“I have other ways of uncovering that information, Dr. Stone.”
I knew he did, but at the same time, I also didn’t know if the resources he had access to were well connected enough to delve into what was taking place within the vampire families—and even higher than just the vampire families. This seemed to be something within the vampire council, but without a member of the vampire council, how were we supposed to discover those answers?
We sat in silence for a few moments, and Barden leaned forward. While doing so, he shook his head. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if we can wait any longer.” Barden threw the car into drive, and we raced forward, heading down the driveway, toward whatever was there.
“We need to wait for Jean-Pierre.”
The car surged forward, and Barden swung the wheel from side to side, agitation within him far more evident than it ever was. Usually, Barden was self-controlled, but the fact that he was whipping the steering wheel as he was told me his control wasn’t nearly what it should be.
“Where will you have us go?” I asked him.
“If it’s just the two of us? We have a few more options, then.”
“Why then, as opposed to with Jean-Pierre?”
“I’m not about to reveal the presence of certain locations to members of the Council of Elders,” Barden said. “It’s dangerous enough that the two of us need to go there in this situation.”
“You don’t trust me well enough to show me these places?”
“It’s not that at all, Dr. Stone. It’s that I don’t know how many of the organization are trailing us. As far as we know, this friend of yours never fully left.”
It was the first time Barden had suggested Matt might have survived. When I told him, he squeezed the steering wheel even tighter.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to what I have seen from him, I don’t take anything for granted. It’s possible he had some trick.”
“Some trick? Maybe it was a spell.”
“You triggered all of his spells, so I’m not sure how he would have any that would be of any use.”
Barden’s entire body stiffened, and he swung the steering wheel again. As he did, I looked toward the front of the car, struggling to see whether there was anything that had caught his attention, but I came across nothing but shadows. As I stared, I realized that those shadows weren’t completely natural. “What is that?”
“That is what I worry about.”
“Is that something like them?”
“I don’t know.”
I stared into the darkness, trying to penetrate the shadows, but I wasn’t able to. That left me unsettled, and though I couldn’t be certain there was anything within those shadows to be worried about, there did seem to be an unmistakable energy within them, and I didn’t have an explanation for what was causing it.
At another street corner, we spun off to the side, Barden screeching his tires.
“When are you going to transport us?”
“When I can be certain that doing so won’t end up with someone following.”
“They can follow us through that?”
“I’m not certain, but given what we have seen from your friend, I wouldn’t put it past them to have a way of tracking us.”
We turned again, and now we were on an open stretch of road. Barden slammed on the gas, and we rocketed forward, moving far more quickly than I would have expected. Barden had to be using some kind of speed-enhancing spell. That was one I could get behind. I could come up with a dozen different uses for speed like this, most of them involving simply wanting to go fast.
As we accelerated, something slammed into the back of the car. I spun around, bringing my hands up, trying to reach for magic. After having released everything I had, my stores of power were diminished. They weren’t gone, thankfully. I had spent a lot of myself trying to get us to safety, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue to use power like that. Finding a memory that would help me tap into my magic was the tricky part. I felt helpless now, but no more so than I had felt watching Matt and Jean-Pierre battle, and I had to hope I could find something to overpower that sense. As I reached for a connection, it didn’t come to me.
“Can you tell what’s out there?” Barden asked.
“I can’t pull enough power.” I looked back at Barden. “Maybe I should be the one to drive.”
“I’m not sure that would be any better.”
“Is that a joke about women drivers?”
“That is a comment on the fact that my ties to getting us free from here require me to be sitting behind the steering wheel, Dr. Stone. I’m not going to be able to transport us nearly as effectively if I’m not the one navigating.”
“Oh.”
“I imagine you would be a skilled driver, Dr. Stone.”
There came the continued presence of something on the back of the car, though what was it? Nothing else slammed into us, so whatever was out there wasn’t attempting to destroy the car.
It was trying to stay with us. That was the tracking.
“I think I’m going to transport us—“
“No!”
When Barden glanced back at me, I pointed to the rear of the car. “I think we have somebody with us.”
Barden let out a frustrated sigh. “You should get behind the wheel, Dr. Stone.”
“I thought you didn’t want me driving.”
“I’m afraid there may not be any choice.”
I reached for the steering wheel, and Barden tapped on something—the cruise control, I realized—before sliding over the seat into the back seat. What was he doing? I scrambled for the seat, trying to get into place. Sitting there, I held onto the wheel, focusing on the road in front of me. This might be better for me, anyway. At least this way I wouldn’t be staring behind me, always wondering when and if the next attack might take place.
The back seat door opened. Barden disappeared. What the…
A steady buildup of power surged along the charm bracelet, the sense of magic that suggested there was considerable power being used. It dissipated, but it then it was replaced again, another spell nearly as powerful. Again and again magic built, and each time it did, I tried to look back, searching for a sign of Barden, but I couldn’t see him even on top of the car? Had he abandoned me? I could continue to drive up, but where would I go?
Then, the door to the backseat opened, and I let out a sigh of relief. “What was that, Barden?”
“Hey, Jen.”
I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to recognize the voice. My heart hammered.
“Matt?”
15
I took my foot off the gas, but I realized that was a mistake. The moment I did, the moment I eased off the accelerator, was the moment Matt would be able to do whatever he planned.
Empty highway whipped past me. There were no streetlights out here, nothing other than the headlights, and I was thankful they were bright enough to see by. The road was relatively straight, and I shifted my grip on the steering wheel, trying to get more comfortable. As I did, I tried to reach deep within myself, searching for any connection to power I could find. I needed to access my magic.
If Matt didn’t have any spells remaining, it was possible he wouldn’t be able to overpower me the same way he normally would. That didn’t account for the difference in training. He was far more skilled than I, and far more experienced with this kind of thing. I needed to buy time.
I had to believe Barden was still out there. He wouldn’t have been able to throw Barden from the roof of the car, would he? Not Barden. I believed Barden was skilled enough that he wouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
“Where did you come from?”
“The trunk.”
I turned my head, looking to see Matt sitting comfortably on the back seat. His hands were resting on his lap, and they were empty. That had to be a good sign for me, didn’t it?
“How did you get into the trunk?”
“That’s really not the que
stion you need to be asking right about now.”
“What should I be asking, then? Should I be asking about why you decided to attack the vampire elder? Maybe I should be asking why you used me, by getting me to draw out Jean-Pierre.” Another idea came to me. “No. You used me to get to Barden. You knew he would take me to the Vangalor family.” But how?
“Very good, Dr. Stone.”
“Why?”
“I’m not at liberty to share with you.”
“You’re on a mission?” When he didn’t answer, I laughed bitterly. “I find that hard to believe, Matt. You came to me for help. Whatever mission you might be on is over.”
“It’s not over until I’m done with the mission,” he said quietly.
“Were you the one to kill John Adams?”
As I watched him in the rearview mirror, I could see his jaw clenching. “John was my friend. He recruited me into the organization.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No. It’s not.”
“And what is this about? I’m not going to let you harm Jean-Pierre.”
“What makes you think I even wanted to harm him?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it was because you attacked him the moment he appeared.”
“I didn’t attack him. He attacked me.”
“Because of how you were dealing with the vampires.”
He sat silently for a few moments. I wanted him to say something—anything—but he continued to sit in silence. We drove onward, and as we did, I had no idea of where to take us. I glanced down at the gas gauge, noticing that we had a half a tank, long enough that we could continue this conversation for some time. Eventually, I would have to come up with a plan as to where to take us, but I wasn’t sure where that should be just yet.
“Why did you drag me into this?” I asked softly.
“Unfortunately, it was necessary.”
“Why?”
Matt shook his head. “Do you remember me telling you about the men who were attacking the elder?”
“I seem to remember you telling me they were your men.”
“They had been part of my team, yes, but they weren’t my men.”
“What were they?”
“They had taken an assignment.”
“I thought you had said they went rogue?”
“In a sense, they did.”
I squeezed the wheel a little tighter. “Did they really go rogue, or is that what you want me to believe?”
“You saw what they were after, Dr. Stone.”
I let out a tight breath. I hadn’t known at the time what they were after. They wanted the Mark of the Elder, a token that would grant them the ability to turn vampires, but it was more than that. From what I had seen in my brief time, it had appeared to also add to the bearer the vampire abilities to seduce and suggest. I remember how one of Matt’s buddies had used those abilities against me. “I saw what they were after, and you helped to stop them.”
“I did. Because they shouldn’t acquire something like that.”
“That was their mission, wasn’t it?”
“Unfortunately,” Matt said.
“They were sent to acquire the mark?” Matt nodded. “That’s why you stayed in Minneapolis.”
“Very good.”
“So much for what Barden thought.”
“And what did Barden think?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“Humor me.”
“Barden thought you enjoyed the medicine.” The idea of that now, after what I had seen, including the way Matt had used power, slinging around spells as if he were the most powerful person in the room, made that idea laughable.
“I did enjoy it. I do. It’s just that there are other things that need to be done. You’ve seen that, Dr. Stone. I know you have no interest in staying a part of the magical world, but you’ve seen there are people of power.”
“And you somehow have to be the force that intervenes?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“What happened in Minneapolis isn’t the goal of the organization. We don’t try to steal power from other magical races. The power we use is freely given.”
“That’s your objection?” I glanced back at him. “After seeing the way you use your magic, I have a hard time thinking you care a lot about how you acquire it.”
Matt sat silently for a moment. “What do you know about using spells?”
“Why?”
“Just humor me. What has Barden taught you about using spells.”
“If you’re trying to imply that he hasn’t been teaching me—“
Matt cut me off with a laugh. “That’s not what I’m getting at. I know you have struggled with reaching power on your own. When you’ve used it, what have you noticed?”
“I don’t know. What should I have noticed?”
“Have you ever used an item that was gifted to you through coercion?”
I thought about the wand I had grabbed, the one where the vampires had forced the mages to allow them to use their power. That had been my earliest—and only—access to power. At the time, I had thought that would be my only access to power, and that I wouldn’t be able to reach for any magic otherwise. “Once,” I admitted.
“Do you remember how it felt?”
The surge of magic had been almost intoxicating. I had understood why Kate had wanted to use magic, and didn’t need to question the appeal for her. How could I, when that same appeal was there for me? “I remember.”
“It becomes difficult to fight,” Matt said.
“What does?”
“The desire to draw more and more. When there are limits, when power is not freely given, it’s far too easy to think you should take and take and take. It’s why the organization has always limited how we use power. We recognize that power given freely is far more valuable. If someone is willing to hand over aspects of magic, then it is more valuable to us. And it becomes more useful. You saw how I was able to incapacitate those vampires.” I nodded. “Do you think I would have been able to do the same with a spell?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve seen powerful mages.” But then, the most powerful mage I had any experience with was Barden. I didn’t know if Barden would even be able to do what I had seen Matt accomplish, which had been by doing barely anything.
“You’re right. A powerful mage would be able to do a lot of what I’ve been able to do, but at the same time, a powerful mage would have drawn on considerable magic in order to do so. It would’ve taken them more time than it took me. The fact I had those spells—and that the power within them was freely given—is what makes us the operatives that we are.”
I sat with my foot on the gas, glancing at the speedometer. We were cruising at about seventy miles an hour, and we still hadn’t come across any other cars. Had Matt done something to deter anyone else from joining us on the highway? And where was Barden?
“Is that your point?”
“It’s part of the point I was trying to make. I was hoping maybe you might be impressed by it.”
“If that’s what you’re hoping for, then I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Matt chuckled. “I think you would be best served by heading home, Dr. Stone.”
“Now you want to see me to safety?”
“You’ve gotten yourself involved deep enough. I don’t know that you want to—or need to—get involved any more than this.”
I let out a breath, shifting and looking out the window. “What did you do to Barden?”
“I didn’t do anything to Barden. He wasn’t there when I was climbing in.”
Had something happened to him? Barden would want me to get to safety, and safety meant going someplace—though where? I could go back to the warehouse. Even though Matt had proven it wasn’t safe, there were still protections built upon the warehouse that would grant me a certain level of safety. Other than that, I could go back to the condo. Kat
e had protections built into it that were equally stout, though a trio of vampires had blasted through those protections once before, so I didn’t know if they would be enough to withstand that level of attack again. What I needed was someplace where no one would come looking for me. But first, I had to get rid of Matt.
“What’s really going on here?”
“I was betrayed,” Matt said.
“By John Adams?”
As an answer, Matt crawled across the seat, joining me in the front. He glanced over once he was settled, slipping a seatbelt on. “Like I told you, John trained me. He recruited me.”
“Did he?” I pressed when he fell silent.
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him?”
Matt glanced at me before turning his attention back to the window. “No.”
“But your organization thinks you did.”
He nodded.
“Why did you drag me into this?”
“I needed access to the elder vampire.”
“That was it?”
“I wanted to know if he had uncovered anything that might explain what’s been taking place.”
“And you did that by attacking him?”
“That wasn’t the plan,” he admitted.
“What was your plan?”
“How have your conversations with the elder vampire gone?”
“About as I would expect from someone like that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is Jean-Pierre has lived for an impossibly long time. I think he sees me as naïve and insignificant compared to him. At the same time, I think he struggles with the fact that I have saved him. I get the distinct sense he doesn’t like owing anyone a debt.”
“I’m sure that’s true.”
It was more than that, but how was I to explain to Matt I had the sense that Jean-Pierre was trying to force me to work with him? Every time I was around him, I felt the same pressure from him, that almost overwhelming desire to serve him, a sense I had to actively combat in order to ignore. It was almost as if he were testing me, probing for weakness, though why should that surprise me? Everything I knew about vampires told me they were dangerous predators, and one of the Council of Elders would surely be the most dangerous of predators.
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