Eden

by Eden (lit)

  She knew Viktor had known where she would be, but seeing him there and the look in his eyes was more than she could take.

  “Viktor,” Catrina said softly.

  “It’s alright,” he said, putting up a hand to stop her. “A lot went on last night and there are things you both need to hear.” He turned to Alexander as he said, “But first, you and I have some unfinished business.”

  The werewolf stepped forward and Viktor invited him to sit between himself and Bernard. Alex cast a scathing glance toward Bernard and shook his head.

  “Suit yourself. I wanted to tell you first about your brother,” he said. “He tried to kill me six years ago and I killed him in self-defense. You should know better than anyone that power attracts challengers. I had no choice.”

  Alexander thought this over for a moment before saying, “No offense, but how can I be sure you’re telling the truth?”

  “Jacob found out some valuable information last night. Some of it was about your brother.”

  As Jacob began to speak, Alex and Catrina both moved to sit on the sofa between the vampires. But he put her beside Bernard. Jacob had indeed found the necromancer’s hiding place. It was called The Harem and was known as a vampire hangout, though it was one Viktor had never been to. Jacob had been following one of the vamps who worked there and used last night as his opportunity to dress like him and sneak inside.

  “Lucky for me we were about the same build,” Jacob said. “So, anyway I got inside and managed to find this library. At least that’s what it looked like to me.”

  He went on to tell them about some of the documents he’d found there. One of them had notes on Malik’s plans to overthrow the powers that be in Eden City.

  “There were only vague notes,” he said, turning toward Alex. “But from what I saw it looks like your brother was under his control. It was him that put the idea in his head to kill Viktor.”

  “He must have known how that would end,” Alex said. “I loved my brother, but he was no match for Viktor.” He turned to the vampire and added, “Don’t let that go to your head.”

  Viktor rolled his eyes as Jacob continued, “It looks to me like he was trying to get the two of you to turn on each other. I think he was hoping you’d take each other out and he could step in.” He looked to Catrina then. “I told them that you and I have reason to believe he’s the one who attacked your sister.”

  “So, what now?” she asked.

  “Kick his ass,” Alexander said at the same time Viktor and Bernard both answered, “Kill him.”

  “I think we need to form a plan,” the priest said calmly. “Last night he didn’t get a look at my face, he just sensed there was something … I don’t know, not terribly evil about me. I passed him on my way out and he ordered his men to follow me. You know the rest.”

  Viktor leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees as he said, “The problem is this Malik asshole is cranking out new vamps like a generator. He must have a master vampire working for him to accomplish this.”

  “We need to find a way to get in and be sure we’re the only ones who get out,” Bernard added.

  By the end of the night they had a plan, they also had to hurry up and close the blinds against the coming dawn.

  “You can all stay here,” Catrina said.

  “You’re welcome to stay in my room,” Jacob told Bernard.

  “That’s kind of you, but I’m content with the sofa,” Bernard replied.

  Viktor was already on his way to her bedroom when Catrina noticed the look on Alexander’s face. They’d only had about three hours sleep in the past twenty four hours and she was dead on her feet.

  “You’re welcome to stay too, Alex,” she said softly. “You could use the rest,” she added with a wink.

  He smiled as she took him by the hand and then a thought occurred to his sleep deprived mind. “You mean in there? With Viktor?”

  The priest laughed at them and closed his door. Bernard pretended like he wasn’t listening and kicked off his boots.

  “I thought you were alright with that?” she asked.

  He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

  “I am. But I just found out he isn’t my enemy. I thought we’d work up to going to bed together.”

  “Relax,” Viktor called down the hall. “We don’t have time for anything but sleep.”

  They entered the bedroom to find the vampire had stripped butt naked and was standing at the foot of the bed with his hands on his hips.

  “The dawn is fast approaching,” he said. “Now does anyone have a preference of side or can I sleep in the middle?”

  Catrina couldn’t help but laugh, the scene was just too much for her. She walked over and secured the curtains while Viktor waited for an answer.

  Alex stood there for a minute before snatching off his shirt and saying, “Fuck it. You can sleep wherever you like. I’m exhausted. Just don’t go biting me in my sleep.”

  Catrina watched in amazement as Alexander stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed with the naked vampire.

  “Well if nobody has a preference, then I want the middle,” she said.

  Catrina had never felt safer or more loved than she did pressed between the two of them. She snuggled up against Viktor’s side and Alexander curled up against her back. They were all asleep before the sun had finished rising.

  * * * *

  She awoke to the smell of Viktor’s cologne on her sheets and some of his dark hair across her face. The werewolf was still curled up against her back, snoring contentedly. It took her a minute to realize it was dusk and she’d managed to sleep all day. Then she heard footsteps in the hall and a moment later someone knocked on her bedroom door.

  “You three better be moving in there,” Bernard called. “Every minute counts if we’re going to pull this off.”

  “We’re up,” Catrina answered and began to wriggle from between the two men.

  “Then why are you the only one answering?”

  “Because we’re all so busy moving,” Viktor drawled.

  “I’m up,” Alex said with a yawn.

  He rolled over and hit the floor. Catrina went to see if he was alright and found him doing pushups beside the bed.

  “Well, let’s get a move on then,” Bernard called. “The moonlight is wasting.”

  They went over the plan once more on the drive downtown. Catrina was supposed to go to the servant’s entrance and pretend to be a new dancer. They would be able to sense that she belonged to another vampire. This should be enough to get her in. Once there, she was to go to the dressing room and change. Twenty minutes or so later she needed to go back and sneak Viktor in.

  In the meantime, Bernard was going to go right through the front door. Malik should recognize him as a council member, and as such he could go wherever he pleased. It shouldn’t seem too odd for him to be there. He was going to have a seat, enjoy the show, and wait. Alexander was the only one not with them, because he’d gone to round up some members of the wolf pack. They would be waiting outside for anyone who managed to escape.

  Jacob would go in last on Viktor’s signal. Since Malik could sense his “differentness,” it would be Jacob’s presence which drew out the necromancer. Once he was within sight of Bernard and the priest, they planned to unleash some Hell. Catrina was still a bit upset about sending a priest into The Harem. He’d been in before, but not through the front door.

  “It’s not like he’s going there for the tits and ass,” Viktor pointed out.

  Jacob, who was still stuffing his coat full of weapons, jumped at his words.

  “Well, if he were it seems like they’ll be plenty of that,” Bernard said.

  To make matters worse, he was obviously dressed like a priest, right down to his white collar and wide-brimmed black hat. Inside his long robes there was enough weaponry to add an extra thirty pounds to his impressive frame. But that’s because Catrina wouldn’t be able to conceal anything in her costume.
She was depending on him to bring in her weapons.

  They arrived on schedule and dropped Catrina off at the back. They parked the limo out front and waited. Viktor snuck off and hid behind the dumpster, awaiting her signal. Bernard was going to wait twenty minutes before making his appearance.

  Catrina took a deep breath and headed toward the back door.

  Chapter Thirty

  A large vampire with muscles bigger than her head answered the door. She looked demurely at the ground and announced, “I’m a dancer. I’m supposed to start tonight.”

  The vampire tilted her chin upward and turned her face from side to side.

  “You must be that new bird, Malik’s been talkin’ about. Got a thing for brunettes,” he said with a shrug. “Right then, I’ll have to pat you down, but don’t get too uptight about it. I bat for the other team.”

  While he searched her for weapons, Catrina sent a message to Viktor whom she knew had been close enough to hear the exchange.

  “Talk about luck,” she said. “I’ll be back for you as soon as I can.”

  The backstage area of The Harem was remarkably unimpressive. Catrina found the dressing rooms easily enough and watched to see which one the dancers came out of. The other women didn’t pay her any attention. In fact, they seemed to all be in some sort of a trance. She noticed they were also all vampires. Once they were out of the room, she hurried inside and started going through the costumes.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me,” she said.

  But there was no time to balk over details now. She pulled out an outfit that looked like a cross between a belly dancer and a genie and started putting it on. There wasn’t much to it besides some purple silk and some more translucent fabric. After putting the last bangle in place it was time to go back for Viktor.

  Catrina looked in the mirror and said, “If I survive this, I’ll never live it down.”

  The guard who had let her in wasn’t budging from the back door, so that was quickly becoming less of an option for sneaking Viktor inside. Finally she approached the guard and asked where to find the bathroom.

  “Keep going,” he said. “Down this way and to your right.”

  To her surprise the bathroom was very posh, and to her delight it had a window.

  “Viktor I’m in the bathroom,” she said. “Walk around the building and look for an open window.”

  “You’re going to make me climb in through a window?”

  “The guard won’t leave the back door. I’ve got no choice. Now get your butt moving, it’s time for Bernard to be going in the front.”

  It was about five minutes later before he showed up outside the window and Catrina jumped.

  “Hurry before someone else comes in,” she whispered.

  Viktor levitated off the ground enough to get a good grip on the window sill and wriggled through.

  “Wow,” he said, taking in her outfit with a lascivious glance.

  “Shut up,” she said, smiling. “Now what?”

  “When you go out, I’ll go in the opposite direction and find another place to hide. I’ll let you know where I am before you go on stage.”

  “Good grief,” she said, rubbing her arMs. “I’m freezing and I’m scared to death.”

  “Don’t be scared,” he whispered. Viktor kissed her quickly before heading toward the door. “We should hurry.”

  Catrina opened the door and looked both ways before motioning for him to follow. They went in opposite directions and she ended up back in the dressing room. After several minutes of nervous pacing Viktor let her know where he was.

  “I’m in a room behind the stage. You can’t miss it. There’s a big cross on the door.”

  “A big cross?”

  “I figured it would be the perfect place to hide. Not many are powerful enough to walk past the cross.”

  Sure enough she found the door. It had a big silver cross nailed to the front of it and everyone was steering fairly clear. Catrina walked in without hesitation and closed the door behind her. She figured if she’d stood around hesitating that would have attracted more attention.

  “Alex should be in position by now,” he said as she ran over and hugged him.

  “Oh, my God I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’m still not sure what to do.”

  “You wait till they play a song you like and go out there and shake your junk,” he said. “That’s all you’ve got to do until Jacob is in position. That reminds me.”

  Viktor held her against him with one hand while he reached in his pocket with the other. He pulled out his cell phone and said, “I’ve got to get ready to signal him.”

  “You’re going to send him a text message?” she asked incredulously.

  “Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “Why?”

  Catrina couldn’t help smiling. “I don’t know. I guess I just expected something more from a bad-ass vampire like yourself.”

  About that time something rumbled behind them and Catrina jumped.

  “Holy shit, there’s a coffin in here,” she said.

  “Yes,” Viktor answered calmly. “I suppose they’re holding someone prisoner inside it.”

  She looked more closely at the silver chains and cross which had been attached to the top of the coffin.

  “How awful. Can we help them? Whoever they are, they can’t be one of his if he’s got them in there.”

  “We’ll have to come back for them,” he answered. “Time is short. If we don’t hurry and act, they’re bound to find us out.”

  “But Bernard is planning to level the place. They might be killed if we don’t get them out now.”

  Viktor looked at the coffin for a minute before saying, “Shit, we’ve got to do this in a hurry. Look in that closet. A crowbar would be helpful.”

  “I thought you could just rip off the chains.”

  “I can,” he said. “But they’re silver and I don’t have any gloves. Besides that, there’s no telling how long they’ve been inside that coffin. Starving vampires are not a pleasant experience.”

  “Well, there’s not a crowbar, but there are some work gloves.”

  Catrina tossed them over and Viktor put them on quickly.

  “Step back,” he said. “We’ve got to do this fast. The music should be loud enough to keep anyone from hearing us.”

  Viktor snatched off the chains and threw aside the cross. He had no sooner done this than a vampire burst through the wooden coffin and latched onto his arm.

  “It’s alright,” he said when Catrina jumped back. “I was expecting this.”

  “You were expecting to be attacked?!”

  “Blood of my blood,” he said as the vampire fed from his arm. “Flesh of my flesh.” He snatched the vamp loose and kissed him right on the mouth. “He’s mine now. I control him. He’ll be lucid in a minute.”

  Catrina’s eyes widened as she looked at the vampire. He didn’t look that bad. As a matter of fact he only looked slightly thinner than the last time she’d seen his handsome face.

  “Uncle Harry?”

  “Catrina?” he asked, stumbling out of the coffin. “What the hell is going on?”

  “You’re not dead,” she exclaimed.

  Harry reached up and pressed the tip of his finger against one of his fangs.

  “That remains to be seen. What’s going on and why are you dressed like you escaped from a harem?”

  “You’re not far off,” she said at the same time Viktor said, “There’s no time to explain.”

  “You’re the master of the city,” Harry said, pointing to Viktor.

  “Yes, and right now I’m going to save your life. In a minute Catrina is going to walk through that door. Once I follow her out, all hell is going to break loose. Run to the back exit. My driver should be waiting there. Tell him I sent you and get inside.”

  “But I can help.”

  “I’m sure you could if you were recovered,” Viktor said. “How long have you been in that coffin, two years at least?”

&
nbsp; Harry considered his words before agreeing, “At least.”

  “I’m sorry, but you’re too weak for this fight.”

  Harry agreed and a few minutes later with so many questions still unanswered, Catrina walked out of the room and onto the stage. She was barefoot and the jewelry around her ankles jingled as she stepped into the center of the stage. Other dancers were already moving among the dozens of vampire patrons, so her presence went unnoticed at first.

  Catrina closed her eyes and let the pounding rhythm of the music seep inside her thoughts. It pulsed like a heartbeat and she let her movements flow in the same way. She moved across the stage, gyrating her chain belt to the beat as she made eye contact with Bernard across the room. He winked and the smile she gave him was purely carnal. Something in that music set her off, just like it had done at The Morgue. And tonight that was good. Otherwise she would never have been able to get into character.

  She did a spin and her long hair fell over her face. Through her hair she saw the priest making his entrance and started to move toward him.

  “Ooo, kinky,” one of the other dancers said.

  Jacob caught sight of her almost instantly and sat at a table not far from where Catrina was dancing. She approached the dancer who was trying her best to grope him and said, “Hands off, bitch. This one’s mine.”

  The dancer looked offended, but she moved.

  Catrina ran her hand across the back of his neck as she moved behind the priest and whispered, “Bernard is in the far right corner.”

  She rolled her body toward him and leaned in close enough to kiss as she added, “Viktor is behind the stage.”

  He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer.

  “Alexander is out front,” he said.

  She turned around and straddled his waist, removing his hat and putting it on her head. Catrina leaned forward and reached inside his coat.

  “Did you bring the big one?” she asked as she reached for one of his guns.

  “Of course. Keep your hand on it, I can feel him. He’s near.”