by Dale Mayer
“Because I was a cocky fool,” she muttered. “I was jumping, thinking what fun it was to have Beast beside me, when the assholes dropped from the ceiling on top of me.”
The two men looked up to see enough of a carved depression out where the men had been able to snug up against the ceiling. There might even be handles for them to hold onto. Tessa wasn’t sure. She shook her head. How long had they been there?
“Wow. New tricks every day,” Cody said. “We need to get rid of these men,” He motioned at the three on the ground.
Tessa watched as Cody carefully avoided looking toward Beast and his prize. He didn’t want to know if the dog was actually going to eat that diseased vamp or not. Beast needed sustenance as well, except she really didn’t want him to eat that vamp.
She pulled a silver stake out of her pocket and walked over to Beast. He growled at her. She ignored him, but kept her hand ready in case he lunged over the spoils of war. She’d pull his energy and have him drop in place if he did.
She reached down and stabbed the vamp on the ground.
Instantly, he flared into coals and turned to a glowing process over thirty seconds or more. She’d put it down to genetic modification and the damn drugs.
Beast whined and dropped his head on his paws.
“Poor guy. He was yours, wasn’t he? But he’d make you really sick.” She rummaged in her pockets and came up with a granola bar. She unwrapped it and offered it to the dog as a consolation prize. He took it gently from her hands and crunched through it in no time.
“There is no way you’re going to be able to feed that dog granola bars and still have money left in your pocket. He’s huge and will eat a ton.”
“Maybe, but he also took out vampires.” She smiled at Cody. “That kind of loyalty is hard to buy, and at the price of a granola bar, it’s damn cheap.”
Cody grinned. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “We’ve lost enough time. Let’s go.”
And she immediately resumed her ballet jumping down the hallway. She didn’t dare let her senses relax now. It was a good reminder that she wasn’t infallible. That she needed to always be on alert down here.
For some reason she had been getting cocky, and that so wasn’t her. Her next jump faltered as she realized one possible reason for that shift.
Was Deanna still inside? Affecting Tessa’s judgement? Tessa couldn’t feel her, but she knew the woman was powerful enough to stay hidden. Had Tessa only injured her and now after a certain amount of healing Deanna was strong enough to reappear and cause Tessa trouble? Surely not. And if she were, then what? The last thing Tessa wanted was to have that witch take over again.
Just the thought of it was like a fatal punch in the gut. It couldn’t happen. She didn’t think Cody would ever trust her again if that happened. It was hard for him now. He hadn’t really kissed her since that episode. And she missed his touch. Cody ran past her just then, his concerned gaze studying her. She smiled at him and picked up the pace, making it a competition as she glided past him again.
She missed those moments of intimacy. But she also knew that those moments were for the two of them. And two of them only. Deanna was a damn ugly third party intruder.
And she was no longer welcome in Tessa’s personal space. It was one thing for her energy that housed the experiences and knowledge of her long life, but it was another if her presence intruded on that one special thing Tessa had created and treasured beyond all else.
Her relationship with Cody.
*
Their progress was steady – and cautious after the attack from the unexpected direction.
Cody stayed close to Tessa the whole way, Beast on her other side. Cody worried about her. She’d been a little off after the ambush. He understood. She hadn’t seen it coming. It was a whole new day out there again. He glanced at Beast. And how.
He shook his head. That the enemy had actually brought animals into their sick world was just wrong. What next? Wild animals? Bring in cougars and bears? That didn’t bear thinking about.
His phone rang. He glanced down at it without breaking stride. “David and crew have gone back to the hidden staircase. David said tracks show someone went up while he was searching the Hall for Sian.”
An odd strangled sound came out of Tessa’s mouth. He glanced over at her, caught hot pinched lips, the paler than ever skin, and the increased speed in her jumps. “David can handle himself.”
She half smiled, shot him a quick glance in thanks, and nodded. But she didn’t ease the power back.
They should be under the Hall anytime now. Outside of the one tunnel, there’d been no other branches off the one they were in. He wished someone could have continued down their original pathway. It would be nice to finally map everything at once and do a full sweep of the place. Even now, it wasn’t out of line to consider that someone could be coming up behind them.
He glanced behind, but it was just normal blackness. Of course it was. It would be that way even if they were being followed.
Tessa slowed to a walk, her breathing easy and controlled. He stopped at her side. She walked slowly forward, her gaze intent on something ahead of them. He looked and saw nothing but he knew she’d tell him when she figured it out.
She took another step. And stopped. Looked behind them then back forward. And frowned.
“Problems?” Motre asked quietly.
She shrugged. “Doesn’t feel right.”
“Meaning?” Cody studied her face, sensing her unease but not knowing where it was stemming from. “Your memories or Deanna’s?”
The startled look she flashed his way reminded him of how much she had to keep track of. And that division between her and Deanna was just one of them.
“Mine,” she muttered. “I think.”
“Then maybe access hers.”
He watched as she half closed her eyes and did something inside that massive intelligence of hers. He couldn’t imagine all the knowledge and power that was available to her now. He was glad for her. It was the last thing he wanted for himself. But for her…that was huge. He wondered how the Council would handle her when this mess was over. She’d not been allowed to attend Council meetings before. He thought Serus had tried to get her in. David served as an apprentice now, but Tessa had barely counted back then. As of now, though, it was a whole different story.
“Okay. The tunnel up to the Council Hall should be up ahead.” Tessa said, relief in her voice. “Not more than a few yards.”
Motre walked forward, his gaze searching. The tunnel appeared to end after he’d been walking for less than five minutes.
“Did Deanna’s memories allow for a way up?” Motre asked as he slowly spun around, his hands on his hips studying the walls that appeared solid all around him.
“Not really. She went up and down here on a regular basis for decades.”
Cody frowned.
“Most likely from when vampires lived in the shadows and not openly like they did now.”
“Then how about you show us the way up?” Motre stopped moving and tilted his head, waiting for her to respond.
Tessa closed her eyes and slowly turned around in a circle.
Odd. He figured she was looking for energy. Although if this place was deserted and had been for a long time, there’d be no energy to see.
She opened her arms and slowly stretched, as if prepping for a sprint or something. He exchanged a confused look with Motre.
And just when he was about to ask Tessa what she was doing, she turned to the wall in front of them and walked into it.
As in right into it.
As in disappeared from sight.
Into the damn wall.
*
David hated to think that someone was coming and leaving the Council Hall all these years, making plans and planning attacks. While everyone in the hall had no idea. To the private amusement of the enemy. He’d like to see these guys. Put a face to the
men who’d been orchestrating his demise. The men who’d been laughing at them all for years. Decades.
Bastards.
“David?”
Jewel’s anxious voice had him pulling out of his reverie. He’d been standing on a stair, hands clenched and his teeth locked. He let his pent-up breath out and tried to smile. “I’m fine,” he said in a low voice. “Sorry, but the thought of these men playing us for fools moving around in the shadows like they have been is pretty irritating.”
“I know, that’s why we’re doing what we can to roust them out. Let’s keep moving. Sian has to be found.”
Shit. He’d forgotten the real reason they were here. He smiled and raced up the stairs, calling behind, “Well, someone went ahead of us. Let’s hope they have her.”
*
Serus focused on the job at hand. He wasn’t much of a commander, being more rogue than a team player, but someone had been needed to step into the breach. He’d been organizing the search of the Hall, had the Human Council going back to the mountain to check out the entrance where the shooter had been hiding, prepped in case it was an ambush, and doing his level best to kept calm and Goran in control. That bear wanted action.
“I’ll go to the mountain,” Goran said. “Meet the humans and get them into the blood farm. I can fly and be there in ten minutes. If it’s another blood farm, I can take care of the guards and let the humans take down the rest. They can call for medical help and that will give Taz here something constructive to do as well.”
Serus nodded. “Fine then.” Secretly, he was relieved. He knew Rhia was out there somewhere. If Goran got to her first before the rest of the rescue party, he’d be able to save her. Serus had been trying to work his way around that problem when Goran spoke up. But the thing about Goran was you couldn’t give in too easily. He’d refuse on the assumption you were trying to get rid of him and keep the fighting for yourself.
Serus would love to stop the fighting. If he had his family back. Barring that, he was more than willing to tear down every stronghold he could find and rip the assholes limb from limb to save them.
Goran slapped him on the back, then nodded to Taz, who’d collapsed at Sian’s desk, his face ravaged by worry and said. “Good. I’m out of here then.”
He walked to the front door. “Remember what Cody said. They were attacked by dogs. It’s all too possible that could happen here.”
Serus nodded. “I know. But let’s hope it doesn’t until you are back.”
“Save some of the fighting for me. My trip is more of a babysitting job, but it’s better than sitting and doing nothing here,” he growled.
Serus shook his head. “Wish I were going with you.”
Just then several young vamps came in to report.
Goran laughed. “I’m leaving while I can.”
*
Rhia clicked the keyboard in a mad panic. Her window of opportunity was disappearing and so far, she’d found nothing. Hearing a door open, she glanced up then back at her monitor and froze. OMG. Who was that? An ancient? As in super old and almost bent over. She didn’t have a clue who this vamp was or why he was in the condition he was in. Surely not natural causes. Drugs? Enhancements?
Her heart pounded, but she kept her face neutral and focused on the monitor in front of her. Seth’s name appeared on the screen. His file had been saved to a special folder directly. Her son was still here in town but had been moved to some kind of secure location. She was desperate to find out where that was. The crone made his way over to the computer where the tech had been working and sat down as if he had the right. She knew that the tech needed her to cover for him…but the crone wasn’t asking.
He logged into the computer and studied the information he brought up as if he knew what he was doing.
She relaxed slightly. The tech had only been gone about thirty minutes. She knew he could be back any moment, too. Her real concern was if someone could follow her, then track and see what she was accessing in the system.
She might have triggered some trip wires.
Dropping her gaze to the monitor, her fingers flew through the pages…until she hit a wall.
A firewall? Carefully, she tiptoed up to it, and then around it. A log in came up. She entered Gloria’s name and the wall dissolved in front of her. Thank God. Quickly, she scanned the files and realized there was so much here she needed a copy of. This was it. This would completely destroy the blood farm. It was so damn comprehensive. Locations, names, dates, and times. They had a lot of this from Gloria’s laptop, but it had been missing critical information. Information that she now had. But how to keep it? Where to download? Could she send it somewhere? Was there a key big enough? Surely not.
But maybe.
She knew Gloria’s email address after having worked on her laptop enough. She quickly brought up the email program and started zipping files and attaching them. Adding her own name and Sian’s as a blind cc, she worked hard and fast. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her throat locking down in panic. She dared not look up.
Then couldn’t help herself. The crone suddenly looked up from the far corner. Panicked, she kept her face stone cold and locked down as she dropped her gaze to the monitor. She attached and sent file after file after file. She was grabbing more and more folders and zipping and attaching, sending multiple emails instead of just one. She was afraid the files would be too big and get hung up. Her cell phone was in her pocket. She was desperate to check if the material was arriving as planned. The sound had been turned off since forever so she’d have to log in and check. After she was done. This crone might figure out what she was doing, but he couldn’t stop the process once she’d sent everything. And suddenly she was done. All the files behind the firewall had been copied and sent out.
She was shaking inside. Good Lord. She’d done it.
They were all out in cyberspace. And she was still alive.
There was a video icon on the top of her screen. She clicked on it. And froze. Dear God. The camera had zoomed in on a man lying on a bed. His arms were wrapped in gauze, tubes running in and out of his body.
She couldn’t zoom in or out, but it wasn’t hard to see the man’s face.
It was her son – Seth.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
Shocked by what she’d found and by the interruption, she looked up to see the crone walked over toward her. She smiled. “I did. I’m done now.”
“In more ways than one, Rhia. Did you really think you could fool us?” He laughed. “We made you. We tracked you. And we can easily see if you’re responding to your stimulus.” He lifted his hand to show her a syringe. “It’s time for your next dose.” He grinned. “You won’t have any doubts after this as to whose side you really are on.”
Slowly he straightened, his back uncurling, his shoulders widening. He grinned at her shocked gasp. “Yes, we are so much more than you will ever know.”
“Who are you?” she whispered. “I almost recognize you. But it’s as if you no longer look like the person I used to know.”
“Ah, that’s a good thing. I used to be good-looking, but I was weak. I wasn’t as good as I could be.” He approached slowly, his hand raised. “That’s okay. I am now and getting better all the time. Soon you will, too.”
And he threw himself across the room at her.
Chapter 11
Tessa laughed as she realized the wall was yet another mirage. Now that she’d walked to the other side of it, it all made sense. She turned and walked back out between the strategically placed slabs to see Motre and Cody racing toward her. “Hey, it’s all good. The passage continues on this side.”
“Damn tricky shit,” Motre growled. “Why couldn’t they do anything simple?”
“They were trying to stay alive, remember,” she said with a grin. “I have to admire them. They constructed some pretty cool stuff.” She motioned to the wall that wasn’t a wall. “You’d never know this wasn’t solid unless you walked
right up to it.”
“What’s on the other side?” Cody asked as he walked through. She came through right behind him. “Stairs.”
“Wow,” Motre said. “Not just one set though, two.”
“Right. So which do we take and where do they go?” Cody asked as he walked from one to the other looking for something.
“Likely different sides of the Council Hall, but it could also just go to the surface,” she said with a shrug. “I say we split up and go up both directions at the same time but in that case, we should have done that back when the tunnel diverged.”
“We need more men,” Motre said. “Has anyone seen an entrance to something like this from the top? How far down are we even?”
“It would be good to send a team through here from the beginning and have them go down both tunnels and report as they go. This tunnel hasn’t branched off, but that doesn’t mean the main one didn’t if we’d kept going. There might have been several more,” Tessa said absently as she studied the way the two different staircases rose up. “It needs to be done. And we need to map it as well. There are way too many secret doors and corridors in this place.”
“Any idea which set of stairs is more used?” Cody said, walking to the right. “The steps are old. Cut stone.”
“And the one over here is the same,” Motre said. “Let’s go up a few flights and see what we can find then come back down and report.”
“You’re on.” Cody opened his wings and jumped upward into the spiraling staircase above.
Tessa laughed as Motre cussed him out good and ran as fast as he could up the set of stairs beside him. She waited, Beast at her side, wondering at the reason for two sets. In its time, she imagined the stairs saw a lot of traffic. She couldn’t see much energy. More rats and mice maybe, smaller critters, but all the energy combined was so faint as to not be clearly discernible. Old wispy fog that had already dissipated from time. That brought up another point. Why hadn’t she seen the vamp energy of those who had attacked her? She should have. She spun around. She should have checked the place they’d dropped down from. There had to have been an access point from above, or she would have seen their energy. Therefore they hadn’t been down this way. They’d come from a passageway a floor above. She grinned. Interesting. These buggers were getting tricky.