Reign of the Vampires (19 page)

It was a good thing he’d be gone all day with Ike and Siad. As much as it made her heart clench to think he wouldn’t be near her, it was the only way she’d be able to get anything accomplished after what had transpired between them the night before.

The elevator opened and she stepped out. Mason stood in the waiting area, arms folded, staring at her.

She stormed past him and into her office. “What, did you run all the way up the stairs?”

“Yes,” he said. “That wasn’t smart. The Vampire from last night could have been in here.”

“I doubt it.” She sat in her chair and flipped on her computer. She’d woken up so irritable today. She had a sinking feeling her fertile period was drawing near. “I thought you were off with Ike and Siad this evening.”

“I wanted to make sure you were safe first.”

“Well, I am. Now go on your boy-scouting expedition.”

“My what?”

She waved her hand at him, her eyes never leaving her computer screen. “Never mind, just go. I have meetings today.”

He looked at her for a minute longer, then turned to go. “Don’t leave the building without me…
please
,” he said forcefully.

“I won’t.”

He exchanged information with William, and then was off. She checked her watch. Forty minutes till her meetings would begin for the evening. William came in with her messages and a stack of documents.

“Have you received an email yet from Chase?”

“No, my lord.”

Picking up her phone, she dialed Chase’s extension.

“Good evening.”

“I need you to send William the file please,” she said without pleasantries.

“I came in early this evening to do that for you. But it seems that it’s corrupted. I’ve sent down to the permits department for a new list. It should be here in the next day or so.”

Great.
“Please send it to William as soon as it arrives. And make sure you get someone up here to deal with your computer. I wouldn’t want you losing any more files.”

“Yes. That wouldn’t be good at all.”

She hung up the phone with less than thirty minutes left before her meeting in the conference room. The party for William needed planning in the next four days. She opened her email account, and then imported all her local contacts into a new message and titled it: “Welcome Our Newest Fledgling.”

On Friday eve, at ten PM, I, Danika Chekov, Vampire lord of the Chicago coven, will be holding a celebration at the Coven House to welcome our newest fledgling. Please come and join me in the formal celebration, and in welcoming him into our family and into our society.

Yours Truly,

Vampire Lord Danika A. Chekov

She hit send. Well, at least she’d gotten that done. “I have a meeting for the next several hours downstairs in the conference room on the twelfth floor. If you need me, call my cell,” she said, passing William. “Text me when Mason gets back, please. I’ll take a break to see what he learned.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Guilt gnawed at her for being so gruff with William. He wasn’t the reason she was in a huff.

* * * *

Mason was halfway across the parking lot when he stopped dead in his tracks. Danika hadn’t put his collar on. He was free.

Ike and Siad waited for him at the edge of the lot, where the Vampire had been standing the night before. This was what he wanted, a chance to get away. He could overpower the two men and run for it. There was no one else around to stop him. He’d disappear in less than five minutes, and by the time they figured out what had happened, he’d be long gone. Moving his feet again, his mind raced through scenarios of how to escape. His heart beat loudly in his chest.

“Is this where he was?” asked Siad.

“Yes. When he saw me coming toward him, he ran down the street.” Mason pointed ahead.

“How big was he?”

“Here.” Mason marked the height on the tree.

“Anything else?”

“He had light hair, wore a dark jacket and jeans.”

“Well, at least that is something to go on. Let’s get started.” Siad turned toward the street.

Mason formulated every possible option to overpower the two men. Ike would be the weaker of the two, but better trained. Taking out the weaker first was always the best idea, so he could focus all his energy on the stronger one. But, if Siad got the upper hand while he dealt with Ike, it might be his undoing. What was to say that Ike wouldn’t help though? He’d obviously want to go too.

“Let’s check out the convenience store first,” said Ike over his shoulder.

They reached the convenience store and walked inside. The small mousy vamp behind the counter wore coke bottle glasses and baggy clothes.

“Do you work here every night?” Siad asked.

“Ye-ye-yes,” he stammered, pushing at his glasses.

“Did you see a Vampire last night, about this high, in a dark jacket and jeans?”

“About nine-thirty. He ran the other direction about four AM.”

“What was he doing?”

“He walked into our store. Bought a bottle of Savor and then left.”

“How did he pay?”

“Cash.”

“Was there anything special about him that you remember?” Siad’s frustration had become apparent.

“He had a nasty scar running down one side of his cheek.” The cashier motioned down his left cheek with his finger.

“Do you have surveillance cameras?” asked Ike.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t work.”

“Of course.” Siad looked at Mason. “I suppose we should go down the block and see if anyone else saw anything.”

“We could split up,” suggested Mason. “You two take the left side of the street, and I’ll take the right.”

Siad and Ike stared at him. “You going to try and slip away?”

“No, it would be quicker.” When they continued to stare, he shrugged his shoulders. “Fine with me. I’d rather be outside than sitting in the office watching the Vampire lord work, anyway.”

“No,” said Siad. “We don’t need three of us to interrogate one person. You and Ike take the left. I’ll take the right.”

Mason clenched and unclenched his fists several times as his adrenaline started to pump. He and Ike crossed the street to the other side. No more than a dozen businesses were open. He scanned for signs of other people. A tailor’s shop was opening and a few doors down from that a yogurt shop owner pulled up his gate. Ike spoke to both, but neither had seen anything.

“You doing okay?” asked Ike.

“What?” Mason’s gaze traveled to Ike’s face before they crossed a street. Down the road, vamps opened more shops and chatted.

“I asked how you’re doing. I know that the first couple of days are an adjustment.”

“You could say that.”

“The Vampire lord seems fair.”

Mason didn’t answer. His beast paced inside making him anxious. This was the chance he had waited for. Siad stopped at an open store on the other side of the street. There was another cross street coming up. If he took off at the corner, he might be able to get away. Siad would be fast, but Mason was fast as well. Mason’s beast was as torn. He wanted Danika and he wanted to protect her; the danger she faced was real. But he needed to go before he lost control, and someone found out what he was.

They reached the corner and Mason looked to his left. The road stretched on forever. He figured if he ran to the highway, or even a residential area, he’d hotwire a car.

Mason stopped. What would happen to Danika if he left? He still felt her blood in his veins. The tender way she’d kissed him the night before. He tasted her in his mouth. At the prospect of running, he found his inner beast howling in rage. For once, it didn’t want freedom.

“Don’t think about it, man.” Ike moved closer.

“What?” Mason didn’t want to hurt him; Ike was a decent guy.

“I know what you’re thinking. Just me, Siad gone, you can run for it. But you can’t. Your collar will kill you.” Mason turned and faced Ike full-on. Ike’s eyes widened in surprise, and then he nodded. “No collar. Don’t want to know how you managed that. Even without the collar, they’ll find you again and drag you back, and then your life’ll be very hard.”

Again Mason worried about the repercussions Danika would suffer if he escaped. He hadn’t expected this conflict. He needed freedom; he hated being chained. And the thought that someone would find out his secret was almost more than he could take. But someone did know,
she
knew. She may not know exactly what he was, but she knew he wasn’t all human, and she didn’t care. Something inside him clicked and his beast roared to life at the thought of leaving her. The possession he felt over Danika became all-consuming. Being parted from her suddenly became a thought worse than death. “Why do you stay, Ike? I’d let you go.”

“I have a bracelet. But I wouldn’t now, even if I didn’t have it. I’m tired of running, Mason. Moving from place to place, trying to steal the most meager rations for everyone. Not being able to protect them from this world. And, quite honestly, Lance and Sinya are good people. They love each other and are good enough to me. I’m not young anymore, either,” Ike said. “I’ve been fighting for over forty years. I’ve been through five wars, lived in the dirt more than in a house. Starved more than I have eaten, and buried the people I loved. I’m done. I’m ready to live out the last of my life in a house. With happy people, food, and running water. I know I sound like a hypocrite, but I’m tired.”

Ike looked ashamed. Danika’s words floated back to him and he realized that she was right. For most humans, food, shelter and a few luxuries were enough now. Mason had seen it a thousand times over, over hundreds of years, in the faces of millions of men, women, and children. War took its toll on everyone it touched.

Mason was trying to figure out what to say when footsteps raced down the street to his left. Three figures ran out of the darkness toward him. As they drew closer, Mason smelled them. They reeked of blood, human blood. It took a moment for Mason to process the information.

“Rogues! Get Siad!” Mason bellowed. Moving fast, the rogues were on him by the time Ike made it across the street. Sizing them up, Mason grabbed the largest and hurled him into a brick building. He kicked the second vamp in the chest, causing the rogue to fall. The third jumped onto Mason, biting at his neck. Blood poured from Mason’s wound, down his white shirt, staining it. Mason grabbed the vamp, flinging it onto the ground, bashing its head into the pavement. Black blood poured from the vamp’s nose and mouth and out of the back of its skull. It gurgled, then stopped moving. The first vamp was up on its feet, making its way over. Its arm was dislocated, but it didn’t seem to notice.

Mason was ready for him. As soon as the rogue was within reach, he grabbed it by the neck and squeezed. The vamp scratched and kicked, trying to bite into Mason’s arm. The second vamp jumped on Mason, using him as a chew toy. Mason was just squeezing the first vamp into unconsciousness when the other vamp was ripped off him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Siad and Ike taking it down. Mason squeezed hard with both hands and broke the vamp’s neck. The other vamp squealed, then went silent.

“What happened?” Siad demanded.

“We were getting ready to cross to the coffee shop, and they came running at us from down the street.”

“This is unheard of. Three rogues together? And out in the open, just running at you? Something isn’t right.” Siad sniffed the air. His gaze came to rest on Mason’s gashed neck. He stood, with his eyes fixated on Mason for a minute before blinking several times and taking a deep breath. “Come on, we’re done here.” His fangs peeked out from under his top lip. He motioned to the rogues. “We have to bring them.”

Mason picked up the bloodied vamp and threw it over his shoulder. Ike and Siad grabbed the others and did the same. Mason’s head spun. He grabbed at his wound, holding his hand over the large gash, trying to staunch the flow. Rogues themselves were rare, but three in the same place at the same time? That didn’t happen. Somehow he got the feeling that it was connected to the man from the earlier night. If his suspicions were correct, Danika was in serious danger.

* * * *

Danika was explaining to four new investors the return schedule for their investments when her phone buzzed. It was William’s number.

“Excuse me.” She looked to Merrick. “I need to take this call.”

Merrick nodded.

Danika walked out of the conference room, answering her phone as she went.

“William, what’s wrong?”

“My lord, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but you need to come up to your office. There’s been an incident.”

Danika’s heart sank. “I’ll be right up.” She tried to calm herself on the elevator ride. It couldn’t be that bad. If it were really bad, William would have told her. The elevator took forever, and by the time the doors opened, she was ready to rip them apart. Her office was a mix of scents. There was a terrible, dirty smell, which made her wrinkle her nose. But there was also the scent of sweat, adrenaline and more than that, blood.
Mason.

Chase spoke with Siad and Ike in the waiting area. Danika didn’t stop. William was just walking out of her office.

“Where is he?” she asked.

William motioned inside. Mason sat on her sofa, holding a bloodstained towel at his neck. Danika had to stop herself from running to him and throwing her arms around him.

“What happened?” she demanded. His face was a mask of hidden emotion.

“We were attacked by three rogues.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Actually it is possible, as we have now found out. It isn’t likely, but it is very well possible,” he replied.

She stalked to the waiting area. “Siad, what happened?” she called.

“We finished speaking with the clerk at the convenience store and split up. I was in a video store when Ike ran in and told me that there were three rogues outside. Ike and I took one down. Mason killed the other two. We grabbed the bodies and came straight here.”

“Where are they now?”

“In the trunk so we can take them to Doc.”

“Give me a couple of minutes and then we’ll go. Chase, I believe you and I need to talk about this.”