“Oh, my God,” Simone moaned, holding her head in her hands.
“It could all be a trap. He might have taken this photo when she first turned,” Allegra said.
“No. She looked younger than this. What is this pit you speak of?” Simone could barely form the words with her throat locked so tight. Her mother was sold into immortal slavery twenty years ago! A damn blood slave. No, Simone wouldn’t think of that. She couldn’t or she’d fall apart. She needed to focus on saving her mother, not on the past. But the raging inferno inside of her grew with leaping flames and hardened her resolve.
“When Dravego drains all the life force from a human or immortal, his followers throw them into what is called a ‘pit.’ A deep, dark hole far down in the earth filled with others who have also been drained. It is a very effective deterrent for mutiny,” Radu said. “Death can be quick or exceedingly slow. The drained ones in the pit will eat and kill whoever else is thrown in there. Dravego found this more useful than killing them outright. It is hell.”
“How is it possible you have not caught him in all this time?” Simone leaned forward, glaring at them. “What have you been doing?”
Allegra grunted and hissed. “You have no idea, do you? Dravego has this perfected.” She sat up straighter, her face lined in a deep scowl. “Imagine the most perfect creature of your worst nightmares and you may come a little close. Oh, he doesn’t look like a monster, but he will leave you as one. He is over six centuries old. By all accounts, there is no limit to how much energy he can drain, and each time he does, he targets the smartest and most capable immortals in the world, moving around and using their skill and knowledge to best us. Without the mist, you would not last two seconds in his company. He is difficult to catch when everyone he disagrees with ends up as a zombie and thrown into the pit to be chewed to bits. Spies and armies have not worked.” She gestured wildly with her hand in the air. “He can tap into their minds and know their deepest thoughts. He has lairs all over the world. If we did not have vampires with the mist here, Dravego could walk in and suck our energy, and we could do nothing to stop him.”
The troll spoke up in her soft, squeaky voice, “He has taken many brothers and sisters from our camps over the centuries. Those families long for a proper burial. But we don’t know where he is, we don’t know where our brethren are. He has too much knowledge of the lands and the old ways now. All the energy he takes becomes his own. He has become too clever and virtually unstoppable.”
Simone shook her head. “He has my mother! He took her.” If she didn’t stop him now, then she was more or less telling Dravego to screw her over forever, letting him control her life. No. She wasn’t that little girl anymore.
Could she put her whole life on the line? Wasn’t she doing that anyway by doing nothing at all? It was easy to run until she was so backed into a corner that she was called to fight back.
She wasn’t whole, maybe hadn’t been for a long time, and she’d built upon despair as though that strength could sustain her. In truth, it made her weaker—all because it was based on fear. Believing that she lacked to begin with. She hadn’t been a whole human being, and tonight she was vampire with the mist who teetered on the brink of failure. It came down to a choice in the end.
She needed something new to build on.
“You’re wrong. I know it. This may be our only chance to trap him with using me as bait. He thinks this is his ploy to steal the mist, but we are going to destroy him. It is our ploy. I’m not afraid. I want my mother back, and I will get her.”
Allegra blinked. “Use you as bait?” She froze, about to reach for a drink. “Did I hear you correctly?”
“That’s right.” Simone lifted her chin. “It’s perfect. We set a trap, and he plays right into our hands.”
“Stop it, what are you saying?” Juliun’s hand clenched around hers, and he stared at her. “He is too dangerous. You cannot do this.”
“I’m saying he’s got my mother. I’m saying I’m going to stop him. We make a deal here and now though. I ensure Dravego is destroyed, and I get my mother back. I cannot be punished for whatever I do, even if it means breaking my blood oath.”
“You intend to give him the mist?” Samael asked. “Then I cannot agree. He would kill us all. Do not be so foolish.”
The werewolf and the fairy frowned and shook their heads.
Panic rose in Simone for she needed to convince them otherwise her mother would be stone cold dead within two nights. “I can’t say what I will and won’t do,” Simone answered honestly. “I am going to get her. I am strong enough with the royal blood. I have the mist. I have the most motivation out of all of you to succeed. Dravego wants me there. He won’t hide.” She looked the members in earnest. “Can’t you all see? I will not let her die. Think of how much he has taken from you. And you’re willing to let him take more?” She shook her head. “Not me. It stops here. I understand that now.”
“You are not going in there alone.” Juliun stood up. “Dravego has taken my father. Two is better than one.”
Radu rose from his throne. “Three.” His gaze rested on Simone, and she saw the unmistakable glitter of pride in his eyes as he smiled widely. He winked at her.
“Four,” a woman’s voice said from behind them all.
Simone turned to see Witch hovering behind them at the back of the room in a shimmery gold veil. She appeared to be almost see-through, and Simone could not pick up her scent.
“I see something terrible in our future if Dravego is not stopped. I am being urged most anxiously by my spirits that you should agree to this mission,” Witch said. “Simone is here for a reason. It is fate.”
Simone turned back to the unresponsive Council members. She jumped up and started pacing. Fiery intention burned within her, and she stated categorically, “Here’s the plan—I’m the bait. I have what he wants. He knows for a fact Radu and Juliun would never give over the mist. But a newcomer?” She smiled. “He plays on my weakness, and I exploit his. He’s done what he’s done to her but that’s all. I want her back. Whatever it takes. Don’t agree, and I will do it anyway. I already have four of the strongest on my side.”
“Ruthless,” Samael whispered with a renewed appraisal. He smiled, but his stare reached all the way down to her soul. “Radu, you’ve been holding out on me. You realise it could be a one way mission. If Dravego manages to drain Witch and gets your blood, he will be unstoppable. He’ll kill immortals and humans alike. The world will be overrun. Species wiped out.”
“If what Witch says is true, they will be anyway,” Simone retorted. “Think on that for a moment. You have something better within reach, why don’t you grasp it? I’ll have Witch, Radu and Juliun. If you’re strong enough, step up to the plate, or get out of my bloody way. Don’t be such a coward.”
Samael stared at her with widened eyes, his mouth open, the veins encroached up to his eyes, spreading like black ivy.
Radu laughed, his head falling back with the force of his mirth. He levelled his gaze again at the Councillor, and his grey eyes glittered, so much like his grandson’s. “Yes, Samael. Decide.”
Oh, Simone was grateful to Radu. As the head of the Council, he must have some sway. Of course, he’d want Dravego stopped. He’d lost a son to the psychic vampire.
Dark, cold, rich power pulsed from Samael and flooded the room. He stood up, but it was his skin that shocked Simone. Black-like veins spread across every inch of his face. “Could never resist a challenge,” he drawled. “Five.”
The werewolf rose and thumped his meaty fist against the desk. Everything shook, including the floor. “Six. I swear every adult male in my pack to the task.”
Minna rose from her seat. “Seven. I don’t know what help we’ll be,” she said. “We are the dwellers and planters of the earth, but we’ll assist you in any way we can.”
“As will I and my clan,” Jasper said. His skin looked dry and uncomfortably tight. “If you need any help from the sea, we will support
you. Eight.”
The elven leader stood up. His tall and robust figure dwarfed Jasper. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” He smiled slowly. “I can truthfully say that my clan would kill me if I didn’t swear their fealty. I would not stop them. Dravego will have prepared an army, but we are the oldest group of warriors on these lands.” His gaze rested on Simone. “Believe me; we have been perfecting the art of combat for centuries with every weapon imaginable. We have the strength, the skill and the numbers.” He stared at her curiously. “To have a newcomer who was human over a week ago be the catalyst to kill the one who has been taking our loved ones year after year with no end in sight truly humbles me.” He held out a fist. “Nine. To the death.”
She held out her other fist in a similar fashion. “To the life,” she corrected.
Juliun followed her action as did all those standing in the room. Their voices rose in a triumphant chorus.
Allegra sighed. Her gaze shifted around the Council chamber, and her wings swept in sharp, agitated flicks. “Oh, very well.” She looked at Simone. “Be warned, this could start the next war, and I will do everything in my power to stop that. I swear as well. The fae are not fighters, yet like Minna said, we must do what we can. We have never had the advantage of using someone as bait. I have seen what happens to a vampire with the mist when their family are taken.” She cast a worried glance up at Radu. “We don’t want a repeat of that.”
Everyone resumed their seat, and Simone let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thank you, all so much.” She slid closer to Juliun. *Thank you especially,* she sent to him. *For standing beside me. I know it’s dangerous, and I could not have convinced them without your help. You truly understand. I cannot leave her there.*
He ran his fingertips along Simone’s arm and shifted closer. *Anything for you.*
“Attention.” Radu slammed the gavel and smiled at Simone with a look that was a mixture of calculated determination and cunning intelligence. “Lives are at stake, and we need a plan of action…as Simone says, a trap.” He rubbed his hands together with nothing short of gleeful delight. “That is something I have wanted to plan for centuries.”
Chapter Forty-One
Dust particles invaded Simone’s nose, and she held back a sneeze, trying to make no noise. Her eyes watered. The scent of death permeated the stale air inside the truck, and the richness of vampire blood combined with the musky scent of humans. She breathed through her mouth to calm herself, easing the .44 from beneath her jacket.
She hoped Luciano had a reason for dropping her off here and materialised at the front window.
Radu’s plan to interrogate the leader of another vampire faction in London had been inspired, since they weren’t sure of the exact location of Dravego’s hideout.
Luciano Zatello, a young and extremely wealthy vampire, had attempted to break into three of Dravego’s hideaways in the past year and immediately agreed to their mission since he’d lost his brother to the psychic vampire. Juliun took the first image Luciano produced in his mind, while she tackled the second. She stood inside a truck that Luciano had seen Dravego use to transport humans and vampires. Witch and Radu commanded the immortal communities in preparation, and the Council teamed up with their packs and clans to take down the assassins who stalked the underground tunnels beneath Whitby.
Silhouettes moved within the shadows outside the open garage, and a stiff breeze blew between the trees, rustling the leaves. She took form outside the truck within the shadows.
She must be in an open field somewhere. The silhouettes could be Dravego’s guards and they would smell her coming if they hadn’t already. She ducked down beside the truck, blurred every part of her so no scent would be apparent and considered her options. She stood in a detached garage, but had no idea if her mother was in the building in the distance which looked to be an old farmhouse.
She materialised at the sliding door of the garage. The glint of metal winked from a nearby tree three feet from the garage. She stilled and held her breath. They’d have a comms link. Crossbows. Guns. The mist could only help if she attacked by stealth. If she made them disappear, there was the chance that one could remain and shoot her when she returned.
Twenty feet stood between her position and the front door. She wished for Juliun to be by her side, and for once, the thought of needing him didn’t scare her. The second hand of her watch mocked her struggle, wasting precious seconds of her mother’s life. The truck might be useful. No, it was too big and noisy.
Simone mind-linked with the nearest vampire in the trees—her entry whisper-soft, it took a few minutes on her watch before his restless thoughts stopped.
He was tired of waiting, thirsty, but would hold out because Dravego scared him witless. The pits. He brought up the image of a clearing with a massive hole in the ground. He couldn’t see all the way down the hole and pulled a light stick from his inner jacket pocket and snapped it, shook it then dropped the tube down the long well. The yellow light winked, then was gone.
Cries and screams rent the air. Scuffling feet broke out beneath him, scrabbling against the rock and longer, high-pitched screams followed. He shook and crouched at the edge, staring down into the shadows.
He shifted backward at the harsh, heavy grunts; flesh tearing and long, liquid slurps.
He withdrew another light stick, snapped, shook it and skirted the edges of the pit.
Then Simone saw another scene, an elegant room with high-backed mahogany chairs, a roaring fire and plush red carpet, the kind that swallowed up your feet. A vampire pulled out a scroll from a bookcase and stood with his back to the guard. He turned with a superior smile to the sub-ordinate vampire.
How did she know that it was him? She only knew deep down in her heart. The fear in the vampire was also a dead giveaway. Dravego’s height and bearing showed nothing of his ability. The chandelier shone on his deep golden-brown hair, and his cheeks were flushed with youth and vigour. Aristocratic and assured, he laid out the fragile scroll on the desk.
The guard stepped forward, grasped the pen and scribbled his name on the parchment. His memory shifted away to the sight of the trees again.
Simone took out the Glock and .44, readying her mind for the role she would have to play and faded to mist to reappear with both guns raised in the room where the vampire sealed the deal with Dravego.
“Finally,” a mocking voice called behind her. “Took your time, didn’t you? Move and your mother is dead.”
Simone’s heart thudded with sickening realisation. Her stomach twisted. She’d been led here. A thousand thoughts struggled for freedom, but she swallowed and turned.
Oh. Tears stung and burned her nose. She choked. Bethany Ann Woods was slumped in a rickety chair with an arrow pointed at her heart. Her eyes were closed, face slack and empty. Drained, but mercifully, not dead. Not yet.
*Mum.* Simone put every ounce of her power into the silent plea through a direct mind-link. *Wake up!*
Her mother moaned.
Simone smiled and made it a spear of command. *That’s it. Open your eyes. Open your eyes.*
“Not so fast.”
The arrowhead dug deeper into her mother’s chest, and Simone lifted her gaze to the vampire who held the crossbow.
No. It wasn’t. Memories washed over her.
Carlo.
That was his name. Shock stilled her face. More memories surfaced.
His face that night; blood and heat; pain and darkness; laughter, so wicked and cruel.
“You,” he said, slowly. “I know you. How are you alive? We didn’t change you.”
She stared at him, unmoving, taking in his plainness, the horrible gauntness that seemed to suggest he hadn’t fed for a long time. She shook her head, straightened, steadying her aim with the .44. “Funny that. Life has a way of surprising everybody.”
He shook, and the arrow tip dug into her mother. “How? How did you do it?” Then he shook his head as though he didn’t believe it, and he closed his
eyes to take a deep breath. “Drop your guns or she is dead. How did you survive?”
Simone sighed, trying again to wake up her mother. *Mum!*
Carlo pushed in the arrow head, and this time copious amounts of blood ran freely down her mother’s shirt. She was obviously under a compulsion that only Juliun and Radu would be strong enough to break.
Simone tossed the guns to the floor.
“There’s a good girl. There’s more than one release for this trigger,” Carlo said, still a little shaky. “Don’t get any ideas about saving her before I shoot. You try to read my mind, and she’s dead.”
Wires connected to the crossbow in brutal customisation. Simone frowned at the hint to read his mind, knowing she could always fade the arrow or crossbow itself, but then Carlo might have something else on him to kill her mother. Simone could fade all of them together.
“How much do you remember of me?” she asked, stepping closer, trying for distraction. “Why did you try to kill me?”
“We did. We did try! I don’t know how…Stop,” he said. An ominous click sounded in the room. He pressed a button behind him, and a ringing alarm echoed over their heads. The noise died down, and he smiled, razor canines flashing. “I will admit it’s been…” he paused. “Strange seeing you again. Lorena would be upset that she didn’t kill you the first time around.”
“Where is she? Maybe she could try to finish the job.” Simone’s stomach grew heavy, but she couldn’t allow herself to dwell in the past.
Carlo’s face dropped and for a moment, it seemed he showed an expression of complete despair. “She is here.” He thumped his heart.
“That’s why I only remember half of the attack,” Simone said. She should have guessed this vampire would be around to see that he finished the job. “Where’s your boss?”
He laughed and shifted closer to her mother. Blood seeped from the point of the arrow and bloomed in a dark red stain across the old pink shirt.
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