“Then I say feed on the rest,” James announces. “I do not want any loose ends. Our return must go perfectly. If we leave these others behind it could hurt us down the line. I see no point in indulging them. They had their chance. We made our offer. They refused, so they must be put down. The purge must happen to make the vampire alliance at the top ranks flawless.”
“Just a minute ago you wanted to keep them alive.” I say, confused.
“I’ve changed my mind,” James retorts. “This way’s better.”
Paul looks troubled. I notice, even though James does not.
“Paul, do you have something to add?” I ask.
He blinks and looks at me. Then at James.
“Beast—” he starts.
James cuts him off. “I am not giving Beast another chance.”
“It’s not that,” Paul says. “Beast has the access keys to some of the most important parts of the facility. Access to them relies on his biometrics.”
“You can’t tell me you have no backup plan,” I say incredulously.
Paul looks at me. “We do. But those take weeks to bring online. And right now,” he glances at James meaningfully, “we don’t have weeks to waste.”
James curses. “You’re saying we have to leave him alive?”
“No,” Paul responds. “I’m saying we need to convert him.”
James’s look hardens. “We already spoke of this. The answer is no.”
“The diagrams we need to craft the obsidian runes correctly are stored in the most secure part of the facility. We need them—you need them—if we intend to do what you’re planning to do.”
James curses again, louder this time. “Why didn’t you say this earlier?”
“This is the most opportune time.”
James gestures angrily at the row of fledglings. “In front of all these men?”
“They need to know the plan if they’re going to be of any use to us, yes,” he says.
James stalks toward Paul. He stops and looms over him.
“First you tell me Smithson is delayed,” he hisses. “Next you tell me we need Beast as one of us. Why? Why can’t he be simply human, used as the key to let us in and then discarded? What part of holding him simply as a prisoner does not work for you?”
“I’ll tell you,” Paul says, glancing at the fledglings, “in private. You want them to feed, to grow stronger? Loose them on the remaining men, but leave Beast untouched.”
James hesitates… then nods his consent.
In proper order they all run out the room. The door closes, leaving me alone with James and Paul.
“All right, Paul,” James says. “What is it you have to say about Beast that the others could not hear?”
He hesitates, steels himself, and then answers.
“It’s my daughter,” he says. “She has only—has only shown signs of brain wave activity when interacting with Beast.”
“So?” James demands.
“His daughter, and the vampire used to feed her, must both burn,” I tell James. I remember the horrible suffering I felt just looking at her. “James, there is no life for her. Keeping her in that condition for all these years is not just wrong, it’s barbaric. Imagine The Convicted, but make them children, have them starve, and reduce their brain capacity by ninety-nine percent. Throw a thing like that into a tiny little cell where it cannot move, and you might start to equal the horror of what Paul did to his daughter.”
“I did it because I had no choice,” Paul snarls.
“What,” James says slowly, “do you think a converted Beast could do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he could break through to her. I said he is the only one she’s ever shown brain activity with. The only one. Ever.” His shoulders drop. “I am hoping there might be a chance.”
“A chance for what, Paul?” I demand, growing angry. “You did this to her. You have made her suffer so long.” I turn to James. “You haven’t seen her, James. You cannot know how pitiful she is. There is no rescue, there is no coming back. Not from that.”
Paul’s mouth moves, but no sounds come out.
I shoot him an evil glare.
“Please,” is all he manages. “I told you how I lost my son. If there is a chance, however small, for my daughter—”
“There isn’t,” I cut him off. I look at James. “At first, I was with Paul on Beast. I thought we could convince him. But now that I know what he wants him for, I am completely on your side. There is no need to make a vampire of Beast.”
But my words appear to fall on deaf ears. A certain look crosses James’ face, as if he’s hatching a plan of sorts.
“I think,” he says after a moment, “that it’s time for me to see your daughter myself.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Eleira
The Haven’s Apartments.
“Raul. Phillip. Geordam. Leave.” I look at the three vampires I named in expectation. “I want to speak to the Forsaken Sisters alone.”
Raul opens his mouth to protest, but I interrupt before he gets a chance. “Now.”
“What about Rebecca, my Queen?” Geordam asks respectfully.
“Leave her. I have a feeling her exploits over the last few hundred years will be of interest to the Forsaken Sisters.”
He bows and leads the way to the door. As he holds it open for the Soren brothers he asks, “What do you want done with Phillip?”
“Raul will watch him,” I say. “Other than that, he is free to move around as he wishes.”
“Even if he goes to see Morgan?” Geordam asks, incredulously.
“Oh, somehow, I don’t think he would do anything as foolish as that,” I say. “Will you, Phillip? You need to work your way back into your Queen’s good graces, and the only way to do that is through good behavior.”
Phillip forces a sickly sweet smile. “Yes, Eleira,” he says.
“She is too generous,” Raul growls, to no one in particular. “Phillip committed treason. For that he should be charged.”
“Don’t forget how closely linked we are, dear brother,” Phillip says. “Come on. The Queen asked to be alone.”
They exit the room and close the door. Once they do, I re-weave the shield against eavesdropping around the inside.
I turn to the three witches. “Please,” I gesture to the seats. “Sit.”
They come around the table, walking with incredible grace and perfect coordination, and sit down.
Somehow, I think they are more graceful than regular, normal vampires.
“Rebecca, you can join us,” I say, pulling out a chair for her.
She stands, appearing almost as regal as me, and takes her place.
There’s a tension in the air. It’s undeniable. I am far and above the strongest vampire in the room, but the strength difference pales in comparison to the clash in knowledge about magic that exists between me and the Forsaken Sisters.
Rebecca’s exploits with the screechers also give her greater knowledge than me.
As soon as I sit down, Allura speaks. “Phillip kept Morgan alive?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “Without my knowledge.”
“You were told not to kill her.”
“I know. But to get out of the trap she had me in, I had to defend myself. I did not try to kill her. I assumed the demon Blood would.”
The sisters share a quick look with each other. “Demon blood?”
“Yes. There was a demon loose in The Haven. There was a book, The Book of the Dead. An ancient tome—”
“We know it,” they say in unison.
I clear my throat. “Right. Somehow, before I had control of my powers, I activated it. A portal was formed, and the Narwhark came out.”
“You summoned a Narwhark.” This time Sute speaks. She sounds reverent. “By yourself?”
“I did not mean to do it, if that’s what you’re asking. My blood activated the spell within the book. I did not make the portal myself. It just came about.”
“But, of course you made the portal, dear child,” Allura says gently. “Only one who’s been to the Demon Realm has the ability to do that.”
I narrow my eyes. “I hadn’t been to the Demon Realm until I met you there. The Narwhark was from before.”
All three sisters favor me with a sympathetic smile.
“Try to remember,” Lorne says.
“Remember what?” I ask. I am growing agitated. “I don’t like these riddles, it is not why I brought you here.”
“No. You brought us here because of fate,” Allura replies. She seems to be the leader of the three. “It is because of prophecy we are here. We have known it since our youth. It is why we sacrificed so many years, why we went to the Demon Realm. We had to wait for your time. That is why we were placed on this earth.”