The icons for X-files 1 through 200 appeared on the screen. Annette drew a deep breath and opened the first file.
“It looks like a medical record file, beginning with a patient’s family history,” she told everyone as she made a quick scroll down the page before returning to the top and giving a sigh of disappointment. The patient had no identifying name, only a seven-digit number that began with X-666 and ended with 1. She would have to read them all, looking for details that matched Stef’s history, to find her, if her sister was in one of the two hundred files Annette had copied. She highlighted the files and selected the print option.
“I’ll have to print and read all of these before I’ll be able to determine any significance as to why they’re in the Sno-Med system and specifically in the Infectious Disease Department.”
Not a great start, considering Annette was fighting against time. Would she be better off battering down the doors of the people who worked at Sno-Med and asking questions, beginning with Steven Bryers and Sharon Wills? Even finding out what project Stef was working on from her coworkers would be progress.
“I can help,” Erin said. “Having worked at the Manhattan Clinic for several months, I became familiar with their filing system and with their patient codes, though the X-666 is a new one on me. Sometimes the beginning numbers denote location. The Manhattan Clinic files all began with MC1. Here, all the Arcadia Research Center files were labeled ARC10.”
“With me helping, luv, we’ll have it done in a jiffy,” Emerald added.
“Good. I’ll list facts about Stef’s medical history and our family history for you to look for, and maybe we can tag her file,” Annette said, forcing a positive note she was far from feeling as she read more from the file she had open in front of her, which was dated six years earlier. That dashed Annette’s hopes that Stefanie’s would be among the two hundred files she’d copied; Stefanie hadn’t started working at Sno-Med until last year and disappeared this year. Backing out of that file, she went to number two hundred and groaned aloud.
“What’s wrong?” Emerald squeezed Annette’s shoulder.
“I only had time to copy two hundred of the files. There were more. The last file I have is dated an entire year before Stefanie began working for Sno-Med.” Tears stung her eyes. She wanted to cry, but she fisted her hand instead and hit the arm of her chair. “Damn, if Pathos hadn’t interfered, I might have been able to get more by waiting out my anonymous caller.”
“Pathos!” Erin and Jared exclaimed at the same time, making Annette swivel her chair to face them.
“Yes,” Annette said. “He had a weird-looking man with him who sort of glowed. They were having a discussion as they walked along the dark corridor.” She closed her eyes, searching for the conversation she’d overheard. Years of medical training had sharpened her recall skills. “Pathos was putting Glow Man in charge of Sno-Med until Cinatas was found. No one was to enter, not even anyone from the Vladarian Order, because one of them has his offspring, and he sounded pissed about it. The trucks were to pick up any and all data, and all blood samples had been airlifted to Corazon de Rojo.”
You’d have thought she’d set off a bomb, the way the men exploded.
Chapter Ten
“O FFSPRING!” Aragon and Jared exclaimed.
“Corazon de Rojo!” Sam yelled.
Annette jumped at the force of their voices reverberating in the small room.
“Son of a bitch!” Sam continued. “This just gets better and better.” Sam shook his head, his face pale, his expression more ragged than Annette had ever seen it.
“What is it?” Annette asked.
Sam’s laugh grated like jagged glass. “Corazon de Rojo is Luis Vasquez’s compound in Belize, which would rank as a concentration camp. He’s the god behind those stone walls, and even has dozens of so-called nuns serving him. You live, breathe, or die at his command.”
Erin narrowed her eyes at Sam. “You should have told us more about Luis Vasquez before. If the rest of you will remember, Vasquez’s name is on the list I made of Dr. Cinatas’s top clients. He’s a vampire in the Vladarian Order.” She paced to the middle of the room. “He’s one of the men who received blood transfusions at the Manhattan Clinic. I administered the blood treatment to him about two months ago. Vasquez walked in pale and weak, as if death’s door was a step away. Four days later he sauntered out, looking and acting like a horny GQ ad.”
Moving to Sam’s side, Emerald placed her hand over his fisted one. “Is this what last night was—”
“Don’t even go there,” he said harshly. He jerked away from her touch and turned his back on her.
Emerald bit her lip and turned away, her hand clenched.
Annette’s eyes widened with shock. Sam had always been gruff and irritable with Emerald, but he’d never been this hurtfully rude. What in heaven’s name was going on? Neither of them would let go of their guard to connect.
But she wasn’t one to preach at them. She’d never let anyone in…until last night. In some ways it all seemed almost like a dream. She glanced at Aragon, absorbing his solid presence, and knew that it wasn’t, then focused back on Sam. Whatever his experience at Corazon de Rojo, the memory of it had etched grave lines along his brow and turned his voice to a tight rasp. “How doesn’t exactly matter now, but I will tell you Nick’s father died getting me out of that hellhole. After Annette saw fit to drag Nick into this mess last night, I had to tell him the whole story. He’s with us on this, and you all can trust him.”
Annette drew a sharp breath. She still had a few questions for Nick before she could come close to trusting him, but she let that go for now.
“So we know the blood is in Belize, but why?” Emerald asked.
“The place would have to have the facilities to store the blood properly,” Annette said. “It could be a support center for Sno-Med, like a backup place to handle testing of the samples and transfusions to the vampires. How big is the compound?” she asked Sam.
“Big.” Sam snorted with disgust. “I’d doubt they’d use transfusions there, though. Corazon de Rojo is an uncivilized hellhole. Vampires would be more likely to suck the life out of the prisoners’ jugulars on a regular basis.”
“Prisoners? And there are nuns there?” Erin asked.
“Supposed nuns in proper habits would be more descriptive. The poor sell their female children to Vasquez for ‘religious service.’ I’d call them Vasquez’s slaves. He gets very messy with prisoners. They clean up and then spend their days upon their knees praying to Vasquez for salvation—or for Vasquez’s own salvation. I don’t know which, and both are hopeless. God only knows how they spend their nights—perhaps on their knees, praying for death, because of what the men are doing to them.”
The more Sam revealed, the tighter the wrenching knot in Annette’s stomach became. She shuddered at the thought of Stefanie being at the mercy of any of the monsters associated with Sno-Med.
“So we just sit and wait to follow a pile of trucks?” Annette asked.
“If we want Pathos, it may be our only option,” Jared said. “Following him or any of the Vladarians is impossible unless you cross through the spirit barrier. They don’t travel as mortals do. They shift through the spirit barrier to get to where they want to go, circumventing the rules of time and space.”
“What do you mean?” Annette asked.
“One minute he could be here, and a few minutes later he could appear in London.”
“Hell.” Sam shook his head. “Talk about being damn near impossible to pin down.”
“There are limitations,” Aragon added. “Crossing too frequently will, depending on their constitution and power, cause them to incinerate on the spot.”
“Then we’re back to following the trucks.”
“What if we lose them?”
“Four semis?” Sam gave her a disbelieving look. “I’ll eat my patrol car. But no, we’re through waiting. I’m setting up a roadblock, and we’ll only let one o
f the trucks through to track where it goes. Nick could even follow it in the helicopter. The rest of the trucks we’ll hold hostage. I can come up with some legal bullshit to impound them long enough to get what data we need off them and make sure the rest of the information disappears.”
“It still doesn’t seem like we are doing enough fast enough,” Annette said, her frustration like a vise around her. But what else could they do? They needed access to the computers, and they had to locate the monsters they wanted. “What if that truck takes days to get to its destination?”
“It’s a chance we’ll have to take,” Sam said.
“I can tell you that Pathos will seek a stronghold close to his foe,” Aragon interjected. “He’ll want us to constantly be aware that he is near. He will choose a place of prestige and power,” he added. “Then he’ll gather his forces. He is the coordinating power behind the Vladarians. They were nothing but roving beasts of the night before he took over. Without him they will—”
“—implode,” Jared finished Aragon’s sentence.
“Resulting in them becoming less of a future threat. But if Pathos now has an offspring—,” Aragon added.
“That he has surely trained,” Jared muttered.
“Then even eliminating Pathos might not change things.” Annette’s teeth clenched at the frustration pouring from Aragon.
Jared shook his head. “I doubt that. No one can match what Pathos has done. Under his guidance the Vladarians have become very powerful.”
Erin moved closer to Jared. “Considering the names on the list, I’d give anything to be a fly on their boardroom wall now.”
Emerald waved her hand, filling the room with a magic like tinkling of her bracelets. “Why can’t we, luv? Bug the vermin and find out what they’re plotting.”
“That would be after we follow the trucks to his lair, so to speak,” Annette said.
Emerald shot Sam a quick look. “And don’t you dare say it’s bleedin’ illegal.”
“Forget illegal. You three aren’t going anywhere. The only we in action here is me and Jared”—Sam sent Aragon a guarded glance—“Aragon and maybe Nick, if it isn’t too dangerous. You three will stay here and go through the medical records. Tailing the truck might be too risky. Tracking it via GPS would be better.”
“You can’t do either,” Jared said firmly. “The devices give off sounds and signals that are audible to nonmortals, especially were-beings.”
“I will follow the mortal vehicle to its destination in spirit form. I have a better chance of tracking and finding Pathos than anyone else,” Aragon said.
“No,” Jared interjected. “You don’t know what the Guardians have decided to do about your desertion. You and I both know they won’t take the act lightly. Crossing the spirit barrier could have you facing a worse fate than that of a faded warrior. There has to be another way.”
Annette bit her lip. Her reaction matched Jared’s response. Aragon couldn’t risk it.
“That doesn’t matter,” Aragon said emphatically. “I came here on a quest, and I have to do whatever it takes to fulfill that quest. I am right in going for Pathos. He is the key to defeating the growing evil. I don’t understand why Logos hasn’t acted against him.”
“You know why,” Jared said. “You just don’t want to accept that Logos established different laws to govern the realm of the spirit world than those for the mortal. He cannot break them, even though he has the power to do so, or order will then cease to have meaning and Heldon’s chaos will have won. Assassinations in the spirit realm are against his law. A foe must be defeated in battle only.”
“You speak as if Pathos is an innocent lamb that will be struck unawares. There will be a battle.”
“It is the motivation behind the action that determines it. Your purpose is to kill Pathos. Eliminating evil is but an added benefit. It is impure.”
“Then my decision to turn over leadership of the Blood Hunters to Sven was the right one. I am flawed, and my fate is set.”
“No, it’s not. You can return to the Guardian Council, tell them you erred, and seek leniency.”
“My path is set.”
A painful tightness settled inside Annette’s chest. She understood why Aragon felt the way he did. She felt the same way about finding out what happened to her sister. Her path was set, regardless. Still, that didn’t ease the reality of their situation or the gut feeling that things were about to get very bad, very fast. And she couldn’t let that happen. She stood up from the computer chair and set her hand on Aragon’s arm.
“We need to talk,” she said, urging him to come with her. He didn’t budge.
Emerald stood. “We haven’t had breakfast. So until we hear from Nick about the trucks, we’ll go just up the road to my place and eat while you two talk.”
Aragon shook his head. There’d been enough talk, and his path was clear. The mortals didn’t realize how ill equipped they were to go up against Pathos, nor how fragile their hold upon life was. And Jared was now among them. Aragon had felt his friend’s mortality the moment Jared’s hand made contact with his shoulder. Aragon had momentarily forgotten he hadn’t been able to shift when he’d tried last. But surely if he had his amulet back he’d have enough power.
He had to make this journey alone. He’d find Annette’s sister first, then eliminate Pathos. His arm tingled beneath her touch, and he flexed his muscle as the heat of Annette’s hand and the scent of her skin rippled through the memories of their joining and intensified his need to do so again. The urge had been pulsing strong since the moment he’d awakened with her beside him.
“Please, let’s talk,” she said.
“We will talk after we mate again,” Aragon countered.
She blinked at him as if she didn’t understand what he’d said.
He frowned. “Is it not acceptable to set conditions for talk based upon my needs, just as you often do?”
Sam burst into laughter, an amusement that seemed to spread among the others though they covered their mouths, trying not to be heard.
“Holy hell!” Annette placed her hands over her face and ran from the room. He was amazed that she missed the walls in her blind flight. A second later a door slammed.
Aragon shrugged and sent Jared a confused look. “What is wrong? Nick speaks of mating all the time, only his word for such an amazing thing does its beauty a grave injustice. His ignorance needs correction.”
“I’ll tell him.” Sam laughed harder. “You just might be kosher.”
“He’s a bleedin’ prince among frogs, and we need to disappear,” said the woman well named for the brilliant emerald color of her eyes. Cloaked in a mystique akin to Stonehenge, ancient of knowledge and hidden of meaning, she was a puzzle. She was more than an ordinary mortal, only he didn’t know how or why. Bracelets tinkling, she motioned for everyone to follow her out.
“We’ll bring you some,” Jared said.
“Bring me what?” Aragon asked.
“Peaches, for one thing,” Jared said. “Just wait and see.”
Aragon shrugged. “I have strawberries.”
The others left the room, and as Jared turned to go, Aragon grabbed his arm. “Annette hurt Pathos trying to help me. He will come after her. I know him, and it isn’t a slight he will let go, especially since a member of the red demons witnessed it.”
“We’ll get him first.” Jared slapped his arm across Aragon’s back.
“I know, but in case something happens to me before…you’ll guard her for me?”
Jared sucked in air and stared hard into Aragon’s eyes. “So it’s that way for you with the mortal woman already. You have my vow. But surely you can change—”
“There is nothing to change. I chose.” Even when the time came to go after Pathos, Aragon would act alone. Aragon didn’t want to jeopardize Jared’s future, but he had to assure Annette’s safety no matter what.
For a mortal to reach the Falls, the mansion resort etched into the peak of Appalachian�
��s Hades Mountain, it was necessary for those damnation-bound souls to travel through a tunnel that spanned the width of a large waterfall known as Satan’s Ride, named so because of the deep pit and underground river it poured into. Anyone who ever fell into its treacherous waters was never seen again. Legend had it that such unlucky souls went straight to hell.
They didn’t know hell already existed on the mountain’s top, spreading a circle of evil, a dark cloud of comfort.
As far as Twilight’s government leaders were concerned, the Falls mansion was a reclusive billionaire’s folly that padded pockets way too well for them to notice anything besides the mansion’s stone walls and black spires. And those could only be seen in the wintertime.
It wasn’t winter.
For the damned to access the Falls, it was a matter of status. Only the upper echelon of the Fallen were permitted to pass through the fortress’s walls and enjoy having their every need or desire catered to—no matter what that might be.
It had been a while since Pathos had availed himself of their services. He preferred Zion, his estate in Austria. But the Falls was convenient for now, and Cinatas needed some of the treatments that were readily available here. Shashur had tortured Cinatas to the very edge of nonexistence.
Though currently Pathos and Cinatas were the only clients in residence, by tonight all of the Vladarian Order’s prime vampires would arrive for a little surprise. He stood overlooking Twilight’s sun-drenched valley through the plate glass.
Far below, too far for even his acute vision, the scurrying inhabitants of Twilight’s town went ignorantly about their business. And Dr. Annette Batista was among them. He took satisfaction in knowing his prey was right under his nose, and toyed with the idea of hunting her down this morning. She could provide him with some interesting interludes as he dealt with the Sno-Med situation. But first he needed time with his son, and ensuring her cooperation beforehand would go a long way toward achieving the pleasures he planned to extract from her soul a piece at a time. Tomorrow would be soon enough.
The Lure of the Wolf Page 14