by Lund, S. E.
“Is that the extent of the plague?”
“Plague?” he says, and makes a face of mock offense. “You mean, the liberation of my brethren from the threat of humanity? I prefer to call it Dominion, and it will allow you to live the way you should as top predator. The highest on the food chain. An Immortal with powers unrivaled since the time of the old gods.”
“Old gods?” I say and frown, wondering where he’s going with this and what his religious beliefs are.
“Yes, old gods,” he says and runs a fingertip over England, which is almost completely covered in red from the coast of my beloved Wales to the eastern coast. London is completely surrounded by red. He glances up at me. “Don’t tell me you’re an atheist like Dylan.”
“I’m a scientist,” I say. “A skeptic who needs evidence before I can accept something. I believe as much in the Flying Spaghetti Monster as I do in God or the gods of religion.”
“How sad for you. To be such an empiricist is to deny spiritual experiences that go beyond the senses. The old gods!” he says and waves me around the desk to his side. “The old gods were like vampires are to humans now—powerful beings who had dominion over them until they gave us their powers and we vampires took over. That’s all.”
I go around the table as he indicated and stand at his side. He points to the western coast of the USA.
“That’s our next release target. At the same time,” he says and points to the eastern coast of Russia, near Vladivostok, “we will release the nanovirus here and here so that eventually, the entire world will be red.” He smiles up at me. “What do you think? A blood red plague that covers the earth. Symbolic, don’t you agree?”
I shake my head, my heart pounding at the thought. “You’ve already caused the deaths of millions of humans.”
“Hundreds of millions, I’d think by now,” he says matter-of-factly, as if he’s proud.
I can barely breathe for a moment, let alone speak, my anger is so great.
“And you think we—that I—won’t try to stop you? I’d be a monster if I went along with this, by any credo of religion or ethics.”
“Pishaw,” he says. “I have your father. If you don’t comply, I’ll kill him. And Dylan. And everyone you care about. You’re necessary to my plans now that our first attempt to destroy Soren failed. If you really want to get rid of Soren, you’ll comply. He’s the only fly in my ointment at the moment, but even he will be useful for a while. Then I’ll get rid of him as well.”
It’s then I remember what he said when I was first drugged.
“You said that before. What do you mean, your first attempt to destroy Soren?” I ask, a sense of dread creeping through my body. I understood that my attempt on Soren was a Council plan, not one of Blackstone’s.
He looks up at me, a look close to gloating on his face. “Oh, that’s right. You thought Dylan was working for the Council.” He turns back to the map and straightens it, righting the corners once more. “That outmoded waste of time.” Blackstone cricks his neck and moves the map a bit, repositioning it in front of him. “I’m the Council, now, Eve, and have been for decades. You’ve been working for me all this time. You never questioned how Dylan was able to get the nanovirus and use it against Soren?”
“He infiltrated your organization…”
“Or maybe I let him join?”
I stand in silence for a moment, taking this new piece of information in. He’s the Council?
I’m at a loss for words, snarky or serious. All I can think is that we’re screwed if there truly is no Council independent of Blackstone. If he’s telling me the truth, then we’ll have to start a new Council free of his influence.
“If you expect me to cooperate with you, you’ll have to let me see my father.”
He shrugs and smiles up at me then turns back to his map. “I’ll let you see your father later. We’re moving him to the compound so you two can be together. He was kept in terrible conditions. And now, if you don’t mind, please leave. You’re free to enjoy the compound, but don’t for a moment think you can escape.” He snaps his fingers to summon the guard and then I’m forgotten. He opens a file of papers and busies himself reading some document as if I’m now invisible.
The guard shows me to the door and closes it behind me, leaving me alone in the hallway.
I know he meant what he said—I’m free to wander around the compound undisturbed. So that’s what I do, determined to find a way to escape.
Chapter 89
“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.”
Confucius
I wander around the compound and note that while no one stops me from exploring each room, they seem to keep an eye on me. I've spotted plenty of surveillance cameras overhead, watching every corridor and room from all angles. After I’ve checked in each room, I try the rear door and find that it opens. I walk out as calmly as I can and stand for a moment to glance up at the stars, breathing in the cool night air. I wonder where Michel and Julien are and if they’re worried about me.
Can they imagine what’s happened—that Dylan has betrayed us—that Blackstone is the Council and we’re working for him all along? Do Michel and Julien both know this and once again, I’m the only one in the dark? I can barely believe it myself, but that’s what appears to have happened.
I take a moment to examine the security arrangements. A ten-foot tall fence surrounds the grounds with barbed wire and floodlights. Several guards walk along the inside of the fence. Even if I could reach the fence and climb it, I’m sure one of them could get to me in time to either shoot me or stop me. My only hope would be to overpower one of them and then climb the fence unnoticed, escaping over it and running back to the city.
I sit on a low retaining wall that circles the patio and watch the guards patrol for a while. They move along the fence in a defined pattern, guns in their hands. Once they reach a predetermined point, they stop and then return to their initial position.
Beside me is a pile of wood that must be used for heat in the old mansion and a shed that looks as if it’s used by a gardener. Of course, my mind goes to the implements inside—hedge clippers, hoes, lawn sprinklers, pots and trowels. The clippers could be used as a weapon, and the smaller branches meant for the fireplaces could be stakes.
There’s no use. Even if I armed myself with a sharp weapon and found a piece of wood to use as a stake and even if I managed to take down one of the guards, the others would be there in seconds. Besides, my father may be on his way to the compound and I want to see him, to make sure he’s still alive.
If it’s still him inside.
So instead of trying to run, I sit on the retaining wall and watch the stars, waiting for someone to come and get me. Nothing happens for hours, it seems, as I watch the guards walk back and forth along their respective paths. Finally, the door opens, emitting a swathe of light from the mansion, and Dylan joins me.
“Here you are,” he says and sits beside me, close enough so that our shoulders touch. I pull away, not yet ready to be on friendly terms with him. In truth, I want to scream at him, shake him, demand he tell me everything here and now, but I take in a deep breath. I’ll hear him out.
“You have every right to hate me,” he says. His eyes are bloodshot and his face is haggard.
“I don’t hate you,” I say and sigh heavily.
“Don’t bother trying to escape. Blackstone has fantastic security.”
“How long have you known that Blackstone was in control of the Council?” I say, my voice barely under control. I’m still not certain how to treat Dylan or how truthful he’ll be.
“I didn’t know for certain. When Vasquez took over, I wondered what happened. He seemed far too interested in Soren. In fact, he sent you right to Soren, as if he was giving you to him, when he should have been trying to keep you away from him.”
I frown. “He was giving me to Soren.” Vasquez’s behavior makes sense now. He was under Blackstone’s contro
l. Blackstone wanted me in with Soren so he could use me to kill him.
“We were working for Blackstone all along and didn’t know it,” I say, almost to myself. “Maybe we were wrong to try to keep the existence of vampires secret. Maybe if we had compromised, if we had worked together, we could have prevented Blackstone from releasing the plague to gain power.”
Dylan shakes his head. “It’s too late for maybe, Eve. The Treaty may have been wrong, but there’s no way of knowing if we could have prevented what’s happened. Even if vampires had been able to walk among humans, they’d never accept doing so as equals. The only reason we have a treaty at all is because vampires became afraid humans would find a way to destroy them. Some believe that they are the superior predator and as such, they can take what they want.”
“So what now?” I say and turn to Dylan, watching his face in the moonlight.
“You meet with your father. You take the daywalking drug. Then, you become part of the plan.”
“Which plan? Blackstone’s? I don’t want to be part of his plan.”
“Our plan.”
“The plan to stop Dominion?”
Dylan nods but says nothing.
“Tell me. I need to know that there’s a Council outside of Blackstone.”
“You’ll know in time,” he says, his voice sounding tired. “That’s all I can say. Take comfort that there are a few who still hold to Council values. They’re working on it even if we can’t.”
“Not good enough,” I mutter and turn away. Damn these men and their protective instincts. Why can’t they treat me as an equal?
Of course, it’s because I’m physically not an equal. Blackstone’s drug will let me walk during the day, but it won’t make me practically invulnerable the way the waters of life would. I shudder at the thought of taking it and becoming like them, but there’s a small part of me that fears it will come to that one day, no matter how much I fight it.
The door opens and a guard approaches us. He stops in front of us and nods to Dylan. Then he turns to me.
“Lord Blackstone wants to inform you that your father has arrived. You’re to come with me.”
My heart leaps in my chest and I stand up, eager to see him but afraid at the same time.
Dylan stands as well and puts an arm around my shoulder. “Prepare yourself.”
* * *
The guard takes us to the recesses of the building and down a staircase at the back to a basement that is more like a dungeon than a living space. The walls are cement, the rooms are tiny, and the only light comes from lanterns hanging on the walls. In one of the cells is a man I don’t recognize. He’s small and wizened, crouched in the corner, his hair long and matted, a thick beard shot through with grey reaching down to his chest.
This can’t be my father…
My father was a handsome man with dark hair and sharp brown eyes. He was meticulous about his appearance and always looked professional with his bow tie and blazer. I barely remember the last time I saw him. I do remember him at my mother’s funeral; there was no indication that he would lose his mind. In my memories, he appeared as a man who could not be broken, but from what my foster parents told me, during the weeks following her death, he fell apart. Soon, he couldn’t even care for me.
This man looks like someone who spent years in the Tower of London instead of a psychiatric hospital. The smell emanating from the cell is overpowering, as if he’s been living on the street for months.
“That’s not my father,” I say, shaking my head. I hear movement behind me and turn to see Blackstone, his eyes narrowed.
“Rest assured that he is the one and only,” he says, his voice hard.
I step away from the door. “My father was in a hospital. The insurance from my mother’s death paid for the finest care. My foster parents—”
“Your foster parents told you what they were supposed to. They are compellable, unlike you. He was kept in solitary confinement and treated as a violent patient with dementia.”
I glance back inside the cell at the man who is supposedly my father and swallow hard. There’s a lump in my throat that feels very much like a scream.
I turn to Blackstone and tears well up in my eyes. “How long have you had him?”
“I only found him a few weeks ago. Apparently he was moved from time to time, but kept in solitary for the duration of his stay.”
I shake my head slowly, my fists clenching. “Why are you keeping him like this? He needs medical care. A bath. Clean clothes.”
“His comfort is the least of my concerns, Eve.”
“You bastard.”
“Assuredly not a bastard,” Blackstone says, a grin on his face. “An actual lord, believe it or not. My title stretches back to the eighth century.”
I frown. Eighth century England? He’s older than the twins.
“Are you…” I say, not wanting to imagine it’s possible.
“Am I what?” he says, a look of supreme satisfaction on his face as he realizes what I mean. “Ascended? How else could I outsmart Soren for so long?”
“They never told me. No one told me.”
I look back inside the cell and try my best to figure it all out. Blackstone said he was the Council but the Council has, for decades, been fighting Dominion—fighting Soren. I’m so confused and upset, I can’t think.
“So…” I begin, my mind working, trying to piece it all together, “the Council has never been fighting against Dominion. It’s always been which version of Dominion, yours or Soren’s, would be in place—not whether it would.”
“There have been a few who have fought for a third way,” he points out.
“Michel and Julien. And my mother.”
“Smart girl. Not smart enough. Michel has never been under my sway. He’s always been more allegiant to Soren. For a while, I thought I might have convinced Julien to my way of thinking. Certainly, I have Dylan.”
“Only because you have his parents.”
“Think what you will.”
“So no one ever told me the truth. Not even my mother.”
“The truth shall drive you mad,” Blackstone says and exhales heavily.
I stand in silence for a moment, my heart racing in my chest, biting my lip to stop the tears. My father, my brilliant, talented father, is muttering to himself in the cell, his words indistinguishable.
“What do you want from me?” I ask, my voice breaking.
“Your compliance.”
“You expect me to stand idly by while you destroy humanity?”
“Not destroy. Just bring to heel. The way it should be.”
I’m filled with revulsion at what he says and how cavalier he is about the subjugation of humans. “I can’t cooperate. I can’t. I’d rather die.”
“Oh, you won’t ever die, Eve. Not by my hand nor by Soren’s, so don’t think he’ll kill you either. No,” Blackstone says, his voice weary. “If anyone dies, it will be your beloved twins. And your father. We knew you’d sacrifice yourself to protect them and get rid of Soren. We used that to our advantage. Love—it’s such a powerfully illogical emotion.”
“And if I cooperate?” I say, hoping he’ll explain his plans to me. “What is it that you want me to do?”
“Help me destroy Soren when the time comes.”
“I thought you said you wanted to share the world with him.”
Blackstone shakes his head. “Do I seem like the kind of man who wants to share anything?” Then he smiles a wicked smile. “If you want your father to live upstairs, get his medicine, and come back to life, you’ll cooperate and soon. Like this afternoon. Agree to help me destroy Soren once and for all. This cooperation bullshit makes me ill.” He turns to the guard, who snaps to attention. “Let her stay for a few moments, then bring her upstairs.”
He leaves me standing in the narrow hallway, staring into the dank cell that holds my father. For a moment, I’m unable to speak, my anger is so great, but then I try to calm myself with a few deep bre
aths.
“Father?” I say, my voice wavering with emotion.
The man in the cell, who appears more like a wild animal than a human being, doesn’t respond.
“Father,” I say again, this time with more force. “It’s me. Eve.”
He scrunches down even more tightly in the corner as if he’s afraid of me, turning his head aside.
“Father, don’t you remember me?”
He doesn’t respond, one hand covering his eyes as if the light from the hallway hurts them.
“Please say something,” I whisper, tears in my eyes blurring my vision. “Anything.”
He remains where he is and doesn’t respond. If anything, he makes himself even smaller, like he’s trying to disappear, and I can only imagine what hell he’s been through—ill and mistreated, kept in solitary confinement in a dungeon in the dark.
I hate Blackstone. I hate whoever did this to my father.
But I will cooperate long enough so I can get my father upstairs and see if I can restore him to some kind of normalcy. If he is insane, I’ll decide what to do at that point. I know I must cooperate at least until I can find a way to free my father and remove Blackstone’s hold over me.
The guard stands at attention, waiting for me. Finally, I turn from the window that looks into the cell.
“Let’s go,” I say with a sigh.
The guard escorts me back to the library on the main floor where Blackstone is seated. His son stands behind him and together they examine the map spread out on his tabletop.
They look up when I walk in and I’m struck once more at how close in age they appear. They could be brothers instead of father and son.
“So, Eve,” Lord Blackstone says and folds his hands on the table, “have a seat.” He gestures to the armchair across from his desk, but I stubbornly stand.
“I’d rather stand,” I say but realize it’s a silly response.
“Suit yourself. I wanted to go over our plans for you.”