He remained standing with his hands in the air, his head tilted upward as if pleading.
“You done?” Claire asked, nonplussed.
Frank turned around. He was smirking. “That was pretty good. I think I might have a chance at this Broadway thing I keep reading about. You ever heard of Danny DeVito? I think somehow there was a mix-up, and he’s a leprechaun. Either way, he’s a famous actor. No reason I shouldn’t be too.”
Claire rolled her eyes and went to her dresser. “Just go tell them I’m up, and I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Atta girl,” Frank encouraged. He walked over to the door and opened it, ready to leave.
“Hey.” Claire turned around from the dresser. “You okay? Concussion or anything?”
Frank waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Dracula got in a lucky blow. I’m more than fine. Better than ever. I’m just mad ye put him down before I had a second go at him.”
Claire smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay, Frank.”
“Thanks, lass,” he told her. “Now hurry up.” He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
“Well, you did even better than we expected.” Remington nodded appreciatively. “I don’t think Lance, Dr. Pritcham, or I thought we’d get all four of you back, plus the cult.” A grin appeared on his face. “We were just hoping we’d get the four of you back.”
“Watch it, Remington,” Claire told him icily. “You told me you were planning on us coming back the whole time.”
“I’m kidding.” Remington turned his palms toward the group in a gesture of peace.
The three students were in Dr. Pritcham’s office again, the FBI agents on the couch as usual. Frank was sitting in the corner near the window, although he didn’t look nearly as dejected and untrusting as he had before.
He’s part of the group now, Claire thought.
“In all seriousness,” Dr. Pritcham volunteered, “what you four did was beyond amazing. To say I’m proud would be an understatement.”
“We didn’t get all the vampires,” Marissa protested. “A lot of them fled.”
“We know,” Remington replied. “There have been a few more attacks over the past few days, but that’s okay. We’ll be able to round them up. They’re scared now, after what they saw happen to Dracula. They aren’t nearly as brazen as before, and their connection to the cult is gone. They’re on their own.”
Claire turned around in her chair. “What happened to the cult? Where are they?”
Lance smiled. “We have them. It’s taking time to get what we need out of them, but they’re giving it up. The skinny one is the easiest to break. We’re already getting a lot of information.”
“You going to share?” Jack said, turning around in his chair too.
“Well, for starters, the layout of the organization,” Remington informed her. “It’s decentralized like Marissa thought, but there is a hierarchy. It goes up pretty high, and the woman in this group was one of its oldest members. That’s why she was given Boston. We also know they’re choosing who they bring over. We haven’t figured out why the cult lets them do that yet if it fits into some kind of overarching plan.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed as a question came to her. “But what do they want? Why are they doing this?”
Remington glanced at the window in thought. “Another question we don’t know yet, but we’ll get it out of them. This group wanted to be Dracula’s right hands, more or less. They would worship him like a god, and in turn, when he conquered Boston and Earth, or whatever they thought he’d do, they would share the spoils.” After a moment, he continued. “We’re not sure if it’s the same for every cell. That’s going to be important for us to find out.”
More questions were coming to Claire now, her brain waking up from its long slumber. “How are they breaking the Veil?”
Remington smiled at that, his eyes flashing back to Claire. “Oh, that’s the good news. We got one of the machines they’re using. It’s some kind of orb, and we’ve got engineers looking at it now. We’ll figure it out eventually, but it’s the first time we’ve gotten a look at one of those things.”
Marissa raised her hand.
Remington smiled. “Just be rude like Claire. No need to raise your hand.”
Marissa put her hand back down, smiling. “How did they see the vampires? They’re adults, but they’re the ones who called them over. The vast majority of adults can’t see anything, so how did they?”
Remington nodded at the question. “We’re not completely sure about that either, but we have some theories. It seems the fat one played online video games like ten hours a day before he got involved with the cult. We can’t be sure, but we think his mind was so accustomed to seeing fantastical things in the videogames that it wasn’t a stretch for him when the Mythers showed up. The woman, Hannah? She was part of a coven before she joined this thing. She believed in witchcraft, so it would only make sense that she could see vampires. The other guy, the scared, skinny one? We think his fear and paranoia allowed him to see. He’s constantly looking out for bad things that are going to happen, so it makes sense that his brain would allow him to see Mythers. He believes there are threats around every corner. Once we get done with the debrief, we’re going to have scientists run brain scans. Hopefully that will give us more information.
Claire looked down at her lap. “There are still so many questions.”
“That’s true.” Dr. Pritcham nodded. “But, it’s not your job to figure out answers. We’ve got people working on that, and they’re the best in the world at it. It’s your job to be ready for the next attack.”
Claire looked up. “Next attack?”
“Yeah,” Jack said. “‘Next attack’ seems awfully soon. I was hoping for a little rest and relaxation. Take Frank to a strip club. Maybe get a little Spring Break.”
Dr. Pritcham deadpanned him. “It’s nowhere near spring.”
Jack grinned. “You know what I’m saying.”
“Sorry, but no can do.” Dr. Pritcham shrugged. “You three are going back to class until these nice gentlemen tell us what the next creature to look for is. Then, we’ll train on that.”
Jack groaned. “Class?”
“Thank God,” Marissa whispered.
Claire looked at the FBI agents. “You got any idea what that’s going to be? The next creature?”
Remington shook his head. “Not yet, but we’ve got some leads. You might have to travel.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Somewhere exotic? With tanned women?”
“You’ll be lucky if we don’t send the three of you to the Arctic Circle,” Lance replied. “We’re working on figuring that out. That’s another question you needn’t concern yourself with. Just be prepared, because what we’re hearing is that it’s something big. Something even more powerful than Dracula.”
Frank rolled his eyes. “Dracula wasn’t so fierce. Just an old man with too much confidence.”
Remington leaned forward, ignoring Frank. “We’re not saying it to scare you, just to prepare you. What’s coming next has the potential to be really dangerous, so we need the three of you learning everything you can in all of your classes.” He looked at Jack. “Including you.”
Claire smiled. “Don’t worry about that. He’s going to pass everything, or he’s off my team.”
Jack turned, eyebrows raised. “It’s like that, huh?”
Claire nodded. “For sure. Only the best hang with Marissa and me.”
“Nope,” Frank corrected with a grin. “Only the best hang with Frank.”
The End
Be on the look out for Semester Two, coming in about 30 days to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Author Notes - Jace Mitchell
October 24, 2019
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you haven’t gone and grabbed Amy’s book which is in the same universe yet, you definitely should – it’s great. It’s tougher than I ever imagined to create a shared universe, and
I’d like to thank Michael for his support with it. He’s sorta like the Yoda of Universe Creation. You have a problem, you bring it to him – and BAM – it’s fixed. However, while Yoda uses riddles and odd sentence structure, Michael uses curse words.
Without spoiling too much, there’s a lot going on behind the Veil that we haven’t been privy to yet – but don’t worry, the answers are coming. Who started tearing the Veil? What’s their purpose? And perhaps most importantly, can they be stopped? See you in Book Two.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
October 24, 2019
Thank you for not only reading this book but these Author Notes as well!
A very short bit about me. I’m just under four years old as a releasing author. My first book (Death Becomes Her – The Kurtherian Gambit 01) was released on November 2, 2015. Since then, I’ve written dozens of books, and been a collaborator on dozens of series. Along the way, I built a fairly large Indie publishing company.
Jace Mitchell has written pre-LMBPN books under another name. I won’t out the name, but it’s there somewhere!
He is one of the nicest guys I know. When he believes he isn’t meeting expectations, he is the first to offer an apology, and I have to ask…
“For what?”
Half the time, I’ve no idea what mark he thinks he missed. Other times, I have to put up the results and explain that he needs to realize this wasn’t him. He’s a remarkable fellow, and so easy to get along with.
But, if he wants to think of me as Yoda and credit me with fixing issues in the time it takes, I’m ok if you are. It is flattering, and I appreciate the sentiment, Jace!
Right now, I have to stop typing. It’s 11:24PM, and I’m suffering from jetlag. I am snoring (and waking myself up) as I type these notes. I wish Jace and Amy the absolute best with these stories, and I welcome you guys and gals to our new universe, which is all about the Veil!
Regards,
Michael Anderle
Obsidian Detective
Pre-order now to have the book arrive on your Kindle November 1st.
Two Rebels whose Worlds Collide on a Planetary Level.
On the fringes of human space, a murder will light a fuse and send two different people colliding together.
She lives on Earth, where peace among the population is a given. He is on the fringe of society where authority is how much firepower you wield.
She is from the powerful, the elite. He is with the military.
Both want the truth – but is revealing the truth good for society?
---
Two years ago, a small moon in a far off system was set to be the location of the first intergalactic war between humans and an alien race.
It never happened. However, something was found many are willing to kill to keep a secret.
Now, they have killed the wrong people.
How many will need to die to keep the truth hidden?
As many as is needed.
He will have vengeance no matter the cost. She will dig for the truth. No matter how risky the truth is to reveal.
Coming November 1st from Amazon and other Digital Book Stores
Books By Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
All LMBPN Audiobooks are Available at Audible.com and iTunes
To see all LMBPN audiobooks, including those written by Michael Anderle please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/audible
Connect with The Authors
Jace Mitchell
Jace Mitchell is an Amazon best-selling author of fantasy novels. He lives in Key West with his dog, and when he’s not writing, he’s enjoying a cigar and scotch.
John his Mailing List by clicking below
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Michael Anderle Social
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Paranormal University: First Semester: An Unveiled Academy Novel Page 22
