Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles #4) - Ilona Andrews Page 0,70
herself.
Tellis stopped about eighteen inches too close.
When she was a child, one of the first lessons her father had given her concerned the importance of tradition to vampires. An aggressive and predatory species, vampires fought at the slightest provocation and their interactions had to be strictly regimented. All of the rules and ceremony ensured that nobody would be casually offended. A vampire would have to actively ignore customs to cause offense, and when they did so, it was always deliberate.
An appropriate distance between two potential enemies was about five feet, far enough for both to draw weapons if necessary. Allies stood a little closer, three and a half feet, just out of arm’s length. Friends stood within touching distance, and family members often allowed for only a few inches of personal space.
Tellis had come close enough to brush against the table, which put him within three and a half feet of Ilemina and Otubar but only two feet away from Maud. He could reach out and touch her, and he was smiling. When vampires bared their teeth like that, it was done for one reason only: to impress. It was the grin of an apex predator demonstrating the full splendor of his fangs.
It was also an obvious insult whichever way you spun it. Either he didn’t consider her belonging to House Krahr and, therefore, not worthy of basic courtesies, or he was deliberately being overly familiar with another’s fiancée. A human equivalent would be to put his arm around a woman celebrating her engagement to another man and smirk while doing it. Tellis couldn’t have been more obvious about it if he’d had leered and asked her if she was free tonight.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maud could see Arland’s face. His expression was thoroughly relaxed. In fact, she had never seen him so tranquil. He looked a hair away from a dreamy smile.
Lord Otubar smiled. It was enough to give human children nightmares. “Interesting tactics.”
“Yes,” Lady Ilemina said. “We quite enjoyed this informative glimpse into the minds of House Kozor and House Serak. Truly, the cooperation between your two Houses is praiseworthy. Don’t you think so, Arland?”
“An example to us all,” Arland said.
Tellis’ eyebrows rose slightly. He wasn’t an idiot, and he had just realized they had overplayed their hand, revealing more than they intended. He had two options now: he could beat a graceful retreat, or he could barrel on ahead. Given that he was a male vampire knight, he valiantly chose the second and threw himself into the assault with all the subtlety of a battering ram.
“Speaking of examples, we were all in awe of Lord Arland’s escapades on Karhari.”
Maud drank her wine, killing a wince before it started.
Tellis was still smiling. “How many attackers did you take on? Was it four or five? I can’t remember.”
“I was a little busy and I didn’t have time to make them count off. In a real battle, things get a little hectic.” Arland was still floating on his own private cloud of Zen.
“Would you care to give us a demonstration, Lord Marshal? I’m afraid the game didn’t quite last as long as we would’ve liked. We still need a bit of exercise. If you don’t mind, that is.”
He did not just say that. Apparently, House Krahr was so weak that Tellis hadn’t broken a sweat.
Arland looked bored. “I haven’t finished my wine. If I take the time to engage in a demonstration, it will be warm by the time I return.”
Tellis blinked. Maud hid a smile. Yes, he did just tell you that his wine getting warm was more important than you. Tellis would have to abandon all pretense of propriety to goad Arland into action.
“Of course, if the Lord Marshal is too fatigued from chasing his unwilling human bride to redeem the honor of his House, I understand completely. We have all enjoyed your noble pursuit, however, I do believe the lady finds you wanting.” Tellis looked at Maud and smiled.
Yes, that would do it.
Arland sighed and rose to his feet, looking put upon, as if someone had asked him to take out the trash in the middle of a good movie.
“I’ll have your wine refreshed, dear,” Ilemina said. “Go and have some fun.”
Arland turned to Tellis. “If you insist. Full armor, primed weapons, first down?”
Tellis’ grin didn’t die all the way, but it definitely faltered. Under normal circumstances, vampire weapons had the same limitations as Earth weapons. They