The Sacrifice (10 page)

They
stared in silence at the scene laid out before them. The young couple looked to
be in their early twenties. Bruises covered the guy
’
s
face as if he
’
d tried to put up a fight. With the feeder
’
s
advanced strength, it would
’
ve been the equivalent of a kitten fighting a
Doberman. The boy had never stood a chance.

Cy
clinched his teeth and met his partner
’
s gaze. “We need to
stop this useless loss of life. These two had their whole lives ahead of them.
They
’
re probably from UNC or one of the other colleges
in town.”

Kam paced in front of the bodies. “We
might need to move them out of Asheville. Three people with their throats
ripped out in one night will send this town into a serial killer scare, for
sure.”

“If
it would scare humans enough to stay off the streets, I
’
d
leave them here.” Cy stared at the bodies. “But we know from past experience,
that doesn
’
t work.”

“There
’
s a
place across the Tennessee line, not far from Johnson City, called Big Bald
Mountain,”
Kam said.
“We can take them up there and plant the suggestion
in a nearby human to find them in a few weeks.”

Cy
squatted beside the guy
’
s body and removed his wallet to check the
address. “I
’
ll call the S.E.C. and let them know where we took
them. They
’
ll take care of the families and authorities.” The
Sivadian Extension Council had many departments, but the one that dealt with
Human Affairs made sure no one discovered more than they needed to know about
the Sivadians
’
existence. With the feeders’ recent population
explosion, the S.E.C. had their hands full covering up their messes. Maybe he
needed to bring up increasing their work force at the next council meeting
also.

“Kam,
I
’
m going to call someone to help you transport
these two. Miles and I will join the other teams and continue hunting. It
’
ll
be dawn in a few hours and the feeders will go into hiding for the day. If they
’
re
killing more victims, we need to find them, fast.”

Vind
had sat on top of a car in plain sight, and waited for Cy and Miles to discover
the dead body of the barmaid he
’
d drained. The ability to stand under their noses
undetected, to watch and listen to every word filled him with an incredible
sense of invincibility. Few things had left him with this much power. When Cy
and the Hummer full of females pulled into their compound, Vind lay on top of
the vehicle. An alarm sounded and the Hummer stopped.

A
guard came around to the driver
’
s window and looked inside. “Is everything all
right?”

“Yes,”
Cy replied. “We
’
re bringing some girls back from town. They
’
ve
all been scanned, so I
’
m not sure why the alarm went off.”

“I
’
ll
check it out,” the guard said, and waved them through.

Since
he had set off alarms, Vind decided to stay and do some investigating while the
Protectors were busy in town. To make sure they came up empty-handed, he
’
d
called his men and ordered them to return home.

Vind
strolled through the compound, took his time and familiarized himself with each
building. He located the main office and slipped inside. According to the
familiar scent, it belonged to Oz. He
’
d spent the first
eighteen years of his life around Oz. Respected him as a warrior, but had never
liked him.

He started to boot the computer but
hesitated as heavy footsteps trampled down the hall. Two guards burst through
the door with guns drawn. Vind stood in plain sight as the guards scanned the
office. After they detected nothing out of the ordinary, they left mumbling
something about a glitch in the security system. Vind smiled.

Idiots.
I
’
m the glitch in y
our
system.

Vind searched their files and
discovered the locations of every group of Protectors inside the United States.
He glanced at a clock on the wall.

Damn.
He had only thirty minutes
left on his invisibility formula. He
’
d have to leave
before researching the locations of the European chapters. Which he was most
interested in since his home was located there.

He
couldn
’
t transport home without going back through
security. He
’
d have to find some way to keep that from
happening every time, or they would become suspicious. For now, he wanted to
get home and plan his next move while everyone was still oblivious he could
come and go at will.

Vind
didn
’
t have to wait long before the gates opened for
some compound staff. He scooted through the gates with them, and then
transported to his castle located in the Apennine Mountains of central Italy.
He loved it like no place he
’
d ever lived on this planet. He
’
d
built it in 1750AD, twenty years after the war began. He modeled it after the
palace on Sivadia where he
’
d lived as a child. Over time, he
’
d
acquired some of the Sivadian treasures originally brought to Earth, which made
it feel even more like home.

He
had built vast underground barracks for his army, located within a mile of the
castle. He regretted few things in life, but draining that village of witches
came close. They hadn
’
t realized a witch
’
s mind could not be
controlled, until some of them escaped and invoked the curse that left them all
intolerant to the sun and their females infertile. The witches didn
’
t
know Sivadians existed who didn
’
t kill for blood. If not for that curse, Vind
’
s
army would have multiplied quickly enough to overthrow his mother and Cy long
ago. This world and the human cattle that populate it would have belonged to
him and his followers. The way it should have been all along.

Vind materialized inside his study,
picked up the phone and called Soren, his second in command.

Soren answered on the first ring.
“Yes, my Lord.”

“I need you to come to my office
immediately.”

Soren was loyal and had been with him
over two hundred years. The only person Vind had ever liked enough to give his
own personal residence located directly behind his castle.

“Enter.”

“
My lord,
” Soren greeted, as he stopped in front of the desk.

Vind motioned to one of two leather
wing backed chairs across from him. “Have a seat.”

Soren dropped his large frame into the
chair.

Vind
leaned back in his plush office chair and propped his elbows on its arms. “I
’
ve
had quite a successful evening,” he boasted. “I found my brother, along with
his compound, which happens to be full of fertility-age females.”

A
smile played at the corners of Soren
’
s mouth, pulling at
the scar tracking around one side of his face. “My Lord, you should have
called. I would have accompanied you.”

“I
was never in danger. Besides, I needed you here to keep everything under
control.” As much as he trusted Soren, he didn
’
t trust anyone enough
to share his secret of invisibility.

“I not only found their compound, I
also acquired the locations of every compound within the borders of the United
States and Canada. There are six U.S chapters and four Canadian.” Vind handed
the list to Soren. “Here are the locations, along with the names of every
Protector stationed at each. Before long, I will have locations for the
European chapters.”

“You have been hard at work, my Lord.”

“You
will notify our top twenty generals, and allot them one hundred soldiers each.
When I have the rest of the information we
’
ll plan our attack
and hit them all at once. I want no Protectors left alive when I make my move
to take the throne. Finally, we are close to winning this war.”

Vind
rose from his chair and strode to the open bar. He poured himself a brandy from
the decanter and swished it around the snifter. He inhaled the amber liquid,
reveling in the slight scent of cherry. “Once the battle is over and I control
every Sivadian, we will keep the females’ blood supply pure in order to
populate our race. Then we can begin the process of farming humans for our
personal blood needs. This is what we
’
ve always envisioned
as a perfect existence on Earth, and now, it is within our reach.”

“My Lord, you are the ultimate
warrior. I have no doubt, we
will
reach
our goal.”

“As usual, your loyalty will be
greatly rewarded.”

A
cruel smile crossed Soren
’
s face. “My pick of the captured females is great
incentive to work swiftly. Everything will be ready for our victory.”

Soren turned to leave, but stopped
when he reached the door. “I almost forgot to tell you. I had a security breach
at my home.”

Vind rubbed his brow. A breach in
security was the last thing he needed.

“A
couple of young shape-shifters,” Soren said. “Although I
’
m
not exactly sure what kind they were. I suspected something was stealing food
from my pantry. The one I killed was a ferret. The other got away, but not
before he shifted into several different forms in a pitiful attempt to save the
one already dead. I have set traps to catch him. Rest assured, my Lord, he
’
s
as good as dead.”

“Take care of it quickly, Soren. Once
we make our move, this fortress needs to be secured.”

When Soren left, Vind went to his
room, took a shower, and lowered the shutters. Since it was daylight in North Carolina,
he planned to sleep until he could return.

***

Cy
and Miles ended their search at dawn. Their night of hunting ramped up their
appetites enough to stop by the local greasy spoon for breakfast. They
’
d
found no more feeders, or Vind, or dead humans. Past experience told Cy that
didn
’
t mean they
’
d all left the area.

Once
back at the compound, Cy stood in his shower, the pulsating jets of hot water
releasing some of the tension in his tight muscles. Although he wouldn
’
t
be able to relax enough to sleep until he visited his mother and got answers to
his questions about life-mates.

When
his mother had brought up the subject of life-mates after his father
’
s
death, Cy was consumed with terrible grief, and a fear his mother would die
also. Many Sivadians didn
’
t survive losing their mate. Then after the war
started, his life became too dangerous to be involved with a female. With a
brother who wanted him dead, it still was. If he had any decency, he
’
d
put Riana out of his mind. He just didn
’
t know how. He
’
d
lived his entire life without experiencing these feelings. But from the moment
he met Riana, his life had forever changed.

Cy
dressed and transported to his mother
’
s palace located deep
inside a mountain in the Swiss Alps. He materialized at the security entrance
and greeted the guards. Everyone knew him, but he still went through every
security check, since he shared DNA with his depraved twin. The risk was too
great that Vind might try to pose as him and assassinate the queen.

His
mother
’
s personal assistant greeted him at the door and
escorted him to her study. She sat at her eighteenth century, hand-carved
mahogany desk. Although the desk was beautiful, it couldn
’
t
come close to his mother
’
s stunning elegance. At three hundred and seventy,
she appeared the age of a thirty-five year old human.

Since
his father
’
s death, she had ruled their people with grace,
determination, and a resilience that would buckle most men. Cy admired her more
than anyone. Between her and his father, he would have a lot to live up to when
he became ruler.

She rose from her desk and greeted him
with a warm smile. “Cygan, sweetheart, what a wonderful surprise. What brings
this pleasure?” Her heavy Sivadian accent was like a salve to his soul,
soothing and a reminder of happier times.

Cy
hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I needed a little motherly advice. I hope I
’
ve
not interrupted you.”

“It would not matter if you had,
darling. I always have time to spend with you. Nothing in this world makes me happier.
Come, let us sit.” She glided across the room and sat on the sofa.

Cy
sat next to her, his large frame dwarfing her petite one. He took a deep breath
and exhaled. “You always told me one day I
’
d meet my
etamlous.”

Her
face brightened and she leaned closer. “
Did you meet her?
”

“I
’
m
not sure, but I believe so. A trainee from the compound named Riana. Something
strange happened when we met. I
’
ve refrained from asking you questions in the
past, but hoped you could shed some light about these off-the-chart reactions I
’
m
having to her.