The Dresdan Coven Trilogy

by Amber Ella Monroe

  “Sir…?” Taylor exclaimed. “That is a lot of money.”

  “I have to go now. I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, be good men to your nanna.” He spun around and headed back toward his car.

  “Wait! Who are you? What’s your name?”

  “Vicq,” he replied without turning around.

  Back in the car, he watched as they raced inside the house with the suitcase and closed the door. Not even a minute had passed before an old woman appeared in the doorway. Her gaze honed in on the Aston Martin immediately, but Vicq had already rolled up the windows. Recognition clouded the woman’s face, and she stood there in the doorway with her jaw lowered in astonishment. The suitcase hung by her side, clutched in one hand.

  Vicq was certain she had a million questions. He could always go back and answer them, but the words eluded him right now. His fingers were on the handle of the car door. He wanted to explain, but would the answers change anything? Would knowing how close the boys had come to death at the hands of a grimy organization make anything different? Would knowing that he was a vampire scare them?

  The old woman made it easy for him. She backed up inside the home and closed the door.

  Vicq breathed a sigh of relief and pulled off.

  Chapter 14

  Elaina was hunched over a map and a diagram when Vicq returned. She pushed off the table and spun around as he walked through the doors of the basement.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey back,” Vicq said.

  She slid her fingers gently around his neck and lifted her lips to his. They kissed briefly, enjoying the silence and serenity in the small area. She hadn’t seen him all day, but she figured it was because he wanted to give her some time to herself.

  “Looks like you’ve been working.” He glanced down at the maps spread out on the tall metal table.

  “Most of the day. My dad sent me some maps of the District facility where I worked. These are mostly drawn up from memory by a handful of former employees, but from what I can remember, it’s fairly accurate.” She pointed to one of the diagrams. “This is the underground level where they keep the vampires. I’ve never been down there, but I’ve heard about it.”

  “Interesting,” he said, tracing the lines. “These look like cells.”

  “They probably are. Do you notice how the main corridor is in the shape of the five? At all times, there are two security guards manning each entrance. There are five ways to get into the building, and only one access point is available to the visiting public, but even that one is secured by District personnel. Like I said, the lowest level is where they keep all vampires, and you can only enter if you’ve been given preauthorized access.”

  “A key card or something?”

  “More than that. A facial recognition scanner.”

  “So we need a key and a face.”

  Elaina nodded. “Easier said than done. But of course, nothing about this will be easy. The labs are a private access area where they produce the postponement injections and other drugs. Most of the nurses have access to this area. Employees, like trackers, bounty hunters, and volunteer test subjects aren’t allowed beyond that point. All physical, checkups, and drug administration are performed in another unit made up of nursing stations. I had two nurses assigned to me throughout my entire employment period, but only because the first one went on a maternity leave. Unless they had significant turnover within the last few months, which I doubt, I should be able to identify most of those nurses. They’re given very little information and only follow protocol. The only thing they are good for during our raid is getting us into the labs.”

  “So there shouldn’t be any violent resistance at this level then?” Vicq inquired.

  “Not likely.”

  “How do we know who to leave alive?”

  “That’s where it gets a little tricky. My dad’s team knows more about who the top-level authorities are. If we accept his offer and take a small team of his best men with us during the raid, they’ll be able to lead us straight to the executive offices. Plus, they’ll be able to get through any barriers made to keep vampires out.”

  “Isn’t he worried for the safety of his men? We can take bullets, but if we take a human, and they get shot down during this raid, they’re dead. If humans were able to take District 5 down, they would have done so long ago.”

  “He’s aware, but his men have been training for this for more than a year. Like us, they needed more men and more information. Now that we’ve got all that, let’s hope we all get in, succeed, and come out alive in the end. By the time we get done with that place, nothing will be operational. We get the innocents out, grab the rest of the evidence, and burn the place to the ground.”

  “What about the vampires held against their will down in the underground level?” he asked.

  “We’ll get them out, too, but…”

  “I know what you’re thinking. Will they be in their right mind or murderous? Should they be set free after spending so much time in isolation? I’ll take care of ensuring that any Dresdan we release are held until they’ve been screened. If District 5 managed to capture any rogue vampires, they probably wouldn’t have survived prolonged experimentation, so it’s very likely only the strongest, and those who’ve fully ascended through the blood, have survived captivity.”

  “It makes sense now. My dad told me that during his last days as a bounty hunter, before they adopted me, one of the missions involved finding the man who invented the vampire trapping vault.”

  “The one that replicates UV rays and stabs us to death?”

  “Yes, that one. If the UV replication works to weaken the vampire, he or she is then hauled back to District facilities in a vault. However, when completely activated, it will drain a vampire completely of blood,” she said. “The inventor of this vault had gone into hiding for whatever reason, but a bounty hunting team managed to track him down. There was only one vault for a very long time until a vampire who escaped District capture destroyed it. Our training manuals say that this original inventor agreed willingly, but they could have very well forced or bribed him to give up the method for making the trapping vaults. Why else would he have gone into hiding in the first place? District 5 needed that device, because the only way they would be able to produce postponement drugs is if they had access to a fully ascended Dresdan. It’s why they keep killing off the rogues either immediately or after lab use. The vampire agent must only be useful to them if it comes from a Dresdan…an older one—like you,” she said.

  “You’ve been doing your research, Elaina.”

  “I’ve had a long time to think about it. And now that I know this much, I’m getting impatient,” she said.

  “You were always impatient,” he added.

  “I won’t deny that,” she said. “If we take the source out of the equation, we can take the whole operation down. And then the ball is back in the Dresdan Court to take care of our own problems—the rogues.”

  “By source…you mean Dresdan? Because if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, it’s highly likely that they have an ancient in their possession.”

  She nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Do you know if any of your fellow men are missing?”

  “No, it’s virtually impossible for vampires to keep tabs on each other. Vampires only form covens when trust and respect are mutual, and when there is a common goal. Our situation here isn’t common practice,” Vicq replied.

  “You told me that. It’s actually against the rules of the Court to form a coven without sanction, right?”

  “Right. We can congregate, but covens have been banned for centuries. But that doesn’t mean it’s not done, yet if you’re like me and have renounced all ties to the Court and have ulterior motives—like taking down a slummy organization—you form a coven. So, in answer to your question, just because I haven’t seen a fellow man in decades doesn’t mean that he’s in trouble. There can only be one Master of the Dresdan Court, so once a Dresdan reache
s a certain state of his existence, he either lives in solitude, finds a mate to walk with him through eternity or wills himself into a prolonged slumber. We don’t keep track of each other. Beyond the duties of the Court, it’s every vampire for himself.”

  “I see…but I don’t understand why anyone would want to live a life of solitude,” she said. “You and this coven mean everything to me. I consider you family.”

  “I feel the same way. Here, we take care of each other as well as ourselves. Covens can disband and regroup all in the same century if there is good reason for it. We’re not like humans or animals where we need to live in packs one hundred percent of the time to feel safe. What does hold true is that when we love, we love eternally. We’ll choose our mate over anything or anyone, but when that person is gone from us, what else is left besides solitude?”

  “That sounds like a rhetorical question. Are you only generally speaking about a vampire’s needs?”

  He smiled. “This is something that has been proven century after century, and it’s how I feel about you too.”

  “You don’t have anything to worry about, Vicq.” She smiled and closed the distance between them. “I’ll never let you go. I’ll track you to the ends of this Earth.”

  “And that’s why I choose you…always.”

  “By the way, where were you today?” she asked, sliding her hands under his trench coat and helping him out of it.

  “I’ll show you everything you want to know once you feed,” he said, unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt.

  At the mention of feeding, Elaina’s gaze honed in on his jugular, then dropped lower to the hardened bulge pushing against his fly.

  She led him to take a seat in a nearby chair. “I can’t tell anymore if you’re trying to fatten me up or wear me out.”

  “Hmmm.” He propped both arms up on the chair and observed her. “Both. I’m a little hungry myself, and plus, you stay out of trouble after I give you a good workout.”

  “Oh, do I?” She straddled him on the chair and slid the collar of his shirt aside.

  “Yes—”

  Vicq gasped as she bit his jugular firmly. After ignoring her hunger all day to work on her plan, she’d become ravaged by hunger. Soon, they were both consumed by the pleasure of the moment. Elaina taking what she needed, and Vicq acquiescing to every desire. He fed her vision after vision of his travels to a brick house with a white picket fence, the three young boys who he’d rescued from the clinic, and the apprehensive and kind old woman. It brought joy to her to witness Vicq’s compassion for others, for humans…not just for himself and Dresdan-kind.

  Vicq’s cock hardened where she straddled his lap. He took advantage of the situation, opened his fly, and tugged her panties aside. She cried out when he pulled her hips upward and then downward again to take every thick inch of his cock inside her. She rode him until every part her was filled with passion. As he pushed up, she rocked into him, tilting herself so that her clit received the force of each downward thrust.

  “I love you, Elaina,” he rasped.

  “I love you, Vicq.”

  Soon, he sent her over the edge, giving her a deep, soul-shattering orgasm. Just before she came down completely, he gripped her neck and bit her, feeding off of her sex-induced high. His balls begin to tighten against her pussy, and he sped up his movements until finally, a sea of liquid heat spilled into her. He groaned against the delicate curve of her neck, licking off the remnants of spilled blood.

  There was a soft knock at the door, and before the person could be warned against entering, it was opened.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were…” It was Melrose.

  Elaina un-straddled Vicq and straightened her skirt, pulling the tight fabric down her hips. Vicq remained seated as he stuffed his semi-erect cock back into his pants.

  Elaina licked the corner of her mouth, tasting what was left behind from her feeding and then asked, “What is it, Melrose?”

  Melrose’s face was flushed with embarrassment. “Leila sent for the two of you. She thinks she’s found our new home, and she wanted you two to look at some pictures.”

  “We’ll be up there in a moment,” Vicq replied.

  “Sure.” Melrose’s gaze washed over them once more, and she licked her lips briefly before turning around and walking out of the room.

  “She’s infatuated with you,” Vicq commented.

  “Are you sure about that? Maybe she wants us both.”

  “I’m positive. It’s you who she wants.” Vicq rose and kissed her on the temple.

  “Well, too bad I’m taken,” Elaina replied, assisting him with tucking the tail end of his shirt into his pants. “I want more. Let’s meet on the mountaintop after we see this new place Leila found for our coven.”

  Vicq grinned. “Bet on it.”

  Chapter 15

  Elaina tossed the last of the equipment in the storage container, secured the latch, and then passed it off to Eli, who carried it off toward the van.

  “You know we’re going to need more artillery, right?” Vicq informed as he stood to the right of her, filing some blades.

  “I could always rob a District facility or two.” She shrugged. “But then that would give them reason to believe something was about to go down, and I’d rather take them by surprise. Any suggestions on where we could find some more weapons?”

  “I might be able to get us more, but we’re working against time.”

  “Then let’s do whatever it takes to get it done,” she said. “If we want to storm the District headquarters and the main field station on the same day, at the same time, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  Vicq flipped out his cell phone and punched in some numbers. While he was occupied with his calls, Elaina studied the maps again. She couldn’t believe that she was only days away from executing a plan that could change virtually everything. Closing up District shops wasn’t even when the most difficult work would begin. She still felt an obligation to hunt rogues who preyed on humans and that instinct within her had never died. It probably never would.

  “You okay?” Vicq asked, bending over the map with her.

  “Yes.”

  “You look worried,” he said.

  “Maybe. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

  “We do.”

  “When will you tell those boys about what happened to them?” she asked, out of the blue.

  Vicq appeared confused at first, but after a moment had passed, he smiled. “I probably would have already told them, but I don’t want them to see me as…the monster. Hopefully, we can find something on their parents once Eli gets the District data files copied over, but I can’t…they can’t be more than thirteen years old, and I won’t bring them into this.”

  “When I fed from you last night, and I saw what you’d done for them and how much you cared about them, I felt everything. I felt the rage and pain from the night you rescued them. I felt the fear racing through your blood when you drove them across county lines. You were hurt when you had to turn your back on them, leaving them behind.”

  Vicq sighed.

  “Is that why Dresdan rarely ever feed on each other? Because they learn too much?”

  He turned to look at her. “You’re learning quickly. When you allow another Dresdan to take blood directly from the vein, they gain a slight—or healthy—advantage over you, depending on how you look at it. The blood contains a lot of memories, and virtually anything you’d ever want to learn about a man is in there. You can draw from our strengths and our weaknesses. You can use the truth to destroy and betray us. You should be very careful about who you let open up a vein in your neck, now and in your eternal future.”

  “Noted,” she said.

  “I got ahold of an acquaintance of mine who knows a weapons dealer. What time are we supposed to meet with your dad tonight? We might be able to make the exchange first.”

  “Ten.” She looked down at her wristwatch. “We’ve got a
few hours. Think we can handle both deals tonight?”

  “I—”

  A sea of thick mist clouded around the area in front of the sanctuary, followed by the ancient scent of what could only be a hoard of other Dresdan. No one had a chance to escape as the trespassers boxed them in.

  None of the Dresdan belonged to Vicq’s coven. Elaina had become acquainted with everyone by now, and not one of them looked familiar.

  Vicq took her arm and shielded her body with his own. Members of Vicq’s coven formed a tight ring around him, showing their fearless intent to protect their leader.

  “What’s going on?” Elaina whispered.

  “A Superior and his Soldiers. From the Court,” Vicq replied.

  “Shit.”

  When the trespassers fully materialized, she spotted the Superior right away. He was marked about the chest in the same manner as Vicq, with the symbol of the Dresdan Court.

  How had they found this place? It was a sanctuary. No one knew where they were located except coven members.

  Elaina got her answer to the question when one of the Soldiers shoved a badly bruised and battered Logan into the Superior’s grip.

  “Nice of you to lead us here,” the Superior told Logan, producing a lengthy dagger from his coat pocket. “Now, I’m afraid your duty is done, and you’re of no use to me.”

  “Wait!” Logan held up his hand in defeat. He looked frail. Pale and gray. And nearly drained of life force. “You said you’d take me to Russo and that I’d be given a reprieve. Please!”

  The Superior paused. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  “Please…” Logan knelt in front of the Superior and begged to live. “You gave your word.”

  “He ratted us out,” Elaina mumbled under her breath. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing right now.

  “I gave my word to Russo. I answer to no one else.” He swung the blade from left to right, once, and Logan’s head and torso dropped to the ground. “One traitor down…” His gaze swept across the line of coven members. “…dozens more to go. Who’s next?”