I stepped forward, squeezing his shoulder. “And that meant the world to him. Your words just hit him a little too close to the heart. You did nothing wrong, Stevie. Trust me.”
I wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it without telling him that he had handled it wrong. Because he had and he hadn’t. People needed to hear heroic stories so they knew what was possible with the power of dedication. The hero just needed the next challenge.
“Gabriel was the first man I spoke to underground,” I said, shifting the subject. “He couldn’t even see me, but he heard me. I asked if he needed anything and he said that he just wanted a friend…” I said fondly. “I tried giving him money, but he shook his head. He asked if my money could buy him a new back so he could fix the leaky pipe over his bed. That damned pipe was what really irked him, even though he was blind, crippled, and in constant pain. I offered him drugs to help with the pain, but he shot that down too. He wanted to know why I was trying so hard to be nice to a nobody.” I let out a breath. “I told him I was looking for a friend who I hadn’t met yet. He got a real kick out of that,” I said with a grin, recalling his laughter.
Victoria and Natalie were standing on either side of Renfield, wrapping their arms around his shoulders, and smiling sadly at my story.
Stevie chuckled. “That sounds like the same Gabriel my father described,” he finally murmured. “A goddamned angel living in Hell and still remembering how to laugh. And to fix a pipe, apparently.” He briefly met my eyes. “Thank you for giving him a new challenge, Sorin.”
I waved off his comment, shaking my head. “He did all the hard work. I just offered him drugs or a new life.”
Stevie sighed. “Well, despite what you did for Gabriel, I’m still kind of miffed about Nat—”
Natalie stepped forward, cutting him off as she placed her hands on her hips. “Then you and I can go talk about that outside, Stevie, because I am sick and tired of your pouting. The only thing Sorin did was save my life. He didn’t try to do anything more. I swear it. Victoria wasn’t even near us and she got roped into this bond. But if he hadn’t acted, I’d be dead right now!” she snarled, not seeming to realize that she was actually shouting. “Rather than meddling in our personal lives like a nosy stepmother, perhaps you should go back to being the alpha of New York City! Just because you’re no longer my alpha doesn’t mean I think any less of you. What you’re doing right now is what makes me think less of you.”
He stared at her for a long, silent moment. Finally, he gave her a stiff, resigned nod. “I…know. I’ve got possession issues. You were one of my best, Natalie.”
“The operative word being were, past tense,” she said sternly. “And I wasn’t one of your best, I was the best. But Benjamin was a close second, and you still have him. Show Benjamin how a real alpha handles difficult situations. Your pack is watching how you deal with this.”
He nodded angrily. “A fact which concerns me greatly. That they will see me losing control.”
“Or,” Natalie said, holding up a finger. “They could see you passing along a bride. Much like a father adores his daughter but must one day give her up no matter how much he loves her. Stop being my nosy stepmother, and be my father, Stevie. You already are in my eyes.” Her eyes were misting slightly, and I averted my gaze so as not to embarrass her. I hadn’t known she felt that way about Stevie…
From the look on Victoria’s face, she hadn’t known either.
Stevie cocked his head, smiling as he considered her words. “That…just might work,” he said thoughtfully. He seemed to notice her shirt for the first time and grunted in disapproval.
I was suddenly glad she had worn it.
“Is that what this is?” he asked with a slight frown. “A marriage?”
My heart dropped out of my chest like a lead weight. “NO!” I practically shouted.
Victoria and Natalie had been shaking their heads as well, but they froze at my vehement shout, slowly turning to look at me as if with one mind, furrowing their eyebrows in displeasure.
“I just don’t want to jump into anything,” I said quickly, trying to backpedal. “There is a lot to consider in this new bond. A lot to think about—”
“I advise silence, Master Ambrogio,” Renfield murmured softly, risking his life for me.
“Quiet, Renfield!” they spun, hissing at him. He bobbed his head, lowering his eyes.
Stevie was casting me a smug grin. “I see this is not what I thought.”
“It is what we tell him it is,” Victoria snapped. “Majority rules. We didn’t have a say in joining this bond, so he doesn’t get a say in how it functions.”
Natalie nodded, lifting a palm. Victoria slapped it without even looking.
Stevie burst out laughing. “Maybe I should have gone easier on you, Sorin. For someone who always seems to know what you’re doing, you grossly miscalculated on this one.”
“I didn’t know it was even happening,” I muttered. Then I found myself smiling. “But…I probably would have done it anyway,” I admitted.
My devils shot me moderately satisfied looks. “Better,” Victoria murmured.
Natalie turned back to Stevie. “So, the pack hunts tonight, and I request to hunt with the pack—if you will accept a lone wolf.”
Stevie’s eyes widened, shooting towards me.
“Don’t look at him!” Natalie commanded, slapping his chest with a backhanded swipe that made him grunt.
Victoria piped up. “I’d like to join, too. As long as you’re staying here, of course.”
Stevie gave a slow, resolute nod. “I am now. I’ll tell Benjamin to stay at the park.”
My devils nodded primly, as if they’d expected nothing less than the utter emasculation of every male in the vicinity.
I waited a few moments to make sure it was safe to speak. “How many wolves do we have in total?”
Stevie cast a wary look at my devils before answering. “I called everyone. All five boroughs hunt tonight. We have close to three hundred wolves—two hundred at Central Park because there is more ground to cover, and they can search faster than your vampires. The other hundred are here on Liberty Island, guarding the dock.”
I nodded. “Good. If these vampires don’t wake up friendly, and Nero can’t shut them all down with the journal, we might have our own war right here.”
Which was another reason I had agreed with Dr. Stein’s choice for her laboratory—the new vampires wouldn’t be able to escape as easily if we lost control of them.
“The witches are still out there, too, waiting to attack at any sign of weakness. I can feel it,” I said. “And we have no idea how many vampires Dracula has managed to sneak into the city. Gabriel caught two more last night.”
“We should also keep an eye out for ex-wives,” Victoria said in a cool tone, a dangerous gleam flashing in her eyes. Thankfully, her ire didn’t seem directed at me. “They like to cause trouble.”
I nodded to her. Stevie shot me a curious look, but I didn’t elaborate. “Or them. There is no way for us to hide what we’re doing once we begin. Expect human and supernatural interference. Tomorrow morning, the world will be unable to deny that monsters exist.”
He nodded grimly, letting out a breath.
“We’ll update him on the plan,” Natalie said.
Victoria nodded, grinning wickedly. “You’ve got a date with Dr. Stein.”
Then the two of them were tugging Stevie along by the arm, leaving me and Renfield alone to face the mad doctor.
“I have a few more details to wrap up, Master Ambrogio,” Renfield said apologetically.
At least he bowed before abandoning me.
32
I stood inside the Crown of the Statue of Liberty, gazing out through the wall of twenty-five windows to marvel at the view from two-hundred-sixty feet above the frothing black water. From my vantage, I could see the tablet held in the statue’s left hand, but the torch in her right hand was too high for me to see.
An op
en door to my right revealed a service ladder leading up to the torch itself, but it was reserved only for maintenance crews.
The climb from the pedestal to the crown had been arduous, but it was the only way up here, and the stunning view was definitely worth it. I could see Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, as well as the Verrazano Bridge—at least according to Nero.
To me, it was just pretty lights.
Looking down, I could see the open grass lawns of the island. Werewolves and vampires patrolled the perimeter in groups of four, looking like overkill for such a small island. Depending on how things went, they might not be enough.
I leaned away from the window, turning back to the others.
Dr. Stein and Nero had already been working up here, but Nosh and Isabella had joined me when I passed through the tenth floor, eager to finally see what all the hubbub was about far above the pedestal. Mr. Hyde and Mr. Poole had shot me a questioning look when they realized their charges were planning to ascend. Not wanting to risk Hyde falling down the steep spiral stairs and obliterating everything below him, I’d given him a discreet, reassuring nod. I could watch over Nosh and Isabella for a short while.
Hyde had looked relieved, but Poole had looked crestfallen, absently caressing the butt of the massive gun strapped to his back. I recalled Dr. Stein’s comments about his shooting accuracy and found myself wondering where he would set up.
The climb up the spiral stairs—over one-hundred-fifty steps—had been tiresome, but seeing the sickly-sweet grins on Nosh and Isabella’s faces as they experienced a romantic first together…
Well, I would have climbed it twice to be a silent witness to that. I’d even given them a head start so as not to intrude. Nosh had paused at the suggestion, staring at me for a long, silent moment. Then he had nodded with a grateful, but somehow saddened smile.
As if he’d felt sorry for the lonely old vampire. It did make me wish I’d thought of bringing Victoria and Natalie up here for a private visit. That would have been nice.
Because we might just destroy it with what Dr. Stein had planned with her Phoenix Project.
“So, this is it?” I asked Dr. Stein. “Project Phoenix?” I added with a doubtful frown. A row of metal towers that were each the same height and width as me hummed loudly against the interior wall, warming the air. I didn’t envy the poor bastards tasked with lugging equipment up here. The tops of the towers flashed with dozens of blinking lights, while the lower halves had masses of cables plugged into them. The cables led back towards the pedestal, hanging through the empty air rather than trailing down the spiral stairs—both for convenience and the fact that using the stairs would have increased the amount of cable needed to reach the pedestal and the sleeping army of vampires far below.
Another cable, as wide as my leg, was connected to the back of one of the metal towers, leading through the maintenance door and then up the statue’s arm to the torch high above. Some type of plastic ties had been used to fasten the unwieldy cable to the ladder rungs.
On a very basic level, I knew what was going on here, but my understanding faded rapidly after the first word:
Lightning.
Between that word and the final result of bringing my already necromantically-raised vampires to actual life was just a void of black, depthless nothingness. Which…was oddly fitting, given the topic.
Nero cleared his throat to speak in a low, officious drone. “In the beginning, God-Stein said, ‘Let there be lightning.’ And it was so.”
The god in question paused from her study of a thick book on the nearby table to shoot him a stern look, but I sensed the merriment dancing in Dr. Frankie Stein’s eyes.
“Lightning is going to fix Deganawida’s problem from the journal? Prevent my army from becoming raging, mindless beasts?” I asked dubiously.
One thing I had learned in my many centuries of tyranny and conquest was that if I wanted something done, but didn’t know how to do it, I needed to find someone much smarter than me who could. Then, rather than asking them questions that only proved to establish my ignorance, it was wisest to cast polite doubt over their plan.
And then to watch them momentarily sputter incoherently before they began walking me through every step of their process, trying to prove to me how right they were.
From that point on, my job was to simply nod on occasion, but to keep that same concerned, pensive look on my face, as if wondering if I should find a more intelligent person to solve my—
“Shut up, Sorin,” Dr. Stein said dismissively. “The cavemen you competed with umpteen centuries ago didn’t know about reverse psychology. Today, seven-year-old girls use it on their daddies before they even know what they’re doing. By the time they hit thirteen, they are goddamned Machiavellian. You’re out of your league.”
I stared at her, struggling to process her words. My tried-and-true plan…
“Just to be clear,” Nosh said, sounding highly amused, “are you calling Sorin a caveman or a thirteen-year-old girl?” he managed to ask before he burst out laughing.
Nero coughed suspiciously, bending behind one of the towers to act like he was doing something useful when everyone could tell he was just as clueless as me. His part had already been done—raising the vampires in the first place with Deganawida’s necromancy.
Dr. Stein bumped me aside with her hip and a snort, for good measure. “Maybe the seven-year-old,” she muttered, waddling over to Nero to swat him across the back of the head and then banish him from her vicinity with a shooing gesture. “You don’t know anything about this, Sorin, so just stand over there and look pretty.”
I blinked, feeling like the world didn’t make sense anymore. That had been my thing. It worked every time.
“There. Just like that,” she said, pointing in my general direction. “But farther away.”
Nosh was biting his fist and Isabella was pretending to look out the window to mask her flushed cheeks.
I scowled as Dr. Stein shuffled past me again—bumping me back a step on her way by—to check some other metal box on the table with lights and buttons and dials and—
She was right. I didn’t know a thing about any of this.
Since I now looked like a fool anyway, I went with my contingency plan—asking asinine questions until my target broke down and answered me in terms I could understand. “Beyond lightning, elaborate one more time. For Nosh, because he’s too busy adoring Isabella to process difficult explanations.”
Isabella made an aww sound, kissing him on the cheek.
I folded my arms, smirking at him smugly. He turned away from Isabella to look at me, cupping a hand to the side of his mouth. “I studied this kind of stuff in school, Sorin,” he whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.
I muttered defeatedly. “Fine! But I’m going to start swinging a club and banging rocks together until someone explains it in terms slightly more evolved than grunting and hand gestures.”
Nero sighed. “Gather round, children.” We did, standing before the windows. “Necromancy is the magical art of reanimating a dead body, bringing it back to life so that it can function—at least physically—much the same as we do. Unless they’re missing a limb or something that makes them less than ideal candidates. We found many of those that we had to put back.”
Isabella shuddered. Being a white witch, I wasn’t sure if she found this fascinating or horrifying. In a way, it was healing. But in another way, it was the worst kind of abuse—disturbing the peace of the dead. “Where did you find your…subjects?” she asked.
“Deganawida’s journal listed just over one hundred vampires he had killed in his day. It also showed where he had buried them,” Nosh answered in a gentle tone, picking up on her unease.
Nero nodded. “That. Luckily, they were all within a few hours from here, and buried in groups. Gabriel and I sought them out, bringing them back to the Museum of Natural History where I could use Deganawida’s spell to reanimate them. Then we brought them here.”
; Isabella blanched. “They’re already reanimated? We’ve been sleeping here!”
Nosh looked suddenly uneasy as well. “If they’re so dangerous, why the hell would you do that?” he demanded.
“We immediately sedated them. That’s what all the IV drips and crates are on the lower levels. The vampires are all hooked up to minimal blood sources to keep them alive, and sedatives to keep them unconscious.”
“How many did you recover?” Nosh asked.
“We are down to seventy-seven,” Dr. Stein said absently, fiddling with one of the dials on the tower and then jotting something down on a pad of paper. “We recovered ninety-two, but fifteen of them were not viable upon further inspection, so we incinerated them.”
I watched her eyeing Nosh sidelong when no one else was looking. She was absolutely terrified of him, even though her pulse remained steady and she didn’t show any visible concern.
“The problem with Deganawida’s necromancy spell,” Nero continued since it was his area of expertise, “is that the body of the person comes back to life, but not the brain. Their instincts and animal minds are alive and well, but not the cognitive capabilities of a human. They can obey commands, and that’s pretty much it.”
“Except with vampires, it’s worse,” I said, recalling Deganawida’s notes. “The bloodlust takes over everything, making controlling them an impossibility.”
Nero nodded. “Exactly. After speaking with Dr. Stein about this, I learned she’d made a personal study of the brain and electrotherapy. Since I am also the equivalent of a caveman in this regard, I’ll make it simple. She believes she can restart the brain, much like you can jump start a heart on occasion. Like CPR.” He noticed my frown and smiled. “Like when someone drowns, but you can force the water out of their lungs while doing compressions on the heart to bring them back.” Nero pointed a finger out the window towards the torch. “Lightning strikes the lightning rod on the torch, the electricity is fed through these cables, and then redistributed to the bodies in the floors below. You probably noticed the hundreds of cables lying all over the place.” He clapped his hands, rubbing them together excitedly. “Vampire army. Old, experienced, warrior vampires. We hope.”
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