"there are overlords and region masters who abuse their tithes. but many use them for what they are intended," daegan assured her. "to protect and enhance the lives of all the vampires in their district. it is a closely connected, interdependent network."

"but one that hasn"t ever included you," anwyn observed. "why do they hate you?" daegan looked startled they"d noticed it, which surprised gideon, because it had been just as obvious to him. so he supplied the answer for her. "whatever"s different, whatever they can"t defend themselves against, they fear. unlike humans, they don"t give a rat"s ass about pretending to be fair-minded or tolerant. he can melt in the shadows and never be seen again.

he could kill off the entire vampire population, one by one, and they"d never have a chance against him. he"s not just an assassin. he"s a ghost, just like they call him." something in daegan"s dark eyes made him reluctant to continue in the same frank manner, but he knew the reminder was needed. "they"ll turn on you if steve and barb plant enough seeds. you can already see it happening. you said it yourself. your mother"s gone. you"ve done a lot of cleanup; they"ve passed more stringent rules about making vampires, et cetera.

now they feel more comfortable testing you, seeing if you"ll prove their fears right, that you"ll try to take over their narrow little psycho world."

"for a loner, you know a great deal about politics, vampire hunter."

"some of the same shit happens in vampire hunting cells. hell, anytime more than two human beings get together in the same room. there were times i thought what i was fighting alongside might be as bad as what i was fighting against." gideon smiled grimly, but brought anwyn back to the chair between them, squeezed her still-too-cold hands. "feeling better, honey?"

"as opposed to what?" she sighed. sliding her feet out of her shoes, she braced the stockinged soles on gideon"s bent knee and leaned into daegan"s side. "how is it that you two, when you combine forces, always make me feel things will be okay, even when everything tells me things are going to hell in a handbasket?"

"we"re good bullshitters," gideon offered.

"but i can read your mind."

daegan pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "it"s because he and i are united in one resolve.

nothing is going to harm you, ever again, no matter what we have to do."

"then make sure you both stay okay." she put a hand on his face, one on gideon"s, linking them to her. "you can"t protect me from everything, but if i know you two will be there, no matter what happens to me, i"ll be okay. i mean that for tonight, too. you"ve told me about vampire dinners." her gaze lifted to daegan. "tonight they become reality. i know i"m the low man on the totem pole, so it"s possible"-she bit her lip, firmed her voice, though they both heard the quaver-"they might want to test me with some of their games."

"no, dearest. they"ll test your servant, and your command of him." daegan cast a faintly apologetic look at gideon for using him as the sacrificial lamb to reassure her, though gideon knew it was only the truth. "this is the council, anwyn. while there are power games that go on within territories that might demand shows of sexual and physical submission by younger vampires, the council typically doesn"t dirty their hands with that. they will test gideon"s obedience to you, however." daegan met gideon"s eyes. "and they can be ruthless."

"then we should leave now," anwyn said.

"it was my original intention. but they have made it clear they will oppose that. how stringently, i do not know. gideon, if you think you cannot handle what may happen tonight, then now is the time to tell me. i can send you back to the plane, and have you flown out of here."

"what will happen to you and anwyn?"

"we will be fine. their ire will be toward me. anwyn is a fledgling in the company of a stronger vampire. the responsibility is mine."

"but you"ve applied to be her guardian of sorts. that will ruin that chance."

"i tire of repeating this to you both." daegan said with an edge. "i do not need their approval for any of my actions."

"being ostracized by this group can be about as bad as a physical attack, particularly for anwyn. that"s why you brought her here, to get validated, right?" gideon glanced toward anwyn. "i can handle this. i will handle this. i"ve faced death and torture." he forced himself to hold her gaze, though his tongue had difficulty with the words. "if some council member wants me to suck his dick or have every one of them take me in the ass to prove i"m subservient enough for them, then i"ll do it. it"s one night out of my life. it"s my choice, which was a hell of a lot more than you got, right? and hell, as daegan said, that night in the weapons room was about preparing me for this, right? i passed that test; i"ll pass this one." rising to his feet, his hands sliding from anwyn"s, he nodded. "i"m going to go take a shower.

probably the first of a hundred tonight."

she could tell he hadn"t liked comparing that night to this, the only comfort anwyn took from his words. she watched him disappear into the bathroom area and looked up at daegan.

"if that"s what happens, he"ll do it, but it will break something in him." it will break something in me.

daegan cupped her face, his fingers sliding along her cheek. "nothing can break you, cher." you'd be surprised. a trembling fear grew in her belly a little more every day, telling her what she"d told gideon earlier. once she got past the drama of being initiated in the vampire world, she"d be in for some major post-traumatic effects from the alley and everything that had happened since.

daegan bent, pressed his forehead to hers. "oh, cher."

"i survived. i"ll be fine. but he . . . it"s not fair, daegan."

"he loves you, anwyn. i don"t know if he loves you, or the idea of having a woman to protect with everything he is, but in this moment it is all the same. love is vital, not fair. fair doesn"t really matter."

"i think i love him as well." she managed a half smile. "both the idea and the actual man." daegan nodded, unsurprised. "i saw it in your eyes when you let him lay down upon you in the queen"s bedchamber. it took me months before you could relax when i did that. it took him minutes."

though he displayed no hurt about that, anwyn understood his emotions a little better than that. "it took him minutes because it took you months," she said truthfully. "what took me so long to see in your eyes, i didn"t forget, not once i learned what it looked like. i saw it in his, recognized it. if i"d trusted that feeling sooner, maybe i would have become your servant, and then all of this would have been different."

daegan shook his head. "you are no servant, anwyn." when her lips curved, he chuckled.

"i know. neither is he. you"ve acquired the most terrible servant possible."

"no. i"ve acquired the best."

her vampire"s eyes darkened in fierce agreement, his mouth firming. "then tonight, focus all you are on helping him. he will think he can shut it all out, everything they do to him. he will believe if he goes on autopilot, he will be all right. vampires are the cruelest, most clever dominants imaginable. they can take away the deepest anesthetic of the soul, hold it above a human head and laugh as he struggles for it. as a result, he will need the sanctuary of your soul-the soul of the best dominant i know-to survive tonight." 13

go numb. just as daegan predicted, that was what gideon had decided would be his best strategy. she could hear it in his mind when he came out of the shower at last. she hated to knock him out of his false calm so quickly, but she"d been thinking. presentation, drama . . .

the impact of appearance. these were all parts of her skills, and she was keenly aware they would be useful tonight. looking through the extra wardrobe items she"d brought also gave her something to do other than go insane at the idea that she was about to lead him into the same kind of alley she"d experienced, only he"d be fully aware of what could happen there as he walked into it.

once she had him dressed, he stood in front of the mirror, scowling at himself. "i look like one of the village people."

anwyn rolled her eyes. "shut up or i"ll put my foot up your backside."

"that might prepare it for tonight," he jested, a brittle note to his voice.

impulsively, she slid her arms around his chest from behind, putting her cheek against his shoulder. "gideon, i hate this. i hate it so much. but no matter what happens, i"ll be with you.

if things get too difficult, you come into my mind, you hear me? you talk to me, cry out to me, whatever you need to do to get through it alive. that"s what matters most to me. that we"re all headed out together on that plane as soon as possible."

he clasped her hand, his grip almost bruising. "don"t worry. i can handle the dinner. these clothes, on the other hand . . ."

knowing about vampire "dinners," daegan had encouraged her to include such garments in their suitcases as a precaution. as a result, before they left, she"d made a short foray with daegan to the fetish store that atlantis had on its premises. the fetish fashionista that ran it assured her the newest line of men"s pants, made with a cunning combination of latex and spandex, would mold a slave"s body in a way that would make her order him to wear them seven days a week. looking at gideon now, she had to agree.

she"d been familiar with all the store"s offerings, but had found herself looking at them with a new eye. she"d considered the cocoon, a suit that encapsulated the slave from head to toe, trapping his arms and legs inside a tight latex mesh, with zippers at the crotch, mouth, nipples and buttocks. of course, since gideon was chafing at one pair of tight pants, she knew it was good she"d left that one in the store. for now. she"d use that at a later time, when his only source of anxiety was what she might demand of him, not a phalanx of vampires.