Page 2 of Unholy Gambit: Checkmate in Blood
Julian responded, rather than his boss.
One of our people?
They had to be careful about what was sent over normal communications, so he tried to word it so he’d get the gist.
No. Human. I’m pretty sure she has false memories.
Three minutes later.
What time can you make it to either TBC?
Marcus double-checked his calendar.
6:15 at downtown, around 6:30 at Hamilton Place.
I can have someone at either place at 7:15, or you can visit the coterie house earlier. Tell me which you prefer, and I’ll have someone there who can hear the problem and figure out whether there’s anything we can do.
By the time Marcus left work, he knew he’d be meeting Moira at the downtown TBC. It was brutally cold out, not unheard of for Chattanooga in mid-October, but not the norm.
Not all werewolves have strong mental shields, but Marcus did, which meant he had tothinkthe session towards Moira for her to understand why he suspected a vampire had rearranged his patient’s memories.
“We aren’t going to be able to tell her what happened,” Moira said once he’d shown her all he intended to. He protected his patients’ privacy, but there was no other way to find out what had happened and how best to help Aurélie. “But I’ll take a look at her mind while she sleeps. If you know the truth, maybe it’ll help you figure out how to help her.”
“You won’t be able to get close to her. The family lives on forty acres in Red Bank. They built a smaller house for her on the property, so she has her own place, but I understand she stillspends a good bit of time in the mansion with her family, and still has her bedroom there, though she rarely sleeps in it.”
“I can read a brain from a half mile away once I have the correct frequency,” Moira said, “but with only a few brains in the vicinity, it won’t take long to zero in on hers. Also, it might be beneficial to check out the mother’s brain while I’m there. The daughter’s mind may not have as much for me to recover.”
* * * *
Axel got off the plane in Chattanooga, Tennessee and moved through the private terminal with efficient strides toward the waiting limo, since he could sense Etta’s signature brainwave patterns inside — the resonance sharp, disciplined, and nearly as cold as his. He wasn’t terribly surprised to find the Slayer with her, since inquiries about her current status confirmed she’d fallen in love with one of the damned vampire executioners. A relentless predator even the monsters try to avoid.Especiallythe monsters.
“Aurélie, is she well?” he asked as soon as he was inside. Etta saw social greetings in the same way he did. Useless noise.
It’d been so long since he’d said Aurélie’s name aloud, it landed like a match inside him, striking a spark he’d never tried to extinguish. The one being who’d ever mattered.
Under normal circumstances, he would’ve eliminated everyone who witnessed the event. Killed the Celrau idiot, the mother,andthe child before burning the house to be certain no one would see the fang marks the imbecile bitch had left on the mother’s arm. Standard protocol. One vampire’s mistake couldn’t be allowed to ripple outward.
But the small, shattered child had looked into the eyes of the Celrau monster and refused to break, and then into the eyes of the Strigorii monster planning to kill her, not with fear, but with something worse. Defiance. Calculating awareness. A furiousintelligence and unsettling focus, neither of which belonged in a tiny five-year-old with clear blue eyes and blond fucking hair.
She’d touched something in him no one else ever had.
He couldn’t kill the child, and he couldn’t leave her motherless, so he’d found another solution. Quick. Surgical. Efficient. A large kitchen knife, a clean cut with his vampire strength, and the fang marks were no longer a problem.
“We’ll need to change vehicles,” Etta said, “then park near a closed business just under a mile from her home, and you can see for yourself.”
Axel glanced at the Slayer and back to her, and she added, “He was aware of our reach before he met me. You aren’t going to be here long enough to kill humans in his territory, so there’s no need to fear him.”
“Oh, Demos haseveryreason to fear me,” the Slayer replied, gaze locked on Axel’s.
Axel's gaze went glacial and he spoke with surgical calm. “I wiped out forty-two Celrau operating on the coast of France in three months, including the one seconds away from killing Aurélie’s mother.”
“And how many humans have you killed since then?”
“The number isn’t important because of the caliber of humans he’s killed,” Etta told the Slayer. “His Master has given him a creed to live by, and by all accounts, he’s doing so.”
“I respect the Master who holds my oath and do, indeed, live by the code he’s given me.” Axel met Etta’s gaze. “It’s doubtful I’ll be able to help Aurélie in a single night. How much time will Marco allow me in his territory?”
The therapist likely expected him to merge the memories and dreams, but Axel was going to unravel the damage and fix the problem, though he couldn’t decide on a specific plan until he’d talked to Aury, until he’d met her face to face. Spent time withher. Looked into those clear blue eyes again, now framed by an adult face. An adultwoman’sface.
