Page 52 of Destined for Shadows
After taking a moment to coordinate how they would proceed once they were inside, they flashed into the cabin. It was pitch black in the room with only the tiniest rays of light coming from the edges of the window drapes. Bartol had to squint to make out the sleeping forms of three vampires in the corner where it was darkest. Using his power, he pushed soft light out through his skin. It wasn’t like the sun and wouldn’t harm the vampires. The ability came from his angelic half—a natural magic he rarely used except in cases such as this. Lucas followed his example, doing the same until the interior of the cabin was bathed in a soft glow.
“Wake,” Bartol commanded.
The vampires lifted their heads, one woman and two men. As soon as they saw the intruders, they jumped to their feet. One of the men grabbed a scimitar from his pallet and stepped in front of the others in a protective posture. The glow Bartol and Lucas emitted gave away what kind of supernaturals they were, so the vampires knew better than to attempt attacking. They were well aware they’d lose in a fight against nephilim.
“What do you want?” the lead man asked with a hint of a northeastern accent.
Bartol skimmed their faces, noting none of them had any resemblance to Cori’s former husband. He pulled out a picture of Griff and held it out. “Have any of you seen this man?”
The vampire with the scimitar hesitated, but when Bartol gave him a lethal look, he quickly moved forward to study the photo. Recognition lit in his features. “Yeah, saw him a couple of weeks ago. He traveled with us for a while until I had to kick him out of our group.”
Bartol’s shoulders eased with relief. They’d finally tracked down someone who could verify Griff was in the area and perhaps could tell them more. “Why did you make him leave?”
“Too much trouble. The man had a violent temper, and I didn’t like the way he treated my sister.” He gestured toward the woman behind him. “After he slapped her, I had to make him leave.”
“Do you know why he’s in town?” Bartol asked.
“Said he was searching for a woman, but that was about it.”
Lucas stepped forward. “Why areyouhere?”
The vampire gulped as he took his first good look at the nephilim. Lucas had an intimidating presence, and he was well known in the supernatural community as being extremely powerful. Few remembered Bartol since he’d been away for too long. And while he could fight with the best of them, he’d preferred to spend his time with women during the last few centuries before he landed in Purgatory. The world had forgotten about him, which was perfectly fine as far as he was concerned.
“Too many vampires are being killed in their nests where we lived before. It was only a matter of time before we were next. I heard the humans are more tolerant in Fairbanks, so I decided to bring my brother and sister here,” the vampire said, speaking in a hesitant tone. “Is there a problem with that?”
“You should have registered with the master for this area. Why didn’t you?” Lucas asked.
The vampire shifted on his feet. “Heard he was a werewolf. We were afraid he might not let us stay since there’s so many of us coming here, which is why we picked a place far outside of town.”
In fact, they were barely within Derrick’s territory. The cabin where they were staying was well out of Fairbanks to the west of the city. Bartol had wondered why they’d chosen such a remote place when they’d need to feed from humans on a regular basis. Unlike what he’d seen in the movies Melena and Emily made him watch while he lived with them, bagged blood was no good—not that these vampires would have had a way to keep it cool without electricity or a refrigerator, anyway.
Bartol studied the man. “He won’t force you to leave, assuming you didn’t cause trouble where you came from last. I’m more curious about how you came into contact with Griff.”
The two men and woman looked at each other, relief in their gazes. They’d truly believed this was the best they could hope to find for living quarters. Judging by their name brand clothing, which Bartol could thank Emily for teaching him about, this group could afford to buy nice things. It was only the concern for their safety that kept them hidden in a single-room cabin where the humans were few and far between.
The lead vampire addressed Bartol, “We all came from Albany together. In fact, Griff was the one to suggest Fairbanks but told us to avoid talking to the alpha werewolf because he wouldn’t like us.” He shook his head. “I guess I should have known that was a lie.”
“You haven’t seen him at all since he left?” Bartol asked, using compulsion to ensure the man told the truth. He couldn’t influence elder vampires, but this family couldn’t have been turned more than two or three decades ago. The hum of power coming from them was soft and only beginning to grow into something stronger.
“No, but we’ve mostly kept to ourselves except going out to feed.”
Bartol hid his disappointment. He had to console himself that at least they’d learned something new. Griff was smart enough to stay on the fringes of this territory and avoid the alpha, which meant they could stop bothering to search for him closer to town. He might have only risked going to Cori’s place because she lived far enough out in the bush.
Lucas spoke up, “Go tonight to speak with the master, and after that you can live wherever is preferable to you.” He paused. “As long as you obey the rules.”
The nephilim handed over a card with his phone number on it and instructed the group—with added compulsion—to call if they saw or heard from Griff. The vampires didn’t appear to need the added incentive, but it didn’t hurt to make certain they would cooperate.
“Do you have any idea where Griff might have gone?” Bartol asked, hoping for one last clue. More than anything, he wanted to finish this so Cori could be safe again, and he could go back to avoiding her before something happened that they both might regret.
The lead vampire shook his head. “That man didn’t seem to like talking about himself much, and he was rather angry when he left. I figured he’d just find another hunting cabin since he was the one to find this one for us.”
Bartol and Lucas talked to the vampires for a few more minutes before flashing back to his cabin. They hadn’t been there for more than a few seconds before Lucas’ cell phone rang.
“Hello, Melena,” he said, tone softening for the woman he loved.
“Where have you been?” she yelled, voice filled with anxiety. “I’ve tried calling a dozen times!”
Lucas’ lips thinned. “My apologies. We were checking on another vampire nest, and the signal wasn’t strong out there. What is going on?”
