Incarnatio by Lynn Viehl Page A

happen to you,
sweetie. You were a victim.” She held the girl as she wept, and then gently
compelled her to forget about the countess and everything that had happened
since she had been abducted. She then spoke to the unit’s psychiatrist, and
made sure that Luce would be treated for sexual addiction as well as her
other injuries.
    Lucan called for several
buses to transport the mortals from the Sunset Sails to a private compound
in Miami he had set up to provide temporary sanctuary for the Kyn refugees
fleeing the Brethren in Europe. Rafael travelled with them, and promised to
see to it that each survivor was returned to his country and family, as soon
their memories were wiped clean and they were provided with a plausible
explanation for the length of their disappearance.
    The ownership of the
Sunset Sails was quickly transferred from the Hungarian holding company that
had purchased it over the summer to one of Lucan’s private corporations. He
hired a demolition company and scheduled the old hotel to be torn down
within the month. As soon as it was, he planned to have the rubble taken by
cargo ship to be dumped in a deep trench in the Atlantic, and then have his
landscapers go in and burned over and plowed under the property several
times, just to be sure.
    Jamys had a great deal of
explaining to do, but the strain of speaking kept his voice at a whisper for
another day. The following evening he was able to sit down with Lucan and
Samantha and explain what he had done.
    “I convinced Chris that I
meant what I had her say for me,” he said. “That is why the countess
believed me, because Chris believed me.”
    “She’s not that easy to
fool,” Samantha said. “You must be one hell of an actor.”
    Jamys thought of his
mother, who had allied herself with the Brethren but lied to her husband and
family to make them believe her still loyal to the Kyn. “’Tis a family
skill, I think. One I hope I will not have to use very often.”
    “How did you know the
mortals would obey you and expel the countess?” Lucan wanted to know.
    “I already knew that they
could not be compelled by l’attrait ,” he
admitted. “But while she occupied their bodies, she was not actually part of
the flesh. My talent compels the body as much as the mind, so I gambled that
their bodies would obey me.” He noticed Chris standing beyond the tables.
From her expression he knew she had heard every word. “Would you excuse me?”
    His friend folded her
arms as he walked over to her. “You lied to me.”
    “If I had told you my
true intentions, she would have discovered them. The ruse was necessary.” He
took her hands in his. “Am I forgiven?”
    “You rescued me and
almost four hundred other zombies, plus Lucan and Sam, and you have the
sexiest voice I’ve ever heard from a guy..” She cocked her head. “You’ll be
lucky if I don’t turn into a love-crazed groupie and start stalking you.”
    Jamys kissed her
forehead. “I can think of many fates much worse than that.”
    “Where is that damned
assassin, and what has he done with my son?” a low, rough voice called out.
Thierry Durand stalked into the club, followed by his exasperated sygkenis,
Jema Shaw, who had to trot to keep up with him.
    “Suzerain Lucan,” Jema
said, dropping a fast curtsey. “I apologize in advance for my lord.”
    “She apologizes before he
messes up.” Samantha leaned over. “Now might be a good time to learn how to
do that.”
    “On your behalf, or my
own?” he countered.
    “You.” Thierry stopped in
front of the table and pointed at Lucan. “You are a ruling lord now. What do
you imagine that means?”
    Lucan stroked his chin
thoughtfully. “I can have you thrown out of here, or into the dungeon – if I
had a dungeon – or–“
    “It means that for once
in your miserable life, you have responsibilities,” Thierry snarled. “I send
my only child here for sanctuary, so that he