“Oh, so is that why I could not kill you?”
“I think it was more that you found me irresistible.” She winked.
The corner of my mouth curled in a grin, but I still found myself latching on to this idea. “Let us be foolish and believe the impossible, then. I am in Seattle. Where the devil are you?”
Her gaze drifted away, peering at the other walls before returning to me. “I honestly have no clue. I know I’m not in Chicago anymore, and haven’t seen anyone I recognize in weeks. They feed me and a few of them speak other languages with each other. When they’re talking to me, though, they’re mostly speaking English. Call me crazy, but I think they’ve been told to leave me alone.”
“None of them have harmed you?”
“Aside from whatever they drugged me with to get me here, no.” As she paused, her brow knitted in thought again. “I don’t think Ian was the ringleader. Definitely one of the generals, but not the commander of the army himself.”
“That has been my suspicion as well.”
“What happened to you?” she asked. The soft smile returned in all its warmth again. “If we really are talking to each other, then I bet there’s one hell of a story to accompany what I’m seeing, even if I still don’t believe it. I swear you look human.”
“This entire affair has been absurd,” I said, my hand sliding to her face. As I looked into her eyes, I allowed myself to get lost for a moment, considering of all the good things which had happened to me over the last few weeks. This was the best of the lot, by far. “You make me believe there might be a mortality left to claim after all of this.”
“Maybe the Fates might see fit to give it to you.”
“They have already given me what I wanted most. I asked to be shown how to find the creatures who harmed you and they have given me you. If they sought to tell me the time had come for me to be on my way, I have received the message.”
“Where will you start?”
The look in my eyes turned serious, my heart swelling with conviction. “In the back alleys and the streets across from that. By the waterfront and across the entire coast if I must until someone has seen you or been told where you might be kept. I shall cross the ocean if I must and crawl across the desert if it is asked of me. One way or another, I shall find you, my love.”
Her eyes turned glassy again. I followed the compulsion to kiss her once more and shut my eyes as she shut hers, relishing in the closeness of our two bodies for a time. Her hand was the one which brushed through my hair this time and her voice was a tender whisper when she spoke. “Come and find me, damn it. I’ll be waiting for you. And if I can find a way out of here, I’ll help you drive a dagger through these bastards’ hearts.”
“Stay safe until then.” My eyes opened when I felt the construct of the world begin to unravel. The waking world was summoning me back. An uneasy breath preceded my next words. “I must depart. Know this, though, I shall collect the dust of anyone who stands between us. Ian has already fallen as did many of his children, but I shall not rest until the entire lot of them pay for what they have done. Do one thing for me in the meantime, my dear?”
“What’s that?”
I smirked in a mischievous manner. “Call me Peter once more. In the event this is the last time I am to hear that name drift past your lips.”
Her smile brightened. “I love you very much, my immortal seer Peter.”
“And I, you.” I savored another brief caress and parted reluctantly from the embrace. “Wait for me. I am on my way,” I said. Monica nodded and at once, she flickered out of existence – first her, and then the prison cell, followed shortly by the rest of the cellar where she was being detained. The world I had been invited into splintered without asking for my permission, but left me with renewed vigor.
It carried with me from the lull of sleep to the intensity of the night to follow.
***
I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling, my lips still bearing the taste of her kiss. For as jarring as my experiences with the world of supernatural sight had been before, staring into the darkness this time bore less of a scare and more a call to action. I sat up and knocked the covers from my body, swiftly coming to a stand. Both hands rubbed at my eyes, but lucidity swiftly found me when a faint glimmer caught the corner of my eye. I furrowed my brow and walked closer to the window, not recalling when it had been opened. What I found was nothing short of astonishing.
A necklace had been laid carefully on the window sill. As I lifted it up, my eyes widened and studying the pendant had me questioning everything I had learned about the world of seers and sorceresses thus far. It was the one I had given to Lydia first, and then Monica after the first time we made love. The necklace had been draped around Monica’s neck when she was captured, but now I regarded it like a beacon confirming what I saw in my dreams. My watcher was alive, and she and I had just spoken.
I had to find her.
Not stopping to question the matter any further – not even thinking that I should – I secured the necklace around my neck and hid it underneath my shirt when I dressed. This time, I plucked my katana from where it stood and secured it by my side, throwing my coat atop the entire ensemble and sliding two daggers I had stolen from the Order into position underneath. For a brief moment, I studied the room which had been my home and drew a deep breath inward. I had a mission to fulfill, even if I had been called to do it alone.
As I exited the room, Malcolm emerged from his study again and raised an eyebrow at me. “Peter, is something wrong?” he asked, examining me as I walked up to him and paused.
“Malcolm, I must go,” I said. “You and Kaylee have my warmest thanks and appreciation for giving me a place to stay while I awaited my next orders, but I have them now.”
“Hold on.” He held up a hand, his brow smoothing only to crease again. “Did you receive a message?”
A smile surged into existence, radiating happiness. “Yes, I have, with impossible news. Monica lives. The vampires have her imprisoned, but she is alive.”
“She’s alive…” He trailed off, his voice soft with disbelief at first, and eyes trailing away before shifting back to me. He shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense. Why would they keep her alive?”
“I am not certain of their motivations just yet, but lest I consider the vision false, the Fates have confirmed its truth.” I reached beneath my shirt and pulled out the necklace. “She was the last to wear this, and still wore it when she was taken. It was by the window when I rose.”
Malcolm stepped closer, looking up to examine the pendant. “Peter, objects don’t just appear out of nowhere.”
“And yet, here it is.” I tucked the necklace out of sight again. “Unless it is possible for someone to break into your estate grounds. Even if that was the case, it means our enemies are still in Seattle and baiting me to their doorstep. If so, I gladly accept their challenge.”
The Council elder hesitated, mouth opening to issue what I assumed would be a protest before he shut his mouth again and nodded. “I suppose if you want to look at it that way, you have a valid point.” He sighed before speaking again with an air of resignation to his words. “If you think it’s wise to follow up with this, I won’t deter you. I want to convene the High Council before we let you go, though.”
“I have no desire to linger, Malcolm.”
He motioned toward the door of his study, still ajar. “Emergency meeting. We’ll convene within the hour. Go tell Kaylee. I’ll work on gathering the others.”
“As you wish.” We parted with a nod exchanged, Malcolm disappearing into his private quarters and I downstairs to locate Kaylee. Monica’s mother showed her astonishment much more openly; a few tears slid down her face when I insisted I believed her daughter to still be alive. She wiped them away immediately, and rushed around preparing herself for our departure to the Order headquarters, issuing one incredulous laugh along the way, her car keys clutched in her hand. “Thank the Fates,�
�� she murmured and followed the exclamation up with something equally unsettling.
She threw her arms around me in a tight embrace and craned her neck to whisper in my ear. “Find her, damn it, and bring her back home. This foolishness has gone on for long enough.”
“I shall do my best,” I said as she pulled away from me. Kaylee offered a soft half-smile and nodded, leading us out of the house and to the garage where they had parked their car.
Less than two hours later, I found myself standing in the midst of the High Council, just as I had twice before. Malcolm, Kaylee, and the other elders looked down at me, with Malcolm the one to issue the first words spoken. “The Council convenes to heed a request by master seer, Peter Dawes,” he said. Our eyes met. His expression was solemn and his speech formal. “You, who first stood before us as the condemned and then, as the forgiven, have been given a charge by the Fates of grave consequence to this Order. Speak your request to us, Mr. Dawes.”
I straightened my shoulders on instinct. “To track down the vampires responsible for the capture of my watcher, Monica Alexander,” I said.
“And where do you believe these vampires to be?”
“I have reason to suspect a few who attacked the Council might still be in the vicinity. If such is the case, they would be the ones charged by Ian Carmichael with holding my watcher hostage.”
“Do you require anything from us to accomplish this mission?” Kaylee asked. The way Malcolm glanced at her bore a peculiar air to it, but she ignored it, her gaze remaining set on me.
I shook my head. “No, Madame Councilwoman, I require nothing save but for the permission of this Council to carry out my mission.”
“You have our permission, Mr. Dawes. And our pledge to help you with any of our resources should the need arise along the way.”
One of the other female elders sat forward in her seat. “Is the master seer sure he doesn’t want another watcher or seer’s help for this mission?” she asked.
“No,” I interjected before Kaylee could. I smiled politely at the woman. “I believe this to be my burden and mine alone.”
“And we will honor your request, master seer,” Malcolm said, casting a quick look at Kaylee, who nodded when their eyes met. He turned his head to examine the other elders seated at both sides. “The seer has presented his request. How votes the High Council on this matter?”
“We approve,” said the woman who had just addressed me.
I bowed to her. “My thanks to you, Madame Councilwoman.”
She smiled and the man seated beside her nodded his assent as well. “We approve,” he said, as did the member seated beside him. Kaylee responded in kind, as did Malcolm, and the remaining members all echoed the sentiment until the final one added, “And may the Fates be with you on your journey.”
“Thank you,” I said, first to him, then regarding the entire panel of seven. “I appreciate your allowance and your blessing. And your offer for help –” I shot a quick smirk toward Kaylee. “– Even if your assistance would be superfluous at this time. I pray the Fates are not merely merciful to me, but bring us back to you with the mission accomplished.”
“Agreed,” Kaylee said, managing a smirk in response. “Just the same, money will be provided in addition to whatever weapons you might need to see your mission through.” The smile slowly faded. She stood and folded her hands in front of her waist. “This Council was wrong in its condemnation of Miss Alexander. It will continue to be a black mark against our record. Please bring her back home, so we can apologize for our actions to her in person.”
I watched her eyes turn glassy again. Nodding, my own expression sobered in response. “As surely as my name is Peter, I will bring her back to you, Madame Councilwoman. And if the Fates allow me a vision of her again, I will communicate your contrition to her.”
“Thank you, Mr. Dawes.”
“Godspeed, Mr. Dawes,” Malcolm said, interjecting. The rest of the Council nodded in approval, all echoing Malcolm’s words which garnered a grin from me in response. I turned and walked away from them, feeling the weight of their stare as they beheld me with much different eyes than they had when this entire debacle had started. Everything had changed. Dead things were made alive again and now, it was up to me to make certain order was restored, the way it should have been from the start.
Somehow, I knew the Fates had more in store than a rescue mission. For as much as the carrot dangling before me had inspired me into action – and for all the conviction it had inspired within me – Ian’s riddle still hung like an unwelcome harbinger in the periphery. I, who had been condemned, was now a powerful seer with the conscript of the Supernatural Order. I knew all too well what this calling carried with it.
It was a responsibility requiring the aid of a companion, suited to me as much as I was to them. I departed with the hope that I would find her in time.
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
Robert Frost
Epilogue
The hair on the back of my neck stood aloft as a chill descended my spine. A disquieting sensation, it was one with which I was well-versed – a beacon informing me when evil lurked nearby.
I opened my coat, fingering the hilt of my sword while peering around the deserted alley. Only three hours prior, I had stood before the Council and was seen off with their approval. Since then, I had been playing the role of investigator, using physical force and psychic prowess to interrogate each of the vampires I came upon on the streets of Seattle. I searched for whatever they would offer, from the location of their haunts to any sign they had encountered Ian, but after three hours only one piece of information worth pursuing had been granted. The neighborhood in which I stood was a common stomping ground for vampires not from the area.
The immortals who set of my alarm were seconds from descending. By their footfalls, I knew them approaching from behind, five strong, and staring at me if I had to wager a guess. Turning as casually as I could, I shut my coat to conceal the appearance of my sword and perked an eyebrow at them. I needed information. It would do me no good to brandish weapons from the start.
They ceased walking when they caught me regarding them – one male with four females, all examining me with nervous gazes. The female leading the pack was the first to break a smile and laugh, her gaze unapologetically meeting mine. Her hair short and colored violet, the shirt she wore was black with black trousers boasting of metal buckles and chains hanging from her belt. She tilted her head. “Well, you’re lost,” she said. She pulled a short blade from behind her back and scowled. “What brings your ilk into our neighborhood?”
I laughed. “My ilk has business here,” I said. “Have I managed to vex you?”
“Your existence vexes me.” She lifted an eyebrow, her frown deepening. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be? If you’re looking for any threats to your supposed natural order, you should be barking up another tree, human.”
“And if I were human, that would hardly be the way to address me, love.” My smile broadened wide enough to expose my fangs to view. “I am a vampire, too, albeit a newcomer to my current profession. Pray tell, what might you know about a vampire from Chicago who called himself Ian?”
“He’s dead,” the male said, speaking up. He was dressed similarly to their female ringleader, as were their compatriots. “Thought you might know something about that yourself.”
I turned my attention toward him and nodded. “I might know a thing or two about it. The question is whether you had intentioned to follow in his stead.”
“He’s threatening us.” The leader laughed. She glanced back at the male. “And thinks we’re going to tell him anything about Ian.”
“Well, I have a way of being rather persuasive,” I said.
“Piss off,” shouted one of the other females, a blonde.
With a si
gh, I folded my arms behind my back. “This is quite an unfortunate turn of events. And here, I thought I could count on such austere-looking immortals to be cooperative. You know, the manner in which vampires who are not conspirators with a dark magician would be.” I paced closer. “No sense in giving you a chance to tell me where his remaining followers scurried off to, is there?”
They stared back at me, defiantly mute. I chuckled and stopped several yards short of them. “You are going to make this difficult, are you not?” I asked. “Very well, then I shall do this the hard way. I will warn you of this much, I am refining my inquisition techniques and becoming quite adept at them.”
Freeing one of my hands, I pointed to a brunette who had yet to speak. “You are a vacuous mess inside that mind. I doubt you have very much to offer.” My finger drifted to the blonde. “And you, my dear, have no fucking idea of what I speak, which seems to indicate you fell into their company belatedly. My apologies, but you should be more careful with whom you associate. You –” I nodded at the male. “– Know something, but not enough for my taste. The other girl falls under the same category.”
I paced closer to the remaining vampire and spread my palms pacific, grinning like the devil while doing so. “Ah, but the leader of the pack.” Snapping one hand shut, I smirked all the more when her eyes widened. She struggled to move, but could do little more than wriggle in place. “You shall do nicely, my dear.”
“Run, you fucking idiots,” she cried out.
Her friends glanced around at each other, frozen in hesitation. I laughed. “Hold tight, Pet. I shall return in haste,” I said, drawing my sword and advancing for the four who remained. At first, the females regarded the male with panic.
Then they began fleeing for the end of the alleyway.
I ran full speed to meet them. The male brought up the rear and as such, he was the first to perish. I leaped for him and swept my sword to the side, removing his head in the process. By the time I landed on the ground, his ash was the only thing remaining of him.
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