He had made a pact long ago, a desperate bargain in the dark to save his wife, Elenora. It had failed then. She had vanished anyway, and the price had been a piece of his own soul, a debt that lay dormant, festering in the dark.
He had hoped to carry it to his grave. But the threat to Bram had forced his hand. He was calling on that ancient, terrible power once more. He was paying for his children's safety with a currency far darker than coin.
The female vampire leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the stone. "What do you want from us?" she asked, her voice now stripped of all its condescending artifice.
"Protection," Elias said. "For my son. Unseen guards. A shadow around my house that no one, not even the agents of another house, can penetrate. And I want a name. The name of the man who threatened me last night."
He pushed the stone across the table. "This is my payment. A token of my new… allegiance. Do we have a deal?"
