I focused on the lock and used a small amount of my air element to unlock it and cushioned the mechanism so that the sound wouldn’t be heard. I used the same element to buffer any squeak the hinges might make.
Olivia couldn’t see me anymore but I looked at her over my shoulder before I slipped inside. Her features were set and grim. Her New York Mets sweat jacket was open and I shook my head as I looked at her T-shirt. It showed a Vampire playing a video game, with the words
Vampires have no life
Well, that’s true.
The smell of Vampire was strong as I eased through the doorway. Modern classic design greeted me. But more than that, startled me.
Stark white walls with black accent walls towered to the vaulted ceiling. Muted city lights came through opaque drapes on the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Touches of red, like splashes of blood, were scattered on dead-white furniture. Crimson pillows were arranged on white sofa cushions and I noticed hints of red in every one of the black-and-white paintings arranged on the walls. An enormous flat-screen TV was built into the wall. And I mean enormous. Go-to-the-movies enormous.
Voices echoed in the large room, words bouncing from one wall to another like the hollowness of a Ping-Pong ball. I caught my breath as I settled the flail and barbed whip against the wall, keeping them cloaked in an air-glamour. Joshua and Angel should be able to see them—wherever they were.
I eased behind a potted black tree. The white pot was as high as my waist and the tree itself about seven feet high. The tree was naked of any leaves and would have been worthless cover if I hadn’t shrouded myself in a glamour.
My gaze narrowed at Volod and another Vampire as they strolled into the room. Volod’s black shoes sank into the rich white carpet as he walked with his casual yet arrogant movements.
Dressed in a black button-down shirt and tailored black slacks, Volod looked like any one of New York’s elite aristocrats—just a lot paler. He was outfitted from head to toe in Gucci, Ferragamo, and Versace. Obviously I have a well-trained eye for the finer things.
The other Vampire’s white turtleneck sweater against the deadly white of his skin did nothing for his complexion. Except make him look more dead. Is that possible? The fact that he wore Levi’s and Nikes as opposed to Volod’s designer clothing might have indicated he was some kind of underling if it wasn’t for the arrogant way he carried himself.
I peered at them through the branches of the naked tree. It seemed bright in the room compared to the night sky barely visible through a slim part in the sheer drapes.
Despite my glamour, a tingling sense of danger rippled up my spine as I studied the two Vampires.
Volod picked up a smooth black statue of a nude female and trailed his white hand down the statue’s curves. I swept my gaze around the room. Joshua might be one of the many shadows, and as a squirrel, Angel could be just about anywhere.
I reached out with my senses, using my air power to guide me. I found, but still couldn’t distinguish, Joshua on the other side of the room. In another second I felt Angel’s presence beneath one of the sofas.
Vampires have extraordinary senses but I didn’t think they were able to sense Joshua and Angel like I could.
“Do you truly think that bunch of garbage can do it?” the second Vampire said as he tossed a crimson pillow on the floor and settled back in an oversized white chair. His skin was nearly as pale as his seat. “Can we put faith in the stupid creatures?”
Volod set the black statue on a glass table and the thumping sound caused me to flinch. The irritation on Volod’s angular features sent that creepy sensation up my spine again. “Questioning me, Danut?”
Danut didn’t seem bothered by Volod’s glare. Danut shook out his long black hair that gleamed in the light. “If they complete their mission is it wise to give them the permanent ability, brother?” It shouldn’t have surprised me that he and Volod were brothers. The resemblance was clear to me now.
Volod didn’t bother to answer Danut’s question. “As long as the Night Trackers remain ignorant, nothing will stop the Sprites from getting the information.”
I caught my breath as thoughts spun through my mind. What was so important that he would be afraid of the Trackers finding out? I had a feeling that it had to be dangerous, whatever it was.
The Master Vampire turned to one of the windows and pushed aside the flowing sheer curtain. He studied the glittering Manhattan skyline through crystal-clear windows. The city’s skyline seemed almost close enough to grasp each light in my hand.
“I have given the creatures what they need to accomplish this task and this task only,” Volod said.
Danut said, “It was brilliant that you gave the Sprites the ability to escape the elemental magic containment as only Vampires can.”
So many questions ran through my mind that I had to set them aside to concentrate on what was being said.
Danut grinned, baring his fangs. “The Trackers have no idea what will happen tonight at the Paranorm Center or what we have planned for the future.”
Tonight. Something is going down tonight. I gritted my teeth, torn between listening to the two Vampires and rushing to the Paranorm Center to stop whatever they had planned.
Volod continued, “Tonight the Sprites will gain the archives which will give me the control we desire. Tobath has assured me only three Sprites know who the information is for. Once we get what we seek, we dispose of those Sprites, including Tobath, and no one will suspect us.”
“We assume a Sprite can keep a secret,” Danut said. “I hope we are right.”
Volod shrugged without comment.
Disbelief at what the Vampires had said caused me to shift my body backward. The Sprites in the detention center. How could we have not thought of that? I’d have bet my last Drow-mined diamond that the Vampires had intended to have the Sprites caught so that the creeps could go after something in the archives.
Not to mention there had been so much Sprite activity on such large scales that it had kept us from cracking down on the increased number of Vampire attacks.
I clenched my hand around the hilt of my sheathed dagger. Just like we’d thought, the Sprite mischief hadn’t been random. But the realization that Vampires were behind it all made my skin feel tight.
“We have played the part far too long.” Volod slammed his palms on the windowsill. He bent at his waist as he braced his hands. “Today the council meeting only confirmed that they have no regard for us. Having information on us and our movements, our vulnerabilities, is too much. They crossed the line. More important than any of that, however, is we must be free to do what we did for centuries.”
My heart beat faster, my breathing grew heavier, my palms becoming sticky as I digested what I was hearing. What ability had the Vampires given to Sprites to break free of their cells and to get past the guards?
The Master Vampire straightened and then went still.
At once I knew he was searching for me with his mind, his senses.
Volod had felt the strong shift in my emotions.
“You think you can enter a Master Vampire’s domain and not be found out?” He looked in my direction.
My heart thundered harder but I maintained my glamour. In a rush I sought out my elements with my mind and senses. I could use water from the pipes behind the walls, fire from the stove in the kitchen, and of course I had air.
In the flash of a moment it took me to reach for my elements, his hand shot up.
Invisible power slammed into me. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as the force of his power sent me skidding on my side on the carpet. The blast burned through my chest. Was my suit melting? It felt like the leather was sinking through my skin.
Shock tore through me at the strength he’d been able to use against me. I rolled with the momentum of the power as it shoved me toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. My concentration on my glamour failed and I could be seen again.
With a shout and cry, I
flipped my body into a crouch, drew one of my dragon-clawed daggers, and faced Volod. Shards of pain raked my lungs as I dragged in harsh breaths of air.
“Tracker.” Volod tilted his head and studied me, his hand still outstretched. He looked at me as if not concerned at all. “The strange one. The Drow female.”
“This creature is a Tracker?” Danut laughed, obviously not feeling threatened by me either. “A purple woman?”
Give me a moment and I’ll show you purple when I shove your—
“What are you going to do with her?” Danut asked, looking at his brother in a lazy, bored way. “Fun and games?”
Volod’s black gaze held mine. “What do we do with all trash?” Volod splayed the fingers of his outstretched hand. “We dispose of it.”
I surrounded myself with my air element, a thick cushion that would have protected me if I hadn’t been so stupid and unprepared.
If I tried I couldn’t have held back the dangerous white flash in my eyes. “Vampire scum.”
I grasped the double-edged buckler from the front of my weapons belt and flung it at Volod’s neck. My air element shoved the buckler faster than a human eye could see.
Volod wasn’t human. Not for a very long time.
He caught the buckler right before the razor edge would have sliced into his throat.
In a blur he threw the buckler at me. I dodged it. The buckler sailed through the floor-to-ceiling window behind me. Glass shattered with a loud crack. Icy wind whipped inside the penthouse.
Danut shouted something. From the corner of my eye I saw Angel’s barbed whip wrap around Danut’s neck. Multiple lacerations. Blood streamed down his body. Blood splattered the white sofas. Angel could rip the Vampire’s head from his body.
I didn’t have time to dwell on it. My target was too powerful to allow myself to be distracted.
Faster than any Olympic Shifter sprinter, I bolted for Volod with my dagger. Blood rushed in my ears. My skin tingled. I’d carve his heart out.
Air cushioned me. Knowledge that I was protected gave me more strength.
My gaze was focused on the Vampire’s grim expression. His bared fangs. A red glint in his black eyes. His pale raised hand as he faced his palm out to me.
I gripped my dagger. I was protected. Volod wouldn’t be able to hurt me this time.
Five feet. Three feet—
An even more powerful invisible blast slammed into me.
It was as if I had no protection at all buffering me.
Breath rushed from my chest. Did my lungs collapse?
Fire. My body was on fire. Burning more, even more than the last time.
My concentration on my air element shattered. All elements.
The power flung my body backward.
No control. I had no control.
My back and head hit one of the massive windows.
Glass shattered as I was slammed against it hard enough to break the thickness of it.
Shards sliced my skin and dug into my flesh as I sailed through the window.
I screamed as my body started to drop.
Twenty-four stories.
SEVEN
One long scream tore from my throat, vanishing in the cold night air as I fell through the window.
I dropped. Breath left me in a rush.
My mind felt stuck. My heart was going to explode.
Automatically I gathered my air element around me.
Wrapped myself in a cushion of air.
As my body hurtled to the ground, I prayed that my magic would absorb shock from the fall. Protect me from pain.
I prayed that I would survive.
A strong presence shot by.
Joshua?
I had felt a shadow form brush my arm.
Had he been shoved out the window, too?
The street.
My body was about to meet asphalt.
The air element wouldn’t be enough.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
And slammed against something hard.
Something that grunted.
It took a moment to realize I hadn’t hit the pavement.
Strong arms surrounded me and I opened my eyes. Joshua. Joshua had caught me.
Somehow he had reached the street before me and had been ready to catch me.
“Bloody Vampires.” He was looking up at the window I’d been thrown from, anger on his strong features. He carried me into the darkness beside the hotel. “You don’t want them to be seeing you alive.”
“How did you do that?” I was still catching my breath as he looked at me and set me on my feet.
“Shadows fly when they need to.” His gaze searched the night around us.
My heart still raced as fast as I’d been falling and I struggled to catch my breath. My body ached from the blasts of the Master Vampire’s power and the shards of glass that had dug into my flesh. I would heal fast, but right now the injuries hurt like the Underworld.
“The impact should have slammed us both against the asphalt,” I said, but then my senses came back to me and my chest tightened. “Olivia. We need to make sure she’s all right.”
“I will get her.” He scowled as he looked around us, searching the night for any Vampires that might have been out. “I do not see Angel.”
My buckler had sailed through the window and had to be here somewhere. “Angel had her whip around one of the vamps,” I said as I called to my buckler. The weapon came straight to me. I caught the buckler and returned it to the front of my weapons belt.
Joshua gave a short nod. “I’ll get them both.” He melded into shadow and disappeared into darkness.
My chest ached with concern for Olivia and Angel. Especially Olivia since she wasn’t a paranorm. I don’t know how she managed to talk me into letting her come on this mission.
Well … it was almost impossible to keep Olivia from doing anything she put her mind to. She could hold her own. She had to be okay.
I pulled my phone from my belt and pressed the speed dial number I used the most. Phone to my ear, I shot through the night, running the short distance to Central Park.
Rodán answered at once. “Nyx.”
“We need as many Trackers as we can get at the Paranorm Center.” My breath was short, remnants of the terror of the fall and my concern for Olivia and Angel. “Hurry.”
“What has happened?” Rodán’s rich voice flowed over me and would have been calming if I wasn’t so intent on my mission.
“The Sprites.” Glass dug into my flesh with every movement as I ran. “The Vamps planned it all. Got the Sprites to intentionally be caught so that somehow they can break out of their cells to get something.”
“What do they want?” Rodán’s tone was as always smooth, even.
“Something in the archives,” I said. “The Vampires are behind it and the Sprites are involved. Something serious enough to throw me out a window.”
“All we can spare will be there.” The line went dead.
I shoved the phone back into its sheath on my weapons belt and sped to the Alice in Wonderland unbirthday party sculptures. I came to a full stop.
While I performed the ritual to get the door beneath the toadstool to open, my skin crawled. I almost shouted out loud my frustration when the ritual didn’t work the first time. After the second time I’d said the idiotic chant while walking counterclockwise, the door finally opened.
My air element hid me as I called to it and created a glamour so that I was invisible. Vampires, Witches, and anything born human couldn’t see through my glamour, but a lot of paranorms could. I was still working to perfect my glamour so that no being could see me. Developing better concentration and mind control would get me there.
I had no idea what to expect once I reached the great hall that led to the archives.
Torches flared to life as I hurried down the winding stairway. I heard nothing as I made my way. Not a whisper of sound from below.
When I reached the entryway with the five arch
es, I pressed myself against the wall of stone. I peered into the hallway that led to the council chambers and the archives.
Nothing looked wrong. Everything appeared normal.
The great hall was noiseless. Dryads slept in their wooden pillars, their eyes closed, breathing deep and even. Talk about asleep on the job.
After their major screw-up with the Metamorphs, it was a wonder the Dryads had been kept on as sentries. At least they’d hired Shadow Shifters as additional security. Not that Dryads could be called security as far as I was concerned.
So much shadow lingered in the hall that I had no idea what was shadow and what was a Shadow Shifter guard. But I could sense them.
Sprites … I couldn’t detect their presences.
I definitely didn’t think they were in their cells anymore after what Volod and his brother had said. They had probably escaped, doing whatever it was that the Master Vampire had arranged for them to do.
It was true that Vampires couldn’t be held by paranorm cells. If Volod had somehow given the ability to the Sprites, they would have gotten past the Shadow Shifter guards using their glamours. Their glamours are so strong that they can hide even from paranorms. The glamours would shield their presences once they had escaped with the power the Vampires had somehow given them. The guards would never expect any of the detainees to escape the elemental-magically-treated cells.
Shadows started to drift and Dryads blinked their eyes.
“Tracker.” A Dryad’s deep voice boomed from a column created from ancient wood. The Dryad had probably lived in the tree for countless centuries in Otherworld before she chose to serve at the Paranorm Center in New York City. “Leave. You have not the right to be here during this night hour.”
I stepped under the archway and kept my voice low hoping she’d do the same. “Sprites may have escaped the cells and have broken into the archives.”
A shadow rose and the form of a tall man appeared. Scars marred his face that could not be called handsome and his mouth was a fierce slash as he scowled at me. It was the kind of scowl that made a person want to take a step back. I didn’t.
“Zeke, bid this Tracker to leave before I bespell her,” the Dryad said.
Vampires Not Invited: A Night Tracker Novel Page 6