Page 133 of Crimson Oath
“Is there reason to think that their arrival may interfere with exposing Vano?” Mika asked.
“I do not know.” Oleg crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed the four vampires surrounding him. “But I want all of you in my personal retinue when I arrive for the Vashana.”
Lazlo winced. “Oleg?—”
“Okay, fine.” Lazlo would grumble so much about doing anything social Oleg might end up killing him, and then he’d have to replace a governor and not just a CFO. “Lazlo can guard the camp, and Ludmila, I want you in the trees, watching the Hazar.” He pointed to Oksana and Mika. “The two of you are with me.”
Oksana nodded. “Yes, Knyaz.”
Mika was staring at the fire. “How are we going to prove to Radu and Kezia that Vano is betraying them?”
Ludmila took her pipe out again. “And are we sure they do not know about it?”
“I don’t think so, but we can’t be until we tell them,” Oleg said. “We watch, we wait, and we see their reactions.”
Ludmila nodded, but Mika still looked skeptical. “How are we going to prove it?”
“Polina sent the transaction details?” Oleg asked. “And a statement from her informant?”
Mika nodded.
“We have that, but mostly we need Juliya to get our hostage to turn on Vano.” Oleg stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles. “And to convince him… Well, just leave that to me.”
The following night,Mika called Esen—one of the wind vampires in Oleg’s druzhina—who met them at a prominent point near a small lake. Oleg took to the air with his soldier, who flew him through the dark clouds toward the citadel where Danior the vampire was locked in his dungeon.
Oleg didn’t like flying, but Esen was part of Oleg’s inner circle, and flying was the fastest way to get where he needed to be.
He landed on a high parapet that overlooked the river valley and turned to survey his territory before he walked inside the castle.
The rich, tree-covered folds of the Carpathian Mountains stretched behind him, and rolling hills in front of the castle dropped down to a river that cut through the valley. The village in the distance was lit by bright gold electric lights, and the wind sweptthrough the trees, wafting the scents of pine, cedar, and moss to his nose.
The air was sharp and cold. A thread wrapped around Oleg’s neck and crept down his spine.
“Knyaz?” His house manager arrived at the doorway.
“Get me a telephone, Omar. And a very long extension. I should like to call Polina.”
Moments later, Oleg was sitting in the dungeon with Danior, the Poshani vampire who had killed his people and beat his driver nearly to death. The prisoner wore an ancient iron collar around his neck that was chained to the wall, keeping him on the ground.
Torture for a wind vampire.
Juliya’s interrogations had not loosened Danior’s tongue, and the wind vampire stared at Oleg with haughty eyes, daring him to kill him.
“I am not going to end you yet,” Oleg muttered. “We’re going to call my daughter first.” He dialed the old rotary phone and listened to the device click as it turned. “There is no internet here.” He glanced at Danior. “But I may have them build something. The vampire I am planning to take as my mate likes computers and internet things.”
“Young,” Danior muttered.
“I know, but what can I say? I am fond of a well-balanced battle-ax, so we are all biased toward the modern technology of our human years, are we not?”
The phone started ringing, and a few moments later, Polina was on the phone.
Oleg winked at Danior and put his finger to his lips to mime “quiet.”
“Papa?”
“Lisichka, I know you spoke to someone at the gold exchange about Vano getting the money from Ivan, yes?”
“You owe me for how much I had to bribe him, but yes. Did you want?—”
