Wyvern and Company (11 page)

"Wicked," Mack whispered.

"Who was First before—did they die?" I asked.

"Not dead," Pheligar said. "Retired. He did not
consult as he should have. He and I had many disagreements."

"Looks like you and Mrs. G have disagreements, too,"
Mack said.

"These disagreements are different. She will never place
a life in jeopardy because we fail to agree on every minute detail,"
Pheligar said. "We each have our say. We do not dislike one another
because we disagree. Not at the core of our relationship, anyway. I cannot say
the same about her predecessor. Much of our disagreement stems from the
differences in our primary races. Larentii and humans are vastly dissimilar."

"Don't get him started by asking what the differences
are," Mom said. "You'll be here all night."

"Are you suggesting that I take too long to express my
thoughts?" Pheligar lifted a blond eyebrow at Mom.

"No." She hunched her shoulders. "I feel sick
again," she mumbled. "I wish they'd hurry with our food."

"We will not have that," Pheligar declared and
pulled her onto his lap. One hand went to her forehead, the other to her
stomach. Light formed around both for a few seconds.

"Feel better?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I'm thinking about contacting Merrill," Dad said as
Mom settled onto her seat again. Our food was delivered two minutes later while
Dad talked about bringing Uncle Merrill to Fresno. When the waiter left, he
explained that Merrill, with the help of a werewolf named Daniel Carey, could
teach Mack and me about hunting spawn.

"You should know, Son, that Merrill is a modified
vampire," Dad said. "He's a vampire who can walk in daylight and eat
normal food."

"Seriously?" Mack breathed.

"Seriously."

"Will Grampa Frank come with him?" I asked. I hoped
Grampa Franklin would come. "Does he know about all this?"

"He knows. Merrill knows. You can say anything to either,"
Mom said. "And to Daniel."

"Knowledge of the race protects itself," Pheligar
said. "If you attempt to tell anyone who doesn't know already about it,
you will be unable to speak. The secret effectively keeps itself."

"That means Gina can't know," Dad said. "I'm
sorry, but we don't know her well enough yet. You'll have to keep your other
side secret around her until she's approved by your Mother and Pheligar. Even
then, she won't be able to talk about it to anyone else, so you see how
difficult it could be for some people to know this about us."

I hadn't considered those things before—that someone could be
forced to keep a secret and it could cause them harm. What if Gina wanted to
tell her mother, and couldn't get the words out? It sounded painful.

"I'll keep the secret," I promised.

"Good," Mom said. "Does anyone have more rice?"
Dragon handed her a bowl.

* * *

Kent, England

Private files of Charles, Secretary to Wlodek and the
Vampire Council

Merrill stalked past me and into Wlodek's private study. He
had a right to do so; he was Wlodek's oldest living vampire offspring and a King
Vampire. None in the vampire community could stand against Merrill's strength
or compulsion, should he choose to exercise either.

He was dressed casually, which was certainly unusual,
therefore, this visit heralded an emergency of some kind.

"Charles!" Wlodek's voice summoned me immediately.
It was not unexpected. Gripping my tablet, I followed Merrill through the door.

"Take a seat," Wlodek waved an impatient hand at
Merrill and me. We sat. Wlodek's study is richly appointed, from the painting
of Napoleon by David on one wall, to the large Monet hanging opposite.

Someone once imagined that everything in his study had a huge,
invisible price tag. They were correct. Many collectors would highly prize what
Wlodek had ceased to see or consider long ago. Still, vampires sent gifts, in
attempts to curry favor or elicit decisions from the Council. Wlodek was never
swayed. That was what I admired most about him.

"Tell me," Wlodek leveled a dark gaze upon Merrill,
while steepling his fingers. I'd seen the same gesture many times from Merrill,
so it was no surprise where he'd gotten it.

"I'd like to borrow the vampires who helped in Corpus
Christi all those years ago," Merrill began. "They are familiar with
those who need our help, and I think they'd be glad to offer assistance again."

"What will they be doing?" Wlodek's voice was calm.
Even. Deadly. Merrill didn't blink; his face remained an impervious mask.

"You've seen the news reports from California, I assume?"

"I have."

"There is something—I cannot say what, exactly—preventing
those we know from actively hunting these spawn. They are concerned that spawn are
not only being made here, but are also being brought from other worlds to
devour the population."

"I cannot imagine why anyone would prevent them from using
their full abilities," Wlodek said, revealing a tiny crack in his
emotions. There were many reasons for the vampire race to protect humans, the
source of blood being chief among them. If spawn were allowed to take over,
Earth's vampires would starve.

"They cannot lie—you know this. I heard this directly
from Adam."

"Ah. Our former Chief of Enforcers." A multitude of
unspoken words lay behind Wlodek's statement. He missed Adam's cool efficiency
more than he would ever admit. Russell was a good replacement, but his sense of
humor never failed to irritate Wlodek. Oddly enough, Russell was one of those
Merrill requested.

Merrill didn't respond, so several minutes ticked by while
Wlodek considered Merrill's request. "Very well," he said eventually.
"I will allow it. Charles, notify those concerned and have them report
immediately to Merrill. I trust you have made arrangements to bring them all to
the U.S.?"

"I have," Merrill agreed. "Transport is
available and ready the moment I report their locations."

"Good. Keep me apprised; Charles will let you know if we
have assignments that cannot be ignored while you chase and destroy these
creatures."

I almost breathed a sigh, but held it back. Wlodek had made
the correct choice, with no advice or cajoling needed. It was a tremendous
relief.

* * *

Adam's Journal

Kyle will come
, Merrill acknowledged.
As will
Russell, Will, and Radomir. I hope that will be enough from our side. Who will
come for the Grand Master?

Daniel Carey
, I sent.
Martin Walters' son, plus
Theodore Williams, Second to Thomas Williams, from the Sacramento Pack. He'll
send others if Martin requests it
.
Martin intends to help if the spawn
are in this area—he and his pack are at our disposal
.

Good. I hope this will be enough
, Merrill returned.

There's one more
, I responded.
My son, Justin. He's
a Wyvern and has been deadly against spawn in both battles he's fought
.
I'd
appreciate it if you and the others would assist in his training, and that of
Martin's son, Mack. I believe both could be elite fighters with only a bit of
tutelage from those most experienced
.

I will see it done
, Merrill promised.
I think
Russell will be happy to participate in the training of young ones
.

My vampire brother will be a perfect teacher
, I agreed.
I'll be glad to see him again
.

Are you planning to tell Justin that Russell is his vampire
uncle?

I believe that would be a good start
, I said.
Russ
is still young enough to engage young ones
.

Precisely my thinking
, Merrill agreed.
Will can
help—those two work very well together
.

Let me know when you are ready for transport
, I said.
Dragon
and I will come.

I will. Kiarra is truly pregnant with your daughter?
He
asked before ending the mental conversation.

Yes, and this pregnancy is harder on her, for several
reasons. I can tell the Larentii is worried—he's hovering, and he never does
that. She has become ill several times, and that never happened with Justin.

That concerns me
, Merrill said.
How much time does
she have before she can no longer employ her abilities?

Four weeks
, I grumbled mentally.
You know she will
push it to the limit, too.

I understand that about her, yes. She despises feeling
helpless.

I wish she'd allow us to take care of her,
I said.
This
will be difficult enough, knowing Justin will be in danger. I don't know whether
I can handle all this at once.

You love them, that's where the difficulty comes in
,
Merrill said.
Do not fear, many love your wife and will give their lives for
her—and for her child
.

I hope it doesn't come to that,
I responded
,
allowing
the mental sigh to escape with my words.

* * *

Justin's Journal

"This means you'll be homeschooled for as long as it
takes, up to the remainder of the year," Dad said. He'd called Mack and me
into his study, a place we were seldom allowed. "The Larentii will arrange
for all your grades and records to be transferred to the school during the time
spent being homeschooled. You will have attended school without having to
actually go elsewhere while you're hunting spawn. It is my hope that this
situation will be rectified in a month or two, so things will return to normal."

"Seriously?" Mack breathed. He hadn't seen this
coming.

Neither had I.

"It also means," Dad continued, "that dates
with Gina in the interim will have to be carefully planned around hunting
trips. If she has questions, tell her you're working with me. That will be true
enough."

"Who'll be teaching us?" Mack asked.

"Joey and Bearcat," Dad grinned. "Be prepared,
because Joey will make sure you can graduate from college with the science and
math classes he intends to throw at you. Bearcat will teach English and
history. Do your assignments or you'll answer to your mother and me."

"Sounds harder than real school," Mack whispered.

"It will be," Dad nodded. "Joey will schedule additional
college testing for both of you, and expect you to do well enough to get into
just about any school you choose. You're his only students, don't forget. He
and Bearcat won't have an entire classroom of pupils, distracting their
attention from you two. Mack, we've discussed this with your father and he's
happy with the idea that this will prepare you for college—better than what you
were getting at Valley High."

"How will we know where to track those things?" I
asked. After all, hunting spawn was the reason behind all this.

"Lion is going to teach you how to
Look
, and that's
spelled with a capital L. Pheligar says you have the innate ability, you only
have to learn to use it properly. You'll be on location duty for the
others—just remember that the vampires can only move at night. That means you'll
be working nights, too, so you'll have to plan all other activities
accordingly."

"When will they get here? The ones who are coming?"
Mack asked.

"They'll be here by Tuesday. We'll construct an
underground bunker for the vampires, with a door they can lock from the inside.
That's what we'll be doing this afternoon—the Larentii will shield our power
signature while we build it."

"It can happen that fast?" I gulped.

"Son, there wasn't anything here when I bought the
property two weeks ago. This house went up in a day. We spent a few more days
getting it wired, installing the plumbing and placing the furniture."

"Wow," I mumbled. I was too embarrassed to ask how
much power Dad and Mom actually had. It ought to be staggering.

"Dad's okay with me staying here?" Mack asked.

"He prefers it, since you were followed by the Pierce boy
and attacked outside school. He doesn't want any accidents. Now that you know
what you are, you are in a position to do real harm to humans. The Pierce boy
is nothing more than a bully; he has no idea what sort of threat you could pose
to him and his friends. Besides, we have no desire for any suspicion to fall on
you again, should you attack a human. That is the fear that faces both
werewolves and vampires—that humans will discover their race and attempt to
eradicate it."

"I never thought of that, before," Mack said. "Dad
told me to keep my mouth shut, but this sort of explains everything."

"Young Mack, your wolf knew to run from spawn because you
were outnumbered. It will always know that. From now on, others will have your
back when you fight them—at least that is my intention. I have a feeling that
your adoptive mother will give you a gift—as her adopted child. Use your gift
wisely. Go, now. She is waiting for you at the indoor pool."

* * *

We found Mom right where Dad said she was, lounging on a chair
with her feet up beside the pool. The cool water and elevated humidity inside
the room made it an oasis compared to the dry heat outside.

"I asked Adam to send you," she smiled at both of
us. "Justin, the gifts I'm giving Mack, you already have. This will help keep
both of you safe." She beckoned Mack closer.

"I have to put my hands on your head, honey," she
said. "This is to give you mindspeech and the ability to
Look
, so
you and Justin will be on the same page. Lion will show you how to use both
gifts."

Mack knelt beside her chair. At that moment, I was reminded of
a painting where a Queen bestowed a knighthood upon a warrior. I wondered if
Mack would ever realize that a warrior-knight was what he'd become.