Shadow Born: Book 1 of the Shadow-Borne Chronicles (51 page)

“I do,” Alec said.

“Excellent,” Herbert said and turned to make some notations on a pad beside him.

“I do, too,” Marcus said from behind him.
 
Alec turned to find Marcus admiring him.

Alec whistled appreciatively when he saw Marcus.
 
Marcus was in a black suit and black shirt with a straight collar and no tie.
 
He looked amazing.

“You like?” Marcus asked and held his hands out and turned.

“Yes.
 
Very nice.
 
You almost look respectable,” Alec said laughing.

Marcus pretended to be embarrassed.
 
“That’s the kindest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
 

Alec rolled his eyes.
 

Steven came around to the mirrors and all three of the men admired the clothing options they had chosen.
 
The three of them really did look very nice.

Once Herbert was satisfied with their fittings and ties had been chosen for Alec and Steven, they quickly redressed in their normal clothes and left Herbert to his personalization of the suits the men were to wear the next night.
 
Alec had never worn a really nice suit, much less one that had been tailored for him.
 
He wondered how much such a thing must cost.
 
He thought of asking Silas but was afraid that would be considered rude.
 
He did ask Marcus but all he did was laugh and say, “A lot.”

Marcus worked with Alec and Steven, showing them how to walk confidently, without being arrogant, and how to hold a polite conversation and feign interest even when all you wanted to do was get drunk and tell them all to kiss your ass if they thought they were going to
punish
either one of them for events that were beyond their control.
 
He showed them how to sit in a suit without wrinkling it, which buttons should be buttoned and unbuttoned and gave them advice on how to look natural while wearing one.

In the short time Alec had known Marcus, he’d done nothing but help with advice, training and friendship.
 
If Alec were being completely honest with himself, he’d admit that he felt comfortable around Marcus in a way that he didn’t feel around anyone else, including Jake.
 
He could be himself, half-vampire freak and all and Marcus accepted him with no judgment and no expectations.
 
It helped him with dealing with the whole situation. Hell, he’d even been naked in front of the other man, something he never did with anyone
ever
.
 
Without Marcus and Silas, Alec would have been lost.

Alec just wanted this meeting over with.
 
Tomorrow was the day his and Steven’s fates would be decided one way or another.
 
Alec was hoping that his story had gotten out enough that it would interest and bring out the curiosity inherent in centuries old creatures such as themselves, causing them to want to study Alec instead of killing him outright.
 
Honestly, he didn’t want to be put under a microscope and studied either.
 
They would all eventually figure out how much faster and stronger Alec was, and then they’d be trying to use him as a weapon.
 
But that was another headache for another day.

Steven was in the same boat as Alec more or less, except poor Steven didn’t have powers to be studied or used to intrigue this crazy group of blood-drinking killers.
 
Steven did have his own particular skill set and Alec was working on a plan.
 
This was all a nightmare.

Alec stopped dead in his tracks.
 
Nightmare.
 
He hadn’t had one in a while.
 
He’d been so busy trying to figure things out and find a way around this whole mess that he was exhausted when he finally got in bed before the sun rose every morning.
 
That was something at least.
 
He’d have to remember to tell Marcus.

Alec asked Steven if he wanted to take a quick nap before they met with Dorn to discuss their upcoming covert op but Steven declined saying he was too amped up on adrenaline to sleep.
 
Besides, he reminded Alec that he had his ADD medication if he got sleepy.

After a couple of more hours roaming around the mansion and showing Steven around, Alec was particularly interested in seeing the media room for himself, Marcus’s phone buzzed letting him know that Silas would like to see all three of them.

Alec was surprised at the work that had been done to the media room.
 
It had been completely cleaned and redone.
 
There were new sofas and televisions around the large room.
 
There were only a couple of unfinished places where more repairs were needed, but you couldn’t even tell bullets had once chewed apart the room and most of its contents.
 
That made Alec wonder how much plaster had been layered over all the rooms in the building.
 
For all he knew a war could have taken place in these very halls and everything was plastered over to hide all the damage.

Alec hadn’t known that the men that had attacked him and Jake were somehow associated with Hisashi.
 
Alec guessed that either Silas hadn’t really suspected Hisashi of foul play or he’d brought Alec along to keep an eye on him and perhaps trip Hisashi up if he’d actually been the one to order the attack.
 
He’d never even had a clue Hisashi might have been involved in any way.
 
For his part Hisashi acted genuinely surprised and delighted to see Alec, which he surmised was exactly what Silas had expected all along.

Another thought occurred to Alec and he pulled out his wallet and handed Steven his employee badge from the warehouse where he’d previously worked.

“Who’s this?” Steven asked confused.
 
Marcus looked over Steven’s shoulder at the I.D. and laughed.

“That’s me.
 
Before all this happened.”

Steven did a double take at the I.D. and peered at it closely.
 
He looked at Alec suspiciously.
 
“Bull shit, this isn’t you,” he said handing the picture back to Alec.

Alec laughed.
 
“It is.
 
I promise.
 
That’s what I looked like before I was turned.”

Steven took the picture back and looked from it to Alec and back again.
 
“Seriously?”

Marcus nodded his head.
 
“That’s Alec before he became the stud he is today.”
 
He flashed Alec his crooked smile and winked at him.
 
Alec rolled his eyes and took the I.D. back from Steven.

“Yep, that was me in all my fat glory,” he said placing the photo back in his wallet and returning his wallet to his back pocket.

“Wow,” was all Steven could say.

Before long, they stood before the double doors to Silas’s study.
 
Alec nodded at the two guards stationed there and the three men entered to find out what was planned for the morning.
 
Inside, Silas stood listening as Dorn talked quietly.

“Good, you’re here,” Silas said smiling at the three of them.
 
“Dorn and I have been discussing your upcoming task.
 
We’ve decided the less people who know the specifics of what’s going on the better.
 
The council will have no knowledge of the particulars of the arrival and pick up of Victoria and Reginald’s parties.
 
Dorn is the only one who has all the details.
 
The information will be uploaded to our servers once Dorn receives it and can only be accessed by all three remaining elders inputting their security codes.
 
Just in case something goes wrong, we’ve set up a secure communication system with coded phrases so security here can monitor your progress.”
 

“I’m surprised the council is allowing this,” Alec said earnestly.
 
“We really have them at their most vulnerable.”

“Laramie was completely against this, arguing that you could take out two of the council members and their seconds and disappear and there’s nothing we could do about it.
 
I assured the council you were completely trustworthy and Laramie was outvoted.
 
This is a big deal, Alec and could go far in gaining you the trust of the council and being in their good graces.”
 
Silas looked significantly at Alec.

Alec nodded.
 
“I understand.
 
I think Laramie is more worried about us getting in good with the council than he is about us doing them any harm,” Alec said rolling his eyes.

Silas looked from Alec to Steven.
 
“I want to thank both of you for doing this.
 
I trust Dorn completely with this but it’s nice having back up as the rest of us will be useless to you during the day.”

Steven laughed.
 
“With Alec around what more back up do you need?”
 
Steven pretend-punched his friend in the arm and Alec acted like it hurt.
 
Steven just shook his head and laughed.

Silas smiled at the two young men.
 
“I still want you to be careful and pay attention to everything around you.
 
Alec is good and I trust him completely but you never know what can happen until it’s too late.
 
Better to not take any chances.”
 
Silas looked both Steven and Alec in the eyes to make sure they understood the seriousness of the situation.
 
Both understood and nodded.

“Good,” Silas said standing.
 
“Marcus and I will leave the three of you to plan.
 
Please be careful.”
 
Silas shook Alec’s, Steven’s and Dorn’s hands.
 
Marcus did the same.
 
“Just be careful,” he said to Alec.
 
“You won’t have me there to drag your ass out of trouble if anything happens.”
 
Marcus grinned that cocky grin of his and clasped Alec’s shoulder affectionately.
 
“Be safe.”

“We will be,” Alec said nodding.
 
“We will see you tonight when you finally get your lazy ass up and moving,” Alec joked.

When Silas and Marcus reached the door, Silas turned.
 
“Oh, Alec, could I speak with you privately for a moment.”
 

Alec nodded and walked over the elder vampire, not really sure what he wanted to say that he couldn’t have said across the room.

Silas looked seriously at Alec.
 
“I want you to know that I trust Dorn completely,” he said very quietly.
 
“But keep an eye on him in case he’s been compromised.
 
He doesn’t act like he has been, but with this Devil running around brain washing people and making them do things against their will and without their knowledge…” his words trailed off.

“Gotcha,” Alec said nervously.
 
“Wait, how do you know
I
haven’t been compromised and might go berserk?”
 

“Because,” Silas said clapping his hand on Alec’s shoulder, “I saw you withstand my Will last night during the meeting.
 
Not even Laramie could do that.
 
Only you and Doctor Schubert were unaffected by it.
 
I doubt the Devil himself could force you to do something against your will,” he said smiling smugly.

Alec looked embarrassed but nodded his head.
 
“I’ll keep an eye out.”

Alec walked back across the room and sat down on the white leather sofa as Marcus and Silas exited the room.

“So,” Dorn said casually, “did Silas tell you to keep an eye on me in case I’d been compromised?”

Alec’s mouth dropped open and he was unsure what to say to the man, he was completely embarrassed.
 
Dorn started laughing at the look on Alec’s face.

“He’s right to warn you.
 
I was going to if he didn’t.”
 
Dorn sighed and sat back on the couch.
 
“We don’t know what’s going on or whose mind has been tampered with.”

“Surely not yours,” Steven said incredulously.
 
“Wouldn’t you suspect if something like that happened?
 
I mean look what happened to Victor.
 
He was forced to forget several huge events and it drove him crazy.
 
Wouldn’t you be acting the same way?”

Dorn shrugged.
 
“I don’t know if that’s how it works.
 
It might be that the victim remembers everything, including what they are about to do, but they are compelled to act normal and forced not to let anyone know.”

“So is there anything you want to tell us?” Steven asked looking at Dorn.

“Nope.
 
I’m clean.”
 
Steven looked relieved.
 
“But isn’t that exactly what I’d be forced to tell you if I were being compelled?” Dorn finished.

“Great, the head of security picks
now
to have a sense of humor,” Steven said quietly.
 

Dorn laughed.
 
“As far as I know I’m okay, just keep your eyes open for anything unusual.
 
Silas was right to warn you.”
 
Dorn nodded at Alec to make sure he got his point across.

“Understood,” Alec said doing a half salute in the security man’s direction.

“I know the time and location of both arrivals.
 
One will be about an hour before the other so we will wait in a hanger right off the runway.
 
We will have several vans waiting on us when we get there.
 
We will inspect the vehicles and the men.
 
I haven’t chosen anyone to join us on this mission yet so that no one can get to them and give them orders, nor will they know where or why we are going out.”
 
Alec nodded slowly.
 
“As far as they know this is a training mission and we are picking up junk cargo.
 
I’ll choose the men to accompany us as we exit the mansion.”