Vampire Nation 2: Titan Rising

by Joe Fowler

  I took a few seconds to make sure of what I said.

  “Keep up what we are doing. Travel from event to event until we know more. As information becomes available, we can alter our plans as necessary. For now, safety is the top priority. I am torn on the council idea. With or without them present, we need to stay on our toes. There isn’t much else we can do until we know more.” I told him.

  It was best for the group and best for me. I needed more information of a different kind. I was figuring out a way to get it. I thought of Emelia and had to hide a smile. I knew how to help our causes. Maybe.

  Saul nodded. He was satisfied with my answer.

  The group splintered after that discussion. Emelia, Petra, and I ended up together. I wanted Petra to leave so I could talk to Emelia alone. Petra didn’t appear willing to cooperate.

  “I hate being so paranoid. I’ve been looking over my shoulder for days now. I keep imagining Ares is attacking me. It is getting to the point that I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Petra confided.

  I saw an opportunity. I wasn’t sure how to pull it off yet.

  “We have the group here. We will make sure none of us are alone.” Emelia said, comfortingly.

  I started to be really mean and say that it was a group of old ones killed at that event. Petra wouldn’t have liked that. I managed not to smile.

  “Try to relax, Petra. Worrying won’t do us any good. We will all be in this together.” I hated saying it.

  “My employees are fed up with me. I’ve had my security team watching my room at night. It was the only way I could sleep.” Petra told us.

  She inadvertently gave me the way to tell Emelia what I wanted to. I could only hope she would see it.

  “While I was at Feng’s facility, I met the smartest young vampire. He worked for Lorac. I believe his name was Ghost. He said they had been stuck there for some time. That young one felt like his skills were being underutilized. At least your employees feel needed. They have something to do, someone to help.” I tried to make it sound offhand but still stressed the last part.

  Petra wasn’t comforted but she understood what I was saying. Her fear was bad but her employees could handle what was being asked of them.

  Emelia got the look I was hoping for. She hid it immediately but I caught the glimmer in her eye. I fully expected her to make an early exit to call Ares.

  She waited about ten minutes. I waited a few more. Others were leaving now too.

  I raced to my suite and started dialing.

  “Wow. He’s here?” Ghost answered

  I took a second to enjoy the success of my message.

  “You might be meeting him tonight. Emelia. I wondered why she was so damn confusing.”

  “Did you tell her you knew?”

  “No. I want her to try and be as safe as she can. With him gone, she is watching her step. If she knew Darius was me, she might relax. I can’t put her at risk.”

  “You didn’t tell me whether she knew who you were or not. Good. Have you talked to him?”

  “No, but I gave Emelia the idea through something I said to her tonight. I saw her make the connection. She waited a few minutes before rushing out of the after party. You may have a visitor soon. You should like him.” I smiled at the thought.

  “Damn, I never thought to meet Ares. Wow.”

  “Get his number so I can call him if I need to. Find out what he knows. Um, I don’t think I need to tell you to be careful do I? Try not to piss him off.” I said, laughing.

  “Hey, you know me. I’m a joy to be around.”

  “I’ll call when I can. We’re flying out early heading to another event. Some old one named Micah. Was Arria successful with the council? Are they going to stop sending members to my events?”

  “They compromised. Every other event. The vote was six to two in favor of continuing to send them. Aegeus was there with you. Arria and Lorac were the only ones voting to have it stop. It didn’t narrow things down for us. Sorry.”

  “Ares will help. Tell him I will try my best to protect her. He would know that though.”

  “You got it” Ghost said before disconnecting.

  “Hello?” Arria’s voice made me smile.

  “Hey, beautiful. You’re not still mad at me are you?”

  “No. I just wish you would let me in on these things. I might be able to help.”

  “It is better this way. It will become clearer for you. Until then, trust that if I am keeping something from you, it is for safety reasons. I heard the council voted six to two against what I asked. How did you get the every other compromise?” I knew this would be a good change of subject.

  “I threatened to bring you home. They got huffy and made a fuss. I laughed and reached for my phone. Feng knew I wasn’t bluffing. Hell, I’m still tempted to do it.”

  “As much as I would love to be there, this needs to be done. The old ones here are actually asking my advice now. Saul asked me what I thought we should do.”

  “Do you think he suspects anything? You know how bad the spies can get.” Arria warned.

  “I am judging from what I’ve seen and from what I read from Glass. I was in her mind. She had a memory of him saying he thought I could be trusted. He seemed to think I had so much more information. That’s the only reason he sent her. The only ones I trust now are you and Ghost. Well, I trust Apollo but he isn’t involved in this.” I laughed lightly.

  “Be safe, Titan. You’re giving me gray hairs.” Arria sounded so sad. I would’ve given most anything to be there to hold her.

  “My goal is forever by your side. If I’m not careful, I won’t get that. Believe me, I’m watching everything and everyone.” I assured her. “I’ll call when I can.”

  “Okay.”

  I hung up the phone feeling depressed. Arria was sad and worried. Sweetie was acting like an old one without Ares here to watch over her…

  Wait. He must have known I was here. There’s no way he would leave Sweetie with this group of old ones unless he knew she was being watched over.

  How? Only the council and my group of friends knew. My friends would never tell a soul. The council needed me for this. I had to believe they wouldn’t tell anyone. Who did that leave?

  If my charade was known to Ares, how many others would know? I got a flashback of the Tristan after party. Everybody knew.

  No. I would have seen something to show that by now. The Darius persona was working. They all thought…

  Of course! Damn, I’m stupid.

  Ares would know something was up because he killed Darius 1200 years ago. It wouldn’t take too much logic to figure out who was posing as the long forgotten corpse.

  Chapter 17

  Petra, Emelia, and I all got into the limo. We were heading out to find newbies. This would be my first time attacking an unsuspecting human. I dreaded this with every fiber of my being. I knew it needed to be done.

  “I’ve been thinking.” Emelia had a bright smile on her face. “I sit next to you and win more money than I ever did before. Maybe if we get our newbies together I will get one with speed or illusions like you seem to constantly do.”

  “I wish it worked like that. The three of us would get all our newbies together each time.” Petra laughed. Her nerves were better tonight.

  We were in Mexico. I didn’t know where. There was a good sized city ahead of us. We were entering the outskirts and my own nerves were getting hard to control.

  Since being cured of the unravelling, my blood donors lived. I mostly promised myself I would never kill another human. I didn’t feel bad for Emily. She was entering into this willingly. She had spent one year as a donor to become a vampire. Tonight was different.

  “I am seeing what you were talking about Petra. I am becoming attached to my fighters. I will continue to meet them in the lobby though. It is a matter of who I am. Being around humans for as long as I was, caused me to be different. I would prefer to feel some sadness when one of my fighters lose than to becom
e a monster as so many of our kind do.” I said.

  “I wish you had been around when I stopped. I would have continued to meet them as well. I fear I am becoming a monster.” Petra was truly sad. This wasn’t an act.

  “You aren’t a monster, Petra. You have been wonderful to me. Don’t feel bad about what our society tries to do to you. You are still good.” Emelia encouraged. I could see the strain of the lies Sweetie was suffering from.

  I didn’t like the words Emelia chose. Among both humans and vampires, everyone was blaming society for their actions. Each action you take is of your own doing. You can’t blame others for what you do. Own up to your own shortcomings and try to face the world truthfully.

  We were quiet for a while. Petra told us what we would be looking for on this trip. She wanted a small place with no more than six humans. It would be much better if they were not related. Turning families that might end up having to fight each other was discouraged. She warned that at times, old ones had to make a separate stop for each vampire to be turned. This might be a long night.

  We found a small shop. Petra led us through the door. I saw the trinkets and blankets for sale. It looked like an arts and crafts store. There were four people, all adults, shopping along with one store clerk.

  Petra gave us the signal and we went to work. The one I chose to turn was a man in his mid-twenties. He was tall and strong looking. Emelia and Petra each turned women. Petra and Emelia drained the other two humans. All five bodies were dumped into the trunk of the limo. I marveled at the way there was room for more. It was a large trunk.

  We headed back to Micah’s facility. Reptile quieted my fears before I left. I didn’t speak Spanish. Reptile did. I hoped the new vampire spoke English but I knew he might not.

  Micah’s employees took the two corpses to the incinerator. The three newbies were placed in their new quarters. I headed back to my suite to change clothes before going to the meeting hall. Arria needed to do this from time to time.

  I sat in my chair. The act of killing a human was weighing on me heavily. I needed to get my mind right before I went back into the lion’s den.

  I drained more than I care to admit when I was unravelling. I wouldn’t have survived long enough to win my freedom if I had not done so. The new killing would be less excusable. I wasn’t fighting for my life now.

  I shook it off as best I could and headed to Micah’s meeting hall.

  Micah was forgettable. He had that kind of face you forgot about as soon as you turned away. I saw the intelligence behind his eyes though. I saw quickly that I needed to be careful around him. I went through the protocols and stood with Saul, Jonas, Micah, Petra, and Emelia. Phoenix, Abel, Caleb, and Flora stood together some distance away. Tigress bowed out of this event against the urging of Saul. We were expecting one more to show that I did not know.

  “…don’t know anything. Secrets are hard to keep in our world. How can we not find out anything?” Jonas was saying.

  It had been more of the same up to this point.

  “How heavily are the council members looking into it?” Micah asked. He was surprised to see everyone’s attention turn to me.

  “Some are working on it, but mostly, they don’t care. From what I gathered, they consider it a blessing. Someone has done their work for them.” I related some of what I needed to say. It was as much to get a read on Micah as anything else.

  Micah grew angry before controlling himself.

  “So we are on our own. Why don’t they make use of Titan? Why don’t they send him to fix it? Isn’t he their weapon now?” Micah asked.

  “It would seem that way but for one problem. Arria is so in love with him she refuses to let him face any real danger. My spies told me that Titan had cloaked Feng and Lorac at Tristan’s. Titan had two council members as bodyguards the whole time.” Saul was well informed.

  “Where are Arria and Titan now?” Micah asked.

  “Holed up at Feng’s.” Petra stated coldly. “She doesn’t appear to be leaving again anytime soon.”

  “Again?” Micah looked interested.

  “She attended an event. We had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Titan.” Petra almost spat. “I still keep expecting a council member to be announced here. We haven’t had an event without one in some time.”

  “Was there anything suspicious about the way they were acting?” Micah was persistent, I’ll give him that.

  “Not that I saw. What about you, Darius? Did you pick up anything strange from their behavior?” Jonas asked.

  “Nothing obvious. They seemed to be more guarded than most of the old ones I’ve met. I didn’t see anything to be suspicious of though.” I said.

  “Saul told me some about you, Darius. It still surprises me how we are looking to you for so many of these answers.” Micah’s comment was pointed.

  I looked around and smiled. This would be easily handled.

  “I am a survivor, Micah. I get by on what I read from others and what I learn from my ‘friends’. It is how I made my fortune among the humans. I had friends in Feng’s facility before I left there the first time. I have more now. It is how I work.” I stated. I wore a challenge of pride in my eyes. He made note of it. He wouldn’t question me again.

  We were interrupted by the announcement of Chief. He was gifted with mind control, I figured that explained the name. He walked proud and tall. His eyes showed an incredible resolve. I wondered at that. I didn’t have time to dwell since Saul got my attention.

  “Be careful of what you say around him. He is not one of our group.” He informed me under his breath.

  I gave a nod of understanding.

  The rest of the conversations turned lighter. Chief turned out to be quiet but when he did speak, he was funny. We talked for close to an hour before we made the draws to set the card.

  The betting was fun, as usual. I had bets on all but Jet. Petra was pissed slightly since she had already lost one fighter to Jet. Now there would be a second.

  I called Ghost from my suite. He was overly excited.

  “What a day.” This was how he answered my call.

  “Hello to you too.” I laughed. “Tell me.”

  “I was entering my room when I felt a slight push. I whirled around but couldn’t see anyone. My door shut on its own. Then he became visible. I must admit, there was a little bit of fear.” Ghost laughed. “His first words were, ‘Do I need to introduce myself?’ I told him I was expecting him. I let him know you were the one to suggest our meeting. He laughed and nodded his head like he expected that answer.”

  “He is fun loving and intense at the same time. It takes some getting used to. He was like that as Noah too.”

  “He was visibly relieved to know you had figured out who Emelia was. I could see how worried he must have been. The two of you are so alike it scares me.”

  “I noted the same thing. At least I feel better about him because of that. He isn’t going to do any senseless killing. Since no one could stop him, that’s a huge relief.”

  “Tell me about it. Anyway, you were right about everything. He was looking into the illegal fights when he found out you were in danger. He was banking on Sweetie’s being in good with the old ones. He didn’t leave her until he heard your name as a new old one. I hate to tell you this but he saw through your illusion. He remembered what you said about how he has that ‘off’ feel to him. He made sure to keep a distance from you.”

  “I wondered some. I figured it was just the Darius thing. He killed Darius so he would know something was up. I knew he would guess it to be me once he put some thought into it.” I hated that about the illusion. “He is so far beyond me as far as power goes that I’m not surprised he saw through my illusion. I am still surprised Sweetie’s illusion is holding up to the scrutiny.”

  “He explained that. He said you had to be trying to look through it before you would see. He said that was why you didn’t see through Sweetie’s illusion.”

  “I will try that whe
n I see her again. Did he have any information?”

  “Some. He isn’t the sharing type but once he saw my brain at work he told me most of what he knew. He saw my loyalty as well. I am working through everything and will let you know any changes in our plans. For now, keep doing what you are doing.”

  “Got it. Arria is getting tired of being left out but she would act too hastily. I know I can’t tell her much.”

  “Tell her Ares is here. Don’t tell her why, but let her know he is helping.”

  “Will do. Tell him I said ‘hi’ and thanks for the help.”

  “Will do.”

  “Hello?” Arria’s voice was music to my ears.

  “How was your day?”

  “Frustrating. The whole council is nervous. I was the calm one today. That should tell you something.” She said.

  I laughed. Arria was well aware of her extreme emotions.

  “Don’t let it worry you. Look, one of the things I’ve been hedging around is that Ares is there at Feng’s. Don’t ask why. He is helping me. I haven’t talked to him but he is in contact with Ghost.”

  “Ares!” She was whisper shouting. “Here?”

  “He won’t be announcing himself anytime soon. Just relax and things will work out.” I tried to sound much more sure than I felt.

  “Why isn’t he there? Why isn’t he finding the ones who killed the old ones?” Arria asked.

  “He was. He still is in a way. There is a lot going into this. I don’t know what he knows. I am flying mostly on instinct right now. Luckily, these old ones trust me. I am becoming very valuable to their peace of mind. As a matter of fact, if there is any bits of information I can use to further our cause, tell me. I am setting myself up as being well informed.”

  “This might help then. Feng is calling in favors. He is asking some of the council friendly old ones to spread themselves among the events. He wants to cast a wide net to catch any information. Which old ones are there?”