Mixed Blessing (Mixed Blessing Mystery, Book 1) (38 page)

Another reason to freak out, but Mark seemed to indicate that this was all standard criminal psychotic behaviour. I took his word for it. Didn't like it. But what could I do? I'd committed to this course of action, there was no going back now.

The minutes ticked by unsuccessfully. We traversed street after street in the CBD. Mark even suggested we travel further afield, but both Samson and I quashed that idea. Crazy Rogue or not, Xavier would be waiting - or hunting - in Vampire Central, which in essence was the CBD.

Eventually, having started to feel a little carsick with all the twists and turns down one street after another, I'd had enough.

"I need to do this on foot," I said into the tense silence of the van.

"Is that wise?" Samson asked, his
Sanguis Vitam
stretching out across the space between us and caressed down my side. If he was aware he was trying to placate me, he didn't show it. I was thinking it was another natural movement for him. His need to touch me, in some way being satisfied by a supernatural pet.

"He can't see me in here," I countered, giving Samson a look that hopefully conveyed the fact that I couldn't hunt him from in the van either. I almost felt like we were talking in code around the police officers with us, but to my relief both Samson and Mark understood. Mark instructing the driver to pull over immediately, and Samson reluctantly nodding his acknowledgement.

I stepped out onto Queen Street, near the intersection with Mayoral Drive. I could see the Town Hall several metres away, the clock tower lit up with strategically placed lighting, showing that it was well after one in the morning, but still so many Norms walked the street. I felt a momentary pang of disquiet. Innocents could get caught up in this, even though the hour was late there were still too many not to be concerned.

I inhaled deeply, trying to sift through the multitude of scents on the air. It was impossible to get an immediate understanding of what was what, and my concentration was not at its best, constant worry that a Norm would get harmed tonight causing adrenaline to thrum through my veins and my Dark Shadow to prowl in agitation inside.

"Well?" Mark asked from the front seat of the van at my side. His window was down and he was leaning out, watching me sniff the air. I cringed internally. Did he need any more evidence of the fact that I was
other
?

"Give her time to get her bearings," Samson offered in my defence, his words spoken softly, but he'd somehow directed them straight to my ears. I tipped my head to the side, ignoring them both.

And then I found him.

In amongst the plethora of smells, hidden between signature scents of Norms and other vampires, a fairy or two in amongst their depths. The emotional scents of a night time Auckland; hyped up, excited, living life. It was there, surrounded by the natural aroma of a city; the dirt and grit and diesel on the air.

Slightly burnt peaches, apple and cinnamon. A scent I was never going to forget for the rest of my very long life.

"I've got him," I said, a little excitedly. My Dark Shadow already alert and ready to hunt.

I started in the direction of my Sire's scent, trailing it like a hound dog hunts the blood of its prey. Xavier was my prey tonight, and although it wasn't his blood I hunted, as a vampire hunts their next meal, I was still hunting. And he was still my prey.

I tried to keep my velocity at a level that was not unnatural, but the urge to flash, to call on the vampire-within to assist in this hunt was so great. I felt myself pulling away from the police van that followed, more and more space coming between us as my legs stretched out further and my arms pumped the air with a greater speed.

It didn't take long to find myself alone on a side street, Samson and Mark nowhere to be seen. The sounds of Auckland City, in the middle of a warm and vibrant night, felt as distant as my back-up, but my Dark Shadow was not concerned, she knew Xavier - our Sire - was nearby. And right then, all that mattered, was getting to him, ending this once and for all.

He was close, I could scent him. He would have been aware I was on my own, unprotected, alone. I waited for him to come to me. I waited for him to show himself. I forced myself not to pull out the stake inside my jacket. It wasn't easy, my Dark Shadow wanted to bare fangs and attack. But I couldn't see him to attack him, so I willed her to wait instead.

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe I should have forced his hand, at least prepared to defend myself with a silver stake in my hand. I was a sitting duck, I wasn't acting as vampire - or a vampire hunter for that fact - I was acting as bait.

And I think he knew it, because his scent suddenly disappeared.

"Fuck!" I muttered under my breath, just as the police van rounded the corner and screeched to a halt at my back.

"What the hell are you doing, Georgia?" Mark demanded, springing from the front passenger seat of the vehicle to point an agitated finger at me. "We almost lost you!" He shouted into the still eerily quiet street.

"Then keep up," I said evenly, not looking at him but again scenting the air. Nothing. Frustration clawed at my chest, threatening a growl to erupt from deep inside. Something barely audible must have slipped out, because in the next instant Samson's
Sanguis Vitam
wrapped around me to soothe, taking the frustration away as easily as picking lint off a sleeve to make it smooth once again.

"I'm fine," I gritted between my teeth, only loud enough for the vampire with me to hear.

"No, you are not," he whispered back. "Your eyes have bled to red."

I closed my lids and let out a long sigh, praying my Dark Shadow would get the message and behave. I gave it a good thirty seconds then carefully opened them again, twisting my head to look directly at Samson standing beside the van. I raised my eyebrows in a question and caught the small twitch of his lips at the edge.

"Better," he whispered in my ear, pulling his
Sanguis Vitam
back, but not before he patted me affectionately with it on my rear.

I shook my head, gave a nod to Mark to indicate we were off again, and started towards the Central City Library on Lorne Street, nothing but a gut feeling to lead me in that direction. But as nothing else was tempting me, I decided gut was good enough.

I'd made it as far as a tiny lane that lead through to Kitchener Street, before I found him again. His scent reaching out and wrapping around me, tempting me, teasing me, luring me in.

The fucker was toying with me. I may have started this as the hunter, but I had the distinct feeling I was now prey.

"All right then," I said under my breath, squaring my shoulders and preparing for the worst. "If that's the way it has to be. Bring it!"

The gates of Albert Park met me by the time I reached Kitchener Street. Images of the murder scene that I attended here slipping through my mind. Yes, he was playing with me, but two could do that. I only hoped I'd be able to contain the entire event within this park.

The van parked nearby, and after a quick nod of his head from Mark, I walked alone into the park itself. Cloud cover had caused the night to be darker than usual, no moon to light my way. If I had been a Norm, I would have had to rely on the lit pathways, but as a Nothus I called on my vampire side and slipped through the shadows - not
hidden
, but hidden from sight. It was windy too, unfortunately. The wind created rustling in the branches of the park's trees, leaves tumbled across the pathways, litter adding to the ambient noise we really didn't need tonight.

Mark had said the recording equipment was sensitive and even in a slight breeze, we'd be OK, but  the worsening weather conditions didn't make me feel confident and the look Mark had on his face as I walked away from the van toward my Sire, matched the mood seeping into my bones right now. This was going to be tricky, and Xavier was tricky enough without added pressure like this. I knew to make this work I needed to corner him in a sheltered area, so my first task was to locate one in the park that would do.

Five minutes of searching proved fairly useless, there was one spot over the corner by an exit that could work, but the rest was well and truly too exposed. I was thinking it was time to move on when I scented him closer on the air. At the same time the wind picked up and created mini flurries or tornadoes with the loose leaves and garbage that had accumulated throughout the day.

It was going to be impossible to converse with him outside, I needed shelter and no time left to source a suitable spot as he was clearly gearing up for a confrontation now. The closeness of his scent making me think play time was indeed over. I scanned the park but couldn't see him, but what I did spot was a tall concrete building standing sentinel above the rest not far from the park's grounds.

I'm not sure why I picked that one, but I knew inside I'd have better acoustics and no wind, so I headed there, hoping and praying he would follow. If he was finished with taunting me, I could only hope he'd agree to a private meeting inside.

He obviously wanted me to find him, he'd lead me on a little wild goose chase and now he'd come closer than before here in the park.

The building had a sign out the front saying
The Connaught
, boxed hedges in planters that made the entranceway seem upmarket and two separate, but side by side, blue doors with gold trim at the top of a small set of steps. It was a nice building, an apartment complex unfortunately, instead of a business that would be empty at this time of night. But it was too late to reconsider, I knew he was close, so I threw out some
Sanguis Vitam
and unlocked the front door, slipping into a tiled entrance with way too much light.

I felt exposed, even though I had got rid of the wind, so didn't hesitate to slam through the emergency stairwell and start to climb.

I had no idea what I was doing, just following a half baked plan to find shelter so I could have a little
conversation
with my Sire and trap him into admitting he killed Alison and exonerate Stu. The fact that Norms were all around me, watching T.V., having late dinners, making love, sleeping, was quite frankly, frightening, but I had walked us to this point, trapped myself inside this building, there was no escape now.

I could just imagine what Mark and Samson were saying in the van. I knew I'd made a mistake, sweat had started to break out all over my skin, making me shiver despite there being no more wind inside the building to chill my flesh. But still I climbed those stairs.

All twelve flights to the very top. I momentarily considered forcing the security door open and high-tailing it onto the roof to avoid any Norms, but that would defeat the purpose of finding a sheltered environment in which to record our chat, so I dashed down the penthouse hallway, straining to hear any heartbeats on the other side of the closed doors. First penthouse, two heartbeats. Second, none.

The relief was astounding, and I prayed to Lucinda's Goddess, that the occupant was staying out all night, then slammed through his front door, throwing
Sanguis Vitam
out before me in order to silence any internal house alarms. It worked, but I didn't have time to feel pride in my skills.

I did a quick survey of the layout, but couldn't establish more than a vague idea that the bedrooms and utilities were to the back of the apartment and the huge lounge-come-open-plan-dining area took up most of the front wall.

The view was spectacular, but that was all I comprehended before my Sire walked in the room.

I turned slowly to face him, my entire being on high alert. This was it. Him and me. He knew all my secrets now, he knew my Dark Shadow would come out to play if push came to shove. He knew what I was capable of, my weaknesses as well as my strengths. And yet he still followed me here. To kill me? Or to bring me to heel? I had no idea, but I did know this was it.

One of us would definitely die tonight, maybe both of us. But it would end here.

"Xavier," I said keeping my voice low.

"Daughter," he replied in that deep purr.

We stared at each other for several seconds, but I had no way of knowing from his look alone, what he was thinking. I inhaled softly and took in the scents on the air. Smooth and dry Merlot, laced with a floral bouquet.

Oh fuck. He was proud. Proud of me, his protégée. That was how this would go then, he wanted me to be a part of his line still. It made me feel sick, but I could use this. He was trying to hide his emotions behind a vampire mask, but maybe he didn't know everything there was to know about me, because if he did, he wouldn't have bothered to hide. I'd just sniff it out and detect it, exactly like I just had.

I cocked my head to the side and said, "You followed then?" He nodded, but didn't move from his spot across the huge room. Nods were not good, I needed him chatty.

"Why?" I knew, but he didn't know I knew, so for now I'd play the game.

"You are unique," he purred. "Your talents are useful."

"Useful to your grand plan?" I asked.

"Yes."

"And what plan was that again?"

"You already know," he replied, annoyingly coy.

I scrambled internally for an out, my Dark Shadow shifted inside. It wasn't angry, it wasn't in frustration as she was so oft to do, it was simply to get my attention.

"My Dark Shadow knows," I said immediately getting her meaning. "How about you repeat it for me?"

"Your Dark Shadow," Xavier said slowly. "You were not present when she was in charge?" he confirmed.

"No," I answered simply, thinking this was going to be some scenario for Mark to explain away when the tapes get played in court.

"Is she present now?" he asked.

"Yes, but in the background, I am in control." It didn't bother me that I was revealing secrets to this vampire, he - or I - would soon be dead. And as for Mark and the Police, what did any of it actually mean to them? Mark was going to have to find an explanation for all of it, he'd mentioned maybe blaming our terminology on an on-line group game site. Something that Xavier and I could have been part of. It was weak, but it also wasn't my problem. Right now I had enough on my hands.

"Can you command her at will to come out and play?" he asked casually, but the scents on the air told me how eager he was to know. This was a tool he could use and nothing else.

"Yes, she is mine to command." My Dark Shadow raked her nails down my spine for that one, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Good," he said simply, then nothing else.

"So," I started, "your plans?"

"Yes, my plans. As I explained to your
Dark Shadow
, I am in the process of accumulating enough wealth to support a take over of the Nosferatu World." Fuck-a-duck, how the hell was Mark going to explain this away?

"I bet you are," I said in an obvious fake calming tone. Hoping like hell that Mark could say he was delusional and I was just playing along to keep him happy. "And how are you achieving this goal?"

"You already know," he said, a note of annoyance, and something else, entering into his voice. I inhaled and quelled my resulting anger at my mistake. Bold grapefruit and lime. He was alarmed at my behaviour, I was thinking because he was beginning to suspect something was wrong.

I scrambled, again. "Yeah, the Vive La Vodka drinks. Great idea, how did you make them so addictive?"

"Humans are so easy to control, it doesn't require our power, simply drug them and they are yours to command."

"You drugged the mixer?" I asked surprised. I had thought some form of magic would have been used, but a drug, hell any Norm could have accomplished that.

"The drink is a drug. With the portals open to
Álfheimr
access to a plethora of substances is easy to obtain. The drink was fabricated to my formula." The fairies
were
involved in this, Aliath was going to be mad. "It took time to perfect it, but my contact at the brewery made the task... pleasurable."

Arsehole. "You mean Alison Danvers at SubZero?"

He looked at me for a long moment. I held my breath expecting him to deny it, or simply offer a movement to answer the question, or maybe even pounce on me and rip off my head yelling,
you cannot trap me, bitch!

But finally, he spoke. "She was delicious. She tasted divine."

"You used her," I pushed my luck further. "Then killed her."

He smiled. "She was an excellent fuck and an even better meal, but the test subjects rebelled. The earlier formulas too addictive, they forced her to approach me. They wished to bypass the system, go right to the source."

"And you didn't like that," I guessed.

"She was weak, she wouldn't have confronted me unless they pushed."

"Why didn't you just glaze her?" I was forgetting about the need to keep this Norm-tolerant, too wrapped up in the events and curious myself to know why. "Why kill her?"

"She had served her purpose. The drink was a success and secured in the market place, I no longer needed access to the company through her. She had to die."

"Why a knife? Why not drain her dry yourself." I knew the answer, he was trying to lay a false trail, so the Master of the City couldn't conclude it was a vamp, but I still asked the question, getting a little carried away with our chat.

"Tell me," he said not answering. "Do you not remember me saying you would not ask questions of me?"

Oh shit, he had said that to
me
, before my Dark Shadow came out to play. I frantically tried to think of an excuse for my prying, one that wouldn't lead to a separation of my head from my shoulders.

Offence is the best defence, they say.

"Change of plans, Xavier. You now know I am more than I appeared. I don't want to simply be a follower in your endeavours. I want to stand at your side. To do that, I need to know all of your plans, your reasons for what has happened and what else you intend to do. Take it or leave it. I will not kowtow to you."

I thought it had worked, I was assertive, not too aggressive. And if there is anything a
vampire admires, it's strength. I would be a useful tool in his arsenal, he knew this, I was counting on him accepting it. But I had forgotten my Sire was capable of acting like a Rogue. And Rogues have neither rhyme nor reason for what they do. They feed when hungry. They kill because they cannot stop feeding when they start. They don't wash or maintain their health; physical or mental. They work alone, thinking any other vampire is a threat that needs to be put down.

Their entire existence is reactionary. Survival at all costs gone haywire. To the extreme.

I had thought Xavier used the act of Rogue as a cover. Merely a tool to fly under the radar, to distract, to confuse.

I had been wrong.

He had switch inside him, one that could get flicked at the drop of a hat. I don't know what I said or did to flick that switch. My excuse for demanding answers was sound. It made sense. But when that switch is flicked
nothing
makes sense to a Rogue.

I watched as my Sire, who had been standing before me well dressed - New dark brown chino trousers and a cream long sleeved t-shirt. Polished tan boots, matching leather belt at his slim waist. His hair loose and long, but brushed to a lustrous shine. Purely master vampire. - turned into a Rogue. Before my very eyes.

His fangs came out and down, his eyes bled to red, his hands effected claw-like positions in front of him and, frighteningly, he began to drool. Actually drool. Slavering, lunatic. Rogue vampire about to strike.

"Oh shit," I muttered reaching for a stake.

But I was way too slow. He flew through the air towards me and then blinked out of sight.

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed loudly and then followed it up with an, "oomph!" as he barrelled into my chest.

We rolled head over heels through the settee, a lamp crashed to the ground, the glass table top shattered, cushions went flying and lastly plasterboard crumbling at the back of my head. Not once or twice, but half a dozen times as he bashed my head repeatedly against the wall.

I scraped the stake down the side of his face, not able to reach his chest as he was pressed firmly against my own, and received a howl of anger and frustration for my efforts.

"You gonna kill me too, Xavier?" I panted. "Alison and all the research group not enough?"

He didn't answer. Rogue. Not many can carry a conversation and drool at the same time.

Instead I went flying through the air and slammed through another wall, this time the plasterboard didn't so much as crumble, but explode, as my entire body went through it and then proceeded through the glass ranch slider in that room. I came to rest on the exposed balcony.

I felt glass embed into my skin, a slice down my forearm, shards impale in my back. I managed to brush off some of the more noticeable fragments from my front and then he was on me again, this time his fangs finding purchase at my neck.

My Dark Shadow rose, preparing to come to the fore, I moaned out a "No!" and followed that up with a whimpered, "Light" and felt her hesitate for a second. I took advantage of her pause and blasted Xavier with my Light.

For some reason my Dark Shadow had allowed me to do that, which made me fleetingly wonder if it was a tool she couldn't use herself. I couldn't think further on it, before my head was twisted in a vice-like grasp and the tendons on the side of my neck began to snap. Next would be muscle, then the bone, followed by my spinal cord. And last, but by no means least, the separation of my head from my shoulders.

I'd used my Light, I was fighting with all of my
Sanguis Vitam
, my stake was slamming repeatedly into his back but somehow missing his heart. The wind was howling around us, glass stabbing not only into my side, but I was sure into him as well. I couldn't hear a thing, other than the humming of my
Sanguis Vitam
, the accompaniment of his, and the howl of the wind as it rushed around us twelve stories up in the sky.

He would drain me, kill me and escape. He would continue to murder the research group. Go on to his next project and kill innocents again. Stu would remain behind bars. Kara would be distraught for the rest of her life, having to get body-searched every time she visited her cousin in prison. The indignity for both unacceptable, but if luck was on their side, the taped confession I had recorded tonight would set Stu free.

I had done my best, and I prayed it was enough. For Stu and Kara. But the innocents still remained.

I am Nothus. Half of me is Nosferatin. Half of me is of the Light. This Rogue on top of me now, draining me dry while he rips off my head, may not have killed all those victims with his fangs as a normal Rogue does - he'd found a loophole to the Nosferatin talent - but that didn't mean my Nosferatin side wasn't going to hunt him and kill him just the same. Wasn't going to do, right now, what was right.

And
right now
was my last chance.

So I took it.

I surged to my feet, staggered under his weight and my loss of blood, and then rolled us over the balcony railing. Together.

His fangs came out of my neck, he pushed back reflexively against the grip on my upper arms, enough space to strike. I thrust my stake into his chest as I felt a tug on my jacket at my neck. Xavier continued to fall, my stake embedded above his heart. But my trajectory stopped.

I slammed back against the building, heard my jacket start to tear and then firm hands grasped me under my armpits and began to haul me up. But I couldn't take my eyes off my Sire, as he plummeted towards the concrete so far below. The stake would get embedded further on impact. The force of landing finishing what I had started. I watched and waited with bated breath.

It happened so fast. Xavier's eyes holding mine. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, I couldn't inhale a scent in the wind that buffeted my face. But a split fraction of a second before he hit the pavement, I think he blinked out of sight.

There was so much dust and debris, swirling around on street level, flying up in circular flurries, blowing away on the breeze. And to top it off, the night time street cleaners were out in force. Their twirling brushes catching any evidence of his demise in the gutter below as their yellow rotating light illuminated the side of the street.

But there had been dust and I was sure more than before. But with the wind so strong and me being so far up and him using shadows at the last instant to hide himself from sight and the street cleaners coming along at exactly that second, I
couldn't
exactly be sure. Had he burst into dust upon final death? It certainly looked like it.