by Peter Dawes
Inserting the card into a slot, I waited for the light to turn green and opened the door. Neither of them looked any the wiser when I held it and indicated with my hand that they were to proceed inside ahead of me. “So, what were you going to tell us about this guy?” Edwin asked, pausing by the bed in the center of the room.
“One important fact, really,” I said. Deftly, I pulled a dagger from its sheath and held it close to my torso. “He can be quite the chameleon. And you are not certain that you have found him until it is already too late.”
Edwin had started to say something as he turned to face me, but I silenced him with one quick slice across his throat. Barely registering the sudden look of panic on his face, I drove the dagger through the woman’s stomach and sneered. Her eyes widened, a surprised gasp escaping her mouth. Stumbling backward when I pulled the knife out, she slid onto carpet, landing first on her rear and then toppling onto her side. “What…?” she managed. “What did you…? Why?”
A thrill tore through me, with sadism personified in that moment. Her body twitched and his eyes screamed terror, his hand reaching out to the bed to brace the urge to fall with the cuts in his throat preventing him from producing a sound. Kicking at his knee, I brought him down beside his companion and laughed at how confused he appeared to be while reaching up to clutch his throat. Slowly, I dragged the knife blade across my tongue, eyes shutting as I tasted their blood and savored the lingering remnant of fear in the sample. “Trust,” I said, a hum punctuating the word until the moment of relish had passed. “Such an easy thing to attain, I have discovered. Not that you humans are long on self-preservation, but I expected more from my fanged friend.”
Edwin furrowed his brow at me when my lids lifted again, a cold, sinister grin crossing my lips. The sound of his companion sobbing drew his attention to her at first, but he quickly glanced back when I crouched in front of him. Holding the knife aloft again, I turned it around in front of his face. “You are out of your depth, sir,” I continued. “I enjoy my work thoroughly and I am quite good at it. While it would seem underestimating is the order of the day, I hope this has proven how much you should have better attended toward being cautious.”
He made a desperate grasp for the knife, spurring me to laugh at the wild flail when I pulled it just out of his grasp. Taking hold of his wrist with my unencumbered hand, I tsked and pressed the tip of the dagger over his chest, stopping him from making another attempt. “No…,” she said, choking the word out through a pained sob and tempting me to take a quick look at the tear-stained human. Her makeup ran down her cheeks, a pool of blood forming under her where she lay. “Please don’t do this.”
“Are you pleading for yourself or for him?” I asked. Glancing back at Edwin, I perked an eyebrow as he stared me down, the fear in his eyes giving me all the reason why he was not fighting back. My grin broadened. “This is the power of a reputation and precisely how I earned it, Mr. Gallagher. You did not believe it when Master Philip told you about me and yet, here I am. And here you are. Your mortal friend seems to be ignorant about what happens to us when we die. Shall I give her a demonstration?”
A quiver raced through his body, his feet lifting and pushing against the bed in an effort for him to try to escape. I tightened my hold on his wrist, though, and laughed when his struggles yielded no result; as the paralyzing fear released its grip just enough for him to kick and swing and land useless blows on my shoulder and side. My fangs descended from the sheer thrill of it all, dagger encroaching on him while one of his legs wrapped around me, his other hand aiding in the effort to pull his arm free. I shook my head and thrust the blade forward, sinking it between his ribs and into his heart.
“I shall send your regards to the others,” I said. “I promise.”
His body turned to ash within seconds, his wrist disintegrating and clothing falling slack onto the ground while I let go and lifted to a stand. As I turned to regard the human, I saw a crimson streak leading from the bloody pool, the woman already halfway to the door with her fingernails clawing into the carpet in a vain effort to grab traction. Muted sobbing joined the sound her body made as it slid and I could not help but to stand in mock appreciation of her futile attempt.
“This is what happens when you are not more discerning with the company you keep, Pet,” I said. “You wind up inviting their trouble onto your doorstep.” Walking up behind her, I bent to push her onto her stomach, smirking at the wail she produced and straddling her as I watched a wave of pain rush through her. Slowly, I lowered atop her, placing the knife-wielding hand on the ground for support and grabbing her hair in the process. She screamed when I yanked hard, arching her throat for full display.
“How would you like to deliver a message for me?” I asked, leaning forward to whisper in her ear.
I did not wait for her response before sinking my teeth into her neck.
The black rose I laid at Philip’s doorstep bore more than one simple flower. Its thorns had been posthumously driven into the palm of a severed hand and laid atop a suit handkerchief. Pinned to the swath of fabric was a handwritten message – the first and last I had ever delivered to a coven during my entire tenure as Flynn. Its simple message bore only two words.
Try harder.
***
A tingle raced through me, transporting me back to the kitchen in India. As the whisper quieted, but lingered, its intonation reminded me of the man I had once been.
“Play the ruse, seer. We were so bloody good at it.”
“Kamini is ready, Peter.”
The sound of Darshan’s voice knocked me from the moment and back to the matter at hand. As I returned from the mental excursion, the vestiges of the assassin who had once occupied my shoes returned to their place in my past, leaving me to the present.
Peering up to regard my fellow seer, I smiled and nodded at him while lifting to a stand.
“Let us begin,” I said. “So I might be on my way.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I wish you weren’t so impatient,” Robin said as he saw me off at the airport.
A fond smile touched the corners of my mouth. “And I wish you would not worry so much,” I said. My now-blue eyes bore a shimmer of affection to them, written instructions for a spell in the pocket of my coat should future use be necessary. Only a few feet separated me from my brother, but it might as well have been a mile. Nothing he had left to say to me would deter me from getting on the plane idling next to us on the tarmac. “I shall be in contact with you after I have the next scroll. Perhaps by then you can venture out to join me again.”
“Let us both hope it’s as simple as that.” Robin nodded and turned away, his frown contrasting against my smile. Confidence yet coursed through me, demanding I not stand still, but as I regarded his fading figure, a flicker of a moment brought with it an ounce of regret. I had been cured of it by the time I stepped into the plane and began my journey westward into Europe.
The flight, while shorter than the one before, bore the same uncomfortable silences and time spent sleeping in the back with silver chains and bars as my companions. I requested passage to Budapest, following that inclination not to tell the Order more about the nature of my journey. Offering both the pilot and the aide who accompanied me a salute, I ignored their inquisitive stares, leaving them as quickly as possible and using a small amount of pocket money to buy a train ticket for Romania.
If I had any say in the matter, they would not hear from me again until I had Monica back.
A pleasant spring evening greeted me in Bucharest, though nowhere near as balmy as New Delhi had been. I strode as far as it took to encounter a place to freshen up, stealing the opportunity as well to ready myself for battle. One outfit shed from my body gave me the allowance to slip into something my vampire side would approve of more. I might have been the seer, but I knew full well how to appear otherwise.
The red shirt and long coat were exchanged for a black suit. Before sliding the jacket over my arm
s, I slipped on a shoulder holster and secured a dagger within. The linen concealed the weapon from view, but would forbid me from wearing the sword. “Hopefully, it will not be that sort of crowd,” I muttered while restoring myself to the perfect image of a gentleman. Gazing into the mirror, I saw a man who resembled the assassin I had been for five years.
“Going to assist me with this one, Flynn?” I asked my reflection.
‘I thought you would never ask.’
A hard swallow followed the moment, passing just as swiftly as it had surfaced. I felt my fangs ache, there one second and gone the next as I gathered my composure again. Packing everything back into my travel bag, I hefted it over my shoulder and emerged back into the night. ‘When in Rome,’ I reminded myself, noting immersion would have to be absolute. This meant sojourning with the local coven.
“As simple as asserting that I belong,” I said, following the statement with a resolute nod. My gait remained casual, my gaze locked straight ahead throughout my entire walk. Producing my pack of cigarettes, I lit the end of one, pausing to breathe a few puffs while scanning the immediate area.
‘My suggestion would be to claim you’re a newly-installed elder, sating the urge to travel.’ Robin had said, one of the few parting comments offered when we had arrived at the airport.
If I were a typical vampire, where would I be hiding?
Adjusting the strap for my bag, I began a leisurely stroll through Bucharest, permitting myself a proper scan of the neighborhoods I strolled through while my feet set to wandering. I crossed one major thoroughfare and turned down another, seeking out areas which looked like ones my kind would use to conduct their nightly rituals. Throwing my senses into the wind, I sought out any evidence of their existence.
It did not take long for me to find something. Turning a corner into a less-crowded residential area, I hesitated when my skin began to prickle. A block of older buildings surrounded me, the road bereft of traffic. My radar directed me toward an even narrower side street, and it was there that I found them, two males on either side of a woman, wedging her between them.
Their eyes bore sexual intent behind their gazes, something I saw reciprocated in hers. She laughed as one of them kissed up her neck, the other touching her chin and skimming his fingers along the contours of her face. His fangs had started to peek out, but the human woman was either too drunk or too enchanted to notice. He tilted his head, lips gently settling on her cheek.
A lump formed in my throat I could not manage to swallow down.
“Gentlemen,” I said, startling both vampires with a single word. I summoned an amiable smile, knowing I had risked evoking their wrath by interrupting their hunt. ‘He bleeds mortal,’ I thought, suppressing the urge to wince by the barest of margins. ‘See if you can avoid having to slaughter the innocents, hmm?’ “I hate to interrupt, but do you speak English?”
They exchanged a look, before peering back at me with narrowed eyes. The woman let out a giggle, murmuring something in Romanian that came out sounding dreamlike. Opening my mouth, I started to address them again, prepared to work through a language barrier when the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps approaching me from behind. The collective gaze of those in front of me shifted to the person as a hand settled on my shoulder, fingers applying pressure.
“You are lost, dear friend,” a heavily accented voice said. Male. He leaned close and I could feel his breath hit my neck. “You should know better than to wander into strange places. People could get hurt.”
“I am afraid you are more at a loss than I,” I said. “For if you realized what you were threatening, you would lower your hand and back away.”
Well, at least I could tell Robin I had tried.
I had not suddenly turned suicidal, or so bloodthirsty that I would be willing to destroy any chance at diplomacy. At the same time, the fingers that had clutched onto my shoulder had yet to move and were making me irritated the longer they lingered. Taking a deep breath, I held it inward until allowing my fangs to descend for the first time in weeks.
He did not see the sharp teeth, but he heard the laugh I produced. Reaching for his hand, I lifted it up, adding the emphasis of a hearty squeeze and recalling that, if I wished to establish myself as an elder, I would have to prove being much stronger than I was. A small amount of telekinesis gave the grip an added amount of pressure – just enough for my point to be made.
The man screamed and tried to push away. Maintaining my hold, I turned to face my would-be attacker – a much shorter vampire with ebony hair and brown eyes fixed on me in panic. A quick shove threw him down onto the ground, with enough force that he spilled out in front of me, the jacket of his suit flying open in the process, revealing him to be unarmed. His head bounced off the pavement, a pained moan escaping his lips as I marched forward with my hands balled in fists.
“Wait!” he said, throwing his uninjured hand up to block me. He cradled the other one limply against his chest. “If we could have a chance to talk.”
“Oh, now you wish to speak? That you would have done so before accosting me.” Brushing aside the end of my suit jacket, I brandished a dagger, but stayed my hand from pulling it. Diplomacy remained the intent, granted, but I saw no need to stay my hand from threatening. “Now, you would be so kind –”
“Domn!” one of the other vampires behind me called out toward us.
Or, perhaps I could provoke a fight anyway.
Turning my attention to the duo, I spun fast enough to face them as they parted from the woman in their thrall, leaving her to stumble against an adjacent wall. While both dressed similarly, their hair the same shade of brown, one stood two inches shorter and hung back while his companion took the lead. I remained in place, keeping my sights set on the immortal pacing forward. He hissed at me in warning.
I chuckled in response. The game, it seemed, was afoot.
As the first vampire charged at me, I pulled the knife and sidestepped him, issuing a warning cut across his cheek. His partner dove for me while he recoiled in pain and I lifted an arm to deflect his attempt at a punch. Bone hit bone, my teeth gritting in response to the need to avoid both deadly force and use of my seer gifts. Best that I end it quickly, I determined.
“Is this the way the vampires of this country welcome newcomers?” I asked, pushing the other vampire off and waving the dagger in front of me. The immortal I had already cut hung back while his smaller counterpart lifted both hands in a defensive posture. Still, the way he held himself suggested another attack loomed imminent. The corners of my mouth curled upward. “My word, none of you are mindful enough not to start a fight unless you know your adversary.”
My challenger furrowed his brow. I fought the urge to sigh. “You, on the ground,” I said, addressing the man who had first accosted me, “Since you speak English, call off the attack dogs. I would hate to get ash all over my suit.”
“Please, no,” he said, punctuating his words with a groan. I heard the sound of grit skidding against the pavement, imagining him struggling up to a seated position. The gaze of my challenger flicked over to the fallen man, a hint of hesitation surfacing at whatever look was being directed toward him. “Andrei, a se calma. Lasă-mă vorbi la el.”
Flicking one last, skeptical glance at the fallen man, the vampire identified as Andrei relaxed his posture, both arms falling to his sides. His clenched his jaw, nodding once, but kept his gaze locked with mine. I relaxed marginally, keeping the dagger poised at the ready in the event there was a change of heart.
“Please, these are my immortal children. If anyone should bear the brunt of your anger, it should be me.” The man came to his feet behind me, appearing in my periphery after taking a few steps forward. I saw him clutching his hand and turned, perking an eyebrow when I finally allowed my attention to shift back to him. The stranger frowned. “I did not recognize you, so I could not be sure what your intensions were with them. I meant only to intimidate, not to threaten.”
“You are th
eir maker?” I asked, using the knife to point at Andrei.
He nodded. “Yes, Andrei is newly-turned. His cousin, Alex, turned a few years before him.” A slight grin played across his lips, almost apologetic, as though he could not help a slight swell of pride. Taking one step forward, he extended his uninjured hand. “Emil Dogaru, if it might be possible for us to make more proper introductions.”
I eyed the outstretched hand for a brief moment before pushing aside the fabric of my jacket and sliding the dagger back into its sheath. “Peter,” I said, shaking his hand. “I have been traveling Europe and hoped I might find sanctuary here.”
We exchanged the brief shake, my arm lowering to my side again with his clutching his injury once more. He managed a wan smile. “I wish your maker would have given us more warning, friend.”
“My maker is dead, sir.”
“Oh. Forgive me.” He nodded, his chest rising with a breath inhaled and held for several beats before being released. When his eyes darted to Andrei, I read a message contained therein. Regret. He turned, gesturing for me to follow. “Please, let me leave Alex to care for his cousin. I will take you back to my maker, Grigore. If you want to take up issue with my behavior, he will listen.”
“We need not go that far.” I adjusted my bag’s strap over my shoulder, my fangs retracting as we walked away from Alex and Andrei. My stomach twisted in a knot, the last glance I spared directed toward the human woman still in their thrall. I waged a brief war with myself over doing something, hearing the words, “Escalating will only make matters worse,” come out of my mouth and not knowing if I meant them for myself or to Emil.
Fortunately, Emil claimed them, the weight of his gaze provoking mine to finally leave the girl to her fate. “I thank you for that,” he said with a genuine smile. Flexing his violated fingers, he let the hand fall to his side. “Our coven is only two kilometers away. No more. Maybe you might tell me more about you and your travels as we walk.”
