Zero

by R. E. Carr

  “Damn it, Georgia, I’m not even a Jaeger!” Steve blurted out.

  Georgia blinked a few times. “What?”

  “I’m not even a bloody Jaeger. I’m a Lung, it turns out. I was just another hostage kept by Brynjulf, and a fake bargaining chip to boot. Turns out that asshole invisible idiot is my brother. Everything I thought was the truth is a lie and damn it . . . I don’t think I’m supposed to have told you any of this.”

  “You’re honestly telling me that you had nothing to do with this?” she said, shaking her fists.

  “Georgia, you know me. I’m a terrible liar. If I didn’t have my powers, I’d be hopeless. Hell, even with my powers I’m pretty hopeless. I’m an asshole, but I would never—”

  Georgia snatch the writ out of his shaking hands. He gave her a pleading look.

  “I don’t know which way is up anymore, Georgia,” he said, dropping back down to his knees. “But I promise, I promise I’ll do my best to make this right. I’ll talk to the Jaeger, and I’m not just going to . . .”

  Georgia crouched down and looked him straight in the eyes. “Going to what?” she asked, her voice even colder. “You can’t make me forget. You can’t influence me, but the Jaeger made it very clear that he could hurt the people I care about, so I had to agree to this, and I agreed to be a dutiful, obedient little servant to you, because if I can’t show that I can behave, I’m too dangerous to be left alive.”

  “Georgia, no,” Steve said. “This is insane. Sweet Jesus, you signed it in your blood!”

  “The Pendragons stole a servant from your house, so you get one of theirs in return. That’s how I prefer to think of it. I’m just going to treat this as another shitty job that at least has a pension plan,” Georgia said, looking away from Steve.

  “But this isn’t a service contract,” Steve said, still shaking his head in disbelief.

  “It is for me. I’m sure that mindset worked for women for centuries,” Georgia snapped. “It’s just a job, an alliance. Fuck, call it a merger if you like, but no matter what that contract says, I’m not admitting that I’m marrying you, unless I have to . . . for show. Are we clear?”

  Steve kept staring at the unfurled contract, locking his eyes on the ‘writ of matrimony’ line. He slowly rose to his feet and shuffled for the window.

  “Georgia, I haven’t signed anything yet. I’ll find a way to stop this. Maybe you can just work for me. We’ll just be a team, and maybe even hang out with Gingersnaps again. It’ll be like old times,” he said weakly.

  Georgia gave him a cold stare. “It will never be like old times, Steve,” she said, joining him at the window. She slid it open for him. “You took care of that, when you made me lose Ren. Now fuck off!”

  “I’ll make this right,” he said softly and he climbed back out the window.

  Georgia slammed it shut.

  9

  “Um, I’m not sure what to say, Paige,” Kyle said. “What do you want to do?”

  Paige gnawed on her knuckles. She and Kyle had managed to hide away in the secondary infirmary and lab tucked next to Lorcan’s room. Kyle took her hand out of her mouth and gave it a squeeze.

  “And the other tests?” Paige asked softly.

  “It kind of goes from bad to worse, Little Bit,” Kyle confessed. “I don’t want to do too much else too soon. That bloodsucker doctor may act like a doddering old fool, but he’s watching everything. Hell, he just took samples from Morgan this morning—”

  “What?” Paige snapped. “Why was he with Morgan?”

  “Lorcan invested a bunch of his blood in Morgan. Dr. Pang was testing for residual proteins and enzymes . . . well, that’s what he claims. I don’t trust him. If he’s testing Morgan, you know it’s only a matter of time before he asks for your blood,” Kyle said softly, eyeing all the corners of the room as he spoke. “Damn it, for all I know his invisible vampire friend is lurking.”

  Paige and Kyle both sniffed deeply. They stared in every corner again before Paige finally growled.

  “What’s the bad to worse?” she finally dared ask.

  “It’s definitely not Grandpa’s,” Kyle said. “At least not entirely. I need another blood sample, Paige.”

  “What?” Paige asked. “Um, not entirely?”

  “Dr. Pang discovered a mix of hormones in Lorcan’s system, and probably the reason that the slow death devastated him so,” Kyle said. Now he gnawed at his free hand and avoided eye contact.

  “Damn it Kyle, just spit it out. We can’t hide for much longer.”

  “You weren’t alone in being pregnant, Paige,” Kyle blurted out. “Lorcan was too!”

  Paige blinked a few times. Words failed her.

  “Yeah, did I mention that vampires are hermaphrodites?” Kyle asked. “All the signs point that Lorcan gave birth recently, and when I tested your blood, I picked up way too many vampire hormones for it to be related to just Grandpa.”

  “Am I . . . turning into a vampire?” Paige choked out. Kyle shook his head slowly.

  Paige grabbed her stomach. Her head swirled. “Is that . . . is it even possible?”

  “Paige, I’m so far past what I thought was possible, that I don’t even know without more tests. What I do know, is that I am not qualified to be a human OB/GYN, let alone a vampire-werewolf-hybrid obstetrician,” Kyle confessed. “I’m also pretty sure once those vamps figure out what is happening, you’re gonna get a one-way ticket back to the Lung and their mad scientists.”

  “This can’t be happening,” Paige said. “This is impossible.”

  “At this point I’m not so sure the mad scientists aren’t our best hope. Paige, your back isn’t healing very quickly. You’re slower and weaker, and your system is out of whack. I need more data before I can even begin to give you decent medical advice.”

  Paige nodded slowly. “Well, it’s a good thing we are sitting on top of a vampire library, isn’t it? If I can get you and Kayleigh down there, maybe we can find some answers.”

  “I can’t just leave Grandpa,” Kyle said softly. “Man, if I thought we were up shit creek before—”

  “All these vampires around us,” Paige muttered. “They are trying to work together, but I think that all ends if anything happens to either Lorcan or Arthur. I don’t have any idea who I can trust. Somehow, I think vampire-werewolf babies are too scary for any of them to leave alone. I get it now though. I get Lorcan’s message.”

  “Paige, are you still . . . seeing him?” Kyle inquired hesitantly.

  She nodded. “But it’s fading. He keeps telling me to forget about him and save myself. I guess the phantom vampire in my head knew more than we did,” Paige said as she pushed to her feet. Kyle followed her.

  “If I could get to one of Grandpa’s old vaults, or find a lab not controlled by goddamned vampires. Hell, I’d settle for kidnapping that Russian doctor, the one who probably messed us all up back in Chicago—”

  “Well, does Lorcan have any vaults left?” Paige asked.

  Kyle let out a deep sigh. “Maybe, but I can’t exactly ask him if they’ve been compromised. I know he had places in Kansas City, Cincinnati . . . Memphis and Chicago are shot to hell and New Orleans was destroyed back in 2005. It’s a long shot at best, and we are kind of stuck in Italy without any money or passports. Paige, you aren’t thinking of actually running, are you?”

  “I need to talk to Steve,” Paige said.

  “Come on, I know he helped us, but he’s still a vampire,” Kyle objected.

  “He’s a vampire that can make people forget things, and he’s family. If he’s not on our side, I don’t think we have any chance.”

  “Paige—” Kyle began.

  “I think if we don’t get out of here soon . . . they are going to try to transfer Lorcan into Morgan!” Paige hissed. Kyle raised a brow.

  “Morgan is a werewolf,” Kyle fired right back.

  “So was Mordred. So was Lorcan, sort of,” Paige replied. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but apparently
vampires work really hard to keep track of their human families because they think they make better hosts.”

  “No, actually that makes sense. Dr. Langer had a theory that specific mutations led to higher success rates in human-to-vampire conversions. That’s why there are so damn many with green eyes, but Morgan—”

  “Morgan was in my dreams - well, more like hallucinations. He was there a long time ago, and Lorcan made a point to save both Georgia’s and Morgan’s life. He looks out for them. Klaus said that the main trunk of Lorcan’s family tree was lost in the American Insurrection—”

  “And that was one of the few times Grandpa stepped out of the shadows and took a side in a war,” Kyle finished, his eyes lighting up. “OK, so let’s assume your blood hallucinations are true, and that Morgan is some long-lost, very blond descendant of Lorcan . . . Damn it, Dr. Pang was already taking samples. He would probably assume that the best odds of transplanting a vampire would be into a similar vessel. Morgan is a cranky, American werewolf, but he shares Grandpa’s sense of loyalty, family . . . not to mention his taste in women.”

  “We have to get him far away from here,” Paige said quickly.

  “You do realize he might be the best chance Lorcan has?” Kyle cringed the moment the words came out of his mouth. “Are you even going to talk to him?”

  “Lorcan wouldn’t want someone to die just to save him, let alone a member of his pack and his family—” Paige growled.

  “Does Morgan get a say in the matter? He should at least get his chance to say not just no, but hell no. Also, are you going to tell him about . . .?” Kyle pointed to Paige’s belly.

  “One crisis at a time,” she snapped as she walked to the door. “Just get all the information that you can. I’m going to see if there is a way to sneak Kayleigh down there, and maybe see if Nadia can do her amazing Nadia thing and get us an escape plan.”

  “Roger that, boss,” Kyle said. He grabbed her arm once more before she left. “Just stay far away from Dr. Pang. I have a really bad feeling about him.”

  Paige nodded and slipped into the hallway. She followed her nose back upstairs where she found Morgan peacefully meditating in the dojo. He did sniff the air and tilt his head slightly, but Paige slipped away without saying a word. Instead she followed another scent into the other wing of the villa. There she found Steven DeMarco rustling around in the much smaller upstairs library, yanking journals off the shelf, flipping through them, and then dropping them – swearing the whole time.

  “Damn it to hell,” he roared, throwing the latest volume and nearly hitting Paige. “Oh god, sorry, Pip.”

  “Is there a reason you’re throwing books, Steve?” Paige asked, calmly picking up the volume “The Eighth Treatise on Vampire Contract Negotiation, revised”, and smoothing its crumpled pages.

  “Because none of these damn books are helpful,” he sighed as he yanked out another. “You know, for a society with only four laws, we have an awful lot of traditions and guidelines.”

  “I need to talk to you,” Paige said, taking a tentative step forward. Steve continued to read and ignore her.

  “Damn it!” he said, and dropped the next volume. “Only the Jaeger or someone who outranks him can nullify a contract once it’s signed - and since Georgia actually promised like an idiot, there are those that would interpret that the fourth law applies to human servitors as much as vampires.”

  “Steve!” Paige snapped. “What is going on?”

  Steve stopped his swath of chaos and sighed deeply. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times and chewed on his lip until he finally managed to find the right words to say.

  “The Jaeger is doing his best to piss me off, that’s what’s going on. I guess since the truth is out, he wants to remind me that I’m still his whipping boy. I mean, you heard him - the best way to teach a lesson is with a little humiliation. He wants to show anyone who he feels has even slightly wronged him that he is the eternal asshole with all the power.”

  “What’s he doing to you?” Paige asked.

  “Marrying me off,” Steve said, tugging at his hair again. “He claims it’s setting an example that the Jaeger can evolve and try to understand the Pendragon family and their ways, so I’m being used as the family guinea pig. Hell, I was sure they were gonna marry me off to Gingersnaps one day, but no, the old man finally found a way to make it worse.”

  “Aw boo-hoo, you’re getting married against your will. Excuse me if I don’t have much sympathy for that, Gramps,” Paige snarled bitterly.

  “…To Georgia,” he blurted out.

  “Wait . . . Georgia, like our Georgia? Morgan’s little sister?” Paige asked. “But she’s human.”

  “Well, we already know that precedent has been set, Pipsqueak. This is blatant retaliation. The Pendragons took you and Ren, so the Jaeger are taking Georgia.”

  “I can’t believe she’s agree—”

  “She had no choice, my lady, and neither does my son.”

  Both Paige and Steve turned to see Klaus standing in the doorway. The elder vampire surveyed the mess and shook his head.

  “I wanted to talk to you, Son,” Klaus said sadly, “but it seems you found out already.”

  “You knew about all this, Pops?” Steve asked.

  “I should go,” Paige started.

  “No, stay. You’re my family just as much as he is, and I think you might have a lot to say about the joys of arranged human-vampire marriage . . . and you have claws,” Steve said, waving for his vampire father to come in.

  Klaus stepped over a few of his books and took a seat behind the desk in the room. It was his turn to motion to the reading chairs. Paige made sure to take the one closest to the door.

  “Are you certain you want this discussed in front of others?” Klaus asked.

  “You are just about the only person the Jaeger listens to, Pops. I need you to talk him out of this,” Steve started. “It’s not fair to me and it’s certainly not fair to Georgia.”

  “Talk him out of it? It was my idea, boy,” Klaus sighed. Steve didn’t bother to hide his shock.

  “What do you mean it was your idea?” Steve asked. “How could you do this to me?”

  “Son—”

  “Don’t son me, Klaus! You always claimed you were different from all the other Jaeger, and here you are manipulating the helpless—”

  “He would have had her killed!” Klaus retorted, banging his fist against the desk. He softened his voice and continued. “He was going to simply have her killed since she was no longer under the Pendragon’s protection. He has never forgiven her for making him appear weak, even by the slightest amount. However, I managed to convince Brynjulf that there were greater insults he could pile upon her, insults he could use for political advantage. Believe me, it made me feel vile enough to suggest it, Son.”

  “Kill her? She’s no threat to him,” Steve said incredulously. “He could snap her neck in a heartbeat, if he had one.”

  “It’s the perception. If one lowly human could stand up to his commands, then others might get ideas. However, I explained that if she was immune to him—”

  “She might be immune to Arthur,” Paige interjected. “Better to have her on your side than dead.”

  “Your great-granddaughter is wiser than you, Son,” Klaus said. “Now, I trust that you will do what is best and protect Miss Sutherland. I sense that you care for her deeply.”

  “She will hate me,” Steve said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about her. I ruined her life, and every time she sees me, she’s reminded of the guy she really loves.”

  “And you will make it up to her, by protecting the people she cares about. My old friend is tasking you with taking care of the bondsmen in her life. You have two choices, Son; you can do the best you can in a terrible situation, or you can complain and run away. You don’t always have to be the disappointment in the family, Steven. At some point you need to rise to the occasion.”

  Paige gave Stev
e a sideways glance. His jaw quivered, but he kept his gaze locked on Klaus.

  “Fine, Pops, if that’s how we have to play it. What do I have to sign?”

  Klaus slid his hand under the desk. Paige made out a click with her sensitive ears. A moment later he eased a document onto the desk. Steve slid his chair over to take a peek.

  “You forget, Steven - you’re technically underage. I signed on your behalf,” Klaus said. “It’s done. It’s your choice how you want to execute the arrangement now. I would, however, suggest finding a way that doesn’t get your head ripped off by werewolves.”

  Steve grew dreadfully quiet again. Paige, however, glared at Klaus.

  “Why do I feel like there is so much more to this?” She asked.

  The vampire smiled as he rose to his feet. He gave Paige an appreciative nod.

  “You see it better than he does, Paige,” Klaus said once he reached the door. “I have learned in all my years that is it best to have as many contingency plans as possible. I am not one to let Miss Sutherland disappear, not while Arthur is alive. It is best to keep her close . . . yet unobtainable to him.”

  “You know,” Steve said as Klaus left them, “I’m starting to see why you all hate vampires.”

  “Hey, they aren’t all bad,” she said, walking over to give him a hug. “Look, they are spooked over Arthur. I don’t really know him, but if they are all scared, and desperate, then maybe we should . . .”

  “Should what? Do whatever it takes to survive? I get that better than you know, Pip,” Steve muttered. “They should be scared, you know. I only knew about Arthur, but I knew Ren. Just imagine that guy you love to hate – the one who was just naturally good at everything he did. I mean, he was my servant, but I was always jealous of what he could do.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “My sister even liked him, and she hates everyone. I mean, imagine being the supposed irresistible creature of the night, and have your girlfriend leave you . . . for the help. If Ren and Arthur team up in that crazy brain of his, we are so beyond screwed.”

  “Steve, I need your help,” Paige said softly. “I need you to sneak some of us into the library.”