Canute (The Kindred Series Book 2) Read online

  Two of her bodyguards were outside of the room, in the hallway, while four of them were scattered along the four corners of the sitting room. All of them were intimidating, there was no doubt about that.

  Haru thought that Lady Himiko’s security detail had been a little too much considering the fact that they were in a temple in the middle of nowhere, but Lady Himiko probably needed all of the security she did after the attempt on her life.

  Canute sighed. “I still can’t believe you’re alive. I saw you get…”

  “Impaled? Skewered? Stabbed?” Himiko responded, raising a well-manicured eyebrow up. “I prefer shish kabobbed.”

  Kaguya had walked into the room holding a tray of tea and set it on top of the coffee table in the middle, pouring everyone a cup in mismatched cups. Haru and Kaguya had never had this many guests, before. She only whispered a soft “excuse me” before letting Canute and Himiko talk.

  Lady Himiko looked up at Kaguya, offered a smile, and took one of the cups before sipping it. Haru was sure the woman was probably used to something better and more high class, but she didn’t show it.

  It seemed that for however steely or strict the vampire woman was, she was also given of good manners and courtesy. Still, as Himiko sipped the tea and slowly pulled out a little phial of crimson liquid from within her clothes to drip into the drink, it was made abundantly clear to Haru that he was surrounded by dangerous people.

  Vampires.

  Haru didn’t know much about them, but he knew that their bite felt…good.

  He also knew that a bite from the blond-haired gaijin—foreigner—nearby made Haru tremble in a way that he’d never felt before. Haru had been left breathless and speechless, having to take some time to gather himself and collect his faculties. When Kaguya saw him sitting there, staring into space, she looked at him like she’d known exactly what happened.

  Maybe she did. Kaguya was clairvoyant, after all.

  “Yes,” Canute replied curtly. “It’s more surprising that you took the time out of your recovery to find me.”

  “I have need for you yet, Monsieur Canute. You must come back with me,” Himiko said. “Oda sent a very clear message that he’s not above physical force to get what he wants. He almost killed me, and he killed several of my men. This is unacceptable. An act of war of this magnitude…”

  Canute frowned. “What do you want me to do? I’m the second-in-command of a vampire whose territory is thousands of miles away. I was only helping because… because…”

  Canute gritted his teeth and didn’t continue. He looked like he was in pain, and Haru’s immediate reaction was to gently place a hand on the man’s shoulder. Canute turned to look at him and those icy, blue eyes glimmered as soon as their gazes met. The Nordic man sighed.

  “…Ranmaru isn’t my Kindred. He wasn’t even your nephew, and all the things I’ve been doing to help the both of you were for naught,” Canute continued. “I have to return to my brother and help him with the family. I apologize, Madame.”

  “You were helping more than you think, Canute. Because of you, now we have a proper trail to follow. Because someone who cuts corners and doesn’t follow the right procedure wouldn’t have been able to do the same thing,” Himiko replied. “I will not stop you if you wish to leave, but I know that you are an honorable man. Our original purpose was to broker a peace treaty with Oda’s family. Now we know that he means war, and that means we need a warrior. Someone like you.”

  This felt like Haru was prying on a private conversation. Haru shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and turned to Kaguya who was sitting right beside him. As if understanding what Haru meant, Kaguya gave a little shrug.

  It would have been more impolite to stand up and interrupt Canute and Lady Himiko’s conversation.

  “What do you expect me to do? Run into Oda’s home, screaming, swinging an axe at him? You overestimate what drengr used to do, Madame. We used to raid coasts pillaging farmlands and making things worse for peasants and village people. Even fights among warriors weren’t our strong suit. We just tended to overwhelm through numbers,” Canute replied. “Besides, I’m sure you have soldiers of your own.”

  Lady Himiko frowned. “That’s not what I meant, Canute. I would hope that your sense of honor is such that you know that we need to correct this wrong, and it starts with cutting off Oda’s resources. We have a plan—”

  Canute interrupted her, shaking his head. “With all due respect, Madame, I’m not one for plans. I follow orders. I am a pawn. I am the one you call when you have a task that needs doing, and then I do what must be done. If you need help with this, I can bring the concern up to Cyrus.”

  It seemed as though Lady Himiko’s face was scrunched up and her eyes were narrowed at Canute. Finally, though, she sighed and shook her head. “Oda and his Kindred have hurt us both. You know this to be true. He managed to use magic against me, and in my hubris, I believed myself impenetrable. I can’t even imagine how you must feel at this moment.”

  Canute’s face hardened. He was about to speak, when the matriarch raised a hand immediately and interrupted him. “Be that as it may, you are in this whether you like it or not. You can retreat back to a quiet life in Monte Carlo to lick your wounds, but I know that you can—you want—to bring your wrath against people who deserve it. Oda has issued his declaration of war. We are merely answering his call. You are a fine warrior, Canute, but you know as well as I that there has never been a war where blood hasn’t been shed. Help us win this, and I swear upon my immortal life that Cyrus and your family will always have an ally in me.”

  “So, you want me to be on your frontlines, fighting your war for you. Shedding blood so that you don’t have to,” Canute replied.

  Lady Himiko shrugged, lifting her cup up to her lips to take another sip. “You’re a soldier, are you not? One of the best, if I recall,” Lady Himiko said. “You will be able to cut down anyone who stands in your way and we can end this war quicker.”

  Haru’s eyes widened.

  “Are you talking about just outright killing all of Oda’s men? Like it’s nothing?” Haru asked.

  Why did this bother him so?

  He didn’t know why that look in Canute’s eyes bothered him. The man was basically a stranger, just a man Haru had saved from the woods nearby. Granted, he was a man who made Haru’s insides feel like they were bouncing and fluttery, though perhaps that had just been a result of having Canute drink his blood.

  And yet there was something hidden in those eyes, a sudden dulling of their shine, that Haru felt discomfited by.

  Maybe it was just an after-effect of having been fed on, Haru said to himself. That had to be it.

  But what if it was more?

  “We have no time to question the morality of war, young kami,” Lady Himiko replied. “Only that we will do all that we can to ensure that we shed no more blood than we absolutely need to.”

  Haru’s innocence was showing. Even he could see that, in the slightest change of mannerism in the way Lady Himiko regarded him. It was like she’d put on her kid gloves.

  “And you can do that? Without alerting the human authorities?” Haru asked.

  Lady Himiko shrugged. “What happens in our world stays in our world. Magic exists, after all.”

  Kaguya placed a hand on Haru’s shoulder and shook her head. It was not their place to intervene, after all. This wasn’t their battle to fight. Haru looked up at Kaguya, gritting his teeth, trying to keep from saying something more than what he already said.

  Canute was looking right at him. The vampire’s eyes seemed to be searching his, and when Canute slowly turned to look back at Lady Himiko, Haru finally exhaled.

  “Rest assured, I’ll have to think deeply about this and consider what needs to be done,” Canute finally replied. “But I won’t leave the country without at least telling you my answer.”

  Lady Himiko nodded. “I understand. The sooner we can be done with this issue, the better. I’ll have my chauffeur pi
ck you up tomorrow.” She then turned to Kaguya and Haru. “I would invite you to my home, on account of the hospitality you’ve shown us, but I wouldn’t want to drag you both into this. The situation is delicate, at best.”

  Kaguya nodded. “I understand. My duty is to this shrine. It was my honor to help one of your comrades, even though we didn’t do much.”

  The barest hint of a smile appeared on Lady Himiko’s face. “On the contrary, your young kami friend might have helped more than you think.”

  Kaguya turned to Haru.

  Haru blinked. “What?”

  “You’re Canute’s Kindred,” Lady Himiko said matter-of-factly. “I can sense the red string of fate binding the both of you together.”

  The older woman smiled, placing her hands on her lap. “Unmei-no-akai-ito, the little string that wraps around both of your little fingers. As delicate and soft as it is ever present. What a marvelous gift it is to be able to experience it. Those who have love, and lost, know never to take it for granted.”

  Haru gawped. “What?” He said again, dumbly.

  Was that what it was?

  Was he Canute’s Kindred?

  Canute stared right at Haru, and the intensity was a little bit too much for Haru to handle.

  Haru couldn’t really meet Canute’s eyes without having to fidget. He turned, instead, to his long-time friend, Kaguya.

  Of course, the shrine maiden wasn’t any help. She was grinning from ear-to-ear.

  The vampire matriarch smiled. “It seems this was the way things were destined to become. And if that’s the case, the path forward is clear.”

  “I mean no disrespect, Lady Himiko, but just because you’re the Shaman Queen doesn’t mean this is the way things need to be. This could be a mistake.”

  Well, ouch.

  Haru bristled at that. He bit the inner lining of his cheek to keep from saying anything too bad, but he harrumphed and turned his head.

  “You can’t know what the future holds, monsieur, or what fate has in store for all of us,” Lady Himiko said, the smile on her face cryptic. “But you can’t act as though you don’t feel the resonance between the both of you. I know you do. It should have been made clearer when you partook of his blood.”

  Slowly, the vampire matriarch rose from her seat, aided by a pair of guards who immediately rushed forward to take either of her hands. “I’ll come fetch you in the morning. Settle your business with your Kindred then.”

  “There is no business to settle,” Canute said. “I can’t be bonded with anyone. He…cannot be my Kindred.”

  Well, that just irritated Haru even more.

  Haru heard good things about finding one’s Kindred. He always wondered how it would be to become the other half of another person’s soul. Finding someone that way, falling in love and knowing they were yours and only yours, that they completed you, was definitely very romantic…and Haru liked that.

  A vampire who found theirs cherished their Kindred like they were the most precious thing in their lives, because for all intents and purposes, a Kindred was that precious. Why, then, did it seem like such a knife to the gut for Canute? Did the vampire not want him? Did Canute not think Haru could be a good partner? He’d fed Canute and felt something there, surely the vampire did as well?

  Haru knew one thing was for sure. He didn’t want to spend more time sitting here, listening to this man talk about their supposed bond like this. He frowned, and stood up. “I was always led to believe that finding your Kindred is a good thing,” he finally snapped. “I suppose I should have just left you to barbecue yourself in the woods all along!”

  Haru stormed out of the room then, feeling horrible at his choice of words and indignant at being treated like he was less than he was worth. He didn’t really want to leave Canute in the woods. He wouldn’t have let himself kill another person out of spite. Unfortunately for him, he felt as though he wasn’t wanted. Why would Canute push him away like that? Haru didn’t have that innate sensor like the vampires, or the Lycans, so he didn’t know when he met his Kindred, but…

  The kami found himself walking out of the temple grounds and straight to the woods. There, he felt one with his element. Even in the night, he could hear the soft chirping of cicadas, and it helped to calm him down. He still felt like crap, though. It wasn’t like he asked to find his Kindred! He was barely figuring out how to be himself, how to wield the powers he had, how to function as a basic unit in a society that didn’t need woodland kami as much as they did a hundred years ago!

  Haru huffed. The nerve of some people. He wasn’t useless, and he certainly wasn’t all that difficult to be around. How could any person just be dismissive of someone else without even really knowing them?

  He sat down right in front of his favorite tree. The soft pink cherry blossoms were beginning to appear—a product of Haru’s gift, because they shouldn’t be growing just yet. And as he settled against the tree trunk, the flowers sprouted and bloomed as though they had been touched by Persephone herself.

  A rustling in the bushes nearby alerted Haru of a nearby presence, but he was happy to see that it was just Momo, waddling along towards him and pressing his head right against Haru’s side.

  Momo whimpered, but licked at his palm. Haru smiled.

  “You know when I’m feeling down, don’t you, boy?” Haru asked.

  Momo turned up to stare at him before wagging his tail. Haru smiled, sighed, and gently he patted the beagle’s head.

  “People can be so rude sometimes, right, Momo?” Haru said. He knew he was talking to a dog—and though he knew Momo wouldn’t respond to him, having someone who seemed like they were listening was all that Haru needed. “They say the bond is supposed to be special. I don’t know why he pushed me away. I don’t know why I want to be his Kindred, anyway. Is this the bond forming? Am I just being a child?”

  Haru continued. “Regardless, it’s like people forget common decency nowadays! There’s nothing wrong with me. Sure, I might be young, and I might be inexperienced, but it’s not like that’s going to kill him.”

  Or could it? Could his youthfulness actually be a cause of distress to the vampire?

  He doubted it, but a much more important question loomed over him.

  Did he actually want to be in this situation with the weird foreigner he’d only met for an hour, maybe two hours, though? A man who was about to bloody his hands in a war that didn’t concern him?

  Momo looked up at him, and Haru sighed. “I know that me storming out of there wasn’t exactly showing off my adult side. I should have stayed and talked. But can you honestly say that you would have stayed there when this guy is talking about you like your choice doesn’t matter?”

  Momo continued to stare right up at him. Accusingly, even.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Momo. Tell me honestly that you would have stayed there,” Haru said, frowning. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that part about leaving him to barbecue in the woods. That was a little bit too much of me.”

  Gosh, he had been frowning so much today the wrinkles would stay on his face.

  Another rustling in the leaves made Momo go from resting against Haru to going on high alert, his tail wagging upright and swishing side-to-side quickly.

  Canute walked out of the bushes, dressed still in that simple, blue kimono they’d given him that wrapped loosely around his body. The fabric was a bit too long, in fact, it dipped a bit and showed off the powerful muscles in his body. While the expression on his face remained inscrutable, Haru couldn’t help but turn away from looking at Canute with a soft “hmph.”

  Haru was acting like a child, he knew it, but like he had been telling Momo, he’d been hurt by Canute’s words.

  Canute slowly walked over until he was right in front of Haru, and without even asking if he could sit down, the man plopped down right in front of him. The dead leaves on the ground gave a soft rustle.

  Then, those unsettlingly blue eyes gazed at him. Haru was trying his hardest
not to make eye contact, but he had to look every so often to see the man calmly staring at him, quiet like some kind of stone sentinel statue.

  Moments passed between them, with Momo staring up at Haru, and then at Canute, his tail wagging side to side almost happily, lazily, at the sight of the both of them.

  Then, finally, Canute was the one to break the silence.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Haru crossed his arms over his chest like some kind of child, but said nothing.

  Canute sighed, and Haru thought that the vampire before him sounded kind of exasperated. But if Haru thought of it that way, he might get even more irritated with the man, so the young kami tried to calm down.

  Momo yipped and laid his head against Haru’s lap. When Haru looked down to peek at the dog, it was like Momo was staring up at him meaningfully, like there was something the dog wanted to say.

  Haru still didn’t want to meet Canute’s gaze. He bit on the inner lining of his cheek, trying to keep from saying anything.

  “There’s a reason I want to push you away,” Canute said. “But it has nothing to do with you.”

  Somehow, that didn’t make Haru feel any better.

  “Lady Himiko is right, though. I can’t help the way I feel, even if I don’t want to put a name to it or acknowledge it,” Canute muttered. “I could taste it in your blood, but I was—I am—too afraid.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Haru finally said, unable to stop himself when he heard Canute speaking once more. “You were just talking to Lady Himiko about rushing into a bloody fight. One where you might kill plenty of people. And you’re afraid of me?”

  Canute nodded. “Not just you, as a person, but I’m afraid of what you can do to me,” he said, his voice still level and soft. “Knowing that you’re the actual other half of my soul, I’m afraid of just how much of myself I’ll lose if this happens to be a lie all over again.”