Blood Dark (35 page)

F
einith’s heels
clicked along the path nestled between the twenty-foot-high metal containers, the storage grounds the perfect maze for them to meet.

Kane waited in the shadows as she approached.

She stopped a few feet away, jutted one hip higher than that other, her hands poised on her slender hips. She raised an eyebrow as she assessed her surroundings, her sneer expressing her impression of the site he had summoned her to on the east side.

‘At last we get to meet,’ Feinith said. ‘Though this is far from my usual choice of rendezvous.’

He wasn’t going to be there any longer than he needed to be. The less contact time he had with her the better.

‘You’ve been exposing vampire secrets to the TSCD,’ he said.

‘Ah.’ She folded her arms. ‘I wondered when you’d finally be ready to discuss that with me.’

‘Why?’

‘Things were getting intense, Kane. The Global Council has got more and more impatient waiting for the cure – the cure you continue to refuse to share knowledge of. The Higher Order were on the verge of being ousted from Midtown, and it is in all of our best interests for the Higher Order to remain in some position of influence.’

‘So you did a deal with Carter. You were the one who exposed what I am and what I know to the TSCD.’

‘They wanted to kill you, Kane. I told them they needed to keep you alive. So, yes, I told them you were the only one who knew of the cure. That only master vampires knew.’

‘Why tell Carter about the serryn’s role in the prophecy?’

‘Fourteen years ago, Sirius Throme upped the pressure on Carter to bring you in. It was Throme’s idea to use your sister. But, of course, it didn’t go according to plan. After Rick Parish’s suspicious death, Throme rarely left Carter’s side, and never more so than when the same happened to Rick’s wife. After that, Throme had a private arrangement with Carter not to bring you in. He never explained why.’

Because Sirius had worked out about the soul ripper – and he had bigger plans than just the cure.

‘When Caitlin showed an interest in your case, it was Throme who insisted she be allowed to head it up,’ Feinith added. ‘Carter wasn’t happy about it, for obvious reasons. As far as they were concerned, you knew nothing about the TSCD’s involvement in Arana’s death but putting Caitlin in the mix could somehow draw threads together. Throme dismissed it. He explained them as needing to be seen to be doing something to bring you in but that Caitlin, being so new, would inevitably fail. She was the perfect mask.’

And it was the perfect way to ensure their paths eventually crossed.

‘Not long after that, Carter arranged to meet me,’ Feinith continued. ‘He wanted to know what else you had to hide aside from the cure that would explain Sirius’s motivation for delaying any capture. He became suspicious that you were this prophesied vampire leader and that Throme was somehow embroiled with the Higher Order. He threatened exposure. He threatened to go direct to the vice head of the Global Council. It would have meant a mass hunt for you and even more reason to remove the HO from Midtown. To reassure them that the uprising was coming no time soon, I told Carter that the presence of a serryn in Blackthorn would be the sign they needed to look for. He’s been cross-referencing vampire deaths ever since.’

‘And by doing so you increased the chance of the TSCD killing her to prevent the Tryan rising? How was that a good idea?’

‘I told him the truth. I told him the death of the serryn brought about the prophesy; that she needed to stay alive.’

‘
Very
clever.’

‘I knew we stood a better chance of finding her if we had the TSCD inadvertently working to help us. We were maximising our chances of finding one by having Carter involved.’

‘And if he did get her?’

‘I would have got her somehow.’

‘But Carter told me you and he had big plans. He talked about us forming an alliance. About me being left to rule Blackthorn in peace.’

‘He knew Throme had his own plans for you. Frustrated by being out of the loop, he knew his best allegiance would be with me. He wanted to find that cure and he knew it was in both our best interests to get it. I told him it was the only way we could was for him to strike a deal with you. I knew he’d eventually double-cross us, but that was irrelevant. I have been trying to find you, Kane, to tell you. But you have ignored my requests.’

Kane shortened the gap between them whilst remaining at arm’s length. He stared deep into her eyes, her pupils flaring then constricting rapidly.

‘I find out you’ve been exposing sacred vampire secrets to the one responsible for the murder of my sister and you expect me to respond to your summons?’

‘I’ve been working for us, Kane. For all of us.’

‘Is that why you put Caleb inside?’

Her eyes flared but they didn’t waver.

‘Oh, come on, Feinith, at least take the credit for it. I know you met Leila at Caleb’s place. I know you know she was a serryn, just as you know she lost it. She’s told me all about your visit.’

Feinith’s frown deepened.

‘You’re as aware of what’s been going on with the fourth species as much as I have been,’ Kane added, ‘which means you have put two and two together the same as I have. You’ve worked out what Caleb is, haven’t you?’

She laughed lightly as she glanced around. ‘And what would that be, Kane?’ she asked, her laugh abruptly depleting as her eyes met his again, a lethal gravity creeping into them.

‘What’s the bet that you’ve taken some kind of blood sample whilst he’s inside so you can assure yourself there’s Higher Order blood running through his veins; that he’s the real deal?’

‘You have a very suspicious mind, Kane Malloy.’

‘And you’re a power hungry bitch who now has way too much to gain to not be making plans to have Caleb exactly where you want him. You put him away only to rescue him, didn’t you? You ran one hell of a fucking risk, Feinith.’

‘I had to bring him in before he found out about Jarin.’

‘How did
you
find out?’

‘Actually, it was my lovely assistant, Hess, who drew the link when I asked her to find out about Leila’s family – to find out if there were sisters. Sophia’s details had already been tapped into. Hess followed an electronic trail from that. We found out Jarin had been tapping into several accounts that matched the victims that appeared in the media. I confronted him. He confessed. He got his hands on Abby for me. I removed any proof that she had other than a little hearsay – just enough to bring Caleb in.’

‘But not enough to keep him in.’ Kane folded his arms. He tongued his incisor pensively as he held her gaze.

‘Just enough to let him stew for a few hours. Just enough for him to know I’d done all I could to get him out.’

‘If he finds out about Jarin and that you knew, he’s going to kill you. Both of you.’

‘And neither of us want that, do we, Kane?’

Kane took a step towards her, her smugness, her recklessness grating.

She smiled. ‘What are you going to do, Kane? We both know there are as many eyes on you right now as there are on me. We may as well sign a suicide pact if either of us makes the wrong move. The thing is, there are plenty willing to step into my shoes. Who have you got lined up to step into yours?’

‘You’re making a mistake, Feinith.’

‘Am I? I have him, Kane. I already have Caleb right where I want him. The TSCD bringing Leila in was the greatest blessing I could have asked for. There was me all ready to collect her and now, as far as Caleb is concerned, the devious little bitch went there to drop him in it. And oh does he hate her right now. Humans rule. Vampires lie in wait. Choose your side, Kane, but choose wisely. There’s only going to be one winner. Knowing Caleb, I know where to place my odds. Speak soon, sweetie,’ she said with a wink, before turning her back on him.

Kane glanced up at the containers either side of him where he had his own backup waiting; where he knew hers were waiting.

As Feinith sauntered back into the fog in the distance, he looked up at the heavy sky, his jaw clenched, his self-control taking every semblance of strength.

Until his phone vibrated.

C
aitlin waited
in the shadows of the wings. The abandoned school stage was littered with piled-up tables and chairs, too small to be of any use to the adult-dominated Blackthorn population.

It was chilly backstage, but it was the icy feeling on the inside that affected her more.

She peered around the curtain and looked up towards the flyover across the school hall where the spotlights were once contained and controlled. It had perfect visibility to the stage. She couldn’t see Morgan, but she knew he’d be up there by now. She knew he’d be able to see her. It meant, once Caitlin was ready, once she led Kane into position, Morgan would have a clean shot.

‘How about a casual stroll?’ Morgan whispered into her earpiece.

She stepped out onto the stage. She scanned the hall ignited by the weak moonlight, the floor-to-ceiling windows stripped of the curtains that would have once matched their length. The rhombus glows ignited the dusty floor amidst the discarded and buckled chairs. The remnants of what looked like the aftermath of a party littered the floor – a party held there long after it had been shut down, after the small feet that once occupied the room had been swept from Blackthorn into safer districts as part of the regulations some eighty years before.

‘Perfect,’ Morgan said. ‘When you lead him out, get him to where you are now. I can get a clean shot but it’ll give me time to get a second and maybe even a third if I need it.’

Disappearing back behind the only remaining curtain, she perched on the table tucked against the wall. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her head back against the wall, the scent of musty fabric, rotting wood and burned-out electrics consuming her nostrils. She checked her watch in the partial light as she licked the inside of her dry mouth. She was going to need to stay sharp and calm. She couldn’t afford to give a single thing away.

S
irius sat
at his place at the circular formation of tables, the beech wood a light contrast to the earth-brown carpet exposed in the round.

There were thirty places in total, each councilor a representative of their own collective of locales. Cameron sat to his right as the vice-head. Hall sat to his left. And the places were slowly filling.

Emergency gatherings were rarely called, so there was already something of a buzz in the room. From overheard conversations, many were already suspecting it was something to do with the photographs of the prophecy he had shown them weeks before. Now they glanced warily at the screen that had been prepped to give them a visual treat of the fourth species carcass they had found in the alley, let alone the footage of the blob-like creature in full force. Then there was the burned-out row and all the blackened bodies that would churn the most stable of stomachs. Impact was essential, the subsequent result he wanted even more so.

The result he
needed
.

Because he may have been the Head of the Global Council; that locale may have been his; his specialist area of responsibility may have been all the Third Species Control Divisions, but he still needed a support majority before
legally
being able to act.

He tidied the corners of his papers and ensured they sat neatly on the leather-bound folder from which he’d withdrawn them. The speech was already clear in his head. His lungs were already filling with the prospect of their undivided attention as he spoke of the pending horrors should they not bring the situation under control.

And it was more imperative now than ever – now that they were truly on the brink.

‘We’ve got her,’ Morgan had said down the phone less than three hours before.

Simply hearing the words had had Sirius turning his head to the side slightly, like a bird of prey sensing something running in the undergrowth.

‘Those reports you gave me finally threw her,’ Morgan had remarked.

‘As long as it got the effect we wanted.’

‘It’s even better than what you intended though,’ Morgan had added. ‘She’s come up with a plan – a plan she’s asked me to be in on.’

Morgan had been perfect for the job.

That night Caitlin had gone bounding into the building after Kane, Max had sent Morgan and Brovin in after her. The shot had sealed Morgan’s fate – and his future purpose.

Manipulation had been easy. For Max it hadn’t been about the team at that point – it had been about putting his family first, about protecting his stepdaughter.

As a result, Morgan’s two daughters nearly lost their father. He had no relatives to take them in. It was a big commitment for friends. The money from his will, from the sale of the property would only go so far. He could hope for adoption for them before it ran out or before the funded orphanage places ran out.

So when Morgan had awoken in his bed, Sirius had been there to pass on his praise for Morgan’s bravery. He had sat in the chair beside Morgan’s bed, one leg crossed over the other, his palms flat on the armrests.

‘I have a proposition for you, Agent Morgan,’ he’d said. ‘One I would like you to listen very carefully to. A proposition that means that you and your little girls need never worry again. As part of that proposition, I would like to offer you the temporary position of Head of the TSCD in Lowtown.’

And now that proposition had finally paid off.

‘You secure him
and
you secure her,’ Sirius had told Morgan as soon as the latter had finished divulging Caitlin’s course of action. ‘Remember we need them both.’

‘It won’t be a problem,’ Morgan had said. ‘But there’s to be no backup. We can’t risk him suspecting.’

‘And you can’t risk losing the glory for the capture.’

‘What we can’t risk is losing Malloy in what might be the only chance we get.’

But despite what Morgan had said, Sirius had had no intention of not making the best of his resources.

He checked his watch. There were three more seats to fill, not accounting for those who, not able to get across the globe in time, were present via interactive screens.

He leaned across to Hall. ‘Remind me to redefine “emergency meeting” for those dragging their heels,’ he said into her ear.

‘Be grateful you managed to call this at all,’ Hall whispered back. ‘You’d better milk this for all it’s worth, Sirius, or you’re going to make us look like fools. You have
one
shot.’