“If you say so. I think that asshole was always a little weasel. Hate to say it, but I agree with the conservative vampires.”

“The idea was not misguided.” Brian glanced toward Anwyn. “I have met many worthy made vampires. Change is just slow in our world. Unfortunately, Stephen and Barbra already have over half of the Council doubting Daegan"s loyalties. His behavior here, his defense of the two of you, has not helped.”

“So why don"t they just let him resign?” Anwyn snapped. Her gaze flicked to Debra as she hastily brought Brian the castle letterhead, on which she"d already written out the note for him to sign.

Brian shook his head at the same time as Gideon. “Doesn"t work that way, Mistress,” Gideon said softly, meeting her gaze. “He"s too powerful.”

Anwyn locked her jaw, looked as if she might say something else. Then a look of panic crossed her face, a peculiarly internal, concentrated look. Her gaze shot up to Gideon"s. “No,” she hissed, her eyes flushing to crimson.

Damn it. Of course, it had to happen at the most inconvenient moment, though he didn"t blame her for that. With Daegan being in danger on top of everything else, it was a wonder she hadn"t broken down in the hallway. And he"d been focused on this, not in her mind. He fucking needed to learn to multitask better.

He leaped to her side, but Anwyn"s hands clamped down on his with bruising force.

“Restraints . . . in pack. Knock me out, Gideon,” she rasped, struggling past those shadow voices. Her face contorted, fangs lengthening. “There"s no time. Don"t you dare leave me behind or I swear to the heavens . . . you"d better stake me. If I wake . . . here . . . I will take the skin off your—”

Gideon tried to pull her out of the way, but Brian was too swift. He hit her with a metal pipe that looked as if it had come from under a sink. Gideon caught her in his arms as she immediately dropped, though her body continued to twitch, obscenely like maggots feasting on an unresponsive corpse. Debra was already pulling the restraints out of the tote and bringing them over.

“Goddamn it,” Gideon swore. “That wasn"t necessary.”

Though he knew it was. Brian"s objectivity had enabled him to make the decision far more swiftly than Gideon. It didn"t sit any better on his mind, though, to see the woman he loved struck so brutally.

“I know where to hit, and how hard, to temporarily knock out a vampire. It requires a vampire"s strength at the precise point. When she awakens, you might mention that to her. It could be useful where you"re going. She"s right,” Brian added in an urgent tone. “She must go with you. I don"t know how Stephen will twist this, but he could dispel the protection that your Master imposed for you both before he left.”

“He"s not my Master,” Gideon said. Lifting Anwyn in a fireman"s carry, he kept one hand free to use a weapon. “Give me the tote bag and show me the passage we need to take.” He gave Brian a measuring look. “You know, you"re far less of a science geek than I expected.”

“You need to learn not to look a vampire directly in the eye before one teaches you better manners,” Brian returned. He glanced at Anwyn, regret crossing his features. “She is truly exceptional. Tell her to use that as a weapon as well. Don"t hold her back, Gideon. Go swiftly now. I will let it be known where you have gone, and why, at the appropriate time, to ensure the Council will watch Stephen until your return and prevent him from contacting Xavier. If they do as I suspect, they will not allow him outside contact until you return . . . or this is resolved. They will wait to see the outcome.”

“Trial by combat,” Gideon echoed, and the vampire scientist nodded.

“I"ll go with them.”

The men both turned. Debra had been busy during their exchange, shedding her lab coat and gathering purse and keys. “I can get your car, my lord, and meet them at the passage entrance.

It will save time.”

“You will not,” Brian said. Debra, unaffected by his stern expression, touched his arm.

“Until she wakes, he"ll need help. Someone to drive while he watches over her. When he gets there, an extra scout on the outside will be vital. She"s formidable, but they"re both new to our ways. At least from the inside view,” she amended, glancing at Gideon. Then she brought her attention back to her scowling Master. “I can be useful,” she insisted.

“Once she"s up, she"ll hold her own,” Brian said, but Debra shook her head.

“I won"t put myself in direct harm, my lord, but I can help him and Miss Naime. You both know it.” Her gaze shifted between them. “It"s the right thing to do, and we can"t shirk that because you might have to train a new lab assistant.”

A muscle twitched in Brian"s jaw, and he drew her aside. “You think that is all your value to me?” While his hand on her elbow was their only contact, Gideon felt the pulse of a connection far stronger than that. However, the tick of seconds was as loud as cannon report in his mind. A couple more and he was going, whether they"d resolved it or not. That sense of urgency for Daegan was only getting more severe, starting to cramp in his gut. He hoped Anwyn woke soon, because he wanted her to keep trying that phone call to the vampire"s mind, see if she could get him to answer. Daegan also couldn"t use the conduit across her mind to Gideon when she was unconscious.

“I am a servant, my lord,” Debra said. “I never assume my worth is greater than what it is.

Let me continue to prove my value to you. Lord Stephen and Lady Barbra are weakening the Council. You know it as I do. We can show that to the rest of them.” A wealth of furious thoughts apparently passed between the two of them then. Masters and servants. Tools or more than tools? It seemed to vary from servant to servant. Gideon didn"t fear that Anwyn would ever think of him as Stephen did Alanna, but Brian was closer to the

“norm” for vampires and servants.

He knew his time with Anwyn was limited, but what if, before that hourglass ran out, the day came when Anwyn did view him with the same absolute sense of possession most vampires had for their servants, that he was her property? How would he reconcile his feelings toward her then, feelings that would no longer be appropriate to who and what she was? Or what she thought of him? Worse, what if he found his view of his own role had changed, and he accepted that? Embraced it, even? Fucking craziness.

Nothing was ever simple, was it? Or maybe it was so simple it was hard to face it.

And why the hell was he wasting time soul-searching about it right now? He opened his mouth to tell them to move their asses, etiquette be damned, but Brian beat him to it.

“Go, then,” Brian said. When Debra nodded and turned, his arm shot out, bringing her back against him. She let out a short gasp as his fangs pricked her neck, just enough to render her still and quivering against him. His arm stayed locked across her chest, fingers curled under the shirt at her waist, teasing bare skin. “You come back without a scratch, or I shall be very displeased with you.”

“Yes, my lord,” she responded. She lifted her head to look at him, her lips inadvertently brushing his jawline. He let her go with an oath, but it seemed to Gideon he had difficulty turning back to the two of them after his servant slipped out.

“Good luck,” he said.

“I"ll watch after them both,” Gideon said. “It"s tough to find a good lab assistant.” Brian gave him a sharp look. “Your clever tongue may get your throat ripped out before it"s all over, human.” But as he held the door open, he paused, stared into the darkness of the passage. “She will be an asset to you. She is exceedingly intelligent, as brave as she is beautiful. Perhaps too brave.”

Gideon nodded. “You might think of telling her that when we get back.” Because whatever a vampire-servant relationship was or wasn"t, Gideon knew sure as hell that no one should be treated as Alanna had been treated. A heart freely given wasn"t a disposable item.

It was a treasure beyond price.

17

DAEGAN swam through Anwyn"s consciousness. Invincible. From the first time she"d met his gaze across her club, it had been the one word that applied to him, no matter the circumstances.

She hadn"t realized how much she"d learned to count on that, how much of her strength she"d built upon the idea that something in this world could withstand anything. Maybe that was why she"d pushed him away, time and again, just to see him come back. She"d wanted to see if his heart was as invincible as the rest of him, willing to take any level of rejection and keep right on coming. And he had. Nothing could stop him.

But now in her dreams, there was a roar of rage, his own, broken by an explosion of blood, pain, nothingness.

“Daegan.” She surged out of her dreams, only to find herself bound. “Gideon.”

“I"m here.” His hand was on her brow. She was in the back of a roomy sedan, a car blanket tucked around her for warmth. When she tried to sit up, she met the restraints, holding her arms and legs fast.

“Take this off.”

“Easy.” His hands were already busy, doing just that. Then his touch was on her back and waist, steadying her as she struggled to a seated position. Thank the heavens she hadn"t thrown up on herself this time, a small blessing. Maybe she should have someone knock her out more often when seizures occurred. She could save dry-cleaning bills.

“The bag I brought. Is it—”

“Right here in the front seat, no worries.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath. It was night, but no longer early night. Her vampire senses told her it was around midnight.

“He"s in trouble, Gideon. He doesn"t open his mind to me unless he means to do it. Yet, just now, he was under attack and couldn"t control it. Daegan couldn"t control it. In pain . . . I think they knocked him unconscious . . .” Her voice trailed off. “Oh my God, what if he"s dead?”

“You would know,” came a firm female voice from the front. “He shares blood with you, right?”