As he transitioned, he thought of Dawn again, as he did more and more every day. His. She wasn’t terribly pure, but that could be changed. Like the movies they made Above, the right props and scripts could make her the perfect woman someday.
He’d taken so many risks to be with her, made a few miscalculations, too—especially when he’d given Eva’s dress to her. That had been idiotic, and it still bothered him. He’d been too intent on merging mother and daughter that night. But now he’d slow down, never do anything so heedless again. With Eva’s help—and with “Matt’s”—Dawn would be manipulated into bringing down Limpet.
Floating the rest of the way into the Underground, Benedikte went straight to a private room.
He stopped outside a one-way window, looking in from the outside. Through the pane, he could see Sorin scowling at a tentative Eva and her new guest.
As Benedikte focused on Frank Madison, his outline crackled.
Eva’s story had been too strange not to be true. She’d told them that, after seeing how Frank had beaten Breisi’s location out of Julia the Servant, Eva had tracked her husband to the woods. She’d been able to bring Frank back here, but only after losing Dawn to Limpet’s unexpected “Friends.” Too bad the Underground hadn’t anticipated them—one or two hidden Elites would’ve taken care of the protective ghosts and Dawn would be down here now, too.
Pressing against the window, Benedikte assessed his rival. Bedraggled, wide shoulders hunched, dark brown hair tufting up, Frank Madison’s face was a study in blank expressionism. Not much competition there. He would’ve made a nice Guard, actually. So why did he hold Eva under such a spell?
One glance at the way she hopelessly looked at her withdrawn husband increased the mystery even more. It charred Benedikte from the inside out, making him steam.
Didn’t Frank appreciate Eva?
Master? It was Sorin, glancing at Benedikte from the corner of his eyesight.
I’m here.
Benedikte hadn’t updated his second in command about the meeting with Dawn yet. Using Awareness Above was foolish, since, over the years, he and Sorin had realized that it could be picked up on by blood brothers. It was only while they were buried under the earth’s layers that vampires were free to use their powers without detection.
That’s why the Master hadn’t utilized more than one mind trick on Dawn. He’d tried to discover what she knew about Milton Crockett when she’d visited “Matt’s” home that night, but she’d blocked him.
His Dawn was so good at that.
But here Below…Benedikte was tempted to infiltrate Eva’s mind, just to see if she truly loved Frank as much as she said. Yet the Master wouldn’t do it. His love was too pure for such games. Besides, Eva was skillful enough not to let him in if she chose to block her Awareness. She’d feel his efforts to invade, and he’d have to pay a big price for the attack.
As Sorin used his maker/high-child Awareness, he remained unruffled. So Eva has returned with her new pet. She said Frank found her after a month of “tooling around” in Alaska. He had grown weary of the private detective life—as is his pattern with jobs—and tried to procure work in a new, adventurous location. But, she claims, when he could not find employment, he returned to Los Angeles. Here, he was struck by Jacqueline Ashley’s resemblance to Eva Claremont, and he tracked her to the house on Bedford. When he found her absent, he used a Limpet brain trick on Julia to ferret out information regarding Eva. At the same time, he came across the Vampire Killer scheme. Then he rescued Dawn and went to save his fellow hunter Breisi Montoya. Eva punished him well enough, but it is all fairly…interesting.
Can Julia confirm this?
Eva’s Servant was mind altered by Frank…so it seems. Hence, there is no record of what actually happened tonight. Eva’s story is the only one we have at the moment.
This was true: besides having no camera transmission save for the beginning of the Killer’s performance, Sorin couldn’t silently communicate with a bunch of distant Guards Above who were too weak to have word Awareness.
But…The Master went back to what Sorin had said about Eva. Was his son hinting that the Elite had brainwashed her Servant?
Eva would never do that. Sorin didn’t know her at all—not like Benedikte did.
His son must’ve heard his thoughts. The danger is: Dawn Madison knows her mother is alive. Eva revealed herself, and now Dawn is on the loose. That was not supposed to happen, Master. When Dawn found out, we were supposed to have her under our sway already.
Sorin, Limpet is just about destroyed. Let him attack.
What if there is a different danger out there? What if Eva has revealed us to another with her carelessness?
Benedikte shook his head, on such a high with tonight’s success that he couldn’t be brought down. Dawn won’t be a threat. She’s just as alone as Limpet is right now.
Sorin paused. Eva did say that Dawn is disillusioned with her boss….