Mere Passion (12 page)

When the Council Chair answered, his voice oozed concern. “The kidnappings of the little girls, of course. You should have been informed. Perhaps you don’t have the ear of the right people.”

Kai simmered in irritation that Alara had kept information from him. He doubted it had been an oversight. “When?”

“Two were taken last night, and I believe another was kidnapped this morning.” Woodard paused. “The forces on the island likely need help. I can arrange for a group of soldiers to come as early as tomorrow morning.”

Kai knew that Alara would never invite outside interference, but he also knew the mermaid was too stubborn for her own good. Bidden or not, he would help her. His men would swoop in and save the day, and Alara would blush and stutter in gratitude. A picture of her happy face welcoming him into her arms and her bed flashed in his imagination.

“Yes, Chair Woodard, please send them. I’m sure the mere will be grateful.”

* * * *

Karon watched the little meres' chests rise and fall as they lay intubated on their cots. They’d almost drowned during the capture, turning to human either in panic or as the result of Dr. Grathers’ new invention, the attractant purified from pixie dust. Thank God Karon only used a fraction of the dose recommended. Otherwise he may have killed more mere than he caught.

The children awaited transport to a nearby research facility, but Karon dragged his feet about making the call. He imagined Gracie’s voice pleading with him to release them. The succubus was like a fucking conscience he didn’t need.

With a word to Doc Rouger to keep the girls sedated and comfortable, Karon trudged up the metal grate stairs toward the upper level of the boat. When he reached his office, Gracie sat on his desk awaiting his arrival.

“Hi, John.” She looked healthy enough. He didn’t want to wonder if that was still the effects of the time she’s spent with him or if she’d broken her “no sex with crew” rule.

“Hey, Gracie. What’s up?” Maybe she’d come to say
goodbye
. He stiffened his lips at the thought.

“There’s volcanic activity in Iceland so I’m stuck onboard till the smoke clears.” She looked down as she said it. He noticed a bit of red around the edges of her hazel eyes. “I hope that’s OK with you. It’s so cold here. I don’t want to have to stay in town.” Her voice held a plaintive edge. Karon’s heart thumped hard in his chest. He’d ask her to stay forever if she could handle his work.

He only replied. “That’s fine.”

She nodded stiffly. “John, what do you know of the vampire government?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, the succubi are very poorly organized. We have local Madames who deal with local disputes and communicate with Madames from other areas. But I’ve heard the vampire senate has a lot of power and influence.”

Karon saw where she was going and raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “Even if I did have contacts in the senate—which I don’t—they are in favor of Dendric’s work. Latency is a big issue in the vampire community, and they have high hopes for Grathers’ cure.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, they’ll be glad to hear it works.”

He felt the color drain from his face. “Regardless of whether I tell him or not, the senate won’t fight Dendric no matter what stolen files you send.”

Gracie’s perfect mouth twisted into a pout. “You could petition them, tell them how he tortures his subjects. They have human connections—influential human connections!”

Karon stroked her arm. “Gracie, they’re vampires! They don’t care if members of other species get tortured. In fact, they don’t care if vampires get tortured! You need to understand, no one is going to stop Dendric’s work. It makes too many people too much money. And I hate to say it, but they do cure a lot of normal human diseases, too.”

Gracie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. They’d had this argument before, and each time got them even more nowhere.

She then walked to the door, brushing past his sleeve-covered arm on her way. The contact caused her to stop then look up at his face. “John…” Her eyebrows knit together as if she was searching for something. “Have you been eating enough?”

He knew what she saw. The mirror showed his skin sallow and sunken around the eyes. His lips had a bluish hue. “I’ve been eating fine. Just not people.” He said it with a laugh, but Gracie looked concerned.

“John. You know that you need to have blood now, right?” Her voice was sweet, soothing. It tempted him to wrap his arms around her and kiss her lips to taste her concern. He pulled away a few inches.

“Yeah, but I live on a boat. I can’t chow down on the crew. I can’t handle that kind of staff turnover.” He scrubbed at his scalp at the thought of it.

Gracie’s hands were on her hips now. A grumpy expression marred her pretty face. She turned her head to the side and lifted her hair, exposing the pale olive column of her neck. Luscious blue veins pulsed just below the surface, calling to him. “Drink already!”

A wave of desire overcame him, and he pulled her to him. Her long, lean body pressed against the length of his. His fangs descended as his cock rose, both pulsing with the desire to penetrate. He pulled back, his want tempered with alarm. “You asked me not to do this.”

She shrugged. Her eyes were sad, but her mouth curled hopefully. “We all change our minds at some point.”

* * * *

Florian waited in his room for the Skype communication with Council Chair Woodard. He hated being ignored. Soon enough, everyone would learn to stand up and take notice of him. Finally, the small beep issued from his laptop computer, and he clicked to answer the call. The face of the human-form dragon stared at him from the other side of the video chat. The chairman’s coloring was pale for a dragon, a medium shade of tan, and his hair was cut in a short, conservative fashion. He looked more like a newscaster than a warrior.

“Florian, Elijah here. What’s the status?”

Florian winced at Elijah’s harsh tone. He wasn’t the dragon’s servant. “Things appear to be going according to plan. Alara was unable to find any leads on the children today. She seems good and fucked.” He chuckled to himself about his double-meaning. “One question, how is the boat staying so well hidden? It must be pretty big, but it’s not even showing up on radar.”

The Council Chair’s freakishly handsome face pulled up into an evil smile. “Dr. Grathers has developed both visual and auditory cloaking technologies similar to the ones used by mere habitats.”

Florian clenched his teeth. He didn’t like the idea of humans replicating his abilities. “When are your men arriving?”

“Tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t advise you share this information with anyone. It’s best if it comes from General Kai.” The Council Chair spoke slowly, like Florian was too stupid to understand.

“Of course. The men love Kai. They think he’s like some kind of superhero or something.” His eye twitched in irritation. The dragon had won the respect and admiration of half the island in just a few days, while Florian had lived his whole life overlooked and overshadowed.

“And Florian, I’ve been thinking. You should enlist Alara’s help in the overthrow,” Elijah said in an offhand manner, as if his suggestion wasn’t an insult.

“Why the fuck would I involve that bitch? She’s going down, just like my father.”

“Now Florian.” The Council Chair adopted that slow, comforting voice that rubbed the prince raw. “You know the people need new leadership to have a familiar face. They love and trust Alara. You need her by your side when you take the throne, at least in the beginning.”

“And how the hell do you expect me to get her on my side? That bitch hates me!”

The Council Chair chuckled again, that kindly uncle laugh that made Florian want to reach through the screen and slap him. “Once the triton supports the dragon soldiers in taking over her forces, she’ll be more than happy to remove him from power.”

Florian thought for a moment. Reluctantly he agreed that the plan was sound. “True. She’s been shuffling tasks away from him for years. I think she questions his fitness to rule almost as much as I do.”

The face on screen nodded solemnly. “That’s right! Find common ground. She’ll prove an ally in the end.”

Florian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but what happens once I take the throne and she figures out my plans?”

The Chairman’s face split into a wide smile that sent a chill through Florian’s thin skin. “Dr. Grathers has already mailed you the substance I told you about. Once public opinion is on your side, you can dispose of the triton at your leisure. By the time your sister realizes what’s happened she will have lost everything and will have no allies left to help her fight.”

* * * *

Alara trudged up the path from the docks. Behind her, another batch of her soldiers left for another round of concentric sweeps. She heard the thrum of a motor starting as the boats left harbor and the splash of troops diving in the water. No doubt each of them was as exhausted as she was.

The dragon’s visit had already stretched her resources to capacity, and for an emergency to occur right at this moment? The timing couldn’t have been worse. She bit at the edges of her fingers as she walked. Things were spiraling completely out of her control, and she didn’t even want to contemplate what she needed to do next.

Dusk fell as she reached the Glass House. The footsteps sounding through the halls were fast, frantic, showing no signs of readying for night. Everyone was on edge because of the kidnappings. Alara knocked hesitantly at the triton’s door. When he didn’t answer right away she almost scurried away. Then the low kindly voice she so loved emanated from the room, telling her to enter.

His long white hair reached well past his shoulders, and a graying beard of the same length rested on his chest. His wrinkled face curled in a gentle smile. For the first time in a while, she realized why he was such a good leader. He truly cared—about his people, about his children. If he made mistakes, at least they were out of kindness.

She took a seat in the small chair in front of his desk. “Dad, I am so completely fucked.” Her head hung low. Never in her thirty-five years as leader of the armed forces had she felt so defeated.

His voice chided. “Alara, that’s no way to talk. You’re doing the best you can. You’ve defended Murrough against sharks for thirty five years, and other than the incident last summer, you’ve defeated every threat. Every leader loses some battles.”

His look was so solemn she wanted to burst into tears. “We can’t find anything. Not a blip! Not a ripple! It’s like nothing is there. But something, or somebody, must be out there because another report of a kidnapping just came in. They’re picking the kids off one by one. Why? How? And why are they motherfucking invisible?”

The triton’s forehead creased in thought. “I sent an email to the Dragon Council asking if they had any information, but I never heard back. Have you asked that General Kai for his input?”

She frowned. “No.”

The triton’s smile became too knowing. “Alara, you are the most capable woman I’ve met since your mother. But you need to ask for help.” When she winced he continued. “I’m not saying the dragons can solve problems better than us, or that they have all the answers. But it’s not fair to those girls if you discount resources out of prejudice.”

She took a deep breath. Her father was right. She forgot he did that sometimes. “I know, Dad. It’s just that I get the feeling that if I give him an inch he’ll take a mile, y’know?”

Now his face broke into a broader smile, maybe a little mocking and way more understanding than she was comfortable with. “Some males are like that, my daughter. He’s decent, though, that dragon. He won’t take advantage of a weakness.”

It was true. Kai wasn’t a monster. She would ask for his help. Maybe he wouldn’t have anything useful to offer, but at least she would try. The picture of his hopeful and open face at her door that morning sent a little ripple of guilt through her. The princess wondered if she might have to do a little smoothing over.