Page 50 of Fangs and Family
After a moment of thinking, I quickly typed in “Obsidian”, my jaw dropping as the system unlocked.
‘You have got to be kidding me. Why that? What kind of password is Obsidian? Shouldn’t it be something complex or important? Wait… my blood is the password? Did he somehow code the computer to my blood?’ I asked, shocked by the skill, audacity, and trust of such a feat. I was amazed at Adam’s confidence that I wouldn’t betray him.
‘I guess you’re very important to him,’ she replied, the blunt answer making me want to cry.
‘Who else has access to Adam’s computer?’ I asked, because there must be more people. I couldn’t be the only one. I knew how important his computers were to him. Adam took his job as Head of Syndicate Security seriously. It was his pride and joy to be responsible for something so vital. The paranoid vampire had turned this penthouse into a fortress, guarded equally by tech and magic, and now I was sitting in the heart of it, learning that despite my terrible treatment of him, Adam still trusted me.
‘Did your Master talk about me often during the last two years?’
‘No, but he knows I watch his dreams, and he dreams about you a lot.’ She said, looking at me with ancient, all-knowing eyes. ‘You are his heart, and he didn’t have a single peaceful night until you came to his bed.’
Talk about hammering the final nail into the proverbial coffin, but I couldn’t think about that now. I leaned forward and started opening Adam’s recent folders, hoping I wouldn’t see anything that would get me concrete boots and a one-way trip to the bottom of the Motlawa River.
‘You’ve been watching too many mafia movies,’ I muttered to myself before jumping headfirst down the rabbit hole.
The next few days were a blur. There was so much information I felt overwhelmed just looking at how many folders there were. Once I began opening them, I immediately wanted to stop, wishing I could unsee what was before me.
I knew the Syndicate had its own moral code, and Adam never claimed he was a law-abiding person, but some of the things they’d caught people doing? I stumbled over the footage showing a local politician in a dubious situation, along with Adam’s demands for keeping the information off the internet. What surprised me wasn’t the blackmail itself but the demands. Leszek’s second in command never once asked for money. There were nature preservation orders, conservatorship over important architectural and archaeological sites, and protection for the Elder Races that guaranteed certain activities were overlooked by the police. Even if the methods to achieve it were dubious, I could not fault the intent behind it.
I didn’t feel pity toward Adam’s victims. Especially after I saw the pictures from some of their activities. On several occasions, I had to look over some files twice just to make sure I didn’t miss something critical. Not that wearing a gimp suit and muzzle or having a threesome with a couple was a bad thing. Still, those people made their careers by preaching fidelity and honesty, with a hefty dose of patriarchal and family values. So the idea of their electorate seeing Mr Oh-So-Righteous with a purple tail sticking out of his rear end being ridden by a sex worker made me snort with laughter.
Adam, you mischievous little vampire, maybe I should accompany you on a visit to the brothel for your special recording sessions.I thought, enjoying a slight, humorous respite during this dire situation. I needed it because I was at my wit’s end.
Today, my already sour mood worsened. I’d been working nonstop for the last couple of days, digging into the reams of electronic evidence from the Syndicate’s business. Most documents were operational procedures or financial reports and trade spreadsheets. I was about to lose my patience when I stumbled on a folder calledEternal. The name matched nothing I’d read, and as soon as I opened it, I knew I’d hit the jackpot, as a picture of me was the first file.
It was a security camera at the clinic, the room instantly recognisable as the triage cubicle. Immediately, I felt myself break out in a cold sweat because, despite the weird angle, I could see my face as clear as day, along with the looming figure of the man who introduced himself as Leon Sapieha.
My breath hitched, and my fingers trembled as the memory of his fangs sinking into my neck and the foul pleasure he forced onto me made the bile rise in my throat. That sick bastard had dug into my mind, sifting through my memories, until he came to the moment Pawel showed me the locket. When he couldn’t find anything else, he compelled me to serve him, to deliver my brother to him on a silver platter.
I didn’t hate many people, but I would enjoy watching this vampire suffer for what he’d done to me.
I was staring at Sapieha, hoping Adam had found him and sliced his throat open with his beautiful, deadly wings, when out of the blue, the room was flooded with crimson light, and an alarm blared from the speakers. The monitor screen flickered, showing me a topographic map of Tricity with a red pulsing dot on the border between Gdansk and Sopot.
I sat up, tension thrumming through my body, as I frantically looked around, unsure if I’d pressed something or somehow triggered an alarm. My heart pounded like I’d run a marathon, and I yelped as a shadow appeared in the room.
‘Go to the safe room, Nina.’ Lorelai’s appearance in her elder form didn’t ease the tension, and my hands shook so violently that I had to curl them into fists.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked through clenched teeth.
‘Master activated his emergency beacon. He is sending us a warning. You must hide.’ She said, reaching for my hand, but I pulled away.
‘That red dot on the map, is it Adam?’ I asked, but deep down, I already knew the answer. ‘Lorelai, is this dot tracking your Master?’ I grasped her shoulders in fear she would disappear.
When the kikimora nodded, I enlarged the map. Why in the middle of the forest? What on earth was out there? I kept asking myself as I memorised the location.
It was off the beaten track, in the forest that divided the two cities, or I should say, it connected them, as the citizens loved the pathways and old Second World War bunkers. They didn’t know, however, about the ancient ruins from the times before the Nether was created, when magic filled the forest with strange and fantastical creatures.
That magic still lingered, making the forest much bigger than the official maps showed, and if you strayed from the beaten path, you could wander for days. Time and space would twist as the magical amber that was buried deep underground warped the very fabric of reality. The Syndicate protected, but could not fully control this space. No one could. Instead, Leszek made it into a natural reserve with clear paths and dense overgrowth to deter the unwary traveller from wandering into danger.
I couldn’t get there by car, and I didn’t think anyone would give me a hand with any magical means of transport, but Adam was in danger, and I needed to help. I cursed up a storm, slamming my fist into the desk before I remembered something. Adam was a collector. I’d seen several fancy cars under his name in the files, so maybe he had a motorcycle as well.
‘Lori, does Adam own a motorbike? Is there anything in the basement I could use? Any type will do. Fuck, I’ll take a horse if I have to,’ I exclaimed, jumping off the chair as soon as she nodded. ‘Get the keys for me.’
I was halfway through zipping up my riding leathers when my phone rang.
‘Nina, Adam is in trouble. He used his emergency signal. Leszek is heading to the location and asked me to tell you to stay away so he can handle it.’ Sara’s words hit me like a punch to the chest as I listened.
‘Really? Since when does he get to tell me what to do? I’m sorry, Sara, you might listen to Leszek, but not me. I’m going after Adam. I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I’m going to get my man back.’
