by C. Gockel
He let the corpse fall and went in search of another meal.
He fed twice more and drained both men before he felt strong enough to leave. Although he hadn’t planned it that way, draining three was a good move, he realised. He wouldn’t need to stop on the way back to the city and risk someone see him feeding. He would need to steal a car as well, but he wouldn’t do that here. He wanted to leave quietly. He frowned at the bodies and decided to stash them out of sight. With luck, no one would find them until morning when their friends came on shift.
Leaving them tucked away in the shrubbery, he orientated himself and ran for the wall surrounding the property.
37
War Plans
David hurried into Edward’s office at Lost Souls to find him trying to calm a very distressed vamp. He didn’t recognise him, and a glance at Lawrence and Ronnie told him they didn’t either. The stranger smelled of anger and the earth. He sniffed again, noting the others were also trying to get a lungful, and knew he was right. The man’s suit was filthy, and his shoes were muddy. He had dirt in his hair, and there was a strong scent of fresh blood. Mist suddenly became hyper alert. In his head, David saw the wolf sitting at attention, listening intently to Edward soothing the distressed man.
“I have to go back,” the stranger was saying. “I have to save her.”
“You will,” Edward soothed. “But you’ll have to wait just a little longer. I made the calls. You heard me make them. It won’t take long for them to arrive. David is already here, see?” The stranger allowed Edward’s touch on his arm and turned to study David and his friends. His eyes found Ronnie and his fangs descended. David tensed for an attack, but again Edward took steps. “You are hungry, Andrew?”
The stranger nodded, but he seemed embarrassed. He had covered his mouth to hide his fangs. David relaxed and smiled wryly. Ronnie did have a particular effect on most men no matter their species or race. She fascinated them all, and who could blame them? Certainly not he. He was as besotted with her as they were in his way.
Edward beckoned Ronnie. “Take Andrew and find him someone, would you? He’s new. Choose someone kind, please.”
Ronnie nodded and took Andrew’s hand to lead him out of the office. He went along with her like a child, and she gave David a challenging look as she walked by. He knew what that meant. She was going to feed Andrew herself and was daring him to object. He declined the challenge, and smiled secretly to himself at her frown. Mist’s plan was definitely working.
He watched them leave and turned his attention back to Edward. “What do we know?”
“He’s Stephen’s child, turned three days ago. AML captured him along with the others at the house when they attacked. He knows where they’re being held.”
“Then Stephen is alive,” he said in relief.
“We already knew that. If Stephen had died, I would have as well. He’s alive, but that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable, or that he won’t die before we can rescue him. I’ve sent for the others—Andrew will show us where to go after he’s fed again.”
“Again?”
“He told me that Stephen helped him feed on some of the guards before he escaped, but he’s only hours old. He’ll need to feed often the first few days or die permanently in his sleep.”
Lawrence sucked in a breath, obviously not happy to hear that.
Edward nodded grimly. “He had no choice. He killed three guards and fled to find me.”
“They’ll be found,” Lawrence said. “If they haven’t been discovered already, they will be by morning. We have to get to Stephen before then.”
David turned to see Gavin enter the room with Spence and Angel at his heels. The cop trailed into the office last and she was angry. He had rarely met her when she wasn’t angry about something. She needed counselling in his opinion. Anger issues in someone who routinely carried weapons on the streets couldn’t be a good thing. When he heard what she was angry about however, he suddenly had other things on his mind.
“His name is Barrows,” Chris said. “He followed me here.”
“He is of no concern,” Gavin said dismissing her words. “If he interferes, I will deal with it.”
“You don’t get it!”
“Ah, Gavin?” David said recognising the name. “This actually is a big deal, and a serious problem.”
“Explain.”
“Barrows is a fed.”
Chris grimaced. “You’re wasting your time. I already told him that Barrows is FBI. He won’t listen to me!”
“Barrows is hip deep in what’s been happening. From Angel’s description, he was the one who tried to grab O’Neal’s body at the morgue.”
Gavin turned to his companions for confirmation and Angel nodded. Spence just shrugged. He hadn’t been there.
“And Gavin?” He went on, returning the vamp’s attention to him. “Stephen told me before he disappeared that OSI is sniffing around the city. Barrows is part of that and the Shadow War in Chicago.”
Gavin frowned.
“We will deal with Barrows when the time comes,” Edward said. “My priority is saving Stephen. We know where he is.”
“We do?” Chris said in surprise. “Since when and where is he? Is Marie Stirling safe?”
“I should have said we have someone who knows where he is. He’s feeding. He’ll be back shortly.”
“A vamp?”
Edward nodded.
“How do you know he’s reliable?”
“Quite,” Gavin said, frowning at the way the cop had taken over the conversation. “Do I know him? Is it Michael?”
“Not Michael. He and Stephen are both captive. No, this one is new. Stephen turned him. I’ve verified that.”
Gavin nodded, accepting Edward’s word, but Chris didn’t understand how such things worked. She questioned and Edward had to explain.
“My bond with Stephen means I’m linked to him and through him to his progeny. I still can’t feel Stephen—I don’t understand why not—but I can feel Andrew, just as I can feel all of Stephen’s children. He was turned just three days ago and rose for the first time tonight. I felt him rise, as did Charles and Danyelle.”
“Where is Danyelle?” Gavin said. “Why isn’t she here?”
“I sent her and Lee to fetch Rachelle and her people. They should be here soon.”
“What are we going to do about Barrows?” Chris growled. “We can’t let him follow us around!”
“I’ll take care of it,” David said.
“How? I won’t let you kill him.”
“Let?” Gavin said before David could answer. “I fear you are labouring under a misapprehension, Detective. I allow your presence for the debt I owe you, but do not think for a moment that it extends beyond allowing you to observe. As my guest, you may accompany me and observe. You will not be allowed to interfere with what I decide to do, or not do.”
David broke in before the cop could rally with a fresh argument likely to piss Gavin off. “I’ll deal with this. Barrows might prove useful considering we have AML to deal with.”
Gavin dismissed the matter as dealt with. “The night is passing. Angel has her people waiting outside. What of your pack?”
David turned to Lawrence. “Rally the troops. All are coming, no exceptions.”
Lawrence hurried away.
“Transport?” Gavin said to Edward.
“It’s all arranged. We just need Rachelle and her people to arrive and we can go.”
“Excellent. This matter has dragged on long enough. My sword will end it tonight.”
Edward picked up his cane from where it lay upon his desk. He twisted the pearled handle, pulled, and the sword it concealed slid out a few inches. He grimly slammed it home again.
David stared. He hadn’t expected Edward to fight with them, but he didn’t object after a moment of thought. If Stephen died so would his familiar. Edward had served Stephen for a very long time. If he was going to die, it was only right he die trying to save his master.
Danyelle escorted Rachelle and her entourage into the room some ten minutes later. By that time, Gavin was very impatient to leave. He was in no mood for Rachelle’s mouth or for Spence’s dislike of the witch accompanying her. He glared hard at Spence when the shifter muttered about the smell suddenly permeating the office, and shared it with the witch when she responded by imitating a dog whimpering like a whipped cur.
David shook his head, wondering how anyone got anything done with allies that could barely stand to be in the same room with each other. Spence was right though; the witch did stink, but it was her magic, not body odour. She was a necromance and her aura was dark as a consequence. He wasn’t sure that necromancy, though considered a black art, was more evil than any other kind of magic. The White Council, for example, was only called white because its members shunned any form of black magic, but did that stop them from using their powers to kill their enemies or defend themselves?
Of course not.
White or black didn’t matter; magic of any kind could do harm, just as it could be used to help. Even necromancy had a positive side despite its dark reputation. Anyone wishing to contact a dead loved one had to do so through a practitioner of it. A medium was simply a necromance who limited himself to contacting spirits. That didn’t mean that mediums couldn’t do the other things associated with being a practicing necromance. Refraining from raising zombies was just a choice they made, not a lack of ability despite their denials.
“What are we waiting for again?” Rachelle said snidely.
“You know very well,” Edward said. “Andrew is only hours old. I know it has been centuries for you, but surely you remember your own first rising.”
Gavin snorted.
“Of course I remember!”
“Then you know what we’re waiting for. He will be no good to us starving. He will certainly be no help if he drops dead before showing us where Stephen is.”
David felt Ronnie approaching. He would know her Presence anywhere. “Here they come now.”
“Finally!” Rachelle said as Ronnie led Andrew back into the room. The vamp looked much better than he had. He had taken the time to wash up and change clothes. “You know where Stephen and Michael are being held?”
Andrew nodded warily, and David remembered that apart from Danyelle whom he’d met only briefly earlier, Andrew was just now meeting more of his own kind for the first time. He was so new that Rachelle and Gavin were literally the first vampires not of his own House he’d met since being turned. David wondered if it was anything like meeting a shifter from another pack. He recalled that sense of kinship he’d felt when meeting Geoffrey and his family earlier. He had recognised them as shifters and wolves like him, but there had been a sense of wrongness too. Maybe that wasn’t the right word for it. Perhaps otherness was a better one. That sense that they were kin but not pack had been striking. Did vamps feel like that when meeting vamps from a different House or line? He didn’t know, but would like to. He would ask Stephen about it, and a lot more besides, but they had to rescue him first.
“Who is our enemy?” Gavin said intently. “AML yes, but who is behind them? I refuse to believe a few AML fanatics managed to capture Michael and Stephen. One of us might fall to them if taken by surprise, but two of us both captured and not slain? No, I do not believe it.”
“He’s a really old vampire named Arcadian—” Andrew began.
Rachelle gasped and seemed to sway as if struck. Danyelle paled and that was telling. Vampires were very pale at the best of times. It was Gavin’s reaction that was the most interesting.
“Impossible!” Gavin snapped. “You lie!”
“He isn’t lying,” David said. He was still learning about what he could do now, but that lesson was one of the first that Mist had taught him. “I don’t know who Arcadian is. Someone bad I’m guessing, but Andrew isn’t lying.”
“Arcadian is dead,” Gavin said flatly.
He shrugged. “Then this man has the same name.”
“None of us would use that name,” Danyelle said. “No one would dare.”
Rachelle nodded. She looked ill. Scared. Very scared.
“I say again,” Gavin said, addressing himself to the very worried and scared looking Rachelle. “Arcadian is dead. I don’t know who this man is, and I don’t care. I do know he isn’t who he professes to be. Be at ease, Rachelle, there is nothing to fear. I helped Justin destroy Arcadian—he is no longer a presence in our world. I swear this to you.” He turned back to regard Andrew thoughtfully. “Now, what else can you tell us?”
“Arcadian...” Andrew hesitated at Gavin’s ferocious glare. “I don’t know what else to call him!”
“Never mind. Call him Arcadian, or call him Shirley Temple for all I care. Just get on with your story so we can end this mess tonight.”
“AML has been backing Arcadian with money and supplying him with victims. They kept us in the cellar of the main house in cages. They’re electrified. Stephen said the bars were too strong to bend, and he did try despite the pain. Michael did too. They have humans and shifters captive down there as well; they use them to feed Michael after they drain his blood.”
“They drain him to create rogues like O’Neal I assume, but why?”
“It’s much worse than making a few rogues.” Andrew said grimly. “They’re just as much Arcadian’s victims as Stephen and Michael are. They’re test subjects; the result of a weapon AML commissioned him to make, but he fooled them. They funded his research into a bio-weapon meant to kill vampires en masse, but that isn’t what he created.”
“How far along are they?” Rachelle said.
“The weapon is real, but it’s not fully ready. It’s not airborne yet, but it does work. The rogues were created by tainting Michael’s blood with it. Arcadian is playing AML for fools. The weapon is designed to change a third of all humans alive today into vampires, not kill them.”
David shook his head. “Madness.”
“A third?” Gavin said. “Why only a third?”
“Michael said the virus will skip a third of the population entirely. They’re going to be your... our cattle. Food. The final third will simply die. I don’t know why he chose that ratio, but maybe he thinks saving an equal number of humans for food is optimal for his new world order. I don’t know, but Michael says it doesn’t matter anyway, because the rogues are all insane. He says it’s because their maker is a virus in a petri dish, and they don’t have a bond to keep them stable.”
“That would explain O’Neal,” Gavin said thoughtfully. “I knew at the time there was something not right about him.”
“We have to stop this,” David said. “If this gets out, AML won’t have to kill us all, the government will do it for them. This will turn every human against us.”
“A purge,” Gavin agreed. “Stephen feared it, and warned us it might happen. The government will not discriminate between guilty and innocent. A weapon like the one you describe would be enough incentive for them to kill every non-human in the country, not just my kind. They’ve been looking for an excuse for years. It’s only fear of international condemnation that holds them back as it is... well that, and the elves.”
“Those flighty pests don’t like us any better than the humans do,” Rachelle said snidely.
“True enough, but they would still see any purge as a potential threat.”
“You’re talking about war,” Spence said. “A new War of Races, like in the old days.”
David shivered. The last War of Races in Europe lasted decades and decimated populations there. Here in the Republic with humans wielding modern technological weapons against elves wielding battle magic and the ancient war spells created with it, the result could literally devastate the country. There were places in Europe where nothing would grow even to this day. Those deserts, the blasted lands, could occur in the Republic if things went wrong tonight.
“We can’t let it come to that,” he said. “We have to silence everyone involv
ed.” The cop looked uneasy suddenly. “Don’t even think about it.”
She looked surprised. “What?”
“You know what. I won’t let you warn them.”
“I would never!”
Gavin regarded her thoughtfully. “You will accompany me tonight in my car. You will leave yours here at the club.”
“But!”
“No arguments, Detective. I will have you under my eye until this is over. You can do what you want after that, not before.”
She scowled but made no further objections.
Gavin looked around. “We go now. This ends tonight, for good or ill.”
38
Justifications
Professor Elliot Massey switched on his computer next to the bio-containment cabinet and navigated through his files to find his place. He had saved his work that morning before bed—the vampires insisted they work at night to allow them to oversee the research. Understandable he supposed, but damned inconvenient. He had never slept well during daylight hours.
He found his last entry in the current file and read through it. He nodded as he recalled the negative result and checked the reference number. He didn’t want to waste time going back over old ground.
He took his seat before the level four bio-containment cabinet and pushed his hands into the gloves, forcing his fingers into the clinging rubber and working his hands until he had a proper fit. The samples were in sequence waiting for him to evaluate. He found the last one he had worked with, checking the reference number to be certain, and started work on the next in line.
He adjusted the microscope and laid bare the latest specimen’s secrets. Specimens now? Those poor souls were mere specimens were they? When had they stopped being people to him? He couldn’t pinpoint when it had happened. It had sickened him at first, participating in Arcadian’s mad experiments, but rationalisations and justifications had led him further and further into damnation. The goddess would shun him for betraying his oath this way. Do no harm—it was such a simple oath. Surely, there had been some way he could have kept it, but no, it had been too late the moment Arcadian offered to save Susan’s life.
