CHAPTER TEN
T
hey sat at the table in silence, looking at each other, no one moving very much. Zayn looked at Nasir from across the table. Both were pale in complexion; both looked like they were about to snap. “No one has brought back any intel on her? Nothing at all?”
Nasir shook his head slowly. “It’s like she vanished out of the facility. We didn’t see any blood trails, nothing. If she walked out of there then there should have been some tracks leaving the facility.”
Adara slowly ate her peas, trying to decide if she should speak. “Have you thought of maybe a tracker? Maybe someone who’s had her blood recently can locate her?” Both men looked at her in shock.
“Why didn’t we think of that before?” Zayn said as he put his fork down and looked at Adara. “Do you know who has fed from her?”
Adara slowly nodded at the two men. “Her and Kevin, they kind of have been, well… known. If anyone has, it’s him.”
“The bar owner? Seriously, my okht has been with him?!?”
“Yeah, I know. He’s her usual when she isn’t in the mood to hunt. Want me to go ask him?” Adara offered.
“No, I will be going there myself. You can come if you would like, but I want to see his face when I ask him and inform him she is missing. We are going right now.” Zayn pushed away from the table, grabbing Adara’s hand and pulling her with him. “Nasir, we will be back. Standby for further instructions.”
Zayn and Adara made their way to his car. Quickly, they pulled out of the driveway and drove to Kevin’s club, Impact. “How long have they been, well, using each other?”
“I’m not sure; I know it has been for a while. I was the one who told her she needed someone steady so she didn’t always have to hunt. I know the other night when she met Derrik she was in a hunting mood. Had she just listened to me, none of this would have happened. I should have pushed her harder. I was a fool for thinking she would be okay hunting every time she got angry. I just hate myself for not forcing her.”
“You know this is not because of you, right? None of this is your fault. It’s mine. I yelled at her the night she went to the club. Did she tell you about that?” Zayn asked.
“She said you two had something, but she didn’t get into detail. She just wanted to drink and hunt.” Adara looked out of the window while speaking, not wanting him to see the shame she felt. They exited the highway and pulled into the club. The parking attendants scrambled to attention when they saw their King. A trusted few at the club knew their identity, mainly for Nikole’s safety. Zayn stormed through the front doors and headed upstairs, Adara chasing behind him.
“Everyone downstairs,” Zeus bellowed when he saw the King approaching. The patrons scattered as Zayn and Adara walk to the bar.
Kevin came up, a bit intimidated, and looking rather confused. “Sire,” he said, bowing his head in reverence. “How may I assist you tonight?”
Zayn looked around to make sure everyone had vacated the area. “Have you and my okht exchanged blood in the past?”
Kevin looked from the King to Adara, confused as to why they would both be there, or that they were here together, and why they would care about this. “Yes your highness, we have in the past. Have I offended you?”
Zayn let out a low growl. “Have you and my okht exchanged blood in the last week?” Kevin started to shake his head slowly. “It’s been about two weeks, Sire, since Nikole and I…” the King put his hand up, stopping Kevin’s sentence.
Zayn turned to Adara. “I don’t think it will work; it’s been too long. Are you sure there is no one else?” Adara looked up and started thinking of all the men the two women had associated with in the last year.
“Excuse me, Sire, what is this about? What isn’t going to work?” Kevin asked starting to worry. “Is Nikole alright?”
They both ignored Kevin and continued talking among themselves. Kevin was furious; he slammed his hand down causing a few glasses to fall off the ledge and break. “Excuse me, what the fuck is going on with Nikole?”
Silenced, they both turned and looked at Kevin, Zayn clearing his throat. “The night she was in here last, you remember she met someone, Derrik. He kidnapped her.”
Kevin looked at them in shock. Adara spoke next. “They tortured her, and now we can’t find her. She is missing. We need someone to track her.” Adara noticed Zayn’s eyes, the yellow flakes starting to appear. This conversation wasn’t helping his mood. She placed her hands on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.
“Let me try and track her. I know it’s been two weeks and that’s a long time, but I have to try and help. We are friends,” Kevin begged.
“Your help will be useless. It’s been over a week. You know we cannot track anything beyond that time. If my soldiers couldn’t find her than there is no point of you trying,” Zayn said as he turned to leave while Kevin came from behind the bar and jumped in front of Zayn putting his hands out onto the King’s chest.
“Stop, I can help. You have to let me try. You have to!” Kevin pleaded. Zayn looked at him with a cautious glare. “She means something to you?” he asked. Kevin nodded, his pain evident. Zayn acknowledged his feelings. “Come at the break of dawn to our house. We will all leave together. Let’s hope for her sake you can sense her.” Zayn took Adara’s hand and pulled her out. “Don’t be late.”
Back in the car, Adara looked over to Zayn. “What do we do if he can’t find her?”
Zayn placed his right hand on her left hand, squeezing it in comfort. “We have to pray that he can.” They sat in silence for the remainder of the trip, their hands still grasped together. Pulling into the driveway Zayn softly spoke. “Thank you for accompanying me, this would be that much harder if I were doing this alone.”
“It was my pleasure. Um, Zayn, it’s getting late. I should probably head home. Will you keep me informed of what happens?”
Zayn thought for a moment. He didn’t really want her to leave. “You can stay in a guest room here if you like. That way you don’t have to come back in the morning. It’ll make things easier on you.”
Adara hesitated at the offer, unsure of how to react and what to say. “Oh, yeah, sure, that would be great. Thank you.”
“Come inside. I’ll show you the spare room. It’s right across the hall from mine.” They got out of the car, both nervous about the conversation that had just happened. Walking up the staircase in silence, Zayn brought her to the room directly in front of his bedchamber. Looking at her, he said, “Anything, anything you need, dial *3 and they will help you. I’m at *1 if you need something from me.” He took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “Good night, Adara, and thank you again.”
Adara shut the door to the room she was staying in; she wasn’t quite sure what to make of anything. Her best friend was missing, maybe dead, and she was staying in her house and getting friendly with her akh, the King. Something didn’t feel right about this. She stripped her clothes off, folding them neatly, and put them on the dresser. Climbing into bed, she noticed the sheets. They were so soft, like Egyptian cotton. Laying her head against the pillow, her mind wandered as she drifted off to sleep. The last image she remembered was Zayn’s face.
The sun crept up slowly over the horizon. Zayn and Adara paced back and forth in the foyer, waiting for Kevin to arrive. Minutes ticked by in what seemed to take forever. “Where is he?” Zayn questioned.
“I am sure he will be here shortly, Zayn.”
“If he doesn’t get here…” the doorbell rang, cutting Zayn off. They raced to open it. Kevin stood there, ready and willing to go hunt for Nikole.
“Nasir, it’s time. Let’s roll out,” Zayn said, turning to Adara. “I want you to stay; I don’t want you getting hurt. I will keep you updated on anything that happens.”
Adara thought to protest then bit her tongue; she was a guest and had no choice. Nodding, she said, “Be safe, you all. I’ll be waiting.” She turned and walked off, passing Nasir on his way in.
Nasir watched her walk out of the room and looked to Zayn. Ignoring what he was seeing play out, he spoke up. “Okay, let’s go; we don’t have much time if this is going to work.” Loading in the cars, they headed back to the mountains.
The trip to the facility was traveled in silence. Kevin couldn’t stop his mind from racing, all the different things he might see, or that might happen to Nikole. They had been friends going on almost 60 years and occasionally lovers. Kevin felt in his gut that something bad was going to happen. Lying back in the seat, he closed his eyes. He could see Nikole’s beautiful hair flowing over her shoulders, her smooth skin with the golden tan.
“Hey there, what can I get you tonight?” Kevin asked the woman who just sat at the bar.
“I will take a Martini, dry.”
“Coming right up.” Kevin mixed her drink not taking his eyes off of her. “Are you new in town?” he asked, pushing the martini across the slick counter to her.
“No, but this is the first time I’ve been here. I’m Nikole, what’s your name Mr.
Bartender?”
He smiled at her, liking the sound of her voice, its soothing nature. “It’s Kevin, and I’m more than a bartender; I own this place.”
Blinking back the memories, Kevin turned and watched the mountains. So much time had passed since that night. He should have told her how he felt long ago. Now she might be gone forever and he may never have the chance to tell her the truth about his feelings. “We’re here,” he heard Zayn say. He thought to himself,
it’s show time
.
Getting out of the car, they hiked up to the facility as Kevin focused on feeling for Nikole. He closed his eyes, breathing in the air, let his mind clear, and tried to follow his instinct. He could smell something, taste it in his mouth. With his eyes shut, he started walking, following a trail. He led Zayn and Nasir through the building, stopping in the room where Nasir found her strand of hair. “I can’t sense her past this point.” He let out a sigh. Zayn and Nasir looked to each other, frowning.
“You sure you can’t feel her past this spot?” Nasir asked.
“No, it is as if everything has been washed away, no trail or anything.” Zayn cursed and walked off punching a wall. “SHIT, Nasir!”
Kevin felt like he had missed something but sat back quietly.
“Okay Kevin, thank you for trying. The King and I appreciate your help. Let’s get you home.”
As they headed back to the house, Zayn realized the chances of seeing his okht again were getting slimmer.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
D
ominic watched everything play out on the monitors. Who was that Zayn and his minion had brought up to the facility that morning? Dominic made note to figure out who and what he was and his role in all of this. He looked familiar. He would have to retrace his steps over the last week. His plans were coming together. There were a few hiccups in the beginning, but it looked like it would end better than his original plan.
Killing his akh was the best decision he’d ever made. He should have taken him out a century ago. Now that he was out of the picture, he could focus on taking over his abb’s regime. It was a nice surprise to see the blonde had invaded the facility. Now he didn’t have to kill everyone himself. He wasn’t sure who he was but didn’t care; he got rid of Hamza for him. This situation felt good for Dominic. Haydar told him to sit back and not get involved so as far as abb was concerned; Derrik messed the whole operation up from the beginning.
His cell phone rang just then. “Speak of the damn devil and he calls.” Flipping it open, he answered. “Abb, we have a problem.” Dominic smiled as his plan started to unfold.
“What do you mean we have a problem? I thought they had the girl?”
“They did have the girl; Derrik fucked it up.” He mumbled under his breath “as usual.”
Taking a breath he said, “He grew a heart and placed a call to the King for help.” Dominic smiled, looking at himself in the mirror, his abb was a fool and so easily manipulated.
Haydar let out a growl hearing his ebn’ refer to that lesser being as “King.” He ground his teeth as he said, “What happened to Hamza? He isn’t returning my phone calls either. What’s going on out there? Do I need to fly out and take care of things myself?”
“Hamza was killed.” His tone was casual, indifferent.
“WHAT?! How was he killed? He is my best fighter! Dominic, what are you NOT telling me?” he shouted, fierce and lethal.
“Hamza let his security become lax, and someone broke in and rescued her.” Dominic took the knife out of his pocket. Twirling it around, the tip pressed against his palm, little droplets of blood leaking out from the penetration.
“Dominic, you’re telling me that one of my ebn’s is dead, my lead general is dead, the girl is gone, and all I have to show for this operation is that you are still around?”
Dominic didn’t like the question, implying that he wasn’t much of a consolation prize. “Yes, Abb, that’s what I am saying.”
“You have 48 hours to fix this mess, or I am coming out there, and I will kill you myself for allowing this to get so fucked up.”
Dominic heard nothing but a dial tone then. That did not go quite as he planned. He’d succeeded in getting his abb riled, but he had not anticipated him being
that
upset with him. For all Haydar knew, he was innocent in this mess. Dominic turned to re-check the monitors. He needed to figure out who this mystery man was. Rewinding the footage from yesterday, he watched as this man entered the room and methodically took out each guard. He watched him come up from behind each one, his knife slicing their throats, his hands cracking their necks with ease. The man moved stealth like from one room to the other. He had to have had military training. Dominic watched on the screen as the blonde broke into the torture room. He came up behind Hamza, getting the upper hand quickly with a blow to the neck. Dominic marveled at their skill. The way Hamza countered and fought back. It looked like the mystery man was cut across the cheek. That should leave a scar, might help in identifying him later.
Watching the final blow, he saw the mystery man stab Hamza in the kidneys, or what looked to be that general area, taking him to the ground and leaving him for dead. Dominic looked closer at the monitor; he noticed how easy the metal snapped free. Zooming in he saw the cause; the metal was being heated by something. “I’ll be damned, he controls fire too. Well isn’t this just perfect?”
Dominic was told the last people alive who controlled the fire element were within the family; clearly his abb’s information was wrong. He walked around his room thinking about this new development. Maybe he could capture them both. He needed to learn to control his powers. He could make the stranger teach him. Dominic’s mind started racing at the possibilities.
He realized he had gotten farther this week in over turning his abb’s control than any other attempt. His last efforts were still being laughed at. He remembered how he fought with his abb about wasting efforts with the humans. It was supposed to be an easy operation, but no, the Americans had to fuck it up.
“Abb, why do you even bother with the oil? We don’t need it. What good is it to have useless power? Just kill them all and do what we want,” Dominic told Haydar.
“Dom, listen, you never know when these resources are going to be needed. We need to keep the foothold here. Saddam is easy to control, you just show him money and he thinks it’s the best idea. Trust me; if Zayn is in America, they are going to need the oil to do anything over there.”
Dominic continued to disagree. “We are wasting time, men, and money. If we want the crown, we have to strike where it hurts them most.”
Haydar smiled at his ebn’. “Trust me; this will hurt them.”
Dominic was unhappy with his abb’s plan to use Iraq as the weapon of choice in his operation. Dominic searched for a way to prove his abb wrong; he headed to America to start laying his influence on that presidential administration.
Dominic laughed remembering how easy it was to convince Bush that Saddam was the man to take down. Fall of 1989, Bush couldn’t have been more excited about discussing Saddam and his Kuwait issues. Humans are all idiots, easy to manipulate if money and power are involved. He did understand some of the fun his abb had playing with Saddam like a toy. He thought back to that summer on August 2, 1990.
“Son of a bitch!” Haydar bellowed. Dominic and Derrik came in from the other room.
“Abb, what’s wrong?” Derrik asked.
“Those fucking Americans are invading! Who the hell do they think they are? King of the fucking world? Now this is going to set us back years!” Haydar stormed about the room looking for things to throw. “We have to kill them all, nuke the whole fucking country.”
Dominic held in his laugh. “I told you, abb, the Iraqis are nothing but a headache. Look what we have to do now.”
“DOMINIC IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HELP LEAVE!” Haydar screamed.
“It’s like taking candy from a baby some days,” Dominic said out loud to himself.
No wonder in the last 200 years the world had turned into a shit hole; humans had lost their self-respect. At least in the 15
th
-19
th
century, men fought for a cause, now it was just money. Dominic stood up, put his suit on, and ran his hands through his hair as he looked in the mirror, making sure he looked presentable. He looked down at the monitors where he paused on the face of this new stranger. “Hm, Zayn, who did you bring into the facility?” Pouring himself a quick drink of scotch and taking a sip, he remembered where he knew that man from. The club. He left his room in search of this new player, someone new to manipulate.