“I know that, Captain,” Adam said. “Some other way, but any way possible to keep more people from being slaughtered.”
Captain Wysocki put her hands on her hips, pushing aside her jacket. “I’m going to do what I can,” she said. “Not necessarily because I might believe you. Because there’s something out there and we need to keep the people safe. I’ve never known you to be crazy, Boyd. It sounds outrageous, but possibly wannabe vampires out there at least think they really are Vampires. After looking at the results of these attacks, I will at least give you that.”
“They’ll kill cops, too,” Adam said. “Hollowpoints to the heart are the only thing that will stop Vampires, but won’t necessarily kill them.”
“Cutting off their heads will do it, though,” I said. “Or a stake to the heart.”
Wysocki gave me a strange look, then glanced from Adam to Olivia. “I’ll do what I can and you do whatever you need to and keep me updated,” she said to them. “But you say one word to any other law enforcement officer or public figure and your asses are mine.”
“You bet, Captain.” Olivia’s sarcasm matched Wysocki’s earlier comments. “And while you’re at it—”
I caught Olivia by the upper arm and jerked her away from Wysocki before she could put us under the police captain’s gauntlet with her big mouth—it was likely a good thing for Olivia that she was no longer a NYPD officer.
“Thanks,” Adam said to Wysocki. “We’ve got one hell of a lot of work to do. I’ll let you know when we have something.”
Wysocki gave a brief nod and turned away. She’d given us more than three minutes of her time, but I didn’t think it had been enough to truly convince the captain that Vampires were responsible for all of the murders and the missing.
* * *
Rodán and I approached the Alice in Wonderland unbirthday party sculpture but he stopped, bringing us both up short.
“Nyx.” He took my hands in his as we stood on grass. “Be careful on this case.”
“I’m always careful.” I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Are you all right?” Rodán said as he studied me.
I shook my head. “New York City is paralyzed.” I swallowed, anger and fear like a vise clamped around my throat. “Everyone in the city is talking, wondering what’s going on.”
“We will prevail.” Rodán squeezed my fingers. “Do not lose hope now.”
“I’ve never felt this way.” I took my hands from his. “It feels wrong. So horribly, horribly wrong. And humans—”
I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips. “It’s crazy. Newscasters are even reporting wild rumors that what the norms call ‘cult groups’ of wannabe Vampires are responsible. If they only knew, New Yorkers would be more terrified than they already are.”
“We will get the serum and the antiserum,” Rodán said. “You must have confidence in that.”
“I have never seen the city like this.” Something in me kept rejecting what Rodán was saying. It was the first time in my life that I had felt any sense of hopelessness or helplessness. Somehow this seemed more powerful of a threat than anything I had ever seen, including Demons.
A prickling sensation crawled up my back. I put my hand on my dagger at the same time I whirled around to face the empty park. Rodán turned at the same time I did.
“Pardon,” came a voice before Negel appeared in front of me.
I wanted to put my hand to my pounding heart, but I gripped the hilt of my dagger instead. “Have you ever heard of strike first, ask questions later?” I said. “You might think about letting a Tracker know you’re there with a little more advance warning.”
“My apologies.” The Sprite did look sorry as he gazed at me with his big bulbous eyes. “I guess I was so excited to see you I didn’t think. I have been waiting here to talk with council members as they enter.” His ears drooped. “I could not even get one to accept my offer to help or to acknowledge my sincerest apologies for the despicable acts of some of my people.”
“Why didn’t you contact me?” I asked. “I could have talked with them for you.”
He held up a cell phone. “I tried to call.”
“Oh.” I put my hand on my new replacement XPhone. “I have a new number.”
His cell phone disappeared into his rags. “I wanted to attend the council meeting myself.”
“It’s a secret, urgent, last-minute, emergency meeting.” I stared at the Sprite. “How did you find out about it to begin with?”
“We are often overlooked,” Negel said. “But we are also often at the right place at the right time.”
“Uh-huh.” I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t think the council will allow you to attend. Sprites aren’t exactly welcome and these council members aren’t the friendliest or most inviting types.”
Which was understandable—considering—and obvious from the council members’ response, or lack of.
Negel straightened and raised his chin. “It was my people’s fault. We are not evil and we must make amends.”
I relaxed. The Sprite had just caught me off guard. “It was brave of you to show up here considering all that Sprites had been up to lately.”
“You don’t understand,” Negel said. “I would give my life for this cause and to, in some way, right the wrongs that a few of my people have caused. The ones who are not truly representative of us.”
“It takes time to overcome many years of prejudice,” Rodán said. “We will do what we can to right that wrong that has been done to your people. But that may take time.”
“We are mischievous, that is true,” Negel said. “Strange to many. But we are not evil.”
Negel shook his head, his eyes looking big in the night. “We are not evil as a whole. Tobath became intoxicated with the power he thought he had. But he was not us. I want to help and I will do whatever it takes.” The Sprite took a deep, audible breath. “Including giving my life to right this horrible wrong. Please … let me help.”
The intensity of the Sprite’s declaration and his plea tugged at my heart. “Thank you, Negel.”
“I admire and trust you,” he said, looking at me.
“It means a lot to me that you would say that.” I smiled. “You have no idea.”
“You deserve it,” he said. “That is how I feel.”
Funny how a Sprite was giving me the warm fuzzies when just days ago I was ready to staple them all to every billboard in Times Square.
“I would like to help you tonight,” Negel said. “I know you will go after the Vampires.”
I narrowed my eyes. Warm fuzzies versus undisclosed information…
“Thanks, Negel, but not tonight,” I said. “You’re not a Tracker and I can’t be worrying about your safety and still do my job.”
“I do not need watching after.” Negel straightened and raised his chin. Maybe he was regretting being so nice.
“I know and I apologize.” I rubbed my temples with my thumb and forefinger. “Just not tonight, okay?”
He gave a brief nod before he turned his attention to Rodán. “I will get back to you,” Negel added before he vanished.
* * *
My stomach hadn’t settled since last night, and I didn’t think it was going to any time soon as I stood before the Paranorm Council and waited for my turn to speak.
I felt nervous, off-kilter, anxious to meet with the other Night Trackers and make plans. This meeting would be a waste of time because Trackers would do what we had to do regardless of what the council had to say.
Rodán stood next to me, the only Peacekeeper other than myself at the secretive council meeting. His long blond hair was a sleek, shining stream down his back and his features regal. As usual his expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking. His flesh was golden next to my pale amethyst skin and his robes were almost the same cobalt blue as my hair.
Smells of smoke and crushed rose petals hung heavy in the air, the light trails of smoke coming from torches burning in
brackets along the medieval-looking walls. Shadows cast by the torchlight gave the warm chamber an eerie feel that added to the crawling sensation along my skin.
Council Chief Leticia, a Doppler, perched on a throne at the center of the crescent-shaped table. Leticia was not only the chief, but she represented all Dopplers. Generally a peaceful race of beings, Dopplers were usually the easiest group of paranorms to get along with.
Like I’d explained to Joshua, out of all fifteen-plus races of Fae, a Siren had been voted in as their representative. How I don’t know, but that’s how it was. Bethany was gorgeous—as a Siren that really went without saying—but I’d never liked the haughtiness in her sea-blue eyes.
Even though there are a number of different kinds of Weres, they didn’t seem to mind that Eric, a Werewolf, was the envoy for all Weres.
The elderly Shifter, Reginald, who represented all Shifters, including Shadow Shifters, was tight-faced. As in his whole face seemed drawn forward, lines and wrinkles coming to a point at his nose and lips.
Dark Elves didn’t generally get into Otherworld politics, but my father had expressed his displeasure that one of the Light Elves, Caolan, was the delegate for all Elves, Dark and Light.
My father had ranted about that for a good two weeks before he pretty much disavowed anything to do with a council that would allow Light Elves to represent Dark Elves, too.
My skin felt hot and it itched more as I thought about how soon the Vampires might be out to feed on norms. It was just after sundown—I’d barely had time to shift—and time for Vampires to wake from their sleep in the catacombs.
Trackers had seen Vampires attack norms from about ten at night to three in the morning. Before and after those times, things were usually quiet on the Vampire front.
But who knew what they’d do now?
I glanced at Rodán to see him studying the five council members, as if to gauge their abilities to understand what we had to tell them.
It wasn’t that long ago that I’d helped save all of their lives, but you wouldn’t know it to see the way they were looking down their noses at me now. Arrogant, egotistical—
Council Chief Leticia settled her gaze on me and I could see her appreciation. Out of all of the council members, Leticia was the only one who truly knew what the Trackers had done that night, because she’d actually been there.
The rest of the council members seemed clueless to the fact that if the Trackers hadn’t saved their lives, then they’d all be mere memories right now and paranorms would have been governed by a bunch of Metamorphs.
“Nyx of the Night Trackers,” Leticia began. “Thank you for your prompt appearance at this emergency council meeting.”
The Siren, Bethany, who represented all Fae spoke up. “Tell us what you know about the Vampire situation.”
Situation? Vampire situation? Bethany lost major points with that description of the devastation and the threat to paranormkind that was happening right now.
Without the usual formalities of addressing each council member, I began speaking. “We are facing a threat more devastating to all paranorms than anything we have faced before.” I managed to keep my voice steady as I spoke.
Bethany frowned but we didn’t have time for formalities and tradition and I wasn’t going to give in to it.
“The decision to keep the paranorm virus to create an antiserum was a huge mistake,” I said and then realized my own mistake when I saw the council members bristle like a bunch of male peacocks.
In his calm yet powerful way, Rodán took over. He spoke formally as he usually did when in front of a bunch of paranorm bureaucrats. “You have already been informed that the Vampires now have both the serum and the antiserum. Nyx and I are here to provide you with any information you believe you need and to answer any questions you might have.”
“We will be working on a plan to stop the Vampires.” I wanted to get past the explaining part. We didn’t have time for that. “The Night Trackers are meeting after Rodán and I return from this session.”
The Shifter council member looked like he was starting to speak, so I hurried to talk. “What the Vampires are doing is beyond atrocious.”
Can’t show weakness. They would trample me with their bureaucratic boots if I did.
The doors of the chamber opened and the council members frowned when a young Shifter messenger girl jogged to the front of the room, carrying a piece of paper.
“This had better be extremely important.” The elderly Shifter council member, Reginald, looked down his long pointed nose at the messenger. “You are disturbing a most important meeting.”
The girl bit her lower lip but went to the back of the crescent-shaped table and handed Council Chief Leticia the piece of paper. The messenger waited beside Leticia’s chair as the council chief read the note.
Leticia’s expression shifted to a mixture of concern and alarm before settling into a businesslike demeanor again. She passed the piece of paper to the council members on her left and then the paper was sent to the right side of the table so that all council members were able to read it.
Varying shades of concern, anxiety, and anger radiated from the members. They conferred in low voices but I caught the words “Volod,” “demands,” “now,” and “must.”
Leticia took the piece of paper and the quill in front of her and dipped it in the inkwell. She wrote something on the bottom of the paper before folding it in half and handing it back to the girl with a brief nod.
The Shifter girl jogged back through the open doors of the chamber before they were closed behind her.
I barely kept from pressing my palm to my belly that was queasy from nerves—and something else. The sensations now in my mind and body reminded me of how I’d felt just before one of my closest friends, Caprice, was murdered by Demons.
At that time it had felt like a premonition, like something extremely bad was about to happen. And something beyond horrible did happen and Caprice lost her life because of it. In the end I hadn’t been able to save her.
This time I was sure the feeling was because I knew devastation for all paranorms was going to come to pass if we didn’t stop the Vampires.
“It appears we will now have a meeting with the Master Vampire and we will bring in our bargaining chip, so to speak,” said the council chief. I’d heard Leticia was a gambler, so I wasn’t surprised by her analogy. She made a gesture to the guards behind me and I looked over my shoulder.
Shocked couldn’t begin to describe how I felt when the chamber doors were opened and Danut was led through by two Doppler guards.
They had put Danut into a compression suit.
Not just any compression suit, but one made especially for Vampires. It was like a norm straightjacket, but with very important enhancements. A cross was fastened to the front of the suit, the cross burning the Vampire if he made any quick movements.
Garlic cloves and holy water filled the lining, the mixture making the Vampire in the suit perpetually ill and weakened. Danut looked like a human who’d been drinking too much alcohol then slept in the gutter, a side effect of the holy water/garlic mix.
Two more enhancements were even more vital. So that the Vampire in the suit couldn’t be helped out of it, there was a Dryad-wood piece infused with Dryad magic and fastened over the Vampire’s heart. The moment a being other than a Doppler PTF agent tried to take the suit off of the Vampire, the wood disc expanded into an eight-inch stake that immediately pierced the Vamp’s heart.
If for some reason that failed, what was around the Vampires neck likely wouldn’t fail. It was a thin metal wire made from an alloy mined by the Dark Elves. If triggered by an escape attempt, the band contracted and the Vampire’s head was cut off.
I wished Volod and every one of his followers were in those suits—just before both the stakes and the collars were triggered. But right now, this was insane.
“Bargaining chip…” I stared at Danut who appeared too ill to recognize me. “No.” I tu
rned to face the council. “Holding Volod’s brother hostage is going to make things a lot worse.”
The council members looked taken aback.
“The Drow female is correct.”
At the sound of the Master Vampire’s voice I whirled to face him, one hand going to my buckler, the other to one of my dragon-clawed daggers. What was Volod doing here?
Volod appeared calm but fury radiated from him, a heavy layer beneath that calm veneer. The air was so tense around him I felt like something was going to explode.
Two Vampires were with him, one standing to either side of him. Elizabeth and Drago.
Elizabeth wore a sparkling sequined gown of bronze that would have looked stunning with her red hair and fair complexion—if she wasn’t an evil being.
Her brother, Drago, emanated power that was only superseded by Volod’s.
My heart pounded and I gathered my elements around me, drawing them to me and strengthening me.
Next to me, I felt Rodán’s magic grow along with my own. His magic was a tangible, powerful thing. But would his kind of magic work now? As much as I wanted to believe it could, I didn’t truly think so.
Volod strode forward, with sweeping looks at everyone in the room.
The Master Vampire gave an arrogant sneer. “Looks like a little party. Another party we Vampires were not invited to. All you paranorms should just post a sign above your doors, ‘Vampires Not Invited’. Doesn’t really matter anymore, however, as you will soon find out. We are here to stay whether invited or not.”
The Master Vampire reached into his pant pocket. My body went cold as he brought out a small syringe filled with an all-too-familiar green fluid.
Volod tapped the safety cap at the end of the needle. “I am not here to bargain.”
TWENTY
“Thank you for honoring my request for an audience with the council.” Volod tossed the folded note on the floor in front of him. The note slid across the stone, coming to stop before the council table. The note. How could the council have allowed him in here?
Elizabeth looked at me with hate in her green eyes and I remembered her determination to bleed me dry to avenge her cousin’s death. Drago’s green eyes were narrowed at me, too.
Vampires Not Invited: A Night Tracker Novel Page 20