by AD Starrling
It was broken by a stout man with the expression of a bulldog who sat on the other side of Victor. ‘Look here.’ The immortal turned to Roman with a look of clear distaste on his face. ‘Do you really expect us to work together with this—half-breed?’ He gestured vaguely in my direction.
Tomas Godard went rigid. Anna placed a hand on his arm. She was also frowning. ‘I will not have you speak so of my grandson,’ said the former leader of the Bastian Hunters with narrowed eyes.
The stranger subsided in his chair. ‘I mean you no disrespect, Tomas,’ he said, gazing coolly at the older man. ‘However, you have to agree that your grandson’s existence defies the conventions of our society.’
A sigh left Roman Dvorsky’s lips. ‘All right, everyone calm down.’ He turned and addressed the man with the bulldog face. ‘We’ve already gone over this, Costas,’ he said in a patient voice. ‘Soul came off our wanted list a long time ago. We have no grief with him.’
‘Still, to have someone like him share a table with the most senior members of the Bastian Councils is deplorable, not to mention a clear breach of our rules,’ grumbled the man named Costas.
There was a low grunt beside me. ‘Who made those rules?’ Reid said in a hard voice.
Costas’s gaze shifted past me. He studied my partner coolly. ‘And you are?’
‘A friend,’ said Reid. ‘For now.’
The Bastian noble frowned. ‘The affairs of immortals do not concern you, human,’ he stated dismissively.
Reid struck a match and lit a cigarette. He ignored Anna’s scowl and nonchalantly blew out a couple of smoke rings. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong,’ he drawled, ‘but it seems to me that the “half-breed” and the “human” pretty much saved your immortal asses in the last few days.’
Costas snorted. ‘I heard you nearly got yourself killed,’ he said derisively.
‘Well, I gotta admit, when it comes to dying, you do have the advantage of me,’ Reid said steadily.
I glanced at him. ‘It’s okay,’ I murmured. I turned and studied the faces around the table before levelling a steady stare at the man next to Victor. ‘Let’s get something clear,’ I said, making no attempt to hide the coldness in my voice. ‘I have no love lost for you or most other immortals, be they Crovir or Bastian. As far as I’m concerned, you can continue to have your petty squabbles for the rest of eternity.’ I frowned. ‘Unfortunately, the current situation concerns us all. This is a matter of survival, pure and simple. You need me.’ I paused. ‘And for the time being, as much as I hate to admit this, it appears that I need you.’ My eyes narrowed further. ‘Whatever Agatha Vellacrus is plotting, she believed that I was the only one who could stop her. That’s the reason why the Crovir Hunters have been after me for the last two weeks.’ I glanced at my grandfather. ‘And I hear that for Felix Thorne to personally come out on a Hunt is practically unheard of.’
The man next to Roman shifted uneasily in his seat. ‘Thorne is here?’
‘Yes,’ Victor’s father replied wearily. He hesitated before adding, ‘He killed Soul a few days ago, outside the safe house in Vilanec.’
‘And it was his seventeenth death at that,’ Anatole announced cheerfully in the silence that followed. His eyebrows rose at Victor’s expression. ‘What?’ the driver said innocently. Next to him, Bruno closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.
‘We were trying to keep that fact a secret for as long as possible,’ Victor said grimly.
‘Oh.’ Anatole grimaced. ‘Sorry boss, but half the men out there know about it already.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Won’t be long till the other half finds out either,’ he added under his breath.
Costas had gone red in the face. ‘Impossible!’ the Bastian noble snarled, almost spitting in his fury. He rose abruptly from the table, the chair clattering behind him. ‘You’re lying! There’s no way he could have survived his seventeenth death!’ He turned to Roman. ‘This is a grotesque farce, Roman! I demand that you—’
‘Costas is right,’ the man on the other side of Tomas Godard interrupted harshly. ‘No immortal has ever lived beyond seventeen deaths.’
‘Soul did,’ Victor stated loudly above the furore that followed. Dvorsky’s voice had an edge of steel to it. ‘I was there.’ He waited until the rumble of voices died down. ‘And you forget. No one in our history has the ability that he has.’ A hush fell over the room. The other Council members shared guarded glances.
‘How is that possible?’ Costas said flatly. One of the Hunters pulled his chair up. He sat down slowly, a stormy frown still clouding his face.
Victor glanced at me, his own expression vaguely troubled. ‘No one knows the answer to that question. But I think we should hide this fact from the Crovirs for as long as possible. If they believe that Lucas is out of their way, they will get bolder. And they may let their guard slip.’
The man next to Roman leaned forward on his elbows. ‘What do you have in mind?’ he said, his eyes sparkling brightly.
The immortals all stared at Victor expectantly. He glanced at his father. The leader of the Bastian Hunters nodded slightly. ‘First and foremost, we must protect Anna Godard,’ Victor said firmly. ‘She appears to be a crucial component to Vellacrus’s plan. We cannot let her fall into the hands of the Crovirs at any cost.’
Anna’s eyes narrowed at his words. ‘Wait a minute. That’s going a bit far,’ she said harshly.
‘My dear, as much as I dislike admitting it, Victor’s right,’ said Tomas. ‘I would hate to think what that woman would do to you if she had you in her grasp.’
Anna sat back in her seat. ‘So what, I’m just supposed to hide and let others get killed because of me?’ she said bitterly. A sigh of frustration left her lips. ‘That makes me feel so—useless!’
‘You’re not,’ I said quietly. ‘If we find out what Vellacrus is up to, you may be the only one who can put a stop to it.’ With Anna’s knowledge of Strauss’s research, I had every confidence that she would get to the bottom of what the Crovirs were plotting and find a solution to the problem. As I was rapidly discovering, she was too stubborn to resist a challenge.
Anna gazed at me steadily. ‘All right,’ she muttered. The frown still marred her brow. ‘But no pointless heroics, okay?’ she added in a warning tone. I smiled faintly in response.
‘That’s not the entire plan, is it?’ said Costas incredulously. ‘Surely we do not need the whole Order of the Bastian Hunters just to keep one woman safe?’
‘No. There’s more,’ said Victor. He looked at his father pointedly.
‘Vellacrus arrived in Prague last night,’ said Roman. ‘She wasn’t alone. Almost the entire Order of the Crovir Hunters came with her.’ Shocked murmurs broke around the table at this news. ‘The Crovir First Council will be meeting this evening at Kazimir Benisek’s mansion,’ Roman continued. He paused until the mutters died down. ‘Victor and I are intending to drop in for a visit.’
Stunned silence followed this statement. ‘That’s suicide,’ the man next to Roman said dully.
I stared at Victor and his father with a frown. The Council member was right. What the Dvorskies were proposing was madness. Then, I saw the glint in Victor’s eyes.
‘No, Grigoriye. Suicide would be going in without a plan,’ said Victor with a faint smile. He gestured to Bruno. The bodyguard stepped up to the table and spread a map on the top. A series of high-definition satellite and surveillance photos were pinned to it. ‘Roman and I will go in through the main gates with an appropriate-sized escort,’ he said, pointing at a section of the map and a corresponding picture. ‘We’ll have a team of Hunters waiting here, here and here,’ he indicated three spots on the periphery, ‘in case there’s any trouble.’ He straightened and looked around the table. ‘The aim is simple, gentlemen. We want to surprise and confuse the Crovirs. They will not be expecting this.’ He studied the expressions of incredulity on the faces of the other Council members. ‘Roman and I will pretend to be passing through Prague on our
way to Budapest,’ he continued, unperturbed. ‘Vellacrus will not dare do something to us in the open; not in front of the entire Crovir Council. And you forget. We have allies among the Crovirs. Not everyone wishes to see another immortal war.’
There was a long pause. ‘And what exactly are you hoping to achieve with this ill-advised and hare-brained move?’ said Costas, his face bearing a look that managed to combine disbelief with disgust.
‘Well, I doubt that Vellacrus will just come out and tell us the details of her plans,’ said Victor. His smile turned grim. ‘No. We’re just the decoy.’
Grigoriye frowned. ‘The decoy?’ he repeated, his puzzled frown mirroring the others around the table.
‘Yes,’ said Victor. ‘While we distract Vellacrus and the Council, another team will infiltrate the mansion to gather information about what the Crovirs are plotting. Benisek is Felix Thorne’s chief intelligence officer. I’m certain there’ll be a lot of data in that place.’ He tapped a finger on the blown-up photograph of the manor and leaned back in his seat. ‘This team needs to be small; three, four men at the most. They will have to be in and out of there before we leave the estate.’ He studied the faces around the table. I was hardly surprised when his gaze found mine. ‘I propose Lucas, Reid, Bruno and Anatole. They worked well together in Vienna.’
A grin lit up Anatole’s face. ‘Now we’re talking,’ he muttered excitedly.
Anna scowled at Victor. ‘That sounds too risky.’
‘On the contrary,’ said Victor, his eyes never leaving my face. ‘If anyone can overcome the Crovir Hunters, it’s Soul.’ He paused. ‘What do you say?’
I stared at the immortal for several seconds. The plan was bold and utterly foolish: the chances of us making it out of the Crovir compound unscathed were slim at best. Still, I could not shake the feeling that our time was running out. We had to get some answers, and fast. ‘I’m in,’ I said steadily.
Victor’s gaze shifted to my side. ‘Hasley?’
Reid glanced at me questioningly. I shrugged, silently indicating that the choice was his to make. He stepped away from the wall and crushed the cigarette butt in an ashtray on the table. ‘Ninety-nine-point-nine percent chance of getting captured or killed. Zero-point-one percent chance of success,’ drawled the former US Marine. ‘What’s not to like?’
Victor nodded with a satisfied expression. ‘It’s settled then. We leave at dusk.’
As the Bastian Council vacated the room in a low rumble of murmurs, I paused by Anna’s chair. ‘Do you have some time to spare?’ I said in a low voice. An idea had been taking shape in my mind for the last two days. The time to see it through was now or never.
‘Yes.’ Anna rolled her eyes at me. ‘By the sounds of it, I’m about to have plenty of that precious commodity on my hands soon enough,’ she said drily.
‘Good. Come with me.’
Anna looked at me with a puzzled frown and slowly rose from her seat. I led her out through the back door and headed towards the woods at the rear of the mansion. Her eyes widened when we came to a shooting range minutes later. ‘What are we doing here?’ she said, eyeing the well-used target boards suspiciously.
I took the Glock 17 from the holster on my hip and checked the magazine. ‘You need to learn how to use a gun,’ I murmured. I knew from talking to Tomas Godard two days before that Anna had never handled a firearm in her life. Sullen silence followed my words. I looked up into a stormy green gaze.
‘Why?’ Anna said stiffly.
I studied her expression carefully while I tried to figure out the quickest way to convince her that this was a necessity. ‘If you can defend yourself, less people will have to die protecting you,’ I finally said bluntly.
Anna stared at me fiercely, a flush darkening her cheeks. ‘Give me the gun!’ she barked and extended her hand commandingly.
Fifteen minutes later, one of her shots finally hit the edge of the target board. ‘All right, what am I doing wrong?’ she said, clearly exasperated as she lowered the Glock towards the ground.
I stifled a smile and walked up behind her. As with everything else she came across, it seemed that once Anna Godard made her mind up to do something, she was determined to be excellent at it. ‘Here.’ I closed my hands over the back of hers and lifting them gently. ‘Put your fingers high on the back strap.’
‘Like this?’ Anna murmured, correcting her grip.
‘Yes,’ I replied, glad that my voice did not betray my internal turmoil: the smell of her hair and the touch of her skin were threatening to flood my senses. ‘Bend your knees more. Relax your elbows.’ I paused. ‘Got your sights?’ Anna nodded. ‘Take a deep breath. Exhale. Now squeeze the trigger.’ The next two shots echoed loudly around the range. The bullets thudded into the scoring rings inches from the center of the target board. ‘That was good.’ I stepped back and quietly let out the breath that I had been holding.
Anna was silent while she checked the magazine like I had taught her. ‘It seems wrong, shooting bullets into people,’ she murmured, her hands stilling on the gun. She looked at me quizzically. ‘Did you know that I was one of the first female surgeons in France?’ I shook my head slowly. ‘Of course, in those days my male colleagues at the University of Paris were not too impressed that a woman had dared invade their exalted ranks,’ she added with a wry smile.
‘Why did you leave medicine?’ I said curiously.
‘Because I realised that I could make a greater impact on its future if I dedicated my life to research,’ Anna replied judiciously. She raised the gun and smoothly fired another couple of shots at the target. ‘How’s that?’ When I didn’t reply, she turned and stared at me. ‘Lucas?’
‘Er, good. That was—better,’ I muttered distractedly. There was a noise behind us. Someone had cleared their throat in a deliberate attempt to gain our attention. I closed my eyes briefly, already suspecting who it was going to be.
‘Am I interrupting something?’ said Reid in a suspiciously oily voice as he stepped onto the range.
‘No,’ said Anna, a puzzled frown marring her brow while she glanced from him to me. ‘Lucas was just showing me how to use a gun.’
‘Was he now?’ Reid murmured.
I avoided his calculating gaze and smiled at Anna. ‘Reid’s a great shot. Why don’t you stay and practise with him?’ I turned briskly and headed for the trees.
‘Why? Where’re you going?’ Reid called out.
I glanced over my shoulder and touched the handle of the katana. ‘I haven’t used the swords for a while.’ I could feel his narrowed eyes on my back as I exited the range. I turned east and walked through the woods until I reached a deserted clearing half a mile from the manor. I removed the long blade from its scabbard and started to work through the basic steps of kendo. In the distance behind me, the sound of shots carried faintly on a mild breeze.
I had built up a healthy layer of sweat when a voice suddenly sounded from the trees. ‘Those are some good moves you’ve got there.’
Chapter Seventeen
I lowered the katana and studied the figure standing in the shadows on the edge of the clearing. ‘Thank you.’ I paused. ‘I had a good teacher.’
‘Yes, I know,’ said Roman Dvorsky. ‘Miyamoto Musashi was an excellent swords master.’ I straightened, my attention now totally focused on the Head of the Order of Bastian Hunters. ‘I never met the man myself,’ the older man continued, stepping out of the shade. I noted the two-handed longsword he carried with a faint frown. ‘But I have to admit, I’ve always wanted to spar with someone who knew the art of Niten Ichi-ryu.’ He walked to the opposite end of the glade and turned to face me. ‘Shall we?’
I stared at the immortal’s inscrutable face for timeless seconds before slowly drawing the wakizashi from my waist. ‘I will not go easy on you,’ I warned him in a low voice.
‘It would be an insult if you did,’ Roman retorted mildly.
Though the isolated clearing stood a good distance from the manor hous
e, the sounds of our clashing blades soon drew an audience. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Reid and Anna pause in the midst of a group of Bastian Hunters on the edge of the glade. Reid lit a cigarette and inhaled lazily. Despite the growing crowd, I could feel Anna’s gaze on me as if it was a laser beam cutting through the dark. Victor Dvorsky propped himself against the trunk of a maple tree and watched the fight with a carefully neutral expression. There was no time to study the other faces gathered around us: the older man’s sword had just missed my left eye by an inch.
Roman Dvorsky fought with a grace and deftness that belied his frail appearance. He countered my moves strike for strike, almost anticipating where my blade would fall next. Time and time again, the tip of his sword came within a whisper of my skin. In the end, I had to draw on all the knowledge and skills taught to me by my Edo master to get one over the leader of the Bastians.
‘Touché,’ Roman said in a slightly strained voice. He stood frozen in the middle of the clearing, the edge of my katana over his heart. ‘However, I think you will find that my blade is also touching your chest.’
‘Look lower,’ I said steadily.
The immortal glanced down to where the wakizashi hovered over his right femoral artery. ‘Well done,’ he murmured grudgingly. I stood back and lowered the swords. The older man relaxed. ‘I’m surprised you lost to Felix Thorne. You’re as skilled as he is.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘I’ll be more prepared next time.’ I suddenly became aware of the silence around us. I looked around.
Some sixty Hunters lined the edge of the clearing. Amongst them were the Bastian nobles that made up the First Council. More than a few of the immortals wore faint frowns. Others looked strangely thoughtful.
Tomas Godard stood slightly to the side, his face full of a nameless emotion. He turned without a word and walked back towards the mansion. Anna glanced at me apologetically before going after him. While the rest of the Hunters and the Bastian nobles slowly dispersed, Victor and Reid stepped out from beneath the trees. ‘That was quite a show,’ Victor said mildly.