“Hakim was certain you would
fall for me, Kemp, if we had to go with that plan,” Seth said with some bitterness.
“He had a low opinion of everyone but himself. Then, when he,” Seth glanced at
Leif, “showed up, Hakim was sure he was the vampyre involved in Khalid’s death
and added him into his plans.”
Leif chuckled. “I suppose I
should be honored that he thought I had that kind of power.”
“You will, in time,” Rikard
pointed out. “Given who your Sire is.”
“So I’ve been told, more
often than I like actually. I’m quite happy doing what I do and avoiding
battles like the one tonight. Human crooks are much easier to deal with.”
“What are you going to do
now?” Kemp asked, turning his full attention back to Seth.
“Try to find a job again. I
had a good one until Hakim got his hooks into me. For the last two years I’ve
been living with him, a virtual prisoner, while he waited for the propitious
moment to make his move.”
“Do you know how he knew
Kemp and I were involved in Khalid’s death?” Trevor asked.
“He knew Khalid wanted to
take out Rian Marston, and approved. I suspect he was hoping to eliminate Khalid
afterwards, if he was successful, and take over as King in Rian Marston's
place. Anyway, they both knew that Rian’s son, you,” Seth looked at Kemp, “had
become involved with a young vampyre. When you two were forced apart, and yes
that was common knowledge in some circles, Khalid captured, seduced and
destroyed Owen, while waiting for you to come back looking for him.” He smiled
tightly. “It didn’t end as they’d planned and Hakim was furious. He figured,
rightly so it seems, that you were instrumental in Khalid’s death, Kemp. But he
also figured you couldn’t have done it alone. Since you’re a known cohort of
Trevor’s, it stood to reason that he was there too, as well as some vampyre
that had to have been a friend of yours.”
Seth paused to catch his
breath after the long explanation. “I guess that’s about it, or at least as
much as I know.”
“Would anyone mind if we
found a more comfortable place to continue this discussion,” Leif asked as he
got to his feet.
“I suggest my home. That way,
if the sun comes up before we’re finished, you and Seth here will be safe,”
Rikard said.
“You’d let dhampirs know
where you live?” Seth asked in surprise.
“Kemp has already been there
and I suspect he’s told Trevor. Even if he hasn’t, I trust them not to do me
harm. So, shall we adjourn to, as Leif said, a more comfortable location?”
No comments:
Post a Comment