Free Blessed by a Demon’s Mark by E. S. Moore Page A

not missing a thing.” He sobered quickly. “But your sense if you think you can do anything about this problem.” He folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Telia was Baset’s lover, had been for years until the rumors of her death by your hand started.”
    I frowned. I had no problem with Baset’s choice in bed partners, but something else was bothering me. “I thought Telia broke off from another House?”
    “She did.”
    “Baset’s?”
    Mikael nodded.
    “If she broke off from Baset, then why would the other vamp care whether or not she was dead?” I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around it. “Were they still together despite the defection?”
    “In a way,” Mikael said. “Telia broke off because she wanted power of her own. Baset loved her, so she let her go in the hopes she would rise through the ranks and they could form an alliance. Both would have been able to obtain Royal status, or at least that was Telia’s hope. I don’t know the details of the split or how they planned to accomplish their goals, but they did have a plan.”
    I guess it made sense in a way. I’d wondered before why Telia’s old House hadn’t come after her when she split. I guess if the defector was someone you loved, it would be hard to let go.
    But I still didn’t like it. While I might have been planning on it, I never killed Countess Telia; my brother did. Only Mikael, Adrian, Ethan, and the Luna Cult knew that for sure. I really should have done more to clear my name.
    Then again, why would I? I was Lady Death. I killed vampires and werewolves all the time. I’d never apologized for it before. In fact, Telia’s death had only added to my infamy.
    And then there was the fact that a Major House was actively looking for me, scaring the hell out of everyone I knew. There was no way that could be good. Sure, the major players had kept an eye out for me before, but Jonathan had said they liked having me around. I kept the lesser Houses in line so the big ones didn’t have to.
    “Thanks for the info,” I said, rising. “I’ll pay you when I have some cash on me.”
    Mikael shook his head. “No, this information is free. It might be the last you are alive to receive.”
    And on that happy note, I left.
    Bart never looked my way as I made my way to the door, but I could tell by how his shoulders relaxed that he was happy I was leaving. A few patrons glanced my way, but as far as I could tell, no one would come chasing after me the moment I was down the road. I’d left The Bloody Stake often enough with someone following me out the door. I didn’t care to repeat the experience.
    I was a mess of emotions on the ride back home. I had to take it slow. Snow was starting to drift into the road and the wind was picking up. I really needed to get some sort of cold-weather vehicle for days like this.
    I had half a mind just to say, “Fuck it,” and drive straight to Delai. If I didn’t need to talk to Ethan’s demon so bad, I might have. I was tired of all the bullshit that went with being me. It seemed like someone was trying to kill me every night, even if I wasn’t trying to kill them. That was something I hadn’t had to worry about at Levi’s house.
    I ground my teeth and sped up. Maybe Delai wasn’t such a good thing for me. It was making me soft. I wasn’t someone who sat around, watching the television or reading quietly in my room while people were dying a few miles away. That just wasn’t me.
    I killed people. I kept the vampires and werewolves from taking complete control of my little slice of the world. They held a large portion of it, sure, but at least I kept the worst of them at bay. The day still belonged to the Purebloods. I planned on keeping it that way.
    I made it all the way home but had to stop and walk the motorcycle up the driveway. I was so intent on watching my step so I didn’t trip over a rock or fallen branch obscured by the snow, I almost bumped into the black car parked at the