by Maya DeLeina
“Thank you,” Anya whispered.
She turned and made her way slowly out of the glass doors.
* * * *
Alex emerged from a darkened corner of his hall, his fangs receded, tucking behind their protective membrane as he wiped his mouth in pure satisfaction. He swiftly made his way to Madeline and settled in next to her as she remained fixed on Anya, watching intently as she exited the building.
“She has no clue about Anise and Ryan,” Alex said.
“No, she absolutely doesn’t,” she responded. She turned to look at Alex and suddenly pulled him into her by the arm.
“You’re a bit of a mess, Alex, clean it up!” Madeline angrily whispered in his ear as she casually pointed to the corner of her mouth to signal Alex.
Alex angled his tongue to the crease of his mouth and licked up a drop of blood that had been carelessly overlooked.
“I only erased the feed, nothing else. Alan will remember everything. I didn’t interrupt anything that was already fated. He just won’t remember anything between leaving your office and getting in his car,” Alex said in response to the Madeline’s scornful stare.
“What? I couldn’t help it. I was craving something…spicy,” Alex admitted.
“I hope you know that feeding from an attorney gives you heartburn.”
“Oh, a little heartburn couldn’t kill a vampire. I think I’ll survive.”
Madeline sighed and turned around to make her way down the hall. Alex followed by her side.
“And what of the preliminary results on the other body found in the well, Ryan Evans, or one of ours?”
“Ours,” Alex stated confidently. “Definitely not human. But, he was too far into the depletion process to make a definite ID.”
She stopped in her tracks.
“Depletion? My god!” She shook her head with the thought of the pain the depletion process would have on a vampire. “It’s been some time since we dealt with a case involving depletion.” Madeline began walking once again. “And you checked all the usual sources, Ryan has not been seen or heard from?”
Alex reached for the office door. “No one has seen him for several weeks now. Basically checks out with his wife’s story.” Alex closed the door behind him and leaned against the door. “So I finally got to touch a piece of Anise’s remains.”
“You got to touch her remains? Excellent,” Madeline said with a refined excitement.
“Yeah, that was the phone call I got…why I had to excuse myself. The humans, they retrieved what they could of her body and got it into my lab. But it was enough for me to see things. Want to know what happened?”
“I’m waiting,” Madeline responded as she settled into her chair. She folded her hands in her lap.
“Well, I was right with my initial hunch. Ryan and Anise, they were going at it for awhile. But, it wasn’t just Anise. Ryan loved conquests.” Alex walked over and sat in the chair directly across the detective. “Now, I’m a little sketchy on this part, but they broke off their relationship abruptly. I’m not too sure why. Maybe Anise gave him an ultimatum and wanted Ryan to leave Anya and he wouldn’t. Maybe Ryan was afraid of Anise’s…tendencies. At least with Anya, she was refined. He could trust her, not worry about her smearing his name or reputation.”
Alex leaned back in the chair. “Did I tell you the word was that Anise was a little on the wild side? Let’s say, monogamously challenged.”
“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,” she said in disgust. “But what was the attraction to Ryan that she would jeopardize her relationship with her own sister?”
“Status and money would be my guess. Anyway, after the breakup, Anise was immediately in the arms of another man—a very different man. A vampire. Anise was turned, but he didn’t stop there…he claimed her. The son of a bitch mated her when they clearly had no mate connection!”
“But surely this vampire would’ve explained the ritual, gone over the entire mating process and depletion with her before he claimed her…I mean, it was his life on the line as her maker.” A sense of confusion laced Detective Doyle’s tone.
“Don’t forget, we are dealing with Anise here. She lives in the moment. She’ll say anything, do anything without any regard, without consequence. Look what she did to her own sister! Man, he must’ve done a real number on her—promises of gifts, money, and the whole nine yards. Who knows, maybe they both had the blackness in them.”
“She had blackness?”
“Yep. I felt it. There was no mistaking it.”
“So, she doesn’t have a true mate connection with this vampire and doesn’t embrace the claim, but, she has a connection with Ryan. She retained him in her memory after she was turned and sought him out,” the detective said with calculation as if trying to piece together the picture. “And her maker was able to find her before the depletion was complete.”
“Exactly. That was her maker in that well who burned with her. Except, he had already extinguished while she burned alive.” Alex got up from the chair and started pacing the room.
“I just wish I could identify who her maker was. Whoever he was, he planned his attack on Anise methodically. Somehow, he learned to retain residual energy during the depletion process. He had already chosen the cattle ranch and the well as the site. He knew the exact distance and time it would take by flight that would sufficiently burn through this residual energy and allow the depletion to finally take him. I found black market Defender scattered all over the property. He must’ve known she had them and started dumping her belongings before they got to the well.”
Alex sat at the corner of the desk and continued, “And talk about being systematic…his timing on all of this was impeccable. He dropped her in the well the precise moment he extinguished. His body fell on her in the well just so, pinning her in. She had hours before sunrise hit the well. She had no access to her Defender injections. And with none of the serum left in her system, she burned alive. He wanted her to have time to contemplate death, like he did. He wanted her end to be a horrific one.”
“So we’ve established motive…revenge. But that still doesn’t answer the question on where Ryan Evans is. Do you sense her vampire mate took care of him? And what did Ryan exactly know about Anise? Do you think Anise revealed what she was?” asked the detective.
Alex shook his head. “No. Her maker couldn’t have done anything to Ryan. He only had enough energy to carry out the plan for her and must’ve been patient, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her. And as far as Ryan knowing about Anise being a vampire, I doubt he knew. I mean, I just don’t feel it. It was too early. We are moving into winter…short days, long nights. And if she had black market Defender on her, I can bet you she had a supply of Consumption as well to fully complete the masquerade. With all of this, she could pull off being human for quite awhile until she found the right time to reveal it to Ryan.”
“Well, I must say great job, Alex. For not remembering much of your past, you’ve truly honed your vampiric skills.”
Smiling, Alex stood and headed toward the door. “I’ll prepare the transgression report for filing.” Alex shook his head and continued. “Ambrose Heights…they’ll need to know the circumstances surrounding their new resident. Surely, they never anticipated this.”
Madeline rose from her chair and walked around the desk. Leaning a hip on the corner of the desk, she folded her arms across her chest.
“You know, Alex, I’ve embraced my vampiric skill as well.”
“What do you mean?” Alex turned away from the door and faced Madeline.
She motioned with her hand toward the chair. “Sit down for a moment. We’ll file the transgression report as our creed dictates…but with some alterations this time.”
“Alterations? Why?” Alex took his seat.
The detective scooted back on her desk “Could you tell anything different about Anya?
“Not particularly, why?”
“Her scent. She’s a perfect match to
Steffan. It’s already emanating from her so strongly. That’s what startled me when I first met her. I’ve never felt a match as strong. There was no hiding my reaction, and Anya saw it.” The detective paused in reflection and chuckled. “Thank god Anya assumed it was because of her and Anise being identical twins. Alex, do you know what this means?”
Alex moved to the edge of his seat, rolled his eyes, and shook his head. “It means Steffan will finally have a woman to occupy his time and he will lighten up on being such a control freak?”
“Well, all right, yes. But, Steffan had to have touched something of hers for me to pick up on the mate-match scent. This means, the link between them must be…”
“Ryan!” Alex’s eyes lit up with the realization.
She nodded with an enthusiastic smile on her face.
“But what did he do to Ryan? You know he would never harm a human, and he never turned one either.”
Madeline rose from the desk and walked around the office.
“But, what if he did turn Ryan and he’s up there in Ambrose Heights, in the castle, adapting as a newborn? It could explain why he mysteriously disappeared. Can you imagine the damage that will cause the family?”
Alex frowned as he deliberated the situation.
“Shit! Of all the women out there, Steffan is a perfect match to Ryan’s wife? And she is going to be living just a few homes away from him? Talk about dangling the carrot in front of the rabbit!” Alex said in angst.
Alex paused. He shook his head in disbelief and continued, “When Steffan and Anya meet, they will feel the instant attraction. Their connection to each other, on every level, will surface. Steffan has waited so long to find his mate, and he can’t even pursue her. Anya is already spoken for, bound to Ryan. I wonder what he knows so far.”
The detective placed her hands on Alex’s shoulder and leaned into his ear. “And what if he already suspects the object of his mate connection is the wife of his recently turned vampire?”
“All the better we talk with him now, confirm his suspicions, stop him from inadvertently breaking his own laws. He’ll need time to prepare for Anya’s presence in Ambrose Heights. I mean, he’s going to smell her in the tunnels. It’ll seep right into his home. I hope he doesn’t go mad.”
“I have a much different take on what we should do here. I say this could be our chance to knock Steffan down from his reign over us,” Madeline said decisively.
Her words were unexpected.
Alex stood up. “What? Why? Steffan has made a nice life for all of us. What are you saying?”
“Think about it. We’re governed by Steffan, but who governs our leader?”
Riddled with confusion, Alex responded, “Well, no one, but he’s never proven to be manipulative or to harbor deceit to even question this! I mean, his eyes were never black! You know I don’t recall much of my life, but I remember how it was before Steffan and his family moved here. It was unruly, and it was every man for himself. In fact, I don’t ever remember coming out during daylight. I was a slave to the darkness. He knew we were endangering our very existence by living this way. He could’ve easily looked somewhere else to take up residence, but instead he chose to stay, to help us build a family unit. Now, we abide by rules, have structure, and protect our identity all while living together in this town. We’re one of the largest lairs in existence. I don’t know about you, but I certainly like some of the normalcy in our life now. It makes me feel a…little human again. Because of all he’s done, he was chosen as the leader.”
Anger washed over Madeline’s face. “But look at Steffan! He built Ambrose Heights up there just to throw it in our faces. He’s like a king in his castle looking down at us, his subjects. Is that the mentality we want leading us? Steffan is always coming up with new rules that we have to abide by, constantly checking up on us. Who’s checking up on him? And don’t get me started on the inventory logs we have to keep for Defender and Consumption.”
“Be realistic. Steffan’s trying to make sure the serums don’t go straight on the black market! Look, he’s allowed us to go undetected, even with so many of us taking up permanent residence in this town. Yes, he is controlling, but he wants to assure that we all follow the rules, that no one spoils what we managed to build for ourselves here. I don’t really see your argument. Are you sure this has nothing of a personal nature behind it?”
Madeline’s tone softened, her statement wielding an amount of reservation. “Of course there is some of our personal history behind it. You didn’t know him like I knew him. There were things he said, made mention of, privately, in passing…in his sleep. Alex, I can’t explain it, but I am not so trusting of Steffan anymore. It’s been something nagging in my gut for some time now. You realize none of our creeds or doctrines ever addresses the manner in which the leader is to be evaluated or scrutinized?”
Alex shook his head. “Honestly, it was never been an issue for me. Besides, you have telling powers. Can’t you stir him, get truth out of him?”
“Don’t you think I tried? Steffan is too strong. My powers don’t work on Steffan. I’m being honest here, something is not sitting right with me.”
“Why haven’t you said something to me about this earlier?”
“I don’t know…I guess it’s because I wanted to be absolutely sure about everything I was feeling.”
“Did you address any of this formally, with the council?”
“And how was I going to do that? Steffan is the council.”
Alex nodded.
“Alex, help me edit the report on this case. This is the only way we can test our leader, make sure he isn’t harboring deceit…assure that this family remains safe and that we’re being lead by a virtuous leader. I can’t openly question Steffan, nor am I even in a position to suggest a change to our creeds that would put him on review. He’s too embedded in all of the processes. Steffan will find a way around it.”
“Well, you do have a point. So what exactly were you thinking about altering in the transgression report?” Alex inquired.
“Ryan and Anya didn’t live in our town, so Steffan has no background on them. He will rely on us for some basic information. We’ll report that Ryan and Anise were engaged, that she was killed in a fiery car accident. We won’t even mention she was one of us. And most importantly, we must leave Anya completely out of this.”
Alex fired back. “But Anya is his mate!”
“Exactly. Since he probably touched something’s of Ryan’s to gain his mate connection to Anya, according to our laws, he will need to fully understand Ryan’s relationship to her before he starts any type of quest.”
“But what if Ryan had blackness in his turning? He may not even recall her.”
“Then this will be our first true test on Steffan to know if he is upholding the creed and abiding by his own laws. Will he come to us for information, or will he simply ignore everything and mate abduct instead?”
“Let me get this straight, he comes to us for information but you’re not even giving the man a fair chance at anything with this report? Steffan is relying on us. This sounds like entrapment.”
“No. Don’t you see? We won’t claim to know anything about Anya. Background info on her family, yes, but that’s it. If Ryan can’t recall her, and he doesn’t get any straightforward information on her in the transgression report, Steffan has to fully investigate everything on his own. Look, if he is as virtuous as he appears to everyone, then there’s no harm, no foul. But, if my gut is correct, this decision to secretly test our leader could be our legacy. It could change our ranking among our kind.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with what you’re asking to do here.”
“We need this, Alex. Remember, Steffan has absolute power. He sets the creeds, doctrines and laws…hell he even judges the cases of improprieties and determines punishment. He sits at the head of the council! No one questions him…no one tests his true self.”
Alex ran his fingers thr
ough his hair and let out a sigh.
“Alex, if it turns out we need a new leader, I can’t think of anyone more fitting for the title than you. And as our leader, you could even persuade Eilian to work on a serum to help you recall all your vampiric memories.”
The thought of being figure of status did sound appealing to Alex, not to mention, a cure to help him remember his past which he desperately longed for.
Alex buried his hands deep into his pants pockets. He resigned all efforts to argue with Madeline. And in a way, she was right. Who was watching over their leader?
Chapter Six
Steffan sat across from Eilian at the lab table.
A soothing hum emanated from the lighting source, a therapeutic quality in its resonance.
Laptops, folders, notebooks, and glass slides containing red and black blood smears covered the cold cement slab. The glass slides lay in a perfect row next to individual labels.
Eilian, Catrin, Griffin, Rhys, Brynne, Aeron, Gwynn, Haydn.
Steffan read off the names to himself, noticing his sample was clearly out of the mix.
“Don’t worry,” scoffed Eilian from behind the microscope, breaking the long silence that suspended in the room. “You won’t be in this batch of testing. This is a Defender testing phase for the families, not Consumption. And, since you refuse to take Defender…”
Steffan ignored his jab and began to slowly twirl himself on the rotating seat of the stool in a childlike manner. With his eyes fixed at the eyepiece and his hands making slight adjustments to the controls, Eilian continued, “So, they still remain black?”
Steffan responded with a sigh of relief. “They finally are receding. By this evening, his eyes should return to human form.”
Steffan got up from his seat, walked behind Eilian, and peered over his shoulder at his meticulous notes on the testing results.
Eilian looked up from the eyepiece and turned around on the stool. Long strands of hair fell to his green eyes as he peered up at Steffan. “I know this doesn’t interest you and you would rather be upstairs with your music. So, what is it?”