VIOLET DAWN

Chapter 36

"Highlander."

Patrick heard his friend enter the study, but continued to read the letter in front of him. He knew what Ismail was there for, he had been avoiding the conversation for two days. He didn't want to speak about her.

"I don't recall seeing you afraid before," Ismail made the offhanded remark as he moved to sit in one of the empty settees across the room. Patrick knew the Ottoman was goading him, but it worked nevertheless.

"I'm not afraid. I'm just not interested in having this conversation."

"I see," his friend's response was dry. Too dry. What the hell did the man want? What was Patrick supposed to say? He fell in love, had been about to propose and the very woman he wanted to spend his life with had tried to kill him.

She was a slayer for God's sake, a slayer! The Vampire Clan laws were clear where slayers were concerned. Once Alexander arrived in London, three leaders will have convened and it would fall to him as the head of this territory to sentence Violet to death.

The loud 'crack' that complimented his dark thoughts drew Patrick's gaze to the broken pen between his fingers.

"Did the writing object offend you, Highlander?"

Patience wearing thin, Patrick pushed back his chair. "What do you want?"

"I want you to talk." Ismail looked at him with compassionate eyes which made everything worse. Patrick didn't need compassion, he didn't want compassion, he was trying to be cold. He wanted to cut out his heart and stop feeling the betrayal, the sorrow, the longing...

"I still want her, Ismail. She almost killed me, she tried to kill you and all I can think about is holding her in my arms."

"I understand."

Patrick stood suddenly, toppling his chair with a satisfying crash. "Do you? How can you? In a few hours I will need to sentence the woman I love to die, do you understand that?"

The silence in the study was deafening and then Ismail stood, his expression determined.

"I will give you no false hope, Highlander. But, I saw that woman's expression when I stepped into that room two nights ago. I can not explain it but I feel there is an explanation... a reasoning. I do not believe she is a slayer."

A lump formed in Patrick's throat as he shook his head. He couldn't let himself hope. What possible reason could Violet have had to try and kill the Ottoman? She was a slayer.

A slayer. There was just no way around that. Now all that was left to do was finding out who had taught her about their race, if there were others like her and then...when Alexander arrived, he would do what he knew he must.

"Patrick, Ismail are you in there?" Angelica knocked only once before entering his study, followed closely by her brother. The determined expression on the Princess's face was worrying. "There you are, you haven't been to see her yet?"

Angelica knew what had happened at their last visit to the cottage and she had listened to him explain everything without comment, but now it looked like she had something to say.

"No, we will be on our way soon," Ismail said as he took a seat. Patrick followed suit and gestured for the brother and sister to do the same. He had a feeling he would want to be sitting for the argument that was coming.

"Mikhail and I have decided there has to be a mistake," she began and Patrick sighed.

Was everyone going to pick at the same bone this morning?

"She stabbed me, Angelica, and admitted to wanting to kill Ismail, how can either of those things have been a mistake?"

Angelica frowned, "Well, obviously that can't be a mistake and Violet has a lot of explaining to do, but I am saying I have come to know her, we all have, and even after all of this I can not help but feel that she is a good woman."

Patrick closed his eyes. He understood Angelica. The princess was having a hard time accepting that she had been fooled, that she had been used. He had the same difficulty.

"My sister is right," Mikhail joined in, "We have been going over everything we know about Violet and none of it adds up. Firstly, who ever heard of a blind slayer?"

Mikhail's question was one Patrick had considered. "Violet is no ordinary blind girl, she can move about as well as anyone."

"Fine, let us say that her blindness is no factor in this," Mikhail continued, "What about the fact that she is a circus performer? A famous circus performer. Aren't slayers supposed to keep a low profile?"

Patrick doubted if slayers had a particular profile, but he agreed that it was slightly strange.

"What confuses me is that she chose to make her attempt at the ball. She must have known she would get caught and that too makes no sense. Wouldn't she try to pick a time and place more conducive to escape?" Ismail added.

"Precisely," Mikhail agreed. "If she was a slayer, as you say, then she should want to get rid of as many vampires as possible. But she went for Ismail, or who she thought was Ismail, in a situation where she knew she would get caught."

"There is something wrong here," Angelica said with confidence, "You have to let me come with you to see her Patrick. She may speak to me, and if she does not, I can reach further into her mind without causing permanent damage."

Patrick wanted to argue. He wanted to say that 'yes there was something wrong, the woman he loved had tried to kill him'. He wanted to say that he, perhaps more than any of them, wanted to believe in her innocence. He wanted to shout his anguish. But instead, he focused on his duties as a leader of his people.

And as Leader he had to get some answers. 

"Let us get this over with."