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Giordan closed the door behind him and walked only a few steps down the narrow, torch-lit corridor before stopping to collect hius uselessly Lucifer&039;s Mark screah his body in affront for his sacrifice

It had taken a good deal of control and prudence to turn and walk out of that roo accounted for, he&039;d stand here longer

That was, in fact, the only reason he hadn&039;t dragged her out with hi his thoughts to take in the details of his surroundings Of course he&039;d passed through this sa Narcisebut understandably, his mind had been elsewhere and he&039;d been in no state to absorb all the details Unlike The Chahly hewn stone walls and an uneven floor Very different fro arena

But of course he was already considering how to get Narcise out of this place It wasn&039;t soet her free He must plan his steps carefully, he must be patient

For surely Cezar wouldn&039;t even allow his"-and, ah, yes, there it was The sound of approaching footsteps Soe point, or there was some other notification that he&039;d left Perhaps a bell that rang in an above-stairs cha so soon, monsieur?"

Giordan wastoward hi that patchouli and cedar scent into the narrow corridor "Yes, indeed"

"I trust that there were no probleht and his voice placating "All was to yourliking?"

"If one considers a wo touched by a man no little problereat difficulty that Giordan was able to keep the great loathing froive you difficulty?" Those eyes looked closely at him, then slipped away to scan over his torso as if to look for signs of wounds or injury An unnaturally slender brow lifted at the sight of the bite marks on his bicep

"But of course not" Giordan was fairly certain there had been no witnesses-either visual or aural-during the events of the evening, for he surely would have scented the presence of anyone near enough to see or hear But, yes, he had been a bit distracted, so he couldn&039;t be completely certain "I had all that I wanted, and now I have finished"

"Very good Very good It&039;s just that I find it unusual for a htful sister any earlier than heand said nothingthe corridor

Moldavi continued smoothly, "Would you care to join htful vintage frone, but of course that is irown in Spain, is it not?"

Giordan hesitated for a et away from this abhorrent man, out of this dark, close place and back to his ownbut the hly secure, subterranean locale, the more he could learn about its layout and his host&039;s habitsand the sooner he could find a way to relieve Cezar Moldavi of his favorite plaything

His fingers curled into each other as he thought of having to leave Narcise herebut he forced theh he truly wanted to be alone-with his thoughts, his memories, his fears-his concern and care for Narcise&039;s future easily prevailed "Perhapsperhaps, yes, for a brief ti It sounds " He kept his voice mellow and even enthusiastic with effort

Moldavi&039;s face changed, a brief contortion, and his eyes widened a fractionthen it was gone "Please, then, with me," said his host in his imperfect French "And, if you like, Cale, I would be happy to provide you with new attire I suspect you don&039;t wish to be traveling back to your ho but breeches I have retrieved your coat fro area, of course, but perhaps you would accept ift of a shirt and shoes as well"

Giordan realized that his host was correct, and that he hadn&039;t given his bare feet, legs and chest any thought at all Ah, Narcise You&039;ve already destroyed rateful"

As he walked along with Moldavi, Giordan considered the option of killing the ht now It was an efficient way to resolve things; one he&039;d e to say about it Which, of course, they didn&039;t It was a plain truth: Giordan had grown up with violence and poverty all around him, and was more likely to kill ato find other resolutions

That was yet another reason, he was certain, that Lucifer had found him an appropriate addition to the Draculia

Killing Moldavi would end the man&039;s domination over Narcise, and they would find their way out of this labyrinthine lair beneath the rues of Paris

But Giordan was forced to reject the fantasy nearly as soon as it presented itself, for a variety of reasons, the si, he didn&039;t have a weapon It wasn&039;t as if he could choke the man to death or pummel him into the ether like one could do on the streets Either a wooden stake or a sword that would take the man&039;s head off were the only ways, and aside of the wooden sconces, there was nothing else that would work And to tear down a sconce, break it into a ragged point and then attack Moldavieven Giordan wasn&039;t confident it could be done quickly and withoutthat would ht have of further access to Narcise

Patience

"So you have lived in Paris since you were a child?" Moldavi asked as they approached a heavy wooden door

"Yes Although the place I lived while a boy was much different than Le Marais," Giordan said with a sidewise, wry smile

"I have coh and ith its own beauty, but also dark and sharp and difficult to navigateand I find the City of Light aat his waist, but there was a guard stationed there to provide additional security

"Although I travel much now for business purposes, I always return to Paris, for it&039;s uard didn&039;t have access to the door, for it was his master who used the key to unlock the door From what Giordan had observed on his journey to and frole purpose of this corridor was to provide access to The Chamber where he and Narcise had been There was no other entrance or exit along here, no other rooms, and certainly no other way in or out of the room in which they&039;d been

He wondered, suddenly, and with a painful shaft of horror, whether Narcise was kept in that place of torture all the ti space

They walked through the door and Giordan took in the details of what he&039;d only vaguely noted the first tiround tunnel had been in Paris er than Moldavi had

"How did you come to choose the cataco the corridor What he really round tunnels where varlets and vagrants had lived for centuries "I would have thought you&039;d prefer a chateau or some other mansion"

The walls of this hallere lined with neat rows of skulls, their empty eyes and toothy upper jaws an eerie and morbid decor Above each row of skulls were lined several layers of large bones-feuessed by the size of the out They made for bumpy texture, and the hollows provided homes for spiders and other insects

Giordan made no attempt to hide his surprise that a man as refined as Moldavi-at least in attire and his selection of food and drink-would choose to live in such base surroundings But then againthis was a vampire who bled children to death and who ihtened his jaw to control the rage Perhaps he would kill the auche, isn&039;t it?" his coly over one of the skulls "But I find it such an interesting topic of conversation At the least," he said with his faint lisp, "they are long dead and gone and we don&039;t have the rot and s bodies in thethe place where they areall of them nohat is it called?"

"The Ossuary," Giordan replied, having regained control of his temper He noted that the skull-lined corridor had branched off into two different directions and that they&039;d taken the eastern route "In the old stone quarries"

He recognized that the tunnels they now traversed were old quarries as well, but that these bones inal ones from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries The placeo were the inspiration for the disposal of the bodies from the overcrowded church ceun thirty years earlier from parishes like Holy Innocents

Giordan had traversed round tunnels even before he was turned Dracule, and noas redrawing ahis memory of the network and the actual route they took, he was atte to connect the two areas That would come in handy if-when-he helped Narcise make her escape

They came to another door at a T-intersection of the corridor When they passed through the entrance into a hallway that looked exactly like one in his own home, Giordan realized that Moldavi must simply use the skull-lined quarry as a conduit between his torture cha space

This suspicion was confir as, and Giordan s other aromas She obviously spent much time here, as did Moldavi and others

That was an optin If she were kept here, in this furnished, plastered and painted area, Giordan would have aher frohtmares about her cloistered in the torture chamber

"Please, sit," Moldavi offered as a steward opened a tall, white door at the end of a gently ascending hallway Inside there werefireplace "I hope you do notto the flames "But I tend to easily take a chill and I prefer a blaze in every chamber"

"I find it rather chill and daround, so I welcome the heat," Giordan told him

Glasses clinked and Moldavi offered him a small ornate vessel shaped like an upside-down bell They talked for some time about the spice ship, and all the while Giordan kept his ears and nose attuned for the presence of Narcise

But it hen Moldavi, after a long moment of silence, said, "I find that I will need to be absent from Paris for a week or more to attend to a business interest in Marseilles," that Giordan&039;s body ca prickled over the back of his shoulders and he sipped the very fine sparkling wine that had come from Barcelona "Do you travel by coach or horse?" he asked just to keep the conversation going, even as his mind worked madly He kept his eyes heavily-lidded and his attention purposely ju about the chamber "I cannot help but admire your selection of artwork," he said "Perhaps you&039;ve noticed I am a patron of Monsieur David"

"I did notice," Moldavi replied "He has givenlessons, and in fact, that is one of her works" He gestured to a s, surrounded by an ornate frae it embraced

Giordan had already taken note of the dark, stark is appeared like angry gray teeth thrusting up into a dark sky Out of politeness, he looked again, and then, because he couldn&039;t appear too interested, he drew his attention away almost immediately

"I see little resemblance between her work and that of David," he co of not only the lack of hue but also the subject enerally concentrated on portraits rather than landscapes, and even his stark portrait of theas Narcise&039;s world

How does she live?

Cezar gave a short laugh "I certainly concur, but the painting keeps Narcise occupied" He spoke as if she were soirl who tended to be around underfoot

Giordan had to raise the drink to keep fro next to hiainst the edge of the delicate glass He drew in a slow breath and sipped, willing his teeth to resheath thelow Cal all day," he ed to say

Aside of his surprise that the painting was Narcise&039;s, Giordan was also taken aback that Cezar obviously allowed his sister to interact with people-eneral conversation with Moldavi and others of those who moved in their circles, he are that Narcise often helped her brother entertain, and of course, very occasionally accoements He also realized why Narcise had seemed to be so fa in his own parlor

"No, indeed not," Moldavi agreed "But a thought has just occurred to me"

Giordan raised an eyebrow in question and tried not to look back at that dark, hopeless painting

"I one for a week perhaps, as INarcise and the entire household with me Perhaps since you both are so appreciative of Monsieur David-although for different reasons, I venture-perhaps youto see to Narcise in my absence?"

Giordan went cold for a moment but recovered immediately as he saw the trap Clever, Moldavi Very clever It wasn&039;t difficult to force a grimace of distaste "I hope you won&039;t think h "I expect to be very busy in the next fortnight, and ht even need to travel outside the city myself" He watched the other htest release of tension in his fingers

Giordan had obviously ht move in such a blatant denial of interest

But whatever it was that Moldavi intended, Giordan had also learned one other thing: without a doubt, the

He would have to be very careful in how he proceeded To give a ive hireatest of power

And to make a move in haste or desperation could be a fatal mistake

Trust ain

Narcise woke suddenly, those words echoing in her mind Reht, a bitter laugh for her with its ferocity, and she pressed her lips together

Trust ers shook as she skimmed them over her naked belly, then curled thehly, and held her hand there Oh, yes, she had a heart, and though it had become enclosed by stone, she still felt its soft core

What had Cale s? Particularly the absurd I pray you are safe until we ain

Dracule didn&039;t pray

And hoould they ever ain?

A little twinge deep inside told her that, yes, she did She would He had touched her without actually touching her

Cli out of her bed, Narcise let the covers fall It was always daround where Cezar insisted on living Even here in her private chamber, which was comfortably appointed with an attached parlor furnished with upholstered chairs, atable, a wardrobe, and even a place for her easel and paints, the chill was never fully banished There were no s, of course, and the only indicator of time was a clock which she kept wound

A stone and brick hearth held the fire that never ceased blazing, and it was only when she drew near it that Narcise was able to completely stop the little shivers of cold and dread She stood there now, staring into the tongues of fla the sheer lace gown she wore

The orange and yellow fire in to burn fro But deep in the hot glow, she saw Giordan Cale, in herup on ironinto her

Trust me, Narcise

He&039;d certainly proven his trust that night She shivered, but not froht heat, not cold, to her body

Yet, it had beenthe door behind hihts and confusion-not to mention a warm, sated body Since then, she&039;d drawn and dreafor so shifted in the fire, loud and sudden, sending sparks scattering on the hearth The noise brought Narcise fros back to the reality that she was still Cezar Moldavi&039;s sister, still his toy and bargaining chip, and still unwilling to trust anyone

Unwilling was the wrong word She was unable to trust

With a sudden burst of frustration, Narcise turned fro for Monique, her maid Monsieur David would arrive soon for their weekly lesson, and he did not like to be kept waiting And since the murder of his friend David Marat, he&039;d become even more ill-tempered and fanatical Narcise had mused privately more than once that her brother either paid the artist exceedingly well for his continued lessons, or that he had some other hold over Monsieur David that required the man&039;s presence on a weekly basis, despite his complete immersion in Robespierre&039;s movement

It was ironic: despite the fact that Narcise was Cezar&039;s prisoner, in many ways he treated her as a beloved sister She had lovely, fashionable clothing, comfortable accommodations, activities to keep her ood form, and servants at her beck and call She was invited to participate in her brother&039;s social appointments, which most often occurred safely in his own residence, and was treated as respectfully as he was

The one thing she had no control over was her body

But that was soe Sheso it into the recesses of her brain After decades of captivity,or changing their situation, but Narcise would not After all, she had immortality She had forever

She watched and listened, honed her fighting skills, made friends with some of the lesser servants and slowly, but surely, built a refuge within her prison

Perhaps it was Monsieur David&039;s fiery rhetoric, fueled by the Revolution happening beyond the walls of her home-like prison Perhaps the artist&039;s determination and belief that one should rule oneself, that no royal faht to iiven Narcise hope After all, if an entire city, no, a country, could overthrow its reigning faed class, why could one woman not overthrow her own personal dictator?

By the time the maid Monique had helped Narcise with a si sh time to plait her mistress&039;s hair in a fat black braid

The knock on the door to her adjoining parlor heralded Monsieur David&039;s arrival and Narcise followed her maid into the next rooan to sort through her canvases, but when she turned to greet her teacher, she faltered

Confused, but recovering, she turned to her o Bonjour, ht, and awareness teased her consciousness along with an oddin her nose She sed, tasting and s a low-brimmed hat that showed his dark brown curls, strode into the chamber with his familiar satchel of paints, brushes and palette He appeared to have had his hair tri coat, perhaps one too long for the sus as he placed the bag on a table

"Bonjour, mademoiselle," he said His words were thick and oddly pronounced due to a tumor that deformed his cheek and mouth, but were perhaps a bit deeper in tone today "Shall we begin? But no, you are not yet ready for ust at the delay was clearly apparent in his voice and stance, and Monique, intelligent girl that she was, beat a hasty retreat

David was not known for his patience nor his tact

By now, Narcise&039;s pal, fluttering emotions Was it possible? "Of course, Monsieur David I a for the camel hair paintbrush that you insisted my brother have made for me"

All of her brushes had handles hta wooden stake into her chaularly searched for such contraband as well

The door had closed behind Monique, and for the first time, the man&039;s eyes, still shadowed by the wide brim of his hat, met Narcise&039;s The irises were brown, flecked with blue and ringed with black, and the last time she&039;d seen them, they&039;d been hot with desire

Narcise&039;s sto her unsteady and weak It was him She&039;d scented Giordan Cale beneath the cloak, hat and satchel that also sazes locked, she wasn&039;t certain

She gave a little warning shake of her head even as she turned to gather up her painting accoutreers fro the brushes and palette "Ah, here it is," she said, producing the brush in question She could see, now that she actually looked at hied-just as Monsieur David&039;s did It changed the shape of his face, and along with the heavy brim of the hat, there was little to see unless one looked very closely

"So now you are at last ready for uise, stillto make it sound annoyed "But you will not need that brush today"

You are at last ready for s that irl&039;s