Samuel gave him a skeptical look. “How do you know that?”
“Because I’ll never forget his face. His real name is Vikktor, and he was the last Caspian I ever saw before my mother and I escaped.” He stared at the wall, his eyes filled with a frighteningly quiet rage. “He was on top of her when I walked into her bedroom, and she was trying to fight him off like a lion. But I was a kid. I couldn’t stop him. He threw me against a wall and then compelled me to watch. That’s the real reason we fled with the boxes. To keep us both safe.”
Samuel seemed stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because my mother made me promise never to speak of what he did to her. To anyone. But it’s time to speak now. The world needs to know what a monster Vikktor Caspian is.” He slowly turned his eyes to Samuel. “It’s time for the king to die.”
“He recognized you,” I said, remembering the look on the man’s face when he stared down at Edward from the balcony. “He remembers you too, doesn’t he?”
“Caspians never forget their own. They’ve been tracking me for years, and now they intend to reclaim what they think is theirs.” His eyes grew darker as his handsome face turned to stone. “It’s time to stop this game of cat and mouse for good. We’re going to find those boxes and kill them all. Then I’m going to find a way to bring Vikktor back from the dead and kill him over and over again until I’m satisfied.”
“Have you told him?” I asked Samuel.
Edward snapped out of his death fantasy. “Told me what?”
Samuel sighed deeply, bracing himself for Edward’s temper. “The box is gone.”
“What do you mean, it’s gone? You said you had the security footage. There has to be something on those tapes.”
“We found the woman who bought it, but she resold it at a flea market this past weekend. For cash.”
I thought Edward was going to explode. Instead, he walked over to the sofa and sat down, his eyes filled with devastation. After a minute or two of letting it sink in, he stood back up. “I won’t accept that. If we have to tear this city apart, we’ll find that box. In the meantime, we have to find a way to destroy Vikktor’s campaign.”
“I don’t suppose any of you know where Vikktor lives?” I asked. “He’s running for Senate, so it should be pretty easy to find out. I’ll bet the box they bought from Wesley Foster is somewhere in that house.”
Edward laughed bitterly. “He’s got a fancy address all right, but I can guarantee you it’s only for the paperwork. The Caspians’ real lair is anywhere but on the Upper East Side. Even if we find it, it won’t be easy to get in. They won’t leave it unguarded.”
Samuel chimed in. “It’ll be like walking into a nest of vipers. If we can find the other box first, we’ll at least have some leverage. Two out of three might not be the complete key, but it will give us the upper hand. Then we can draw them out into an arena of our choice and strike.”
“Well, I guess we don’t have that luxury anymore, do we?” It seemed like every time we gained an inch, something set us back even more. “We need to find their lair.”
Charlotte abruptly stood up and looked at her husband, that same wicked grin spreading across her face as the other day. She glanced at a door next to the entrance to the kitchen. “I think it’s time to have another session with our guest.”
“The Caspian you found at Foster’s apartment? He’s still alive?” I’d just assumed they’d dispatched him by now.
Samuel kept his eyes on Charlotte’s while they had a silent conversation. “Rule number two,” he said, referring to the one after never walking into a situation unarmed. “Never throw away a perfectly good opportunity.” He headed for the cellar door with a satisfied grin on his face. “Why don’t we all go down to meet the prisoner?”
I had to admit I wasn’t thrilled about it. Cutting off a vampire’s head cleanly and swiftly was one thing, but torturing one wasn’t something I was sure I could watch. But I followed Samuel down the stairs and prayed my already queasy stomach wouldn’t fail me like it had back at the museum. I was shocked when I saw the vampire shackled to the wall with a thick silver chain draped around his bare chest. It reminded me of the night Ryker tried to kill Hawk by strangling him with a similar one, his own hands smoking as if they were about to burst into flames. It was silver poisoning, Hawk had later explained.
I reached for the silver alchemy pendant under my shirt, thankful I hadn’t gone up in flames when Fetch returned it to me, my immortal genes sparing me from vulnerability to the poisoning.
The vampire lifted his head to glance at us before dropping it again. Exhaustion, presumably. His eyes were clear blue, and his skin sun kissed as if he’d come from the beach. There was nothing dark about him like Ryker or Decker. But I wouldn’t have imagined Vikktor being a monster either.
When I stepped closer to get a better look at him, he raised his head again and looked me in the eye. His lips slowly parted and revealed a set of fangs, making my own suddenly throb.
“I wouldn’t get too close,” Samuel said. “He’s a tricky fucker.”
“Does he have a name?” I don’t know why I cared. It just seemed like you should know someone’s name before you tortured them.
The vampire glanced at the manacles wrapped around his wrists. “Will you take these off if I tell you?” His eyes quickly turned as dark as his voice, dismissing any doubt that he was dangerous.
“You almost had me there for a moment,” I said, smiling. “But you’re a Caspian to the core, aren’t you?”
He cocked his head and raised his brows. “You mean like you?” Then his eyes darted to Edward. “Traitor.”
Shocked, I stepped back. “What do you mean by that?”
He snickered quietly but quickly lost his sneer and looked away.
Something got into me, and I rushed toward him, gripping his chin to force his eyes to mine. “I asked you a question.” I clenched him so tight I could feel his jawbone crack.
A low growl slipped from his mouth as his eyes met mine. “You might as well sever my head, witch.”
“You seem to think you know a lot about me.” I fought the urge to free my fangs because that would have been a huge mistake. With the exception of Hawk, Jules, and my pitiful excuse of a father, the only people who knew what I was where standing behind me. I didn’t want to confirm his assumptions.
The sneer reappeared on his face, even with my hand clenching his jaw. “I know nothing,” he hissed.
“Mora.” Jakob put his hand on my shoulder. “He won’t be able to tell us anything if you shatter his jaw.”
I let go of him and looked at Charlotte. “He’s all yours.”
As she got that disturbing grin on her face again, Samuel shook his head. “I think we should let Morgan deal with him.”
“Me?” I took Samuel aside. “I can’t even get him to tell us his name.”
“That’s because you’re asking the questions the wrong way. Remember what you did to Rebecca when she foolishly came at you the night you returned and took back your throne?”
She’d gone flying against the wall, but I had a feeling he was referring to what I did inside her head. “I can’t do that at will. I have to be provoked.”
“We can arrange that,” he said, walking back toward the prisoner. “Shall I remove the silver?”
Jakob gave him a warning look. The two men had a bond that ran deep, but Jakob’s loyalty to me ran even deeper.
“I appreciate your confidence in my abilities, Samuel, but I think you’re overestimating what I’m capable of.”
“That’s exactly what we need to find out,” he said, glaring at the prisoner. “Your talents are impressive, but can we count on them in the heat of battle?”
“I’ve seen her fight,” Jakob said, vouching for my skills as a hunter. “She killed a Walker on her first night out.”
Samuel met his eyes. “We’re not fighting Walkers.” He turned around and yanked the silver chain tighter around the pris
oner’s chest, making him howl and flinch. “Are we?”
Not wanting to see the two of them go at it, I decided to give it a shot. “All right. If it’ll get you two to back down from each other, I’ll try.”
The vampire looked amused when I turned to him, making the aggression I felt earlier suddenly return. My power hand began to burn, and I could hear everyone breathing loudly behind me. “Stop!” I growled, whipping around to look at them.
“Stop what?” James asked.
“Breathing!”
They all looked at me like I was crazy, which I probably appeared to be at that moment. But my nerves had fired up from all the adrenaline racing through me. I could hear the footsteps of people on the sidewalk above the cellar, for God’s sake. Before walking into the makeshift dungeon, I was sick from being drained of my energy. Now I was overwhelmed by it.
I turned back to the wall. “I don’t enjoy inflicting pain on anyone or anything. All you have to do is answer a single question. If you do that, I’ll spare you that pain.”
Slowly looking me up and down, he got an eyeful of my dress and exposed skin. “Give it your best shot, sweetheart.”
He’d already been broken once, so either he was stupid or Charlotte had short-circuited his memory. Since Caspians were supposed to be intelligent, I assumed it was the latter. The fool couldn’t remember what was in store for him if he didn’t cooperate.
I stepped back and focused on the one thing that made my blood boil. All I could think about was how much pain Ryker had inflicted on me. What he’d stolen from me—my mother, my familiar, my fate. My father and the rest of the Caspians were the epitome of evil.
“Where is Vikktor hiding?”
He huffed at me. “Hiding? The king doesn’t hide from anyone.”
Edward stepped forward, hatred filling his eyes.
“It’s all right, Edward. You can have him when I’m finished if he doesn’t cooperate.”
For the first time since we entered the cellar, our vampire friend looked a little scared. He had no idea what I was capable of, but he knew exactly what a disgruntled Caspian like Edward could do to him.
“I’ll give you one more chance. Where is Vikktor hiding?”
He spit on the floor at my feet. I looked down at it and gave myself a moment to let my anger roil to the surface. With a flick of my hand, I threw a ball of light at his chest. It wasn’t meant to kill him, just convince him to cooperate. It burned right through his shirt and left a gaping hole in his chest. He moaned and sagged, dangling from the silver chain, which seared a wide gash into his flesh.
After recovering, he straightened up, his breath labored. “Is that the best you can do, you fucking bitch?”
It was time to end this game because I was starting to feel drained again. I closed my eyes and filled the room with all the energy I had left. Everyone covered their ears when they felt the piercing vibrations, but I quickly gathered it all into a tight little sphere and sent it straight to the vampire’s head.
He writhed against the wall, his face twisting with fear and pain.
Samuel nodded several times. “I guess you’ve proven your skills. Well done.”
I decided to persuade him a little harder by focusing my power between his eyes. This time he didn’t howl—he screamed.
“R-Riverside.”
I let up a little so he could finish answering my question.
“The old hospital on the island.”
“What island? What is Riverside?” I demanded.
Jakob knew what it was. “North Brother Island. Typhoid Mary’s last resting place.”
“The old smallpox hospital?” Samuel asked.
“Smallpox, measles, tuberculosis. If you had a contagious disease, you ended up in one of New York’s quarantine hospitals. It’s on the East River. The island has been abandoned for decades. It’s nothing but a jungle of old buildings overgrown by trees and brush. From what I’ve heard, it takes a machete to clear a path just to get through the place.”
Olivia snorted. “Well, we have plenty of those.”
New York had its share of quarantine facilities where they’d dumped people to basically die from disease. I’d heard of the smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island, which was in complete ruin, but I’d never heard of North Brother Island. “Why would the king of the Caspians stay in an abandoned hospital? He must be rich enough to buy an apartment on Fifth Avenue.”
“I’m sure he has one of those too,” Edward said. “For appearances. But Vikktor is a creature of darkness, and a deserted compound of old buildings feels much more like home. The box they got from Wesley Foster’s apartment is somewhere on that island. I’d stake my life on it.”
It was time to find out if Samuel needed to call in reinforcements from Scotland. “How many of you are in New York?” I asked our guest.
“You said one question!” he growled.
Olivia growled back, “And now she’s asking you another one, asshole!”
He opened his mouth but hesitated. “Six,” he eventually said. “Maybe seven.”
“You’re lying.” Smiling as I approached him, I decided to give him another chance. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll turn this cellar into a giant microwave and scramble your brain like an egg.”
He went mute, so I turned around and told everyone to leave before I made good on my threat.
“Twenty!” he blurted out. “Including his guards!”
“What about Ryker?” The question came out without my really thinking about it. I knew he was still in New York because Cabot had spotted him in the park the other night, but I wanted confirmation from the source.
He seemed surprised by the question. “You mean is he here? Of course he’s here. The king doesn’t go anywhere without his chief assassin.”
Jakob and I looked at each other. Maybe the Reaper didn’t exist, but apparently my biological father still held a prized and deadly position within the Caspian dynasty.
“Maybe our guest knows where the box is too.” I considered breaking him again to find out, but my energy was starting to wane. The last thing I wanted was for him to see any weakness in me. I might have more questions for him in the future, before he was deemed useless and finally disposed of. It was best to quit while I was ahead. Besides, Edward was itching to have a turn with him. I could see it in his eyes. Looking over my shoulder, I gave him the opportunity he deserved. “He’s all yours.”
Chapter 18
The energy roller coaster I’d been riding started up again the second I walked into the lobby of the Winterborne Building. Twenty minutes ago, I was ready for a nap, but now I felt like I could run the New York City Marathon. Jules’s blood had to be a contributing factor, and I wasn’t too crazy about the side effects.
On my way up to the penthouse, I replayed the scene from the cellar over again in my head. I was pleased with myself for handling the Caspian prisoner, but I was a little disturbed at how willing I’d been to bend his mind. His screams hadn’t bothered me in the slightest. Maybe we were nothing but cold-blooded killers. But then again, he was a vampire.
I noticed the distinct smell of something savory in the air the second I stepped off the elevator.
“Good evening, mistress.”
Ignoring Otto, I headed straight for the kitchen.
“The trick is to make sure the pasta isn’t quite al dente.” Michael stuffed a forkful of food in his mouth and spoke around it while he chewed. “You want it to soak up the cream while it bakes.”
Hawk bobbed his head. “Oh yeah? I’ll have to remember that.”
I dropped my bag on the counter and joined them at the kitchen table. “What’s going on here?”
Hawk slid his chair over to make room between them and motioned for me to sit. “Your brother was just giving me pointers on how to make the perfect macaroni and cheese. And I gotta tell you, it’s the best I’ve ever had.”
“I’ll get you a plate,” Michael said, getting up. “Want a beer?”<
br />
“Uh… sure. I could use one.” I took a seat and glanced at Michael. “Other than feeding Hawk, what are you doing here? And how’d you get in?”
“You weren’t answering your phone, so I went old school and buzzed the penthouse from the lobby. Where’s Jakob tonight, by the way?”
Hawk grinned. “I let him up. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“Yeah, of course not.” I must have been in the cellar when he called. “I’ll give you the code if you promise not to barge in at seven a.m.”
Hawk eyed my outfit and ran his hand down my bare back. “You look really hot in that dress,” he murmured.
“Not in front of the children,” Michael said, setting my plate and beer on the table. “You want a glass?”
“Do I ever?” I was starving, so I dug in and polished off half my plate before coming up for air. “Hawk is right. This is really good.”
“I figured you’d appreciate it. I needed some company tonight, and your boyfriend filled in nicely.”
Michael usually plied me with food late at night when he was having man trouble. Dropping by just to break bread with me when things were running smoothly was rare. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He crossed his legs, sipping his beer with his elbow draped over the back of his chair. “Are you?”
My brow tightened. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“We’re practically twins, Morgan. I know you better than I know myself, and right now you’re doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“That thing where you walk into a room and it suddenly feels like it might combust.”
Hawk shrugged when I glanced at him.
Michael grabbed his plate and stood up. “On that note, it’s time for me to leave.”
“You don’t have to go.”
“Yes, I do. Believe it or not, I really did drop by just to have dinner with you.” He finished his beer and tossed the bottle in the trash. “And now I have.”
I grabbed my plate and followed him to the sink. “Thanks for the mac and cheese. It’s exactly what I needed tonight.”
Savage Sons (House of Winterborne Book 2) Page 15
