Blood Spirit (5 page)

"I
don't care. They're dying because of me. I have to save them," he answered
in a strangled voice and hung his head.

Terek
understood the need to protect those you created. "I know, my friend. I
know."

Vasilije's
body stiffened, and he let out a deep growl. When he turned to face Terek, he
had the appearance of a madman.

"Another
one...Angus...lost! Those fucks! If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill them
all!"

"Vasilije..."
Sasa began to speak, but in a flash he was gone, leaving the woman he loved and
Terek standing alone.

Terek
watched as Sasa struggled to hold back the tears. Her thoughts were a jumbled
mess of sadness, hurt, and worry he could barely make out.

"Sasa,
he'll be fine. He'll be back soon."

"Why
didn't he want me to go with him?" she asked in a voice laced with pain.
"I could have helped."

Terek
forced a smile. "I'm sure he knew you'd be safer here."

Lowering
her head, she said quietly, "Terek, how will I feed? I've never had any
blood other than Vasilije's. With him gone, what will I do?"

As
he considered the very real problem Vasilije's absence could cause, behind them
Thane entered the study. "Hi Terek. Sasa, where's Vasilije?"

Turning
around, Terek answered, "Gone to save his vampires. Have you had any news
yours are under attack? Has anyone else here had any sense their vampires are
in danger?"

"No,
I've heard nothing. I don't think Ramiel, Dante, or Sion have either."

"Then
we may still believe the Archons don't know about us. But Vasilije and his
vampires aren't as lucky."

Thane's
gaze moved past Terek to Sasa, who stood silently behind him. "He'll be
all right, Sasa. Vasilije's tough."

"We
need to get all the Sons that remain here together, Thane. Vasilije's may not
be the only vampires in danger."

"What
do you mean?"

"I'll
explain in a minute when I return with the others. See what you can do to get
Nico and Saint on the phone."

Terek
left Sasa and Thane alone as he went to gather the other Sons. Just outside in
the hallway, he stopped and forced his mind to go silent. He needed to focus. Thin
wisps of Sasa's pain remained, and he struggled to brush them from his
thoughts. Whatever curiosity he'd had in the past about her ability to feel the
emotions of those around her was all but gone now. He didn't envy her empathic
abilities if Vasilije's thoughts were any indication of his true emotions.

He
found Ramiel and Sion working with Kali in the monastery's cellar, the three
huddled around a scroll of parchment. Still reeling from all he'd heard
upstairs, Terek stood a moment in the doorway forcing his mind's barriers to
raise and allow him some semblance of focus.

"Terek,
everything okay?"

Opening
his eyes, he saw Dante standing next to him. "I'm fine."

"Ramiel.
Sion. We need to talk upstairs."

The
two looked up from their work and stared at him. Obviously irritated, Ramiel
asked, "Can this wait? We think we've found something and Thane should be
back any minute with Vasilije."

"No.
We need to talk now. Thane's waiting upstairs, but Vasilije's gone. I don't
know when he'll be back."

Terek
turned to go back to the study but was stopped by Dante, whose face had a look
of worry all over it. "Gone? What's going on, Terek?"

"Follow
me."

By
the time he made it back to the study, his sadness for Vasilije and his
vampires had grown to fear for his own. Thousands scattered across the globe
would be next to impossible for him to protect. The mere thought of being
forced to lose some to save others stabbed at him like a knife to his heart.

Sasa,
in her usual seat beside Vasilije's desk, sat with Thane, who had somehow
succeeded in bringing a tiny smile out of her. The empty chair behind the desk
stood as a poignant symbol of the danger each one of them and their vampires
faced, and Terek prayed it wouldn't be a permanent symbol.

As
the rest of the Sons in the monastery took their seats around the room, Terek
set his mind to the issue at hand. "Sasa, were you able to get Nico and
Saint?"

"No,
only Saint, but he said they'll call back when they can."

Terek
looked around at the men of the Sons of Navarus. "We all know the Archons
had intended to attack the Sons. They've gone after the two of us they knew
already. Thankfully, both Saint and Vasilije weren't killed. But now the
Archons have decided to do more than kill us. They plan to kill our vampires
too. They've already begun with Vasilije's."

Each
man looked over at Sasa and then back at Terek.

"What
are we talking about here, Terek?" Dante asked.

"Wholesale
extermination of anyone associated with the Sons of Navarus."

Sion
folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes into slits.
"Where's Vasilije now?"

Shaking
his head, Terek said, "I don't know. He couldn't stay here as his vampires
were being murdered one by one."

Dante
stood from his seat. "I say we go join him. Show those bastards we aren't
scared little shits hiding in fear up in the goddamned hinterlands here."

"And
do what? Show them exactly who all the Sons are? How does that help?" Sion
asked with as much emotion as Terek had ever heard come from his mouth.

"That's
why I wanted to speak to everyone. Have any of you had any sense this is
happening to any of your vampires?"

Terek
looked from man to man but all shook their heads. Thankfully, they were safe.
For now.

"Then
it seems the Archons are only able to find Vasilije's."

"What
about Saint's? They know he's a Son," Sasa said quietly.

"We
need to talk to him. Try him again."

While
Sasa called Saint in Greece, Terek continued. "I ran into one of the
Archons' hunters a few hours ago near my house in Spain. I interrupted him as
he was killing someone he believed was one of us."

"Who?"
Thane asked.

"Some
guy named Sampson. I didn't get there in time to save him."

"And
he thought this Sampson was a Son? Why?"

"I
don't know. But he knew his name, which means they'll be hunting his vampires.
We can't let them do that."

"We're
already pretty busy, Terek," Ramiel said.

"You'd
have us do nothing?"

Ramiel
scowled. "We can't save everyone. We're already saving the world."

"Ramiel,
I'm not suggesting you and Thane stop working on deciphering the prophecy. But
Dante, Sion, and I can do something to help his vampires."

Before
any more debate could be had, Terek heard Nico's voice coming over the
speakerphone. "What's happened?" he asked in a voice full of worry.

Sasa
answered quietly, "Vasilije's left Romania. The Archons are hunting down
and killing his vampires. He's gone to save them."

"The
fool! He's going to get himself killed!"

"What
about Saint's, Nico?" Terek asked. "Has he had any indication the
same thing's happening to them?"

Saint
could be heard in the background telling Nico he'd felt nothing so far.

"Sasa,
where did Vasilije go?" Nico asked.

"I
don't know. He felt Angus get staked before he left. I heard him mention once
he was just outside London."

Terek
began to speak but was interrupted by Saint's voice coming through the phone.
"Sasa, I'm leaving right now to find him. Don't worry. I won't let him do
anything stupid. I'll get him back as soon as I can. Just give me anything you
know about where I can find him."

"Nico,
we've got another problem. I saw an Archon hunter kill a vampire named Sampson.
He thinks he killed one of us. His vampires will be in the same danger as
Vasilije's."

"Terek,
do you know anything more about this Sampson? That's a pretty unique name, but
something more would help," Nico answered.

Struggling
to remember anything about the man he'd seen for just moments before he'd been
turned to dust, Terek finally said, "He looked older, around fifty. Dark
hair, brown eyes. He was in Spain near my home in Cocentaina."

"Okay,
I'll find out what I can from the Order and get back to you as soon as possible.
Sasa, give Saint whatever details you can so he can find Vasilije. And no more
of anyone going off on their own. If anyone gets a sense their vampires are
under attack, we'll take care of it together. We can't afford to lose
anyone."

"Nico,
what about the hunter?" Dante asked.

"There's
nothing we can do about that. The Archons have recruited hundreds of them to
find us and our vampires. Terek, would you know him again if you saw him?"

"Yes.
He's vampire."

Dante
smashed his hand into the wall. "Are you fucking kidding me? More vampires
working against us?"

"The
Archons are very powerful. It's not surprising they've found allies and
accomplices in our world, Dante. Keep working on solving that prophecy. It's
our only hope of defeating our enemy."

Sasa
took the phone to tell Saint what she knew of Vasilije's whereabouts. That two
of the Sons would be in danger of being found by hunters troubled Terek, but
outside of Ramiel, there wasn't another of them who could better protect Vasilije's
back than Saint.

The
remaining Sons began to file out of Vasilije's study, leaving only Thane with
Terek. Moving from his seat next to Sasa, he approached Terek with a look of
concern on his face.

Quietly,
he said, "We're not close enough with figuring out the prophecy and now
they're hunting us and our vampires? Vasilije's got hundreds. So does Saint.
And this Sampson? Even a few more will make it impossible to save most of
them."

Terek
knew what Thane said was true. It would take very little to make saving just
two sires' vampires nearly impossible.

"So
far it seems Saint's are safe, though."

Thane's
usual optimism seemed to fade now. "And how long do you think Verrater's
ego will make him want to keep his lie alive?"

"You
underestimate the power of the Archons' belief in their superiority. I don't
believe he'll let it out that Saint nearly bested him. He seems to be more
interested in climbing the ranks. To confess that he let one of us nearly kill
him and that Saint still lives would ruin any chances he has to rise any
further in the Archons. No, I believe Verrater's secret is safe, at least for
now."

"Let's
just hope then that Saint isn't seen when he goes to help Vasilije."

Leaning
in toward Terek, Thane lowered his voice even more. "What about Sasa?
She's one of his vampires. And she's never hunted for blood. I don't think it's
safe to send her out even into Suceava."

Terek
looked past him toward Sasa, who was still on the phone with Saint. That
Vasilije hadn't considered her welfare in his despair might be understandable,
but it presented a problem. Without her sire's blood, she'd need vampire blood
from someone. There were more than enough of them at the monastery, no doubt,
but to take another vampire's blood would create a bond between her and that
vampire. When Vasilije returned, he would likely not appreciate Sasa connected
to another man, even if it was necessary, if Terek knew his friend.

"You're
thinking of something?"

Thane
turned to look at Sasa a moment and then turned back to face Terek.
"Sasa's been kind to me since I arrived here. I'd like to say we've become
friends. If Vasilije is gone long enough that she needs blood, I'd like to be
the one."

"And
the bond that will come from her having your blood?"

Thane
placed his right hand over his heart and smiled. "Only the bond of one
friend to another to help a fellow Son and one he loves."

"Let's
hope he comes back soon, Thane."

"Terek,
are you staying?" Sasa asked as she walked toward them.

Nodding,
he smiled. "I am. I'm hoping to hear from Nico soon so we can begin
helping Sampson's vampires."

"I
need to get back to the work downstairs. Let me know if either of you need me
for anything," Thane said as he walked away.

Terek
allowed himself to listen to Sasa's thoughts as she talked about getting a room
ready for him upstairs. Worry for Vasilije raced through her mind even as she
listed the various housekeeping chores needed to fix up his room.

He
put his hand on her arm, and she fell silent. Looking up at him, her eyes
telegraphed the sadness and concern he'd read in her mind.

"Sasa,
he'll be fine. Vasilije has taken care of himself for a long time."

She
looked down at the floor and sighed. When she spoke, the innocence that told of
how new a vampire she was came through loud and clear. "I know. I just
thought now he'd want me to help."

Chapter Five

Marc
Verrater examined his new offices with a sense of satisfaction. Compared to his
rooms in Avignon, which had been barely suitable for even an Archon of lesser
status, his new home in Corsica was practically palatial. Six rooms arranged
around a center area took up an entire floor of the Archon main headquarters,
and two additional rooms at the far end of the suite reserved for his personal
use afforded amenities he could only dream of in the anteroom of his offices in
France.

As
he walked through each room, he inwardly groaned at the sight of unending white
walls and floors. Customary for Archon's offices, the painfully sterile decor
had never suited him. In fact, none of the enforced sterility that made up the
world of the Archons had ever truly fit him, but if he intended on moving up
the ranks, he knew he had to play the part.

At
least for the time being.