Ed in cage? Beast thought, opening our eyes.
“Once his people started looking, they discovered that Pellissier Clan’s Bombardier Learjet 85 flew out of Paris four days ago with Ed and four other vampires aboard—none of them Ed’s. The aircraft landed in the Bahamas and Ed’s passport was marked. Then he disappeared. They were getting ready to inform us when I called them first.”
Beast hissed deep inside me.
We pulled away from Alex and turned to face Eli when he took up the narrative. “What we haven’t discussed with you is that there’s been a vamp war in Europe and in other parts of the world between several Naturaleza and the Mithran factions. It’s been simmering for centuries and the emperor had controlled the violence with an iron hand, but with Titus gone and Ed not yet having a loyal base, things were getting dicey. With Ed gone, I’m sure they’ve gotten worse.”
Alex said, “According to Grégoire, the local fangheads are rising and fighting between themselves.” Alex captured my attention with his eyes.
Beast didn’t like the direct stare. I held her still, waiting.
Slowly, he said, “There is no emperor. No Dark Queen. And you aren’t in any shape to fight duels. Getting you well has been and still is the goal, not fighting duels or dealing with fanghead politics. So this is not your fault. In any way. You got that?”
The Kid knew I had a guilt complex a mile wide, but I’d been working on demolishing it. Since I got sick, I hadn’t felt guilty about anything at all. Except being sick. And that was totally my fault, even if I hadn’t known I was doing it to myself at the time. I snorted in disgust.
“What’s happened?” Bruiser called from the front door. He was taking off his peacoat and pulling off snow-covered boots. Eli filled him in as my honeybunch crossed the wide space, as succinct as the former ranger could be. Three sentences, max.
“Which faction burned the house where Ed was staying?” Bruiser asked, his eyes lighting up. The former primo would know all about the political problems in Europe, and if the gleam in his eyes was an indication, he was already engrossed.
Alex said, “Things are bad over there. From what Grégoire was saying there are five key European factions, major infighting, and some of the European Mithrans have begun looking for new land to conquer. Two factions headed west, including the one that stole Ed and the Bombardier. That means that things are about to get bad in this hemisphere.”
They’ve been hiding things from us, I thought to Beast.
Jane is sick. Jane cannot help. Why tell Jane?
I’m still interested. They should have told me.
Jane is Dark Queen still? No. Jane gave up alpha among vampires. Walked away to find new territory to hunt. Jane is silly kit who does not know what she wants. Does not even know if she wants to live or die.
It isn’t that I want to die. I just don’t think I can live. And I’m nosy.
Beast swiveled her ear tabs back in disgust. She was disgusted a lot these days.
Alex said, “Grégoire debriefed me. Most of it’s bad.” Alex made eye contact with each of us, one by one, staring through the ringlets across his forehead before continuing. “Shimon Bar-Ioudas’s faction is one that headed west. His passport shows he entered the British Virgin Islands two weeks ago, with an entourage, and then disappeared. But Grégoire thinks Shimon’s people may have spearheaded the attack on Ed. He thinks Ed is now in the hands of Bar-Ioudas.”
“Bar-Ioudas? Jane killed him and fed him to the werewolf,” Eli said, frowning.
“Shimon Bar-Ioudas,” Bruiser said, “Shimon Bar-Judas, if we use the modern vernacular, is the name of the younger Son of Darkness, and according to what I know from my time as Leo’s primo, he is far worse than his older brother.” His voice was toneless and yet somehow still full of dread. “He’s gone by many titles over the years. Flayer of Mithrans, Son of Shadows, Son of Night, Soul of Darkness, Son of Deception, among others. It’s said that he was the brother who personally sacrificed his younger sister on the wood of the crosses of Calvary in the act of black magic that brought their father back from the dead and created the first of the blood drinkers.” He hesitated. “The records suggest that he ate her body while she was still alive, piece by piece, while she screamed.”
CHAPTER 2
Grégoire’s More a Lover and a Dueler Than a Politician
Beast growled. I went very, very still inside. Among my kind that was the blackest of black magic. Even hearing about it made my pelt rise in hackles. Alex’s hands went dead still and I backed away from the Kid.
“Yeah,” he said to me. “Okay. So here’s what we have on Shimon Bar-Judas,” Alex said, spinning back to his computers, his fingers flying over the keys as he accessed the files amassed by Yellowrock Securities. “The SOD Two. For a thousand years, his traditional territory was Western Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and India. With all the political unrest everywhere, he’s had to move around, and indications are he isn’t happy about that. With Leo in the grave and Titus true-dead and mostly eaten, he had two choices: challenge Grégoire and Edmund for Europe—and they might actually be better with edged weapons than he is, considering the fact that he hasn’t actively dueled in centuries—or come here and take over Leo’s lands from a woman who hasn’t forcefully claimed them.”
“Kidnapping Ed and coming here was not a strategy I expected. Or even understand,” Eli mused.
“The Dark Queen has been silent,” Bruiser said, thinking it through. “She hasn’t raised an army or claimed more territory. She hasn’t made a show of strength. It might appear that she’s injured from the Sangre Duello and healing human-slow. Therefore, she may look like the easier conquest. He may think she is still licking her wounds, making it easier to claim her lands.” He propped his chin on a hand, the beard hair making a soft scrunch, a sound that was new in our relationship. I loved his beard. So did Beast.
“If Jane looks weak . . . Alex,” Eli said, “what’s the MOC of New York doing?”
New York had been paying tribute to Europe for centuries. If he was part of the attack in some way—
“New York lost a challenge from Rosanne Romanello of Sedona,” Alex said, glee lacing his tone. “He’s headless. Rosanne is composing formal letters of fealty to Jane, writing as the MOC of Sedona and New York. The letters will be hand delivered by messenger in a week or so, according to proper Mithran protocol.”
And no one told me. I had walked away from my responsibilities and they had let me. Eli should have slapped me upside the head and forced me back to work.
Bruiser’s brows drew together, making vertical lines on his forehead. “Once Shimon has the Americas and Edmund firmly in control, then he could turn his attention back to Europe, which by then would be headed by Grégoire. But a Grégoire without a Dark Queen backing him would be easy prey. Grégoire, for all his grace and charm and fighting ability, is not a ruler. His grief over Leo’s passing has made him into a dueling, fighting machine. Creating alliances takes a heart of stone, and Grégoire’s more a lover and a dueler than a politician.”