Belle Morte Bites (Belle Morte 4.3)

Trust

Modern Day

Edmond Dantès led Ludovic de Vauban away from Belle Morte, and through the mansion's grounds, nodding silently at the black-uniformed security guards that they passed. Between trees and sculpted hedges, rosebushes and flowerbeds, they headed right, until they reached the furthest corner of the grounds, tucked away in the shadow of the wall. Towering trees cut off the natural moonlight in this little space, but Edmond's vampire vision could make out the blocky shape of the garage, beyond the thick trunks on either side.

When Edmond had told Ludovic there was something he needed to tell him, in private, Ludovic hadn't questioned him or pushed for details. He'd quietly followed Edmond out here, and now he stood in the shadows, his blond hair a slash of gold against the darkness.

"Before I say anything else, I need you to understand that I am telling you this in utmost confidence. You must not breathe a word of this to anyone," Edmond said.

Ludovic looked vaguely insulted. "Have I ever betrayed your trust before?"

"No, but this isn't about my trust. It's about Ysanne's," Edmond said.

Ludovic waited.

"It's about June Mayfield," Edmond said.

Ysanne had come to Edmond shortly after she'd discovered June had been killed and turned into a rabid, and after she'd already told Isabeau, but in the months that had followed, she hadn't told a single other person. It was a secret that the three of them had guarded from the rest of the house.

But things were changing.

June's sister, Renie, had arrived at Belle Morte, initially believing she was just another donor, and had immediately started hunting down the truth of what had happened to June. As much as it had pained Edmond to watch Renie tear herself apart to get answers, he had been forbidden from telling her what was really going on. That hadn't stopped her. Renie had blazed through Belle Morte until she'd ripped the truth from Ysanne's hands.

"She hasn't been transferred," Edmond said.

Ludovic's eyes narrowed a little. "So where is she?"

Edmond glanced back at Belle Morte, a huge, proud shape against the star-sprinkled night. "She's still in the house."

"What?" Ludovic looked at Belle Morte too.

"She's in the west wing."

Understanding settled in grim lines on Ludovic's face. "So that's why no one's allowed in there."

Edmond nodded.

Ysanne had told the vampires and donors of Belle Morte that June had been transferred to another house, and if anyone thought that this was highly unusual – no donor had ever been transferred before, let alone so abruptly – they were all forbidden from speaking of it.

"What happened to her?" he asked, though his tone of voice suggested he could guess.

"Someone turned her," Edmond said.

Ludovic softly snarled. "Who?"

"We don't know." Edmond waited a beat because the next bit would be particularly hard for Ludovic to hear. "She's not a vampire. She's rabid."

Ludovic recoiled, his eyes sparking red. "And Ysanne's let her live? Is she mad?"

Edmond had expected this reaction. Even vampires who had no personal experience with rabids understood how dangerous they were, and it had always been agreed that rabids should be killed on sight, but Ludovic's hostility towards rabids ran more deeply.