Page 45 of High Seas

Kael tried to stop me from leaving, but there was nothing he could do to physically hold me there. “I’ll call security,” he threatened.

Without turning around, I remarked over my shoulder, “They wouldn’t arrive fast enough to keep me from snapping your neck if you did.”

Disgusted, I walked right out of his lab, Yarrow clearing the surveillance feeds and virtually making me a ghost. I was reeling by the time I reached a lesser-used side door to exit. Normally, only two people were assigned to watch the doors. Now, every entrance and exit was manned by a small army of military police, all clad in black and armed to the teeth. I flashed them a grin and my clearance card.

“You don’t want to go out there,” one warned.

“An assignment I didn’t ask for, but got sidled with anyway,” I replied with a shrug.

“Story of my life,” he replied. His peers chuckled at his joke.

“Hey, is there a better way back in? I don’t want to be stuck outside after dark.”

“The loading dock used to be a sure bet, but even it’s being swarmed and is under lockdown. Just stay close to the Compound. About an hour before sundown, all the people out there will head home until dawn. You can slip inside just after dark.”

I thanked him and waited while two officers opened the door. I stepped outside, literally into another semi-circle of military police as the door was shut and barred behind me. Squeezing through the officers, I made slow progress through the crowd. The sidewalk was filled with people who were jammed shoulder-to-shoulder. The broadcasts had only shown the front entrance, not publicizing the fact that the building was completely surrounded by those seeking asylum and safety.

I squeezed in between those who would allow it and finally made it into the street where the protestors weren’t packed as tightly. The anger from the crowd was palpable. Incensed, they shouted and raised fists to the Compound’s many cameras, demanding to be granted immediate entrance and reminding Victor of the promises he’d made. In the beginning, they had appointed him their champion, their leader. Now, the citizens threatened to remove him from the position.

Yarrow messaged, providing me with the location of the vampire gala the Assets were supposed to strike at. It appeared on my communicator a scant ten seconds before she erased it – just long enough for me to commit it to memory. I’d start my search there.

Two blocks east. Fifteen north. Two more east and another half-block north, The Atrium rose from the concrete, a conference center that if made of stone would’ve looked imposing. Instead, it was a whimsical mixture of painted-white metal and iridescent panels of glass. This part of town was considered dangerous. Just on the border of the ruined remains of what once was our great city and the zone where humans had once been considered safe, the hotel sat, innocently glistening in the sun.

The Vampire gala had taken place at night, of course, but I wondered why they’d chosen a place so open. Every wall was glass. The humans living in this area would’ve been able to see right in, to watch the gala and everyone in attendance.

Enoch had probably concocted the idea. He was an arrogant bastard. And if he had Eve, he was going to be a very dead, arrogant bastard.

I just had to find him… and avoid leaving a trail for any vamps to find me while I searched for her.

The sun shone brightly overhead. On a whim, I tried the door, expecting the main entrance to be locked. Instead, it opened easily. I quietly stepped into the lobby. Clusters of plush chairs surrounded a small copse of trees. I plucked a green leaf from one of them, twirling the stem between my fingers.

My communicator dinged. Yarrow messaged: I managed to crack part of the code. There are several more complex layers. I need time to break into those. But, this feed was among the encrypted information. Kael hid this from Victor….

A recorded video of the gala’s festivities began to play. It was from a camera in the corner of this lobby. I located the device and turned so that my back was to it, easily envisioning where everyone was positioned the night of the gala.

The footage was clear, despite the darkness outside. The room was illuminated by spotlights that rose from the mulch around the trees. Vampires and humans dressed in shimmering clothes swayed to music playing somewhere in the background. Whether it came from speakers or a band playing from somewhere further in the hotel, I couldn’t tell.

The footage sped up, lapsing time. Not once did I see a vampire feed on a human. Not once was there a struggle. I knew most humans who hung around the vamps did so because they wanted to feel the rush of being around the immortal ones. Some wanted to be turned, others just wanted to walk a path of danger. Whatever their motives, they did so willingly. But this gala was nothing like I expected it would be. The footage slowed, and then the camera panned in on a small stage. A spotlight shone down on the platform and Enoch stepped into the spotlight. In the shadows behind him, he was flanked by Terah and Asa.

This was the moment. The moment they were all together.

Every eye in the room was on them.

My heart thundered, waiting for Eve, Titus, and Abram to appear and strike them down.

Enoch raised his glass and thanked their guests for supporting his efforts to bridge the expansive divide between the vampire and human races. He prattled off a few more flattering phrases before again toasting to those in attendance. He and his siblings exited the stage. The footage sped up and I watched as the party-goers slowly trickled out of The Atrium and into the night.

Only the three first vampires were left. Asa escorted Terah from the building, leaving Enoch behind. Alone. He’d sat in the chair just in front of me for hours, in direct view of a camera he knew was there. He swirled whatever spirit was in his glass and stared at the camera, sitting there until the sky outside lightened. When the sunlight poured into the windows, still he sat. I expected his flesh to boil, for his skin to peel off his bones, flaking to the ground in ashy patches. But somehow, Enoch was immune to sunlight in a way the vampires he’d sired weren’t. Which meant that Terah and Asa were also immune to its effects.

That was something Victor had never mentioned.

Finally, Enoch carefully sat his glass down beside the chair leg, stood, and deftly buttoned his suit jacket. He strode across the room and the camera zoomed in on his face. He opened his mouth and began to speak directly into the lens.

“Victor Dantone, I’ve looked for you in a dozen cities far grander than Verona. I suppose I should have anticipated your preference for understatements and subtlety, and started my search here. But now that I’ve found you, I’d like to offer you one final attempt at a peaceful resolution to our mutual discord.” Enoch raised his hands and swiveled around. “I stand in the very room where the gala was held – the gala your Assets believe they are being sent to attack. Soon, they’ll know your lies and what mission you’ve truly sent them on. You have one chance to end the feud between us, to heal the bad blood, if you will excuse the pun. Send Eve to me, and I’ll let your people live. Refuse, and I will raze your Compound to the ground. I will slaughter your people, the way you slaughtered mine.”

He stared into the camera for a long moment, then walked to the door and down the sidewalk.

Enoch didn’t broadcast this message across the public feeds. It was personal. Delivered to Victor alone. But Victor never received it. According to Yarrow, Kael intercepted and hid it from Victor.

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