Survive the Dawn (11 page)

“I thought you might, darling. Now the last time you saw her—”

“Was decades ago,” Sebastian interrupted and stared into the fire.

“Practically a century,”
Gaylen
said. “I imagine she’ll be ecstatic when she hears you’re back in town.”

“I highly doubt that, Gay,” Sebastian said to his sarcasm. “We did not part on the best of terms.”

“As well I know,”
Gaylen
agreed wholeheartedly. “You were a very bad vampire back then.”

“
Gaylen
, we’re vampires. We’re all bad.”

“And you’re too sexy for your own good. Kendra can be quite possessive.”

Sebastian heard the seriousness in his voice. “Where is she?”

“In the catacombs,” he said in a grave theatrical voice. “Deep in the bowels of—”

“Catacombs of what?”

Gaylen
laughed happily. “I love to tease you. You were always so easy. Does the Adored One find you this amusing?”

Sebastian scowled deeply and
Gaylen
cleared his throat. “The catacombs of Guys Hospital in London. You must see her laboratory. It’s amazing. I’m sure it will be perfect for your mortal.” He then sported an incredulous look. “The Adored One and Kendra must meet. Doctors working shoulder to shoulder for the common good. Comrades in arms as it were. They—”

“Get out.”

“That’s no way to treat a guest,”
Gaylen
said in full pout as he slumped back in the big chair. “You’re no fun. It’s been so boring in London this century without you. Now you’ve come back and the sparks are flying in our community again.”

“I don’t want the sparks to fly. I want to be left alone.” Sebastian shot out of the chair and paced in front of the fireplace.

“Sebastian, all kidding aside, there is a great deal going on of late. There is no balance, darling. With Tatiana destroyed by
Nicholae’s
hand, no vampire knows where to turn. At least Tatiana held
Nicholae
in check. Now everyone’s afraid. There are those who believe in you.”

Sebastian groaned as she lowered her head on the mantel.

“I don’t believe you realize your importance,”
Gaylen
continued. “Do you know you have a following?”

Sebastian looked at him then. “What?”

Gaylen’s
lips twitched with amusement. “Yes. The Sebastian Fan Club.”

“This is serious, damn you.”

He chuckled. “I know, darling, but I’m serious. There are many out there, right here in London, as a matter of fact, who believe as we do, that we can live among them.
Nicholae
is scared, that’s why he had Tatiana destroyed.” He sat forward in his chair and looked Sebastian in the eye. “He had her beheaded.”

Sebastian’s back stiffened as she clenched her fists at her side. She tried to calm the rage that rippled through her. To kill a fellow vampire was not unheard of; vampires were loyal to a point and only when it benefited their lust or the acquisition of power. There was only one way of making sure that a vampire did not come back to haunt you over again.

Tatiana’s words from long ago whispered in her ear,
What is the one sure way of killing a vampire? You behead them, my love. That will ensure they never come back from the dead.

“
Nicholae
needed to be sure. This sent a message to the community,”
Gaylen
said, shaking Sebastian from her thoughts.

“Yes, I know. His message was clear: He is now the leader of the hierarchy. We both know he will not abide by the laws the elders have had for eons since before Tatiana and
Nicholae
. Though I have no idea what was before them,” Sebastian said in a tired voice.

“Gods and goddesses, I presume,”
Gaylen
said. Sebastian gave him a disturbed look. “What? Sebastian, what do you think, the vampire world started with Tatiana and
Nicholae
?”

Sebastian frowned deeply. “I never thought about it.”

“This part of the world is ancient, darling. Europe, Rome, Egypt, Greece.” He ticked off the places on his fingers. “And what of right here in Merry Ole England? And Ireland? Now there is an ancient country. Those Irish are very spooky, they even scare me. You remember that Irishman from a century ago and what he said about mirrors, how they are a window to the soul and when someone dies, they cover them so whatever force cannot see them and take their soul? Sebastian, that made me shiver,”
Gaylen
said, “and I’m the undead.”

Sebastian sighed and rubbed her temples. “Okay, let’s skip the gods and goddesses and concentrate on this present nightmare. Do you know if...?” She turned to face him and saw the questioning look. “You say
Nicholae
had Tatiana destroyed. He did not do it himself?”

“No, he had Damien and the others do his bidding. Why?”

“Did anyone take of Tatiana? Did they take her blood?”

Gaylen
shook his head. “No, they beheaded her. I don’t see—” He stopped, his eyes widened.

Sebastian nodded. “Then
Nicholae
gained no power. I am still the only one who has Tatiana’s blood flowing in my veins.”

“This is what he fears. You’re the one and he can do nothing about it.”

“As long as I exist, you’re right.” She then took a deep breath. “Something is happening. I can feel it.
Nicholae
has something brewing. I’m getting disjointed images, flashes of…” She stopped and turned back to the fire. “I would just like to exist with some modicum of peace.”

“
Nicholae
will not allow it,”
Gaylen
said. “All kidding aside.”

“I know. I know.” Sebastian slammed her hand against the brick fireplace wall.

“Okay. What’s wrong?”

Sebastian and
Gaylen
whirled around to see Alex standing in the doorway. She gave Sebastian a stern look as she brushed her red curls away from her face.

“Oh, dear.”
Gaylen
winced and slunk back down in his chair and whispered, “The Adored One.”

Chapter 9

Alex walked into the room and saw the brooding look on Sebastian. “What is it, Sebastian?”

“We may have found a laboratory for you, Dr. Taylor,”
Gaylen
said, avoiding Sebastian’s glare.

“Really?” Alex asked; she looked at Sebastian. “Where? Who has this lab?”

“Kendra.”
Gaylen
smiled when he heard the low growl. “She’s an old friend of Sebastian’s.”

Alex gave him a wary look. “How old?”

“Old,”
Gaylen
said solemnly. “Very old.” He then glanced at Sebastian. “About a century and a half, I’d say. Right, Sebastian?”

Sebastian said nothing as Alex walked over and put a hand on her arm. “Sebastian? Who is this woman or vampire?”

“An old acquaintance—”

“That she forgot,”
Gaylen
chimed in.

Alex looked from the brooding Sebastian to the grinning
Gaylen
. “Okay, let’s go visit this old acquaintance.”

“Let’s!”
Gaylen
gracefully jumped to his feet. “Shall we walk, drive, or fly? I say we fly.”

“William!” Alex called out and walked out of the library.

“So tell me about Kendra,” Alex asked as once again she was between Sebastian and
Gaylen
. They rode in the back of the Rolls Royce as William drove the dark streets of London.

“Let’s see,”
Gaylen
started, “she’s—”

“Sebastian,” Alex interrupted as
Gaylen
chuckled.

“I’ve known Kendra for over a century. I met her after I worked with Dr. Blundell and learned about his work with blood transfusions. Kendra had just arrived in England. I didn’t know she was still here.”

“How well did you know her?” Alex asked.

“Well enough,”
Gaylen
mumbled.

“Gay,” Sebastian threatened in a low voice.

“William, stop here,”
Gaylen
said. The car slowed by a wooded park. “I know a way of getting in.”

“In where?” Alex asked as she exited the limo.

“The catacombs,”
Gaylen
whispered and put his fingertips to his lips.

Alex looked at Sebastian. “What’s going on? Catacombs? Under Guys Hospital? I never knew—”

Sebastian put her arm around Alex. “There are many things you don’t know, love. Too many things, I’m afraid, and I’m not sure I can explain. For now, let’s just follow
Gaylen
and see this laboratory.”

They walked through the wooded park, and off in the distance, Alex saw the tall old building. It looked ominous against the clear autumn night; the stars shined around the crescent-shaped moon.

“This is eerie,” Alex whispered.

“You ain’t seen
nothin
’,”
Gaylen
said over his shoulder. “Does this look familiar to you, Sebastian?”

“Yes, I remember Guys Hospital very well, though it’s changed quite a bit.”

“A few decades here and there,”
Gaylen
agreed.

“Is this where you studied with Dr. Blundell?” Alex asked.

Sebastian nodded and looked at the tall building. “That’s a new addition.” She stopped and looked at
Gaylen
. “Where’s the chapel?”

“We’re coming up…”
Gaylen
stopped. “Why did you ask that?”

Sebastian sported a cocky grin. “That’s where the catacombs are—under the chapel. How irreverent of Kendra.”

“I thought so, as well. You’re getting better with your
vampness
,”
Gaylen
said.

They stopped at a brick wall covered in ivy.

Alex looked around. “Now what?”

“It appears we hit a brick wall,”
Gaylen
said.

Alex hid her grin when Sebastian scowled.
Gaylen
leaned into Alex and whispered, “She amuses me to no end.”

He then pushed on the ivy-covered wall and a hidden door gave way as it creaked open. Sebastian stopped them as they walked through. “I feel something, someone. There’s a presence here,
Gaylen
.”

“I know. Kendra had some ritual or another done some time ago by a historian in Ireland. She worried that she would be found out. There is a force here, but its purpose is to serve as a security system of sorts, from what I’m told.”

Sebastian gave the surroundings a curious glance. Alex touched her arm. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “Something, someone.” Once again, she was getting disjointed images flashing through her mind, images she did not understand. “This is the back wall of the chapel,” Sebastian said. “Very clever, Kendra.” She ignored the sarcastic grunt from Alex.

“Let me go first,”
Gaylen
said and walked through the door.

Sebastian held onto Alex’s arm as they followed.

It was pitch black. “I can’t see a thing,” Alex whispered.