Key to Justice

by Talia Gryphon

  He was of Dracula’s line. That had to be it. The timing would make sense; he was six hundred years old, Romanian by birth. Yup. He was one of the Fanged Prince’s flunkies. No wonder he was making her Spidey senses tingle. Peter Parker would be impressed.

  “So, do virgins taste better?” Gill quipped, giving him what she hoped was a conspiratorial smile. She wanted to deflect his intensity while she processed this newfound tidbit of information.

  Csangal threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Half the Inn’s contingent jumped at the sudden ascent into Vampire hilarity. She was too much. He had made her uncomfortable and she responded with humor.

  Perhaps Humans were more interesting and entertaining than he believed. No, no, he could not be that wrong. Amusing, perchance, but still the inferior species; still food. Food might be amusing but one did not become emotionally attached to it.

  “Oh, Dr. Key.” He was chuckling, wiping his eyes. “You are a delight.”

  “I’m simply thrilled to have amused you,” she said dryly.

  “Forgive me”—he was still chortling—“but your new circumstance must present some difficulties in your personal relationship.”

  She completely missed him saying relationship as a single entity. “Yes . . . well, no, my”—Great Ganesh, what the hell was Aleksei to her—“boyfriend has plans for a romantic evening. I’m sure everything will be back to normal soon.”

  His extraordinary mind was suddenly awhirl. Fate had brought him to her. Fate had dropped exactly what he had needed and prayed for right into his hands. This was a true miracle. A miracle for him. He felt hope leap in his soul for the first time in six hundred years.

  Guilt twitched at the edge of his consciousness. He had abandoned his Faith centuries ago, yet God had ascertained in His wisdom to grant him this miracle now. Why? Because now was the time. It had to be just that simple.

  What had she said? Back to normal? Did she mean sleeping with Rachlav to alleviate this “problem”? This would not do at all. He had to act. This was too great a prize to let slip away in Aleksei Rachlav’s bed.

  God, fate, karma, the powers that be had delivered this treasure right into his eager hands. If he ignored it, squandered it, wasted the opportunity, who could say when it would come again? If it would come again. He had to act.

  “Gillian . . .” His voice was a compelling, sultry purr.

  Unable to help herself, Gillian raised her eyes to his and was at once lost in the glacial green regard. Those eyes were so sincere, rife with power, beauty, compassion. She felt her automatic defenses adjust to accommodate her newfound trust for Csangal. He was absolutely honorable; she had nothing to fear from him or his intentions.

  No! Her instincts warred among themselves, empathy screaming at her to get the hell out of there fast, away from the treacherous Vampire. This was dangerous. Yet . . . he wasn’t dangerous, was he? He wasn’t treacherous. He was only a lost soul, hurting . . . A patient, nothing more . . . and so much more. He was beautiful; he was hazardous; he was . . . lying.

  The lie was there but she couldn’t find the essence of it, nor could she focus her inherent talent toward him. There was no beginning, no end, no specifics in Csangal’s psyche that she could pinpoint with certainty. He was more deceitful, more dangerous, than anything she had ever encountered. She couldn’t say why or how; she just knew he was supplanting her survival instincts with his own intentions, and she couldn’t stop him.

  She needed to tell Aleksei. She should call out for Aleksei; she had a link with him, and she needed him. Something was very wrong . . . and yet . . . Csangal needed her. Needed her for some important reason, some great purpose. She would help him. She had to help him. Everything depended on her assistance. It was her job. It was her duty.

  Csangal studied her as he subverted her own thinking, turning it against her. She couldn’t trust her feelings, her thoughts, her instincts . . . but she could trust him. It was difficult, he found. He actually had to exert himself a little to subdue her. She had a much stronger strength of character than he had anticipated. A will and resolve that had nothing to do with Aleksei Rachlav’s blood or influence. Interesting. Gillian Key was without a doubt remarkable . . . for a Human.

  “What do you need from me?” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his.

  “Cooperation,” Csangal murmured, taking her hand in his own and kissing it.

  “Okay.”

  The gloriously handsome Vampire exited the Inn with his petite therapist tucked under his arm. No one noticed because he had clouded their minds. Nobody on the street saw him shift into a steel gray dragon with mysterious green eyes or scoop the woman up into his powerful forelimbs. There would be no witnesses to tell about the dragon’s launch or his flight to the North, toward Brasov; toward his waiting plane. No one could remember exactly whether or not Dr. Key had been in that evening or had met with a client in the private dining area of the Inn. In fact, nothing was there except her scent.

  Nothing.

  Nothing was what Aleksei and Daedelus found once they went to the village to look for Gillian when she didn’t return. Aleksei tried to locate her mentally. He hated to invade her privacy, knowing how much she shied away from the depth of intimacy their mental link gave, but it wasn’t like her to be late and not contact anyone. When he got the equivalent of a blank void where Gillian’s tumultuous presence should have been, icy fear shot through him. Déjà vu. It was just like when Tanis went missing.

  “Who was she supposed to be meeting here?” Daedelus wanted to know.

  “Dr. Aristophenes, Gillian is a consummate professional. This patient requested complete and total privacy; she would not violate that for any reason. I have no way of knowing her schedule, other than that she did have a patient to see here, this evening.” Aleksei uncharacteristically sounded rather put out.

  “I didn’t mean to cast aspersions on our fair therapist, Aleksei. I was hoping she had written it down or logged it in the Institute’s main schedule on the computer,” Daed said quietly.

  He looked at the tall, gray-eyed Vampire beside him. Aleksei was more agitated than Daed had ever seen him. Something was very wrong.

  “I cannot feel Gillian through our link,” Aleksei stated, no emotion whatsoever in his voice.

  “You have a blood bond with her?” Daed was impressed.

  “Yes, I do.” The gray eyes morphed into gleaming silver. Yup, he was disconcerted.

  “I have to admit that I am impressed. I never thought Gillian would allow anyone to get that close to her.”

  Aleksei disregarded his commentary. “Be that as it may, Doctor, she is missing. If you have records on the Institute’s main computer, please contact the castle and have Helmut or Cassiopeia look them up.” As nicely as it was worded, it wasn’t a request.

  Daed flipped open his cell phone and quickly dialed the castle. One of the Brownies answered. After a quick rundown about this particular patient’s privacy issues, Daed convinced the little Being that he could not be of help and to locate Dr. Helmut or Dr. Cassiopeia as quickly as possible.

  “Daed, the Brownie tells me that you need some information regarding Gillian.” Helmut’s Austrian accent was unmistakable.

  “Gillian is missing, Helmut. I need to know who she was meeting tonight for a session at the Inn. It may be important,” Daed informed him.

  He listened for a few moments, then told Aleksei the news. “She was meeting a Vampire, the new one . . . Helmut says the name she has listed is ‘Chahn-gell.’ Oh wait—it’s spelled C-s-a-n-g-a-l. Csangal.”

  Aleksei literally went bone white, his eyes wide with obvious alarm as he gripped Daed’s shoulders. “Csangal? You are absolutely certain that is the name?”

  Daed repeated the request to Helmut. Receiving an affirmative, he told Helmut to hold on and reached out to steady Aleksei. “What’s wrong?”

  “Csangal is a Romanian verb, from the Székely dialect. It means literally ‘to roam’ or ‘to wander.�
� I know it also as a name; a particular name in reference to a specific person. One of many he is known by.”

  Daedelus wasn’t stupid. Aleksei’s obvious reaction spoke volumes about a mere name being upsetting to a Vampire Lord.

  “What specific person?” Daed felt his own mouth go dry. He was definitely not going to like the answer.

  “Dracula. It is one of his secret names known only to his progeny.”

  “Oh, Jesus.”

  Ignoring Daed, Aleksei reached out to his mentors: “Osiris . . . Dionysus . . . Dracula has Gillian.”

  CHAPTER 5

  “I need you, brother,” Aleksei intoned to Tanis through their link.

  “I will return at once,” Tanis responded straightaway.

  Tanis and Jenna had been in Egypt, trying to sort through their relationship after the Jack the Ripper fiasco. Aleksei’s golden-eyed brother had been showing his new girlfriend around the magnificent archaeological finds and museums in the land of the pharaohs.

  “Osiris and a few others will accompany me,” Tanis told him after a moment.

  “I am grateful and honored,” Aleksei said to Tanis and to the Egyptian Lord.

  “Of course, my friend,” Osiris responded. “Your lady is in dire peril. All efforts must be made to locate her, and quickly. We shall be there within a night.”

  Aleksei managed a brief smile, thinking of Gillian as his “lady,” though he knew she would not approve of the moniker. He was grateful beyond words that the Egyptian Vampires would be available to help him.

  Dionysus also checked in; he would arrive in Romania sooner than Osiris. Aleksei was immeasurably grateful to the Greek Lord for committing to his cause as well.

  “Gillian indirectly brought me my mate,” Dionysus said through their link. “Even without my pledge to assist in Dracula’s destruction, I owe my happiness to her.”

  “And I thank you,” Aleksei confirmed. The Greek Vampire was as powerful and ancient as Osiris. Their assistance, knowledge and skill would be invaluable in locating and rescuing Gillian.

  Gillian. Aleksei tried to keep from shaking; whether it was from fear or rage, he could not tell. They had exercised a methodical search of the Inn, of the village of Sacele and of the surrounding area. Still nothing.

  This was not her fault. She had taken every precaution: she had told her colleagues where she was going and when to expect her return; she met with her mysterious client in a safe, public place; she was a capable soldier, a brilliant psychologist . . . and very, very Human. If Dracula had taken her, it was because he had cloaked himself exceedingly well. Well enough that even Aleksei had not perceived their deadliest collective enemy being literally on his doorstep.

  Dracula had been able to deceive all of them, even with Aleksei’s own newfound powers and recent metamorphosis into a Lord. Aleksei recognized he’d been too trusting, too naïve, too altruistic, believing that his province was reasonably safe after the death of Jack. He felt more shame than he had ever known but shoved it aside. Finding Gillian was his only priority. Self-recriminations could wait till she was on his lands and safe in his arms once more. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

  Gillian, or any other Human for that matter, would have been no match for the Dark Prince’s spectacular abilities. She had never been completely at the mercy of a hostile Vampire Lord before. Nor would she have any reason to suspect her patient to be anything other than exactly as he presented himself: a Being in emotional pain and need. Nothing in her life’s experiences or from her professional training could have prepared her for this.

  Helmut and Daed went through her notes from prior sessions with Csangal after Aleksei broke the news about the mystery Vampire’s identity. Gillian had written that he was a six-hundred-year-old Master Vampire suffering from paranoia, depression and megalomania; she had indicated that she wanted to research the time line he gave her in accordance with some of the events he quoted. There were also notes in the margins suggesting that she felt uncomfortable with him and his enormous power level.

  Aleksei found himself smiling with pride. She hadn’t been completely taken in. Something about Csangal had felt wrong to her. Too bad she had not had time to investigate it more thoroughly. Her notepad, keys, phone—everything she normally carried with her was gone. They didn’t know if she had discovered something about her patient that had triggered her abduction, or if her kidnapping had been the plan all along.

  Dionysus arrived with his contingency some hours later. Since he had a prior invitation that had never been revoked, he alerted Aleksei to his presence, sweeping gracefully into the library with a small group of his own Vampires and Werelions. Greeting Aleksei first, he introduced his group.

  “Lord Aleksei, my Vampires: Hades, Nyx, Thetis and Persephone.”

  Hades and Persephone, not surprisingly, were a mated pair. The tall Hades sported collar-length curly auburn hair with a gold circlet around it, and had dark brown eyes and a smattering of freckles over his adorable nose. He looked entirely too cute to be Ruler of the Underworld, as Greek mythos had named him. His mate was nearly as tall as he was. Persephone was a true brunette, her hair meticulously arranged and styled in an ancient Greek fashion. Her eyes were a sparkly dark green in a pixielike face. The couple stood together, arm in arm, and bowed to Aleksei, then to the assembled group.

  Thetis was very thin and petite, and had a truly unearthly beauty with her long, wavy, pale blonde hair and shimmering Aegean blue eyes. She looked frail and insubstantial, but Aleksei could feel the immense power radiating from the historical water Goddess and the others Dionysus had brought with him.

  Nyx stood a little to the side of the rest, nearer to the Werelion group. Her hair was a sun- kissed dark blonde, her eyes a true robin’s-egg blue. She looked nothing like a Goddess of the night, but rather like a tall, willowy Greek girl who spent most of her time gathering wildflowers on the hillsides of Delphi.

  “My Barbary Lions.” Dionysus indicated the group next to where Nyx stood. “Zelus, Kratos and Bia.”

  The Lions were all wiry but obviously muscular. They were very tall, sandy blonde and amber eyed. Their family resemblance was obvious from the wide, bright smiles as they greeted everyone. All had thick, dark lashes, which only added to their Shifter beauty.

  “How may I be of help, my friend?” Dionysus asked once the introductions were completed.

  Aleksei felt warmed by the Greek Lord’s show of support. Dionysus was a wild card on a good day. Unpredictable, often unreachable, he chose his involvements and battles carefully. He wasn’t squarely in anyone’s camp, but one thing Aleksei was positive of: he wasn’t in Dracula’s.

  “Osiris will arrive shortly. I want everyone’s input on where Dracula could have taken her. No effort will be spared to find her,” Aleksei replied.

  Noticing someone missing, he asked, “Where is your lady, Dionysus?”

  “Maeti remains home, for now. I have had a few incidents of my own recently. I trust her to look after our interests while I assist you in Gillian’s search.”

  “I apologize. I would have come to you or sent representatives of my own, if you had asked, my friend.” Aleksei was discomfited. Twice now, Dionysus had come to his aid. He wanted to be able to return the favor.

  The cerulean-eyed Vampire squeezed Aleksei’s shoulder lightly. “You have had enough on your plate, coming into your own power and dealing with Gillian. I do not begrudge you your time in your own lands. This situation concerns us all. I am happy to help.”

  It was little comfort, Aleksei acknowledged to himself. He needed them more than they needed him. He was not yet equal to either Lord’s power; his own were still evolving, sliding into place and becoming prominent randomly. They had thousands of years to learn and hone their skills. Nor was he remotely as accomplished as the Dark Lord, who was his senior by mere centuries but a thousand times more ruthless.

  Without the help of Osiris and Dionysus, he would be hard-pressed to locate
Gillian in time and would have no hope at all of saving her or destroying Dracula. He felt familiar twinges of his depression and fangxiety at the edges of his subconscious and immediately chastised himself for it.

  I will not give in to my own frailties. Gillian needs me and I must remain strong and capable for her, he thought to himself.

  “Indeed you will, Aleksei. I have complete confidence in you, as does Dionysus.” Osiris’s familiar touch on his mind brought calm back to his disordered thoughts.

  “Call the others; we will arrive shortly.” While Osiris’s steady faith was inspiring, Aleksei hoped he could live up to his own expectations.

  Aleksei soon had everyone situated in the Great Hall. Tanis stood with his brother as the Egyptian Vampires arrived: stately, noble looking and swelling the air with power. Osiris introduced his contingent. Anubis and Sekhmet, most of the Rachlav Institute residents knew. Isis, Osiris’s mate, was new to the group. Slender, petite, regal looking, the sapphire-eyed queen of the Egyptian pantheon nonetheless radiated incredible warmth along with her incredible aura of power.

  Tall, thin, graceful Tehuti stood next to his Lord and Lady, his dark eyes taking in every detail of the people in the room. Straight, thick black hair cut short like Osiris’s graced his head. Dressed in Western-style clothing, like the rest of his contingent, he looked slightly uncomfortable as he tugged at the cuffs of his shirt.

  Two Cheetah Shifters completed Osiris’s group. Panya and Sidiki were cousins. There was a family resemblance in their hazel, almond-shaped eyes, coffee-colored hair, golden-hued skin and slender, almost delicate build. The female Panya was willowy grace when she walked. Sidiki seemed almost boyishly thin compared to the heavier-built Vampires, Wolves and Lions in the room. He looked a little gangly, despite the clearly defined muscles he sported.

  Daedelus, Helmut, Cassiopeia, Trocar, Pavel, Cezar, Luis, Oscar and Kimber ringed the wall behind Aleksei. Luis and Oscar had stayed on for a while at the Institute. A gay Vampire couple was still in the “holy shit” range for a lot of Humans. Vampires had been viewed as exclusively heterosexual, so Luis and Oscar had openly come out to support their alternative- lifestyle brethren. For the time being, the Institute was their safe haven until the public got used to the idea. The Brownies were there as well. Aleksei would have preferred to not have them underfoot; however, except for Gillian’s client sessions and the private rooms of the castle, it was almost impossible to keep them out of the discussion. The little folk had a fondness for Gillian and wanted to know where the Human was who had called attention to their species’ bravery and usefulness.