“They can’t kill all of us, surely. My dad said there were hundreds—“
“They don’t want to kill all of us. Just the Seekers and Soldiers. The rest cannot stand up to them, and won’t want to, once the Seekers are in power,” Barbara said in a quiet tone.
“Don’t we know who they are?” Rosalie said.
Barbara shook her head. “We –neutralized some of them with the help of Helen Foster’s list, but not all of them. They assumed other identities and kept a low profile after that. Until about five years ago.” She stopped her pacing. “They got to Gerard Cole, but that was just the first major move. They’ve been picking at the seams, trying to find our weakness.”
Barbara paused for a moment in thought, then gave a little shake of her head. “Anyway, our purpose here right now is to get you ready for battle.”
Rosalie gave a small laugh. “That sounds so dramatic.”
“Oh, you’ll be up to it,” Barbara said airily. “You’re in high school, right?”
Rosalie was forced to acknowledge the justice of the comparison.
Chapter Thirteen – Plans of Action
Rowina Cole alighted from the helicopter and rapidly strode into the house, her dark hair whipping into a halo around her head. Her sense of urgency increases as she made her way to her father’s study, but she had no reason to check her pace. The house was full of her kind, who would not find it amiss.
Eden was a small island, just big enough for the 12-bedroom house, a large garden and a jetty. It appeared unprotected, but the grounds were crisscrossed by motion sensors and CCTV cameras equipped with infrared which were constantly monitored around the clock. The house itself was situated at the edge of a sheer drop of 50 meters to the booming sea, so there was no approach from the rear except by air. The house itself was protected by a dozen highly-trained vampire Soldiers it would not be wise to cross.
Rowina entered her father’s study and headed straight for the laptop that stood open on the office desk. She quickly input the codes that would allow her access to the personal server that was contained under the heavy mahogany desk in a fireproof safe. The server functioned as a repository for the most valuable data for Cole Engineering and the more confidential documents regarding the coven, including financial transactions and future plans. The server also automatically downloaded emails sent to an address equipped with a tight TSL certificate, at the same time wiping all traces of those emails from the network.
Rowina located the latest message Gerard Cole had indicated would be waiting for her. It was a video message, and Rowina intently watched, her face betraying none of the emotions that surged through her. It was a long message, and for a considerable time after it ended, Rowina sat in her father’s chair, weaving her plans for the next few days.
***
Rosalie woke up the next morning momentarily disoriented. The window through which a pale dawn light was filtering through was in the wrong position. And then she remembered.
Throwing back the covers, she looked out the window at the peaceful scene below her. The room she was in looked over the front lawn and not a soul moved.
Yet she felt an energy all around her like a field, as if to keep the world outside at bay. She fancied that she could detect a shifting shimmer in the air. The leaves on the trees rustled from a light breeze, and she could see dew glistening on the grass, but she nevertheless knew that if an unwelcome presence sought entry to the grounds, it would be repulsed. Faint sounds of birdsong penetrated her abstraction, and she laughed a little at her fanciful thoughts. She turned away to start preparing for her first day of training.
***
Barbara had instructed her to report to the gym on the ground floor at six in the morning. Rosalie donned jogging pants and a Tasmanian Devil t-shirt. Taz was one of her favorite cartoon characters because he was fierce, a little crazy and funny. She felt like that sometimes.
She expected the gym to be empty, but it was already bustling when she got there. It was a rectangular room lined with mirrors and there was a formidable array of exercise equipment ranged along the four sides of the room. About a dozen people were using one or another. In the center was a clear, square space covered with foam floor tiles. Barbara was there, facing Brandon. Both were standing still as statues, and then simultaneously launched into action.
Rosalie has never seen anyone move so fast. She had never had occasion to test the limits of her own strength and speed, and she suspected that the two sparring in the center of the room could easily outstrip any efforts she could make.
Barbara was a tall and slim, but the hits she threw indicated a lot more muscle power than her build suggested. Brandon was taller and more powerful, but his added bulk did not seem to impair his speed. After a few moves, Rosalie saw that Barbara was faster and managed more hits than Brandon, but a square blow to her head visibly shook her. It only took a few more blows before Barbara held up a hand to acknowledge defeat. She threw a laughing remark to Brandon, who smiled in response, before she came up to Rosalie, mopping her sweating face on a thick towel.
“Whew! I’m out of shape!” she complained. “Too many cocktail parties, I guess.”
Rosalie raised her brows at this. She had been told that alcohol had a bad effect on vampires. Barbara projected an image of her holding a cocktail glass in one hand and taking an occasional sip that didn’t get past her lips.
“Well, anyway, I’m done here for the day. Brandon will take you through the workout this morning, then we’ll meet up for lunch,” Barbara said, patting Rosalie’s cheek before walking away, bantering with people on her way out.
Rosalie looked up at Brandon, who was regarding her with his expressionless eyes, and felt strangely shy. She was wondering what he was thinking, and involuntarily flexed a mental muscle in her mind. She hit the equivalent of a brick wall.
“We can block, if nothing else,” Brandon said. “It’s important if you’re hunting Seekers, it keeps you alive.”
Rosalie blushed, and she stammered an apology. Brandon waved it away. “It’s okay, you’re supposed to do that. But you’ll have Barbara to handle that. My task is to get you fit and teach you self-defense. We’ll start with an assessment.”
The workout was intense, but Rosalie was delighted to have a chance to find out her limits. She was reasonably fit, but years of curbing herself have let some muscles become less developed than desired. At the end of the assessment period she was tired and extremely hungry.
“I could eat a horse,” she declared, then suddenly remembered the stable nearby. She gave a giggle, and Brandon relaxed his stern expression.
“I don’t think Meg will appreciate that,” he said, slinging a towel across his broad back and handing her another one. “You’ll have time for quick shower before breakfast. It’s served at 7:30 in the dining hall. Women’s shower room is that way,” he indicated.
Refreshed by an extremely hot shower that loosened her muscles, Rosalie made her way to the dining room in company of a woman who introduced herself as Wanda, Wanda had come into the shower room as she was toweling off, and she had an easy, friendly manner. Rosalie liked her at once.
Breakfast was buffet style, and Rosalie helped herself to some tuna slices and thinly-sliced beef. There was also chicken and pork chops, but Rosalie thought chicken was too bland and she didn’t like pork unless it was very fresh. These ones looked okay, but she preferred the slightly salty tang of the tuna and the fullness of beef. She had three helpings before she finally pushed away. Brandon immediately stood up and gestured to her.
He led the way to an open space behind the house. Leaning against a tree were several wooden poles about 4 feet in length. Brandon handed her one and took another for himself.
“As a Seeker, it’s your job to guide and assist Soldiers when they go after the rogues, and it is theirs to ensure your safety. But it’s not unheard of for a Seeker to lose her protection, so you have to be ready to defend yourself physically,” he said, twirling
the stick expertly. Rosalie nodded, watching him closely as he demonstrated how to thrust, parry and counterattack using the stick, She was a quick study, and soon felt confident enough to try the moves by sparring.
She was no match for him, of course. Again and again, she was a quarter of an inch from getting rapped on the head or poked in the eye. Brandon handled the stick with a precision that was quite a pleasure to watch, but Rosalie was determined to get in at least one hit.
“Once more, then rest,” Brandon said. He attacked, and Rosalie managed to parry the blow but with a deft twist of the wrist, she found herself losing her grip and the stick went flying. Without thought, Rosalie threw her hand, palm out and the stick flew from Brandon’s hand as well.
Totally surprised, Rosalie stared at Brandon speechlessly, and he seemed just as amazed. For a moment, they stayed as still as statues, Rosalie’s mouth hanging comically open.
“How did you do that?” he asked. Rosalie was shaking her head, her mouth still open.
“I have no idea.”
“You’ve never done it before?”
“No, never. Well---“ she hesitated, suddenly thinking of her dream. In it, she had made such a gesture and something had visibly flashed out.
“What is it?” Brandon asked.
“It’s nothing. I didn’t actually do it, it was just a dream,” Rosalie said, confused.
Brandon seemed to come to a decision. “We have to tell Barbara and Meg. Maybe they’ll know,” he said, catching her by the arm and hustling her back into the house.
Chapter Fourteen – Evolution
Brandon told Rosalie to wait in the conference room while he rounded up Barbara and Meg. She stood in the middle of the room with her head bowed, her mind spinning helplessly.
She had felt the power that surged through her when she had thrown the—whatever it was. For a split second she had faded out of reality, the world wavering through a mist the moment the power had built up, it seemed, from the depths of her stomach. It left her weak and a little afraid.
In a very few moments, Meg and Barbara ushered in followed by Brandon who carefully closed the door. Barbara looking visibly excited, but there was a shade of unease in Meg’s direct gaze.
“Brandon was telling us you channeled your mental energy into a strike?” Barbara said, a wide smile on her face. “That—that’s incredible!”
“I don’t know how I did it,” Rosalie protested, holding her palms up. “It just happened!”
“This is amazing!” Barbara said, undeterred. “How long has it been since we’ve had anyone who could do that?” This she directed at Meg, who shrugged.
“The last one I knew of was Helen,” she nodded to Brandon, who was as stoic as usual. “But it took her years of training to get to that level.”
Feeling three pairs of eyes on her, Rosalie could only shrug helplessly. “I don’t know how I did it, and I doubt if I could do it again.”
Barbara shook her head emphatically. “Yes, you can. You just need to learn to control it. We can--”
“Let’s not lose sight of the ball here,” Meg interrupted. “Channeling is a great thing, but hardly the priority right now. We need Rosalie to develop her seeking ability so that we can find out what the rogues are up to.”
“Yes, but don’t you see, Meg?” Barbara said, her voice rising in excitement. “Channeling is the ultimate in Seeker training, and Rosalie can do it without any training at all! That means she has the makings of a very powerful Seeker.” Taking Rosalie by the arm, she led her out of the room, talking rapidly about plans for the training.
Meg glanced at Brandon, a worried frown between her eyes.
“I don’t like it. Rosalie may just as well be wearing a target on her back.”
Brandon returned her gaze, but said nothing.
***
The woman snapped out of her meditation with a suddenness that had her rocking backward. Chandra, still chastened by her failure to keep track of the Fosters, looked up curiously but said nothing. In her present mood, her mistress was very unpredictable, and her body still ached from the beating she had received.
They were in a dimly-lit room that was used in times of stress. The woman retreated to this room when she needed to find her center. Of late, she had been in this room more often than usual. She always had someone close by ever since she was so deep in meditation she got lost and didn’t come out until two days later, weak from hunger and dehydration. It had been like crashing after a major high, and she never wanted to do that again.
When she was meditating, she would gradually untether herself from her body to free float into the plane where dreams were born. In it she could go where she wanted, peep into the lives of people, mingle with astral entities to taste their experiences. Sometimes she would encounter an unknown, sometimes dark, sometimes blindingly bright, and she was always careful to avoid them. There was knowledge here, and awareness, but nothing that concerned her any longer. It had served its purpose.
She was watching a baby sleeping in its bed when her awareness was pulled abruptly up, like iron filings to a magnet. She sensed a blue-white flash of energy that tinged everything with faint blue. It was a very familiar phenomenon; it was the signature of a Seeker in the act of channeling. Then she was spiraling back down into her body like a stunned fish being hauled in out of the water.
The abrupt transition had all the effects of a blow between the eyes, and she felt that the breath had been knocked out of her. It took her a while to summon enough control of her breathing to slowly get up. By then, the implication was very clear; there was a powerful Seeker out there, and she didn’t know who it was.
***
Barbara was briskly giving Rosalie a quick history of the Seekers and their development . She explained that the first Seekers did not have such extensive abilities.
“The first Seeker had very acute hearing. It is theorized that he had a particularly sensitivity to vibrations because his inner and middle ear was more reptilian. He could find a herd of animals within a 20 mile radius, and told the hunters in what direction to go. Because that was a very valuable talent to have, he was not brought on hunts but stayed in camp.”
“He became very popular among the hunter groups,” Barbara said with a dry smile,” and other families were anxious to have their own Seeker. The idea of selective breeding was an accepted thing among vampires, because it had very practical applications in survival. To make other Seekers, they choose a woman from their own group who had the best hearing and sent her to have a child with the Seeker.”
“Lucky guy,” Rosalie murmured, and Barbara grinned.
“Let’s just say his duty was an agreeable one,” she temporized. “Anyway, not all the children got the talent, but enough to start with, and most of them were women. In the meantime, there was a premium for the hearing acute, and some found that their ability to detect vibrations improved in the dark and closer to the ground. So they started training potential Seekers to isolate themselves for long periods in caves or underground from childhood to develop the skill.”
“Not much of a life for a kid,” Rosalie observed with some sympathy. Barbara looked at her curiously.
“Oh, it was considered a great honor to be chosen to become a Seeker, especially for a child who isn’t old enough to hunt or have their own children. They chose only the best, and the chosen ones were waited on hand and foot. Not a bad life.”
“This became a tradition for many generations. Then a strange thing began to happen,” Barbara continued in her well-modulated voice. “The children who were in isolation started to hear other people’s thoughts. The theory was that they had become so attuned to sub-aural vibrations that they began picking up thoughts as well as actual sounds. At first they thought they were dreaming, but when they asked people about it, they found that they had been actually been listening to other people’s thoughts. It scared the others for a while, but when the Seekers started picking up the thoughts of people who were hunti
ng down our kind, they became doubly important. It was like having a spy amidst the enemy.”
Barbara had drawn her into a room that appeared to be the antechamber to another room. She now stood up and opened the door opposite the hallway door. Rosalie could see that it was dimly lighted room, but not much else.
“We’ll start your training in the same way,” Barbara gestured her to step inside. Rosalie was immediately aware of a soft beeping sound, and as her eyes adjusted, saw what appeared to be about a dozen coffins. Her eyes widened and flew to Barbara’s, who was eyeing her in amusement.
“Yes, another thing added to the vampire mystique. No, they’re not coffins. They’re sensory deprivation chambers. Caves are in short supply here.”
She opened one up and Rosalie saw that it was half-full with what appeared to be water. “This is continuously maintained at 98.7 degrees, and we submerge in it for an hour or so a day to cleanse our minds. For training purposes, though, I’ll be guiding you from outside. You need to strip,” she indicated the cubicles lining one end of the wall.
Rosalie walked in, stripped her work out suit off and hung them on the hooks provided. She stepped out, wrapping a large towel around her body. She looked up and saw that Brandon had joined them. He was talking to Barbara and facing her, and Rosalie wondered how much he’d seen. She felt the warmth rushing up to her face, and was grateful for the room’s dimness.
Barbara turned towards her as she came nearer, and laughingly told Brandon to go away. “Let’s talk more of that when we finish here,” she ended, still smiling. Brandon did so promptly, merely nodding his head at Rosalie in acknowledgement.
As soon as he closed the door, Rosalie asked, “Is he always so…so…”
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