by Sandra Kaye
“Somewhere about an eight or nine, maybe, like leaving me in the desert for a day with no water and the closest town is fifty miles or stripping me naked on a mound of fire ants. Yeah, that sounds about right,” I pouted.
Celia just giggled and patted my back. “She loves you, girl. She just wants you to quit mothering her and it’s never going to happen. You know it. I know it. Hell, even she knows it! But it won’t change a thing.”
At that, we both laughed. The rest of the day was drama free, thank heavens. Patients came and went per their normal schedules. Celia and I fell into our groove, allowing the afternoon to float by with no more worries. Well, work-related anyway.
Upon leaving work and heading to my car, my phone rang; Seslie called for a briefing. She was just as shocked and upset as I was. Neither of us was able to guess why on the Goddess’ green earth he’d want a meeting with us, and we were even more worried that her vampire boyfriend wasn’t around to pick his brain for possible clues. Of course, in the end, she came to the same conclusion I had. We’d find out when we got there, since there wasn’t a way to get out of the meeting.
We arranged to meet in the capitol building parking lot’s northwest corner at eight o’clock that night. Sunset wasn’t until eight twenty-six according to Google. The king didn’t leave his lair below the capitol until then, and from that vantage point, we could see him or his minions coming. We were not completely naive witches!
Chapter Three
Driving to our impromptu meeting had me irritated and more than a little pissed-off. I knew Leon believed he was all-powerful, but to me, he was still Leon, the vampire who needed my gran’s protection to survive when he first came to Illinois from France. Not that I would be saying that out loud. He had to flee France as a youngling, because he had a kill order on his head for unsanctioned kills, even though everyone knew it happened sometimes with new vampires; that’s why newlings lived under their masters’ care for the first few years. They needed to learn control. Gran took pity on Leon, because he was somehow related on his mother's side. Plus, she truly believed it wasn’t his fault he was turned, and his master was killed by a hunter shortly after, leaving him alone with no one to teach him the ways of a good vampire. Leon once told me the newborn craving was like the thirst of being in the desert for days without water, but nothing seems to quench it except blood. Loads and loads of blood. At any rate, Gran never held the kills against him.
She was a big believer in rehabilitation. Yet, protocol stated no newborn vampire may enter another king or queen’s territory unless born or made there. They needed to wait until they had been released by their master to transfer or travel from one region to another. It took years and many favors before he was welcomed here. That put a rather large bullseye on our heads growing up. But Leon always kept us safe, whether we liked it or not. As teenagers, we usually didn’t.
Now, Leon was King of the Illinois territory, so we did our best to help if he asked. Until today, we had only helped him through Gran. Never had he summoned us on our own. So, even though I could remember Leon from before he was anyone, I had to play the good little witch and come when he beckoned. I would love to remind him of that. Before he was King with an army of vampires behind him, I would have, but I valued my neck, so as much as I might hate it, I would keep my mouth shut. Of course, if he really needed something, I’d feel like an ass for being so negative. As Gran had pointed out more times than I cared to count, it’s everyone’s job to keep the existence of supernaturals a secret. I believed witches felt it deeper than the others, because, of the known races, we were the ones throughout history to be persecuted. In truth, though, family or not, I wasn’t sure I trusted him.
Pulling into the capitol parking lot at eight-fifteen left me a few minutes to enjoy the cool evening breeze. I had enjoyed my trip across town in my little red Mustang with the top down. From my car, I could
see Anthony Edds, better known as Teddy to his friends. He was the main day guard for the lower level entrance to the tunnels that ran under the capitol and downtown. That’s where the vampires made their home, Teddy is a mountain of a man at six-foot-four, and a polar bear shifter to boot. He had your typical bouncer body type, big and muscled, although if you thought he was all show and no go, you’d be sadly mistaken. His head of white-blond hair, cropped close and short, was a hangover from his Army days. If one went only by his looks, they’d think he had mean down pat. But when he decided to show off his amazing smile, he had a pair of adorable dimples that could melt hearts.
He strode across the parking lot heading toward me flashing that very smile as I stepped out of my car. Believe me when I say, all that manliness was a sight any red-blooded female would stop to watch. With those dimples and that body poured into a pair of faded jeans with rips in all the right places, who could resist? Not me, that’s for sure. There really are too few things as simple as admiring a nice form, I mused as he approached.
I was paying so much attention to the view that it took a second to process that Seslie had pulled in. As soon as she was out of the car, Teddy snatched her up in a literal bear hug, sweeping her right off her feet and kissing her cheek. As he placed her back on her feet, I stepped forward for my turn and returned his hug. Then, he gave us both a stern glare, all fake, of course, even throwing in a growl for good measure, letting us know he felt it had been too long since our last visit. That just made us both giggle. Teddy may be hired muscle, but we both knew we were in no danger. We had all been friends since junior high. With us, he truly was a teddy bear.
“What?” Ses asked around her laugh.
“I never see you two anymore until it’s at the invitation of my boss. What kinda friends does that make you?”
We all knew this was total BS, because other than a rare drop-by with Gran, we never visited Leon. He was right that we hadn’t just visited with him in a while, though. Life just got away from you sometimes.
“Now, big guy, don’t pout. You’ll get wrinkles,” I teased.
Ses jumped in to play peacemaker to our mock arguing. “Now, children. Play nice.” To Teddy, she said, “We have missed you, too, big guy. We’ve just been busy. We promise you haven’t been replaced. You're still our favorite werebear.” She almost managed to say it with a straight face, which earned her a knuckle-rub to her scalp, proving we really were back in grade school.
“You’re so not funny,” he teased back.
“As much fun as this is,” I laughed, “we’re here for a reason, and we all know how lateness makes your boss extra fun.” I headed toward the basement entrance that would take us to the tunnels under the capitol.
Teddy took the lead as we reached the door he had exited, leading us through the maze of halls and down two levels to the large open chamber dubbed simply The Hall. There were only a few of the older vamps awake and milling about at that hour as we walked through. Younger vamps seemed to require more sleep.
No one paid us much attention as we made our way to the small room at the rear of the large chamber where Leon made his office. If he was awake, that’s where he’d be. Since we were only there because he demanded it, he had better be awake. Lord knows hanging out there was not my idea of a good time. I was a sun and fun kind of girl, neither of which I would get in that room.
Teddy opened the door, stepped back to allow us passage, then left. Sure enough, Leon was at his desk, a huge monstrosity the size of Texas in the small space. From the looks of it, he had been there a while.
He waved us in and motioned for us to wait as he finished a call. I took that time to get a better look at him. He was a man who was all about image. From his Armani suits to his sleek, raven hair, he was always the picture of cool, calm, and collected. I was getting none of that at that moment, though. His suit was rumpled and looked as if he had slept in it, and his hair was sticking up as if he had been running his hands through it. His normal look was uptown chic, not the smarmy salesman type in front of us. If I wasn’t mistaken, he even had
a smudge on his tie; I preferred not to think about what that may be.
Something must have happened to have him in his current state. The question was what?
Leon wasted no time on civilities once the door was shut and his phone call completed. “Finally,” he breathed. “I need your help.”
“We figured as much,” I said. “But with what, exactly? Normally, you’d just call Gran.”
It took a few moments for him to answer, almost as if he was deciding what he wanted to say. I almost thought I was going to have to ask the question again, even though he had the best hearing of all of us. It was so unlike the Leon we knew; he was always bold and confident, and he was neither at that moment.
When he finally did speak, it was as if his true nature finally kicked in. “I’m sorry. Please do have a seat. This may take a moment to explain. Make yourselves comfortable. Do you require anything?”
After we both shook our heads, he continued. “Truthfully, I’m not even sure where I should begin.”
As we allowed Leon to gather his thoughts, we took seats in the high-backed leather chairs directly in front of his desk. Sitting in one of those chairs was downright sinful. It didn’t just conform to your body; it melted around you until you felt like you never wanted to leave. I hated sitting there. It made it too easy to forget where I was. As well as we knew Leon, and as much as Gran had always cared for him, she never let us forget what he truly was: a predator who thought of himself first, always.
The room screamed of luxury, from the mahogany desk to the Tiffany lamps; it’s what Leon was about. He loved to surround himself with luxury. Totally not my thing, but to each their own.
Leon took a deep breath, as if to fortify himself, one he did not need being dead and all, and then he began. “First, let me ask what you know of the transition process one goes through to become a vampire?”
Leon and I both looked to Seslie being as she dated from the vampire pool.
“Why the hell are you looking at me?” Seslie demanded.
“I guess that answers my question,” Leon replied. “Well, for you to know what’s at stake, I will need to educate you on the basics of how the transformation works.” He looked to be sure we were following him before continuing. “When an acceptable candidate has been approved, they are given a timeline for when they will be remade and assigned an elder. As I’m sure you know or, maybe in this case, guessed, the candidate is drained to near death, fed my blood before being placed in their death chamber with their chosen elder to rise the following sunset. Everyone get the gist?’
We nodded. The truth was, that was more of an explanation than I would have thought we’d get from Leon.
“Then I will start with when our issues began. A little over three weeks ago, our first candidate of the month was ready for transformation. Things were on schedule; she and her appointed elder were placed in her family mausoleum after her body was prepped. You may remember from my history, newlings aren’t fit for society for many years. That’s why families aren’t told about the process. Having an elder with them not only helps with the energy transference but has increased the success rate and decreased the human death count due to rogues.” After another unneeded deep breath, he continued: “But, they never rose. We waited forty-eight hours just to be sure the process hadn’t been delayed. It’s not common, but it can happen. If she had woken early or got away from her elder, he would have at least returned.”
That’s vampire language for ‘they got hungry and went on a killing spree,’ I thought snidely. I wracked my brain and couldn't for the life of me remember any recent murders or unsolved deaths in the news. Maybe I just hadn’t been paying enough attention. Though, the Paranormal Intelligence Agency would have noticed, too, so I was confident I hadn’t missed it.
I tuned back in to the story as Leon was saying, “But when my men went to assess the situation, neither of those appeared to be the case. She was right where she should have been had she risen in the mausoleum. Yet, how they found her was odd, to say the least. Her coffin was open, and she was slumped over the side as if she had begun to rise and then she just changed her mind. When my people found her this way and attempted to place her back to rest, that’s when the odd part was discovered. Her chest cavity was ripped open and blood was everywhere, as if her heart truly had started to beat again, at least until she met with a tragic and morbid true death. While this was disconcerting, it wasn’t of much interest at that point. It’s not as if we don’t have a long list of…shall we call them patrons, waiting to join our ranks. Her elder was nowhere to be found, though. After a few days with no sightings, I believed he had changed his mind about caring for a newborn and slain her himself. In truth, I hadn’t planned to give that episode much thought. That was, until it happened three more times, twice in mausoleums and once at a burial site. The last of which was a rather high-ranking legacy, as well as one of my generals who was well over one hundred years reborn. The pattern was the same as the first: the chest ripped open and blood present, which could only occur with a beating heart, leading us to believe there was something deeper than failed rebirth at play. Also with no sign of any of the elders this has become a concern. They all were missing something. Do you care to guess as to what was missing from each?”
“I’ll bite,” Seslie said. “What?”
Leon paused for effect, then stated, “Their hearts.”
Well, color me surprised. "What on earth would want a newly risen vampire’s heart?” So, that’s just the question I asked.
“That, my dear girl, is just the question I brought you here to ask,” he said. “I don’t know of anyone or anything. My other sources have led nowhere, and the two of you have avenues open to you which I do not.”
Ses and I gave each other the same look. Yep, we were on the same page. No clues zone!
Somehow, I doubted that was what he wanted to hear. I went for the more politically correct. “We can look into that for you. I can’t personally think of anything that jumps to mind at the moment. Though, I have to ask, why didn’t you go to Gran? I understand not involving the agency, but not her.”
“I agree,” Seslie said. “I’d be happy to do a little research and see what pops. But why us?”
“I rather thought that might be the case. It was just a hope that you ladies knew of something my other sources did not. As to your grandmother’s involvement, we all know she is aging, and as much as I trust her, I feel this may lead to something that could put her in danger, and I shall not do that. You ladies are young, strong, and skilled. You can use her as a source, but I prefer to keep her on the sidelines for this, if possible. She has done more than enough for me. Now, do you have a timeframe as to when I might expect some progress on this matter?”
I took a few moments to gather my thoughts before answering honestly. “Currently, no. But we should be able to give you some kind of update in forty-eight hours?” His only answer was a regal nod.
“So, can we assume transitions are currently on hold?” Seslie asked.
“For the time being, yes, they are. Although, that being said, I am unsure how long I can keep it that way. For now, the fear of losing another elder is working in our favor. Though, I am uncertain of how long that will remain the case. I am sure I need not tell you that it is of the utmost importance these issues not become known. Only a select few trusted individuals are aware of this. I believe that is for the best. I am sure you will agree,” Leon finished. We all knew it wasn’t a question but a statement. It was his secret and we were just being brought in on a consulting basis.
We both nodded in the affirmative. “We will handle this with the kid gloves it deserves,” I added, feeling very PR. Seslie just rolled her eyes while stifling a laugh.
“Very well. I will double your normal salary at the agency plus expenses. Will that do?” he questioned.
Heck yeah, that would due. That was of course not what I said. “That seems fair,” was my response while I jumped for joy on the in
side.
We set a time for us to follow up with him, then Teddy was summoned, and we were escorted back to our cars. After our normal horsing around and agreeing to all get together soon for drinks, Teddy headed back to his post.
Once he was halfway back to his post, Seslie spoke. “Don’t think I’m not still pissed at you over today. I am, but we have work to do, and giving you the cold shoulder right now won’t help get things done.”
“I agree. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”
Ses nodded and the subject was closed. We were good like that, but we did both have the Cherokee temper, which meant for some mean fights as teens. Now, we were more mature and just iced each other out for a while when mad, which drove the other one nuts but got our point across.
We took a few minutes to put a game plan together by going over what we learned, where we planned to start researching, and then dividing up the tasks. She got the online research since it was her thing. I would check with Gran and then hit the books. I was more into searching old tomes. I enjoyed the feel and smell of old books you just didn’t get from a computer screen. Seslie was so into the computer age that she even had her book of shadows on her computer. Something about that felt so wrong to me, but every witch has their thing. Technology was hers.
Chapter Four
Tuesday was an early day at the clinic, so I headed to Gran’s place after work. It was a long ride through the country and across the ferry to the small town of Pearl where Gran lived.
It was a quaint and mysterious little town, just like our Gran. She lived out on the southeast edge of town near what the local kids call the caves. It was actually just an old rock quarry, but with the Native American population and the burial grounds on the bluffs above the town, kids had to have their lore, too, imagined or not.
