Dread Nemesis of Mine (11 page)

Relief and anger collided in her stomach with
the force of a locomotive. Why hadn't anyone told her he was alive?
Why hadn't he called her?

Bella seemed to know what she was thinking.
"We went after Justin in the middle of all the confusion, dear. He
probably didn't realize you thought he was dead."

She was right. Elyssa nodded and sucked in a
deep breath to combat the flood of tears threatening to shatter her
forced composure. She squeezed Bella's hand in gratitude and
happiness.

Dad is alive. Justin has to be alive. And
I'll save him.

"Maximus has heavy backing," Thomas said,
"and he has numbers. Today we saw him attack with scroll casters,
nearly a hundred untrained foot soldiers—ammo fodder, in truth.

"He's obviously built a coalition with
malcontents from other Overworld factions," Thomas continued. "If
we don't attack fast and finish him now, his army will be too large
for one Templar legion, and we'll need to ask the Synod for
reinforcements."

Christian Salazar stood. "May I have the
floor, Commander?"

Thomas replied with a curt nod. "Of course,
Commander."

The Colombian Templar faced the room. "Due to
unforeseen circumstance, I altered our original plan to attack
Maximus's main force. The original attack was scheduled over two
weeks ago." His eyes held Elyssa's gaze for a moment.

She remembered. He'd ordered them to divert
to capture a high value target. The target turned out to be Justin.
Of course, she hadn't even remembered having a boyfriend at the
time thanks to taking the White and having her memories of him
wiped.

"We'd hoped to keep this conflict strictly
non-lethal. It appears Maximus has other plans. We lost three good
people in the fight today, and could have lost more if not for
Templar Meghan Andretti and Adam Nosti supporting us with their
arcane abilities." He gestured toward the couple where they sat
near the front.

A loud "HOOAH!" went up from the gathered
Templars. Meghan blushed. Adam was busy doing something on his
arcphone. Probably programming in a new spell. The guy was gawky
and a bit of a nerd, not to mention a conspiracy theorist, but he'd
helped her and Justin out before and seemed like a good guy.
Meghan, on the other hand, despised most spawn except for Justin.
Somehow, her boyfriend had that effect on most people, winning them
over despite their prejudices. Unfortunately, there were just as
many people who wanted him dead.

"Where's Harry?" Bella asked.

Elyssa couldn't find him in the throng. Then
again, he might still be off doing his own thing.

Christian continued. "Operation Staunch will
be a two-pronged assault on Maximus's stronghold, located here." He
activated an all-seeing eye on the table in front of him. A 3D
holograph flickered on in the air above the table, showing an
overhead view of the city. Elyssa felt a sudden sense of déjà vu,
having seen an almost identical briefing not more than a week or so
ago just before they diverted to capture Justin.

Christian continued the briefing, outlining
how the attack would commence and calling on his two best
infiltration squads to start the assault, followed by a
clean-and-sweep from the main force.

"Our infil squads will take out sentries and
surveillance with non-lethal force while the main force will
surround the compound and contain any escape attempts. We have a
high degree of confidence Maximus is on-site." Christian paused and
looked around the room. "Any questions?"

A Templar near the front raised his hand.
"What if we come under fire from scroll casters or other lethal
attack?"

"Use the Lancers to knock out targets
whenever possible. If you are under direct threat, lethal force is
authorized."

A young woman stood up. "Sir, why are we
going non-lethal?" Her fists clenched as she spoke. "They didn't
show us any mercy, so why should we?"

Murmurs rose around the room and Elyssa saw
quite a few nods of agreement at the Templar's questions.

"We deserve some payback," Fausta said,
almost under her breath.

Elyssa agreed with the sentiment in some
regards. Maximus didn't deserve to draw another breath. Neither did
the scroll casters. But so many of those vampires were hardly her
age and had probably been brainwashed or lured in by the romantic
notions of being a vampire.

Christian motioned for the murmurs to cease
and spoke. "I understand how you feel, Sallah," he said. "I lost a
friend and a colleague today. But Maximus has convinced many of his
newest followers that we're the evil ones, the ones who want to
kill them. He's convinced them we're in league with the Red
Syndicate, and want to destroy them. We have no way of countering
his blatant lies, but we can fight clean."

From the murmurs in the room, it was clear
many Templars didn't agree.

A pale man Elyssa hadn't noticed stood in the
front of the room. "Commander, if I may?" His voice oozed with
condescension.

Christian looked at the man for a moment
before giving a curt nod.

"I am Luciano Pavarotti, special envoy from
the Red Syndicate." He smiled, but it was a cold smile, devoid of
any real emotion.

Fausta snickered. Elyssa didn't have time to
ask her why before the vampire continued.

"My leaders are firmly against Maximus's
rogue actions. But they have made it equally clear the Vampire
Nation will not tolerate the deaths of innocent vampires who were
lured into Blood Rush under false pretenses. The Red Syndicate
recognizes all vampires as citizens of our great nation and regrets
the loss of life the Templars suffered at the hands of a few
isolated terrorists within Maximus's faction."

Sallah jerked to her feet. "A few isolated
terrorists? We were swarmed by hundreds of Maximus's terrorists. If
the Red Syndicate is so concerned, why haven't your leaders stepped
in and stopped them? Why do we have to risk our lives to solve a
vampire problem?"

"That will be quite enough," Thomas said,
eyes stern.

Elyssa studied his gaze. She could tell he
wasn't angry with the Templar, but Thomas set great store by
keeping his people in line, no matter what.

Luciano gave Sallah a patronizing smile. "My
leaders regret their lack of manpower to deal with the situation,
but the Arcanes' unprovoked attack on the Vampire Academy has
strained our resources. Once the Templars have taken care of
Maximus, we will take control of the orphaned vampires."

Elyssa hadn't heard of an attack on the VA.
Only a week or so ago, vampires had attacked the Dallas branch of
the Ezzek Moore School for the Gifted and killed several children
before the teachers could kill the attackers. The Arcanes blamed
the Red Syndicate. Apparently, the Arcane Council had escalated the
conflict. She had a suspicion Maximus's people were behind the
attack, pinning the blame on the Reds so they'd be too busy to stop
his recruitment efforts.

Adam Nosti, and Meghan with him, stared with
open disdain at the vampire.

"This vampire is a liar," Bella said, her
voice low and angry.

"About what?" Elyssa said.

"Unprovoked, he says? One of my friends lost
a nephew in the attack on the Ezzek Moore School. He was so bright,
and so very young." Bella dabbed at an eye.

"I'm sorry," Elyssa said.

"Please know that my leaders greatly
appreciate all the Templars do to support the Overworld Conclave,"
Luciano said. "I am here to monitor the situation and report back
once there is a resolution." The thin man smiled once again and
took his seat.

Elyssa stood before Christian could open his
mouth.

"You realize Maximus has a prisoner, right?"
She cast a stern look at her father when she said it. "He has
Justin. Is there a plan to get him safely out?"

Christian folded his hands behind his back.
"We will rescue him if all goes to plan, Recruit Borathen.
Unfortunately, we have no inside knowledge as to where Maximus is
keeping him."

"Shouldn't we gather more intel before we
strike?" She crossed her arms. "Why don't we commit our full force
to an all-out assault instead of stealth? There are too many
vampires to—"

Christian held up a hand to silence her. "A
full frontal assault would not work for a number of reasons,
recruit
. I suggest everyone get some shuteye. The operation
starts at high noon tomorrow. We're expecting a sunny day, and the
vampires will be at their weakest then."

Elyssa ground her teeth. It was obvious
nobody gave a crap about Justin's safety. Attempting to nullify
Maximus with two squads wasn't going to work. Who knew how many
vampires stood between the Templars and the leader of Blood Rush?
Quite likely too many.

"This will work out, dear." Bella patted
Elyssa's hand and smiled.

"Yeah right," Fausta said, standing. "They
let Maximus build up and prepare for too long without a response.
His activities demand an overwhelming Templar response, not this
tip-toeing around."

"That's what I told them," said a familiar
voice from the aisle.

Elyssa glanced right as she stood and saw the
chiseled face of Beck Andrews grinning at her. "Told who?" she
asked. "Yourself in the mirror?"

"Ha, very funny." He crossed his arms. "In
case you hadn't noticed, I'm one of Christian's top advisors now.
Your father recommended me for the position."

"Define 'top'," Fausta said with a smirk.
"Because they obviously didn't listen to your attack plan."

"My father recommended you?" Elyssa felt her
eyebrow arch in disbelief. "Payback for telling him about Vadaemos,
right?" A group led by Justin had captured a wanted spawn criminal
and taken him back to the United States to answer for his crimes.
Justin had told her he'd done it to prove spawn weren't responsible
for the Thunder Rock massacre all so he could gain her father's
approval. Beck, however, had wanted credit for the capture and told
her father prematurely. Her father had nearly killed Justin in a
duel.

Beck looked away from her. "Sure, I guess
that's part of it."

Elyssa got out of her seat and pushed past
Beck, resisting, with great effort, the desire to shove him down
the auditorium stairs.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked.

"To sleep."

Elyssa stepped out the door, and sensed a
cold presence come up next to her.

"Elyssa Borathen," said the cool slithering
voice of the vampire envoy, "I'd like a moment of your time." He
had an Italian accent, though not as strong as Fausta's could be at
times.

She stepped out of the flow of departing
Templars and regarded the thin, pale man. What in the world would
someone of his standing want with a recruit? "Can I help you, Envoy
Pavarotti?"

"I'm quite confident you can, Miss Borathen."
He smiled, showing clean white teeth. "Justin Slade has, of late,
become a topic of conversation in the capitol."

Elyssa felt a spark of surprise. How would
the vaunted politicos of the Overworld know about Justin? Then
again, why wouldn't they? Hadn't he just brought in Vadaemos Slade,
one of the most wanted fugitives? And his connections to the most
powerful spawn house in the States might also make him a person of
great interest. It meant people like Pavarotti might want to use
him to their advantage.

"What can I do for you, Envoy?" She tried to
keep her voice calm.

"First, let me express my sincere regrets
about his kidnapping. Maximus will be brought to justice, I promise
you."

"And?"

The vampire smiled. "The Red Syndicate would
very much like to meet with Mr. Slade, assuming, of course, his
rescue is successful."

Elyssa's stomach knotted. To think they might
fail was too painful to even consider. "If the Red Syndicate helped
rescue him, he might be willing to meet. Otherwise, I doubt he
will."

"Point well taken, Miss Borathen." Pavarotti
swept a hand at the crowd of Templars. "I'm highly confident your
father will succeed. But I will take your request to the Syndicate
and do what can be done from our end." He licked his lips and
offered another greasy smile. "It's a very delicate situation, as
I'm sure you understand."

A delicate situation would be if she held her
razor-sharp katana against his pale throat. She resisted making the
comment. "Very well, Envoy. I hope the Syndicate can come through."
Any bit of leverage she had was well worth spending if it meant
getting Justin back. "And I'm sure my father would feel indebted to
the Syndicate for any help rendered." More likely, her father would
look at it as interference, but she didn't care.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Borathen." He
offered her his hand, giving her the kind of soft, wimpy shake
she'd expected from a politician.

Exhausted and cramped with tension, Elyssa
went to a guest bunkhouse and tossed her duffel bag on one of the
empty bunks. She locked the door behind her, hoping the others
would go to one of the other guest quarters in the complex. She'd
barely faced away from the door when a knock sounded. Elyssa
growled. Unlatched the door, and flung it open. "What—" The words
died on her lips.

A large man in a type of scaled armor she had
never seen before stood outside. His face was covered by a mask of
the same material. He towered over his comrade, but Elyssa would
rather face the big man any day than the person he was with.

Underborn, the most notorious assassin in the
Overworld, smiled at her. "Good to see you again, Miss
Borathen."

I would have face-palmed if not for my
obvious inability to do so at the present time. Why hadn't I
thought of using magic before? True, I could barely light a candle
or blow it out, for that matter. And my attempts so far usually
ended with disastrous results. Setting myself on fire wouldn't
solve anything, and the room appeared to be made of concrete on all
sides. A gust of wind wouldn't do me much good either, not unless I
could blow myself right out of this hellhole.