Bloody Defiance

by Laura Hysell

  “Yes, sir,” the man replied. He turned to his computer and quickly began typing on it. He was overweight, with slick, greasy hair that was a dark brown color. I wrinkled my nose and tried to stand back from his stench. He looked and smelled as though he hadn’t bathed in a week.

  “He’ll get you all set up. If you find what you’re looking for, alert me at once. I’ll deal with it from there,” Henri added, pointing a finger at Thomas meaningfully. With that, he turned on his heel and left the room.

  “Queen Isabella,” the security man said, “Please place your hand here on the scanner.”

  I held my breath as I stepped near the man and placed my hand on the plate he indicated. A red light from the scanner flashed, then traced down my palm. The computer beeped and the man handed me a keypad. “Enter a numerical code between 4 and 8 digits long,” he commanded. I entered 22586 and stepped back.

  “There, you’re set up for all key pads and handprint scanners. Follow me and I’ll set you up in a private surveillance room.”

  We followed the security guard down the main hall to another door you couldn’t see. He had me press my hand to the door to make sure the handprint scanner was working. It slid open silently and I smiled to myself. The room was filled with computers, and we each took a computer station as the man logged us into the surveillance system.

  He gave us a brief rundown of how everything worked and made sure the computers were logged in. As soon as he left, I turned around to look at Killian and Raoul seated behind me. Mark declined a computer and stood near me, arms crossed in typical bodyguard fashion. My two trainers were sitting awkwardly at the computers, wondering what they were doing. I said, “We’re looking for Wesley, and who he was meeting yesterday. I’m thinking we should bring up the video of the arena and go backward from there.”

  “I can do that,” Killian said as he immediately began clicking on his computer.

  “The rest of us should bring up that time frame and look around for anything unusual during the same time. Was anyone acting strangely? Anyone where they shouldn’t be? Raoul, start at the bottom floors. Thomas, look at the primary vampire areas first. I’ll start from the top and work my way down,” I said, turning back toward my computer.

  I clicked in the search box as the security man had shown us, inserting the date. Then I moved through the floors until I found the car garage. The system was easy to navigate, and I sped through the video until I saw Leon. I had started the system on the last day I had seen Mark with the Pack. I watched the video in anticipation, watching Leon pull Mark out of the back of a car and drag him toward the elevator.

  I waited, watching the other floors until I saw Leon and Mark emerge on the 10th floor. He pushed Mark into a room and left almost immediately. I fast forwarded, watching as researchers came and went. Many people entered the room Leon had deposited Mark in, sometimes carrying equipment, but there was no sign of Mark. The room had no surveillance either.

  I continued racing through footage, stopping when Henri entered the frame and walked into Mark’s room. It was eight days after Mark had disappeared with Leon. Henri was in the room for almost two hours. In that time, several other men came and went. When Henri finally emerged, his face was covered with blood. I swallowed and pushed the fast forward button once more, only to stop again the next day. Once again, Henri entered Mark’s room and came out an hour later covered in blood. The cycle repeated day after day. Sometimes it was only a few minutes, other times it was hours. Every time, Henri left with blood on him.

  “I think I found who we’re looking for,” Killian said suddenly. I turned in my seat and looked back at Killian. “He went to the third floor, but there’s no surveillance there. Looks like he was on that floor for a couple hours. He left with a woman. She went to the first floor and left the building when he got the other vampires and went to the training room. I can’t see her face, because she’s all covered up, but looks like she’s wearing a long, red dress.”

  Thomas stood and walked over to Killian’s computer, peering down at the screen. “If that’s who I think it is, you won’t find any more video of her. Look anyway, just to be sure. Just look for a woman in a long, red dress with a scarf over her head.”

  “Who is it?” I asked as Thomas moved back to his seat.

  He glanced at my screen, then back at my face, his expression blank. “Sylvia.”

  “She was on level three,” I murmured in response.

  “Yes, and she was to remain there,” Thomas responded as he resumed his seat.

  I turned back to the surveillance I had paused. Henri was halfway down the hallway with blood on his face and his fingers to his lips. I clicked fast forwarded until I finally saw Mark emerge from the room. I followed him on the monitors, watching as Henri introduced him to me as my new bodyguard. He had been kept in that room until Henri had finally broken him.

  My eyes turned toward Mark, standing against the wall and my heart broke. I clicked back on the computer, bringing up my rooms. To my dismay, every room was on surveillance including my bedroom and bathroom. There was zero privacy. There was even a camera in my shower! I clicked through the cameras, growing angrier by the minute as I found seven different camera angles in my bedroom alone, five in the bathroom, and another two dozen scattered throughout the other rooms and hallways. Henri’s own private room, I noticed, was free of surveillance.

  “You didn’t really think you had any privacy, did you?” Thomas asked as he moved up beside me.

  “I didn’t expect cameras in my bathroom!”

  “Did you check the sound?” he asked.

  “What?” I asked, my voice raising an octave.

  He pointed at the little microphone button to the side. “Some of the rooms have sound as well as video.”

  Are you fucking kidding me? I clicked the button, but my bedroom was empty on the video so I couldn’t hear anything. I typed in a date and the screen flickered. Sound came on first, and I felt myself blush at the sound of moaning. The others had moved around me just as the video came on. “No, no!” I screeched as I frantically tried to speed past the scene. The last thing I wanted was for everyone to see me naked with Henri. Fast forwarding didn’t help, because the scene and sounds continued, only faster. My face was red as I frantically tried to zoom forward, but the scene seemed to go on for eternity.

  Thomas reached past me and clicked a button, and thankfully the scene changed to the living room. I sighed in relief and sat back. “How do you have the stamina?” Killian asked.

  I closed my eyes, trying desperately to pretend that hadn’t just happened.

  “You realize that was two days of video you just sped through. Two days of nonstop sex. How is that possible?” Killian asked.

  “Vampire, that’s how,” Raoul replied.

  “But Isabella’s not a vampire.”

  “No, but didn’t you see the blood? He was feeding her his blood, drinking her blood, and fucking her all at the same time,” Raoul said.

  “You got all that out of a couple seconds of warp speed sex surveillance?” Killian asked, letting out a low whistle.

  “Didn’t you?”

  “Enough,” I said, turning to face the two men. “That’s enough. Please. It was longer than just two days, much longer, and I don’t remember any of it. Call it a punishment, of sorts.”

  “I’ll take that kind of punishment any day,” Killian laughed, shoving me playfully on the arm. “Right? Right?”

  “Isabella didn’t obey Henri, so he bent her to his will until she was a mindless sex slave. She didn’t know any thought except to please her Master. Does that sound like a good thing to you?” Thomas asked, and Killian’s laughter immediately ceased. “She wasn’t released until he had made sure she was loyal, and obedient.”

  “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to lighten the mood,” he added. “Isabella, I’m sorry. Really, I am.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I replied. “It’s over.”

&nbs
p; “But it’s not, is it? Not really,” Thomas said softly.

  I looked up at the vampire, not sure if I should trust him or not. Was there anyone I could trust? If there was this much surveillance on my room, everything I had said and done since coming to this place was recorded. Henri probably knew all my secrets. Which meant he likely knew all about Mark and my dagger. He had just been playing me this whole time, and I had been too stupid to realize it. Fuck!

  “Oh, it’s over now,” I said vehemently. “This is my only chance.”

  “Only chance for what?” Raoul asked, but Thomas was already nodding his head.

  “We’ll call Henri and let him know that Sylvia is on the loose. He’ll be busy with her. Take Mark and get out of here. Run south, toward your friends,” Thomas said.

  “No, I can’t. Not yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “First, I’m not sure if I can get Mark to leave with me. He’s not exactly himself. Second, I need to free the other werewolves here. Third, I need to know where Petrivian is. He is still a threat, and I know Henri was information on him,” I added, ticking off the items on my fingers.

  “Half the werewolves are in the same boat as Mark. You can set them free, but they’re just as likely to kill you as help you. And they would just return her anyway. I’ve seen a few close up. It’s not pretty. Mark is supposed to guard you, so I imagine he’ll go wherever you go. It’s what he’s been ordered to do.” Thomas stopped and sat down on the desk in front of me. “As for Petrivian, I know where he is right now, but Henri knows where his home is. I know a little of Henri’s plan, and it definitely involves attacking Petrivian on his home turf.”

  “Why? If you know where he is right now, wouldn’t it be easier to get him out in the open?” I asked, confused. “Wouldn’t his home turf be the worst place to attack him?”

  “Not exactly. He’s in England, right now, so we can’t get to him currently. I believe he’s headed back stateside next month, after he’s completed his world tour,” Thomas added sourly.

  “World tour? Has he become a rock star or something?”

  Thomas ignored my sarcasm, as usual. “You haven’t been able to watch the news. Petrivian has nominated himself as King of the World. He’s been personally going to every country, gathering signatures from each and every ruler.”

  “And they’re signing?” I asked. Thomas nodded his head. “Why?”

  “Petrivian has half the world under his control, and it makes him incredibly strong. He simply slips someone a dose of his very potent blood and they are willing to do anything he asks.”

  “How did it get so bad?”

  “It’s been going on for a year, building slowly at first, but the last few months have seen dramatic increases in his strength. He can control his followers from across the world. And the vampires underneath him grow in strength as well. Henri only managed to lace a very small batch of the serum with his own blood, before Petrivian came and destroyed his whole operation in Portland. Small potatoes, in the scheme of things. Why do you think Henri’s been amassing the werewolves? It’s the one thing he has that Petrivian doesn’t. Yet. It was a lucky thing Petrivian didn’t know about the werewolves then, or things would be a lot worse. At least with Henri, we have a chance.”

  I leaned back in my chair as the impact of his words hit me. This game between the two vampires had been going on for longer than I knew. Petrivian was fighting for power, and Henri was trying to stop him. “Is that why you stay with Henri? Is no one else trying to stop Petrivian?” I asked Thomas, looking up at him.

  “There are few vampires not of Petrivian’s line who are strong enough to fight him. Most of us are here for the same reason: to see Petrivian fall on his old ass. This isn’t the first time he’s made a grab for power, if the old stories are true, but it will be the last. One way or another,” he added.

  How could I leave? Henri’s forces were probably the key to stopping Petrivian. And knowing Henri, he had a good plan in place. At the same time, how could I stay? Henri’s method was amassing not just vampires, but humans and werewolves who were under his control. To top it off, I didn’t know what was happening to Justin and the Pack. Were all my old friends under this vampire’s control?

  “What’s Sylvia’s take in all this?” I asked.

  “Sylvia always does whatever is best for Sylvia. She was sitting pretty before Henri returned, and I think she wants it back. She’s not a fan of Petrivian’s idea though, which is why she hasn’t done anything to actually hurt Henri. He is still our best hope of defeating Petrivian.”

  “Well, fuck! That doesn’t help at all!”

  Thomas shrugged and crossed his arms. “I didn’t say it would. You are just a pawn in all this Isabella. And pawns are usually the first to die.”

  “Aren’t we all pawns?” Killian asked in a whisper.

  You are far from a pawn. You are the Queen.

  That’s what Henri calls me, and I’m hardly a queen, I responded bitterly.

  The Queen has the ultimate power. She can move wherever she wishes.

  But who controls the board?

  That is up to you.

  “Well, Isabella, what shall we do?” Raoul asked suddenly.

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “We’re with you. I don’t understand half of what is happening here, but I know you and I trust you. If you say run, I’ll run with you.”

  “Me too,” Killian added, nodding his head in agreement.

  “I will not go with you, but I will assist if you ask it,” Thomas stated.

  I chuckled and glanced back at Mark, still standing quietly against the wall. I wouldn’t have asked the vampire to come with me if he’d begged. “Henri can still execute his plan without me, or Mark. I don’t want to be a player in this game. I never have. But if he has information here on Petrivian, I need to get that before I go anywhere. That’s the main reason I’ve stayed as long as I have.” That and the fact that I was just a plain coward. Fear coursed down my spine just thinking about leaving the safety of Henri’s building.

  “Well, Henri did insist on giving you full access, so let’s use it. Check the top five floors,” Thomas said, pointing at my monitors.

  I clicked on the computer, pulling up the current time for level 21. The floor showed only a living area. I clicked up to level 22, which showed more living areas. Level 23 was the same, but there were people in there. Human women in various states of undress lounged around the room. His concubines? I clicked to level 24, but there was no surveillance. Level 25 was also blank, with the exception of my rooms. Damn vampire.

  “The only other thing on the top floor besides your private rooms is where he has his throne room, which is only used the most important of gatherings. I’m not sure what else is there though, and I have no idea what is on the 24th floor,” Thomas said thoughtfully.

  “We need to be sure he’s not going to be there when we go looking,” I said, tapping my fingers on the computer keys.

  “Well, then, let’s give him somewhere to be.” Thomas turned to the phone nearby and dialed. “King Henri, we believe we have found who Wesley has been working with. Yes, it appears he released Sylvia from level three just before the fight. She exited the building and headed east. The surveillance ends at that point, and I saw no one else with her, but Wesley has been known to frequent the warehouse at the far end of town. Yes, the old brown one. Yes, of course. We will.”

  Thomas hung up the phone and turned back to us. “He’s taking men and heading out now. He asked me to lead you back to your rooms, for safety.”

  “Well, we’d better head that way then. But we might get lost on the way,” I added, winking back at Thomas.

  “Yes, these floors can be confusing,” Thomas agreed.

  Killian chuckled and added, “Oh, yeah, I get lost all the time.”

  “Mark, come,” I said, standing up and leading the way to the elevator.

  Chapter 16

  We moved quickly and surel
y to Henri’s elevator, and I waited until everyone was inside before pressing my hand against the hand scanner. There was an audible beep and I smiled at the others before punching the button. The elevator moved swiftly, stopping on the 24th floor. I peered into the hallway, looking around and listening for any sounds. I didn’t hear anything, and I sensed no vampires, so I motioned the others to follow me.

  The floors were made of golden tile that clicked under my boots. I led the others down the hallway, stopping at the first room. The door opened easily and I peered inside. The room was empty of furnishings, but was filled with boxes. I moved to the first box and opened it, perusing the contents quickly as the others began opening boxes as well. The box I opened was filled with women’s clothes of various cuts and styles.

  “Clothes,” Thomas said, shoving a box aside with his foot.

  “Same here,” Raoul said.

  “Let’s split up,” I said. “Everyone take a room. Look for paperwork or anything that looks like it could be Henri’s office.”

  We spaced out down the hallway, everyone taking a different room except Mark. He followed me like a shadow, but I did my best to ignore him and focus on the task at hand. The next room I entered was completely empty. I looked around anyway, feeling along the walls for anything out of place. After finding nothing, I moved further down the hallway. I found the next room and opened the door. Again, the room was empty.

  “I found a bunch more clothes,” Killian said as I moved on to the next room.

  “At least you found something. I’ve found two empty rooms,” I replied.

  Raoul stepped out so I could see him and said, “I found an empty room and a room full of hangers. No clothes, just racks and empty hangers.”

  “Weird,” I muttered, opening the next door. I sighed audibly as I looked inside another empty room.

  “Isabella, down here,” Killian said.

  I turned to where Killian was further down the hallway. I left the empty room and made my way to where he was. He pointed wordlessly at the hand scanner attached to the wall outside the door. I shrugged and pressed my hand to the scanner, unsure if anything would happen. The lock clicked, and Killian quickly opened it.