I wonder what Miss goody-two-shoes Lily thought of what she witnessed. That girl is sharp and filled with potential but I don’t trust her. She has too much of an air about her as if she is judging all she sees. It reminds me of the girls who used to think picking on me was cool. They learned their lesson and in time I’m sure Miss Lily will, too.
I park the Mercedes in the Genosoa parking garage and walk across the dimly lit lot to the elevator and use my key to access the penthouse of his tower. On the way up, I make one final check over that everything is perfect, appearances are everything after all. I smile at what I see, a perfect body that is absolutely sculpted to perfection. The elevator dings and the doors slide open, I move across the marble floor ignoring the sparse finery that he affects to. I prefer lavishness myself; after all, if you got it, flaunt it.
“Katherine” his steely gray eyes are on me the moment I enter his living room.
I walk over to his wet bar and help myself to a brandy. I turn my head over my shoulder holding up the glass and arch an eyebrow but he shakes his head negative to the question so I drop in a cube of ice then go to sit across from him on the curved couch. I cross my legs to best effect, making sure that not too much shows, just enough to make sure that his imagination, if the old codger still has one, is excited.
“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I ask looking over the brandy glass as I sip.
“I’m moving up the time table,” he says without preamble.
Surprise catches me mid-drink. This is very carefully being orchestrated and a change like this, to a plan he has literally worked on for decades is not light news.
“Okay, would you care to elaborate?” I smile but he just stares cold and hard. Everything about Genosoa is cold, he inspires it. There is even a cold breeze that goes with him, like a quickly opened door during sub zero temperatures.
“It is very likely that the government is preparing to move against us,” he states. “Sooner than expected. Athene’s visions are coming to pass faster. This has to be done; they have to be given a distraction.”
“You realize Athene is a nut right?”
His lips turn down in a severe frown, his fascination with her and her ‘visions’ is not something I even pretend to understand or care to. He is powerful; you can feel it when you’re around him. The little monster inside bows down to him. Of course, it does the same with Athene but she is not a power player. She rarely involves herself in Society and no one of note respects her, if not for the fact that Genosoa listens to her cracked ideas she would probably not be worthy of any further consideration.
“You will not speak of the Prophet that way in my presence.”
I smile demurely, accepting his rebuke and casting my eyes to the floor. “What do we need to do then?” I change the subject. First rule of holding power from the bottom is don’t let the one on top know you’re doing it. “What do you need from me?”
He stares at me over steepled fingers; I can feel him weighing the options and exploring every possibility before he commits himself to one. This is why the man is powerful, he thinks strategically always planning out several moves ahead and allowing for various outcomes. I don’t think there could be a possibility in any situation he has not laid out a plan for. I assume if I live to be over six hundred years old I might do the same.
“The magic I’ve developed will buy us time, time to find a way to better manage our population. The price, as with any magic, is high. What I need from you is to make sure that the city fire department is busy, I don’t care how you do it. There is going to be a fire in the Tenbaum District, nothing of import is going to be harmed but they cannot arrive in a timely manner.” His voice is cold and empty of emotion, his eyes are dead pools into nothing. The man is ice.
“How big of a fire?” I ask. This will not be easy to cover over, these are the kinds of things that lead to investigations which increases the odds of us being discovered.
“Large,” he says.
My eyebrow arches up, not exactly helpful. “Loss of life?”
“Massive.”
I feel a small pang and I recognize it as what was once my conscience. I sold that over long ago, even before I entered my new life. Such a thing is merely a weakness to be excised though at times it tries to reassert itself.
“Once this is done your efforts to keep the silence will be much easier.”
“Oh?” I cock my head to one side, feigning interest. He isn’t trying to reassure me, he wouldn’t have said that if he didn’t want me to preen over him a little. Genosoa is a cold hard bastard and I have to use other means to work him than sex. Luckily it’s not my only skill, just the easiest.
“Once this is fueled it will be much harder for them to notice supernatural events. The human mind wants to find natural reasons for things it considers unnatural, this will enhance that reaction. It will make it very hard for most of the cattle out there to notice when something untoward happens.”
Wow. I knew he was doing something big but I had no idea it was this big.
“How?” I take pride in the steadiness of my voice while inside I feel shocked, how could he manage something that will affect all the population of the City? How will this affect my job? Most of my power is due to my influence among the politicians and well placed officials of the City. When something needs covered up, I do that, it is inherent in my position in Society as Keeper but more it is how I keep myself in power, safe from the bigger fish like him and in charge of the smaller fish. My mind races as I consider the ramifications.
“Magic. Fueled it will create this effect, then it will take less power to keep fueling it.”
Fueled, he keeps saying fueled. I lock onto that word, turning it over as I try to figure out exactly what he means by it.
“Fueled by what?” I sip the brandy to cover the slight tremble in my voice. I know what he is going to say, I can feel it coming in his cold voice and that dead gaze.
He looks surprised at the question, as if it is completely obvious.
“Lives of course, souls sacrificed and captured, they will fuel the magic that will create this shield.”
I smile, carefully schooling my face, I cannot show any waver in my resolve. It should be easy, I play so many roles to so many people I can just pretend to be this one as well.
“Ah, well of course. Not my area of expertise so I’ll take your word for it.” I sip the brandy again, affecting an air of nonchalance. “When will this happen?”
He smiles for the first time. I hate it when he smiles, it’s so cold it always sends a shiver down my spine.
“Three nights hence. Do not fail me in this Katherine. You would not like the results of failure.”
“Failure? I don’t know the word,” I quip. He doesn’t normally talk so much, he must really be proud of this, the calculating bastard.
I know when I’m dismissed, so I rise from his couch, setting the crystal glass down with a clink then turn and head for the elevator. I feel his eyes on me so I put a little extra sway to the hips, he may pretend not to notice such things but I haven’t met a man yet who doesn’t get distracted. Besides, it covers what I feel inside. My power is being assaulted, his plan puts me in jeopardy and I just can’t have that. The only question is how do I do something about it without appearing to have done anything?
As I push the elevator button to go back to the parking garage, I see him sitting across the room alone but he is talking to himself or the empty air. I can see his lips moving at least. I push blood to my ears heightening my hearing so that I can make out what he is saying.
“She will accomplish the goals just fine, she is loyal to her own power if nothing else. There is nothing to worry about on that front.” He says to the empty room. The elevator door closes as I catch the last word. Nothing to worry about on my front, well Genosoa, we shall see.
THROUGH THE DARK
Wolf
LUNA AND I TRACK LILY DOWN to Griogar’s place arriving just in time to see her
entering the house. Lily looks like shit, severely underfed and knowing Athene she hasn’t taught the girl to hunt on her own. Athene’s affectations for pretending to not be a vampire but a god is part of what led to the two of us fighting all those years ago.
I brought Luna to this place because I want her to see Lily, to see in her what I see. Part of me hopes that maybe, just maybe, Lily and her humanity will be a new start for the two of us. We could adopt her as we had the original pack members. She would be the fresh start I wanted but most of me knows that future cannot be. I can’t and won’t make the final, necessary plunge while I’m holding on to things that make me human, which is exactly what Lily and Luna do to me.
We wait for over an hour but there is nothing happening that I can see and Luna is growing restless. I haven’t told her why I led her here; I didn’t want to even admit it to myself. Thirty more minutes pass by as we wait not speaking. The same thoughts chase themselves around in my mind, I allow myself that much time to entertain the possibility like a glimmer of hope. Hope is for the human though, hope is what they thrive on, the idea that things will work out okay in the end. They live on the lie, I live on practicality.
“What are we doing Wolf?” Luna asks breaking the silence between us and shattering my thoughts. I look at her, taking in her scent, her form, the light in her eyes.
“Not sure,” I shrug. I don’t know why I’m here honestly, instinct told me to follow Lily. My instincts don’t lead me wrong, I live my life by trusting in them.
“That was Lily I take it?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I wait to hear her thoughts.
“Cute, if you like the little kid look.”
I grunt as she gives me a sidelong glance. It’s not like she was here.
“What’s she doing with Griogar?”
“Don’t know,” I reply. “Been out of touch.”
“We should talk to Athene, find out what is going on. Athene says she is important?”
I nod again.
“Why?”
I shrug, I don’t have words for it, there is something about her that makes me feel. Only other person ever did that was Luna and she left so whether she is here now or not is irrelevant.
“Don’t like it,” I refer to Griogar, she knows my mind.
“I can’t imagine why, Griogar is about the nastiest creature I’ve ever encountered. Maybe we should have killed him.”
I nod, we’ve even argued before about whether or not I should kill him. Athene says he has a role to play, I’m not sure I care. Luna’s hand caresses my cheek, I turn towards her and she leans into me. Our lips meet and my tongue dances across her soft perfect lips and pushes its way into her mouth. I trace her teeth, pushing insistently until our tongues meet and they dance again. My hand goes to her hair and my other strokes her back. I lose myself, just for a moment in her, pretending nothing fell apart, pretending that the past twenty years are nothing, that they don’t exist.
*** 25 Years Ago ***
I watch as they learn to track a scent through the woods. Once they can do it here the City will not be a challenge for them. Luna crouches on a log, her bow slung across her back, the moon highlighting her hair, casting a perfect light across her face. Sarah gets the scent first but Billy is only a moment behind her in picking it out. She smiles at me and then she is off, bounding through the woods like a gazelle. She leaps easily, dodging branches and going around bushes effortlessly. Luna and I follow, hanging back to let them lead the way. I set this hunt up to test their skills.
“Wolf, there has to be another way,” Luna says.
“What other way? They are going to come after us, after our pack. We are either strong enough to defend them or we’re not. You know Griogar won’t stop. You know as well as I do he is the one behind all this.” We run in silence, there is no arguing with what we know.
“I’d rather strike at him directly. Take him out.”
I shake my head, I know what she wants but it can’t be. Then we’d pull the entire wrath of their Society down on us. We have to work within their rules, mostly.
“Power,” I growl. “Saw it in the War, the side with the most power won. North kicked our asses. More power, more people, more guns. Bigger, badder, that is what wins. I won’t let anything harm this pack.”
She nods; we discussed this and there is no other solution. She is strong, a warrior, a Queen once. She understands power.
“Either we get stronger, or they take us out.”
The pack has the scent now, I can smell the prey, we are closing in on it. I look over at her with a smile as we run but she frowns.
I hear struggling as we close, Sarah and Billy have cornered the prey. I stop to watch them, see how they have learned. Luna stops next to me, her eyes widening as she gasps.
“Wolf, no!” she cries.
I look over at her surprised. There is no point in waiting. Sarah and Billy have the other vampire between them, they move in unison as a pack should, each anticipating the move of the other. The vampire between them is older than they are and will make a good source of power for them. I am developing their taste for more powerful food.
Sarah feints, creating an opening that Billy is on immediately. He grabs the vampire’s arms from behind and locks them. Sarah, who had dodged back from the attempted attack, is on the prey in an instant, her fangs latching onto the vampire’s throat without a hesitation.
I hear Luna sob next to me but I walk forward, hardening my heart, this has to be. They will kill us if we are not strong enough. The pack stops, giving obeisance to their Alpha. I move to stand next to Sarah, looking back at Luna. She stands back, a look of shock on her face. I lock eyes with her and for a moment I hesitate.
“Finish it,” I say to Sarah and like that it is over. The vampire struggles but it is no match for the two of them. I watch her feed, taking her fill. The vampire drains out, its face going paler, reaching the stage of entering the long sleep. Sarah stops looking up at me. This is the part I have to steel myself for. I step forward with my eyes on Luna, I see her shaking her head in a negative.
“There is no choice!” I bark.
Sarah and Billy are the last of the pack. Three have been killed already. None of them fear us, together we are strong but the moment one of us is alone we are targets in the City. The other vampires are taking us out one at a time. We have to be stronger, have to create a position that no one can assail.
My fangs extend as I lean down to the vampire, I bite in and begin to suck, pulling no longer at the blood but at something more. I feel it fighting me struggling to survive. I pull the darkness out of him, absorbing it, I feel it entering me; my beast and this new darkness struggle for dominance and the feeling of it is electric. Sensations thrill along my nerves, every inch of my skin feels like static is playing across it, a complete overload of sensory input. The new darkness assaults me, but I wrestle it and feel it weakening, giving up and then it is being absorbed, my beast feeds like it has never fed before. I feel it growing stronger and at the same time I’m stronger. I lean my head back and howl throwing my arms wide.
This will not be the last time, this is power.
*** Today ***
She pulls back from me; her face inches from mine and our eyes are locked. Emptiness sits in my guts and it aches. I know she is the answer. She is the one that can fill the void but she won’t come back to me. She can’t stay and I can’t ask her to. Her fingertips stroke down along my jawline with a tingling sensation. My groin responds, instantly hardening, ready to take her again here on this rooftop. She blinks slowly, the beast in her at least wants to play as well, but she pushes it down. Did I see something soften in her eyes?
“I’ll go talk to Athene,” she says.
I nod, the moment has passed. I can feel the door closing again, it happens over and over with us. I can’t soften, I can’t give in to her no matter how much I want to.
“Good idea,” I say.
Slowly I release my grip in her hai
r, it is an act of will. Each time I let her go it is like a small part of me dies. Read a poster one time said if you love something set it free, if it is yours it will come back to you, if it doesn’t it never was. Wonder whatever asshole thought that up would say when it keeps coming back and then leaving again. Each time it feels like it cuts me to ribbons, but damn if the moments together aren’t worth it.
“Try not to interfere until we know what is going on,” she warns.
I smile at her but she just shakes her head.
“Damn it Wolf,” she sounds exasperated.
I widen my eyes giving her my best innocent look. Been years since I was innocent of anything. Lot of years but what the hell I give it a shot but she just shakes her head. I can’t pull shit on her, never could, never really wanted to.
“It’s late, I will stay at Athene’s today. I’ll find you tomorrow night.” Her gaze lingers, there are more to those words than what they say on the surface. She doesn’t want to be alone with me again, we both know where that will end up and each time we are together, it is that much harder to be apart.
Once she leaves, I turn my attention back to Griogar’s place, settling in to continue watching a while longer. Maybe I can learn something of what he is planning or what he is doing with Lily.
GRIOGAR’S WAY PART THREE
Lily
THE NEXT NIGHT I ARRIVE BACK AT GRIOGAR’S and make my way to his garden area. Athene asked a lot of questions when I got home last morning but I didn’t tell her everything. I don’t want her to know how broken I am so I did my best to hide it from her. She questioned me for details that I dodged until at last she accepted that I was learning a few things and our conversation turned to mundane matters.
Now here I am back walking into the den of probably the most monstrous creature I have ever encountered and God help me I feel hope inside. No one else, nothing else has come close to slaking the thirst, the ache that just grows worse inside me. I can feel the monster in me is getting weaker, not stronger like I know instinctively it should be. It is starving and taking me along with it.
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