Blood Spirits by Sherwood Smith Read Free Book Online

door and stayed there, vibrating violently. “I didn’t tell you that,” he said. “I said you were trouble, yes, a problem, yes—but only because it was becoming clearer by the day that you, and not my sister, were the necessary component. And I wanted you up the Eyrie with me so I could use you as a bargaining chip—no, not only against Alec, though that was true in part, but against my mother. Dammit. Damn it.”
    â€œWhat? Make some sense .” I waved my sword in an arc.
    â€œMy mother lies when it’s to her advantage. Like sending me to London on this so-called urgent law question, when I should be. . . .” He stopped, his profile shuttered. Then he flashed the nasty grin. “Let’s say there’s trouble at home. Today. This particular day. Now .” His voice lowered, oddly gentle. “And I don’t believe in coincidence. Yet here you are.”

FOUR
    â€œI T’S ENTIRELY COINCIDENCE,” I said. “I didn’t even know I I was coming until day before yesterday. And my parents didn’t know I was going to drive home. My dad got me a ticket just in case.”
    He frowned. But at least he was listening and not attacking.
    We were still standing in the middle of the trashed room. Since his sword was stuck in the wall, I dropped my point and leaned against the table as I tried to recover my breath. “Look. From my view, everything that happened last summer was a personal disaster. So when I got back to L.A. I told my parents never to mention Alec again. Or Dobrenica. Or . . . anything about any of you. I took a job five states away.”
    â€œYour personal cock-up wasn’t as bad as the one you left behind.” He swung around and paced across the room, stopping in front of the wide screen TV, which had a long sword scrape across the surface. “I know you think fast on your feet. Like the rest of us in the family,” he added over his shoulder as he regarded the sword still stuck in the wall, then he moved away. “It happened to me once,” he flicked a hand at the sword, “being attacked at sword point for the truth. It worked. I was too busy to lie.” He grinned unrepentantly. “So were you.”
    Swordplay to get the truth was insane, but then, when one is furious, there’s little or no sanity at work. I could tell that he was still very angry. “If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on ‘this particular day, now, today’ fine,” I said. “But it’s your turn to at least answer some questions.” I laid some heavy emphasis on the at least .
    â€œWe called a truce. Milo still holds my father’s ring.” He gazed across the room at me, his mouth twisted sardonically. “Save your breath, I know what a fine upstanding democrat thinks of that.”
    â€œDon’t.” I shook my head.
    â€œSo you did have a reason for taking off so suddenly last September, even if it was barking mad?” He looked at me and went on, mockingly, “I wasn’t the only one wondering. That’s why Alec sent for me—in case I’d grabbed you again and Ruli’d lied to him about your leaving. His theory made more sense than what actually happened, what you actually did.”
    â€œWait,” I said, pressing my hands over my eyes. “Wait, wait. I don’t get it. He did marry Ruli, right?”
    â€œOf course. Had to, since you’d scarpered. Neither of them wanted it, which might be the reason why whatever was supposed to work didn’t. Or maybe it was because everybody else in that cathedral was angry: with him, with my family, with one another, with you. Or maybe there isn’t any Vrajhus left, if it ever existed.”
    â€œBut you say you’ve met vampires.”
    He waved an impatient hand. “Please . . . vampires have nothing whatsoever to do with the Blessing.”
    â€œHow can you say that? Isn’t