JК
Danse Macabre :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 60 из 427But it stumbled me on my high heels. Joseph staggered back a step from it. The others turned startled faces toward Auggie, but they weren't as affected as Joseph.
«Have you ever met a master vampire that could call your animal, Rex?» Auggie asked.
Joseph was breathing harder than he should have been, but he managed to growl, «No.»
«Let me show you what you've been missing.» He didn't gesture, or speak, but suddenly the air was hard to breathe. The air was so heavy with power that we should all be choking on it. But it wasn't meant for us.
Joseph collapsed to his knees, snarling, fighting, but he could not stand against it.
«Let me see your human eyes, Rex.»
The growing mane began to shrink. The fur that had been climbing over his skin began to be reabsorbed. His face was reshaping itself. Only when he was Joseph again, fully human again, did the air ease a little.
«What do you want, vampire?» Joseph said, in a human voice that sounded breathy.
«Obedience,» Auggie said, and there was nothing friendly about that one word. The good-natured man was gone, and the master vampire was revealed. «Come to me, Rex, crawl to me.»
Joseph fought him. You could watch the struggle of it on his face, but finally he dropped to all fours.
«Stop it, Auggie,» I said, «leave him alone.»
«He is my beast, not Jean-Claude's. There is no tie between my host and the lions.»
«There is tie between me and the lions. I invited Joseph here tonight.»
He never looked at me, but Octavius did. He put those perfect chocolate eyes on me, and his face held nothing but arrogance. Which pissed me off. Anger is bad, but sometimes, well, it has its uses.
I moved toward them. I put myself between them, blocking his view of Joseph. It was like I'd taken a punch. Nathaniel was there to grab me, and the moment he touched me, I felt better. He was my animal to call now, not just my type of animal, but truly my animal to call, as Richard was to Jean-Claude. It was sort of like a furry human servant, and it gave some of the benefits. Power, extra power.
«Joseph and his people are our allies. My leopards and I have a treaty with them. To harm one is to harm both.»
Auggie looked at me then, his eyes swimming gray like clouds with lightning caught inside them. «If Jean-Claude had made this treaty I would have to abide by it, but you are a human servant, Anita. You do not bind me, as your master would. Just as, if you visit us in Chicago, deals made by Octavius alone are not binding on your master.
«Have you ever met a master vampire that could call your animal, Rex?» Auggie asked.
Joseph was breathing harder than he should have been, but he managed to growl, «No.»
«Let me show you what you've been missing.» He didn't gesture, or speak, but suddenly the air was hard to breathe. The air was so heavy with power that we should all be choking on it. But it wasn't meant for us.
Joseph collapsed to his knees, snarling, fighting, but he could not stand against it.
«Let me see your human eyes, Rex.»
The growing mane began to shrink. The fur that had been climbing over his skin began to be reabsorbed. His face was reshaping itself. Only when he was Joseph again, fully human again, did the air ease a little.
«What do you want, vampire?» Joseph said, in a human voice that sounded breathy.
«Obedience,» Auggie said, and there was nothing friendly about that one word. The good-natured man was gone, and the master vampire was revealed. «Come to me, Rex, crawl to me.»
Joseph fought him. You could watch the struggle of it on his face, but finally he dropped to all fours.
«Stop it, Auggie,» I said, «leave him alone.»
«He is my beast, not Jean-Claude's. There is no tie between my host and the lions.»
«There is tie between me and the lions. I invited Joseph here tonight.»
He never looked at me, but Octavius did. He put those perfect chocolate eyes on me, and his face held nothing but arrogance. Which pissed me off. Anger is bad, but sometimes, well, it has its uses.
I moved toward them. I put myself between them, blocking his view of Joseph. It was like I'd taken a punch. Nathaniel was there to grab me, and the moment he touched me, I felt better. He was my animal to call now, not just my type of animal, but truly my animal to call, as Richard was to Jean-Claude. It was sort of like a furry human servant, and it gave some of the benefits. Power, extra power.
«Joseph and his people are our allies. My leopards and I have a treaty with them. To harm one is to harm both.»
Auggie looked at me then, his eyes swimming gray like clouds with lightning caught inside them. «If Jean-Claude had made this treaty I would have to abide by it, but you are a human servant, Anita. You do not bind me, as your master would. Just as, if you visit us in Chicago, deals made by Octavius alone are not binding on your master.