* * *
The woman was terrified when she was brought in. Wlodek might have felt some sympathy for her—she couldn't be more than twenty-five, if that, but she did have connections to Xenides. Gavin and Merrill had managed to pick her up, along with Llewellyn, a long-time thorn in Wlodek's side. Llewellyn was nearly as old as Merrill and was a holdout for the old ways. He'd refused, time and again, to acknowledge that the Council served any useful purpose at all and had scoffed repeatedly at the laws created to govern the race. Wlodek suspected Llewellyn of killing humans upon occasion while drinking from them; he was also a holdout on the bagged blood issue. Wlodek lost contact with him for the past century and only now had the rogue resurfaced.
"It was a fluke," Gavin explained as the girl was directed to one of the cells inside the high security prison complex maintained by the Council. "Merrill and I heard a rumor that someone died outside a pub only recently, their throat slashed. The authorities said the man bled to death. Of course we went to investigate, in case Xenides might have had a hand in it."
Throats were often slashed to hide the fact that blood had been removed from the victim before they died. If a pint or two was missing, who might go looking for it amid all the other blood that was in the alley or on the carpet?
"Explain, please, before we question the girl," Wlodek nodded to Gavin and Merrill, taking a seat behind the desk in the office.
"We didn't find evidence of vampire involvement in the murder," Merrill said. "Gavin and I went inside anyway, to ask a few questions. Gavin went to speak with the bartender while I sat down to wait."
"That does not explain how you captured these two," Wlodek observed. "How was this accomplished?"
"With this." Gavin held up his money clip, handing it over to Wlodek when the Head of the Council reached for it.
"What are you doing with Llewellyn's money clip?" Wlodek asked, examining the gold clip that had two rows of round diamonds on the end. It also had the initials LLM engraved on it, for Llewellyn Leroyce Millard.
"It's not Llewellyn's," Gavin coughed a little. Vampires didn't embarrass easily, especially old vampires, but this, well…
"Then whose is it?" Wlodek's dark eyes studied Gavin. Merrill almost snickered.
"Mine," Gavin confessed. "Lissa bought it and had it engraved for me."
"It's because he keeps asking her if she loves him," Merrill did chuckle, now. He'd listened in on enough of Lissa's phone calls to know. "She had this made up for him. The initials mean Lissa Loves Me."
"And this is how you managed to collar a vampire I've been hunting for more than two hundred years, along with Xenides' human toy?"
"That pretty much sums it up," Gavin nodded. "Xenides instructed the girl to meet Llewellyn at the pub; he was going to be carrying something with his initials. I bought a pint for myself and Merrill so we'd fit in after questioning the bartender; the girl saw the money clip when I pulled it from my pocket to pay for the pints."
"Of course Gavin didn't know what the hell she was talking about when she called him Llewellyn, but I overheard from the table we'd taken. When Llewellyn walked in thirty seconds later, I had him under compulsion immediately. Gavin grabbed the girl, placed compulsion and here we are." Merrill wanted to laugh; it was absurd in the extreme and couldn't have been more perfect. He might have collared Llewellyn when he spotted him, but the girl was a bonus. Neither he nor Gavin would have known to take her if she hadn't thought Gavin was Llewellyn.
"Quite fortuitous," Wlodek wanted to smile a little too, but held back. "I will ask Flavio and Susila to come in and sit with me while we question the girl. Llewellyn will be questioned and then brought before the Council. I will try to arrange this so Lissa may attend." Merrill nodded; he knew Wlodek wanted to use Lissa's nose in this matter; there were no records on Llewellyn's sire and he wanted to know if Llewellyn had Saxom's taint about him.
Merrill pondered that for a few moments. Lissa could smell Saxom's taint. His eyes flew wide and he gasped. Wlodek turned quickly to him. "What is it?" he asked.
"Our little girl has been holding out on us," Merrill was smiling again. "Because she's afraid, more than likely."
"How have we frightened her this time?" Wlodek steepled his fingers.
"Because we're all male," Gavin interrupted, causing Merrill to gape, almost. Gavin gave Merrill a level look. "It's true," he said. "She has no reason to trust any male. I have been thinking about this for some time, now. Her father—well, the one listed as her father, nearly killed her, after killing her mother. What have any of us done to earn her trust?"
"She doesn't trust vampires in general," Merrill offered.
"I wish to go back to the point Merrill was making," Wlodek turned back to his eldest child.
"Lissa doesn't just smell the taint from Saxom's get. If Saxom stood in front of her, she'd recognize him. She can smell the blood, Honored One. More than likely she could tell you who your vampire children are, even if you'd never told her."
Wlodek raised an eyebrow at Merrill. He and Merrill knew exactly what that meant—that Lissa knew that Wlodek had turned Merrill. He swore softly. "Do you mean to tell me that all these turns that we suspect are someone else's—that she might be able to give us the truth of the matter?"
"I think so," Merrill nodded. Wlodek swore again, a little louder, this time.
"I beg you not to punish her for withholding this information," Gavin said.
"We will not," Wlodek huffed. "But this information is not to leave the room. Just as she can tell the ages of vampires, that information remains with us as well."
"Agreed," Merrill was smiling. Gavin nodded.
"We just have to find a way to let her know that we know, without frightening her or making her fear that she will be punished for this," Wlodek toyed with a pen on the desk. It was a simple ballpoint—not the gold fountain pen of which he was so fond. "Will you attend the questioning of the girl tomorrow evening?" Wlodek asked Merrill and Gavin. They both agreed on ten as the appointed time.
* * *
We found twelve demons near the river this time, headed straight into the city. Do you think they brought them in by boat? I asked Dragon through mindspeech.
It's possible, he returned, drawing his blades. I'd carried Dragon in as mist again and we set down off to the side. The wind was blowing behind the demons; Dragon told me they could scent us if we came from that direction. Taking them completely by surprise, we had half of them down before the rest turned, snapping and snarling, to fight us. Dragon carried on a mental conversation this time, while he lopped heads.
Baby demons still look humanoid, he informed me. And they're stupid. They only know to follow their master's orders and will only turn away from their intended target if they're attacked. They will transform to their demon shape after three weeks or so. It takes that long for the demon to incubate and assert itself. Then the outer skin splits, allowing the young demon to emerge.
And they're so attractive, I sent, my sarcasm evident even in my mindspeech. Dragon was grinning as he decapitated the last demon with one quick swipe of a blade.
We went back to the apartment as mist, but found that we had callers. Karzac was standing in the doorway trying to convince two men to leave. They were asking for Dragon. That meant we had to go back out, rematerialize and walk up the stairs to the second floor where our apartment was, surprising the two men.
"Ah, Sursee Tatsuya," one of the men nodded. "We wish to speak with you in private."
"What do you want?" Dragon asked, shouldering them aside so he and I could enter the apartment. They followed us right in without an invitation. Karzac was scowling and muttering as he closed the door behind them.
"Anything you wish to say to me, you may say in front of my roommates," Dragon growled. He didn't like uninvited guests, I could tell.
"Well, uh, we wanted your help," one of the men said uncertainly.
"We want to get rid of Solar Red," the other man blurted.
"
I don't know what you expect me to do about that," Dragon said. "It is time for you to leave." He walked back to the door and opened it.
"We just thought that with your talents, you might be able to help us," one of the two said, as the other man grasped his arm and pulled him toward the door.
"Hear this," I was in front of them immediately. "What you propose is dangerous, and it will get you killed. You will forget this idea," I laid compulsion. "And you will not approach Sursee Tatsuya again. Go home and protect your families. Go now." The two men nodded like bobble head dolls and walked out of our apartment. Dragon shut the door. "Fuck," I sighed, bumping my head against the doorjamb afterward.
Lifting my head, I looked at Dragon. "How far is the next city upriver?"
"Less than fifty miles," he said.
"How much night do I have left?" I asked Karzac.
"Four hours," he replied.
"Good enough," I said, and misted away.
* * *
There were fifty priests at the Solar Red temple. Sleeping or not, they all died and the children they held in underground cells were gathered up, all six of them, and taken to the nearest hospital. The oldest was twelve, the youngest three. I remained invisible while sending them through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room. Nurses and aides were running toward them; the children were all crying as they walked through the door dressed in tatters, the two oldest bearing evidence of torture.
These dead priests I left in their beds, their blood soaking into their sheets as I misted home. It took ten minutes, going as swiftly as I could, to return to the apartment. Once again, Kifirin was in my bedroom after I took my shower. I didn't say anything to him; I merely tossed my bloody clothing into the garbage bin with the used blood bags, walked around him to get to my side of the bed and crawled in. He chuckled a little when I covered my head completely with the blanket, shutting out the sight of him.
"Is this how you made the monsters go away when you were little?" he asked gently. I flopped the blanket back down and glared at him—he was now sitting on the side of my bed.
"The monster was real when I was little," I snapped. "I didn't have to make any up."
"I know," he said softly, reaching over to stroke my cheek. "Go to sleep, Lissa. The monster will keep watch, now, and make sure your sleep is undisturbed." Dawn came before I could ask him what he meant.
* * *
Paul Winthrop hadn't traveled into Kent before and he found he liked it very much. The countryside was lovely. Silently he thanked the Grand Master for calling him again, even if it was to track down the two that, in Weldon Harper's words, "shouldn't be there bothering Lissa."
He had photographs of both men and understood that one of them was a high-ranking official for U.S. security. Paul snorted at the thought as he drove his small car down the two-lane road. The town of Luddesdown couldn't be that big; it wasn't even on most maps, so he shouldn't have any difficulty finding both of them. One was a werewolf, too, just as he was, so the scent would certainly give him away.
* * *
"Yeah," the local pub owner's accent was thick as Paul asked about any guests from the states. "Those blokes staying at Thorne House, between here and Gravesend. They come over for a pint every night, just about."
"About what time, you think?" Paul asked.
"Bout sevenish, I'd say."
Paul checked his watch; it was nearly six-thirty. "Do you serve food here?"
"Yeah. Fish and chips. Nachos. Those blokes love the nachos." The local grinned. Paul noticed the bartender's nose was crooked, as if it had been broken more than once. Paul was lucky; His nose had been broken several times, but werewolves generally healed quickly from any injury and his nose was still straight.
"Then I'll have the fish and chips," Paul decided. "With a pint of your best." The local grinned again and went to work to get Paul served.
Paul's plate was mostly empty; just a few stray chips remained when the two men walked in. The werewolf scented him, just as he did the same. He motioned the man over. The werewolf grabbed the arm of the human male with him, dragging him over to Paul's booth.
"Have a seat," Paul nodded toward the opposite, empty side of his booth.
"Sit down, Tony," Deryn hissed. Tony sat, sliding toward the inside. Deryn sat on the outside. Paul wiped his hands on the paper napkin he'd been given.
"The Grand Master asked me to track you two down," he said. "Said you were off hunting something that could get you in a lot of trouble."
"Now how the hell does he know that?" Deryn asked, frowning at Paul. "And who are you, anyway?"
"Paul Winthrop," Paul held his hand out over the table. Deryn took it. Deryn was afraid the local Packmaster had come to find the werewolf that invaded his territory without checking in. "Member of the Newtown Pack," Paul added. "Wales."
"You're the one who helped catch that killer—the one who was taking those children," Tony turned his attention to Paul.
"I try to keep that quiet," Paul said. "And I'm sure you know that the man we brought in was only half the story. Lissa helped catch the other half, from the states."
"Didn't hear about that," Tony lied. He was now examining Paul closely. "Do you know where she is? Where we might find her? I really need to talk to her."
"Send her email," Paul suggested.
"I don’t think she's answering my brother's emails," Deryn sighed.
"So, what did you do, then?" Paul frowned at Tony.
Deryn looked at Tony, too. Tony refused to talk about it the whole time they'd been searching for Lissa. "Can't say. Top secret," Tony insisted.
That caused Paul to snort a little. "So, you mess up a little and it's top secret, is it?"
"That pretty much covers it," Tony nodded. "I don't suppose we could get your help?"
"I'll not be giving Lissa grief over the likes of you, I'm thinking." Paul drained the last of his pint. The barmaid, who'd come on duty in the last fifteen minutes, walked over to take Deryn and Tony's order. Paul asked for another pint.
"So, are you going home, then, like the Grand Master wants?" Paul asked, watching Tony and Deryn finish off their second pints of the evening.
"Probably not," Tony said, thumping his mug on the table. His cell phone rang. He thumbed the call. "Hancock, here," he said.
"Xenides has been sighted again in London," Ken White said without a greeting.
"Fuck," Tony muttered. "Where in London?"
Agent Kenneth White, one of the few vampire agents in the Special Paranormal Division of the FBI, gave the name of an old hotel on the outskirts of the city. "Be careful, Mr. Hancock. That one is dirty business."
"I'm certainly not going home now," Tony snapped, ending the call. Of course, his brother and Paul heard every word of the phone conversation. Paul and Deryn were hearing the name Xenides for the first time, however. Tony looked at both werewolves. "Who wants to drive to London?"
* * *
"Yes, I saw that one," the hotel maid nodded, pointing to the taller man in the photographs Tony presented. The cleaning staff was invisible to most people who came to stay. Xenides hadn't bothered with compulsion on her as he had with the staff at the front desk—he hadn't seen her. "He was here a little over a week ago," the woman went on. "Stayed for one entire day and night, then checked out the following evening. I got to clean his room, first thing the next morning."
"Did he meet with anyone?" Tony asked, tucking the photographs in his jacket pocket.
"A woman came in. Pretty. Long, dark hair. Looked Asian."
"I don't suppose you got any names?" Tony asked hopefully. "Or any other information?"
"No. They shut themselves up in the room around eight, for about an hour. I don't think she was here for the usual, if you get my meaning."
Tony got her meaning. They didn't have sex. That meant an accomplice to him.
"Was he driving anything? Did you notice?"
"Didn't see that. Sorry." The woman shook her head.
; "Thank you for the information. Don't let anyone else know that you told us anything." Tony passed the woman a hundred pound note and he, Deryn and Paul left.
"Did you get anything?" The desk clerk asked as Tony and the others passed his desk on the way out.
"She didn't remember the man," Tony lied smoothly and kept walking. As soon as Tony, Deryn and Paul drove away, the desk clerk placed a call to a cell phone.
"Three men were here asking questions. None of my staff remembered anything," the desk clerk said after the initial greeting. He hung up when the voice on the other end expressed his pleasure at that information.
* * *
"I know I'm not the most desirable person to hear from," Tony informed Charles as soon as he could punch Wlodek's number on his cell from inside the rental. "But we have a report that Xenides was seen at the Hobart Hotel. It was also reported that he met there with a woman with long dark hair that appeared to be of Asian heritage. We don't have information on what the meeting entailed. This happened more than a week ago."
The hair was rising on the back of Charles's neck when Tony gave the description of the woman. "I'll get this information to Wlodek," he said, breaking the connection.
"Honored One, I know we're about to interview the girl, but this is important," Charles spoke before coming to a complete halt inside the holding facility's office. "Anthony Hancock called. He says that Xenides was seen at the Hobart Hotel a little over a week ago and he met a woman there with long, dark hair that appeared to be Asian." Charles hadn't paused for breath, getting the whole thing out as quickly as he could. Wlodek showed no emotion—neither did Gavin or Merrill.
"We will check into this immediately," Wlodek replied. "Have Flavio and Susila arrived?"
"Not yet, Honored One. Wait, I think I hear them now." Charles went to check, leading both vampires in a few moments later. Susila smiled slightly at Merrill, who nodded. Susila had been Scandinavian by birth and was nearly as old as Merrill. She and Flavio both took seats on either side of Wlodek. Merrill and Gavin sat behind them, in opposite corners.
Blood Domination (Blood Destiny #4) Page 13