by Jamie Ott
Chapter 3
Several days went by without word from Marla or Shane. Starr was really worried and cursed herself for letting them go alone. On the third day of not hearing from them, she called Blakely at the Council who said he’d send some Fleet members to check on them.
Occasionally, it crossed her mind that she could just go. Then she shook her head because she only had about two months to go. Taking off would cause many more problems. No, Starr just had to hope that they were fine. Whoever held them could realize that Marla and Shane were important to the Council, and use them to make demands. Sure, it would suck to be held prisoner, but they’d be alive.
Jana was temporarily released so she could go to her Grandmother’s funeral. And as Starr stood there, watching her climb into the dark car, it occurred to her that she’d never asked Jana why she was there. Jana went on and on about her no-good brother, yet here she was in jail. Could Jana be manipulating her?
That night, Nia knocked on her door and asked, “Are you going out tonight?”
“No, thanks. I’m fine.”
Nia looked disappointed as she closed the door. Starr would have liked to continue their arrangement, but if Nia couldn’t keep her nose on her own business, then Starr had to stop using her.
Starr stared at the ceiling for a while because she couldn’t fall asleep. Then, outside of her window, she heard whispering.
She sat up and looked outside. All she saw was darkness. Immediately, she searched for the voices with her mind. But she didn’t find who they belonged to; it was almost as if they were everywhere, meaning someone’s consciousness was near. Could it be there were vampires observing the jail, or was it her imagination?
Starr didn’t know or care. If vampires came for her, she’d kill them all. Not many had the strength to take on a vampire who’d taken Primordial blood.
She rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head.
The next afternoon, she saw Jana had returned. Her eyes were glazed over and the corners of her nose were red.
Jana joined Starr and Morenia in the lounge as they played chess.
“How was the funeral?” asked Morenia as she moved her bishop across the board.
“It was alright; everything went smoothly and without problems.”
“Did your brother attend?” asked Starr who, trying not to hear any of Morenia’s thoughts, focused on Jana’s. She was the worst telepath, but she could still catch a person’s intentions now and again.
“He’s been missing. We think he’s skipped out on us.”
But Starr got the distinct whiff of sour lemon coming from her – a hormone and indication that she was lying. She moved her pawn up two spaces and looked Jana in the eyes as casually as possible.
Her brother was dead. Starr didn’t know if Jana was responsible for it, but she couldn’t have cared less. It was at that moment Starr knew Jana was bad news.
After lunch, Jana pulled her aside.
“Were you able to contact your friends? The Schula family showed up at my Grandmother’s funeral. We have to give him one million euros to go away. We don’t have that much. I was wondering if maybe your friends could give us a loan.”
Starr’s surprise must have shown on her face.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. Maybe your friends could help us get these guys off our backs. Perhaps you could get some information on these guys, and get them thrown into jail.”
Starr held up her hand and cut her off, saying, “I can’t help you.”
“Why, Starr? Please!”
“I know you’ve lied to me, and I know you’re lying to me now. It’s not really your brother who’s dangerous, is it? Tell me, why are you here?”
Jana sighed and said, “Come on, let’s talk in my room.”
“No, I can’t.”
“I told you the other day. My brother, Joseph, hid money he stole from Michael Schula. He hid it in my house. When the police came, they arrested me and took the money. I refused to rat out Joseph because he was our only hope to get the money back from the cops. But he refused to confess to stealing, so Schula pressed charges against me. The police know the money is Schula’s, but they won’t give it back because they say it’s been laundered. Now, Schula is trying to get us to pay for it.”
At that moment, Starr understood why people believed her: large sympathetic eyes and naturally innocent looking face. Jana’s game was playing the victim. Starr was almost certain that Jana was indeed the one who took the money, and she might still have it. If only she were better at reading minds.
Suddenly, Jana’s eyes became steely. She knew Starr didn’t believe her. Jana had good instincts about people. Probably, she got caught stealing because she was sloppy and greedy.
“I’m sorry,” said Starr. “This Schula guy is too powerful even for me. Besides, how can I help if you don’t tell me everything?”
“I’ve told you everything! I swear!”
“No, you haven’t,” said Starr angrily. The lights flickered as her voice filled the room. “You went on a cocaine binge rather than to your Grandmother’s funeral. Your brother didn’t show up because he’s dead, and you don’t give a damn about that, do you?”
She didn’t say anything. Her eyes widened in shock.
“See, you’re nothing like who you pretend to be.”
Starr left her room without another word.
Jana turned cold toward her after that. Starr didn’t mind, though, because she was worried about her friends. She didn’t have time for other people’s problems. To her surprise, Morenia, who was friends with Jana first, still came and sat with her at dinner.
“Why are you still talking to me?”
Jana sat at another table with some other women.
“I like Jana, but I know she was just using me. When we first met, she had all these questions about me, my family and talked nonstop about money problems. Besides, I could never hang out with a drug addicted girl who comes from a criminal family.”
Starr’s hand froze mid air with fork.
“Wait, are you saying her family is a known crime entity?”
“The Gentas have a long history.”
The name sounded familiar.
“Well, we’re all here for a reason,” Starr said.
“True, but hanging around with someone like her is bad for business. My misdeeds can be explained away, but her family’s history goes way back. My father has enough on his plate at the moment, with people accusing him of taking bribes while in office and other stuff. They would hassle me if they found me with Jana.”
“Why are you here?” asked Starr.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Starr didn’t need her to talk, though. She gleaned from her mind that it had something to do with money. It was interesting that most of them came from families that had money, yet here they were, in jail, because of money. Some were there for stealing, laundering, selling secrets, falsifying accounting records; although a few were there for selling drugs, too.
Over the next couple of days, Starr became vampirically peckish. She’d asked Blakely to help her. He was supposed to send her blood bars - bars of soap on the outside, packets of blood on the inside. They’d yet to arrive. She didn’t understand why he’d delay such an important task. He was one of her top administrators at the Council. Never did he fail to do something menial in a quick fashion.
In the bathroom, her reflection showed her skin had become papery again.
“AAahhh!” someone screamed behind her.
Starr jumped and spun around.
“Your eyes!” said Ginny.
“It’s a birth defect,” she said and slipped her grey contact lenses in. “Blood vessels in my eyes are visible because I have no melanin in them.”
“Like an albino?” she asked.
“Yes.”
However, Starr’s condition wasn’t like that of albino. Her red onyx eyes were the result of the Primordial initiation she took over t
en years ago.
“A century or two ago, you’d have been declared a demon.”
Starr laughed.
“Are you okay, though? You look a little ill,” Ginny said as she turned on the water and washed her hands.
Trying to suppress the urge to growl, she said, “It’s something I ate.”
“Maybe all the dairy is getting to you,” she said and laughed.
That night, Nia worked again. Eagerly, Starr shoved the thousand euros into her hand, and then went out and hunted for hours.
The air was crisp against her skin, that night, making her already papery layer contract and spread thinner. At the same time, it made her inner animal come even more alive, and feel more wild and free. Although it was a sliver moon, if there were such a thing as a werewolf, this was what it must have been like to hunt when your animal is in control.
It only took a moment for her to find the family of raccoons, which if in her right mind, she’d have never been able to consume. They were too cat-like, and she felt bad about the babies being vulnerable. But with her inner demon at the helm, her scruples became nonexistent.
Next, she found a couple possums and a small pig. This time, she didn’t waste time with roasting it. She drank them down, devoured their raw flesh, and then returned to jail.
The minute she landed alongside the stucco wall, she knew someone waited for her. Two men stood, waiting in her room.
A scent of blood caught her nose. Had they killed someone?
A barrage of thoughts flooded her mind. Should she kill them, and could she do it quickly and quietly? If it got messy, how would she explain it to the cops? She could end up in jail for a long time. Also, what if the cameras hadn’t been paused?
There was nothing but to face them head on and deal with the consequences later. It was either her or them, and it was gonna be them dead. So she walked in without further hesitation.
Starr sensed that they knew she was coming before she entered the room.
There they were: one was tall with shoulder length hair and a black leather jacket; the other was a bit shorter and wore a black suit.
Nia was dead on the floor.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Peter,” said the tall one as he ran his hand through his hair. He spoke with a light Scottish accent. “This is Dylan.”
“Why did you kill her?” she whispered angrily.
“Funnily enough, we didn’t,” said Peter. “She heard us and walked in. I guess we scared her because she walked backward, tripped and hit her head on the wall. You can see for yourself. We didn’t touch her; we only came to talk to you.”
Starr knelt down on the concrete floor and turned her over. There was a nasty hollow in the back of her head, and she hadn’t been drunk as her body was still warm.
Satisfied, she stood up and asked, “Why are you here?”
“We’re a part of the group you mistakenly sent the Fleet after,” said Dylan. “We are the Miscoptus, and we are not a cult but a club. Your men came in and arrested many of our guests.”
“Listen, guys, I quit the Council. I don’t care what you do anymore. You have problems? Then take it up with someone else.”
“You need to come with us, now!” said Dylan who’d taken a step toward her.
“I’d stand back if I were you. I won’t hesitate to kill you, both. I’ve dealt with far more aggressive vampires than you. You don’t scare me.”
Dylan stepped back.
“We’ve come because of a case you’re investigating,” Peter said.
“I told you; I don’t work for the Council anymore.”
“Just listen a moment! A friend of ours has gone missing, along with a number of others: all women. There are clues that lead us to believe that these incidents are connected to the missing women you’re investigation. We were hoping to join your team, the Fleet, and help.”
“How does missing women in Bucharest tie with the murders of pregnant women in Bangkok?”
“A friend of mine, a business man and non-vampire, takes regular trips to Bangkok. Apparently, there is some new underground, there. White slavery at its best: they practice impregnating women, but no one knows what happens to the babies once born. Some women live to be impregnated several times before being sold or killed.”
Starr shook her head. “I saw the reports: rapid enlistments, fast increasing members, missing people, higher number of random, unsolved murders in your city.”
“We are a social club and nothing more! The only killing we’ve done is animal, because we provide easy access bars so other vamps can drink without killing.”
“If what you say is true, then the Council will let you get on with it. But as I’ve said, I don’t work with them anymore. Do you know how many people have approached me since I quit? At some point, I have to draw the line.”
Peter and Dylan looked at each other a moment. Starr knew they were communicating.
“Fine, we’ll go back to Bucharest,” said Dylan. “Do you want us to take this body with us?”
“If you don’t mind. Whatever you do, don’t drink her.”
Dylan tossed her over his shoulder, and then they walked out.
Panic