Vampires Dead Ahead

SIXTEEN



“Bethany, be at my home office within thirty minutes for an emergency meeting.”

With his keen hearing, Volod heard the Siren answer on the other end of the connection.

The Fae representative, a Siren from the Bermuda Triangle, said, “Why? What’s happened, Leticia? Why can’t we meet in council chambers?”

“They have been compromised.”

“Why do we need to meet so early in the morning?” Bethany asked in a sleepy voice. “It’s only two AM.”

“Something has happened. I cannot talk about it over the phone. It is urgent that all of you arrive as soon as possible. There are decisions we have to make now. Lives are at stake.”

“What’s the code word, Leticia?” Bethany sounded a little more awake.

“Solstice. I’ll be on a conference call with the other council chiefs until you arrive. Now hurry.”

“Good to know it’s really you.” Before she hung up, Bethany added, “I’ll be there within thirty.”

Volod watched as Janet, the female Vampire-Metamorph, hung up the phone and turned toward him, shifting out of Chief Counsel Leticia’s form. “It is done, sir.”

“Very good.” Volod glanced at the real council chief, who sat on a nearby chair. “I thought Trackers and the Paranorm Council would be more challenging. Obviously I was wrong.”

Although she was cuffed and gagged, in her gray eyes Leticia amazingly had the look of someone who believed herself to be far superior to him. Special handcuffs, designed to impede paranorm powers and magic, would soon be on each of the council members, not just Leticia.

Volod studied the chief, keeping emotion from his features. He would wipe that haughty look off Leticia’s face and replace it with one of fear. It was something he loved to see in his victim’s eyes.

She would serve him. Earlier he had chosen to bite her himself to ensure total control over her once she was turned.

Leticia, a Doppler lioness, tilted her chin at a regal angle, arrogance in her demeanor. Her silver hair was drawn back in a knot at the base of her neck, but disarrayed, and her once elegant clothing was torn.

Volod had determined that the council members were more valuable to him as Vampire paranorms rather than dead. Turn and use them as he pleased. He motioned to a pair of his Vampire paranorms. “Take the council chief into her office.”

Leticia looked at Volod with contempt before one of the members of his dream team lifted her from the chair and carried her through the doorway of the large Manhattan condo.

The Metamorph shifted once again into a perfect double of Leticia. Volod’s team of Vampire paranorms moved through the doorway Leticia had been taken through. The next council member escorted through that doorway would be taken.

Volod stepped back into the shadows.

First to arrive was Eric, five minutes earlier than expected. “Leticia” met him at the door. “Come to my office,” she said by way of greeting.

“What is this meeting about?” Eric was saying as she guided him through the doorway.

The moment the Werewolf was on the other side of the doorway, two Vampire paranorms grabbed him.

Shock followed by anger shot across the Werewolf’s features, and he snarled and fought against the Vampires’ holds. With strength that Volod found impressive, Eric threw one of the Vampire paranorms across the room.

The Vamp hit the wall with a loud thud. The crash of glass followed as he dropped onto a small table that had held several glass objects.

Volod frowned. If they weren’t careful, the next council members to arrive would hear the noise.

Eric snarled and fought but was taken down to the carpeting and restrained with silver-lined cuffs along with rope that had silver woven through it. He was gagged and dragged into the room where Leticia was being kept.

Volod gave a smile of satisfaction. Then he ordered his dream team and the Metamorph to take their places again.

Reginald opened the door and walked into the condo without knocking. Fortunately, the Metamorph was ready to greet him as Leticia.

When the elderly Shifter walked through the doorway that led to her office, he glanced at the mess across the room. Before he had a chance to digest what he saw, Volod’s team attacked.

The Shifter fought surprisingly well, and Volod wondered at how much he had underestimated Reginald. He growled as he transformed into a tiger followed by a wolf, then a bear, each time slipping the grasp of the Vampire paranorms who were trying to restrain him.

Finally another Vamp was able to inject a serum made with silver into the Shifter’s arm. Immediately Reginald dropped. He transformed back into his human form before he hit the floor.

The Shifter was removed from the room and taken to the office where the Werewolf and Leticia waited.

Moments later Volod watched as Bethany and Caolan entered the condo together. The Siren and the Light Elf paused when they crossed the threshold.

The Metamorph greeted them urgently. “We have little time,” she said. “Come.”

“Something is not right.” Caolan reached for his sword, ready to draw it. “I scent …” He looked puzzled. “I do not know.”

“Yes, something is off.” Bethany put her hand on a silver dagger at her side. “We need to leave.”

“Everything is fine, do not be absurd.” Janet glanced at where Volod was hidden and he scowled even though none of them could see him. Stupid bitch shouldn’t have looked in his direction. She could give him away. “Hurry now,” the Metamorph was saying.

“No, something is wrong,” Bethany repeated. “I can smell Vam …”

A side door burst open. The Vampire paranorms who had been waiting outside rushed in to take care of the last of the council members.

Volod thought about ending the fight as Caolan unsheathed his sword and swung it at one of the charging Vampires. The lifeless head hit the floor and rolled. Bethany drove her sword through the chest of a second, who fell immediately.

Volod decided to simply watch. The two council members were no match for the six other Vampire paranorms who surrounded them. Katherine, the powerful witch from Los Angeles, held out her hand, and light sparked from her fingertips.

Energy suddenly seemed to leave Caolan and Bethany. They moved, but in slow motion. Jorge, the Vampire-Werewolf from San Diego, aimed a gun at Caolan that looked like a toy and pulled the trigger. A dart filled with potion made from a Basilisk eye pierced his shoulder.

Janet pointed the end of a fire extinguisher at Bethany and fired a stream of freshwater at her, drenching the Siren. Bethany cried out as if in pain. Sirens came from the saltwater sea—freshwater created a severe burning sensation on Siren skin and slowed them down.

Seth, a Vampire-Shifter, burst out laughing. “That was easy. Classic council members. They can tell Trackers how to fight, but they can’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag.”

Volod smiled to himself. This went exceptionally well.

Jorge nodded. “Cuff them and follow me. You council members might like to see your leader—the one you thought called this little meeting.”

As the council members were led into Leticia’s office, Volod strode in behind them. “Excellent,” he said, letting his pleasure emerge in his tone. “The Paranorm Council is now mine.”

Volod narrowed his eyes as he continued. “The very council responsible for the deaths of so many of my own. Death would be too good for each one of you.” Satisfaction filled him as if he were feeding on a sweet young female. “You hate the thought of becoming one of us, don’t you? But you will like it when it happens.”

Bethany looked panicked and shook her head.

“Monique, choose four Vampire paranorms, and you may all have a bite to eat on me. The four remaining council members are yours for your dining pleasure.” Volod rested his gaze on the council members. “I do not need the upset stomach their blood would give me. Especially when I have all of you here to do it for me.”

Volod thought about the rush he’d had earlier when he’d bitten Leticia. How deliciously satisfying it had been feeding on a human afterward to clear the queasiness in his stomach.

Now he would sit back and enjoy the scene. He loved watching the fear on subjects’ faces just before their necks were ravaged and their blood drained. That this was the Paranorm Council made tonight extra special.

The council … the powerful group that, along with the Trackers, had virtually destroyed him. And now he would see them added to the ranks serving him.

Not to mention, this would be just one more bit of anguish for the Drow bitch. He wanted Nyx to suffer, and that day would come.

Her leader, Rodán, taken, and now the council. He smiled, thinking of how Nyx must feel with the net slowly surrounding her and tightening. The thought gave him almost as much of a high as watching events here.

“I want you to remove the gags. Especially the gray-haired hag.” Volod pointed to Leticia. “I want to hear the pleading cries before the meal is devoured.”

Seth and Janet began removing the gags.

Volod gestured to Bethany and Caolan. “What is wrong with these two? They look drugged.”

Katherine looked from the council members to him. “I shot a tranquilizer spell at them. It slows every aspect of the mind, including motor skills.”

Volod scowled. “I prefer them conscious. I like to see the shocked look on their faces when they are bitten.” He walked up to Bethany and sniffed the air. “I want to smell their fear, watch their futile struggle.”

As he paced in front of the council members, looking them over one by one, he added, “I want the spell removed so that the two are bitten with clear heads.”

“Yes, Volod,” the Witch said.

Volod smiled at Leticia, his tongue taking a quick swipe of his lips as her gag was removed. “Just one more bite and you are mine.”

“We shall never serve you,” Leticia said as she glanced at her captured council members.

Volod smiled, his words cold, calculating. “I will break you soon enough.”

He saw a hint of fear flicker in Leticia’s gray eyes. Finally, he thought. He clenched his teeth and slowly paced the width of the office as his gaze moved over the other four council members. “Yes,” he said more to himself than them. “It will be very useful keeping you alive.

“However”—Volod turned to Reginald—“perhaps I should consider eliminating you.” The sour-faced elderly Shifter was angry and disagreeable. “You have lived far beyond the time you should have.”

Reginald’s face screwed up into a mass of tight wrinkles. “You may as well. I will not serve you.”

Volod brushed aside the Shifter’s words with a wave. “I will not waste my time with any further conversation.”

His gaze moved to the Werewolf, Eric. “You were far easier to take down than I expected.” Amusement flickered through Volod at the look of fury that met him. Eric’s strength and agility had made him difficult to catch at first, but he had been subdued in a relatively short amount of time.

Volod looked over at Caolan, one of the Light Elves. “You are quite a prize, are you not?”

Life was back in Caolan’s eyes. Volod wondered if it was fear he saw, too. If not for the bit of the Basilisk serum, the Light Elf would have persevered, but in the end, he too was Volod’s.

It was not easy to put fear into these council members, yet now he felt the emotion in the room.

“One thing puzzles me.” Volod went up to the extraordinarily beautiful blond Siren. “What do they call you again? What kind of a paranorm?”

“She is a water Fae, Volod.” Monique answered for the silent Siren.

Water Fae. Volod stopped pacing as he sensed something different about her that reminded him of two other Fae creatures. They had been Undines, not susceptible to a Vampire’s bite. Both had been bitten twice, and drained the second night. Neither had risen when it was time to, leaving them dead, not undead.

Could that have been why they had not turned? Because they were water Fae? If it was so, he would simply eliminate the water Fae rather than take the time for them to be bitten a second time then buried.

“Ah yes, a water Fae. Two others who looked much like you were bitten recently, and they seemed to be immune to a Vampire’s bite. I have no use for a paranorm who can’t be turned.

“You shall be a test.” Volod gave a decisive nod. “If you do not rise, then I will know your kind are not worth dealing with.”

Bethany scowled but lost none of her beauty. “To die would be a far better fate than to serve you.”

Volod smiled again, letting the chill of his thoughts come out in his words. “You would go well with the decor in my bedroom. Even if you do not turn, it is very tempting to chain you to my bed for my pleasure. I just may do that.”

The Siren’s cheeks turned slightly green.

She began to sing.

For a moment Volod was too surprised to react. Her song was magical, magnificent.

He felt dazed as he watched Monique stride across the room. Monique slapped Bethany hard enough that the sound echoed throughout the room. Abruptly she stopped singing.

As he came back to his senses, Volod shook his head. Bethany had attempted to use her Siren’s song against him.

Monique reached for a stack of papers on Leticia’s desk and removed the large clamp. “Jorge, hold this Siren for me,” she said calmly.

Jorge grabbed the Siren from behind, wrapping his arm around Bethany’s throat.

Monique raised the clamp. “Let’s see her tongue.”

The Siren clenched her lips tight.

Jorge’s forearm dug into the Siren’s throat and her mouth came open, her tongue out.

Monique pressed the large clamp open, fit it over Bethany’s tongue, then released it. The Siren groaned.

“That will shut you up,” Monique said.

The pale green that had blossomed beneath her skin faded.

“Enough of all of this talk,” Volod said. “Take them down, Monique.”

Monique’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Volod knew she had loved the faux-Vampire experience even before she was turned. She had shared with him that the real thing took it to ecstasy beyond her dreams.

For her it was all still something sexual, just as it had been before she was turned. She had told Volod that there was nothing better than to bite, then finish the night off with him.

Volod watched as Monique caught Elizabeth’s eye. A look of hatred from Elizabeth told Volod that she was boiling from the fact he had not chosen her to assist him tonight.

Monique looked away to the other Vampires. “Janet,” she said, “take the big, and now not so bad, Werewolf.”

Monique smiled as she stroked Bethany’s arm. “I will take Miss Pretty here. The Siren.”

Volod felt almost intoxicated as he watched Monique take complete charge. He especially loved it when she took control over Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth, take the shriveled one there.” Monique pointed to Reginald, not even looking Elizabeth’s way.

Elizabeth looked disgusted. “I don’t need to be sick for days from biting a paranorm. There is no human to take after sucking on this wrinkled-up prune. Pick someone else, I won’t do it.”

“Katherine, the old guy is yours,” Monique instructed without hesitation. It was as if she had purposefully ordered Elizabeth to bite Reginald, knowing that the Vampire would refuse.

Volod saw some fear in the council but was amazed at how they accepted their fate. They were unlike most humans, who screamed like frightened little six-year-olds when they realized what was happening. And observing the council, which had almost destroyed him, was more satisfying to him than biting ten humans. “Dinner is served,” Volod said.

The paranorm Vampires stepped forward. Katherine walked up to Reginald. With her amazing strength, she gripped the old Shifter’s upper arms with her hands. She showed her fangs a second before she buried them into his neck.

His only response was to close his eyes. His body twitched.

Janet would not have been much of a match for Eric, Volod thought, had it not been for the restraint system. The belts went around his waist and through his crotch to hold his wrists taut behind his back. They even held his ankles and elbows in place.

Janet grabbed a chair in front of the desk and pulled it up to the tall Werewolf. Eric seemed to know that struggle was futile and only would make it all the more enjoyable for Volod. He obviously had resolved to not show emotion.

The Metamorph stood on the chair, looked into Eric’s eyes, and then slid her fangs deep into his neck. There was no movement from Eric. He stood there as if nothing was happening.

Impressive, thought Volod. The strength of such a Paranorm would serve the cause well once he was turned.

Just as Eric was taken, Katherine was all over Caolan’s neck, moving him back and forth like a lion trying to shake the life out of its next meal. Like Reginald, Caolan closed his eyes as he accepted his fate. Katherine continued ravaging him.

Monique tapped Katherine on the shoulder. “I’m glad you are enjoying the feast, but I think that’s enough, Katherine. Leave a little flesh on him.”

Katherine swiped her tongue over the bite marks, stopping the flow of blood, before she stepped back.

Volod smiled as he studied the Siren, who was watching in horror as her fellow council members were bitten. By the way her whole body trembled, he could tell that the blood dripping from the slumping paranorms and from the Vampires’ mouths was obviously too much for her.

Monique turned toward the Siren and moved forward. Volod knew that given a choice, Monique preferred to bite males, but she would still relish this little pretty. Volod loved watching her take another, especially a female, and Monique knew that.

Bethany was cuffed from behind. She worked her tongue out of the clamp and spit it out. “You will regret this, you bitch,” she screamed. “You were one of us. How can you do this? You were a leader.”

Bethany backed up. Her cuffs dropped to the carpet with a soft thump. With terror on her face, the Siren bolted through the unguarded door.

“Stop her,” Janet screamed.

Monique held out her hand. A half-inch-thick, twisted vinelike rope flew from her fingertips, extending through the door and around the corner.

A shriek came from Bethany, and Monique’s face lit up. She looked like a little kid who’d just hooked the big one. She pulled quickly on the vine. Bethany stumbled backward into the room, the vine wrapped around her neck.

Staying in place, Monique jerked hard on the vine, spinning Bethany around. She continued to reel Bethany in until she was inches from her face.

“Thank you for doing that, Bethany,” Monique said in a low, sensual voice. “I love, as Volod does, the futile struggle as he calls it, of such a prize. You made my night and his.”

The eyes of the red-faced Siren looked like they were going to bulge out as the vine strangled her. There was no more struggle left within her. Suddenly the vine disappeared and the Siren was left gasping for breath.

Monique grabbed Bethany in what could have been mistaken for a lover’s embrace. White fangs flashed before they were lost in the side of the Siren’s neck. Bethany began to struggle hard, but she was no match for Monique, who continued to bite, her breathing as loud as if she were being pleasured in Volod’s bed.

Monique finally pulled away from the Siren, who did not slump and quiet down like the others. The bite seemed to have little or no effect on her.

Monique looked to Janet. “Cuff her again. Use the full restraint system this time so there is no chance of escape. We will take her with us.” She turned to Volod. “I don’t see much effect from the

bite. You just might have a new adornment for your bed-bite. You just might have a new adornment for your bedroom.”

Volod nodded. “You know me well already.” How he loved to watch the enthusiasm of Monique’s attacks—no one he had ever known was a match for her.

“Have your team get them out of here, Monique,” Volod said as he looked at her. “Then we will return to the brownstone. I want to see you in my suite.”

She gave a slight bow of her head. “Of course.”

“Elizabeth.” He turned his gaze to the redheaded Vampire who stood just to his side. “Come with me.”

He didn’t wait for her, allowing her to walk in his wake. She would realize soon enough what her position with Volod had been reduced to. In the limo he chose not to talk with her. She did not break the silence.

While in the limo, Volod thought about how talented the Trackers were—yet stupid enough that he was able to take control of so many so easily. They hadn’t seen any of this coming.

If he had their powers for his own, he could rule all.

His plan would gain him the same result, though. He would rule all—through the paranorms.

Unfortunately, the Trackers knew what he was up to now. The element of surprise was gone.