He watched Stacy shiver. “It’s cold.”
Hunter nodded. “It’s meant to be cold. Less cost and stress on the refrigerators.”
Stacy stopped dead in her tracks. “They’re filled with blood?”
Hunter nodded. “It’s not quite as much as you’d think, Stacy. We supply the entire East Coast of the United States.”
“East Coast?” she echoed in awe.
“We have our own donation center. We take the people your blood banks won’t. I, for one, couldn’t care less if you’ve had cancer. Hepatitis? No problem. Most human diseases don’t affect us.”
“Makes sense.”
“As I’m sure you’re aware, most of our organs don’t function anyway.”
“Some do.”
Hunter’s lips quirked. “Indeed.”
“You pay people to donate?”
“Of course.” Hunter smiled. “Since certain issues keep people from donating in your world, but not ours, we have a steady supply. Our one pre-requisite, if you will, is that it will nourish us.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “High liver enzymes. Lipemic blood. You wouldn’t really need to use the serum anyway unless you need the volume.”
“We occasionally do, and we do ask people not to go to a fast-food restaurant before they donate. But once the liquid and cells are separated, we have no trouble with any of that.” It all made sense.
“I can tell if you’re anemic a mile away,” Hunter continued. Stacy watched Chaz nod in agreement. “And though we do need the real thing, the advent of the transportation of blood has made our lives that much easier.”
“I have to say I’m impressed, but I already knew you were able to dine on just about anything.”
“Not quite,” Hunter corrected. “We screen out known drug addicts. We’re still not quite sure whether drugs will have a lasting effect on us or not.”
“What about HIV?”
“We’re not sure, so we don’t take that chance. Our screening process is pretty good. I’m sure Chaz has already touched your mind. So you know we can tell if someone is lying or not.”
Chaz watched her throw Hunter a look. “I guess so,” she said with a shaky laugh.
Hunter simply shrugged. “I’m not asking you to condone, Stacy. I don’t want to step into people’s minds, but I refuse to apologize for doing everything necessary to survive.”
She nodded, not quite sure how to handle it all.
“It’s a lot to swallow, Stace,” Chaz chimed in. “We know that. This is just another reason why we try to remain invisible, but this is our world, and we do what we have to do.”
“If it’s any consolation,” Hunter added, “our lives have never been this clinical before.”
Stacy turned to him, and Chaz wondered at the thoughtful look on her face. “There were less of you before, too, weren’t there?”
“Our mortality rate was much higher,” Hunter answered. “If that’s what you were asking.”
Stacy nodded. “All right. Thanks for vampire lesson number two. So, this is where you want me to set up?”
Hunter nodded as they walked through a set of doors. “We will obtain all of the equipment you requested. We have wealth accumulated over the millennia, although I must admit, we don’t have totally unlimited resources.”
Stacy grinned. “I understand. I know where to get used equipment. Which will be fine for most of what I need to do. I’ll make out a list.”
“Not necessary. New will be purchased.” Hunter bowed. “Is there anything else I can do?”
Stacy grinned. “Well, maybe one thing.” Hunter lifted a signature brow. “Any possibility of turning up the heat?”
Chapter Seventeen
Chaz
Even Chaz marveled at Hunter’s efficiency. Within hours, stainless steel carts were delivered and locked together to create temporary workbenches. Microscopes, racks, tubes, and Petri dishes arrived. A large crate was unpacked to reveal a machine that made Stacy extremely happy.
“A mass spectrophotometer!” she cried. “How did you manage?”
Hunter merely smiled.
A small refrigerator was wheeled off the elevator and placed in a corner while Stacy unpacked some more boxes. “Antisera. Western blot test kits. Everything I asked for.”
Stacy walked over to Hunter and threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”
Hunter looked uncomfortable as she leaned back and grinned up at him. That helped take some of the edge off his angst. As soon as they’d walked into the mansion, Chaz regretted his idea, unsure of which would be more dangerous—a rogue or a house full of unfriendly vampires. All of them wanting to take a bite out of Stacy’s neck.
He also knew the sun would rise soon, and he wondered what would happen to Stacy while he slept. Hunter seemed to be able to read his mind without having used the ability to do so.
“Sam will arrive shortly. I’ve asked her to keep an eye on Stacy while you sleep.”
Chaz allowed some of the tension inside to drain out. No one would dare go up against Sam. “Thanks.”
“But before you fall asleep, I’d like both of you to join me in my private chambers. I’ve asked Sam as well. I’m deeply concerned with these young vampires. She’s brought two of them with her to question.”
“I doubt you’ll get anything out of them,” Chaz scoffed. “They seemed unfazed by any of their actions. Or ours.”
Hunter sighed. “The leaders of the other cells are extremely troubled by today’s events. So am I. What has happened, what has been happening, is all very—the only word I can come up with is odd—out of character. You serve a distinct purpose, Charles.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he muttered, watching Stacy unpack cartons like a kid on Christmas morning. He couldn’t help but smile. Hunter followed his gaze. “She’s pretty mean with a needle in her hand if that’s any consolation.”
Hunter tilted his head. “You seem quite taken with her, and though I understand the need for companionship, eventually, no matter how important she becomes to you, you know you’ll have to let her go.”
Chaz shivered, hating the cold ball of misery forming in his stomach. “I know.”
Although Hunter hid his feelings well, Chaz sensed real regret in his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
He sighed, fear melting the misery into a mess of emotions Chaz didn’t know how to handle. “The rogue may decide to take that decision away from me.”
As Chaz said the words, he realized he wished he could cry. The thought of not being able to watch her smile or scold, the reality of not being able to verbally spar with her, or the simple pleasure of holding her hand, let alone the intimacy they’d shared—all left him as cold inside as it was outside.
“Then Fate will dictate,” Hunter replied. “I’m not sure which will be worse.”
“You mean the part where she’s really dead or where she’s only dead to me?”
Which would be crueler, he wondered? Visiting a gravesite or sitting in the shadows watching her kiss another man?
Hunter raised a brow and crossed his arms. “I may not be able to understand because there’s a difference between us.” Hunter grimaced as though his next words would be distasteful. “There is a piece of you, inside, that remains human to this day. I do not carry that piece inside. I will kill without a second thought if I have to.”
“I’ve never thought otherwise.”
“Other vampires carry a part of their humanity with them. To different degrees, I admit. I had no humanity left inside me when I died. Not one ounce. Being a gladiator didn’t allow.”
“I’m sorry.”
Hunter smiled, still cold but more—human—than Chaz had ever seen before. “Don’t be. I have no regrets.” He shrugged. “That which you carried over may make you able to love like a human. I don’t know. I’m not sure it’s something to hope for because of the pain that it causes.”
Chaz was beginning to understand that. “Perhaps my existence is no better,
” Hunter added. “But that piece of me, the one that wanted, no still wants, revenge became the cornerstone of my survival. And that, I believe, is the key. I’ll do anything to survive. And I’ll do anything to protect my people.”
“What are you’re trying to tell me?”
“That when all is said and done, you can never have her.”
Survival. The one and only thing a vampire really knew because of the need for blood.
Chaz walked over to Stacy and touched her arm. In light of Hunter’s words and the reality he didn’t want to examine, he knew that from now on, every touch would become special. She turned to him, giving him a brilliant smile. Why? After all they’d done to her, after the respect they hadn’t shown her, she still wanted to save their sorry asses.
A soldier entered and whispered something in Hunter’s ear. “Sam has arrived. Come.”
Stacy flashed him a questioning look.
“Hunter would like us to join him for a meeting. To shed some light on these vampires and figure out why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
“Of course.” She looked down at her watch. “We don’t have much time before you fall asleep.”
“I know.”
Chaz led her to the elevator, and when they arrived on the first floor, they walked down a corridor and into a large chamber. He was used to it being empty, but now a large table centered the room, and several chairs surrounded it.
He watched Sam nod, and Stacy smiled back. They might never be able to be friends, but Stacy had Sam’s respect, which meant he would be able to count on Sam watching over her as he slept.
When everyone was seated, Hunter rose, leaning forward to rest his hands on the table. That was when he realized Hunter was on a video camera and the heads of the other cells worldwide were watching.
“We seem to have some very strange occurrences to contemplate, ladies and gentlemen,” Hunter began. “Not the least of which are these young vampires in my custody. My first question is whether or not any of the rest of you has noticed any outright defiance by one or more members of your cells.”
One by one, the members of the Council all answered in the negative.
“All right,” Hunter continued. “Then you are now formally warned. Several young vampires within my domain have shown outward disregard for the rules that govern the cells. While we’ve experienced this type of behavior with newly made vampires, even young vampires realize that disobedience is not conducive to ensuring a continuous blood supply. Until we understand more or find the cause, any signs of unusual behavior must be contained.”
“You speak as if this behavior is expected,” Miklos, the leader of the Greek cell said, his tone haughty. “If a vampire in my domain knows what’s good for him—or her—they won’t disobey my rules.”
Chaz watched Hunter hide his disdain as he answered. “This isn’t about obedience, Miklos. We don’t know why this is happening, but it is, and Samira and I both think it will get worse.”
No one said anything in reply. “Use restraint, please,” Sam requested. “There is a possibility that this behavior has been created.”
“Created?” Dannika, leader of the Scandinavian cell, asked, her tone incredulous. “How?”
“We don’t know that yet either,” Hunter answered.
“Well, maybe we do, sort of,” Stacy chimed in.
Stacy started as she became the object of everyone’s attention. Hunter beckoned her over, so she stood in front of the camera. She swallowed but refused to show fear as she lifted her chin. His heart swelled with pride at her strength. “My name is Stacy Morgan. And yeah, I’m human, but I’m figuring you all knew that already.”
He watched her take a deep breath, then continue. “I’m also a forensic chemist that used to specialize in blood banking. To make a long story short, which I’m also figuring you know, I’m the bait that will catch a rogue vampire terrorizing this area. But before you let him make me his breakfast lunch and dinner, you might want to start thinking about why vampires are behaving out of character and why, all of a sudden, you’ve had three rogues on your hands in such a short period of time.”
“Going rogue can happen at any time to any one of us,” Hunter told Stacy.
“I know you’ve told me that. You’ve also told me that it happens at the end of your life span.”
“True,” Hiroki, leader of the Japanese cell, answered. “But not always.”
“Okay, look. I’m a scientist, and I know only one way to think when I’m presented with a
problem—logically.”
“Stacy,” Chaz chided. “This isn’t your meeting.”
“It should be,” she snapped back.
“Let her speak,” Jason, leader of the West Coast cell, insisted. “If she has an idea, I want to hear it.”
Chaz couldn’t see them but, by their silence, knew they wanted Stacy to continue. He clamped his lips together and sat back in his chair.
“Thank you,” Stacy continued. “Whatever is going on here, it directly links to your morphology. In lay terms, what makes you all vampires, which has a direct connection to your need for blood. Especially, what makes you go rogue.”
“Why do you believe this?” Jason asked, his tone concerned.
“I was able to test a sample of the rogue’s blood and compare it to Chaz’s, sorry Charles’ blood. There weren’t enough blood cells in the rogue’s sample to support life as you know it.”
“Are you certain of this?” Dannika asked.
“Very,” Stacy answered.
No one said anything for a long moment. “What makes you believe this, if I may ask?” Miklos growled.
“I believe there’s a mechanism inside you that allows you to destroy used blood cells. I also believe you have a mechanism that gives you the ability to heal. My guess is that in order to create a rogue in a young vampire, one would have to speed up the need for blood cells like a hundred-fold. Make it run out of control. I need to prove that hypothesis.”
No one spoke. Then Chaz remembered something. “She may be on the right track. The rogue threatening Stacy is Mikhail. He certainly didn’t go rogue because of his age.”
Silence fell around them. “I gave Mick, sorry, the rogue, a good mouthful of the extract. That should’ve crippled it, at least made it sick. Didn’t do a damn thing.”
More silence.
“How do we know we can trust you?” Hiroki asked Stacy, his tone filled with concern.
The tightness around her lips eased, and the worry in her face turned to eagerness. Stacy smiled. And Chaz knew she not only wanted to help them. She believed she could. “Because I’m trying to save my own life. Maybe, instead of trying to destroy this out of control vampire, I might just be able to cure him using science, something you folks seem to have forgotten exists.”
No one spoke for a long moment. “An interesting concept,” Jason finally replied. “And if you can’t?”
Stacy shrugged. “If I can’t, I’ll be very grateful if you can kill it before it kills me.” She paused and continued her tone, totally sincere. “I might be handy to have around, you know. If I can figure out what makes you all tick, I might just be able to stop you—meaning all vampires—from going rogue in the future.”
Chapter Eighteen
Stacy
Much to their credit, the heads of the other cells agreed with her, and then their conversation turned to the younger vampires who seemed to be rebelling against vampire social mores.
Stacy listened with half an ear. Her fingers itched to get at the equipment in the lab down below. Her heart sped up as she thought about the experiments she wanted to perform, but the rest of her body wanted to keel over and crash, her biorhythms were totally out of whack.
“I brought two of the young vampires with me for questioning,” she heard Sam say.
“None of this makes sense,” Dannika said, her tone confused and alarmed. “Throughout the ages, vampires have aligned themselves with each other, so they don’t dep
lete blood supplies. Respect within a cell means order, order means survival. To have young vampires try to kill one such as Charles is unthinkable.” Her voice trailed off.
“Jeremy’s loss is painful to us all and quite unnerving as well,” Hiroki added. “As is the possibility that this rogue was not destroyed. Most of all, that it was Mikhail.”
Stacy watched Chaz throw a look at the laptop screen that said, “yeah, right; you’re real crushed,” before he turned back to the table. But then she heard the pain in the man’s voice and realized the last part of Hiroki’s statement rang true.
“For now, Ozzie knows he’s in danger and will act accordingly,” Chaz told them. “I’ve sent messages to the rest of the Paladin. They know to be on their guard. But if this escalates, if these young vampires start wreaking havoc, all hell is going to break loose. We’re going to have to start taking them down.”
Another long silence ensued. Hunter and Sam nodded, and Stacy realized she’d forgotten they had psychic abilities. The thought pricked at her. Here she was trying to save their sorry asses, and they still didn’t trust her.
“Understood,” Hunter sighed. “Are we in agreement then?” he asked the other leaders.
One by one, they gave their consent.
Then again, she realized, they didn’t trust each other either.
Once the conference was over, they all rose. Chaz swayed a little but caught himself before she could help.
“A bedroom has been readied for you both,” Hunter told her. “Although I’m certain you would like to go home, Stacy, Chaz won’t make it there in time. I think it would be better to stay here and continue your work here for your own protection.”
“No one would dare go up against me,” Sam added. “But we mustn’t forget there’s an entire cell down there that would like nothing better than to feed on her.”
Hunter agreed. “Duly noted.”
“Hunter?” Sam continued.
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