… for now.
“You’re so stiff,” he tells me. “We are old friends, aren’t we? You mustn’t fear who I’ve become. I am still the same vampire who rescued you and gave you eternal life all those many years ago.”
“You’ve changed,” I say. “You’ve let yourself become corrupted. Look at your eyes!”
“Every great thing that must be done comes at a cost, Dagan,” he informs me. “Do you think I would will this darkness over me if I had any other choice?” He chuckles instead of letting me answer. “Of course, I would. It only makes me more a vampire.”
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask flatly.
“Why did you return?” he counters.
“I need to find something that belonged to Beatrice,” I say, deciding to be upfront with him. “I can use it to track her to wherever she is.”
“Can you, now?” He sounds skeptical. “If that turns out to be true, I will be very pleased. But I told you already—she is not of our concern.
“Of course, she is,” I growl. “You gave me an order to destroy her. I intend to see that through.”
“So determined,” he murmurs, tapping his finger against one leg. “Are you doing this for your own selfish reasons, Dagan, or do you want to help me?”
“Everything I am tasked with I see through to the very end,” I say. “Riyu became the priority. He stood in the way. Now he’s eliminated, and I can focus on the first task you gave me.”
“What if I gave you another one?” he wonders. “To override finding Beatrice again?”
“Did you see the creatures that she made?” I ask him.
He blinks. Then he turns around and says over his shoulder, “No. I can’t say I have.”
I walk around him to look into his eyes.
“I have,” I tell him. “They were horrible vampires, raised to be able to withstand silver and sun.”
“You were able to destroy them.”
“They were starved and very young. Even so, it took a great effort. If Beatrice is out there, making more of them—then they threaten all that you’ve built. I need to find her. I need to kill her. And I need to make sure not a single one of her hybrids lives to see the full moon.”
Logan considers my request.
“You really think they are a threat?”
“Of course. If left unchecked—”
He waves the remainder of my explanation away. “Yes, yes, I see it now. You don’t need to say more.” He barks a laugh. “It did not take much, but you’ve convinced me, Dagan.”
“You will let me go after her?”
“You can do whatever you want,” he says. “I will give you one important piece of information. We are marching on The Haven soon. Once we destroy that coven...” his eyes shine. “I will be king of all the vampires of this world!”
“And what of The Ancient?” I ask. “Will he be content to have his blood shared with all those below you?”
“Only he and I know the deal that exists between us,” he tells me. “And that is the way it will stay. Nothing that I do, however, is at odds with that deal.”
I give a dissatisfied grunt. Never have I been able to close in on figuring out what The Ancient wants.
“I would like you back amongst us for the attack,” Logan continues. “But if it must be, we will go without you. And only those vampires who fight for me have a place in the future I will bring to this world. So, make your choice carefully, Dagan.”
“I have to go for Beatrice,” I say.
“Then hurry back,” he says. He casts an arm out, and a wardrobe door bursts open.
“In there, you’ll find many of her old clothes. Have your pick. Once you do, you and the girl are free to leave. But remember what I said about the fight.”
“I won’t forget,” I tell him, and walk over to rip a dress at random out of the selection of clothes.
As Logan and I walk back to the feast, I have a nasty, lingering feeling that this was too easy.
Chapter Twenty-One
Eleira
The Haven.
We emerge into the clean, sweet night air of The Haven.
Rebecca rose out of the ground first. Already an army of screechers is there to greet her. They are perfectly still, perfectly quiet.
Their mindlessness is unnerving to behold.
“How are the Currents?” Rebecca asks.
I give her a flat look. “You said the potion will take hours to wear off.”
“It will. I just thought that because of your strength… never mind.” She looks all around us. “Which way do we go?”
“Morgan’s chamber is in this direction,” I say, and start to walk to the secret spot.
As we go through The Haven, I still find myself in deep disbelief that I was able to strike a deal with Rebecca. The army of white Tentoria walking with us, not attacking, entirely under her control, lends a surreal air to the place.
We reach the crest from where the screechers first attacked us.
“You did that,” Rebecca says, not as a question but as a statement, gesturing at the dome her screechers are covering. “Impressive how you were able to think on your feet and come up with such a thing.”
I shoot her a sideways glance, searching her words for a trace of sarcasm. I don’t find it.
“I’ll have to unravel the weaves,” I tell her. “Morgan’s sanctuary is also inside.”
“Very well, then.”
“We come up to the side of the dome. Rebecca gives a flick of her wrist, and all the screechers instantly climb off. The translucent dome is right there, images of my vampires reflected on the inner surface as an illusion.
“It’s good you decided to cooperate,” Rebecca adds as a throwaway. “I would have hated to be the one responsible for so many vampire deaths. I have friends in your numbers, you know. Many vampires are loyal to me. There was not a single enemy in all the coven; I loved them all. Maybe that,” she considers, “is what made Morgan so jealous.”
“Hmm,” I say, not knowing, really, what to make of it all.
“So?” Rebecca asks.
“I cannot undo the weaves without having access to the Currents,” I say dryly. “We will have to wait.”
“So be it,” she agrees. “Perhaps you can show me the rest of this new Haven. I have not seen it for very many years.”
I take a look at her, see the wistful look in her eye, and realize she is being genuine.
“We can do that after,” I say. “If you have friends in our numbers, I am sure they would be happy to show you around.”
Unless they’re told what you did to Riyu and Cassandra, I think to myself.
Then again… is that really the case? Is there a single vampire who would care about what happened to them? Certainly, none would care about Riyu, other than me, and by all outside appearances, I’ve already pardoned her for it—otherwise we would not be in partnership.
As for Cassandra…? Maybe Felix would care. But in my estimation, however inhumane it might be, the suffering of one fledgling is worth saving the lives of so many more.
I stop short. Did I really just think that?
I search my emotions for any trace of discomfort, unease, or dissonance from that thought. When I was still a human girl I would have never in a million years been so heartless.
But being a vampire has hardened me. It is not only the lurking darkness that we all hold inside us. It is the combination of all the experiences I’ve had that have made me see the world this way.
Maybe it is what Raul was fighting when he rebelled against the darkness.
I wonder for a moment how he is, being on that mission with Phillip. He doesn’t yet know about Phillip’s great betrayal.
In a way, I think that’s good. If he knew, and he was alone with him, he would kill him.
I know I would.
I break off with another shudder. I am too cold-hearted.
I concentrate, testing the air. I can feel vague hints of the trails of Currents. Not enough to grab hold of them, not even close, but I am heartened to know the potion is wearing off.
I turn to Rebecca. “What do you intend to do with the vampire you’ve stolen the soul from?”
“Intend?” she asks. “I intend nothing. She will remain as she is, feeding me her essence, for all of time.”