Shadow Born: Book 1 of the Shadow-Borne Chronicles (54 page)

“We do not make any decisions here tonight with a light heart.
 
What we decide will have repercussions on future events and council proceedings.
 
We have debated and discussed these actions and now must make decisions based on what we have before us.
 
This is not a simple task, but it is one we must decide upon.
 
Silas wishes to say a few words”
 

Xavier held a glass carafe of blood and filled each of the council member’s glasses with it.
 
Several of them picked up their glasses and were clearly waiting for something.
 
Laramie ignored his and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Thank you, Reginald and council members for indulging me.
 
Alec Carson has come to us by strange means.
 
His existence is stranger yet.
 
I think we would be doing Mister Carson and ourselves a grave injustice if we decided on a rash course of action.
 
Both Mister Carson and Mister Reynolds were paramount in the discovery of Senator Taylor and Vincent VonBell’s misdeeds.
 
Without their help our situation could have been dire had things gone wrong with the hostage situation.”
 
Alec assumed by now that was all common knowledge, most of it anyway.

Silas motioned for Alec to approach the table and turned him to face the gathered crowd.
 
Alec could clearly smell the blood that Silas had in front of him.
 
It smelled like warm iron.
 
There was a slightly acrid smell to it as well that Alec couldn’t place but set off an alarm in the back of his mind.

“Alec Carson has shown himself to be a kind, intelligent, genteel young man.
 
He deserves the right to exist and with his permission we can further study his situation.
 
There is a lot we can learn here.”
 

“Bah,” Laramie spat out.
 
“Alec Carson is nothing more than an abomination.
 
He was an accident and doesn’t deserve anything more than we would mete out to an illegally created vampire.
 
The laws must be upheld.”
 
He glared at Alec, daring him to say something.

Alec however was preoccupied.
 
He knew that strange smell from somewhere and knew that it was
dangerous
he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
 
Silas released him and he slowly walked to stand beside Steven.
 
That smell had gotten to him and he couldn’t shake it.
 
What was it?

“We have debated this much and much.
 
It is time to decide on a course of action,” Reginald said and all on the council nodded.

Reginald raised his glass of blood and saluted the council members.
 
“As those who have gone before us, so are we now, here to decide fates and pass judgment.
 
Let your wisdom guide you here today as we move forward.”
 
Reginald raised his glass, as did the council and their seconds, everyone except Laramie and Cassandra.
 

Suddenly it hit Alec where he’d smelled that scent before. “STOP!” he shouted into the quite room.
 
His voice boomed loudly, louder than he had meant for it to have.

The five vampire council member’s eyes were on Alec, everyone still holding their glasses.
 
Laramie glared at Alec with a small triumphant smile on his face. There were murmurs around the room.

“It’s poisoned,” Alec said walking towards the dais before anyone could stop him.
 
He reached over and took the glass from Silas’s hand and sniffed it.
 
The acrid scent of silver was definitely coming from his glass.
 
“There’s silver in it,” he said looking directly into Silas’s eyes.

Silas looked shocked and took the glass gingerly from Alec.
 
He sniffed it.
 
“Alec,” he said quietly, “I don’t smell anything.”

“I’m telling you Silas, there’s silver in that glass.
 
It’s the same acrid scent I smelled when I was near the chained vampires.”

Victoria, Sabina, and Reginald all eyed their drinks suspiciously but none had said anything yet.

Laramie stood then.
 
“Oh, this is ridiculous.
 
How dare you interrupt this council with your hysterics?
 
Silas, drink and prove to his fool there’s nothing wrong with the blood.”

Silas searched Alec’s eyes.
 
“Don’t do it,” Alec said quietly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is your pet human having issues?
 
This is nothing more than a delaying tactic.
 
He knows he’s an abomination and that he will be punished as such!” Laramie spat.

That did it for Alec.
 
He snapped then and turned on Laramie.
 
He stormed up to him walking around the table.
 
“You did this, didn’t you?” he demanded.
 
He could smell silver in Laramie’s glass as well.
 
“You and Cassandra were the only ones that didn’t have your glasses raised.
 
As a matter of fact you had your arms crossed and as far away from the glass as you could get.”

“How dare you take that tone with me!” Laramie snapped.
 
“This is all because we didn’t pay you the attention you wanted and dote on you the way the other’s have been!
 
You should have been killed the moment it was found out you were still alive.”

Alec was furious.
 
Part of it was because he was burning a lot of blood; part of it was all the stress that had finally found a vent.

“Okay then, if the blood doesn’t have silver in it, why don’t you drink some?”

“I will
NOT
be told what to do by the likes of
YOU
.
 
You are an abomination.”
 
Laramie practically spat the word in his face.

Reginald had finally recovered, he and Silas were trying to restore order but Alec and Laramie were ignoring them.
 
Silas’s face was a storm cloud of anger.
 
His eyes practically sparked.

“Fine,” Alec said and grabbed the wine from the table.
 
Before anyone else could do anything Alec grabbed Laramie’s hand and poured a small drop of the blood from the cup into his palm.
 
He didn’t pour as much as he wanted because he didn’t want Laramie to sling it in his face like Cassandra had done to poor Steven.

With his other hand, his left, Laramie back handed Alec who had been focused on his right and not paying attention.
 
Alec took the hit but strengthened himself to make sure it didn’t knock him off the stage.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Laramie shouted.
 
His eyes had turned black and his fangs were out.
 
It was a very creepy look.
 
His features became…otherworldly.

Alec turned then and backhanded Laramie the same way he’d been struck.
 
Before he knew what was going on, two silver laced daggers were at his throat and the assassin Nightshade was holding them.
 

There was dead silence in the room so no one missed it when Laramie screamed, “KILL HIM NOW!”

Oh Boy.

Before Laramie’s voice had even died away Aleisha…Nightshade… whatever her name was, was in motion.
 
She viciously swiped her daggers across Alec’s throat, or where his throat had been, since he quickly backed away.
 
She didn’t show any surprise that he had moved, she simple kept jabbing, slicing and stabbing.
 
Alec was hard pressed to keep her at bay.
 

With a backwards jump Alec cleared the table and landed on the front side of the dais.
 
He then flipped himself backwards and landed on the meeting floor.
 
Nightshade didn’t miss a beat and was across the table and stabbing her silver laced daggers at Alec’s face and chest.
 
He dogged, spun and turned to keep the daggers from finding their marks.
 
Guards were closing in on them but Nightshade motioned them back.
 
Alec decided he’d had enough of this and went on the attack.
 
He dropped and swept his leg out trying to trip Nightshade up.
 
But she wasn’t there anymore.
 

Alec stood quickly, confused.
 
Something inside him sensed movement behind and he threw his head to the left.
 
Above his right shoulder a dagger stabbed forward.
 
It had been aimed for the base of his neck.
 
He grabbed the hand holding the dagger and flipped Nightshade over his shoulder and threw her.
 
She landed on both feet and charged him.

This woman did not quit.
 
There was shouting from the seated vampires and yells of outrage coming from the podium.
 
Steven had dodged to get out of the way.
 
They ignored it all, too busy trying to kill one another.
 
Alec ran to the table on the dais and ripped off one of the heavy wooden legs on the backside.
 
He was tired of dodging.
 

He turned in time to catch one of Nightshade’s daggers aimed at his ribs and turned it using the table leg.
 
He swung at her head quickly, but she had already dodged beneath it, and dropped to take out Alec’s legs.
 
To Alec, he had all the time in the world to move.
 
He saw what she planned and jumped backwards out of her way.
 

For the first time, he noticed that Nightshade’s eyes were the same soulless black that Laramie’s had turned and that her lips were pulled back in a snarl, fangs extended.
 
He didn’t have any more time to think about it because suddenly she ran at him full speed and at the last minute flipped in the air over his head.
 
As she flipped, she stabbed at this chest, face, neck, shoulders, and head.
 
He deflected each blow that she rained down on him.

This was ridiculous.
 
It didn’t matter who all saw how strong or fast he was, he had to end this.
 
He burned more blood.
 
Suddenly, his blood felt like it was boiling.
 
He felt more alive and powerful than he ever had.
 
He smiled then and looked for his prey.
 
She was rushing him again.
 
This time he swung at her midsection with the table leg, back and forth and then swung at her head, beginning to move faster.
 
She barely stopped in time to keep from having her head caved in.
 

Alec could see the surprise on Nightshade’s face that he was moving so fast.
 
She wouldn’t find Alec so easy a target as she thought.
 
She backed off and circled him, keeping Alec in her line of sight.
 
Without warning, Alec burst forward and slammed the table let into her midsection, knocking her sideways and onto the floor.
 
Without a second to spare she was back on her feet again and dodging as Alec slammed the heavy table leg into the floor where Nightshade had fallen.
 
She grimaced at him.

In a flurry of blades Nightshade attacked, stabbing, slashing, punching and slicing at Alec but he either dodged easily or blocked her blows with the wood he held in his hand.
 
She didn’t land one blow.
 
Alec could see surprise all over her features.
 
She wasn’t used to being hit
or
missing her mark.
 
She narrowed her eyes.
 

They both drew back to attack when a strong voice shouted, “Halt!”
 
Everyone’s heads except Alec’s and Nightshade’s turned to see the speaker.
 
And then something strange happened.
 
Everyone present bowed his or her head.
 

WHAT THE HELL
? Alec thought.

Nightshade saw the commotion and turned keeping Alec in her line of vision.
 
She bowed her head suddenly as well.
 
Alec turned.

Standing before him was an older Asian gentleman in an immaculately tailored white suit sporting the same emblem Alec had seen earlier but his was
white
with five blood red slash marks.
 
Behind him were three robed and coweled figures with deep hoods.
 
Alec didn’t lower his guard but he did raise an eyebrow dubiously.
 

Silas rose from his chair and approached the three.
 
He bowed his head.

“Ancient Ones, I can explain.”

“There’s no need Silvanus.
 
We know what has transpired here,” one of the coweled figures said in a sonorous voice.

One of the others said, “Council, attend us.”

The four other council members, Laramie clutching his hand, rose and approached the three.
 
The older well-dressed Asian man had stepped back with his head down.

“Ancient Ones,” four sets of voices spoke.
 

“Alec Carson.” It was a statement and not a question.
 
Alec found that all three coweled figures were looking at him.

Alec approached cautiously but didn’t say anything.
 
Silas stood on his left and looked significantly at the table leg he was clutching.
 
Alec dropped it reluctantly.

One of the coweled figures shuffled over to Laramie.
 
“You look ill,” he rasped.
 
This close Alec could see that not only was the ancient vampire wearing a cowl, but also had a black gauzy material covering his features.
 
All three of them did.
 
Interesting
, a small part of Alec thought.