Desmond stood in front of him and extended his hand. From it the green fist extended and wrapped around the Vampire-Doppler’s neck, just below his chin.
Gary made a gurgling sound, and then resignation was clear in the droop of his shoulders and his expression. He looked like a being who didn’t care anymore. No matter what Volod might do to him. He just didn’t want to experience more pain.
He swallowed. The wire pressed against his throat. Desmond kept the magic fist around Gary’s neck. “Volod wants to create far more paranorm Vampires than he has. He wants an entire army.”
Chills rolled over me. “An army,” I repeated.
He licked his lips. “Volod plans to—”
A pinging sound. A red stripe across his throat. A stunned look on Gary’s face.
Gary’s head tipped forward. And fell from his shoulders and landed by my feet.
Shocked silence followed the head as it rolled across the office floor.
I looked at Desmond, who had a surprised expression. “Oops,” he said.
Somehow his magic fist had set off the wire.
“What the—” Ice started when the Fae bells jingled yet again at the front door.
A male being entered through the doorway. He paused as he swept his gaze over us and looked at Gary’s lifeless head on the floor. The male was a Dragon, and a powerful one if his scent and my senses were right, and they usually were.
He was a tall male, confidence and arrogance in his clear, dark eyes. His head was shaved, gleaming in the morning light streaming through the window. His well-muscled body hummed with strength and power.
“Private meeting.” No amount of friendliness was in Ice’s tone as he spoke to the stranger.
I walked through the crowd of Trackers until I stood in front of the male, who was about a foot taller than me. “Is there something I can help you with?” I wasn’t in the mood to be polite yet I did a credible job of it.
The male looked from me to the headless body then back to me. He sniffed the air then scowled before looking back at me. “I believe it’s a matter of what I can do for you.”
His gaze was piercing as he glanced at the other Trackers—it was the kind of look that could instill fear in lesser beings. But we were Trackers. The intimidation factor wouldn’t work with us.
“We’re busy.” I kept my arms loose at my sides, but I was feeling anything but casual at that moment. I was limber, filled with anger, and ready for anything.
“Such attitude.” The Dragon spoke with a smooth Cajun accent. “That will change.”
Every Tracker in the place bristled. Ice pushed away from where he’d been leaning up against the desk.
“I am Armand Despre.” The tall, powerfully built male spoke in a commanding voice. “Your new Proctor.”
NINETEEN
The room was thick with tension as we all digested what the Dragon, who called himself Armand Despre, had said.
I had heard of this powerful Tracker before but had never met him. He had a reputation as the top Vampire fighter in all of our ranks. Still, I didn’t need the pretentious entry and grandstanding attitude.
“Pardon us if we don’t simply take your word for it.” I held my ground beneath his arrogant gaze. “Who assigned you?”
An amused expression crossed the Dragon’s features. “James, chairman of the Proctor Directorate, asked me to fill in for Rodán until he is found.”
“We located Rodán early this morning.” I swallowed back the bile that was rushing into my throat. “He has been … taken by Vampires.”
Armand Despre stilled. “Vampires.” He said the word slowly, each syllable deep with thought. “Are you certain?”
“Several of us were there when he was bitten.” I couldn’t show any sign of weakness by revealing the depth of the pain I felt. “It was the second bite.”
The Proctor’s gaze narrowed. “Rodán was turned?”
“He’ll never be one of them.” The defensive tone of my voice and my posture likely made it clear to the Proctor how much I cared for Rodán. I’d wanted to do the opposite.
Armand Despre brushed aside my words with a dismissive gesture. “If that is the case, he is gone. Now he is the enemy.”
I had to bite my tongue as anger started rolling through me in waves.
“We have a team set to search for his body.” Angel stepped up beside me. I was grateful for her support. “We’ll find it before he rises.”
“No.” The Proctor’s statement caught me off guard. “That is a waste of Tracker time and effort. We will take Rodán out when the time comes.”
“Kill him?” I clenched and unclenched my hands. “You want to murder him?”
Armand Despre looked at me as if I were a Vampire who needed to be taken out. “It is not murder to kill a Vampire.”
“We’re talking about Rodán, not just any future Vampire.” Angel touched my arm, but I shook her off as I spoke. “We owe him help before he becomes what he would never have chosen. Not just wait and murder him.”
“You are the Drow female.” The Dragon studied me. “You have served the New York City Trackers according to your reputation.”
I hadn’t known I had a reputation outside our local team, and his comment caught me off guard.
“I am not impressed with reputation,” he replied, “but with action and results.”
I ground my teeth. I’d action him.
Armand Despre put his hands behind his back and began walking back and forth among us. He looked to be forty at most, but likely he was far older than that. There was power in the way he moved, decisiveness in his gaze, arrogance in his posture and on his handsome face.
He addressed us like a military commander might address his troops. “We will arrange a meeting place. You will be introduced to my handpicked team of Trackers, and you will work with them in solving the disappearances that started on the West Coast and have now spread to New York City.”
“How did you know this was related?” Ice said with a hard edge to his voice. “We only discovered for ourselves this morning.”
“Clues have arisen.” Armand Despre looked like he didn’t appreciate having to give any explanations but was doing so to avoid further questioning. “And they have been tracked to this city.
“I have additional news for you.” Armand’s black T-shirt and jeans were snug around his biceps and powerful thighs. “Your Paranorm Council has been taken.”
Angel sucked in her breath audibly. Other Trackers made sounds of shock and disbelief.
“When?” I said.
“From what information has been gathered,” the Proctor said, “just hours ago.”
It felt like a sweeping wave was coming toward us. If we didn’t do something about it and soon, that wave could wipe out all of us.
Armand turned from me and faced the front door of the office. “I have brought a few of my Trackers here to join us.”
Irritation made my skin itch. That’s all we needed was to introduce a new team, led by an arrogant Proctor, when we were trying to coordinate our efforts.
Rather than just tinkling, the Fae bells at the office door started jingling in a fierce melody. I frowned as a female walked through the door with a pit bull on a leash and a falcon on one shoulder.
“This isn’t an animal shelter,” Olivia said from where she sat behind her desk. I glanced at her T-shirt.
I DON’T NEED A WEAPON. I AM ONE.
Yeah, and you’d better watch out, I thought. It was easy to underestimate Olivia—until you got to know her.
“This is Megan, a Witch.” Armand extended his hand. “Along with Bruce, a Doppler.” He gestured to the pit bull, then the falcon. “And the bird is Tate. Bruce just prefers to be in animal form on Megan’s leash.”
The Witch continued to hold the leash as the pit bull morphed into a male with the body of a middle linebacker.
The falcon flew down from the female’s shoulder and seemed to hover in the air for a moment. Then Tate shift
ed into a tall, muscled, and heavily scarred male.
A short male with a runner’s physique came through the doorway—but he didn’t walk. He floated.
“Since when did Peter Pan become a Tracker?” Olivia said. A couple of those on my team laughed.
“Air is a Cloud Shifter.” Armand sounded clearly annoyed, but Air didn’t seem affected by Olivia’s crack.
I’d heard of Cloud Shifters but never met one. They could float in human form or shift into a cloud, both useful skills for moving around and reconnaissance.
Armand gestured to the door again. “And meet Cindy.” We all looked … and saw nothing. Then I noticed Ice staring at a black mouse scurrying in his direction.
Ice vanished and in his place, on the floor, was a white mouse, one of Ice’s preferred forms.
The mice scampered toward each other and rubbed noses.
I blinked. Then glanced at Armand, who was frowning.
Dave rolled his eyes. “Get a room.”
“I’ve got a shoe box.” Olivia leaned over her desk. “Better yet, I can get one of those cages with two hamster wheels.”
I shook my head. Olivia was in fine form today.
When Ice shifted, he rose up to his full intimidating height, his blue eyes glinting like sunlight on new-fallen snow.
Beside him, the black mouse shifted into a pretty, dark-haired female who was a couple of inches shorter than me.
I’d never, ever seen Ice look at anyone the way he looked at Cindy. His eyes had softened and his smile was almost gentle. But when he turned back at the other Trackers his characteristic smart-ass expression was fully in place.
“We grew up together.” Cindy had a soft, pleasant voice. She looked like the girl next door. She smiled up at him. “It’s good to see you, Ice.”
The look he gave her was enough to tell me that he loved her—and somewhere along the way she’d broken his ice-covered heart.
“Can we talk without a head rolling around?” Olivia said as she pointed to the floor. I’d forgotten all about poor Gary.
Desmond approached me and I nodded. Too late to worry about triggering Vampire straitjackets now.
He raised both hands this time and emitted more green light. This time his light formed a cube around Gary’s head and body. Desmond moved his hands in the direction of a corner of the office and we all watched the cube float there.
Then the cube shuddered—and began to shrink. We were mesmerized as the cube and the body inside it became smaller and smaller until it was the size of a golf ball. A loud pop and it vanished. All disappeared except for a small pool of blood the cube missed.
“That’s a handy skill.” Olivia jerked her head in Angel’s direction. “Can you make blondie over there disappear?”
I smiled. Olivia actually liked Angel and enjoyed teasing her.
“You left a mess.” The Witch looked at the pool of blood left on the floor and raised her hand. “I like to keep things tidy.” She snapped her fingers and the mess disappeared.
“Why don’t we get rid of our Shifter maids and hire Samantha here to snap her fingers?” Olivia said.
The Witch looked a little irritated and I thought perhaps it might not be a good idea to tease someone who could make things disappear. “Not Samantha. It’s Megan.”
Olivia shrugged. “Whatever.”
“How did you find us?” Angel asked Armand, drawing attention away from Olivia.
“It wasn’t difficult.” The Proctor’s arrogant demeanor had me grinding my teeth. “We are great Trackers, and great Trackers know how to find things. After all, the Vampires found you easily, so why not us?”
“Who do you think you are, penis head?” So much for drawing attention away from Olivia.
I mentally shook my head.
“What have you discussed in terms of a plan?” The Proctor turned to me. “Where are you and what has happened until this point? I’m aware of all that you have done until your last report yesterday.”
This took me off guard. He actually cared what we had been discussing before he arrived? I’d expected him to just toss it all out the window and do everything from scratch. Perhaps that’s what he was going to do anyway.
“We’re dividing up in teams.” I crossed my arms over my chest as I faced him. “There are twenty-five of us and fifteen territories to cover.
“Our priority,” I continued, “is to shake down Vampires and get what information we can gather in order to find Volod and stop him. We’re going to check every house, hole, bar, and haunt where Vampires are known to hang out.”
Armand looked at me expectantly, and I went on. “Vampire attacks have been increasing. Rumors are rampant that Trackers have lost control and Vampires can feed now. We believe that someone knows something. We’re going to shake as much as can be shaken and learn what we can.”
When I finished talking, he slowly nodded. “A good plan. However, I will be taking charge from this point on.”
I hadn’t expected anything different.
“We aren’t just fighting Vampires.” Armand met each of our gazes. “We’re fighting our own kind. And remember … the person next to you could become your enemy.”
TWENTY
If the Vampires didn’t kill Armand Despre, I might.
Only the light from the waxing moon illuminated the alleyway. My back brushed the brick wall behind me as I shifted my position behind the Dumpster.
I glanced at Armand. Complete arrogance was in the Proctor’s gaze, his posture, his very presence. No doubt he had chosen me to serve as his teammate to keep an eye on me.
A sword was sheathed at one side and a dagger to the other as he knelt beside me. It seemed as though his complete attention was on the mouth of the alley, but I felt that he was as keenly aware of my presence as I was of his.
I leaned forward, and moonlight peeked through the cloud cover and brushed my skin. The moon’s glow highlighted my cobalt hair and the light amethyst of my skin. I wrinkled my nose at the rotten scent of garbage coming from the Dumpster.
“I hope our intel is good,” I murmured. “According to the Vamp whom Lawan and Max shook down earlier, we should see some action soon. At least if the Vamp was telling the truth and Vampires do meet up here.”
“They do.”
Those two simple words and the tone of his voice made hair prickle at my nape. His self-confidence and complete and utter arrogance were clear.
“How are you so sure?” I asked and then wished I hadn’t.
“I sense they have been coming here a long time.” Armand glanced at me. “And I smell them. I am never wrong on this.” He looked back at the alleyway. “There is no better Vampire hunter.” It came out as fact.
The urge to slap him upside the head was strong. Someone needed to take Mr. Ego down a rung or two.
Colin’s humbleness was the opposite of this guy’s demeanor. Both had amazing powers, and from what I heard about Armand and knew of Colin, each was every bit as talented a Dragon. They just had different skill sets. Armand had chosen to be a Vampire specialist, and Colin had so many versatile abilities.
“How long have you been a Vampire hunter?” I asked to fill the silence.
“Many years now.” Armand continued to stare into the night. “There is no one as good as I am.” He glanced at me. “It is my specialty. I’ve been doing this for over twenty-five years, not to mention the fact that I am a Dragon.”
More and more points in the I’m-not-too-sure-of-this-guy column.
“What made you decide to specialize in Vampires?” I was genuinely curious.
“Two of my closest friends were turned.” He moved his attention away from me. “I had to kill one of them.”
My stomach cramped at the thought of being faced with that dilemma. I couldn’t imagine it.
“It is dangerous for a once-bitten Tracker to actually be going after Vampires,” Armand said. “I have thought about taking you off this case.”
“Who do you think you are?�
�� I scowled. “I have been laying my life on the line for a long time as a Tracker. If you think I’d back off this case now, you don’t know me well.
“I either go after Volod with your team,” I continued, “or I do it alone. I’ll worry about my personal risk. You don’t need to. I’ve gotten on just fine for years with my approach.”
“I worry what you could add to the other team if you are turned. If I become a Vamp,” he said, “I expect you to kill me. If you are turned, I will kill you.”
“I am clear what your position is.”
“I’m on a mission. If I had it my way I would not stop until every Vampire is dead. Because of the truce, of course, I can’t kill one until he crosses the line or I’d kill them all.”
“Where does that leave Volod’s bunch today?” I asked.
“Everyone on Volod’s team has crossed the line by my rules, so as far as I’m concerned they are dead.”
I looked at the shadows lying across the alleyway. “Is the Proctor Directorate going to have anyone talk with the Great Guardian?”
Armand was quiet for a moment. “There is no one,” he finally said.
I cut my gaze to him. “What do you mean?”
“Rodán and Monique were the only Light Elves with a connection to the Great Guardian,” Armand said. “The directorate never expected to lose either of them, much less both.”
That made my head spin. No liaisons to the GG? Someone would need to be.
My own senses kicked into gear at the same time Armand’s body tensed. Vampires—I caught their odor of old dirt and must.
“Six.” Armand stood, remaining behind the Dumpster, still close to me. He drew his sword, and the sharp edge glinted in the moonlight. “Vampires, not Vampire paranorms.”
The rush of blood in my ears intensified as I placed my hand on my buckler. I didn’t have that many sets of Vampire cuffs, and I didn’t think they were going to volunteer to come with us.
And then I sensed them, too. They made no sound as they approached but I could hear them, smell them, feel them. They said nothing as they pressed back farther into the alleyway, almost upon Armand and me.
Vampires Dead Ahead: A Night Tracker Novel Page 17
