by Erin Hayes
"I'm ready," she said, and stepped out from her bedroom, her long hair spilling across her bare shoulders and wearing a yellow sundress. My breath caught in my chest. She was gorgeous.
She averted her gaze and walked past me to the door. Just as she opened it, Henry appeared. She jumped. "Don't do that!"
He walked past her into the small apartment. "There are more bodies."
Moira and I looked at each other.
"Tell me," I said.
"Early this morning, three humans were found dead. Their bodies were positioned as if mannequins inside a display window at clothing store. Their throats had been ripped out."
Moira brought her hand to her mouth.
"What happened last night with you two?" Henry asked. He walked to the living room window and peered out over the city.
I quickly recounted the vampires we'd killed at the auto shop and how we questioned one of them. I ended by telling him about Devon and how he tried to take Moira for her special ability.
At this, Henry looked over at her. She blushed and looked away shaking her head. Just barely, but I noticed the exchange. Something had just happened between them, but I didn't know what.
"It seems this Dark Prince is seeking retaliation for every time we kill a vampire," Henry said.
"So what are we supposed to do?" I asked. "Not only is he making new vampires, but he's also calling vampires to the area. We can't allow the population to grow this fast."
"And we won't," Henry said. "I will call in every available agent from other locations to help us end this rise. I'll start with the Ireland office. There are a couple of agents there I wanted you to meet anyway. They are perfect for occasions like these."
"Why is that?"
Henry walked past me toward the front door. "Because they're vampires."
Chapter Nine
Henry exited the door and turned into the hallway. When I peeked out after him, he was gone. I shook my head and looked back at Moira. She was sitting on the couch staring down at the floor. I walked over to her.
"This is bad," she said.
"The Deific has been through worse."
She looked up at me. "When?"
I lowered onto the couch next to her. "A couple of years ago, there was a powerful witch who had the ability to create fire from great distances. Many buildings were destroyed and people were hurt or killed. We were able to control the narrative, and everyone assumed it was terrorist attacks."
Her mouth fell open. "I remember that! I was traveling Europe when that famous opera house in Italy was destroyed. Was that the witch and not terrorists?"
I nodded.
"What happened to the witch?"
"She was rescued and now she's hidden away from the world." I rubbed at the back of my neck thinking of Eve. I hadn't written her a letter in a few weeks.
"You guys didn't kill her? Wasn't that dangerous?"
"It wasn't her fault," I explained. "She was being controlled by an ancient necklace with great power. Once it was removed, she proved not to be a threat. In fact, she's a good person, and I have a strong impression she will one day fight with the Deific."
She stared straight ahead shaking her head slowly. "I don't even know what to say."
"We all have gifts. It's just a matter what we choose to do with them that makes us who we are."
She twisted her finger through her hair. "I think I would like to meet this witch one day."
I rested my hand over hers. "I'm sure you'll get the chance."
But even as the words fell from my lips, I was struck with a strong feeling that she would never get to meet Eve. I didn't want to think about what that might mean.
Two days passed. Henry ordered all agents to keep a low profile and only focus on gathering intel on the growing vampire population. Every time we found one, we would message in a detailed description of the vampire and his location. Back at the office, a large map of the city had been attached to the wall in the conference room and a pin would be pressed into it at specific points.
By the time we had all returned on the second day and stared at that map, all of us stood in shock. There were dozens of pins. Usually New York City only harbored a small handful, but those numbers had multiplied exponentially in the last month at least. How did we not notice sooner?
"This sucks," Robert said, shaking his head. "How are we going to get them all?"
"We need to find their nests." I slammed my fist onto the conference room table, angered by the situation. "Hit them all at once. We can't allow any more human deaths."
"But that won't solve the problem," Moira countered. "We need to find and kill the Dark Prince. If we don't, he'll just keep making more vampires and cause more problems. He's the root of all of this."
Hunter spoke next. "That would be ideal, but seeing how no one knows where he's at, we need to take out as many vampires as we can until then. And who knows? Maybe it will freak the Dark Prince out, and he will leave town."
"The perfect place to do that," I said, "is to find out more about this big meeting all the vampires keep talking about. We need to know when and where it will be."
"We can help with that," a voice said behind me. I turned around. A tall man with long blond, almost white hair, stood in the doorway. Next to him, a dark skinned woman wearing a long black leather jacket leaned against the wall with her arms crossed at her chest. I recognized them as vampires immediately. So did everyone else in the room.
Several people jumped to their feet and scurried to the other side of the room, each of them branding a different kind of weapon.
I remained where I was and said, "Are you sure you're in the right place?"
"If this is the Deific, then we are," the male said. "Henry sent us. We're from the Ireland office, but more of us will be coming in a day or two."
The woman strolled in and dropped into the nearest chair, propping her feet up on the table, glaring at us.
"Lower your weapons," I ordered to everyone in the room. I came to my feet and offered my hand to the male vampire first, even though every instinct in me wanted to kill him. "I apologize about all of this. Henry said you two would be coming. I should've realized sooner who you were. My name is Charlie."
He shook my hand. "I'm Michael and this is Alana."
Alana saluted me but didn't say anything.
"Henry has caught us up to speed," Michael said. "When it gets dark, Alana and I will go out and see what we can find about this meeting."
Moira walked over to us. "Have you heard of the Dark Prince? And I'm Moira, by the way."
"Nice to meet you." Michael bowed his head in acknowledgment, then added, "We do not know this Dark Prince. It's a strange name for a vampire to give himself, one we would remember."
"What can we do to help you?" I asked. "Whatever you need."
Having a vampire on the inside was going to be a huge advantage. I wished we had some good ones around here we could trust. Not that I entirely trusted these two yet, but I trusted Henry. If he said they were good, I believed him.
"Just your phone number will be sufficient," Michael said. "I will call you with any news. Just have your men lay low until then. I don't want anyone spooking the local vampires."
"You got it."
Everyone in the room began to relax, especially when Alana got up and moved toward the door with Michael. She definitely looked like someone you wanted to avoid at night.
"I really like your jacket," Moira said to her as she passed.
Alana looked her up and down.
Moira continued to speak quickly. "We're glad you're here. What you're doing for us is invaluable, and we appreciate it more than you could ever know."
I glanced over at her, eyebrows raised. She's really laying it on thick.
"We will help you take care of your vampire problem, but then we're leaving," Alana said, an edge to her voice. "This city is too crowded."
"I agree!" Moira laughed.
Alana and Michael left the room. Mo
ira turned to me and said, "I'll be right back."
I frowned as she hurried after the two new vampires. I couldn't help but wonder what she felt she had to say to them in private.
When she returned, I asked, "What was that all about?"
"It was nothing. I just had a couple of questions."
I waited for her to say more, but she didn't. "Do you think we can trust them?"
"Absolutely."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I just am." She dropped into the same chair Alana had been sitting in moments ago.
I ordered everyone back onto the streets to continue to track vampire movement. Moira joined me as we headed to the north part of the city where we had seen the most activity. For some reason, they all seemed to be flocking this direction. Maybe the meeting would be somewhere around here.
The sun had gone down two hours ago. Moira had fallen asleep in the passenger seat while I watched the streets. I worried about her sometimes. With her being in college, waitressing and also working with me at the Deific, she didn't get much sleep. In fact, since I had met her, she hadn't taken a day off including any weekends. Not that I was complaining. I loved spending time with her, but I feared she might get burned out.
My gaze settled on her as she slept, moonlight filtering in through the window fell upon her face. She was so beautiful. Every day my feelings toward her grew, and I didn't think they could grow anymore. But then the next day would come, and I would see her smile and somehow there was all of a sudden more room for her in my heart.
She opened her eyes just then and looked over at me. I averted my gaze and smiled. "You're awake."
She stretched her arms and brought her seat back into the upright position. "Did I miss anything other than you staring at me creepily?"
I laughed. "I have never stared at anyone creepily. Women think it's sexy."
"A woman other than your mother?"
"Don't bring her into this. She'll kick your ass."
It was her turn to laugh. "I don't doubt it. She had to raise you." She glanced out the window. "What time is it?"
"Almost midnight. Do you want me to take you home?"
"Actually, I'm meeting Alana and Michael soon. Could you take me over to that little café on Eighth Street?"
"What are you doing with them?"
"It's nothing, really. Can you please not ask any more questions?"
I didn't start the car. Instead, I searched her eyes reaching out with my mind. She was keeping something from me, which in any other circumstance was her right, but she was about to go off with two vampire strangers in a city full of bad vampires. It was way too dangerous. I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her.
She slugged me hard. "Don't do your weird psychic crap on me. This is my business."
"How did you know?"
"Your left eyebrow rises a little whenever you do it. I've watched you very closely these last few weeks."
I sighed. "I just don't think it's safe, whatever it is you're about to do. I have a bad feeling."
"Do you really have a bad feeling, or do you just not want me to do it because you're afraid I'll get hurt?"
I lowered my gaze. "Does it matter?"
She rested her hand over mine. "Everything will be okay. Trust me."
I swiveled forward and started the car's engine. I didn't say anything to her as I drove across town. Alana and Michael were already on the street waiting for her in front of the cafe. I pulled up to the curb, and she jumped from the car. I rolled down my window and called, "Michael!"
He bent over and looked into the car. "Yes?"
"I don't know what she is doing with you, but please take care of her."
He nodded his head and stepped away from the car. It was difficult leaving her there. I almost pulled over and followed them, but decided against it. She said to trust her so that's exactly what I was going to do, no matter how bad it hurt to think about something happening to her.
Instead of driving home, I drove to the Deific and looked over the map again thinking maybe I could see something new. There were so many vampires!
I settled into the nearest chair and stared at all of the pins, as a prickly sensation began to crawl across my skin. I stood and paced the room stretching my arms up and around. I didn't like this feeling. I scratched at my arms, leaving red welts across my skin.
Something real bad was coming.
Chapter Ten
I ended up staying at the Deific all night, having fallen asleep on the sofa in Henry's office. I woke when someone flipped on the lights out in the lobby. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then checked my phone. It was just after six a.m.
There were no messages from Moira. I ignored the growing space in my stomach. Everything was all right, I told myself as I texted Michael asking how things went.
A minute later a text returned: Went well. Moira has a special gift.
I frowned, staring at the message. What did that mean? I texted back, asking if he would be coming into the office this morning.
As I was waiting for a return text, the office door opened and Michael walked in. He was alone.
"Did you stay here all night?"
"I did. Where's Moira?"
He circled Henry's desk and lowered into the chair. "We dropped her off at home a couple of hours ago."
"And what exactly were you three doing?"
"We went to a few vampires hangouts to see what we could learn about the Dark Prince." He slid the rubber band from his hair and ran his fingers through the long strands.
"Wasn't that risky taking a human?" I blurted, thinking how much danger Moira must've been in.
"She was with us, and we made it clear that she was our human. No one dared question us. We were far older than anyone in the room."
I curled my fingers into fists. "So what happened?"
"Vampires. At least two hundred by our calculations, and those are only the ones we encountered. The Dark Prince has called them in from all over the world to take part in what he's calling, The Last Supper. And anyone who knows how to make new vampires has been ordered to do so, all in preparation for a grand meeting that is supposed to happen in two weeks time."
"Do you know where?"
He shook his head as he smoothed his hair back into a ponytail and twisted it into a bun. "That's the one thing we couldn't find out. No one seemed to know where it would be. The Dark Prince is closely guarding this secret."
"Do you at least know where to find the Dark Prince?"
"Several vampires have seen them, but no one knows where he rests his head. He seems to move around a lot and only keeps a few vamps with him at all times. We know where one of them will be tonight. Alana and I will track him down and question him."
I slouched into the sofa, thinking hard. "How did you get the vampires to talk to you?"
He smiled, just barely. "It actually wasn't too difficult. Moira made it quite easy. She has a way of getting information out of people."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He placed his hands on the desk and stood. "She's a special girl, that's all. I'm hungry and so is Alana. I will be in touch with you later."
He left the room leaving me to stare after him.
It was difficult to work the rest of the day. I kept wanting to text Moira and ask her if she was coming in. I wanted to see for myself that she was okay. It made me nervous that Devon was still out there and wanted her for some reason.
I wasn't expecting Henry in the office so was surprised when I saw him come in late in the afternoon.
"I need to see you," he said, after sticking his head in my office.
I followed him and sat down on the same couch I'd slept on. "I assume you've spoken with Michael?"
"I have. And I think we need to act quickly before this big meeting of vampires. I don't like the sound of them all gathered together in one place. It would be a volatile situation and would put many humans at risk."
"So what do you sugges
t?"
"I know this will be dangerous, especially with how the Dark Prince has been retaliating against us, but we must destroy as many of them as we can and do it quickly."
I lifted my hands in a helpless motion. "I would like that too, but we only have a handful of agents here."
"Sometime tomorrow you will have at least three dozen more. The other Deific offices have sent their best men. When they arrive, get them out on the streets as soon as possible."
My eyebrows rose. "This is serious. We've never done anything like this before."
"I have and I know the consequences of not acting quickly," he said, his expression grim. "I also fear this is just the beginning."
"Beginning of what?" My skin began to itch again.
"Have you heard back from the Seattle office yet? I want to know about Lucien."
I ran my fingers through my hair realizing that I had completely forgot about that. "I will call them today, but I still don't understand what he has to do with all of this."
"Maybe nothing, but I feel there's a connection somehow. Regardless, we will need him eventually. And how's Eve?"
I shrugged. "Same as always, I guess. I haven't heard anything, but I still write her."
He glanced down, deep in thought. A moment later, he looked up at me. "Do we have enough electric guns for everyone coming?"
"We have plenty, but I will check inventory later today."
He leaned back in his chair and regarded me steadily.
"Anything else?" I asked. It was late enough in the day that I felt I could contact Moira without it seeming pushy. I was anxious to speak with her.
"You really like her don't you?"
"Moira?"
"She is quite remarkable," he said.
"I think so too, but when other people say it, I get the impression they're talking about something different than I am."
He glanced toward the door. "She's here."
I jumped to my feet. "I have to go."
I hurried from the room practically running, but when I saw her speaking with the secretary, I slowed up to appear natural.