by Sharon Green
There were murmured comments here and there in the group, but Elder Bors just stared at me in silence. It was clear that he couldn't decide what to say, but then Elder Joe stepped forward.
"Mykel is right," Elder Joe stated flatly. "In truth I should have been the one to say that, but now that the words are spoken I have to agree with them. Regina is a strong woman, and she needs to be with us."
Elder Bors hesitated only another moment, but then he nodded slowly.
"Yes, you're both right," he said, looking between me and Elder Joe. "When I asked Regina why she wanted to study sword use… She didn't lose control of herself, but the feelings behind her explanation were perfectly clear. She does need to be with us."
With that said, Elder Joe went to get Regina. The two returned almost immediately, Regina looking grimly delighted, and then it was time for us to get going.
We spread out and ran through the woods, making sure we made as little noise as possible. I'd never run at top speed since my body had changed, and the pace we were able to keep to was amazing. Not to mention how little tiredness there was. We ran miles, the day growing darker as the wind picked up, and then we were signaled to a stop by Elder Bors.
"The drifters are camped in the next clearing," Elder Bors told us in a whisper that didn't go beyond a couple of feet. "We'll surround the camp, and then we'll take them. I want the young men – and Regina - to have the silver swords."
Some of the older men had been carrying the silver swords, and once the weapons were handed over to us the others all disappeared into the woods. Tom and I exchanged a look that told me my friend still felt the way I did: really excited, and almost as nervous. Those who were fully grown would face the drifters directly, and we would step in only if it became necessary.
Ed and Rich, older than Tom and me by a couple of years, looked less nervous and also less eager. They were closer to their full growth, and also had better control of themselves. That left Regina as our fifth, and there was nothing in the way of nervousness inside her. Eager was all she was, her hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of the sword she carried, and she hesitated not at all when the five of us moved forward slowly and quietly toward the clearing we'd been told about.
The coming storm must have helped to keep the drifters from knowing we were there. They had a couple of fires built and eight of them were sitting around, probably waiting until night before they attacked. Which didn't surprise any of us. It's easier to attack people who are getting ready for bed, but that isn't the only way attack is done. The drifters learned that when our men ran at them from the enclosing circle they'd made.
The drifters jumped to their feet, most of them laughing as they got ready to defend themselves. It was clear they thought the men attacking them were ordinary men and nothing like themselves, but they quickly learned better. Our men were just as fast and strong as they were, in a couple of cases faster and stronger. Two of our men had gotten out of their clothes, and it was full-grown wolves who kept any of the drifters from sneaking away and hiding.
The fight didn't go on very long, and once all the intruders were down – either dead or wounded – it was Elder Bors who looked down at the survivors.
"The Silver Mother granted you Her blessing, and all you did was spit on it," the elder stated, his voice as cold as ice in winter. "Those who are blessed don't ever attack those less fortunate, not unless they're defending their lives or families. You ignored that one, most important, rule, and now you get to pay for your stupidity with your own lives."
A couple of the drifters left alive snarled or pleaded to be spared, but that didn't stop Elder Bors from stepping back and gesturing in our direction. Regina stepped forward at once, the rest of us behind her, and she stopped near the man who had snarled at Elder Bors.
"You laughed when you killed my parents and brothers and sisters, and when you thought you were killing me," she said to the dirty, scraggly man who stared up at her. "Now I get to show you how it should be done."
And with that she smiled just a little before using the sword she held to stab the drifter in the chest. The drifter screamed and spasmed, making the other drifters left alive begin to whimper, but the whimpering did no good. As soon as the first drifter died the rest of us with swords stepped forward, and a minute later there was no one left to spit on the Silver Mother's blessing. After that the older men with swords went to the bodies that had been made earlier and used their swords on them. None of the bodies reacted to being killed again, proving that none of the drifters had been left alive to run away and hurt others, and that was that.
Regina hadn't said anything else, but on the way home I noticed that she now looked … serene, I guess would be the best way to describe it. She'd killed the man responsible for destroying her family, and now would hopefully be able to get on with healing the terrible hurt she'd been given. And she also chose to walk next to me with something of a smile on her face, as though Elder Joe had told her I'd been the one to make sure she joined us.
And the Silver Mother smiled on our efforts by making the rainstorm hold off until we were home again.
Chapter Nineteen
When I woke up I lay still for a minute, remembering what Mykel and the others had just gone through. At first I felt surprised that all those people had killed the rogues without hesitation, but then I understood. They were all "predators," but more than that they were believers in their religion. The rogues had dirtied the villagers' holiest belief with their actions, and that was one thing they hadn't been able to forgive.
The bedside clock told me it wasn't yet eight-thirty, so I didn't have to rush getting dressed. If we were going to start things going at the crack of dawn Allison would have said so, and she hadn't. So I got up and went to use the bathroom, got dressed, then carried the mug I'd washed the night before down to the kitchen to get some lifeblood.
One step inside the kitchen showed me I wasn't first to be up. Freemont was getting his coffee mug filled while Bari stood on line behind him, Jack and Shell busy with getting breakfast ready.
"Morning, Taz," Freemont said with a glance while Bari smiled the same greeting and our two hosts gave me a quick smile and nod. "I don't think we'll have long to wait for the others to join us. Which is good, since our breakfast is almost ready."
"Definitely very good," Bari agreed with a wider smile. "Standing here inhaling the aromas has made me feel as if I'm starving, which I can't possibly be after last night's meal. But I do need this coffee to keep me from attacking the food right here and now, so I won't be giving up my place on line."
"Don't blame you a bit," I answered, showing my own grin. "If I was in your spot you'd have to fight me for it, so why should you be any different? As long as you don't take your time."
I nodded toward Freemont to show her that he'd moved away from the coffee urn, and she lost no time in stepping up. She filled her cup fast and then it was my turn. Just as I began to fill the mug the kitchen doors opened again and Eric came in, followed by Amiol and Oldon.
"How about that," Eric said as he smiled his morning greeting to the rest of us. "The whole team is up and on the move, probably because we're all looking forward to some action."
"I know I am," Oldon said, moving toward the fridge rather than getting on the coffee line. "And I even slept last night, which means I can remember my name and even how to spell it."
That comment made us chuckle, all of us but Shell. He'd turned to look at Oldon, taking a step toward the fridge himself.
"Oldon, I got talked into buying something new for you," Shell said, almost sounding like he was admitting to a crime of some sort. "Since I buy blood and Whippe and Boast I was 'allowed' to buy the new stuff, but if I want to order more of it I have to supply the name of the vampire I'm buying it for. I don't know why that is, but I decided to ask before giving out your name."
"That's definitely strange," Oldon answered as he stopped near the fridge. "What kind of something new did you get?"
"Well, it seems some of the people who make Whippe have come up with new flavors," Shell said, a small shake of his head included. "They say they used some of the newly turned to get the flavors right, and now they're putting out meals instead of simple snacks. For breakfast there's scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and biscuits, for lunch there's tuna fish, rye bread, and corn chips, and for dinner there's steak, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and salad."
"I don't believe it," Oldon stated when Shell finished announcing the choices, his expression on the stunned side. "I don't even know what a lot of that is supposed to taste like, not when I was turned so long ago. But I do remember steak, that I certainly do remember… And never thought I'd taste it again. Or get to find out what people eat all the time these days."
"Does that mean you'd like to try it?" Shell asked, still looking anxious. "You don't really have to, you know, not unless–"
"Yes, Shell, that means I want to try it," Oldon interrupted quickly with one hand up, probably seeing how anxious our host was. "If this works out, we may definitely find out if vampires can get fat. So how is it arranged?"
Shell opened the refrigerator and pulled out a package that contained four holders, each of them marked with what they supposedly contained. There were two other packages in the fridge, most likely the other meals, but Oldon just took the one Shell held out and then gestured to the fridge.
"I'll also take one of the containers of blood," Oldon said with his usual smile. "I feel the need for something warm when I first get up, and the blood will take care of the urge."
He thanked Shell when our host took out the container Oldon needed, and then Oldon headed for the blood warmer. I glanced around before making a comment, and then knew I didn't have to say the words. Everyone in the kitchen seemed to know that Oldon needed the blood warmed so that his system would be fooled into thinking he was taking the red liquid from a living body. Probably to make sure his system didn't start to demand that he take that warmed blood from the closest source…
It didn't take long before we all had our coffee – or other warm liquid – moved into the dining room where we took our usual seats. There were now two bowls of sugar and two servers with cream, so in just a couple of minutes we all had what to drink. While we all watched Oldon unwrap his meal and study it.
"This is supposed to be scrambled eggs," he said, obviously knowing we were all watching as he gestured to the first container of the set. "I did eat and enjoy eggs in my human days, but never scrambled. Let's see how it tastes."
Oldon used his spoon to take a moderately small taste of the Whippe, and then his eyebrows were all the way up on his forehead.
"I don't believe this," our vampire teammate exclaimed as he stared at the Whippe. "Definitely eggs, but better than I can ever remember having. I'm going to take a larger taste, and then I'm going to try the rest."
Oldon did that, and then he tried the bacon, the home fries, and the biscuit in that order. By the time he finished tasting the various Whippes his eyes were closed, a wide smile on his face.
"I think I'm going to have to find a really good present for Shell for getting me this," Oldon finally said after opening his eyes, the smile still very much there. "And I think I now know why the makers of this Whippe want to know the name of the vampire it's being bought for. They want to make sure that those of us higher up on the … importance ladder get theirs first."
"It's that good?" Eric asked after exchanging glances with the rest of us. "Are you really having 'breakfast' the way we have it?"
"There's no possible doubt," Oldon assured him after taking another spoonful of Whippe. "It's come to me that I've always been able to 'taste' food by inhaling its aroma when it was near, but that was as far as it went. Now… Now I can actually taste it, and it tastes wonderful. If Shell hadn't gotten this I might not have found out about it before what was being produced was claimed by every other vampire in the country."
"Probably every other vampire in the world," Freemont said with a chuckle. "Let's hear it for free commerce. If the Japanese hadn't come up with Boast, the makers of Whippe probably wouldn't have had to look for a new product of their own."
"Which is as it should be," George said after appearing in his usual seat. "Free commerce gives us more of the good stuff. Now all we need is someone to come up with something of the same for ghosts."
"Are you volunteering to be a test subject, George?" I asked, just to pester him. "The Whippe people used new vampires to get the tastes right, but with ghosts…"
"Possibly if they start with Chinese food," George said with a grin as the others chuckled. "For some reason I still get the urge for cashew chicken every now and then."
"We'll have to look into that," Freemont said after chuckling again. "Maybe the Whippe people will have some ideas."
We all agreed it was worth a try, and then Jack and Shell brought out our food. Oldon was all but licking out the various containers of his meal, which made Shell feel really good. Those of us still living attacked the meal, and then there was silence while we ate.
The last of us had just poured and fixed another cup of coffee when my cell phone rang.
"Hi, Allison," I said after checking the caller ID and answering the phone, putting it on speaker. "We just finished breakfast, so as soon as we have our nap we should be ready to get started with you."
"I think that nap comment means you're all really enjoying yourselves," Allison said with a laugh the rest of the team joined in. "I'm glad to hear that, but it is time to get some work done. Ritchie is priceless, and I've already put him on retainer."
"That sounds great," I said, seeing that everyone else agreed with me. "What did Ritchie find out?"
"He located every single one of the members of that group out to get you," Allison answered. "We now have names and locations for all of them, but there's something really weird involved. With most groups of crazies, the members are on at least one other list as being a crazy. With this group, though, none of them have ever joined anything like this before, and are generally considered normal citizens. Even that assassin you captured."
My teammates and I stared at each other, very obviously having no idea what that meant.
"How can that be?" Freemont asked in the direction of my phone. "People don't just suddenly decide to become assassins."
"But that seems to be exactly what your assassin did," Allison responded. "When we asked him why he did it, he told us that he'd had to go along with the idea because it was so obviously right. Why it was right he couldn't seem to tell us."
"I don't think I like the sound of that," I commented, getting a bad vibe about the whole thing. "No one just decides to become an assassin out of the blue, they have to have a solid reason, solid at least for themselves even if no one else can see it the same. Someone must have talked him into the decision."
"The man claims no one did, but his laptop shows a different story," Allison told us. "In fact the computers of all those people you captured for us tell the same story, but none of our prisoners can remember what's really involved."
"Someone's been sending them their orders by email," Amiol stated, looking really disturbed. "Emails they don't remember getting. Does Ritchie have any idea how that's done?"
"Not a clue, but there's something Ritchie does know," Allison responded. "The one handing out orders to the assassin is the same one emailing the others, but not from the same place, so to speak. The sender moves around a lot, going from one location to the next in random order, but there is a limit to the number of places he uses. There are six, spread out across the city, and there's no way of knowing which place he'll use next. Looks like we have to stake out all of them and try to grab the guy when he emails one of the others."
"Maybe there is a way of knowing where he'll be," Bari mused, her voice holding nothing of the frustration clear in Allison's voice. "I don't know if what I have in mind will really work, but there's no harm in trying. Would I be able to get a map of
the parts of the city containing the places he goes?"
"Well, sure, I can get you a map," Allison said, now sounding confused. "And am I mistaken, or haven't we never met?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Bari apologized as she pulled out of her thoughts, understanding Allison's confusing comment. "I didn't mean to force my way into the conversation. I'm Bari Lancaster, and I'm one of those the members of that group seem to want to grab."
"Oh, yes, the intended kidnap victim," Allison said, now sounding better. "But how would you find out where the leader of this thing is?"
"I think I might be able to 'locate' him," Bari answered with a smile. "Once he picks a place he has to … settle down for a while, and that's when I ought to be able to locate him. After all, if I can find precious metals and pipes and water, why not a specific human being? All I have to do – I think – is make the decision to find him."
At that point we were all staring at Bari, and that might even include Allison who wasn't physically there. A long moment went by, and then Freemont stirred.
"Yes, that's definitely going to work," my partner decided aloud, his gaze distant in a familiar way. "But we're also going to need some preparation, and that includes getting someone else to work with us. Amiol, what's the name of the dark elf woman who helps Rolfe in his store?"
"Do you mean Fainis?" Amiol returned, looking confused. "Why do you think we'll need her?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I'm not uncertain," Freemont answered, and then he laughed. "Okay, I know how weird that sounds, but it does make sense – at least to me."
"You won't find me arguing," I stated to the rest of the team and to Allison. "If Freemont says we'll need her, then we'll need her. How soon can we get that map, Allison? And it needs to be marked with the six locations, of course."