At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost Page B

planes as he listened. Then he said, “Right. We’ll see you shortly,” and hung up.
    “Well?” I prodded.
    “Mencheres is summoning me to his house to discuss a proposition he has for me.”
    I frowned. “Why couldn’t he just tell you whatever it is over the phone?”
    “It must be important, pet,” Bones snorted. “My grandsire isn’t much for dramatics, so whatever he wants to propose, it’s not whether I’ll water his plants for him for a small fee when he goes out of town.”
    Even though I was bundled under a thick sweater, I felt a chill go up my spine. What could Mencheres want to discuss with Bones that was so important, he was having him drop everything to meet him in person?
    There was only one way to find out.
     
    Mencheres answered the door himself, and I couldn’t help but shiver as I felt his aura wash over me. The waves of energy coming from him were like a mini lightning storm. Mencheres’s features announced him as Egyptian, and he had that whole wannabe pharaoh thing going on with his regal bearing and waist-length black hair. I guessed Mencheres to be well over two thousand, though from his appearance, you wouldn’t think he was a day over twenty-five.
    “Nice place you have here,” I remarked, looking over the ornate mansion as we entered. “I can see why you’d need the space, what with all your houseguests.”
    If I’d thought we’d be surrounded by Mencheres’s usual underlings, I was wrong. It sounded like we were the only three people in this mansion aside from some dogs. Mastiffs. Noble animals. I was a cat person myself.
    Bones gave me a glance that made Mencheres smile. “Don’t worry, she can say what she pleases. I like her directness. It’s very similar to yours, albeit less diplomatic at times.”
    “My wife makes a good point, although tactless,” Bones said. “Normally you have several of your people on hand. Should I assume their absence means you wish to keep our business private?”
    “It’s what I thought you would want,” was his reply. “Before I go any further, can I offer either of you something? The house is fully stocked.”
    I bet it was. This place was three times the size of our home, and with huge grounds to boot. Bones had said Mencheres kept a vampire and ghoul staff with him, plus some members of his line, and then their live-in snacks as well. Being as old as he was, he had a large entourage.
    Bones accepted an aged whiskey. I declined anything, wanting to get right to the point. Mencheres led us to a lovely drawing room done in masculine tones. Leather couches with buttery textures. A stone fireplace. Hardwood floors and hand-stitched rugs. One of the dogs came to sit at Mencheres’s feet when he settled himself on the couch opposite us. Bones had one hand around his glass and the other was holding mine.
    “Do you like the whiskey?” Mencheres asked.
    “For the love of God, just say what your proposal is already,” I burst out, since with Mencheres’s ability to read minds, he would have heard my internal, impatient wonderings anyway.
    Cool fingers tightened around mine. “I can’t help it,” I went on, more to Bones than Mencheres. “Look, I’m good at flirting with things and then killing them, or just killing them. Not beating around the bush. Mencheres had us fly all the way here for something, and it wasn’t to ask if the whiskey was good.”
    Bones sighed. “Grandsire, if you would be so kind…”
    He waved a hand to indicate what the rest of the sentence dangled. Let’s have it.
    Mencheres leaned forward, his steel eyes meeting Bones’s dark brown ones. “I propose a permanent alliance between your line and mine, Bones. If you agree to this alliance, I will give you the same gift of power that was once given to me.”
    Wow. Sure didn’t see that coming.
    Bones tapped his chin while I shifted on my seat. Vampire politics made me edgy as a rule, and the thought of a permanent alliance with this particular