Page 15 of Resurrection
“You’ve dealt with golems before,” Sei pointed out. Sam more often than Sei. They drove through downtown now. Streets dark and mostly empty. The late spring weather still dropping chilling air at night. He should have brought a coat. Or maybe dressed in more than pajamas.
“Only to set them on fire. Melt the clay, dilute it with water, breaks the spell.” Sam stared at Forest who remained mostly motionless but looking human. The golem didn’t react at all to the idea of being destroyed. Seiran was certain he could unravel the spells binding him rather than outright destroying the golem, but not until he located the one who had created it. At least that was something he could focus on.
“Does Max have books on necromancy?”
“Maybe?” Sam shrugged. “He’s got that big vault of stuff that the rest of us don’t get to see much, including a list of all the vampires in existence. But you can ask.”
“Is he more likely to say yes to me, or to Luca?” Sei asked, wondering if Luca, one of Sam’s lovers who also happened to be Max’s son, might have more access.
“We’ll ask and see, yeah?” Sam said. The car pulled into the parking garage of a luxury high rise, which didn’t surprise Sei at all. Max never stayed in one place long. He’d been in Minneapolis for a while, and had taken over St. Paul when Gabe had gone to ground. But he traveled enough that he bounced place to place rather than nesting anywhere.
The driver had them buzzed through the security gate and drove them to a guarded elevator. “Intense security,” Sei said. It reminded him of a military base rather than a complex of condos.
“This is a vampire only building. Max uses it for meetings and visiting vampires. He pretty much only stays here now when in town. Feels a bit like a prison to me.” Sam said. The car slowed to a stop and the driver got out to open the door.
This area of town was more the CEO end of the high-rises. It was a little shocking to find a vampire specific building standing in the middle of it all. Max was a CEO of a couple dozen businesses, some bigwig in the business world. He had money, power, and the attitude to go with them. He’d taken over running a lot of Gabe’s businesses, and Sei had been grateful. Sei did not have a business degree nor did he care for all the upkeep, but he did have a growing stream of revenue from all those businesses that far outweighed what he made at the Dominion. Would Gabe be able to take over his businesses again? What about the bar? Sei still worked there some weekends to clear his head of all the bullshit red tape of the magic world.
“There’s just so much,” Seiran muttered. “Not the best time.”
“Never is, Ronnie.”
They got out and Sam led Sei to the elevator, taking them up to the penthouse. Sei’s gut clenched as they traveled higher, the tiny box making it hard to breathe. Or maybe it was the anxiety over having to see him again after all these years.
Gabe’s arm sprouted branches, leaves, and flowers, the earth eating away at it. His grip crumbled with his strength as the muscles dissolved into fine particles of earth.
The memory was vivid and intense enough that Sei staggered. Sam steadied him, but said nothing, not even to snark. He did pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and hand it over. Only then did Sei realize tears were falling again. Dammit.
He wiped at his face and sucked in large gulps of air, trying to prepare as the elevator finally stopped at the penthouse, the doors sliding open to the giant space fit for a king. Max always did live large.
“Rou,” Max greeted from his spot on the couch across the room. He had a laptop open in front of him and seemed to be centered on it. If there had been shifters there, they were gone now.
Sam stepped out of the elevator first, the guards staying behind. Seiran followed, with Forest trailing behind like some strange magical duckling.
“Interesting,” Max said. “Death puppets are complicated.”
Of course, he’d recognize the thing. “Do you have books on necromancy I can borrow?” Sei asked, trying not to panic as his heart sped up. Where was Gabe? Would Sei fall apart the second he saw him? Fuck, he was not ready for any of this.
“I’ll have to make a few calls.” Max’s gaze lingered on the golem. “Strong magic.”
“It was unraveling,” Sei said. “My magic fuels it now.”
“Partially,” Max agreed. He, as a vampire, didn’t really have magic, but he did seem to understand it better than most. The structure portion of mortal magic seemed to appeal to him, so he’d studied it, found and memorized every book he could find on it. Which was why he had a vast library of things not even the Dominion knew. Some of the darkest books ever written were hidden away in Maxwell Hart’s private library.
“I need to find who created it before unraveling it,” Sei informed him. “Until then I have to keep control of it.”
“It will be easier to control it if you give it blood,” Max said. “Everything is so much easier to control with blood.”
Fucking vampires and their obsession with blood. Sei was suddenly very tired. “Where is Gabe? I’d like to go home and get some sleep. Some of us have to work regular mundane jobs.”
“You don’t actually,” Max corrected. “I manage your money. You’re one of the richest witches in the world, even if you pretend otherwise.” He set the computer aside and stood, stretching like he’d been sitting too long. Max was an attractive man, tall, dark, and dangerous. He came across as wealth and sophistication, but underneath was a barely veiled layer of ruthlessness. Sam basked in it, all vampires sort of did, so Seiran didn’t blame him, but it made Sei’s anxiety rise. “Would it help to hash out your irritation here?” Max prompted.
“Irritation? At what? Being dragged out of my home at this late hour?” Sei folded his arms across his chest. He’d rather deal with a dozen rabid golems than this vampire bullshit.
“At the fact that he and I were once lovers?” Max said without emotion.
“No.” The reminder squeezed Sei’s heart like it was clenched in someone’s fist. Seiran wasn’t at all like Max. If Gabe liked men like Max, what did that mean for their relationship? Had it all been a power play? “Are we done here?”
Max crossed the room and slid back one of those giant doors to reveal a room. For a minute Sei was worried Gabe would be naked in bed or something after being thoroughly fucked by Max. But the room wasn’t even a bedroom, more of a sitting area with a few bookshelves and several armchairs. Gabe was sitting in one of them, eyes closed, almost appearing to be asleep.