That got my attention. “That’s the signature on all those papers we found back at the lab.”
“Precisely,” she purred.
Hope flickered to life inside me. This was almost too good to be true. “How did you find out about this?” I said, looking between the two of them.
“We found an old radio in the back while you were sleeping,” Dezyre said. “We thought it’d be a good idea to listen in to see if they had any updates or news about the lab invasion, but all they could talk about was this gala. Lucky us.” Her eyes twinkled, most likely at the thought of getting dressed up.
I barely heard what they said because I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, thinking through the possibilities. “If this Johansen is going to be there, then –”
“ – so could Orion,” Dezyre finished.
“Where’s the ball being held?”
Dezyre had the grace to grimace. “At the Sovereign’s mansion,” she answered reluctantly.
I immediately frowned. The last time I’d visited my dear mother, she’d threatened to execute me for treason if I didn’t comply to have a blood test. She thought that my traipsing around in the Red Sector could have tainted my blood with vampire ilk. She had no idea how close to home she’d hit.
I chewed on my lip, frowning. Something told me that outwitting the Scarlet Guard stationed around her property and sneaking back to the Syndicate under her radar wasn’t going to set real well with her.
“Hold up,” Leo said, forming a time-out symbol with his hands. “This thing is at Mrs. McAllister’s place? It’ll be crawling with Scarlet Guards, and most likely S.IA personnel. To go there would be suicide.”
“But it could be the only way to find and stop Orion,” Rook said wisely.
I shifted my weight, thinking. Leo was right. There was a good chance this whole expedition would fly south quickly. Then again, Rook was also right. If Aden was still alive and Orion would be there, it could be my last chance to obtain a sample of his blood.
Jaw fixed, I looked up, steel in my eyes.
“Count me in.”
***
I gulped as my mother’s sprawling evergreen grounds and massive Southern plantation-style mansion came into view. The scenery lights were on, dotting the pea gravel drive and spotlighting the white columns on the house I’d come to think of as a sort of prison. Limos pulled up to the front stairs, where valets dressed in red jackets with long coat tails, like something from the Civil War, helped guests out of their vehicles.
A nervous jitter flitted through my stomach, making it flip. “You guys sure about this?” I asked.
Leo, clad in a black tuxedo that more or less fit, bumped my shoulder as he walked up behind me. Truthfully, I didn’t mind him being close because it meant body heat. When I went to put my hoodie back on after dressing up, Dezyre had been mortified. “You are not going out in public wearing that thing with that dress,” she’d said. At her insistence, I’d sullenly grabbed a silk wrap. I had it pulled tight across my shoulders, but it did little to no good against the cool January air.
With the party starting at 8 p.m., we’d all gotten what rest we could and woke up around 5 p.m. After scrounging around for something edible, we’d each had a few bites of only partially stale bread before going back to the clothing store we’d found a few blocks away. There hadn’t been much to choose from in terms of formal wear; a few dresses, some hand-me-down tuxes and dress suits, and some shoes and plastic jewelry. Not exactly having a wide selection, I’d chosen a slinky bright green gown, with spaghetti straps and little silver clasps toward the shoulders. My hair had been a little more difficult. After not being able to do anything with it – thanks to our inability to find any running water to shower with – I’d pulled it up in a fairly manageable ponytail. Dezyre found some lipstick – bright red, of all colors – and we’d both applied generous layers. “There,” she’d said, smacking her lips. “This will make your lips pop against that teal gown.”
“It’s green,” I had grumbled, letting her apply my makeup.
The eye pencil paused; she gripped it so tightly that I thought she would snap the tip on my eyelid. She sighed and continued outlining the rim of my eyes. “Forget it. I’m not even going to begin to try to explain the sacrilege of that statement.”
We used some powder to cover up our scrapes and bruises as best we could, including my birthmark. That would have been a dead giveaway as to my identity. I had to admit, we didn’t look too bad. I’d found some strappy silver heels, and I wasn’t having too much trouble wearing them. I liked wearing heels; they made me feel girly and sophisticated.
I just hoped no one noticed how frayed the straps were, or that the sole was starting to come loose at the front of the right shoe. Or the fact they were slightly caked in mud, thanks to walking the last half a mile through a putrid field, where Arika was parked in case we needed to make a getaway.
To my surprise, she hadn’t left the store after we’d fought. She’d just gone off to be by herself, sulking in a corner with a stormy look on her face. Leo insisted he talk to her and they chatted for a long time. I lurked nearby, just in case she decided to go haywire and gut him with her remaining sai. I don’t know what he said, but he managed to convince her to help.
Going inside the Sovereign’s mansion apparently made her really uncomfortable – not that I could blame her, considering my own nervous jitters – so she’d opted to be our driver. We found a jeep a few blocks north, sitting in a row of other cars with missing tires and a plundered interior. This one, blessedly, had been left mostly intact, save for a stereo system that had gone MIA. The tires were a little low, but it would do. Rook found the keys lying in a frozen puddle beneath the jeep, like someone had dropped them in a hurry to escape. There wasn’t much gas left, but it was enough to get us there and hopefully back to the border of the Red Sector if we needed to.
Rook was Dezyre’s escort. They both looked pretty good – hell, I was convinced Dezyre could don a garbage bag and make it look cool and fashionable. She had on a sequined gold gown that looked like it had walked straight from the ‘70s, and Rook had on a black suit and tie. We had a harder time finding something that roughly fit him, since he was so broad across the chest, but we at last found a suit and tie that worked.
“Well,” Rook said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. His breath clouded the air in front of his face. “Shall we?”
Blood racing, I snapped on the paper silver mask I’d found in the kid’s section and strutted forward, holding onto Leo’s arm and praying my knees wouldn’t give out before we reached the growing line at the front door.
When I’d found out the gala was actually a masque, I was elated. I think my mother thought it sounded more elite, thus raising her status as a social queen. I’d been wondering how we were going to pull this off, possibly having to wear disguises, but this did the trick just fine.
The others wore simple masks too, all made of paper or plastic. I’d forgotten hand-me-down stores usually had a Halloween section, though nowadays costume pieces were mostly relics of the past, considering Halloween no longer meant a night filled with candy and easy scares.
I swallowed hard, pushing my memories of that night far from my mind, back to the abysmal void of “shit I’d rather not think about.”
As we neared the door, I saw someone was standing there, checking the guest list. I inwardly groaned. Of course there was a guest list. This was my mother we’re talking about. They weren’t going to let any hobo off the street inside.
I gulped, hoping there wasn’t a metal detector to check for weapons. We’d all carried something in, mostly small, retractable knives and easily concealed handguns. Deyzre had also given me another syringe in case we ran into Orion, which I stuffed into my oversized bra, hoping the extra padding would keep it from breaking should I get in a scuffle.
My attention focused on the man checking the list. I’d fully been expecting him to be a Scarlet Guard, another vampire carefully wearing th
e disguise of a human. But his absence of a telekinetic signature could only mean one thing.
I blinked, shocked.
He was human.
Quickly, I scanned the rest of the valets and doormen.
All human.
I frowned, getting an uneasy feeling in my gut.
Leo and I were next. I turned my frown into a camera-perfect smile, like I’d been trained to, and the man smiled politely. “Your names?” he asked.
“Mr. and Mrs. Debonshire,” Leo replied regally.
I gawked at him, but he pleasantly smiled at the man, watching as he scanned the list with a deepening frown. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at Leo. “I’m afraid I’m not finding you.”
“Look again,” Leo said, locking eyes with him. “I assure you, we are on there. Check the bottom.”
My jaw dropped. I recognized immediately what he was doing.
No. Way.
The man’s eyes got that far-off, glazed over look. Like a zombie, his gaze slowly dropped to the bottom of the list. “Yes,” he murmured. “I believe I just overlooked you. Here you are, right here.” He crossed out an imaginary name on his list. “So sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Debonshire.”
“Thank you, good sir,” Leo replied, then proceeded to lead us through the doors and into the foyer.
My mind was reeling; I wasn’t sure where to start. “Debonshire? Good sir? Really?”
He grinned at me, pleased with himself. “I thought it’d be fun to get in touch with my inner Mr. Darcy.”
“Do you even know who that is?”
“After listening to all those girls swoon over him in sophomore AP English? Yeah, he and I are well acquainted. I was taking notes.”
We surveyed the room. A sweeping staircase spiraled up to the second floor, and the polished marble beneath our feet shone with our reflections. Red poinsettias dotted the room, and white twinkle lights had been strung from the ceiling, probably the remnants of my mother’s Christmas and New Year’s parties. She quickly learned while running for office that the fastest way to wriggle her way into the social spotlight was to host a party. I guess free booze worked for both college kids and politicians.
“Wow,” Rook said, coming up behind us with Dezyre in tow. “This place is fancy.”
“How did you guys get in?” I asked.
“Same as you,” Rook said, grinning. “You two aren’t the only ones with skills.”
“Okay,” Dezyre said, getting us back on track. “Now that we’re in, where do we start?”
“We should probably run some recon,” Leo said, eyes turning sharp. He still had a “squinty” look to him. Though his chest had healed significantly in a very short space of time, I could tell he was still in a lot of pain. If I’d had my chest ripped open, I probably would be too.
“All right,” Rook said. “We’ll start at the refreshment table. I’m starving.”
I suppressed a smile as they walked away, bickering with one another. They’re already acting like brother and sister.
Classical music drifted in from the opposite direction, toward the ballroom. It sounded like my mom had hired a live orchestra. Though there were few working musicians left in the city, if they managed to get in the political circles, they could still make a pretty decent living, from what a hot cello player had once told me.
Leo wriggled his brows, which managed to poke right above the line of the mask. “Shall we dance? It will give us a good excuse to listen in on other people’s conversations and find out what this guy was working on.”
“I’m sure they’ll make an announcement about it later,” I said, thinking. “But, er, sure. Why not?”
My stomach twisted into knots as he led me to the dance floor. The ballroom was decorated much the same way, with twinkle lights wrapped around the crown molding and poinsettias sitting on white pedestals, distributed at even intervals along the warm golden walls. A staircase rose to one side, leading up to an oak paneled balcony that looped around three out of four walls.
Leo and I took up an empty spot on the dance floor, him placing a hand on my waist, while I rested mine on his shoulder like the other couples were doing. Taking my other hand, he began to sway to the beat, my body following along.
Being like this, dancing so intimately, brought back feelings of when Aden and I had danced together at the Holiday Ball back on the vampire base.
My jaw went tight with fear and worry.
Since he was my maker, I would know if he died, wouldn’t I? It was a question that went round and round my head until Leo’s voice broke my thoughts. “What are you thinking about?” he asked softly.
I swallowed and blinked, smiling at him. “Nothing. I didn’t know you were such a good dancer.”
Actually I did. I’d watched him take a different girl to every school dance since we were old enough to go. Mostly, it was just something to say to distract him from asking me more uncomfortable questions.
He smiled sadly. “You never would dance with me. You said you were there to ‘socialize’ and ‘be seen’. Why the change of heart?”
Dammit. “Well, I have to play along, don’t I, Mr. Debonshire?” I made the last word sound really snooty, and he grunted a laugh. “It’d look a little weird if you just started asking every other woman in here to dance.”
“There’s only one woman in here I want to dance with.”
I blushed and looked away. “That’s good, because I think their husbands would probably mind.” Something crossed my thoughts. “How did you know how to use glamour?”
That sloppy grin returned. “It just sounded so cool, hearing you guys talk about it. I wanted the chance to try it out.”
Leo was naturally a very charismatic person, with the uncanny ability to easily influence others with his charm. Maybe that was why he was so innately good at glamour.
When he didn’t say anything else, I noticed he was staring at me. “What?” I asked, searching his eyes.
He hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully. “I had no idea becoming a vampire would feel like this,” he murmured. “I’ve never felt this close to anyone in my life.”
I gulped, my face heating. Despite my embarrassment, I was unable to break his gaze. “Leo, you know I’d never leave you alone, not when you needed me.”
His eyes turned hard; the emotions rolling off him nearly floored me – love, regret, anger, grief. “When I lost my father, I thought, ‘That’s it. You’re all alone now in the world.’ And that scared the shit out of me.” He rested his forehead against mine. “But then you gave me the most marvelous gift.”
My voice was small when I spoke. “And what is that?”
He smiled. “Family.”
I closed my eyes, warring with my conflicting emotions. Part of me still belonged to Aden, but another half felt responsible for taking care of Leo, since he was technically mine now.
Aden’s not going to be happy.
I inwardly sighed, irritated with myself. Screw him. I didn’t care what he thought. I wanted to save Leo, and by God, if he wanted to come live with us, I wasn’t going to abandon him. He had been through enough already. I couldn’t leave him alone to navigate this strange new world all by himself.
A light tinkling sound floated over the music, like someone tapping a fork against one of the many crystal champagne flutes floating around. The conductor cut off the orchestra, and we all turned as someone appeared at the balcony.
I paled.
Mother.
Sovereign McAllister looked stunning in a deep red gown, her golden hair swept up into an elegant bun. She had no mask, though her eyes had been dramatically done up in silver eye shadow, making it appear like butterfly wings unfurled around her eyes.
“My wonderful friends,” she said, speaking into a microphone. “Thank you for joining me this evening for some truly monumental news.”
A tremor went through me at hearing her voice, all frosted elegance, and Leo wrapped his arm around my back, holding me steady.
<
br /> “As you know, our partner, Elkhorn Labs, has been hard at work on finding a solution to the vampire infestation.” Her noise shriveled up on that last word. “And my good friend and esteemed colleague, Dr. Ivan Johansen, has been laboring diligently for the past several years to find a cure to vampirism. While I know it’s popular conviction these creatures can only be destroyed and not saved, it is my firm belief that violence and death can only lead to humanity’s undoing.”
I wanted to hiss at that statement. My bloodthirsty mother couldn’t stain her hands any more scarlet than they already were, with all the innocent blood the Scarlet Guard had spilled over the years.
Murmurs and gasps went up from the crowd at the word cure. My heart skipped a beat too, but I knew better. There had to be a catch.
Sovereign McAllister held up a hand, and the noise died down. Her mouth stretched into one of her plastic smiles. “Please join me in welcoming one of my dearest friends, Dr. Ivan Johansen, our guest of honor and humanity’s savior.”
The crowd burst into applause as a tall but skinny man appeared beside my mother. He was handsome, and a lot younger than I had expected, with short black hair and a neatly trimmed black beard. After taking the microphone from my mother and doing the “kiss-each-cheek-meet-and-greet,” he glanced around the room nervously. He looked like the type of guy who was uncomfortable in a tux, let alone speaking in front of a crowd.
“Um, good evening,” he said in a deep, kind voice. His voice rasped on the last word, and he awkwardly cleared his throat while everyone stared.
While he launched into what promised to be a particularly boring speech about a lot of medical stuff I didn’t understand, I gazed around the room, reaching out with my mind and tapping into people’s auras. There wasn’t a single telekinetic signature to be found, outside of mine and the others who came with me.
I frowned. Orion wasn’t here.
It sounded ludicrous, but I was running out of options. And hope.
The conversation I’d had with Dezyre about mind connections between vampire siblings played through my head. Desperate, I tried feeling for just Orion.
Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) Page 25