. "The wording on this has to change somehow."

Regina glanced at it, then looked at Geoffrey. "Actually, nothing has to change, but perhaps we can amend it. There must be some guarantee she will not default or neglect her duties."

Lannan leaned his elbows on the back of Regina's chair. "Word it so that for every day she misses sending her report--which can be via e-mail if she likes--she must spend an hour with me, and I, alone, will be allowed to punish her during that time."