Vampires Dead Ahead (7 page)

Seth reappeared, behind Marcus, with a dagger pressed against Marcus’s throat.

“Call the bastard off!” Marcus tried to shout in anger but the blade was so close to his throat that his words came out in a strangled plea. A red mark appeared on his neck followed by a drop of blood rolling down his pale skin.

The conclave members to either side of Marcus moved as if to help the Vampire.

Katherine—formerly known by the unacceptable shortening of her name, Katy—the Los Angeles Witch stepped forward. Vampirism looked good on her. She radiated confidence and a quiet beauty that she didn’t have before she was turned. She opened her mouth and started to speak.

Her beautiful Witch’s voice echoed throughout the chamber as she spoke in a chant, weaving her spell. “Sit, all who dare to go against us, and do not move.” When she heard protests coming from the immobile Vampires, she added a single word that came out far more powerful than any words she had spoken before.
“Silence.”

Immediately there was not a sound in the room, save for the crackle and hiss of the torches.

A feeling of satisfaction rose up within Volod. “Now that you’ve met Seth the Shadow Shifter and Katherine the Witch,” Volod said, “I would like to introduce you to Daniel, a Shifter.”

The conclave members remained silent, locked in the Witch’s spell, as Daniel shifted into a lion. The Shifter’s roar was so loud, it seemed as if the room trembled with it. He leapt forward toward Alexander. Papers scattered onto the chamber floor as he landed on the conclave table, his huge jaws within inches of Alexander’s face.

Volod wanted to laugh at the fear he saw in every conclave member’s expression. If he didn’t need them and their resources, he could have had them all slaughtered by now.

“All of the Shifters and Dopplers maintain the fierce hunger and the basic instincts of their animal form,” Volod said, “while keeping the intelligence and abilities of their race.”

“Reese. Terrance.” Volod gave them each a brief nod. “Both Shifters.”

Terrance transformed into a snarling Doberman while Reese took the form of a tiger. Each joined Daniel on the table, the tiger in front of Cecilia, his nose nearly touching another member of the conclave, Wilhelm.

“I’m sure you K’touc have recognized these three as Dopplers.” Volod gestured to the paranorms as he spoke. “Meet Kennedy, Jessica, and Rebecca.”

Kennedy’s body expanded, his height increasing as he shifted into a grizzly bear; Jessica became a ferret and Rebecca, a raven.

“You may wonder whether such small creatures as a ferret and a raven have enough strength to be a part of a Vampire paranorm army,” Volod said. “Let me assure you, they can do things that no other paranorm or Vampire could. Attacking from the air like Rebecca or squeezing into small places like Jessica.”

With a slight movement of his fingers, Volod indicated that Elliot and Jorge take their Werewolf forms. In seconds both were snarling, vicious wolves.

“You think they look fierce now?” Volod flashed his fangs as he smiled. “Wait until the full moon. A Werewolf Vampire is truly a sight to be seen … and avoided.”

Volod held his hand out to Monique and she took it as he presented her. “Please meet the lovely Monique, a Proctor. As you can see she is Elvin, more powerful than you would likely believe.

“Paranorms have a desire to feed on their kind,” Volod continued. “To a one they believe this is a better life for them … they believe their friends who have not been converted will have far richer lives as Vampires.

“Perhaps you have wondered if they would they go up against their own friends and do what it takes to turn them … or destroy them.” Volod smiled at Monique and gave a slight inclination of his head.

Monique vanished.

Several conclave members gasped.

From beneath her glamour, Monique’s voice rang clear in the room. “The answer is yes, we shall do whatever it takes. We believe the Vampire way of life is the only way of life.”

“We are not capturing the unskillful or foolish,” Volod said. “We have strong, committed paranorms.”

“You have given us an effective demonstration.” Nicholas made a confident gesture that meant the paranorms were to take their places behind Volod again.

If the conclave prolocutor was affected by the display, he did not show it. However, other members wore expressions ranging from furious to impressed.

“Please return,” Volod said to his dream team. The paranorms acknowledged him and went to stand behind him, changing back to their human forms.

When the paranorm Vamps had gathered around him again, Volod took a casual relaxed stance. He was in fact anything but relaxed. He wasn’t sure his gamble would pay off.

“You see how fast my team works.” Volod projected his words so that he could be heard clearly throughout the chamber. “All of these Vampire paranorms can do amazing things that include battling humans and other paranorms. Of course humans would be child’s play and hardly worth their time or talents.”

Marcus was nearly trembling with fury, so much so that he was obviously finding it difficult to speak.

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“I want to do this in a manner that meets the conclave’s approval.” As he spoke, Volod let his gaze meet that of each Vampire seated at the long table. “I do not wish to go against you.”

Nicholas folded his hands in front of him. “What are you proposing?”

“First, I need your approval and commitment to this mission. Second, I need resources and would like them quickly,” Volod said. “I wish to have a sizable group of your best Vampires from around the country.” He paused and put the menace he felt into his voice. “We need bodies to back up our Vampire paranorm army. The meaner and more ruthless, the better. However, I do need those who respect authority.”

Nicholas looked to either side of him at the members of the conclave. “Does anyone have questions for Volod before we take a vote?”

No one spoke. Nicholas called in an aide, who then handed a piece of paper to each member. Each Vampire wrote a single word on his or her piece of paper before handing it to the aide.

When the aide had collected them all, he handed the sixteen pieces of paper to Nicholas, who put in his own. Volod did his best to keep his expression calm as the papers were split into two piles, one larger than the other.

Nicholas counted the papers in each stack then folded his hands again on the tabletop.

“The conclave has spoken.” Nicholas met Volod’s gaze. Nicholas’s eyes were dark, intense. “You may have whatever you need to allow Vampire-kind to once again rule the paranorm world.”

SEVEN

I STOPPED FIGHTING MY INNER DEMONS
WE ARE ON THE SAME SIDE NOW

“Do those inner demons like being spanked, too?” I said with a grin when I got a look at Olivia’s T-shirt as she walked in the door of our PI office.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Olivia smirked and tossed her Mets sweat jacket onto her desktop, causing a dozen sticky notes to flutter on the surface of the desk. A towering stack of thick folders teetered.

“Heh.” I closed the file folder on a Metamorph case I’d been dealing with and set it beside my large-screen computer monitor. “Truth is, I’m not sure I
want
to know.”

I should have known better. Olivia took that statement as a challenge.

“You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about a little tie-up play.” She flopped into the chair behind her desk. “Considering where you’re from and all.”

“All the more reason to avoid it.” I grimaced. “In my world it’s not a choice. It’s an expected way of life in the Drow culture. I only escaped it because of my human mother’s influence over my father. I guess it might be different to give up control out of choice. In my world, it’s taken. That is not alluring to me.”

N heig’s tak“That doesn’t mean you haven’t thought about it. Besides, you can be the one to take control, which might be what you need.” Olivia put her elbows on her desk as she leaned forward. “Be honest. You’ve thought about it with Colin.”

Unexpected warmth crept into my cheeks. “I take it you got over being mad at Scott after Colin and I left.”

A sly grin crept over Olivia’s face. “Let’s just say he made it up to me. Although I told him he has more making up to do. I’m not letting him off that easy. We started again where we left off and then—”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough details,” I said.

“Hey, the rest was even more creative.” Olivia had a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “If you don’t want any new ideas for you and Colin, that’s fine. Change your mind, just ask.” She loaded an eraser, aimed, and missed badly.

“Colin and I … we’re not that far into a relationship.”

“Well,” she said, “my ideas will help jump-start it.”

I thumbed through one stack of files on my desk, looking for a case on a pair of Pixies gone bad, and changed the subject from me and Colin back to Olivia. “Colin thought it was funny that you weren’t even a bit embarrassed.”

Olivia snorted. “Hasn’t he ever seen a nearly naked woman before?”

“Apparently not one tied to a bed, ball-gagged, and blindfolded. Either that or it had been a while.” I shook my head at the memory of a very indignant, very pissed-off Olivia DeSantos. “I told him he didn’t know you very well if he thought a little thing like that would embarrass you.”

Olivia gave a rather wicked smile.

“Haven’t seen you in a relationship in a while.” I braced my elbow on my desk, my chin in my hand. “And definitely not one where you’ve moved as fast as this.”

Olivia shrugged. “Scott gets me.”

“He gets you?” I grinned. “The guy takes off to get Chinese food and leaves you practically naked, tied up, and gagged, and you’re saying he
gets you
?”

“Not everyone’s perfect. Just needs a few rough edges shaved off here and there,” Olivia said. “Besides, after I got through with him I don’t think that’s going to happen again. New rules for the fun-and-game times.”

“I have to agree with Colin,” I said. “That was one of the most entertaining scenes I have ever witnessed.”

She patted the side holster she was wearing. “Tell Colin he’d better not breathe a word of that story or I’ll find a way to douse his flames.”

I grinned. “I have no control over a Dragon.”

Olivia loaded a rubber band with an eraser and aimed it at me. I caught the eraser along with the one that followed. “Find a way,” she said before she shot at me with another.

My XPhone played “Runnin’ with Sunnnother. the Devil” by Van Halen, one of my favorite 1980s hair bands.

RODÁN came up on the caller ID screen.

I caught the last eraser lobbed at me at the same time I brought the phone to my ear.

“Hello,” I said as I flung an eraser back at Olivia, who ducked behind her monitor.
Chicken
I mouthed to her as she reappeared.

Fighting words.

“Nyx.” Rodán’s tone was not normally so grim sounding.

I lost my focus on the eraser war and one pinged off my temple as I frowned and spoke to Rodán. “What’s wrong?” My instincts told me something was wrong and my instincts were usually pretty good.

“The situation with the missing Trackers has gotten worse.” Rodán’s words sent a chill through me. “There is of course the one missing Proctor, Monique,” he said. “An additional ten Trackers are now unaccounted for.”

My lungs burned as I sucked in my breath. “Eleven total are missing?” I looked at Olivia who now wore an intent expression as she listened to my end of the conversation.

“Dopplers, Shifters, Werewolves, and a Witch are among those who cannot be located. They are not just any paranorm Trackers. They are some of the best at what they do,” he told me.

“And one of the Light Elves,” I said, more to myself than Rodán as I mulled over his statement. “The San Francisco Proctor.”

“Yes.”

“Is there any evidence?” I tapped my fingers on the desktop. “Anything at all?”

“No evidence,” Rodán said. “However, in most cases, humans have disappeared in the general vicinity of where each Tracker went missing.”

“How do trained, skilled beings like Trackers and a Proctor disappear like that?” I glanced at Olivia as I spoke. Her forehead was wrinkled, and she looked deep in thought. “I would have thought it impossible a couple of months ago, before this all started.”

“We can’t sit idly by. I want to assemble two special teams,” Rodán said. “And I want you to lead one of them.”

“Okay.” I said the word slowly. “What is our purpose? To solve the mystery or to make sure this doesn’t happen to any of our own Trackers?”

“Both,” Rodán said. “You will lead the team investigating what you can of the disappearances from here, while setting up measures to safeguard our own New York team. We must be proactive in ensuring none of our own join the ranks of the missing.”

I nodded to myself. “Got it.”

“We will keep each of the fifteen territories guarded,” he said. “I will set up a meeting with other Proctors, but before that, I need someone I trust to begin looking into this.”

We’d only had twenty-four Trackers until Tristan joined us, replacing Meryl. She was dead thanks to Zo S th

“Even though he’s not a Tracker—yet—I think Desmond would be a tremendous asset,” I said. “I’d also like Olivia, Joshua, and Colin.” My reasons for wanting Colin and Olivia were purely professional. You couldn’t beat having a Dragon and a former NYPD officer on your team. Olivia’s skills in tracking down people and information were exceptional, which made her an incredible PI, too.

“Excellent,” Rodán said. “I would only have expected you to choose those who will most benefit your team.”

“Is drawing the team together after tonight’s Tracker meeting soon enough?” I asked. “That’s still a good eight hours off.” The Trackers met almost every night at nine at the Pit, and right now it was only one in the afternoon.

“Yes.” He added, “I would like to meet with you alone tomorrow around four o’clock to see what you and Olivia have come up with between now and then. I’d also like to talk with you about the duties of your new position, should you decide to take it.”

I appreciated the fact that he hadn’t assumed. “Sounds good.”

“I need to speak with Desmond,” Rodán said, “so I’ll invite him to tonight’s Tracker meeting.”

“Great.” It would save me time trying to locate the Sorcerer. Rodán had much better methods of getting ahold of anyone than most of us.

“In the meantime,” he went on, “I’ll send you a list of the Trackers, the locations they are missing from, and the name of their Proctor, whom you need to contact to begin your investigation. Gather all the facts you can. Since Monique is a Proctor, I would like you to talk with her special team’s leader, Rodriguez.”

“Got it,” I said. “Olivia and I will be all over this.”

“Check your e-mail,” Rodán said. “And Nyx … watch for anything unusual. Be on guard. You’re good, but so were the Trackers who are missing,” he added before he signed off.

I gave Olivia the details of my conversation as I took a look at the e-mail Rodán had sent. I brought up the document on the huge wall of monitors. It had recently replaced my collection of Otherworld weapons, which included Drow-forged arrows with diamond arrowheads.

With my go-ahead, Olivia had removed the collection and brought us up to date with current technology. I had to admit that the monitors were pretty cool.

Olivia hadn’t stopped there with her technological revolution. Wireless headsets and direct access to major government and law enforcement databases were also among our upgrades into the modern and out of the Middle Ages, as Olivia liked to say. I’d told her many times that I came from a world forever locked in that age; compared with what I’d grown up with, we’d been cutting edge in our PI office.

We reviewed the document that I’d brought up using two of the monitors to make one supersize copy for us both to read. In the document, the missing Proctor and all ten Trackers were listed, as well as what race of paranorm they each were.

The information for each Tracker included his or her last known address, contact phone number, Proctor’s name and phone number, the territory the Tracker had covered, and the date that each of them had disappeared.

Olivia’s gaze swept over the document as she read it. “This gives us some basic information but doesn’t tell us a whole hell of a lot.”

I studied it and instinct kicked in. “It tells us that no Fae are missing, which could be significant. Of course that could mean nothing, too.”

Olivia used an electronic pointer to highlight the timetable. “In every single case, the disappearances happened ten days apart, from the beginning of January to mid-April.”

“With the exception of the two Los Angeles Trackers who vanished the same night.” I nodded as I spoke. “The territories of those two were close to each other. One was a Shifter, the other a Witch.”

“Two disappearing the same night,” Olivia said. “That doesn’t really fit the MO of the other seven.”

“What’s the significance of a ten-day lapse between disappearances?”

“You’ve got me.” Olivia slipped on her phone headset. “Ready when you are.”

I picked up my own headset. “I’ll take the Proctor and the first five Trackers on the list.”

She nodded. “I’ll get started on the others.”

I came to a complete stop and Olivia did, too. “It’s been exactly ten days since the last disappearance,” she said, saying what I was thinking.

“We need to have Rodán send a warning to all Proctors.” I reached for my phone. “If that is significant, someone could be in danger tonight.”