by E. M. Knight
Raul swallows. “The vision that you saw, or the future that Logan and Beatrice promised?”
“Either of them,” I say.
“So what about the humans?” he asks. “We’ll have just abandoned them, won’t we? We save them from The Convicted only to have them fed upon by our own vampires in an act of rebellion? No sooner do we put a stop to that than the next Hunt is announced…” he trails off, putting a hand to his head. “We cannot win with this, can we?”
“No,” I say, a touch of sadness entering my voice. “I don’t think we can.”
“And they’ll think we only further betrayed them,” he continues. “We’re yanking them to and fro, aren’t we? There isn’t anything else to be done.”
“Once the wards are up, we can set about re-establishing a bit of normalcy in their lives,” I say. I look Raul in the eyes. “I didn’t think I would ever admit this, but maybe the way your Mother has kept the villagers has been for the best. The less they know about the outside world… the better off they’ll be.” I sigh. “That’s such a horrible, awful sentiment, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Raul agrees. “But it comes with a kernel of truth.”
Chapter Nine
James
Inside The Order’s facility in The Rockies
“So, he’s bound to be absolutely bloody useless to us, isn’t he?” I grumble, peeking my head back toward Smithson.
He’s barely standing, being led forward by April and Liana. His head lolls around, but at least he manages to support his own weight.
Barely. Both his arms are draped around the two girls, and they have theirs under his shoulders. It’s like leading forward a drunk.
“How long did you say until he recovers?”
“I didn’t,” Victoria snaps. She’s been moody ever since casting her spell and eliminating those fragments from Smithson’s body. “I don’t know how long, James. It’s not like we’re exactly in charted waters here.”
I suppress a scowl that tries to come up, and instead force a smile. “At least the Black Sorceress isn’t coming after us.”
“Ha-ha,” Victoria says drily. “Small good any of that will do. You do realize who you’re talking about, don’t you?”
The reverence Victoria holds for this other witch is nothing that I feel. Yes, I can see the destruction caused by her escape… but that only intrigues me. It doesn’t make me nervous.
Maybe that speaks more about the sort of vampire I am than anything else.
“We need answers, James,” she continues. “Smithson and his fledgling are the only ones who can offer that.”
“You’re right, I know,” I say. I expand my mind once more, searching for the runaway’s presence.
I still do not feel her.
“What I don’t understand,” I say, continuing down the convoluted tunnel leading deeper into the heart of the mountain, “is how she could have gotten so far away as to have basically… disappeared.” I grunt. “The bloodlust should have brought her back to the foyer. You saw what it did to April and Liana. And they’ve had the benefit of feeding already.”
“Um, we’re still here,” April says, a touch imperious. “Don’t talk like we can’t hear you.”
“And you don’t tempt me to use my influence to silence you,” I bark. Ever since regaining her strength, April seems to have become absolutely determined to take liberties with me as much as possible.
I may have allowed that in the bedroom… but now, especially when we’re in front of an audience, I cannot be seen to tolerate such behavior.
It sets a bad precedence for Victoria and Liana.
April glowers at me but says nothing.
Good.
“How far could she have gotten, anyway?” I ask Victoria.
“She knows these passageways better than we do,” Victoria volunteers. “But even as such…” she shakes her head. “We should have overtaken her by now. Or at least—at least—have been able to sense her.”
I know that doesn’t say much for our predicament. “So what, we just keep going? There’s no way she could be hiding herself from us.”
“Maybe she’s dead?” Liana offers.
Victoria and I both look back at her. “What?”
“Dead.” The young girl blinks. “You know, no longer alive?”
“Yes. I know what it means,” I snap. “What I don’t understand is why you would suggest that.”
She gives a casual shrug. “It just seems like the simplest explanation. You could sense her before. Now you cannot. She didn’t feed. So maybe—maybe she just died.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” I grumble.
“The possibility does make sense.” Victoria considers. “If Smithson made her while he had Cierra’s bone fragments leeching his strength, the whole process would have been unconditionally perverted. Perhaps she did just succumb.”
I shoot the blonde a dirty look. “You don’t really believe that.”
She hesitates. “No,” she admits after a moment. “But it would make things simpler.”
I growl. “You’re the one who wanted to complicate things in the first place.” I jerk my head toward Smithson. “Least of all, by keeping him alive!”
“He’s essential,” she insists. “Do you not see this place that we’re in, James? How many vampires knew about it before we got here? I bet I can count them all on one hand. Who can tell what things the Order’s learned, what knowledge they’ve uncovered? The organization was originally established to eliminate magic from the world. Yet now, somehow, they’ve loosed the strongest, most dangerous witch who’s ever lived onto us.”
“How you know all this about them, despite being alive for significantly less time than me, I have no idea,” I say under my breath.
“Some of us spend our time wisely,” she says, a smug sort of smile playing on her lips. “Others just whittle it away.”
“Watch it,” I warn.
She holds her hands up. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Right,” I grumble.
We reach a fork. The tunnel leading left is made entirely of steel. The one leading right… of a mix of that—and silver.
I go absolutely still. The girls behind us aren’t yet attuned enough to their abilities to sense the significance—or recognize the danger.
Victoria picks up on it right away.
She takes a step toward the tainted passage. “Interesting,” she murmurs, holding an arm out.
I come beside her, then step into the tunnel. Only the slightest bit of silver is in the wall, but it’s enough to make me just a little queasy.
“Now, why would they do that?” I wonder out loud. “If for no other reason than to ward off vampires?”
Victoria shakes her head. “There’s not enough silver to threaten us.” She steps past me. “Smithson ran The Order, so he knows as much. Then why put silver in the walls at all?”
I glance back at the nearly-unconscious man. “For once we agree,” I say. “Keeping him alive can provide us with answers.”
“So, which way do we go?” Victoria asks.
I consider. Once more I expand my mind, searching for the fledgling… and fail to find a single trace of her anywhere.
“She wouldn’t have picked up on the threat posed by the metal,” I say. “But if she knew anything about the construction of this place, she could have gone there, anyway, hoping to throw off our pursuit.”
“That’s if she knows we’re coming after her,” Victoria puts in.
“Right,” I say. “Yet I have a feeling that somehow, she does. She isn’t running by accident.”
“She could be running from the witch.”
“Unlikely. If I were her, if I were newly made and just coming to grips with my powers… I’d go after the witch. I’d try to hunt her down.”
“Then you’re a bigger idiot than even I have given you credit for,” Victoria says. “There isn’t anything she could do more dangerous than that. And since she survived the at
tack—well, she’s not stupid. She knows who was responsible and the carnage Cierra caused.”
“Why don’t we split up?” April suggests.
I turn on her harshly. “What?”
“Well, there are two ways,” she says. “We’re not exactly defenseless. Each of us can stand up for ourselves. If we all stick together, we’re just losing ground. Split up, and the odds are better of finding her. Whoever she is.”
I note the trace of bitterness in April’s voice talking about the new female fledgling.
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Victoria offers. She gives me a wry glance. “That is if you approve.”
I mull it over for a minute. I don’t like the idea of having either April or Liana out of my sight… but I like the idea of losing this fledgling even less.
“Fine,” I say. “Fine, yes, let’s do it. IT’s not my favorite option, but it’s one we have to take.”
“Perfect,” April perks up. “I’ll go with you, and—”
“Nu-uh,” I cut her off. “You go with Victoria. I’ll take Smithson and Liana.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue.” Sometimes it feels like I’m dealing with a child. “Liana has had the least experience with vampires. And I’m the strongest of all of us. She and I will look together. You and Victoria will do the same. Between the two of you, I’m sure there’s enough courage and strength to do what needs to be done.”
“Courage and strength,” Victoria mutters under her breath. She’s gone ice-cold all of a sudden, too. She jerks her head stiffly toward the other end of the fortress. “Come on, April. Let’s leave our coven’s leader—” again, that bitterness is there, “—and see if we can ‘t find this fledgling before he does. With the girl and this half-conscious deadweight, I’m sure we’ll have no trouble ending up ahead.”
I press my lips together in the semblance of a scowl. I’m not thrilled with her tone or her attitude.
But before I can scold her for it, she takes April by the arm and quickly strides the other way.
Liana hops up to me. Smithson, in a semi-conscious daze, wavers unsteadily on his feet.
“You just wanted me to yourself, didn’t you?” she asks, her voice dripping with innuendo. She cozies up to me and runs a hand over my chest. “I’m so glad you got rid of the other girl. I think—” she gives a mocking gasp, “—I think she’s jealous of what you and I have.”
I have to admit, I am vaguely amused by Liana’s forthcomingness. “And what is it we have?” I ask.
“Isn’t it obvious? A connection.” She bats her eyelashes at me. “You could have killed me. But you let me live. You wanted me at your side. No—you needed me. I know. Such things are obvious.”
“You really do think that, don’t you?” I murmur. “Well, keep flattering yourself, darling, but I don’t play favorites. All of the Nocturna Animalia are of equal importance to me.”
“Riiiight.” She rolls her eyes. “And that’s why—”
With a sudden groan, Smithson loses his balance and topples over.
I curse. Maybe I should have made Victoria take him.
But I didn’t want to let him out of my grasp. No more than I wanted to leave Liana with Victoria, who is obviously jealous.
Ah, such pettiness. But I can’t say that I don’t love the attention.
Liana sniffs as I get Smithson back up. “What’s wrong with him, anyway?” she asks, crossing her arms. “Isn’t he supposed to be like, this fearsome commander? And aren’t you vampires supposed to recover fast?”
“In most cases, yes,” I grunt. I put an arm under Smithson’s shoulder to hold him upright. “Right now? Not exactly.”
I cast a look at the metal surrounding us. “Tell me, Liana. Do you feel anything in the wall?”
She makes a funny face. “In the walls? No. Should I?”
“You heard me and Victoria.”
“That thing about silver?”
I nod.
She shakes her head. “None of it affects me.”
“Oh, it affects you,” I assure her. “Silver is the bane of every vampire. The problem is, you’re too young to feel it. You do not yet appreciate the threat it poses.”
“If you tell me to be careful,” she says. “I will. One hundred percent. Like I said, James…” she sashays up to me again. “You made me. I owe everything to you.”
“Keep saying that and it’ll go to my head,” I warn her, only half-jokingly. “And if you think me full of myself now…”
“I don’t.”
“Well, Victoria certainly does,” I say.
“What is it with you two?” Liana asks as I start down the long hallway. “I can’t figure it out. No matter how much I watch, or for how long…”
I have to laugh at that. “How long? Sweetheart, you’ve been a vampire for less than a fortnight. Hell, less than a few days.”
“So?” she asks. “All it takes is a single look to figure out there’s friction between you. A few hours in your company is enough—”
“Wait,” I cut her off, sticking out my hand to stop her. “Wait, I think I feel something.”
Liana tenses.
I do, too. I focus my mind on the far reaches of the passage.
And there, just for a second, I feel a… ripple.
“It’s her,” I say in a rush. “I felt it, she’s there!”
“Really? I didn’t feel anything.” Liana sounds doubtful.
“Do you trust me, or not?”
“Of course!”
“Then she is this way. But somehow she’s hiding. She’s shielding herself—or using something to mask her presence.” I stop and consider. “There’s no way she should be able to do that. Even if she were a witch. A cloaking spell cannot be cast on yourself.”
“Are you sure of that?” Liana wonders.
“Positive. But I—”
Suddenly, the ripple of her presence comes again.
It’s like she’s hiding underwater and surfacing only for the briefest gulps of air.
“I don’t want to leave you here, alone, with him,” I say, taking in Smithson. “But the best chance of catching her is if I go forward myself. She won’t feel me coming. And we have her in our sights. Dammit!” I curse. “I wish we hadn’t split up prematurely. That was—”
“I can handle myself,” Liana offers.
I look at her. “Are you sure?”
“Have you seen me hesitate, even once, in my feeding?” She shakes her head, her glorious mass of hair rolling side-to-side like a mane. “I can handle Smithson. Look at him!” She almost laughs. “Does he look like somebody who could cause trouble?”
I think on how dangerous it is to underestimate the man… and what happened to me last time I did.
But I have to catch his fledgling. My allegiance is torn.
“Go,” she says. “You’re faster, and I’ll follow, even if I do have to tug this big lug of a vampire around.”
I smirk… then dart in, give her a quick kiss, and dash off.
If anything does happen to her, I tell myself, then all that means is she’s not worthy of the Nocturna Animalia.
It’s a small consolation, but there it is.
I run down the winding tunnel at breakneck speed. I don’t feel a hint of the fledgling in front of me anymore—but at least I know now that I’m on the right path.
That bit of silver in the surrounding walls distorts my senses just enough to make me have to dedicate a disproportionate amount of mental energy to my footwork. The silver around me doesn’t increase as I go along, but the additive effect of it continuously pulsing into me is taking its toll.
The sooner I get to the end, the better it’ll be.
I turn my concentration to tracking the other woman. I’ve gone so far that I can no longer feel Smithson or Liana behind me. But at least the way has been straight. I’m at no risk of losing myself underground.
Another sort of irrational fear I’d developed over the course of these last few
months thanks to Father.
I see an opening up ahead. There are lights on all around. I run faster, then come to a skidding halt at the edge.
There’s a whole factory of machines before me.
What they’re building… I have no idea. It looks like a half-assembled hull of an enormous ship. But what use would a ship be so high in the mountains?
Suddenly I get a scent of her. Again it’s just the most subtle of waves. But it gives her location away.
She’s hiding on the other side of the empty hull.
I leap down and land softly on my toes. My feet don’t make a sound as I stalk my prey. Curiosity bubbles up at how she’s managed to hide her essence. It’s nothing a vampire should be able to do on her own.
I round the corner—and am blindsided when I come face-to-face with a woman pointing a gun at me.
“One move, vampire,” she sneers, “and you’re dead. Who are you? Why are you following me?”
The assumed, natural command in her voice instantly makes me more interested. But the gun is something it takes all of my will not to laugh at.
I quirk an eyebrow, nodding at the weapon. “Really?” I say. “You think a bullet is going to stop me?”
She takes a hand off the gun and brings it to her scalp. In a single clean sweep she yanks her black wig off.
Underneath, under the smooth, lightly stubbled skin, are intricate markings, glowing red.
“No a regular bullet,” she says. “One made by hand, by me.”
She is either an absolute fool for being so unwavering in her confidence… or she has something backing that confidence up.
And she knows that I am a vampire, too.
“And what makes that so special, I wonder?” I muse. I still haven’t taken a step from my spot.
I know I can overtake her in the blink of an eye. She is newly made; she has no conception of how fast we really are. If she so much as tries to bend that trigger finger, I’d be on her in a flash. The gun would go skidding from her hand before the bullet so much as left the barrel.
