Xavier knew the instant Josep realized that the sorcerer had no power as a vampire. His thoughts, when they met Xavier’s, were disappointed, but accepting of the failure.
“Lord Josep,” Sakal snapped, demanding his Sire’s attention. “What is the outcome? I’m told only you would know.”
Amusement drifted from Josep’s mind, before he pinned the sorcerer with his eyes blazing power and said, “You are a vampire.”
“But what of the rest?” Sakal insisted.
“What is the state of your sorcery?”
Sakal was silent for a moment, as if searching within himself. But when he looked up again, his words were hard and accusing. “Weak,” he growled. “Weak as I haven’t been since childhood. What have you done to me, vampire?”
Josep’s smile bared his fangs. “Careful, sorcerer—if you can still call yourself that. Regardless, however, you are a vampire, and a pitifully weak one of those, too. Either of us in this room could slap you down with a thought.”
“You did this to me,” Sakal hissed, and threw one arm forward as if tossing a toy. Josep laughed, but Xavier saw it for what it was. With a burst of speed, he placed himself in front of his Sire so that the twisting sphere of magic struck him full in the chest. The shock of it dropped him to his knees as he waited for the magic to chew into his chest and destroy his heart.
And he waited.
He stared down at the blackened spot on his tunic where the magic had hit, but felt nothing. Gripping both sides of the neckline, he ripped downward until his chest was bare, and found no mark, not even the redness that a human fist would have caused.
“Your gift has revealed itself at last,” Josep said, chuckling. “And with excellent timing.”
Xavier looked from his uninjured chest to his Sire. “Gift, my lord?”
“Every powerful vampire has a talent unique to him alone. And yours, it would seem, has just saved my life.” He clapped a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “Congratulations, my child. You’re immune to magic.”
Xavier heard a gasp and swung around to find Sakal backing away in shock, and more than a little fear.
“You’ll pay for this,” the sorcerer whispered, hate-filled eyes lifted to Josep, before shifting to include Xavier. “Both of you will pay before the end.”
And then he ran, chased by the sound of Josep’s delighted laughter.
Sant Andreu De Llavaneres, Barcelona, Spain, present day
“YOU LET HIM GO?” Layla asked in disbelief.
Xavier sighed. “It was a mistake, but the decision wasn’t mine.”
“That’s a cop-out.”
He scowled at her. “It was a different time. It was Josep’s home— his territory, not mine.”
“You already said you were more powerful than he was. Why should you have to pay for his mistake?”
“You can’t understand. You’re not a vampire.”
“And thank God for that, if it means standing by while some full-of-himself vampire lord decides my future.”
“You were in the army. Did you agree with every decision your generals made? Decisions that sent you and others out to be killed?”
Layla grimaced. “Okay, I see your point.” She twisted to set the now-empty plate on the side table, then settled back, took the glass of whiskey from his hand, drank, and returned it. “So that’s why Sakal’s after you. Why’d you think he was dead?”
“Sakal thought he could leave Spain whenever he wanted. He didn’t understand that as a vampire, he was now bound to his Sire, who was Josep. He couldn’t leave Josep’s territory. Not because Josep wouldn’t permit it, though he wouldn’t, but because by entering a rival vampire lord’s territory without permission, he would be subject to immediate execution. No questions asked.”
“Josep would kill him?”
“No, Layla, the rival vampire lord would. You don’t fully comprehend the power a vampire lord wields over those who live within his authority. I know every vampire in Spain. Not personally, that’s impossible, though I have met a good number of them. But I know their . . . ” He fought for the right word. “Their taste in my mind, the sense of them. Now, someone as weak as Sakal could slip beneath the radar, as we say now, for some period of time. But eventually, he would be discovered. Not by me, but by one of those loyal to me. I have master vampires in every city, keeping track of who lives there and keeping them in line. Every other vampire lord has the same.”
“Sounds feudal, which wasn’t a great thing for the serfs.”
“It is. Vampires have been around a long time, and they live a long time, too. There’s been very little change in the rules that govern vampire society in thousands of years.”
“Fuck me.”
He shot her a grin.
“That was an expression,” she snapped, as heat spread over her face.
“Don’t worry, cariño. When I fuck you, it will be because you want it.”
She snorted. “Like that’s going to happen.”
“Oh, it is. But not tonight.”
And what the hell was with that pang of regret she was feeling? Damn it. “So what happened?” she asked grumpily.
“My Sire, Josep, ignored Sakal for months while he considered the situation. It was common for a sorcerer to travel in those days. They were scholars as much as magic-users, and Sakal was convinced he could find a way to restore his full magical talents. Josep liked that possibility, because he would have been left with a strong sorcerer who had an unbreakable bond to him, as his Sire. The Sire-child bond is one of the strongest there is among vampires. Only the mate bond is stronger.”
Layla found that bit of truth interesting and maybe something more. But it was something she wasn’t ready to think about yet, so she said, “But if Sakal left, and managed to avoid getting killed, could Josep somehow call him back?”
“It was a possibility, but in the end, it wasn’t necessary. A second sorcerer, one more powerful than Sakal, happened to wander through Barcelona. He met with Josep, which was not unusual since many, if not most, sorcerers at the time were always looking for patrons to support them while they conducted their research. And with a vampire lord, there was no need to pretend that magic didn’t exist.