Page 185 of Vampire Kings Box Set

“And where is he?”

“I don’t know. We have to trust that Maddox and Lorien are looking after themselves, the same way we’re looking after ourselves. We’re loving them, by keeping ourselves safe. And I hope they’re doing the same.”

16

Maddox was recovering at home, having been brought back there by Gideon. His private sanctuary and seat of power was now little more than a prison to which he kept being returned.

He had been regaining his strength steadily, while hiding that same fact from Gideon. When he made the next move, it would have to surprise the Maker. He had no idea what that move would be. He was out of options, out of ideas, and he was quickly running out of hope.

For the moment, Gideon was distracted by being annoyed with someone else. Lorien was about to bear the brunt of the maker’s ire for their failed attempt to catch Will. Maddox was unspeakably proud of Will for not taking that particular bait.

“You lied to me, baby vampire. We didn’t find a wolf in the area.”

“Will’s many things,” Lorien said. “But he’s not stupid. He survived prison as a teenager. He’s not going to be baited that easily. It was worth a try, I suppose. But it was never going to work. I could have told you that if you’d asked.”

“There’s more sass in that tone than I care for,” Gideon observed.

“Oh no,” Lorien deadpanned recklessly.

“Lorien,” Maddox said his name in a soft gravel. His voice had returned, not at full strength, but it was healed enough that he could speak and be understood.

“I’m sorry,” Lorien apologized, modulating his attitude a little. “I didn’t want to give them up.”

“You did the right thing,” Maddox reassured him. “For the moment, we are all prisoners of the bloodline.”

“The way the two of you speak as if I am not here could be construed as being disrespectful,” Gideon observed.

“You can hear us wherever we are, and whatever we say. Would you prefer we pretend you are not a domineering monster?”

“Lorien, quiet,” Maddox said. He was starting to become deeply concerned that everybody he knew would soon fall prey to Gideon. The maker’s patience had to be waning. He was being thwarted at every turn, and Will’s ongoing survival was a real thorn in his side. The Maker would not be patient for long.

“Sassy little baby vamp,” Gideon smirked. “I know what should be done to you. You should be returned to your maker for a good, long lesson in respect.”

“Good luck with that,” Lorien laughed.

A second later, he hit the wall. Hard. He had been thrown by a swipe of Gideon’s clawed hand. Having reached the immoveable object of the wall, he slid down it gently, momentarily stunned.

“What is it with the attitude? Do none of you know how to behave? I have met precisely one modern vampire who has any notion of how to conduct himself, and he was abandoned after conception.”

Lorien moaned, stunned, and perhaps a little broken, but not in a way that he wouldn’t heal from in a few hours.

Maddox merely sighed. The time to make his move had not yet arrived, so he had to tolerate the ongoing casual brutality of his maker and hope that Lorien stopped trying to assuage his guilt at having given Henry and Will away by getting himself beaten.

Chauvelin was the new house favorite. He knew how to play up to Gideon and Ray’s need for adoration, by genuinely being the most sycophantic little wretch who had ever walked the earth. Raymond loved that, of course. He adored being adored, and anybody who could worship him effectively earned his affections.

“I have an idea,” Lorien hiss-whispered to him later that evening. “It’s kind of out there, but it might work.”

Lorien was just as keen on this ending as Maddox was. He missed Henry, and he did not like it when Gideon put hands on him. Henry was the only one who was supposed to be able to touch him, but of course, Gideon did not recognize the authority of a wolf.

Maddox hated to admit it, but he was also becoming increasingly desperate.

“I’ve got one word for you,” Lorien confided. “Orbit.”

Maddox lifted a brow. “Orbit?”

“Orbit,” Lorien grinned.

17