"Oh, they were right about that part," I told her. "They just don't know about me."
"Who are you?"
"Zaria," I said and released the light I held to Change What Was.
Ilya
Get off the train, the voice entered my mind. Not Zaria's. A male voice—a gruff one. We were pulling into the Birmingham station, and had no plans to leave the train. I felt we were safer there, although the Klyki was now sitting near the door at one end of our car, watching us while pretending to read.
Get off the train. Trust me. Zaria asked us to come.
Us? There was more than one?
"Zaria asked someone to come. We must leave the train," I told Andrei softly. Yes, he'd left a message on Zaria's phone, but she likely wouldn't read it until after we were dead once we reached London.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Not sure at all. Come."
"But," he argued.
"Andrei, it matters not if we die in Birmingham or London. We get off here."
"All right." He stood and looked about him, while others gathered belongings, ready to depart.
We followed them out, through the door opposite the one guarded by the Klyki. He rose when we did to follow us, but there were several passengers in between. Therefore, we stepped off the train first.
And then everything stopped—noise, conversation, scents, motion—all of it.
"You're not in danger," two men walked toward us. One had broad shoulders, light-brown hair and eyes that were surely blind.
The other—the one who'd spoken, was of Asian descent and wore a long braid down his back. His hair was black as midnight, except for the white streak that ran through it.
"What is happening?" Andrei's head swiveled as he took in the scene about us. I turned to look behind; sure enough, the Klyki had closed most of the distance between us, and had removed a weapon from a pocket.
Yes, it looked like an ordinary pen, but it likely held two doses of poison that would take us down in minutes.
I whirled back to the two who'd met us—and presumably saved us, too.
"Zaria sent you?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain normal. I thought Zaria's talents amazing. This was amazing, too, in its own right.
"We owe our lives to her," the blind man grinned. "When she asks for a favor, we're all over it, like ducks on June-bugs, or that's what a friend of mine says."
"He has no idea what a June bug actually is," the Asian man said. "I'm Travis. This is Randl. We need to get out of split-time quick."
"First, I'll take this," the blind man—Randl—stepped around me and deftly removed the pen from the Klyki's fingers. "He won't need it, now."
"Ready for London? We got you a room with two beds next to Zaria's, and she can take things from here," Randl said. "If I were you, I'd practice my apologies before you see her again."
"May I have that?" I asked, meaning the pen.
"As long as you put it to good use." The pen was handed to me.
"You may depend upon it."
"Good. Let's go; Travis and I have one more stop to make before we go back."
I wanted to ask them where that was, but didn't. The way he'd stopped time around us, I worried it could be a when as much as a where.
Two minutes later, we and our luggage had been delivered to our room at the hotel near Wembley Stadium, and our rescuers disappeared.
"Well, Papa, she did tell us she couldn't save me again; looks like she asked somebody else to do it instead," Andrei sighed and dropped onto the side of his bed, his hands hanging loosely between his knees.
He was trying to relax after our recent experience, because the werewolf would have killed us had our rescuers not arrived.
Lissa
"That's Randl and ah, Travis," I explained to Winkler. I'd almost introduced Travis as my son, but Winkler might not be able to wrap his head around that information. He'd already seen me do things he shouldn't have.
"What are they doing here?" Winkler frowned as both spoke softly with Zaria at the front of the jet.
"They're taking Elena to a safe place so the Baikovs can't get to her again."
"Good. I think we're fortunate that this one was more like you. I don't think we'll get lucky like that again."
"I'm thinking the same thing," I admitted. "Six others. Can you imagine what that fight could look like?"
"I don't want to. It scares the hell out of me."
We watched as Elena stood and nodded to Travis before they disappeared. Sirena would gain a new citizen; Randl would decree it. He wouldn't have taken her with him if he hadn't approved.
There was no way in hell that the Baikovs could ever touch her again, unless all the universes fell.
"Well, that's done," Zaria sighed as she took a seat in front of us. "They had to rescue Ilya and Andrei first, but there's no way I was going to let them die on a train to Birmingham."
"Alabama or England?" Winkler's words were dry.
"The latter, I assure you."
"Where are they now?" I asked.
"In a hotel room next to the one I'll get in London," she said. "I'm really tired. Will you miss me if I go soak up sunlight somewhere and take a nap?"
"Go," I waved a hand. "Just be back when we land. I'll send mindspeech if we need anything in between."
"Soak up sunlight?" Winkler asked after Zaria disappeared.
"It's good for her," I shrugged.
"Things just keep getting weirder," Winkler huffed and took his seat. He patted the one next to him, inviting me to sit with him. I didn't turn down the invitation.
The Kremlin
Kornel Baikov
"What do you mean, they disappeared?"
"Our agent was right behind them. One moment they were there, and the next, they were gone. According to his report, sir."
"What about surveillance video?"
"His lapel camera verifies his account. They were right in front of him, getting off the train, and then they weren't there. Those outside the train were recording images, too. We've run their videos back many times; they show the same thing, with no interruption in the time stamps on either."
"This is impossible," I shouted at my first and second assistants, sweeping out a hand and knocking a brass pencil cup off my desk. It clanked across the Persian rug underfoot, scattering pens in its wake before rolling to a stop next to my credenza. "My uncle will have heads over this," I continued the rant while ignoring my clumsiness.
"We must add this to the puzzle of how they made their way from the East Coast to the West in very little time," my second assistant cowered as he spoke. "Kuznetzov was seen in both places, with very little time in between."
"This was not brought to my attention because?" I hissed through clenched teeth. I understood that the female vampire could carry others quickly within her mist, but to travel that far as such, and reach the destination while it was still in daylight?
That was unheard of.
"Get me the trainer on the line. I wish to speak with him immediately."
"Right away, sir."
London
Ivan Baikov
Night had fallen; I hadn't been awake long when I received the call from Kornel's assistant.
"The General wishes to inform you that two of the females are dead," he said hurriedly before I could chastise him for having the temerity to speak to me.
"And how is that possible?" I demanded. I was needed at Heathrow, where I would wait for the news to come of the destruction of the jet over the Atlantic. I had no time for this or for Kornel's assistant.
"We ah, had news that it might be possible for the original female to mist while in daylight. That could prove to be a miraculous event for us if it were true."
"Stop babbling and get to the point."
"We attempted it with two of our females—forcing them to change to mist in darkness, before releasing them in simulated sunlight. The ah, results were not satisfactory. The General only wishes you to know."
&
nbsp; Before I could shout at the worm on the other end of the call, he had already hung up.
Lissa
"The arrangements are made—the media will be informed shortly," Bill ended a call on his phone. Soon enough, on both sides of the pond, word would spread that our jet crashed into the ocean.
There was other news, too. With everything that had happened, it had slipped my mind. In Paris, a hotel had been bombed while the original Tony was inside it. I was forced to go Looking to make sure everything happened as it should; so far, it had gone as it had the first time.
For now, too, Baikov would believe us dead while we landed at a private airport in France. Zaria would transport us from there, while the werewolf pilot and copilot would be guests of a local pack in the French countryside until the jet was needed again.
"An associate has sent copies of the photos taken of Kornel Baikov's family in Ostrava, to one of the General's associates. We'll see how he handles the information," Tony said. He'd been talking with Bill after receiving the news on the bombing, and keeping himself busy after he learned of it.
Strange, I know, to think that René had already carried Tony to his home in France, after performing the turn before Tony died.
Time was indeed growing short, and I worried over Liron's absence. Not once had he poked his head in to interfere with anything we'd done so far, to weigh the scales in the Baikovs' favor.
Perhaps Ilya was more than correct on all of it—that this was only their opening salvo, and much, much worse was planned the deeper we fell into the rabbit hole.
Would he fall for our fake deaths, as Baikov likely would—at least at first? I had no idea how much time we had before that lie floated to the surface, only to be disproved.
We'd already dealt with spies and double agents—were others waiting? In addition to that, we were still no closer to the drug, the Sirenali or the Sirenali bone dust. I had a feeling that only a trip to Russia would eliminate any of those threats.
"We'll have a talk with Ilya when we get to London," Zaria waved an arm, causing her two bags to float and follow wherever she walked.
"About where to go, once we get to Russia?"
"Yes."
"Is everyone ready to go?" We'd deplaned and were herded into a small office inside a nearby hangar, where airport employees had been warned away. As it was nighttime, it wasn't difficult to achieve.
I glanced in Tony's direction; it wasn't the light—he looked almost green. He knew what was happening to him and René at this very moment, and it brought up bad memories—of almost dying after the explosion, and being in terrible pain while René frantically searched for him.
Winkler shut the office door with as little noise as possible, but it still made me jump. Then, Bill nodded to Zaria, so she'd transport us to London. She dropped us behind a hardware store not far from the hotel, and we walked toward the entrance, which took roughly five minutes.
"There's a tube station near here," Charles stepped to my side as we carried or pulled our bags to the hotel.
He'd know—this was his stomping grounds, after all. Wlodek's mansion was an hour's ride away, if traffic cooperated. If I misted there, I could arrive in minutes. I had no desire to face that Wlodek again, and pitied my former self for having to deal with what was coming after her return from Refizan.
"All here?" The desk clerk began checking us in. I looked around at the huge lobby, where a few guests, some of them dressed for dinner or an outing, wandering in and out. There was a lot of marble and glass around us, which raised my worry to level two.
They also weren't kidding about it being close to Wembley Stadium. I could almost reach out and touch the stadium from the front desk.
"It just looks close," Charles whispered in my ear beside me.
"Lissy," Tony walked up to me. Something in the tone of his voice made me jerk my head up.
"Tony?" I asked. I saw the pain in his eyes, and that wasn't something I'd seen often.
"I think I should tap out," he said aloud.
"But," I began.
"No," he held up a hand. "The other me is ah, becoming vampire, and not that far away. As is René."
We'd all heard it—it was all over the news. The present Tony had supposedly died in a hotel bombing in Paris. While he was presently disguised, he'd felt the pull of it—and the fear of it—the moment we landed in Paris.
On top of that, he wanted to see René. Talk to him. That would be a huge mistake and he realized that. After all, René would die himself in less than two months, and that pain was waiting to happen again.
"Who will come to take your place?" I asked Tony. Gavin shouldn't come for perhaps the same reasons—he was too close to this and he was related to René, rather than René's last turn, as Tony was.
"Rigo volunteered." Tony's head was down, his hands in both pockets as he whispered his reply. "Actually, Aryn and Aurelius offered, too, but I think they'd call too much attention. Rigo is a spy's spy. I think he'll be better at this than I ever was."
"Then go now. Tell Rigo to," I began.
"I am here, Tiessa," Rigo took my arm and steered me away from Charles and Tony. "Let them deal with getting Tony away unseen."
I let my head droop against Rigo's chest for a moment when we stopped, and his hands rubbed my arms as I rested against him. Tony was right to leave, but things felt out of control from such a sudden change.
Lissa, we have a problem, Zaria informed me.
Huh? My head jerked up and I turned quickly in her direction.
Over there, standing behind the man checking her in? The scents reached me the moment my eyes widened. They were here, fresh off a bombing in Paris.
Oh, my God, I breathed in reply. It's Jovana and Rahim Alif.
Chapter 14
London
Lissa
"They're on the second floor," Zaria told Bill as we rode the elevator to the top of the hotel.
"Fuck. Right here under our noses and we can't do a damn thing," Bill growled. "I can alert the local authorities because I have no jurisdiction, but people will die if they attempt to capture both."
"People may die anyway. We have no idea why they're here," I pointed out. "Did you get anything from either?" I asked Zaria.
"They're both waiting for instructions from Xenides," she said. "They don't know why they're here, either."
"Xenides sent them here. He's best buds with vamp Baikov this time around, so they could be here on Kremlin business," I said.
"You think they showed up in case we didn't officially die earlier?" Winkler asked.
"It's possible—that they're backup for vamp Baikov. Baikov must have Xenides over a barrel, or Xenides doesn't know that Baikov wants me dead," I mused. "Xenides really, really, wants me, you know."
"I'd say Baikov has him in the dark about that," Zaria suggested. "Since I haven't laid eyes on him I can't say for sure, but that's my guess. By the way, we're all disguised as of now, and your passports will change whenever your disguise does while we're here."
"That's handy," Winkler said.
"A necessity," Rigo said. "I would do it myself if Zaria hadn't. She has also arranged for our scents to be changed, too. Jovana will not be able to tell us from any other human."
"That's something, at least," Charles agreed.
"This elevator is so polite," Trajan broke in as the door opened and our floor was announced.
I smothered a snicker as we walked toward our rooms.
Zaria
I hesitated outside the hotel door before knocking. Ilya and Andrei were both inside, waiting for my arrival. I didn't know how this would go, but Andrei was sincere when he'd left the message begging me to help them.
I had information for him, too, after speaking with Randl, but the final choice would be his to make.
Ilya's reaction was the one that worried me. Had he known of Andrei's call, or had he allowed it after considering his options, once his life and that of his son looked to be over? I'd heard Ilya's t
houghts, and he sounded a desperate. I wanted him to trust me, and I was about to find out if that were the case.
The Klyki had caught up with both of them, as I'd known they would. Without Randl's arrival, they'd have died of an unknown poison, a preferred weapon in the Kremlin's arsenal to get rid of inconveniences.
Raising my hand, I rapped lightly on the door. Andrei was the one to open it. "I am so sorry I did not believe you," he began.
"I am the biggest fool," Ilya said, stepping in to stand beside Andrei.
"I'll give you that," I nodded before walking in and allowing Andrei to close the door behind me.
London
Ivan Baikov
Xenides didn't like open spaces. He failed to understand that we were as anonymous inside the hotel bar as we would be anywhere else. We would pay in cash, as always, and those who served us wouldn't recall our presence.
Nevertheless, Xenides wore a deep frown as he toyed with his wineglass. Jovana smiled and laughed at something Alif was saying. I didn't care what they talked about; I'd only been asked to arrange this meeting, after all, by the one who'd created the master program and the drug, before offering it to us. Of all the world's leaders, he'd approached us first, and the initial experiments were too good to refuse.
He'd been paid very well for what he offered, but he required that we leave ultimate control in his hands.
We were happy to do so, as our scientists needed training from him in how everything worked. He also asked for research space outside Moscow. Again, that was given readily.
Then, when he brought in his assistant, D'slay, things went even smoother than before. D'slay would carry this one's orders to his minions, and they responded well and quickly to all demands.
Or they died.
Not our problem; they learned swiftly or we had no use for them.
"When will he get here?" Xenides wasn't used to waiting on anyone or anything, and frankly, as he was older than I, he would have the upper hand in a battle of compulsion.
Xenides wanted what he wanted, however, and the female vampire princess was at the top of his list. Too bad he didn't know that she was already dead.
Blood Recall Page 18
