The Four Horsemen

by Cheree Alsop

  Nods and pleased expressions came from the reporters who watched him.

  “That was Dr. Wolf from Edge City Hospital addressing us from the scene of the blood bank robbery,” Gayle said to her camera. “We will notify you of further details on the robbery as they arise. Thank you for watching, and goodnight.”

  Other reporters signed off to their stations. Aleric turned away with the hope that his words would at least ease some of the tension between the citizens and the fae. If they could learn to trust each other, it would go far toward helping the plights of Perry and others who had found happiness after traversing the Rift.

  “That was quite the speech,” the Commissioner said.

  Aleric couldn’t tell by his expression how the man felt about his words.

  “I didn’t mean to make it so dramatic,” Aleric replied.

  “You have a flare for it,” Dartan noted from the Commissioner’s other side.

  “This coming from a vampire,” Aleric said dryly.

  Lilian touched Aleric’s arm. “It was great.”

  Commissioner Oaks nodded. “Don’t apologize. I feel your words were necessary. Anything that can help ease the fear of fae in this city is a good thing. They see something like this and the media has a field day speculating about the type of creature involved.” He took a steeling breath and pushed open the door. “The problem is that I can’t figure out who it would be otherwise. What kind of fae needs so much blood?”

  Aleric saw Dartan’s shoulders tense at the scent of blood that rushed out from the open door. He glanced at his friend, wondering when the vampire had last eaten.

  Dartan’s jaw was locked and his red gaze stayed carefully impassive. Aleric was reminded of the time Dartan had laid on his back in the demon’s lair watching the sunrise. He had chosen to slowly, painfully starve to death instead of taking the blood Aleric had offered. Aleric didn’t doubt his friend’s control, but the scent of blood was even overwhelming to his werewolf senses; he couldn’t imagine how the vampire felt.

  “Do you want to wait in the car?” Aleric asked quietly.

  Dartan shook his head. “I’m fine.”

  Lilian glanced back at them and gave them a reassuring smile. If she felt the same worry, she didn’t show it.

  “As you can see, we’re missing even more than before,” a man in a white lab coat said.

  Aleric turned his attention to the refrigeration room they had entered.

  “They took the red cell bags of every blood type,” the man continued, showing the big gap along the shelves where the blood bags used to be. “By our count, one hundred and fifteen bags were taken.”

  “What about the cameras?” the Commissioner asked.

  “Knocked out, same as at the North Bank,” the man replied.

  An officer approached them. “We’ve checked for prints, Commissioner. Not a trace; just like last time.”

  Commissioner Oaks looked at Aleric. “Care to sweep the area?”

  “Could I have the room for a minute?” he asked. “It’s cold enough that the scent might be hard to find. The fewer people in the same area, the better.”

  “Of course,” the Commissioner replied. At his motion, everyone filed out of the huge room. The Commissioner pulled the door shut. “Take your time,” he called through it.

  Lilian rubbed her arms. “It’s a bit chilly.”

  Aleric crossed to her. “Would you be more comfortable outside?”

  She shook her head. “We’re investigators, remember?” she asked with a teasing smile. “Let’s get investigating.”

  “Go to it, Wolfie,” Dartan said. “Good luck smelling anything in here.”

  Aleric took off his shirt. A shiver ran across his bare skin. He phased into wolf form, grateful to have the thick, warm coat to protect him. He padded to the shelves, sniffing the floor as he went.

  “The great fae bloodhound,” Dartan said to Lilian. “If the Commissioner knew he had a doctor and a hound in this one, he might not let the hospital have him back.”

  Lilian laughed. “They could change his name to Sherlock Bones.”

  “I like that,” Dartan replied. “What do you think, Wolfie?”

  Aleric snorted.

  Dartan laughed in response. “He’s a hound of few words.”

  Aleric pushed their banter to the background and concentrated on the matter at hand. Dartan was right; finding a fae scent in the cold room would be a difficult task. If they hadn’t located any fingerprints, there was the chance whoever it was had been careful enough not to touch anything that might also leave a smell on the—

  Aleric paused. He checked the shelf again. There it was, faint, nearly a day old, but the scent he had been both hoping and fearing to find. The vampiress.

  Aleric followed the scent to the door. Now that he knew what he was looking for, it was easier to locate.

  “You found it?” Dartan said in surprise. “Now what?”

  At Aleric’s expectant look, the vampire put a hand on the door. “Fine, but you’re going to rush through a mess of officers and reporters. You’ll have to get out of here quickly. Figure out where she took the blood, but don’t be a hero. Come get us before you confront her. We need somewhere to meet up.”

  “Meet at my place,” Lilian said.

  “Wolfie’s been to your place?” Dartan replied.

  Red colored Lilian’s cheeks. “We were getting a tent for the grims.”

  “Oh. Right. That’s what they all say,” the vampire replied. He touched her cheek with a finger. “You’re quite attractive when you blush, you know.” He winked at her. “Especially to a vampire. Did you know blushing is caused by a widening of the blood vessels of your face which increases blood flow to your skin? It’s quite striking.”

  Aleric gave a short growl.

  Dartan lifted his hands. “Alright, alright! I wasn’t going to do anything, I swear.”

  Lilian giggled.

  Dartan grinned at Aleric. “I can’t help it if the woman you’re sweet on knows how to push a vampire’s buttons. I don’t know what she sees in you, Fuzzy.”

  Aleric growled again.

  “Go,” Dartan said with a hand on the door. “Run. I promise we’ll meet you at Lilian’s with her in as gorgeous of a shape as she is right now.”

  As anxious as he was to get on with the hunt for the vampiress, he wasn’t thrilled about leaving Lilian with Dartan. But the moment the vampire opened the door, the officers were there.

  “Did you find anything?” Commissioner Oaks asked.

  Aleric couldn’t chance them trailing him to the vampiress before he could ascertain her intentions in Edge City. If Dartan was right about the power and greed of a vampiress, others could be in danger.

  Aleric burst past the officers and took off running for the outer door. An officer stood there talking to one of the donation center workers. When he saw Aleric loping up the hallway, he pushed the door open. Aleric flew threw.

  “Follow him!” Commissioner Oaks commanded.

  Aleric was around the side of the building and following the vampiress’ trail through the darkness before either the reporters or officers could react.

  “Any idea where he’s going?” he heard the Commissioner ask.

  “I think he saw a cat,” Dartan replied.

  Aleric rolled his eyes and continued his run through the dark alleys of Edge City.

  Chapter Eleven

  “You tracked the vampiress to a scary underground lair, and now you expect us to follow?” Dartan asked in an incredulous tone.

  “You told me not to be a hero and to come get you,” Aleric reminded him.

  “I think I prefer to stay here. Go ahead and be a hero. You seem to be good at it,” Dartan replied. He looked comfortable sprawled on Dr. Worthen’s couch. “Think we can get them to move this to the Dark fae wing of the hospital? I doubt Dr. Worthen would notice it’s gone. He’s hardly here.”

  Lilian chuckled. “That’s Dad’s favorite couch. I find him here
sleeping more often than his bed. He’d definitely notice. Now let’s go.”

  “You seriously want to follow this werewolf to a vampiress’ lair? You really don’t know what you’re getting into.”

  “It sounds like you don’t, either,” Aleric said. He straightened his shirt and stepped into his shoes. His shoulder gave a twinge and he rubbed it, willing the ache to stop. The run had definitely been hard on the wound that refused to heal completely despite so much time beneath the full moon. “You said vampiresses were rare in Blays because they killed each other off. Have you ever actually met one?”

  Dartan gave Aleric a wide-eyed look. “Are you saying I haven’t met a vampiress?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Aleric replied, his tone flat. “Don’t be dramatic and admit it.”

  Dartan glared at the ceiling from his spot on the couch.

  “Have you met one?” Lilian prompted.

  Dartan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Not in the shaking her hand and signing off my soul to the devil form of meet,” he admitted.

  “What other kind of meet is there?” Aleric asked.

  “Elk, buffalo. I hear faun is a bit gamey.”

  Aleric opened the front door. “If you’re going to sit here stalling until the sun rises and you can’t go out, fine. I’ve got an elf’s life to save.”

  Diablo ran up to the door and pawed at Aleric’s pant leg. He picked up the meowing minky.

  “Stay here. You’ll be safe. Lilian and I will pick you up as soon as we’re done, I promise,” he said, petting the kitten’s head. He set her on the arm of the couch.

  “This is ridiculous,” Dartan said, rising to his feet. “Who ever heard of a werewolf with a pet minky?” He looked at Lilian. “I don’t think we have a real werewolf. We’ve been swindled.”

  “By whom?” she asked with a smile.

  “Don’t encourage him,” Aleric told her. “He’s just trying to find a way out of this.”

  “You’ll thank me if you don’t go, trust me,” Dartan replied.

  He was still repeating the words as he followed Aleric and Lilian down the subway tunnel beneath the city.

  “Now look, it’s dark and scary. She really knows how to set her ambiance,” Dartan muttered.

  “What do you expect?” Aleric asked. “And you’re the scariest thing down here.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that,” Dartan replied.

  Lilian’s hand slipped into Aleric’s. He smiled at her and heard her breath catch.

  “What is it?” he asked with concern.

  “Oh, sure. Worry about her,” Dartan said.

  They both ignored him.

  “Your eyes reflected my flashlight beam,” she told him. “I didn’t expect that.”

  Aleric nodded. “That’s part of the wolf trait. I can see better in the dark even in this form. It sticks around from my wolf side.”

  “He smells in the dark, too,” Dartan said. “That’s another wolf trait.” The tightness of his voice told of how nervous he was despite his joking. “Don’t let him out in the rain. The wet dog smell is hard to get off the furniture.”

  “What about you?” Lilian asked Dartan. “Do vampires have attributes other than the need to drink blood that set them apart from humans?”

  “Speed,” Aleric and Dartan said at the same time.

  At Lilian’s questioning expression, Dartan explained, “My reflexes are faster. It’s a survival trait of ours. I’m also stronger, but using speed or strength takes up extra blood, so I reserve it until I need it.” He winked at her. “We’re also a handsomer race as a whole. I don’t know if you’ve noticed; the difference is subtle.”

  “Oh, is it?” Lilian said with her teasing smile. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  Dartan put a hand to his heart. “You scald me with your cruel words,” he said dramatically.

  The trail led Aleric to a panel in the wall. He pushed against it, but the stone panel didn’t budge.

  “How about using some of that strength now?” he suggested, stepping aside.

  Dartan gave the brick subway wall a skeptical look. “You really think there’s someone hiding behind here?”

  “If there is, they chose a place not many could follow,” Aleric replied.

  Dartan’s face was somber as he pushed against the stone. The muscles in his neck and arms strained, but the panel didn’t move. He finally gave up. “There must be a catch somewhere. It’s too heavy, even for me.”

  “What about that?”

  Aleric and Dartan followed Lilian’s gaze to a small piece of blue ribbon just visible from a hole in the mortar. Lilian pulled on it. A barely audible click sounded. Aleric put a hand to the panel and the door swung inward with the lightest touch.

  “Clever,” he said.

  “Leave it to a female to use lace as a key,” Dartan said.

  “Ribbon,” Lilian corrected. “The difference is subtle.”

  Dartan’s mouth fell open.

  Aleric snorted. “Get it right, Toothy.”

  “I’m feeling ganged up on,” the vampire replied.

  He led the way down a set of narrow stairs.

  “Is this feeling a bit creepy cliché to anyone else?” Dartan asked.

  “Me,” Lilian said.

  “Me, too,” Aleric echoed.

  He had to admit that the chill in the air, the scent of the vampiress and the blood bags, and the way the door closed behind him set the ambiance a bit too murderous for his liking. He hoped he was correct about the vampiress’ good intentions. Their brief introduction in the forest near Fabien’s shack hadn’t left time to truly understand anything about her. For all he knew, he was leading his friends into a trap. He paused in front of the door at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Maybe you guys should wait a bit further up,” he suggested. “I could be wrong.”

  “Now you admit it,” Dartan said. He shook his head. “There’s no way we’re letting you go in alone. Besides, she could just as easily come down these stairs behind us and we’d be trapped.”

  “Good point,” Aleric conceded.

  “Together, then?” Lilian said. Her voice shook slightly. “Let’s meet this wench.”

  Dartan lifted his hand to the door with a chuckle. “She said wench,” he told Aleric. “I’m liking her more and more.”

  The vampire touched the wood frame and the door swung inward. Everyone stared.

  Aleric wasn’t sure what he had expected. Something in the form of a torch-lit torture chamber perhaps, with stone beds, plenty of spikes, a few humans chained to walls for the vampiress to drink from, and maybe an actual pit of despair— he had always wanted to see one of those.

  Instead, tasteful beige couches sat on thick white carpets, black curtains hung to the sides of long, elegant mirrors, and a dining room table held one place setting near the far end of the room. Across from it, a four-poster bed was hung with red and black curtains, a nightstand held a beautiful silver candelabra, and everything glowed with soft, recessed lighting from the ceiling above.

  “Did we go through the right door?” Dartan asked. He stepped back out to the stairs, looked around, and came back in. “It’s the only one. I thought it couldn’t hurt to check.”

  Aleric crossed into the room. He pushed down the urge to take off his shoes to avoid getting the white carpets dirty.

  “This is where the trail leads,” he told them. “The blood must be here.”

  “Of course it’s here.”

  Everyone started at the vampiress’ voice even though it was spoken barley above a whisper.

  She stepped into view from a room that branched off of the main one. Her purple gaze swept over them. “What do you think I subside on? Sewer rats?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past you, Vampiress,” Dartan said, his tone reproving.

  “I’ll admit, I’ve consisted on my fair share of them,” she said, walking toward the trio. “For survival only, until I found a better source.”
r />   “You’ve been raiding the blood banks,” Dartan accused.

  “Do you suggest I go with far more deadly tactics to get what I need?” the vampiress asked, her tone light but with a hint of steel. “At least this blood is donated, not taken by force.” She was nearly to them, her fierce gaze locked on the vampire’s.

  “You’re younger than I expected,” Dartan said, his voice filled with accusation as he crossed to meet her. “You don’t appear much older than me.”

  Fearing a fight that would destroy what they had come to do, Aleric stepped between them.

  “Is that a problem?” the vampiress asked, stopped inches from the werewolf.

  “There are no young vampiresses in Blays,” Dartan pointed out.

  “Of course not,” the vampiress replied. “They kill each other off. Why do you think I’m here?”

  “You’re hiding out?” Dartan asked. “Cowering?”

  “Call it what you will,” the vampiress said. “I haven’t had a fresh meal in decades.” She leaned toward Aleric, her fangs bared. “What’s to keep me from partaking of the werewolf here?”

  Aleric’s muscles tensed, but he didn’t move. Instincts told him that to run meant to die. Dartan said vampiresses were far stronger. Any wrong move could bring death to them all. He was getting a little tired of that scenario.

  “If you wanted a live meal, you wouldn’t be stealing blood bags,” Dartan said.

  The vampiress paused. Aleric could feel the warmth of her breath against the skin of his neck.

  “My blood tastes like wet dog.”

  Silence filled the room. It was broken by the vampiress’ laughter. She put a delicate hand on Aleric’s shoulder.

  “Who told you that?” she asked, her voice musical with mirth.