A Tempest In The Night Part 22

"The King of Vampires at a nudey bar for Noseferatus? Keep your blue blood a.s.s at home."

"Amen, to that!" Tania had her hands on her hips displaying her legendary att.i.tude.

Time to go.

A laugh threatened to burst out of me. I kept it in as I walked away from the happy couple. "I'll give you two a report later.

I parked two doors away from the Swollen t.i.t. The usual stench a.s.saulted me before I approached the door. The bouncer, well and on his feet again, opened the door for me. "Thank you."

The usual cacophony of whooping, raucous laughter, hey babies and moaning greeted me as I entered. Then the music stopped. One stripper fell off the pole. Another stripper giving lap dances fell on her customer's chest. Gla.s.s broke. Curses vibrated off the walls.

The room went silent.

The bowlegged owner with the Scottish accent waddled over to me. "Laddie, not expecting a row tonight."

"No brawls tonight. I'm looking for Weesal."

The bartender pointed to the curtained part.i.tion.

"Thank you."

As I pulled the curtain back the music started again and the whooping resumed. I closed the curtain behind me. The darkened hall housed seats that Nosferatus occupied. They sat in front of booths where strippers gyrated, swung their hips, opened and closed their legs. The scent of bodily fluids overwhelmed my nose.

As I walked in, the Nosferatus, sensing who I was, ran out of the back room.

Weesal sat in the far back in front of the last booth. His bald, vein-covered head bent back exposing his Adam's apple; his cupped hand rose then lowered. There was only one way to get his attention.

I kicked his chair. It flew against the wall. Weesal fell on his knees then moved back to his a.s.s. I leaned down in front of the booth, tapped on the window. The stripper uncrossed her legs, giving me the view. "Take a break," I mouthed.

She blew me a kiss then pulled the blind down.

Weesal was still on the floor dazed and confused with his c.o.c.k hanging out. What a nightmare. "My info, Weesal."

"Geez!" He backed up against the wall as I squatted in front of him. "Where is the Jacquerie?"

He fumbled, taking the cigarettes out of his pocket. I promised I wouldn't smoke again for another week. d.a.m.n!

Weesal's hands shook as he tapped the package of Marls on the side of his hand. He watched me with his white eyes. The cigarette peaked out. His hand shook and he kept missing his mouth. My brows must have dipped low, for he squealed then shoved the cigarette in his mouth. He fumbled in his pocket again for a lighter. Nosferatus aren't big on telekinesis.

He produced a lighter, covered the flame to protect it from draft. The flame lit his face in a small patch of orange illuminating the greenish-blue, criss-crossed veins on his face.

"Hurry up, Weesal."

He took a wobbly drag on his cigarette. "The Solarium Pharmaceutical Plant in Selden, Long Island. They like Manhattan clubs, too. They target teens." Blue smoke billowed out of his nostrils obscuring his face.

I took out the rest of the money I owed him. He took from them my hands and laughed smelling the bills.

I walked away holding my breath. I needed fresh air and daylight to burn off the stench, and total darkness to plan my attack on the Jacquerie. I had a two-hour drive to Long Island and the first a.s.sembly of the Tyrian Guard ahead of me.

Chapter Fifteen

Ilida infringed on my thoughts constantly. It's been four nights since I've see her. I wanted. I wanted desperately what I could not have. We decided we weren't compatible. It was the right thing of course. Ilida is the sensible one, while I always want.

I made my calls to some of the members of the former Vrykolakas Clan-the members I knew who had the same ideals I had. They took the Intelligence Dossier test I developed for entry into the Tyrian Guard.

I hired Gauge to be the Weaponry master. He could make weapons out of anything. Since I apprised him of Terra's acidic blood, he told me he'd work on something to counteract it.

I didn't expect Gauge to be at this meeting. He doesn't do groups. My communications expert, Jared Corrinthos, is a wiz with computers. And last, but not least, Barry Chen, my most important right hand man, will be the Strategist/ Expeditor. If I'm killed, he takes over.

I sat on the edge of the circular desk waiting for Corrinthos and Barry Chen to meet me.

They came in dressed head to toe in black. Uniforms were similar to mine, except I added spikes to my wrist guards.

Corrinthos, a swarthy Hispanic male with dark eyes and a gray wavy streak on the left side of his head, sat down to my left. Barry Chen, a towering, Chinese- American with hazel eyes and cropped spiky black hair, sat to my right.

What would Ilida think of me in charge of a team of a.s.sa.s.sins? I can't go one minute without mentioning her name or thinking about her.

Corrinthos, Barry Chen and I contacted each other in telepathic code. Vampires and telepaths have a nasty habit of eavesdropping, so being overly paranoid was imperative in this case.

"How are the uniforms?"

"Tight," Barry Chen said.

"Use powder. Now that you all know each other, I have something to throw in your laps: Shepherds Alcohol /Substance Abuse Recovery Residents Center were placed under quarantine two and a half months ago.

"Are we virus hunters now?" Barry Chen smirked.

"Don't joke. We might have to start searching for lost puppies next. The Tilly Drug and Alcohol Abuse Recovery Home, Shepherds' rival, has taken in half of Shepherds' residents."

"I heard about that. The CDC couldn't figure out what the virus was or its origins. They had to shut the place down."

"I think it was a new strain of the Haemo virus."

"A new strain?"

"It isn't a new strain. Terra Escalante the leader of the Jacquerie developed the Red Queen drug that's circulating the clubs and streets of New York City. She is a biochemist and did something to her blood to make it toxic."

"Red Queen?"

"Right. She's been making Zombies with the drug from humans and vampires."

"What does that have to do with Shepherds and Tilly?"

"I became the unofficial guardian of a teenager who was from Shepherd House. He's now at Tilly. He broke into my home high on Red Queen."

"Terra is making zombies from teens already addicted to drugs?"

"Tilly House is next."

"Then you'll need these."

"Gauge?"

He walked into the conference room sporting a shortened haircut. He placed a huge case on the table in front of me, opened it revealing a slick looking gun with a cache of bullets. I picked up one bullet. A white liquid flowed in the casing. "What is this?"

"That is the base that will neutralize zombie blood."

I crossed my arms marveling at Gauge's inventive style with weapons. "It looks like milk."

"That's because it is."

"Milk a cow and our troubles are over?"

"That simple, Daedalus."

"I have a feeling Terra will keep going after the ones I care about. You should keep a low profile." I couldn't resist the taunt on my tongue. "Not that you don't."

Gauge grunted. "Your pretty little friend might be next."

"Daedalus has another girlfriend?" Corrinthos said, sounding excessively interested in my life. They all could smell her on my skin. Vrykolakas were trained to sniff out females. Barry Chen kept his mouth shut, but Corrinthos is a Vrykolakas and still thinks sharing women is the norm.

"She's none of your business, Corrinthos."

"Knowing you, she must be a hot piece of a.s.s."

"Knowing me if we continue on this vein I'll rip your throat out."

"I wouldn't dream of taking your trophy doll away."

"Good."

"Do you like the prototype?"

It seemed more and more that Ilida might be in danger, not immediate but it loomed in the background.

"Follow me and I'll test them out," I said to Gauge.

All of us descended to the bas.e.m.e.nt where the dojo and firing range is.

I pressed a b.u.t.ton, and then stood with my arms out holding the gun. It was heavy metal. I squeezed rounds off, hitting the target with relative ease.

"You're good."

"Thank you, Barry." Gauge evaluated the holes in the target paper. "I'll take three hundred of these."

"Coming up," Gauge said.

"Any questions?" I said to Chen and Corrinthos. "No? See you later."

"Where are you off too?"

"Where do you think, Gauge?"

Why was I here in Park Slope of all places? I promised myself I'd have limited contact with Ilida. I seem unable to keep that promise. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, flipping in somersaults to ease the thud of my landing. I avoided the patches of ice on the roofs.

Stealth was everything to a Ninja. When you hunted prey, you hunted silently. I wasn't out to kill my prey. I only wanted to watch her.

I landed on her rooftop, sought out her thoughts. It was so easy. She was so unpracticed in using her telepathy she didn't realize I was near. Her psychic signature was so strong that it sent heat to my c.o.c.k as I climbed down the fire escape. The trees were bare and didn't provide coverage, but I was clothed in solid black and almost invisible. Not even my great size would be apparent to an onlooker. I grabbed hold of the wrought iron handrail, flipped around and landed on her fire escape soundlessly. I sat in a cla.s.sic Spiderman pose on the edge of the fire escape.

Ilida was sitting at her small desk typing on her laptop. Her right side faced me. Her eyebrows turned down in a frown. She was concentrating on writing her report on Mike.

She stopped typing, shook her head, and began again. I sensed pain in her shoulders. Her muscles were tense with it. I looked down shaking his head. I wanted to touch her neck, ma.s.sage the tenseness out of her shoulders. Lull her to into a relaxed mode.

I couldn't resist. I stole into her mind cloaked from her consciousness eased the tense muscles in her shoulders. She stopped typing, touched her neck and shoulders.

My c.o.c.k hardened as he watched her touch her herself. It was innocent purely innocent but as she pressed and ma.s.saged herself I touched her in her mind. She blew out a breath and resumed typing.

I wanted more.

Her dark amber hair pulled up in a bushy ponytail. She wore a sleeveless top with matching pants. Her dark mustard colored skin exposed. She was braless.

Her finger glided across the keyboard and. With a flourish, she pressed one key then leaned back. The whirring of the printer caught my attention. She would have to bend down to get her printed-paper. She twisted her waist towards him and reached down to get something. The movement caused her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to lean to one side. Her top gaped open giving him a view of the valley between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I imagined capturing one globe and sucking her nipple. Her nipple closest to me grew taught and pushed the fabric of her top out.

She stopped typing again and clutched her b.r.e.a.s.t.s caressing her nipples.

I wanted more.

Instead, she surprised me. In her mind she me in front of her. I sat on her desk caressing her nipples, rolling it between my fingers. s.h.i.+vers went through my body echoed in hers. I grasped the bar of the wrought iron fire escape to steady himself.