Vampire in Control

by Dale Mayer

  “Many of her friends were being killed, and she instinctively tried to stop it from happening. When she realized she could affect their energy—”

  “Both positively and negatively,” Motre interjected from the driver’s seat.

  “Right. She realized she was an effective weapon both ways.”

  Cody leaned back and tried to rest. They had a ten-minute trip to the Council Hall so they could regroup and get back into action – if someone had found where their friends were. He checked the GPS locator and realized they still hadn’t moved. That meant they were likely being unloaded. He just had no idea where this place was. It was part of the valley to the left of Moltere’s Mountain – or what remained of it.

  “We have to hurry,” he snapped, feeling panic rise at how long Ian and Wendy had already been gone. “The GPS signal isn’t moving anymore.”

  “Almost there.” Motre said, pulling the vehicle onto the main road.

  The van pulled into the Council Hall lot where several vamps were waiting with stretchers. The two British vamps were unloaded and taken away to the medical side. The other vamps, as Cody found out, were reporting to Motre. He was damn glad that man had stepped up and proven to be such a great military leader. They needed more like him. They were running out of allies while the bad guys were just building more. They might have put a crimp in the process taking out hundreds that were in growth stages, but the enemy could replace the stock they’d lost.

  They had to find a way to take the whole mess down and although they were well on the way to that, there were those places and leaders they needed to find and kill.

  And they would. It wasn’t an option not to.

  “Ready?”

  With a start, Cody realized Tessa was awake and studying him.

  He smiled. “Ready for what?”

  She gave him such a sad smile, his heart ached.

  “War.”

  *

  Rhia looked around the hastily-constructed offices and tried to remember if she’d ever been here before or not. She didn’t think so, yet it could be any number of the same offices she’d been in the last few weeks from any of the blood farms. Still, this one might have access to the current information on Seth. Was he still here? She needed him to be. He was too good a kid to lose this way. And she couldn’t bear to be the one responsible.

  “Rhia, please take blood from the new arrivals so we can do a cross match and start testing as soon as possible.”

  Rhia nodded and walked to the sideboard where there were boxes of supplies. She had to play her part.

  And ignore the part of her mind that said, You’re not playing. This is perfect. You’re back where you need to be.

  God help her.

  She just might be.

  *

  Ian was strong and fit, so why the hell couldn’t he get out of this damn room? Wendy and Jared were both still unconscious, and he didn’t like that. But he hadn’t been able to find a way to open the door. Neither could he carry both friends—at least not far. And they were running out of time. Someone would be coming soon. And he knew they’d be after blood and delivering drugs. Neither he nor Wendy could handle those. Jared had been through enough already, too.

  Walking to the door, he put his head against it and listened. Voices in the distance. They were down the hallway, not outside the door. He didn’t recognize words or the tones.

  Then he heard a sound he recognized. Footsteps. Coming toward him. He stood behind the door and waited for it to open.

  This was the one chance he had.

  There was no way in hell these assholes were going to string him up like the others.

  Surely a rescue was coming soon.

  Right?

  The footsteps stopped outside in the hallway. It didn’t have to mean someone was coming here, but he knew he didn’t have much luck in this damn place.

  His worst nightmare was if those footsteps did come here and it was Rhia. How could he tell if it was the good Rhia or the bad?

  *

  Sian studied the information coming in endless streams from all corners as they tried to coordinate their next move. Time was of the essence, but this was going to be a horrific mess if not coordinated properly. They had one chance here to end this. And she hated to admit it, but for that reason, she’d kept the Human Council out of the arrangements. And she wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do. They’d been coordinating well so far, but time was short and humans didn’t move fast.

  And they were vulnerable to vampires. She hated to think she was sending the military to their deaths, but so far both sides had sustained major losses. It’s just the humans had been worse.

  Still, she’d signed the Accord, and she’d be the one breaking it if she didn’t notify them.

  Just then, the phone on her desk rang.

  She sighed when she recognized the caller as the new leader of the Human Council. They had several, but her particular liaison had changed after the Council had seen Tessa in action. This contact was more persistent.

  “Victor, how are you?”

  “Not good. Rumors are swirling that there might be another blood farm?”

  She winced. “I wouldn’t say that at the moment.” Who the hell had leaked that information? “We have a report of three people kidnapped and the GPS tracker has given us a location. So far, we don’t know what is at this location. We’re trying to pull together a team now.”

  “My men will be ready,” he said in a harsh voice. “And I’ll put the medical facilities on alert.”

  She gave in. “I’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready to move out.”

  They worked out a few more details before she hung up.

  Just then Goran and Serus burst in. They rolled over her with questions. “What and why and how?”

  She threw up her hands. “I’m glad you came to see me first instead of charging off.”

  “Ha,” Goran growled. “I was hoping you could convince Serus to stay here.”

  Sian snorted. “If you couldn’t, then there’s no way I can. Besides, if Rhia is there, then we need him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Sian stared at him, sadness in her voice as she said, “We can’t figure out whose side she is on. And too many vamps want to take her out just to be safe…”

  *

  She was so damn happy to be back in David’s arms it was easy to forget all she’d been through. But one thing bothered her. “What happened to Rhia that she broke down so bad?”

  David glanced down at her in surprise. “To Mom? I don’t know. She went missing and no one has been able to find her.”

  “What?” Jewel shook her head. “I heard her earlier. Two hours ago tops. Maybe just over an hour even.”

  “Where,” he said, his voice sharp, hard. “Can you show me?”

  She gave him a startled look. “Maybe. It’s back the way I came, close to the beginning. She was sobbing like her heart was breaking, but I didn’t want to intrude so I kept walking.” She shrugged. “I’m not even sure which door it was.”

  David nodded, but his gaze had turned inward. “If we can find her, it might help.” He winced. “Although she’s not there now according to Jared. She’s in a van that was hauling him, Wendy, and Ian away.”

  “What? No, not again.”

  He nodded. “Everyone is afraid that Mom took drugs so she could go back and find out what happened to Seth.”

  “But how will she know when she’s not in her right mind how to find the information she needs?” Jewel cried. “Poor Rhia.”

  David pulled his cell phone out and called Sian. “I found Jewel. She heard Rhia in one of the rooms on the lower levels, crying. She doesn’t know which room, but we need to do a full-on search down here. If Mom was here, she might have left behind signs of what she’d done. And if she was down here, who the hell else was? With Jared and Wendy slipping away from the meeting, we can’t know for sure until we do a complete sweep.”

  Jewel shoo
k her head. And she had been feeling sorry for herself. But she was safe now and the others were in trouble. She ruffled her wings, feeling them respond. Sluggish, but it was there. They were reacting as needed and that was all good. She could fly David to where they needed to go and get there ahead of the others. Goran would likely be doing just that. An air attack at the same time as one from the ground would be best. She might not be in fighting form, but she could do reconnaissance from the air.

  Goran could kick ass. She was still feeling a little like her ass had taken a beating, but she wasn’t down or out and if her friends needed her, then she was going to the rescue. Regardless of what David wanted.

  Lord knows they’d all taken part in saving her sorry butt several times.

  David put away the phone. “Come on. Straight upstairs to the main chambers. Sian is coordinating a full-on attack. We’re needed up there.”

  Jewel turned and raced up the first flight of stairs. “I’m all for helping, but if you think I’m going to stay here and attend meetings while you’re off helping our friends, forget it.”

  He groaned. “Why can’t you see reason?”

  “Why can’t you see my wings are back and that gives me a huge advantage?”

  “Maybe and maybe not. If you go down from a silver bullet, then what?” he snarled. “My sister can’t save you then.”

  “Ha, she can’t save anyone from silver.”

  David realized just how much of Tessa’s newfound skills Jewel had missed hearing about. He took the next few flights of stairs to itemize the things she’d done. After the first startled look, Jewel had gone silent.

  When he finally ran down and ended with, “And that’s the hard and dirty version,”

  She shook her head and said, “Poor Tessa.”

  David spun to look back at her. They’d reached the main floor. “Why?”

  “Because everyone is looking at her to win the day. She’s just a girl like me. She can’t save everyone. It’s impossible. She can’t be expected to consistently develop like this. There has to be time for her body, her mind, and her emotions to catch up.” She shook her head. “At some point her defenses will be down, and someone somewhere is going to see that window of opportunity and take advantage of her.”

  Jewel stared up at the man that meant so much to her and added, “And it’s likely that’s one attack she won’t be able to recover from.”

  Chapter 5

  Tessa hadn’t been sleeping. At least not fully. There was a part of her always tracking what was going on around her. She had to wonder if deep sleep was lost to her now. It would be a shame. But it seemed like she could never let go. Never fully relax.

  Was that Deanna’s energy? The result of understanding how easily Deanna had taken her over, or was it something else – like the massive amount of energy she could feel flowing through her? She didn’t know, but it was strange to consider not needing sleep again. But if that was true, why was she tired?

  The answer came to her in a flood. Because she hadn’t let the energy inside. She needed to reach out and access the energy, to utilize it for herself. Not keep it available in case someone else needed her, but to understand she had needs, too. And to realize the energy available was never going to run out. There was no limited supply of usable energy. She needed to take off for a few weeks. Preferably with Cody.

  Her old life was gone. Her human schooling – history. It had only been weeks since this nightmare, but she’d been fooling around there anyways. She could write the final exams without having attending this entire year. If it mattered to her, she’d write them, graduate, then figure out what to do. Now she was more vampire than human anyway. She didn’t think she’d care to get her human school certificates. Hell, she didn’t even know what happened to her school friends. Were they safe? They were supposed to be, but look at Jared.

  Neither could she see her future this way. What was she going to do with her life? She wanted to spend it with Cody, but she also understood that Deanna’s presence had changed something for him.

  And for her.

  Fear that it was going to break them up slid up her throat.

  She sensed when Cody lifted his head from where he’d been reclining and twisting to stare at her. They were waiting in the parking lot for Motre to return since she’d woken up.

  “Tessa?”

  She hated that caution, that fear that it might not be Tessa anymore. It would take time for him to understand. But she didn’t want him to need time. The bitch was gone, damn it.

  And she froze. The bitch might be gone, but the language and anger were new for her. It wasn’t Tessa. She relaxed. It was new. But it was a product of the last weeks. She couldn’t stay sweet and innocent and stupidly naive as she had been. She’d been through too much. And so had Cody.

  “Hey,” she said in a soft voice. “I’m awake. Not sure I’m ever going to be able to sleep anymore. More like drifting in and out.”

  There was a smile in his voice as he shifted close and placed a hand on her shoulder. She loved that physical connection. Unable to help herself, she turned and kissed his fingers.

  “You were so tired,” he murmured behind her, his warm breath tingling her ear. She wished they weren’t waiting for Motre to rejoin them. She’d love a hug.

  “I’d love a hug, too,” he whispered and kissed her cheek.

  It wasn’t quite what she’d been looking for, but she’d take what she could get.

  She nuzzled closer, needing this moment. “Thanks for staying with me in here.”

  “I won’t be leaving you again,” he whispered. “Ever. I seriously wondered about spitting Deanna with a silver spike when she was in control, but I couldn’t hurt you.”

  “If you ever think that she has such strong control and that I can’t regain control, and you think that’s it – she’s now me – kill her,” she said solemnly. “That’s not how I want to live.”

  “What’s not how you want to live?” Motre asked from the driver’s door. “Look at you two. Leave you alone for five minutes and you’re making out.”

  “I wish,” Cody muttered as he retook his seat. “Do we have a game plan?”

  “Yes, Sian is on it. Attack planned on the coordinates. Your fathers are both in the game and David has found Jewel.”

  “Oh thank heavens,” Tessa cried out in joy. “I was afraid she’d been drugged again.”

  “And she might have been, but she’s not showing any signs of it yet. When you see her again, be sure to check out her energy.”

  Motre tossed something in her lap then handed several sticks to Cody. “You eat, and Cody, stuff these somewhere for later, just in case.”

  Tessa stared at the granola bars in her lap and grinned. “Thank you.” She snipped open the first one and took a big bite, her stomach growling in anticipation.

  “That’s why I was so long,” he said in exasperation. “It’s not something routinely stocked at Council Hall.”

  She nodded but couldn’t talk. It was Cody who answered, “Well, they will now.”

  Motre nodded, handed him a chilled blood pack, and said, “That’s for us. We’ll need to feed before we go into battle.”

  “Are we waiting for anyone else to join us?” Cody asked. “Or can we go and check out the location?”

  “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Motre started up the engine then stopped and looked at Tessa. “As long as you’re up to it.”

  She nodded. “Let’s go and kick butt – again.”

  Cody laughed at Motre’s huge grin. Motre, like everyone else, had fallen under Tessa’s spell. So easy to do. His cell phone was going steadily with texts between David and Sian and his father. He watched as they came in so fast he didn’t have enough time to read them.

  “So the Human Council is sending in three teams as well.”

  He glanced up and caught Tessa’s wince and Motre’s glare in the rear view mirror.

  “They didn’t help last time, but they might now a
s they should have a better understanding of what they are up against.”

  “Maybe.” Tessa nodded. “As long as I’m not babysitting them.”

  “It would be good to have help. Our resources are dwindling. Several of the foreign dignitaries are leaving. They want to go home and clean their own houses out.”

  Cody wasn’t surprised, but the thought of how much damage the dignitaries could be up against during their absence was mind-boggling.

  “They could be going home to complete clans wiped out or turned,” Cody said. “They need to get home and fix it now.”

  “But it’s also not good for us if we lose all the able-bodied men we saved.” Motre said. “We need more backup,”

  Cody, his gaze caught on Tessa’s face, wondered at that. She was thinking about something – only what? “Tessa?”

  Motre took his eye off the road to glance at Tessa quickly. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing. We don’t need the help, and they should all go back and clean their own house. We need to do the same thing ourselves.” Her voice was low, hard. And she was staring down at her cell phone. “At least if David is correct. It appears that our friends were kidnapped from the lower levels of the Council Hall itself.”

  Right. And he’d forgotten that. Shit. “You thinking more moles in the Council?”

  But then how could there not be?

  “Or they have had the run of the place for years and when they needed an instant place to set up camp on short notice, it was ideal. If it was used by people on the Council, like Gloria for instance, then they could have been using the Hall for decades. Do we even know how big that place is?”

  “I wonder if there are any blueprints of the building we can check out?” Cody asked. He started texting the one person he knew who could get that information fast enough. “David is there. He could find out for us.”

  “Too bad Ian isn’t.” Tessa turned to smile at Cody. “He’s a wizard on a computer.”

  Cody froze and slowly raised his head to look at her. “Do we know exactly what those three were up to when they were snatched?”