BloodWish Page 5

  ‘Exactly.’ Good old Dave. I wanted to give the old guy a hug.

  ‘How do you want to handle this?’

  ‘Use the law.’ I pulled out the newspaper clipping and handed it to him. ‘By starting here. Let me follow this up.’

  He sucked in breath. ‘Is that Laura?’ Her stunning portrait in the Notices section stared up at him.

  ‘Yeah.’ I repeated what she’d told me. He scanned the notice. ‘Munro may have killed Reynold to protect her, and it could’ve ended there, if not for the painting. It’s public now and the gallery owner wants the painter found.’ Okay, so they didn’t exactly give me permission, but I reckoned the intent was there. ‘Spoke to them last night.’

  Dave laid the paper clipping on the desk. He remained silent as he resumed his seat, clicking his pen, his gaze flicking between me and the clipping. ‘I’m behind you all the way in this, but are you sure part of it has nothing to do with Laura?’

  I was expecting that. Still, it was a kick in the guts. ‘It’s got everything to do with her. She’s only half human. What are the chances she won’t turn into one of them?’

  Dave shrugged. ‘You’d know that better than me.’

  His gaze cut through me like a knife. I knew what was behind those words. ‘Laura and I are done. There’s no conflict of interest, if that’s what you’re worried about.’

  ‘Being done and letting go are two different things.’

  ‘This is my way of letting go.’ And protecting humanity—and Laura—at the same time. ‘And dealing with the vampire menace in our city.’

  His eyes bored into mine until my skin began to itch. ‘I’ll take your word for it.’

  ‘You’ll have to. Who else could you assign to this?’ I pointed my thumb to the outer office. ‘You want to tell the team we’re bringing in a vampire?’

  He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. ‘Can’t believe it myself.’

  I stood and leaned hard on his desk. ‘If we can expose them, the whole world will know. Bringing in Munro is just the start. If we can detain him long enough for questioning—couple of days, maybe—he’ll get hungry and the fangs’ll slide out and those snake-like eyes of theirs: ugly, pale vertical slits.’ I couldn’t stop the cold wave that washed over me when I recalled seeing Lebrettan change right in front of me.

  Bastard had enjoyed it!

  Dave’s eyes darted to my mobile. ‘What was it Munro said about no cell being able to hold them? Something about a cornered blood drinker? I’m not risking my people, Matt.’

  ‘Unless you know how to immobilise one.’

  ‘Something tells me you’ve been doing your homework. Has it got to do with a certain type of wood?’

  Munro had been careful not to mention which type of wood substance was their kryptonite, but it was easy enough to find if you knew where to look.

  I pulled out a small plastic packet of powdered white oak from my pocket and held it out to him. ‘It’s white oak. As deadly to them as snake venom to us. They won’t touch any human who has it in their bloodstream. If they can’t feed, they weaken, and we can hold them.’

  Dave opened the packet and sniffed it. ‘Barely has a smell. Where’d you get it?’

  ‘Bush is full of it. And in water, it’s practically tasteless.’

  He cracked a smile. ‘Have you been drinking it.’

  ‘Last few days. It’s harmless.’

  He grabbed his water bottle. ‘How much?’

  ‘Just a sprinkle.’

  Dave added about a pinch to his water bottle and took a sip. ‘Can’t taste it all.’

  ‘That’s the beauty of it. It’s non-allergenic, too. Won’t hurt anyone ... human, that is. Imagine dumping a load of it into the city’s water supply.’ I couldn’t help grinning. In one swoop, we’d starve the entire vamp population; weaken them enough to eliminate them, and those who got desperate enough to risk feeding would die a nasty death.

  Dave followed my train of thought. ‘What about those who drink only bottled water? They’ll still be vulnerable.’

  I shrugged. ‘Nothing we can do about that. At least the majority of the population will be protected.’

  Dave clicked the hell out of his pen as he mulled it over. ‘Can’t hold a man just for questioning. We need reasonable grounds.’

  ‘Laura mentioned Reynold having a studio at the Lebrettan house in Vaucluse. But if I go looking there, it’ll only alert Munro, and he’ll send his bloodsuckers after me.’ I shook my head. ‘This has got to be done without Munro suspecting a thing. If Reynold had an apartment somewhere else, I’ll find it. Otherwise, Laura is my material witness. Pity I didn’t record that.’

  ‘As it’s your word against hers.’

  ‘I know, and that’s why I need to get her to repeat it all, this time in front of another official, someone from Interpol coz she and Munro are in France right now, at the Dantonville estate, with no guarantee they’ll be back anytime soon. Could you back me with the commissioner on this?’

  Dave blew out a breath. ‘Without a body, without being able to prove whether, in fact, Reynold is dead and how he died, it’ll be very hard to mount a case of reasonable prospect of conviction against Munro solely with motive and the undefined existence of means and opportunity. All we know is that Reynold disappeared, and that really is as far as we can take it.’

  ‘I know, I know—’

  ‘Plus, you know how much that’s going to cost the department even if we do get past that hurdle? We’ve had nothing but budget setbacks and staff cuts, and you want to use what little we’ve been allocated to fly halfway around the world without even a chance of a conviction let alone an arrest?’ He lifted his hands and dropped them back onto his lap. ‘No chance you’re going to get it. You and I both know that without hard evidence, Interpol won’t touch it.’

  ‘What if I could get that evidence and guarantee an arrest?’

  Dave’s eyes narrowed. ‘How?’

  ‘Search Munro’s apartment; look for signs of a struggle. He killed the guy. There should be blood, skin and even hair fibres. A forensics team should be able to find something.

  ‘And what’ll we compare it with? We need another sample, Matt. Otherwise it’s a useless exercise.’

  Dave was right. Where the hell could we get a comparison sample. I rubbed my face, searching for an answer, when, as they say, the proverbial bulb lit up. ‘The painting ... in the gallery. Get a forensics team to go over it. You never know; he may have touched it, left a hair somewhere on it, breathed on it.... I don’t know, but there’s got to be something.’

  He grabbed a notepad. ‘What’s the name of that gallery?’

  I told him. ‘Once I get that positive DNA result, I need Munro to run. I reckon the last thing Munro’d want would be to be questioned in relation to Reynold’s disappearance. And this time, he won’t be able to fuck with my mind because the white oak powder’ll prevent it. Running would be his only option—an admission of guilt. I’d have him, and Interpol would have to issue a Blue Alert.’

  ‘If, Matt. No guarantee he’s going to do what you want.’

  ‘Oh, I reckon he will, especially if he thinks he’s protecting Laura. She’s not just a material witness; but by covering it up, she’s become an accessory. All I need to do is tell her I’m coming in an official capacity. It’ll scare her enough to warn Munro.’

  Dave chuckled. ‘You’ve really thought this through. Remind me never to piss you off.’

  I cracked a smile and sat back down. This was going to work ... or not, depending on whether Dave could persuade the commissioner to extend our budget. Hell, I’d cash in my frequent flyer points if that’s what it took. ‘I’ll get the paperwork started.’

  ‘You know it can take anywhere between eight-to-twelve weeks to get all that together, and that’s providing you can convince Interpol to cooperate.’

  ‘I will.’

  Knowing I had Dave’s backing, I practically whistled as I left his office.

&nb
sp; Munro’s time was running out.

  Chapter 7 – Antigen

  ALEC

  ‘What are we missing, Jake? What am I not seeing?’ I slammed my hand down on the bench top, setting everything rattling. ‘Three months and we’re still no closer. We should’ve identified and isolated that antigen by now.’

  Jake grimaced as he stared at the platelets swimming across the imaging screen. It was one of a countless number of specimen slides we’d examined, and our blood sample was diminishing. ‘I dunno. We’ve tried everything.’ He increased the resolution and adjusted the excitation wavelength. Still nothing. ‘And I’ve done that a hundred times, too. Still bloody invisible!’

  His exasperation equalled my own. Unless we had a breakthrough, and soon, the Principate faced trouble. Word had already reached us that some prefects had broken the mourning rites and taken their blood vials. The fools had used up their meagre supplies, and were attacking those still in possession. Minor skirmishes had broken out into territorial raids, attracting the attention of local authorities.

  Two breaches of decorum that had angered Marcus.

  I threatened to confiscate the property of any Brethren found guilty stealing another’s blood vials. How long that threat would hold, I could only guess. Among our kind, self-interest came second only to their blood thirst. As the weeks progressed, that situation would only worsen.

  I’d taken a calculated risk in revealing the existence of the bloodvault. And sharing out a few vials in exchange for maintaining Brethren loyalty was, in my opinion, worth it. If not for the Rebel attack, the supply in the vault may have lasted years. None of us had factored in such unimaginable treachery.

  We needed to find that antigen soon. I rubbed my jaw to loosen my tensed-up muscles. I yanked open the internal door. ‘I need air.’ And hopefully some inspiration.

  Unbuttoning my lab coat, I strode out into the corridor and threw open the timber doors. The icy February wind hit my face, an invigorating blast after the stifling air in the lab. We’d been cooped up in there too long, desperately searching for that damned antigen.

  I growled and kicked a stray pebble to loosen up my restless legs. The pebble shot across the courtyard with the speed of a bullet and embedded itself in a nearby tree.

  ‘Cool.’ Dominik’s eager face smiled up at me.

  I sighed. Since making him my juvenile, I had to get used to having him around. I understood that a fifteen-year-old needed a role model, but trailing me like a shadow was a bit much.

  ‘You referring to the temperature or the rock in the tree?’

  ‘Hey, the rock. Let me try.’

  ‘Dom!’ I grabbed his shoulder just as he attempted to whisk past me. Dominik’s lack of co-ordination was a worry. He could miss entirely and land on his arse or he could send a tiny pebble sailing through one of the chateau’s windows. I was in no mood to witness either. ‘Get back inside and help Jake rinse out the slides.’

  He made a face. ‘Again? All I do is wash up stuff.’

  ‘Consider it part of your science training until I decide which distance education program to enrol you in. You need to be in school.’

  His face crumbled. ‘I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.’

  ‘Not at all. I’ll look into it this week.’

  ‘Do I have to? Since when do vampires go to school?’ If he rolled his eyes any harder they’d end up in the back of his head.

  ‘Fifteen-year-old ones, with centuries ahead of them, do. You’ve much to learn and practice. And no more argument,’ I added, when he opened his mouth to, no doubt, protest.

  He scuffed the toe of his shoe against the gravel, muttering in a mix of Czech and English. I overheard, “Not fair.”

  So was this what was awaiting me, this future taste of fatherhood?

  Jake’s chuckle drifted on the air.

  Terrific. Still, perhaps it was time I trusted him with the blood samples. ‘Want to help load the slides?’

  Initially I’d wanted him exposed to the Ingenii samples to build up his resistance to its lure. To all Brethren, Ingenii blood was like catnip, especially to juveniles. And being around Laura, I wanted him extra resistant. His eyes widened, and the grin that accompanied it showed I was on the right track. ‘No licking the samples, Dom.’

  First day in the lab, I’d caught him bringing one of the smeared slides to his mouth. We were in mourning, and yes, I knew he was hungry, but the ninety days feeding abstinence wouldn’t kill him. If anything, it would teach him discipline, something every juvenile needed.

  Another reason I’d put him on wash-up duty was to keep him away from temptation. ‘I’ve told you, Jake’s told you: Ingenii blood is deadly to Brethren. Do something stupid and we won’t be able to save you.’

  ‘I won’t, I won’t. Promise. I do not want to die.’ I almost laughed when he raced back into the lab as if the devil was on his heels. In spite of his unwillingness to return to school, the youngster had an aptitude for science and made a competent lab assistant.

  The gravel crunched as I paced a few steps away from the small cottage that served as our makeshift lab. Across the drive, light streamed from the chateau’s windows, but the one I was focused on was dark. It was after 2am. Laura was asleep. The steady thump, thump of her heartbeat reached me. Was she dreaming? I could almost see her molten-bronze hair splayed on the pillow, lips invitingly parted begging for me to taste her, the gentle rise and fall of her breasts ... and I felt myself hardening. Not one moment of the day passed when she wasn’t somewhere in my thoughts, drawing me deeper and deeper into her. Laura owned me—body and soul.

  The desire to sink my teeth into her soft, milky flesh and drink my fill grew. I thought of the last time I bit her, how she’d moaned with pleasure. I closed my eyes and tried to swallow my desire as my fangs slid down.

  Damn! I inhaled, clamped my mouth shut and endured the burning pain until it passed. It wasn’t just the period of mourning. Not until the babe was born could I partake of her blood again and feed from that silky throat. I needed to keep working, to keep my mind occupied lest my feet dragged me to her side to lay bare her throat ... Damn! I shook my head. In the last few days, the urge to bite her had been steadily growing, and it would only continue to rise after the period of mourning was over. Could we avoid each other, have no sex at all? I barked out a laugh. As if! I’d just have to suffer.

  Any period of mourning was a dangerous time. From what I’d been told, there had been only two other occasions when our world had mourned the passing of a Great One. Each time, the period of enforced abstinence had led to many human deaths when the younger Brethren, particularly the juveniles, could no longer control their hunger. They’d fed until they’d made themselves sick. My chest tightened at the thought of that happening again.

  Yet it wasn’t the only thing bothering me. I hadn’t told Laura about the lamia. One of the things had survived the destruction of Timur’s fortress and somehow had eluded capture by Karl’s men.

  They’d managed to track it as far as the border of Karl’s territory, and by his reckoning, the wretched thing was headed here.

  Weren’t we weak enough from the deprivation imposed by the period of mourning? How on earth could we possibly hope to kill it, let along resist the powers of the lamia in our present state?

  Of all the lousy timing! I picked up another small stone and sent it careering into the sky, shooting through the hazy shimmer of the magical ward guarding the estate. At least the lamia had no chance getting through that.

  Just then, a shooting star streaked across the sky before disintegrating in a puff of dust. The view of the stars here was without equal. Had I been in the city, with its glaring lights, the beauty of that passing meteor would have gone unnoticed.

  I sucked in a breath. That was it! Why hadn’t I thought of that before?

  A surge of adrenaline shot through me and I raced back to the lab. Dominik was swapping slides and peering intently into the spare scope. Whatever Jake had
given him to examine wasn’t blood. They smelled like a collection of samples—cheese, saliva and ... human urea?

  ‘Wow! I never knew human shit looked like that?’

  Jake glanced up, cracked a smile and shrugged. ‘He’s a teenager.’

  As if that explained everything.

  ‘Unless you’ve got a brilliant idea, I’m done for the night.’

  ‘I just may have.’ I flicked off the lights. We didn’t need to use them anyway. Just another habit. ‘We can’t see it because there’s too much light.’

  He stared at me over the rim of his coffee mug. ‘Fly that past me again.’

  I grabbed the last sample of Laura’s blood from the centrifuge and a couple of clean slides. ‘We’ve been going around this the wrong way—relying on human methods. The antigen’s there all right. We just need to coax it out. If we darken—’

  ‘Dark field effect? We’ve tried that.’ He emptied the mug and left it sitting on the bench.

  ‘Nope, not dark field.’ I smeared a drop of Laura’s blood onto the slide and placed it under the ‘scope. ‘Our kind’s nocturnal. So’s the antigen. It’ll only show up in the dark.’ I hoped. It was a hunch and I’d learnt to go with them.

  Jake’s eyebrows shot upwards. ‘How are you so sure?’

  ‘I’m not, but it’s the only thing that makes sense right now.’

  He shrugged. ‘Nothing to lose, eh.’

  Exactly what I thought. I adjusted the lens, peered down the ‘scope and waited. Five seconds ticked by, then ten. ‘C’mon, I know you’re there.’ Light from the courtyard lampposts still filtered in through the windows. Perhaps that was the problem. ‘Dom, close the shutters.’

  Shutters protected the windows of all the estate cottages. Seconds after hearing the click of the final wooden shutter, total darkness engulfed the lab. Perfect. My pulse hitched up a notch when slowly, like a comet appearing in the night sky, tiny golden serpent-like filaments materialised from the black ooze on the slide—the antigen! It could be nothing else.