The Greater Darkness

  **

  Geoffrey tried as much as possible to maintain a facade of calm as he watched the various VIPs leave city hall at the end of the day. Venice had indeed been involved in the planning stages of the hit, but it hadn't ended up making much of a difference when all was said and done. Mostly it had just made her extremely frustrated at Geoffrey's refusal to do things 'by the book.'

  As Geoffrey's target came out and waited for his car to pull around, the vampire extended his thoughts. His range was steadily improving and it took only a heartbeat to locate and touch the councilman's thoughts. Forcing down the impulse to retch at what he found was more difficult. The sophistication that the man exuded from the outside covered up a rot the like of which Geoffrey hadn't ever seen previously. Greed was the primary motivator, touching nearly every thought or memory Geoffrey rifled through. It didn't look like the man had ever killed someone with his own hands, but Geoffrey had already found a number of instances where decisions had been agreed to which the man had known would result in potential pain and death for the residents of the city. Each decision had been purely to line the man's pockets with even more money than he had already.

  As contemptible as what he had found was, Geoffrey wasn't sure that there was anything in there that would cause a court of law to deliver a death sentence. He was just about to pull back out when he saw a different memory. There was a woman involved, a wife, or maybe a mistress, and the memory was tinged with jealousy and rage. As Geoffrey followed the memory trail he realized that the man had put out a contract on the woman's lover.

  As the vehicle pulled away, Geoffrey broke the contact and tried to settle his stomach, relieved that he would be spared the decision of whether or not to kill an innocent again.

  **

  Venice paced back and forth across the room. "I'm glad that you aren't hedging about whether or not you'll do the hit anymore, but I don't understand why you are insisting on doing this by yourself. I should be along to help out in case things don't go as planned."

  Geoffrey shrugged. "Imastious gave the assignment to me. There isn't any reason for you to get involved now that we are done with the planning stage. At least look at the bright side, you finally convinced me that it would be foolish to try and use a gun on the hit."

  The slender vampire already looked like she was about to throw something at Geoffrey. It was better not to let on that the alarm likely to be raised by gunshots had been the real deterrent. To Geoffrey, the idea that a passing pyromancer might realize he was carrying a gun and ignite the gunpowder seemed too impossible to him to merit the kind of fear that she was demonstrating.

  Venice appeared to be expecting some kind of additional explanation, so Geoffrey continued on. "From everything you've indicated, this hit is dangerous primarily due to what will happen afterwards. If this guy really does have a powerful vampire patron, it makes sense to ensure that only one of us is on the chopping block in the event he manages to track me down."

  What Geoffrey didn't want to admit was that he didn't want to watch Venice kill someone. He couldn't stop her from killing anyone else Imastious might assign her to terminate, but he could at least make sure that this particular hit didn't add to the number of murders currently damning her soul.

  Venice shook her head. "We don't know that he has a vampire patron, and if he does, this guy is highly placed enough that it won't matter how the hit is accomplished, or who is involved. Any Elder with an interest is going to investigate things as thoroughly as he's able. If he does track you down, it's guaranteed that he'll find our connection and come after me as well."

  Geoffrey reached up and gently stopped Venice from pacing. "This isn't like you. What's really wrong?"

  Venice looked for a second like she would cry, and then she collapsed into Geoffrey's arms clinging to him with all of her considerable strength. "I don't think you understand how big of a step this is. Imastious hasn't ever used one of us to go after another Elder's assets. At least not one who was this highly placed. I think he's had a few people killed here and there before, but he's always used humans to do it, humans who were completely deniable."

  Geoffrey smoothed Venice's hair as she continued. "If he's really gearing up for some kind of bid to dramatically increase his power, we are both probably going to die. It just doesn't seem right that he can use us up like that, discard us without a second thought, not after all that we've done for him."

  For a second it seemed that sobs would overcome the slender vampire, but she fought them down with visible effort and continued on. "It isn't just that either. For all this to happen now, just as things seemed to finally be going the way that I'd hoped, is so typical."

  Geoffrey cocked his head to the side and then gently pulled Venice's face around to where he could look into her eyes. "Are things really going where you think they are? I don't know if I could have killed again if this guy wasn't so deserving of punishment. What would you have done then?"

  The brilliant blue eyes looking back at Geoffrey seemed confused for a moment and then became filled with frustration. "Is that all this is about? Every time I think maybe this isn't all just an act, you pull something like this and prove that you are the same cold, manipulative jerk you were before. I won't disobey Imastious, not in any way that will result in any kind of punishment. Both of us together, even when you were more powerful than you are now, wouldn't have been enough to defeat him. I'm not about to risk death or worse at this point."

  Venice let go of Geoffrey and stood. "You can't stop Imastious, and pretending that you've become worried with the right or wrong of a given assignment won't shelter you in the least from his displeasure if you fail."

  After Venice left, Geoffrey mulled over her parting shot for quite a while. "And I won't be taken down with you. If that is how you want to play things, you're on your own."

  **

  Geoffrey had spent hours worried about what to do with Venice. It was possible that she'd let more slip than she'd meant to. Was he really a different person than he was before? He clung to the slim hope that he might become something other than he was. If that did happen, would Venice come to understand him, or would his morality continue to baffle her?

  Part of him wished Venice had Melody's innocence. Then again, if Venice were that clean and pure she wouldn't want him, wouldn't be able to get past all of the things he'd done.

  Thinking about Melody awoke a different kind of worry. He shouldn't have gone there earlier that night, not right before a hit, especially not when he still felt like he was being watched half of the time. He'd done everything he could to make sure he wasn't followed, but it had still been stupidly risky.

  Geoffrey looked away from the residential building for a second to check his watch. It was slightly past the time when he expected the councilman's car to pull up to the stately, timeless building, but he wasn't too concerned by the delay. It likely meant that the council session had just run a little longer than normal.

  The vampire's hand brushed against a letter in his pocket, confirming its existence. That letter had been the real reason he shouldn't have gone by her house. Just seeing Melody from afar would have been distraction enough. He hadn't expected to find another letter, this one carefully taped inside a plastic bag to protect it from the weather. He'd known she would be horrified by what he'd told her, but he'd expected her to just cease communicating with him rather than writing something to rebuke him or tell him to stay away.

  As despair tried to wash over him again, Geoffrey wondered again just how scathing Melody's reply was going to be, but once again held to his resolve not to open it before the hit was successfully completed. It would be better to deal with the uncertainty than to know exactly how much she hated him.

  A brand-new limo pulled up to the parking garage entrance. Geoffrey did a quick check to verify that the license plate matched the one on the limo in which the councilman always departed City Hall. It did so he took a deep breath and then he started towards the front doo
r.

  Geoffrey had scouted the building a few days previously to verify that there weren't any security cameras, but he still pulled on a mask to ensure he couldn't be identified later. It made sense that these particular residents wouldn't want any record of the comings and goings of their mistresses, but if Geoffrey was wrong then he didn't want the mistake to result in his death.

  Stopping just out of sight of the doorman and leaning against a richly finished wall, Geoffrey freed his thoughts from their physical moorings and touched the unsuspecting man's mind. He quickly led the doorman's thoughts down the desired path, calming the man to the point that even the appearance of a host of heavily-armed men wouldn't cause him to do anything other than just sit there quietly as they stormed past.

  A few minutes later Geoffrey entered the building and climbed the sterile-looking metal stairs to the top floor. Pausing for a moment at the last landing, the vampire reached out and scanned the minds on the floor. On this floor there was a guard present.

  Even just touching surface thoughts at this range was tiring, but Geoffrey managed to infuse the guard with a slight sense of drowsiness. There was nothing left to do but just rush him.

  His previous explorations had revealed that the doorway to the stairs was hidden by a bend in the hall, so Geoffrey exited the landing as quietly as possible and crept as close as he could without being seen.

  A few seconds later the guard was unconscious from a blow to the head and Geoffrey was breathing heavily from his sprint down the hall. The poor sucker hadn't even had a chance to yell. Now it was time to deal with the Councilman.

  The condominium was large enough that Geoffrey might have been in trouble if his target had been on the far side of the unit, but luckily the councilman was close enough for the vampire to gradually build an impulse to go check the door.

  As soon as Geoffrey heard the chirp of the security system disengaging, he launched a powerful side-thrust kick that tore the door from its frame and knocked the councilman to the floor. Before the dazed man could fully register what was happening Geoffrey had drawn one of the many knives he now kept secreted about his person, and the hit was finished.

  A minute later, the guard had been dragged into the apartment, the door had been pulled closed, and Geoffrey was on his way back down the stairs.

  Chapter 18

  Geoffrey had slept well, surprisingly so, considering all of the things still preying upon the edges of his mind. After waking, the vampire found that he was oddly reluctant to get out of bed, so he stayed there for the better part of an hour watching the orange and pink highlights from the sunset dance across his ceiling and wall.

  He didn't actually feel any guilt over having killed the councilman. He'd done what society couldn't and he'd known that the man he'd executed was absolutely guilty. Even better, Melody's letter hadn't been at all what he'd expected.

  Once again, tranquility settled upon him as he mentally reviewed what the letter had said.

  Geoffrey,

  It isn't my place to condemn you for what you've done. It seems you already know you shouldn't have killed innocent people. Still, from what little I know of you I have to wonder if there isn't more to the story than you've told me. It seems impossible for the goodness I know to reside inside you to coexist voluntarily with the other. I wonder if you're fully in control of your destiny? I suppose that wouldn't justify murder, but it might explain the conflict.

  You may of course wonder how I know you are essentially good, but that is a secret I'll have to keep for now. If we ever meet face to face again, I'll tell you what I saw when you were inside my mind.

  If that never happens, if you can't continue to stop by, I understand, but please don't refrain from doing so because of me. I…Mom's going through another bad time, and I could use a visit from a friend.

  Melody

  Thinking about Melody's letter finally broke the spell holding Geoffrey in his bed. Almost before he'd realized he'd moved, he found himself at Venice's gym squaring off against her for unarmed combat training.

  "Remember, love, this time I'll be using my powers as well, so no free ride today."

  The snap kick Venice launched at his stomach lashed out with no warning. Geoffrey tried to slide back out of range, but moving required more effort than it should have. The air had hardened around him.

  The kick caught Geoffrey, knocking the wind out of him, and he frantically extended his thoughts towards Venice in an effort to counteract her telekinetic abilities.

  The slender vampire's mind was guarded against just such a contact, but it appeared that maintaining that mental barrier made it harder for her to effectively use her talents. Geoffrey's speed returned to something more like what he was accustomed. The advantage initially residing with Venice now tilted back slightly Geoffrey's way, and the fight continued on with Venice ruthlessly trying to exploit her now-superior speed to defeat his occasional ability to pick up exactly what she was going to do.

  Geoffrey blocked a reverse punch and then launched a hook kick at Venice which she easily dodged. Panting heavily from the combined mental and physical exertions, Geoffrey realized he was fighting a defensive battle. He wasn't fast enough to catch her anymore. He was managing to block most of her attacks, but he was tiring out quickly. If he didn't come up with a new trick quickly something was going to get through and then he'd be the one on the ground with cracked ribs.

  Venice seemed to realize she had Geoffrey on the run. She stepped up her assault, committing herself to a greater degree in an effort to make sure that whatever got through would end the fight.

  Sweat rolling down him in streams, Geoffrey suddenly had an idea, and without thinking of the possible consequences he acted on it. As soon as he was sure that Venice was about to launch an attack, Geoffrey threw out a side-thrust kick, catching her as she came in.

  His reduced speed meant Geoffrey wasn't quite able to generate the kind of bone-breaking power that he usually did, but the kick still picked Venice up and knocked her backwards. Geoffrey was moving in to continue the onslaught when he picked up the hint of something in Venice's thoughts that made him try to jump back. Before he could reverse direction, an invisible force struck him across the face with enough power to make him see stars.

  When Geoffrey managed to blink his vision clear Venice was panting heavily and rubbing her newly-healed ribs.

  "Now that was fun, love. Not only was it fun, but it's the first time I've beaten you like that in ages."

  Geoffrey shook his head again and then returned the smile. "It looks like I still have a lot to learn."

  Venice shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, you're actually doing really well with the combat side of things. I never expected you'd catch me with a stop hit like that. Now that you know a telekinetic is more dangerous when she's not engaged, you'll remember for next time and press the attack sooner so I don't get a chance to hit you like that again."

  It was a valid point, but Geoffrey also made a mental note that executing a blow like that took more out of Venice than she probably would have been willing to admit. The way that she was shaking left no doubt of that.

  The rest of the training session revolved around purely physical skills, which Geoffrey figured was probably due to the fact that Venice was as exhausted as he was. By the time they'd both showered and met back up in the lobby three hours later, Geoffrey was seriously considering returning home for a nap.

  His refusal to include Venice in the hit had introduced a new element of strain in their relationship, so Geoffrey was surprised when Venice greeted him with a smile and suggested that they stop at a cafe somewhere for a quick drink.

  Once they'd been seated in a secluded corner, Venice got down to business. "Imastious wants you to know he's generally pleased with how the hit went down. There are a couple of wrinkles though that you should know about."

  Geoffrey sat forward, abandoning the hot chocolate he hadn't really wanted in the first place.

  "First
, least important in my mind, although it seems to weigh fairly heavily with Imastious, there is a definite uptick in the number of rabies cases here in the city."

  Thinking back to the dogs that had attacked him, Geoffrey shuddered.

  Venice nodded. "I agree, love. It creeps me out but I don't know that there is much we can do at this point. The humans will do a pretty good job handling the dogs that are bitten, but Imastious seems to be worried that the disease will make its way into the city's rat population. If that happens, he thinks we'll see an explosion of rabid rats because the poison the humans use to control the vermin won't work."

  Geoffrey raised an eyebrow and Venice shrugged. "According to Imastious they seem to be able to detect the poison and won't eat it after they're infected."

  It was another fact to file away and examine later. To Geoffrey's mind rats were rats. It shouldn't matter whether or not they had a disease. If they couldn't detect the poison in the food when they were healthy, they shouldn't be able to detect it once they were sick.

  "Well, considering the fact that being eaten alive by thousands of abnormally aggressive rats is a pretty unappetizing prospect, I assume that the other item is a real winner?"

  Venice smiled at the joke, but her heart wasn't in it this time. "It is. The word on the street is that the guy you clipped did have a pretty powerful patron, and he is out for blood."

  Geoffrey's insides turned cold and he had to force himself to pay attention to the rest of what Venice was saying.

  "I don't know how they can possibly connect you to the hit. Even if there's video footage of your entrance, you wore a mask. Still, Eculdes is one of the most powerful mentalists out there. He can pull memories from people that they don't know they still have, so if anyone is able to track you down, it will be him."

  Geoffrey nodded slowly. "Does it look like he'll get involved personally in the hunt?"

  Venice shook her head. "No, that isn't how this usually works. He'll assign one of his people to do most of the footwork. Eculdes is even older than Imastious, so he tends to spend even more time fighting with the time funk than Imastious does."