To catch my breath, I drew away from Colin and immediately missed his lips, his taste. I met his eyes, which were now like liquid gold.
He moved me so that our foreheads touched and we still held each other’s gazes. “You know I would never push you into anything you’re not ready for.”
I twirled a long strand of his hair around my finger and gave a little smile. “Thank you, Colin.”
He kissed me lightly before settling his hands on my hips. “I’ll wait for you, Nyx.” His voice was soft, sensual. “I’ll be here when you are ready.”
SIX
Volod’s impatience with the conclave had him grinding his teeth. When would the idiots be finished with mind-numbing shit that wasn’t of any true value to the Vampire race?
Smoke curled from torches bracketed along the walls of the New Orleans meeting chamber. The North American Vampire Conclave met biannually at this location deep beneath the city. Every April and October the leading Vampires from across United States and Canada gathered.
Human workers had been enslaved over 150 years ago to build the chamber along with a network of well-guarded tunnels. All had survived the years well, thanks to Vampire blood mixed into the mortar. It made for an impenetrable, indestructible place for New Orleans Vampires to use and for the conclave to meet.
Now Volod was here, ready to change the fate of Vampire-kind.
And to avenge his brother’s death … as well as seeking revenge for the destruction of all he had built in New York.
Volod glanced at Monique, who stood in the back of the room to await his signal. His beautiful Elvin Vampire looked stunning in a long black dress with diamonds glittering at her throat and ears. Her dark hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back in long soft waves. He pictured the last time he had bedded her and the way her dark eyes looked right before she sank her fangs into his own throat.
Her scent and race were masked by a spell the Witch had used to keep those in the chamber from knowing that Monique was more than just a Vampire.
What a prize. Like Elizabeth, Monique was an incredible beauty. Her demeanor and mind set her apart, however. He had never thought of a paranorm as appealing, but this one was different. Her exotic looks and the powers she possessed were alluring.
Monique’s lust for Vampires had led to her capture. He felt her energy and desire for him, but she was a professional and kept control.
Next to Monique stood Elizabeth in a long blood-red dress, her red hair swept Feightiv>
Elizabeth’s jealousy and pettiness were already evident with this new addition, but she needed to know, as she had in the past, he would not tolerate her dictating what he did and with anyone. He had taken Monique for a purpose … the sexual connection he sensed between them was a bonus.
But now was not the time for such thoughts. He shook off his mental wanderings and looked to the conclave.
The current Vampire prolocutor, Nicholas, stared at Volod with his small, deep-set blue eyes and bushy brows that gave him a permanently gruff look. He had maintained a love of whiskey, long after his death and rebirth. If he hadn’t been a Vampire, he likely would have had a red flush to his cheeks.
Nicholas gave Volod a nod, an indication that it was time for him to take the floor.
Volod strode from the back of the room into the center of the chamber. Seventeen regional conclave members—including five representatives from Canada—sat behind a blood-red curtained table that lined the back of the chamber. Each Vampire dignitary wore black robes along with an absurd headdress that looked like a human chef’s hat.
Volod would have smirked if he weren’t in attendance for such an important reason.
“My brothers and sisters,” Volod began, addressing the conclave, “I am honored to be in your presence.” With this conclave the rule was to “kiss ass,” as humans would say. He nearly shuddered at the vulgarity of it.
“I have a most important purpose for being here,” he continued. “Thank you for granting my request to speak to you.”
The words tasted foul in his mouth. In truth he couldn’t care less about the conclave. They were simply a means to an end and he needed what they could offer.
“Vampires have been kept in check by paranorms for far too long.” He couldn’t keep the venom out of his voice, nor did he care to. “We should have complete freedom to do as we were meant. To feed from and turn humans at will.”
Marcus gave Volod a long-suffering look. “This is nothing new. Everyone here knows we have wanted to break out of the paranorms’ control for years. It has proven futile and is not worth the risk of the destruction of our race. Have you something actually worthy of our time?”
A short but stout Vampire with a Napoleon complex, Marcus was second in line to be prolocutor if anything should happen to Nicholas. Volod thought that perhaps Nicholas should consider watching his neck around Marcus.
Volod ignored Marcus and slowly looked around the arc of the table, from one conclave member to the next. He held their gazes one by one as he spoke.
“I have an answer to this problem,” he said, keeping the smile of triumph from his voice. “I have discovered a way to control paranorms rather than paranorms controlling us.”
A murmur met his ears, a murmur of both curiosity and skeptic Ky a/span>
“I have procured a list of all known paranorm weaknesses.” Volod paused to let the words sink in to the now silent conclave, his announcement obviously surprising those in attendance.
Prolocutor Nicholas was the first to speak, his tone unreadable. “Please explain.”
“The list I arranged to have secured gives us the information we need to defeat paranorms.” Volod kept back a sound of impatience. He’d have to spell it out for the simpletons gathered at the conclave. “Every paranorm has a weakness, and this list allows us to exploit those weaknesses.”
“You cannot expect us to believe such nonsense.” Marcus made a scoffing noise. “If such a list existed we would have known about it long ago.”
“Apparently not.” Hair prickled at Volod’s nape. He let some of his contempt for Marcus spill into his tone before he continued. “More important, the information includes a dossier of each of the Peacekeepers along with their respective skills, abilities, and weaknesses, both as a race and personally.
“Also listed are their quirks,” Volod continued, “and, shall we say, the proclivities we can use against them. Among the listed weaknesses are little-known susceptibilities to toxins and other details that can be exploited. This list is a gold mine for us.”
By their expressions it was obvious he had piqued the interest of the conclave.
“With this knowledge we can turn paranorms into Vampire-kind,” he said. “Elite forces that will help us take control of the paranorm world.”
Nicholas held up his hand in a motion meant to shut up Marcus, who had opened his mouth to speak again.
“Paranorm blood makes Vampires ill,” Nicholas said. “If this was truly possible, what keeps a Vampire from becoming sick?”
“It does make us ill,” Volod said. “For that reason there was never a reason to turn a paranorm. We of course had no taste for paranorm blood. If a paranorm is going to be turned, we must feed on a human just before or just after the taking of paranorm blood. When this is done the toxicity of the paranorm blood is completely neutralized.
“A paranorm is not a satisfying bite to a Vampire,” Volod went on, “but this is not about quenching a thirst for blood here. It is about adding to our ranks for our purpose.” Volod had learned this by trial and error on the subjects he’d turned prior to Monique. Even when he turned her, he’d had a human waiting in the shadows.
“Once a paranorm is turned, he can feed on others and turn them. Paranorm blood is not poison to others of their kind—in fact they love the blood of their own. Thus an army of these beings can be produced.”
Nicholas fixed his gaze on Volod. “How do you know this will work?”
“Because I h
ave done it myself.” Volod gestured toward a door to one of the tunnels l Kthe0" eading from the chamber.
At his signal, Elizabeth touched the massive door with her fingertips. Her power infused it with a soft orange glow. Stone scraped stone as the heavy door shuddered open.
When it was open wide, all ten Vampire paranorm Trackers, members of his “dream team,” walked through the opening. The lovely Elvin Vampire, Monique, left Elizabeth’s side to make her way toward Volod. She released the Witch’s spell, and he caught her Elvin scent and the power she commanded.
Each Vampire paranorm made his or her way through the crowd to stand in a line just behind Volod.
Gasps of surprise traveled among the members of the conclave. Vampires could instinctively sense what race of beings a paranorm belonged to. His team of eleven included ten Trackers—Shadow and animal Shifters, Dopplers, Werewolves, and a Witch.
“That they are now Vampires is virtually undetectable—quite different than human conversions.” Volod held back a smile at the fact that the bastard Marcus seemed at a loss for words despite his scowl. “Not only do they have Vampire strength, but they have retained the abilities and magic of their race.”
“Very impressive.” Nicholas gave a nod of admiration. “What exactly do you plan to do with them?”
“To create a paranorm army that has the power and skills to eliminate the threat of reprise from paranorms,” Volod said. “Thus we shall once again feed on humans and turn them at will.”
Nicholas leaned forward, his arms resting on the tabletop, his hands clasped.
“What do you propose that the council do to assist you?”
“I want you to have knowledge of what I am doing,” Volod said. “At times I will need resources that this council can provide. That might mean sending in more Vampire power from around the continent to various cities. We will work together and take back our world.”
The power in Volod’s conviction echoed in the chamber. “Now that we have assembled a team of skilled Vampire paranorms, we will next concentrate our efforts in New York City where the strongest Tracker foothold is, and we will destroy or turn all Peacekeepers.
“Once New York is taken,” Volod continued, “we will move to Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Atlanta, Toronto, and other select major population areas. We will not stop until we have the control we need. We can expand this to our brothers across the world in Europe, South America, and Asia.”
“Have you more Vampire paranorms in addition to these?” Nicholas asked.
“Only those I experimented on before taking Trackers.” Volod glanced at his team before looking at Nicholas again. “I felt it important to do this slowly to ensure it was done correctly, one at a time. Thus it has taken us a while to experiment because every paranorm is different.
“I will continue to move forward deliberately and do this the right way,” Volod said. “I turned one paranorm every ten days after ensuring the change had taken in the previous subject. Being a Master Vampire, I have total control over all those I turned myself Kurn enonce they rise.
“The Peacekeepers do not know who is behind the disappearances,” he added. “We will continue to use that element of surprise to our advantage.”
Volod didn’t share that Monique had bitten the paranorm Vampires the first time and he had turned them with his own bite the second time. Monique had control as well, but not like he did.
“Did you encounter any difficulties?” Nicholas asked.
“A few. During my experiments, before taking Trackers, I discovered that some Fae appear to be immune to being turned,” Volod said. “Thus I eliminated those not susceptible. There are a few other species we are not certain about just yet, but most can be taken and turned it appears.”
Nicholas gave a nod and looked as if he was contemplating all that Volod had told the conclave so far.
Alexander, the youngest member of the conclave at just over four hundred years of age, looked from Volod to Nicholas. “This is an extremely alarming proposition. Going after norms and paranorms seems far too dangerous.
“These paranorm Vampires are not proven,” Alexander went on. “We on this council will see the reprisals. There are far too many paranorms compared with our number. What if these Vampire paranorms end up wanting to turn and then control us?”
Alexander continued with fervor. “Paranorms will wipe out Vampire-kind if we fail. At minimum, many of us will be destroyed, which was what we saw happen during the Rebellion. If it was not for surrender and the treaty, we would have been eliminated as a race.” His voice rose. “We must maintain the current balance of power to avoid another paranorm slaughter of Vampires.”
“Such coward’s words.” Cecilia faced Alexander in a sharp turn in her seat. The emerald pendant pinning her dark hair back glittered in the torchlight, and her elegant features were taut. “To expect us to be ruled by paranorms when there is the opportunity to rise up again is despicable. Allow the conclave to hear this out and consider it before we meekly reject the thought of such an idea.”
Alexander tried to interrupt, but Cecilia continued. “If somehow the worst-case scenario comes to pass, and Vampire paranorms take over, how is that any different from what is going on today? What would cause them to want to stop us from feeding? From what Volod said, they want the paranorm blood.”
Volod hadn’t expected Cecilia to be so vocal on this subject, and to his benefit. With pleasure he listened to her go on.
“We desire human blood,” she said. “The fact is, we are a weak race right now. A mere shadow of what we once were. There is not another race of beings as beaten down as Vampires. That has to change and if there is a way for it to be done, let it be done.”
“Volod is worthless,” Marcus said, and Volod clenched his teeth. “With his mini mission of rebellion, he could not even keep his small clan together in New York.” Marcus glared at Volod. “His foothold there has been destroyed. He has proven to be a poor power-hungry leader, so do not waste anything on him, neither time nor resources.”
Ignoring Marcus’s Kng to b comment, Volod interrupted. “These Vampire paranorms will be mine. You won’t see a rebellion. I will be the one to bite these paranorms and turn them. They will be drawn to follow me. You are all aware of what happens when a Master Vampire takes his victim. They are his. It is no different here.
“Also,” Volod continued, “my force will be only of the size I need to control our world. I think you need to see for yourselves.”
Volod glanced at Seth, who gave a short nod before he faded into a shadow on the floor. A shadow that quickly moved and vanished among other shadows in the room.
A few members of the conclave made sounds of surprise and unease.
Seth reappeared, behind Marcus, with a dagger pressed against Marcus’s throat.
“Call the bastard off!” Marcus tried to shout in anger but the blade was so close to his throat that his words came out in a strangled plea. A red mark appeared on his neck followed by a drop of blood rolling down his pale skin.
The conclave members to either side of Marcus moved as if to help the Vampire.
Katherine—formerly known by the unacceptable shortening of her name, Katy—the Los Angeles Witch stepped forward. Vampirism looked good on her. She radiated confidence and a quiet beauty that she didn’t have before she was turned. She opened her mouth and started to speak.
Her beautiful Witch’s voice echoed throughout the chamber as she spoke in a chant, weaving her spell. “Sit, all who dare to go against us, and do not move.” When she heard protests coming from the immobile Vampires, she added a single word that came out far more powerful than any words she had spoken before. “Silence.”
Immediately there was not a sound in the room, save for the crackle and hiss of the torches.
A feeling of satisfaction rose up within Volod. “Now that you’ve met Seth the Shadow Shifter and Katherine the Witch,” Volod said, “I would like to introduce you to Daniel, a Shifter.”
> The conclave members remained silent, locked in the Witch’s spell, as Daniel shifted into a lion. The Shifter’s roar was so loud, it seemed as if the room trembled with it. He leapt forward toward Alexander. Papers scattered onto the chamber floor as he landed on the conclave table, his huge jaws within inches of Alexander’s face.
Volod wanted to laugh at the fear he saw in every conclave member’s expression. If he didn’t need them and their resources, he could have had them all slaughtered by now.
“All of the Shifters and Dopplers maintain the fierce hunger and the basic instincts of their animal form,” Volod said, “while keeping the intelligence and abilities of their race.”
“Reese. Terrance.” Volod gave them each a brief nod. “Both Shifters.”
Terrance transformed into a snarling Doberman while Reese took the form of a tiger. Each joined Daniel on the table, the tiger in front of Cecilia, his nose nearly touching another member of the conclave, Wilhelm.
“I’m sure you K’touc have recognized these three as Dopplers.” Volod gestured to the paranorms as he spoke. “Meet Kennedy, Jessica, and Rebecca.”
Kennedy’s body expanded, his height increasing as he shifted into a grizzly bear; Jessica became a ferret and Rebecca, a raven.
“You may wonder whether such small creatures as a ferret and a raven have enough strength to be a part of a Vampire paranorm army,” Volod said. “Let me assure you, they can do things that no other paranorm or Vampire could. Attacking from the air like Rebecca or squeezing into small places like Jessica.”
With a slight movement of his fingers, Volod indicated that Elliot and Jorge take their Werewolf forms. In seconds both were snarling, vicious wolves.
“You think they look fierce now?” Volod flashed his fangs as he smiled. “Wait until the full moon. A Werewolf Vampire is truly a sight to be seen … and avoided.”
Volod held his hand out to Monique and she took it as he presented her. “Please meet the lovely Monique, a Proctor. As you can see she is Elvin, more powerful than you would likely believe.
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