by Andrea Wölk
Channing crept slowly towards the back door of the Empire with Maroush covering him.
In the early morning haze, the club was quiet and deserted. When Maroush saw the large old oak tree he’d been sitting on earlier that morning, he recalled the young woman who nearly ran him over coming out of the back office. »Sunny,« he stated softly. Channing looked up in surprise. »Who’s Sunny?« Maroush shrugged his shoulders. »I don’t know exactly. I ran into her here last night. She wasn’t a really friendly person, but she seemed to belong to the club somehow. There was a young man with her, a mortal.« »A vampire with short black hair?« Maroush nodded. »That was Philippe she had with her. He followed Sara from Paris. Do you know where they went?« Maroush shook his head. »I have no idea. He wanted to get his backpack he’d left inside the club, but she was in a hurry. The sun was beginning to come up.«
All the doors at the club were locked in back, so entry wouldn’t be possible without breaking in. Maroush tried to pick up Aragón’s scent, but there was no sign of his presence. »If Aragón is being held against his will, how long can he last without blood?« thought Channing out loud.
»It depends on when he fed last. A week max, if he fed last night. But we can’t be sure of that.« Maroush looked over at Channing worried. »We’re not half bloods so we need blood more often than you do,« he explained looking at his cell phone. Still no call from Sara. She’d stayed at home just in case Aragón came back, possibly injured. Jôrek and Ruben were checking out the area surrounding the club looking for clues. Maroush pulled his sword from its sheath letting it glisten in the pale morning light. »What do you think? Should we go in a see if he’s in there?« Channing pulled his weapon and released the safety. »Since we’re already here, it would be a shame not to take a look at the club during daylight hours.«
»I agree with you completely.«
The cleaning service had done an excellent job. There wasn’t the slightest sign that the club had been open and full of guests until the early morning hours. Everything was spotlessly clean.
Thanks to his telepathic powers, Maroush was able to open the back door. He was an old vampire and his powers were above and beyond what was considered normal. Over the centuries, he hadn’t only improved his physical strength, but also spiritual as well.
Channing followed him with admiration, but without a lot of hope that he would someday reach such a status. The club didn’t have an alarm system, which was a sign of the owner’s arrogance. They glided through the easily accessible rooms silently. After a couple of minutes they reached the back office. Maroush picked up the fine scent of cinnamon that he’d smelled on Sunny the night before. Either she had a very intensive, lingering scent or she’d just been here. »I can smell Aragón, « whispered Channing. »The scent is weak, but I’m sure that he was here.« Maroush nodded in agreement. »It’s amazing how quickly you’ve learned to pick up different scents. That usually takes years. It’s extraordinary.«
Suddenly, a car motor and voices could be heard outside. »Damn it! Someone’s coming.« Maroush scoped out an open door just in case they had to flee. »It’s Shia. I can feel him. There are two people with him and one of them is Eva,« said Channing.
»So you can do that already, too. That’s really remarkable.« As to not attract any attention, the two of them made themselves comfortable in the closet where the cleaning materials were usually stored. They’d wait there until Shia and the others had left. They would be putting Shia and Eva in a difficult position, if they were found. Channing had a moment to observe Maroush’s tight body.
»How old are you?« he asked. A slight smile appeared on Maroush’s lips. »Well, I’m almost as old as the world, it seems. I was born in about 670 A.D. and have always been a warrior.« They were surrounded by darkness, but Channing could see Maroush’s pride as he spoke, his eyes fixed on a point that seemed to be on the other end of the world.
»Once I was a commander and also the Chief Magistrate of Tangiers. I served under Musa ibn Nusayr, the Governor of Ifriqiya, which is Tunisia and eastern Algeria today. Together with my men, we conquered the Visigoth kingdom and defeated King Roderick. My name is Tariq, son of Ziyad and I officially died in the year 720 AD.« Channing looked at him in amazement. He was sitting here with a man who had managed to keep his head on his shoulders for more than one thousand, three hundred years, no matter what battle he’d been pulled into. He couldn’t even wrap his mind around that. »Why were you declared dead? Sorry, excuse my curiosity, but this world which has opened up to me is so fascinating that I just can’t seem to get enough information. I feel like I’m paging through an ancient book.« Maroush nodded in agreement.
»I can understand your curiosity, my friend. I fell out of favor, so it was better to not lose my head so I just disappeared.« His Arabic accent gave his words a hint of mystery and his facial muscles tensed up. Channing thought it’d be better not to ask too many more questions. »Your maxim, what is it?« he asked, changing the subject. »The maxim of my existence is Ultima Ratio – The last resort!«
After Shia and the others had checked out the area around the Empire without success and driven back to the police department, Channing and Maroush had another look around the club. But their search ended without finding anything new. Behind the club they found a small clue that seemed to point to the fact that Aragón had been loaded into a car. Besides a few tire tracks, they had nothing to go on.
There was a lot of activity in the department due to a shooting at a wedding, which resulted in three casualties. Two hostile groups were in a shouting match about who had started shooting first. The arguing was getting on Eva’s nerves and she expressed her displeasure loudly. After that everything quieted down a bit only to start up again a few minutes later.
»This doesn’t happen in California, does it? You’re more cultivated down there!« shouted Esposito at Shia over the noise who responded only with a quick shrug.
»Hey Shia, what a coincidence that your sister’s house in the Eva’s neighborhood.« Esposito tried to start a conversation. »How do you think Eva managed to find a house there?« Shia asked back, steering the conversation away from himself.
Eva slammed her cell phone down on the table making it rattle slightly. »I can’t stand anymore of this noise!« She screamed and pulled on her jacket. »Cruz, I’m gonna follow up on a few leads. Let’s see if we can find out who owns the club. You stay here. I’ll take Shia with me!« Eva left Esposito standing there baffled. »Hey, is he your new partner or what?« he called out after her angrily, but because of the noise, she never heard it.
Unsmiling Esposito watched them leave and then looked down at the Breitling on his wrist. Something wasn’t right here. He wasn’t sure what, but he’d figure it out. Unerring, he grabbed the phone and asked to be connected to the Homicide Department in L.A. A few seconds later he was connected. »Lieutenant Keane, please. This is Detective Esposito from the Seattle Police Department ... Are you sure? ... There’s no Lieutenant Keane, Shia Keane? And a Detective Keane? Okay, thank you for the information!« He hung up the phone laughing.
»That was close. Esposito’s beginning to ask some uncomfortable questions, so if you don’t want to have to give him your car, I wouldn’t show up any more in the department, if I were you!« snapped Eva. She assumed that Shia would drive home, but she was wrong. He was driving south in the complete opposite direction. He was heading for North Beacon Hill. He pulled the car into a Bank of America parking lot. Eva looked out at the ugly one-story building. »What are we doing here?« She was still incredibly angry, although she wasn’t really sure whom she was exactly mad at. »You’ll see.« Shia walked around the car and opened the door for Eva. She followed him into the bank reluctantly. One of the tellers approached them smiling. »Mr. Keane, nice to see you here today.« Shia nodded at the man wearing a gray suit. »Is she here?« Without waiting for an answer, he took Eva by the hand and walked towards the stairs leading to the basement. »Of course, Mr. Keane, where else wou
ld she be?«
Phoebe Edwards was sitting in a very comfortable, modern looking office chair in front of an even more modern looking computer keyboard watching Shia and Eva enter on an oversized computer screen, which appeared as a hologram on the desk in front of her. But before they had even opened the bulletproof steel door, she hollered »Come in! And don’t bring any sunlight in with you!« Shia held the door open for Eva and after both had entered, he closed it before the bank employee could follow them in. He’d understood Phoebe’s signal and knew then that she didn’t actually mean sunlight, but rather Pete Brown, the somewhat boring, yet pushy bank employee. The hologram showed the disapproving expression on his face as he turned away from the closed door and went back up the stairs to his office.
»He’s been acting like that for days. It’s about time we bit him in the neck again to put him in his place ... Shia, I’m so happy to see you again!« she screeched euphorically and then hugged him excitedly. Shia returned her hug and kissed the top of her head. »Thanks so much for getting me the Breitling so fast. You were really able to help us out.« »Like with the GT?« She laughed.
Eva stood aloof taking in the scene. She was in a sparsely furnished, square room in the basement of the bank. There weren’t any windows, only plain gray walls. The light in the room came from two indirect sources shining directly at the desk, otherwise the room was dark. The friendly, intimate welcome between the two made Eva suddenly jealous. She felt a sharp pang of jealousy line her stomach with fire.
Shia noticed the change in her mood immediately, but didn’t say anything; rather he pushed it to the limit by putting his arms around Phoebe. Eva took in the younger woman’s every detail. As far as appearance, she couldn’t have been older than Shia, maybe early twenties and she was beautiful. She had straight, shoulder length, walnut brown hair, mysterious dark blue eyes and smooth features. She turned around curiously then towards Eva, revealing a deep, ugly scar, which ran from behind her ear down to her shoulder, a scalding red disfigurement on an otherwise flawless body that would be immediately noticed by anyone. Eva felt an immediate sense of compassion and guilt because of the jealousy she’d felt. As if he could see directly into her soul, Shia sensed her feelings and looked her lovingly in the eye.
Phoebe playfully punched him in the ribs. »Shia Keane, you are forgetting your manners. Don’t you want to introduce me to your attractive friend?« Shia moved away from her, took hold of Eva’s hand and pulled her over to him. »Eva, this is Phoebe Edwards. She’s the heart and soul of our warrior Order. She manages the finances, gets us everything we need and is an absolute genius with a computer. There isn’t anything she can’t figure out.«
Phoebe waved him off with her hand. »He’s totally exaggerating!« »Phoebe, this is Eva Butler. She's a Lieutenant with the S.P.D. and my soulmate.« He didn’t mention that she was a mortal. Phoebe gave Eva her hand. »I’m so happy to meet you, Eva. I’ve been waiting a century to finally meet Shia’s soulmate,« she said with a cheeky grin. Eva took her hand and felt soothing warmth emanating from her.
»What can I do for the both of you?« Phoebe walked back to her desk and flopped down into her chair. »You have to locate a cell phone for us. Aragón has disappeared. Do you think that’s possible?« Phoebe threw him a dirty look. »Is his phone on?« »Yes, but we don’t know if he’s got it on him. It rings, but that’s all.« She looked up anxiously. »That doesn’t sound good.«
In less than three seconds a flashing red signal appeared on the hologram projected on the wall.
»It’s in Laurelhurst, on the far side of Union Bay. Let me give you the exact position.« She handed Shia a print out of the location and coordinates. »That’s close to where we found Dimatros' body,« reminded Eva. Shia nodded at her and looked back at the screen.
»Can you get me a satellite photo?« he directed Phoebe, who immediately pounded her fingers into the keyboard. A few seconds later, she was zooming in on the address. A huge piece of property came into view with a u-shaped building in the center and a dock right on Union Bay.
»Okay, let’s go to Sara’s and inform the others. Thank you, Phoebe. Could you check out who the owner of the Empire is? It’s a new club downtown. I also need the name of the person who own the property you just showed us. Finally, we’ll need passports and credit cards for Dr. Channing McArthur and Eva Butler!« Phoebe nodded anxiously. »Done,« and when they turned towards the door to go, Phoebe added »Hey Shia, bring our lordship back in one piece!«
Pete Brown nodded to the two of them as they left, then grabbed his cell phone and entered an encrypted number. »They were just here. I don’t know what they wanted, but there seems to be something going on. Yeah, I’ll let you know when I know more.« He hastily put his phone back in his pocket and went downstairs to see what Phoebe was up to.
By the time they got to the car, Eva’s anger had subsided. She looked over at Shia who was maneuvering the car safely through traffic. »What happened to Phoebe?« »Acid,« he replied curtly. »But I thought vampires could heal their own wounds.« »Not this one. We couldn’t figure out what kind of acid it was. It wasn’t much, but it caused a lot of damage.« »Was she your girlfriend?« A slight smile emerged on Shia’s face. »No Eva.« He looked over at her tenderly shacking his head slightly. »I sensed your jealousy. There’s no need to feel jealous, but it does make me feel extremely proud.« Eva looked over at him confused. »My insecurity makes you feel proud?« she stated perplexed. »If I didn’t mean anything to you, you wouldn’t have been jealous of Phoebe. The more jealous you are, the more sure I am that you love me.« »So, you think I love you?« Shia looked away from the traffic for a second. »I’ve never been more sure.« They sat there in silence for a few minutes and Eva’s mind wandered to Phoebe. »Why does she work in the basement of a bank? Aren’t there nicer places she could work without having to worry about daylight?« »Phoebe doesn’t just work there, she lives there too.« »In the bank?«
Shia nodded. »You were quite observant. She isn’t a warrior of faith so she has to avoid daylight. She’s chosen to join us but she suffers from an extreme case of anthrophobia.« »She’s afraid of people?«
»Yes, ever since her accident, she’s been extremely shy and only has contact with people she knows. Phoebe never leaves those rooms and Pete Brown is her only contact to the outside world, even if he does totally get on her nerves.«
»But he’s a mortal!« Shia nodded again. »Yes, he doesn’t know about us. Phoebe uses him to feed, but he doesn’t know. She lets him believe that she likes him. Maybe she even does a little. Anyway, she’s an absolute financial genius. Thanks to her, we have access to a vast amount of resources, which makes our work so much easier. Regardless of her problems, Phoebe is a valuable resource to us. We are extremely lucky to have her.« »So that’s why you can afford to drive a two hundred thousand dollar car?« Shia laughed like a little boy. »You did some research!« »No, Esposito told me. Shia, you should be more careful. We have to act a bit more cautiously. You’ve attracted some attention and that’s risky,« said Eva sensibly. He parked the car in the garage under the house. »I’ve been living with these dangers for over one hundred years, and they won’t stop me from having a little fun.«
Fire
Chapter 15
The warriors were waiting impatiently in the meeting room and the look on Shia’s face when he saw his sister spoke volumes. Aragón was still missing. They stood around the map in silence. »Phoebe was able to locate Aragón’s cell phone. It’s in Laurelhurst near Union Bay where the S.P.D. found the body of the Empire’s manager.« He pointed to the exact location on the map. »We have to find out if he’s there.«
»What are we waiting for then?« shouted Ruben jumping up from his chair. Jôrek throttled his excitement. »You just want to run in there and get him? That’s just want those bastards want us to do. Don’t jump the gun.« Ruben’s fangs had emerged and everyone stood there watching him banging his fists against the wall in frustration.
&nbs
p; »I don’t want to lose him.« »Ruben, none of us want that.« Channing put his hand on his shoulders to calm him down. »We’ll work out a plan and then get Aragón out of there. We need everyone to keep their heads on straight.«
Ruben nodded in understanding and tried to calm down. When he saw Eva talking quietly to Sara, Shia threw her a distressed look. When those two women put their heads together, only something dangerous seem to come of it.
»Who’s Phoebe?« Channing asked the group.
»She’s in charge of our finances and equipment. Anything you need done with a computer, she can do. Phoebe’s a vampire, but not a warrior of faith, so she has to avoid daylight,» explained Shia as his cell phone started ringing interrupting him. Everyone stared at him intently. »Phoebe!« He called out, nodding a few times listening attentively and then he hung up. »That was her,« he explained redundantly. »She found out who own the Empire. A man named Kilian Castaway. There’s so little information about him. It’s as if he doesn’t even really exist.« »Like a vampire!« added Eva quietly. »The only interesting thing is that he owns the property where we’ve located Aragón’s cell phone.«
