The Bringer of Death (City Underdark #2)

The Tragedy

Barmond stared at Hugo, and Hugo was looking at the painting on the wall again. The fire in the chimney was cracking softly, its smoke rising towards the surface. In some other room, finally noticeable now that it was quiet, a clock was ticking.

Hugo turned around and stared right back at Barmond. He seemed quite serious.

"You're mad at me," he stated.

"No," Barmond lied. "I'm not."

"Barmond, you're bad at hiding when you are. Just say it. Did you want to keep it a secret? You wanted me to say nothing? I'm working for him, Barmond. As he said, my loyalty goes to him, first and foremost."

Barmond diverted his eyes, even if that was a show of his doubt and weakness. Said like that, it did sound a bit selfish of him to be mad at Hugo. But that did not change his feeling or the fact that he felt betrayed.

"What did you want me to do, Barmond?" Hugo asked. He was not angry, his tone was very calm, but a little cold.

"Keep it for yourself. Maybe." Barmond rubbed his feet together, realised that he had done so, and stopped. "I was thinking... you know that if any other vampire knew that I had done that, that I would be sentenced to death, right?"

"Ranphoros is not another vampire."

"I don't feed on Ranphoros," answered Barmond immediately. "Ranphoros is one person too many that knows, now."

"That doesn't change my position on the matter. I still must tell him."

"You did not have to. I'm not... I am not dangerous. I can control myself. Besides, you're the one that's suppose to handle me, right? I'm not under your orders?"

And, in everyone's eyes, Barmond belonged to Hugo. He had been given to him. The thought, intrusive, came into Barmond's mind and Barmond couldn't quite chase it. And Hugo was saying nothing, he seemed like he was thinking about what to say to Barmond.

Eventually, he sighed and came to sit next to Barmond, on Ranphoros' seat. Hands on his thighs, he stared out in the emptiness for a moment, then looked at Barmond again.

"I didn't think you viewed thing that way," Hugo said. "You should have told me."

Barmond hesitated before answering.

"I should have." He rubbed his face. "I should have thought about it. We're not... we're not isolated."

"What do you mean?"

"We're still living together in this nest. Even if we're... a bit more..." Barmond made some vague gestures with his hands. "Closer. I'd say."

"You'd say?"

Barmond did not need to look at Hugo to hear the smile in his voice.

"A bit," Barmond added.

"Closer. Yeah. That's a word that you can use if you want."

Barmond had to chuckle a little. He knew that it was an understatement and, yet, as he was sitting in Ranphoros' reception room, he couldn't bring himself to say anything more specific. It was like bringing it outside of Hugo's room, even when they were alone, might somehow break the tenuous connection they had.

"I did not mean to drive you in a corner with Ranphoros," Hugo said. "I was just wondering when you would say it and was surprised when you didn't because it seemed important. Besides, knowing Ranphoros, I also knew that he would be furious if he discovered that on his own and would have taken it as an active betrayal. It wouldn't have been fair to him."

Barmond nodded but did not answer. He was thinking.

"And I guess," he said, after a while, "that it's not fair of me to put all the blame on you."