by Irina Argo
It seemed as though an eternity passed before she heard his voice. “Hi, Sim.”
“Antar, I know where Arianna is and I can lead the Legacy to her. But you must promise me that you’ll give her Sanctuary and not let her leave until she is powerful enough to protect herself, and that you’ll never surrender her to the King.”
“Yes, of course, I promise. How do you know where she is?”
“I found her through the blood-bond.”
“When?”
Simone’s first impulse was to lie and say that it had just happened, but she was sick and tired of lying. “At the Amphitheatre. She helped me control my blood lust.”
“It’s been two months, Simone! And all this time you’ve known?”
It took all Simone’s courage to continue. “Yes.”
“Why?” Antar’s voice was cold.
“Because you liked her and I wanted you for myself. And now—you can kill me if you want, but first, I’ll help you find Arianna.”
Simone felt a heavy weight lift from her heart. She was holding her breath waiting for Antar’s reaction, but to her surprise, it didn’t mean much to her any more.
“Where is she?”
“I can’t tell you right now. I’m stressed and I can’t find her unless I can focus. We’re at Hunter headquarters. After we leave, I’ll concentrate on locating her and I’ll call you as soon as I have it figured out. But you must promise me you won’t tell the King that I led you to her. We’re here in Venezuela because of Arianna. Somehow they traced her here and lost her again. I don’t want them to find her. You have no idea what they will do to her.” Simone had no idea either, but she knew that nothing good could be in store for an antelope cornered by a pride of lions.
“Fine. I’ll be waiting for your call.” Antar hung up.
Well, Princess, say goodbye to the hero of your dreams. Antar was forever lost to her. But for some reason, Simone felt okay about it. Antar could go to hell. If he didn’t want her, she could live her life just fine without him. At last she’d have some peace within herself.
She ran to the helipad and climbed into the helicopter, not wanting to stay on the soil of this evil place for even another minute. Taking a light blanket out of the storage cabinet, she pulled it up to her neck, trying to warm herself after the dank chill of the cavern, and waited for Theores and Odji to join her.
Chapter 34
Hunter headquarters, Venezuela
Something bizarre was happening to Odji. When Simone headed to the exit, he should have followed her; it was his responsibility to keep her safe. But he hadn’t even noticed her leaving; his eyes had been locked on the golden Amiti girl. He felt as though his heart was being ripped from his chest. Illuminated by the torchlight, she was breathtakingly beautiful, a finely sculptured porcelain goddess.
This was his mate, the one he’d been searching for his entire life. Odji had no doubt about it. He was equally certain that the rest of his existence now depended on what happened to her.
His imagination quickly painted visions of cuddling her, kissing her eyelids and temples, feeling the warmth of her skin upon his, whispering words of love into her golden hair. When Riona cut the girl’s wrist, it took every ounce of his willpower not to leap at her and slit the priestess’s throat. His hands were so tightly clenched that he had punctured the skin of his palms and drawn blood.
He watched as the Hunters sacrificed the first Amiti female, then the male. Riona held his ripped heart high over her head and dropped it into the golden bowl at the feet of the Great Lioness. Then she grabbed the golden Amiti’s hand. The girl made a weak attempt to pull away, paralyzed with fear. Solus and his assistant lifted her up and placed her on the sacrificial altar. But before they could slip her wrists into the cuffs, Odji was on them like a lightening bolt. Breaking their necks, he picked the girl up and disappeared with her through the side door. It happened in a split second, so quickly and unexpectedly that nobody had time to react.
Only dimly aware of Simone screaming at him—“What have you done? Are you out of your mind?”—Odji placed the girl in the back of the helicopter, barely taking the time to strap himself in and go through his checklist before he had them airborne. He had no idea where they were going or what he’d do when they got there. His vision was filled with an endless expanse of clear night sky and the golden, streaming hair of the Amiti girl, an image that would be engraved into his brain forever.
Odji’s euphoria crashed when he spotted the two Hunter helicopters taking off after them. Of course; what had he expected? They weren’t about to lose track of their prey. He glanced behind him to check on the Amiti and finally became aware of Simone. She had covered the girl with a blanket and was applying pressure to her wrist, trying to stop the bleeding.
The princess! What luck! The Hunters wouldn’t dare damage the helicopter with the King’s daughter on board.
That meant that they were safe as long as they could stay in the air, as long as the helicopter had fuel.
“Sim,” Odji called through his headphones, watching as the Hunters’ helicopters began circling them. “If I’m killed, please, take care of her. Buy her, do whatever you have to do; just don’t let them kill her or make her bloodstock. Please, Sim.”
“I will, I promise!” she yelled back.
The Hunters’ helicopters were closing in, one on either side of him. The Hunter on the pilot’s side was making exaggerated hand gestures, signaling for Odji to land. Odji responded with a one-fingered gesture of his own.
He turned and looked into the girl’s sorrowful, frightened eyes. She sat completely still, the blanket pulled up to her chin. Odji’s heart was heavy; he’d give anything to share his life with her, but he wasn’t delusional. He knew it would take a miracle for this dream to become a reality, and miracles simply did not happen. But he couldn’t just give up.
“What’s that?!” Simone’s scream came through the headphones. “It’s moving, Odji. It’s alive!”
On the passenger side of the copter, a huge cloud of shimmering mist had formed and was hovering in the air. In its center, a black hole was opening like the mouth of a giant shark, doubling in size every second. Then a force like a colossal magnet began drawing the copter toward the hole.
“It’s going to swallow us! Go back!” Simone shouted at the top at her lungs.
“I can’t! The controls are frozen. It’s pulling us in.”
The aircraft seemed to fly itself, changing direction and heading directly into the center of the black hole. In his peripheral vision Odji could see the wild gestures of the Sekhmi pilots. Idiots! Did they think he couldn’t see it? And ... why wasn’t it affecting them, too?
As it passed through the portal, the helicopter’s engine died and they plummeted in freefall through an infinity of darkness.
Chapter 35
“Let me get this straight. With no provocation whatsoever, my bodyguard interrupted the ceremony, assaulted the priestess’s two assistants, hauled the Amiti sacrifice off to the helicopter, and took off with the Amiti and my daughter inside?”
The three Hunters nodded at Tor grimly. He focused on the two who’d been in the air with Odji and continued.
“And then you gave chase, at which point a giant cloud of gleaming mist formed in the air, and then a big black hole formed in the middle of the giant cloud of mist? And it pulled the helicopter with my daughter, my bodyguard, and this Amiti toward it, but it didn’t pull you even though you were flying on either side of my pride’s helicopter, right next to it?”
The helicopter pilots nodded again. Hunters were used to being the intimidators, and these guys weren’t handling the role reversal well, sweating and shifting their weight as though they might suddenly sprint out of the room. Tor almost felt bad for these guys. Except he didn’t.
“And then my helicopter and those inside it got sucked into the black hole, and it immediately disappeared, taking the giant mist with it, and it w
as like nothing had ever been there at all, just clear skies, and you flew around for another half hour searching for them, but there’s no trace at all?”
They both looked at him, nodded, and then looked at the floor. One mumbled something that sounded like “Yes, that’s right, your Majesty.”
“Very well then. You may go. Stay with Theores in case we require follow-up.”
The two Hunter pilots shuffled out, leaving Tor and Crian alone in Crian’s study. Without a word, Crian stood and crossed the room to the wet bar. Tor braced his elbows on the armrests of his chair and rubbed his temples.
Lately, between the Amiti Queen situation and Simone’s never-ending crises, things had just been one clusterfuck after another. And now Odji had kidnapped an Amiti who’d been chosen and prepared as a sacrifice to the Great Lioness. In addition to defying logic, it was the greatest of blasphemies; this girl had been chosen by the Lioness and belonged to her, and Odji had stolen her. Now, as though things hadn’t already been going badly, they could also expect Sekhmet’s wrath to be visited upon them—upon Tor, his pride, the entire Sekhmi race. This was a bad, bad, bad omen. And now she was missing, along with the two people Tor cared most about; all three might as well have simply evaporated into thin air.
Crian entered Tor’s frame of vision, wordlessly handing him a drink and then sinking into a comfortable leather chair opposite Tor.
“It’s been a while, Tor. If it hadn’t been for this unfortunate situation, I probably wouldn’t have had the pleasure of your company for another century. Even if you don’t require my services, you could still come and visit just to catch up with an old friend.”
As the Alpha of the Hunter pride, Crian was directly or indirectly responsible for supplying all Sekhmi with Amiti bloodstock. But he was also a skilled sorcerer who served as the King’s personal magician and astrologer. A few centuries ago, when times were tough, Tor had used Crian’s services often, but lately he’d come to Crian only rarely.
Only Tor and Anock knew the source of Crian’s magical power: Crian’s father was a vampire, and his mother one of the most powerful sorceresses in Europe. But his half-blood background made him a Nightwalker, so he kept the secret of his parentage well hidden, presumably using sorcery to make himself invulnerable to sunlight. Over the centuries Crian had developed his powers extensively, supplementing the Hunters’ tracking skills with his magic and making his pride the richest of the rich. But Tor knew Crian wasn’t just in it for the money, phenomenal as it was. No, Crian loved the thrill of the hunt.
“I apologize for the actions of my bodyguard, Crian. I hope the priestess’s assistants are recovering nicely. And I will, of course, reimburse you for the full value of the Amiti.”
“I never doubted that you would take full responsibility, Majesty. But the Amiti your boy stole already belonged to the Great Lioness, so it is not I who requires reimbursement.”
Tor stifled a shudder at the thought of what reimbursement Sekhmet might require. “I have no idea why Odji would have done this. Ordinarily, he’s nothing if not levelheaded. And what was Simone’s involvement? Do you have any idea what happened?”
“I’m afraid you’re not going to like my answer, Tor.” Crian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.
“Tell me.”
“I sense the presence of the Keepers.”
Tor was silent while he assimilated that information. So here it was: his worst fears coming to pass. Whatever Odji’s crazy motives had been, this wasn’t about the theft of the Amiti. Odji was collateral damage. The Keepers were targeting Simone, reclaiming their power. Nothing would stop the Keepers now; they were extremists. The lives of those he held most dear were in jeopardy.
Tor didn’t realize how hard he was squeezing his glass until it shattered in his hand, slicing his palm with shards of crystal. Crian handed him a towel from the wet bar.
“Do you think they’ll kill them?” Tor asked Crian, his voice hoarse. Damn, this whole situation was surpassing the limits of his tolerance, his ability to control his emotions. But right now he didn’t care. He stared down at his bleeding hand, the bright red streaks on the white towel.
“Yes. They need to remove Simone’s power as a Keeper. As for Odji, they have no use for him.”
Something in Crian’s voice made Tor turn and meet his eyes. Crian’s face wore an expression Tor had never seen on him before, an almost tender look of sympathy and grief. Suddenly Tor understood.
“You lost a child once, didn’t you?”
Crian didn’t answer, just lowered his gaze.
“You never told me. I’m really sorry, my friend.”
“That is why I became a bloodstock hunter.” Crian’s voice was almost unrecognizable, heavy with sadness. Then abruptly his demeanor changed. “Well, nothing can bring them back. We need to find a way to save yours. And as far as I know, there’s only one immortal who can create holes in space capable of swallowing anything, including a helicopter.”
“Fucking Oberon. Again.” Tor paused to let a wave of anger and hate sweep through him, break, and recede before continuing. “I’ve had it with that rotten bastard. I want him. And I want him now. Find him.”
“Are you kidding, Tor? Oberon could be anywhere on the planet, or for that matter in a different dimension. Don’t forget, he’s the Keeper of the Hidden; the universe is his hiding place.”
“He can’t hide forever. Sooner or later we’ll get him. But meanwhile, we’ll send him an ultimatum.” Tor tossed back the rest of his drink and dialed Anock. “I want you to go right now and get the word out on all the major vampire websites that if Simone and Odji are killed, ten Amiti will be executed: five for each of my children.”
Chapter 36
The Project research station, Lake Baikal, Russia
“Where are we?” Simone asked Odji without taking her eyes off the view out the helicopter window. “Is it possible that we’re dead and this is what the afterlife looks like?”
The helicopter had come to a halt—if that’s what had actually happened; the crazy vortex thing had left her totally disoriented—in a landscape surrounded by huge pine trees draped in massive mounds of brilliantly crystallized snow. A vast body of water, frozen solid, spread before them, reflecting a spectacular view of the rays of the rising sun.
It was a glaring contrast to the tropics of Venezuela.
“We have company,” Odji muttered, pointing to a small group of people approaching the helicopter. They all wore heavy sheepskin coats, hats, boots and gloves. “Humans,” he sighed.
There was nothing to fear; humans presented no danger to Sekhmi. Odji would just glamour them into thinking that the helicopter had crash-landed here, maybe get their help once he figured out what to do next.
As soon as Odji opened the helicopter door, the Amiti girl barreled past Simone and through the door, leaping to the ground at a dead run toward the approaching group, wearing only the blanket she’d been wrapped in. “Help! Please, help me!” she yelled.
Simone heard Odji curse, and then he was at the girl’s side. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the snow.
The girl kicked viciously at him. “Help, help, help me!”
Suddenly Odji reeled as though he’d been clocked in the head. The girl fell from his arms as he tumbled to the ground.
What the hell was that? Had one of the humans done that to Odji?
As Simone stood there, stupefied, in the doorway of the helicopter, she felt one of the humans’ stares pulling at her mind. Raising her eyes to meet his, it was as if he’d blasted her in the brain, her mind overwhelmed with blackness. She felt herself collapsing in the snow ...
She came back to consciousness expecting to be in some kind of cell, but the bed in which she was lying was comfortable, and she opened her eyes to a room that looked like it belonged in an elegant hotel: pristine white walls and ceiling, soft lighting, sofa, and two chairs at a small table. A
built-in bookshelf and flatscreen TV monitor took up most of the wall opposite her, with a door to their right; another wall was covered entirely by floor-length draperies; and the fourth wall held another door.
Simone jumped out of the bed and checked both doors. One led to a bathroom with a shower unit; the other was locked. Yanking aside the drapes, she found only a blank wall. She returned to the locked door and tried it again—still locked, of course—and then pounded on it, hard. It was clearly reinforced.
She was knocking the heel of her hand across the door, trying to find a weaker spot, when the monitor on the wall blinked on and a human male appeared on the screen. Maybe in his early forties, he wore a dark brown knitted turtleneck and was holding a steaming mug of tea or coffee.
“Who the hell are you?” Simone snarled at the monitor. “And where the hell am I? Why is the door locked? I demand that you release me immediately!”
“Well, well, aren’t we just the little Miss Princess? Let’s take this one question at a time, shall we? My name is Vlad Orlov; I’m a doctor here. You are at the Project’s research station. And the door is locked because you are now one of the participants in our research.”
“I’m what? What are you talking about? What research? Wait—you know what? We’re done here. Let me talk to the person in charge.”
“Actually, that would be me. I’m the senior researcher here. Go ahead; what would you like to say?”
Shit, what did she want to say? She stared at the guy—what was his name again?—in total frustration. “I need to call my family.”
“Sorry, Simone, no phone calls.”
“How do you know my name?”
“We know a lot of things about you. For example, we know that you are Sekhmi, one of the so-called Vampire Elite.”
Simone’s stomach knotted. No! It couldn’t be true. Humans don’t know about vampires—or any immortals, for that matter. Sure, maybe they’d heard stories passed down through generations about vampires and werewolves, but nobody really believed them, did they? And this guy—not only did he know she was a vampire; he even knew about distinctions among vampires. What next? Great Sekhmet, how right immortals were about keeping their existence a secret from humans! Not only would they try to annihilate them; obviously they would also keep them locked in scientific labs as guinea pigs.
