Chapter Sixteen

Honyauti

My mood was distinctly black. I’d showered, dressed and sat on the bed brushing my hair for what seemed like ages. I couldn’t see all of my hair obviously, with the no reflection thing – there were no mirrors in the house anyway that I had ever seen. My hair was long enough for me to see its ends gleaming, so I presumed the rest of it shone too. There had been no sign of Will that night, which was the reason for my black mood. Unusually, he hadn’t been sitting in the bedroom waiting for me when I awoke, and as yet he still hadn’t appeared, which made my mood worse.

I muttered curses under my breath about a certain vampire, but didn’t say anything too loudly in case he was closer than I thought. He really did have the ears of a bat. I tried to picture Will’s handsome face with bat ears on either side and snorted at my own joke. Thinking enough was enough, I decided to go looking for my absent ‘host’.

I went to the bedroom door and opened it. Running up the first few stairs, I stopped and listened intently. I could hear voices coming from the drawing room. I ran up the rest of the stairs, but hesitated when I reached the drawing room door. I could easily recognise Will’s deep voice, melodious and calm as usual, but another man’s voice constantly interrupted. Although deep in timbre, it didn’t sound so calm.

Both voices stopped suddenly, and Will said, ‘Come on in, Elinor.’

No point in asking him how he had known I was there, so I opened the door and went in.

My eyes went straight to Will, who smiled a greeting, and then I turned to look at the other person in the room. My eyes met dead eyes that were pools of pure evil, and I stepped back. The owner of those eyes could have come straight out of an old Hollywood movie about the Wild West. There was no mistaking his origins, that’s for sure. He stood a little less than average height, with long blue-black hair tied back in a ponytail. His skin was the colour of dark wood and his muscular frame was dressed simply in jeans, a white T-shirt and a long leather coat. Around his neck were many strands of turquoise beads, and as he folded his arms I heard a jangle of bracelets.

‘Elinor, this is Honyauti,’ said Will formally.

‘Hallo.’ I held out my hand, which Honyauti ignored, and he continued to regard me with his flat, black eyes. Looking at Will, he said, ‘She needs to learn some respect for her elders.’

I raised my eyebrows, and opened my mouth to make some kind of scathing comment, but Will silenced me with a look. ‘Her lessons are my responsibility,’ he said, ‘she is rather young and foolish at the moment.’

Young and foolish?

‘How young?’ Honyauti returned his gaze to me.

‘Just a few weeks,’ replied Will, as he lit his customary cigarette.

To my surprise Honyauti laughed, but it wasn’t a nice sound, and I shivered as though iced water trickled down my spine.

‘She will be good to share.’ His dark gaze travelled insolently, and very slowly, up and down my body.

I definitely did not like the sound of that, and judging from Will’s expression, neither did he.

‘No.’ His voice was cold, and I flinched. ‘This one is mine. There will be no sharing of her.’

Honyauti looked more puzzled than angry as he regarded me again coldly. I kept quiet. I seemed to be getting pretty good at that these days. Will had moved, and now stood by my side. There seemed to be more to this conversation than I was aware of, but obviously no one wanted to enlighten me as to what the hell was going on.

‘How unlike you, Elder,’ said Honyauti, with just a trace of sarcasm. ‘Changing the rules for one such as she.’

Will grinned devilishly, his good humour restored instantly. ‘But my prerogative as Elder, I believe. I can claim the right to any fledgling I so choose, and I have chosen this one.’

Honyauti inclined his head slightly. ‘As you wish.’

It had become pretty obvious that some kind of power struggle was being fought out here. My money was on Will.

The nauseous pangs of the Thirst were beginning to stir, but I didn’t want to say anything aloud, in case the Chief suddenly thought I might taste good.

Did cannibalism happen amongst vampires?

Will turned to me as if I had spoken and raised one eyebrow at me. ‘Hungry?’

I nodded, still choosing not to speak.

Will turned to Honyauti. ‘Would you care to join us?’ To my relief, he refused curtly.

‘I shall return tomorrow,’ he said.

He nodded his head at Will, ignored me, then left the room. Seconds later I heard the front door close. I turned to Will to question him, but he laid a finger across my lips in a sudden blur of movement.

‘Not yet,’ he whispered.

After a few more moments, he visibly relaxed, and turned to give me a quick smile. ‘I apologise for Honyauti’s lack of charm,’ he said. ‘We have to allow him some leeway, as he is considerably older than I, and from a completely different culture.’

‘Is he an Apache?’ I asked. Apache was the only Native American tribe I could remember.

‘No, he is descended from the Anasazi – which means Ancient Ones in his language. He is of the Hopi Tribe who dwell in parts of Arizona and New Mexico.’

‘How on earth do you know him?’

‘I spent a number of years there,’ he replied.

I nodded. I remembered him telling me that night in the garden. How long ago it seemed now.

So that was Honyauti, an ancient Hopi Indian Chief. He must have been summoned to England by Will, which posed two rather perturbing questions.

Firstly, just how bad was this vampire turf war going to be, if Will was drafting in help all the way from the deserts of America, and, secondly, would he ever be able to control Honyauti if he chose to run wild in London?

12 March

I have begun to wonder now about the intelligence of summoning Honyauti to England. He has always been a little unstable, and his assumption that Elinor would be available to share was something I had not expected. The assumption had to be quelled immediately. Initially, I had called him here because he is one of the most powerful warriors I know, and our numbers in London are but few. I did not know at the time of contacting Honyauti how many people Khiara would bring with her, which is something I still need to discover.

Honyauti’s behaviour will have to be monitored carefully, and it is a small comfort to me that he is staying near Luke’s house. Luke will be able to assess him nightly, and, should he begin to be more of a hindrance than a help, he will ensure that Honyauti returns to his homeland without delay. I hope it does not come to that, however, as his experience and support may well be needed.

I believe I have become slightly paranoid where Elinor is concerned. She is, as yet, not strong and still drinks warmed-up blood from a china mug, as opposed to from the direct source. This is not too much of a problem, as regular supplies are easy to come by in this city, although I would not wish any of the Italians to discover that fact. It could easily be used against her. I fear she could be kidnapped and starved. Constant vigil is still paramount.