The Blood Order (Fanghunters Book Two) (27 page)

"What are we gonna do about Vincent?"

Dom huffed. "We have to find him."

"Sure, but how are we gonna do that?"

Trixie nodded. "I know a guy who'll be more than happy to tell us where he is."

Dom met her stare. "Yeah? That's good. But how are we gonna go get him? He'll be surrounded by Order."

"We'll get him," Trixie said with a steely determination. "But we need supplies. Smoke bombs, tranqs, and a shitload of holy water."

"We got all that inside," Eddie told her.

"Good," said Trixie. "Cause we're going to war."

T
rixie grabbed some more smoke bombs from the supply room. She handed some fresh contact lenses and to Dom, before spilling two boxes of holy water darts onto the nearest desk. "Grab up as much as you can," she ordered.

Dom's face pinched. "Christ, are we really going to war with the Order? Just me and you?"

Trixie stopped and stared at him. "Yeah. There a problem?"

"Possibly a numerical one."

"I like being outnumbered, keeps me on my toes," she said as she began stuffing darts into the magazine of her dart gun. She threw more darts into a small leather case.

"
Oh
-kay," Dom said to himself, raising his eyebrows. He then began putting darts into a similar travel case one by one in a tentative fashion.

Trixie stared at him. "Listen. When we got into this, we knew we could be losing our lives."

"Did we?"

"Yeah, we did. We did because those bastard things have taken the ones we loved and turned innocent people into brainwashed zombies. It's what we gave our lives for. Killing them off, keeping them off our backs."

Dom shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to take down the Order the other day?"

"Yeah, but maybe that was just bravado. You know, false courage. Now that we're actually faced with it..."

"What other choice do we have, Dom? We gotta save my dad."

Dom nodded. "Yeah, I know. I owe him that. So how are we gonna do this?"

"Like always. We're gonna storm in there and kill every vamp in sight." She noticed something on a shelf over to her right. She went and plucked up a couple of the sonic booms sitting there. "I wonder if these work," she said, looking them over.

"That one at the mansion worked just fine," Dom replied. "Almost blew my eardrums out!"

Trixie clicked a button and an instant screech bounced off every wall in the small room.

Dom clasped his hands over his ears. "Switch it off!" he screamed, his head a ball of pain.

Trixie pushed the button without hesitation, switching it off. The room fell blissfully silent. She puffed her cheeks. "Yeah, it works," she declared with wide eyes.

Dom rubbed his tender ears. "Too well."

Trixie held it out for him. "Want one?"

Dom waved his hand across the air. "No thanks."

Trixie stuffed both of them into her belt alongside the smoke bombs, making sure to grab a couple of ear plugs for good measure. She emptied boxes of tranqs on the desk and began loading her other dart guns.

Eddie then entered the room. He looked strained.

"How's Rufus doing?" Trixie asked him.

"He's stable. He's unconscious, but fighting."

"At least there's some good news."

"I can't believe he's alive," Eddie stated. "He's taken four or five bullets."

"It's a miracle," Trixie told him.

"I'd say it's more than that."

"Nothing surprises me any more, bro," Dom said, throwing tranqs into his travel bag. "This whole life is filled with all kinds of weird stuff."

Eddie nodded. "
True dat.
" He then sighed. "You two really going after the Order?"

"Looks that way."

"Do me a favor, Dom?"

Dom stopped and faced him. "Sure thing. What?"

"
Come back. Please.
"

Dom frowned. Eddie's eyes welled with tears. Dom threw his arms around his brother and squeezed him tight.

"I lost Dad, I can't lose you too," Eddie said, his voice choked with tears.

"You won't lose me!" Dom told him straight up. "I won't let them harm any of us. I promise!"

While Eddie rubbed his back, Dom could feel the tears choking up his own chest like sludge in a pipe.
Don't make promises you can't keep, Dom. Don't make promises you can't keep. Don't--

Eddie squeezed harder and it was as if he didn't want to let go. He didn't want to lose his brother. Dom closed his eyes, just as a tear slipped out from between his eyelids and ran down his cheek. He had no idea what the near future held. They didn't even know if Vincent was still alive. The truth was, he couldn't say with any certainty if he'd return to his brother's side. Deep down, his gut told him it was probably the last time he'd ever see Eddie. Surely there was no way just him and Trixie could take down a shadow group of vampires who had a hotline to every mercenary outfit in the US. On the other hand, it might just turn out to be a tiny band of rebels that manage to find the glitch within the machine and overcome it.

Luke Skywalker took out the Galactic Empire with a goddamn X-Wing for Chrissakes. And that was all the inspiration he needed!

He gave his brother a final squeeze before pulling himself away. Tears were now streaming down Eddie's face.

Dom planted his hands on Eddie's shoulders. "Listen to me, bro. If one of us doesn't make it back, or none of us, you gotta promise me you'll carry on fighting them. Okay? We're all in now, there's nothing that can change that. Danger will always stalk us, we gotta understand and accept that. We gotta overcome our emotions."

Eddie gave him a jerky nod. "I understand. And yeah, I'll fight them till the end. If we don't, then who will?"

"Exactly."

"Can you two stop it, you're gonna set me off," Trixie said. They both turned to face her. She was wiping her eye with a delicate finger.

Dom laughed. So did Eddie. "Way to break the tension, Trixie," Dom said.

"Now it's time to break the Order."

Dom gave her a strong nod. "It sure is."

Eddie rubbed his eyes and straightened his back. "What are your next moves?"

Trixie placed on a pair of shades. "First we're gonna tie up a few loose ends, and then we're gonna go to the Loop and pay an old friend a visit."

PART FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"
H
ow long do you intend to keep me here?" Vincent asked Leviah. "This whole charade is an utter violation of our pact."

"You already broke the pact, Slayer. You killed an Order vampire."

Vincent stared at him sideways. "I did no such thing!"

"Yes, Slayer, you did."

Vincent's back straightened. "When? Whom?"

"Drake."

"Drake? Never heard of him."

"He was new. I wanted to beef up my brood so Veronica brought him in before she left. He betrayed me. Stole the Eye. Your daughter was identified at the scene of his death. As was your new apprentice."

A piece of the jigsaw then slipped into place in Vincent's mind. The vamp he sent Dominic to kill. He was Order?
Oh dear...

Vincent licked his lips. "Why was one of your own so far from the Loop?"

"We don't know. All we know is he stole the relic. What he intended to do with it remains a mystery. And now that he's dead, we'll never know." Leviah gave him a fake smile. He then leaned forward in his seat and glared at Vincent with onyx eyes. "You knew, didn't you, Slayer?" he asked. "You knew Drake had the relic in his possession. You hunted him down before
we
could locate him just so you could get your hands on it."

"If only I were that clever, Leviah, the battle would already be won."

"Oh, clever you indeed are, Slayer," Leviah stated with a knowing nod. "As devious and cunning as me and my siblings combined. We're wary of you, and for good reason." He kept his stare on Vincent for a brief moment. A shiver raced up Vincent's spine. Leviah then leaned back in his seat. "So, please save me the bother and mess of tearing you limb from limb, Slayer. Where is the relic?"

Vincent released a hot huff. He stared at Leviah with wide, sincere eyes. "Look. I believe there's been a misunderstanding here. We were under the firm impression that Drake was a dreg. There was no reason for us to believe that he was Order affiliated. If we'd been aware of this fact, we'd have left him alone and informed you of his whereabouts. As far as we were concerned, we were merely performing our duties as part of the pact between ourselves."

Leviah snatched up his glass and took an absent swig, as if unable to even hear Vincent speak.

Vincent continued regardless. "Now, as for this relic you speak of, I have no idea what happened to it." He shook his head and shrugged. "It might well still be at Drake's nest. On the other hand, he himself may have misplaced it. But, I can categorically state that I am not privy to its whereabouts. So, if you'd please, let me go and leave Trixie and Dom alone."

Leviah slammed his empty glass down, remnants of blood at the base shooting up into the air. "Enough with your lies, Slayer!" he raged. He jumped to his feet and stormed across the floor like a juggernaut. Vincent's eyes bulged as the raging inferno bolted his way. Leviah threw out his arms, grabbing Vincent by the shoulders, making him gasp. Leviah's mouth became cavernous; his huge fangs gleamed. Vincent's chest seized up as Leviah threw his head down toward his throat.

Vincent's breathing came to a halt.

And so did Leviah. Centimeters from Vincent's neck. Vincent could feel his icy breath on his neck. His blood ran cold.

"You will tell me where it is," Leviah said in a low rumble of a voice. "If it takes a day, a year, a century, you
will
return it."

Vincent managed to remain calm. "You know very well that even if a drop of my blood gets in your veins you'll perish, Leviah," he reminded him, his mouth dry. "Go ahead. Try some."

"All in good time, Slayer," Leviah whispered, his breath ice cold on Vincent's neck.

Vincent's chest seized.

Leviah then threw himself back pushing Vincent away. Vincent's chair rocked backward, then fell forward again. Vincent jerked. After a brief to and fro, the chair became still once more. His chest released; he began breathing deep. For a moment, he'd been convinced Leviah was actually going to bite him.

Instead, Leviah whirled and headed for the giant tinted windows surrounding them. He stopped ahead of them and stared longingly out of the window, his fists clenching and unclenching on the air. Out of the window, the midday sun was a big, blotted dot, its power muted by the glass.

Vincent fixed his gaze on Leviah. He was acting irrationally; Vincent knew he was losing his mind. The relic had some kind of power over him, something he'd been unaware of until now. He needed it close by, Vincent now realized. He knew exactly what the relic was and why Leviah was so desperate to get it back. But, Vincent had no intention of handing it over. It was one of the five pieces of Moroz he'd been trying so hard to capture for so long with no success. And now that one of them had fallen right into his lap, there was no way he was going to just give it up. No way.

He watched Leviah with keen interest, nodding his head in a knowing manner. Things had transpired purely by chance; Drake managing to steal the relic, Dom killing Drake and inadvertently handing the relic to Vincent. It was all luck, fate. A sequence of events completely out of anybody's control; him, the Order, Leviah. Nothing could have predicted it nor set it all in motion other than blind luck.

Yes, my dear Leviah,
Vincent thought to himself.
Even with all of your control mechanisms, surveillance apparatus, hired thugs and paid spies, you still cannot stop the simple things from occurring and then those simple things from snowballing into something larger, out of your control. You cannot stop fate, no matter how hard you try.
And that was what Vincent always banked on in this war. Fate. The unforeseeable, the unpredictable, the unstoppable, the unknowable. Fate; faith was his ally.