"Yes. I have a lengthy bus ride ahead of me to get to them," he sighed.
"I can get you there in no time," I offered. Dragon looked at me sharply. "I do it all the time," I said. "Karzac should know; that's how I got the Vice-Governor to the hospital yesterday."
"She did do this," Karzac nodded. "I was so focused on the patient I failed to remark on this feat."
"If you wouldn't mind; I detest riding the bus."
"So the buses don't have drivers?" I asked. Karzac did say everybody was off.
"They run along metal rails in the streets," Karzac replied. "The stops are computerized; everything on Refizan that can be is automated."
"Come on," I urged Dragon. "Just tell me where you want to go and I'll get you there. If there are lots of demons, I'll help." I stood up and offered Dragon a smile.
"What happens when you do this?" Dragon asked as I came to stand beside him.
"You turn to mist, just like I do," I said, and took his arm, causing both of us to disappear. We flew high over the city, searching the area where Dragon indicated the demons were—he'd given me mindspeech as I misted us along. I scented the demons when we were directly overhead, so I dropped Dragon behind them and came back to corporeality. I see them; Dragon sent mindspeech with a curt nod. I silently agreed as we crept along the streets behind the monsters.
There were fifteen of them, all walking toward what looked to be a large block party. This would be ideal for them—just wander up to unsuspecting people. These demons hadn't turned into the muddy brown monsters I'd seen the night before; they still appeared human, although their scent told me otherwise.
Get them before we have witnesses, Dragon instructed and drew his blades so quietly I barely heard them leave their sheaths. Dragon wore his swords crossed over his back and kept them nice and sharp, I could tell. I turned to mist and flew forward. Forming claws only, I removed four demon heads in two seconds or less. The others turned on us then and Dragon and I were fighting among them quickly. Eerily silent, they rushed us one or two at a time, grimly intent on taking us down. With no thought for their safety, they fought just as silently as they'd done the night before, but I'd been so busy trying to kill them then that I really hadn't noticed how quiet they were. It was like fighting robots—there didn't seem to be true sentience in any of them. Dragon and I ended up fighting back to back, as the demons attacked us. If they got close, they died. Dragon was death on those things, as was I. They were all dead quickly and piles of sandy particles littered the brick street around us.
"Nicely done," Dragon inclined his head respectfully as he sheathed his blades.
"Are there any more? I'm thinking about paying the priests a visit if there aren't others," I said, flicking a dusting of demon particles off my tunic. The clothing was my biggest beef with the planet—if you didn't count Solar Red, demons and the Ra'Ak, that is.
"None at the moment," Dragon said. "Take me with you as mist; I wish to see the inside of this temple."
I wish we hadn't gone. It wouldn't change anything for those two young girls—who knows from where they'd been abducted; they couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen and those assholes had raped them first and were now cutting on them. At least three hundred of those Solar Red fuckers were there, either to participate or watch the sacrifice. I was ready to take out as many as I could but Dragon had some sort of control while I was mist, and he and I fought with each other while those girls died.
Take us home, now! Dragon issued orders when all I wanted to do was curl up somewhere and weep. He was dumped in the living room of the apartment; Karzac was shouting as I did it and I misted into my bedroom and blew the door shut with my mist.
* * *
"What happened?" Karzac demanded, looking Dragon over for injuries.
"I'm not hurt," Dragon held his healer off. "She was about to take on three hundred priests who were in the main temple; they'd raped and then sacrificed two young girls. She's furious right now, but I don't think there was any way she could have taken all of them on and they would have seen both of us, I think. We couldn't risk it, so I forced her to come back."
Karzac cursed long and well in his native language. Dragon sat down heavily on the sofa—he hadn't liked what he'd seen any better than Lissa had. He wondered if he should send mindspeech to Pheligar and ask him to take her off the planet.
* * *
"Director, here are the reports and images from all the security cameras." Tony watched as his assistant placed several flash drives and a file of information on the desk. Watts was good at what he did and as discreet as they came. He'd been army intelligence before coming to work for Tony.
"Is there anything on these?" Tony tapped the pile of flash drives.
"There are images of several, but Rahim and Xenides both are on those from the Atlanta facility."
"Get those images extracted and run them through the software," Tony ordered.
"Of course. I'll have that done right away."
Tony opened the file to read through it. "Have there been any other sightings or anything new on those two?"
"A suspected sighting of Xenides in Barcelona, sir, but nothing concrete to go on."
"Do we have figures on the estimated deaths that might occur if there isn't enough flu vaccine?"
"You're not going to like it, sir."
"Give it to me anyway." Tony held his head in his hands.
"While the normal death rate is expected to be a quarter to half a million deaths worldwide each year, they're estimating two to five million this year, if the new strain of the virus is as bad as they think it might be and there isn't enough vaccine to go around."
"That's bad enough, but it could have been worse."
"That is correct, sir. The new vaccine will be late in coming, obviously, but it should help some. That's why the estimate is as low as it is."
Tony shook his head. When had two to five million deaths become a low estimate? "What about the supply to the southern hemisphere?"
"Only a little of the tainted vaccine was shipped; the patients who received it are being watched closely but it is as we feared, they are exhibiting symptoms of the deadly anemia."
"What is the economic impact?" Tony wanted to pound his head against his desk.
"The Pharmaceutical companies are devastated, but the ones that manufacture over-the-counter remedies have experienced a boom."
Tony lifted his head. "See if there have been any major purchases of stock in those companies," he said.
"Of course, Director." Watts took the flash drives and walked out of the Director's office. Tony waited until Watts left before opening the top drawer on the left hand side of his desk and pulling out a framed photograph. The photo had been taken from a security camera in the Atlanta office. It showed Lissa, holding a magazine. She had no idea her image was recorded and of all the images of her that Tony now had, he liked this one best. She had such a thoughtful look on her face as she stared off into the distance. He figured she'd been thinking about the missing children in Great Britain; the headline on the magazine cover was about them, after all. Rumors were numerous, claiming Lissa helped bring the culprit down, although she'd been across the ocean at the time. He wished she were with him now and wondered where she was, exactly.
All his information said somewhere in Kent, but he couldn't get anywhere close before running into a brick wall of some sort—as if something were strong enough (and determined enough) to keep him out.
"Lissy, I'm sorry, baby," he apologized to the photograph. He'd even stuffed a personal note inside the envelope that held the President's commendation. Either she hadn't read it or she was still so angry with him that she refused to respond in any way. He couldn't blame her, but that didn't keep his heart from nearly seizing in his chest every time he thought about how he'd arranged for her unconscious body to be violated. And the ensuing results of that violation were far from comforting. Six men—top agents—were dying and there wasn't a thing he could
do about it. Larry Frazier was on a forced leave of absence. The research biologist was having difficulty dealing with it as well. He'd skipped vital steps in his eagerness to see results with human subjects instead of going through normal procedures and waiting to see if there were any dangerous side effects.
Tony toyed with the idea of contacting Weldon Harper but thought better of it; he might be in enough trouble with the Grand Master as it was. The vampires certainly weren't going to talk to him or allow him to contact Lissa. He was lucky Wlodek hadn't forced his vampires to leave the department. The President was reluctantly advised regarding the status of the Paranormal Division and its potential demise—he'd studied Tony silently, wearing an expression of grim disapproval as he'd listened to the facts regarding the incident. The President was also disturbed over what would happen with the six agents. He hadn't fired Tony—not initially, anyway. Lissa had kept the President, the First Lady, and the Secretary of State alive; now, due to Tony's foolishness, she was beyond his reach. Perhaps forever. Tony sighed, placed the photograph inside his desk drawer and closed it.
* * *
"What if I want to meet her?" Amara watched Griffin's face closely. Amara was Griffin's mate and had been for a very long time.
"You can't. Not now, anyway," Griffin said. "Part of the punishment, you know."
"That wasn't interfering. It's nothing compared to what some of the others have done."
"Amara, we both know that." Griffin pulled her against him. Amara was beautiful, with long, dark hair and almond-shaped dark eyes. Griffin had fallen in love with her the moment he'd seen her the first time. Nothing changed for him over the years. He still loved her as much as he ever had and she still loved him. "I haven't heard anything from Dragon or Pheligar and I don't know if I should ask. It might raise suspicions. They don't know I'm being punished."
"Like you'd care if they knew," Amara snorted, burying her head against Griffin's chest. Griffin stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
* * *
I walked the streets of Refizan's capital city through a moonless night. A part of me knew that Dragon was right; there wasn't any way I could have taken on three hundred priests. Not without being seen, anyway, and I'd had Dragon as a passenger. He was too important to expose to those shitheads.
Dawn was scheduled to come in another two hours of Refizan's twenty-eight hour cycles. Karzac and the other physicians at the hospital had managed to save the Vice-Governor, but the man was blind now; his body brutalized. He would be scarred physically and emotionally. As I might be, after seeing the bodies of those two poor girls. I hoped they were in a better place. Many were the times I'd heard of some horrible thing done to the innocent and it made me want to take away the pain and fear they'd experienced before they died. For them, death had come as an escape from those things. Death wasn't always the enemy, as many people thought. It was what came before death that we should worry over at times.
I thought again about the disc that Pheligar placed on the back of my neck and found myself wondering how good it was and if I'd still drop over in a rejuvenating sleep when the sun rose. Sunlight wasn't capable of destroying my body, now. At least that's what I'd been told. I had mixed feelings about it, actually. If they left the disc there and it truly did work for a hundred years, the means of taking my life had been effectively removed. Was this a plot Griffin and Merrill hatched between them, so they wouldn't worry about me? I shook my head in confusion.
A dog barked off in the distance; I was now walking into a residential area and I scented the vampire before he reached my side. "What do you want?" I asked unkindly as his footsteps echoed mine on the concrete walkway.
"I haven't seen a female vampire on this planet in a very long time," he replied softly. I hadn't glanced at him at first—my nose told me what was necessary to know. I looked at him now. He wasn't tall; perhaps five-eight or so, with a thin build and elegant, well-shaped features. Finely dressed, too—he wasn't wearing the usual loosely woven trousers and tunic. He wore a dark suit fashioned of expensive silk cloth; I could smell it. Blond hair was carefully brushed away from his forehead and dark gray eyes held mine for a moment.
"What would you say if I told you I wasn't from around here?"
"I think I would believe you," his eyes crinkled a little when he smiled. He was old—very old. Much older than Wlodek, even.
"Please tell me you're not in league with Solar Red," I said, looking away from him. We'd continued our walk while we talked. He was checking me out just as much as I was looking him over.
"Those criminals," he snorted. "We do what we can, but it is difficult to predict where they will be from one night to the next and we have to make sure we are not seen or suspected, else they will hunt us down during the day."
"Yeah. They're funny that way," I grumbled.
"I assume that is sarcasm, as I do not believe that Solar Red is amusing in any sense of the word."
"You are correct, sir," I said. "I am Lissa and I have only been here a few days."
"Lissa, I am Gabron and it would be remiss of me if I failed to notice that Solar Red's troubles have only begun within the past few days."
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that," I said.
"Do you have a particular destination in mind?" he asked as I walked aimlessly along.
"No," I sighed. "I don't even know where I am. I just saw something horrible earlier and I've been trying to get it out of my mind by walking."
"I also have been walking lately. Mostly I wonder what will be left of our planet if Solar Red has its way."
"Are there temples in other cities?" I halted and turned to Gabron.
"A few, but most are much smaller than the one here. The majority of their priests are concentrated here, in our capital city. They are attempting to get a better hold elsewhere, but they truly do not have a good hold here. They are making an effort to rectify that, and swiftly."
"I know," I nodded, beginning to walk again. Gabron discreetly kept pace with me. "Do you know why the Refizani government is so reluctant to move against this religion?"
"We have not had this sort of problem in thousands of years," he replied. "We are peaceful, have no army and are disinclined to believe that anyone might be capable of such evil. Few are willing to stand before these priests and denounce them as well; that creates a target, as you may have guessed already. What the Governor of the Realm must do is pass a motion to remove them from our planet, and with the legislative body often at odds with the Governor, this is not so simple a task."
"So, nobody can get together and move against them, is that what you're saying?"
"Sadly, that is exactly what I mean," Gabron nodded slightly. "And as you might suspect, there may be a few legislators who are accepting bribes from Solar Red, in order to champion their cause. Or to keep them away from their door—it no longer matters what reasoning they employ. I believe this is why the Vice-Governor was attacked; he spoke openly against these devils and nearly died for his troubles."
"Yeah." I understood that, all right. I'd seen his near-death first hand. "Look, I wish I had more time to talk, but I really should go home, now," I said. Dawn was getting closer. No vampire, no matter where they were, would ever be unaware of the sun's approach.
"If you will tell me where you live, I will walk you there," Gabron offered. I had no idea if he were being polite or if he just wanted to know where I lived so he could keep an eye on me.
"I honestly don't know the address; I just know it when I see it," I said. I didn't add that I knew it from overhead and not from the street.
"I understand your caution, little Queen. However, if you need anything or merely wish to talk, come to this address," he lifted a business card from a pocket and handed it to me. "Anyone there will honor your wishes if you ask to speak with me."
"Thank you," I said, accepting the card.
"Dawn will arrive soon," he reminded me, sniffing the air a little. "I must go to my own quarters now. I
am very pleased to have met you, Lissa." He bowed slightly to me and then left my side in a blur.
Chapter 4
"Little girl, are you only now getting back?" Karzac was standing in the kitchen, having a cup of tea before going off to work. He was already dressed in his Refizani version of blue scrubs.
"Yes." I flopped down at the kitchen table and looked up at him. His light brown hair was carefully combed, but it might look a little wild when he came home. That's how it had been after he treated the Vice-Governor. "How long have you been a physician?" I asked.
"More than fifteen thousand years," he said, sipping tea.
"Holy crap. Really?" I wanted him to drop his shields sometime, when it was safe. I wanted to see what that scent might be like. "Do you know anything about Blackfan Diamond Anemia?"
"I do," he nodded.
"Is there a cure?"
"Only on a few advanced worlds."
"Dang," I sighed.
"Why do you ask?" Karzac was curious.
"Because an idiot let another idiot take my blood while I was unconscious and it was given to six men. They're dying now."
"They were attempting to recreate your talents in humans."
"Yeah. The schmucks." I was still angry with Tony. Wouldn't mind slapping him into a wall, actually.
"The results are promising for perhaps a month, before the disease makes its presence known," Karzac agreed. "Of course, they should have experimented on lab animals or used computer models before making the attempt on a humanoid."
"They jumped the gun a little," I grumbled.
"I must go to work," Karzac said. "And you must go to bed. I imagine you will not wish to wake in the floor come evening."
"No. It wouldn't be the first time, though." I got up and walked toward my bedroom. Karzac snorted a laugh behind me.
* * *
"How is Lissa?" Gavin watched as Merrill dropped his bag on the safe house floor. Merrill didn't often do this sort of thing—it generally wasn't required. Merrill and Wlodek both determined that Merrill should go—after all, they'd never had this kind of problem before. Saxom's vampire children had been in hiding for a very long time and Wlodek and the Council had no idea how many there were.
Blood Domination (Blood Destiny #4) Page 6