Tentyrian Legacy (24 page)

The elevator doors open, and we make our way
through the lobby toward the empty roof deck that is closed due to
our party downstairs. I open the door for her, and she steps out
into the summer air, with me in tow. Watching her from behind is
just as stirring as it is from the front. I find myself wondering
what she looks like with her clothes off. The night is warm.
Fortunately, being over fifty stories up eliminates the humidity.
Not that it matters to me—but I want her to be comfortable. Before
I can begin the conversation, which I’ve planned, Arianna starts in
with a determined look.

“Mr. Vasilliadis,” she says. “Please, call me
Maximos.”

“I want you to know up front that I think
your interview methods are presumptuous and inappropriate.” So much
for treading lightly. I tilt my head, indicating I’m listening.
I’ve found the best way to respond to verbal confrontations,
especially from women, is to listen. She clearly has already played
this out in her head, and to interrupt her and tell her differently
won’t help. Plus, she has her hand on her hip. And it’s sexy. I
keep my thoughts to myself. I probably am as inappropriate as she
thinks. Get a grip on yourself, man. I swallow again.

“I agreed to take this interview under the
impression that I’d be meeting Robert, not an entire management
team over eight hundred miles away. From the moment I stepped into
your office, you expected me to be flattered and do whatever was on
that itinerary of yours. I don’t appreciate being toyed with.”

“I didn’t expect you to be flattered; I
thought you would be interested,” I say genuinely.

“That’s not to say I wasn’t and am not
interested, but your methods are calculating, and I cannot work for
someone who intends to move me about like a game piece.”

“So you’re saying you don’t want to work for
me?”

“No . . . yes. . . I’m not sure yet.” She is
flustered. “You haven’t even heard my take on Apex, and I just
accused you of being manipulating. Why would you even want me to
work for you?”

“Okay, let’s start with Apex,” I say
carefully. “What is your opinion?”

“Based on the documentation that was provided
to me, which I used to build my model, the numbers look very good.
And to the unsuspecting eye, Apex would appear an excellent
investment opportunity. But I am advising you against it. I think
there is some unscrupulous activity occurring that will have
serious ramifications. I suggest you conduct an internal audit on
their financials and look into Travis Ridgefield.”

“The lawyer? Why? What type of unscrupulous
activity do you suspect?”

She pauses. “I can’t say for sure, but my
opinion is that it is detrimental to the company and your
investment in them.”

“So you don’t have any numbers or proof to
back this up? This is just your opinion?” I ask caustically. She
looks out at the skyline and unconsciously bites her lip. I’m
pushing her intentionally; I want her to share what she really
knows. Her head snaps back in my direction. I can hear the tendons
crack. “Yes, it’s my opinion.”

“You are going to have to do better than
that, Ms. Parker.” “Unfortunately, I can’t Mr. Vasilliadis. I’ve
given you my recommendation. If you don’t like it, I suppose there
is nothing more for us to discuss.” She turns on her heel and
starts to go back inside.

“Ms. Parker.”

“Yes?”

“So, what is your answer? Midnight isn’t too
far away.”

“Excuse me? You can’t honestly want me to
work for you?” she asks incredulously.

“Yes, I do. Otherwise I wouldn’t have
extended you an offer in the first place.”

“But why?”

“Because I trust your opinion.”

“But you just said . . .”

“I said that you are going to have to do
better. And I mean that. I expect everyone who works for me to be
honest—completely. I don’t know how you know what you do about
Ridgefield. But clearly there is more here than meets the eye. Our
team is about trust, and I can tell you don’t trust me. I know
we’ve only just met and it’s true—I have moved you about today with
my own considerations in mind. But I think if we learn to trust
each other, our work could be mutually beneficial and very
successful.”

Arianna looks unsure about what has just
transpired. “Are you going to invest in Apex?” she asks.

“No,” I reply.

“Would you have invested, regardless of my
opinion?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because Travis Ridgefield is a crook and
Apex is about to be fined millions of dollars by the FDA.”

“So this was a test you already knew the
answer to? And I suppose I passed?” Her voice has taken on that
cool quality again. I’m not sure what to say. My bowtie is feeling
a little tight.

“Yes.”

“So, what you just said about trust doesn’t
apply to you?” She is definitely angry.

“It does—but I wanted to test your skill set.
How is that any different than if I asked you to do a case study or
asked you how many pencils it would take to fill a room? That’s how
an interview works, Arianna. I know you are young, but don’t be
naïve.” She doesn’t respond right away, but I can see the fury in
her eyes.

“Mr. Vasilliadis, I do have an answer for
you. Thanks, but no thanks. Leo Capital is not the right fit for
me—just like the clothes that were provided this evening,” she says
with a smirk. This time she really does leave, taking her honey and
lily scent with her. I don’t say anything to stop her. I don’t know
what to say. How did I lose control of the situation so quickly?
She wasn’t supposed to react this way.

I knew Arianna was the type of person who
never did anything unless it was challenging to her. We all agreed
that it would be good to give her a test, which she accepted. If I
simply offered her money, she wouldn’t take it. I mapped everything
out flawlessly, and Allison ensured any and all complications were
taken care of—just as I instructed. Most people, especially women,
were appreciative of the lengths I went to. But just then, she
threw it in my face.

If I learned anything about Arianna tonight,
it’s that she doesn’t like to be controlled. I clearly
miscalculated on this one. But I didn’t miscalculate who she is.
Meeting her in person confirmed everything I suspected—to my relief
and fear. Her aura is pure Tentyrian. My body recognized it as soon
as she entered the room. She must also possess a psychic skill.
Otherwise, how would she know about Ridgefield? I wonder if she
found anything about the Trebuchet connection . . . Regardless, in
the files I gave her, I ensured there was no indication that the
deal was anything but flawless. For her to find out what she did
about Ridgefield would have been virtually impossible without
telepathic powers. If I had to put my money on it, I would say she
is a descendent of Daria. I wonder how Aristos will react.

We knew that the Luminary descendents were
out there. But after the massacre, it became impossible to find
them. Wherever the Guardians took the children was beyond our
reach. We had also considered it possible that the escape wasn’t
successful and they all perished. For two years straight, we
searched every day with no leads. Since then, we’ve continued to
scour the globe and our network in search of them. With the
exception of the Dark Coven (our moniker for those who betrayed
us), we—Aristos, Evander, and I—could find no one else of Tentyrian
descent. The Covens had been methodically eliminated. If it weren’t
for Evander saving Aristos when he did, I’d likely be alone.

When Daria placed the book in my hand, I knew
what I had to do. But by the time I arrived to help evacuate
everyone from the infirmary, it was incinerated, courtesy of Aglaia
and Asia. Evander had only split seconds to shift out. When the
explosion hit the infirmary, he was standing over Aristos. Narcissa
died just minutes before. As Evander looked up from his
ministrations and saw the flames rolling toward him, he reacted
instinctually and took Aristos with him to the island.

It was there I found them. Aristos remained
unconscious, while Evander prayed on his knees. Picking up the
pieces from that day took years, even decades. To this day, we
still carry the memories of the slaughter. I haven’t had a peaceful
night of sleep since.

After I discovered there was no one to save
from the infirmary, I went to lock down the Sanctum. I hoped that
Stavros, Calix, Aglaia, and Asia were still inside. However, the
odds were once again not in our favor. We returned to the Sanctum
two years later to bury the dead. Our safe haven’s energy shut down
the moment I turned the key, and it became impossible to enter or
exit. Any survivors could have subsisted for a couple of months,
but two years would have been impossible. Aristos wanted to return
immediately. But we determined that if the Dark Coven was still
inside, we’d let them rot. Those who were loyal to us were all
dead. There was no one to rescue inside, so in the interim we
focused on finding the Luminary progeny.

On the day we reopened the Sanctum, the
stench of death was overwhelming. Air hadn’t circulated inside in
two years. We searched everywhere for Stavros, Calix, and the Twins
amongst the decomposing bodies. But we couldn’t find them. They had
escaped. We gathered the pile of corpses from the courtyard and
those scattered throughout the complex and burned them in a mass
pyre on the side of the mountain. Since so many of our people had
been burned alive with such intensity, what was left was just ash.
To honor them, we collected all the ash and released it into the
Arctic wind. It was a perverse feeling, holding what was left of
our friends and families in our hands.

I remember snow was falling heavily that day.
Aristos and I refused to sing or pray. Our faith was gone. Evander
offered up prayers to the gods on our behalf. While Aristos’
physical wounds healed, leaving only the scars on his face, his
emotional wounds never got better. His easygoing attitude was
replaced with vengeance for Daria, Darrius, and all of our
people.

Evander, in contrast, reached a level of
acceptance despite losing his beloved Zoe and son Galen. He
believed he survived for a reason. While Aristos is set on revenge,
Evander’s faith in something higher has been his constant
companion. For me, I’m driven by honor and duty. I made a pledge to
Hathor and the Luminaries. I intend to keep it.

With the resources we’ve gathered over the
last two thousand years, Evander, Aristos, and I have been able to
build the Tentyrian

Brotherhood. Our purpose is threefold: kill
the Dark Coven, find the Luminaries, and stop the Event. Today, we
are one step closer to achieving all three of these goals, which
are all interconnected.

Together, we have eliminated hundreds of the
blood-hungry creatures that the Dark Coven has created to carry out
their dirty work. We call them “Subordinates” because they are
little more than animals that do anything and everything the Dark
Coven asks. The difference between the Subordinates and Tentyrians,
or even the humans we have turned and brought into the Brotherhood,
is that they have virtually no control over their thirst.

The decision to create the Brotherhood was a
difficult but necessary one. We are now a Brotherhood of
fifty-three, with several loyal humans like Robert, Satish, and
Samson who help run our businesses while we track the Dark Coven
and search for the next generation of Luminaries.

To this day, we have yet to find and kill
Stavros, Calix, and Aglaia. We know Asia died at some point during
World War II. The Dark Coven continues to evade us, as they operate
in great secrecy and hide behind complex layers of bureaucracy and
Subordinates. Fortunately, we are hot on their trail. The
Brotherhood is a team of soldiers and business strategists,
constantly hunting the Dark Coven and their money trail. We intend
to take them down one Subordinate and business deal at a time.

One of our biggest breakthroughs came about
five years ago when we identified Trebuchet Global, an
international arms dealer, as the brainchild of the Dark Coven.
Within the last year or so, Trebuchet has also branched out into
pharmaceuticals. Their relationships with political figures and
governments run deep, making it all that more difficult to destroy
them. But the day of reckoning is near.

What makes what we do so difficult is the
amount of damage control required. The Dark Coven intentionally
creates Subordinates not only to carry out their plans, but also to
create mayhem. As a result, we spend an incredible amount of
manpower and time hunting them and eliminating reports of vampiric
activity. Protecting our existence is still of the utmost
importance. Sometimes, the clusters or one-off Subordinates we find
are just a ruse. But, if we get lucky, they lead us to a goldmine
like Trebuchet.

Until we found Arianna, it appeared that all
who carried the original Tentyrian bloodline—except for me,
Aristos, Evander, and the Dark Coven, of course—had vanished. We
examined Arianna’s lineage, or what we could find of it, very
closely. No one displayed any Tentyrian markers, except for her.
Evander theorized that somehow our genetic code had gone dormant
but reawakened and manifested itself in Arianna. This means the
other Luminary descendants could be alive, but their Tentyrian
genes haven’t yet activated. Hathor’s vision of four Luminaries in
the future is coming true. Unfortunately, I managed to screw it up
already. Damn it.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my
iPhone. I call Aristos. He answers with his characteristic rough
tone. Any levity in Aristos died the day that Daria was murdered
and his son disappeared. Since then, the happiest I ever saw him
was in battle.

“Brother, we were right. She’s one of us,” I
say. “Good.”

“She not only looks just like Daria, but I
think she has a psychic ability.” I hear Aristos suck in his
breath. If Arianna is his lineage, it could be life changing for
him. He will be reclaiming part of his family.