The other logical possibility was that Imastious had simply compromised Byington's organization so severely that he figured he could eliminate Byington at any point. Once you knew where someone lived there was always a way to get inside and take them out if you wanted it badly enough.
The elevator came to a stop and Geoffrey looked forward as the doors slowly opened, only to feel his breath catch as the sheer scope of the destruction he was seeing registered.
Imastious exited the elevator, seemingly unconcerned by his surroundings. "Byington apparently felt more than a little threatened. It looks as though he'd gathered at least four of his more powerful subordinates here to serve as a personal bodyguard. They are all dead, as is he."
Just based on what Geoffrey could see in this first room, it looked like there were probably pieces of them scattered throughout the floor. It actually surprised him that Imastious had been able to estimate that there had been five people here to start out with.
Byington had either been nothing at all like Imastious, or he'd been scared out of his mind. It was hard to imagine any situation in which Imastious would have trusted any of his subordinates with the location of his home.
"I have of course formed my own opinion of what happened here, but the two of you will examine the evidence and share your thoughts with me."
Geoffrey waded through the wreckage of what had once been an opulently-furnished dwelling, and did his very best not to become sick. He'd killed people before, but tearing them apart like this added an additional level of depravity to the act.
When the trio met at the elevator again, Venice was the first to speak up. "The remains all seem to be from Byington's vampires, so either none of the attackers were killed or they were carried out by their comrades."
Imastious nodded. "You are of course omitting the fact that there are claw marks on the wall which closely match the ones from the scene of Geoffrey's most recent conflict simply because it is so obvious it needs no mention."
It looked as though Venice was on the cusp of delivering the kind of scathing retort she sometimes inflicted on Geoffrey when he was exceptionally slow picking up on the finer points of unarmed combat, but she quickly regained her self-control, and Imastious turned to Geoffrey.
"What did you notice?"
Geoffrey couldn't escape the feeling that the test being presented to him was more important than it appeared on the surface, and he took a deep breath before answering. "Based on the general level of destruction throughout the apartment, it appears that there were one or more very powerful telekinetics involved here."
A cruel smile made its way onto Imastious' face. "Byington was a pyromancer and his chief lieutenants were all mentalists. There may have been one or two telekinetics here, but none of his people were particularly powerful in that regard."
Confusion filled Geoffrey as he reviewed the destruction he'd just looked at. "Master, there was limited evidence of fire in the apartment, but nothing on the scale one would expect from an Elder who was fighting for his life."
Imastious nodded, apparently satisfied at last. "Geoffrey has unwittingly stumbled upon the key observation regarding this conflict. The claw marks would tend to support his story of what we will call werewolves for lack of a better term. Venice is correct that no attackers can be found, either in their bestial forms, or in the human shape that Geoffrey reported his opponent returning to once dead. I think not because the dead were carried away, but because none of the attackers were mortally injured."
Geoffrey's mind was spinning at a frantic pace. He arrived at the idea Imastious was headed to a split second before the older vampire verbalized it. "The reason none of the attackers were killed was not just that they exhibited strength and speed equal to or in excess of what is common among our kind, but also because the defenders' abilities apparently were unable to work against their attackers."
Imastious' eyes turned to Geoffrey, and although they still looked inhuman and cold, there was now also a trace of something that, in another person, Geoffrey would have called fear.
Chapter 25
The full moon was only a couple of nights past, but the last forty-eight hours felt like they'd taken a week to roll by. Geoffrey had expected as much, but that didn't make the sheer terror any easier to handle.
The autopsy report on the woman Geoffrey had killed came back late last night and confirmed that she appeared to have been infected with an unusual strain of rabies. Imastious must have done something to ensure that she was tested for the disease because Geoffrey was pretty sure that wasn't part of a normal police autopsy.
However Imastious had affected the test, it had combined with the recent, high-profile vampire deaths to provide him with the evidence he'd needed to mobilize the other Elders. Venice had indicated that none of the other Elders seemed to know where the information had come from, and nobody was cooperating on any kind of large-scale basis, but the shadow war that had been in high gear had pretty much died out overnight. Geoffrey hadn't seen any of them yet, but supposedly there were large numbers of patrols out all over the city looking for evidence of other werewolves.
Venice tapped Geoffrey on the shoulder and he realized he'd been woolgathering. At least all of the recent developments meant that he didn't have to go out and face all of this by himself.
Casting his thoughts out as widely as he was able, the vampire searched for any trace of werewolves. In theory, if they were out there it should be easy to find them. Their very ability to absorb his power should make them stand out, but so far he hadn't been able to find the slightest indication that there was anyone out there other than Venice, him and a few humans.
Apparently most people still weren't convinced that the dramatic reduction of violence was there to stay. In some ways they were right. The authorities were telling people that things were back to normal, but that wasn't the full story. Human deaths seemed to be down considerably from what they'd been a week ago, but missing person reports had increased dramatically.
It appeared that the werewolves were either eating people or doing such a good job hiding the corpses that nobody was finding them. Even the humans' current wariness was aimed in the wrong direction, but it should at least help ensure that there weren't quite as many witnesses to deal with if they did encounter a werewolf.
Shrugging to indicate he hadn't found anything, Geoffrey picked a direction at random and started walking. One way was as good as another considering that he didn't know where they should be headed.
Venice slipped her arm through his before the pair had made more than a couple of steps, presenting the illusion of a happy couple exploring the city despite the cold of the night. Geoffrey thought about untangling his arm from hers, but decided the effort wasn't worth the ill will it would generate. He was finding that he really enjoyed working with her now that he didn't have to worry about whether she was going to try to kill him on short notice. If she hadn't been pushing for more than just friendship, things would have been nearly perfect.
Geoffrey sent his thoughts out and once again found no hint of the alien presence he'd fought previously. Thirty seconds later a terrible howl split the night, and Venice and Geoffrey broke into a sprint as he cast his thoughts ahead and found a werewolf where seconds before there hadn't been one.
Three blocks later, the pair rounded a corner and found four vampires engaged against a beast that was even bigger than the one Geoffrey had fought. The humanoid combatants moved back and forth with speed and grace that was impressive, if slightly less than what Venice or Geoffrey was capable of. The werewolf, on the other hand, moved with the same jerky motions as the smaller woman Geoffrey had fought, but with even greater speed.
Normally vampires reporting to different Elders, and even sometimes those working for the same master, wouldn't help each other, but Geoffrey and Venice didn't hesitate as they crossed the remaining distance to the conflict.
Reflex took over and Geoffrey sent out questing thoughts in an effort to le
arn his opponent's plans, only to find that the absorption of his tendrils was weaker than he'd expected. He could almost sense the beast's thoughts, alien though they were.
One of the other vampires went down from a lightning-fast swipe, and the power fighting Geoffrey's probes suddenly strengthened dramatically.
"Use your powers," cried Geoffrey in a panting, breathless voice, and suddenly the force holding him away from the werewolf's mind was overwhelmed.
The five vampires surrounded the werewolf and succeeded in forcing it into a more defensive stance, but its raw speed and power made it difficult to bring down and Geoffrey's allies seemed to be tiring. They needed to do something quickly or it would eventually succeed in bringing one of them down. Once that happened, the rest would fall in short order.
Geoffrey's blade licked out and impacted on the werewolf's upper thigh, but did little more than scratch the abnormally hard flesh. It wasn't good enough.
The alien thoughts before Geoffrey suddenly seemed to morph and change into something nearly understandable, and without thinking about it the vampire responded to the course of action he thought the werewolf was about to take.
The beast lunged at Geoffrey, flailing with both hands, and then pulled up in astonishment as the vampire wasn't where he was supposed to be. Geoffrey completed his dive between the creature's legs and rolled to his feet in time to launch the most powerful blow he was capable of to the same spot he'd struck previously.
As in his last confrontation, Geoffrey's weapon was nearly ripped from his hands, but he managed to hamstring his opponent, after which the vampires were able to finish the creature quickly.
Looking around at the other vampires, Geoffrey made an effort to stand up straight and control his breathing. This wasn't the time to appear weak. He and Venice were outnumbered three to two and there wasn't yet any proof that this informal truce would hold.
The biggest of the vampires checked his fallen companion and then shook his head. "He's dead, that thing ripped him completely open. It would have gotten all of us if you two hadn't shown up when you did."
The vampire cocked his head and then extended his hand. "I don't know that I'd have risked my neck like that, but I'm glad that you did. My name is Alexander."
Geoffrey shook the offered hand, trying not to be surprised at the humanity of the gesture and then released Alexander's hand so that Venice could shake it.
He suppressed the urge to tell Alexander that he'd faced a werewolf previously. There wasn't any reason to give away any information that he didn't have to. The other vampire might seem friendly, but underneath that exterior it was very probable that he wasn't any different from Imastious.
One of the other living vampires, the smallest one, finished inspecting the dead werewolf, which now had the appearance of a human male. Looking up with something that was a close cousin to fear, the bearded vampire looked from Alexander to Geoffrey and back again.
"Do you think that was the only one?"
Geoffrey shook his head. "No, as powerful as that was, it couldn't have killed Byington and his men by itself. Either there are several more of them, or there's one even stronger and faster still running around."
Alexander looked at Geoffrey appraisingly and then nodded. "Well then, things are probably going to get much uglier before this is all over."
Chapter 26
Geoffrey couldn't escape the thought that after such a vicious battle he should be sore and tender regardless of whatever superior regenerative abilities he might have. The first time he'd faced one of the werewolves it had all but killed him, and he'd just finished healing from that when they'd fought the second wolf.
The vampire mentally shrugged and then checked his back trail one more time in an effort to satisfy himself that he wasn't being followed. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Geoffrey almost turned around and went home without finishing his trip, but he was certain that this would be his last chance to visit Melody for quite some time. Based on the debrief the night before with Imastious, it seemed that Geoffrey and Venice would be on the front lines of the hunt. If that was really going to be the case, he'd be lucky to get adequate sleep over the next several weeks. Sneaking away for another visit would be practically impossible.
His mind made up, Geoffrey crossed the last few blocks to Melody's building, wrinkling his nose at the smell. There'd been another brief rainstorm during the day. That usually cleared out the smell of garbage for a little while, but either it hadn't made any difference, or the smell was already back. This really was a depressing place to live.
The climb up the graffiti-covered stairwell went quickly, and then Geoffrey scanned the apartment to make sure that Anna wasn't around. She never stayed this late that he was aware of, but it was a good habit to get into if he was going to avoid causing Melody awkward questions at some point.
Satisfied that Melody was alone with her mother, Geoffrey knocked gently on the door. As always, the peephole in the door darkened for a moment, and then there was the sound of multiple locks being opened.
This time Melody was crying before she even managed to hug him, and Geoffrey felt a stab of guilt. The last time he'd been able to stop by he'd told Melody that the odds were good he'd be killed in a few short days.
"I thought you were dead. Why didn't you let me know you were okay? I kept thinking that someone was watching me, and I didn't know if it was you trying to protect me, or someone coming to kill me."
The vampire hugged the slender teenager to him and guided her inside. "I'm so sorry, but things have been happening, big things that I haven't had any control over. I haven't had the time or freedom to get away so that I could come talk. Nobody's traced me back to you; it was just your imagination."
Melody's surface thoughts were full of relief, anger, and a few other equally conflicting emotions, but she nodded and then pulled him in to see her mom. "Is there anything you can do? Anna says that the disease hasn't taken a turn for the worse, it's as stable as ever, but she's getting weaker. I think maybe she's stopped wanting to live."
Thinking of the struggle he'd faced that last time he tried to plumb Debbie's mind, Geoffrey wanted to tell Melody that there wasn't anything he could do, but looking into expectant brown eyes, he knew he couldn't lie to her of all people.
"I can try, Melody, but I can't guarantee anything."
Even as he was telling her he would try, his insides tightened up at the thought of how likely he was to fail. Then again, he'd just picked up Melody's surface thoughts without meaning to. It was possible that his powers were growing faster than he'd realized.
Melody nodded her understanding, and then pulled up a chair for Geoffrey to sit in while he worked.
Closing his eyes, Geoffrey rested a hand on Debbie's forehead and then sent probes into the raging mind below his palm. He did a mental double-take as he saw how much things had changed. The whirlpool was gone. The thoughts weren't much different, the medications were still eating away at her reason, but everything was calmer.
Rather than wasting time in the shallower parts of Debbie's mind, Geoffrey immediately started pushing his way to the center. As his strength ebbed, Geoffrey worried that this time he wouldn't be strong enough to make it, but he knew the fear for the irrational thing that it was, and pushed on. He'd made it all the way down before, he could do it again.
It seemed to take ages to arrive at the natural, flexible barrier protecting the center of Debbie's mind, but it still happened much faster than Geoffrey had feared. Matching his thoughts to the barrier, the vampire slid through it and felt a shock of astonishment lance through his being.
His constructs had worked. They'd eaten away at the mental pain and guilt to the point where she was almost completely free of them. That had to be the reason why her surface thoughts were so much less tumultuous. Without the self-loathing in her core, there wasn't anything to reinforce the maelstrom, and it had mostly died out.
Geoffrey's elation evapora
ted as he tasted the rest of the feelings in Debbie's center. Now that her hate was gone, she was at peace with the idea of death. The hope that he'd tried to leave when he was there last had morphed to a hope for salvation in the afterlife. Ultimately she'd lost the will to live.
Parts of Geoffrey wanted to skitter from place to place, examining the change that had happened more fully, but the larger, overwhelming part of him worried about Melody. Not just the question of what to tell her, but the more important question of how she'd cope with what he'd tell her.
It was possible that this was just the natural course her mother's mind would have taken if the disease had happened independent of all of the other tragedies in her life, but Geoffrey couldn't escape the suspicion that he'd just ruined the life of the person that was most important to Melody. His attempt to help stop an endless round of self-punishment would ultimately just bring more pain to the person he wanted to help above all others.
Geoffrey debated possible solutions that might grant Melody a chance of more lasting happiness, but in the end he didn't do anything other than create a construct that would temporarily block some of the pain so that Debbie wouldn't have to be as heavily medicated. With a bit of luck it might be enough to help. Maybe then they could cut back the pain medication enough to let her regain consciousness and talk to her daughter. Maybe that conversation would be enough to rekindle her desire to live.
As much as Geoffrey wanted to help Melody, to protect her, he couldn't force her mother back into a pain-filled existence, not when the pain was so severe, not if it wasn't what her mother wanted.
Exhausted by his efforts, Geoffrey let his thoughts snap back to his physical body and looked up at Melody. Fresh tears had filled the slender teen's eyes, as if she somehow knew what Geoffrey was about to tell her.
"She doesn't want to stay anymore, does she?"
Geoffrey shook his head. "It isn't that she doesn't love you, she's just ready to move on."
Shaking her head violently, Melody denied his words. "Make her stay! You can make her stay, I know you can."
Emotion rose inside him, but Geoffrey managed to maintain his control. "I could, but doing so would be counter to what she wants. It would only be a matter of time until it caused some kind of problem."