“There will be those that believe strange things simply because they do not understand what is going on.”
“Did you? Did you somehow have me created so that I could be used as a weapon?” Alec was afraid of pushing these creatures too far but he had to know.
Anu said coldly, “We had no hand in your creation. You are a brave one, Alec Carson.”
"Silvanus has accepted this decision and has agreed to continue to help you if you wish. You are free to come and go as you please and can even move back to your apartment if that is what you want. But be aware, there is still someone making attempts on your life. You may defend yourself as you see fit as long as you do not reveal us to the human world."
"You are more than welcome to stay here Alec. Either way I will help you with anything you need," Silas said smiling warmly. Alec nodded.
"The information you found in Chicago is disturbing,” Ea said getting everyone back on task. “This Devil character is becoming quite the nuisance.”
Alec nodded his head. The Devil had tried to kill him several times. It was more than a nuisance in Alec’s humble opinion.
“I’ve had my people scouring old tomes, known cults and the internet and we’ve not turned up a single lead,” Silas said frustrated.
“I might be able to help with that,” Steven said. “I set up a bot with a set of specific search criteria to crawl the net looking for information. I’ve had several hits but haven’t had a chance to look at the information with everything going on.”
Silas stared at him blankly for a moment. “I have no clue what you just said.”
Steven sighed. “I’ve created a program with specific search phrases and words that will search all over the Internet and bring me back the results. It’s a little longer than a regular search but it’s more specific.”
“Why didn’t you just say so?” Silas asked with a frown.
“I did.”
“As for Steven,” Anu said, his cowl facing the young man, “we have placed you under Alec’s guidance for now.”
Steven swallowed hard. “What does that mean? For now?”
“Your computer skills may be of great use to us,” Nabu said. As you know, we are not creatures of this era and the Internet is something of a mystery to some of us.”
Alec was learning to tell these three ancient figures apart. They looked and sounded the same but each of their robes was a little different. It wasn’t anything obvious but it was enough to tell them apart.
“Silas, I’ve been thinking,” Alec said quickly. “Why not hire Steven to upgrade and maintain your computer system and networks? Nothing personal but you could use it. Steven helped streamline the pre-council meeting we had yesterday.” Alec shrugged his shoulders. “He could probably make all kinds of changes that would help speed up the network you already have in place.”
Silas looked thoughtful. “Not a bad idea but I think we should ask Steven what he wants to do. If possible, he might want to go home and back to his life. I will think about it but we will have to discuss it later.”
Steven looked a little more relieved now that he might get to live and have a future.
“Vincent,” Anu said, looking at the slumped vampire. “Dorn, bring a chair for Vincent and remove the cuffs.”
Dorn did as told, setting the chair in the middle of the assembled gathering, but he and his men stood ready just in case.
Vincent rubbed his wrists but sat up straighter in his chair. Alec wasn’t sure but he thought that VonBell seemed to recover quickly after the silver was removed.
“We have questions for you, Vincent,” Nabu said, walking closer to the seated vampire. The Elder walked within several feet of him and stopped.
“His mind is shielded from me,” Nabu told those gathered around, and then lowered his head till his chin was almost on his chest. Alec thought he might have fallen asleep but knew better than to say anything. A moment later Nabu shook his head.
“I can’t break through.” The elder vampire sounded surprised, and maybe a little scared?
VonBell looked straight ahead and finally spoke. “There is little that I can answer.” He almost sounded like he was hypnotized. Alec didn’t know if it was one of the Elders doing this or something else.
“What can you tell us?” Silas said into the silence.
“I can tell you nothing. I am merely a servant.”
Everyone in the room looked around at one another.
Silas thought for a moment. “Who is the Devil?”
VonBell sat still, staring at the wall as if he hadn’t heard the question. “The council is weak and divided and blind to what’s going on. You will all fall in time.”
Silas looked at the Elders but they said nothing, they only looked at VonBell through the dark gauzy curtains that obscured their faces.
Several more questions were asked but it was like VonBell was dazed. He just sat there staring.
“Well this is no good,” Silas said sighing and sitting back in his chair. The three Elders had their coweled heads pointed towards one another but weren’t speaking. Alec had the feeling that they were telepathically communicating with one another. He closed his eyes a moment and just listened. At the edge of his awareness he could hear…something. It was like a buzzing in the back of his head but there were three distinct sounds. It was going back and forth quicker than anyone could talk. Alec jumped suddenly as he felt a hand shake his shoulder.
“You okay?” Marcus asked looking concerned.
Alec nodded. “Yeah, just thinking.” Alec looked at Anu and could have sworn that the Elder vampire had shaken his head ever so slightly. Maybe it was just his imagination. There was so much stuff going on Alec couldn’t digest it all.
Most of the council and their seconds were quietly discussing what VonBell’s silence could mean. Nothing that the Elders or any of the other vampires did, could elicit a response from the vampire. Reginald’s second was thinking quietly to himself, as was Steven. Alec turned to look at VonBell and jumped slightly. The man was staring straight at him with a manic look in his eyes.
“Uh, guys,” Alec said breaking into all the conversations. When they looked at him he pointed to VonBell.
“My Master came to me in my cell last night and he gave me one final message,” VonBell said into the now quiet room. It was eerie the way the vampire was staring at Alec. It sent a shiver down his spine.
“My time here is done. His power is unfathomable and you will all fall before Him.” VonBell smiled an evil smile and then, to Alec’s horror and amazement, the man’s face began to sink in on itself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The End?
Alec watched as VonBell’s face collapsed and fell inward like it was being sucked inside his skull. The same thing was happening to his body. The worst part of it was the smile remained on VonBell’s lips and his eyes stared at Alec until there was no longer a face to support them. Alec felt like he wanted to throw up. Soon there was nothing of VonBell left except a pile of goo dripping off the chair and into the floor. Even his clothes had disintegrated.
Dorn and his guards stood watching helplessly with their guns drawn, unsure what to do. Everyone else either stood or sat looking on in horror, except for the three Elders. Alec wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with them since he couldn’t see their faces. Alec had never seen anything like it.
“What the hell just happened?” Steven asked frantically into the ensuing silence.
“That is what happens to us when we die,” Silas said quietly. “We disintegrate so that there is no dead body to raise suspicions or questions and nothing left for someone to identify.”
“So he just died?” Steven asked incredulously. “How? Do you guys just spontaneously liquefy when you’re done being interrogated?”
Silas shook his head. “No we don’t. Someone very powerful is out there and doing all this.” He looked upset, all the vampires in the room looked upset.
“This shouldn’t be possible.”
Alec looked at the chair VonBell had just been sitting in. The goo had dried up and had become flakey, like mud that had been baked in the sun on a sidewalk. With a good vacuuming you’d never know that a vampire had died in that chair. It was a macabre idea but Alec was almost certain someone, somewhere had used a vacuum to clean up vampire residue.
The vampires in the room were silent and looked disturbed. Steven was sweating and running his hands through his hair. Once Dorn had established that there was no immediate threat, he started giving orders, the first of which was to review the video data of VonBell’s cell and see who had gone to talk with him the previous evening and given him his orders.
The double doors to Silas’s sitting room opened and Doctor Schubert walked in. He held several papers in his hands. He stopped when he saw the looks on everyone’s faces. They quickly filled him in on what had happened and he looked stunned at the implications.
“I assume you came to bring us news on the wine that Xavier brought you?” Silas asked trying to focus on something he could understand and possibly do something about.
“Ah yes,” Schubert said coming back to the reason he had come to see Silas. “The blood was tainted with silver. Lots of silver,” Schubert said significantly.
“How?” Silas asked incredulously. “Most of us didn’t smell a thing. Alec was the one that caught it and warned us.” Silas realized just how much stronger Alec’s senses were and snapped his mouth shut before he gave too much away.
“Then you all owe Alec your lives,” Schubert said looking around the room. He nodded politely to the three Elders. “There was enough silver in each glass to have killed the whole council and their seconds before they even suspected something was amiss.” He gave that a moment to sink in. “The silver is some sort of concentrate I’ve never seen before. It was encased in microcapsules of military grade plastic that was made to explode its contents out forcefully once it started to dissolve. The plastic had no smell or taste and should have completely blocked the smell of the silver from permeating it. But once ingested, it would have mixed with the blood already in your bodies and the plastic capsules would have burst and spread quickly through your whole system. Even if I had been right there when you drank it, the process is so quick that I couldn’t have stopped it.” Well, that ruled out what had just happened to VonBell.
The council members looked stunned by what Schubert had said.
Reginald stood and walked over to Alec and extended his hand. “Thank you Mister Carson, for saving our lives. Your life was on the line and you could have said nothing and we all would have died. Instead you spoke up. Thank you.” He shook Alec’s hand vigorously. All the other members, except Laramie and Cassandra offered their heartfelt thanks. Alec was quite certain that Laramie still believed he was behind it to win favor with the council. The man was an idiot.
Alec mumbled a few words and let it drop. He had mostly done it to save Silas and Marcus. He owed them everything. The council just happened to be there as well.
Marcus walked over to Alec and sat down heavily beside him. “Well, that was a barrel of laughs.”
“It’s always something,” Alec said shaking his head.
“What happened to Vincent must stay in this room,” Anu said, breaking into everyone’s thoughts. “If others find out about this it could cause a panic. The official story is we questioned Vincent with no results and put him to death.” The cowled head of the Elder vampire swiveled to look at everyone in the room.
“So the question now is, who has the power to stop a human’s heart, make five vampires fight beyond the sun coming up and can make a vampire turn to goo?” Alec said. “Could one of you do something like this?” Alec asked the Elders.
The three were silent for a moment. Silas and Marcus looked apprehensive and uncomfortable with the question.
“We could not,” Anu finally croaked. “It is almost impossible for a vampire to be compelled. Any three of us,” Anu said indicating himself and his Elder brothers “could do it, but not to this extent. We are dealing with something we’ve never dealt with before.” He sounded thoughtful and worried. Anything that worried an Elder vampire scared the shit out of Alec. He’d seen them set vampires on fire with only their minds and was pretty sure they could communicate telepathically. But this was something else.
“Council, leave us. We wish to speak with Silvanus,” Anu finally said. “Centurion, Nightshade remain. You, as well, Alec and Steven.” Alec was very confused. He knew Aleisha went by Nightshade. Was Marcus also Centurion? He saw Marcus’s eyes flick to him and away quickly. Alec realized he shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.
The other members of the council and their seconds exited quietly from the study, Laramie looking pissed. Schubert was standing speaking quietly with the three Elder vampires. He bowed to them once and then turned and left. Alec was surprised. He’d never seen Schubert show deference to anyone. It also made Alec wonder if Schubert was one of the Unfettered. He certainly wasn’t afraid to speak his mind or stand up to anyone.
“We need not tell you how dire circumstances are at the moment,” Anu began. He shambled over to stand beside where Silas was seated. “We need answers. Silvanus, I want your best people on this. That’s why we’ve asked Steven to remain behind.”
Steven licked his lips and looked a little nervous at this statement but didn’t say anything. Silas nodded once.
“Give him whatever resources he needs to scour the Internet for information pertaining to or that may lead us to the Devil. We cannot have a rogue vampire running around causing problems, especially not one as powerful as this.”
“Could we be dealing with an Ancient, one that has resurfaced after years of being under?” Marcus asked looking at Anu.
“No,” Anu said shaking his head. “We would have sensed that.” He didn’t speak further, but Alec felt there was more.
Aleisha didn’t say anything but Alec caught her eyeing him several times. She never looked away and never smiled, she just studied him. It was somewhat unnerving.
“Centurion and Nightshade, we are pulling you off of your previous assignments to work on this, it’s top priority. Alec, we would like your help as well,” Anu said looking at him.
“Of course,” Alec said nodding his head. “The sooner we figure out who the Devil is the sooner the attempts on my life will end. Most of them, anyway,” he finished lamely.
“Then we are done here,” Anu said facing the two other Elders. “Silvanus, we will be in touch. Keep us apprised of your finding.”
From out of nowhere the Asian man in the white suit appeared and assisted the Elders out through the back of Silas’s study. After the doors were closed the others remained seated, thinking to themselves.
“Alec could I speak with you privately?” Silas asked dismissing the rest.
Alec nodded once and remained seated as the others stood.
“We will wait for you in your room,” Marcus said indicating Steven and smiling. They all left. Alec wasn’t sure where Aleisha was staying but assumed that she had a room, as Silas didn’t offer to have Xavier show her to one.
When the doors were closed Silas stood and walked to the decanter of scotch and refilled his and Alec’s glass and set it on the table between them.
Silas sighed deeply. “Congratulations Alec, this turned out better than even I had imagined. You are fortunate that the Elders stepped in.”
“Do they do this often, just show up and take over?”
“Almost never, unless there is something major going on.”
Alec thought about that for a moment. He wasn’t upset over his freedom, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have reservations about the Elders and their sudden appearance and interest in him. There was something they weren’t telling the rest. Alec could feel it.
Silas held up his glass. “To your freedom, Alec.” He smiled warmly at the young man. The
y clinked their glasses together in a toast. “I want you to know that you have a place here if you want to stay. You are free to leave of course, but I’d feel better knowing you were safe.”
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet,” Alec said honestly. He sighed heavily.
“I know it’s a lot. But you have your freedom. Doctor Schubert would like to continue his tests and studying your blood if you will permit. We might be able to find some answers with time.”
“Of course,” Alec said nodding. “I’m okay with that. I trust him…and you.”
Silas bowed his head once to show he understood and was honored.
“Alec, I am still here for you if you need anything at all. Just know that we aren’t going to abandon you now that all this is over.”
Tears flooded Alec’s eyes and he had to blink several times to clear his vision. He didn’t speak, afraid that his voice would betray the emotions he felt. He nodded once to say thanks.
"Alec, there’s something else," Silas reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope, "I need your signature." He had a huge smile on his face when he handed Alec the envelope.
"What is this?" Alec asked opening up the envelope and scanning the pages.
"It's your…inheritance, I guess you could say."
Alec looked at Silas confused.
"As Clarissa's one and only remaining heir, you inherit all of her assets."
Alec was stunned at the news. He looked back at the paper in his hands and realized that a little over ten million dollars would be deposited into this account, under his name. He was speechless.
"When a vampire is newly created, it's the sire's responsibility to take care of them and show them the way things are done in the modern age. One of the responsibilities is also to assist them financially until they are capable of becoming independent. That's part of the reason why creating a new vampire has to be approved by the council. We want to make sure there aren't vampires being abandoned, broke and forced to wreak havoc in the world in order to survive."
“I… I… don't..."
Shadow Born: Book 1 of the Shadow-Borne Chronicles Page 36
