Page 90 of Caller of Crows
The bastard wasn't even trying to look sorry. He opened the door wearing a cocky grin on his face and stood in the doorway blocking Altair from entering as he leaned casually against the frame. "Need something?"
"Where did you take him?" Altair asked between clenched teeth. He wasn't in the mood for games right now, and if Mordyn tried to stall him, he was going to lose the control he was keeping on his temper.
Mordyn sighed dramatically. "I didn't take him anywhere. I merely helped him get a cab."
Altair's jaw tightened. "Why would you do that?"
Mordyn pushed himself away from the door and spread out his arms as if the answer should be obvious. "Because you wouldn't."
Altair frowned at his friend, frustration welling in his chest. "I had my reasons."
"Do you think it's fair to him, Alt? Did you ask yourself what he wants?"
"I don't give a fuck about that," Altair snarled. "He's in danger out there." He stared down Mordyn. "If anything happens to him I swear to you—"
"Then why are you here and not out there looking for him?" Mordyn interrupted him calmly. "You want him safe so badly, so go and get him."
Altair ground his teeth. "The sun is already up."
"Wait." Mordyn cocked an eyebrow at him. "You mean to say he's outside during the day and you can't follow? Just like every other vampire in this city?"
"Fuck you." Altair glared at the other man. "Don't you dare try to make me look unreasonable when you're the one who betrayed my trust. What game are you playing?"
"You know what I think?" Mordyn kept his voice neutral. "I think you do care about keeping him safe from vampires, but what you're really scared of is that Sven won't come back to you if he reconnects with his community."
"That is ridiculous." Altair's hands curled into fists at his side as he fought back the urge to grab his friend by the throat. "You of all people should understand." He could hardly breathe around the lump in his throat. "He could die!"
Mordyn met his gaze unflinchingly. "You can't keep him locked up forever, Alt."
Altair forced himself to exhale, pushing back against the panic welling inside him. "That is not for you to decide."
"Relax," Mordyn said. "If it makes you feel any better, I talked to Keegan before I decided to help the mortal."
Altair narrowed his eyes at the other vampire. "What did he say?"
"He said Sven would be back. He's the one who told me it would be okay, that this was part of Sven's fate."
Altair's fists clenched. Why were his friends colluding behind his back? "Why would he tell you but not me?"
"He says you're so blinded by your desires you haven't been listening to a word he says."
Altair exhaled sharply. If he hadn't been listening to Keegan, that was only because Keegan kept saying that it was too dangerous for Altair to keep the mortal. He rubbed his face with the heel of his palm.
Fact was, knowing that it was Keegan who'd planted this idea in Mordyn's head did not make Altair feel better aboutanyof this.
"It'll be okay," Mordyn said. "You'll see." He looked at Altair, and a strange sort of calm washed over Altair. The feeling was so foreign, though, so blatantly coming fromoutsideof Altair, that Altair recoiled immediately.
"Don't fuck with me, Mord," he said, his voice dangerously low. Manipulating emotions was the other vampire's special skill, and he was using it now, the way he often did on clients to put them at ease. To soothe them into doing exactly what he wanted.
As if that would ever work on Altair.
Mordyn lifted his hands in mock surrender. "Only trying to help."
"Spare me your ‘help'," Altair hissed as he toyed with the thought of finding a knife and stabbing it through his friend's chest. As tempting as that idea was, though, he had more important things to do. Moreurgentthings.
His gaze bored into the other man. "I will deal with you later," he promised.
They'd known each other for so long that the other vampire was rarely scared of him, but for once, Mordyn actually blanched.
