“Please”—the doctor motioned them forward to two seats in front of his desk—“sit.”
“Would you like me to stay, sir?” The commander’s cold tone contrasted Doctor Livingston’s warm one.
“No, thank you, Commander Brookhaven. That will be all.”
The commander give a stiff bow. She walked out of the room, closing the doors behind her.
“Since when do you have a bodyguard?” Sloan crossed her legs in her chair. “She seems … well trained.”
“Who? Commander Brookhaven?” The doctor sat in his high-backed chair. Through an enormous window behind him, there was a perfect view of the city. “She’s been with me for a long time. Only recently has she shown promise, thus promoted to her current rank. But let’s not talk about her. Tell me what I can do for you, Charlotte.”
Jack could practically feel all of the joy sucked from the room as Sloan bristled at the mention of a first name she hated for a reason still unknown to him.
Sloan cleared her throat, buying herself time to calm her temper.
“We found some interesting clues while we were in Burrow Den,” Jack jumped in. “We thought you may be able to help.”
“Really?” The doctor leaned forward in his chair. He looked from Jack to Sloan. “What kind of clues?”
“We were attacked by a group of outlaws led by an assassin named Scar. They were riding some kind of mage-powered bicycles stamped with your emblem,” Sloan said, cutting straight to the point. “And he wasn’t exactly human.”
Jack winced at her abruptness. Regardless of Sloan’s tactic, he waited eagerly to see what the doctor’s reaction would be.
If the doctor was guilty of such a crime or knowledge of one, he showed no sign. His eyebrows rose past the frame of his glasses in shock. “My sigil was stamped on these contraptions, you say?”
“That’s right.” Sloan’s tone was free from any emotion.
“Well, I’m sure I don’t know of—wait, wait just a moment.” Doctor Livingston opened a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a large folder. “You can imagine with an operation as large as my own, I don’t see every project through from inception to completion. At any given time, there are dozens of inventions underway. I do, however, remember seeing a report about some stolen product from one of my warehouses.”
Jack watched as the doctor flipped through a stack of papers and pulled one out. He turned the page upside down so both Sloan and Jack could see. It was a long list of missing products including beakers, tables, tools, ingredients Jack couldn’t even pronounce, and something marked at the end as “Project Mage Cycle.”
“So”—Sloan picked up the paper for closer inspection—“you’re saying that all of these things were stolen from you, despite the army of a security force you have and that ice queen commander of yours?”
“Well, no.” The doctor leaned back in his chair once more. “I increased my security because of the stolen goods. I’m happy to say that since I made the changes, nothing more has been taken or marked as missing.”
Jack found himself wanting to believe the man. If he was in fact lying, he had chosen a means in which his story was foolproof. How could they prove either way if the items had been stolen or used by Doctor Livingston?
“What about a scientist you have in your employment, one named Aaron Jebson?” Sloan placed the report back on the desk. “He was working on a project in Burrow Den.”
“You’ve seen the grounds and the number of workers I employ.” Doctor Livingston swiveled in his chair to look outside. “I can’t say for sure that I’ve never met him, but the name doesn’t ring a bell. Why do you ask?”
“He was found with a very disturbing journal.” Sloan used the pointer finger on her right hand to tap the list of missing products. “He was also working on a project that was aided by your tools. Tools that seem to be on the list you have there.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about the goings-on in Burrow Den, besides what the city paper tells me. However, I’d be more than happy to do a full investigation into the matter.” Doctor Livingston produced a gold pen and a clean, white piece of paper from another drawer. He began writing a note. “Aaron Jebson, you said? I’ll get my people right on it.”
“I’m sure you will.” Sloan words dripped with sarcasm.
“Sloan,” the doctor said, feigning indignation, “I’ve been nothing but helpful to the crown. If it weren’t for your stubbornness, we could even be more than acquaintances.”
Jack felt color creep into his face at the revelation. Not only was the doctor being incredibly forward, he also didn’t seem to care Jack was sitting in the room.
“We’ve been through that.” Sloan rose. “I’ll expect whatever information you have on Aaron Jebson by the end of the day.”
Chapter Thirteen
Jack
The two parties exchanged notes over lunch. Jack listened, wide-eyed, at Aareth and Abigail as they retold the events of their morning. At times, he forgot to chew the food in his mouth; he paused as if frozen as he caught and clung to every word.
While the information was being exchanged, Jack noticed Sloan and Aareth acting awkward around each other. Neither one of them made eye contact, their words brief.
Sloan’s eyes drifted to inspect the ceiling. Aareth concentrated on the plate in front of him. Abigail, for her part, sat quietly in her chair, picking at her peas.
“The Order,” Sloan finally said. “We should dig in there, find whatever is to be found about this mysterious group. Aaron Jebson was a dead end. We can be sure Doctor Livingston’s report on Aaron Jebson will be fruitless.”
Aareth finally looked up. “You think he’s lying? All I need is a few undisturbed minutes with the good doctor. I’ll get the truth out of him.”
“I wish,” Sloan chuckled. “I do think he’s hiding something. It’s hard for me to believe he’s the mastermind behind all of this, but who else is there? All signs point to Livingston and Edison working on the Vampire Project. Where this was sanctioned by the crown, it seems Livingston is taking things a step further on his own.”
“The ball tonight will be a great opportunity to find out who the city’s elite are.” Abigail poked at the food on her plate. “In Burrow Den, gossip was always a large part of any city event. I imagine it’s going to be the same here.”
“Good point.” Sloan pushed her chair away from the table. “We should all keep our eyes and ears open.”
“I’ve never been great at parties.” Aareth stood. “I’m going to hit the streets. If anyone has information about this Order, I’ll find it.”
Aareth was already heading for the door, when Jack stopped him. “You’ll need someone to go with you. I’ll just grab my stuff and—”
“No,” Aareth said so loudly, he’d almost shouted the word. “I work better on my own.”
“Remember who you represent,” Sloan reminded him as he reached the door. “You’re an upstanding inspector in the queen’s city.”
“I’ve been the upstanding citizen.” Aareth didn’t turn around. “It didn’t work out too well for me the first time.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Aareth was gone.
Jack exchanged looks with Sloan and Abigail, the latter avoiding his questioning stare. Just by the way she ducked his gaze, Jack knew there was more to Abigail and Aareth’s day then what had been shared.
Jack made a mental note to ask Abigail later, but he wouldn’t have to wait. Sloan had seen the same look on Abigail’s face, and she was less willing to let go of whatever it was that bothered Aareth.
“So what’s got Aareth all riled up?” Sloan eyed Abigail with a disapproving stare. “Spill it.”
“What?” Abigail shrugged. “What makes you think I would know anything?”
“Oh, lets see…” Sloan raised a gloved hand and lifted fingers as she listed off the reasons. “You haven’t made eye contact with anyone, you’ve only played with your food, you let Aareth tell the story of wh
at happened to you two today… Should I go on?”
“I do know more. I promised Aareth I wouldn’t say.” Abigail licked her lips. As if deciding for herself what she was going to say, she eyed Jack, then moved to Sloan. “You should hear it from him. It’s not my story to tell.”
The room was quiet. The two women stared into one another’s eyes as if the first one to look away was the loser. The tension built to the point where Jack was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“Why don’t we just ask Aareth today when he gets back?” Jack raised both hands in the sign of peace. Why? He didn’t know. It just seemed someone should be surrendering at this point. “There’s no reason for things to get ugly.”
“All right.” Sloan finally broke her gaze. “I have to prepare for the ball tonight. The queen’s security has to be better than airtight.”
“Thank you,” Abigail said.
“You’re welcome, Abigail.” Sloan stood from the table. She walked out the door. As if in afterthought, she looked back. “If you are going to be keeping secrets, you should have some kind of training. We’ll set aside some time to familiarize you with a sword.”
“Really?” Abigail’s green eyes brightened with excitement. “Thank you, Sloan.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Sloan said, leaving the room.
Jack and Abigail sat at the table alone. Jack could see the joy in Abigail’s face at the thought of training with Sloan. He wanted to be happy for her, but something in the back of his mind just wouldn’t allow the emotion. He knew that with training, Abigail would be put in danger. She’d be by Sloan’s side now, out in New Hope, tracking down clues.
“Don’t give me that look,” Abigail told Jack with a raised eyebrow. “I know that look.”
“What?” Jack twisted the muscles in his face to relax. “What look?”
“Like you’re the only one who’s allowed to fight and put his life in danger. I’m as much a part of this as you are now.”
“I get that. I do. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“I can live with that. But I made your father a promise about looking after you, and I’m going to keep that promise,” Abigail said, looking out the window to see the sun lowering behind the city wall. Something like foreboding crossed her face, a look that said she had put off the inevitable long enough.
“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.
“It’s time. Elizabeth has her meeting with the psychologist the queen had called for.” Abigail rubbed her eyes. “It’s silly, really. I don’t know if any news at this point would be good news. Whatever they find, it’s going to change everything for her, for us.”
Jack stood up, walked over to Abigail, and embraced her. It wasn’t a romantic hug. It was what she needed now, just someone to be there and hold her. She allowed him to pull her into his chest. They stood quiet for a moment, both breathing as one.
“I’ll go with you.” Jack rested his chin on top of her head. “We’re a team, and I’d rather be on your good side now that you’re going to learn how to fight.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jack
Elizabeth sat on her stool in the observation room as if she hadn’t a care in the world. The little girl pushed herself from the table in front of her and sent her seat spinning, over and over again.
Jack and Abigail stood on the other side of the see-through glass with Fenrick Trillion and Lieutenant Baker, who had returned to the palace. With Sloan securing the grounds for the ball, the lieutenant was the officer she trusted the most. As the queen’s advisor and treasurer, Fenrick had been asked to be there in place of the queen.
The room Elizabeth sat in was plain, with two steel chairs and a steel table. The only other piece of furniture was a large machine with wires and buttons Jack didn’t recognize.
“The psychologist should be here any moment,” Fenrick wheezed as he produced a gold timepiece from his black vest pocket. A glance at the pocket watch told him he was correct. “She’s usually early.”
“I’m sure your sister will be fine,” Lieutenant Baker reassured Abigail, who stood with her arms crossed, rocking back and forth from her toes to her heels. “She has the best care in New Hope now.”
Abigail managed a smile.
Jack was about to say something to agree with the lieutenant, when the door to Elizabeth’s room opened. A middle-aged woman stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She wore a white lab coat and carried a clipboard in her right hand.
“Hello, Elizabeth,” the woman said, “my name is Leah Noble. I’m a doctor here on staff with the palace.”
“Hello,” Elizabeth said, bringing her spinning to a stop. She wobbled a bit on her seat while she regained her balance.
“I’ve been told you are very smart for your age, so I’m going to treat you like an adult. There’s nothing worse than being talked down to.” Leah sat at the table across from Elizabeth. “I’m going to go over the information I have on my clipboard, just to confirm I have accurate material.”
“I can live with that.” Elizabeth drummed her fingers on the table. “I can probably save us both some time just by answering everything you have on the sheet. At least, I can guess at it.”
“Great idea.” The doctor lifted the clipboard off the table so Elizabeth couldn’t see what was written on the paper. “Go ahead, when you’re ready.”
“My name is Elizabeth Rose Ahab. I’m ten years old. My mother left me before I can remember. I have one sister. My father was a troubled man. He became the monster he feared and was killed.” Elizabeth rattled off the information as if she were reading things from a list of someone else’s life. “We’re here because I was abducted for days, maybe weeks, and my memory was wiped. During this time, experiments that I can’t remember were done on me, and as a result, my brain power is far greater than it should be.”
“Impressive.” Leah’s eyebrows rose. She was clearly surprised, but recovered well as she checked off boxes on her clipboard and made notes. “Well, you did a great job answering my questions before I even asked them. We can start with a few simple tests just to assess your brainpower. If you can’t complete these tests, don’t worry. They are designed to be impossible. We gage how far you get along the process.”
“Okay.” Elizabeth rolled up her sleeve. “How much blood do you need?”
“Blood? What?” Leah shook her head with a confused smile on her full lips. “No, it’s not that kind of exam.”
“Oh, I thought for sure your mind was on the subject of blood.”
“Here’s the first test.” Doctor Noble ignored Elizabeth’s words. She walked to the desk in the room and rummaged through the contents to produce a hand-sized ball with multicolored sides. She handed the object to Elizabeth. “This is called a rubix sphere. The idea is—”
“To get all the sides of the same color together.” Elizabeth examined the ball from all directions. “I can do it.”
“Okay.” Doctor Noble reached into her pocket. She produced a square watch she placed on the table. “Begin.”
Elizabeth started working on the ball in silence.
Jack took the opportunity to look at Abigail to see how she was holding up with the testing.
“She seems to be doing well so far.” Jack placed a hand on Abigail’s shoulder. “She’s going to be fine.”
“Yeah.” Abigail managed a smile. “She’s not the shy type. I actually think she might—”
“Great wheel in the sky,” Fenrick whispered as he brought his face so close to the glass, his words painted steam on the panel. “She did it.”
Jack and Abigail turned to see what had caught Fenrick’s attention. Elizabeth was holding up the multicolored sphere, having successfully placed each color together on its designated side.
“That … that’s remarkable, Elizabeth.” Leah Noble, who had so far managed to keep her composure, was fumbling for words. “You accomplished the impossible in mere seconds.”
Elizabeth shrugged as i
f she had expected nothing less. She passed the item to the doctor, who accepted it with awe.
“Wait.” The doctor flipped papers on her clipboard until she came across a series of images. The first was a black butterfly. The drawing faced the doctor and the four silent partners on the other side of the glass. There was no way Elizabeth could have seen the picture. “I can’t believe I’m asking you this, but can you read—”
“It’s a butterfly.” Elizabeth propped her head up on her hand. “An inky black one.”
“How … how could you tell?” Leah Noble asked in wonder. “You can read my thoughts, can’t you?”
“Don’t be mad at me. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d worry.” Elizabeth looked to the glass and directly at Abigail. “But yes, I can read people’s thoughts.”
Tears were welling in Abigail’s eyes. The three men in the room looked at her with worry, concern, and intrigue.
“It’s going to be all right.” Jack tried pulling her in for a hug. “They’re going to take care of her here. She’s safe.”
“Is she? Is she, Jack? Anything that can be used as a weapon, will be used as a weapon. You saw what happened to the wolf in Burrow Den.” Abigail pulled away from Jack’s hug. She skewered Fenrick and the lieutenant with a hard stare. “Will you guarantee me her safety?”
“She’ll be safe,” Lieutenant Baker reassured her. “She’s only a girl. The queen would never think of using her in any kind of way.”
Fenrick licked his lips and looked away.
Chapter Fifteen
Aareth
“Last I heard, you were roaming the Outland, out for hire to the highest bidder. Then your name pops up with this Burrow Den nonsense. There were even rumors you had died. Well, what is it now? Hero working for the crown?”
“What do you think, Gunny?” Aareth brought the mug of beer to his lips and took a long gulp. “Do I strike you as the savior type?”
The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5) Page 25