Vikktor is a creature of darkness, I remembered Edward saying. It was also the best place to stash that box, and Vikktor probably wasn’t letting it out of his sight except for when he made his required public appearances during the campaign.
The hospital towered over the trees as we followed a path that looked freshly made. Hawk stopped and whispered to Samuel before motioning for me to come with him. Samuel pointed to the north end of the building, silently instructing Olivia, Edward, and Jakob to head that way while he and James took the south end.
“We’re eating up time,” Hawk said when I gave him a concerned look about splitting the team. “They’ll be fine as long as they don’t go wandering off.”
I followed him around the building to the rear and came across a roofless room with a row of round metal hatches on one of the few standing walls. “What is this place?”
“The morgue.” He nodded to the hatches. “Those are the ovens.”
I looked away from the crematory chambers and glanced down at my feet when my boot got stuck. The ivy was so thick it almost reached my knees. It climbed up the brick facade of the building all the way to the second floor, spilling into the broken windows. When I lowered my eyes and looked through the first-floor doorway, I grabbed Hawk and pulled him against the wall, pointing to a dark figure walking across the room.
We crept closer and peered inside. It wasn’t a ghost, that much I knew for sure. He was wearing dark clothing and had something around his neck. A choker or a collar. When he turned away, I got a clear view of a tattoo on the back of his shaven head. It was just like the one in the picture Samuel had shown me.
“That’s no ghost,” I whispered.
“Yeah, no shit.”
As we watched the Caspian guard reach the other end of the room, he disappeared into thin air. He just melted into the wall and vanished.
We headed inside and ducked behind the opposite wall, which was dilapidated and probably a strong wind away from toppling over. Then we made our way to the other end and down a hallway toward the wall the guard had seemed to walk straight through. It separated the main room from what must have been a theater. The sidewall had crumbled to the ground long ago, giving us an open view of rows of seats, broken and turned over. At the far end of the room was a stage.
We looked at each other, perplexed by the disappearing act. At least now we had confirmation that they were on the island. But where the hell did that guard go?
Hawk grabbed my arm when I started to head for the theater, my need to see what was on the other side of that wall clouding my judgement. He shifted and flew past me, entering the theater as nothing but a hungry bird looking for rats or mice to feast on.
I caught myself before a gasp could escape my mouth. A moment later, Hawk flew through a broken window on the other side of the hallway and sailed into the woods. I flattened myself against the wall when the guard rushed to the window after him.
“Fucking bird!”
He was so close I was afraid he’d hear me breathing or the beating of my heart. My hand grew hot as the energy pooled in my palm, but with only one shot at finding the lair without being detected, the last thing I wanted to do was kill a guard and leave a calling card.
A piece of the dilapidated wall crumbled from my weight pressing against it, and the guard went still. He listened for a few seconds, tilting his head slightly in my direction. I thought he was about to turn around and look me right in the eye, but instead he went the other way and headed back to the theater.
Ready to piss myself, I visualized that house with the dead vines crawling all over it. Under the circumstances, it wasn’t easy to focus, but I felt myself melt away. The guard came lunging around the corner just as I disappeared, seeing nothing but a crumbling old wall.
When I opened my eyes, I was in the house with a very angry woman in green backing me into a corner. I knew it was the woman Fetch had warned me about because her hospital gown was the same shade of green as the room I’d just escaped from. In her hand was a knife, and she was holding it dangerously close to my face.
“Leave her alone, Mary.” Hawk appeared behind her and tried to talk her down. “She’s not trying to poison you.”
Since she had to be a ghost, I didn’t think I was in any real danger. And I certainly didn’t want to hurt the poor thing. Actually, I didn’t know if I could—or if she could hurt me with that apparition of a knife in her hand.
“We have to go, Hawk.”
Hearing my words, her face lit up with anger as she lunged at me. I tried to walk straight through her incorporeal body, but the knife sliced across my shoulder.
“Fuck!” I hissed, catching myself before I let out a full-blown howl. She might be an apparition, but the knife in her hand was very real. She dropped it, and it fell straight through a broken plank under her hovering feet. I waited for the sound of the metal blade to ring through the building and alert the guards when it hit the floor below, but I heard nothing. Not even a ping.
Hawk was ushering her to the hallway when I looked over at him. “Good night, Mary,” he whispered, pushing her out of the room. When he came back over to me, we both looked through the floor at the enormous hole in the middle of the room below. “Sinkholes. They go straight to the river. It’s one of the obstacles I mentioned.”
I was still staring at the hole when I heard Fetch in my head.
Get out! Now!
Hawk read my face. “What’s wrong?”
“They’re back! Where are the others?”
“At the dock. They’re waiting for us.”
We headed out of the house and through the thicket that led to the river, looking back to see if the guards were behind us. Thank God they weren’t.
When we reach the dock, Jakob spotted the blood oozing from my shoulder and started to examine the wound.
“Not now,” Samuel said.
The next thing I knew, Hawk was gone and so was the island. We were standing in front of the brownstone.
Charlotte was waiting for us when we walked inside. She took one look at my shoulder and grinned. “I take it the night was eventful?”
Samuel examined the wound, which was already on the mend. “What the hell happened back there?”
“I nearly got filleted by a ghost, that’s what happened.”
“Her name is Mary,” Hawk said. “She was murdered by another patient with rat poison. She sees every female who enters the island as a threat.”
“Poor Mia.”
“Yeah, she barely tolerated my sister, but I managed to set her straight.”
James shuttered. “See? I told you the ones who hang around are up to no good.”
“Spirits with a bug up their ass can be quite dangerous,” Charlotte said, glancing around the room at everyone. “I don’t see a box in anyone’s hands, so I assume you didn’t happen across it.”
“That would have been a stroke of luck,” Samuel said, heading for the bottle of scotch on the table. “Anyone want a drink?”
Just about every hand went up, including mine. While Samuel poured the drinks, we compared notes.
“We didn’t find anything on the north side of the building,” Jakob said. “Just a lot of walls ready to crumble in on themselves. The place is a death trap.”
“Same here.” Samuel handed me and Hawk our glasses. “How about you two? Anything other than a homicidal ghost?”
I laughed and took a long drink of the smoky liquid, letting the welcome burn warm my throat. “Oh, we found something all right. A Caspian guard.”
The glass hesitated at his lips. “Did he see you?”
“Almost. The interesting part was when he walked straight through a wall. It was one of the main rooms, and there was a theater on the other side. Hawk shifted and flew inside to see what was beyond the wall, but the guard chased him out the window.”
“What was on the other side?” Samuel asked.
Hawk thought about it for a moment before answering. “I only had a few sec
onds to get a look, but I think it’s a portal.”
“A portal?”
“Yeah, it was weird. I flew into the theater and the guard just showed up out of nowhere. There’s no physical door or furniture he could have been hiding behind. He just… appeared.”
Since he was the only one in the room who’d actually lived among the Caspians, we all looked at Edward. He was deep in thought, staring at the floor as if trying to remember something.
“The realm.” He looked up and slowly shook his head. “The king’s realm.”
“The what?” Samuel said.
“Vikktor has the ability to create his own realm. It’s like a place that only exists when he creates it.”
Samuel cocked his head. “You mean a dimension?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. The king has created his own dimension. You’re either allowed to enter it or you’re not. It would explain the guard appearing to walk through a wall.” He thought about it a little more. “You know, it’s not very different from traveling. The only real difference is with traveling you step from one place immediately into another. A realm or dimension is the place in between.” He looked at me and smiled faintly. “Being the king’s chief assassin requires some serious skills. Maybe Ryker can create realms too. It could explain your talent with energy and vibrations.”
I hated the idea that I might have inherited anything from my father, but I couldn’t unhear what he’d just said. “It’s possible, but I prefer to believe I got my abilities from my mother.”
Jakob kept staring at me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I can’t remember your mother ever crippling someone with her mind. Or threatening to scramble their brain like a microwave.”
“So where do we go from here?” I asked Samuel, trying to change the subject.
He finished his drink and ran his hand over the top of his head. “Home. I think we’ve all had enough for one night, and I’m pretty damn tired. We can talk again in the morning after everyone has gotten some sleep.”
I had to admit I was ready to fall over. And despite my shoulder wound healing itself nicely, it still throbbed just like a knife had been jammed into it. “Agreed. Let’s meet in the morning and figure out how to stop these bastards before Vikktor wins this damn election.”
Something thumped in the cellar, and all eyes darted to the floor.
“Oh dear!” Charlotte said with a startled look on her face. “I was so eager to hear about your trip to the island, I forgot to release our guest from the suspension spell. I think it just wore off.”
Chapter 24
Despite my exhaustion the night before, I got very little sleep. Other than our obvious vampire connection, I couldn’t shake the idea that I might be like my father in any other way. He was a monster. But what really had me up most of the night was the thought of what might happen when we got our hands on all three of those boxes and destroyed the Caspian dynasty. Even with my dominant immortal genes, if I was more like my father than I realized, I could be destroyed too. But even if I wasn’t, it would have to have some effect on me. Sickness, loss of my powers. God forbid I’d lose my future immortality altogether and grow old while Hawk…
Which begged a question I’d never considered.
“Hawk.” I shook him gently, but he didn’t move. He did most of his sleeping during the day, so I knew he was half-awake. “Hawk!” This time he rolled over and propped himself up on his side.
“What’s wrong?”
I cocked my head and examined the smooth skin on his face. “Do you age?”
“Do I what?”
“Age? Get old?”
He looked about right for his age, but so did Winterbornes until we reached our majority and became timeless.
He sat up and ruffled his spiked hair with both hands. “I have no idea. I mean, up until now I have, but my mother never seemed to get any older. And don’t forget my father was a vampire—is a vampire. So who knows?” He glared at me. “Why? Worried about sleeping with an old man?”
“I’m serious, Hawk. This is something we need to talk about. Now that Edward has pointed out my similarities to my father, I’m just a little worried about what will happen when we find those boxes and destroy them. I’m half Caspian, so it’ll have to have some effect on me.” And Edward, I suddenly realized. “It may even mess up my future immortality. Then you’ll be sleeping with an old lady.”
“Don’t be such an ageist,” he said, grinning. “I think older women are sexy.”
“I’m not, but it’s something we should be prepared for.”
He ran his index finger slowly down the valley between my breasts. “I guess we’ll have to take advantage of our youth then, won’t we?”
As much as I liked that idea, I had work to do. “Samuel will be here any minute now.”
“He doesn’t have the code, so he can’t walk in on us.”
“No, but it’s only a thirty-second elevator ride from the lobby.” I hopped off the bed and headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower, looking back at his perfect face as he watched me walk across the room naked.
“I can join you.”
“Stop,” I said, feeling that flame flicker inside my stomach and continue down my thighs.
When I came out a few minutes later, freshly showered and dressed, he was having coffee with my uncle.
“I told you.” I poured myself a cup and sat down next to him.
Samuel glanced between the two of us but didn’t ask. “You look rested,” he said to me.
I smirked at him. “That is impossible.”
“Okay,” he said, shrugging. “You look like shit.”
“Thank you for your honesty.” I took a few sips of caffeine to kick-start my heart before diving in. “So what’s on the agenda today?”
“Edward called me this morning. Says he has something important to show us. He’s on his way over now.”
I got up and searched for something to eat. “Anyone want a Pop-Tart?”
Samuel grimaced. “Sounds delightful, but no, thanks.”
I grabbed a pack and sat down, eating one straight out of the foil wrapper.
Hawk gave me a strange look. “Aren’t you going to toast it?”
“No!” I shuddered at the thought. “They’re much better cold.”
I offered him the other one, but he passed. By the time I shoved the last piece in my mouth, I heard Otto announce visitors. Jakob and Edward came through the kitchen door a few seconds later.
“I asked Jakob to join us,” Edward said. “I think he’ll enjoy this too.”
Samuel was eager to get on with it. “I have an early lunch date. What do you want to show us?”
“She can wait. You’ll want to see this.”
She? Maybe James did have a valid bone to pick with his father.
“Looks like Vikktor just got caught with his dick hanging out.” He looked at me before expounding on that statement. “I apologize for being vulgar, but the description fits.”
“I have the mouth of a sailor. There’s no need to apologize.”
He reached into his pocket and tossed a handful of photographs on the kitchen counter. Each of us picked one up to get a closer look at the naked women—or should I say girls—in the pictures. Sandwiched between them was Benjamin Fuller, a.k.a. Vikktor. To make his identity even more obvious, he had the Caspian mark on his back, the same one Decker had on his wrist. A larger tattoo circling it looked a lot like the one Charlotte had been sketching in her notebook the day I visited Order headquarters for the first time. Not only was Vikktor the king, he was the beast she’d seen in her head.
“Jesus. Where did you get these?”
“I arranged and paid for them. These are just the stills. The video is even more damning.” A satisfied grin crossed his face. “Vikktor’s political career is finished.”
That was definitely true. An unmarried politician caught with his pants down probably wouldn’t
destroy a political career, but a threesome with minors certainly would.
I looked closer at the girls and felt a little sick. “They can’t be much older than thirteen.”
“Thirteen exactly,” Edward said.
How could he do this? Use these young girls to satisfy his own need for revenge? Even Hawk seemed disturbed by the pictures.
“Edward, this is wrong. There are other ways.”
Samuel gave me a warning look. “Let him explain.”
Edward nodded to the photographs. “Technically those are underage girls, but what you’re really looking at is a pair of two-hundred-year-old vampires. Twins turned at the age of thirteen. But make no mistake, they are no longer children. They’re killers.”
I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. “How could Vikktor be so careless?”
“Because there’s only one thing he likes as much as power—sex. He likes it rough, and he likes them young.” He took a moment to breathe deeply before continuing. “When I’m through with him, he won’t be able to get elected to a goddamn homeowners’ association. Then I’ll find those boxes and destroy his dynasty. But I’ll kill Vikktor with my own hands before I do it.”
Samuel collected the pictures and handed them back to Edward. “New York Times?”
“That’s a start. I’ll email the files this afternoon. Then we’ll sit back and wait for the fallout to commence. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours to ruin him.”
“Avery is going to be devastated.” Underneath my sister’s aloof exterior was a fragile woman with a heart of glass. It was so easily shattered. But there was no way to spare her. Once we found a way to destroy Vikktor and his kingdom, Decker would be destroyed right along with it. “What do you think they’ll do when the campaign implodes?”
Samuel didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know, but we need to get back on that island as soon as possible.”
I glanced at my phone on the counter and noticed the message light blinking. I must have forgotten to turn the volume back up when we got back from the island last night. As Samuel and Edward headed out, I listened to it.
Savage Sons (House of Winterborne Book 2) Page 20
