I could say it was superb pseudo-vamp hearing that allowed me to listen in on their every word. That wasn’t the case. The entire proceeding, to decide my fate, was being broadcast around the world. Little did the band of morons realize that made it far too easy for me to hunt them. As I stalked ever closer, I watched their antics on every television screen I passed with mild amusement.
Despite Branstad’s complexion blooming from red to purple, he fought to keep what was left of his slipping composure. “She was witness to a crime, not implicated in it. There was no evidence or reason to detain her.”
“Other than her being a blood sucker? Isn’t that reason enough?” Jang Zhun, the Chinese representative, snorted and folded his arms across his chest.
“We’re getting offensively off topic.” Gwynn Sparrow clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. With the tip of one fingernail, she tapped against the name plate announcing her as the Australian delegate. “Can we all agree that Miss Larow—”
“Uh, I believe it’s Madame Draculesti now.” Matthew Gerald, the South African delegate’s tone implied his distaste of the entire matter.
Price’s eyes narrowed with fresh interest. “Is it? Did the marriage actually occur? I mean, were the words I do said before the blood bath?”
Sparrow nodded along, as if she had been pondering the same questions. “While I don’t think they were, the ceremony is really just a formality. The wedding licenses and paperwork were all filled out well in advance. Which would technically make them married with or without any kind of ceremony.”
Russian representative, Andrii Benzily, rolled his eyes. “Madame Draculesti was last seen in Romania. That said, she has the Draculesti fortune backing her escape. She could be anywhere in the world at this point.”
Zhun slapped the palm of his hand to the tabletop. “You’re absolutely right. We need to pool our resources not only to find her, but to determine a way to effectively contain her once she’s in custody. We’ve seen what she can do. We need to be prepared.”
Spine straightening, Branstad lifted his chin with an indignant flair. “DG Enterprises has helped the US build vampire prisons complete with silver bars. If we can find her, the US can hold her.”
Gerald glanced around the room in search of answers. “The question then becomes, how do we drag her out of hiding?”
Figuring that to be as perfect a cue as they come, I kicked open the double doors of the conference room. Striding in with my lycra training ensemble hugging my curves, I held my head high as countless video cameras whipped my way. Cameras flashing from all sides, I allowed them to capture every sassy swish of my hips. “And what makes you think I’m hiding?”
Chairs were violently shoved back from tables, their wheels squeaking over the wood floors in protest. A collective gasp echoed through the conference room. All the delegates were instantly on their feet. Some hid behind their chairs. Others positioned themselves to use their fellow representatives as shields. The stench of fear rippled off of them in pungent waves. A few glanced from me to the door, contemplating if they could outrun me. How adorably naïve. I could snap their heads off their shoulders before they made it a second stride.
Moving from their positions on the outer perimeter of the room, Secret Service agents sprinted in with their guns drawn. “Vincenza Larow, don’t move! You stand accused of mass genocide and will be taken into custody immediately!”
My shoulders sagged in exasperation. “Simmer down, Quantico. You didn’t catch me. I walked in. And it must be your birthday, because I admit to every single thing I stand accused of. As a matter of fact, I promise I won’t even drop fang while you slap on the cuffs.” Holding my hands out, I clapped my wrists together in invitation. “Go ahead. No need to be shy.”
The guards searched each other’s faces in a silent game of Russian Roulette to determine which unlucky bastard was going to approach me. I took no pleasure in the fact that it seemed to be the youngest amongst them that inched closer and drew the cuffs from his belt clip with trembling hands. The lioness doesn’t celebrate the lamb’s unease when it catches a whiff of her scent; she simply hopes to make its death quick and before acidic dread ruins the meat.
With that in mind, I did him the courtesy of turning my head away while he clicked the cuffs into place. The slight sting that bit into my wrists told me they were made of pure silver… because they still believed me to be a vampire.
Adorable… and incorrect.
If they knew I could crack those cuffs apart like they were made of papier-mâché there would have been far fewer smug expressions in the crowd. Still, I let them think they had me. That I could think of no way to escape my horrible deeds, so I turned myself in. They needed to believe they won… for now.
Branstad edged his way out from behind his chair and slapped a hand on the back of the guard hovering at his elbow. “Well done to you and your men! If the council agrees, we can transport her back to the US on my private jet. There, we will hold her in our Nosferatu holding facility until it is decided what will be done with her.
“Aren’t you worried about her fangs?” Gerald’s voice broke with fear.
Looping his thumbs in his belt, under the heavy paunch of his midsection, Branstad sauntered my way like the cowboy he thought himself to be. “Nah, we’ll slap one of those Hannibal Lector masks on her with a silver buckle. She’ll be as harmless as a declawed pussy.”
“Oh, Mr. Branstad,” the demonic dragon essence surging within me purred for only me to hear, “I hope to devour you first.”
I stayed silent and obedient on the flight back to the States.
I allowed them all to believe they had won.
That their nightmare was over, and they could position themselves at the top of society’s hierarchy once more.
With my feet and hands shackled, and a mask clamped over my face, I went along willingly as I was shoved and manhandled into the DG Enterprises holding facility.
Stark white halls.
State of the art equipment all made in gleaming silver.
The smell of bleach permeating off every surface.
Armed men flanked me on either side. A dozen more trailed us. Keeping my chin to my chest, my gaze darted from cell to cell. Each was full, all the occupants experiencing some form of sulfur poisoning. Some crouched on the floor sucking blood from bags with wild abandon. Others rappelled off every surface, their bodies twitching and convulsing in desperation to escape the poison surging through their veins. The saddest cases were those huddled into the fetal position, dry heaving as their bodies were forced into a painful detox.
My fangs threatened, yet I forced myself to walk on.
Not yet.
For my people, I would wait.
Ushered to a cell at the end of the hall, I was ordered to put my back to the wall while they unshackled my feet. That done, those brave men exited the cell and locked the door behind them.
“Turn around with your back to the bars and squat,” one among them boomed, causing titters of laughter from his cohorts.
“Can we get her to do that during shower time, too?” another of them chortled.
As my cuffs and face mask were removed, they all giggled at my degradation.
“Let them think themselves the victors.” The dragon’s voice echoed through my mind, wriggling into my waning willpower. “Allow them to get good and comfortable and forget that there are circling sharks in these waters.”
Once the cluster of cocky guards left, I knelt down in the center of my cell. Resting my rump on my heels, I laid my palms flat against my thighs… and waited.
Time moved around me in a steady blur.
Yet, there I sat, perfectly still.
“Tear those bars from their hinges. Toss them aside. Kill any being that dares challenge you. Be the goddess you were meant to be.” The Dragon’s hiss moved from one ea
r to the other, coiling through my mind.
“Quiet, you,” I thought in rebuttal. “What happened at the wedding was a one-time thing. We will not be utilizing that option again.”
“You can’t deny you enjoyed it,” the Dragon argued with a sinister chuckle. “As grisly as that truth is, it suited you.”
“My brother’s head was rolled down the aisle at my wedding. Your definition of enjoyment is different than mine.”
“But the bloody vengeance that followed was pure artistry.”
“Enough!” I commanded without uttering a word. “You know why we are here and what we must do. I will not tolerate the distraction. So, either shut up, or find something helpful to add.”
A beat of silence.
Then, “Yes, my Queen.”
Eyes closed, I waited and listened.
Keeping track of how often the guards walked by.
Counting their steps to the door.
Monitoring when shift changes occurred.
I absorbed it all.
How much time passed, I couldn’t say. Eventually, mealtime rolled around. A guard with dark circles under his eyes and a red nose pushed a rolling cart down the hall. Opening a small, swinging door on the front of each cell, he dropped two blood bags inside. Starving vamps should have swarmed. Judging by their sickly pallor, that’s exactly what they were. Instead, I watched as my people struggled between their own need for sustenance and the fear of ingesting toxins… again.
“Don’t drink that,” the gaunt vamp in the cell across from mine warned, as he moved to the back of his cell to fight his own temptation.
That wouldn’t do. I couldn’t allow any of them to give in to their desire. I needed them as clean and alert as they could be.
Thankfully, the Dragon granted me more than a crazy voice in my head. In a recent discovery, I learned it allowed me to be the crazy voice in other vampires’ heads. A talent I fully intended to exploit in all sorts of inappropriate ways when there wasn’t a war brewing between vampires and humans.
For the moment, I would settle for using that new talent for the greater good.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I cast out a net to ensnare all the Nosferatu being held within the compound. Reaching out, I soothed their essences with my own. “Stop. Take nothing the humans have offered. Be still in my peace. Trust I will provide for all of you.”
Not one blood bag was touched.
Even those battling withdrawal stilled.
The Dragon granted them the strength to endure.
No… fuck that.
My days for apologizing for being a badass were over.
I granted them the strength to endure.
The truth was, I would die before letting them down. I like to think they felt that, too.
Our opportunity knocked a short time later. The guards made one final sweep down the hall. Banging their nightsticks on the cell bars, they barked for us all to retreat to our cots. Not one of us moved.
“They aren’t listening. It’s like some sort of stand-off,” the guards whispered into the radio clipped to their cheap button-down shirts.
“It’s because of their queen bee,” came the crackled response. “As soon as they realize she’s just as much a prisoner as everyone else, they’ll fall into line. Call for lights out, let them sleep on the floor if they want.”
Once the call was made, the cell block was plunged into darkness.
The only light came from dim emergency lights running down the center of the hallway ceiling.
Even then, I waited.
Until the guards settled into their office.
Until the TV clicked on and I heard them laughing and crowing at some show with rapid gunfire and a string of expletives that passed as dialogue.
Only then did I rise to my feet.
I felt the ripple through the room of each and every body moving with me. On whispered steps, I walked to the door of my prison and looked the bars holding me up and down. Sterling silver; meant to keep in any pure-blood Nosferatu. But I was a science experiment. A new breed of an evolving species.
Thanks to that subtle difference, I could close my hands around those silver bars and bend them apart with ease until they were wide enough for me to step through. No guards came running. No alarms were sounded. As prison breaks went, we were off to a stellar start.
Moving in a blur of speed, I visited cell after cell to force open their door. My people spilled out into the hall. Fangs lengthening, their top lips twitched back into ravenous snarls.
I steadied them all with the raise of one hand. “No. Not yet. If anyone gets in our way, we subdue them. But do not feed. For all we know they’ve laced their blood with sulfur. We can’t take that risk. Not if we want to make it out of here.”
“Your Majesty,” a vampress with bird-like bone structure and a short pixie cut called for me in an urgent whisper. As I neared, she pointed into the cell nearest to the guard’s booth. “The vampire in here is too weak to move on his own.”
I knew without looking. I could smell his scent on the air and my hackles rose. The points of my fangs slid from my gumline. Steeling my spine, I ducked between the bars.
His back was to me. Legs pulled in tight to his chest, his body shook in bone rattling convulsions.
“Rau?”
“Leave me be. Please, just… leave me.” His once commanding voice was little more than a strained rasp. Form shrunk by starvation, his orange prison uniform hung off his bony frame.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. Your father would never forgive me.”
“My father is nothing more than a faded star that left nothing but a black hole of emptiness in his absence.”
“He was. Then I woke him up. Oh, and we’re married. So, effective immediately, I’m going to need you to start calling me mommy,” I deadpanned. “It may seem weird, but it’s important to me.”
At that, Rau forced himself to roll over and peered my way in blatant confusion. “What?”
“There we go. That got your attention.” I crossed the cell to him in two wide strides. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up, right after we get out of here. Which will be tons easier if you’re on your feet.”
“No, I can’t. I don’t have the strength.” His head fell to his cot with a muted thump. “Get the others out. I will just slow you down.”
Groaning my annoyance, I glanced back at the others anxiously waiting in the hall. “I know you’re all hungry, but don’t get any ideas. This is just to get him out of here. If you eat me, I can’t save you. Are we clear?”
They exchanged glances, then dutifully nodded their agreement.
“That was a little hesitant for my liking, but we’ll go with it.” Dropping fang, I bit into my own wrist. Crimson petals bloomed from my skin. Not giving him a chance to argue, I forced my wrist to his mouth. “Be quick. We have exactly no time.”
One pull of my blood, then another, and Rau’s eyes clouded with confusion. Dragging his tongue over his lips, he considered my flavor. “What… are you?”
Shoving off his dingy cot, I rose to my feet and offered him a hand up. “The answer to that has changed so many times, even I’m not sure anymore. You alright to stand?”
Rau’s fingers closed around mine, and he hoisted himself to his feet. “I could taste Draculesti blood mingling with yours. Is it true? My father lives?”
“That’s a small part of a much longer story. Do you want me to go into it now? Or, can we get you out of here before Dorian Gray makes you his bitch again?”
Rau’s fangs snapped down, his nostrils flaring. “I will see that man suffer before granting him the mercy of death.”
“Atta boy, junior. Let’s go.”
The freed prisoners did what came naturally to our kind and clung to the shadows as they waited. The second we stepped from the ten by
ten cell, they moved into a tight diamond formation behind me.
That’s when one of the guards glanced up and pissed himself.
Sirens wailed.
Gates slammed shut as the prison was forced into lock down.
The smell of fear radiated off the humans in heady waves.
Weapons drawn, the guards sprinted from the office bellowing orders we had no intention of following. “Down on the ground, now! Hands behind your heads! We will shoot.”
Not bothered by them enough to grant them my full attention, I glanced back to my people. “Their weapons are most definitely loaded with silver or sulphur-laced bullets. As a rule, getting shot is a bad thing. Move fast. Act quick. Don’t feed.” Slow and deliberate, I turned back toward the swarming guards. “Now, let’s take these fuckers to school.”
A scream tearing from my lungs, I launched into attack. I stole the gun from the nearest guard, pistol whipped him with it, and knocked him out cold. Clicking on the safety, I spun the chamber and let the unspent rounds rain down on his slumped form. Seeing another guard level his weapon at Rau, I hurled myself at the guard. Mid-rotation, I drove my elbow into his temple. That sorry sack folded like a piece of paper. Shots rang out in the middle of the scrimmage, one of which knocked out the emergency running lights.
Just like that, we were plunged into darkness and the advantage shifted to the undead.
“Where are they?” a guard screamed, his gravelly voice breaking with fear.
“Stay alert! Kensington, get the lights on!”
While they blindly spun in desperate circles with their guns drawn, my people and I could see them like it was high noon on a cloudless day. None of us crouched. None of us hid. Moving as shadows, we flitted between them with ease. Now, I could have made my move toward the exit right then. And maybe I would have, had I not been moving past the asshat who made me squat in front of him. What can I say? I hold a grudge. Seizing a handful of his hair, I slammed his head into the silver cell bars.
The Veiled Series Collection Page 39