Medina laughed. A deep belly laugh that made his large shoulders shake and Copernicus fear for the delicate buttons that seemed to strain even more at that moment.
“We are talking about the same person, no?” He wiped his sweaty bald head with a handkerchief and shook his head. “So, what else can I do for you?”
“I need his services outside the prison.”
The man blinked. “I don’t understand now. Are you saying you want him to make arrangements for you with his friends? The ones who are on the outside?”
Copernicus smiled indulgently. “No. I’m saying, that I need Chuey to accompany me when I leave Iquitos to tour the jungle.”
The man suddenly looked scared. “That will not be possible, senõr. What you’re asking is completely impossible. Chuey cannot leave this place.”
“I’m sure there is some way we can meet each other halfway, Senõr Medina. Tell me what you need and I can make sure I get it for you.”
The man got up from behind his desk and walked to the door and opened it. “Please, what you’re asking is dangerous.”
There was no way he was leaving this office without securing Chuey’s release. Copernicus came to his feet and smiled warmly at the man. “But you haven’t told me yet what it is you need, senõr. I assure you that we can solve this between the two of us.”
After the last time the Royals burst into his fortified home and obliterated his vampire armed forces, Copernicus was willing to pay any price to make sure that something like that never happened again.
“Senõr Bohme, there are murderers and there are killers. In my twenty years here, I have seen many of them and even befriended some of them.” He swallowed and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I’ve never met one such as Chuey. He doesn’t kill for greed. Nor for love or protection. He kills because he needs to. Now, you tell me if you think he even falls in any of those two categories.”
A chill ran down his spine, but Copernicus wasn’t ready to leave things at that. “We can make this easy, Senõr Medina. What would it take to get you and your family to leave Peru and settle anywhere else and never worry about money again?”
The man hesitated, his eyes flashed with interest, but it was gone quickly. “You do not seem to understand what I’m saying, gringo. Chuey Pinche is dangerous. They say he leaves Hell’s Pit in the night, but he always come back.” The man wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, his forehead was gleaming with sweat. “Do you know why, senõr?”
“No, I don’t.” But I might have an idea.
“Because he gets to kill and eat his prey here, undisturbed.”
Copernicus’ stomach roiled at the news. He had suspected the kid of being some kind of a psycho. But a cannibal, was a little too much. Could that be why there had been no blood left in Floriana’s body? He milked her dry and… Oh, he couldn’t go there. He noticed that Medina had closed his office door and was leaning against it as he studied Copernicus.
“Now, you tell me, senõr. Is that the kind of person you want to let loose on children and elderly people?”
Copernicus shrugged. “What if I promise to make sure he stays in the jungle?”
The man snorted. “No one can keep him where he doesn’t want to be.”
“But I can. I have people more powerful than him. Creatures who are loyal to me.”
He had surprised Medina. The man looked at him with faint reverence in his beady eyes. “Then you are acquainted with the shadow world that Chuey walks in.” He went to sit behind his desk. His eyes gleamed with a strange light. “I might consider your request for two things.”
†
Paloma was troubled.
The air tasted electric. And it meant only one thing.
Tahlia.
She slowly climbed off the bed and clothed herself with a flick of the hand. A last glance at the bed confirmed that Inger was still fast asleep. The hallways were deserted, but she could hear activities in almost every section of the massive bunker. All the Royals were in the bunker. Their respective partners were also in residence. Only Tahlia and Jemima were unaccounted for. She could sense that Jemima was in the building, at least. The lab, to be precise. She teleported and materialized in a dark alley. She scented the air.
Yes, it was definitely Tahlia.
She left the alley and raced through the city with preternatural speed until she reached the outskirts of the city. Hopefully, it was too late for joggers to be out, but Paloma still kept to the shadows as she slid between the oak and pine trees. She pulled up short when she caught another shadow a small distance in front of her. Her fangs lengthened. Someone else was stalking Tahlia. She cloaked herself as she approached the person, her hand morphed into a claw as she materialized behind the figure. She was just about to eliminate the stalker with a downward swipe of her claw, when another shadow stepped out right in front of them.
“Paloma.”
The stalker turned and Paloma dropped her hand. “Cruz.” He would never know how close he had come to death. She walked over to Tahlia and searched her friend’s eyes. “Are you okay?” She glanced at Cruz. “He was almost upon you.”
Cruz grinned. “I think it was the other way around. Since you have protection now, I’ll take my leave, my Queen.”
“Thank you, my friend. A useful tip for future reference. When feeding on these modern humans, refrain from pressing up against them. The lilac fragrance of your last meal had given your presence away.”
He bowed low. “Duly noted, Your Majesty.” He walked off until the darkness swallowed him. Paloma desperately wanted to enquire about Tahlia’s mental state, but the dark woman seemed to have picked a direction and faster than the blink of an eye, she sped off. Paloma followed. Tahlia was fast, really fast and it took all of Paloma’s strength and focus to follow close behind without encroaching on the other woman’s space. They came to a stop on a cliff and Paloma watched as Tahlia stepped off. She cursed and followed suit. This gave new meaning to the idiom about following someone over a cliff. But this was Tahlia, her childhood friend, and her sovereign. They floated down the steep drop and landed on a flat plane. Still Tahlia was quiet. A road popped in front of them and Tahlia crossed it as if in a slight daze.
Throughout the ages, Tahlia had one way of dealing with mental anguish. She spilled blood. Lots of it. But that had changed significantly since Jemima entered her life. Hell, Jemima was like a neutralizing rod for Tahlia. Which brought Paloma to the conclusion that if Jemima couldn’t settle Tahlia’s mood, then she was somehow involved in the creation thereof. The realization was terrifying for Paloma. They had never been good at talking about their emotions and their significant others. They entered a copse of pine trees and Tahlia came to stop before one, looking up at the tall, sturdy trunk of the tree. Paloma knew what she had in mind. There was something utterly liberating at being on top of the world. To do that, Tahlia needed to scale the tree. Before that, however, she needed to get Tahlia to talk. It wasn’t doing the dark woman any good to internalize all that misery.
“Inger had a dinner meeting in the restaurant earlier.” Tahlia was still sizing up the tree. “She suspects that the woman called the meeting to seduce her.”
The dark head whipped around and Paloma met Tahlia’s sharp gaze. For a moment all they did was look at each other. Tahlia had changed a lot over the ages. There had been a time that her dark eyes had been filled with mirth and teasing. The same eyes now, were dark, deep and most times, eerily mysterious. Paloma would never admit it out loud, but just like with the babies, she always felt like there was something else looking at her through Tahlia’s eyes. Something the world had not seen yet and maybe something that she hoped would remain behind or inside Tahlia. Tahlia blinked and her eyes were suddenly filled with a deep concern.
“Jemima has a heartbeat. It’s very faint, but I can hear it.”
V
Copernicus sat ramrod stiff, his eyes focused on the road ahead. Next to him, Chuey sat quietly. His hands were folded
in his lap and an earlier glance from Copernicus had noted that his nails were rather long and dark from dirt or whatever else it might be. Very creepy, indeed. They were driving towards the jungle lodge, but a few yards before they reached the turnoff, Chuey glanced at him.
“I’ll get off here.”
“Here?” Copernicus looked around and blinked. Here, was actually nowhere. The slightly overgrown road leading to the lodge was squeezed through thick vegetation from both sides.
“Yes, just here.”
Copernicus ordered his driver to bring the car to a halt. With a rather demurred ‘gracias’, Chuey got out of the car. Copernicus watched as his faded jeans and washed out figure disappeared into the foliage. How was he to know when they would leave for their expedition into the jungle? He sat back and told the driver to continue. He was liking the idea of accompanying Chuey into the jungle less and less by the minute. They had no assurance that he wasn’t going to lead them in circles while he picked them all off, one by one. The lodge came into view and he wasn’t eager to go back to his room. The scene he woke up to this morning had popped into his head a few times during the morning. His phone rang and he reached for it in his inside pocket.
“Mr. Bohm, Harry Grishom here, sir. We should be landing in Iquitos around 7 p.m.”
At last, people he knew and trusted. “That’s good to hear, Harry. Keep me posted.”
The clerk at the reception desk was quite helpful when he requested a new room for the night citing the bird calls early in the morning as a major disturbance. The new room was identical to the previous one, except it didn’t have any visions of a lifeless Floriana.
†
Tahlia watched as Paloma’s mouth opened and closed and opened again. That, combined with a whole lot of fear, echoed Tahlia’s mental state. About three days ago, she had risen early to check on Aria and to change the baby’s diaper when she had picked up on the faint rhythmic sound. She had written it off as some construction workers nearby and had seen to her daughter. The next day, the sound was back and this time, she made a startling discovery. She noticed that it disappeared only when Jemima left for work. Her first reaction was shock and then sheer terror. She had wanted to call Jemima and ask her, but quickly realized that Jemima wasn’t even aware of it. That night she had deliberated on whether she should broach the subject. But Jemima had been in such a good mood, playing with the babies and joking with Jessica that Tahlia didn’t have the heart to spoil the night. Instead, she had made love to Jemima with total abandon that night. With a passion born out of desperation and fear, she had worshipped her wife’s body until Jemima’s cries of passion had drowned out the sound of her heartbeat. Later, when Jemima had finally succumbed to exhaustion, Tahlia had held Jemima tightly and listened to her heartbeat with a heavy heart of her own.
“How is that possible?”
Tahlia shook her head. “I don’t know. I thought of consulting Mendelsohn’s library for a possible clue.”
“I’ll go with you. I’m sure that we can find it faster if we are two.” Tahlia nodded.
“I’m not holding my breath, though. Not much is known about the Outlanders. I believe that whatever ails Jemima, has to do with them.” She stared up the tree again. “My wife is turning human again and I find myself worried that she won’t have anything in common with me anymore.” She lunged for the nearest branch and with lightning speed disappeared into the leaves.
†
Jemima stepped off the lift and made her way straight to the entertainment lounge. Everyone was there, except for Tahlia and Paloma. She went to sit next to Viv and accepted her dozing daughter. The moment she held the baby in her arms, the blue eyes flickered open. A small smile played over the baby’s lips before she placed her hand on Jemima’s chest and dozed off again.
The mood was light and fun and she was glad for that. The absence of Tahlia, coupled with the news she had just received, were threatening to drive her to tears. She had hoped to find Tahlia here, so they could talk; maybe fix what Jemima had broken with her careless words. She still couldn’t fathom why she had said that. Was it maybe, because although the tests done by Melissa came back normal, Jemima knew deep down that something was off with her? Or was it that she had wanted to shield Tahlia from whatever it was that was ailing her? Tahlia was highly sensitive and like she had said earlier, she had picked up on Jemima’s fear already. What would happen with them if she was…? No, she wasn’t going there. She pressed a kiss on Aria’s tiny nose and inhaled the sweet baby scent. She wasn’t giving up. Never. Whatever came back from the lab in the following days, she was going to fight it and find a way to survive.
A loud bang from the screen drew her attention and she look up quickly. Some kind of an action movie was playing on the big screen. She looked around her and noted that everyone else was engrossed in the movie. Vampires and TV. Who would’ve thought? The entertainment room-cum-lounge, was fast becoming a very popular area after the training room. This was where almost everyone gathered for the evenings. It was mostly because that was where they brought the babies to interact with each other. Afterwards, when the babies were tucked in, the large TV screen would come on and then the grownups got out the drinks and popcorn to settle in for a few hours.
Jemima glanced at the clock. It was close to dawn and time for her to tuck in Aria. When she entered their suite, she was hit by how cold and empty it felt, but she knew that it might also simply be a reflection of her mood. She checked Aria’s diaper before she changed her into her warm onesie. With Aria sleeping peacefully in her crib, she found she had nothing else to do. She wasn’t sleepy or anything. Nor was she in the mood to read. Truth be told, all she wanted to do was think of Tahlia and their argument, but that would have her in tears in no time. And she also didn’t want to reach out to Tahlia just yet. The vampire had asked for space and Jemima was going to give her that, even if it killed her. Instead, she walked over to Tahlia’s desk and rummaged around until she found what she was looking for. She took a chair and placed it near the crib. With bold lines and curves, she began to sketch her sleeping daughter.
†
Copernicus could only gape when the towering figure of Syria entered the dining room. The vampire looked calm and collected as she weaved through the tables to come to stand beside his table. It was seven in the morning and she was moving about like normal. He opened his mouth and closed it again. He was dying to know how she managed to do this, but knew from experience that she wouldn’t tell him.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all. It’s not every day that we get to share breakfast.” He nodded at the chair. When she had taken a seat, he signaled the waiter. “Anything to drink? Wine, perhaps?” He watched her closely. The woman rarely reacted to anything. Her face was always impassive and her eyes deep and mysterious like a murky lake, guarding her thoughts. She used to unsettle him, but that had changed after he had met Chuey. He was actually happy to see her. Copernicus couldn’t explain it, but although he had the feeling that she didn’t like him one bit, she wasn’t going to let anything happen to him. He could live with that and that was what made him want to please her so much— until he found something he could hold over her. He was a realist, after all, and well-aware that loyalties shifted and changed.
She nodded. “Thank you.”
The waiter looked a little perplexed at the order, but rushed off to get their wine and he resumed his breakfast. “A lot happened in your absence.” All he got was a raised brow. “Soon after leaving you, last night, I got a call from Chuey saying that he was interested in accompanying us.” He took a long drink of his coffee, as he tried to rinse the fear out of his mouth. “And this morning, early, I woke up to Floriana’s corpse and a letter from him.” Syria’s eyes narrowed a little at this. “My security firm arranged for someone here to take care of the body.” He had left for the prison as soon as the man had arrived. The large suitcase he had brought with him, didn’t leave much doubt as to how he was g
oing to get rid of the body.
“Do you trust this person?”
“He came highly recommended. Flew in from Colombia early this morning; did what he had to do, and left.”
“And the letter?”
Copernicus grimaced. “He didn’t come out straight and say it, but it was a warning that more could happen should I failed to secure his release.”
The waiter arrived with their bottle of wine and he thanked the man. Syria served herself and sat back in her chair, delicately sniffing the wine. She placed it on the table without tasting it.
“What did you do about Chuey?”
“I got him out.” He saw a flash of rage in the hazel eyes, but it was gone so quickly, making him wonder if he had imagined it. One of the rare moments that Syria questioned him, was upon them.
“We don’t know what exactly he is, but you are aware that he’s a full-blown psychopath.” The vampire’s eyes darkened. “He’s a danger to everyone.”
His appetite suddenly gone; Copernicus pushed the plate away from him. It wasn’t that he was hearing something new. He was well-aware of the danger Chuey represented to society.
“What would you have me do? Wait until he killed me?” She smiled unexpectedly, a crocodile smile that was all teeth and no humor. For a moment, she looked at him as if he was on the menu and he slowly sat back in his chair. “What’s done is done. Chuey is out and we have to deal with that.”
“Well, as you know by now, he has eyes and ears everywhere.” She glanced at the bottle of wine. “And it seems he wants to take out your line of protection. The wine’s been tampered with.”
Copernicus felt a coldness settle around his heart. “Someone here works for him?”
“At least one person, yes.”
“The waiter? Or maybe someone else.”
“Yes, but until then, I suggest we be very careful. Never meet with Chuey alone, or follow him into the jungle for any reason.”
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