Category: Novel

*Anne*

Anne ducked under the crime scene tape and stepped into the brownstone. A couple of crime scene techs were busily snapping away pictures and laying out evidence markers. In the center of the room, Jason was standing over the body. As Anne’s eyes swept the body, her mind catalogued the details. White male, early 40’s, high-end polo and khaki slacks, expensive shoes and watch. Cause of death was probably that gunshot wound in his right temple. It looked like close range. A quick glance at the victim’s right hand showed powder stains.

“Who do we have here?” Anne asked, walking over to where Jason was standing while pulling on a pair of nitrile gloves.

“Reginald Browne. Forty-one. Partner at an investment house over in Green Market,” Jason answered, “Ex-wife and two kids.”

“Suicide?” Anne asked, kneeling down to take a closer look at the body.

“It certainly looks like it,” Jason said, in a flat voice.

“So why did you call me in on a suicide?” Anne asked.

“Because before our victim here suffered his fatal injury, he called 911 saying that he was being pursued by a group of teens, and was barricaded in his house,” Jason answered, “It was a very peculiar call. Responding unit found the door open and our victim like this.”

“Define peculiar,” Anne said.

“Detective, are you done with the body?” one of the ME techs asked, “The doc wants to know.”

“Yes, thank you,” Jason answered. He motioned Anne to follow him down the hall while the ME techs carefully placed the body into a bag. “I had the call center send me the recording.” He tapped a command on his phone.

*”Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” asked the operator.*

*”They’re outside!” answered a frantic, high-pitched male voice, “I can see them in my windows!*”

*”Who’s outside, sir?” the operator asked.*

*”Those teens,” the man answered, “They chased me from my car. Oh God, their eyes!”*

*”What about their eyes, sir?” the operator asked, her steady calm flickering at the incongruent statement.*

*”They’ve got black eyes!” the man said, “They keep asking to be let in.”*

*”Sir, don’t let them in,” the operator said, “Police are heading to your address right now. Keep your doors locked and wait for the officers to arrive.”*

*”STOP LOOKING AT ME!” the man screamed, “STOP ASKING TO COME IN!”*

*”Sir, please calm down,” the operator said, “The police will be there in a few minutes. They will handle them. Do you require medical assistance?”*

*”GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” the man screamed, ignoring the operator’s question, “IF I LET YOU IN, WILL YOU GET OUT OF MY HEAD?*”

*”Sir! Do not let them in!” the operator said, “The police will be there soon. Wait for the police.”* The line clicked off.

“They tried calling him back, but he never picked up the phone,” Jason said. “The responding officers secured the outside, came in, and found the body. The captain tried handing the case to Monroe and Benson, but I talked him into giving it to us.” Anne’s eyebrow quirked up. Both of them had a backlog of cases, so why would Jason take a case from another detective? As she looked at Jason’s grim face, Anne understood. There was only one reason Jason would snatch a case. There was something *special* about this case.

“Let me guess – no evidence of these black-eyed teens that Mr. Browne was so worked-up about,” Anne said.

“None. No one saw anything and there’s no physical evidence that anyone was standing outside the windows,” Jason answered.

“Okay, so what makes you think this is a special?” Anne asked.

“Because the task force has had four such incidents in three different cities over the last five years,” Jason answered, “This is the first time someone’s died, but the MO is the same. Strange, black-eyed teens confront the victim. Three times in their home, and once in the car. They stand outside and demand to be let in. No one but the victim sees them. All four times, the other victims let these teens in. The victims who let them in the house said that the teens just walked all around the house and then left. The guy in the car said they just sat in the passenger seat staring at him until he was so creeped out, he fled. When he went back for his car a couple of hours later, the teens were gone. Nothing was ever taken. No property damage inflicted.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that’s weird, but it could just be kids playing an elaborate prank,” Anne said, “Another bizarre internet thing that may have gone a bit too far in this case. Like that whole Slenderman BS.”

“I wish it was that simple,” Jason said, “The task force has evidence that there was something odd going on. Unfortunately, we’ve never been able to get a handle on it. Whoever is behind this just vanishes by the time we get boots on the ground. This time, though, we might just be able to catch the bastards.” There was a predatory gleam in Jason’s eyes, which bothered Anne.

*Anne, as soon as you finish there, we need to talk at the clubhouse,* Samantha said over the telepathic link.

*What’s the matter?* Anne asked, startled by Samantha’s sudden intrusion.

*Something about that house is making Erik and Veronica physically ill,* Samantha said. *Kurt’s waiting for you two outside, but the rest of us are heading back.*

*The house is making them sick? How?* Jason asked.

*I don’t know, and they’re not making much sense right now,* Anne answered, *They just keep saying that something in that house is wrong.*

Anne

“Are you sure he doesn’t want to come inside for some pie?” Anne’s mom said, looking out the window at the man standing under the ancient oak in the front yard. Anne followed her mom’s look. Erik could be so damned stubborn. He couldn’t come in and converse with her parents like any of the other Avalonians. No, he had to do his guard duty outside. At least he looked like he was just lounging under the tree and not standing at attention or something. The neighbors would really talk if he did that.

“He’s fine out there,” Anne said, “He’s just glad it’s warmed up to what he considers a bearable temperature.” Her mom shrugged. She was used to Erik’s odd ways, even though she had no idea why her daughter hung out with a man like that.

“The winter did break early this year,” Mrs. Hearst said. “It looks to be one of the warmest St. Patrick’s days in the last fifty years. The weatherman on Channel 10 said it was because of global warming.” Anne’s mom sniffed her disapproval of that opinion. Barbara Hearst couldn’t understand how humans could do anything to God’s Earth, so all of this global warming talk was just nonsense. Plus, the radio talk shows said it was all a plot by the communists anyway. Anne just took another bite of the cherry pie to hide her own look at her mom’s opinion.

“Are you taking Kurt to the St. Patrick’s Day parade?” Mrs. Hearst asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide the tone of hopefulness in her voice. Anne smiled as she sipped her coffee.

“If we both have the day off, then yes, I will bring him with me to the park for the cook-out, and you can finally show us off to your side of the family,” Anne said, with feigned exasperation.

“I just thought it would be nice for him to see the city’s parade,” Mrs. Hearst said, dismissing her daughter’s accusation. “Why couldn’t you just request the day off, like any other job?” Anne blew out her breath.

“I did, but I’m still on call. That’s what happens when you’re the force’s premier detective,” Anne said, avoiding the real reason why she would still be on call.

“So we can hope no one gets killed in some particularly gruesome way that only you can figure out,” her mom said with a familiar biting tone. Anne restrained the temptation to bang her head on the tabletop. At least her mom only thought Anne had to deal with normal, human murderers. If she knew about some of the things Anne actually chased through the city streets, the woman would probably have a nervous breakdown.

“So, what else has been happening since Kurt and I came for dinner last week?” Anne asked, changing the subject.

“Your uncle Howard got a promotion to vice-president,” her mom said, proud of her baby brother.

“Send him my congratulations,” Anne said.

“I will,” Mrs. Hearst said, “You know what this means, don’t you?” Anne looked up suspiciously at her mother.

“What?” Anne asked.

“He’s going to be able to afford to send Mindy to Delain,” Mrs. Hearst said, dropping the bomb. “We offered to let her take your old room, but Howard says she wants to experience real college life.” Anne groaned. She had no idea how her airhead of a cousin managed to get accepted into an elite school like Delain. The idea of Mindy in her city as a college freshman filled Anne with dread. It was bad enough that Anne wasn’t sure if she could finish her last bite of pie. Determined not to let one girl spoil her mom’s pie, Anne shoved the last bit into her mouth.

Erik

“Then she suggested that Kurt and me show her around the city when she gets here in August!” Anne said as Erik navigated the car through the city streets. Anne had been ranting non-stop since they’d left her parents house. Erik couldn’t understand her frustration, but he knew it was better just to let the storm blow itself out before saying anything.

“You disagree?” Anne said, and Erik felt her emotions shift. Damn, that wasn’t going to work this time.

“She’s your cousin,” Erik said, “Why wouldn’t you help her?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t, but it’s like Mom’s already planned out half-a-dozen family things when Mindy gets here and figured out what I would be doing,” Anne answered, “Without even asking!”

“So?” Erik asked, before he could stop himself. Anne’s anger spiked.

“So?” she nearly screamed. “Don’t you think she should at least have the decency of asking me before she volunteers me to show Mindy around the city? Especially with Kurt?” Erik gave Anne a sidelong glance before pulling into a parking lot. Americans had some very odd concepts when it came to family dynamics.

“Come on,” he said, trying to avert the upcoming argument by changing the subject. He stepped out of the car. Anne’s anger jumped up even further before it was drowned out by her curiosity. She stepped out of the car and stared up at the three-story building.

“What is this place?” Anne asked.

“Our new clubhouse,” Erik answered, and smiled at Anne’s exasperation. She hated when someone gave her cryptic answers. They hung up their coats in the small foyer before they entered what looked like one of those war rooms shown in movies or television. Plasma screens hung from the walls showing news feeds and cameras from around the city. The rest of the team, including Lady Maritza, was lounging on some of the plush chairs scattered about. The only person missing was Jason. Erik felt her astonishment as she looked around.

“When did you guys do all this?” Anne asked.

“Mostly while you and Jason were at work,” Lady Maritza answered. “The point was made that some of your extra-circular activities could point the wrong kind of attention back to the apartments. Plus, it seemed like a good idea to give you some training and logistical space that didn’t interfere with my own people’s.”

“You actually got a company to do construction in the middle of winter?” Anne asked.

“It was more of a renovation, actually, dear,” Lady Maritza answered, “It also helps when the owner’s wife is the one contracting for service.” The two women beamed at each other. Erik hid his own smile. As bad as his relationship was with his nominal superior, at least those two got on like a house on fire. Before Lady Maritza continued, Anne’s phone rang with that annoying song she used for Jason.

“What’s up Jason?” Anne asked. Her emotions became subdued as she spoke with her partner. From the look on Samantha’s face, this was going to be one of those special cases. Erik signaled for Kurt to load up one of the vans and get ready to leave. The Avalonians were moving to the garage.

“I’m sorry Lady Maritza,” Anne said as she hung up her phone, “It looks we caught a really bizarre case.” The older lady embraced Anne.

“And I didn’t even get to show you the secret passages,” Lady Maritza replied with mock severity. “Take care of yourself.” Erik’s superior gave him a curt nod as he followed the rest of the team out to the waiting van. As they pulled out and started following Anne, Erik wondered what kind of insanity this world was going to throw at them this time.

Erik

Erik looked out at the lights of the city. The Colosseum wasn’t the highest point in the city, but it was high enough for him to feel the cold wind whipping off of the river. In so many ways, they had succeeded. The vampire clan was destroyed. The Americans had used what happened to warn off the other clans. They’d found a mole in the city’s police force. Anne was safe, and there were some tantalizing clues as to what the Dark Towers wanted with her. Kurt and Anne had finally gotten together. Erik was surprised at how pleased he was about that, especially considering how hard he was going to have to work to hide that from the Saint. He was pretty sure that Lady Maritza knew, even if she hadn’t told her official self. On top of it all, Mia Gold was safe and out of the vampires’ clutches. All in all, he should have been celebrating with the others. Instead, he was up here brooding. All because the one vampire he wanted dead had managed to slip out.

The access door opened and Erik felt the familiar psi-scent walk up behind him. He’d wondered if this was going to happen, or if Lady Maritza would interfere. To be fair, he would have understood if his nominal superior warned the woman off. Of course, she may have, but Erik doubted even Lady Maritza could have dissuaded this one if she wanted to speak with Erik.

“Samantha knew you’d be up here,” Mia Gold said. She walked up to the railing that Erik perched upon. He looked down on her and gave her an indulgent smile. “When I invited your little team to one of my rehearsals, it was because I wanted you to see. It’s not often I get to show off for my big brother.”

“Sorry Mirya,” Erik said, “I didn’t think about that. I should have. It just seemed like a good time to get away from everyone’s emotions and just think.”

“It’s nice to hear you say my name,” Mirya said. Then her face became serious, and Erik could tell his sister was wary about treading into dangerous ground.

“Go ahead and ask,” Erik said.

“Would you quit doing that?” Mirya said, exasperated. “You and Sam both!” She took a deep breath and collected herself. “Sam told me about what happened. Much to the dismay of Lady Maritza. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“Could you be a little more specific?” Erik asked in reply.

“Why are you doing this work? It’s not like you needed the money. Is it because of Sam?”

“I’ll admit that was one consideration,” Erik said, “More because I needed to get out of Avalon. I was hurting the family and the firm. Then, I was offered this mission.”

“Are you sure you didn’t leave because of that bitch?” Mirya asked. Erik gave her a cold look. “Erik, any woman who destroys you like Anya did will be a bitch in my book. She was lucky that I was stuck over on this side of the gate. There might have been bloodshed.” Erik couldn’t help but smile. He leapt down off the perch and swept up his sister in a hug.

“Here,” Mirya said, pushing a cell phone into Erik’s hands. “I know we aren’t supposed to be contacting each other, but I can’t know my big brother is on this side of the gate and not talk to him. This is the most secure phone I could buy. I’ve got one and so does Sam.” Mirya lifted herself up and kissed Erik on the cheek. “I know there are somethings you can’t even talk about with Sam. You can send me a text on this thing and we can talk.”

“Love you too,” Erik said, kissing the top of his sister’s head. “I can’t tell you how thankful I was that you were on this side of the gate when all of that hell went down.”

“Are you at least coming to the concert tomorrow?” Mirya asked.

“Yeah, but only because one of my team needs to be on guard while the rest of them watch you do that thing you call music,” Erik answered, with a light tone. He grunted as Mirya punched him in the gut. “I am proud of everything you’ve done over here, Mirya. You’ve done good, little sis.” They hugged again and Mirya walked back to the door.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later then,” Mirya said. She waved and then descended back into the Colosseum. Erik hopped back up onto the railing.

“That was so touching to watch,” a familiar soprano voice said. Erik whirled and drew his pistol. Nao was standing on one of the antennae some thirty feet above Erik. Then she blurred as she moved faster than Erik could track. He didn’t even have time to throw up a shield before Nao plucked the pistol out of his hand and threw him to the concrete of the roof. Stars exploded in front of his eyes. As they cleared, he felt Nao sit down on his chest. She peered deeply into him, but there was none of the psychic pushes that she’d used earlier. Instead, she just lowered her head and kissed him. Erik knew he was supposed to fight, supposed to do something, but it was all hazy the moment her lips touched his.

“I know why you want to kill me,” Nao said, “I honestly didn’t realize what that woman had done to you when I plucked her from your memory. You’re not ready to forgive me yet. I can see that in your eyes. I hope you’ll be able to do so soon.”

“Why?” Erik managed. Nao smiled.

“Because, I can help you heal from what that woman did to you,” she whispered in his ear. Then she was gone.

Lady Maritza

Maritza Holland closed her laptop as her next appointment walked into her office. Overall, she was pleased with the outcome of the recent days’ events. Anne was safe and learning even more magic. How that young woman reminded Maritza of her younger sister. Yanna would have loved Anne Hearst. She looked up as the man in front of her desk cleared his throat. She fixed him with a cold gaze.

“You wanted to see me, Mrs. Holland?” Detective Harvey Welks asked, unfazed by the woman’s glare.

“Yes, Detective,” Lady Maritza said after a moment. No, this one couldn’t be intimidated. “I’ve come to understand that you’ve been acting as a fixer for the non-human elements, shall we say?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Mrs. Holland,” Welks said, with a neutral face.

“Let’s not play these foolish games,” Lady Maritza said, letting her annoyance show, “If I wanted you dead, I would have let Detective Hearst have her way with you and then helped hide your body. Believe me, I can bury the disappearance of a police detective. So, have you been acting as a fixer?” Welks considered Lady Maritza for a long moment.

“I have been known to help factions from outside the city with their unique needs,” Welks admitted. Maritza tossed an envelope at Welks. The burly detective snatched it out of the air with an almost practiced ease. He opened the envelope and stared at the contents before giving Lady Maritza a quizzical look.

“What is this?” Welks asked.

“The paper identifies you as the legal owner of a safety deposit box at the bank listed in Chicago. The key will allow you to access it. You’ve annoyed me a great deal with your actions Detective, but you could also be useful.”

“How?” he asked suspiciously.

“You become my agent,” Lady Maritza said, “Every month, I will put $10,000 worth of bearer bonds from various companies into that safety deposit box. You will keep me informed of any ‘outside factions’ coming into the city, and if they have an interest in Detective Hearst. If you do that, then the money will be yours when you decide to collect.”

“What’s the catch?” Welks asked.

“You do not lie to me. You do not take any action against Detective Hearst. You do not continue to work for ‘outside factions’ after you collect the money,” Lady Maritza said. They traded a long look. There was no need for threats of retribution. Welks put the envelope into the inside pocket of his jacket.

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Holland,” Detective Welks said, and then walked out of the office.

Erik

Well, there was one good thing about this bizzare vampire ritual. They’d killed one of their own as part of it. Eight to take down, including the boss vampire. Erik looked over to Veronica. His sorceress watched the ritual with terrified eyes, which was not a good thing in Erik’s book. Whatever was happening, it held the vampires’ rapt attention. Veronica shot a warning glare at Erik. It must have hit the point Nao had told them about. Time to see if this tossed together plan was going to work.

The basement shook and Erik was deafened as Veronica released the sound spell she’d been building in her mind. Erik felt hot brass hit him as Nigel and John turned their suppressed MP5’s on the two vampires next to them. Erik was already moving. The plastic zip-ties around Erik’s and Kurt’s wrists fell apart with the softest touch of his power. Erik concentrated on the hilt of Far’ling at Nao’s waist. In one smooth pull, the sword sailed across the basement into his waiting hand.

Stumpy materialized next to Erik. The metal claws the vampire had instead of hands lanced out at Erik, but bounced harmlessly off of the invisible shield. Erik dropped the shield for an instant to thrust the elven sword into Stumpy’s chest. The vampire didn’t even scream as he flashed in flame. Erik was turning to fight the next vampire as Stumpy’s ashes swirled around him.

The vampire punched at Erik’s shield. A shotgun blast reduced the vampire to ash before Erik could attack. Kurt must have freed Jason and the others already. Erik didn’t bother looking over. He had to trust his team to do their jobs. With vampires, hesitation was death.

Anne

The explosion of sound was an annoyance. Anne was busy examining the bindings David was doing. By teasing the faint streams of wild magic in the basement, Anne could see through the stainless steel of the bowl David was using to purify her blood. She could pick out her blood in the mix of vampire blood and amplification substances. It glowed with its own unique – frequency? That was the only word that came to Anne’s mind as she watched David pour the streams of bound magic into the bowl. Some of her blood stopped glowing. It looked like the vampire blood, but warmer? Damn, magic was hard to put into words. So, this was what her cousin felt when trying to explain particle physics to her last Christmas. Then, Anne realized what she was seeing. The ritual changed the frequency of her blood into something that vampires could not only consume, but would boost the magic they pulled out of it. Okay, so now how was she going to stop it?

David was directing the flows of wild magic for the ritual. What if he wasn’t the one directing? Anne felt the magic binding her to the ritual. It was strong, probably the strongest that David could throw with all of the amplification from the candles and whatever he’d thrown into the mix. Except, he was only calling on a few of the streams of wild magic running through the basement. Of, they were the strongest of the streams, but without that annoying block in her mind removed, Anne could see so many more. Each was a faint whisp compared to the streams used by David, but combined? Anne teased the faint streams into a new binding and lashed it to the stream running from her to the ritual. Instantly, the flows reversed.

“What?” David screamed, barely audible over the gunfire now filling the basement. He pushed against Anne as she claimed the streams of magic around the ritual. It was kind of pathetic actually. Anne easily batted down his few attempts to reassert control of the ritual. It was hers – and she could see how the bindings were working together. She tugged at the knots, unraveling some, while subtly changing others.

The grazda screamed in pain and horror as the ritual’s streams of bound magic attached to the nearest vampire. He wanted to suck all of the magic out of her blood, so Anne made him feel what it was like. Anne watched the red glow of the vampire’s magic ripped itself out of the grazda‘s body to join with the magic of the ritual. Anne barely saw the withered corpse fall to the ground. She was too busy to see what other vampire she could destroy with this bound magic.

Anne, stop, Veronica said over the telepathic link. How are you holding that much magic?

I don’t know, Anne answered, The block is gone, and all of the sudden– As soon as she thought the words, Anne’s block slammed back down. The magic that seemed so easy to control was now flooding through her uncontrollably. Anne screamed in agony as the magic of the ritual burned her mind.

Dump the power! Veronica screamed into Anne’s mind.

Where? Anne asked.

Anywhere! Veronica answered. Anne felt around the streams, looking where she could dump the excess. She felt the prodding of David attempting to take control of the ritual. More from instinct than any conscious thought, Anne grabbed hold of David’s small stream and forced through all of the magic she was holding. Anne thought she heard someone screaming. Then, the world went black.

A small prick woke Anne. A man dressed in SWAT gear kneeling next to her finished inserting the IV. Anne swiveled her head as the SWAT guy handed the bag off to Kurt.

“It would do me good if you would try to stop nearly killing yourself during these little fights,” Kurt said. The worried look in his eyes belied his light tone. Anne have him a weak smile.

“Who?” Anne asked as she realized the basement was crawling with SWAT-looking guys.

“Jason’s people,” Veronica answered, kneeling next to Anne. Veronica took a look at the IV and shook her head dismissively. Veronica’s fingers danced around Anne’s body while she spoke some elven words in a low tone.

“I can’t feel the wild magic,” Anne said, in shocked sudden realization. “What did I do to myself?”

“Nothing,” Veronica said, a bit coldly. “You burned out the streams around us with the amount of magic you drew and dumped.” Veronica gave Anne a hard look. “Your own magic is depleted, but not burned out, which is to say the very least, surprising. At any rate, you should start feeling something in a few hours. Now, I have to go help Erik and Samantha see if they kind find Nao.”

“She escaped?” Anne said, trying to sit up. Kurt laid a gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, and Erik’s pissed,” Veronica answered.

“Alone at last,” Kurt said, softly as Anne laid back down. She chuckled because laughing hurt for some reason. Anne reached up and stroked his face.

“Hey, Kurt, when we get out of here, do you want to go to the Mia Gold concert?” Anne asked.

Anne

“Now, my vojnici, we will obtain what it has taken these long years to find,” the gazda said to the gathered vampires, in heavily accented English. “Our clan will be one step closer to the Mandate of Heaven.” The eight other vampires in the basement roared their approval. The gazda took a step closer to Anne. He was short, barely making five and a half feet. Like Nao, his hair was platinum blond, but where her eyes glowed a sapphire blue, the gazda‘s eyes glowed an angry, ruby red. The grazda firmly gripped Anne’s chin and forced her eyes to meet his. She could feel his overwhelming presence thrust itself into her mind with all the smoothness of a sledgehammer. His low laughs were drowned out by her screams. He was just as quickly gone from her mind. Anne just hung from the chains binding her to the iron pipe.

Anne looked over to Kurt and the others. Kurt looked incensed, but the other Avalonians looked almost bored. Even those two traitors that Lady Maritza had sent along didn’t seem interested in what was happening as they covered her friends with their submachine guns. Samantha had managed to let Anne know what was going on when the vampires freed her from the chair long enough to install and chain her to the iron pole in the center of the basement. Anne couldn’t believe that Nigel and John were working for the vampires. She was still having a hard time believing her rival on the city’s police force, Detective Harvey Welks, had been on the vampires’ payroll.

“David, are you ready to harvest the blood?” the grazda asked, pronouncing his minion’s name “Dah-veed.” The human nodded, smiling beatifically up at the grazda. “Then do so. We will complete this before the dawn.” The human occultist put on a pair of blue nitrile gloves and walked up to Anne.

“Going to slit my throat?” Anne taunted defiantly. He ignored her and freed her left arm. His grip was much stronger than Anne expected. “So, are you going to cut my wrists and make it look like a suicide?”

“Interesting thought, but no,” David answered, tying a tourniquet around her upper arm. She felt the tiniest prick as David carefully inserted the a needle into her arm. Satisfied, he produced three glass vials and filled each of them with her blood. As each filled, David stoppered the vial and placed it into his jacket pocket. Then he withdrew the needle and put a bandage on her arm.

“That’s it?” Anne asked, shocked.

“That’s all the blood we need for the ritual,” David answered, “We were going to kill you. Especially considering how deadly your unpurified blood is to the vampire. Nao made a strong argument for keeping you alive so that we could keep using your blood against our rivals. It’s quite elegant when you think about it.” Anne hung her head, trying to look resigned to her fate. It wouldn’t do for David to see her smiling.

David walked back to where Nao and the grazda were standing. Set up next to them was a small card table with four unlit candles, what looked like a small spice rack, a stand with a collection of cooking utensils, and a stainless steel mixing bowl. If Anne didn’t know better, she would have sworn David was about to give a cooking lesson instead of performing a magical ritual. He poured the three vials of Anne’s blood and added something from one of the bottles on the spice rack. The basement filled with the rotten egg smell of sulphur. David concentrated, and Anne could feel the flows of wild magic bend to his will. The four candles sparked to life. The flows were dancing around David as he tied them to the candles. Something about the knots he used on the flows made them pulse stronger. Veronica had said practitioners on this side of the gate used candles during rituals as amplifiers. Now, Anne understood what she’d meant.

“Grazda, now we need the death blood of a vampire,” David said. The grazda looked among his vampires. They all seemed to swell, as if begging to be asked to do this for him.

“It should be one of your scions,” Nao said, “The closer the better.” The grazda nodded his head and pointed to one of the vampires. As the other vampires shrunk back with disappointed looks on their faces, the black-haired vampire grinned viciously and strode to the card table.

“Pyotr, you have always been the strongest of my children,” the grazda said, “You have always made me proud. Now, I ask you to make the ultimate sacrifice so that the clan can continue on the holy path. Do you have any reservations, my child?”

“Nema, moj otac,” Pyotr said in a booming voice. The grazda‘s face broke into a wide smile. Pyotr bent over the mixing bowl and bared his throat. The grazda plucked a long, thin-bladed knife off of the table. Moving faster than Anne could see, the grazda grabbed Pyotr’s hair and instant before slashing Pytor’s throat. The grazda held the vampire steady as a stream of dark blood poured into the bowl. As the two bloods mixed, a cloud of noxious smoke filled the basement. It took everything Anne could muster to focus on the flows of wild magic around the table and not retch.

David uttered phrases that sounded like mangled elven as he added the contents of two more bottles to the concoction in the bowl. The flows of wild magic danced around the candles and then into the bowl. A braided flow water, earth, and heat leapt out of the bowl and lanced into Anne’s mind. The basement disappeared and Anne was suddenly lying on a cold, hard table.

“Which of the infants have you chosen, great lady?” boomed an achingly familiar male voice. A woman’s face came into view above Anne. Except the face was huge. It was like looking up into the face of a giant. The woman’s eyebrow cocked up in surprise.

“I see the choice has been made for us,” she said, in a soothing, if loud voice. “What let you come back and see this I wonder?”

“Meliandre, our time is running short,” the familiar voice said. Anne couldn’t see who was talking, but she’d met that man before. Where was she? A baby started crying in loud screams of discomfort. Anne tried to get up, but she didn’t have the strength.

The baby’s screams cut off suddenly and Anne could taste the salty iron of blood.

Anne was jarred back into the basement. Her eyes focused on the flow from the table to her. She could see even smaller flows dancing around the basement. How could she have missed those before? There was enough raw wild magic in the basement to destroy all of them. Anne started pulling those small flows of wild magic into the braided flow between her and the table.

Then all hell broke loose.

Anne

Anne had been forced to do some humiliating things in her career with the police. Being stripped naked and then tied to a chair was definitely a new low. She wasn’t sure the casual manner the vampires had torn her clothes off made it better or worse. Thankfully, they’d left her alone as soon as they were done. That bitch, Nao, had said something about collecting the others before leaving. Anne was really hoping Erik would cut that bitch’s heart out.

Anne shivered. The basement was dark except for the single lit bulb hanging a few feet above her head. It was also cold. If she got out of this, she wasn’t going to tease Erik anymore about his hatred of any temperatures below seventy. Anne closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Yes, she was in a bad spot, but she had friends coming for her. Plus, it wasn’t like she was completely helpless. After all, if Erik could fight his way out buck naked, surely Anne could do the same thing. She just hoped she could find some clothes before Kurt saw her.

Anne concentrated until she could see the faint lines of wild magic flowing through the basement. Earth, water, cold, and dark, Anne thought, feeling the strongest lines, What can I do with these? Almost everything Veronica had taught her involved binding of heat, light, and air. Maybe, if she bound cold and water she could freeze the ropes. Anne tugged on the strands and began a binding. She could easily see how cold and water could be tied. Then she hit the block in her head. Pain flashed through her mind. The light bulb above her exploded, showering Anne with glass and droplets of ice-cold water and plunging her into darkness.

Damn it, Anne thought, I wish Samantha’d been able to figure that out before we left. Erik had asked Samantha and Veronica to accelerate Anne’s magic training before they’d done the trade for Mia Gold. Accelerated training involved Samantha linking Anne’s mind with Veronica as they went through some lessons. That was painful and exhausting enough, but they’d barely managed some small spells before the block in Anne’s mind threw them all out of the link. Something about that block was tied up with Anne’s ability to interact with wild magic and sling spells.

“Not what you were trying to do?” asked a male voice from the darkness. “I think you used too much water in that binding.” The voice was deep and rich with an English accent. “Actually, that was kind of impressive considering how little wild magic is down here.”

“Who are you?” Anne demanded, glaring at where she thought the voice was coming from.

“A simple occultist,” the voice said, “Or at least, I was before meeting Gazda Miklos. It’s a shame, really. I do miss the feel of wild magic bending to my will.”

“What’s a shame? Who’s Gazda Miklos?” Anne asked.

“Patience, Ms. Hearst,” the voice said, “You’ll meet the gazda when the ritual begins.” Anne was momentarily blinded by a flashlight turning on. As she blinked to clear her vision, the beam was pointed upward, filling the basement with a dim light.

“I do apologize, Ms. Hearst,” said a man some fifteen feet from her. “Your torch was a bit more intense than I expected.” He was probably a tad under six feet, with a lean face that was more pretty than handsome. White blond hair was cut short and styled exquisitely. He was wearing khaki slacks and a black turtleneck sweater, but he looked slightly uncomfortable in the clothes. Anne was suddenly very aware of her nakedness.

“My, I don’t think I’ve known anyone who blushes over their entire body,” the man said, as if examining a specimen. Then he shook himself. “I apologize, Ms. Hearst. That was rude. Please, relax. I’m afraid none of your, um, attributes, have the least effect on me.” Anne’s skin heated even further. They both were quiet for long minutes.

“Why are you doing all of this? Why me?” Anne asked.

“The Prophecy of Blood,” the man answered, “More to the point, the Revelation of the Two-Blooded Woman.”

“You realize that means nothing to me,” Anne replied.

“Of course,” the man said, then he seemed to ponder something for a long moment. “I guess there’s no reason you shouldn’t know. The Prophecy of Blood is the sacred text among the vampire clans. Like any good sacred text, it lays out the vampires’ morality and rules for society. Much like the Talmut, Bible, and Quran, it is more a collection of parables. Except for the revelations. Those are a series of steps that need to be accomplished before a vampire can secure the Mandate of Heaven and bend all others to his or her will.”

“Mandate of Heaven? I thought vampires were cursed. Why would God give them a mandate?” Anne asked.

“What you call a curse, the vampire call a blessing,” the man said with the quiet reverence of a true believer. “At any rate, I think the term was passed down when the Tartars ravaged across Asia and Eastern Europe. ‘Mandate of Heaven’ is a Chinese term for divine rule. It the vampire’s case, who has the Mandate of Heaven can control the blessing. Including giving it and removing it.”

“Really? So, this Miklos thinks I’m part of one of these revelations he needs to get the mandate?”

“Just so,” the man answered, “The Revelation of the Two-Blooded Woman says a woman will be born whose blood is poisonous to the vampire, but if it is purified, the blood will allow the aspirant to fully control his own blessing.”

“And you think this ‘Two-Blooded Woman’ is me?” Anne asked.

“Don’t you?” the man asked. Anne was about to disagree, but she stopped herself. When that vampire had bitten her back at the hotel, he’d burst into flames. Maybe there was something to this revelation of theirs. Before Anne could ask anything else, the basement was suddenly bathed in harsh, white light. Anne heard a door open behind her and several people trodding down a wooden staircase.

“David, please wake the gazda,” Nao said from behind Anne. The man bowed before spinning around and opening a trap door. As David descended, Nao walked around so that Anne could face her. The vampire stared hard at Anne, and she could feel Nao’s presence push into her mind.

“So, David explained part of it,” Nao said in a barely audible whisper, “Let me enlighten you some more, Dva Krvnih Zena. If you do what I tell you, when I tell you, then you and your friends might survive this night. If you don’t, then I can assure you that no one that you love on this earth will be safe.”

Erik

The mansion the vampires were using was surrounded by a ten foot brick wall. Techinically, that was a bit higher than was allowed by the city’s building codes. Building codes could be flexible if the right money was paid to the right people. It was kind of comforting to Erik to see petty corruption was universal, even in America.

“So, how are we going to get over the wall without them picking us up?” Jason asked. Veronica stepped forward. The sorceress drew an invisible circle on the ground, and then drew another on the wall. In a hushed tone, Veronica spoke in elvish. A faint green line appeared where she had drawn the circle on the wall, and then the wall within the circle vanished.

“Okay, that’s a neat trick,” Jason said, hefting his suppressed M4. “Why haven’t we used it before?”

“Because it’s a ser’al binding,” Veronica explained, “I have to commit it to memory before I can cast it. After that, I’d have to wait a few days before I can do it again.” Jason grunted agreement and strode through the hole. Kurt followed holding his Benelli shotgun. Nigel and John went next with their MP5SD submachine guns. Erik and Samantha went next. Erik had Far’ling and his custom S&W500 revolver drawn. Samantha, who was playing medic for this little raid, was carrying one of their stubby little AK-74Us. Veronica stepped through last and waved her hands. The hole in the wall vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. The team made their way to the doors they’d marked as their entry point into the mansion.

“No vampires in the room,” reported Nigel from his point near one of the large windows that looked out to the back lawn.

“Okay, time for us to work our magic,” Erik said to Veronica. Under the cover of Jason and Kurt’s guns, Veronica and Erik stepped up to the glass-plated French doors. Veronica focused her magic on the glass. It dimly glowed for a moment and then started pouring to the ground as a pile of sand. Erik was the first through the door. He threw up a shield at the hallway just in time for a vampire to slam into it. Physics being physics, Erik slid back a few feet from the impact. The vampire looked confused by the invisible barrier. Erik dropped the barrier for an instant. Just long enough for Jason to place a short burst of silver into the vampire’s chest.

The creature’s howl of pain was muffled by Erik’s telekinetic shield. So, thankfully, was the flame as the vampire exploded in a brief flash. Erik moved his shield down the hall as he stepped over the ash pile. Along the left side were doors to the servants’ quarters. Anne was supposed to be in the third one according to Veronica.

As they passed the first door, Erik paused and focused on holding his shield. Behind him, Kurt, Jason, Nigel, and John cleared the room. Not finding anything, Veronica tapped Erik on the shoulder. They repeated the process as they passed the second room. Erik felt everyone’s anxiety ramp up as they neared the third door. With each step, Erik knew something was wrong. He should have been sensing Anne’s psi-scent, but there was nothing coming from the room. He held up his hand. As the group stopped, Erik felt around. There wasn’t a hint of Anne’s psi-scent in the hallway.

“She’s not here,” Erik whispered into his radio, “I don’t think she’s ever been in here.”

“But I felt her sling a spell in that room,” Veronica said. “Maybe the vampires moved her.”

“I’m not picking up her ghost anywhere in here,” Erik said, “If they moved her, I should be able to pick up her ghost on the walls or floor. There’s nothing.”

“So, where is she?” Kurt asked. His voice was perfectly professional, but Erik could feel the roiling fear and rage bubbling in his tactical specialist.

“That’s a very good question, Mr. Schneider,” asked a familiar voice from the darkness. Erik triggered his chem-rig as Nao’s blue eyes became visible in the dark. Cool anti-venom pumped into his veins. Another few steps, and Erik could see Nao’s lithe beauty in the light from Far’ling. “Where could we have taken your precious Anne?” As she spoke, two pairs of red eyes blazed from the darkness.

Erik held Far’ling in front of him as he lowered the revolver to his side. The two male vampires stepped into the light. Veronica hissed as the seven-foot tall man-bat forms emerged from the darkness. Erik noticed one of the vampires wore two stainless steel hooks in place of his hands. That was probably the one Erik had fought when he tailed the pair of vampires a few nights ago.

“I know you’re planning something, Erik,” Nao said, walking right up to his shield. She gave him a sympathetic look as she leaned on the invisible wall of telekinetic force. “I need you to surrender.”

“Now, why would I do that, Nao?” he replied coldly.

“Because if you do, then I’ll take you to where Anne is,” Nao answered, “Believe, you’ll never find her before my clan mates took you down one by one.”

“From my calculations, we’ve managed to kill four of you so far without any loss on our end. Not including Stumpy, there,” Erik said, nodding at the hooked vampire. “There’s what, another nine of you? I think we could take you.”

“There’s no doubt you would probably hurt my clan even more, lover,” Nao said, with a hint of pride in her voice, “You just wouldn’t be able to in time to save your precious Anne. Unfortunately for you, time is of the essence. So, put down your weapons, and we will take you to Anne.”

“Not a fucking chance,” Erik said.

“Actually, sir, please do as the vampire says,” Nigel said, pointing his submachine gun at Erik. Veronica started to bring up her own submachine gun, but Erik put his hand on her arm. John had fallen back and had Samantha covered. Erik and Samantha locked eyes for the briefest of moments before she nodded.

“Put your weapons down,” Erik commanded, dropping his revolver to the ground. Veronica let out a string of Hindi curses as she unslung her submachine gun and let it drop to the ground. Jason and Kurt gave Nigel and John murderous looks as they followed suit.

“Remove your shield, lover,” Nao said. As Erik let the shield drop, the vampire with hands blurred among the group. Erik felt Far’ling tugged out of his grasp an instant before his hands were bound behind his back. When the vampire re-appeared, a stack of guns and knives was in front of Nao. She smiled indulgently at the vampire and said something in Serbian. The vampire bowed. Nao walked up to Erik.

“Do you know why we succeed, lover?” Nao asked, “It’s not because vampires are so powerful. It’s because we have servants everywhere.” She turned to Stumpy. “Take them down to the basement. The gazda will need to feed once the ritual is complete.”

Anne

Anne eyes cracked open as she regained consciousness. The bedroom was dimly lit, but Anne could make out the dresser to her left and the small bedside table to her right. The bed was soft and warm. Anne could smell the faint scent of lilacs. She lay in the bed for several long moments, trying to clear the foggy feeling from her mind. Still groggy, but feeling more able, Anne sat up.

Her feet landed on plush carpeting, and for a moment, Anne wondered if she was in Lady Maritza’s house. No, the last thing she remembered was Welks hitting her with that blackout drug. Anger roiled through Anne as she thought of Welks working for the vampires. She knew Welks was a lazy slob of a detective, but corruption was something new. Anne was going to either put a bullet in him or make sure he was locked up.

She felt the wild magic dancing around her an instant before the floral arrangement on the dresser erupted in flames. Anne instinctively reached for the vase, but she stopped herself. If she could start a fire with magic, she could stop it as well. Anne focused on the wild magic flowing around the room and saw the bindings on the vase. With careful thought, she altered the bindings slightly. The flames extinguished as if a switch had been thrown. Anne coughed as the smoke filled the room.

The door opened and two vampires materialized in her room. They moved so fast that they seemed to appear out of thin air. One was the vampire that had fled from the hotel room. The other was a woman. She was about Anne’s height, with a face and shape that would have made a supermodel envious. Her silver head flowed as if an unfelt wind was blowing it. She said something to the male vampire in some European language. He picked up the vase and vanished. The female vampire turned to Anne with glowing blue eyes.

“You’re the one who tortured Erik,” Anne said, recognizing the vampire from the description Samantha had given her. The vampire looked pleasantly surprised.

“Unfortunately, yes. I didn’t know how badly he’d been hurt by that woman,” the vampire said, sounding truly regretful. “Hers was the only one I could pull out of that vault of a mind that he has. Once I saw the truth…” The vampire’s voice trailed off. Anne watched the vampire’s face incredulously. She had a thing for Erik?

“You realize he wants to kill you?” Anne asked. Was she in the clutches of an insane vampire? Were any vampires sane? The vampire looked over at Anne and smiled.

“I’ve already marked him as mine,” the vampire answered, as if it was perfectly plain. “He can fight all he wants, but he’s already coming around. He didn’t even kill me tonight with that magic sword of his. Now let’s talk about how you’re going to help me.”

“Screw you,” Anne snapped. Anne felt the sudden pressure against her mind. It wasn’t like when Samantha telepathically spoke to her. This was intrusive and violent. It sent Anne to her knees.

You will help me, the vampire spoke into Anne’s mind, You and that lovely blood of yours. Anne let out a whimper and fell to the floor as the pressure on her mind increased. You will fulfill the prophecy, and I will be the new leader of this clan.

Erik

Erik was watching the target house when Veronica flinched in her seat. Erik twisted back as his sorceress’s head focused on one corner of the large mansion. From the expression on Veronica’s face, she’d felt some magic being used. That was pretty good confirmation that this was the target house. Erik let himself feel a tiny bit of relief from failing to tail Anne, but only a little bit. Erik would let himself feel more after he put Nao down.

“So, the tracker was correct?” Kurt asked. The German’s voice might have been professional, but Erik could feel Kurt’s fear and dread radiating like a space heater. Erik leaned into Kurt.

“Relax, my friend. We’ll get her out of there,” Erik said. Kurt nodded, and his feelings lessened a bit. Erik would rather deal with Kurt’s fear than Jason’s boiling anger. The American agent had been infuriated about what happened between Erik and Nao, and had not so subtly hinted that maybe Erik was compromised. If Erik was being honest, he wasn’t sure himself. That was why he was wearing the small drug harness under his battle armor.

The Imperial Army had experimented with battle drugs many times in the last century. It had to look at anything that would give its soldiers an edge against the likes of orcs and trolls. Chemical enhancement was one of many avenues. The results of the trials had been mixed. The drug cocktails needed to bring a human on par with an orc tended to have some nasty side effects. Very nasty side effects. That said, the Imperial Army had an institutional culture of never throwing away a weapon system. There might come a time when it had to be dusted off and used. Which was why Lady Maritza’s closet had a full chem rig. Erik had just switched out the normal battle drug cocktail for the venom treatment that the Americans had developed. He could feel the cool liquid being pumped into his system and hoped that it would fend off the craving. So far, so good.

“I think Anne’s in this room here,” Veronica said, highlighting the room on the floor plans. “At least, I think that’s where the magic surge came from.”

“Are you sure it’s not just the vampires?” Jason asked.

“No, it felt more like one of the spells we taught Anne,” Veronica answered. The agent nodded in understanding.

“If she’s there, we can go through these doors here into the sitting room,” Nigel said, highlighting the route. “The sitting room connects to the servants’ quarters where they’re holding Anne. We haven’t observed any vampires in this sitting room yet, and there’s no security system active. Just a quiet sneak and retrieve.” The two Foreign Security agents looked satisfied with the plan. Erik was pretty sure that the vampires would know the moment they entered the house, but he didn’t have any better plans. At least this time, they’d be bringing some surprises of their own to cover them.

“Everyone get ready. We go in ten.”

Anne

Anne rubbed her throbbing head as the escalator dumped her on the second level of the Highlands Mall. Why couldn’t the vampires have chosen a more secluded place to do the switch? Something like a warehouse down by the docks or one of the vacant buildings out by the airport. No, they had to choose the largest mall in the city – and on the second floor of a three floor complex. Fortunately, the closed restaurant being used for the trade was just off of the escalator. Anne wouldn’t have to wade through the packed walkways. A mall security guard intercepted Anne as she took a step towards the restaurant.

“Detective Hearst?” he asked. When she nodded, he handed her a key. “Only you and two others may go in. Any more and the deal is off.” The guard smartly spun and walked off before she could say anything.

Okay, Samantha and Veronica go in with Anne, Jason ordered over their telepathic link. He told Erik what was happening via cell phone. For some reason, Erik couldn’t be connected into the telepathic link, which was why Erik was outside the mall waiting to track Anne and the vampires when they came out. At least, that’s what Samantha and Erik said, but Anne was sure there was more to it.

Anne unlocked the door to the restaurant and Veronica strode into the darkened interior. The sorceress’s hands were faintly glowing with stored magic. Anne could see the wild magic bound to Veronica’s hands. Any vampire that dared to put its hands on Veronica was going to be immolated. Samantha stepped through next with Anne trailing the two women.

That’s odd, Samantha said, I’m hearing another set of thoughts besides Mia. Someone who knows you Anne. He keeps complaining you haven’t come yet.

Who? Anne asked, pausing at the edge of the entryway.

I don’t know, but he’s pissed, Samantha answered. Anne thought hard for a brief moment, but she couldn’t think of anyone she knew that would have been involved with the vampires. Anne motioned for Samantha and Veronica to step into the restaurant proper. She followed a few steps behind. As soon as she turned the corner, Anne froze and reached for a pistol that wasn’t there. Standing next to a blindfolded Mia Gold was Detective Harvey Welks.

“About damned time,” Welks growled as he saw the trio. “Some of the clan are in here with us. As long as everything goes smoothly, you won’t see them. If you try anything at all, then they will kill the songbird here.” Welks was staring directly at Anne.

“Welks, this is your game,” Anne said, surprising herself with the calm tone, “How are we doing this?”

“Let’s keep this simple, okay?” Welks answered, “The songbird walks to you and you walk to me. Once we both have what we want, you walk back out that door, and we go our way. Oh, and just to keep things honest.” He held up a gold medallion on a silver chain. It glowed like someone was hitting it was a flashlight.

“How did you get one of those?” Veronica hissed, her eyes fixed on the small disc.

“Never you mind,” Welks answered confidently, “From your reaction, I imagine you know what it’s for.”

“It’s a tal’kra. Any binding of wild magic and it will glow,” Veronica supplied for Anne’s benefit. “I didn’t know there were any on this side of the gate.”

“So that’s what it’s called,” Welks said, sounding amused, “So, you know what to do to make it stop glowing, because this trade ain’t happening until this little trinket is quiet.” Anne scowled. That made things more difficult. Veronica was supposed to back her if the vampires decided to double-cross them while Samantha protected Mia Gold until Jason, Kurt, and the others reached them. Veronica glared at Welks as she released her bindings. Anne felt as the wild magic was released and balanced into the flows around her. The tal’kra‘s glow faded.

Satisfied, Welks gave Mia Gold a rough shove towards Samantha and Veronica. The singer stumbled from the unexpected shove, but quickly recovered. Anne had to admire the singer’s poise. Even after being kidnapped and blindfolded, Mia Gold was walking like she was on the red carpet. Anne strode over to Welks with a look of disgust on her face. Welks looked unconcerned. As she neared, Welks produced a pair of flex-cuffs and motioned for her to turn around. As Welks secured the plastic restraints to her wrist, Anne watched Samantha hustle Mia Gold out of the restaurant. Veronica stood like a statue of a petite, angry Indian goddess. Anne gave her a small nod. Veronica cautiously backed out of the restaurant.

“I told them you’d come quietly,” Welks said as soon as the Avalonians were out of the restaurant. “They, on the other hand, wanted some more precautions.” Before Anne could ask what he meant, she felt the prick of a needle at her neck. Blackness quickly swallowed her.

Erik

At least she’s safe, Erik thought to himself as he waited for this Welks person to emerge from the mall with Anne. He was perched on top of the mall’s parking garage. It was the only place where he had a view of all the major and minor exits. Erik would sense Anne’s psi-scent when they emerged, and then he’d jump down to one of the pre-positioned vehicles to follow them. He had to give the vampires some credit. Their plan was smart. The mall was crowded enough to provide enough background psychic noise – normally. Spending three months, day in and day out, with Anne allowed Erik to quickly find her psi-scent.

Erik heard the soft thump behind him, and he spun around. Nao was leaning on a car some fifteen feet away. In tight black slacks and a brilliant blue blouse, she looked like she’d just stepped off of some high-end photo shoot. Erik suppressed a pang of need as her glowing blue eyes met his. His hand dropped to the hilt of Far’ling hidden just beneath his long coat.

“You do not want to do that, lover,” Nao said, the ghost of a smile dancing across her ruby-red lips.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that I do,” Erik replied, “And I’m not your lover.”

“Not yet, but soon,” Nao said. In the blink of an eye, she was standing next to Erik. Very close to Erik. Her hand clamped down on his before he could draw the elven sword. The other hand grabbed Erik’s head and pulled it down into a light kiss. Erik’s head swam as her venom surged into his blood. Nao stepped back.

“Stay out of our affairs, love,” Nao said, “There are goings on within my cland that you are not aware of. I can’t protect you if you insist on interfering.” Erik looked down into Nao’s perfectly sculpted face. She gave him a smile that was equal parts compassion and seduction. He felt her hand loosen on his sword hand. Erik hit her with the strongest blast of power he could muster.

Nao flew across the roof of the parking garage and slammed into a concrete pillar. There were cracks in the pillar as she slid down to the ground. Nao looked up and gave Erik a look of amusement.

“I’m going to cut your heart out,” Erik said, unsheathing Far’ling.

“No, you’re not,” Nao said confidently as she picked herself up off the concrete floor. “You will soon realize that I am your true match. Not that pathetic weakling I saw in your mind.” Her eyes flickered to the shining silver blade in Erik’s hand. “Not tonight though. You aren’t ready.” She leapt into the night sky and vanished from sight. Erik keyed the radio.

“Jason, I lost Anne,” Erik said, “But I managed to tag one of the vampires with one of those trackers of yours. We’ll know where they took Anne shortly.” Erik clicked off the radio before the American could reply and sank to the ground as the venom sang through him.

Erik

The room was dim when Erik opened his eyes. The pain was a low throbbing, but something else wasn’t right. His body was missing something. That drug. It was a craving for that drug. Erik spent what felt like a few hours pushing back against the craving and then tried to move.

“Would you just lay there and rest?” asked Sam, her voice filled with a familiar frustration. She stepped into Erik’s line of sight. Erik felt a pang of guilt as he saw Sam’s haggard expression. “Veronica managed to heal most of your wounds, but it took a lot out of her. You’re still not fully healed.”

“We’re not at the apartments,” Erik said, looking around. The room seemed familiar, but his fogged mind couldn’t remember.

“We’re at Lady Maritza’s,” Sam supplied. “You needed a lot more than what Veronica could supply you.” She motioned to the IV. “It’s helping keep the venom under control.”

“The what?” Erik asked.

“You were captured by vampires, Erik. When they bit you, they pumped you full of their venom. It’s highly addictive, according to Jason,” Sam answered.

“So why didn’t Veronica burn it out of me?” Erik asked.

“Because it’s not just a chemical. It has a magic component. Veronica said that the bindings had already seeped into your brain, and she couldn’t undo the bindings without possibly damaging your brain,” Sam answered. “Jason’s people told us how to make a treatment that will lessen the need. Not remove it, but lessen it enough to make you functional.”

“I’ll have to thank Veronica and Jason,” Erik said, sitting up. Sam made a sound of protest, but Erik waved her down. She knew him too well to stop him. Carefully, he reached out and took Sam’s hand. She didn’t flinch. Good.

“I’m sorry about what happened in the hallways,” Erik said. Sam let out a strangled laugh.

“They really screwed with your head, didn’t they?” Sam asked, gently, “I’m guessing one of them pretended to be Anya. Probably while you were weak and doped up on their venom. Jason explained how vampires operate.” Sam cocked her head. “So, I guess you’re not as over her as we thought you were.”

“No,” Erik said flatly. Sam placed a gentle hand on Erik’s cheek and lifted his face to hers. She had a sad smile on her face.

“There are days I want to strangle her for what she did to you,” Sam said.

“Thanks, I think,” Erik said, and the pair chuckled darkly. He looked back up to Sam. “How did you find me? I didn’t even know where I was.” Sam’s smile vanished and an odd tinge of fear lit her eyes.

“A couple of vampires killed a woman to draw out Anne,” Sam answered, “At least, that’s what we think. When we caught up with them, we found out that they were part of Mia Gold’s touring crew.” Erik’s eyes went hard and Sam swallowed.

“Has she been turned? Does she know?” Erik asked. Sam held up her hand to fend off any more questions.

“She’s not a vampire,” Sam answered, “We know that much from watching the paparazzi here in the city. I don’t think she knew that her tour was being backed by vampires.”

“Why?” Erik asked. Sam didn’t answer, but her eyes silently pleaded with Erik not to press further.

“Help me up, or I’ll do it myself,” Erik said.

Anne

We will trade Detective Hearst for Mia Gold at 10 p.m. tonight at the address provided below.

Anne looked down at the single sheet of paper that had been delivered nearly a half-hour ago to Lady Maritza’s house. The address was a closed restaurant in the Highlands Mall. Kurt, Veronica, and Jason were arguing about what to do. Samantha hadn’t come out of the room where Erik was healing. To top it all off, Lady Maritza was being strangely quiet. Anne looked up at the clock. Five-thirty in the morning. It had been a long night, followed by a long day and an even longer night. Anne really just wanted to go to bed, not make more critical decisions. Then she heard someone calling her name.

“What? I’m sorry, I kind of zoned out there for a moment,” Anne said.

“I was saying that we should be busy looking for where the vampires are holed up,” Jason said. “I’ve already contacted my superiors. We’ll have a DA team from the task force here in twenty-four hours.”

“Mia doesn’t have twenty-four hours Jason,” Veronica replied, “We need to start planning how we’re going to handle the trade.”

“Nein,” Kurt snapped, “All of our jobs is to protect Anne, not this singer. We cannot risk Anne’s life.”

“Are you saying that as the professional bodyguard, or the guy who’s in love with Anne?” Jason asked, sarcastically. Kurt shot up from his seat and stormed towards agent.

“Stop it, the both of you,” Anne snapped at the two men. “Kurt, we have to get Ms. Gold away from the vampires. I swore an oath to serve and protect, and I take my oaths seriously. And Jason, she doesn’t have time for your team to get here. We have to make sure Ms. Gold is safe.”

“Anne, please, we don’t know why the vampires want you,” Kurt pleaded, “Handing you over to them may be worse than giving you over to the Dark Towers.”

“That is a point,” Veronica said, scratching the bridge of her nose. At Anne’s shocked look, Veronica held up her hand. “Look, I want to save Mia as much as you do, but Kurt’s right. We don’t know what the vampires are going to do with you when they have their clutches on you.”

“So, you’re willing to sacrifice Mia’s life on the possibility?” Anne asked.

“We are not sacrificing Mia Gold,” Erik said from the doorway. Anne spun at the sudden voice. She hadn’t heard him walk in. Erik was pale and his face contorted with pain. Sam was reluctantly helping him stay upright while giving him furious looks.

“Erik, what the hell are you doing out of bed?” Veronica demanded. “You’ll ruin all the work I did on you.” Erik gave the petite Avalonian a level look that made her flinch back. Then he looked over at Anne.

“Anne has made her position clear, and we have a duty to secure Ms. Gold’s release,” Erik said. “Unless Lady Maritza happens to know where the vampires are hiding out, this trade is the our only good shot at rescuing Ms. Gold.”

“With all due respect Erik, but what duty do to we have to this singer?” Kurt asked. To Anne’s surprise, Lady Maritza was the one who answered.

“Because Mia Gold is an Avalonian subject,” Lady Maritza said. Only Samantha and Erik didn’t have shocked looks on their faces, which surprised Anne even more.

“Why is she here?” Anne blurted out.

“Because singer is not an acceptable occupation for Ms. Gold back in the Empire,” Lady Maritza said. “She came here to Earth on the caveat that she could not return to Avalon for at least a decade.”

“I don’t understand that at all. Have you heard her sing?” Anne asked. Lady Maritza gave Anne a sad smile.

“Yes. The young lady is quite gifted,” Lady Maritza said. “It’s why I agreed to broker the arrangement. A talent like hers shouldn’t be wasted.”

“My God, she’s a noble,” Veronica breathed, “That’s why she couldn’t have a singing career in Avalon. She’d embarrass her family.” Lady Maritza didn’t answer. Veronica turned to Erik. “Is that how you knew? You’d met her before she came to Earth?”

“Something like that,” Erik said, “I can’t say anymore, but we are going to rescue her, and then we’re going to wipe these vampires out to make sure they can’t threaten Anne or Ms. Gold again.”

“How are you going to do that if I’m being traded to them?” Anne asked. “I don’t think they’re going to let me take my gun or a radio with me.”

“I think it’s time we rapidly accelerated your magic training,” Erik said, and then looked over at Veronica before looking down at Samantha. The two ladies nodded. “First, we’re all getting a few hours sleep.” With that, Erik went back to his room under Samantha’s guidance.

“What did he mean by accelerating my magic training?” Anne asked Veronica.

“If Erik’s going to have us do what I think he’s planning, you better go get some sleep. You’ll need whatever rest you can get.”