A cry of protest went through the assembly as everyone rose to their feet. Alek held up a hand to signal that they should stay calm, even though calm was the last thing he was feeling at the moment. That bitch.
The rest of the crowd was still murmuring when a voice spoke up. “I’m a pilot,” called out Captain Burrell. He came forward to stand next to Alek. “I can fly us there. That will at least improve your chances of being able to leave.”
Alek closed his eyes for a moment, and envisioned himself wrapping his hands around Esme’s lovely white throat. It was the only thing keeping him from going for this vampire’s instead. “Go back to the Council,” he told the vampire, “and tell Esme we’ll be there soon.”
THIRTY-NINE
When the messenger returned alone, Esme had to smile. She knew Alek too well to expect him to simply obey the summons without some show of defiance. “This is an outrage,” said Charlemagne. “This entire hearing is a farce. We should simply send soldiers to shut down Konstantin’s camp. We’ve been far too lenient with your protégé, Esme.” Charlemagne was second only to Balthazar in the Council hierarchy, and also in age. He was also a stickler for rules.
“Alexandr hasn’t been my protégé for a very long time, my lord. His stubbornness today is nothing new. But don’t worry. He’ll come.”
“Are you certain?” asked Julia, the only female on the Council, an ancient African queen with skin as smooth as marble and dark as teak. Her true name was something only she knew, if she even remembered. Today she looked more like a businesswoman in a white silk Armani suit. Only her bald, tattooed head belied her exotic and royal origins.
“Absolutely,” said Esme. “If there’s one trait to match our Alek’s stubbornness, it’s his predictability. He will come.”
As if on cue, the conference room door opened and Alek walked in. Esme’s smug smile froze, and then faded, as the girl entered behind him. She hung back near the door as he approached the Council table. He bowed his head respectfully to each of them in turn, except Esme, who instead received a look of accusation and contempt. “You summoned me?” he asked.
“Alexandr Konstantin,” Julia addressed him. “We’ve received disturbing news that five of our brethren were slain under your leadership. Is this true?”
Alek bowed his head. “I regret that it is,” he said, his voice heavy with shame. Or was it grief? “May I ask how you came to be informed of this so quickly? It only happened last night. I haven’t even had a chance to make a report. We were in the middle of a memorial service when your messenger arrived.”
“A memorial service?” asked Charlemaigne. “How… human.”
“The humans at my camp cared a great deal for the fallen. They thought of them as friends. As did I. But again I ask, how did you learn about them?”
The others looked to Esme, who felt her smile return. “One of my patrol squadrons discovered a band of humans hiding in a field near your Army base. They put up a good fight, but they were able to capture most of them and bring them in for processing. Most of those who survived were all too willing to explain the five vampire heads in their possession.” She shook her head and made a tsking noise. “Really, Alek. How lax must your security be if this band of slack-jawed rednecks were able to slay five of our people?”
“Carl and his team were my security,” he said. “It’s a pity you can’t ask them.”
“We’re less concerned about your security issues,” said Julia, “than we are about the fact that it’s been more than six weeks since you’ve filed a progress report. Our research team in Sydney has shown promising results in their work toward a synthetic food source. They believe they’re very close to a breakthrough. What do you have to show for your efforts?”
Most people would be fooled by Alek’s poker face, but not Esme. She didn’t miss the barely perceptible twitch in his jaw, the oh so slight pursing of his lips as he weighed his response. “Actually,” he said, “I’ve performed a highly successful experiment.”
Charlemagne leaned forward. “Are you telling us that you’ve succeeded in replicating human blood?”
“No,” said Alek. “Since taking over the Army base I’ve been conducting a different sort of experiment. A social experiment.”
The elder vampire almost shook with anger. “Who authorized such a thing?”
“No one,” Alek admitted, “but I saw a perfect opportunity to see what would happen if the humans under my charge were allowed to direct and care for themselves, under our protection. Rather than supervising their every move, forcing them to work and herding them into the blood banks like cattle,” he shot a look at Esme, “I gave them freedom to live and work as they pleased. They even have the freedom to leave if they choose to take their chances outside the compound.”
Charlemagne looked at the others as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you hearing this? Is it any wonder that the five we allowed to go with him are now dead?”
Julia held up a hand to calm Charlemagne. “And what were the results of this experiment?”
“They stayed,” said Alek. “They thrived. And they happily donate their blood in regular drives that they organize themselves. What’s more, their blood is healthier than that of those in captivity. And it tastes better.”
Julia sat back in her chair. “Free range. Interesting.”
“But what about the synthetic blood?” asked Charlemagne. “That’s the research you were tasked with. Who cares if the humans are happy or not? If we can synthesize a substitute we won’t need to bother with them any longer.”
Alek’s jaw grew tighter, but he kept his tone deferential. “I haven’t been able to make a breakthrough with the synthetic blood.” Esme was impressed with how easily he sold the lie. She knew as well as he did that his work had nothing to do with synthesizing blood. “But the point of my experiment is that we don’t need to keep humanity in these prisons. We can exist with them, side by side, and as long as we protect them from the infected they’ll be happy to reciprocate and take care of our needs.”
“It’s true.” The girl stepped forward. “I mean, nobody has more reason to be anti-vampire than me.” She shot a look at Esme as she spoke. “A few weeks ago, my brother and I were picked up by one of your patrols and brought here. People here are miserable, and they’re afraid. They don’t walk around alone because the guards can’t be trusted not to have their way with them as soon as they get a chance.”
“Why is this human speaking?” demanded Charlemagne.
“What is she talking about?” asked Julia.
Esme kept her calm, not letting the others see how much she despised the girl. “On her last day here, there was an incident. One of my guards found her wandering where she shouldn’t, and took advantage of the opportunity. He was dealt with immediately.” She looked at the girl. “That sort of thing is not a usual occurrence here.”
The girl’s defiance was even more blatant than Alek’s. She raised an eyebrow at Esme. “Is that so?”
“Why is this human speaking?!” Charlemagne repeated.
But she kept going. “My point is, after a short time at Doctor Konstantin’s camp I’m as willing to contribute to the blood bank as anybody. Just treat us with respect and give us our freedom, and we don’t need to be forced.”
Charlemagne jumped to his feet. “SILENCE THIS GIRL!”
“This girl,” Alek shouted back, “is a warrior. She deserves your respect.”
The others all sat in silence, watching Charlemagne as he shook with fury. In a low voice, he said, “How dare you speak to me that way?”
Alek sighed, and held up his hands in a placating motion. “Forgive my insolence, my lord. But this woman, her courage and her will to survive, represents the best of humanity. She’s their future. She’s our future. Don’t you see?” He looked in turn at each member of the Council, saving Esme for last. “Say you succeed in synthesizing human blood, and we let them all die out. What happens if we can no longer stop mak
ing it? What if some natural disaster wipes out the means of production, or another virus comes along that we’re not immune to? What then?” He shook his head. “We need humanity to survive. We always will. There’s no getting around that. And for the first time in history, they need us. We have a unique opportunity to form a truly symbiotic relationship that will put both our races on equal footing.”
Charlemagne shook his head in disgust. “Humans equal to vampires,” he muttered.
“The boy does have a point, Charlie,” said Julia.
“Don’t call me that!”
Next to Esme, her sire stirred. The oldest of their race, Balthazar, smooth and pale as an alabaster statue, had remained just as still and silent as one throughout the proceedings. Steepling his fingers, he spoke in a voice soft enough to force people to listen yet powerful enough to brook no argument. “We’ve heard enough.”
Julia bowed deferentially to him, then nodded to Alek. “Thank you for coming. Please wait outside while we deliberate.”
Alek returned her nod, then turned to go. When he reached out to take the girl’s hand, Esme stood and called to the guards. “Take the girl to my office for safekeeping,” she told them.
“What?” the girl looked from Alek to Esme. “I don’t think you want to do that, lady.”
“Stay right there,” Alek told the guards. “Don’t touch her.” He looked back at each of the Council members in turn, then zeroed in on Esme. “A word?”
She wanted to command the guards to ignore him and take the girl, but something in his eyes and his tone told her that she would do well not to ignore him. “What is it?”
His half-smile filled her with dread. He knew something. “It’s private.”
Esme looked down the table to the Council members. “Excuse us. This won’t take a moment.” She got up and allowed Alek to lead her to the back of the room, but that wasn’t enough to be out of earshot. “What is it?” she asked him in Czech, a language she was fairly certain nobody else in the room knew but them.
He answered in kind. “I know what Hannah saw the day I took her from here, why you put her into solitary confinement. If you try to keep her here, I’ll make sure she has a chance to tell the Council how you’ve been dipping into the food supply for your own pleasure.”
Esme burned so hot with fury that she was almost certain it would shoot from her eyes and incinerate him where he stood. “You wouldn’t.”
“If you don’t rescind the order to take her, I’ll tell them right now.”
“Do you know what they would do to me?”
“I have an idea. Do you even care about the lives that will be ruined if you get your way here?” He laughed, and shook his head. “What am I saying? Of course you don’t.”
“It’s obvious that you do,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in. In English, she whispered, “I can smell her all over you.”
Alek smiled, then leaned in and whispered, “Good.” He turned and went to the girl. Hooking her arm through his, she glared back at Esme with eyes full of contempt as he led her from the room.
Esme fought down the powerful urge to walk out there and snap the little bitch’s neck. That would take too much explaining. Besides, she and that wretched infant brother of hers would be back in Esme’s custody soon enough. It would be all too easy to arrange an accident, and have the added satisfaction of doing it right under Alek’s nose.
With that thought to console her, Esme composed herself and returned to the conference table. “Shall we begin deliberations?” she asked, taking her seat.
FORTY
“What did you say to her?” Hannah asked once they were alone in the hallway.
“Nothing,” Alek said with an innocent shrug. “I simply reminded her about what you saw her doing the day you were attacked here.”
Hannah smiled in surprise and not a little appreciation. “You blackmailed her.”
His face turned serious. “I protected you.” He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I don’t have a great track record of protecting the people I care about, but every now and then I manage to score.”
She took his hand. “Alek, you’ve got to stop beating yourself up. You’re not some god. You’re just a guy. Granted, a guy with superpowers, but still. You can’t save everybody, and nobody should expect you to. Including you. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, my daddy didn’t exactly raise me to be some fair damsel.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “I noticed.”
They just stood there a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. Hannah was ready to lean in for a kiss when he dropped his gaze to the floor. “You shouldn’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
He let out a soft, sad laugh. “Like I’m a hero or something. I don’t deserve it.” Metal benches flanked each side of the conference room door, and Alek took a seat on one of them.
Hannah sat down beside him. “What are you talking about? I don’t know anyone who deserves it more.”
“You deserve it more,” he said. With a sigh, he took her hand and held it in both of his. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and looked at the floor instead of at her. “There are things you should know about me. Things I did.”
“Things… like, vampire things?”
He nodded. “And from before. When the Nazis had me, and my wife…” As he spoke, his thumb stroked the back of her hand. “They forced me to work for them, to be a field medic for their troops. They kept telling me that if I cooperated, my wife would be treated well, and they’d return her to me after the war. So I did.
“They would bring wounded into their camps… prisoners. Civilians, mostly. I wasn’t allowed to treat them. I was only allowed to treat the S. S., and any POWs that they deigned important enough to keep alive and healthy. All the others, I was forced to ignore. But how do you ignore people who are crying out in agony, when you know that you could help them? But knowing that doing so will put your wife in danger?” He shook his head. “I can still hear them, sometimes. In my dreams, I can smell their festering wounds, see the pain and desperation on their faces as they reach out to me…”
“That wasn’t you,” said Hannah. “That was them. That was their crime, not yours.”
He nodded. “And I made them pay.” He leaned back, keeping hold of her hand, fixing his gaze on it. “After the allied forces moved in and released us, I went to get Irina. I found out then that they only kept her two weeks at the labor camp before they shipped her to Auschwitz. Once there, it was only days before…” His hand tightened over hers. “Almost the entire time I was violating my oath to keep her alive, she was already dead.”
“Oh my God. Alek—”
“So I hunted them down. Every one of them. After Esme found me… changed me… I devoted myself to vengeance. I…” He swallowed. “I did things to them…”
“Good.”
He looked at her then, like he couldn’t believe his ears. “But, the things I did—”
“It doesn’t matter.” Hannah shifted on the bench to face him better. “They were Nazis. They gave up their rights to humanity when they put on those uniforms. They were animals, and whatever you did to them, they had it coming. As far as I’m concerned, that makes you a frigging war hero.”
Still he stared at her, his face a mix of surprise and uncertainty. She raised her free hand to touch his face. “You’re a good man, Alek. I know that now, and I’m so sorry it took me so long to believe in you. But I do. And whatever ancient sins you feel like you need to confess, I’m not the one you need to confess them to. I don’t care what you did over fifty years ago to a bunch of mass murderers.”
The look on his face melted into one of relief and gratitude, and something else Hannah was still afraid to name. He released her hand and touched her hair. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead he pulled her close. They held each other for a long moment, before he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you,” he whispered
.
In answer, she grabbed hold of his face and kissed him. His arms tightened around her as he responded, opening his mouth to hers. Her tongue danced flirtatiously with his until he broke it off and buried his face in her hair. “Wait till I get you home.” His voice was so rough it was almost a growl.
Hannah grinned. “Wait till I get you home.”
The conference room doors opened. As they broke apart Hannah tried to stifle her smile. A red-headed vampire stepped out and said, “They’re ready for you.” When they both stood up, she glanced at Hannah and looked pointedly at Alek. “Just you.” She went back inside.
Alek looked at her apologetically. “This probably won’t take long.”
“I’ll be fine out here.” She smoothed out his jacket and straightened his tie. “Here,” she said, wiping a smudge of lip gloss off his face with her thumb. “Okay.”
He smiled at her, a smile that said everything in his life really was okay, at least in that moment. Then he went inside and closed the door.
Hannah sat back on the bench to wait. At the other end of the hall, a door opened, and someone in an orange jumpsuit came through, pushing a broom. Hannah knew her. She pulled the letter she’d written out of her purse and stood up. “Louise!”
The older woman stopped pushing her broom as Hannah ran toward her, looking up with no hint of recognition. “Do I know you?”
“I was a prisoner here,” said Hannah. “You checked me in and showed me around.”
“Oh, right.” Louise nodded as though it was coming back to her. “You were on the doctor’s list.” She looked Hannah up and down. “You look pretty good for someone who’s been experimented on.”
“That’s because I haven’t. Everything you’ve heard about Dr. Konstantin’s camp is a lie.” She figured if the cat was already out of the bag, it couldn’t hurt to let everyone know. Maybe it would give them some hope to cling to. “He’s trying to help.”
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