Darkness Falls (16 page)

“Nothing much,” she prevaricated, sitting down in the old chair, grimacing as a spring poked her bottom. She hadn’t missed the worn out furniture at all. “A friend is watching my son for a few days so I’ve decided to check in on a couple of the outposts to see if there’s anyone left who still remembers why we came together in the first place.”

He grimaced as he nodded his head, “I hear ya. It seems a lot of the old soldiers are losing their way and buying into this vampire craze. I lost another man just last week.”

Malorie nodded her head in commiseration, guilt eating away at her because she had not only bought into the vampire peace, she was fucking the original vampire creator. “Has there been any action since the war ended?”

Shaking his head no, he smiled ruefully, “No. We’re just glorified babysitters now, patrolling the Open Feeds to make sure the fucking vamps keep in line. Our presence there is redundant because the vamps are always on their best behavior and that worries me. It’s as if they are lulling us into a false confidence and when the old guard is gone they’ll attack and no one will be able to defend themselves.”

“Yeah,” she said, agreeing with him because she had just experienced such an attack. They were smart to worry.

He was quiet as he silently assessed her, his expression a careful mask and the warmth from only moments before was gone. Sniffing, he murmured, “I heard you got yourself into a spot of trouble a few weeks ago, Mal. Care to tell me about it?”

Color flooded her cheeks but she nodded her head, “I was at an Open Feed that hadn’t been announced in advance. I was one of the unlucky donors.”

The gasp was overly loud in the quiet room and she wondered if she should have kept that to herself. But if she expected his cooperation, she needed him to trust her and that meant telling him most of the truth. Licking her upper lip, she continued, “He marked me and we were forced to run. Again.”

His eyes dropped to her throat and she automatically touched the spot that had born Feryn’s brand for a brief time. It had been nothing compared to the mark that covered half of her body now but at the time it had terrified her. Bruiser’s brows drew together as he raised his eyes and met her gaze once more, “What happened?”

“We ran until the mark wore off,” she hedged. “Of course we had to leave everything behind, which was much more difficult this time because I had gone soft and grown complacent. I had wanted so desperately to believe we could have a normal life, you know, for my son.”

“I understand,” he replied with a commiserating nod. Looking around the old war room, he heaved a sigh. “It’s hard to keep an edge when there hasn’t been a credible threat for six years. I’m afraid we’re all getting a little soft and one of these days, I’ll be the only one left and it will become even more difficult to remain vigilant.”

“How many are left?”

“Maybe a hundred throughout the country and a few here in the city,” he said, shrugging his broad shoulders. “And most of them no longer live the life. They commute, if you can imagine. The crew that is on tonight is out patrolling, though we’re basically just the neighborhood. It’s difficult because taking out bad guys is generally frowned upon when they’re human, no matter how deserving. Man, a lot of these guys would love to be the next Batman. Vigilante justice and all that shit.”

Smiling, she weighed the options of telling him about Aradians, about what her life had become. It would give the man hope and maybe that would be enough to let him have a life beyond that of a Soldier, should he ever decide that was what he wanted. Broaching the subject with care, she lowered her voice and almost whispered, “What if I told you that we have a powerful ally in our battle against the vampires?”

His body language abruptly changed as he leaned forward and looked at her with a mixture of interest and caution. “And who might these allies be? The police?” At her stunned silence, he huffed out a rusty laugh, “I saw the cop car drop you off, Mal. We’ve upgraded our surveillance cameras, adding more to the parking lot so one person can keep an eye on unexpected visitors. With our diminishing human resources we try to ease some of the burden on the ones who remain.”

She nodded, “Smart move but, no, I’m not talking about the police. There are other supernatural creatures out there, Bruiser, and not all of them appreciate vampires honing in on their territory.”

“So we trade one monster for another?” he asked skeptically. “That hardly sounds like a good plan, Mal.”

“You’re right,” she said, sorry she had even mentioned it. How could she expect Bruiser to understand something that she still struggled with and she wasn’t even fully human? “It’s just if we keep losing our men, wouldn’t it be nice to have an ally?”

“It depends on if that ally wants to eat us.”

She chuckled in spite of the seriousness of the conversation. It was apparent that Bruiser wasn’t ready to hear about Aradians and maybe he’d never be ready so she let the matter drop. It wasn’t as if he needed to know about Aradians and their relationship to vampires.

“Why is it you never wanted to play for the other side?” he asked abruptly, surprising her. “I thought most woman liked that whole dangerous, bad boy thing that vampires have going for them but not you, never you.” At her look of surprise, he added, “You’re well known in the Blood Soldiers world and we’ve all kept tabs on your exploits through the years. I mean, you are the daughter of the great Gustav Hunter, what do you expect?”

Of course, she knew about the rumors and innuendo and as she got older it had made her uncomfortable, especially around unfamiliar soldiers. She had to fight twice as hard to earn a smidgen of respect because too many of them thought she was there only because of her father. It wasn’t until after she got pregnant and found her calling in strategizing that the men began to take her more seriously. Then the war was over and they eventually went their separate ways.

“Well?” he prompted. “How have you remained faithful to the cause?”

“I see them for what they are,” she offered, though it wasn’t the entire explanation, especially since there wasn’t much she could tell him without explaining what she was. A hollow feeling settled in her stomach because her priorities had changed, since the birth of Toby and especially since she met Feryn. “What about you? I mean, most of the soldiers still thought the vampires were beautiful even when they were plotting raids to kill as many of those bastards as possible.”

He chuckled, “I guess it’s because oppression dressed up in a fancy face is still oppression and to a vampire, humans are cattle to be eaten and they would enslave us all if they could.”

“Don’t you ever wonder why they never did, though?”

“Because it is easier to enslave a people if you do it slowly,” he said philosophically. “Human instinct would have kicked in and they would have fought back so the vamps had to wait until they had the numbers before they could act en masse, which you know they were getting ready to do before the unexpected treaty. But they’ll try again, it’s just a matter of time.”

That was all the more reason to be wary of the other Aradians, especially the ones who continued to create vampires. Bruiser’s words particularly resonated after her encounter with Taella. The vamp-mad Aradian would rise from the ashes and if Feryn failed to deal with her, the next attack could be against the other Aradians. Despite Feryn’s assurances that Taella was no longer a threat, that her power had been eliminated with the death of her vampires, Malorie wasn’t convinced. Why she would worry about Taella now when she had so many other things to deal with was a mystery.

“Do you mind if I search my father’s rooms?” she asked after an hour or so of general chatting and giving him a sanitized version of her life since the days of being a soldier. Standing up, she stretched, careful to keep her stomach hidden. It would do no good to let Bruiser see the glimmering design on her skin.

“What’s really going on, Mal?” he asked once more. Damn, she should have remembered how clever he was, how he observed and listened and put everything together, even from things left unsaid. “I mean, I’m glad you’re here but your reason is weak, especially since you’ve carefully omitted any mention of your father, biding your time until now. So, what is it?”

“Gus is missing,” she finally admitted, the words cutting into her stomach because she had been able to forget for a little while. Saying it out loud was a reminder to how she had failed everyone because she had succumbed to a vampire’s bite on Christmas Eve, no matter how incredible her life had become since that fateful night.  No matter that it hadn’t been a vampire. “When we went on the run we got separated and I’m trying to find his trail.”

“It’s been three months,” he said. “How do you know he hasn’t had an… accident?”

“It’s Gus,” she said helplessly, understanding the question he was really asking but Gus wasn’t dead. Offering a tremulous smile, she added, “You know that if something were to happen to him we’d all hear about it because when he finally bites the big one, he’ll take out as many vampires as he can.”

“Malorie,” Bruiser said quietly. Pushing himself to his feet, he walked over to the counter and grabbed a piece of paper from the bulletin board. Heaving a sigh, he reached backwards and handed her the paper without looking at her. “I didn’t tell you the complete truth when I told you I hadn’t heard from your father. He left a note pinned to the board and I read it, even though he left it for you. If he wanted to keep you in the dark about his whereabouts then there has to be a pretty damn good reason for it.”

Apprehensive, Malorie slowly reached out and warily took the piece of paper from Bruiser’s outstretched hand, her stomach knotting in on itself as she dreaded the words she would find.

Malorie –

Don’t look for me. We’re not in danger but it isn’t safe for you. Go to one of the safe houses and build a new life for you and Toby. I’ll find you when I return. If I return.

– G

After reading the note, she looked back at Bruiser, blinking the unexpected tears from her eyes as her brain analyzed the message. He was still with the Aradian and by using the word
we
then perhaps they were together and it wasn’t a hostage situation like she feared. Maybe her father truly didn’t wish to be found and she ran out on Feryn for no reason. “Oh.”

“Why don’t you get some rest, Mal,” Bruiser murmured, not quite meeting her eyes as he helped her to her feet. Out of all of the Soldiers, he was the one who probably understood her turmoil the best since he had been there when she had been brought in with her belly ripped open. She had been ten years old and determined to prove her worth, taking out a vampire before the vamp could take out her father. Unfortunately, the vamp had managed to slice its claws into her stomach just as she staked him and her victory was not without a price.

Malorie’s memories of that time were hazy but she remembered Bruiser. While she recovered, her father had refused to leave her side, bellowing at anyone who tried to make him. It had been Bruiser that had finally gotten her father to rest, bringing a spare cot into the triage area so Gustav could remain by her side as she healed. Bruiser also made sure her father kept his strength up, telling him he’d be no good to his daughter if he allowed himself to grow weak.

“Okay,” she murmured, still clutching the note in her cold fingers. Stiffly, she said good night and then staggered through the maze of corridors to the room that had been theirs when they lived here all of those years ago. Because Gus was the unspoken leader of all of the Blood Soldiers, he was always given the best accommodations, which wasn’t saying a lot since all of the accommodations were cramped and dank.

Closing the door behind her, she paced the small room, completing a circuit in eight steps. Her father didn’t want her to find him and he wasn’t sure if he would ever be back to find her. Did he know about her relationship with Feryn? Was his reluctance to return a sign of approval or disgust? Did he want to be left to his own devices because he hated what she had become, that she was mated to an Aradian?

But wasn’t he involved with an Aradian as well? Unless it
was
a hostage situation and he was trying to be as cryptic as possible, which was just as likely as not. Damn it.

Flinging herself onto the hard bed, she stared up at the ceiling as her fingers tapped compulsively against the sheet. The ceiling hung low in here, lower than any of the other rooms in the warehouse. Once, she had walked in on her father as he was putting a tile back up. He had acted like there was nothing out of the ordinary as he turned around to face her. When she had asked what he had been doing he had smiled and ruffled her short hair as he muttered, “
I thought I heard some rats
.”

It made sense at the time because rats were a problem, even if she hadn’t understood why he would bother looking in the ceiling when there was so little they could do about them. But maybe it hadn’t been mice. Knowing her father, knowing how closely he kept his secrets, maybe it was a hiding place for whatever he wanted to remain hidden, from her, from the other soldiers.

Climbing onto the bed, she pushed the tile upwards and growled because it didn’t move so she moved onto the next one. After pushing at half a dozen tiles, she worried that his hidden cache was in a different warehouse in a different city. Well, she still had the rest of the room and she wasn’t going to give up until she either discovered the secret tile or exhausted all of the possibilities.

Of course, it required moving the bed around so she could reach the ceiling. She was pretty sure Bruiser was wondering what the hell she was doing but she was a girl on a mission. In the back of her mind, she realized that it was odd that none of the tiles even moved. Usually with a drop ceiling, all of the tiles gave way but these ones didn’t budge at all.

At all.

As if they were reinforced. Or had stuff on top of them.

Trying to be smart, she paused with her hands on her hips and tried to remember where her father had been when she had walked in on him. Closing her eyes, she tried to guide her thoughts back to her childhood but there were all of these other memories in the way. Instead of remembering her past, she found herself standing at the railing of a great ship staring out across the vast ocean as salty sea water misted her face. Only it wasn’t
her
face, it was Feryn’s, just as it wasn’t her memory but Feryn’s. It would take too much effort to sort through all of the memories and she knew that she was going to have to push at each tile until she found what she was looking for or admitted defeat.