The Dresdan Coven Trilogy

by Amber Ella Monroe

  “And then District learned about your hierarchy and how vampires gain their strength.”

  Vicq nodded. “Exactly. The weaker rogues were useless for many things, so they targeted Dresdan who’d already ascended within the Court.”

  “Like yourself?”

  “Yes, like me.”

  “Has Elaina told you about her parentage?”

  “Sí. It’s extremely difficult for mated vampires to keep that sort of information from each other.”

  Mr. Smith’s head flinched back slightly. “What do you mean?”

  “We share memories through the blood.”

  “Oh.” His eyes widened. “Oh.”

  “That comes as a surprise to you? Didn’t that organization teach you this stuff when you were working for them?”

  “I wasn’t in that line of work. I didn’t hunt vampires like Elaina. I tracked people—human people—and things…and objects.”

  “Right. Makes sense.”

  “About this raid…” Mr. Smith started. An awkward moment of silence followed and he pulled at his sleeves and then straightened his collar. “Elaina’s transformation to vampire threw me for a loop.”

  “She’s not just any vampire. She’s Dresdan. Strongest and most prevalent of the vampire species.”

  “With Elaina being a Dresdan, I’m not sure I can convince her anymore that she needs to be protected now that she’s a District refugee. She was hard-headed growing up, and I suspect that determination and fiery spirit of hers has grown exponentially.”

  “It has,” Vicq replied, nodding in agreement. He’d experienced firsthand how determined Elaina could be when she set her mind to something.

  “I need your help to convince her. I witnessed your relationship with her and how well you communicate with each other, and I think you’re the only one that can stop her from following through with this raid.”

  Vicq stiffened in his chair. “You want us to let this organization off the hook.”

  Mr. Smith shook his head quickly. “No, no, no. Never. The goal of Refuge has always been to create a world where we can live without hiding in fear of being taken in by the District again. The price for betraying an organization like that is usually death.”

  Vicq cringed as an image of District trackers following them halfway across the country to take Elaina in flooded his memories.

  “Oh, don’t I know it,” he said.

  “Unfortunately, I didn’t realize Elaina was in trouble. She was doing so well as a refugee out on her own.” Mr. Smith lowered his head.

  “You were watching her?”

  “Not always. She was so good at concealing herself. I was afraid that if I reconnected with her that the District would put two and two together and link us,” he replied. “Plus…I wasn’t ready to tell her about the secret I’d kept from her all those years. I wanted her to know me as Father…always.”

  “She still calls you Dad, Mr. Smith,” Vicq reassured him. “Being a father is more than sharing genes or blood lineage. When I lost my father, both of parents really, my Maker was all I had.”

  “Then you understand my need to make this right again. I have to do something about this. I have to fix this. I don’t want District 5 coming after her ever again. I don’t want her going near them ever again,” he said.

  “So…you’re suggesting…?”

  “That she stay here with the others while we take our teams out to infiltrate the District and seize what we can.”

  Vicq swallowed and shook his head. “Elaina’s not going to go for that. I can tell you that right now.”

  “Someone has to convince her. The one person she trusts more than anyone else…even me, unfortunately…is you.”

  “That’s the thing.” Vicq threaded his fingers together on the table and leaned forward. “What you’re implying means breaking my promise to her. I told her I’d help her and that I’d be right there by her side when she returned to destruct District 5. If I don’t do this, I’m breaking my vow to her.”

  “If we do this and she goes, it could mean her life. Would you keep your word to her if you knew she could be harmed, or worse, killed?”

  “I won’t let anything happen to Elaina. I’ll be right there with her, and she’s stronger than you give her credit for,” Vicq replied.

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Mr. Smith sighed in aggravation. “Maybe you need a little more convincing yourself.” He reached into his pocket, grabbed a small device, and spoke into it. “Michael!”

  “I’m here,” a male replied.

  “Vicq and I are in the lobby. I need to show him something.”

  There was silence, and then a bit of static.

  “Remember what we talked about?” Mr. Smith asked.

  “Yeah. I’m on my way.”

  About a minute passed before a young man walked into the hotel. It was the same man who had interrupted Vicq and his coven members out at the docks. He was the one who’d brought the note from Elaina’s father.

  “You remember Michael, don’t you?” Mr. Smith asked.

  “Yeah.”

  The man pulled up a chair and took a seat at the table.

  “Michael was orphaned as well as a result of D5’s treachery. Both of his parents were employed by the District. His dad was a vampire tracker. His mother was a nurse. Both died suspiciously while there, and Michael was only two at the time. Unlike Elaina, Michael grew up under D5’s supervision,” Mr. Smith said.

  “How?” Vicq asked. “How could they own children?”

  “There are many things you’ll never understand about D5, but just know that any contracts executed with them are legally binding for life. When Michael’s parents died, he had no living relatives. He didn’t become an orphan of the state; instead, he became D5’s property. And at D5, everyone is considered property, sort of like an asset. Your status and usefulness within the organization determines your worth and how fast you depreciate.”

  “Are they harvesting organs?” Vicq inquired outright. His blood began to boil, and he tried to restrain himself from overreacting.

  Mr. Smith nodded.

  Raging horror clotted in his chest. Vicq turned to Michael. “Is this true?” he asked.

  Michael nodded. “It’s true. It just depends on how you’re labeled. It’s all a matter of chance and circumstance, as well. Sometimes it depends on your DNA, your genes, or your blood type. If they can’t use you in the field or in business operations, then they use you for research, or vice versa. There are many divisions. Divisions that weren’t even approved by the US Government. What the public sees and what we know are two different things.”

  Michael glanced at Mr. Smith as if trying to gain reassurance or approval to continue.

  “Go ahead, Michael,” Mr. Smith said. “He’ll learn one way or another.”

  “I was a bounty hunter before District 5 discovered something that changed everything. It all started with Elaina when they found out that her rare blood type contained the properties needed to complete some new testing. Throughout the years, District scientists had only been focused on the most dominant blood type of the human population. But that changed when Elaina’s blood was spilled alongside a Dresdan. That Dresdan was you, I believe.”

  Vicq nodded. “I remember it like it was yesterday. They poisoned her and then tried to kill me.”

  “The trackers took the blood evidence that they collected in to District scientists, who did some testing. That’s when they made the discovery about her. She wasn’t AB negative at all. D5 coined a new human blood type—Type S. Without a perfect match, the blood separates like oil and water. With a match between a human and a vampire, the blood fuses together and creates the vampire agent. When Elaina was born, she was born at a District owned hospital. Some of her earlier records indicate that Elaina has one of the rarest blood types—AB negative—which is probably why placing her with adoptive parents wasn’t a concern. They were more focused on the dominant blood type. Yet, Mr. Smith has e
vidence from family doctors that Elaina’s blood type is unknown. Inconclusive.”

  “And, of course, Sandra and I didn’t want to push the issue. We didn’t want the District involved in Elaina’s life any sooner than we’d agreed. Other than this mystery surrounding her blood type, Elaina was healthy,” Mr. Smith added.

  “This discovery about how Elaina’s rare blood reacted to an ancient was somehow leaked throughout D5’s ranks, and rumors were spread that employees were being tested in droves for rare blood types. Nearly everyone was worried that their employment status would change and that they’d be transferred from the front lines to the back labs. And by that time, everyone knew that being a human lab rat was the worst fate within the District. No one came out alive. The sick went in because they knew they would die either way. They were fed garbage about dying in the name of research and lured to sign contracts for millions of dollars. Either way, the District began to search out unique blood types. The posters went out about Elaina being missing, and the District Heads sent out numerous teams, both bounty hunters and trackers, in search of Elaina. One team was lucky enough to find her, but failed to retrieve her.”

  Vicq grimaced. “They killed her. That’s what they did.”

  “The injection wasn’t meant for her. Someone on that team made a grave error.”

  “Luckily, she had me in her system,” Vicq noted.

  “I think your blood, or whatever she accepted from you is what ultimately kept her alive when she was human. No one could have survived all the poison she was subjected to,” Michael said.

  “You have a lot of intel,” Vicq said.

  “I grew up on the inside. I had no choice. The thing is that I’m just like Elaina. I wasn’t lying when I told you that back at the docks. I’m Type S, as well. When the information was leaked and right before I could be called in for testing, I sought out my D5 records. I found out some things that had me questioning why I’d been loyal to them all these years when they still wouldn’t give me a straight answer about what happened to my parents. I visited a clinic that same day to have some testing done. Sure enough, the results of my blood type came back inconclusive. I didn’t wait around long enough to find out what D5 would do to me. With the files I’d stolen from D5 in my possession, I got the hell out and joined Refuge. I won’t be with your crew tomorrow either. Because if anyone from D5 happens to get even a drop of my Type S blood, they’ll use it. And we all know, there will blood.”

  “Highly likely,” Vicq agreed.

  “Type S beings are being permanently tagged and hunted down. We know this because one of them lived in a Refuge facility for a short period of time. But then District bounty hunters came for them. They cleared out the whole place and ten of our men were taken back to District headquarters. I don’t even want to imagine what happened to them when the Heads got involved,” Michael said.

  “Is the tag like the 5 they burned on the back of Elaina’s neck?”

  Michael shook his head. “No, not that. This tag can’t be seen. They shoot a tracking device inside of you.”

  “How much Type S blood do you think they need to complete their project?”

  “We still don’t have the answer to that. But now I know they have someone or something in their possession. A vampire so valuable that they keep watch on him day in and day out. The vault is monitored at all times. It is never ever left unmanned. And there is no reason for us to give them access to the thing they need the most to keep profits in their pockets and for them to do further damage. This isn’t just about the vampires, it’s about the humans, as well. This organization has done nothing but kill in the name of scientific research. Nothing they’ve done leads to anything meaningful for humans. It’s about profits and creating things above the law. Playing God. The truth is, they can’t make a hybrid. They never will. It’s against the rules of nature.”

  “Then what is it that they’re trying to accomplish,” Vicq asked.

  “They want the life force of a vampire without becoming one.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  Michael cocked his head to one side. “Is it?”

  “Partly, but in order to sustain our life force, we take blood. The difference is that vampires can feed from humans or other vampires. Humans that are in transformation need vampire blood. They will crave it. They will go mad and die if they don’t take it. If what you’re saying is correct, other than Type S beings, no human-in-stasis will be able to survive without it. The more powerful the vampire, and depending on how much blood is taken, the more time they will get before the vampire life force fades from their system and they have to take it again. Once they take vampire blood, they’ll need more and more of it, to the point where the transformation will eventually be complete. Aside from Type S beings, is there any other evidence? What else do you know?”

  “All along, D5’s goal was to create a human-vampire hybrid that’s able to sustain the vampire agent long enough without a complete transformation. And yes, recent research shows that the only blood type capable of that is S. Now, my guess is that there are only a few dozen of us out there with Type S blood.”

  “How do I know you have this blood type?” Vicq asked.

  “Aside from the papers I have from the clinic, I can give you hard evidence with your cooperation.”

  Michael produced a knife and slit his open palm until a small puddle of blood appeared on the table. Vicq followed suit, slit his wrist, and watched as the blood spread out next to Michaels. Their blood fused together as if by some force or magic, changing from dark red in color to black and then back to red again.

  “Elaina’s blood will do the same,” Michael said. “Her becoming a vampire doesn’t change that. See for yourself.”

  “I’ve seen enough,” Vicq spoke softly. “What I don’t get is if District 5 knows that they’ve failed their mission on a very large scale, why then are they still in operation? People are dying in pursuit of their low-life missions. The lives of women and children are being ruined so they can make profits.”

  “You aren’t the only one who’s raging mad about this,” Michael said. “This is the reason why I’ve stayed with Refuge so long. We’ve all been affected either directly or indirectly. We just need to destroy everything connected to District and expose them for what they are. Maybe we’ll never find out what they’re trying to accomplish at this point.”

  “And maybe we’ll just have to make it our business to find out,” Mr. Smith interjected.

  Chapter 20

  “Seriously?”

  Elaina glanced back and forth between Vicq and her dad. She chuckled nervously, waiting for them tell her this was all a joke and that they didn’t expect her to stay behind on a mission she’d been contemplating for years.

  “It’s really for the best,” her dad said. “You and I both know that they’ll salvage whatever they can get.”

  Waving her hand out in front of her in a swift cutting motion, Elaina shook her head. “This isn’t up for debate. I’m going. Even if I spill blood, how can that be an issue if we’re going to set fire to the place?”

  “There’s still a risk,” Vicq said. “I gave my word that we would take down District 5. And we will. That hasn’t changed. There’s just been a slight detour in the way things need to happen going forward.”

  “No, Vicq. You gave your word that you would be by my side. We never planned for me to be holed up in a Refuge dungeon while everyone else did the work. That’s not me.”

  Anger rose in her chest and she paced the room in front of them.

  “I know, Elaina. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. This is about you putting your life on the line, but it’s also about what could happen if District got ahold of your blood again.”

  “We don’t want to see you hurt, and we don’t want anyone from the District getting their hands on anyone considered high value to them,” her dad said.

  “Then what about Vicq, he’s considered high value. The District has be
en tracking him for years. Is this just about keeping me out of the raid?”

  “Elaina, this attack can’t be executed without at least one Superior Dresdan. I’ve already sent two of my coven members away, and at least three more will remain here at the hotel. We don’t know what we’re going to be dealing with when we open those underground vaults. Together, our men will be able to infiltrate District 5 and get past the humans, but I may be the only one capable of holding off an attack from a stronger ranking Dresdan.”

  “That wasn’t the plan. And you, Vicq, have been changing your mind a lot lately. The both of you are fools to think that I’d agree to this,” she exclaimed between clenched teeth. “Leave me, please.”

  Vicq moved toward her, and Elaina took one step back.

  “Both of you.”

  As Vicq and her dad were leaving the room, her dad turned back around and said, “Give it some thought, Elaina.”

  Without another word, she sent them off and closed the door behind them.

  Chapter 21

  Elaina sank deeper into the comfort of the heated water, resting back against the hot tub. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the faint smells of jasmine and lavender calm her. But nothing seemed to be helping Elaina. For the past several days, she’d been occupied by memories of her childhood, of her time being used by District 5, and of her mother. Both of them. She thought about the limited choices her birth mother must have had, and about the sacrifice she’d made to keep Elaina safe even if it meant giving her up for adoption… even if it was only until Elaina reached adulthood. She thought about the burdens her adoptive mother had had to bear, and the secrets they had to keep from her.

  The door to the bathroom opened, and Elaina didn’t even have to open her eyes to know it was Vicq. If it weren’t for the noisy hinges on the frame, she probably wouldn’t have noticed he had entered the small space at all. He always had a knack for catching her off guard, sometimes unintentionally.