Dark Passion Rising (15 page)

 “I am unable to raise anyone on the Tribunal and there has been
no contact at all with any of the other Enforcer units in Europe.  Not a good
sign.”

“How long?” Marcus demanded, sitting up straighter in his chair.

“Last contact was twenty-four hours ago from the Enforcer unit of
Were-bears in Transcarpathia.  They reported an outbreak of violence in a
settlement near
Badov.  The leader of that unit, Uric
Dragasha, reported they were going in to do damage control.”

 “I can’t get a hold of my step-father
Nicolai either,” Tegan interjected.  Nicolai Evonavich was one of the thirteen
Tribunal leaders that oversaw all the Enforcer units throughout the world and,
though they kept sporadic contact since his mother’s death, Tegan had been
attempting to contact him off and on for days and only gotten his voice mail.  

Ryes cursed, his voice a deep rumble.  “If all the Enforcers are
having the same problems then something needs to be done quickly.”

“And what exactly can we do?  We have no clue as to what is
happening over there,” Adrian, always the voice of reason, chimed in.

“Adrian is right.  Without any intel, we are fighting blind,”
Marcus agreed.

 “I have been thinking about the night you got jumped, Marcus.  Who
knew where you were going?” Adrian abruptly asked.

 “No one, why?”

 “I find it hard to believe that it was just a coincidence.  There
is a pattern here, and once we discover what that pattern is, the better
equipped we will be to fight it,” Adrian explained.

 Marcus carefully went over that day in his mind, thinking back
to everyone he had spoken to before he left the house that night.  He came up
blank.  Someone had followed him without his becoming aware of it.  The idea
made him uneasy and immediately his thoughts went to Tambra.

 Adrian must have been watching his face closely because he
pounced on his reaction.  “What is it?”

 Marcus opened his mouth to voice his worry for Tambra, but his
cell going off interrupted him.  With a frown, he grabbed it from his pocket
and looked at the display before answering.

“Damien, where the hell have you been?  No one has been able to
reach you.”

 The static on the other end nearly deafened him.  He could
barely hear Damien.

“—can’t talk long…have to warn you.  Tribunal is dead or in
hiding.  I don’t know…all hell’s breaking loose.  Prepare!”  

The line went dead.  A feeling of doom rode Marcus hard as he
looked at his men.

 “Zeke, bring up the news feed for Rome,” Marcus said slowly,
trying to wrap his head around Damien’s words.  Surely he had heard him wrong.  The
Tribunal either dead or in hiding?

 "What the fuck!” Zeke yelled, spurring the other Enforcers
to gather around the monitor that displayed the chaotic scenes before their
startled eyes.

 A city street crowded with screaming people, running from what
looked liked at least twenty ferals, Vampires and Weres, filled the computer
monitor.  The banner below read “CNN Rome, Italy”.  They all watched as two Weres
caught up with a man and literally tore him in two.  Zeke clicked another link
and a similar picture replaced the one they were viewing.  This was in Paris,
another link went to Russia.  In every clip, the bloody scene played over again
with every known Breed in existence.  The full impact became clear to them as
they watched the horror unfold.  Mankind now knew they were under a real threat
from something they had never believed could exist. 

May the Gods help us all
, Marcus thought.  This could
spell the beginning of the end for all Breeds.  Nothing would stop the humans
from hunting them down and slaughtering them all.

 “
Shit
!  What now?” Tegan cursed, raking his hands through
his dark hair.

"We prepare,” Marcus stated grimly.

 Marcus’s cell went off again and he quickly turned it to speaker
phone.

“Damien?”

A deep chuckle sounded on the other end before a vaguely familiar
voice filled the quiet room, his Hispanic accent thick as he gloated.  “Have
you seen the news lately?”

 “Who the hell are you?”

 “Such temper.  We never met, but I can assure you I know who you
are, Marcus Valerian.  Leader of the mighty Enforcers, elite of the Tribunal. 
What a joke.  Where are those all powerful leaders now?  I’ll tell you where.  Dead.
 Or hiding, like the spineless cowards they truly are.  We will find them and
make them watch as we tear everything they built down to the ground.”

Fear trickled down Marcus’s spine as the identity of the caller
registered.

“Miguel Suarez, you son of a bitch!  Where is Tambra?”

 “Ah, so you do know me.  Bueno, I find it better to know the
name of the man who will kill you, do you not agree?”

 “If you harm so much as a hair on her head, you will die.  That
I promise you,” Marcus ground out.

 “Oh, she is quite well, I assure you.  I have no intention of
harming such an exotic creature.  We have been planning our little rebellion
for a long time and Tambra is the key to all that.  But of course, you wouldn’t
know about that would you?”

“What do you want Miguel?”

“World peace, equality of the breeds, and the death of all
Enforcers would be a good start, but I don’t think you would be so willing to
give me that would you, amigo?”

“Where is she, Miguel?” Marcus demanded again, grinding his teeth
in an attempt to keep his rage in check.

“Do not worry.  She will be very well taken care of.  She will be
known as the one to save the Lycan race.  A very auspicious moment do you not
agree?”

“Where is Tambra?” Marcus shouted into the phone, losing the
tenuous control he held.

“Come and get her if you can.  She’s at the Library Gentlemen’s
Club on Industrial Road.  It’s closed for renovations so we won’t be
interrupted.  Oh, and, Marcus?  Come alone.”

 The line went dead.  Marcus wanted to scream his rage.  His
knuckles were white around the cell phone and it was with great effort that he
loosened his hold.  He looked up and locked onto Cody, his face a mask of fury.
 Tambra’s friend stood rigid, his hands balled into tight fists at his side.

“Where ever you go, I go.  She is my friend,” Cody declared
hotly.

 “She is
my
mate!” Marcus growled back. “I will not
jeopardize her safety.”

 Adrian’s calm voice cut in between them.  “We all want to see
Tambra safe.  We are all going, but we need a plan first.”

 “Yes, we will plan,” Marcus agreed, he voice dark.

 “And we need to know why Tambra is so important to them,” Tegan
added, moving to stand by Cody.

 “I think I know why,” Christophe broke in.  All attention turned
toward him.  “Have you wondered why no cross Breeds exist?”  The Enforcers
around him remained silent and he continued, “I believe there are more of them
out there than we could ever know, but for whatever reason they are either
hiding, afraid they will be seen as abominations and put to death by our
Tribunal or by their own Breed leaders, or they simply don’t know what they are
yet because they’ve had nothing kick start their change.  Tambra is a cross Breed,
both Lycan and vampire.  Her blood is powerful, but her offspring have the
potential to be even more powerful.  They could potentially strengthen weaker
blood lines, even blood lines that are going extinct like the Lycans.  If Tambra
were to breed with a Pure Blooded Lycan, their offspring would become more
powerful than any known Lycan in existence, possibly overthrowing our entire
social structure.  Ultimately, through her children, the Lycans could rule
every Breed.  They would rule and humans would be placed on the low rung of the
evolutionary ladder.  That’s why they are eliminating the Tribunal and then us.
 In order for them to succeed they need to destroy the old order for the new
one to rise.    

“Gods save us, if Christophe is right, then who’s to say that
more crossbreeds are not out there somewhere?” Ryes spoke up, his deep baritone
voice rumbling like thunder.

“That is a very real possibility, my friend,” Adrian agreed
solemnly. “And if that is the case, then they are in real danger.  But first we
need to focus on the threat at hand.  It’s time to make our plans.”

****

Consciousness came to Tambra in degrees as she fought the cloying
darkness that surrounded her.  Her back was pressed against cold metal and her
wrists were tied tightly behind her.  She could tell her bonds were cutting
into her circulation by the tingling in her fingers.  She struggled weakly to
free her hands, but whoever had tied her up had done a good job.  She wasn’t
going to get free anytime soon.

Nausea roiled through her, and her head pounded furiously.  Taking
a shaky breath, she opened her eyes and groaned aloud as a blinding light burned
into her retinas.

 Where the hell was she?  

Squinting into the light, she realized she was on some sort of
stage, a spotlight aimed directly on her.  Shadowy shapes of tables and chairs
were positioned around her, all empty.  Trying to pierce the thick black
shadows beyond the ring of light, she made out the darker shape of a bar.  The
floor was carpeted, but she couldn’t see any color.  The spotlight shining in
her eyes leached everything out into a flat plane of blacks and grays.  She
leaned her head against the stripper pole she was tied to and closed her eyes
against the light.  She was in the old Library Gentlemen’s Club, and it was
closed for renovations.

It came back to her in pieces.  The meeting with her land lord. 
Going to her apartment to collect her things.  The thug in the living room. 
The chloroform soaked rag.

Tambra heard Miguel’s smooth, accented voice come to her from
deep in the shadows of the room, cutting through her like a blade in her heart.

“Miguel?” She turned toward her long time friend.  “You knew all
this time?”

“Of course.  It was I who came across your parents that night.  I
had been recently turned and found some Weres sniffing around in an alley. 
Your parents were already dead, but you were quite alive, crying out from under
your mother’s body.  I knew you were Lycan by the scent of your parent’s
blood.  I decided to place you with your father, where I could watch over you. 
What a wonder you are, Tambra.  Just look at you!  Magnificent beyond anything
I could believe possible.”

Her tears threatened to spill, but Tambra held them back.  

“The special diet.  You wanted to keep me from Rising, but why?”

Miguel stepped out of the shadows and approached her with a smug
smile.

“Timing, everything is about timing, querida.  You couldn’t know until
I had everything in order.  Temple sees only the small picture.  His every
action dictated by the continuation of the Pure Bloods while Weres are treated
no better than slaves.  I needed to suppress your Rising so Temple would not
know you were right under his very nose.  I began organizing the Weres,
teaching them techniques to control the animal inside.  When Oren came to me,
disgruntled over Temple’s leadership, I saw the perfect opportunity to set my
little rebellion in action.  I needed a catalyst to jumpstart your Rising.  Oren
was the perfect choice.  He had been looking to challenge Temple for
leadership.  All I needed to do was present him with an unrisen Lycan who could
sire his child, temporarily put your overprotective partner out of commission,
and well, you know the rest.  Oren believed a successful birth would give him
the support necessary to challenge Temple for leadership.  A pity he didn’t
live long enough to see what changes he was responsible for.  Not that I would
have allowed him to live, he would have been worse than Temple.  At least
Temple shares the same belief that the Tribunal and their precious Enforcers
need to die.  On that we are in perfect accord.  But there will be one small
twist to his plans.”

 “What about my father?  Did he know what I was?” Tambra could
barely utter the words.  The sense of betrayal pressed heavily on her heart and
she wondered if she really wanted to know the truth.

 “Your father was so desperate for a child he didn’t even
question me when I brought you to him.  Really quite touching, the way he loved
you so.  He didn’t even question the vegetarian diet I put you on.”  Miguel shook
his head with disgust.  “He was a weak man, putting his love for you above all
things.”

 Her relief was short lived as she saw Miguel through new eyes. 
Anger coursed through her blood stream.  This man, whom she had once loved like
a father, had willingly destroyed everything she held dear.  Her hair moved
around her, the strands snapping like whips.  If only he were just a little
closer she could grab him.  She gritted her teeth in frustration at her
helplessness.  She didn’t do helpless, and wasn’t about to start now.  There was
a way out of this and she was determined to find it. 

 “We are going to need to tame that hair of yours before Temple
arrives.  Hmm, what to do, what to do.”  Miguel pulled out a  knife from the
back pocket of his jeans and held it up for her to see, his intent clear on his
face.

“The choice is yours, querida.  Let me bind your hair or I shall
simply cut it off.”

 She willed her hair to lie still, spilling over her shoulders to
pool in her lap.  She glared at him.

“Marcus will come for me.”

 “I’m counting on it.  Once he is here you will have a front row seat
to his execution.  He and his precious Enforcers will die and a new world order
will take their place.”

 She saw the manic gleam in his eyes and wondered how she could
have ever missed it.

“You are insane!”

 “No, querida, passionate.  There is a difference.”

Miguel moved closer, his dark eyes cold and calculating as they
swept over her.  Had her hands been free, she would have clawed his eyes out.