Exton

"Hello, brother. It has been a long time. You have changed little since I saw you last." He smiles at Thea and Laila, wordlessly reassuring them of his protection. "Still irresponsible. Still overly impressed with your place in the greater scheme of things." He stretches, laying an arm out to either side. "I have come to tell you that by my authority as the Lord of Clan Acheron, your contract with Laila has been permanently voided. You are no longer her master."

Rath's eyes flash fire. "You have no right."

"I have every right." Adrian's voice is soft, but his words lash like a whip. "You have forgotten that a contract has two sides, and that both parties are equally bound to honor their obligations. You forfeited your rights when you chose to give unlawful orders to your servant, when you failed to shelter and clothe and feed her as befits your servant, and when you offered her physical violence. For any one of these things, the contract might have been voided. Taken together, it is a given. I say you are no longer Laila's master, and my word is law."

"Then I will take what is mine, and be damned to you." Rath suddenly makes a grab for Laila, faster than the eye can follow; but Adrian blocks it with deceptive ease and suddenly he is standing and Rath's arm is twisted up behind his back. "You have forgotten yourself." The words are cordial, but the tone is not, and never for an instant does Adrian loosen his grip. "You will apologize to these people for your behavior, now, this instant; then you will leave this establishment and never return."

Rath's voice is thick with hate. "Be damned to you, brother!"

Adrian twists and Rath's face contorts with the pain of it. "I said apologize. I can do more than void your contract, brother. You would do well to remember that."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Would I not? Do not underestimate me, Stefan. It would be a very bad mistake, and you have made enough of those."

Rath - or Stefan? - suddenly goes very still. He forces the words out past his thin lips with an effort, and venom drips from every one. "Your pardon, gentlefolk. I overstepped the bounds of hospitality, and for that I ask your forgiveness."

"You see? You have not forgotten your manners." Adrian releases Rath, but remains ready. The younger brother turns to face the elder. "I will not forget this, Adrian."

"Nor should you. Perhaps the memory will give you cause to repent your errors, and make of you a better man. One can only hope." The vampires lock eyes, the tension between them like a palpable thing, but it is the younger who drops his gaze first. "I believe you were leaving."

Rath's eyes flick to Laila, and then he moves with superhuman speed, hooking the leg of her chair with a foot and jerking. She falls to the floor and Ramji is there to stand between them; but it is Nick that seizes Rath from behind, whirls him around, and smashes a fist into his face. Blood sprays from a broken nose, which begins to knit almost immediately, but Nick is a mad thing, raining blows down like lightning, giving Rath no chance to recover. His voice is lethal when Rath hangs limply from one hand and Johnny Corkscrew appears in the other.

"I told you what would happen if you hurt her again." He poises the sword at Rath's chest. "Time to pay the check."

"Nikolas! I pray you, hold your hand!" Adrian's voice is urgent. Nick catches himself in mid-thrust, his eyes going to the older vampire.

"He'll never change. This is the only way to cure his kind."

"That may be so, but he is my brother - my blood. I cannot in good conscience permit you to kill him, no matter what his offenses."

Nick's furious, blood-hued eyes lock with Adrian's, and again there is a contest of wills. This time the outcome is in doubt, but ultimately it is the younger vampire who submits. "You've saved him this time - but never again. Get him out of here and keep him away from her, or I swear by all I hold holy, the next time I'll kill him."