chapter 1
“You have disposed of the necklace, I presume?”
I inclined my head, taking care never to match gazes with the old man. “I have, Elder Chang.”
“That is excellent news,” he said, stroking his chin with long, lacquered fingernails. “It will not do to draw their attention. They must not know of our intentions before we are ready to reveal it.”
“Of course, Elder Chang.’
He gestured to the chair in front of me. “Sit.”
Refusing an Elder is tantamount to betrayal. “Thank you, Elder Chang.”
“I’ve heard much of your skill, Hwang,” he said as I pulled the chair out enough so my knees wouldn’t bang into his desk. “There are many who compliment you. A female such as yourself is an asset to us. A woman can infiltrate a location where a man can not. There is a proverb that says a small thorn can bring about greater harm than a sharpened battle axe…should it be in the right place and the right time.”
I stared down at my scarred, beaten hands clasped in my lap. “Thank you, Elder Chang.”
Silence reigned in the richly decorated chamber as he considered me for a moment, one finger poised on the curve of his chin. “You are loyal to us, are you not, Hwang?”
“I am.”
He grunted in satisfaction and traced a circle on the thin stack of papers in front of him.
“You are to be our greatest weapon, girl. This is something only you can do. We’ve tried to break through his defenses with a battering ram, but doing so has provided us with nothing but a trail of dead bodies. Perhaps a petal can sail through when a battering ram cannot,” he said in a contemplative manner. “It is not without its dangers. I’m told you fear nothing. Is this true?”
What a stupid question. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Elder.”
A corner of his lips kicked up under the thin, well-kept mustache. “A simple yes will suffice, Hwang.”
“Yes,” I obliged.
“Good, good,” he said, pushing the papers in my direction. “Your next orders.”
I did not spare them more than a cursory glance. Extermination orders. “You will have me dispose of a vampire.”
He nodded. “Not an ordinary vampire. You have heard of the one they call Noir?”
One of the four vampire lords sharing power within Centennial City. “And he will be my target?”
“Yes.”
And such a target I have never come up against before.
Ever.
“He is quite old, Elder Chang,” I said, choosing my words with care. “Who have you sent before?”
He let out a sigh. “Rammstein.”
I didn’t know what to say. “Rammstein is a…formidable warrior.”
A bear. A living tank, perhaps.
And he failed?
“A modern barbarian,” mused the Elder. “We hoped Rammstein’s bloodlust would carry him straight to Noir.”
“But that was not the case.”
Elder Chang laughed bitterly. “No. The vampire sent him back to us.”
“That was magnanimous of them.”
“Hardly,” he said, voice dry. “He sent Rammstein back in a box. Parts disassembled. Cleaned. Almost as if the man was an automaton that had broken.”
A mental image flashed in my mind and the onion rings did not taste good, rising in the back of my throat. “They were meticulous.”
“That is not the word I would use,” he replied. “In any case, he did not work.”
“Obviously, Elder Chang,” I said. “But if a monster such as Rammstein could not get to the vampire lord, then what hope is there for me?”
He huffed. “I’ve spoken of this earlier. If a battering ram will not work, perhaps a petal will. You are that petal, Hwang. You can slip through his defenses. You are our most accomplished. It does not please me to use you in such a situation.”
In a situation where your death would be the only likely outcome, he might have said.
I suppose I should have expected something like this. I did not have a great deal of influence to spare me from the brutality of the system. There was, after all, only one way to leave the Fellowship. “Then I must prepare.”
“I truly am sorry.” He almost sounded apologetic. “It was not my doing to send you to him.”
“There are plenty such as I, Elder Chang.” I shrugged. “The Fellowship has my life. I will do anything for the Elders.”
He went still and I knew he was not acting.
“I’m sorry you would say such a thing,” he said softly. “It is a shame you have been chosen. But there is no one we can send to do this. You truly are the best. If you cannot exterminate him, then I don’t think anyone else can.”
Time to go.
The chair slid back silently on the polished wooden floor as I stood up. “You are too kind with your words, Elder Chang.”
He scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, girl.”
I bowed low, low enough my hair brushed my feet. “If you will excuse me.”
“You are excused,” he said, back already turned, no doubt occupied with some other matter that plagued the Elders.
When I slid the paper door closed behind me, Adrian stood up from his perch atop a flat buckwheat cushion. “What did they want?”
He seemed mildly peeved. I thought I understood why. After all, most orders were given to the handler. That they had asked me to do this directly meant only one thing: they did not want Adrian to know.
They did not trust him.
It did not bode well for his continued employment with the Order.
And that made me sad, because Adrian was the only person I trusted.
“Nothing,” I said. “Just to inquire as to the status of Henson.”
His pale blue eyes narrowed. “The man you killed yesterday? But I already submitted my report. They must’ve already seen it.”
I shrugged negligently. “I suppose they just wanted to hear my side of it.”
“Hmph.”
“Think nothing of it,” I said as an attendant, quiet and dark with the familiar expression of vapid good humor, handed me my canvas coat. “Let’s go.”
Adrian struggled into his coat while I did the same. “Don’t see why we ought to leave in such a hurry. My mailbox was empty.”
What a surprise. “That’s rare.”
The hallway to the main courtyard was blessedly empty, and Adrian put a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure that’s all you and Chang talked about?”
I can do confused very well. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Adrian. Is everything all right?”
His dark Russian eyes narrowed, but I have been stared at by the best. Adrian was scary…but he wasn’t that scary. “You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
I shrugged and pulled away from him. “You’re my handler. You’re the one who knows if I have duties. I don’t know why you’re so worried. Isn’t this a good thing?”
“A good thing?”
He followed me out into the main outdoor courtyard and we sat down on the porch to put on our shoes. Shoes were never allowed in the Sanctuary. I liked it. Reminded me of home. Few things were good about my childhood, but the sense of cleanliness and order…now, that was something I missed. “Yes. A good thing. I’m tired, Adrian. I haven’t had a day off since…I don’t even remember.”
The night was quiet, peaceful even, with the occasional plop as a koi fish jumped out of the large pond to snap at a passing bug and I leaned back on my hands, staring up at the endlessly starry sky. “This is good for me. I’m sure you’d agree.”
“Well…” He stood up, hands stuck deep into his pocket, and stood in front of me. The shadows made it impossible to see into his handsome, even-featured face. “I guess that’s true. I could do with a vacation.”
I did not feel an iota of guilt prick my conscience as I took his proffered hand and let him pull me to my feet. “You talk about Miami all the time. You should take this opportunity to go there. Get some sun. You’ve been looking rather pale, recently.”
“I’m always pale,” he said, laughing under his breath. “All right, you got me, Ran.”
The two guardsmen shuffled to attention as we came to the two large wooden doors serving as the entrance and exit of the Sanctuary. “You don’t believe me.”
“Of course I don’t,” he said as we walked out and the doors closed to a subtle grind behind us. I heard rumors the doors were at least five hundred pounds each and they required a certain skill set to open and close. The Sanctuary is just what it is, a sanctuary and there are many who seek to broach its walls.
Adrian’s car was parked at the curb and he leaned against the hood, arms crossed. “You don’t want to tell me. I get it. That’s okay. Not like I’m your brother or anything. I’m just your handler. I know you get side jobs sometimes, things I have no business knowing.”
I wanted to say something, anything to assuage him, but he held up a hand, effectively shutting me up. “Like I said. That’s okay. And guess what? I don’t even want to know. Might keep me from enjoying myself in Miami. Don’t tell me a damn thing, okay?”
I nodded. What could I say?
He grinned and walked to the driver’s side, keys in hand. “Ran?”
“Yes?”
“You’ll let me know if someone happens?”
I shifted the sword on my back and smiled. “Of course, Adrian.”
He made as if to get in and then paused, head sticking over the car. “That’s a promise?”
My smile did not flag.
“Promise.”
***
By the time I got home, I already had a message on my answering machine, the red light blinking in time to the swinging of an eclectic cat’s mechanical tail. I found the clock at a flea market and happily plunked down thirty dollars for it.
Mika meowed loudly as I set down my keys and she jumped on the sofa armrest, letting me run my fingers over her head before she gave my thumb a somewhat friendly nibble. At least she didn’t draw blood this time.
I pressed the button, if only to get the red light to stop and walked about the small apartment, turning on all the lights, even though the sun would rise in less than an hour. They say it is always darkest before sunrise and they’re right.
“It’s Chang. Your entrance has been decided. At ten tonight, you will meet someone in front of the Fourth Street station. They will be wearing a green sweater and will ask you about the weather. When you reply that you wish you were in California, your mark will lead you to the current residence of Noir. He will create a disturbance and you are to eliminate him. How you go about after that is entirely your decision. You will send me a progress report every week on Fridays. Rest well, Hwang.”
The machine beeped, but at least the red light wasn’t flashing anymore.
Tonight. At ten. A little less than seventeen hours away.
I fell into bed soon afterward, the lights still on.
Elder Chang asked me if I feared anything.
I lied.
I feared darkness.