“I’m glad Baojia is here,” Lucien said.
“Because it’ll mean there’s someone else watching out for me?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “One-track mind.”
He sat up, taking her with him. “We should feed and join the others. No doubt there will be more excitement tonight, especially now that Carwyn and Tenzin are here.”
“Lucien?”
“Hmm?”
“When this is over, what will we do?”
“Go back to work. Between the two of us, I know we’ll find the answers to put all this to rest.” He paused, then he kissed her hard. “And then we’ll do whatever we want.”
❖
Makeda watched Lucien from the corner of the room. When it came to planning battle, she had little role to play. She felt Baojia settle next to her and cross his arms, watching the older vampires argue over a map.
“You’re not in on this?” she asked.
“Me?” He shook his head. “I’m a grunt. Nobody’s going to listen to me.”
“I thought you did a good job protecting the compound in California.”
“Except the little mistake about missing the Greek agent who was living right next door to you?”
“Well…” She shrugged. “Nobody’s perfect.”
“I’m surprised Katya didn’t have my head for that one,” he muttered. “It was a mistake to not do a deeper background check.”
“What’s done is done.”
He paused. “Are you really okay? I know you didn’t want this. Natalie would tell you I’ve been in a mood for months now worrying about you.”
Makeda took a long breath. “I never would have chosen this,” she said. “And if I hadn’t…” She watched Lucien. “I would have missed him. Missed all of it. So… maybe I need to be thanking my dear friend Philip after all.”
“That would be easier if he wasn’t crab food.”
She sniffed. “I can’t find it in my heart to be sorry about that.”
He nudged her with an elbow. “You’re going to make an excellent vampire.”
“Once I get the hang of it?”
“You’re already most of the way there.”
She turned back to watch the arguing immortals. “How is Katya?”
“Treating your family with kid gloves at the moment. I’d expect that to continue. Nobody wants to piss off Lucien and his mom right now.”
“Has she heard about the Elixir treatments?”
Baojia tried to hide his smile but he couldn’t. “Everyone in the world heard about the Elixir treatment even before it started to work. So yes, she’s heard about it. And no, she’s not happy.”
“There’s no money in stem cell therapy.”
“No. But the fact that you didn’t cure it is soothing the pain.”
She frowned. “What?”
“Testing kits, Mak. People are still ordering testing kits. Until this virus is completely dead, they’ll be ordering a lot of them, and Katya’s the only one that has them. So while curing the virus might have been the goal… maybe just detecting it will pay the bills better.”
Makeda shook her head. “Leave it to Katya to find a way to make money off of failure.”
“Not failure,” Baojia said. “Not even close.”
❖
Lucien met with “the B-Team,” as Baojia had jokingly started to refer to them, after the meeting. Carwyn, Brigid, and Tenzin joined them in Lucien and Makeda’s room again.
“We’re splitting into two teams,” Lucien said. “The main group—with the four ancients, Makeda, and me—will be taking out Alitea with Kato’s new army.”
Tenzin said. “And us?”
“The plants,” Brigid said. “All the factories. They want us to take out the plants making Elixir, don’t they?”
“It’s possible Laskaris has already begun to move his production, but I don’t think so. He’s too arrogant, and Ziri said his informants report Livia’s original plants are still going.”
Carwyn said, “Fleeing would make him appear weak. He can’t do that and retain any of his allies. Not to mention the other members of the council.”
Baojia raised a hand. “Problem.”
“Yes?”
“Do we know if Elixir can be weaponized?”
No one had an answer.
Lucien said, “I don’t think so, but…”
Makeda immediately saw the issue. “If it can, we need to make sure anyone going in is safe. Baojia, Lucien, and I have living sires. Carwyn, Brigid, and Tenzin?”
“I do,” Brigid said. “Carwyn, you’re out.”
“I can—”
“Forget it,” Lucien said. “Brigid’s right. If we need an earth vampire, I’ll go in and you can take my place with Kato and Saba.”
Carwyn sulked. “Fine.”
“Tenzin,” Lucien asked, “what are you thinking?”
“I’ll risk it.” She did a somersault in the air. “I’m a little curious if I can catch it, to be honest.”
“Let’s not make a game of it, shall we?” Lucien looked at Makeda. “I want you to stay with Carwyn and the ancients.”
She was shocked. And a little offended. “What? Why? If you’re going to the plants—”
“Then there will be at least one of us there to make sure we’ve taken everything out,” he said. “But I want you with Kato and Carwyn. Not only can they protect you, but there will likely be far more humans at the plants than on Alitea.”
“That’s true,” Tenzin said. “Hunting is always done off the island. There are very few humans there.”
“You’ll be more focused if you stay with the others,” Lucien said. “And I trust Carwyn to watch out for you.”
“But—”
“Makeda, this is the best option.” He turned and handed a printout to Brigid. “These are the blueprints I have. Do you think we can find anything better?”
Carwyn held out his arm to Makeda, who was still standing behind Lucien, gaping at him.
“Hello,” he said. “My name is Carwyn ap Bryn, and I’ll be your earth vampire for the battle.”
Makeda forced a smile, but she was angry that Lucien hadn’t even consulted her before he’d made his decision. She might not be as experienced a soldier as he was, but she had a good idea what she could handle. As Lucien broke away to strategize with Brigid, Tenzin, and Baojia, Makeda stayed behind, sitting next to Carwyn.
“Be kind,” Carwyn whispered. “Taking out the plants is more dangerous than going into battle with four of the most ancient immortals in the world.”
“I know.” That’s why I want to go with him.
❖
She was sitting on the rocks below the fortress, watching the fishing boats as they made their way into the open ocean. Dawn was two hours away, and their navigation lights dotted the harbor as the boats headed south into the black water.
She felt Lucien walk down to her. He sat on the damp rocks and leaned his elbows on his knees.
“We’ll leave tomorrow evening.”
Makeda was silent.
“Are you angry with me?”
“I don’t like being ignored.”
“I’m not ignoring you.”
“Disregarded then.”
He reached over and took one of her hands, playing her fingers between his own. “Do you understand why?”
“I understand you’re being very high-handed and I’m the junior partner here, so everyone is ignoring me.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. You have every right to be angry.”
“But not sorry enough to take me with you.”
“No.”
She fell silent and watched the boats.
Lucien’s fingers suddenly gripped tight. He folded both his hands around her own and brought them to his mouth, pressing his lips against her fingertips.
“Lucien?”
“It’s an odd sensation,” he said quietly, “to give your heart completely to another. I
feel as if my soul is tied up with yours. If something happened to you, I genuinely don’t think I would have any motivation to continue living.”
“Stop,” she whispered. “That’s not fair.”
“But it’s true.” He relaxed his hands. “I can live with your anger, Makeda. As long as I don’t have to live without you. I don’t have a human family. I don’t have offspring who depend on me. I have only Saba, and soon she will have many other children. But if something happened to you, I would have nothing.”
Makeda was reminded of the angry, arrogant man she’d first met, the focused vampire who lived only for his patients. The intense man with a shadow of despair behind his eyes. “Have you ever tried to end your life?”
“Yes.”
Fear stilled her heart. “Why?”
“I was sick. It wasn’t just that I was losing my mind, though that was bad enough. I was… tired. I’m so old.” His face, though unlined, had never looked more ancient. “I’ve seen nearly everything you can imagine. I’ve had thousands of lovers and friends, and most of them are gone. I was so very tired, Makeda.”
“You can’t be tired.” She felt the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Don’t you know? I’m depending on you to keep me company.”
“My mother saved me. Finding a cure for the Elixir gave me a focus. Baojia and Natalie made me curious again. But it was you, Makeda…” He smiled a slow smile and pulled one of her curls. “You brought me back to life, yene konjo.”
“You lived to irritate me?”
He shrugged. “Everyone has to have a purpose. Do you understand why I don’t want to imagine the world without you?”
She turned and kissed him slowly and thoroughly. “I will be your purpose. And you will be mine. We will live together. Explore together. You can show me your world.”
“There are wonders,” he said. “Things you would hardly believe.”
“I want to see them all.”
He nodded. “I can live with that.”
“You’d better.”
They fell silent again, but this time they were in each other’s arms.
“You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Take me to bed and give me a reason not to be.”
She felt him smile against her temple. His fangs were already down. “You drive a hard bargain, Dr. Abel.”
“Then you’d better deliver, Dr. Thrax.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
They took the plane to Bulgaria after a heated farewell between Lucien and Makeda. He left his new mate in his mother’s care and flew away with an unstable Irish fire vampire and a water vampire as reluctant to leave Italy as he was.
The crazy wind vampire refused to board the plane and insisted on meeting them in Plovdiv.
“I don’t like it any more than you do, but it was the right call,” Baojia said, leaning up against the insulated bulkhead of Giovanni Vecchio’s plane. “Carwyn will keep her safe.”
“She’s angry with me.”
Baojia smiled. “Would you like me to list the number and ways in which I’ve pissed my mate off in the short four years we’ve been together? Makeda will get over it. According to Brigid’s intel, the human presence is high, even in the middle of the night. You made the right decision.”
Lucien tapped his foot. “Laskaris will be expecting something.”
“He won’t be expecting Tenzin and Brigid.”
Lucien shook his head. “But he’ll be expecting something. Our move is overdue. Saba suggested we take out the plants after we left Turkey.”
“You didn’t, which could play to our advantage.”
“Or it could mean he’s had more time to prepare.”
Baojia shrugged. “I’m not in charge of this operation, so I’m just following orders at this point.”
“We should have brought more people.”
“I don’t think so.” Baojia closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Rest, Lucien. Going in circles will accomplish nothing.”
❖
Makeda watched the plane take off with Saba standing behind her. The faint scent of the pilots and ground crew lingered in the air, but Makeda was learning to ignore it.
“He’ll be fine,” Saba said. “Do you think I’d send my favorite son off into a battle he couldn’t win?”
“My sire and my mate are both on that plane. Do you expect me not to worry?”
“I expect you to focus on the task at hand,” she said. “And part of that means leaving your worry here and focusing on what you must do to ensure our victory.”
Makeda faced Saba. “And what is that? Because so far, no one has given me any combat training. As far as I know, all I’m supposed to do is stay out of the way. I’m not sure why anyone even wants me there.”
“Because it will be easier to protect you if you’re with us, of course. And it will be your job to address the court. Tell them I hold the key to their healing should any of them become infected.”
Makeda blinked. “You act as if they’re just going to let us walk up to the gates and reason with them.”
“They will.” Saba shrugged. “They have to.”
“Says who?”
“Protocol. Tradition.”
Makeda said, “Saba, why do you think that means anything to the council of Athens at this point? They’ve poisoned humans and undermined vampire governments all over Europe. They’ve killed important people and made enemies everywhere, all in a quest to regain some kind of importance to the larger vampire world.”
“They’ll open the gates to us because we’re old like them.” She smiled, both fangs down. “Plus they know we can rip the gates off should we want to.”
❖
Lucien could feel her hovering. “Just ask what you want to ask and leave, Tenzin.”
“I can’t leave. I promised Giovanni I’d help with this.” She landed beside him, pouting. “I do have better things I could be doing, you know.”
“I’m so sorry we’re interrupting your busy social schedule.”
She leaned toward him and stared at his face. “You’re so much like him, you know.”
“Who?”
“Giovanni. You’re very… What’s the word my life coach would use? Uptight. You’re uptight.”
Lucien closed his eyes. “You have a life coach?”
“Kind of. So your human—”
“I don’t have a human.”
She waved a hand. “Your new mate. She was human recently, yes?”
“Yes.”
“And you changed her against her will?”
He snarled a little. “It’s a complicated story.”
“They always are.” She lifted off the ground a little. “But tell me, how long did it take for her to forgive you? Not long, I’m assuming, but you are mates, so that could have something to do with it. Were you having sex with her when she was human?”
“I am not going to share any of this with you.”
“Fine, ignore the sex question. But really, how long did it take?” she asked. “I’m asking for a friend.”
Lucien lifted one eyebrow. “Right.”
“What? I am.”
He rose and went to find Brigid. She was studying a schematic that had been delivered to them when they’d landed. They were currently holed up in a warehouse that smelled like ash. Lucien suspected it belonged to the Russian fire vampire, Oleg, but he didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t really want to. His mother’s connections were vast. It didn’t mean he had to keep track of them.
“What do we know?” he asked Brigid.
“According to our little spies—who have no reason to lie—the lightest shift happens right before dawn.”
“Makes sense.”
“So we’ll go in right after shift change when everyone is getting oriented.” She pointed to the roof. “Easiest access is there.”
“What about the ground?”
Brigid shook her head. “Concrete slab six feet deep. Livia built
the factory and she built it with vampires in mind.”
“Six feet is nothing,” Lucien said. “I can break through that.”
“But can you do it quietly?” Brigid asked. “Because I’m married to one of you earth boys, and nothing he does is quiet.”
Lucien shrugged. “Stealth and breaking rocks rarely go together.”
“The roof.” She pointed to it again. “There’s a helicopter pad and roof access that was left over from the previous owner. Livia didn’t use it—neither did Laskaris—but it’s there. Tenzin will take you and me up while Baojia secures the water system.”
“The water system?”
“According to our source, Laskaris rigged the plant to blow up and dump any remaining Elixir into the local water system. Kind of a last ‘fuck you’ to humanity, I guess. Baojia will take care of that while you identify what I need to burn up and Tenzin kills anyone who gets in our way.”
“Sounds like a fun night.”
She shrugged. “It’s not political wrangling followed by death and destruction, but it should keep us busy for a couple of hours.”
“Does Tenzin know that some of these humans are likely to be hired guns and maintenance staff? We shouldn’t kill them just because they’re ignorant of who they’re working for.”
Brigid smiled. “She’s not as ruthless as she pretends to be.”
“I heard that!” came a voice from across the warehouse. “And yes, I am.”
Lucien couldn’t see her in the shadows, but clearly she was listening. “Don’t kill the humans just for fun, Tenzin.”
“I’m not a sociopath.” She paused. “Or would that be a psychopath? I’m honestly not sure what the difference is.”
“Don’t kill anyone unless they try to kill you,” he said. “How’s that?”
“What about the scientists who are making this poison?”
“I’ll take care of them,” he said. “Right now let’s focus on shutting this down.” He turned back to Brigid. “How many plants?”