by Dale Mayer
"And that's why we can't leave this to the Councils. We have to make sure they do what's right."
She sighed and said something, but she was too far away for Tessa to hear. She turned to Goran and said, "Where's Councilman Adamson?"
"At the Council Hall," Goran said. "The fastest way to get there would be to fly."
David shook his head. "Cody shouldn't, I can't, and Tessa's head injury means no jumping for her. You can meet us there if you want, but I'll drive."
Goran nodded. "Make sure the three of you stay together."
"And you stay safe," Tessa said. "Not all humans sleep at night, and if you're visible in the air, you're also a target for shooters."
He paused, considered the options, nodded once, and said, "They won't get a second shot."
And she had to be satisfied with that.
She turned to her brother. "Shall we?"
"Are you sure you want to come, Tessa?" David asked. "It's going to be hard to go to school in a few hours without any sleep."
She winced. "I know. Still I should go to school, only there's not much choice. I'll have to find a quiet place at the hall where I can crash for an hour or two."
"You could skip the day at school," Cody said. "You're a top student. You'll catch up fast enough."
"I'm considering it except I should speak to the principal. See if he understands what's brewing." She followed them outside. "I'll see when the time comes."
David led the way to the car. She got into the middle of the front seat, Cody beside her. She leaned her head on Cody's shoulder and said, "Wake me when we get there."
And closed her eyes.
***
Cody tucked Tessa in closer and stared out into the murky night. He'd done so much lately he'd been losing track of day and night. He was also in school and had no idea where his own college classes were at. For all he knew, the school had closed for a few days because of this problem.
"Are you okay?" David asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Mom got her claws into you, I hear."
Cody snorted. "Yeah, she tried to. Woke Tessa up when she was supposed to be in a healing sleep."
"I was actually outside for a bit. Too scared to get involved." He chuckled. "Mom is quite the force when she gets going. But you survived."
Cody smiled, glanced down at the sleeping woman in his arms, and said, "I survived because of your sister. She came down and stood up to your mother."
"Really? Damn, I wish I'd seen that."
"Took the stuffing right out of Rhia." Cody leaned his head back. "It's not like I could say much to defend myself."
"I'm actually surprised that Dad didn't go after you, too."
"We settled our differences in the mine. Your mom missed that."
"And that was too bad."
"Hopefully she's good now."
"Yeah." David was quiet for a few more minutes. "You know that she's not ready, right?"
Cody groaned silently. "I'm glad everyone is concerned about my sex life. However, I never had any problem before, and I don't expect to have any now." He snorted. "I won't push Tessa into doing anything she's not comfortable doing."
Giggles rippled in his mind. He glanced down at Tessa.
I thought you were asleep?
Not quite.
Enjoying my being grilled by yet another family member, huh, he said in disgust.
No. But happy to hear you are doing just fine defending yourself. Families are tough, but they are all we've got.
He thought about that. You're lucky you have everyone.
Yes, she whispered. And I'm so sorry about Tyson.
Don't be. He shifted slightly to settle her more comfortably against his chest. He had one burning question in his mind. The same question everyone else had cared about. Damn it.
What?
Nothing. He winced, knowing she'd know that he was lying.
No. I'm not ready. But that doesn't mean I won't be ready tomorrow. Or later today. Or if we were alone and had time, in an hour.
Don't do that to me. He groaned. That is sheer torture.
Honestly, I'm not sure I'll be ready for months yet. This is all so new.
And it should be new. Just because I have some experience with relationships doesn't mean I have experience with anything like what we have. He took a deep breath and knew that what he was going to say was going to cost him, but he had to be honest. I don’t want you to be intimate with me because you think that's what I want. Oh, I want to be alone with you. In a big way. There is so much to introduce you to…he paused then continued painfully. I don't want making love to be a tool, a power trip, or a bargain between us. I want you to want me as much as I want you.
The warm breath of air brushed the gentlest of kisses through his soul. A shiver slipped down his spine.
Not a problem. She smiled. I'm almost there.
Ah Jesus, Tessa. You need to get ready damn fast.
"Hey, are you two talking or sleeping." David's irritated voice interrupted them.
"We're both here."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." David said. "Damn irritating."
Tessa laughed, the sound rippling through the car. "Sorry, David. It's taking a bit to figure this out."
"Ha. The only thing to figure out is that you shouldn't do it around others."
"Not going to happen," Tessa said cheerfully as she sat up. "So get used to it."
Cody shifted around to look out the window. "Where are we?"
"Almost at Adamson's place."
"I thought he was at the Council offices?" Cody said.
"This is on the way. Thought we'd stop by and check here first."
As he stopped talking, he turned the powerful car to the left, took another left, and pulled into a huge driveway.
"I wonder how he's doing after Gloria," Tessa said. "That had to have been horrible."
"He finished her off," David said, "So I imagine that part helped."
Cody agreed. Betrayal was one thing, but a chance at revenge – priceless.
***
Rhia strode into the Council building. Sian was waiting for her.
"I just spoke to Taz. The medical community is worried. Fights are breaking out all over the place. Small groups are stirring up trouble."
"That is so not good. Did you contact the Human Council yet?"
"They aren't answering. It's early for them."
"And yet this needs to happen," Serus interjected, "So we have to get them up."
Sian nodded. "I've been trying. So far no one is answering."
Rhia frowned. "We have their home numbers. Why wouldn't they answer?"
Sian shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Unless they know who is calling and are trying to avoid talking to us," Serus suggested.
"That would not be good," Sian said. "But given the hour of the morning, I think it's more likely that most of them are asleep. We just have to be the first people they hear from in the morning.
"Do we have the address of the members we met with earlier? If so, why don't we go to their houses and wake them up? If there's an uprising brewing, it's going to be early intervention that shifts the power struggle here."
Sian tilted her head slightly, considering the idea. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. They are intimidated by us already. It will seem overwhelming to them if three of us arrive at their homes."
Rhia could understand that, but given that they had to stay up late, it seemed only fair that the humans could get up early to meet them halfway. "What do you suggest?"
"How about we send humans to their houses?" Sian suggested. "Although I'd have to contact Taz and find out who he'd suggest."
"Is that a good idea? Bringing in strangers when we can't be sure whose side they are on? The only humans I trust are Taz and Jared. Taz is needed at the hospital, and Jared is still a kid," Serus said, frowning at her.
"And Jared's been involved enough. We need to keep him out of trouble."
"And yet he's
been our warning signal already," Sian reminded Rhia. "He would make a great liaison."
***
Wendy walked into the hospital, a hospital she hadn't known existed until this blood farm mess, and walked up to the front desk. She smiled at the receptionist. "When I was leaving last time, Ian was being moved to another room. What room is that? I've brought a change of clothes for him."
The receptionist held out her hand. "I'll take the stuff to him. Thanks."
"No. I want to give it to him. I also want to see him." Wendy couldn't have explained why her fingers locked on the bag she was carrying or why her back went up at the idea of this woman giving Ian his stuff. Ian was hers, damn it, and she'd done a lot to make sure that guy survived the damn mountain. She wasn't going to dump him here.
"I need to see him myself," she said firmly.
And waited.
The receptionist gave her a razor thin smile. "Sorry, Ian's condition has been downgraded. He's no longer allowed visitors."
Wendy felt something wobble inside. She steadied herself. "Then you must be thinking about someone else. Ian was fine when I left him a few hours ago. They were moving him to another room, and they said I could see him when I returned." She hardened her voice, fear giving her an edge. "Guess what? I've returned and I want to see Ian."
The receptionist smiled, a slow chilling movement that sent shards of ice down Wendy's back. "Ian isn't allowed any visitors."
Wendy studied her, then dropped her gaze to the name tag. Misha.
"Well, Misha. I suggest you tell me his room number before I decide to take this way above your pay—"
"What appears to be the problem here?"
Wendy turned and sighed with relief. "I told you I'd only be gone an hour." She held up the bag for Ian. "Now where is Ian so I can give him his clothes?"
The doctor gave her a somber look. "I'm sorry. After you left, he took a sudden downward turn. We had to isolate him. He's in a special ward with round-the-clock care. You can be sure we're doing everything we can for him." As the doctor spoke, he urged Wendy back out the front door. "If you want to leave the bag, I'll be sure to get it to him when he wakes up."
Wendy shook off his arm. She hadn't gone through what she had without learning something, and her instinct said this doctor was trouble. And that she was in trouble. Worse, so was Ian. "You're lying. And I will see you in hell before I believe a word that is coming out of your damn mouth."
His face went granite hard. "I was afraid you'd be trouble." He shifted and Wendy caught a glimpse of a needle in his hand. Uh oh. She twisted, ducked, and bolted for the front door.
"Stop her. Call security. She can't leave the grounds. Stop her!"
***
Jared dressed for school. He'd rather leave super early than lie here for another hour. He didn't think he'd closed his eyes for longer than a couple of hours, and those hadn't been restful. He walked downstairs to find the kitchen empty again. He shook his head. What the hell was everyone doing? He headed to the office and looked inside. Empty. He wandered through the other rooms. Everything was empty. He spun around, suddenly worried. It was early – but surely there was someone here.
He wandered throughout the place, more disturbed with every passing moment.
Where were the night staff? Some of the kids here needed serious assistance. Then he realized the night staff were likely attending to the other kids upstairs.
He hated that deserted feeling. Walking back, he stepped into the office for a second glance. Instinct had him walking around the big overloaded desk.
And found one of the missing staff.
Crumpled on the floor.
He raced to the man's side. With two fingers, he checked for a pulse but knew instantly there was nothing to be done. The man's flesh, thick and pudgy, was already cool.
Jared straightened. He had to call the cops, but he hated to. They'd look at him as a suspect again. And he'd had enough of that. He should go back to his room and wait. If he left early like he'd planned, the cops would get suspicious yet again.
He stared down at the dead man and realized his fingerprints might be detectable. Might not be, but he wasn't willing to take the chance.
Feeling foolish, he took a tissue and wiped the spot he'd touched. Then retraced his steps back to the kitchen. The last thing on his mind was food.
Another sick thought caught him. What if the other staff members were dead as well? Surely they'd have called the cops about their friend. He turned back in the direction of the office. Why had he assumed the death was foul play? Maybe the guy had a heart attack. He hadn't seen any blood. Or visible trauma. Now he felt a bigger fool. If it was a natural death, the cops wouldn't give a damn who found him.
Jared retraced his steps to his room. He checked every open door on his way – and found nothing or anyone.
Crap. Now what should he do?
Chapter 8
Tessa exited the car outside Councilman Adamson's place and stretched under the gray-just-before-dawn sky. They didn't have much time before the sun rose. Hopefully they could get to the Vampire Council by then. "Do you think he's home? The house looks pretty deserted. And dark," she added as an afterthought. "Then again, he could be already in bed."
"Or not." Cody pointed to the sky and the large shadow circling overhead. "Wonder what the chances are of that being him?"
David looked up. "If it is, why won't he come down here?"
"Because he doesn't know us. Or trust us. Because someone close to him tried to kill him." Tessa waved skyward. The circle swooped lower and lower and lower.
Finally Councilman Adamson landed in front of them, his cold gaze going from one to the other. "Visitors again. I could go months to years without a visitor and yet in the last few days I've had several."
"Getting popular, sir," David said with a grin.
"This kind of popularity I could do without." He glared at them. "I presume you kids have a specific reason for coming?"
"We need to talk to you. As your place was on the way to the Council Hall, we thought we'd stop here and see if you were home."
"And now that you know?" His demeanor eased slightly. "What can I do for you?"
Tessa studied the man she knew only by sight and realized he looked weary. As if in the aftermath of the bitter betrayal, life wasn't worth living anymore.
"I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice. "For your loss. And for the damage she caused."
Adamson pinned her with a sharp piercing gaze. She felt a tingle, as if he could see into the heart of her. "Tessa, Councilman Serus and Rhia's daughter, I presume."
He spoke in such a quiet tone of voice, she didn't know how to take it. She didn't hear anything condescending. Going on instinct, she nodded and said, "Yes, I'm Tessa. The one Gloria worked hard to kill – quite possibly by the hand of my brother Seth."
His eyes glittered. "That woman has a lot to answer for."
Adamson switched his gaze to David and then Cody. He nodded to both of them. "The three musketeers. Although there is normally a couple others in your group. Haven't you stirred up enough trouble?"
"We didn't stir up anything," Tessa said coolly, "The situation was waiting to explode."
"True indeed." He studied the males. "Why are you here now?"
David explained about the texts from Jared and the calls from Taz. The Councilman listened quietly, shaking his head every once in a while. "That's not surprising. We'll have to stomp the resistance out of course, and fast. That I'd like this to go away doesn't mean it will."
"I wish it would though," Tessa said. "I've had enough war to last a while."
"Me too," said Cody.
The Councilman smiled a real smile this time, maybe with a tinge of respect. "You've grown up through this mess. War will do that." He walked up the stairs, the front door opening automatically in front of him.
It was that door, so reminiscent of Moltere's Mountain, that made her pause, her breath catching in the back of her throat.
And damn if his energy didn't swirl with black.
"Crap," she whispered.
Cody stopped mid-stride. He spun around. "Crap what?" he said in a hoarse whisper.
"His energy," she hissed. "It's nearly all black."
David was at the front door already. He turned around, but kept walking backwards. "Hey you two, what's going on?"
Cody motioned to him to step back down. Only David continued walking backwards into the house. Tessa glanced at Cody and then at David. "I don't know what the black is, so let's stick with David."
Cody, as if realizing that David was about to be separated from them if that trick door shut, ran up the stairs after him.
"What's the matter?" Councilman Adamson said from deep inside the house. "You're all acting like this is a trap."
"And maybe it is," Tessa said. "Nothing personal, but we haven't found many vampires lately that we can trust."
"Your parents trust me," he said in an affronted voice.
"They trusted many vampires, Councilmen even, that they shouldn't have." Cody snorted. "And that didn't turn out so well for us as several tried to kill us."
"Good point. I knew they were involved but wasn't aware that they'd personally attacked you." He opened his mouth, hesitated then asked, "How did you get away? They were ancients with serious skills."
David laughed. "They were. But we had a secret weapon and some friends that were on our side."
Tessa didn't think Bart counted, but finding vamps like Motre had been a godsend. But she stayed quiet and studied the corner where the Councilman's voice came from. She understood Gloria had lived here with him. She racked her brain trying to think of reasons why his energy would be cloudy and dark. Was he ill? Had Gloria poisoned him? Or was he taking enhancements? Yet supposedly Gloria had tried to kill him, only when she failed, he'd killed her. But could he have been a part of this mess and Gloria had planned to get rid of him anyway? Once again, nothing was clear and straightforward.
