The Cat Burglar - 12. Diamonds and Rubies

“Call the men together. We meet as soon as the sun sets.”

Gideon’s words echoed loudly in my head while I ran up the stairs. Then I realized I was being an idiot; as soon as I reached the next full floor, I went out the metal door and headed for the elevator.

“Why are you still up and about at this hour?”

I stopped and looked up and found my sire leaning against the wall beside the elevator.

“Gideon and I went out for dinner.”

He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Sina Beyer erm...provided the food.” I went over to wait with him.

He swiped his card impatiently over the reader. “The vampire aficionado?”

“Yeah. It turned out, she actually did kill a young vampire named Cairo.”

He pressed his lips together. “I assume she’ll never do that again.”

“Caspian didn’t want her to be killed, if possible, so we put the fear of God into her. She’s horrified of anything vampire now.” I rubbed my eyes. I was so damn tired all of a sudden, I was swaying on my feet.

“Good.” Shooting a glance at me, he took my arm. “Come on, I’ll take you up to your place. You’re barely able to stand upright. It looks as if you’re pushing your limits—again. I’ll have to talk to Gideon about this.”

I lifted my hand, trying to play down my exhaustion. I had a couple of questions for him. “What were you doing here?” I looked around, noticing the three white doors. “Who lives here?”

“Emil. I had to inform him about an incident that occurred in the interrogation rooms today.”

“Oh?”

He pulled me into the opening elevator car. “Let’s talk at your place.”

The living room was empty; Rylan was already in bed. I suddenly had a craving for crab broth. Standing before the open fridge, I turned to him. “Can I get you something? Wine? Blood? Both?”

“Sit down on the couch, for God’s sake. I’ll heat up your broth and pour myself a glass of wine.”

“Okay.” I sat down and leaned my head back and stared at the ceiling. “Gideon isn’t as much of an asshole as I thought. He even smiles sometimes. Then bam.” I snapped my finger. “He’s back in asshole mode.”

“Yes, he’s an acquired taste.” Konstantin put a bowl with steaming broth on the table in front of me.

“Do you know what a pit is?” I took the bowl and blew over the broth.

Konstantin stopped abruptly on the way to the other couch. “Where did you hear this word?”

“When we came back from Mrs. Beyer’s, soldiers were waiting for Gideon. One of them told him that they’d found a pit.”

“Tell me everything about this.” He sat down and took a sip from his glass.

“There isn’t much more. They were going to talk about it some more, then Gideon saw me waiting by the elevator, glared at me, and gestured for me to take the stairs.”

“I see.” He swirled the wine around in his glass, staring at something over my shoulder.

When I thought I’d waited long enough, I asked, “What is a pit, exactly?”

“A pit is a horrible place. The worst things happen there. Caspian and the other leaders eradicate them wherever they turn up.”

“Okay, but can you be more specific?”

“A pit is a place where people are held against their will. Some have been abducted from their homes, others were sold to them by their poor families. Every time the numbers get low, the pit master sends out his people to collect new meat, as they call it. They snatch everyone off the streets they can get their hands on. Young vampires whose sires are too careless, or lone shifters, anyone who seems unprotected or defenseless.”

“Why?”

“To fight in a cage for the amusement of a chosen circle of sick bastards,” he spat. He emptied his glass in one go and put it down hard on the table. “They bet on everything: the fighter, who wins, who dies, who makes the most enjoyable kill, who dies in the most beautiful way. In brief: a great deal of money is at stake there, and the master always claims his share. They also sell blood from rare species, victorious fighters, the right to abuse the fighter who lost them money, or to rape them or one of the other slaves—” He lifted his finger. “I don’t want you getting close to a place like this in any way or fashion.”

I had a feeling I couldn’t promise this to him. I had to distract him. “And what couldn’t you tell me in the elevator?”

“Henri Delacour committed suicide.”

“What? How could this happen? And why?”

“Searching his house, we found evidence he wasn’t alone in his pursuit to expose our world to the humans. It seems to be a far-reaching network, and he was by no means its leader. He was finally ready to talk to us, to give us information, then he suddenly runs out on the balcony. The door wasn’t locked as no one in their right mind would step out there during the day.”

“Do you think it was foul play? Did someone pressure him?”

“We’re still investigating it.”

“And what happens with his clan? Will Katherine—“

“Katherine left them to join our new clan when I accepted my legate position, of course. I wish you could become friends.”

I had so many questions, but my eyes were drooping. When he got up to bring me to my room, I didn’t protest. “I’m still hungry,” I murmured against his shoulder.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “How about I feed you in your room?”

“That would be nice. I miss your blood.” I climbed into my bed, and he gave me his wrist. I fell asleep still drinking from him.

I found out that whenever I drank Konstantin’s blood, I had a better feeling for the position of the sun, and I woke earlier and or could stay awake longer.

Thus, I woke minutes before sunset the next night. I understood it as a sign the fates were on my side: I was to follow Gideon and his men. I got the black rucksack, already packed according to Gideon’s instructions: the looking shard, different crystals to absorb the spells, and lockpicks from my closet. I chose dark clothes as the shadow melding works better that way. I put on most of my knives and slipped the sword into its scabbard on my back. When my gaze fell on India’s weapons, I spontaneously chose a long knife with a wolf’s head etched into the handle.

Using the elevator was out of the question. It was brightly-lit, shadow melding wouldn’t work, and security would see me and probably wonder where I was going with a sword strapped on my back.

The stairways, however, were only dimly lit as vampires could see in the dark, and I knew the few places where the cameras were.

When I slowly pushed the door to the underground parking open, all I saw were the taillights of a black SUV leaving the premises. There were no guards. At first, I thought it was a bout of strange luck, but then I realized Gideon must have ordered them away so he and his men could get away without having to explain themselves. The soldiers would probably return to their post soon; I had to hurry.

The street was empty. If they drove at a moderate speed, I could follow them on foot. Being a vampire had its advantages, but where to go? I had to think. A guy running through the streets with a sword on his back would attract unwanted attention. Gideon and Konstantin said I had good instincts. Pressed against a wall, I tried to sense where they went. I was pretty sure this pit was not inside the city, not in Caspian’s city. The next road leading outside was a few blocks away. Daring to run a little faster, I finally saw them waiting at a red light. I’d found the right road. Outside the city, they drove faster and I soon lost sight of the car but by then there weren’t that many different roads to choose from.

When I saw them again, they were on the road leading through the forest. Staying off the tarmac, I almost missed a small track winding away from the main road to a parking lot for hikers. Following it, a whiff of Gideon’s scent hit my nose. I grinned. Gotcha! Slipping from shadow to shadow, I got there just in time to see them vanishing between the trees. The car was parked in a remote part of the lot.

Gideon’s group was good at hiding. It was difficult to follow them and remain unseen at the same time. One time, I thought I finally had a good distance going, but then they suddenly disappeared. A group of three hooded figures wearing grotesque masks tromped through the forest. I almost snorted. Cloak and dagger much? They laughed and jeered, telling each other loudly which bet they’d won the other evening. Then everything happened quickly. Gideon and the soldiers emerged from the shadows of the trees and killed them swiftly with one sword strike. I was shocked. They had just assassinated three people in cold blood. Wide-eyed I watched them divest the bodies of the cloaks and masks. One of the soldiers muttered “sorcerer scum” when he sprinkled some powder over a body, and it decayed in minutes. What was left he mixed with leaves and dirt using his booted foot. The other soldiers meticulously shook out the cloaks of the remaining two figures and then picked up their masks. I understood they must have been vampires. At first, I thought the men’s behavior to be cold. Those people had been on their way to the pit. They wanted to watch a brutal show or abuse the fighters, bet on the most enjoyable kill. I wholeheartedly agreed with what Gideon and his men had just done.

From then on, I tried to follow them even more discreetly, watching every step I took so I wouldn’t stumble or mash a twig under my boots. Melding with the shadows was easier in the woods, or so I thought, right until Gideon stopped abruptly, narrowed his eyes, and sped to the very spot I was hiding. I barely managed to slip into the shadow plane and waited longer than I was comfortable with to reappear, but I was certain this man would wait until he was certain no one followed them.

I was slightly disorientated when I came back and had to wait before I could start to look for them again. It always happened when I stayed too long on the other side. Carefully, I crept from tree to tree until I heard voices.

“Man, this place isn’t as easy to find as we were told.” Two of the soldiers, wearing the scavenged cloaks and masks, talked to a man who was guarding a barred gate to a cave or a cellar that was barely hidden by low-hanging vines.

“What did you expect, neon-colored signs?” asked the guard pedantically, inspecting their masks. When he was satisfied, he scanned them with a metal detector, for weapons I assumed, then he waved them through. Where was Gideon?

Another group approached the cave entrance. The guard checked them in the same way he’d checked Gideon’s soldiers, again with a special focus on their masks. Then I got it: the masks were some sort of tickets. But where the fuck was Gideon? He must have slipped inside with his men, probably holding all their weapons. Fortunately, the entrance was fully in the shadows, perfect for a shadow melder to slip through unnoticed. Inside I could mingle with the other spectators. The only problem was, I didn’t have either a mask or a cloak. Another group approached, and I had to take my chances. Ducking behind a large guy when the guard swung the gate open was ridiculously easy. Behind the gate was a bricked-up broad passageway and a smaller open one on the left. Following it landed me in a huge cave. In its center they’d built a circular metal cage; its floor was covered with wood shavings. At the moment, two fighters were grappling with each other, trying to come up on top. They were evenly matched, and the crowd seemed to be bored by the fight. I needed a damn mask and a cloak. I should have ambushed someone outside, as the others had done.

Luck was on my side. I almost stumbled over a dead guy’s leg, slumped down in some sort of alcove. His face was weirdly distorted and discolored. At first, I almost grabbed his mask hanging from the straps around his neck without thinking. Suddenly the hairs on my neck stood up. Crouching down beside him, I fished my spell-detect shard out of the backpack. The man had been killed by a snake spell, and remnants of it were still dispersed over his face and mask. One of my crystals absorbed it without a problem. Gideon would have been so proud of me.

Swiping a cloak wasn’t difficult. It was hot from the sheer number of people in the stands and the corny medieval-looking torches mounted to the walls. Some of the spectators had shed their cloaks and hung them over the railing bars by the stands.

I made my way through the crowd, my face hidden behind the mask and a ridiculous oversized hood. The sword found its place between the abundant folds of the pretentious velvet fabric, so I didn’t have to shadow-meld the entire time.

Even after several rounds, I hadn’t detected Gideon. On the left side was another entrance, guarded by a behemoth of a man. Everyone who wanted to enter had to show him a strangely twisted ring. After some waiting, I could finally slip inside and instantly regretted it.

The smell in this cave was horrible. Any imaginable decaying bodily fluid hit me like a wall. The feeling of desperation and despair was so overwhelming it made me briefly sway on my feet.

On the right was a large cage. Men, women, and creatures were sitting or lying on the dirty floor, penned up in a too-small space. One of them had his arms wrapped around a badly hurt man; he was barely alive. A guard carrying a baton pointed at him. “Cole! Put that one away, he’s as good as dead.”

The man caring for the wounded wailed. “No! You can’t do this. My mate is still alive!”

“Then you shoulda fought better in the ring, mutt. Armin doesn’t tolerate no dead meat rotting in his cages.” The guard hit the metal bars with his baton directly beside them.

Another guard came lumbering over, opened the cage, and tried to drag the injured man from his mate’s arms.

When he didn’t let go, he got a kick to the head before the guard threw his mate over his shoulder and left.

“Close the door behind me, Kata.”

Most of the other cages held only one or two people. They looked moderately cleaner. These were probably for the fighters that were still able to fight.

In a corner, a woman whipped an injured man, constantly yelling at him. “Wimp! Because of you, I lost almost my entire fortune!”

When the man hung motionless in his shackles, the guard stopped her. “That’s enough. You didn’t pay for killing him.”

The woman hurled the whip on the floor. “If I’d had the money, he’d already be strips of dead meat.” Then she stomped over to the entrance, pushing a man aside who was just trying to enter.

One of the cages was hidden by a blue velvet curtain. Before I could take a closer look at what was behind it, the kicked man awoke and instantly began to sob when he saw his mate was gone. “Robbie—"

“Silence, mutt!” The guard hit the cage wall again.

I don’t know what compelled me to follow Cole through the small doorway where he’d disappeared with Robbie’s body. I watched him throw the badly wounded man onto a large pile of bodies. Pressing myself against the wall, I let him pass me until I reluctantly approached Robbie. The man groaned, whispering a name again and again. I knew I had to look for Gideon and the soldiers, but I couldn’t. I crouched down. “Hey.”

Robbie looked at me through the slits of his swollen eyes. His entire body was one bruise. “Vampire.”

I bent down to him and sniffed. “Wolf-of silver. Why don’t you heal yourself?”

“Lost too much b-blood and strength.”

“Can I do something?”

“Mate, Wolfgang.”

I needed a second before I understood what he wanted. “He’s alive.”

“Give me blood.”

I sat back and stared at him. ”Blood? My blood?”

“Small amount quickens healing.”

I looked at his wrecked body. “Would you heal all right?”

“No broken bones.”

What to do? I didn’t know much about other species. Where was Konstantin when I needed him? Looking at Robbie’s pleading eyes, I bit into my wrist and let the blood drop on his lips. In the other room was some kind of commotion, but fortunately, no one came in.

“Enough.”

I sealed the wound at my wrist with a lick. After a few minutes, the wolf already looked a little better. “What happens now?”

“Now I call my wolf, eat and heal, then I’ll save my mate. Thank you, vampire.”

I watched him become a wolf. It took longer than I had expected, and he still looked ragged, but his wounds began to close. “Eat?”

He looked at the bodies meaningfully, and I understood. “Okay, I think that’s my cue to leave. Good luck.”

Robbie huffed.

I turned around to leave, then I had an idea. “Wait until you’re fully recovered; don’t act rashly. There might be things set in motion that could support you saving your mate.”

He looked at me strangely and nodded.

When I got back into the other room, I saw the curtains of the cage had been pulled open. A beautiful, naked female vampire sat gracefully in a velvet chair. Her gleaming blue-black mane was tamed by a hairnet woven from silver threads embellished by dozens of blue gems. Both ears were pierced with silver studs, including the daith and snug. Where had I seen this kind of piercing before?

She presented herself proudly, shoulders pulled back, chin high while her cold blue eyes haughtily scanned the gathered crowd in front of her cage. They’d pierced her nipples with silver hoops too, and her belly button was filled with another blue gem inserted into a silver star. I had to admit the sapphire and silver theme suited her. A delicate chain ran from her breasts to somewhere between her thighs. There were obviously some more piercings in places I didn’t want to think about.

“When will she be free game, Armin?” A thin man, who reminded me of a ferret, turned to a huge brutish-looking guy. “I mean, no one will ever be enough after you had Angel; he was one of a kind.”

Armin pulled back his lips and growled deeply. He lifted the ferret by his throat. “Never utter his name again in my presence, if you want to live. Understood?“ Then he dropped the other man carelessly and looked at the vampire with narrow eyes. “You’re right, though. I expected more from her. She bores me.” He turned to the panting ferret. “What would you pay to have Sapphire tonight?”

“One thousand?” the ferret croaked.

Armin snorted. “Multiply it by ten, then we’ll talk.” That instantly induced a fierce bidding contest among the men and women gathered in front of the cage. Some even waved wads of cash around.

The huge man turned his back to the bickering posse and went to the cage with Robbie’s mate. “Maybe tomorrow night, now I’m going to choose a plaything for my warm-up.” He opened the cage and pointed at Wolfgang. “How about you pay me back the money I lost with a good show?” He waved at the guard. “Bring him to the arena.”

I followed him, slipping from shadow to shadow.

As expected, Armin went directly into the big fighting cage. When the crowd noticed him, they instantly cheered and yelled enthusiastically. Lifting both of his arms, he waved. After a while, he slashed his hand through the air and effectively shut them up. “As an apology for the poor performance the mated wolf pair gave us and to make up for the money they lost us, I’m going to play with the remaining mate for your enjoyment and teach all the other fighters a lesson, letting them see what happens if they ever disappoint us.” The crowd reveled in the prospect of a bloody kill. He bowed exaggeratedly to them. Cole threw Wolfgang on the floor beside him. Armin picked him up and let him dangle him by his foot before he hurled him against the cage wall.

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t watch this. How could these people enjoy this mismatched fight?

Where was Gideon? What was his plan?

Just when I had decided to do something, anything, a hooded figure appeared seemingly out of thin air right in front of Armin. The crowd oh-ed curiously.

The mysterious entity opened its cloak, and let it glide to the floor. Gideon! His bare chest gleamed in the flickering light.

“I can see nothing has changed in all these years. You’re still fighting against weaker opponents to make yourself look strong.”

For a short moment, Armin stared at him with wide eyes. “Angel!” Then he took in the vampire’s appearance and surprise became fury. “You have no right to wear your adornments!”

Gideon played with a ruby hanging from his left ear. “Your lock box was very easy to find and even easier to pick; even my apprentice could have done it with his eyes closed.”

Armin balled his hands into fists. “They were protected by highly sophisticated spells!”

“Then maybe ask for a refund from your inept witch. Even my apprentice could have—” Gideon let the last word linger.

“Today you’ll die!” Armin’s body contorted grotesquely. He became even larger than he had been before. His mouth elongated into a huge snout with sharp yellowed teeth. His black tongue licked over his lips. His hands transformed into paws with wicked-looking dark claws. It was the most terrifying creature I’d ever seen in my life. He was a Lykan! Now I understood the hatred I’d heard in his voice when he told me Sina Beyer had bought Cairo from a Lykan.

Even before his transformation was complete, he lunged for Gideon, who swiftly swerved aside. The crowd groaned disappointedly.

At first, it was almost beautiful to see Gideon dancing elegantly away from throwing fists, brutal kicks, grabbing hands, and snapping teeth on his bare feet.

It wasn’t as if he could dodge any hit or every swipe by vicious claws, but he might still have had a chance against the Lykan’s brutal force, if he hadn’t protected Wolfgang. As soon as the wolf had recovered enough from his beating, he tried to help Gideon. When the Lykan realized Gideon was covering the weakened wolf, he concentrated his attacks on Wolfgang. Eventually, he managed to slice the wolf’s flank open and forced Gideon to guard him. In the end, he had no chance. In a last attack, Armin landed a devastating blow against Gideon’s neck, blood instantly gushing from the gaping wound. Gideon weakened quickly. Armin jumped on his back, crouched over him, and pulled his head back, exposing his throat.

“And now, my little overconfident vampire, I’ll rip your throat out.”

Gideon was going to die, and I stood outside the cage, uselessly watching the inevitable happen. I ignored the commotion around me. My eyes were fixed on the spot behind Armin, and I stepped into the shadow plane, willing myself to reemerge right there. Suddenly, I stood behind the Lykan, India’s knife in my hand. Without thinking, I rammed it into his neck, right into the crook between his neck and shoulder. Its handle buzzed in my palm, and it flashed bright green. Armin looked at me over his shoulder with unbelieving eyes. He lifted his paw to rip out Gideon’s throat, when Wolfgang buried his teeth into Armin’s wrist and stopped him. I took my sword and severed the Lykan’s ugly head from its body. I sank to the ground.

The wolf howled. Wolfgang lamented Gideon’s death.

I had been too late to save Gideon.

“Kavan!” Konstantin and Caspian came rushing into the cage. With blurry eyes, I realized the entire cave swarmed with vampire soldiers.

Konstantin pulled me up and pressed his forehead against mine. “My childe!”

I clutched my sire’s shoulders. “I couldn’t save him.”

“Konstantin!” Caspian shouted. “Bring Kavan! Quickly! He’s been bitten.”

I didn’t understand what was going on. I let myself be led to Gideon’s body.

“Only your blood can save him.”

I looked at the master vampire who was crouched over Gideon’s body.

When I didn’t react, Caspian took my wrist, pulled me down, and sank his fangs into my flesh. Then he pressed the bleeding wound against Gideon’s lips. ”Quickly, give him your blood.”

Gideon opened his eyes, then he pushed me away.

I pulled at my arm. “He doesn’t want it.”

“He’s been bitten; only you can save him.” Caspian ignored me. He forced Gideon’s mouth open. “Konstantin, help me.”

Together they subdued Gideon, who shook his head. “No.”

“Kavan! Now!”

I didn’t want to do anything against Gideon’s will, but when I saw the endless sadness in Caspian’s eyes, I let him massage my arm until the first drops of my blood fell into Gideon’s mouth.

He groaned. Suddenly he pushed Caspian and Konstantin away with unexpected strength and latched on to me. His arms and legs were wrapped around me, his mouth on my neck, his fangs buried deeply into my arteries taking deep swallows. Everything faded to grey.

At some point, someone offered me their wrist and I bit into it. The blood had a somewhat oily aftertaste, but it was delicious.

Everything faded to black.