by Lucy Lyons
“It isn’t the vampires, Dom,” I said as she smoothed down the covers over me.
“I know. But, do they know what it is?” I shook my head. Nicholas was as worried as the Venatores. So worried he’d just left me to get home alone after being poisoned and receiving a vampire mark. “They’re worried.” I bit my lip and watched her. She might want me dead, but I couldn’t believe it was about the killings. She wanted those stopped as much as anyone. “I told Nicholas about the warrant. I think he’s going to send his clan away.”
“He won’t leave.” I countered.
“No, he won’t. He’s worried about the people. I didn’t understand, but this whole, ‘master of the city’ thing is about more than vampires, isn’t it?” I kept her talking as I felt around the edges of her shield. There had to be a weakness that I could use in a fight if I needed to.
“The master of the city is considered a shepherd.”
“Well, that’s gross.” She laughed.
“I suppose it is, but it means that the people matter to him, even if not as much as his children.” She paused and glanced at me; then turned her back to tidy the desk in the corner. “Some humans matter more than others, of course,” she finished; glancing up at me.
And there it was. The reason I was poisoned. He had his reasons for not keeping her and obviously, she didn’t need him to live forever. So why was she so angry with me for falling into a position I didn’t want in the first place? I knew he said not to tell her I knew. Logic screamed at me to keep my mouth shut and stay alive.
“Nicholas was forced to mark me to save my life.” I watched her after making my announcement but she kept her back to me and continued to fuss with non-existent clutter. “He said my attacker had to be Venatores. Who do you think would do that to me?” she turned to face me.
“Whoever it is, they seriously underestimated your ability to survive. I would suggest that you watch your back. Be careful who you trust. These are dangerous times within the society.” She sighed. “We are so divided, if our enemies struck, we would surely be destroyed.”
“Why me?” I just wanted a straight answer from her. She was supposed to be my mentor; my friend. “I heard you talking on the phone. The mark boosted my abilities.”
“I don’t know why. I know you don’t trust me. If anything; you should spread that distrust around to more of the Venatores.” Dom folded her arms across her chest and glared down at me. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when a hunter ran to a vampire for safety and power,” she muttered. I didn’t blame her. Two days before I’d known my place in the world; in the Venatores lamiae; even if it wasn’t perfect. Now the vampires, my sworn enemies, were the only ones I felt like I could trust. I wasn’t safe with them, but I knew the vampires would be honest in their intentions.
“I never thought I’d be poisoned by a Venatores and be forced into vampire slavery to survive. I guess we both learned something today.” I retorted. She flinched as I spoke, then walked out of the room without another word. I knew Nicholas would be angry with me. I needed to stand my ground; I wasn’t a spy. No one had taught me how to be; I was a hunter. Hunters kicked in the door and filled the bad guys with arrows, lead, or cold hard steel. The Venatores had raised me to be brave, to be a hunter. I wasn’t going to start hiding, just because I was the underdog in a fight. Even if that fight was for my life.
Chapter 10
I slept mostly out of sheer exhaustion. I certainly didn’t want to close my eyes. I trusted Simi to keep me alive, if not the mark. It was late afternoon when I awoke; starving and aching to get out to hunt. Dom had apparently been monitoring me. A food service cart with a huge lunch for me and snacks for Simi, Somayo and Clayton arrived by the time I’d taken my shower and joined them in the suite that connected our two rooms.
The quiche was barely warm and the salad was limp, but to my growling stomach, it was mana from heaven. I had spared a brief thought to it being tampered with but the chaos in my body as my stomach declared mutiny overrode common sense. I ate like it was my first meal in a century; shoveling food into my mouth so fast I could barely swallow between bites. Every morsel that touched my tongue was ecstasy. My mouth seemed connected to my pleasure sensor in a way I’d never considered possible.
Suddenly, I realized the room was silent. I glanced up at the four pairs of eyes watching me carefully. Slowly, I chewed the food in my mouth and swallowed. I set down my fork and looked down at the plates in front of me. They were empty; all but licked clean. I looked at Clay and shrugged.
“What?”
“I never thought eating could be a turn on. But after the sounds you were making, I need a cold shower.” I’d been picking up crumbs on my finger tip as he spoke. Now I brushed them off on my jeans and stared hard at the floor.
“Clayton; she’s been through a lot. Embarrassing her doesn’t help anything.” It was Somayo who came to my defense as I glanced up in gratitude. “All of you, leave us. I need to speak to Caroline alone.” My gratitude was immediately replaced by dread as Clay, Simi and Dom all filed out of the room at his command.
“Yes, Eru?” I asked. It was uncomfortable for me to use Somayo’s first name, but I hoped it would remind him that I trusted him as a friend.
“Caroline. I may not be your sorceress, but I’m not blind or ignorant.” I shrank down in my seat and wished I could teleport myself anywhere but in that room.
“Is there a question in that?”
“Are you under the control of the master vampire?” He asked. I exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
“No, Eru. I’m not under a vampire’s control. Why did you ask?”
“The way you ate, it looked as though the master was reveling in a sensation through you that he could not feel himself.”
“I’m not under his control, He might have felt through me Somayo; I wasn’t shielding. I was so hungry from my recovery from the poison that I thought my stomach had been detached. “Though,” I hesitated, thinking that if Dom knew the assassin, Eru might be part of it too.
“Please finish the thought, Caroline. You’re among friends here.”
“Am I? I was poisoned by a Venatores hunter. It could’ve been anyone. Even Dom or you or Clay,” my voice broke. “I’m barely even an adult. Why kill me?”
“Aha!” Somayo sat in front of me and pointed at the ceiling. “That is the question you should be asking.” He folded his arms in front of him. “So? Why you?”
“Because I got to apprentice early? Or maybe because I got to be guest of honor at the freak show that is the vampire world? Because I’m not pretty? I don’t know Somayo. I’m not that good a psychic.” He laughed and leaned forward.
“This group,” and he pointed to the other room where Dom and co had gone, “They want you alive and they want you to succeed.” I shook my head and shrugged.
“But what if they don’t?” I proceeded to tell him about Dom and Nicholas. “I’m just a kid. I don’t want to be part of some sort of weird magic/demon love triangle.”
“Are you?” I sucked in a deep breath and broke my own rules again. “Nicholas had to share his power with me to save me, I’ve had a bit of a power boost. So, anyone could want me dead at this point. Either because the master of the city seems to like me or because I’m getting stronger than they think I should.”
Let me get this straight. The vampire master of the city of Los Angeles; arguably the biggest territory on the west coast wants to be your… your boyfriend?” Somayo leaned back as though he was trying to process his own question.
“Uh… I. Um. Do ancient creatures think in terms like ‘boyfriend’? Cuz that just sounded so wrong.” He took my hands between his and held them.
“I think someone very powerful and bored found someone young and beautiful that made him come close to feeling human again.” He sighed. “You ever-increasing power is a pretty big bonus, too.” He added.
“So, what do I do?” I asked. I felt an overwhelming urge to admit to Somayo
that Nicholas had made me even less human, more… other… with the power boost he gave me. Only the fear at his possible reaction shut my mouth.
“You protect your heart and your mind from anyone who wants to use you for a purpose you don’t believe in. It’s my job to protect and help you protect your physical body. Now that I know we have enemies within, I will be more watchful. I promise.” He stood to go and I leaped to my feet and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Thank you for believing in me and not assuming I’m too weak to do what’s right.”
“Oh, Caroline. Your heart is one thing I have never questioned. Only your wisdom sometimes fails you. Don’t worry. I have faith that time will cure you of your impetuousness.”
“We can only hope, Somayo.” He detached my arms from around his neck and called the others back.
“Somayo, you saw her. He’s using her to feel again. He’s in her all the time. She’s compromised.” Dom started in as soon as the door was opened.
“Woah, there, lady,” I complained. “Those are big words coming from you. You think I didn’t see you standing in the corner?” Somayo arched an eyebrow and I shrugged. “I’ve been working on detecting astral projection.”
“I wanted to be sure of your safety,” Dom insisted. I was glad she didn’t bother to deny that she’d beamed her astral self in to eavesdrop. Even better; she’d been too busy to sneak inside my head and learn my secrets.
“She’s talking about your safety, Somayo. She might be trying to kill me, so I doubt very much my safety alone with you matters to her.” I stood. “I need to see the bodies of the victims. I need to verify what the master of the city shared. If these aren’t vampire kills, we need to stop wasting time on vampires and find the real killers,” I demanded. Somayo nodded and gave Dom a hard look. I followed his gaze and stared Dom down until she folded her arms and looked away.
“Right, now that we’ve all found our place in the wolf pack; let’s go get some work done. I’ll go with Caroline since I’m the only one here with an actual medical degree,” Simi suggested. “Unless anyone disagrees.”
“I’ll go with y’all,” Clayton drawled. “I’m in the mood for some action after last night. I figure it will be wherever you go Shorty.” I paused for a moment and really considered him. “No Caroline, I didn’t poison you,” he said, exasperated.
“I know.” I laughed in surprise.
“Because you read my mind?” He asked, rolling his eyes.
“You all want to know my secret, Clay? I never read anyone’s mind. I don’t think it’s right. I’ve had enough people in my head that I won’t do that unless I have to.” I admitted.
“Okay, Jedi-master. How did you know then?” Clay countered. He sounded irritable and tired. I didn’t blame him. It was troubling that our infighting was causing us more trouble than the unexplained deaths.
“Because I know you.” I turned to Dominique still standing rigid with her arms folded under her breasts. “Dom; I don’t think you did it either. You have the short list of people who could. I don’t think you’d ever hurt me. I also don’t trust you to protect me if it doesn’t serve your end-goal.” Simi gasped but Dominique nodded.
“You don’t survive this long without making sacrifices.” She agreed. “Remember young one, you are my end-game. I need you to survive. Nicholas understands why. Someday you will too.” I had an image of myself on a sacrificial altar, Dom poised above me with a bloodied knife. “Not hardly Caroline,” she laughed. “But, I applaud your creativity.”
“If we’re finished here, we all have work to do,” Somayo cut in.
“Fine. I’m going.” I pointed at Dominique. “Stay out of my head.”
“Keep me out,” she replied with a smirk. I glared at her over my shoulder. “Fine, I’ll stay out. You need to work harder to protect yourself.” She stomped toward the door and threw it open. “And I’m not your enemy. Don’t lose focus on the task at hand.” The door shut with a thump behind her and I glanced at Clay and Simi.
“You have real medical credentials we can use to get into the morgue downtown?” She laughed and shook her head.
“No, I have fake medical credentials and a low-cut top to get us into the morgue,” she replied. Clay snickered and I arched an eyebrow at Somayo.
“Well, I suggest you all get moving. Daylight’s wasting; you need to be ready to hunt something by tonight.” I saluted and ran to my room to grab my guns and holsters.
Dom had returned the weapons she’d confiscated the night before. I retrieved them from the nightstand and strapped my shoulder holster back on. I checked the magazine in the Glock and locked it into place. Next was my utility belt and leg holster with the Beretta. I added a couple of magazines to the utility belt and a couple flash bangs to the Kate Spade fanny pack Simi had given me for my birthday.
“K, I’m ready,” I huffed as I worked my arms into my leather jacket. My top certainly wasn’t as low cut as Simi’s daring V-neck. However, she pointed out that the blazer accentuated my “female assets”. In reality I picked it because it was just long enough to cover the belt without stopping me from getting to the fanny pack. I’d had the school tailors sew pockets into it and I could use them for the Beretta and its holster if I kept the jacket open. I added my curved karambit knives to my hair; tucking them into my bun and slid a throwing knife into the shaft of my moccasin.
“Hey, Simi, can we get to the morgue without going through security? I’m not keen on going in unarmed.” I asked. Clayton glanced at me. “And she’ll set off every metal detector in the place,” he scoffed, circling me slowly. I stuck out my tongue, then opened my jacket and gave them a slow catwalk turn.
“We’ll go in the back door at the cadaver intake.” She chuckled. Going through metal detectors or x-ray machines could hurt evidence, so there aren’t any on the back door.” I knew what she wasn’t saying. No machines didn’t equal no security. Not to mention the back door was through the underground parking for the police. Just another life or death mission for the Venatores. What could go wrong?
Chapter 11
It seemed almost ridiculously easy to get into the police department. Simi said all she had to do was nod at the one cop she saw, he opened the door and held it for her. After he passed out of sight, she opened the door for Clay and me. Once inside; we headed down to the sub-basement where the morgue was kept. Simi had picked the policeman’s pocket and got his keycard and his wallet. The keycard got us into the sub-basement. I wanted to congratulate her quick thinking. Instead, I chastened her lack of stealth.
“You’re going to be remembered, if you keep talking to them,” I complained.
“You’re so cute. Not one man has looked at my face yet. They’re gross, but they won’t remember me well enough to want to point out that I was inside HQ and managed to pick their pockets.” Clay arched an eyebrow at her.
“What if you didn’t get guys who wanted to flirt?” he asked and I shrugged.
“Thanks for your faith in my acting abilities,” she huffed, her English accent getting more clipped as he irritated her. I put a finger to my lips and pointed down the empty hall to the sign posted at the end. “Morgue” was written above an arrow pointing left.
“Let’s go, kids,” I said softly. I tucked my gun deeper into my pocket and adjusted the jacket. “Do I look professional?”
“Well, you don’t look twelve anymore. How can someone so little still be hot?” he grinned and I ignored him and kept moving.
We got around the corner and Simi took the lead. I fell back behind Clayton; I was the youngest looking and the youngest in years. At least I could pass for a college intern if anyone even noticed me.
There was a desk in front of the double doors that led to the lab. The woman sitting behind the computer was as angry-looking as she was formidable; taking up most of the space behind the desk with her bulk. Simi walked up and showed her badge.
“I’m here to look at some mutilation victims,” she said with autho
rity. “Leslie Simms, Herbert Camden,” she flipped the page in her notebook and continued, “Rosalee Dickens?”
“Do you have the required forms for a pass?” the woman hadn’t even glanced at the badge. Simi put her hands on her hips and sighed and the woman smirked at her. “I didn’t think so. If I had a penny for every resident MD who thinks they can just come down here and make a name for themselves off this tragedy…” I rolled my eyes at Clayton. There was nothing in the woman’s tone that suggested she cared about the tragedies of others.
Simi projected to me an S.O.S. but I didn’t understand at first. Then Clayton raised his eyebrows at me. I shrugged and tried to listen to what Simi was saying to the receptionist, when Nicholas pushed his way into my thoughts.
“Use glamour on the old bat. She’s completely susceptible. Also, she thinks Simi is hot and is angry that she can’t date a woman who looks like that. Since you don’t read minds.” I projected an image of the middle finger, which he must have understood. I felt warmth spread through my body as he laughed at my insult, then he was gone again.