Author's note:  I know I know.  It has been pointed out to my by my beta
reader Kimmy that in Guilty Pleasures, it was mentioned that Philip's body
was moved to a surface cemetery and that Anita visited his grave frequently.
For the purpose of this story, however...let's just pretend that he was never
reinterred, and remained buried beneath the Circus.

READY THE HOUNDS PART III

As I flew down the corridors with Jason, we heard Kylie's voice screaming,
"NO!  GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" in desperate fear.  I had to let Jason go or
have him dislocate my shoulder in his sudden struggle to get to her side.  He
hit the floor running.

I caught a pang of deep sorrow from Asher, then he shut me out.  He *knew* I
hated when he did that.  Something must've really upset him.  I landed close
by, just as Jason plowed through both master vampires in a rush to reach
Kylie where she lay at the foot of the stairs.  "Get Away from Her!  Get out
of the WAY!" he yelled at Jean-Claude and Asher, shoving them physically
aside.

They had been whispering to each other in rapid French about *something*.
Now I *knew* my master was very upset.  It was rare for him to lose his
English like that.  It was doubly disturbing to see that Jean-Claude had been
similarly effected by whatever had happened.

Jason was cradling Kylie to him, rocking her as she sobbed, "No.  Please.  I
can't.  Please don't make me...please."  I was mystified as to what she meant
or who she was pleading with.  "Don't make you what, Red?" Jason asked,
echoing my thoughts.  "I'm here now.  Nothing is going to harm you.  The
zombie won't get you, baby," he soothed.

Zombie?  It was only then that I noticed the corpse standing there a few feet
away from Kylie.  It was male, and must've been handsome in life.  It was the
first real zombie I had ever seen, and I was fascinated by it.  It couldn't
have been dead for any great length of time.  It was slightly desiccated, but
it didn't have that "Night of the Living Dead" look of rot about it yet.  The
shoulder length brown hair seemed to be the only thing about it still with
the illusion of life.  Something about it was familiar, then it hit me...the
thing bore a frightening resemblance to Richard.  I gave an involuntary
shudder at that thought.

Placing my hand on his arm, I pried gently at Asher's shields, trying to
learn what had happened.  Kylie relaxed and seemed to calm down, then opened
her eyes.  "We are fine now my wolf," she said serenely, lifting a hand to
Jason's cheek.  He flinched.  At the same moment I heard Asher's mental voice
utter a single name in an agonized tone, 'Julianna....'  Then his shields
slams down tight.  I couldn't sense anything from him.  If I hadn't been
touching him, I wouldn't have know he was there.

I recognized it for a defense measure.  I placed myself between Asher and the
being using Kylie's body.  After what I'd seen last night, Jules scared the
crap out of me, but if Asher felt threatened by her, then I'd do what I could
to protect him.

Jules looked at Jean-Claude and regally commanded him, "Etelon, I would like
for you to tell me all about this Philip and what he means to you."  I saw
his eyes widen momentarily in startlement before his usual mask fell into
place.  Apparently he'd been a little slow on the uptake as to *who* was
standing before him.

As he began giving her the information she'd requested, Jules passed her gaze
over the zombie.  Kylie's body gave a small shudder.  I had a feeling *she*
wasn't particularly fond of zombies.  Then Jules moved her eyes to Asher and
myself.  I was acutely aware of my lack of clothing.  She'd called
Jean-Claude "etelon," stallion.  I was reminded that as Julianna she had been
lover to both vampires.  As her gaze lingered on me, I wondered if she
somehow *knew* what had been happening with the three of us just moments
before.  Was she angry or hurt that I had basically usurped her old position
with them, if only briefly?

She turned back to Jean-Claude as he finished speaking.  "I see," she told
him.  "That would make sense.  Kylie was thinking about Anita when she
slipped and cut her hand."  Jules held up a hand with a newly healing gash on
the palm.  "Specifically, she was thinking of people who could possibly help
reach Anita," she finished and moved with inhuman grace to stand in front of
Philip.  'Will I have a measure of that kind of grace after a few centuries
with Asher?' I wondered.  Jules passed a hand over the space in front of the
zombie.  She turned her head and looked at Jason.  Gently, she said, "We will
need salt to put him back properly, my wolf.  Will you retrieve that for us?"
 He jumped up from the floor and ran back down the hall like an eager puppy.

She returned her attention to the zombie while she waited for Jason's return.
 Reaching up, she twined a lock of its hair in her fingers.  Her gaze was
slightly unfocused, as if she were seeing something beyond the vision of the
rest of us.

When Jason returned with a box of salt, Jules asked for a pair of scissors or
a knife.  The werewolf handed her a pocket knife, and she used it to cut a
lock of hair from the zombie.  Then she turned to Jean-Claude and plucked a
ribbon from his hair, where it had tangled loosely after I'd dislodged it
earlier.  Asher's shields had lowered some as he'd realized that Jules posed
no immediate threat to him.  I felt a twinge of jealousy when she pulled the
ribbon loose and knew it wasn't mine but Asher's.  Jean-Claude still held
Jules' favor to some extent.  Even after all that time spent at court after
his scarring, my master still didn't handle rejection very well.

Jules cut a length of the ribbon and wrapped it around the hair from the
zombie.  Then she pulled a locket from under Kylie's shirt.  Looking at
Jason, she asked, "Might we use this for a moment until we can get Anita one
of her own?"  His face hardened.  "Please Jason," she added.  "I promise you
Kylie will have it back."  He nodded his assent, still not looking happy
about it.  Jules placed the snippet of hair in the locket alongside a curl of
blonde hair that already occupied it.

She turned to Jean-Claude once again.  "Show me where this gentleman rests,
Etelon."  He bowed and led the way down a crumbling corridor and through
catacombs.  The walls were honeycombed with crypts; the rooms, floored in
dirt, held row upon row of what had to be graves.  As we all followed him, he
explained, "Nikolaos and her minions were very untidy occupants, leaving
scraps of their victims ALL OVER this place."  His lip curled in disgust.  I
had to suppress a giggle.  The expression was just so...cute.  Unbidden, the
thought came to mind that Nikki and her crew sounded like they'd had the
eating habits of college students.  I could feel Asher giving me a weird look
on *that* thought.

I barely managed to keep a straight face as I watched Jean-Claude waving his
hand around at our surroundings in a foppish manner.  "As I've cleaned each
room, I've had to give many of them a proper resting place other than my
walls.  I couldn't very well just put them in the already existing cemeteries
up top, because, as you see...there's enough here to fill a cemetery all on
their own.  It would look suspicious.  So I've put them here."  We stopped in
front of a patch of disturbed earth.  It looked like something had clawed its
way out.  'That is exactly what happened when this Philip rose to Kylie's
unintentional call,' Asher told me through the marks.  "This is where our
Philip belongs," Jean-Claude spoke softly.  "Anita comes here often to
'remember' him."

I watched, fascinated, as Jules laid the corpse back to rest.  It just seemed
to sink into the ground as if it had been quicksand.  The earth smoothed
itself over the grave, erasing any sign it had been disturbed.

"How did you know how to do that?" Jean-Claude asked her.  His face showed
awe until she looked back at him and he masked it.  "I have been around for a
long time, Etelon," she said simply.  "The ways of the necromancer are not
unknown to me."  We all followed her back to Anita's room.

Micah and a few others of the cats jumped up or turned eyes her way as Jules
entered without so much as a knock.  She brushed the back of her hand across
Micah's cheek.  His eyes dropped to half-mast, and a loud rumbling purr began
to emanate from his chest.  For some reason I couldn't explain, that
irritated me.  'Tomcats are such babies for attention,' I thought to myself.
'Asher, *stop* that!'  I'd finally realized *why* it irked me.  Asher was
jealous of the attention that Jules had given to Jean-Claude, Jason, and now
Micah.  She hadn't so much as spoken to *him*.

Jean-Claude entered the room just as Jules was placing the locket around
Anita's neck.  I heard something fall to the floor.  I turned towards the
sound and saw Kimmy standing with a hungry look on her face, staring at our
host.  I guessed I was gonna have to let her have some time with him today.
I suspected that Jean-Claude was sort of channeling Anita's ardeur as well as
having to deal with his own.  If that was the case, then he'd need to feed
more often, and Kimmy was more than willing.  Even now I was vaguely aware of
his ardeur sending out tendrils of energy to curl around the lust pouring off
my friend.

Glancing at Asher, I caught a brief glimpse of a similar emotion directed at
Jules.  Not merely lust, though, but love and desire.  I placed myself
between them again, my body language clearly saying "MINE."  'She cast you
off, Asher,' I growled at him mentally.  'Leave it alone.'  His mental voice
was wistful, 'I cannot help myself, ma rose d'acier.  Her punishment of my
actions was just, but I still love her.  I hate that she despises me now, my
beautiful Julianna.  I would give almost anything just to be back in her good
graces.'

'Then why don't you just apologize and ask for her forgiveness?' I grumped at
him.  'Non, chere.  I will *not* appear weak before her,' he replied in an
adamantly proud tone.  'A little late for *that*,' I thought.  '*Fine*, if
you won't, then I *will*...you're about to drive me bugshit with all these
emotions she's provoking in you.'  I made to move towards Jules and found
myself suddenly being forcibly dragged out into the hallway.

Asher pinned me against the stone of the corridor wall by my wrists.  Anger
and fear warred on his face now that we were out of sight of the others.
"Have you gone mad?" he hissed at me.  "What?" I hissed right back.  "What
are you so afraid of Asher?  That maybe she *will* forgive you?  Was Kylie
right?  You won't forgive yourself so you refuse to accept it from others?
Is *that* it?"

"No, that is not 'it'," he snarled, showing fang.  "Then *what*?" I kept my
voice low, but I felt like shouting at him, I felt so frustrated.  Asher
sighed and looked at me sadly.  "I have already shown myself weak once in her
eyes, ma rose," he tried to explain.  "I will *not* do so again.  To beg her
forgiveness now would be showing an unacceptance of my punishment and
unworthiness of her favor."  I snorted, " Seems like she's already given an
indication of where she stands on your 'worthiness of her favor' when she
cast you off, Asher."  His eyes grew icy at those words and I winced at the
pain I'd just inflicted.

"I will not show weakness," he stated coldly.  "It is not the way vampires do
things."  That irritated me.  "Are you sure that's not just the testosterone
talking there, Asher?" I said sarcastically.  "Sounds to me more like male
pride than some vampiric rule of conduct."  In an instant his entire body was
pressing mine into the wall.  He had lifted me up by my wrists so that our
gazes were on a level, my feet dangling a good six inches from the floor.  If
he hadn't been pressed against me like that, being suspended in such a way
would have been highly uncomfortable.  As it was, the Firestar was pressed
hard enough against my pelvis that it was probably going to leave a bruise.

"The Absorber was COUNCIL, Tamara," Asher snarled in my face.  "As you
yourself have witnessed, she still wields great power.  I do NOT want to
anger her further."  Then softly he added, "And I don't want *you* to risk
incurring her wrath, ma rose d'acier.  I could not bear to lose you."

I looked at his ice blue eyes for a few moments before replying.  "Mon cher,
I am well aware of the kind of power Jules has.  Quite frankly it scares the
shit out of me.  But, I can also see that you still love her, and that is
tearing you up inside."  I smiled at him.  "Asher, asking forgiveness is not
a sign of weakness or of not accepting your punishment.  It's admitting
openly that you were wrong, taking whatever punishment is deemed just without
complaint, but asking that the person you have wronged not hold it against
you in the future.  Admitting love is not a weakness either.  Instead, I
think it's one of the scariest, bravest things anyone can do.  Because it
shows a willingness to risk having your heart ripped out...and that takes
true courage."  I watched his face as he digested what I had told him.

"You say that you fear the Absorber, yet you would risk facing her on my
behalf?" he seemed a bit amazed.  "That's exactly what I'm saying, mon bel
Ange," I replied.  "I can't bear to see you suffer so."  A single tear slid
down his cheek.  "Ma rose d'acier, I do not deserve you," he whispered.

"I know," I smirked at him.  "But you've got me anyway."  His laugh sent
shivers down my spine.  "Je t'aime!" he grinned before his mouth found mine.
He released my wrists, moving his hands down to cup my bottom, his body
against me holding me in place against the wall while he readjusted.  I
lowered my arms to encircle his neck while I returned his kiss with interest.
 I slid my legs around his hips, locking my ankles together behind his thighs.

I heard a giggle off to the side and broke away from the kiss to look.
Blushing a little, I tapped Asher on the shoulder.  He was in the process of
nibbling his way down my neck and shoulder, making it very hard to
concentrate.  I felt something silky brush against my bare foot and looked
down to see Nathaniel curling around Asher's legs like a big house cat,
purring loudly.  "Asher, we have an audience," I whispered in his ear.

He looked up at the assemblage in the hallway outside Anita's room with
half-lidded eyes and an extremely smug expression on his face.  Not only had
Nathaniel joined us, but Jason and Kylie stood watching us, the werewolf with
his usual smartass grin and Kylie with a carefully neutral statement.  To the
side of them stood Jean-Claude, who was escorting Kimmy.  She was the one
who'd giggled, I'd be willing to bet.  I wondered briefly how much of what
had been said had been overheard.

"Starting without us, mon ami?" Jean-Claude asked.  "Oui," was my master's
response.  That earned him a particularly vulgar chuckle from our host.  I
bit my lip and dug my nails into Asher's shoulders trying to keep from
showing the effect that laugh had on me.  That only made Jean-Claude laugh
harder.  Kimmy looked like she was about ready to melt into a puddle where
she stood.  Even Kylie shuddered.

She and Jason excused themselves, saying that they were going to Anita's
house to pick up a few things.

The Master of St. Louis extended a hand to us.  "Julianna explained that
Anita is drawing strength through me and that I must feed more frequently.
Mademoiselle Kimberly has graciously agreed to help me with that.  Shall we
retire to my rooms and pick up where we left off?" he smiled at us.  I saw a
look of panic starting to grow on Kimmy's face as what Jean-Claude had just
said started to sink through to her lust-fogged brain.  I suppressed the urge
to giggle.  "I don't think Kimmy is up to group participation, Jean-Claude,"
I smiled.  "Perhaps some other time.  Besides, Asher still needs to feed
today."  Our host bowed, "Later, then mes amis."  He led Kimmy down the
corridor as Asher set me back on the floor.

Turning towards our own room, he stroked Nathaniel's hair gently.  "Come, mon
minot.  I have much to do before nightfall and I must feed," he spoke in a
tender tone.  Nathaniel responded by purring even louder as he rubbed his
face against my master's palm.  I was smiling as we headed back to the room.

Next: MOUNTING UP FOR THE HUNT