by Carly Hansen
“Steep price for freedom from addiction to blood,” she said.
“It wasn’t intentional.” Micha shrugged. “The chemical that acts as a tracer is essential to prevent the serum from being lethal. By accident, we discovered it reacts with each individual’s DNA in a unique way, emitting light frequencies that can be detected by satellite.”
“Accidental or not, I can see how that could tick off those two holdouts enough that they would do something drastic.”
“We have the capability to track movements, but we’ve never accessed that data,” Micha said. “Only Baldwin or I can do so. I have half the passcode, and he has the other. It’s only in serious cases that the data would be called up, and we’ve never had a reason to access it so far.”
“I think this situation qualifies as serious enough.”
Micha nodded and fell silent.
He pulled into the Angelo Labs lot and parked. Twain and Java got out, stretching and yawning.
Micha walked ahead at a quick clip and Fenix followed, deep in thought, wondering what Catelyn was going through at that very moment.
A tug at the hem of her jacket made her turn around.
Gaius’ lips were almost touching her ear.
“Are you going to try to get a read on those vampires based on photos in their records?”
“No. I just want to see if I recognize any of them from the visions I had earlier, or among the ones who escaped from the alley when we chased them.”
“But you know you can use a representation of a person—a drawing, painting, or photo—to see into that person’s past or present, don’t you?”
“I can do that?”
“Yes, but it can be very draining, especially if not done right.”
“If one of these guys is involved in Catelyn’s kidnapping, I’ll do anything to find out.”
“But if you lose your strength, how will you fare if you come up against them tonight?”
“I’ll take my chances.”
Gaius sighed. “I’d really advise against it.”
“You don’t understand, Gaius. My sister is not a fighter like me. She’s been held for far too long already. I have to do all I can to get her out of there, even if I don’t make it myself.”
“Let’s not even consider that possibility,” Gaius said as he stopped walking.
Fenix turned and stared at him, her eyes narrowing with determination. “Will you show me how to do this properly, so that it doesn’t completely drain me?”
He sighed. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears—even if reluctantly.”
********
Twain and Java passed them on the way in. Twain turned back and gave Fenix an inquisitive stare, but continued, chatting away as he usually would. Fenix knew he could speak nonstop on any topic, as his lack of knowledge was no obstacle for him.
“So how do I do this reading then?” Fenix said to Gaius.
“Every plant or creature emits a trace of its being, called its essence,” he said. “Some of it lingers on everything they touch or the places they’ve been. Your genetic makeup allows you to tap into that essence or any remnant of it and connect to the experiences of the individual.”
“But if they’re just in a photo and never touched it themselves?”
“This is where it takes a lot of skill and training. You have to transfer your essence into the photo to go deep into the past and touch the essence the person was emitting at the time they sat for the artist or stood in front of the camera.”
Fenix stared at Gaius blankly. “You’re not saying I have to somehow pour myself or this essence thing into a photo to get a vision, are you?”
Gaius raised an eyebrow.
Fenix held her forehead, completely stunned.
The idea that she could somehow enter a photo sounded more than crazy to her. Gaius called it “the essence” so she assumed that it would not be her physical body that would somehow shrink and become two-dimensional to squeeze into any rectangle of celluloid or digital image on a screen.
But where exactly would she find this essence and where exactly would it go? And how would she get back from there? She assumed that something called an essence would have to return to her body if she were to be able to continue that day and go into battle.
Gaius read the questions on her face.
“No, it’s not easy,” he said. “And you see why it can be draining and even dangerous for the inexperienced to even attempt.”
Fenix pursed her lips. “I still have to do it.”
Gaius took her right arm and bent the elbow, then placed her right hand flat on her stomach. “Palm resting on the solar plexus,” he said. He took her left arm and stretched it out, but bent her elbow so that her lower arm rested on the tip of her right fingers.
“You must touch the photo or the screen with your left hand. Breathe deeply. For three breaths, concentrate all your thoughts here.” He touched her on in the space between her eyebrows. “Then, with every other breath, you concentrate on flowing from there, down to your solar plexus, into your right palm, out through your left arm, and into the photo.”
It sounded all too weird, but Gaius seemed so certain. Fenix was so desperate she was prepared to do anything.
“And how do I know if it worked?”
“Believe me, you’ll know.”
That didn’t sound too good.
“Okay,” Fenix said, skipping past any thought of what that could possibly mean. “How do I get this essence thing to return?”
“You have to will it to.”
“Huh?”
“Even as you search for the essence of others inside the photo, you must, at the same time, concentrate on reversing the flow, through your left hand and back through your solar plexus. You can’t allow your essence to get distracted.”
What happened if it did?
The question quivered on Fenix’s lips as she imagined the worst-case scenario. But she really didn’t want to know the answer. She took a deep breath and gave Gaius her bravest smile. “Thanks.”
Micha stood in the doorway, eying them. Impatience wrote angry lines across his brow.
Gaius held Fenix by the shoulder and led her forward. “We’d better not upset the vampire.”
At that moment, Micha’s eyes narrowed and darted from Gaius’ face to Fenix’s.
“I guess we already have,” she said.
Micha marched to the elevator. When they caught up with him, they rode down in silence. He led them to the lounge he’d brought the gang to before.
“Baldwin should be here in about fifteen minutes,” he said, looking at the heavy gold watch on his wrist. It looked ancient and as if it was worth more than everything Alda had in her warehouse put together.
Micha stepped into the lounge. “There are snacks for anyone who wants something.”
A table in the corner of the room was laid out with buffalo wings, fries, hot dogs, and what smelled like ham and tuna sandwiches.
Twain rubbed his hands and stepped toward the table. “Yummy!”
Java turned to Fenix and scrunched his mouth. She could see he was fighting the temptation. He then switched his focus to Micha and shrugged. “Thanks, but we already ate.”
Micha slapped him on the back. “Don’t be shy, son. You’ll need fuel for the work we have in store for us later.”
Java looked at Fenix. She smiled and nodded, and he then trotted off to join Twain, who already had a buffalo wing sticking out of his mouth, along with a pile of fries and two hot dogs on his plate.
Micha rounded on Fenix and Gaius. “Not having anything?”
Fenix shook her head. “I’d like to see those photos now, if you don’t mind.”
Micha looked deep in her eyes. The muscles in his jaw were taut and his lips formed a hard line.
Fenix couldn’t read his exact emotion. Was it anger? Impatience? Distrust? What she was sure of was that there was little tenderness there.
That was confirmed by the sternness in his voice wh
en he spoke.
“Come with me,” he said.
She stepped toward him, and so did Gaius.
Micha scowled. His arm shot out, and he slapped his palm flat on Gaius’ chest. “You, stay here with the others.”
Gaius narrowed his eyes.
Fenix recalled how Gaius had been tied up in a bundle by Micha, and the way he’d been slapped about and had his hair tugged. She could sense the resentment against the vampire pulsing in the very core of Gaius’ being.
This wasn’t the time for a fight between these two. She couldn’t let the testosterone that was swirling about interfere with their efforts to get to Catelyn.
“No, he comes, too.” Even she was surprised at the commanding tone of her voice.
Micha’s startled eyes darted to her.
“He saw the kidnappers,” Fenix said with less force. She was somewhat rattled by Micha’s stare. “He might be more help in identifying them from photos than I ever could.”
Micha took a deep breath. Without taking his eyes off her, he removed his hand from Gaius’ chest.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Chapter 32
Micha led the way back to the elevator. Instead of going up as Fenix expected, the gleaming white box went down to the basement.
The elevator opened to a long, white corridor lined by black doors, with large black and white floor tiles in a dazzling geometric pattern. Micha led them past all the doors without stopping. When they approached the wall at the end of the corridor, Micha held his hand up with his palm facing out. What Fenix thought was the wall slid to one side, revealing another long corridor.
They hadn’t gone very far down this passageway when Micha stopped and leaned his ear toward a door. Whatever he heard brought a smile to his face.
“Let’s just say hello,” he said. He held his palm up in front of this door, and it slid open.
Inside a room, half of which was in darkness, two hulking men leaned against a table with several guns on it. Dressed in dark paramilitary-type outfits, they each handled long combat rifles. The taller of the two peered through the sight of his weapon, while the other loaded his with ammunition.
Although they were clean-shaven and seemed in their late twenties, Fenix thought they had the look of hardened assassins with whom there was no bargaining.
Micha strode up to them. “Hope the equipment is to your liking.”
The one loading his gun raised the ammunition to his eyes and twisted it to various angles. “Silver bullets of the finest grade,” he said. “I love it when I get to work with this stuff.”
“Don’t your gigs pay enough that you can equip yourself properly?”
The taller man who looked through the sight lowered the rifle from his eyes and snorted. “Not every overlord runs a billion-dollar pharmaceutical company.”
“We were in the Kytherian Mountains when we got your call,” the shorter man who’d spoken first said. “Been working there for peanuts these last few months. But they’ve got some serious problems, so we stuck around.”
“I’m surprised,” Micha said. “I’ve never known you as the charitable sort.”
“It’s not charity,” the shorter man replied. “Just good business sense. Old man Ryerson may be hard up for cash, but he’s been an overlord longer than anybody I know and his connections go deeper than a mile. After we’ve straightened out the crooked ones in those mountains, referrals from Ryerson should keep business steady for years to come.”
“We’re the best there is,” said a female voice that came from the darkness. “But the mercenary field has become overcrowded. Got to have strategies to survive in this business.”
Slowly, the owner of the voice steeped into the dim light. She was about six feet tall, with ruby lips and emerald-green eyes. Her short, platinum-blond hair was in stark contrast to her black combat fatigues.
Even wearing boots that were thicker and must have been heavier than Fenix’s, this woman glided across the room. She rested her hands on Micha’s shoulders, then leaned in and planted a kiss on each of his cheeks with those ruby-red lips.
Fenix felt her heart suddenly race. Her own lips couldn’t help but tighten into a thin line.
Micha smiled at the woman. He raised his hands to cup her elbows and returned the kisses.
Fenix could almost hear the blood rushing around in her ears. This is stupid, she said to herself as she ground her teeth. Why should this simple greeting upset her like that?
She drew in a deep breath, lifted her chin, and turned her head away. But she couldn’t keep her eyes off those two for long.
“How’s the fiercest enforcer on this continent?” Micha said when they released each other.
“Never been better.”
“Hope you’re keeping these two punks in line.”
The woman tossed her head back and laughed. “More like they’re helping me to stay on the straight and narrow. You know how I can get sometimes.”
“Indeed.” Micha nodded. “Thanks for coming at short notice.”
The woman dusted Micha’s lapels, and Fenix swore to herself there was nothing there that required brushing off.
“Don’t mention it,” the woman said, looking up into Micha’s eyes as if only the two of them were in the room. “No matter what we’re in the middle of, all you have to do is send word and we’ll be there. After all, we wouldn’t have got started in the business if it wasn’t for you.”
Just to her side, Fenix heard Gaius clear his throat. She was glad he did as the cozy display was really starting to get on her nerves.
Micha turned to them. “I guess I should make some introductions.”
“That sounds about right,” Fenix said. She thought of uttering the words with a sarcastic smile, but for some reason, she couldn’t get her lips to part in any semblance of one.
“Fenix, Gaius, this is Shelly, leader of the SZR Force, the toughest mercenary trio you would hope to never come up against.”
The blonde folded her arms and rocked on her heels with smug satisfaction.
“And that there is Zack,” Micha said with a sweep of his arm toward the men at the table. “The taller one is Razor. They are two of the finest warriors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
Zack and Razor nodded stiffly, then continued to almost lovingly inspect their equipment.
“So, this is Fenix, huh?” Shelly rounded her lips as if she tasted something sour while she looked Fenix up and down.
“Yes.” Micha clamped his hand down on Fenix’s shoulder and shook her roughly. “This is the boy who witnessed the kidnapping. One of Alda’s crew.”
Shelly peered into Fenix’s eyes as if trying to see deep into her very being. She paced back and forth, keeping Fenix in her gaze.
Fenix felt naked under Shelly’s probing stare. The woman irritated her so much she felt like throwing punches left, right, and center without warning.
“Well,” Shelly said after she came to a stop. “Don’t worry your little head off, boy. The SZR Force always gets the job done. We’ll take care of these kidnappers.”
Fenix resisted the impulse to roll her eyes, although the temptation was strong.
She didn’t know if it was because of something Micha had said to Shelly or if it was through pure arrogance that the woman seemed to think she could just waltz in and run the show.
Micha, though, seemed to have great faith in Blondie, and Fenix figured they needed all the manpower they could muster for the job.
She bit back her sarcasm. “Bringing the girl back safely is all that matters to me.”
Shelly thrust her chin in the air and looked down her nose at Fenix.
Fenix disengaged from Shelly’s emerald eyes, which wasn’t that easy, as she had to admit their brilliance had a mesmerizing effect.
“Can we get to those photos?” Fenix turned to Micha and said.
“Right, yes.”
Fenix, Micha, and Gaius resumed their walk down the corridor. They’d onl
y gotten a few paces when Shelly’s voice stopped them.
“Micha, a word, please.”
Micha nodded toward the wall to the far end of the corridor. “Continue. I’ll be with you in a moment.” He turned and rejoined the femme fatale in combat gear.
“I suppose I should feel grateful for her presence,” Fenix said in a low voice to Gaius as they proceeded.
“Allies need not be your friends,” Gaius said. “When there’s a job to be done, even if your mortal enemy is the only one who can help you accomplish it, you must make him your ally. That’s what Nostrad always said to me.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Fenix said. Although Gaius was speaking of Shelly, Fenix was thinking about Micha.
They arrived at the wall at the end of the corridor and stopped.
“How many mortal enemies do you have, Gaius?”
“Apart from Diabon, who will kill anyone he even remotely suspects of standing in his way, none that I’ve encountered so far, thankfully.”
He smiled. “But then again, I’m just a lowly apprentice in the Order who fancies himself a scholar. I have no powers that would make anyone take an interest in me.”
Fenix raised her eyebrows. “Want to trade places?”
They laughed.
Fenix shook her head and stared at her boots. “Special powers carry too steep a price, if you ask me.”
Micha neared them with a furrow in his brow. He raised his palm as he approached, and the wall silently slid open.
“Magic or biometrics?” Fenix said as they entered another corridor.
Micha laughed. “The latter. I made sure the finest human scientific minds and engineering skills went into constructing this building.”
“And they had no idea they were making a lair for vampires?”
“Not just any vampires—the most progressive coven on the planet, I would say.” There seemed to be not even a hint of self-consciousness in him as he uttered the statement.
“Listen,” Micha said with an earnest look on his face, “I believe in the work we’re doing here. Sure, it’s done in a secretive manner. As vampires, that’s a given for everything we do. What I can tell you is that when we perfect this serum, it will revolutionize this world for good. It’ll usher in a new day when vampires and humans can stand shoulder to shoulder and solve mutual problems together.”
