I released him and bounced back to my feet, glancing away, my cheeks reddening. From one side of the sparring area, Bryce had been watching us. At least I had the excuse of being in the sun. I took stock of the ongoing situation while Dorian and I took a breather.
Around us, the pairs continued grappling. The previously hesitant soldiers and vampires were grabbing each other and starting to share ideas about moves—Sarah and Rayne exchanged a smile as I watched, and Laini and Grayson now risked a few arm twists and ankle kicks. Louise chattered at Sike about how good he was at fighting, even with an injury, and he simply gave her a “no duh” nod and shrug in response. At which point, she did something I couldn’t see that brought him crashing to the ground, laughing in surprise. Bravi had Zach in a headlock. He appeared to be trying to bend her fingers back and escape, but she tripped him and sent him spinning down to the ground.
"Okay! Uncle! Seriously!" Zach said, sprawling on the sand. Several onlooking vampires tried to hide their grins; Bravi didn’t even bother.
"Sloane, you're embarrassing the Bureau," Captain Bryce barked. He crossed his arms.
Zach bounced back up and brushed himself off, fighting off a scowl. “Okay, best six out of ten.”
A few feet away, Sike demonstrated to Louise how to restrain someone's hands and bite their neck, when he accidentally got her strawberry blonde ponytail caught in his mouth.
"I'm not sure I'm going to use that one," Louise said evenly, wiping spit off her hair. "Thank you, though."
Rhome and Roxy were running an organized drill with three deflective moves that I logged in my memory.
My gaze returned to Dorian. My cheeks were still a bit warm, but I rolled up my sleeves. "I wouldn't call you predictable, either," I announced.
"One of the many things we seem to have in common," Dorian replied.
I studied his face with a hint of suspicion but didn’t spot any flicker of teasing in his eyes. Rather, they looked… earnest. Like he meant what he said earlier.
A sudden, piercing screech shattered the lull in our fight. The air above us filled with the sounds of heavy, rushing wingbeats. I snapped my gaze to the sky, adrenaline coursing through me.
Redbills.
Bryce shouted in surprise. Roxy raced to retrieve her weapon from the pile at his feet, and I instinctively did the same. Zach and Colin were right behind us, picking a flapping target and aiming. Other soldiers scrambled around us, ducking and trying to get to their weapons. Bryce’s handgun aimed at the sky, unfaltering.
The redbills circled above us, screeching and diving.
"Hold your fire!” Dorian’s voice boomed over the commotion, surprisingly loud and guttural. "These are our redbills! They’re tame, they won’t hurt you, put your guns down!"
Captain Bryce found his words. "Soldiers, hold!"
"They thought we were under attack." Dorian held his hands up, swiftly approaching the soldiers with weapons. But the soldiers didn’t back down.
The bills continued circling and throwing their heads.
Dorian looked to me anxiously, his eyes imploring. What I feared more than getting scolded by a redbill was ending this day in an unnecessary bloodbath, so I lowered my weapon and motioned for the others to do the same. Another redbill snapped its beak in the air, and several soldiers flinched, the tips of their guns angling for the bird.
"Please, lower your weapons," Dorian repeated in a commanding tone. His gaze snapped to Bryce when no other soldiers followed my lead. "Captain, the animals won't leave until your soldiers set aside their weapons."
Bryce’s leathery face creased with conflict, and he waited a few beats, but ultimately nodded. "Soldiers, lower your weapons," he said slowly.
Roxy stared at Bryce incredulously, her stocky shoulders and thin lips rigid in protest.
Torn between who was scarier—the birds or Bryce—the soldiers lowered their weapons. But they took a few moments to do so.
Rhome began speaking softly up to his bird, the one with a few broken-off serrated teeth. It slowly lowered to the ground, clacking its crimson beak. Rhome placed his hand on its broad forehead, just as he'd done with the wild redbills earlier that day.
Some of the redbills still circled overhead, as if uncertain whether to land. Bravi whistled, and two more birds descended to the sand, hopping toward her while keeping suspicious eyes on the nearby humans.
The other vampires held their palms to the redbills’ foreheads as they continued hesitantly landing on the sand, which swirled around our feet.
"Thank you for pulling back the artillery," Dorian called to the soldiers, a palpable edge in his voice. His redbill came to rest beside him, nuzzling the tip of its beak slightly against Dorian’s torn gray pants. Its beak was larger than the others’, and it growled like it knew it. Dorian gently placed a hand on the bird's neck. The animal gurgled and made a trilling noise in its throat, aimed at the flustered birds still hovering above.
We soldiers backed away as more birds landed and the vampires soothed them. Watching the vampires soothe their man-eating monsters like terrified kittens, I had a moment of surreal disorientation. I wondered, just for a moment, if we were doing the right thing. Then I gave myself a mental slap. Of course we are.
The birds eventually stopped jerking their heads and began chirping to each other instead.
"I think we should talk about how to keep everyone safe around the redbills," Dorian said pointedly to Captain Bryce, though his sharp gaze encompassed all of us. "Weapons will not resolve everything."
Roxy clenched her weaponless hands into fists and glowered. Some of the vampires returned her frustrated look. Finally, Kane was on his feet, arms crossed in annoyance. He’d sat through most of the event like he was watching reruns on TV.
"Soldiers, can you please approach me and my redbill?" Dorian asked. “Slowly.” He exhaled, clearly tempering irritation, which only pricked mine. Between that and the remnants of my earlier fear, the last thing I wanted to do was approach that bird.
Zach and Louise looked to Bryce and then me. At Bryce’s nod, I began walking toward Dorian. My teammates followed with hesitant steps.
"The best way to show you mean no harm is to keep your voice soft and palms upward. Like this," Dorian explained, demonstrating. His bird clawed at the sand as we neared but thankfully kept its serrated beak closed. “See. It’s not difficult.”
His tone was a little too condescending for my liking.
“I think it’s understandable that we want to protect ourselves,” I muttered in Dorian’s direction, keeping an eye on the giant beak. “Especially since we can’t assume that all redbills are controlled by friendly vampires.”
Dorian gave a curt nod. "Yes, I’m fully aware that they're predators and can be extremely dangerous. But if you approach them peacefully, they're likely to respond the same way. Once you've gotten close, something else that helps is clicking your tongue. The sound comforts them." Dorian trilled his tongue against the back of his teeth, and his bird chirred back softly.
"Let's have everyone return to their previous pairs and follow Mr. Clave's instructions," Captain Bryce said from behind us. The enthusiastic note had returned to his voice.
I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
The soldiers returned to their partners with a marked lack of enthusiasm, emulating Dorian's open palms. The birds remained calm, except Rhome’s. It hissed at Roxy, its shoulders hunching defensively. The soldiers froze, watching. I held my breath.
“He’s picking up on your tension,” Rhome said evenly.
Roxy’s cheek twitched. Then, with a deep sigh that heaved her chest, she visibly relaxed her muscles. The bird eyed her for a long moment, then blinked and began to preen its feathers. From the crowd, somebody whistled.
I stepped closer to Dorian's redbill—the same one that had carried me during the last mission, the same one that Dorian had flown when he kidnapped me. Had that really been only a couple weeks ago?
It seemed the redbill
sensed my trepidation. It jerked its head toward me as I approached, its eyes hard and suspicious. My insides flipped, but even if it felt a little ridiculous, I clucked my tongue. I wasn’t going to fail at this. Not in front of Mr. Know-It-All.
The redbill listened silently but gave me no other response.
"I know you two already know each other, but let's get friendlier," Dorian said, his voice irksomely chipper. He no longer addressed the group but came closer to speak to me personally. "He's a little flustered, but let's see if you can get him to let you touch his neck."
Touch his neck? The thought didn’t thrill me. I'd been on the redbill’s back, sure, but the last time I'd been alone with it, it had tried to bite my leg off before drinking a man like a juice box. Did I even want to get friendlier with it?
I kept my palms up and carefully approached the bird. Every few steps I clicked my tongue. The bird remained unamused, grumbling to itself. Yeah, you’re not the only one, pal.
"That's good." Dorian continued his encouragement. He crossed his arms over his sinewy chest, watching me closely. "Just take it slow." The other soldiers crept closer to their redbills, too. It was mostly quiet, save for some clicks and chirps here and there.
Trying not to grimace, I stepped forward again, only a few feet now remaining between me and the bill. I clucked a little louder, hoping to encourage it.
Its throat gurgled. I stopped.
"It's okay," Dorian said calmly, but I could’ve sworn he suppressed a chuckle. "He knows you don't have a gun, so he'll warm up in a little bit."
I cast Dorian a pointed side-eye. "You know, it's not like a few of these things haven't attacked me before. And not just that—they’ve killed countless people." Afraid to startle the redbill, I tried to keep my tone gentle, despite my prickle of frustration. It was easy for Dorian to chuckle. "I’ve got a few scars to prove it."
“I understand,” Dorian replied. His lips straightened, though a shadow of a smile lingered as he watched me. “I don’t want that to happen again. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. We’re a team now, right? If we learn to communicate, we’ll all be safer.”
I had to accept that he had a point, albeit grudgingly. I swallowed my nerves and clicked once more. The bird gave me a curt chirp. Just one.
"See? There you go," Dorian said, his smile returning full force.
"Yeah, thanks." I scoffed.
I took another small step and delicately extended a palm toward the bird's neck. Three feet of air were the only thing between that beak and my hand. I closed my eyes and inhaled, then reached. My fingers lightly brushed some of its neck feathers. I froze, gauging its reaction.
Dorian’s redbill kept as still as I did. I offered another cluck, and it gave me another in return.
"You'll be riding him without me in no time." Dorian grinned.
"That doesn't sound like much fun," I whispered. I closed the last of the space between me and the bill, my hand now firmly pressed against its neck. It’s kinda like the horses I used to ride at summer camp… kinda. The bird closed its eyes in response to my neck pets, finally pleased. Once I heard a chittering in the redbill’s throat, I knew we’d reached an understanding. My shoulder was just inches from Dorian's chest, which, annoyingly, I was almost as aware of as the giant, human-eating bird.
"Glad you think so," he replied, a smile in his voice.
Chapter Twenty-One
I smiled before I opened my eyes the next morning. Somehow, I wasn't even irked by the bugle call, which was definitely a first.
I brushed my teeth at the latrine sink, remembering the feeling of my forehead bumping Dorian's. I touched my fingers to the spot, humming to myself. You planning on tackling me again?
I absently rubbed my forehead as I walked to the mess hall. Of course, just at that moment, Captain Bryce stepped in front of me, jolting me from my thoughts.
"Captain, good morning," I said, immediately dropping my hand to my side.
"Lieutenant. Please join me in my office," he said, and promptly stomped down the hall without waiting for my response. I blinked, before hurrying after him.
Reaching his office, I closed the door behind me, wracking my brain for anything that might’ve happened over the past twenty-four hours that I could possibly get scolded for. I eased into a chair as he shuffled papers on his desk.
"Thought you'd be interested in what we found on your security guard friend," Bryce announced.
I paused as my brain processed this unexpected shift in the conversation. "You… You have intel back already?" I asked. A mix of curiosity and nerves spiked in me.
"I have friends in high places, Lieutenant," Bryce said with a smirk, still rustling papers. "Got a mate who's ex-Bureau. Currently a top dog with the federal police. He was able to immediately assign a wee task force on the case. That, and it turns out your friend is crummy at being a criminal."
Bryce finally got the papers into some kind of order and shoved them toward me, his eyes lowered in stern disapproval. This time, it wasn’t directed at me. "Crummy and guilty," he clarified, jerking his hand impatiently.
I took the papers and scanned them. My eyes widened once I got to the words "child pornography."
"That was my reaction, too," Captain Bryce said, watching my face harden. He pursed his lips. "He got a home visit from investigators yesterday. They clearly found quite a bit. I'd hate to be the one to tell his mother."
I continued reading, my hands tensing around the papers. The report noted that investigators suspected intent to distribute. I curled my lip.
"Needless to say, you won't be seeing your friend at his post again," Bryce said, tapping his pen on his desk in a furious staccato rhythm.
I lowered the papers to my lap, my thoughts rushing.
"This could open quite a door, Lieutenant," Bryce remarked, before I could get my first thought out. "If it's not just a coincidence."
Excitement bubbled in my chest. Bryce was seeing what I’d intended in that heated moment with Finley.
"Imagine the crimes that could be prevented," I said, holding up the papers. "This is a huge reason to support a human and vampire alliance."
"Easy, lassie." Bryce raised a finger. "Don't get ahead of yourself. This is just one piece of evidence in an ocean of anti-vampire history. This isn't enough to take to the board and make a case on. We need more."
I knew he was right; supplemental data would only benefit the vampires more, and his tone told me we were on the same team with that. But I felt a flurry of impatience between my ribs.
"I don't see how most people wouldn't at least consider allowing vampires back into society, if they saw this," I said.
"Agreed. It’s only one piece of data, but it’s definitely a start to supporting the 'specified feeding' concept they've been throwing around," Bryce replied. "However, there's still the issue of murder. I don't see the government agreeing that it's acceptable to drain someone because they've robbed a convenience store or two."
I chewed on my lip, thinking. "That’s true. But… on the other side of the coin, they'll have to take into account that crime rates have increased since the vampire extinction.”
"That'll be another selling point, yes.” Bryce steepled his fingers, a calculating look crossing his face. “And if we could dig a little deeper—say, figure out if it's possible for vampires to identify these people and detain them…" He leaned back in his chair, trailing off for a moment in obvious thought. "But, like I said, one incident isn't enough to build a case on. We must find clear, explicit correlations between all of these pieces. I'm not risking my rank on your overzealousness."
He paused, and I held my breath.
"So. When would you like to start?" A smile cracked his sun-tanned face.
A pulse of excitement raced through me. "Are you serious?"
"Well, yes. How could we ignore this? You and I will work on it in our downtime and build a case to present to the board. Mr. Clave might be willing to answer some questions." Bryce raise
d his eyebrows at me, a conspiratorial spark in his light blue eyes. "And my mate with the feds shouldn't have a problem pitching in here and there. This would be a lovely cherry on top of a successful-six-week-trial-period, no-more-redbills sundae, wouldn't you agree, Sloane?"
My head bounced up and down. "Yes, sir," I replied, my mind rushing with possibilities. This could be our winning ticket. If this worked, our mission—aiding the vampires and therefore the entire universe—could be a slam dunk. This could blindingly demonstrate the value of vampires on Earth and beyond, and that’s what we needed to show the board.
"Maybe we could start by asking the vampires about their past attacks,” I went on. “Instances where they knew the person's name or unique descriptors. And we can check records to validate.”
Bryce nodded. "Live experiments would probably gather some convincing data, too. A controlled setting where we expose the vampires to people they've never met, some innocent, some with nasty records. See if they can sniff out the bad eggs. Obviously, they’d have to be under heavy supervision. We won’t risk anyone involved. No more bloodbaths."
My mind jumped back to the bleeding man in the grass at the motel. "I may have one specific lead, actually, Captain," I said, my enthusiasm sobering a little as I remembered how serious this project could be. "When I was captured, I witnessed Dorian kill someone he claimed was a criminal. I didn't get the man's name, but I know the date and some location details. Do you think your friend could run a search?"
"Don't see why not," Bryce answered, his eyes serious. "But posthumous searches would be needlessly time-consuming at this juncture, I'd say. Let’s focus on live criminals. We catch dirtbags, and the vampires score points with the board. Win-win. There's always time for the police to investigate those who are already deceased once we've built a convincing foundation for the case."
I nodded sharply. His argument made sense. "Yes, sir."
"And, obviously, Lieutenant, keep this under wraps for now. This is strictly need-to-know. Last thing we need is everyone rubbing our noses in the dirt if the whole thing flops."
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