In The Flesh

Epilogue 38

"I can, and I will. In case you've forgotten, Alonso, she's mine to do with as I see fit. She belongs to the Consortium now. She came at a very high price, and there's no overestimating her value, especially now that she's a vampire who can walk in daylight, now with the Guardian inside her. You may be her maker, but that doesn't mean you know what's best for her, and neither does Michael."

"She's not ready," he repeated fervently.

"I know she's not ready, and I'd never send her out into the world unprepared. You know that. But here is not the place for her training, not under the circumstances. I've been in touch with Desiree. She owes me, and she's agreed to complete Susan's training in all that pertains to vampires living amongst humans."

He made a derisive sound in his throat at the mention of Desiree. "For what price?"

She shrugged. "Everything has a price, and it was one I was happy to pay, one that will benefit Susan in the end. I've heard rumours of a siren living in New York City." She waved a dismissive hand. "Oh I know that the chances of such a glorious creature still existing are very slim at best, but the rumours have been consistent and ... well let's just say I feel that they should be checked out. It won't be a difficult assignment for Susan, but it will be intriguing and satisfying -- that along with what Desiree has in mind for her, should ease her into her new roll with the Consortium while she gets her feet under her as a vampire – so to speak. Here, she's disruptive, at least at the moment." She nodded to Reese in the garden. "In New York, she'll be a benefit to both me and to Desiree, and she'll learn what she needs to without the twin distractions of you and Michael. She wants you as badly as you want her, Alonso, and you know you're both just a breath away from doing something you'll both regret, something from which there'll be no turning back. She may want you, but she loves Michael, just as you love Reese. She needs to be away from both of you, from all of you for a little while. The feelings you have for each other are a normal part of the sire and fledgling relationship, but that's assuming that neither is in a pervious relationship or that if they are they're not monogamous. Between you and Michael and Reese, there's enough jealous testosterone in this house to make me dizzy. I can't have that for Susan. I need her focused if she's to realize her potential, and she'll never be focused here, at least not without a little space away from both you and Michael. You know this, Alonso. You know it well. It's only for a couple of months, just long enough for her to come to terms with what she is and what she's capable of doing. Then she can come back without needing you or Michael. She can come back on equal footing."

"She has never needed us. She has always stood quite well on her own. If anything we've needed her."

"And yet here you and Michael are, behaving like two stags in rut."

For a long time they stood next to each other in silence. A light breeze lifted the curtains on the French doors, and Reese now knelt next to one of the stone benches tending to some little detail in the garden – perhaps a stray patch of weed, perhaps a slate chip in the wrong place. At last Alonso spoke. "Have you told them?"

"Not yet. I will in the morning when they return to High View."

"Does this have anything to do with the Guardian's use of the angel's mark on Susan? Are you afraid he might try to take over his body again?"

"It's a precaution, nothing more," she said, careful to keep her voice neutral. No one had any idea just how neurotic she was for her people, and what had happened between Michael and the Guardian had thoroughly unnerved her, even more so when she feared she'd have no choice but to take the life of her beloved angel. Everyone else within the Consortium was allowed their neuroses and foibles and public displays of bad behavior – what could one expect from a loose affiliation of monsters, mutants, and renegade gods? It took one to know one, she thought. But they didn't have to know that, did they? They only had to trust that she had their best interest at heart. And her own, of course.