Morvicti Blood (A Morvicti Novel Book 1) (39 page)

Jack smiled. “Quite an elegant plan, don’t you agree?”

“No. Power doesn’t vanish overnight. We need an army to back us up, Jack.”
I need him to believe I’m on his side.
“Michael can be one of our first recruits. Let me talk to him. He’ll come around. Trust me. The Morvicti won’t go down so easy. They will counter your attack.”

“How do you believe they will do that?”

“You give people too much credit. For a day or two Wilson’s news might make the headlines. But that’s about it. No one wants the truth, Jack. That’s the flaw in your master plan. When something is too painful to face, we shut down. We act like it never happened. It’s wrong, but for a time it’s easier that way.”

“We?”

Damn.
“I mean ‘them,’ Jack. You must realize that this is new to me. My whole life I thought I was just a lowly human. Now I find out I’m a pinnacle being.”

“Glad you’re coming around, brother. But you’re quite cynical. I still believe the humans will rise up against the Morvicti as they did in centuries past once this news gets out.”

“I’m a realist. Tucked away in their houses in front of their televisions, people enjoy their delusions. Their families are safe. The heartache and pain remains outside their walls. No one can harm them.”

“But once it’s out about the Morvicti the humans will have to do something.”

“You would think so, but the Twin Towers came down in New York in 2001. There were some changes, but in a short time life went back to normal. Even though that event will never completely fade from memory, people always move on from tragedy.”

“This is bigger than a terrorist attack, Austin. This is about the lies that humanity has been living with for centuries. The Morvicti have shaped everything from their secret dungeons. The world will rise up. Humanity will do our work for us, hunting for the secret sanctuaries and cutting off the heads of every immortal they find.”

“You’re wrong, Jack. Dr. Wilson’s research will be a tiny blip that might make them pause for the briefest of moments to wonder if the reality they thought was real never existed at all. But that moment will pass quickly. The next celebrity going into rehab, or downturn in the world’s stock exchanges, or blockbuster movie to hit the screen will capture their attention. People will never accept that the entire world is controlled by a group of monsters. It’s too terrifying to believe.”

The Ripper shook his head. “Once the newspapers print Dr. Wilson’s findings, it will never go away. What I did in Whitechapel created a ripple that continues even today. I became one of the first media sensations in 1888. Do you know how many books and movies have been written about me? My plan cannot fail.”

I’m getting nowhere with this tactic. Time to switch it up.
“I still think we have to use every resource we can get our hands on, Jack. There’s only you and me.”

“Don’t forget your beautiful sister.”

Anger flowed through him at The Ripper’s comment, but he tried to keep his rage from showing on his face. “That’s just three. Three against billions of humans. And who knows how many Morvicti?”

“I know, Austin.” Jack smiled. “A little over seven thousand above ground at the moment with another fifty thousand below. That does not include the poor souls in The Sanctuary of the Forgotten, but we have nothing to fear from them. The little drops of blood they are given ensure they will remain below for eternity. I like the odds, don’t you?”

“Not really. Michael would give us an advantage.” Hoping to reinforce the lie of allegiance he was presenting to Jack, Austin lowered the gun to his side. “He could help us recruit and train more humans to join our cause. I’ve fought side by side with him. He’s a Navy SEAL, like me. And he’s a human. When we tire of him, he’ll just die.”

“You give me much to consider.” Jack lowered his gun.

Am I getting through to him?
“Just let me talk to Michael. Tell me where he is. Then the three of us can talk about the Utopia you will create.”

“The man means something to you.” The twisted grin returned, followed by a nod. “I’ll let you have your pet, but I need to make a call first before we leave. Give me a moment.” Jack started walking away, bringing his cell out.

A phone call? Who in the hell would he need to talk to at this moment?

In his gut Austin knew something bad was about to happen. He tightened his grip on the weapon. Did Jack have accomplices hiding in the shadows ready to jump out? He quickly glanced to the left, right and even behind him, but saw only darkness. When he turned back around, Jack was out of sight. The only thing visible was a single headstone being eerily illuminated by the killer’s forsaken flashlight.

Where did the son of a bitch go?

A motorcycle engine roared to life.

Damn it.
He ran in the direction where the sound came from, but tripped over something that sent him to the ground.

CHAPTER 70

1:07 AM

Angelique took deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

Octavian sat behind the wheel of the limo, driving down the empty road at an excessive speed.

God, I hope he’s right about the cemetery.
She prayed they would find Michael and Austin there. “How much longer?” she asked.

“Ten minutes at the most. Don’t worry, Angelique. Belisarius will be arriving any second.”

He’s my biological father, whom I don’t know. But I have to trust him.
She glanced down at the Glock and then at Octavian.

I still have my gun.

At first it had been strange to even touch it, but now the Glock felt natural to hold, as if she had been doing it her whole life. But it didn’t put her at ease. Michael was still missing, in the clutches of The Ripper, and Austin had left her without so much as a goodbye.

“Angelique, I’m so sorry. My intention was to always stay away from you and Austin so you could have a normal life.”

She tried to wrap her mind around what he was saying. It made sense in a way, given what she’d learned about the Morvicti. She’d been without family for so long it had become her new “normal.” Until this morning, she had believed Austin dead. As her parents had been dead for over twenty years, their deaths didn’t sting as much, though the emptiness from losing them had never gone away.

“Hang on, Angelique. We are almost there.”

“Incoming call from Commissioner Poole,” the limo’s computer announced.

“Yes, Belisarius. Are you there yet?”

“Just pulling in, but we have a problem.”

Angelique squeezed the gun. “What problem?”

“The police are also on their way. A call came in saying The Ripper had sliced up two more victims, both adult males.”

She gasped. “Oh God, not Michael and Austin.”

CHAPTER 71

1:11 AM

Getting back on his feet, Austin saw fresh blood staining his suit. He glanced back and identified what he’d just tripped over.

Two corpses lying side by side.

Is one of them Michael?
It was too dark to be sure.

He raced to retrieve The Ripper’s discarded flashlight. When he returned to the bodies, he bent down for a closer inspection and breathed a sigh of relief.

Neither of these dead men were his friend.

They had red hair, which indicated that they were likely related—brothers, cousins, or father and son. Austin saw that their palms were flesh colored, not pale violet.

They were innocent humans, not Morvicti monsters.

The Ripper’s handiwork was evident. The two had been sliced to pieces.

There was no chance of catching the bastard now.

Off in the distance he could hear police sirens.

The son of a bitch set me up.

He had two options to choose from. Stay and face the music or run and hope to find another way to catch The Ripper before he killed Michael.

The APW had his description, not Jack’s. Now he was at the scene of a double homicide with the victims’ DNA on his clothes and a weapon in his hand. He spotted something metallic next to one of the men. He didn’t dare pick up the bloody knife, which Jack had left. But even if his prints weren’t on the handle, this would be an open and shut case.

So he ran.

He heard a car coming fast through the iron gates. No headlights. He curled his finger around the M4’s trigger.

If the driver turned out to be a friend of Jack’s, he would rain bullets his direction. If a policeman, he would find another exit out of the cemetery even if he had to slink away under the cover of darkness. No way would he fire on an innocent person just doing their job.

The new arrival parked his car next to his.

He recognized the red Jaguar from the parking garage and the chase that had followed through the streets of London.

As the driver’s door opened, Austin knelt down behind a tombstone, aiming the weapon.

Commissioner Poole stepped out with a pistol in his hand.

Gita said his real name is Belisarius.

The sirens were getting closer.

I must trust she was telling the truth about the man.

“Belisarius, I’m over here. Austin McCord. Jack is gone. There are two dead men behind me.”

“Thank the Ancestors you are okay. Hurry. Get in my car. We need to get you out of here now.”

“What about my car?”

“Leave it, Austin. It’s the CIA’s. Let them deal with the fallout. The police are close. They got a tip a few minutes ago.”

Jack’s phone call. Damn.

Once inside the car, Belisarius hit the gas. “There’s got to be another way out.”

“Jack went that direction.” Austin pointed ahead, noticing the police radio, which wasn’t surprising since Belisarius was the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

“Officers on scene,” the radio blared. “Cemetery gates have been forced open.”

Another voice said, “Use extreme caution. Caller indicated the suspect is armed with an automatic weapon.”

Keeping the car’s headlights off, Belisarius drove them past graves and through a small gate, wide open like the main one had been.

They sped out of the cemetery and onto the street.

“We need to call your sister and father and let them know you’re safe.” Belisarius hit a button and the screen in the center of the dashboard lit up with two letters. “O.D.”

Octavian Drake.

Belisarius took several turns, left and right and left again at high speeds.

Impressive driving.

Once they were a couple miles away, he switched on the headlights and slowed his velocity to match the few cars that were out on the roads.

“Do you have my son?” a voice that seemed oddly familiar asked from the car’s speakers.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Don’t go into the cemetery. The police have already arrived and we have escaped.”

“Austin, are you okay?” Angelique sounded anxious.

“I’m fine, Sis.”

“Thank God. And Michael?”

“He wasn’t at the cemetery, Sis. Just The Ripper. Where are you?”

“We are a block from the cemetery’s entrance, but I’m turning down a side street now.”
That voice? It’s so familiar.

“Austin, did Jack give any clue as to where he might be holding Michael hostage?” Angelique asked anxiously.

Turning over every word in his mind the killer had spoken in the cemetery, Austin focused his thoughts. His mind fixed on something specific Jack said:

“Once a sanctuary is breached the Morvicti clean it out and never return. To be the most powerful force in the world they have so many weaknesses we can exploit.”

“That’s it. Angelique, I know where The Ripper is keeping Michael. Belisarius, head to Murphy Street.”

“That’s where you woke up this morning,” Angelique said.

“Yes.” He informed them what Jack had told him earlier.

Belisarius frowned. “If you’re right, Austin, the bastard was right under our noses the entire time.”

“How far are you from the old sanctuary?” Octavian asked.

“I can be there in fifteen minutes.” Belisarius hit a button; lights flashed and sirens screamed.

“Twenty for me and Angelique. Wait for our arrival. Keep us on the phone.”

“Your will is my duty, Your Majesty. Always.”

My biological father is his king. But he’s not mine.

Several blocks from Murphy Street, Belisarius turned off the lights and sirens. “Don’t want to give Jack any warning we’re coming.”

Even though the call continued, none of them said another word until Belisarius parked on Murphy Street in front of the building.