by K. T. Tomb
“I will judge you both equally,” she replied. She had gathered her composure fully and showed that she was not going to be an easy conquest, in spite of her initial reaction to his charm. “I will be assured only by what I see in each of you, and not by words that are spoken.”
“You are as wise as you are beautiful, Nora.”
“Enough,” said Andrik. “Miko, you are to brief us and we are to discuss strategy.”
“Straight to business then, huh, Andrik.”
“For the sake of Her Majesty’s grandmother,” Nora interrupted. “Can you two back away from your prepubescent behavior and focus on the mission before us?”
It stung him a bit, but Miko was also intrigued by the strength she asserted. He turned away from Andrik. There would, after all, be plenty of other opportunities to even the score with him.
“I believe you have information for us to consider, Miko?” said Nora.
“Very well. As you have already been briefed by Alfred, no doubt, our concern is that the Russians are going to attempt to move down the coast toward Constantinople. In order to do that, there has to be an element of surprise involved; therefore, my theory is that they will move their armaments to a more southern location first. Ammunition, percussion muskets, dragoon muskets and percussion rifles, as well as light, mobile artillery, which is not as easily concealed, would be necessary to carry out such a campaign.”
He glared in Andrik’s direction and then continued. “Olena had already discovered signs of this particular plan beginning to unfold—”
“Correction. She assisted in setting it up—”
“You don’t know that.”
“Stop!” Nora interjected. “We must put this aside. What’s done is done. Please, stick to the facts and focus on the mission… both of you.”
Miko smiled, even more impressed by her focus and force of character. “There was a plan afoot to send the arms to a point from which an invasion could be launched. In my opinion, that point would have to be as far south as Russia could manage to advance, without tipping off what they were about to do. Once the necessary munitions were in place, the Russians would have to send men and horses, something they can easily do by sea from Sebastopol or Odessa. From there, they can cut off the Dobrudzha and isolate it. By doing that, the Russians can keep the Ottoman stronghold at Silistra busy in order to make a bold sprint toward Varna. Once in control of Varna, they would be in a perfect position to take Constantinople. But first, the Russians would have to store their munitions somewhere along the western shore of the Danube, somewhere after the river turns south, but still in Wallachia and not too far from the coast.”
“That would be Balta Ialomitei,” Andrik commented.
“Why would they have to cache their weapons in that area?” Nora asked.
“They’ve got to be able to move in two directions at once. They have to move against Silistra to the west to protect their flank and toward Varna to the south. The cache has to be in a remote enough location to not be easily discovered. The narrowest stretch of the Dobrudzha between the coast and Balta Ialomitei is between Navodari and Cernavoda.”
“They’ll have to hit whatever port they use with a pretty heavy force to get across to Balta,” Andrik added.
“With the element of surprise, a sizeable army could move across that space in a couple of days,” Miko pointed out. “That’s not a lot of time to organize your defenses.”
“Why can’t we just tell the Ottomans to strengthen their presence in the Dobrudzha?” Nora asked.
“We don’t know that the Russians are really planning such a move,” Andrik replied. “There has to be solid evidence first. That’s where we come in.”
“And finding the cache of munitions would be sufficient evidence?” asked Nora.
“Yes,” Miko answered. “And I’ve been having a devil of a time trying to locate the cache. Ultimately, I’ve decided to focus on trying to find the supply end. I’ve had a little more success on that end and think that I’ve got it narrowed down to the area east of the Prout River and as near as possible to Galati.”
“If we can connect the two ends, then we’ll know the exact route being used and be able to find a way to disrupt that flow,” Andrik added.
“At this point,” Miko returned, “we just need to verify that there is a cache in the south or the whole theory falls apart. If we locate the cache, we can better prepare the ports on the western coast for an invasion.”
“And buy the Ottomans some time to strengthen their positions before they’re surprised,” Miko put in. In spite of their differences, Miko knew that Andrik was serious about his job. He knew Andrik and would remain focused, and perform his duties at a high level.
“Precisely,” said Andrik. “Now, where do we begin?”
Chapter Twenty-four
The discussion between the two agents had Nora’s head swimming most of the time.
The theory and strategy made some sense after Miko had left and Andrik was able to sketch out a rough map of the area and all the locations that had been brought up. Nora was still trying to form a complete picture of what was going on and of what the theory consisted. She finally pushed it aside; in reality, she didn’t need to understand it completely. She had been assigned the task of communication between the two agents and, because she had mastered the telegraph and codes, to send information back to MI-6. There was, however, another conflict that she was a bit more interested in. She asked Andrik about it.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened with Olena?” she asked.
Andrik sighed. “Very well. I am sure you are more than curious.” He paused, gathered his thoughts. They were lying side by side on the bed, above the covers, and both stretched out with hands folded over their midsections. The postures gave Nora a giggle. Back in the day, she would have been very much under the covers... and being paid handsomely for it. “Miko swears she was not a part of it, but I discovered that she was working with a Russian MI to create a supply dump in Moldavia. Miko swears that she was simply playing both sides because she had discovered Ivan, the first recruit, was working for the other side and double-crossing MI-6.”
“And Alfred eliminated her?” Nora asked.
“He did,” Andrik responded. “Both Olena and Ivan.”
“Why didn’t he eliminate Miko too?”
“Because he could find no evidence that Miko was involved beyond an intimate relationship with Olena. That nearly cost him to be thrown out of MI-6.”
Nora nodded, the picture becoming clearer. Olena and Miko had been intimate. And now she was dead. Because of Andrik’s suspicions.
“Olena must have been involved,” Nora speculated. “I don’t think Alfred would have taken such drastic steps unless he was sure.”
“That’s the way I see it, but Miko won’t admit to it. He prefers to hold a grudge against me for bringing Olena to Alfred’s attention. Believe me, I wouldn’t have turned Olena over to Alfred if I’d have thought she was innocent.”
“And Alfred is that... efficient?”
“As a vampire slayer?” said Andrik. “Yes, he is the best. Please know this, you do not want to get crosswise with him. Mortal or not, his instincts are perfect, and his skill is second to none. You are dead if he decides it to be so.”
Andrik took in a deep breath. The shadow of sadness that passed over his eyes suggested that he hadn’t been entirely forthright in his admissions. She wondered if he’d had feelings for Olena, as well.
“Sometimes people are blinded by love and they can’t see the bad in the other person—”
“He didn’t love her,” Andrik snapped. “Not like I did.”
Nora’s eyes widened. And there it was. She waited a few beats to let him realize what he’d just admitted to her and then she pressed forward.
“How could you have turned over the woman you loved to be... eliminated?”
“I said that I loved her,” he admitted. “I didn’t say that she loved me.”
For now, she decided not to press him further. She had a clear enough picture of the love-triangle which had existed between Miko, Andrik, and Olena. She had no doubts that Andrik had viewed what Olena did as a betrayal, not just to Her Majesty, but to him as well.
“Let’s get back to the mission,” she said quietly.
“Right,” Andrik responded. Without hesitation, he went over their part of the plan which Miko had laid out. “Before dawn, we’ll go to Fetesti, get checked into a hotel there and rest. Tomorrow, after dusk, we’ll fly to the other side of Balta Ialomitei to Cernavoda and then search along the bank of the eastern branch of the Danube.”
“I have another idea,” Nora suggested. “Not that I don’t think we need to follow your plan, but if they’re truly caching munitions on the island, wouldn’t they have to cross the western branch of the Danube to get onto the island?”
“At some point, yes,” he admitted, narrowing his eyes and staring at the map.
“You told me that Wallachia tends to support the status quo, right?”
“Yes. Where are you going with this?”
“At how many points can the Danube be crossed? Wouldn’t some Wallachian see the Russians at those points and report the suspicious activity?”
“They’re avoiding regular crossings,” he responded. “They would have to cross by boat.”
“Crossing by boat would require a landing on both sides of the crossing, right?”
“Yes.”
“Going directly across would draw all sorts of attention, don’t you think?”
“Where boats going up and down the Danube would not,” he grinned. “You may have just figured this out, Nora.”
She liked the lilt in his voice, the way he said her name. What she didn’t like was being hurt by men, and so she steeled herself and said, “But there is a lot of river between Galati and Silistra. And, from what I understand, a lot of boats. How are we going to find the right one or ones on all of that river? And which branch? The Russians could come up either one.” The island, after all, was nestled between two flowing branches of the Danube.
“We don’t have to search all of the river, Nora. We just have to find where they’re unloading,” Andrik replied.
Chapter Twenty-five
Fetesti certainly wasn’t Bucharest. The hotel was better than the apartment she had shared with Kate and Mary, but not by much. Nevertheless, all of the speculation and theorizing that they had done the night before had exhausted her and she’d fallen asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
She felt Andrik’s presence well before she awakened; she could hear his breathing as he sat beside her bed. Nora waited to see what he intended to do, but he did nothing. He neither spoke nor touched her.
“Andrik?” she asked. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“What are you doing, then?”
“I came to wake you, but you looked so much at peace that I couldn’t bear to do it.”
“Admiring my face and body again?”
“Your hair... mostly,” he responded.
She’d known from the moment they’d met that Andrik had a little bit more than a passing interest in her, certainly more than merely welcoming her into MI-6, or helping to transform her and train her. She had been impressed by him from the beginning, too, and found him attractive. She had, admittedly, reveled in the intimate moment they’d shared during her transformation, but she wasn’t sure how she really felt about him. And she wasn’t ready to explore such feelings. She wasn’t even sure she could have such feelings again. She had spent the better part of a decade being used and abused by men, treated, really as a piece of meat. Burberry hadn’t been the only client to smack her around. One had bound her to a bed for days, threatening to kill her. She had escaped and reported him to the authorities. As far as she was aware, the crazy bastard had never been found.
For now, she was perfectly content being colleagues with Andrik. Partners just felt right to her. It felt important too. She truly felt like she was a part of something bigger than herself, and she was, too. Nora reveled in it. Mostly, she reveled in her new self. Her perfect and powerful self. Now, she considered what he had told her about Olena. She didn’t want him to go through that again. She didn’t want to be the cause of it either. She sat up, slid close enough to reach out and take his hands in hers.
“Andrik, I know that we’ve joked about your fascination with me, but I need you to understand something. I can’t have any feelings for any man right now. Not because I don’t want to, but I can’t. You know the vocation I was in. I’ve put up massive, impenetrable barriers against all men. With that said, I’ve learned to trust you, but please, please don’t fall for me like you did for Olena, because I can’t return the same feelings to you. I like what we are doing. I like being partners. I like being a team. I want to help where I can. I need this more than I need a man. But I could use a friend, and I need a partner. A damn good partner.”
He nodded, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Someone thinks pretty highly of themselves, do they now?”
“Stop. I see it in your eyes.”
His grin stopped and fell a little. “You have nothing to worry about, Nora. I am an agent of her Majesty first and foremost, a vampire second, and somewhere down the line, a man, too.”
“Have I hurt your feelings?”
“You have given me your trust, where no other of mankind could have earned it before. For that, I am flying as high as my owl wings can take me.” He smiled and pulled his hand free from hers. “There are so many things that you haven’t been trained for and yet, here you are. For now, I feel a need to protect you.”
“Protect me from what? All I’m going to be doing is running back and forth as a messenger between the two of you and Bucharest. I’ll be with you or with Miko most of the time. And, let me remind you, that I took care of myself quite well in Limehouse; in fact, you’ve already admitted that my strength is my crafty mind.”
“I’m still not sure about Miko, though, and this isn’t Limehouse.”
“We’re not going into that again. I think he checks out. Also, I think you’ve misjudged him.”
Andrik stood suddenly and it startled her, especially when she saw that dark shadow pass across his eyes. “Fine. Let’s get going.”
Nora got up from the bed, straightened her hair a bit, and followed him toward the door. He startled her again when he turned back toward her.
“Please try to remember that we are in the region with not only the highest concentration of MIs in the world, but the oldest ones as well. They use powers we don’t yet know about and they aren’t always kind to newcomers, especially English ones.”
“I’m in luck, then. I’m Irish.” She rolled her r, and patted him on the cheek as she swept past him.
***
They left Fetesti in their bat forms, thinking that two owls flying together through the streets might attract a little too much attention... from the undead in the area.
In spite of her earlier confidence, she couldn’t help wondering about the other persons and creatures she saw around her. Were they MIs blending into their surroundings as well? No doubt. Had she and Andrik attracted their attention? Hopefully not.
Once on Balta Ialomitei, they landed in a field and transformed into their natural state.
“What’s the plan?” she asked. “Upriver or down? Together or separate?”
“Together and down,” he replied without a great deal of enthusiasm.
Evidently, her talk had dampened his spirits. She considered trying to boost them and realized that there was probably nothing she could do, outside of flirting. Really, what else was she good for? Okay, now she was feeling
down! Well, if he was going to worry about her, then he was going to worry about her. C’est la vie, as the French say.
“Stay focused on the mission,” she said in a low tone. And, dammit, she was good at a lot of things now.
“Right. Let’s go.” Without further ado, he changed into an owl and lifted off from the ground.
She transmorphed and followed behind him, but the flight wasn’t the same as it was before. Although the moonlight reflected off the moving surface of the winding river below—a beautiful sight by any stretch of the imagination—she didn’t feel the weightless freedom she’d felt before. She wondered what had happened to that peace she’d experienced after her ascension—and the thrill she’d experienced as she made new discoveries of her new powers.
She didn’t know, but she reminded herself to focus on the mission.
As the night passed, Nora was caught up in the search. Focused on the mission, she began to relax and took notice of the serene waltz of dancing cabin lights upon the moving river. By the time that the first glow of dawn began to break over the horizon, they had covered the river from Fetesti to Silistra and back again. They had seen nothing suspicious nor anything that drew their attention.
By the time the sun had fully risen, they were back in their rooms and were settling in to rest. There had been little conversation between them since they’d left the hotel the night before. Was he really worried about her or had her rebuff of his advances pricked him? She had no idea, but she had to remain true to herself and allow time to heal. She was, she knew, damaged goods. She drifted off to sleep with the slowly swaying lights of the rivers dancing through her mind.
***
“You ready?”
Nora’s eyes snapped open. It was Andrik, and he was here in her room again to start another evening of flying over the river. She sat up and stretched, surprised that time had passed so quickly. It seemed like it had only been a moment since she lay down. She couldn’t help but note that he was no longer staring at her with a twinkle in his dark eyes. No, he was business-like and short with her. Just as well.
