Rule 9 Academy Series Boxset: Books 3-5 Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy (Rule 9 Academy Box Sets (3 Book Series) 2)

by Elizabeth Rain

  “Did you see? Right before he lowered the black veil?”

  Nick’s voice was rough. “Yeah, I saw.”

  The face of the shadowed figure had belonged to none other than Fino Vas, the Judge.

  Nick picked up his pace and I had to move quick to keep up.

  “What do you think he was doing? Up to no good I bet.”

  Nick nodded, a quick bob of his dark head. “Don’t know. I want to know why he’s sneaking around a non-magical town in the middle of the night. Dad said he thought he went back to his home in Seattle. I want to know what he was doing here, don’t you?”

  “We could have kept looking. We might have found him if we had.” I suggested, knowing it was dumb the moment I said it.

  Nick grunted in disgust. “That’s right, we might have found him and whoever he was meeting. Maybe they wouldn’t have found us if you know what I mean?”

  “He’s the law. A judge. Surely he wouldn’t hurt us.”

  He scoffed at me, slanting me a look I couldn’t read in the dark. “You believe that then?”

  I didn’t answer. I was too busy trying to connect the pieces of the puzzle. I was wondering where Elise and Emerald fit in. Because suddenly, I was dead certain they did.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Fino Vas had places to go and people to intimidate. His robes swirled around his thin form as he picked up the pace and moved along the sidewalk in Breathless, sometime past ten. It wouldn’t do for him to be late. By vampire standards, it was still early. But this was a human town. The small town of Breathless shut down early and bustling streets became empty thoroughfares. The streetlights cast the roads and darkened storefronts in an eerie umber glow, and the single stoplight winked, drawing the eye to its repetition in the otherwise still landscape. Its citizens slept comfortable in their warm beds, sweet oblivion in their complacent dreams.

  Not everyone retired when the sun went down. Some came alive in the darkest hour, preferring the soft glow of the moon to the harsh glare of the sun. The Judge had important business to conduct.

  He was careful to keep hidden, skirting the anonymity of darkened alleys and storefront doorways where the shadows hung thick. The full length cloak and hood obscured his identity on purpose. Hard to identify what you couldn’t see.

  He was not the only shrouded form out late at night. Others dressed similarly made their way along deserted streets before him. More still would follow. He was early, but he wanted to settle into his rightful place at the head of the table in charge of the Shadow Guild. After all, they’d come to see him and listen to what he had to say. No one knew his true identity. And he wasn’t supposed to know theirs. A faint smile teased his lips beneath the shroud.

  But they’d be shocked to know he knew who they were, anyway. He made it his job to know such things.

  The back of his neck itched and he paused in faint alarm. He opened his senses up, using his exceptional hearing to listen for what didn’t belong. There, the scuff of a shoe over cement. He didn’t change his movement, needing to be sure. It was possible he was hearing nothing more than another member arriving a few minutes behind him. It would make sense. But he needed to be certain it wasn’t something—someone else. At the end of the next street he stopped, taking his time to look back. The street was empty, but he could feel eyes on his cowled form, watching him from the dark. Someone was following him. He walked faster, taking a left that should have been a right, weaving along the streets that didn’t lead him where he needed to go. It wouldn’t do for whoever he was following to see what he was really about. It would be distinctly unhealthy for his tail. Once more he stopped and listened. Nothing. Maybe he’d lost them. He’d been moving too fast for any human to keep up.

  He threaded his way back down Elm Street, noting that the homes grew less well kept as he progressed until he reached the end where Elm ran into Waldorf, a dead-end street. The lawns on either side of were overgrown with grass gone feral and an abundance of weeds and discarded refuse and trash. The faint glow from the single street post flickered. He reached up beneath the hood and pulled at the thin black netting concealed there. For a brief second, the lamp flickered over his exposed face and he heard a sound. He yanked the shroud down and whirled towards the faint noise.

  His heart kicked up, and he swore as he broke into a run and took the next corner fast. He used a sudden burst of preternatural speed to pass the first three houses, taking the steps to the shrouded porch of the fourth in a single bound. Concealed by the darkened shadows, he peered out and waited. He hadn’t missed the pounding of feet behind him trying to catch up and no longer bothering to be quiet. He didn’t have to wait long. His eyes glittered with anger beneath the hood as two kids stepped around the corner into view and seemed to look right at him. But he knew the dark hid him from the moonlight. He waited for them to venture further along the street. If they discovered him, he’d have to take care of them. He couldn’t afford to be discovered—not yet.

  Lucky for them, their self-preservation must have kicked in. After several drawn out moments, they both turned and went back the way they’d come.

  But he’d gotten a good look at their faces. The Mayor’s son, Nick Seul, and that nosy Sadie Cross, wandering where they had no business being.

  He hoped for their sake that they hadn’t seen his face to identify him.

  After one more glance around, ears sharp to any further noises that didn’t belong, he moved off the porch and down the sidewalk, stopping at the last house on the dead-end street. The porch was dilapidated and in a sad state of disrepair. He was careful where he stepped, the boards beneath his feet groaning as they struggled to hold his weight. He didn’t knock.

  He opened and closed the front door behind him, standing in the absolute darkness of what had once been the front room. Now it stood empty, broken wires ripped from the walls and graffiti streaking every available surface. Empty spray cans gave evidence of the childish artwork, abandoned in several corners of the room along with an impressive collection of broken beer bottles and discarded pizza boxes. His mouth curled in disgust. Humans were such pigs.

  He moved across the room with ease, his eyes cutting the gloom through his mask in the unlit room with ease. What he was didn’t need light.

  Pale fingers reached out and turned the doorknob leading to the basement and he started down, picking up the threads of several conversations whispered below from those that had arrived before him. Voices that stuttered to an uneasy silence when he entered the room in the back of the cellar, the green lanyard around the neck of his robe showing his importance while his identity remained hidden.

  He said nothing, moving to the front of the long room and taking his seat to wait for the rest. Sconces along the wall were lit and flickering, casting eerie shadows that bounced off the walls and danced over the dark figures in the room.

  When the last member arrived, he looked at the guards standing sentry and nodded. They closed the door. It was time.

  He stood up, taking in the thirty some odd figures in the room.

  He spoke to the crowd, “The first wave is complete. The toxin did its job. As predicted, it wreaked havoc with the cerebral cortex and hindered their ability to use their moral judgment. Destroying the center for satiation was a bonus move. It made them perpetually hungry and insatiable.

  “It worked like a charm and Wyndoor is in Chaos as we speak. We should give credit to the sacrifice of the two young changelings that followed orders and laid a blood trail down through the portal and into Drae Hallow as planned.”

  He smiled at the ripple of unease that drifted through the crowd. “The resulting pandemonium created in downtown Bitterroot was spectacular. Mass hysteria and panic ensued. The Mayor’s Guard recovered the situation faster than I’d hoped. But it made a good trial run on the Magical Population. We have a fresh batch of toxin complete and ready to be infused into the blood supply at other blood banks. It is time for us to move our plans forward. The nearby towns of Lancaste
r and Boeing are ready for us to infiltrate and contaminate the supplies there. If everything goes as planned and we administer the toxin over the course of the next few days, then the first hints of unrest in the vampire populations there will evolve and spread within the week. And then we sit back and wait and watch the fireworks when it hits them and they transform into the crazed vampires of every human’s—and Magical’s—nightmares. It should be spectacular.”

  His voice deepened, “It will be especially important that we don’t step in right away. Let them panic and live in fear for their puny lives for a while. Have them bask in the consequences of a vampire population on the hunt with no control over their base needs. It should be epic. Within a couple weeks, we could be looking at a body count in the thousands.”

  A shiver of anticipation moved up his spine as he added, “And then we will step in and rescue their pathetic lives. We will save the day and maintain order… but only if they will put us in a position of power within their government. We will step in to save them, and it will be their downfall.”

  Beneath the gauzy film he smiled, eyes hard. “The implications are far reaching and we’ll spread our authority over the human and Magical community in a wave of justice until we’ve taken our rightful place where we belong. The Vampire Nation will become a Vampire World where we are in charge. It is unfortunate that sacrifices have to be made, but the result will be well worth the loss of a few vampire lives.

  “Eventually, the poison will wear off and the affected vampire population will recover most of their faculties. We aren’t sure at this point of the long-term effect. Those that do not recover will be made examples of, to reinforce our power and human and Magical dependency on us to keep them safe. They won’t see the real danger until it’s too late.”

  Though he couldn’t see their faces, the nods all around lent credit to the huge following he had gained. What sat in this room was just a small selection of the army he was amassing. Most of those he’d approached, when presented with the alternatives, had readily jumped on board with the plan.

  “There is one rather… unfortunate incident that still needs to be taken care of.” Behind the veil, his eyes hardened with remembrance. “Not all the vamps in Wyndoor castle were affected as predicted. Two, Elise and her daughter, Emerald, somehow escaped the effects of the drug. I believe that they have crossed over into Drae Hallow and are pursuing help from a couple young Magicals. We don’t need anyone looking too close at what really happened. I want Elise and Emerald caught and shut down permanently. Depending on what those kids know, take them out as well.”

  He added, “Questions at this point?”

  A cool voice from the other end of the table spoke up. “One. I thought originally this was supposed to be a plan to control the human population? I wasn’t aware we were going to also try to usurp the authority of the Magical and Other community as well. Isn’t that a lot of risk? After all, they aren’t the easy marks that the human population is.”

  The leader’s lips twisted and his eyes lit up at the audacity. Beneath his hood his eyes busily searched the room for the owner, whoever had dared voice such a question. His gaze landed on a shrouded figure in the back he didn’t recognize.

  A cruel smile graced his face beneath the hood. “That’s thinking small. The humans are nothing but vampire fodder—a food supply. But the Magical community is different. If we can control them, we take our rightful place as Rulers of the Free world.

  Later, as the other members of the Shadow Guild filed from the room, he looked for the unknown figure that had dared to question his authority. But whoever it was, they were long gone.

  #

  Kimmy let herself in and lay her stuff on the wooden counter. The basement door stood ajar, and down its stairs she knew she’d find Jerry. Before joining him, she went to the fridge and snagged a couple waters. One for herself, and another for the man who forgot to eat or drink if someone didn’t remind him.

  Whistling, Kimmy took the steps two at a time. The door to the lab was unlocked, and she frowned as she let herself in and closed it behind and slid the dead bolt home. She considered herself fortunate that Jerry Waverly had agreed to take her on to assist him. It definitely paid to have friends and the Waverly’s were the best. Jerry might have been only human, but he was brilliant.

  Kimmy had been fascinated with all aspects of biology from the time she could walk and catch a bug and observe what it did in a jar. Later, as she grew older, her interest had developed into a keen fascination for biology at the cellular level.

  Most kids her age had no idea what they wanted to be when they grew up. Kimmy had always known she wanted to make a difference in the field of microbiology. It fascinated Kimmy that just a few minute differences in their genetic make-up made a human or a Magical or an Other what they were. She was already looking into the various college programs in the state, wanting to stay as close to home as possible. The opportunity to work with Jerry Waverly was a dream come true to give her that extra edge going in.

  In the basement she moved towards the bank of lights that highlighted the long row of stainless steel counters and cupboards. Compared to the lab that had burned a year ago in his house in town, the new lab was state-of-the art.

  Bent over one of the five different microscopes that sat on the counter was Jerry Waverly. His coke-bottle glasses rode low on his nose, and his white lab coat looked like it might have been slept in more than once. He looked up at her arrival, squinting over the rims as he struggled to focus. A wide grin split his face.

  “You’re here! Good, I need you to run a few simple tests for me while I finish up with examining this latest sample from Emerald. Fascinating stuff here. I have to have you take a peek and give me your take on it too.”

  Kimmy nodded. “And you need to take a long drink of this before you do anything else. If you faint from dehydration, you won’t be able to look at anything,” she teased. She loved that he treated her more like a partner than a brainless student that had to be coddled. She’d already learned so much.

  He rolled his eyes and straightened away from the sample he was examining, wincing at the kink in his back that twinged in his old age. He picked up the bottle and uncapped it. “I thought I’d escaped the nagging of my daughter when she went to visit that family of hers.”

  “… and you need to eat,” she wrinkled her nose a bit, “and bathe, has it been a couple days?” Kimmy’s smile slipped a notch as she worried.

  His eyes twinkled as he teased her, but shadows lurked there too. Sirris had been gone better than a week with no word. Everyone was worried, but no one more so than her father, Jerry. Possibly the only thing he loved more than his lab and experiments, was his daughter, Sirris. Half Mermaid, she had still chosen a life with her human father, over her mother’s mermaid relatives. And as for the mother, no one knew much of what had happened to her. It was the one subject that Jerry refused to talk about with anyone.

  He sat his water back down and waved Kimmy closer to what he’d been looking at.

  “This sample is of Elise’s daughter; Emerald’s blood cells. I’ve compared them to her mother’s. As you might expect, they are nearly identical. I ran a Gene splice to cross match them. Emerald’s genes appear to have an anomaly that sets hers apart from the others. If you compare a vampire’s blood and any human, my own, for example… every gray hair shows up… figuratively. It’s easy to see how aging effects the cell health of a human. That slows way down in a vamp, one reason they don’t appear to age. Emerald’s has all that, but she takes it a step further and repairs not only her own aging cells, but when I add hers to a slide with my blood, her cells go to work to repair them as well. To an uncanny level as a matter of fact. Here, look.”

  Jerry stepped aside to let Kimmy look. She examined the separate slides with a sample of Jerry’s blood, and then Emeralds. She blinked as the last slide where he had combined the two samples slid into place. He was right. The health of Jerry’s cells walls, combine
d with a sample of Emeralds, showed the plump fat cells of a twenty-year-old man in his prime.

  Kimmy stepped back in shock. It was an amazing discovery; and terrifying. If people, human or Magical alike, discovered that Emerald’s blood cells might be the fountain of youth, it would put her life in grave danger.

  “The ramifications of this are huge. And deadly, right?”

  Jerry nodded and gave her a grim smile.

  “That’s right. I hoped you’d see beyond the thrill of discovery. As scientists, we have a responsibility to always strive to find the truth and to explore the unexplained and gain knowledge. But we also have an ethical responsibility to do no harm, even if that means burying the knowledge we uncover so it can’t be used for nefarious means. Not all scientists understand that—I hoped you would.”

  Kimmy beamed at him. “So, I know this is next. Sadie said she gave you a sample of the diseased blood as well. Did you figure out what they added to it to taint it to the degree that it has that effect on a healthy vampire?”

  “I did. Found out why it drives them around the bend so quickly. It effects the brain, or rather certain parts of it. Whatever this is, it seems to have a direct line to the Frontal lobe of the Cerebral Cortex. In particular, it damages the center for reasoning and decision making there. Add to that the complete shutdown of the hypothalamus’ hunger center and you have a vampire that doesn’t remember it shouldn’t kill everything in sight and that is never full. A starving vampire with no moral compass is a deadly combination.”

  Kimmy nodded, reaching for another slide. “So that’s what it does. Explains the out-of-control hunger and rage. What is causing it, do we know that?”

  “I believe I’ve isolated the toxin, yes.”

  Something in his voice made Kimmy look up at him with narrowed eyes. “And?”

  “Well, the good news, based on what little time I’ve had, is that the cells may repair the damage on their own if given enough time. But time is the key and meanwhile it’s difficult to say how permanent the damage to other parts of the brain might be.”