Pride X Familiar ReVamp (Pride X ReVamp Book 1)

by Albert Ruckholdt

  “What the Hell happened?”

  I cleared my throat lightly before replying.

  “I ran into a little trouble.”

  Chapter 9.

  (Caelum)

  At the hospital I was quickly separated from Simone and Prissila.

  A group of men and women dressed in functional black business suits and wearing narrow, wraparound visors, were waiting for the ambulance to land at the hospital.

  Half their number escorted the doctors and nurses into the emergency ward.

  The other half escorted me to a room on a different level.

  They wore the crest of the Raynar Pride pinned to the left breast of their jackets.

  That alone was reason for me not to make a scene or argue with them.

  Inside the room, I sat on a chair before a rectangular white table, in the presence of two other Raynar special agents. At least, I assumed they were special agents. The room had the air of an interrogation room. I’d seen enough crime holovid movies to recognize it for what it was.

  Sunday did turn out to be a disaster.

  I was thinking of the events of the last half hour when a knock on the door preceded the entry of a tall young man with long black hair. He wore it loose, and it brushed his shoulders. Girls would undoubtedly find him easy on their eyes. I just felt a twinge of envy that I quickly kicked aside.

  Remembering my manners, I stood when he entered, and shook his hand when he offered.

  Why the Hell was I trying to make a good impression?

  Was it because of Simone?

  I’d had no news on either of the girls. My only other company in the room had been starkly silent after pointedly warning me not to ask any questions until the agent in charge arrived.

  I assumed this was him.

  “Caelum Desanto?” he asked, seeking confirmation.

  I gave him a short nod.

  “My name is Alessandro Alucard Raynar. Please, be seated.” After we both sat down on opposite sides of the table, he said, “Before we begin, I would like to thank you.”

  “How so?”

  “Simone is my younger cousin.”

  I felt my stomach tighten.

  It must have shown on my face because he smiled faintly and said, “Please be at ease. I doubt you were responsible for anything but saving her life.”

  “Have you spoken to her? How is she?”

  “Recovering. Before we go into details, I need to know what happened. Please, don’t leave anything out.”

  I stared at him and managed to hold back a frown. “Are you with the Enforcers?”

  He smiled thinly. “No, I’m with Public Security, Section Thirteen.”

  “I didn’t know Section Thirteen existed. I was told the sections ranged from zero to twelve.”

  He nodded very faintly. “Section Thirteen is a little different from the rest. We handle Executive Protection.”

  My frown almost slipped through.

  Did that mean the men I’d seen protecting Simone at the station were also part of Public Security? I had assumed they were family hired bodyguards, but maybe I was wrong.

  Alessandro tapped away at his palm-slate. “Now then, shall we continue? Tell us what happened, and as I said, don’t leave anything out. Even the smallest details can be of value.”

  I sat back in the chair and recounted the events from the time the restaurant was hit by the beam weapon, to the time I walked out of the ruined shop while carrying two unconscious women. However, I didn’t tell him about the girl’s offer to join Crimson Crescent.

  Alessandro made notes on his palm-slate.

  When I finished he asked me to tell it to him again.

  I sat in silence.

  “Mr. Desanto, I asked you not to leave anything out.”

  “I heard you,” I replied in a low voice.

  He eyed me for a moment, then placed his palm-slate on the table between us. I watched him lace his fingers together. “Mr. Desanto, do you understand your position?”

  “You already know what happened inside the restaurant because you were listening in on us.” I tipped my head slightly. “Simone was wearing something, wasn’t she. A tracking device, or wireless bug. Something that recorded conversations. Am I right?”

  “She is an important daughter of the Alucard Family. Naturally precautions are taken to ensure her safety when she’s out-and-about town.”

  “Then you know I had nothing to do with that attack.”

  “To be honest, we cannot completely rule out your deliberate participation in the event.”

  “What? You really suspect I had a hand in that massacre? Are freaking serious?”

  “I asked you to leave nothing out.”

  I nodded. “Which is exactly why I did. Now I know I was right. You already knew what happened in there.”

  He studied me in complete silence for a long moment. “Why didn’t you accept the girl’s offer?”

  “I had no reason to.”

  “You don’t feel a kinship to Familiars?”

  “I don’t like people that run around blowing other people away. It doesn’t matter to me whether they are Familiars, Regulars or Aventis. I simply won’t accept acts of terrorism as a fair means to wage war. Those Aventis were innocent civilians. Crimson Crescent had no right to kill them. If they wanted to target Aventis, then they should have aimed for you special agent types.”

  “And indeed they do,” he replied matter-of-factly.

  “Huh?”

  “Crimson Crescent and the Prides are effectively at war with each other. There have been losses on both sides.”

  This was news to me.

  With the Prides controlling all aspects of Pharos, then a media or news blackout on the struggle between both sides was not impossible.

  I was living in a cocoon, or should I say under a rock the Prides had dropped on me and the civilian population of Pharos.

  I swallowed as lightly as I could. “So that’s what she meant by the Prides killing her comrades.” I remembered something else she said. “Did Crimson Crescent really blow up that super freighter that killed my parents?”

  “They did indeed.”

  “So she was trying to bait me with the promise of learning the truth.”

  “Indeed she was. Of course, if you wish to learn what Crimson Crescent has to say, then by all means join them. However, we simply ask that you leave the Fragment behind.”

  I laughed in disbelief.

  “Are you telling me I’m free to make my own choice? You’re not going to stop me?”

  “Familiars are rare, and highly valued because they serve a purpose. However, we can do without Familiars that pose a security concern. You’re Fragment is a rare piece. We could do without it falling into their hands.”

  I stared at him for a moment. “I’m starting to see why Crimson Crescent hates your kind more than I do.”

  He blinked at that. “Should we be concerned about you, Mr. Desanto?”

  I swallowed tightly before replying. “I won’t answer any more of your questions unless a representative of the Lanfear Pride is present.”

  “You misunderstand, Mr. Desanto, we’re not charging you with a crime. We’re simply asking for your co-operation.”

  I sat back in the chair. “I want to speak to my Guardian, Arisa Imreh Lanfear.”

  He started to stay something, but glanced away as though listening to something in his ear. A moment later he pocketed the palm-slate he’d placed on the table.

  “It appears our time here is at an end.” He rose to his feet unhurried, then nodded at one of the two visor wearing agents in the room. The man walked across to the door and opened it.

  Almost on cue, a familiar young woman with flowing coppery red hair stepped into the room. She was short, perhaps a tad over five foot five, and dressed in dark denim pants, boots, a summer blouse, and denim bolero jacket much like the one Simone had worn.

  Speak of the Devil and ‘she’ shall come.

  Arisa Imreh
Lanfear – in the flesh.

  The woman whose blood had triggered my awakening into the life of a Familiar.

  Alessandro faced her and bowed to her politely.

  A blink and I would have missed the slap she gave him. The impact rocked him on his feet. However, he managed to retain his composure and simply looked down at her as though she were a child playing at being an adult.

  She looked up at him with faintly veiled disgust.

  “Alessandro, don’t ever disrespect my Familiar, or any of them for that matter. Be thankful your people are still alive. If she hadn’t been there it could have been much, much worse. A lot more of your men could have died.”

  What did she mean? Who was she talking about?

  I suddenly thought of Caprice and remembered her telling me she needed to contact Arisa. Had something happened to Caprice when we parted ways? Was she attacked or found herself in the middle of another fight?

  Alessandro straightened slowly.

  Arisa added softly, “Are you looking to start a conflict with the Lanfears? Do the Raynars seek a war on two fronts?” She tipped her head to one side. “Tell me Alessandro, did you have anything to do with that little ‘incident’ seven months ago. Caprice still bears a grudge against the Raynars stemming from that time.”

  “Careful, Lanfear,” he warned. “It’s dangerous to make unwarranted allegations. You may find yourself facing the Primogen Council for your insinuations.”

  Arisa smiled thinly up at him.

  “I’ll gladly stand before the Council. After all, I still haven’t forgiven the bad apples in your Pride for taking action against mine. To be fair to the Raynars, it’s a pity those few spoil the bunch.” Arisa glanced at me. “And now I’ll be taking my Familiar with me.”

  “You’re playing with fire, Arisa.”

  “I don’t play with fire, Alessandro. I wield it. Fire is a tool, something the first cave men on Earth learnt to use thousands upon thousands of years ago.”

  “Is that how you see them? As nothing more than tools?”

  “I see them as much more. I see them as people. I see them as kin—distant kin, but kin nonetheless.” She took a step closer to him. “We should be giving Familiars a reason to trust us, and to work with us—to help us protect our homes and our families. Instead, you’re treating them like the enemy, even those that save your cousin’s life, and the lives of others.”

  For a short while they simply stared hard at each other.

  Then I noticed Arisa look at him with a deep hurt in her eyes, and I just caught her whispered words.

  “…you’ve changed so much I hardly recognize you….”

  I saw hurt bloom across Alessandro’s face.

  Arisa turned away from him. “Caelum, let’s go.”

  I chose to ignore Alessandro as I followed Arisa out of the room. In the corridor outside three other men were waiting for us, each one marking the special agent by the door. These were Arisa’s men. They were Lanfears. Like Arisa, they were dressed casually, but I had the feeling they were armed which made them Lanfear guardsmen.

  The formed a protective cordon around Arisa and I.

  Rather than take the elevator, we descended down the stairs.

  It wasn’t until we were down in the hospital’s parking garage that I spoke again. I was simply too concerned about being overheard.

  “Lady Arisa, thank you.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. Let’s talk in the van.”

  The van was one of three parked near each other. They were black and non-descript, with polarized, reinforced windows, and metal skin resistant to kinetic weapons. They had wheels to travel on, but possessed effect-field levitators that gave them the ability to hover or fly a few feet off the ground. Able to pressurize, they could travel between the Islands through the vacuum of space so long as they kept to specific ‘lanes’. If they travelled off these lanes it was considered going, ‘off-road’.

  To put it simply, these vans were like small shuttles, each one almost half the length of an inter-Island bus.

  I climbed after Arisa into the closest of the three vans. One of the guardsmen climbed into the passenger area with us. The other two were designated driver and shotgun.

  The small convoy of three vehicles drove out of the parking garage sublevels in single file. In the passenger area Arisa sat across from me. I faced forwards while she faced toward the back of the van.

  Again, I was first to break the silence between us. “Lady Arisa, I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing by accompanying Simone and Prissila to the hospital.”

  “You’re not at fault. I should have warned you about the Raynars’ upper enforcement echelons.” She stared at out the window with a self-deprecating expression. “I should have warned you about him….”

  “Should I be worried?”

  She inhaled deeply and loudly. “You are my Familiar. You are under my authority and protection.” She turned to look at me sharply. “Caelum, that sounds like I own you, but I don’t want you thinking that way. I’m sorry. I just don’t know how to express our relationship properly.”

  I gave her slow shake of my head. “I understand what you mean. I think of you as…a really rich and powerful aunt.”

  “An aunt?” Her eyes widened.

  “Yeah.” I suddenly understood the nature of her reaction. “A really, really young and beautiful aunt.”

  “Eh…well, if you put it that way….”

  “Lady Arisa, did something happen to Caprice?”

  She blinked and then narrowed her eyes. “The Raynars tried to apprehend her on suspicion of involvement in the attack. But the situation became ‘complicated’ and now she’s waiting in one of our safe houses until I speak to her later.”

  “Complicated?”

  “Yes, we’ll talk about it later. For now, I’ve lodged a formal complaint through official channels against the Raynar special operatives.” She grinned. “Oddly enough, the Avenirs appear to be on our side.”

  “Huh?”

  “It seems that Prissila’s people were monitoring the situation when the attack happened. And they also have a recording of it.”

  “You mean, everything—everything I said while around them was being recorded.”

  Arisa nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  I felt a wave of horror surge through me. “Everything that’s happened in the Academy?”

  Arisa shook her head. “No. Believe me when I say Simone and Prissila are afforded some privacy within Academy grounds. In fact, you could say that only when they’re in the Academy do they get to let their hair down.”

  “Damn that Countess. She asked me out while knowing everything I said was being monitored.”

  “No, not monitored. Simply recorded. For Alessandro to learn what happened inside the restaurant he needed to access the recording chip on Simone’s clothes. The attack gave him the authority to do so.”

  I thought I understood what she meant.

  However, it still meant they had access to everything I said to her because they now had the chip.

  I started thinking back through the day, wondering if there was anything I said that might hurt me, Arisa or the Lanfears.

  “Oh no,” I whispered.

  “Caelum, what is it?”

  I looked into Arisa’s eyes. “Lady Arisa, I messed up. I told Simone that I believe my Fragment is not a Fragment but an Artifact.”

  Arisa tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

  “Three times now I’ve seen my Fragment as part of a larger whole.”

  “That’s normal. Familiars have experienced those visions before.”

  I opened my mouth then closed it slowly. “I see….”

  “Relax Caelum. We have a fairly good idea what the Fragments looked like when put together.”

  “Something like an armor, or an armor-skin?”

  She nodded. “That’s right.”

  I breathed out a heavy sigh in relief.r />
  Arisa reached across a little further and took both my hands in hers. “Caelum, tell me what happened. Tell me everything.”

  I stared into her eyes for a long moment. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything. But will you tell me something in return?”

  “Within reason.”

  It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it was a case of take it or leave it.

  “Do you believe Crimson Crescent was responsible for the super freighter explosion five —no, almost six years ago now?”

  “I do.” She answered me without a hint of doubt in her voice or in her emerald eyes.

  I started to breathe a little easier.

  “However,” she added softly, “I believe the Prides were also responsible.”

  “How so?”

  “Because that freighter was carrying Artifacts.” She squeezed my hands. “It’s taken me a long time to learn as much. After all, I’m not much older than you. Alessandro was only half-right. I’m not playing with fire. I’m using fire to fight fire, and I’m doing it in an adult’s world.” She smiled half-heartedly. “And people don’t see me as an adult just yet.”

  She released my hands and sat back. A heartbeat later she gazed through the window at the habitat buildings the van was driving by.

  I studied her for a moment. She looked weary, as though squaring off against the Raynars had depleted her strength. I almost didn’t want to ask my next question, but now that she was here I took the opportunity to do so.

  “Arisa, do you believe the threat to the Academy is real?”

  She faced me fully. “I do. Otherwise I wouldn’t have allowed you and Caprice to work with Simone and Severin. There is a threat to the school, I just don’t know how big of a threat. Today’s events have really driven that home. I suspect a number of the Powers-that-be in high levels of authority are beginning to rethink their strategies. If they weren’t taking Crimson Crescent serious before, they will now. Perhaps, just perhaps, this might be enough to move those within the Sanctum.”

  “The Sanctum?”

  She snorted. “Consider them the highest level of public security here in Pharos, but below the authority of the Primogen Council.”

  That was something new to consider, a level of power I didn’t know existed.