"Have them bring the girl," Wlodek nodded to Charles, who trotted down the hall to let Radomir know to bring the girl out.
Chapter 8
The girl was bound with handcuffs for the interview. Compulsion had already been laid for her to be respectful. That didn't keep her from leveling a threat, however.
"You are all dead," she giggled hysterically. "You have no idea what Xenides is." The girl was Spanish but spoke in English, with an accent. It didn't matter; all presiding over her questioning spoke fluent Spanish.
Wlodek barely lifted an eyebrow. "And what is Xenides?" he asked. "You will tell the truth."
"I went looking for vampires. Thought it would be fun. Used to dress up, you know, in the costumes? Xenides doesn't allow that. I found vampires," she repeated.
"What has he done to make you think this?" Wlodek watched the girl carefully. Charles was already tapping quietly on his computer.
"He killed one of the two girls he had before he found me. He made me kill the other one. He forced me to drink her blood. He taunted me. 'You wanted to be a vampire,' he said. He laughed. 'Be a vampire,' he said. I drank some of her blood. It was hot and sticky."
"Have you killed anyone else?"
"I killed a vampire. Xenides gave me a stake and told me where to find him. I killed him. He turned to ash while I watched." The girl giggled again.
"Did you know the name of this vampire?"
"Aubrey Wallis," the girl replied. Gavin shifted a little in his seat.
"Where did you kill him? Do you know why Xenides asked for his death?"
"Aubrey was in Barcelona, at a villa outside the city. Xenides forced the gardener to give him a key to the house. I used that to get in."
"Why was he killed?"
"Because Xenides heard that someone named René is hunting him. Xenides said he was giving a warning to René."
"How long were you with Xenides?"
"Less than six months. It seems like an eternity."
"Did you commit other crimes?"
"I stole some things—money, some jewelry. I also robbed Aubrey's villa and killed his housekeeper. She was a nosy bitch and wanted the money back. I stabbed her with her own kitchen knife."
"What else did you take from there?"
"Gold. More jewelry. I tried to get into the safe but it was locked and I didn't have the combination. I had to leave it."
"Did Xenides ask you to rob Aubrey or kill the housekeeper?"
"No. I was attempting to get away from him, so I made those decisions myself. I didn't know he was preventing me from escaping. He laughed at me when I was compelled to return to his side."
"And how did you come to be separated from Xenides?" Wlodek flipped the gold pen in his hands.
"He wouldn't let me travel with him. He said my image would be displayed on a security camera outside the villa after I killed the housekeeper. He didn't want to be arrested with me if the police came looking. He told me to meet someone named Llewellyn at a bar. Llewellyn was to take me out of the country. I thought that man was Llewellyn." She pointed to Gavin.
"As you now know, he is not," Wlodek said. "Are there any other questions?" Wlodek turned to Susila and Flavio.
"I have nothing," Flavio said.
"Nor do I," Susila replied.
"Did Xenides ever speak about what he was doing, or if he was looking for someone in particular?" Merrill asked quietly. The girl turned to him; she could barely see him in the corner. The light was very dim inside the room.
"He wanted someone he called the little princess. He wanted her very much. He made me jealous sometimes; he talked about her so often."
"Did he say why he wanted her?" Merrill went on.
"He kept saying he would make them pay. That is what he said."
"Did he ever explain whom he meant?"
"No. He only said them."
"Did he ever mention the name Saxom? Or Meletius?"
"He said those words together. Saxom Meletius. Is that a first and last name?"
"Possibly," Wlodek nodded. "Do you remember what he said when you heard those words?"
"He said he would raise a monument with those words on it, when the others were dead. He said it was to honor his father."
"Did he talk about how he would kill the others?"
"He said he was going to kill humans first with tainted medicine, so the others' blood supply would be cut off. He laughed and said that the others depended on donors who were paid in some of the poorer countries. He was trying to kill the donors with the bad medicine, I think." Wlodek's fingers stilled, the pen held tightly in his grip. The tainted flu vaccine wasn't aimed at humans only. It was aimed ultimately at the vampire community.
"I have heard enough," Wlodek nodded. This time everyone agreed. "Gavin, will you take this and then inform your cousin, or do you wish for Radomir to do this?"
"I will do this," Gavin rose from his chair.
"Why will he inform his cousin?" The girl was curious. "What are you going to do? I will plead guilty to all charges. I know there is no death penalty in England."
"René is his cousin and Aubrey Wallis was René's child," Wlodek's face was set in a frown. "The death penalty or lack thereof, applies only to human laws. We are not humans here." Wlodek allowed his lengthy fangs to slip out. The girl screamed.
* * *
I wandered into the living room the following evening, finding Dragon asleep in the large easy chair. Karzac hadn't come in from work, yet. I went to put the kettle on quietly to make Dragon a cup of tea. He was awfully fond of the stuff. He drank tea from a darker blend, which was kept in a separate container from the leaves Karzac and I used. I drank tea to warm my body a little. It wasn't such a hardship to eliminate it later.
Dragon woke as I was pouring hot water into his cup. He thanked me when I handed it to him a few seconds later, waiting for it to steep the proper amount of time. "I was watching the news, little vampire. Most of the program was about the six children that arrived mysteriously at the hospital in Limrok, upriver. Not much about the fifty dead priests, though."
"What explanation are they giving for the cave-in the other night?" I asked, shrugging off fifty dead priests.
"They say that a water pipe that burst several years ago washed out the earth beneath the street and that it finally collapsed as a result."
"I suppose that works as an excuse," I sipped my own tea. I was still in my pajamas and hadn't bothered to dress yet. Karzac came in a few minutes later. "Honey, you look like you've been in a war," I said. His hair looked wild. He sat down wearily so I fixed him and Dragon something to eat.
"You cook?" Karzac stared up at me when I handed him a broiled steak—I knew he liked his medium.
"I cooked for a few years before I got attacked by a bloodsucker. Eat before it gets cold." I set the salt and pepper shakers down by his plate. He and Dragon ate everything on their plates, vegetables and all. I washed up afterward and then went to dress. I wanted to check on a few things myself.
Three Solar Red priests were standing as close to the collapsed street as they could get; the local authorities had roped off the area and were now bringing in truckloads of sand to fill it in after the water pipes had been replaced. I went to stand next to a group of normal humans about twenty feet away from the priests. I could still hear what they were saying even from that distance, although they were whispering so as not to be overheard.
"We were told there would be only ash left behind," one of them said, sounding pleased.
"It's true. Hepturna Kandith says the same thing, and he was on Orliff, where a similar strategy was employed."
"The authorities went looking for bodies, but there wasn't anything," the third priest laughed softly. "I like that. No evidence to clean up." They turned to go. I walked in the opposite direction, turning to mist as soon as I was out of sight and spinning quickly to fly toward the temple, coming upon the three priests. They died quickly; only my claws materialized to cut their throats a
nd then I made all three of them mist along with me. Plunging into the crater beneath a huge pile of dirt that had been packed in already, I dumped the bodies about halfway down and then shot skyward again, misting toward Gabron's library. His washroom was my first order of business before I sought him out—my fingers and claws were still covered in blood, after all.
"I have heard that all the priests are being pulled in to the main temple since the massacre in Limrok," Gabron took my hand and kissed it when I found him.
"Do you know when they're coming and how?" I asked.
"Most likely by river, it's the easiest and least expensive way," Gabron said, leading me to the sofa in his library and convincing me to sit. I'd seen a few other vampires wandering around or reading, but figured that most of them were more than likely out in the caves somewhere.
"How are the others doing? Are they feeling their confinement, yet?"
"A little. But we vampires are a patient lot. Many of them are plotting revenge. If they get their claws into Solar Red, those priests will not last long."
"Gee, that's too bad. The baby-killing torturers might get what's coming to them," I said sarcastically. "Sick, sadistic fuckers."
"Lissa, at times I am shocked at the words you say, and I am quite old." Gabron was almost smiling.
"I feel old too, even though I'm not. At least by vampire standards."
"How old are you?" Gabron ran the tip of a finger gently around the edge of my ear. That wasn't erotic or anything.
"Forty-nine."
"And how long have you been vampire?"
"Two years, almost." Gabron's fingers stopped, and then resumed after a few seconds. "We keep our vampire children confined for six years," he said, leaning closer and blowing a cool breath against my neck.
"They do it for five, where I come from. As you can see, I'm a little different. Not that they don't tell me what to do and where to go, most of the time. They sent me here to keep me out of a bunch of other trouble, I'm sure."
"What is this bunch of other trouble?" Gabron was nuzzling my neck, now. I tried to push him away. He just lifted my hand and kissed it.
"A pack of rabid vampires. I'm thinking that most of them might be Dark Elemaiya—isn't that what you called them? The Head of the Council there thinks I'm susceptible to compulsion and I haven't let him know otherwise."
"He thinks this? Lissa, if you were one of mine and withheld that information, I might consider punishing you."
"Been there, done that," I said. Gabron was back to nuzzling my neck. "Is there a picture of you next to the word persistent in the dictionary?" I asked.
"In the what?" He nipped my neck a little.
"Never mind. What kind of punishment do you hand out over stuff like that?"
"Confinement, mostly. Perhaps a few days with the manacles on. Mind you, we only activate them if there is an infraction."
"Uh-huh. Things are different where I come from." I misted away before he could sink his fangs in my neck.
* * *
Admiral Hafer and his assistant stood at the rental car center in Las Vegas. Someone had called earlier with the news that Anthony Hancock had never gotten onto the plane at Heathrow. Admiral Hafer could curse quite well and was doing so now. They'd wasted valuable time searching Las Vegas for Hancock. "Get me back to London!" he shouted as his assistant pulled out his cell to make some calls.
* * *
"You know I have no interest whatsoever in these so-called priests." The Ra'Ak Prince watched his subordinate pace before his desk. The desk itself was made of rare wood, inlaid with gold and gemstones. He'd taken it from Belifindus, after his subjects had devoured or turned the population. The Belifindans had become quite greedy and wasteful, eventually earning their planet the undesirable status of Not Worth Saving. The Saa Thalarr had not bothered with it and the Ra'Ak had taken it quickly. The Prince appreciated the spoils from that world. Most possessions were left to rot on the worlds taken; there was only so much space for wealth and riches, when the most coveted thing on the planets was the life that existed there. "I only allowed you to take these priests as a diversion—it is generally a good thing to unsettle the population before we take it. Panicked prey is always more amusing."
"I'm telling you there is something there that we should not disregard," the subordinate ceased his pacing to get his point across to the Ra'Ak Prince. "I cannot detect it and it is killing the priests easily. Fifty were killed in one night. Silently. Their prisoners were taken away, the locks still locked on their cells. This is no Saa Thalarr; I would have sensed it. That is why I do not believe they are there. I want others with me on the night of terror."
Both Ra'Ak held to their humanoid shapes—it was easier to communicate this way and the subordinate felt more comfortable. If the Prince took his serpent form, the subordinate's life might be in danger. "How many are you requesting?" The Prince gave the subordinate a sly look. The subordinate had no way of telling whether this meant the Prince was considering his request or whether he was toying with him.
"At least three, since we don't know what we are facing. The Refizani have allies; perhaps the Karathian Warlocks or the strongest Wizards have been called to assist. Neither would cause our senses to react."
"It would be worse if the Karathians were involved," the Prince appeared to be considering this. "Although if these are Grey House Wizards, it might also go badly. Very well," the Prince conceded. "I will allow you to take three with you. Mind you, I expect the children to be brought here for the feast afterward." Children were always devoured; they were never turned to Ra'Ak spawn. They were simply too small and the others would merely fall upon them and kill them.
The subordinate bowed gratefully to the Prince, departing immediately to select his three before the Prince had an opportunity to rethink his largesse.
* * *
"I have never visited Merrill's home, but I know that it is very close to Wlodek's," Ilaisaane glanced at the two vampires Xenides sent to her. She had no desire to allow them anywhere near her home so she'd met them at a neutral site. A pub in Luddesdown was where they sat, which to her seemed the back of beyond. Ilaisaane preferred her comforts and city life. If the occasional human offered a meal, well, she didn't turn that down, either. Saxom had taught her in secret after killing her sire, working diligently to bring out her desire for power. She yearned for Wlodek's position, but killing him would not guarantee the seat in the center of the Council. There were too many others nearly as powerful. She would have to fight her way through all of them and frankly, the odds were not in her favor. She was determined to use guile instead of force. Xenides might be a stepping-stone to the seat of power.
* * *
"Avilepha, what are you doing?" Kifirin appeared out of nowhere. Again. I was sitting on the banks of the river, tossing stray stones into it. Dragon's dojo had been cleaned already and I toyed with the idea of going back to the Solar Red temple but held off for tonight.
"Tossing rocks into the river," I said, flinging another pebble far out into the water. More than likely, I could toss one to the far bank with no trouble, although the river was more than a quarter of a mile wide at this point. I'd deliberately taken myself upstream in case any boats came down, carrying priests. This bend of the river hid me well from the city's population, in case the priests did float past. Their death would come swiftly if they did.
"I was hoping you would be interested in other activities," Kifirin sat down next to me, gazing across the river at something even I couldn't see.
"What activities?" My small pile of river stones was nearly depleted. I might have to get up and hunt for more.
"I know that the Blood King here informed you of the Elemaiya, both dark and light."
"He called them Bright and Dark," I agreed, tossing another rock.
"Very good. That is what they call themselves," Kifirin smiled slightly, pleased with my knowledge.
"Gabron said his mother was a quarter Bright Elemaiya, making him an
eighth. He says that I must be of that race as well." Kifirin radiated warmth. It wasn't hard to sit next to him; the air around the river was very cool and mist was rising from the water itself.
"He is wise," Kifirin acknowledged with a slight nod.
"So, you think he's right?" I looked up at Kifirin. His face definitely belonged to an angel, I think.
"He is correct," Kifirin informed me.
"And you know this how?"
"I know a great deal. What I wish to ask is whether you would like to accompany me for a visit to both the Bright and the Dark Elemaiya. I know you have a very good nose—perhaps you would like to get their scent. It might help you in your future dealings, both with those races and the vampire race as well." Kifirin placed an arm around my shoulders. Truly, I wanted to huddle into his warmth. I stayed still, instead.
"Someday, perhaps you will follow your heart and your instincts," Kifirin told me. "Do you wish to go or not?"
"I do," I said, rising easily and dusting off my loose trousers. "I'm not going to be sorry to leave this clothing behind," I muttered. Calling it shapeless was a compliment. "Where are we going?"
The question didn't have time to leave my mouth completely before Kifirin had us somewhere else. And by somewhere else, I mean on another planet somewhere else. The smell was completely different. I wish I knew how he did that, along with Pheligar, and most likely Dragon and the others of his kind.
"It is called folding space," Kifirin informed me, leaning his mouth next to my ear and breathing softly against it. His breath was quite warm. "Do you see the lights, avilepha?" He lifted a hand and steered my chin in the proper direction. There were lights off in the distance. They looked like fairy lights to me, winking softly just outside a grove of trees. Kifirin and I stood in knee-deep grasses on a world that didn't appear to have the least bit of technology.
"The Bright Elemaiya prefer this type of world; their gifts are not forced to compete with machinery and electronics."
Blood Domination (Blood Destiny #4) Page 14