"Answer me, Lord of Dark Haven. Who are you to decline the power of the Dark Gift?"
Jonmarc knew he was on very dangerous ground. While many of the vayash moru around him might have long ago been brought across against their will, those who had survived for lifetimes had made their peace with it, and came to see their deathless state as both gift and curse. "Death and I are old friends," Jonmarc answered carefully. "We've shaken hands many times. I don't covet eternal life. Once around is enough for me."
"You presume to rule over us as an inferior being. How dare you! Perhaps you need to learn who your real masters are!"
There was a rush of air, a blur of motion, and Jonmarc felt strong hands pull him backward just as a flash of teeth grazed his throat. Instinctively, he reached for his sword. He twisted and realized Kolin had a casually unbreakable hold on his right arm. He was too far back from the action to use either his sword or his arrow, even if he could have broken free. Riqua was now between him and Uri, although Jonmarc had not seen her move. Yestin was nowhere to be seen, but with a growl, a large male wolf barreled toward Uri, even as Gabriel caught the vayash moru-by the wrists and flung him backward.
All but one of Uri's guards circled Gabriel. The beautiful dark-haired young man in black stayed back, studying the fight. Two of Riqua's brood, a man and a young woman, blocked the advance on the left, while three of Gabriel's vayash moru engaged the assault on the right. Although Jonmarc had gained a healthy respect for the fighting skills of the vayash moru from his sparring partners, he had never seen the undead go against each other.
Jonmarc knew he would have bruises as he struggled to free himself and join the fight. "Leave this to us," Kolin rasped near Jon-marc's ear. "This is our matter." Jonmarc could sense Kolin's tension.
Gabriel hurjed one of Uri's men against the wall hard enough to have killed a mortal. The exchange of blows was faster than sight could follow. The wolf connected with Uri's chest, knocking the vayash moru to the ground. Uri cuffed the wolf and sent it flying.
Once before, Jonmarc had seen Gabriel fight, although it had been against drunken mortals in a back alley. Now, though both Gabriel and Uri were vayash morru, Gabriel out-maneuvered his opponent with ease, sidestepping Uri's strikes.
As suddenly as it began, the fight was over. Three of Uri's guards struggled to their feet, staggered but unhurt. The wolf was gone. Gabriel reached down and grabbed Uri by the collar.
"You will never enter my houses again," Gabriel said. He shook Uri with distaste. "Jonmarc Vahanian rules Dark Haven at the favor of the Dark Lady. As Her servant, I am oath-bound to protect him."
Uri brushed himself off. "You see a pathetic shadow of the Lady. She made us like gods to rule with her as gods. The days of the mortals are ending. The days of the truce—and the Council—are over." He gave a curt signal and his guards joined him, even the darkly beautiful young man who had watched the fight from the sidelines. Something about those deathless blue eyes made Jonmarc shiver.
"You're bleeding." Gabriel's voice broke the silence after the doors of Wolvenskorh slammed shut behind Uri and his brood. Only then did Jonmarc feel the warmth at his throat. He raised his hand to his neck; his fingers came away covered with blood.
Gabriel withdrew a kerchief and pressed it against the wound. "It's not deep. He was hoping to frighten you." He chuckled dryly. "I don't think he expected the fight he got."
Jonmarc hoped that his hands were steadier than his knees. I'm the only mortal in a roomful of vayash moru. I'm bleeding. And they all saw that I can't even fight them. Great. Just great.
Rafe and Tamaq stepped up beside Gabriel. Gabriel rounded on them with a suddenness that took Rafe aback. "Uri violated sanctuary, broke Council law, and moved against the Lord of Dark Haven. Yet you and Astasia did nothing."
Rafe raised an eyebrow. "You and Riqua had things under control. Were you expecting an open brawl?"
"I expected a show of support."
"Uri will calm down."
Riqua pushed forward. "Will he? Uri just declared both the truce and the Council to be dissolute. He's gone rogue."
Rafe shook his head. "Uri has the same temper that got him killed as a mortal. He'll come around. I think he wanted to make a grand display and get everybody's attention."
"I hope you're right," Gabriel said. Jonmarc kept the kerchief pressed against his neck, unwilling to bare his blood in this company. Yestin stepped up beside Gabriel. The young man's cheek bore a purpling bruise, and he was limping. Eiria moved toward him with concern, but Yestin waved her away.
"Thank you," Jonmarc said to the small group that clustered around him. The rest of the vayash moru slipped out in twos and threes, clearly no longer in the mood for a social occasion.
"It would hardly do to hold a party in your honor and take you home dead," Yestin said with a cheeriness Jonmarc found difficult to emulate.
"Under the circumstances, I can't let you leave tonight," Gabriel said. "There are rooms upstairs where you'll be comfortable. Once it's light, I'll have a mortal escort for you. Uri's not strong enough to attack in daylight without destroying himself, and none of his brood is old enough to even think of moving about when the sun is up. You'll be safe come daybreak."
"It's going to get dark again tomorrow, you know."
Jonmarc thought Gabriel looked troubled. "I've put the oldest and strongest of my family at Dark Haven for that very reason. I don't think you'll have any problems—at least, not on the manor grounds."
"Arontala got in."
Gabriel looked away. "That was before my oath to the Lady."
Rafe, Astasia and the other guests were gone. The members of Riqua's and Gabriel's families drifted out of earshot. Jonmarc sat on the edge of a table, wondering if he looked as pale as he felt. "If he'd been mortal, I'd have said Uri was drunk."
Riqua grimaced with distaste. "In life, Uri had a taste for absinthe and dreamweed. As vayash moru, neither affect him. But if he drinks the blood of someone intoxicated with either, it creates a similar effect." "One of Uri's bodyguards didn't join the fight."
Riqua turned away. "Malesh. He's the worst of the lot—and for Uri's brood, that's saying something."
"Malesh is old enough in the Dark Gift to be dangerous, and young enough that he doesn't truly understand the power, or the limitations." Gabriel moved to a cabinet on the far side of the room and returned with a goblet of brandy, which Jonmarc accepted gratefully. The strong liquor steadied him.
"What's in it for him?"
Gabriel shook his head. "No one knows. Rafe hopes that Uri is all bluster. Uri may be— but I'm not so confident about Malesh. Uri is vain and arrogant. Malesh is hungry and clever. It's a bad combination."
"Astasia's question, about Carina. Do you think Carina will be in danger if she comes to Dark Haven?"
Riqua and Gabriel exchanged glances. "I •don't think that either you or Carina should leave the grounds of Dark Haven without a guard," Gabriel said. "Astasia's goal isn't overthrowing you. Bedding you, perhaps."
"Not interested."
"Don't worry—Astasia's hardly the type to pine. She enjoys the chase. Astasia may try to bait Carina—she'd enjoy giving the impression that there was something between the two of you. But I don't think she has any reason to do harm. She tends to pick the men who offer the least resistance."
"I'll talk with Rafe," Riqua said. "He can be damnably hard-headed, but he's got to recognize that Uri's pushing this too far. We didn't get rid of Arontala just to raise a new threat inside the Council itself." She signaled to her brood that it was time to leave.