“Most Blanches Dames are. And no. She hasn’t given me permission. I am taking it. She will be kept safe. No matter what I have to do.” He might have been mistaken, but he thought there was approval in the wolf’s eyes. “Jade’s mother was your mate?”
“Hell no. The woman is a damned viper. She’s not seen the girls since Jade was a child.”
“Where is she now?”
“She works in Milan.” The wolf’s tone told him the male had fought against that. He was Lupoiux. His children had been harmed. It surprised him the woman still lived. “She’s never spoken to Jade for more than a minute. Their paths crossed once when Jade was twelve.”
“And she is fully human? Jade’s mother?”
The wolf nodded. “As far as I know. She definitely wasn’t a damned fae.”
“Then we need to delve deeper into your father’s files. I have many in the healer’s hall. They are sealed and guarded.”
“Tell me the truth, healer. My father is guilty of all that Rathan’s female has said?”
Barlaam nodded. “I’ve signed the death certificates for over seventy-five Dardaptoans from within the city limits myself. Just this year. Over five hundred others have gone through my office in the last thirty years. All had a tattoo on them somewhere. TI and a serial number. We were able to trace that back to your father four months ago.”
“And that’s why your people targeted my daughter?”
“The matter was brought before the Great Council. Some of our Kind wanted your entire bloodline wiped from the earth. Theo talked them down to the first four of the third generation found.”
“And that was Joselyn and her cousins.”
“I fought against it. Rydere and Aodhan as well. But Theo…Theo worded it so that the first four would live. Just be changed. It’s because of him they lived. And that the rest of your family survives.”
“Should we be grateful? My children have nothing to do with whatever he has done.”
“I know. And that is why I fought my own brother to protect them. It is just thanks to the goddess that things turned out as well as they did. But your family must be careful. There are many who are not thrilled with how this has turned out. Jade will be protected by me. I am of the highest ruling family of our tribe. None would dare harm her now.”
“See that stays that way. In the meantime, anyone even comes near my family, and I will handle them personally.”
Barlaam held out his hand. “I understand. And I do not blame you for feeling that way. Many of us are working to change the law that endangered your nieces and daughter to begin with. It will just take time.”
The wolf snorted. “I know how archaic some of the Kinds can be.”
Barlaam unlocked the door that led to the administration department of the healer’s hall. It ran much like a regular hospital, though there was a larger hospital four blocks from the resort that resembled a human hospital. That hospital had three wings, one which was designed for the humans that did live and work in the city. Those healers also reported to him and to Thadd, Theo’s younger brother. They couldn’t completely keep humans out. One of Aodhan’s cousins, Kierce, was in charge of keeping the knowledge of the Kinds away from the human citizens of the city. It was not an easy task. “My office is the third on the left. Kindara’s is directly next to mine.”
“Rathan said she was…that my father…”
“He tortured her, scarred her, killed her male, and caused her to lose her unborn son. Her daughter Jierra was born in his lab to a cousin of Kindara. They and one or two others are the only survivors that I am aware of. There may be more. He took many victims from all three of the US tribes of Dardaptoans and fourteen victims from the Canadian.”
“I’m sorry. I know that’s inadequate, but had I known what he was doing”—the wolf looked sick—“I would have killed him myself. I would have stopped him.”
“There was no clue your father is a sociopath and a psychopath?” Barlaam could believe it. Monsters like Taniss were damned good at hiding who and what they were.
“He’s a bastard. Cold, uncaring. He spent more time away from my mother than he did with her, from about the time I was six. Before that, I mostly remember him working. He’s been at maybe a handful of family functions every year. But he’s alienated almost everyone in the family he’s ever had contact with. He provided for us. I think my grandfather held the purse strings until his death fifteen years ago. By that point, my elder brothers had taken over from my grandfather directly. We kept him away from our children as much as possible. But he was there a few times each year.”
“Around them long enough to enact his little experiments.” Barlaam went to his secure cabinet and unlocked it. He pulled out the folders. “I’ve only read Jade’s and Mickey’s.”
The wolf took the files. “I’m not a doctor. I’m in sales. I could ask Joselyn, but I’m not ready for her to know exactly what he did.”
“Joselyn’s already seen some of the files. She knows.”
“Does she know her own grandfather experimented on her sister? Did he experiment on her?” Taniss searched through the files. He cursed.
Barlaam looked down at the file as the other male spread it on the desk. There was a photo of a little blond girl on the top of the file. No doubt there were other photos within it. “You’ve found one with Joselyn’s name.”
The wolf nodded. He opened it quickly. “Tell me what this means?”
Barlaam took the sheet and noted the date of approximately twenty years ago. “It looks like your daughter had a viral infection.”
“That was the infection that left her profoundly deaf. What’s this right here?”
“This isn’t an official hospital file. What happened?”
“I was on a business trip. I left the girls with their mother. Jade was only seven weeks or so and had caught a virus from Emily and Marsh, my nephew. All the kids came down with it that week. My sister-in-law, Emily’s mother, called. She was concerned for my girls. By the time I got home, my ex had called my father. He was the closest licensed physician, she told me. Joselyn…she said her mother had locked her in her room. That her crying was annoying her. Jade…was with the nanny, who was a friend of my wife’s. She was being cared for, but Joselyn…by the time I found her, the fever had spiked over 105. My father had given her a shot of antibiotics but they weren’t working. I took both girls to the hospital, but it was too late. Joselyn had lost her hearing, and Jade ended up in the pediatric ICU. I almost lost them both.”
“These are no antibiotics I recognize,” Barlaam said after reading over the report. “He gave her something else. Something here. I don’t know what this is, either.”
Written in the file was a notation in Leo Taniss’s hand. Left subject profoundly deaf. Needs more research before additional testing.
“He caused her to lose her hearing, didn’t he?” Taniss asked. “My father hurt my daughter. He hurt both of my daughters and probably my brothers’ children as well.”
Barlaam nodded. “Yes. He did. The true extent of what he’s done will probably never be fully known.”
“He’s near Fort Collins now. I’ll give you the address. And I will go with you to get him.”
“I’ll call my brother. Aodhan will be the one to organize the team to apprehend him.”
“Good. Because I’m going to rip him to shreds if I get to him first.”
26
There was no way she was staying in some hotel room—even if it was the most beautiful she’d ever seen—when her family was off somewhere without her.
Jade finger combed her hair. Her bags still hadn’t arrived. That didn’t matter.
She was going to go find her sister and her dad. Barring that, she was going to find her cousins. And some answers.
Or at least the beginning of a plan.
Jade opened the door to the hallway and stepped through. A vampire—she was getting good at recognizing them—in a security uniform stopped her. “Miss, may I help
you find something?”
“Yeah. I’m looking for Emily.” She held her hand up about shoulder height. “This tall. Thirty. Adorable. Brown hair. Hangs with the guy named Rydere.”
“He is Barlaam’s brother.” The guy bowed to her. Actually bowed. Jade had to smirk at that. He was a beautiful vampire. She hadn’t needed to see the fangs to know he was one of the Dardaptoans. “Barlaam has asked me to keep you safe.”
“Ah, you’re my new babysitter.”
He hesitated. “No, miss. I am just to send him a message when you needed him.”
“How convenient for him.” He didn’t want her, but he wanted some cute vampire spying on her. It would serve Barlaam right if she just took this vampire out to lunch or something. “And where exactly is he?”
“I believe he accompanied a Lupoiux to the healer’s hall. It is four floors down from where we are. As for the Dahn, she is most likely in the lounge with the rest of her family. Your family. Would you like me to take you there?”
“Just lead on, McVampire. I shall follow you.”
An amused look flitted over his face. “Yes, miss.”
“So…how old are you? Know of any places to find a good pizza around here?”
“Depends. What’s your favorite topping?”
“Anything. As long as it’s tomato sauce and not blood on the menu.”
“You’re going to give Barlaam fits, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to do my best.”
Maybe. If he decided he wanted her. Right now, that was a pretty big if.
27
She found Emily, her sister, Mickey and Mallory first. They were in a small sitting room that was as big as her and Joselyn’s entire bungalow.
And they were arguing. “Well, nice to see some things don’t really change, even when one’s family becomes vampires. What’s shaking?”
“I just don’t think it will work,” her sister said. Joselyn didn’t talk much. Only when she was really emotional about something. Her sister had a quieter personality, much like Mickey and Cass.
Unless her temper was ignited, anyway.
Mallory and Emily had a habit of igniting her temper. “What won’t work?”
“Emily and Mallory believe bringing the new branch of Taniss Industries here, and focusing on finding pharmaceuticals for the Dardaptoans, would be one way to fix what Grandfather has done.”
“Honestly, I don’t think anything we do is going to fix a darned thing,” Jade said. “This is what you were trying to talk to Rand and Dad about at the vacation house?”
“Yes,” Emily said. “We need to find a way to make this work. So that the four of us don’t give up everything we’ve worked for. I’m not ready to do that—but I’m not ready to not have time with Rydere, either.”
“And you think this is the right solution? From what I understand, these people kind of hate us right now.”
“But Emily is basically their queen. And the rest of us…” Mallory put in. “Well, Aodhan, Theo and Cormac pull some serious weight around here. We can make this work.”
“Except it means completely dismantling everything Joselyn has worked on in the past year or so. She’ll have to start from scratch. And head up the entire research and development by herself,” Mickey said. “Joselyn said she can’t do that to Anna. Anna’s depending on her to finish their projects now.”
Jade nodded. “That makes a lot of sense. I like Anna. I wouldn’t want to leave her in the lurch.” She turned to her sister. “You may want to call her soon, by the way. She was absolutely frantic over you. Never believed the memo Rand put out for even a moment.” Jade settled on the couch next to Mickey.
Joselyn nodded, then signed her answer. —I will. I think she should come here. There are other humans in Dardanos.
“Why can’t she?” Jade asked. “Why can’t we move some of the important staff here? Didn’t someone say we already had a bunch who were willing to move whenever we decided where we wanted the new company?”
“That was before we realized Grandfather had been stealing from the 401K program. And R&D, and practically every other place he could,” Mallory said grimly. “We’re talking over 4.4 million just these past two years alone.”
Jade winced. Mallory had been auditing the books five months ago when she’d found the first discrepancies. “What kind of assets do we have that we can liquidate to fix it?”
“I was in the process of figuring that out when Aodhan—”
“Decided to make you his vampire bride?”
“Something like that. Hopefully, my father kept at it while I’ve been gone.”
He probably had. Her uncle Marshall was a financial genius. And a giant teddy bear. Although he looked like a hard-ass, he really wasn’t. “I don’t know what they told the uncles and aunts. I just know Rand made me promise not to say a thing about you being missing. He promised he’d find you. So…how do we make this work? Because let me tell you all something, I’m not going to come home and find people I love have disappeared again.”
Emily hugged her. Jade resisted the urge to just cling like a small child. “No, you won’t. I’m sorry it was you, sweetie. Not that it would have been all that great for anyone, but…”
Jade turned toward the window. It really was a nice room, and the window looked out at the courtyard below. There was a dark-haired man, vampire, beneath the window. He was dressed entirely in black. She just watched him for a long moment as something tickled her brain. The future. “This isn’t over. There is still more. Three more.”
“What do you mean?” Mallory asked, a wary expression on her face. “Jade?”
Jade shook her head. “I don’t know. I just know that there are three. Whatever that means. Logically, I think it means Becca, me, and Cass. Or it can be Loren, Mara, and Becca. Or Dad, Uncle Marshall, and Uncle Mitchell. Or Rand and Mitch and Marsh. But…I don’t know. It’s just…something is telling me that this is not finished yet. That things might just get a bit more complicated for all of us. Maybe Mickey can ask her hokey goddess.”
“Jade, you know I don’t believe—” Mickey started.
The lights flickered. Thunder cracked overhead.
Jade wouldn’t admit it, but she’d jumped just as much as Mickey had.
“Ok, so maybe I’m starting to. I think I’ll ask Theo if he’s seen anything lately.” Mickey looked spooked. Jade couldn’t blame her. Somewhere there was a goddess watching Mickey. That would spook anyone. “Has anyone heard from Becca?”
Jade shook her head. She hadn’t forgotten what she had seen hours earlier. “No. She’s in trouble, but she’s safe right now, though. We’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Jade, seriously?” Mallory asked with irritation. “Now you’re going to tell me you really do see the future. I’m not so sure I believe Theo does at this point.”
“Do you doubt that Rathan is a demon?” Jade asked.
“Well…no.”
“I definitely don’t doubt it. Though he’s far more handsome,” Mickey added, getting a small flashlight out of a side drawer and checking the batteries quickly. More thunder rumbled overhead.
“Getting prepared, Mick?”
“I hate storms.”
“No kidding.” Mickey really was getting spooked. Jade could tell. “Becca will be ok. It will all be ok. Eventually. It’s going to take a while for everything to settle down. They…they’re going to bring grandfather here soon, I think. And something will happen. We need to get ready.”
“Jade? Just stop with the crazy talk, ok?” Mallory asked. “I’m not certain any of us can handle it right now.”
Jade just shrugged. Her family never had believed her before. Now that they were vampires, at least she didn’t have to hide it though. Didn’t have to hide just how strong it actually was.
“Ok, fine. But I’m not going to tell you what’s going to happen to Uncle Marshall. Or my Dad. Or Anna. Or Marsh or Mitch or Uncle Mitchell…or Cass. Cass is the craziest of all.”
; “Jade, that’s enough,” Emily said. “If you really have seen something we need to know, just tell us, ok? I promise we’ll all believe you this time.”
“Gee, thanks.” Jade smirked again. “Ok…you want to know a secret? I’ll tell you one. Barlaam is the vampire I’m supposed to marry. Only problem is, he said no when I asked him. So…how do I get him to convert me? I know you all know.”
Well, that had the desired effect.
They all shut up and just stared. Sometimes, her family was no real help at all.
28
Barlaam studied the old man contemptuously. He knew what the son of a bitch had done. To himself. “You are no longer human.”
“I’m better than human,” Leo Taniss said. He was restrained, and now in a concrete cell two wings below the healer’s hall. The man looked his eighty-something years, but he wasn’t human any longer.
His age was just an act.
But what he was, Barlaam didn’t know quite yet.
It didn’t matter. It was just a matter of time before he was sentenced to death for his crimes. Every living thing could die. It was just harder for some than others.
“I don’t think any one Kind is better than any other,” Barlaam said, quietly. “Tell me. What was it you hoped to accomplish by harming so many?”
Taniss spit at him. “Making humanity stronger than all you damned animals.”
“Animals? You refer to your son Jason and your grandson, Rand?” Theo asked. As the judge for their people he had the right to be present at every interview with any accused.
Barlaam didn’t miss the surprise. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“Jason and Rand—they have been Lupoiux for twenty-one years.”
The old man cursed and spit and fought. “You lie.”
Barlaam stood. He could not stomach this foul creature any longer. “I do not lie. And…there is something else you should know.”
“What?”
“Your granddaughters? The children they will bring into this world—they will be Dardaptoan. It is done. Emily, Mallory, Joselyn, Michaela…and Jade. They have become Dardaptoan. The very creatures you despise. And you…will die here alone.”
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