by Emily Reese
“So when I tasted it, I knew someone must’ve taken you. I spoke to Regulus, thinking he might know something, or at least be able to help me find you. Instead, he shipped me home.” Claire began to flex her fingers into claws.
“What? What happened?”
“He made me wait for our plane to come all the way back to Baltimore. We didn’t get back until after sunrise.”
“But then… how did you…” Mike let the question hang there.
“Ben did something stupid.”
“Like how stupid?”
“Very stupid. Unbelievably stupid. You can ask him when we find him.” She attempted to smile at him, but it looked more like a grimace. “Anyway, we made it back. Once things settled down Khale taught me how to trace you through your blood. It was difficult at first – I’d only had a small amount, but our… my connection to you was… the time we spent together in Baltimore helped,” she finished lamely.
“So you dig me, huh?” Mike felt his chest swell.
“Is this really the time, Michael?” She rolled her eyes, amusement warring with exasperation in her tone.
“Sorry.” He wiped his face of all mirth. “Please continue.”
“Ben and I went out to feed together. When we got back, I found a vial of your blood in my purse. Collin must have put it there, but I don’t remember seeing him. When I realized what it was, I knew it would help me find you and I drank it.” Claire’s eyes flitted around the room, searching for the words to describe what happened next.
“That last day before I found you, I could feel your pain, your fear, everything he’d done to you. Mike, I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you faster.” Her voice broke as tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Whether he intended to or not, Mike found himself rocking her in his arms, whispering useless little words in an effort to comfort her. When her sniffles began to subside, he pulled back to look her in the eye. “I know you got there as soon as you could.
“Yeah, but —,”
“But nothing. This is as much my fault as yours. I ran off without you to begin with. You came for me and saved me. That’s the end of it.”
“Okay,” she sniffed.
“Okay. Now tell me the rest.” He let his arms fall away, fighting the urge to continue to touch her. Whatever it was between them had yet to be defined, and until he knew where they stood, he wasn’t going to push it. Unless she cries again.
“As soon as the sun went down, Collin called. He told me where I could find you and to come alone.”
“And you listened to him?” Mike balked at her lack of caution, even if it was past tense.
“I would’ve gone by myself anyway. Collin was my problem. If I’ve learned anything from this whole mess, it’s that I need to stop sticking my head in the sand and hoping someone else handles things.”
Mike opened his mouth to argue, then realized that any point he made was now moot. The defiant stare Claire leveled at him only supported this decision. “Okay,” he said and held his hands up in surrender. “Please, go on.” A flicker of surprise crossed Claire’s face before she continued.
“So I went out to the Ninth Ward, where he hid you.”
“How did no one else find me? How did they not hear me?”
“It’s taken the city a long time to recover. Katrina hit the Ninth Ward hard, and the people who lived there just haven’t had the resources to rebuild. The place where Collin kept you was scheduled for demolition – there wasn’t as many people as you’d expect.”
Mike had no answer for that. He found it hard to believe that after so many years there were still buildings in New Orleans that needed to be torn down.
“As soon as I got there,” Claire swallowed hard, “he slit your throat.”
“That explains a few things,” Mike said numbly, recalling his nightmares of the whole thing.
“At first I thought he did it just to be sadistic. He said he wanted to see how much you meant to me. I had no idea what would happen.” Her eyes were far away as she continued. “I gave you my blood because I didn’t know what else to do. It was that or watch you die.”
“You said he didn’t do this to hurt you. Then what was the point?”
“The female of our species is more… powerful I guess is the best term.” Mike cracked a rueful smile but did not interrupt. “Collin and I were pretty close in age and he needed to put me at a disadvantage. Of course I didn’t know that at the time. It took me a few minutes. Just long enough for me to get your bleeding to stop, then he started in on me.”
“Huh. I don’t remember that part.”
“You’d lost a lot of blood. A lot of blood. You passed out. We fought. I won. He died.”
“He died. That’s it??”
“Well what do you want Mike, a play by play?”
“Maybe. That asshole killed me!”
“No, Mike. I did.” The weight of her words hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Don’t say that. I already told you, it’s not your fault.”
“Forgive me if I don’t jump on your bandwagon right away,” she said tartly.
“Why did you leave?” he blurted. Finally, the question that smoldered in his brain for weeks made an appearance. Claire rose, pressing her hands to the side of her head as if she could simply squeeze the answer out, rather than speak it.
“When I found out what I did to you, I didn’t think you’d ever forgive me.” Her words barely a whisper, she faced him but refused to meet his eyes.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Why? How about I turned you into the same kind of monster that took your sister?” she snapped. When she finally showed him her eyes, they were not the vengeful infernos her remembered from his nightmares; now his warrior angel looked haunted, already a veteran of more battles than a creature like her should ever have to fight.
“I don’t see it that way,” he said quietly. “Collin was a monster long before he crossed either of our paths. You said so yourself.”
“Still…”
“Again with the martyrdom! You did what you could and saved my life. I’m honest to God thankful for it. That’s the end of it. Done with.”
“But...”
“O-V-E-R. Enough, Claire. Enough.” Standing he took her face in his hands, desperate to give her comfort, help her see things the way he did. Eventually, she did return his smile with a watery one of her own, and he felt himself melting all over again for this woman.
Her phone beeped, stealing any more private time between them. Checking it, a blush touched her cheeks and she pulled away. Mike wanted to throw the damned thing across the room, shatter it against the wall.
“Marcus is here. I’m going to go up and meet him. Be back in a few.” She gave his arm a quick squeeze and was gone.
“New life,” he muttered and returned to his computer. “Same old shit.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“Amir, thank you for coming on such short notice.” The Elder vampire waved him in, motioned for him to sit.
“Elder Verminga,” he nodded politely.
“I was so sorry to hear about your brother. How is Pierce?”
“He is Elliot Pierce no longer. He has transcended.” Try as he might, bitterness and regret seeped into his tone. His place was at his brother’s side. Whatever vampire childishness was going on, it could wait. “Actually, Elder,” Amir began his excuses.
“Ah well!” She chirped, stacking a pile of papers on her desk. “It’s not like you Jumpers really die, is it?”
“I’m afraid that’s not the case, Elder. My brother –,”
“Will soon be back on his feet I’m sure. Now, I have a job for the lot of you.” When Verminga paused and minutely adjusted her perfectly stacked papers, Amir took the moment to object.
“We are not available at this time, Elder. The transcending process is both painful and confusing at first. My brother will need us all to –,”
; “Did you just interrupt a member of the Council?” Ice and disdain dripped from her words, forcing Amir to shut his mouth. “Did you forget to whom you owe not only the livelihood, but the protection of your strange little family?”
“No, Elder, I have not,” he gritted out.
“I thought not.” Grinning with total superiority, Verminga checked her reflection in an opulent mirror she kept on her desk. Frowning, she adjusted a single hair before continuing. “As I was saying, I have a job for you. It’s simple enough, and shouldn’t keep your precious family apart for long.” Satisfied with her appearance, she returned her gaze to Amir, an all too cheerful smile on her face. “I want you to escort Ari Regulus on an errand.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Exiting the elevator, I realized I had a problem. I’d never actually met Marcus. The lobby pulsed with people; how would I find him?
“Hey there, Buttercup.”
Turning around, I momentarily lost the ability to speak. Work, mouth! Stop gaping! “Marcus?”
The man before me smiled and looked down, almost as if he felt bashful. Wide spread teal eyes refused to meet mine. He kept his hair cropped short, but he still had the stubble, dark blonde now instead of black. He might’ve been a bit shorter than Elliot, but… is this kid a professional wrestler or something? Holy crap he’s huge!
“Yeah,” he said quietly and scratched his jaw. Just like Elliot.
There you are, I thought, not caring if he heard me or not. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.
“Nice to see you too.” Heavily muscled arms returned the embrace, the comforting beat of his heart, his outdoorsy smell, all things I didn’t realize I’d missed. Pulling back, I wiped quickly at my eyes, trying to get myself under control.
“Sorry,” I laughed awkwardly. “I’m not used to getting people back once I’ve lost them.”
“About that.” Marcus took my hand and led me over to a pair of chairs in front of a fire. “What’s happened?”
“Ben’s gone missing,” I whispered. “I was hoping you’d be able to help us look for him. Maybe you’d have some contacts?”
“Of course. What about Cody?”
“We need to get into Ben’s laptop.”
“He’ll be here in a few hours. He’s already on a plane.”
I squeezed Marcus’s hand. I couldn’t put into words the gratitude I felt, knowing he would willingly drop everything to help me, without even knowing why.
Without warning, Marcus looked past me, scanning the crowd around us with suspicious eyes.
“What?” I asked, alarmed at his change in demeanor.
“Nothing. It’s just that... Are you sure you’re safe here, Claire? Do you trust everyone?”
“Everyone who can get to our compound,” I told him, yet he still seemed unconvinced. “This is my home Marcus. What’s got you so spooked?”
“Something Cody mentioned when I called him. But I’d rather discuss it in private.”
“O-kay.” I pulled him up with me and headed for the elevator. “Once we get downstairs, I figure you and Mike can start working on stuff until Cody gets here.” Marcus nodded absently, still studying the influx of people in the lobby.
“Mike’s your fledgling?” he asked once the doors closed behind us. “He’s the one taking point on this?”
“Absolutely. The stuff on Erica Wheeler? All him.” When Marcus nodded as if impressed, I felt a spark of pride. My fledgling or not, Mike was definitely the best man for the job.
Marcus watched the floor numbers, shifting his weight from foot to foot as we descended. Once we’d made it past the parking garage, the floors were replaced by two asterisks, and the elevator paused; it would go no further without my keycard and code.
“Wait,” he said and stopped my hand before I could enter my code. “This should work.”
“Work for what, Marcus? Why all the secrecy? What’s gotten into you?”
“Cody told me something disturbing when I asked him to come down.” One hand on his hip, he scratched his cheek. Though the sound was something I thought of fondly in regards to Elliot, pair it with Marcus’s constant movement and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something is so not right.
“Do you remember when Elliot said he’d send Cody the phone we recovered from the vamps that attacked us?” Elliot’s coin appeared and Marcus flipped it between his fingers absently.
“Did he find something?”
“Sort of. We don’t know for sure who they’re working for, but they kept tabs on us through your computer.”
“How is that possible? We bought my computer on the spur of the moment!”
“Yes, but the one before that… I gave you.” He looked up at me through dark lashes, his coin stopping its circuit.
My head whipped back, my brain unable to keep up. With a frustrated breath, Marcus stored the coin and filled me in.
“All the equipment I brought to your boat that day? I’d requisitioned some of it from the Council and assumed you Elder had sent the rest. I don’t know when or how, but according to Cody, someone installed a cloud based tracking program on the laptop. Even after it blew up, once we retrieved stuff from the cloud, they could find us anytime we accessed the data on any computer. The coordinates were sent to their phones and…” His voice trailed off and he looked at me with anguish in his eyes.
“How do you know it wasn’t Cody?” My voice sounded as hollow as I felt; Marcus’s question about trusting everyone in our compound didn’t seem as ridiculous as it had before.
“He actually called me about it. Rung me up right after I got off the phone with you and told me everything. The kid’s torn up about it, especially after he found out I had transcended.”
I nodded silently. What else is there to say?
“I’m so sorry, Claire,” he said rushing to me and taking my hands in his. “I hate that I can’t tell you who did this or why; I only know it’s someone in the Council hierarchy, because they’re the only ones who’d be able to arrange something like this without me knowing. It just doesn’t make sense!” he growled. “Even in regards to the law, you can’t be that important.”
“Gee,” I groused, “way to make a girl feel special.”
“Jesus, that sounded awful.” Wiping his hand over his mouth, he furrowed his brow and tried again. “What I meant was, the consequences for whoever engineered this: withholding evidence from an investigator in order to steer a case to conviction, multiple attempts on our lives, and the collateral damage with all those humans back in Virginia… Whoever put this together would be in way more trouble than you, even if you were convicted.”
“But who would go to that much effort? Risk that much just to get at me?” I asked, stepping away from him. Collin would’ve, but he’s dead.
“And Regulus isn’t on the Council,” Marcus responded to my stray thought. The coin reappeared, but even its constant movement couldn’t keep him from fidgeting. “Until we figure it out, I suggest we stay on guard.”
“And get rid of that damn laptop,” I added, pushing in my code and starting our descent once again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Exiting the elevator, Marcus and I ended up at the tail end of the line to enter the common room. Mike’s meeting was about to begin.
Let’s do this first, I mentally told Marcus, it’ll get you caught up more or less. Then we can deal with the computer. With a shrug he followed me in.
I planned to stay at the fringes, but found no such luck. Marcus nudged my shoulder and nodded to the head of the room.
Khale stood before the group, dressed in khaki slacks and a salmon colored button up. Behind him and to the right, Sera eyed me pointedly, trying to get my attention.
She wants you to go up to the front, Marcus told me.
A little disconcerted, I shrugged and decided I might as well. Looking back to say as much to Marcus, I noticed something both curious and troubling. Th
e vampires closest to us studied him speculatively, and as I watched one and then another turned their heads toward him, inhaling deeply. If he noticed, he made no move to acknowledge it, but it made me more than a little nervous. Every minute I’d spent with Elliot, I’d become a little more obsessed with the way he smelled; Reave had referred to him as a delicacy. My decision made, I took his hand, bringing him up to the front with me.
Um, Claire? Marcus’s voice was hesitant. I don’t think I was invited.
Stow it, Pierce. They’re eyeing you like a fresh plate of beignets.
You know my name isn’t Pierce anymore, don’t you? He asked when we came to a stop at Khale’s left.
We can’t all be Buttercup. Cutting my eyes to the side, I caught a quick wink and felt him squeeze my hand before he dropped it.
“As some of you may know,” Khale began, “we are unable to locate Ben. In light of current and previous events,” this said with a brief glance in my direction, “we will treat the situation as if he is missing. Michael will be leading the search, and I know you will all be as forthcoming as possible.” Stepping back, he gestured to a seated Mike who rose to take center stage. A soft murmur preceded his arrival, and although I caught only the words “fledgling” and “experience” I got the gist.
They think he’s too young, Marcus confirmed.
Indignation flared and I made it a point to meet the eyes of each and every vampire in the room; they would listen or they would deal with me.
“Right now we’re trying to nail down his activity up until the time he was reported missing.” Mike flipped open a yellow legal pad. “Ben called me at around midnight last night. Did anyone talk to him after that?” The room stayed silent and he scribbled a note while he continued. “If you saw Ben at all last night, please raise your hand.”
Both Sera and I did, along with three other vampires and a human female.
“I’ll need to speak with you all in a moment. Also, can anyone tell me if they recognize this number?” Mike flipped open Ben’s cell phone and repeated some numbers; he was met with silence and shaking heads.