by Dale Mayer
Tessa snickered. “Yeah, that’s me. Not.”
Deanna stared at her. “But you are. In many ways. You just don’t know it yet.” She stood up and stretched, then carefully took a few steps forward as if testing her balance and stability. She then strode forward to the wall, turned around, and walked back. She looked over at Hortran. “Are you ready to go?”
He nodded, but he didn’t get up. Tessa didn’t know if he needed help.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, he turned and gave her a sharp look. You can read my thoughts, she gasped silently. She felt Cody stiffen at her side. It’s okay, Cody.
Is it? he murmured softly.
Hortran stared at her with that ageless look in his eyes. She smiled in understanding. In her head, she said, It’s all right. I won’t say anything.
What if I want to? Cody asked.
As his response rippled through her head, Hortran raised one eyebrow.
She couldn’t read his thoughts, or at least she made no attempt to. But as she stared at him, an image of a door appeared in her head. She frowned, tilting her head slightly. Is that you, she asked him.
There was no answer. Still, she grabbed the knob and pushed the door open. There was a bright light on the other side. She smiled and stepped into the doorway.
Cody said, Umm, Tessa, are you sure you should be doing that?
She laughed and walked in further. The door closed behind her. She turned, saw the door closed, considered the issue, reached out, and pulled the door open. On the other side she found Cody, a worried look on his face.
It’s okay. The door isn’t locked.
What’s over there? he asked curiously.
Not sure. She started to close the door. I’ll let you know what I find out.
Wait. Leave the door open – just in case.
She considered, realized where he was coming from, and left the door open enough he could see her. Then she turned and walked into the light. And realized it was like a mindspeak highway. She could go anywhere she liked. At least she thought she could.
*
Goran studied Ian’s face, his mind churning with the reality of his question. “That’s a damn good question,” he looked over at Motre. “Outside of Jewel, who’d been segregated, we have only found males.”
The silence stretched as each of them considered the ramifications of such a selection.
“I can’t see any reason for that. Maybe it’s random.”
“If it were random, then it wouldn’t be only males. The law of averages would say that some would have to be female.” Goran looked back at David and Jewel and realized he had her on her feet, though she still looked washed out.
“I’m wondering if we shouldn’t send these two, potentially Ian as well, back to the Council Hall, and you and I can join up with Serus.” He added, “I’d feel better if we were working together as it is. I really don’t feel comfortable with that Deanna stuff.”
“I wondered about her. I haven’t met her, but I’ve heard the horror stories.”
“Yes, she’s been around long enough to be an icon herself. She’d been a reigning queen of terror in her time. Now she’s old and supposedly mellowed.” He snorted.
“Can someone like that mellow?” Motre asked.
“I don’t know.”
A sound behind him had him spinning around. It was David helping Jewel over to the group.
“I need to take her back to the Council Hall. Sian should be able to help her there.”
Goran nodded. “We were just talking about that. The three of you need rest.” He glanced over at Motre, adding, “We’ll meet up with Serus and stick together.”
Ian and David looked at each other. David said, “I can drive us there.”
“Oh, thank God,” Jewel said. “I just want to go somewhere where I’ll be safe.”
Motre nodded. “And that means the Council Hall.”
“I’m game. I could use some blood,” Ian said, leading the way to the elevators. “Can’t say a nap would hurt either,” he muttered, loud enough for Goran to hear.
“I know the break you had was short,” Goran said. “It was nowhere near long enough for all the shit going on here. Still, you were sleeping most of the time here anyway. Thought you’d have been fine by now.”
Ian shook his head. They reached the elevators. He pushed the button to open the door. “No, it seems like I never got any sleep. Crazy dreams and with the adrenaline rush and panic of trying to help Wendy and not being able to…yeah, I’m pretty wasted.” He yawned.
“The same for me,” Jewel said. “The drugs don’t help that way. I’m exhausted.”
“We’ll get you checked over by the vamp doctors at the Council Hall then we’ll eat and rest. Hopefully Goran and Motre will return with the others in no time,” David said.
“The rest of them? Who all is here?”
Goran looked over at Jewel and realized how much she’d missed. And so had Ian. “David can fill you in later. After you are back at the Council Hall.”
They entered the elevator and dropped to the garage level. It was empty. With Motre and Goran on guard, they waited while the three youngsters got into the car and drove away.
“Do you think they will be okay?” Motre asked as they stood there staring into the early morning. Goran studied the sky. It was not safe for any vamp to be outside now. That was good. With the tinted windows of his car, the kids should be able to go straight to the Council Hall and not be followed.
“I don’t know. I think this latest turn means none of us will be okay ever again.” Goran turned and headed back inside.
*
Serus stood off to one side and studied the Ghost. He already knew Deanna. She’d been on the Council since forever. And he’d seen her many times. She’d been impassioned for the vampire lifestyle. Not a heavy supporter of the vampire database, and happy to leave the day–to–day running to the Council. She was a staunch friend and supporter and a very dangerous enemy. It was that enemy part that worried him now. For some reason, she’d latched onto his daughter.
And that couldn’t be good. Still, she was a known element.
The Ghost wasn’t. He was something Serus had never seen or known. And he was very close to Deanna. That alone made him very dangerous. And wasn’t that a weird thing?
The two of them were an odd couple. There was almost a worshipping look on the Ghost’s face when he looked at Deanna. And a look of respect when he looked at Tessa. That was also concerning. Or rather disconcerting.
“Why did you call for Tessa?” he asked Deanna.
She turned slowly to look at him. He refused to back down. It would be suicide to do so. She’d rip his throat open if he did. In a heartbeat.
She glared at him. “Councilman Serus, why are you asking?”
“Because I know you.”
She straightened up, insulted.
He straightened up to match, struggling to not show his nerves. Goran’s voice rippled inside his head. Watch it boyo, she’ll take your head clean off.
I know, he answered, but I need to know that Tessa is safe.
Let me know how that works out for you. By the way, we’re on our way. Motre and I will be there in five. Sent the kids back to the Council Hall. Jewel is fine but weak and exhausted.
Good.
It was hard to keep up the internal monologue with Goran and stare Deanna down. But he wasn’t Serus for nothing.
After a moment, she relaxed and chuckled lightly. “You haven’t changed much, have you, Serus? Still stubborn and pigheaded.”
He shook his head. “That’s my child you’re dealing with. No setting her up for a fall.”
Deanna shook her head. “No, I won’t. I actually need her more than she needs me. I can’t afford to hurt her.”
“And her is looking for answers as to what you want with her,” Tessa said in exasperation, stepping boldly between them.
Deanna looked startled, then she laughed, a great booming laug
h that rang loudly throughout the room. “Oh Serus. You did good.”
The Ghost walked over to stand beside Deanna, but he had a grin on his face. If that was what the cadaver scrunched–up look meant. Serus watched him carefully. “And yet you don’t answer her.”
Deanna’s grin widened. “I am not sure this is quite the right time.”
“There might not be a better time,” Tessa said coolly. “I certainly don’t want you screaming through my mind and knocking me unconscious because you feel like it.”
The look on the Ghost’s face was a combination of shock and respect. As if he wasn’t used to seeing anyone stand up to Deanna. Or question her.
Deanna was a force to be reckoned with regardless of her age, position, or status. She had power – megawatts of it. And she had no compunction about using it.
Deanna stared hard at Tessa. Serus watched Tessa relax and cross her arms across her chest. Instead of straightening in a show of power, she’d gone the other way and relaxed completely, dismissing the concept that she was in danger. And as a result, she had defused the tension.
Serus shook her head. Was Tessa that smart? Or had she not understood the consequences of her actions? He couldn’t help wonder if she hadn’t done it naturally – as if instinctively understanding that with all the power floating around the room, another power play wasn’t the answer.
Damn. She was good.
*
Cody had watched the interplay quietly. He knew Serus wouldn’t let anything happen to Tessa. He knew Tessa had no clue who or what Deanna was. She’d been kept out of the loop from most of the Council stuff. Whether right or wrong, she was never included because of her heritage. But it was too bad right now that she didn’t have some idea of just how dangerous Deanna actually was. That the Ghost was her defender or protector and obviously loyal dog made him an unknown, and in Cody’s estimation, that made him much more dangerous. Particularly when an order from Deanna would be carried out without question.
He wondered how this stalemate was going to end when Deanna started to laugh again. She walked closer to Tessa. Cody shifted his attention to Tessa. There was no artifice in that girl. No way to hide her as being anything other than what she was. Happy and content in who and what she was. Now. Not who she’d been. Now she faced Deanna and didn’t seem to know how dangerous a rattler was when cornered.
He swallowed, wondering what to do. His muscles bunched. His jaw locked.
“Down, lover boy,” Deanna said, “I’m not going to hurt her.”
Cody switched his gaze to Deanna, instinctively holding back the snarl clogging up his throat. He had much he wanted to say, but Deanna wasn’t even looking at him. She was studying Tessa.
“Well Tessa, I see you have a couple of champions.”
“So do you,” Tessa answered coolly. “Not that either of us need them.”
A smile whispered across Deanna’s face. “Isn’t that the truth. You are lucky, you know?”
Tessa tilted her head, a gentle smile on her face. “I know.”
Another long moment passed where Deanna studied Tessa’s face slowly, carefully, as if she was searching for answers.
Cody wished he knew what she was looking for.
Tessa, do you understand what’s going on?
No, she said something earlier about testing me.
Right. He’d forgotten that.
The door beside them burst open. Goran and Motre rushed in. Sizing up the scenario in front of them, the two men immediately flanked Serus. Cody happened to glance back in time to see an odd look cross Deanna’s face. He wondered at it, but then he saw the Ghost ready.
Deanna threw her arm out to the left in front of the Ghost.
Stopping him.
Tessa looked at the Ghost and said mentally, It is all right. They are not here to hurt you.
The air buzzed with odd energy.
Cody realized suddenly that Tessa was talking to the Ghost mentally. How are you doing that?
Having walked through the weird door in my mind, she said, I can now speak to the Ghost. And maybe other people.
Damn. “Tessa, I know you are talking to the Ghost and likely Deanna mentally, but the rest of us need to hear words out loud. It makes us all worried when the silence gets big and awkward like this.”
Tessa looked startled, then she laughed. She walked over to Cody and slipped her arm through his. “It’s all good. Deanna isn’t quite ready to tell me. She’s not sure about me yet.”
Cody wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He couldn’t help the whole protective male thing. He knew she didn’t need it but at the same time, he did.
She patted his chest. “It’s fine.”
“Hi, Goran. Motre,” Serus said easily. “Good to know you found Jewel.”
Goran never responded, his glare locked on Deanna.
Cody studied Motre. He was just as silent, only his gaze, shocked and confused, had locked on Hortran. Maybe he had never seen a Ghost before.
Neither had Cody, but that was the way his life went these days with Tessa. She made life interesting. Then he realized she was leaving the circle of his arms. He tried to pull her back. She shook her head, gave him a smile, and walked over to stand between Deanna and the Ghost.
Damn it, Tessa
It’s fine.
You don’t know that. Cody said. She’s got plans for you. You can’t trust her.
I don’t plan to. And she took another step closer to her father.
“It’s all good, Dad.” She smiled cheerfully, switching her gaze to Goran. “Goran, Motre, can we lower the guard dog modes down a little?”
Goran switched his gaze to Tessa. She brightened up her smile.
“Do you have any idea what you are up to?” he growled. “Or with who?”
“Not yet, but I won’t find out if things don’t calm down.” She spun around to face Deanna. “Who locked you in the morgue drawers?”
Deanna sighed, her aggressive stance easing. “It was Rexy, a punk that reports to Stanley. He came with a dozen others. We chose the easiest path.”
Tessa motioned to the gurneys surrounding them. “Do you know what happened to these men?”
Deanna’s gaze hardened. “They were dupes. Volunteers for the new drugs. Drugs that were not ready for circulation. My love warned me of it before he disappeared.”
“He couldn’t stop it?”
“No.” Deanna said sadly. “He said it was out of control as vamps were volunteering all over the place to get enhancements.”
*
Jared sat on his aunt’s bed. He was stunned by the depth of her betrayal. He had to wonder about his uncle’s house. Was it his? Or had it been his father’s house as well? He glanced through the rest of the papers, but he hadn’t had time for a real look. He stuffed all the contents back into the brown envelope and put it inside his backpack. Then he repacked the hatboxes and replaced them both. He checked the night tables on both sides of the bed and couldn’t help bending down to look under her bed. He wanted to have more time – do a better search. Be more thorough. As in tear the place apart. He wanted to flip her mattress and rip it to pieces. He couldn’t forget the idea that if she had this hidden, there was likely a whole lot more hidden as well. And he wanted to be the one to find it. Just in case someone tried to take his father’s house away from him. Again.
He slipped back down the staircase and into the kitchen. He looked out at the morning. It was time to get moving. He walked through the kitchen to the back door. He gave a quick glance through the cupboards before opening the top drawer. It was full of papers. There was a manual to the washer and one for the dryer. And something that looked like a manual for the coffeemaker.
There was lots of other little manuals plus the odd receipt. He rifled through the mess but couldn’t see anything important. Then he stopped. She’d been killed in the house, so where was her purse? He walked to the long cupboard that had been converted to a key and catch–all cupboard. There,
on the bottom shelf, sat her purse. Therefore, she’d been home long enough to put her purse away instead of having just walked in the door. So who killed her, and had she let them in? Had they just knocked on the door or snuck in through the back?
She’d lived on the criminal edge. She hung out with unsavory people, so she must have known that she’d be in danger. Or she’d become so smug she’d discounted her position as dangerous. As disposable. He pulled out her purse and opened it on the counter. There was makeup, a notepad, and several candy bars. Those he pocketed. He opened her wallet to find her credit cards and several twenties. He didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t want to leave her wallet behind for someone else to steal. He stuffed it into the bottom of his backpack. Then took it out and stared at it. What if he left it here but in a different location? One no one but him would know about? That felt like a better deal than getting caught with it and making it look like he’d been stealing. He glanced around the kitchen, deciding to hide the wallet in the very end of the pot cupboard inside a stack of pots.
Done, he then slipped out the back door. It was late now. If he hurried, he’d be just in time for school.
Chapter 14
Tessa looked at the young men on the gurneys. There was sadness but also stupidity in their actions. She hoped they’d enjoyed life before it had been snuffed out at too young an age.
The humans were a completely different matter. They’d had no choice. They’d been bled dry like cattle and their bodies in cold storage for further disposal. She wondered how they would dispose of so many bodies. Were they in cahoots with a funeral home? Maybe that was an angle to look into.
She filed away a note then realized she was better off letting Sian know. Maybe they could track back faster. How many funeral homes could there be? She quickly wrote up a text to Sian and copied Wendy on it. Maybe one of them had time to do some checking. When she hit send, she looked up to find the group all staring at her.
“Well,” Goran snapped. “Do you think you could put your social life on hold for a few moments so we can figure this out?”
“As I was texting Sian to search for connections to funeral homes to find some of the humans in cahoots with this mess, given…” she swept her arm back, “the fifty–seven human bodies that are here waiting for disposal, I hardly think my social life is involved.”