Eleven
TWO NIGHTS LATER
At the bottom of Serenity Tower
As the sun climbed the morning sky, Will lurked across the street from Serenity Tower. High, so high he couldn’t feel her from down here, was the woman he wanted so badly, he almost said “Fuck it!” and went to her. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that it wasn’t fair to her.
He knew the pain of loss, and he wouldn’t put her through it a second time. If, someday, he had assurances that he could be here for her, he could share a life with her, nothing in the universe would stop him.
For now, it had to be enough to know that she was up there. She would be sleeping, hopefully peacefully, maybe dreaming of him? Or was it cruel to hope she was?
He glanced at the spectacular glass and fabform building that he knew she had designed, a ready smile. He was lucky to have had the chance to be inside her at least that one night before his life went to shit and he died.
Now, though, he had one mission; to find who killed him; they were a threat to the vampires and earth warriors. After that, he knew, instinctively, that he would be traveling to the bottom of the world. It would include two of the other earth warriors, so he had carefully chosen those best suited to help him. With one last glance upward, he moved down the street, still quiet in the golden light of the new sun.
At the top of Serenity Tower
She had been sleeping well…as well as possible with a wiggling child inside her. Jasper moved so much, he woke Olivia.
“Buddy, what is it?”
Smoothing her fingers over the stretched skin, she suddenly felt something odd. She sat up, her eyes moving through the darkened room.
A presence? Someone who couldn’t be there, someone gone, yet the feeling persisted and spawned an intense need, a longing to see him, to hold him.
“Will?” she questioned into the empty room.
It had to be the child’s connection to the spirit world, reaching for the father he would never know.
But the presence had felt so real!
“Oh, Jas, I would give anything to have your father back, even for one night, to tell him what he means to us, so he would know how much we need him and miss him. To thank him for the gift of you, my beautiful baby.”
Sorrow mixed with joy, even to imagine Will’s spirit there with them. Olivia lay back on the soft sheets, fingers spread over their son, Will’s face etched in her mind.
That night after the sun dropped
Will lifted his fone.
He remembered that the kidnappers were planning to take them to Vegas, so the person who sought Olivia or her race had to be here in this city. The leader of the group had been referred to as Locktite, a nickname, obviously, for his criminal career. None of the men he’d met had been vampire, so that helped. He was searching for an accomplished mercenary with the moniker of Locktite. That shouldn’t be hard to track down.
Since Will had been killed in the plane crash, and he was extremely durable, the others likely perished too. The reputation of a deceased bad guy should offer no resistance as he searched. It was the only lead he had.
Will dialed Mies.
“Hey, there, I need some help. Would you happen to know of an IT genius in the Vegas area?”
“Actually, I do. I’ll text the info to you. How are you faring, Will? Doing okay?”
“Making my way. There was a threat several months ago against Olivia and I think the same guys who abducted her friend to interrogate her, and tried to kill her, are the ones who abducted me and Dani. I’m on their trail now.”
“Need help?”
“Not yet, but can I keep that offer open?”
“Sure thing. Be careful, Will.”
“Yeah. I know I’m powerful, but I’m not bulletproof. I guess it’s too much to expect that if they kill me again, I’ll come back again.”
“What are you looking for?”
“The man who led the group that took us had a highly recognizable handle, so I just need to find a link from him to his last employer.”
“Damn. It’s a long shot.”
“Yep, but it’s all I got for now. I’m hoping the magics might help.”
“Good luck. Call me if you need me, I can be there in three hours, give or take.”
“Thanks. Later.”
Moments after ringing off, Mies’s contact info came up and Will dialed the number immediately.
“Hi, my name is Will. You were recommended by a friend in Boston. Yeah, I need some research done at once. Can you help me?”
Not too far from Will’s hotel room, Thalasia sat nursing a chai tea at a sidewalk table at a favored café she’d found right after they arrived in Vegas.
He wasn’t going to come, she was sure of it. There was something about Gio that was too perfect, not because he was vampire, but because he was too good for a girl like her. Before Villioth had blood-bonded her, she’d been a failure; what her mother had called a woman of loose morals. Someone as kind, as honorable, as Gio wouldn’t have any interest in her type. Well, yeah, to fuck of course, but to be really interested in her as a person? Never.
Lifting her cup, she grimaced, laughing out loud to herself. “I’d be lucky if he’d even fuck me.”
“So would I.”
Thalasia couldn’t move. He’d actually shown up and heard her self-pitying comment? She was mortified.
Her eyes on her mug, in her peripheral vision, she saw him come around from behind her to take the other seat at her table.
“Hello.”
Damn, even his voice got to her!
“Hello,” she barked. Might as well address the comment. She lifted big earnest eyes to his.
“So, uh, I really didn’t think you’d come, and so, uh, I’m sorry for that crass statement.”
“Was it crass? It sounded like a wish.”
“Yeah, well, wishes usually don’t come true, so it was just stupid.”
“I came. I didn’t tell you that I wouldn’t, and I didn’t want to stand you up.”
“So you’re just being polite.” Thalasia drained her teacup. “I hate polite.”
“Then tell me what you like.”
God, he was too good for her! Not only was he out of her league, she’d been sent to betray him and his friends.
She pushed her chair back so quickly it tilted over.
“I can’t do this.”
Gio stood, his brows drawn together. “Can’t do what?”
Thalasia moved close. Fuck, he even smelled amazing.
“Look. Believe me when I say, you don’t want anything to do with me. Walk away, handsome. And, uh, watch your back. And your friend’s backs. Something bad is coming for you.”
When she turned to leave, Gio grabbed her shoulders. She noticed he didn’t hurt her, but she couldn’t pull free either.
“Stop.”
He was trying to compel her, but with the amount of vampire blood and a compulsion from Villioth to refuse other compulsions, she was able to resist.
“Gio, you’re a good man, but you’re fighting out of your weight class. I’ve been forbidden to tell you anything specific, just know that your boss is my boss’s target.”
“Who’s your boss? What does he want?”
“I want to tell you, but I can’t.”
“Come with me. Olivia can…”
“Excuse me.”
A rotund man bumped hard into Gio, knocking him against the table. Thalasia, shocked, watched as the man grabbed Gio, now unconscious, and lowered him into his chair, seamlessly resting his head on his arms on the tabletop. Instantly, he grabbed Thalasia’s shoulders and pushed her past the café.
“What the fuck!” she yelled.
“Quiet. I’m with Villioth. He had me tail you to keep an eye on the situation.”
“I was just doing what he told me to do.”
The man’s smile crooked, he cackled. “Yeah, sure. Look it ain’t my job to get you killed, lady, so I’m not telling him that you were about to spill to this guy. You’re gonna have to cover your own ass. I just had to cover mine.”
Was this guy for real? She didn’t recognize him, but if he did tell Villioth about her conversation with Gio, it was goodbye World.
“I wasn’t gonna spill. I can’t, I’m compelled.”
“I know, but we both know there are ways around a direct order. Anyway, I’m done here. Good luck back at the hub.”
After he disappeared into the traffic, she eased closer and peered at Gio from behind another wide man. Someone had noticed he hadn’t moved and was poking his shoulder. Shit, she’d better get gone.
Gio would be fine, no matter what the guy had done to him, it couldn’t kill a vampire permanently.
Fifteen minutes later above the city
Gio woke in an emergency lift-car, strapped to a trolley.
“Shit,” he whispered. Someone had tazed him with enough high voltage to electrocute him. Someone who knew he was vampire. It didn’t make any sense that it was his beautiful date, she’d been warning him off something. Either way, he was en route to the hospital on the edge of Vegas, an enormous medical complex vampires avoided.
He looked up at the single attendant, a youthful redheaded girl with pale creamy skin. “Hi.”
“Oh, hi, you’re awake. Good. We’re monitoring your vitals and are currently on our way to Vegas Med. Do you have any idea why you passed out?”
“Yeah. Would you unstrap me?”
The girl looked back at Gio after checking his latest vitals. “It’s not wise. So why did you lose consciousness?”
“Look at me please.”
“Sir…” Frustrated, she looked directly into his eyes.
“Release me.”
Once she had, Gio moved to the front of the car. When the driver saw him, he smiled.
“Feeling better?”
“Yes. Return me to Serenity Tower.”
Without delay, the pilot complied.
Feeling for his fone, Gio was grateful to find he still had it and dialed a number.
“Sam,” he said, when it picked up. “My fone may have been compromised, but you need to secure Olivia and those close to her. Thanks. I’ll explain when I’m back in about twenty minutes.”
So the threat was real, and he’d just been a target. There was no reason to trust Thalasia, other than the attempt to warn him. He’d just have to wait to see how things turned out to find out if she was bad news or a victim too. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt stung by the dangerous nature of compulsion.
Back on the ground, he used the same ability he’d just condemned to send the EMS vehicle back to the hospital. Using the private elevator to the top floor, he was outside Olivia’s room in minutes.
Sam chimed him in, his face a study of interest, concern, and impatience. “Fill us in.”
Olivia sat on the sofa, her feet up, Corri and Vaz beside her. Brigitte, at the bar pouring drinks, looked up.
“Anybody want anything?”
Rochelle strolled from the galley. “You okay, Gee?”
“I’m okay, but wait until you hear about my adventure tonight.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sam bolted up, his fone in his hand. “I want all surveillance feeds on a café on Capital Lane called Tosh. I need feeds at approximately midnight, and then entrance and exit feeds for the two hours leading up to that timeframe and leading away. I’ll be in the office in half an hour to review them.”
He looked at Gio. “You say you met her at Persistence the night before? Okay, we have a starting point for her contact.”
Sam looked at Olivia and rolled his eyes, a hand smacking his forehead. “I don’t suppose it’ll make any difference whether I ask you guys to stay clear of the clubs or any common schedules until I check out this threat?”
Her smile guileless, Olivia nodded. “Of course it will, Sam. Whatever you suggest.”
“Oh, now you’re just playing with me like a cat toy.”
Corri laughed. “Sam, go do your job. We’ll all stay here. There’s plenty we can do from this floor.”
“It’s just that it’s obvious we’re dealing with a ruthless asshole and he knows how to take down vampires. A little prudence never hurts.”
Olivia, groaning as Brigitte rubbed her ankles, caught his gaze. “I really have nowhere I need to go, so I’ll stay here. Go take care of business, but keep me informed.”
“You know I will, and thank you for keeping me from worrying about you while I worry about you.”
“You’re a doll, Sam. Go. I think we all will take a nice swim.”
Gio followed Sam to the door. “I’m coming with you, in case there’s anything I can contribute. I might see something you miss only because I was there.”
Sam nodded.
After they left, Corri turned on Olivia. “Good job playing it cool.”
“I deserve an award. Listen, Corri, we haven’t discussed this, I know you think it’ll upset me, but I’ve been thinking about the people who had you abducted and dumped in the desert. What if they had been watching you afterward, followed you, saw Will rescue you, and then bring you back to Serenity Tower. I know, it’s a long shot, but if it happened like that, what if those same people or person who took you, took Will and Dani? For the same goal, to find out what I am. They’re human, the kidnapper might have wisened up and decided to try compulsion on humans who know me. They wouldn’t have known that compulsion doesn’t work on Will or Dani.”
“But why take so long to decide to abduct them? Will was down there for over a month.”
“Maybe because I flew down. Because I became a part of their story. Maybe it was my joining them that brought the kidnappers to Will and Dani. Dear gods, it is likely all my fault. Will is dead because I decided to follow him.”
“Stop that right now. Your choices aren’t responsible for this creep’s behavior. This is first blood trouble. You told me once that there is a long history of first blood threats, that’s why you guys stay hidden. It isn’t you.”
Pushing from the sofa, Olivia grabbed her drink. “Let’s get in the pool. I need to calm down for Jasper’s sake, I’ve upset him. Vaz, could you bring my fone?”
Vaz nodded, but he wasn’t paying attention. Corri noticed how distracted he was.
“Liv, we’ll join you and Brigitte in a moment. Vaz, what’s on your mind?”
“Something that you just said, that there are always threats to the first bloods. There was a vampire, the owner of the Warehouse Erotica in Corsica, you remember? He found out that Koen could use compulsion on a vampire. He offered to help search for you, but only if I would reveal how Koen could do that. I knew before we located you that he couldn’t be trusted and Koen came back to do a final compulsion to purge his memories. He shouldn’t remember the events with Koen. And yet…”
“You think it’s possible he’s involved?”
“Damn, it seems unlikely, but we’ve seen unlikely things happen too many times to ignore it. Yeah, it’s possible. I have no idea what his link to Olivia might be, but I’m going to find out.”
“Not alone, you’re not.”
“Corri…”
“Call Koen, or Tam, or Dez. Or at least take Bas with you.”
“You’re bossy, you know that.”
“If you’re right, he’s already killed for this secret. You need back up.”
“All right. I’ll call Bas and see if he will fly over with Koen.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go help Olivia get rid of the crazy idea that she’s responsible for Will’s death. And you like me bossy.”
A small office in the old section of the Vegas strip
“Here’s what I found. I tracked covert messages on the Black web.”
Will leaned over Michael’s shoulder. “Gotts Wettbewerb? What’s that?”
“It’s German. It means God’s Competition. It’s the name of a covercorp, which used to be called shell companies a long time ago. In this case, it doesn’t actually exist, but any, uh, unsavory business, your Locktite guy for instance, is processed through the covercorp. They’re supposed to be impossible to trace back to the real user.”
One word he said got Will’s attention.
“Supposed to?”
“Yup. Unless you’re fucking amazing with hackable tech. And it’s all hackable to me.”
“So you have him? The guy who hired Locktite?”
“Take a look.”
Michael Conner turned his vidscreen to face Will. He couldn’t believe he had his information this quickly. It had only been 24 hours ago that he’d contacted Conner to ask if he could help him.
“Villioth Worldwide Entertainment.”
“Yup. And here are his Las Vegas offices. Now, I tell ya, though, you better take a small army. Look at this.”
Michael pointed to a line-item list deeper on the page.
“I don’t know what the guy does, but he hires a lot of mercenaries. Good folks, folks not lookin’ to fuck others, they don’t usually do that. So, what I mean is, he’s real, real bad news.”
“I can’t explain how much this means. You wouldn’t let me negotiate your fee last night. What do I owe you?”
“Paid. Mies helped me out two years ago, something I can never repay him for, so he needs me to help a friend, especially something this easy, no charge. I’m happy to do it. Also, it’s nice to ruin a bad guy’s night.”
“Much appreciated, Michael. I’m in your debt, then, so if you need something from me, let me know.”
“That I will do. Good luck, Will.”
At Serenity Tower
Sam punched the button announcing his arrival at Corri and Vaz’s apartment. He’d been summoned there tonight, and with this recent threat he was actively dealing with, he hoped it would be quick.
The door slid back and Sam moved in quickly to see Corri and Vaz waiting just inside. Vaz nodded to him.
“Would you like some Scotch? It’s old, horribly expensive, and heady.”
“Sure. You guys always have the best booze. Not too much, though.”
As Vaz walked to the bar to get the drinks, Sam smiled to Corri, then looked back to Vaz.
“You said you have some news for me?”
“Yes, we do. I think I may know who’s behind these abductions and the threat to the first bloods.”
“Interesting. We’re still tracing back vid-feeds. What do you have?”
“The name and location of the man who may be responsible. You remember the problems we had in Corsica? The owner of the club where Corri disappeared from was a vampire named Frederick Villioth. He accidently recorded Koen using compulsion on him and insisted I tell him how he was able to do it. I didn’t, of course, and Koen used compulsion again to purge any memory of him. The man has clubs here in Vegas, and I think, somehow, he knows Olivia is first blood. I believe it may be why Corri was taken and abused, and why Will and Dani were taken in Brazil.”
Vaz held up his fone. “I have his address. Bas and Koen are on their way here as we speak. Do you want to come with us?”
“You bet your hairy vampire ass.”
“Thought you’d say that.” Vaz winced. “Although, not, uh, in exactly those terms.”
“Hey, a guy gets excited about getting the villain.”
“I hope I’m right, and I hope I’m not. It pisses me off to think that asshole fell through our fingers, and we could have stopped all this, and yet, at least if he is the culprit, we can stop it here and now.”
An hour later…
“This is it.” Koen glanced at Vaz as they pulled up outside the address Vaz had given him.
“It’s unassuming. Isn’t this an old warehouse? Seems underwhelming from what I remember of him. I would have expected his offices to be in some fancy high rise.”
“I would have expected him to be a neutralized asshole, but I was wrong.” Koen had been pissed at the idea that he might not have squashed Villioth as a potential threat back in Corsica.
“Enough recriminations. Let’s go find him and see if Vaz is right,” Olivia barked. “Besides, I have to go to the bathroom.”
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“Koen, I’m indestructible, this man might have killed the father of my child, I’m hot, and I have to pee. Don’t fuck with me, just someone help me out of this van.”
Olivia, feeling the weight of her child, and, not unlike other first blood mothers, found it unacceptable that her vampire nature didn’t protect her from the same stupid issues that a human mother had to deal with during pregnancy.
Bas understood completely, having lived through four pregnancies with his first blood mate. “Here, Liv, I’ll help you.”
“There’s my gentleman. Thank you, Bas.” Olivia took his warm hand as she stepped from the van that carried Koen, Vaz, Sam, Bas, and herself to confront Frederick Villioth.
Koen paused as they headed to the back entrance of the large building. “I know you’re nearly invincible, but you’re still an expectant mother, and family. Please, Olivia, let me be the big strapping hero and protect you. Would you stay behind me?”
“Yes, Koen, I’ll let you be the hero, but if Villioth is responsible for Will’s death, I won’t keep that promise.”
“I get that. Bas, Vaz, take point and take us in.”
Easily moving past the locked doors, they found an expansive space stretching in both directions, nearly empty of merchandise, people, or anything else.
“Fuck, you could hear a pin drop.” Koen moved to a corridor on his left, carefully peering down it. “Office doors. We’ll have to search each, but it means we give up the valuable element of surprise. We have to go door to door.”
Breaking her first promise, Olivia stepped around him.
“Then we check each one. There are five of us, of which four can be anywhere in seconds, so if you find him, run into him, call the others at once. We’ve seen Villioth’s profile picture, so we know who we’re looking for.”
Olivia’s pragmatic plan met agreement without anyone responding. In an orderly fashion, they moved down the corridor, opened doors, entered, then proceeded on to the next. At the end of the corridor, the five gathered.
“Well, that’s unnerving. Not one person, and little evidence that anyone actually works there.”
Sam, showing solidarity with Olivia, nodded and, his handgun near, looked at a wide doorway similar to the type used in airplane hangars. “The building has three stories. Lots to check out, so on to the next.”
Two stories above
Villioth grinned at Will, who had surprised him in his massive office that included a dance floor with disco lights and the ubiquitous mirror ball.
Working behind his desk, Villioth had looked up when the big man entered. “Nice place you got here. I’m going to guess your business is doing very well.”
“Quite.”
Now, five minutes later, Will kept ten feet between them, his eyes moving around the room, then back to land on Villioth. “Do you recognize me?”
Villioth stared, his eyes locked, that smile sly.
“No. Should I?”
“Yes, you should. You do. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m half again larger than I was when you sent your guy to abduct me and finally, kill me.”
“I truly have no idea what you refer to since you appear to be quite alive. Apparently, you are a sadly confused man. Perhaps I should call the authorities.”
“You wouldn’t. You know I’m a risk to you, and you’d kill me first. Except that I still know something that you, obviously, would kill to know. So here’s what I think. Since I’m here, you’re already planning to use compulsion to force me to tell you a secret that, and listen to me carefully…”
Will moved closer, now only three feet from his murderer. “You will never know.”
That was what it took to force Villioth to reveal himself. First, he laughed, then casually turned to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out two whisky glasses.
Drawing a long breath, Villioth glanced toward Will.
“Scotch? You might be wise to take it; it will be the last you’ll ever taste.”
Villioth was playing with him. Fine.
“Aged? The good shit? Sure.”
“Please, have a seat.”
As if in a business meeting, the two men sat, Villioth behind his desk, Will in the fine leather seat in front of it, as he reached for the glass. “Very nice. You have good taste.”
“Indeed I do. I’ve had a few centuries to develop one.”
After a pause, Villioth continued. “So, that doesn’t surprise you, that I’m vampire.”
“Not at all. I know you well. I did some research.”
“Clever. Of course,” Villioth took a large gulp of his drink. “It won’t help in the end. As you know, I’m faster than you could ever imagine, you really can’t hurt me, and I can force you to do whatever I want you to do.”
“Ah.”
Throwing down the remaining contents of his glass, Will crashed it onto the desk top. “Does it surprise you that I’m alive?”
“No. I assume you were never really on that plane. It would be of interest to me to find out how you managed to bring it down, but I’ll find out in a few moments. And yes, I will know the beautiful Olivia’s secret. Amazing how you can socialize with us, but you humans never really get it, do you? We are superior to you in every way. You are a toy to those of us with vampire blood in our veins. Would you like a refill?”
“All right.” Will wondered how long they were going to sit here and play nice. “So, God’s Competition. Really? God complex or jealousy of his status?”
“Neither. Just a healthy admission that, compared with you, with your race, we’re like Gods. Your weak, powerless status puts you in the same category as farm animals.”
“Wow. Yet you’re feeding a farm animal your best Scotch?”
“I’m not cruel, and it seems appropriate to provide you something nice before I, how did you phrase it? Kill you again?”
Setting the glass carefully onto the top of Villioth’s desk, Will leaned forward, his hands clasped loosely, his body relaxed, his demeanor easy. “Before you try.”
Repeating Will’s moves, Villioth set his glass down, and smiled. “Before I succeed. It’s kind of cute, though, that you think you have any control over what happens now.”
“It is cute, isn’t it? Try to move.”
The smile unwavering, Villioth pushed from his seat. Tried to. His smile gone, lips tight, he tried again, but couldn’t budge. Eyes on Will in a hard stare, he scanned the oversized body that looked vampire, but didn’t read vampire. “What the fuck is happening here? You aren’t capable of this.”
Standing now, no hurry, Will nodded. “And yet, here you are, locked in your chair, and yes, I do know what kills a vampire forever. What was that you called me just a few seconds ago…powerless? See, I did die in that crash, and I wouldn’t give a shit much about that, except that you’re still a threat to people I love, and that is the deal-breaker. You won’t ever touch one of them again. I am not a killer, but I will do what I have to do to protect those you threaten, so someone is going to die today, only it isn’t me.”
Will moved to the back of the desk where Villioth struggled.
“I can make you wealthy. You can have anything you want.”
“I have what I want. Once you’re gone, Olivia and Dani and all my friends are safe. Make your peace, Villioth.”
Air began to swirl, to whip, in the enclosed space of this office where that couldn’t happen. Realization finally struck him that Will was far more than just human, that he held powers such as he had been seeking from Olivia or Koen.
“What are you?”
“I’m the man who is going to remove you from existence. Pure love, good, exists, and so does evil. Evil can be as simple as the act of taking a life because it in some way benefits you. Life, living on this world, is a privilege and an honor, and you have betrayed that honor. The result is that you lose the privilege.”
Before Will could make another move, he heard voices in the corridor, and the door slammed open. Reaching for his expansive magics, he lifted his hands and cloaked himself from view. Standing near Villioth, ready to end his life, Will watched a huge vampire he did not know enter the room, glance around, and stop on the unmoving Villioth behind his desk. The vampire smiled suddenly, and leaned back out the door.
“I’ve got the motherfucker!”
The new vampire came deeper into the room. “You should have stayed down. What happens next is your fault. In Corsica, I wiped you, tried to protect you, but you fucked it up. Now it’s out of my hands.”
Within moments, two other men walked into the room, both vampire, and right behind them, a fourth man, human. Will’s eyes teared instantly when he saw that Olivia followed behind him. She stayed behind the human man, her eyes locked on Villioth.
“This is the piece of shit?”
The pain in her eyes was deep and hurt him to the core of his soul. She missed him and sought vengeance on the man who had caused his death.
More than anything in his life, he wanted to unveil himself and take her into his arms. The desire, the need was almost too great when he saw fury surge in her eyes and the human man turn to block her from moving toward Villioth.
“Liv, stop. You don’t want this legacy for Jasper. Let us take care of this. For you, for Jasper.”
The enormous vampire who first entered the room faced her. “Aye. Olivia, Let us do this. We’ll take care of him so you stay safe and keep your heart and hands clean.”
He moved near her and whispered to her, his lips close to hers, and Will nearly broke cover to beat the vampire senseless.
It had been months, though, since he’d been in her life, and it was obvious she had an incredible support system. This wasn’t the time to reveal that the man she had loved was still alive.
Olivia stared into the Villioth’s eyes. “Make him admit it.”
Will wasn’t sure she’d go, but she nodded, and left the room with the human man. Whatever the big vampire had had said to her, she’d complied.
Good, he didn’t want her to have the blood of this creep on her hands.
The vampire moved back to the frozen Villioth.
“What the fuck is wrong with you asshole?”
“Koen, please, you need to help me. There’s a man here, he’s done this to me. He has ungodly unnatural talents.”
“Really? And where is this superman?”
“When you arrived, he disappeared. But I’m still stuck! Can you release me?”
“I can. First, you need to help me. I already know the answer, but I promised the lady. You are the one responsible for the abductions in Brazil a few months ago. You want to know what we are?”
After a long hesitation, Villioth nodded. “Yes, I am the one. Now can you release me?”
Will realized that this Koen was also a first blood like Olivia. A rival? An old lover? Controlling the piercing jealousy, he dropped his head and stepped back.
This was not his life anymore, destiny had made it clear. He knew that he would be in a frozen cave in Antarctica by next week. If this man could console her, protect her, love her, he had to stay away and let it be.
It was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life.
“Villioth,” Koen began, “You’ve placed your life in our hands now, because you threatened a first blood. I am going to help you. You want to know what we are? We’re the first vampires to inhabit this world. We’ve been here over 6000 years, and we’ll be here long after you are gone. We are sentries to this planet; protectors of life. Harsh choices have to be made. I hope you have made peace with who you are and how you’ve treated people in your life. Believe me, there are punishments and rewards beyond this life. Good luck with that.”
Will stayed long enough to ensure the deed had been done. Five minutes later, still frozen, still trading his life for his greed and cruelty, Frederick Villioth left this corporeal form for whatever lay beyond.
Now that the threat had been neutralized, Will remained hidden, torn between leaving or rushing out to take Olivia in his arms, find a private place, and make love to her until he vanquished all her pain.
But then he would have to leave her again, and that kind of pain, he could not be responsible for. His future, the path that he was meant to walk, he had no idea where he would go or how long he would be gone. With the level of magics he’d been granted, it may be the rest of his life. How could that be right for her?
No, for this point in time, he had to follow the designed journey to fulfill the destiny he had apparently been born to. While he’d sought the possibility of that destiny, the reality that he’d actually had one, that it fully encompassed the life he was building, had been unsettling. Waiting for the vampire group to go, he stood in Villioth’s office and wished that he had been free to live the life he had been building, but he knew that his mission was too important to deny.
”Off to Antarctica,” he whispered, waiting still. Olivia and her group lingered, but when they finally disappeared out the door to the warehouse, Will was free to move. It hurt too much to stay and hurt too much to go, so he slammed himself into the rental car he’d signed for and headed back outside the city to a small hotel.
Settled again in his tiny room, he ordered room service, and as he waited for the meal to be delivered, he dialed his fone.
“Eras, this is Will. You may have been informed that I died, and while it was true, things have changed. For now, though, please don’t tell Cari or anyone else, it needs to remain secret. Thing is, I need the help of a couple of our warriors. I think that you and Burra would be perfect. I wonder if you two would be able to join me in Antarctica? Let me explain.”