Blood Domination (Blood Destiny #4)

by Connie Suttle

  Perhaps the priests weren't prepared for that entire section of the building to get blown outward. I wasn't, either, but that's what happened. We were close enough to the outside of the building that the wall itself now had a huge hole blasted in it, and office windows were all knocked out as well. Office contents, consisting of papers, bits of furniture and parts of priests now littered the paved courtyard outside. I was going to have to gauge this better the next time, I figured. My little blow-up achieved the desired results, however. The priests surrounding Farimak, along with one of the guards, came rushing out to see what happened. I misted right through them as they boiled out of the room—the last one turning and locking the door behind him. I laughed mentally as I went right through the locked door, hauled Farimak and the remaining guard into my mist and then went through the wall behind them, gathered up Gabron and got the hell out of there.

  Chapter 7

  The Council was convened again as soon as Gabron and our two prisoners were dropped off inside his map room. Gabron placed compulsion right away, and then straightened his rumpled suit. The man had been hauled around like a misbehaving child all night and never said a word. The guard sat in a corner on the floor, blank-eyed and slack-jawed. Utilizing compulsion, Gabron had taken away what little intelligence he might have possessed. He'd be killed elsewhere. Perhaps his blood would be taken—I didn't really care.

  I stood in the opposite corner and watched while Gabron and the others questioned Farimak. The vampire actually seemed relieved to have them as judge and jury. There was no telling what Solar Red had planned for him, and had likely informed him at length of those plans. Fear was another of Solar Red's weapons, and Farimak had been terrified when we'd found him. Solar Red hadn't planned a swift death for him; I was sure of that much.

  "How much did you tell them?" Gabron demanded. Honestly, I think Gabron was going to deal justice himself on this one. The compulsion he laid was nearly as good as anything Merrill might do.

  "They knew about us already," Farimak's answer was surly. "From other planets. They've done this before—revealed the vampires and the werewolves so they could pretend they were protecting citizens from monsters." That didn't come as welcome news to me. How many vampires had they destroyed? How many werewolves? I shuddered at the thought and wanted to ask Dragon to see if he had an answer. Unfortunately, that would have to wait.

  "And instead of warning us, you were prepared to help them," Gabron's voice held contempt.

  "They promised us the run of the vampire community," Farimak whined.

  "Did you tell them about me?" That question just popped into my head.

  "No. Mirazal was supposed to pull you out; he and I decided to keep you for ourselves."

  "As if I wouldn't have anything to say about that!" I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Farimak.

  "We were going to go to the god and ask for help," Farimak muttered.

  "Did you see the god?" Gabron was angrier, now.

  "No. The priests kept promising that we would, though."

  "Trust me; you don't want to see that." I stood there, shaking my head in disbelief at Farimak. "I watched him gulp down priests like candy, you stupid fuck. Then he sent his little soldiers toward the city to bite people and make more little soldiers. That is no god. That is an evil. And you wanted to see it."

  Farimak's eyes widened. "You saw this?"

  "Yes. I saw that," I nodded. "And if he'd seen me, I wouldn't have survived either. More than likely, those Solar Red priests were waiting for the ritual so they could toss you in front of the crowd and show them just what you are. And then they would have tortured you. You haven't seen what they've been doing to the people inside their little altars and prisons. I have. They cut up the Vice-Governor and branded him across his eyes. The man will never see again. Or be whole. I watched two young girls get raped and mutilated before they died. This is what you want to place in power over the entire planet? Is that what you want?" I tossed a hand in the air in disbelief.

  "How do you know all this?" Farimak looked at me skeptically.

  "You're more stupid than you look," I muttered and misted right through a wall to get away from his ignorance. Gabron could have this one. He was dumber than a doorknob.

  * * *

  "The Queen has spoken," Gabron said. "Does anyone else have questions for Farimak before I behead him?" A few hands were raised and the questioning began.

  * * *

  Wishing I had Gavin's talent for languages so I'd have more curse words at my disposal, I slammed the kettle onto the burner to make tea. Some sort of normalcy seemed to be required at the moment; it was still an hour before dawn and I was exhausted and wound up at the same time.

  "Lissa, you may want to slow down a little; I don't have time to buy a new kettle," Karzac walked into the kitchen, still half asleep.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," I sat down at the table and covered my eyes with a hand.

  "You didn't. I had to get up to go to the hospital," Karzac assured me, pulling out a cup for himself and setting it beside mine on the kitchen counter. "Tell me what happened tonight."

  "Damn, I didn't even get a chance to go check on the damage," I grumped, remembering that finally.

  "It's a huge hole in the ground. No reported casualties. Not humanoids, anyway. Did vampires die?" Karzac lifted the boiling kettle off the flame and poured hot water over tea leaves in both cups.

  "A few," I said, watching him calmly make tea. He set a cup in front of me and we both waited for it to steep. "The bad ones," I continued when Karzac didn't say anything. "I got the rest out."

  "And how many was that?"

  "More than five hundred, I think."

  Karzac is a good physician, even if he is a little on the curmudgeonly side. "Are you well? Do you need assistance?" he asked, doing his best to give me a visual once over without appearing too obvious about it.

  "I'm okay," I said, sipping my tea. "There were a few broken bones among the others, but there were enough vamps there that had experience with that, so the injured vampires were taken care of. They'll heal with a good sleep."

  "How did you get that many out?"

  "By turning them to mist. Karzac, Solar Red wants to expose the vampires so the people will be afraid of them and not Solar Red. Are there any werewolves on this planet? They might be targeted, too."

  "No, little vampire. The werewolves were exterminated long ago. There was a race war for centuries and the werewolves lost that battle. It isn't often that the two races can coexist upon the same world."

  "Too bad," I said softly. There were many werewolves I liked very much. I'd hate to see them taken down.

  "As you say," Karzac nodded and drank his tea. I offered to make breakfast for him but he pointed to the time, suggesting that a hot shower might help before I went to bed. He was right. What I didn't expect, however, was to find Kifirin waiting inside my bedroom when I was done.

  "I only want to make sure you are well," he said, his angel's face filled with concern.

  "But that doesn't explain how you're here inside my bedroom. Did Dragon or Karzac let you in?" I had fists on my hips, glaring at him a little.

  "Little Queen, you have nothing to fear. Get into bed before you fall over with the sunrise," he pulled the covers back. The bed did look good, but not while he was standing next to it. He laughed as the thought crossed my mind.

  "If it will make you more comfortable, I will leave. I only wish to do what others do—is 'tucking you in' the correct phrase?"

  "Tucking me in? Kifirin, I don't know what you are. You smell like snow and flowers in meadows. And waterfalls, maybe, with a volcano thrown in. I don't know what to do with you and I need to go to bed or you'll be picking me up off the floor."

  "We cannot have that," he was laughing suddenly, and just as suddenly, he disappeared. Well, as exits go, it was a darn good one.

  * * *

  "This stack I have been able to eliminate from the suspec
t list," constable Streetbrick laid a pile of papers onto the High Priest's desk. "This stack contains the questionables."

  Seturna Phipik thumbed through the stack of questionables; there were about fifteen of them. "Very well," he pulled a drawer open and held out a flat folder. "The codes are on the sheet; you can transfer the funds to your account immediately."

  Constable Streetbrick left the priest's office elated. He could do so much with the added funds. He was nearly off the property when Seturna Phipik ordered him followed and killed. The guard who took the order bowed smartly to the High Priest and left the office in a hurry. A second guard was handed the papers containing names of questionable new citizens. "Check every one of these and kill any that seem suspicious to you," The Seturna ordered. The guard nodded and followed the first guard out the door. "Good, imbecilic hounds," The Seturna mumbled to himself, stuffing the list of names that checked out into a desk drawer before turning to other things.

  * * *

  "René, I'm afraid I have bad news," Wlodek spoke over the phone. René was in London and checked in regularly with Wlodek through his private number.

  "Honored One?" René barely kept the surprise from his voice.

  "Radomir just contacted me from Barcelona. He and Russell are attempting to pick up Xenides' trail there, but in the course of their investigations, they were led to your villa outside the city. Local police were already investigating the death of a human housekeeper there—is that correct?"

  "Alejandra is dead? Why have I not heard of this?" René was uncharacteristically upset. "I do not understand why Aubrey has not informed me of this. He and Alejandra are quite close."

  "That is the difficulty, René," Wlodek said quietly. "The local authorities failed to find the ash, but Radomir and Russell recognized it easily enough—Aubrey was killed as well. Now, I have heard rumblings that you declared Blood Vendetta against Xenides. While I am in agreement with your reasons, Aubrey may have been murdered in order to harm you."

  René remained silent for several seconds, attempting to get his emotions under control. His Aubrey—dead. And in retribution for his declaration of Blood Vendetta? Xenides was more of a coward than he'd thought. René growled low. "Honored One," René said after a moment, "I will do whatever I can to bring this criminal to justice. I have attempted to make contacts with others so I might track him. I want him dead. I want him more than dead—I want him tortured, mindbroken and dead."

  "René, Aurelius did not teach you to torture."

  "Yet this one is responsible for Aurelius' death."

  "I will appreciate your efforts to track Xenides—we must cooperate in any way we can to bring this terror down. I curse the day Saxom was made and I curse the sire that made him," Wlodek hissed. René listened as Wlodek expressed his anger. "And now, Saxom's whelp Xenides is likely carrying out his maker's last command—to destroy all of us. We must find him and his collaborators first, René. I will contact you if I have information that might benefit us both. At the moment, Anthony Hancock is also chasing after Xenides. Perhaps we will profit from his collaboration."

  "He desires our little rose. That is why you hear from him." René snorted derisively.

  "Nevertheless, he is providing valuable information. We cannot discount that, regardless of his purpose. I will keep you informed. I suggest you send someone else to your villa to collect Aubrey's ashes—Radomir placed them in an urn and left it in your suite there."

  "Tell your child I thank him for his efforts," René sighed and hung up.

  * * *

  Lissa? Gabron's voice was echoing in my mind the moment I woke.

  Gabron? What do you need? I felt as if my eyes were glued shut and my mouth had a horrible taste in it.

  Lissa, I am sorry to wake you. I only wanted to make sure you were safe.

  I'm safe, honey. Is that all?

  You call me honey? Why is that?

  Honestly, I wasn't sure I would ever get the hang of Refizan, its language or its people or vampires. It's an endearment, not an insult.

  You are calling me an endearment?

  Honey, I call all kinds of people honey. We're not going to pick out matching towels now, I assure you.

  Pick out towels?

  Never mind. Where are you? I'll come as soon as I get dressed.

  I will be in my library. Do not feed, I wish to provide for you when you arrive.

  All right. I turned off the mindspeech and went to find my clothes.

  Providing for me turned out to be one of the girls from Blue Desire. Well, it was warm blood as opposed to cold and most likely an insult if I were to refuse. "I prefer women," the girl said when Gabron urged her toward me. Well, then, I'd give her the best orgasm I could. She enjoyed it right down to her toenails, which were painted pink and curling when I took from her.

  "Thank you," I told her as she planted a kiss I wasn't sure how to return. Gabron shooed her away after that, so I thanked him, too. It was polite.

  "The guard was only that and had no knowledge," Gabron got right to business as I sat down on a nearby sofa with him. He might have wanted me to scoot closer, but I didn't. There was a foot and a half distance between us and I was satisfied with that. Yes, I liked Gabron. And maybe in another life, he and I might get close. Just not this one. "Farimak was only interested in his own gain and did not bother to listen to conversations and such—he allowed Mirazal to handle those things. You were correct in your assessment of him, Lissa. He was indeed more stupid than he looked."

  "Who knows what they might have done to him," I said, leaning back against the sofa, and allowing my head to fall back. I stared at Gabron's ceiling—artificial lights hung from iron chains at regular intervals. They weren't bright lights, but were tasteful and decorative. Gabron scooted closer.

  "Lissa, he no longer has to worry about such things," he said softly, reaching out and touching my hair lightly.

  "Gabron, please don't ask for something I can't give," I turned my head to look at him.

  "Lissa, please don't stop me from trying for something I want very badly," he replied. As replies went, that one was pretty good.

  "I need to go to work," I showed him my new implant.

  "I noticed that yesterday," he was still touching my hair, curling a short strand around a finger. Just as a mental side trip, I wondered how many frustrated erections I'd caused since becoming vampire. Gavin alone would account for quite a few, I think. It had to be my scent. I couldn't think of any other reason.

  "Thanks for dinner, honey," I patted his cheek and misted away.

  * * *

  "Do you think you might help me with demons when you finish?" Dragon was wiped. Off-day was tomorrow; at least he'd get some rest (I hoped). Karzac would be working since he'd been off last time.

  "Yeah. Let's go kick demon butt. Slice off a few heads. Toss priests into rivers. That sort of thing." I was sweeping the floor as I spoke.

  "Just demons tonight, Lissa." Dragon smiled tiredly.

  "Honey, you look exhausted," I said. "Why don't you just tell me where they are and I'll go."

  "I'm not that tired. The classes are just getting too large to handle, that's all. I have to start turning students away."

  "Don't know how to say no, huh?"

  "Not to the females. Many of them are desperate—they have children and they want to be able to protect themselves and their offspring."

  "Have those assholes been taking more kids?" I stopped sweeping.

  "Up the river," Dragon mumbled.

  * * *

  "I don't believe this. Drive faster," Tony was nearly shouting as his brother drove through the English countryside, speeding toward London. Tony had the small tracking device in his hand; it began beeping half an hour earlier and now they were on the road, following along. "They must be sending her somewhere else," he grumped as Deryn did his best to merge onto the highway toward London, discovering it was the M20, which soon branched off to the M26, and from there to the M25. "They're going to
ward Heathrow," Tony said excitedly, pulling out his cell.

  * * *

  Rear Admiral Dennis Hafer sat in the passenger seat while his temporary assistant drove like a bat out of hades to catch up with Director Hancock's car. His assistant operated as a part-time spy, but he was also a Navy man and discretion itself. "I believe they're driving to the airport," the spy commented, weaving in and out of traffic on the M25.

  "They can't have caught up with her already," Hafer muttered. They hadn't seen any evidence of it, but how could he know for sure? He was positive they'd holed up at the bed and breakfast they'd rented; Hancock and the other man hadn't done anything except drive around and sightsee for the past few days. Hafer wasn't interested in who the other man was; probably an agent from somewhere that wasn't likely to be recognized. "Don't lose them, man," Hafer grumped as they swerved around yet another slowly moving van.

  * * *

  "Is Hafer still following us?" Tony spoke with one of two agents who'd been following the Admiral.

  "Like a mosquito after a meal," came the reply. "We've got him in our sights; he doesn't even suspect." The agent had placed a tracking device on the Admiral's rental early on.

  "Don't lose him and keep me posted," Tony ended the call.

  The drive into London finally caught them up with the Cadillac emitting the signal; Tony got the tag number, running it through his database. It was registered to Franklin Wright, who held a residence in both New York City and a small house in Luddesdown that didn't appear to be occupied, much of the time. Obviously, Franklin Wright wasn't vampire; he was driving during the day and his identification listed him as sixty-three years of age. No vampire would look that old.

  Deryn let Tony out of the car so he could follow the two men discreetly. They both looked in their sixties, Tony thought. He made another phone call as he watched them check in, discovering his quarry was traveling to Las Vegas. He also saw that one of them carried a bag Lissa had used. Tony was going to give up the search, but not before he misdirected Hafer.

  "Get me a ticket to Las Vegas," he told his agent on the phone. Hafer would have the information almost as soon as the ticket was booked, Tony figured. Then, when he knew that Hafer would also be traveling to Las Vegas on an alternate flight, he would leave the airport, have Deryn pick him up and they'd drive straight back to Luddesdown.