Cinis

Chapter 1 The night was bitterly cold and thick with fog which, when mixed with the city’s smoke and steam, created the alternative world of twilight and shadows that Valentine particularly enjoyed. The few people still out on the streets, and who scurried quickly passed him, were bundled up warmly and kept their heads down. If they’d looked up, they might have noticed that, unlike with their own breath in the frigid air, no clouds of vapor passed his lips. Which was hardly surprising. Since Valentine didn’t breathe. Dressed in his preferred black for an outdoors excursion, from his shiny shoes, in which he couldn’t see his reflection, to his goggle-adorned black silk topper, Valentine strolled at half the pace of those around him. Pausing every now and then to stop and look up, Valentine was disappointed to see that the moon was now well-hidden by the smog covering the city. He stepped back to peruse the passers-by and pursed his lips. With their heads down, and faces muffled by thick scarves, the pickings are thin. I won’t do well if I stay here. A smile curved Valentine’s lips as an idea popped into his head and he crossed the cobble stones as a clockwork carriage clicked its way down the street, to walk down a less well-frequented alleyway. Lifting his head, Valentine sniffed the air. The smell of the sea was growing stronger, as was cheap perfume, and gin. Valentine grinned. Much more promising. Adding a sway to his hips, Valentine gazed around. Occasionally a lady emerged from the shadows, but on seeing the way he sashayed along, she slipped back into the darkness. Valentine’s grin widened. Perfect. It didn’t take long for a sailor to come in the opposite direction, his own gait unsteady. He came to a rocking stop in front of Valentine. “Strange place fer a toff like you to be ain’t it?” He leaned in close to stare into Valentine’s face. “Way ye was walkin’ I wasn’t even sure ye weren’t a woman dressed as a man. Are ye?” “Would you like to find out?” Valentine purred the words, catching the immediate scent of drunken arousal, and pulled the sailor into an alcove. The man groped Valentine, who let him know he was indeed, fully male, then pushed him firmly against the brick wall. He gazed into the man’s eyes and the sailor moaned and writhed as if Valentine was touching him. Then he let his head drop back, exposing his throat. With a smile, and a lick of his lips, Valentine ignored the offering, and instead sunk his teeth into the man’s wrist. The sailor shuddered as Valentine fed. A moment later, Valentine closed the wounds with a few licks, dabbed his lips, and pressed a kiss to the still-dazed sailor’s stubbled cheek. “Thank you.” Valentine became as insubstantial as the fog around him and headed home. Valentine didn’t materialize until closer to home, opting to take a walk through the nearby cemetery. He wandered slowly through, pausing now and then to gaze at the inscriptions on gravestones and sepulchers. It was sad to see some of the brief flashes of existence those interred had lived. He was well aware that Seductives like himself and his father, Libertine, were regarded as too soft by many vampires. However, he couldn’t imagine being one of the ruthless Alpha Predators, and no one associated with the Ferals. The Aristos kept very much to themselves, much like his own kind. Libertine had a high standing in the clan and was well-respected, despite being a Seductive. Although Valentine always felt uneasy anywhere near their very Alpha Predator clan leader. He shrugged it off. It’s just that he’s so different from Father. “Hey, pretty. Looking for a good time?” “No thank you.” Valentine kept walking even as a figure peeled away from the shadows alongside a tomb. “I can show you a real beast of a time.” The man stepped in front of Valentine, the light of the moon illuminating him as he shifted into a large werewolf with jet black fur, and a maw of long, sharp teeth. “It would feel as if I was shagging my brother, you idiot.” Valentine snickered. “Some of your kind do, so what’s the problem?” “I’m not one of them, Arsen.” Valentine hip-bumped the bulky lycan who grinned and slavered as he ambled alongside Valentine. “More’s the pity. You sure I’m not your mate, either? I’d consider settling down with you.” “Quite positive. And if I’m not the right one for you, we’d both be miserable.” A half snuffle, half growl was Arsen’s only reply, and they continued silently until they reached the gates of Valentine’s house. When they were still a few meters away, the stone dogs on the gate’s pillars shook off their stone appearance and leaped down to greet them. Arsen bounded ahead to meet them. Valentine smiled indulgently as the trio bounded and play-fought. Just like over-grown puppies. Then he frowned. There was a chill he recognized, and Valentine shuddered. Mandrake’s been here. “I have to go, Arsen. You boys go back on your posts when you’ve finished playing.” The gargoyle hounds bounded at Valentine and he fussed over them, laughing softly as they licked him enthusiastically. “See you, Arsen.” With the gargoyles and Arsen still playing together, Valentine vaporized himself and flew across the expanse of beautifully manicured lawns of the house’s grounds before floating straight through the massive oak door and becoming corporal once more. “Father! Are you here?” Valentine waited a moment, before deciding to check his father’s study. That was where his father always sought to recharge following a clan council meeting. He tapped on the door. “Father? Are you in there?” “Come on in.” Libertine’s voice sounded tired, or despondent, and Valentine pushed the door open and went inside. His father sat at his ornate desk that was strewn with sheets of pink paper and peacock-feather quills. “What is it?” Valentine asked. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his father look so…so crushed. Libertine looked up at him, his black mascara and iridescent blue eyeshadow were smudged, and Valentine rushed to hug him. “What is it?” he whispered as he feathered a kiss to Libertine’s rouged cheek. “I have to take a mate. Mandrake will force me down in the clan’s standings if I refuse. He’ll use all his power as clan leader to take our home. I don’t want a mate. At least not one forced upon me, but I have no choice. There’s to be a ball in two weeks’ time after which Belladonna will be my new mate and she’ll bring her two daughters to live here with us.” “Oh, Father. I’m so sorry.” Valentine didn’t know how he felt about a stepmother and stepsisters, but if it wasn’t what his father wanted, then he knew he’d never be truly happy. “Is there nothing you can do?” “I thought of penning a letter to our clan Lord. To let him know the mating is against my wishes and see if he might grant my petition to delay it. At least until I have time to get to know Belladonna. But it’s a risky thing to do. If Hades is supportive of Mandrake, things might be worse. It would be bad enough to suffer Mandrake’s anger, but to incur Hades’ wrath can be fatal.” “Is there nothing else you can do?” Valentine hated to see his father so distraught. “You’re a good son.” Libertine reached to stroke a long finger down Valentine’s cheek. “When I found you as an abandoned human baby, I thought that when you became an adult, I would have to give you up, once you knew me for what I truly was. When you asked me to turn you, I was both proud, and afraid.” “Afraid? But why?” “Because I feared you were doing it to please me. Not because it was what you truly desired.” “I wanted to stay with you. I like my life here. I have friends like Arsen, I can walk the streets of the city at night without fear, and I like being near to you.” “Perhaps I should set you up in a place of your own. Why should you suffer the demands of a stepmother that you don’t wish to have any more than I desire as a mate?” Valentine clasped Libertine’s hands and held them tight. “I won’t leave you. At least if I’m here, you’ll have someone to talk with and confide in. Maybe we’re worrying unnecessarily. Perhaps she’ll fit in with us and our lifestyle.” “She’s a Predator, albeit not an Alpha. They hate and despite Seducers like us. If she’s going to take me as her mate, then it’s for a reason yet unknown. At least to us.” That thought gave Valentine an uneasy feeling, and a prickling sensation ran the length of his spine. His father was right. If their clan leader was demanding Libertine take a Predator mate, against his wishes, then it could hardly be to their advantage. Valentine could only hope that the decision had been made due to nothing more sinister than jostling for more advantageous positions within the clan. Anything else didn’t bear thinking about.