by Imogen Rose
The task force consisted of seven demons; I had expected more. I smiled at the seven male demons who looked like they would be more comfortable in math class. Total nerds. I wondered why they had adopted those personas. Alfred was sitting in the corner, studying them carefully. We had decided that he would observe quietly while we conducted our meeting.
“Princess, this is your father’s most trusted team, which is why I called them in to work on the current issue,” Dorian began. “They have worked together for years and are experts at occupying humans without taking control of them. Their mission is merely to gather information from the humans they inhabit. So, depending on the information needed, they’ve dwelled within top ranking members of Scotland Yard, the police and detectives attached to the various investigations.”
I nodded, hoping that he wouldn’t rattle off a list of names that I would never be able to remember. They all looked so similar. Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he pointed to just one of them–medium build, dark hair, grey pants, white shirt–and nodded.
“Thank you, Dorian,” the demon said, and then turned to me. “It’s an honor to meet you, Princess. My name is Tim, and I’m in charge of this project. I wish I had something concrete to report, but I don’t,” he said, staring at his shoes. “Both Scotland Yard and the police are completely stumped. Obviously, they don’t know that the killings are vampire-related and they are stoically ignoring the media circus.”
“So, you’re a hundred percent sure that the killings are being carried out by a vampire?” I asked.
“At least one, perhaps more,” he replied.
“And the only evidence we have that it’s a demon- possessed vampire are the notes?”
“Yes, Princess.”
I looked over at Alfred. “Have you considered that it could be a non-London vampire or vampires sent in by one of the other vampire sovereigns interested in your domain?”
“Yes, of course. The notes, however, seem to indicate that your sister is involved.”
“Sure. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the vampires are possessed. She may be collaborating with another vampire sovereign....”
The fangs came out. Every demon in the room–apart from me–transformed instantly. Not a pretty sight. Gone were the kind, but nerdy looks. Each of the seven beings had turned a deep red with their eyes blazing a bright crimson. Bulbous masses exuded from their skin and ears. Their hair disappeared to reveal irregularly shaped skulls. Alfred was hissing. I held up my hand.
“Calm down, everyone! There is no need for a show of power. We’re all on the same side, aren’t we, Alfred?”
“Yes,” he muttered, once his fangs had retracted. The demons stayed in their transformed state. Alfred didn’t seem to mind.
“Alfred, it seems to me that we need to be working together a lot more than we have been if we’re going to find this vampire. It is a vampire after all, possessed or not. You need to send out a team to hunt him, her or them down. My team will be right there with yours to take down the demon, if there is one involved. It seems to me that the main objective is to get the city back to peace immediately. So, if we have to contain all of our subjects in some way, let’s do that.”
“Contain them?” he asked.
“Well, I can round up all of the demons and have Cassandra shield them to secure them until we know what’s going on. At least that way, we’ll have less potential culprits to choose from. Once most are off the streets, it will be relatively easy to track down the rest. Dorian?”
He quickly reverted back to his human form and looked at me like I was raving mad. “How do you propose, where do you propose, we confine all of London’s demons?”
“I can’t work everything out! Get the task force to help you sort that out. Just get it done!” I said, frustrated. Seriously? Was I going to have to do everything myself? They could ship them all off to the North Pole for all I cared.
“Alfred?” I asked, looking to him for some kind of indication that he felt the same.
“Confining large groups will be very tricky. I’ll need to talk to Cassandra and figure out if it’s even possible. But you’re right; if we can, it’ll be easier to track the offending parties.”
“Awesome,” I said satisfied. “Let’s get started with that.”
Dorian coughed.
“Dorian?”
“We have another issue, but we can take care of it in private. Tim, will you get started on gathering the demon population?”
Once Alfred and the seven nerds left us, I raised my eyebrows at Dorian. “Another issue?”
“Ryker arrived while we were at your dad’s house. He wants to see you.”
“How is that an issue?” I asked, perplexed.
“Ryker said that he has an issue he needs to bring to your attention. He wasn’t willing to share the nature of it with me,” Dorian retorted sharply.
Keep your pants on!
“I’m going to meet with Cassandra now to find out if there is any way we can contain the vampire and demon–” he grumped.
“There’s no need to contain the demon population,” I interrupted. “I just said that to even things out with Alfred. It’s a vampire, or vampires, doing the killing. If a demon is involved, we’ll find him or her when we isolate the vampire. We need to get all the vamps off the streets, and then the rest of the paranormals need to sniff out any remaining ones. So, as far as I’m concerned, get the demon population together to do the sniffing.”
“And then what?” Dorian asked.
“Once we catch the culprit, we’ll find out for sure if Katerina is behind this, and if she’s working on her own, or if others are involved as well.”
“Princess, it’s a nice plan, but it may not work out exactly like that, and you should be prepared. May I suggest another option? One we could put in place along with your plan?”
“Sure.”
“In my experience, gathering intelligence and becoming better at predicting where the next strike may occur is effective. Perhaps even setting up a decoy.”
I had seen those kinds of options work well on Law & Order. Why not? We had nothing to lose. “As long as you’re not planning on using me as the decoy, I say run with it!”
“Hey, Faustine,” Ryker said, appearing beside me, totally freaking me out. My fingers instantly fused. He laughed. “It’s just me, relax.”
“Hey! Good to see you,” I said, walking into his arms. I needed to relax. “Wassup, Ryk? Dorian said you needed to discuss an issue?”
“I do,” he said, sounding wistful.
I buried my face into his chest for a moment’s peace before he hit me with the issue.
“Neave sent me,” he whispered.
I was disappointed. I thought he had come on his own accord. I raised my head and looked up at him, feeling–and looking, I hoped–let down.
“I was going to come, anyway,” he added.
“Right.” Yeah, right.
“No, really,” he said, pulling me back in. “Neave called me after school.”
“Is she feeling any better?”
“I don’t think she was feeling ill earlier. She was very vague on the phone, but she managed to tell me that her stepfather wouldn’t let her leave the apartment.”
“I guess he’s afraid for her now that Tessa is missing,” I shrugged.
“No. I think it’s more like he’s holding her against her will.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked, surprised.
“Just something in her tone.”
“That’s weird.”
“Do you want me to get her?” Ryker asked.
“Get her?”
“You know, break her out? Bring her over here?”
“Yes! I mean yes to the break her out, but can you take me back to Manhattan first? Then, we could all meet at my home. I need a break from the London madness, some time to think.”
“Sure.”
“Dorian, I’ll be back soon,” I promised.
“But
, Princess, we have things to do,” he protested.
“And you and I will take care of them,” Mom replied from behind the large sofa in the corner. She had been totally hidden from view behind the tall, ornate back of the couch.
“Mom! Have you been here all this time?”
She got up and walked over to us. “I had made myself comfortable reading by the fireplace when all of you arrived. I decided to keep reading...” she explained, pointing to her book.
“So, you heard everything?” Dorian queried.
“Well, yes. It was hard not to.”
I chortled.
“What’s so funny, hon?” Mom asked, smiling at me.
“Oh, just the thought that we are hoping to sniff out an out-of-control, possibly-possessed vampire, but we can’t even sniff you out, sitting right here in the same room! How ridiculous is that?”
“It’s not the least bit funny,” Dorian retorted huffily.
“Actually,” Mom said, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a frown. “What’s not funny is that you have involved my fifteen-year-old in this! I absolutely forbid her to have anything more to do with this. I am taking over,” she said firmly, shooting Dorian the death glare for good measure.
“Mom, they–the other London sovereigns–won’t listen to you,” I warned.
“They will,” she said firmly. “Now, it’s not like you haven’t got your hands full, anyway. You need to find out what’s going on with Neave and Tessa. I’ll talk to the council and get a plan organized to hunt down the killer vampire.”
I nodded. Mom commanded respect, and when she was in this mood, no one would mess with her. But, just to make sure, I shot Dorian the look. It was his task to keep her safe. It was hard to find anyone with a sharper mind than Mom’s, and she could turn out to be invaluable in helping us hunt down the killer.
Then, I turned to Ryker and nodded. He placed his hands on my shoulders, and I felt the weightlessness I had felt the last time we wandered together. I clung to him as my eyelids were forced shut by the pressure, and we remained glued to each other for much longer than we had the last time. I was jolted back to reality when my feet connected with something solid. Ryker let go of me, and I opened my eyes. We were back in my Manhattan bedroom. I slumped onto my bed and watched Ryker as he disappeared into thin air again, this time to retrieve Neave.
I was in a no-win situation with Katerina. Unless I could figure out a way to rescue Kismet, Luke and the others, it was fairly clear that I’d be forced to abdicate. I couldn’t think of a way to rescue them. The only one who could release them from a protective shield was the witch who cast the spell in the first place–Katerina. Did I even have a guarantee that she would release them after I abdicated? No.
I picked up the phone and called Fitch. I knew that I could trust him. “Fitch, can you come over? And, can you bring Taylor?”
Ryker returned–alone–before Fitch and Taylor arrived.
“Where’s Neave?”
“At her apartment, in her room.”
“Doing what?”
“Eating pizza and watching Freaky Friday.”
“Why didn’t you bring her with?”
“She’s protected–confined–in a shield. I couldn’t penetrate it.”
“Did Katerina get to her? Why?”
“She doesn’t know. Her stepfather decided that it would be safest for her to stay in her room. She assumed that she was just locked in when she called me earlier and was just as surprised as I was to encounter the shield. She hadn’t even noticed before.”
“Who put it up?” I asked, confused. Ryker shrugged. Tessa wasn’t home. Could she have done it remotely to keep Neave safe?
“Expecting someone?” Ryker asked when the doorbell rang.
“Yeah. Just Taylor and Fitch.” Ryker followed as I went to answer the door.
“Wassup?” Fitch asked.
“Hey, guys! How are you feeling, Taylor?” I asked.
“Great. Back to normal. What are you doing back here? Fitch gave you Kismet’s message, right?” she asked, throwing Fitch a stern look.
“Yeah,” I reassured her. “Mom’s dealing with stuff in London at the moment. We came back to break Neave out of confinement, but it seems she’s been witch-shielded as well, so...” I shrugged.
“By Katerina?” Fitch asked.
“No idea. She doesn’t know. She just thought that Robert–her stepfather–had locked her in for her own safety because Tessa is missing.”
“Robert?” Taylor repeated, shooting Fitch another look.
“Yeah. Tessa’s new hubby–nerdy human stockbroker,” I explained. “What was that look all about?”
“What look?”
“You know, the one you two shot each other when I mentioned Neave’s stepfather.”
“It wasn’t that you mentioned the stepfather,” Fitch explained. “It was the name–Robert.”
I raised my shoulders and eyebrows. “Explain.”
“Robert’s a fairly common name; it’s our dad’s name as well.”
“Yeah, really common name,” I agreed.
“It’s just that, well, combine that with the nerdy stockbroker thing.... It’s probably just a coincidence, but… our dad’s name is Robert and he fits the description.”
My mind blanked for a moment. Then my mouth fell open. “Are you saying that your dad may be Neave’s new stepfather?” I asked, totally aghast.
“Geez,” Ryker murmured. “Is he a wizard?”
“Describe him. In detail,” I demanded. Fitch described Tessa’s Robert exactly; it was the same man I had encountered in the elevator with Ryker. Either him or his doppelganger. Sheesh. What did this mean?
“How could Tessa not know that her husband is a warlock?” I asked, stumped.
“Oh, Dad’s really good at disguising himself,” Taylor said. “I can’t believe he got married without even telling us!”
“At least we know where he’s been spending all his time,” Fitch muttered.
“So, I guess Robert put the shield around the apartment to confine Neave,” Ryker muttered. “But why? Do you think he’s trying to rescue Tessa and did it to keep Neave safe?”
Taylor shrugged. “He would know there’s no way he could do that other than convincing the witch who cast the spell to remove it.”
“Does he know Katerina?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Fitch replied. “I should warn you, though; he’s a very powerful and power-hungry warlock. Everything he does is well planned and aimed at furthering himself. When we were younger, he would tell us that one day we would be the warlock sovereigns of New York.”
“How does marrying Tessa fit into that, or did he marry her because he loved her?” I asked.
“Dad doesn’t do anything for love,” Taylor said, shaking her head.
My head felt like it was about to explode. What was all this? I let my head drop on to my palms. What the heck was going on? Had he married Tessa just to get access to me?
“Why don’t we call Mom?” Taylor suggested. “She might be able to help figure this out. After all, she was married to him.”
“Can we trust her?” Ryker inquired, much to my relief.
“Duh! Yeah! Of course we can,” both Taylor and Fitch exclaimed. “Why would you even ask that?”
“Well, it’s just that Oscar is missing, too, and Alexandra did conveniently step in...” I explained.
“It’s not like she wanted to! She was practically forced by the New York council. And, she’s hoping that Oscar will return so she can get back to her regular life. She’s not loving dealing with all this,” Taylor said firmly. Fitch was nodding as well.
“All right, call her. Or maybe we should go over to her place?”
“Hey, kids,” Alexandra said, ushering us into her apartment. “Getting together to study? Taylor, you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom. We need to talk to you.”
“Oh, okay. What can I do for you? Let’s go to the kitchen, so I c
an get you some snacks.”
Once we were seated around the breakfast table, and I had finished chewing the first few pieces of my steak, I got down to business. I wasn’t sure where to start. I had to assume trust, or this was going to go nowhere. If I was wrong to trust her... Well, it could end up in a demon showdown.
“How’s Kismet? I’d love for you to bring her up for lunch when it’s safe for her. Is she still over at Pauline’s?”
“She is,” I confirmed. “She–all of them, Luke, Tessa and Pauline–are confined at Pauline’s house. They can’t leave. They are shielded by a witch’s spell.”
“Really? Did Edith do that to keep them safe?”
“No, Katerina did. But not to keep them safe.”
“Your half sister?” she asked, surprised. “Why?”
“She wants my crown.”
“Ah. She’s blackmailing you?”
I nodded. “She’s doing a lot more than that, though. Have you heard about the London killing spree?”
“Of course. We–the New York council–had an emergency meeting to discuss it last night. Sophia, our vampire queen, is flying over to London to assist Alfred. Do you think Katerina is involved in the murders?” Alexandra’s eyes narrowed.
“Not just involved, I think she’s responsible.”
“I guess she might be responsible for Peter’s death as well, then,” Alexandra murmured.
“She is. She told me so herself,” I replied.
Alexandra shook her head. “What a mess. Is there any evidence to suggest that she’s behind Sebastian and Oscar’s disappearances?”
“Definitely my dad’s. She admitted it. I don’t know about Oscar, though,” I whispered.
“Mom,” Taylor broke in. “We think Dad may be involved somehow.”
Alexandra rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. I wonder what arrangement they’ve come to. Katerina obviously wants more than just control of London. She probably wants New York, as well,” she mused. “She’s putting plans into place to undermine anyone that she can’t manipulate. That would include Alfred and Sophia by organizing this vampire revolt. She is sowing mistrust between the demons and vampires by suggesting that the vampires in question have been demonized. A war between the vampires and demons would bring down the whole council in both cities, making it easy for her to step in. She could end up with complete power of two of the most powerful cities in the world. She could create such havoc. And, she would have a perfect partner in Robert. It would be the end of human and paranormal existence, as we know it. She and Robert would destroy everything in their quest for more and more power.”
