Burning (Brotherhood of the Blade Trilogy #1) (10 page)

We next popped the trunk and found other items, mostly written things and a couple of empty plastic bottles from blood, and hurriedly bagged them up.

And then we got the hell off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, just as a cavalcade of fire trucks and police cars swept past us.

Chapter Sixteen

Two hours later, we were settled in on a private jet to Switzerland, surrounded by the stuff from the vampire’s car. And my wife’s hand was stashed in a plastic bag in a small red-and-white Playmate cooler. The jet’s one steward calmly exchanged out the ice with gloved hands and put the hand on dry ice. Not a question passed his lips.

When he went back to the galley, I asked Ambra, “How did we not have to run the gauntlet of Customs?”

“
Privilege. We are riding in the private jet of Gabrielle Dubois, the world-famous singer.”

“
Damn, it shouldn’t be like that.”

“
Nevertheless, it is that way. The company, which is us, takes care of all the Customs things. They did have to show Rudolph’s passport for you, and my passport, but there was no standing in line for bag checks, that sort of thing.”

A couple of thoughts struck me. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“
I got caught up in the vampire’s attack and I forgot to have you stop at the bank.”

“
It was night.”

“
My passport. I don’t have it. It’s in my safety deposit box at the bank, along with my will and stuff like that.”

“
You can use Rudolph’s passport. In fact, you have now done that.”

“
I have almost no money. Will my ATM cards and credit cards work in Switzerland?”

“
You shouldn’t use them until we make sure that nobody is looking for you.”

“
Right.”

“
Don’t worry. You’ll get a paycheck and documents.”

“
Thank you. I am just realizing that I lost my life’s work that burned up in my home. Not just my wife dead and my daughter missing, but my research and everything connected to it.”

“
What was it?”

“
I invented things for astronomers to earn my living, and as a vampire hunter, I used those skills to do experiments with light and the speed of light, concave mirrors and especially, solar power. I even tried my hand at invisibility through bending light. It semi-worked. Now, it’s all gone.”

She looked at me long and hard, then placed a warm hand on mine. “No wonder Lucas wants you so badly.”

Chapter Seventeen

By the time we reached cruising altitude, steaks, baked potatoes, salads, and more were served to us—what a way to travel. We both packed away the chow.

Before the steward picked up our meal trays, I promptly passed out for what was apparently at least eight hours of a 12-hour flight. Ambra let me sleep. I think it was my first sleep in several days and it replenished me, as did the protein in that piece of meat.

When I woke up, the jet was just beginning the descent over Zürich. I had slept away so much time, but felt incredibly rested, despite the circumstances. Ambra was awake in the seat across the aisle, her stuff packed up neatly, except for a paperback book.

I noticed that someone had covered me with a blanket and had tucked a pillow under my head.

Ambra looked over at me and smiled. “It’s snowing in the Alps.” She was now dressed in winter clothing. “I can’t wait to get my skis back on.”

I looked out the window. “It’s beautiful. What are those dark dots moving on the mountainside?”

“Herds of animals. Perhaps reindeer. Wait until you see the Alps up close and personal. I hope Switzerland will grow on you. I was born here and I love it so.”

“
I hope I will, too.” I shivered a bit in my clothes that I was still wearing from Hawaii.

“
We’re about thirty minutes from Zürich.” She nodded at a pile of skiwear, a winter coat, gloves and ski hat on the seat in front of me. “You should change.”

“
Thanks. The steward’s in the restroom.”

“
You Americans. Change clothes right there. I won’t look.” She turned her face to the window. “We have a co-ed sauna and Jacuzzi at the castle. You will perhaps not be so shy.”

“
You wear swimsuits, though, right?”

She laughed.

“When in Rome, I guess...” My pain was still too fresh to even think of taking a naked sauna in a group. I didn’t want to feel all of this pain and I sure as hell didn’t want to be naked with this Swiss beauty and the other vampire hunters.

I loved my wife with such fierceness. I wondered when Megan would fade into the past.
Probably never.
But maybe I never wanted her to.

I stripped down to my snug Champion boxer-briefs. I dressed quickly in the warm, stretchy ski wear.

“This is great. Look.”

She turned her head and looked at me. “They fit wonderfully.” She said her “w” letters like “v” letters. The Swiss-French cadence and accent was very distinctive and memorable.

“Whose ski clothes?” I asked.

“
Mine.”

I was startled. “Thank you. You’re very tall.”

“Even taller than my father.”

“
Really?” I said.

“
I ate my
muesli
growing up.”

“
What’s that?”

“
Cereal,” she said, laughing. “Like you say...you ate your Wheaties?”

I knew she was trying to cheer me up. “You’ve seen me at my worst, Ambra, screaming until my throat was bloody. You’ve seen me weep with rage and blow up my own house. You’ve seen me in pain. I want to start over. I don’t know how I’ll adjust, but I want to be good at team vampire hunting.”

“You already are. That’s why we want you. You’ll be among friends and colleagues, Rand. Soon, they will feel like family. You might even laugh again.”

“
I doubt it.”

“
It will come. It is a good life that we have. We work for a noble cause, protecting humanity from vampires.”

“
The world will go crazy, looking for Gabrielle Dubois.”

“
I’m good at disappearing acts.”

The captain turned on the fasten-seatbelt light and we buckled up for the landing.

I squinched my eyes shut on the final descent.

“
Are you afraid to fly?”

“
No,” I said, “I’m afraid of landing poorly.”

“
I’ll help you get over that in parkour training.”

“
I have a healthy interest in preserving my mortality.”

“
As do I.” She gripped my hand across the aisle as we touched down. “I hate jet landings, too. I instinctively want to tuck and roll.”

I almost smiled. Almost.

Chapter Eighteen

The road from the airport in Zürich was icy and the going was slow, even in the four-wheel-drive vehicle that Ambra retrieved from the airport parking garage.

Finally, Ambra pulled off the main highway and turned down an unpaved road. She stopped the car at a pair of Gothic gates. Each gate was crafted of rusted wrought iron in the intricate shape of ravens that faced each other, their beaks almost touching and their wings extended. It was very Edgar Allan Poe-like. The gates were connected to a high black stone wall that cloaked what was within, except that I could see through the gates to the forbidding castle that was built of the same black stone. The castle, complete with an asymmetrical assortment of towers, turrets, and exterior stone stairs, was perched on top of a steep, craggy hill where the winding road took my eye.

“Welcome to Blackstone Castle.”

“
That’s not the Disney-esque castle that I expected.”

“
Americans.” She shook her head. “Get out and open the gate. I’ll pull the car through, so you can close it behind us.”

“
Okay.”

“
Leave your car door open, in case...”

“
Of what?”

“
Wolves,” she said.

“
I thought wolves were shy creatures.”

“
You’re in the Alps, Rand. The packs that live up here are descended from a strain that killed and ate more than three thousand people in France alone, over a historical period.”

“
Well, okay then!”

I closed the gate after she pulled through and got back in. As we drove up the steep road to the drawbridge, I asked, “What kind of stone is the castle made of?”

“Slate.”

As she drove over bumps, I noticed a flock of ravens circling one of the towers. Edgar Alan Poe, indeed! Anyway, there were hundreds of them, and they soared on air currents above the castle and seemed to take notice of the car. Some of them came to investigate and swooped near the vehicle.

“Where did the builders get the stone?”

“
An open-pit slate quarry on the property, behind the castle on the other side of the big hill. You can’t see it from here.”

I noticed that the top of Blackstone castle seemed white, almost as if icing had been poured over the top. “What’s the white at the top of the castle? Snow?”

Now Ambra did crack a smile.

“
Did I say something funny?” I asked.

“
Raven droppings,” she said. “Bird shit.”

“
Okay. Now I do feel stupid.”

“
Don’t. It does look like snow. Corbin and Daphne feed the ravens our leftovers at the top of one of the towers that is crumbling away.”

“
Why?”

“
Ravens are like watchdogs—we want them to nest and be very territorial about the castle. If anyone comes, they sound the alarm. Their shrill calls can be heard up to a mile away.”

“
Why don’t you get, you know, actual watch dogs?”

“
Because the wolves would eat them.”

“
You keep saying crazy stuff about wolves. You’re teasing, right?”

“
Non, monsieur
.”

Chapter Nineteen

As we pulled up to the drawbridge, Ambra pulled a remote from the car’s console. When she aimed it and pressed the button, a rapid series of audio tones was followed by the massive wood-and-iron bridge descending slowly on iron chains over the dry moat. When the drawbridge banged to the ground, she drove the car over it and clicked the remote again. I looked behind the car and watched it rise, shutting us in behind the castle’s outer walls.

“That’s the coolest garage-door opener ever.”

“
Pieter created it.”

“
Your husband who was killed?”

“
Yes.”

“
Do you want to talk about what happened that night?” I asked.

“
No.”

A realization washed over me. “I’m here to replace Pieter’s technical expertise.”

“Yes.”

“
Am I to be your vampire hunting partner as well?”

“
We’ll train together and see. It has to be a good fit.”

“
If it isn’t?” I asked.

“
Solo vampire hunting is discouraged, because two is always safer than one, but it is permitted and necessary. I have been alone before. As I am now that Gabrielle Dubois has been taken by the vampires.”

“
Why are men and women partnered as vampire hunters?”

“
Each gender has different skill sets that complement each other and provide better life retention than same-sex teams.”

Life retention.
I rolled that phrase over in my brain. At last, I said, “Sounds scientific.”

“
It is. When we train together, you will see how we defend each other and also act on the offense without getting in each other’s way.”

“
I don’t want to hurt you.”

“
You are the one who should worry about getting hurt. I ski every day and teach strength training and parkour...free running.”

We were silent for a few moments. “What’s your kill rate?” I asked.