Seeker (30 page)

“Actually, Anthony mentioned you were back in town,” Lady Reisha said, “so I wondered how long before I'd see you again.”

“And here I am.” Frederick reached out and took her hands in his. “I have been busy, which is actually what I need to talk to you about.”

Lady Reisha leaned in closer. “Oh, do tell me more.”

“I need your help. I've lost someone very dear to me, and you have contacts in the Veil that I do not, and I'm hoping that news of a newly turned vampire might have reached someone.” Frederick knew he was playing a dangerous game. As a result of working alongside Anthony, many of her contacts were now upyr, not that she knew this, but if a new upyr was roaming Southend then it seemed reasonable that at least one of them would have picked up the scent of this new blood. Frederick couldn't ask them directly as it would attract far too many unwanted questions, but such an inquiry from Lady Reisha would raise no warning bells.

“And what do I get in return? Other than the company of our most reclusive member? More stories?”

“No,” Frederick said, very aware of the path he was about to step on. “I will prove to you that every word I have told you is one hundred percent true.”

* * *

Reisha had agreed, although he could still tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't entirely convinced by his tales. But soon she would believe him. Okay, so that meant he was turning another human into an upyr so soon after the disaster of Willem, but Reisha had spent years believing herself to be a vampire anyway, even to the point of drinking blood, so actually becoming one would not make much of an impact on her life. At least that's how Reisha told it, but Frederick knew otherwise. Becoming an upyr was the biggest life-changing event there was. Literally. The most important difference would be, unlike with Willem, her Rebirth would take place under controlled circumstances at the factory, away from all potential risk.

They had spent a couple of hours discussing things, Frederick telling her what it meant to be an upyr in the world of the twenty-first century, how she'd be entering a whole different universe, a way of life that had been born of centuries of bloodshed and carnage. Most important of all, Reisha had to forget all the lore she'd ever learned. She seemed thrilled at the prospect, and Frederick had left her with much to do and think about. He'd also left her with a vial of Red Source, just to give her a hint of the world she was going to enter.

He had taken the book she had been reading. Reisha didn't need to read such nonsense now, since she would soon learn the truth about the Seeker, like all upyr free of the Brotherhood's propaganda. He intended to spend the evening looking into the book and, using his official contacts this time, he would track down the author, Barratt Kemp. A confrontation was needed; either Barratt would be re-educated or dead. Either way his position as a scholar for the Brotherhood would end abruptly.

By the time he reached Chalkwell the rain had started falling again; it was only a light drizzle so the walk from the train station to his place wasn't that much of an issue. The book was buried under one arm, protected from the elements beneath his leather jacket.

He wasn't paying that much attention as he walked up his street, his head lowered trying to work out the password that would enable him access to Willem's phone, which he now held in his hand. The battery had died yesterday, and since then he'd been charging it after rummaging through Willem's holdall for the charger. He wanted to call Willem's friend, Jake, to see if Will had returned home. He had a cover story all prepared; he would play the part of an entirely innocent man who had found the mobile and was trying to locate its owner. At least, that was the plan. Getting access, however, was proving difficult.

He looked up briefly, feeling a momentary sense of recognition. The street was empty of people. He spotted the little blue Yaris parked next to him. He shrugged, reasoning that his periphery vision must have noticed the car which his brain had already fully registered as belonging to the woman who worked at the college. He glanced at the house opposite the car. Although he had passed the time of day with the red-head many times he had never known where she lived before.

He shrugged it away. It wasn't that important, but it would prove a nice way to get a conversation going next time he bumped into her down the shops. He looked back down to the phone and continued on his way home.

What would Willem use as a password? Frederick typed in “Jake,” but no joy there. He smiled slyly, suddenly knowing what it would be. “Curtis.” His smiled faded, still faced with the same password prompt. Maybe he didn't know Willem as well as he thought.

* * *

He dropped the book onto the seat of the lounger and placed his jacket over the back of it, before walking straight into the kitchen, which could only be reached via the living room. With the clouds gathering outside the room was darker than usual, so he flicked on the light switch located just outside the kitchen. The room was bathed in light and Frederick almost jumped in shock.

He hadn't sensed her at all, which said a lot for his own preoccupation with the mobile in his hand, as well as the book. Celeste sat there, in the corner chair, looking directly at him, her face a mixture of concern and disappointment.

“Hi,” Frederick said, feeling a bit daft, but unsure what else to say. “Would you care for a drink?” He continued on into the kitchen, not waiting for an answer. He put Will's mobile on the side and flipped on the kettle, suddenly in dire need of caffeine, and walked over to the window. From there he saw the black car that was used to ferry the Three around Essex. It was parked outside his house, directly opposite the path leading to the front door. No doubt the chauffeur was still sitting inside, waiting patiently for Celeste. Frederick shook his head and turned back to the cupboards, surprised at himself for not even noticing the car parked there. As he prepared a coffee for himself, he nattered on, talking nonsense, anything to fill the silence. Celeste didn't respond once, which was not a good sign. Once the coffee was done, he pulled out a wine glass and poured Celeste something red. He didn't know what it was; wine wasn't his thing at all, but Willem had insisted on buying a bottle to drink when they returned from the nightclub. The bottle was unopened.

He emerged from the kitchen and handed the glass to Celeste. She took it gracefully and sipped it, her eyes never leaving Frederick. Feeling the weight of her stare, he turned and crossed to the lounger. He picked up the book.

“
Seeking the Seeker
,” he said, brandishing it as he sat down. “Seems the Brotherhood is getting bold again. Which is to be expected, right? After all, now that the time of prophecy is nearing, Julius is going to have to make his move.”

“Which does lead to the question, how does Julius know that the time of prophecy is drawing near?” Frederick let out a breath of air, glad that Celeste was speaking. Anything but the silent treatment. She looked down at the wine. “We've been very careful about what we revealed of the prophecy once the Book was in our hands. Only the Three, and you, know the full details.”

“True, but the Book went missing for a long time before the Ancient gave it to me.”

Celeste nodded. “At which time it was barely a collection of notes, half transcribed visions and memories. Even when you got it the Book was incomplete, and the passages pertaining to the prophecy were mostly new. No one read of the prophecy until you and Melinda.”

“A version of it was out there, badly translated and missing key passages.” Frederick blinked. “You think she gave information to the Brotherhood before she…died?”

If Celeste noted the accusatory tone she chose to ignore it. As far as Celeste was concerned she did what was needed and there ended the discussion. “I very much doubt that, Frederick. But someone has.”

“An inside job, then?”

Celeste nodded. “How is Willem?” she asked abruptly, throwing Frederick off. He blinked. “Don't insult me, Frederick, not after all this time. You forget that I know you, probably better than you know yourself. I made you.” She raised the wine glass. “Plus, you don't drink wine and I've never known you to own a single bottle before, and then, of course, there is this.” With dramatic effect she raised her free hand and slowly pointed to the backpack that sat on the floor next to the chair.

Frederick swallowed. He was so intent on the conversation, glad that he had Celeste's interest. He had totally failed to notice Willem's backpack. It had been in his bedroom, left behind by Willem on Friday evening. He took a deep breath; time for truth.

“He's out there,” Frederick said, “but I can't find any trace of him.”

“It would seem Erwyn was right about you and Willem.” Celeste sighed. “It was bound to happen to you one day, I suppose. Took me five centuries to find a consort…”

“Or two,” Frederick interjected, unable to keep the bitterness in check.

“Or two,” Celeste conceded, with a small smile. “So I'm not surprised it's happened for you, too. But,” she added, shaking her head sadly, “you should have come to me, Frederick.”

“I know, but for almost three hundred years I've been yours and yours alone. Now, though…” Frederick shrugged.

“
Mon toujours
, tell me everything.”

So he did. Everything that had happened since Friday night, including his concerns about Willem's Rebirth. Celeste listened intently, and when he had finished she sat in silence, digesting what had been said.

“Very well, a difficult situation,” she said, “one Theodor and Erwyn will need to be made aware of. Neither will be happy about this. New upyr are made too often as it is, but there are rules and guidelines that govern such events. You know this as well I, and you know the reasons they are in place.”

Frederick nodded. In the past upyr had been born of lust and criminal violation, more often than not new upyr didn't want to be immortal. They were victims, and thus ill equipped for the new life that had been forced upon them. Even now new upyr were made in such ways, but these were few and far between. The Rebirth Council had been assembled by the Three to govern such things, to ensure that those who were to become upyr were fully aware of the path they were about to walk on. Like Reisha. Willem, however…

“We will need to find him, Frederick. He may not be the Seeker, but he is now our responsibility, plus, as you've mentioned, there are aspects of his Rebirth that are troubling.” Celeste stood and walked over to him. He went to rise, but she motioned him to remain as he was. “I shall return to the factory to inform Theodor and Erwyn. Best that it be I and not you. Erwyn doesn't need further ammunition against you. You look into this Brotherhood book thing; see if you can find the author.”

“And Willem?”

“We shall discuss that more fully tomorrow. We must proceed carefully from herein.” She turned to leave, but stopped once she got to the living room door. “Oh yes,” she said, looking back, “you'll be interested to know that the hunter you killed was the step-brother of Maia.”

Frederick opened his mouth to speak, but Celeste shushed him with a look. “Wasn't too hard to work out what happened. Another thing to be discussed tomorrow.”

* * *

Frederick was still in a bad mood when he arrived at the factory the next day. As well as tracking down Barratt Kemp he had engaged the services of his police contacts in London to learn what had happened with Maia and her brother, Darrell.

Although contact with the Jenkins family ended last year Frederick was able to piece together the rest of the picture. And he didn't like it. His mood seemed to echo the weather, in particular the storm that had crashed in as the night drew to a close.

The Three were already waiting for him, and the first thing that struck him was the smug look of self-satisfaction on Erwyn's face. Frederick had expected no less. So he ignored Erwyn and took his customary place adjacent to the drink cabinet.

Once Frederick was settled and offered a drink of O-Negative, Celeste began. Things had been discussed and decided. Frederick prepared himself to fight his corner; he was not going to let his future with Willem be controlled by a decision made without him, especially a decision which Erwyn had something to do with.

Celeste must have felt the setting of Frederick's will, for she held a hand up and smiled gently. “Finding Willem is now a priority. We've not just been sitting here idle, discussing things endlessly all night, Frederick. Well, not quite,” she added, glancing at Erwyn. He shifted in his seat, but didn't argue the point. No doubt he'd argued enough during the initial meetings. “We've put feelers out, got people on it. If Willem is still in Essex we'll find him.”

“I'd rather find him myself,” Frederick said. “He's my responsibility.”

“He was your responsibility Friday night,” Erwyn said, his tone clearly showing what he thought of that. “But you took it upon yourself to make him one of us. That makes him
our
responsibility now.”

Frederick narrowed his eyes. “I did not
take it upon myself
. He was dying, the result of a Sekhite ambush. I owed it to him.”

“Oh, come on, man. Like we don't know your little obsession with the human. You wanted him, and took the first opportunity.”

“Are you denying the Sekhite involvement? Ask Dai, he disposed of the…” Frederick stopped abruptly as something occurred to him. “Before the Sekhite died I drained him, took a little tour in his memories, and do you want to know what I discovered?”

Erwyn almost went pale, and it was then that things started to make sense to Frederick. He had suspected Erwyn of something, but the scope had never struck him. His mind went back to his conversation with Celeste, and the notion of an inside job. He looked up at Celeste, to find she was already staring at him, quite clearly picking up his thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak but she silenced him.