Dominion of the Damned (31 page)

Most people would be fooled by Alek’s poker face, but not Esme. She didn’t miss the barely perceptible twitch in his jaw, the oh so slight pursing of his lips as he weighed his response. “Actually,” he said, “I’ve performed a highly successful experiment.”

Charlemagne leaned forward. “Are you telling us that you’ve succeeded in replicating human blood?”

“
No,” said Alek. “Since taking over the Army base I’ve been conducting a different sort of experiment. A social experiment.”

The elder vampire almost shook with anger. “Who authorized such a thing?”

“
No one,” Alek admitted, “but I saw a perfect opportunity to see what would happen if the humans under my charge were allowed to direct and care for themselves, under our protection. Rather than supervising their every move, forcing them to work and herding them into the blood banks like
cattle
,” he shot a look at Esme, “I gave them freedom to live and work as they pleased. They even have the freedom to leave if they choose to take their chances outside the compound.”

Charlemagne looked at the others as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you hearing this? Is it any wonder that the five we allowed to go with him are now dead?”

Julia held up a hand to calm Charlemagne. “And what were the results of this experiment?”

“
They stayed,” said Alek. “They thrived. And they happily donate their blood in regular drives that they organize themselves. What’s more, their blood is healthier than that of those in captivity. And it tastes better.”

Julia sat back in her chair. “Free range. Interesting.”

“
But what about the synthetic blood?” asked Charlemagne. “That’s the research you were tasked with. Who cares if the humans are
happy
or not? If we can synthesize a substitute we won’t need to bother with them any longer.”

Alek’s jaw grew tighter, but he kept his tone deferential. “I haven’t been able to make a breakthrough with the synthetic blood.” Esme was impressed with how easily he sold the lie. She knew as well as he did that his work had nothing to do with synthesizing blood. “But the point of my experiment is that we don’t
need
to keep humanity in these prisons. We can exist with them, side by side, and as long as we protect them from the infected they’ll be happy to reciprocate and take care of our needs.”

“
It’s true.” The girl stepped forward. “I mean, nobody has more reason to be anti-vampire than me.” She shot a look at Esme as she spoke. “A few weeks ago, my brother and I were picked up by one of your patrols and brought here. People here are miserable, and they’re afraid. They don’t walk around alone because the guards can’t be trusted not to have their way with them as soon as they get a chance.”

“
Why is this human speaking?” demanded Charlemagne.

“
What is she talking about?” asked Julia.

Esme kept her calm, not letting the others see how much she despised the girl. “On her last day here, there was an incident. One of my guards found her wandering where she shouldn’t, and took advantage of the opportunity. He was dealt with immediately.” She looked at the girl. “That sort of thing is not a usual occurrence here.”

The girl’s defiance was even more blatant than Alek’s. She raised an eyebrow at Esme. “Is that so?”

“
Why is this human
speaking?!
” Charlemagne repeated.

But she kept going. “My point is, after a short time at Doctor Konstantin’s camp I’m as willing to contribute to the blood bank as anybody. Just treat us with respect and give us our freedom, and we don’t
need
to be forced.”

Charlemagne jumped to his feet. “SILENCE THIS GIRL!”

“
This
girl,
” Alek shouted back, “is a
warrior
. She deserves your respect.”

The others all sat in silence, watching Charlemagne as he shook with fury. In a low voice, he said, “How
dare
you speak to me that way?”

Alek sighed, and held up his hands in a placating motion. “Forgive my insolence, my lord. But this woman, her courage and her will to survive, represents the best of humanity. She’s their future. She’s
our
future. Don’t you see?” He looked in turn at each member of the Council, saving Esme for last. “Say you succeed in synthesizing human blood, and we let them all die out. What happens if we can no longer stop making it? What if some natural disaster wipes out the means of production, or another virus comes along that
we’re
not immune to? What then?” He shook his head. “We
need
humanity to survive. We always
will
. There’s no getting around that. And for the first time in history,
they
need
us
. We have a unique opportunity to form a truly symbiotic relationship that will put
both
our races on equal footing.”

Charlemagne shook his head in disgust. “Humans equal to vampires,” he muttered.

“
The boy
does
have a point, Charlie,” said Julia.

“
Don’t call me that!”

Next to Esme, her sire stirred. The oldest of their race, Balthazar, smooth and pale as an alabaster statue, had remained just as still and silent as one throughout the proceedings. Steepling his fingers, he spoke in a voice soft enough to force people to listen yet powerful enough to brook no argument. “We’ve heard enough.”

Julia bowed deferentially to him, then nodded to Alek. “Thank you for coming. Please wait outside while we deliberate.”

Alek returned her nod, then turned to go. When he reached out to take the girl’s hand, Esme stood and called to the guards. “Take the girl to my office for safekeeping,” she told them.

“
What?” the girl looked from Alek to Esme. “I don’t think you want to do that, lady.”

“
Stay right there,” Alek told the guards. “Don’t touch her.” He looked back at each of the Council members in turn, then zeroed in on Esme. “A word?”

She wanted to command the guards to ignore him and take the girl, but something in his eyes and his tone told her that she would do well not to ignore him. “What is it?”

His half-smile filled her with dread. He knew something. “It’s private.”

Esme looked down the table to the Council members. “Excuse us. This won’t take a moment.” She got up and allowed Alek to lead her to the back of the room, but that wasn’t enough to be out of earshot. “What is it?” she asked him in Czech, a language she was fairly certain nobody else in the room knew but them.

He answered in kind. “I know what Hannah saw the day I took her from here, why you put her into solitary confinement. If you try to keep her here, I’ll make sure she has a chance to tell the Council how you’ve been dipping into the food supply for your own pleasure.”

Esme burned so hot with fury that she was almost certain it would shoot from her eyes and incinerate him where he stood. “You wouldn’t.”

“
If you don’t rescind the order to take her, I’ll tell them right now.”

“
Do you know what they would do to me?”

“
I have an idea. Do you even care about the lives that will be ruined if you get your way here?” He laughed, and shook his head. “What am I saying? Of course you don’t.”

“
It’s obvious that you do,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in. In English, she whispered, “I can smell her all over you.”

Alek smiled, then leaned in and whispered, “Good.” He turned and went to the girl. Hooking her arm through his, she glared back at Esme with eyes full of contempt as he led her from the room.

Esme fought down the powerful urge to walk out there and snap the little bitch’s neck. That would take too much explaining. Besides, she and that wretched infant brother of hers would be back in Esme’s custody soon enough. It would be all too easy to arrange an accident, and have the added satisfaction of doing it right under Alek’s nose.

With that thought to console her, Esme composed herself and returned to the conference table. “Shall we begin deliberations?” she asked, taking her seat.

FORTY

“
What did you say to her?” Hannah asked once they were alone in the hallway.

“
Nothing,” Alek said with an innocent shrug. “I simply reminded her about what you saw her doing the day you were attacked here.”

Hannah smiled in surprise and not a little appreciation. “You blackmailed her.”

His face turned serious. “I protected you.” He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I don’t have a great track record of protecting the people I care about, but every now and then I manage to score.”

She took his hand. “Alek, you’ve got to stop beating yourself up. You’re not some god. You’re just a guy. Granted, a guy with
superpowers
, but still. You can’t save everybody, and nobody should expect you to. Including you. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, my daddy didn’t exactly raise me to be some fair damsel.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “I noticed.”

They just stood there a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. Hannah was ready to lean in for a kiss when he dropped his gaze to the floor. “You shouldn’t look at me like that.”

“
Like what?”

He let out a soft, sad laugh. “Like I’m a hero or something. I don’t deserve it.” Metal benches flanked each side of the conference room door, and Alek took a seat on one of them.

Hannah sat down beside him. “What are you talking about? I don’t know anyone who deserves it more.”

“
You
deserve it more,” he said. With a sigh, he took her hand and held it in both of his. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and looked at the floor instead of at her. “There are things you should know about me. Things I did.”

“
Things… like, vampire things?”

He nodded. “And from before. When the Nazis had me, and my wife…” As he spoke, his thumb stroked the back of her hand. “They forced me to work for them, to be a field medic for their troops. They kept telling me that if I cooperated, my wife would be treated well, and they’d return her to me after the war. So I did.

“
They would bring wounded into their camps… prisoners. Civilians, mostly. I wasn’t allowed to treat them. I was only allowed to treat the S. S., and any POWs that they deigned important enough to keep alive and healthy. All the others, I was forced to ignore. But how do you ignore people who are crying out in agony, when you know that you could help them? But knowing that doing so will put your wife in danger?” He shook his head. “I can still hear them, sometimes. In my dreams, I can smell their festering wounds, see the pain and desperation on their faces as they reach out to me…”

“
That wasn’t you,” said Hannah. “That was them. That was
their
crime, not yours.”

He nodded. “And I made them pay.” He leaned back, keeping hold of her hand, fixing his gaze on it. “After the allied forces moved in and released us, I went to get Irina. I found out then that they only kept her two weeks at the labor camp before they shipped her to Auschwitz. Once there, it was only days before…” His hand tightened over hers. “Almost the entire time I was violating my oath to keep her alive, she was already dead.”

“
Oh my God. Alek—”

“
So I hunted them down. Every one of them. After Esme found me…
changed
me… I devoted myself to vengeance. I…” He swallowed. “I did things to them…”

“
Good.”

He looked at her then, like he couldn’t believe his ears. “But, the things I did—”

“
It doesn’t matter.” Hannah shifted on the bench to face him better. “They were
Nazis
. They gave up their rights to humanity when they put on those uniforms. They were animals, and whatever you did to them, they had it coming. As far as I’m concerned, that makes you a frigging war hero.”

Still he stared at her, his face a mix of surprise and uncertainty. She raised her free hand to touch his face. “You’re a good man, Alek. I know that now, and I’m so sorry it took me so long to believe in you. But I do. And whatever ancient sins you feel like you need to confess, I’m not the one you need to confess them to. I don’t care what you did over fifty years ago to a bunch of
mass murderers
.”

The look on his face melted into one of relief and gratitude, and something else Hannah was still afraid to name. He released her hand and touched her hair. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead he pulled her close. They held each other for a long moment, before he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you,” he whispered.

In answer, she grabbed hold of his face and kissed him. His arms tightened around her as he responded, opening his mouth to hers. Her tongue danced flirtatiously with his until he broke it off and buried his face in her hair. “Wait till I get you home.” His voice was so rough it was almost a growl.