Blood and Ghosts by Shira Anthony

Author:Shira Anthony [Anthony, Shira]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2020-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

ADRIEN BARELY recognized the Lyon of his childhood. Gone were the lines of automobile traffic and the sprawling urban landscape, replaced by horse-drawn carriages and people pushing carts. The boxy electric nineteenth-century streetcars looked nothing like their twenty-first century counterparts, although many of them appeared newly built.

The scent of the old city momentarily overwhelmed Adrien. Smoke rising from chimneys made his eyes water, but he found the smell of hay and manure surprisingly comforting and familiar. From time to time, Adrien caught a hint of exhaust on the air as an automobile sped by them, more like a motorized carriage than anything resembling the modern incarnation.

Adrien had always avoided Council social gatherings and knew nothing of what to expect. François pulled the carriage up to a large stone building Adrien recognized as the local hunter headquarters. He’d been here many times when he’d searched for Charles, but he’d avoided the place when he’d returned to Lyon for his own business.

A servant met them and took the reins from François while another helped them down from the carriage. The ride from Saint-Gervais to Lyon was about five hours, so they changed into their evening clothes at the small hotel where they would spend the night. François looked handsome in his black suit with his sword at his waist. In a few years, Adrien would be just as tall. Seeing his brother from the vantage point of his slightly smaller stature, Adrien admired François’s powerful shoulders and comfortable gait. François strode confidently, his eyes intense with focus, his strength obvious. Adrien remembered how he’d longed for such confidence, and how awkward he’d felt in public.

They walked up a large set of stone steps and were greeted by several guards at the entrance to the building.

“Names?” one of the guards asked.

“François and Adrien Gilbert, of the Gilbert Clan,” François said with obvious pride.

The guards bowed and allowed them entry. From there, they walked down a marble-tiled hallway toward a large ballroom. The sounds of conversation and of music drifted toward them. Years ago Adrien would have feared such a gathering. Now, he realized, he looked forward to it.

Heads turned as they walked through the doors and down a set of marble steps to the dance floor. A young man Adrien thought looked familiar waved at them.

“François!” the man shouted.

“Victor.” François clasped Victor Sauvage’s hand. “So good to see you.”

“It’s been too long.” Victor smiled back at François, then glanced at Adrien. “So this is your brother.” He shook Adrien’s hand. “Pleased to finally meet you.”

“Adrien isn’t one for parties,” François put in. “But I finally convinced him to join me.”

“Good to meet you too.” Adrien noticed Victor’s smooth skin and recalled the scars he’d worn with pride when they’d met in Paris. Then Victor had mentioned training with Roland and meeting Adrien once in Saint-Gervais. “Have you seen Roland lately?”

Victor laughed. “Last I heard, he was still in hiding. Council politics got a bit too hot to handle.”

Seeing François’s look of surprise, Adrien remembered his younger self would not have known this.

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