Eternal Craving (5 page)

“I called for one of our drivers right before I came in here. He’s probably parked close by waiting for us to come out. Want to ride home with me? Save taxi fare, and I get to lug all those bags to the car.”

“I guess so.”

Kelly didn’t sound enthusiastic, but she must have figured that Jenna wouldn’t ask any questions while they were in a car with the driver. He wouldn’t bet on it.

Al waited for Jenna to reject the idea, but instead she nodded. Unexpected, but he wasn’t going to question his good luck. He waited impatiently as both women finished their meals. Kelly’s appetite seemed to suffer in his presence. Not so Jenna’s. She ate almost defiantly, as though by stuffing herself she could reject any idea that he made her feel uncomfortable. He admired her defiance.

The transfer of all those bags to the car and the short drive back to the condo were completed in silence. Kelly looked worried, and Jenna swung between puzzled and angry.

Him? He just felt pissed at Fin for forcing him to do this. And if Fin had kept his brother’s existence a secret, what else hadn’t he told them?

Yeah, yeah, that’s not all he felt. Sexual attraction was alive and well in his world. Desperately he tried to think of other things—Fin lying bloody and defeated at his feet, Fin waving his hand and returning Al to what he once was—but his thoughts always came back to Jenna.

He might not like her, but he definitely wanted to have sex with her. He could almost feel her long legs wrapped around him as he plunged into her, deep and hard, burying himself in her heat and passion.

Jenna made a small sound, and he looked in his mirror to find her eyes, wide and startled, staring back at him. Instantly he switched his thoughts to carrots. Hard, tasteless carrots that Greer insisted on putting in the salads. Al hated salads. Anything without meat wasn’t worth eating.

Fin was waiting for them when they reached the condo. Al made sure his mind was open so Fin could root through his memories of the day. He didn’t try to hide his thoughts about Jenna. Fin would expect sexual fantasies.

Al knew from his expression exactly when Fin found Seir in Al’s mind. Fin’s gaze sharpened, but nothing of what he was feeling reached his eyes. Without comment, he turned to Jenna. Kelly had already made her escape to find Ty.

“Let’s get comfortable. I want to talk to you.” He shot a glance at Al. “You too.”

Leading them into the living room, Fin relaxed into his favorite chair and waited for them to find seats. Predictably, Jenna chose another chair. Al pointedly dropped onto the couch. He knew his expression said that eventually she’d have to get close to him.

Once seated, Jenna went on the attack. “Why did you tell Al to follow us around all day?”

Fin cast Al a sharp glance.

“Don’t blame Al. He didn’t tell me. But it didn’t take much to figure out that you’re the boss. You had to give the order. And what’s with this Seir? Is he your brother? And why doesn’t he deliver his messages in person? Or at least pick up a phone, send a text message. Why so cryptic?”

“Messages?”

For one of the few times since Al had known Fin—

Suddenly, one of Al’s elusive memories tried to surface. How long
had
he known Fin? He’d never seen Fin before rising to this time. Fin had only been a voice in his head before that. Then why did he feel he’d known Fin’s face in another time?

The question was followed immediately by a quick stab of pain. He rubbed his forehead as the thought faded into the gray mist rolling through his mind.

Al shook his head to clear it. What had he been thinking? Oh, yeah. For the first time since he’d known Fin, those silver eyes lost their calm expression. Emotion flared in them—shock, fury,
love
.

Love? Not Fin. Al must’ve gotten that one wrong. Looking at Fin again, Al only saw what he always saw. Nothing.

“Message. Singular.” Jenna’s sharp gaze said she was storing away every careless comment or unusual reaction so she could take it out later and examine it. “Seir said you have a mole in your organization. Someone called Zero wants to eliminate one of your guys to get even for Nine.”

Fin didn’t comment. He stared into space while he tapped out a rhythm on the arm of his chair. Al would’ve loved to get a look at his thoughts, but the mind stuff was all one way. Fin could, they couldn’t.

Jenna didn’t give Fin much thinking time before she started with the questions. “Zero? Nine? You’ve got to be kidding. And the whole mole and eliminate thing sounds suspicious. Are we talking organized crime here?” She took a deep breath. “Stupid question. If you tell me, you’ll have to ruin Ty’s marriage by chopping his sister-in-law into tiny, easily disposed-of pieces.”

Fin waved her suspicions away. “We’re not organized crime. But we do have enemies. And no, I don’t want to elaborate. Since we don’t know the names of these guys, I’ve tagged them with numbers. Makes sense to me.”

It must’ve made sense to Jenna too in a twisted kind of way, because she nodded.

Fin got down to business. “You wanted to see what we do, so I’m sending you out with Al to night.”

She cast Fin a startled glance. “Can’t I go with Kelly and Ty?”

“No.” Fin’s no always had an unspoken “and that’s final” attached to it. “Al’s the only one going out to night, and he’s going out because you won’t leave this alone until you see exactly how we operate. The rest of us will be in a meeting.”

Al pressed his lips into a thin line. Damn him. Fin was making it plain how little he was needed. The meeting would be about rooting out the mole. Fin didn’t feel the need for Al to contribute anything. In Fin’s mind, Al was simply a problem with a soul he couldn’t control.

“If you’re ready, we can get started now.” Al threw the comment at her. What did he care about being gracious? She didn’t want to be with him any more than he wanted to drag her around Philly looking for lost freaking souls.

She seemed a little uncertain. “Maybe I should tell Kelly.”

Fin stopped tapping his fingers. “She’ll try to talk you out of going. Do you want to be talked out of it? It’s your only chance to see us in action.”

“Us? You mean the Eleven? Why’d you give yourselves that name? You sound like you have a number fetish.”

“You ask a lot of questions. Just like Kelly. It must be an inherited weakness. She could tell you I don’t answer many of them.” Fin glanced at his watch. “Sorry, I’d love to stay and be grilled by you, but I have a meeting to attend.” He rose and started toward the door.

Jenna looked ticked. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re a secretive jerk? Okay, I’ll go.” Her body language promised that she might go with Al, but she’d make everyone pay for Fin’s high-handedness.

And a fun time would be had by all. Al stood.

“Wait.” Fin paused and walked back to them. Something in his expression said the other shoe was about to fall. “I’m sending someone else with you guys. He’s visiting from Houston, but he knows his way around Philadelphia. He’ll do the driving.”

“I can drive.” Al was dying to get behind the wheel. Any wheel. He hated having a human driver even though he accepted the need for one.

Eight and the rest of his immortal friends could sense the Eleven, but not when they were close to humans. Only humans could keep the immortals off their backs, so Fin had ordered that they stay near one whenever possible. The Eleven couldn’t guarantee humans would be around when they hunted the dark Philly streets, but they could be damn sure a human was in the car with them. So Fin hired human drivers and told them that the Eleven were new to the country and didn’t know the city. That excuse wasn’t needed tonight.

Fin shot Al a pointed stare. “I want you to take care of Jenna and look for people to save. You can’t concentrate on all that if you’re driving.”

Right, and Al believed that. Fin probably wanted someone along to make sure Al didn’t go all prehistoric on Jenna. “Yeah. Fine. So who’s the friend?”

“I am.” Jude’s voice swung Al around.

Great. Just what his little soul-hunting party needed, a vampire. “What brings you to Philly?”

Jude’s gaze slid past Al to rest on Jenna, who still sat in her chair. Her eyes were riveted on Jude. No surprise there. Even Al recognized that Jude was spectacular in a way that impressed females. All that long black hair and the way he looked at women. Al wondered how impressed they were when he broke out the fangs.

Jude abandoned his study of Jenna for a moment to focus on Al. “I have business in town.”

Probably a lie. Al didn’t believe in coincidences. Jude was here because of the Eleven.

“I thought I’d stop by while I was here to find out how everyone’s doing. Fin asked if I’d do him a favor and drive you guys around to night.” His attention returned to Jenna. “And this is?” He turned that smile on. The one that invited a woman into his bed and promised she’d never want to leave it.

Al didn’t give anyone else a chance to answer. “Jenna Maloy. Kelly’s sister. You remember Kelly.” There was no reason for the anger bubbling inside him. None at all. And yet there it was. He focused on inner calm, trying to convince his soul that there was nothing for it to attack here. He was lying, and his soul knew it. Gleaming eyes watched from that cave in his mind.

Jude stepped past Al and moved over to Jenna. “Hi, Jenna. I’m Jude. I’m going to enjoy to night.” The vampire oozed sensuality from every undead pore.

Al’s soul inched closer to the mouth of the cave. It sensed real possibilities in the situation. Al forced his feet to stay in one spot when all he wanted to do was stride over to the vampire, pick him up, and heave him through Fin’s expensive condo window.

“Al.” Fin’s sharp warning came at the same moment Jude and Jenna turned their gazes on him. Jenna looked scared. Not surprising, since she’d picked up on his emotions when he was careless before. Jude just looked amused.

“I have a question.” She smoothed her fingers over her jeans with fingers that shook slightly. Her voice
didn’t
shake. “Why am I feeling the same emotions Kelly told me she felt when she first met Ty?”

Al looked at Fin. No way was he touching that question even if he was the cause of it. He might not agree with Fin on a lot of things, but he trusted Fin to be able to talk himself out of anything.

“Emotions?” Fin shrugged. “You’ve been under a lot of stress since you got here. Maybe it’s made you more sensitive to what others are feeling. Or maybe it’s your imagination.”

Jenna narrowed her eyes to insulted slits. “I don’t imagine things.”

Well, Fin had certainly handled that with style and tact.

Fin looked at his watch again. “Time to get moving. There’re people on the streets who need you.” His glance at Al clearly said, “Get her the hell out of here.”

Al thought that was a good idea. Any minute Kelly might come searching for her sister. He didn’t think Kelly would let Jenna go off with Jude and him without a battle. Reluctantly, he tossed Jude the car keys he always carried with him just in case he ever got a chance to drive.

The silence in the elevator as it took them down to the ground floor was about as uncomfortable as it got. Jude looked lost in his own thoughts, Jenna looked suspicious as she darted glances at Jude and him, and Al knew that he just looked grumpy. The scary part was that he was beginning to realize what would put a smile on his face. But he didn’t think Jenna would ever be ready for that.

Once in the parking garage, Jude slid behind the wheel while Jenna climbed into the backseat. Al left her there alone because he’d be tempting more than fate by getting in beside her. He grabbed the passenger seat.

And as they drove into the night, Al wrestled with a whole bunch of conflicting emotions. He didn’t like her, but he admired her courage. He didn’t like her, but he longed to be on more than speaking terms with her luscious body. He wanted her to go home. He wanted her to stay. Yeah, and he wanted to put his fist through the car window too.

Jude glanced over, laughter gleaming in his eyes. “Fin would take the cost out of your ass.”

Al agreed. Maybe he’d get more satisfaction from punching his mind-reading driver in his big mouth.

“Have everything you need, boss?” The worker peered at him from the darkness. Stake should probably remember the man’s name, but then names weren’t important to him. Only recruitments mattered. Fine, so he was lying. Only
death
mattered.

“Of course. Sketch pad, pencil, iPod. What else would I take to a slaughter?” Stake laughed at his own joke. He didn’t expect the worker to understand.

Tonight he was hoping for lots of beautiful blood spatters cast in complex patterns over every solid surface. His artistic soul cried out for fulfillment.

“iPod? What do you listen to?”

Stake smiled at him, and if his smile looked a little predatory, well, all the better. “I listen to the music of death—the sounds of suffering in a symphony of screams.” A lie. But his answer went with his image. Perception was all-important when dealing with underlings.

Actually, he listened to sounds of the sea. He’d always felt the pull of the ocean—the ebb and flow of its tides, the crash of waves beating against the shore. It was a coming-home sound. If he didn’t know better, he could almost believe he was birthed from the sea.

The worker frowned. “I like Maroon 5 myself. But that’s just me.”

Another worker appeared out of the darkness. “Everything’s set up. Dave has everyone quiet and ready to listen. The fools think they’re getting paid a few bucks to listen to a motivational speaker.” His chuckle held all the maniacal glee that Stake demanded in his people.

“Excellent. You’ve done well, worker.” Already his blood sang with the promise of death.

His setup was simple but brilliant. Bring in a few human sheep. Add in some possible nonhuman recruits to his cause. Mix well. Allow workers to kill humans in front of possible recruits. Give recruitment speech. Sign up nonhumans who thought killing humans was tons of fun. Personally kill nonhumans who refused to sign up—the best part for him. He’d do it slowly and with great creativity.

First, though, he’d watch his workers tear the humans apart. While he sketched the carnage, he’d look for true artists among his workers, the ones who didn’t just dispatch the humans but made the whole process into an artistic triumph.

The first worker frowned. “My name’s Carl. Why do you call everyone worker?”

Because your name isn’t important enough to remember.
You’re
not important enough to remember.
“I’ve had a problem with my memory since I was young. I can’t remember names.” He shrugged. “Don’t take it personally.”

The worker Carl looked at him as though he wanted to make more of his stupid name, but he must have seen something in Stake’s eyes that changed his mind.

“Why don’t you ever help with the killing? It’s a helluva high.” The second worker’s eyes glowed red in the night.

Ah, a vampire after his own heart. Maybe he’d promote him. Maybe he’d even remember his name. “What’s your name again?”

“Keith—” The guy looked surprised. “I’ve been your assistant for a couple of weeks now.”

“Keith. Yes.” Stake would watch how well Keith killed to night.

Stake turned to the shadowy figures behind him. They were a collection of the dregs of Philadelphia’s paranormal society. Homicidal vampires, bloodthirsty shifters, and a few Fae and demons who were in it for the thrill. His kind of men—beings. Couldn’t be a sexist. There were a few females mixed in with them. Yes, fifteen motivated killers were more than enough to create wonderfully bloody mayhem in a small enclosed space filled with clueless humans.

“Yeah, why don’t you ever join in the fun, Stake?”

His first in command, old what’s-his-name.

“I’m an artist. I choose to hold myself above the fray. I prefer to observe and record.” He freaking
couldn’t
kill humans. Some stupid rule made up by the idiots, er, powers who ruled them all. Stake could only orchestrate their deaths, something he did very well.

He’d have to limit his own pleasure to night and make sure he only destroyed the nonhumans who refused to join his cause. Anything more would lower the morale of his merry band of killers.

A whispered signal came from the worker planted by the entrance. Yes. It was time to begin the dance of death. A sashay he never tired of.

His workers all crowded around the door. Stake held up his hand. Everyone paused as he carefully spun a magical suggestion that no one should even think about entering this place. That should take care of any latecomers.

Then he slipped inside. He’d dressed for the occasion. Gray pants, an expensive sweater, and a long leather coat. He enjoyed the texture of clothes. The sweater was soft, the coat cool and smooth. He sighed his regret. Too bad it would all be over in twelve months. Not even that, because they were already into January, and December 21 would come much too soon. Through the millennia, he always looked forward to his short times on Earth.

He motioned his workers into the room. “Try to look nonthreatening. Keep them calm as long as possible.”

They trailed inside, pretending to be just more of the audience. But a few of the victims must’ve sensed something, because Stake felt the first tendrils of fear. The fear energized him, as it always did.

He took his time climbing onto the stage. He had such a short while on this planet that he savored every moment. Being an immortal had its downside. Sure, you had the perks of being indestructible, but the whole endless cycle of years could be a monumental bore. Only in death did he feel alive.

He held his arms up to still the babble. Stupid, stupid animals. Stake respected no one but himself and his leader. He secretly suspected that his fellow immortals were less than he was. They didn’t deserve his respect either. Look how easily Fin and his minions had taken out one of them in Houston. That would never happen to him.

Everyone had quieted except for a woman whimpering softly in the crowd. Good grief, they hadn’t even gotten to the scary part yet. He hoped his workers took care of her first.

Stake cleared his throat and began to speak. “The humans here need not listen. This offer doesn’t apply to you.”

“Humans? Offer? What the hell are you talking about? You trying to sell us something?” a big guy in the back shouted. “I’m outta here.” He turned to push his way past the workers.

Stake smiled. He hadn’t thought the fun would begin so soon. “Leaving isn’t an option.” He nodded at the worker closest to the man.

The vampire reared back, eyes blazing red, fangs bared, and grabbed the guy. The human only had time for a high-pitched scream of terror before the worker tore his throat out. Ignoring the blood spatter and gore, the vampire drank.

The crowd reacted as crowds always reacted, with blind panic. You had to love it.

Time for some crowd control. Stake thought the thought and it became real. The crowd froze in place, humans and nonhumans alike. He smiled at them. “See, now isn’t that better? All that wild-eyed shrieking and running is so unnecessary. Everyone will now calmly and quietly listen to what I have to say. When I’m finished, I’ll release you.”

Behind the crowd, his workers covered all exits and formed a circle around his captive audience. Nodding, he spoke.

“I hate to bore everyone, but it’s really necessary for you to understand why I’m here.” He smiled benignly at them. A really stupid woman in the front row looked relieved, mistaking his smile for a sign that she was safe.

“You’re truly fortunate, or unfortunate as the case may be, to be living in 2012. The ancient Maya created a calendar that ends on December twenty-first of this year. They understood it would be a time of challenge for humanity, but even they didn’t know the full significance of this day. On December twenty-first, all humans will be wiped from the face of the Earth.” Stake picked up a glass of wine from the table behind him and lifted it high. “I celebrate the brilliance of the Maya. I toast their ability to foresee what was to come.” He drained the glass in one gulp. “I bemoan their inability to stop it.” Did his sad face look authentic?

Along with his wine, Stake drank in the horror on every human face in the crowd.
That’s right, now you understand. You’re going to die, and you can’t do a thing about it.
He continued with his speech. “I and eight of my immortal compatriots are here to make this a memorable time for everyone on Earth.

“I’m afraid the nonhuman members of the audience will have to stay frozen until I get some old business out of the way.” He nodded to his workers at the same moment he freed all the humans. Then he put in his earplugs and sought inspiration from his iPod and the horror unfolding before him. Stake picked up his sketch pad.

The humans were like ants, scattering in every direction, but his workers were faster. He ignored vampires ripping out throats. Clichéd. His werewolves tore chunks of human flesh from still-screaming bodies. He yawned. The demons were a little more creative, tearing heads off and propping them on tables like place keepers in some ghoulish game. But he’d seen heads torn off before. Could he help it if he felt a little peevish?

Then he saw something new. With a grunt of satisfaction, he began to sketch. He should’ve known the male Fae would be the fun one. They seemed to have a higher intelligence than the other races.

Stake’s pencil flew. What emerged was the angelically radiant face of the Fae, its golden hair sticky with human blood. Ah, it would take all of Stake’s talent to show the texture of that hair with only a few strokes of his pencil. The intensity of the Fae’s expression amazed him. Could he capture the wondrous evil that shone from those eyes? What an incredible challenge.

The Fae was slowly taking the human male apart one piece at a time and then laying out the pieces to form an immensely creative new form. Unfortunately, the human had lost consciousness the moment the Fae tore off his arm.

Stake’s pencil flew over his sketch pad. He cursed his frustration in not being able to fully illustrate the gushing blood that settled into thick puddles all around the Fae.

Finally, there was nothing left but a bloody torso. Stake threw back his head and roared with laughter as the Fae placed the last part of the dismembered body in place on the floor.

The human’s head now wore a set of antlers made from his forearm, hand, and spread fingers. His entrails had become a long flowing tail. Note to Fae: deer didn’t have long, flowing tails. But Stake would forgive him the mistake because of the total entertainment value.

He labored over his sketch, ignoring the rising gore around him. Stake had amazing concentration when necessary.

With a flourish, Stake added the four legs of the new animal the Fae had fashioned out of the two lower legs and the two thighs. He’d formed an utterly unique creature, a man-deer.

Stake dropped his pad and pencil onto the table and then pointed at the Fae. “Bravo, bravo!” He’d fuck this superb creature later. Male or female had no meaning for him. It was only the sexual experience that mattered.

The Fae saluted him with a bloody hand.

Stake finally took stock of the slaughter. Finished. The humans were nothing more than anonymous bits of flesh. His possible recruits still stood frozen, but their eyes screamed their own terror.

He chuckled.
Not to worry, my new little workers. You’re safe. For the moment.
Stepping to the edge of the stage, he addressed his future employees.

“Forgive me for holding you hostage. What you just saw was a demonstration of the kind of entertainment you can expect in your very near future. If you haven’t guessed, this is a recruitment meeting. We need more true believers to fan across the city, and then the whole Earth, carrying our message of a shift in world power.” He smiled what he hoped was a benevolent smile at the faces staring up at him. “And
you
will be in the vanguard of the shift.”

Excitement over the coming apocalypse made him unable to stand still, so he slowly paced back and forth across the stage. “I’m part of a group of immortals who’ve returned to Earth after a long absence.” He mourned the fact that they’d ever had to leave at all. “We’ve successfully engineered other great overthrows of dominant species. Now we’re about to do the same for you. Humans will disappear from Earth forever on December twenty-first. On that day, the massive armies we’ll have created will rise up and wipe them out.” Just saying the words felt almost orgasmic.

He wagged a playful finger at them. “I bet I know exactly what you’re thinking. ‘If this guy and his friends are so damn powerful, why don’t they kill everyone themselves?’ ” Stake shook his head sadly. “Oh, that we could. See, we have a slight problem. The powers that be forbid us to destroy humans directly.” Stake wanted a minute, just one freaking minute alone with the anonymous powers that be. That’s all the time it would take for him to scoop their stupid brains from their heads and put in the brains of something smarter.

Stake blinked and forced himself to concentrate on the job at hand. “That’s where you come in.” He reached out with his mind to everyone beneath him, smoothing over panic and fear with feel-good emotions that would give all of them a false sense of safety.

He smiled.
Stupid nothings.
They thought because they were nonhuman that they were superior to the ones who’d died. They were only a blink of the eye to Stake’s leader. For a nanosecond Stake allowed himself to wish the leader had shared his name with him. Then he forgot about it. The leader could do anything he damn pleased. After all, names were power. Stake never for a moment considered giving his real name to any of his workers.

“You will be our army. When the hour comes, we will lead you in an uprising that will rid the Earth of all humans and put you in their place.” He watched their eyes carefully. Their eyes would tell him who would join and who would not. The nots would die, of course.

Good, most of their eyes held expressions of excitement and anticipation. The few that didn’t? They’d serve as a lesson to the others.

“For any who don’t see the value in what I’m proposing, think of the possibilities. No more hunting the night for prey while trying to hide your existence from the dominant species. They may be less than you, but there are a lot more of them. Think peasants with pitchforks. And then think of a world where
you
are the powerful ones, the ones who make the rules.”
The ones who, after the humans are gone, will happily turn on each other while the world descends into chaos.
The very thought put Stake in his happy place.