by Tanja Neise
Sunrise! Where was Ladorre taking me? Suddenly, I was with it again, wide awake. Ladorre wouldn't be able to walk through the forest much longer, the sun would come to my aid. But I didn't think he’d be so stupid as to run around here without the necessary protection against one of his worst enemies – the sun. Something was wrong here. Why wasn't Robert here yet? He probably wasn’t coming at all. Perhaps the thought had only occurred in my dreams and there was a logical explanation for the fact that we had the plane accident. Perhaps Robert didn't even exist anymore? No, I couldn’t allow myself to think that. He would come and save me. He’d promised me.
The steps of my kidnapper changed. I briefly opened an eye and saw grey asphalt below us. We were obviously on a road.
“Finally,” said a voice I was all too familiar with at that moment. Spencer! He’d died in the plane. How was this possible? But he soon answered my question, amused. “They fell for it. Nobody noticed I was still alive. You were, as always, excellent at misleading them.”
Ladorre grumbled in agreement. Aha, mental powers that had misled someone. Someone! Robert!
Roughly, I was shoved onto the back seat of a shabby vehicle. The scream that left my mouth could not have been suppressed, even if I’d wanted it to be. The pain was too great. It tore me apart once again. There was a horrible stench of mould and oil inside the car, which induced additional nausea. With difficulty, I raised myself up a little and looked out of the window. It was still fairly dark, the break of dawn was only slowly overtaking the powerful darkness of the night.
“Unfortunately, there’s no adequate shelter here that we could reach quickly enough. Please get in, Master. I’ll drive the car into one of the hangars; we’ll be safe there until evening.” Spencer seemed overzealous. I found it disgusting how ingratiating he was to this monster. He had seemed so nice to me as Robert's chauffeur. But he was simply a puppet, to the man who was evidently capable of everything. The pain in my kidney reminded me of this with every heartbeat.
“Okay, let's go then, before I get fried.” Ladorre laughed at his own joke. That narcissistic tyrant!
Anne Rumsfield
“Nothing!” Dark had been trying to get through to his boss for ten minutes and was getting more and more restless. “I hope this doesn't mean anything.”
I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't exactly a wiz at consoling or cheering people up. My area of expertise was much more following or giving orders. So I remained tenaciously at his side and hoped that this was enough support. Dark was a tough guy who certainly wasn't keen on cuddles and caresses in such a situation.
Frustrated, he put the radio in his pocket and turned to me. “Let's go.”
Nothing I’d rather do more than that, I thought. This lack of action, by standing by his side, made me more than nervous because I knew we were planning something important. And it couldn't wait, just as I couldn’t, either.
Katarina had left a car at the airport; the driver was waiting impatiently for us. Again and again, he looked over at us and then at his watch. I didn't like subtle messages very much, but I could understand his indignation; after all, I didn't feel much different.
The blonde giant greeted us: “Dark and Rumsfield, I presume.”
“That's quite right!” Dark replied with a snarl. The pecking order was apparently quite clear.
“I’m Nash. Welcome to the beautiful town of Louisville. I’ve been assigned to do a little sightseeing tour with you,” he explained, with a grin, bowing to Dark without broaching the subject. I found it fascinating time and again, how humans established their social strata and the phenomenon seems to repeat itself with vampires.
“Good, Nash. Then let's get going before Katarina goes on one of her notorious rampages.” The two men laughed at the inside joke, which remained a mystery to me. It was all right with me. I had no desire for infighting. If they got along well, that was okay, even if it happened at Katarina's expense.
Nash got us to the meeting point within ten minutes. The others were waiting for us in an old, dilapidated hut in a small piece of woodland. When I saw that there were just eleven vampires standing together, my confidence dropped to zero. We’d never make it with that number. Never! Besides, the clock was constantly ticking. The sun would rise in an hour, and I would experience the first time in my, admittedly, quite short life as a vampire what it felt like to be grilled.
“Kat, this is Anne. She's with us from now on.” Katarina quickly gave me a nod; other than that, she didn't show any emotion in her facial expression. A woman among men, like me in my unit. That meant not dropping the soap.
I greeted her with a nod, too, and glanced at the figures that had taken up position around Katarina. Ten males and one female. They all looked well trained and I could see determination in their eyes. That was good. We couldn't use anyone who was shaky. Such an attitude was a hindrance during a mission. Not only that, it could also be dangerous to have someone in the squad who was uneasy. But I didn't feel any of that here, which I noted favourably.
“What did you find out,” Dark burst out. I could just imagine what horrific scenarios were taking place in his head right now. He was terribly worried about Sally and his nephews, even if he was trying not to let it show. Now that I was gradually getting used to my new superpowers, I checked out what my nose could smell. I was cataloguing everything in my brain – who knew what I might need all this information for. Dark's scent changed according to his mood. At that very moment, I was taking note of the way worry smelled. Desire, anger and comfort were already an established component of my catalogue of data.
Kat shifted her weight to the other foot, which, to me, was a clear indication that she had something bad to announce, and I was right. “They’ve separated the boys from the mother.” She spoke emotionlessly, giving no names, because that would make the target objects human, and feelings would worm their way into the soldier’s mind. I knew this procedure only too well, yet I was reluctant to see Sally and the boys as just people to be rescued. Never before had I been on a mission that was in any way personal – except my hunt for the supposed last vampire. However, Katarina's scent also revealed something other than lack of emotion. She was just trying to keep her distance, which she wasn’t doing very well. Did she possibly know Sally?
Dark tensed up a little more. “Are all three of them still in Louisville?”
“Yes, but at two different locations.”
“And where would those be?” Dark asked, dangerously quietly. She had clearly been putting his patience to the test for long enough. I remained silent and didn’t interfere; after all, I wasn’t yet familiar with the vampire's hierarchy. What did I know about who prevailed over whom here?
Robert Tensington / Raphael
We walked north for what felt like hours, and got closer and closer to Olivia. I felt it in every molecule of my body, but I also observed the change in the light, which was driving a silent terror into my limbs. Due to the genetic manipulation I’d been subjected to, I no longer had any problems with sunlight, but Shazar and his men were not immune.
Since I was well aware of my responsibility for the people who wanted to stand with me, I stopped and shouted, “Wait!” They looked at me, full of expectation. “You have to turn around. I’ll carry on alone from here.”
Shazar gave me a sorrowful look, all too aware that I was right. He remained silent, though. Instead, he whistled briefly, gave a signal and they all started running, realising that they only had a few minutes left to get a protective roof over their heads.
I was alone. Wildly determined to retrieve what meant the most to me in the world, I took a deep breath. The cool air of the morning spread like balm in my lungs as I focussed my attention on Liv, to convey a message to her. I wanted to give her hope and let her know I was still looking for her. But then I heard a scream, not far from here – a scream from her.
I instantly launched into motion; nothing could have kept me away from her at that moment. I ran as f
ast as I could and didn’t pay any further attention to my surroundings. The moment my shoes touched the asphalt, I saw the car. An ancient Dodge with more rust than I’d thought possible. Spencer was standing next to it. What was he doing here? Had he really defected and was now serving my father? This dealt me a blow, but it was something I had always anticipated; he’d worked for him for many years, after all. I ignored him – he was the lesser evil – and turned to my father, who was bending down to get inside the rusty old car. I couldn't see Olivia anywhere; she was probably in the car.
In one jump, I leapt on the man who had fathered me and grabbed his head with both hands. His neck broke remarkably quickly. I almost felt regret that he didn’t put up a fight, but then my gaze fell on Liv and I dropped the body I was holding, which hit the ground with a muffled thud. Her face distorted with pain, she lay on the threadbare cushioning of the back seat and looked at me with her eyes wide open. Her clothes were stained with blood, the smell of which struck me.
Only now did I realise that something was quite wrong with this situation. Normally, I could never have attacked my father so quickly and without resistance, unless he’d already been unconscious. Nevertheless, the moaning I’d heard before the body had slackened had undoubtedly been very much alive. Every earsplitting alarm bell sounded in my head in that instant. Mind control, I thought, and looked at the man I had killed. My father had had a pawn sacrifice – Spencer – who was now lying at my feet with a broken neck.
Olivia was still looking at me, terrified. Her mouth was taped shut and I couldn't see her hands at all, as they’d probably been tied behind her back. Jerkily, I turned to Spencer. Or rather, to the man I’d mistaken for Spencer.
“Your exuberant nature has always been your greatest weakness,” he said, with an arrogant grin. “How many times have I told you, you must learn to control yourself. You are, and you remain, predictable. Unfortunately. Do you really think I would let my own son kill me so easily?” Shaking his head, he approached me. “Believe me, Son, you’ve always been a disappointment to me. You have far too much of your mother in you. But to observe this cold-bloodedness towards me has been very sobering for me.”
At the mention of my mother, my anger erupted once again, but this time I didn't do him any favours and lost my temper. Instead, I looked directly into his eyes, which were so similar to mine. “I know, Father, and believe me when I tell you that I’m proud of it.”
With a clenched fist, he stared at Olivia and then, again, at me. “Tell me how this woman smells as if she were related to us. It can't be because you’re bonded, which you definitely aren’t.” He didn’t reveal how he knew that we hadn’t yet bonded by way of ritual. But I knew it could only be because he had already fed from her.
Anne Rumsfield
Kat cleared her throat. The vampire was visibly uncomfortable telling Dark what they’d learned over the past few hours. “The woman...”
Dark flew off the handle. “For Christ's sake, her name’s Sally. She's my Goddamn sister and not some woman. She’s the Sally we spend every Christmas with!”
Embarrassed, everyone bowed their heads. My question of whether they all knew each other had certainly been answered. They weren’t strangers, they were friends to some extent. This would make our mission difficult, because keeping a cool head in a situation where a person you knew well was at risk was anything but easy. Apart from that, two children were at stake here. Children who obviously knew the others as well. This was going to be incredibly hard for each and every one of us. I fervently hoped that we could save the three of them, but the facts look stacked towards the contrary.
Dark stared at Kat as if he was about to rip her head off. To calm him down a little, I put my hand on his forearm – nothing more, since I didn't know how he’d react. Although we were physically more than close to each other, we were still strangers to each other in many other ways. And whether we’d ever get the chance to change that remained to be seen.
Relieved, I observed that he was actually relaxing a little and took a step back. Kat took a short, deep breath; she’d detected the danger.
“Where’s my sister?” he asked, once again.
“They took her to the women's shelter.”
Now everything was clear to me. The women's shelter sounded so civilised, but was far from it. It was nothing but a brothel. The soldiers with enough cash went there and selected a woman – or a man, depending on taste – either for a short period of time or for days, weeks, or months. No one cared what they did to her; after all, those who were handed over to the rehabilitation program were considered scum of the earth – not worthy of complaining, not worthy of any rights. The human rights activists had given up on tackling the issue long ago. Louisville was thus the ‘end of the line’ for a woman in a women's shelter. None of them came out alive. The suicide rate was alarmingly high. Officially, even higher, since the death of each woman there wasn’t due to suicide or natural causes. Soldiers had free rein, and it was by no means only women who were abused here. Female soldiers, too, had all kinds of inclinations, which they were able to live out on a male prisoner. But nobody cared about that, either. Meanwhile, many of these perverted pricks committed themselves to touching down in Louisville sometime, because word had got around on the scene that you could really live it up here. I was still frightened by the abysses of humanity, even though I’d come face to face with them many times before.
Next to me, Dark snarled, and the smell of his overflowing hatred dispersed over to me. He was like a bomb about to go off. It wouldn’t take much for him to explode. Hopefully, he was saving it for the fight because he’d need all his strength and concentration for that.
“Where, exactly?” His words were more of a squawk; the tension had apparently reached his vocal chords, too. I could completely relate to him as, at that very moment, my sister was also in the hands of a psychopath, who was unfortunately not a human being, but an age-old vampire. Nevertheless, I believed in Robert, in his love for Margaret. If he couldn’t save her, then nobody could.
Nash stepped forward and activated a hologram that depicted a barracks-like area. “This is the premises of the ‘psychos’ – as we call these guys who keep people like slaves. And here,” he zoomed in on a building, with a few finger movements, “is Sally now. Toni’s nearby and is observing everyone entering and leaving the building. If anyone takes her with them, we'll know.”
“Plan?” Dark's taciturnity highlighted the turmoil raging inside him.
Nash looked at Kat who quickly nodded and then spoke. “We'll get Sally out first because she's in the most immediate danger in that establishment. We’re simultaneously preparing for the children’s rescue. Sorry, Marc and Tom’s. We’re combing through the databases with the stationed soldiers. We’re hoping one of them bears some resemblance to one of us so that we can infiltrate the women's shelter. Armed with enough dough.” Kat rubbed her fingers together briefly, to symbolise what exactly she meant by ‘dough’, then she continued: “Then taking one of the women to his accommodation shouldn’t be a problem.”
A good plan in itself, but with the thirteen vampires currently here, I doubted there would be a match. It was more like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Robert Tensington / Raphael
He was now playing the little game of how to make me angry quickest. It was so clear; nevertheless, I had trouble controlling myself and holding back. I couldn’t let myself be lured out of my reserve, because that was exactly what my father wanted. I ought to act impetuously, so that he’d have an easy game with me. Would he go as far as I did? Would he kill me if he got the chance? I trusted him with a lot, but with this one thing I was completely insecure.
“Yes, your mother was as incapable as someone possibly could be. She couldn’t even carry out a simple birth. After I’d noticed how weak you were, I decided to impregnate your mother again, but she killed my child.” Disparagingly, he spat on the floor, which caused my anger to skyrocket again.
I could clearly remember that my mother had always had a hounded facial expression in his presence, but it was only as I grew older that I realised why. She was probably abused by him in every possible way.
When I didn't reply, he added: “That's why I obliterated that incompetent whore.” At first I didn’t understand what he was saying, couldn’t grasp the meaning of his words, but as I looked into his grinning face, I understood.
“You killed her?” I asked, in bewilderment, because all my life I’d believed that she had died during childbirth, along with my brother.
“I took her life, like she took my child's life. She no longer deserved to breathe the same air as you and me. His whole demeanour revealed how convinced he was that he’d done the right thing.
I was seized by a silent horror as I remembered how I’d cried in his arms. He had been caring and compassionate and had comforted me affectionately. That deceitful son of a bitch!
I could no longer practise indifferent restraint, could no longer watch him plunge anyone who believed in him into misery. That’s why I attacked, but of course he’d expected that. Had probably even been waiting for it. He dodged me and I ran into nothing.
“Raphael, my son. That didn't really convince me.” With a laugh, he was suddenly standing behind me, but instead of attacking me he groaned.
Abruptly, I turned my head to him. My father’s face had turned scarlet. Only now did I realise that the sun had risen on the horizon. I could still remember the pain I’d felt the last time I was exposed to sunlight before Rumsfield had tampered with my genetics. But I didn't have any pity. My father did not deserve my pity.
In that moment, I had the perfect opportunity to kill him – I knew that, but I was hesitating. Hesitating because it wasn’t only negative memories that I associated with him. He wasn’t all bad; he’d been a loving father, at least until I had openly opposed him.