“I don’t know. I thought Samantha was the real thing. Maybe I was wrong about how the transformation happened. But Selena seems to really believe it.”
“Selena is a practiced liar. She’ll say anything to get what she wants. Sam! Get back here. I don’t want you wandering off.” He kept looking behind us and pausing before every alley we passed as if he were expecting an attack. It made me nervous as hell.
“All I know is that one day I was the vampire you turned me into and the next, I was practically helpless. I thought I saw a light sometime in between and heard a female voice that wasn’t Selena’s.” I came to a halt in order to rest for a minute.
Samantha came skipping back to us. “Michael, can I be a huge guy with muscles? That way if anybody thinks about mugging you, they’ll see me and back off!”
“No. You’ve probably run out of glamour juice already. That was quite a show you put on in there. I don’t want you morphing in the middle of the street anyway. You know better.”
“Damn,” she said, disappointed.
He tried to hide a grin and failed. “Is that your new favorite word?”
She giggled. “Damn. Damn. Damn it all to hell.”
“Don’t let Teddy hear you say that. She’ll wash your mouth out with soap.”
“They don’t do that anymore. Punishment is ‘time out’. I think I prefer the soap.”
Michael was still nervous. “I don’t like us being out in the open like this. Amanda is out there somewhere and she’s bound to be tracking me.”
I dug into the right pocket of my jeans and pulled out my money. “Let’s just get a cab. We’ve still got twelve blocks to go and I’m not sure I can make it that far.”
It was another ten minutes before a taxi went by. He only stopped when Sam put her fingers to her lips and whistled shrilly. The driver looked at us curiously. I’m sure it didn’t look right, two grown men out in the middle of the night with an innocent-looking little girl. But when Sam smiled at him and asked him to take us to the Dwight Tower, he smiled back.
Michael hesitated before he climbed into the back seat. “I hate cars.” He made Sam put on her seat belt and then clutched at the door handle as if were a safety strap.
“Relax, man,” I said. “It’s only twelve blocks. What could happen?”
The driver pulled away from the curb. I looked down at Sam.
“Can I ask you a question, beautiful?”
She glowed with the praise and nodded her head like a little lady. “Yes, sir.”
“Have you met Sarah’s mother?”
“Oh, my. What a piece of work that lady is…” she muttered. “But she likes bright lights. And she wears the coolest clothes. Too bad she’s such a horrid witch.”
Beside Samantha, Michael froze. He slowly turned his head and looked at Sam with wide eyes.
She looked a little frightened. “Michael?”
He softened his expression a bit when he saw her fear. “Sam? What did you just say? About Sarah’s mother?”
“What do you mean? She’s a witch.”
Realization washed over me. Michael and I made the connection at the same time. I thought he was going to explode.
“She was the one responsible for changing you, Alex. She didn’t take the credit for it because she knew it would put too much attention on her. I can’t believe I didn’t see it!”
I held up my hand. “Wait a minute. Even if it was Selena, that doesn’t explain how it was done. It doesn’t explain what I saw, either.”
A tiny giggle from the child beside me drew my attention. She couldn’t keep the glee from her face when she said laughingly, “What fun that was! Anne really did a number on her. We had her convinced she was being guided by a divine spirit. It was the White Magic that really did the trick, though. That stuff is harsh.”
I groaned. Michael snorted.
CHAPTER 22 – Sarah
The ride to the Tower was quiet. Leon drove a rented SUV with dark windows while Teddy and I sat in the back. She barely spoke to me the entire time. The news about Isaiah was confirmed with a phone call to Vincent. The elder vampire who had caused such chaos in my life was gone. Teddy did not share all the grisly details with me, for which I was grateful.
Two security team members admitted us to the main building through an underground entrance. Leon remained in the vehicle. We were taken up to the top floor via three different elevator rides. I was jittery. What if Michael had left Chicago? I also hadn’t seen Alex since Michael had appeared outside of my window at the house. He had been in a lot of pain.
“Teddy, have you heard from Alex?”
“No.” Her tone was crisp.
“What about Michael? Did Vincent’s team take him into custody?”
As we walked along a barely-lit corridor behind the security officers, she gave me a chilly look. “Sarah, we’ve just had a senior member of the Council murdered. At this moment, I am not concerned about the men in your life unless they can bring whoever did this to justice. I suggest you remain silent until you are specifically asked a question.”
The old Sarah probably would have thrown a fit. Common sense was overruling the reactive part of my brain, and it was a little strange. I said nothing, but my head was full of questions. Who was going to be at the meeting? What had happened to the two new vampires that Michael had turned? Who was more likely to have killed Isaiah?
We rounded a corner and nearly ran into another group. I recognized Vincent and Charlie, but the other vampires were strangers. They were accompanied by at least six security guards. These guards were equipped with pistols and sophisticated communication headsets.
Teddy turned to me quickly. “The Council will be holding a closed meeting. It shouldn’t last more than thirty minutes, but it might run over. Richard and Matthew will be taking you to a secure waiting area.” Two of the guards with microphones stepped towards me. She continued, “At some point, the Council may need a statement from you based on your own dealings with Isaiah. Some questions may also be asked about Michael. I would advise you to be as honest as possible.”
“But…”
She was already walking away with the other vampires. They stopped at large door further down the hall, opened it and filed inside.
The two guards with me looked competent. If I wanted to get away from them, it wasn’t going to be easy. One of them indicated a nondescript metal door to the right. The other guard opened the door.
“Which one is Dick and which is Matt?” I asked casually before stepping into the room.
They were silent.
“So I can call you both ‘Dick’?”
No response.
I looked around the room. It appeared to be a meeting room of some kind. There was a round table in the center with an imitation wood tabletop and four metal chairs with plastic seats. There was nothing on the table. The walls were painted a dark gray color and the floor was a lighter shade of gray linoleum.
Dick #1 remained standing just inside the door. Dick #2 stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind him. I sat down in a chair facing the door and crossed my legs. My cell phone was in my pocket, but I wasn’t sure if Dick #1 would even let me use it.
Three minutes after that thought went through my head, it rang.
I looked at him. “Is it okay if I answer this?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I slipped the phone out of my jacket pocket and looked at the display. It was Michael. There was a fluttering feeling in my chest when I saw his name. I hit the answer button with one thumb and lowered the volume of the receiver with the other thumb. I didn’t want Michael’s side of the conversation to be heard by my unwelcome companion.
“Hello?”
“Sarah? It’s me. Where are you?” He sounded a little frantic.
I answered in a calm voice, which was not how I was feeling at all. “Hey, stranger.”
“Where are you?”
Smiling, I uncrossed my legs and stretched them out in front o
f me. “Oh, just the usual. Business is a little slow. It’s pretty quiet.”
Dick #1 stopped watching me. Michael was silent for just a few seconds.
“Yes or no questions only?” he asked.
“Exactly.”
“Are you alone?”
“Oh, God, no.” I laughed.
“Okay. Are you in the Tower?”
“Yes.”
“Top floor?”
I giggled a little. “Absolutely.”
He hesitated again and then said in a surprised tone, “Are you drunk?”
“What?”
“Never mind. I’ve got Alex with me. His pain is better, but he’s pretty weak. Amanda is probably in the building, but I don’t know where yet. You have to be careful.”
“Of course, I will. You know me.”
He grumbled, “I do know you. Stay out of trouble. I mean it.”
“Sure thing.”
“Sarah, about those two teenagers… I think it all had to do with Isaiah’s blood.”
“I’m sure it did.”
He was quiet.
I leaned forward in my chair. “It’s all good. Seriously. I can’t really get into a deep conversation right now because I’m about to go into a meeting, but try not to worry.”
“I love you,” he whispered.
“You better.” I clicked the end button on my display and flashed a smile at Dick #1. “My cousin. She’s a total freak.”
He grinned.
CHAPTER 23 – Michael
While I was on the phone with Sarah, I lost track of Sam. The cab had stopped a block before the Tower and Alex had paid the driver. When I heard Sarah end the call, I looked around and there was no sign of Samantha. Alex was leaning against a light post by the street, looking as if he were going to pass out.
“Where’d she go?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I thought she was right behind us.”
Traffic on the street had increased significantly. Dawn was only an hour away. I looked up and down the street, but there was no sign of her. As far as I knew, Sam had only been to Chicago once or twice. It seemed unlikely that she would know her way around the Tower. But she had managed to find Alex and I at the abandoned house. The girl was resourceful, but I couldn’t help but worry about her.
“There’s a service entrance in the garage,” I told Alex. “We should be able to get in from there. Security in the front is going to be too tight.”
He shook his head. “I can’t. Just get up there and get Sarah. I’ll keep an eye out for Sam and wait for you guys.”
Nodding, I grasped his arm. “If I don’t come out in the next hour, you’re going to need help.” Inside one of the zipped pockets of my coat, there was a list of phone numbers. I pulled it out and handed it to him. “Start with the first number on the list. Let it ring once, then hang up. Do the same with the other numbers. It’s an emergency network that Victoria put together of vampires that are not associated with the Council. Do not show the list to anyone. Not even Sarah.”
“Okay.”
“And Alex?”
He raised his head and looked at me. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Part of the 82nd floor of the Tower served as a restaurant. The rest of the suites on that floor were offices. I had been to the top of the building four times, but never before as a fugitive. Coming in from the lower floors wasn’t an option. I knew the security measures the Council employed to keep their meetings from being interrupted.
My gift of flight might serve me well at short intervals, but the energy necessary for me to travel to the top of the Tower would likely be depleted completely once I’d landed. Even if I were as weak as newborn fawn, at least I could see Sarah once more.
I focused on that. When I pooled the resources of power in me, I found that much of it reflected Sarah—her sweet face, her beautiful eyes. The memory of her laughter drew me up and made me strong. The concrete under my feet faded back into nothingness. My eyes were closed, but my soul was wide open. Because of Sarah, I had sensed things about the world that had been closed to me all of my life. Because of her courage, her ceaseless battle against her own imagined fallacies, I had come to see the merit of my own worth. She made me see who I really was. And it was good.
The shattering glass broke me out of my reverie. I’d honed in on Sarah so tightly and resolutely that the physical barriers had seemed like nothing at all. Unfortunately, I’d hurt myself when I’d burst through the glass wall of the restaurant hundreds of feet above street level. My left shoulder was cut badly. My left knee was twisted. My right hand was broken.
Shouts of alarm rose around me as I lay there on the glass-strewn carpet of the restaurant.
“Call Dr. Nguyen,” Vincent said. I looked over at him. He was the only one of twenty-one Council members still sitting down. How that guy never appeared startled will forever be a mystery to me. Teddy stood next to Charlie, her eyes bright with concern.
Towards the opposite wall of the room, a familiar female figure struggled mightily against two Council guards who were attempting to hold her back from me. Sarah yanked for all she worth, but couldn’t escape the two holding her. Her face was flushed with anger, and those eyes of hers were flashing at her captors violently.
“Michael! Are you okay? Get your God damned hands off me, you idiots!”
I struggled onto my hands and knees. “Calm down, love. I’ll be all right.”
Two more Council guards approached me and lifted me up onto my knees. My injured shoulder was still burning ferociously in pain. A tall human entered the room carrying a plain black bag. He seemed a little nervous, but he stopped beside me and set his bag down.
“I’m a doctor. I’m just going to do a quick exam and take a small sample of your blood.”
“What are you hoping to find, Doctor?” I growled in pain.
Teddy came forward slowly. “There are certain elements of Isaiah’s blood that can be quickly identified with a computer program that Dr. Nguyen developed. If he can determine that a significant amount of Isaiah’s blood is still in your system, we may have a better idea of whether or not you should be judged for the two men you killed in Indiana.”
“And whether or not you were the one who murdered Isaiah,” Vincent added coldly.
“What?” I stared at them all in shock. “What are you talking about? Isn’t Isaiah here?”
Teddy responded coolly. “Not long ago, Isaiah was attacked here in the building. He was decapitated and his blood was completely drained.”
Charlie turned to Vincent. “You see? He couldn’t have done it.”
“He had more motive than anyone,” Vincent replied.
After putting on a pair of white gloves, the doctor gingerly touched the edges of my shoulder wound and stared at it closely with a strange-looking pair of glasses. “The regeneration is beginning. The fibers are coming together quite well.” He put the glasses back into his bag and took out a needle attached to a plastic container. He pushed the needle into my uninjured arm, pulled back the plunger device and blood filled the little container. He pulled out the needle, put it into a plastic bag and stood up.
“It should only take a few minutes.” The doctor hurried away.
As he door was about to swing closed behind him, someone else came in. When I saw her red hair and the saucy way she entered the room, I groaned and closed my eyes.
“Amanda…” Teddy started. “What are you doing here?”
She addressed the room as if she owned them all, as if they had all been waiting for her arrival. She was wearing a very short skirt, excessively high heels and a dark jacket. Her bright hair was tamed into a modest-looking chignon.
“I am here to claim Isaiah’s seat.”
Teddy’s face froze in its expression of surprise, and I saw from where I was that her eyes were unfocused. She was sensing something from Amanda that disturbed her. I had seen this happen before with Teddy.
“As you know, there is a length
y vetting process,” Vincent murmured to Amanda. “It will take time.”
She smiled brightly, her red lipstick gleaming. “I have all the time in the world.”
Teddy seemed to relax somewhat, but she turned to one of her guards. “Bring the doctor back in. I want another sample taken.”
“That’s not necessary, Sister,” Vincent said.
Amanda became a little unglued. “I don’t believe that is the standard procedure, Teddy.”
“When you address me, I expect to be called Theodora.”
A dead silence consumed the space for several seconds. Amanda looked as if she wanted to tear Teddy apart. Vincent stepped aside when Dr. Nguyen came back through the door and approached Amanda. But when he set the bag down this time, Amanda responded by kicking it over with one foot. The nervous doctor started gathering the spilled contents.
Teddy took two steps towards Vincent, stopped and lifted her head. Her nostrils flared slightly and she stared incredulously at the vampire who had been ruling by her side for decades. His eyebrows rose a few degrees.
“What it is, Sister?”
She seemed to have trouble putting the words together. I took a deep breath of the scents in the room. Something wasn’t right. I could smell Isaiah. It didn’t make sense. I looked over at Sarah. She was staring at Amanda with distinct animosity.
“Guards,” Teddy said haltingly. “Surround Amanda and my Brother.”
Vincent laughed hollowly. “What game is this, Teddy?”
She didn’t return his humorous take on the situation. She settled her black, fathomless eyes on him.
“You are responsible for Isaiah’s death. I smell his blood on you. That thing,” she indicated Amanda with one pointed, white finger, “is full of Isaiah’s blood.”
“She hasn’t even been tested, Teddy,” Charlie replied timidly at her shoulder.
“Use your senses, my Brothers and Sisters. Then tell me if you can’t point out the ones responsible for this atrocity,” Teddy declared.
The Vampire's Release, A Paranormal Romance (Undead in Brown County #4) Page 10
