Considering Volod had it in for me they might as well get in line.
Then the Master Vampire’s eyes met mine. The intensity of his gaze nearly made me look away, but I held my own.
As he stared at me, blood rushed in my ears and I began to feel lightheaded. Dizzy.
Volod. He was doing something to me with his mental powers. I could feel him trying to get inside my head. I could see his black eyes. Feel the darkness inside of him trying to get into me.
I had to get my concentration back and control my emotions. But still fear clawed at me. I threw up my air shield with as much power as I could channel.
Volod looked as if he’d been slapped.
Relief flooded my body to have his horrible blackness out of me. It had felt … dead to have him inside my mind. It was a feeling I never wanted to experience again.
His recovery from his surprise was almost instant. So fast that I didn’t think anyone else but me—and possibly Rodán—could have seen it.
The Master Vampire turned to look at the council in a deceptively casual manner, as if dismissing me. “You will release my brother, or”—he looked at the syringe and then back to the council—“I will inject a paranorm and release him into paranorm society. If you try and do anything to me here, my brothers have been instructed to do the injection for me.”
I could almost hear the collective intake of breath by the council.
“We do not negotiate with terrorists.” The Shifter council member’s pinched face looked pale but stolid.
“A terrorist? Call me what you will, it does not matter.” Volod gave the Shifter a look that was so dark I wondered if he was doing the same thing to the Shifter as he had to me. “But as I said, I am not here to negotiate.”
Volod then met each council member’s eyes. “You should be well aware of what could happen to all paranorms who carry the mutated gene if this virus is released.”
“Set the Vampire free.” Rodán spoke with his usual calm exterior. He could not possibly have been so calm inside. Or was he? “The Vampire called Danut has no value to us in the given situation.”
The council members looked at each other. One at a time, the members gave Leticia a nod before she made a gesture to the Doppler guards who held Danut.
“Release the prisoner.” It was obvious the words were sour on Leticia’s tongue as she said what she did not want to.
The guards turned and faced Danut, then each put a hand on the cross at the front of the compression suit. Danut took a sharp intake of breath as they removed the cross from the suit and one of the Doppler guards pocketed it.
Danut’s eyes remained crazed and he still appeared sick.
The guards each put a hand on Danut’s shoulders. Simultaneously they spoke a chant in an ancient language that I didn’t know but had heard somewhere in Otherworld. The Dopplers’ voices were low and I could barely hear them, even with my enhanced hearing.
Volod never took his gaze from his brother who seemed to be in a complete stupor.
When the guards finished the chant, the thin band around the neckline split in half and retreated into the suit. The compression suit itself went slack and the guards began to take it off Danut, sliding it off his shoulders and then pulling his arms out of it.
The moment the suit was off Danut, the guards let him go, not bothering to help him stand. Danut stumbled forward and he dropped to his knees. His eyes began to look less crazed, less glassy.
Drago left Volod’s side, went to Danut, and picked the Vampire up under his arms. Using his Vampire strength, Drago made it look as if Danut weighed nothing. Drago put Danut’s arm over his shoulders and half-carried the Vampire who stumbled as they rejoined Volod, then stood behind him.
As Volod watched Drago and his brother, fury clearly rose in him, and I could tell the anger was close to making him snap. “I should punish one of your own right now for what you did to my brother.”
No one said a word. The chamber was silent except for the pop and hiss of the torches in their brackets. That sound seemed suddenly too loud to bear.
“Injecting a paranorm is an extreme measure, of course.” Volod’s jaw tightened as he seemed to rein in his anger. “But it is one we are prepared to take.”
He held up his hand as if to stop anyone from speaking. “We also know every paranorm’s weakness thanks to information also provided to us from the Sprites, which they gained from your very archives.”
Volod didn’t have to tell anyone not to speak because it was as if something held us all in silence. “We will use those weaknesses against any individual being who goes against us.”
“What is it you have to present before the council?” Leticia finally said.
“You will listen to our demands.” Volod’s fangs gleamed in the torchlight and he looked like he was ready to start ripping out throats.
“What are those demands?” Leticia said with a calm that I had to give her credit for.
“You will no longer hunt my kind.” He looked directly at me. “Trackers will never harm another Vampire.”
Angry words stuck in my throat as I did my best not to show any kind of emotion that would betray what my thoughts were at that moment.
Volod rolled the syringe in his palm and I caught my breath. What if he dropped it, broke it open somehow, released a drop?
He returned his gaze to the council. “Vampires are to be left alone to be as we were meant to be.”
“May I ask what that is?” Leticia said.
“We will feed on humans at will,” he said, and a word Olivia frequently used went through my mind but I didn’t say it out loud. No way was that going to happen—I wasn’t about to let it. “We will also choose qualified humans and turn them into Vampires to improve our ranks.”
Reginald thumped his fist on the crescent table. “We cannot allow you to slaughter or infect humans to turn them.”
“Allow?” Volod cocked an eyebrow. “The question is, will you be the first paranorm we inject if anyone tries to stop us?”
The elderly council member’s lips tightened into a thin line and he didn’t say anything else.
Council Chief Leticia folded her hands on the table. Her knuckles were white. “If humans are hunted, not only is it a horror I would not wish on any being, but it may expose the paranorm world to norm scrutiny. It could harm our way of life.”
“A horror?” Volod’s lips curled back, exposing all of his teeth as well as his fangs. “They are a food source. There are so many humans that it makes no difference when we take the lives of a relative few.”
“All lives are important,” I said even though I should probably have kept my mouth shut. “Don’t you have the tiniest bit of humanity left in you? After all you were once human.”
“Watch yourself.” Volod hissed the “S” as he bared his fangs at me. “You have been in my way far too often, purple one.”
Rodán applied light pressure to my wrist, telling me without words not to say anything else.
Volod turned his gaze back to the council members. “Vampires will also have a seat on the Paranorm Council, meaning that I will represent my kind.
“You will be permitted your votes on any issues which will not impact the Vampires, and I will abstain from voting. I could care less about any of you paranorms or your issues unless they affect my kind and you can be of service to me. Therefore my vote on anything I chose to vote on shall be considered the majority.”
I thought Reginald was going to self-combust as Volod spoke. The Shifter’s mouth tightened until I couldn’t see his lips anymore.
“As a matter of fact,” Volod continued. “I will serve as council chief, replacing Leticia.”
I found myself admiring Leticia more and more for her calm, strength, and aplomb as she said, “We will take your requests under consideration.”
“My dear Leticia.” Volod laughed in a way that sounded almost friendly. “Your humor does my undead heart good. You know of course these are not requests.
This is how it will be from this point on. We do not fear you or any paranorm.”
He gestured with the syringe as he talked. “As a matter of fact, I have more to explain to you.” Still gripping the syringe of green death, Volod started to pace before the council. “Paranorms will live their lives. We will live ours. However,” he said, “we may need or want things from the paranorms. We will make that clear at the time.”
Volod continued his slow pacing. “We have a list we will produce. But for now that can wait. Our major demand and law now, is that no Vamp will be investigated, detained, arrested, prosecuted, or persecuted,” he said.
“We will control our own.” Volod seemed positively happy at the moment, obviously feeling that he had the entire upper hand. “We have our own rule of law as well. We shall pursue and punish anyone who comes against us.” He looked at me. “The Trackers will assist in those situations and report to me.”
“Trackers report to you? No way.” I was incredulous, but I shut up when Rodán squeezed my wrist again.
“Especially you.” Volod smiled. “And I shall take great pleasure in punishing you. I know your weaknesses, Drow Tracker.”
My face went hot. The thought of my weaknesses being used against me made me want to throw up. To be completely helpless, useless … I couldn’t let that happen again.
“Actually”—he tilted his head and looked as if he was considering something—“for your transgressions against us, purple one, I should take you now for persecution. However, I sense we will meet again and we will be at odds.”
My skin went from hot to cold with every word he spoke. “I took care of you once,” he said. “The next time you cross me you will be committing suicide … and it will not be a pleasant end for you. You cannot win.”
Volod took a step forward. With the nightmare look of death—death for me—on his pale features, I barely kept myself from backing up.
“Do you understand, Tracker?” He said “Tracker” in a growl.
Rage poured through me. The desire to destroy him, destroy all Vampires was so strong I wanted to do it now. But I was powerless at this point and time.
“Do you hear me? Do you understand?” Volod raised the syringe, a look of fury on his features. “I want an answer from you, purple bitch.”
I forced myself to nod.
“I want to hear your answer.” Volod’s voice sounded like thunder, reverberating through the room.
“Yes.” I spit out the word. “I understand.”
Satisfaction relaxed his features and my fingers itched to go to my daggers.
I had never felt so helpless while still having all of my powers available to me. I could do nothing. Nothing.
“My brethren have much to accomplish tonight.” Danut gave a slight bow to the council. “I will be calling a council meeting soon at which you will swear me in as Leticia’s replacement.”
Volod started to turn away, then paused. “If anyone follows us or tries to locate the whereabouts of the serum or antiserum—it will mean their death.”
Silence as Volod passed through the doors. Then Elizabeth, Drago and Danut left, Drago supporting Danut, helping him leave the chamber. No one said a word until the council doors slammed shut behind the Vampires.
Rodán leaned close and pressed his lips to my ear. “Your team awaits you at the bank on the northern end of Conservatory Water. They are in their natural forms so the Vampires should pass them without sensing them.”
I nodded and kept my voice as low as his. “Olivia and Adam?”
“I felt this too dangerous for humans.” He drew away. “Your friends will not be pleased, but it is for the best.”
“I agree.” I turned and gave a slight bow to the council. “Thank you for the audience,” I said before I hurried toward the huge chamber doors. The guards opened them, letting me out even as I heard protests from the council members that they still needed to discuss the situation with me.
Rodán would handle them and relay anything that needed to be discussed.
My heart seemed to permanently be flying as fast as my feet flew as I rushed up the stairs. I wrapped myself in a glamour before I exited the door at the back of Alice’s unbirthday party.
When I reached the bank of the northern end of Conservatory Water, Mandisa approached me from out of the darkness, her bow and quiver full of arrows slung across her back.
A bunny hopped forward and grew, slowly transforming into Kelly. Joshua rose from the shadows and Ice landed in a run as he shifted from a falcon to his human form.
Nadia walked from my left, her slim serpent swords glittering in the park’s low lighting. A Siamese cat gave a meow before Lawan took the place of the cat. A wolf seemed to appear from nowhere, then the Werewolf, Ondrej, was where the wolf had been standing.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I said as my team gathered around me. “As long as the serum and antiserum are in the Vampires’ hands we’re powerless to stop them from slaughtering humans.”
“Where do we start?” Kelly said with an intense expression.
It shouldn’t have amazed me how professional Kelly became once she was tracking. Kelly was all business, her attitude completely at odds with her behavior when not tracking.
Of course Rodán would pick no one who wasn’t a team player when out on the field. I’d learned that with Ice during the Werewolf op. He might be a real jerk, but he was one kickass team player on a mission. I would choose to have him at my back any day.
I addressed the seven team members who were present, looking at them one at a time as I spoke. “I have a lot of information to share but not the luxury of time to give more than a brief rundown.”
They remained silent as I updated them, obviously recognizing the fact that interruptions would hinder our mission.
Being as brief as possible, I told them about my chase after Drago to Volod’s pyramid compound in New Jersey. I explained what I had seen there and what I had learned. I ended my briefing with what had happened in the council meeting. By the time I had finished, each member of my team looked grimmer than ever.
“We need to get to the pyramid as soon as possible and find that serum and antiserum,” I said. “Using the transference, I will reach the compound first, Ice likely second traveling by air. The rest of you will need to find some pretty fast transportation.”
“You shouldn’t go ahead of us, Nyx.” Nadia didn’t look pleased with me at all. “We can go together. We’re safer as a team, not any one of us on our own.”
“I’m going in for reconnaissance,” I said. “I’ll wait for backup before I enter the pyramid.”
“You should not even be inside the compound,” Lawan said. “Wait for us.”
“I am your team leader.” My tone was firm, emphasizing the fact that I wasn’t about to change my mind. “No arguments. Get there as fast as you can.”
I told them where to ditch and hide their rides, and how to enter the compound where they wouldn’t be seen.
“We may be rushing things, but the sooner we recover the serum before they move it the better. I’ll try and rely on glamour and speed. Therefore, for this part of the op,” I said, “I would prefer going it alone and doing the recon myself. However, Rodán insists I go with my team.”
“Damned right he should,” Joshua said.
I chose to ignore him. “You’ll be there if I need you. We can’t afford more than just one paranorm inside the pyramid tonight,” I said. “It’s too dangerous. These Vampires have a power sense I never knew existed. After I’m through inside, I’ll meet you in the area of dense trees just northwest of the main garage entrance.”
Nadia looked both concerned and upset with me as I backed away. Maybe it was anger toward Volod, maybe it was the sense of urgency in saving lives. Maybe it was the fear in losing the opportunity of knowing that the serums were in that pyramid. Whatever it was, all I could think of was that I needed to do something now.
“If I don’t come out within an hour afte
r you arrive, send a two-man team in to look.” I pointed to Joshua and Ice. “You two—you’ll be that team. As shadow and as a mouse, they shouldn’t be able to detect you.”
I explained how to get in and showed them a basic layout of the pyramid which I’d sketched and saved in my phone. Then I sent the drawing to their own XPhones to have with them.
“Volod should get back to his compound in forty-five minutes at best,” I said as I started to mentally prepare myself for the transference. “That means I’ll have that long to do some recon before I meet all of you.”
The whole team looked unhappy with the plan to let me go ahead. Mandisa had her eyes narrowed as she studied me and I could see even she was displeased with my decision.
I could feel my fear of Volod diminish somehow as I thought of the unspeakable evil he represented. I had to have more information and I had to have it now, so that a plan to defeat that evil could be outlined and pursued. I felt the world as we knew it depended upon it.
Only yesterday I’d been in the pyramid, so I didn’t feel like I was taking a big risk.
It was time to do the transference. By focus, thought, and magic, I would move myself from Central Park to Volod’s lair.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my memory of the catacombs. With all of its nooks and hidden corners, I would easily hide be able to in there.
The sense of my team members still around me gradually grew dim. My awareness of them completely faded as the intensity of my focus grew.
The image of the catacombs grew stronger in my mind. Stronger and stronger yet.
Then I was flying through darkness, spinning. Air compressed around me, squeezing the breath from me. My elements were not my friends during the transference, that much I had realized the first time I spun through the black void.
My hands and knees hit hard-packed earth as I came out of the transference. The impact jarred my head and dizziness made my mind spin. Vomit rose up in my throat in a rush. Pressure kept my eyelids shut as I lost what I’d eaten for dinner.
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