Soul Meaning (A Seventeen Series Novel: An Action Adventure Thriller Book 1) (21 page)

Roman Dvorsky’s prediction turned out to be unerringly accurate. Too restless to sleep after the events of the previous twenty-four hours, I was standing at the window of my bedroom and watching dawn break across the land when a knock sounded at the door. It was Victor.

‘Reznak just called,’ he said without preamble. ‘He wants to meet. I thought you should come along.’

I nodded and gathered my weapons.

The door to Reid’s room opened when we strolled past it. He stood on the threshold and yawned. ‘What’s up?’

He stiffened when he took in our attire and the swords at my waist.

‘We’re going to see the Crovirs,’ said Victor.

‘If he’s going then so am I,’ said Reid, cocking a thumb my way.

Victor arched an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. He sighed.

The sun was washing the landscape in shades of gold when we stepped out onto the porch. The grass on the lawn still bore the fading whiteness of an overnight frost and the chill in the air hinted at the approaching winter.

Costas and a group of Bastian Hunters stood waiting on the graveled driveway. We climbed aboard three SUVs and headed out of the estate.

The meeting point was the ruins of a medieval castle several miles south of Prague. Situated on a low knoll between two villages, it was enclosed by a mile of woodland. The only way to reach the site was up a narrow, rutted track lined with undergrowth and crowded by trees.

Branches scraped noisily against the doors and underside of our vehicle as the driver negotiated the incline. Up ahead, fresh tire marks were visible in the mud. The path leveled off after a few minutes and the SUVs pulled to a stop in front of a waterlogged field.

The brow of the hill was dotted with the rubble of what was once an extensive fort. Some moss-covered stones showed signs of quarry activity and the grass bore faded lorry tracks. From behind the trees and bushes punctuating the wild heather emerged a group of men.

We exited the vehicles and made our way across the field toward them.

‘Dimitri.’ Victor bestowed a small nod of acknowledgment upon a middle-aged man in a dove-gray suit at the head of the group. ‘It’s been a while.’

Had he been wearing black like the immortals around him, Dimitri Reznak would still have stood out from his entourage. Although he was an inch shorter than Victor, he was heavier set in the shoulders and legs. His full lips, straight wide nose, and strong jaw suggested a Slavic ancestry. Deep set eyes glittered beneath a pair of bushy eyebrows.

‘Yes, it has.’ Reznak stepped forward and hugged Victor warmly. ‘You still owe me a game of chess from last Christmas. And whatever happened to that bottle of whisky you promised me?’

Victor rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t recall saying any such thing.’

Reznak chuckled. His amused gaze shifted beyond Victor’s shoulder. ‘Hey Costas. The years haven’t been kind to you.’

The Bastian Council member scowled. ‘As rude as ever, I see,’ he mumbled.

‘You just bring out the best in me.’ Reznak’s eyes moved to my face. His smile faded. ‘I see you brought Soul with you.’ The Crovir noble’s tone remained light as he addressed Victor. ‘Should I be concerned?’

Victor sighed. ‘If I wanted to kill you, I’d do it with my own bare hands.’

Reznak grunted.

‘Lucas has a deeply vested interest in this matter,’ Victor continued. ‘A group of Crovir Hunters have been after him again in the last two weeks.’

Reznak grimaced. ‘I have to say, my section doesn’t exactly have a lot to do with that.’ He paused. ‘Who’s the human?’

‘I’m with him,’ said Reid, indicating me. ‘It’s the eyes, isn’t it? It’s gotta be the eyes,’ he added under his breath.

‘That was quite some stunt you guys pulled last night,’ Reznak told Victor. ‘It took Vellacrus by surprise.’

I stiffened at his words. There was something I needed to know. ‘How’s Thorne?’

‘He’ll live.’ Reznak observed me with an inscrutable expression. ‘I’m amazed you didn’t finish him off.’

‘I had my reasons.’

His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Let’s walk, shall we?’

Chapter Twenty

‘L
ast night was the first
we heard of Vellacrus’s grand plans concerning the immortality serum and the new strain of the Red Death virus. Judging by the reactions of the Council members in the room, some already knew the broader details of the scheme.’ Dimitri Reznak frowned. ‘The rest of us were horrified, to say the least.’

‘You’re on the list,’ said Costas.

Reznak raised an eyebrow.

‘You mean the one containing the names of the hallowed few upon whom Vellacrus has chosen to bestow the gift of true immortality?’ he said mockingly. ‘Trust me, it will give me no joy to be one of her army of eternal followers. Life as an immortal is long enough.’ He grimaced. ‘And can you imagine me swearing fealty to her, like in the old days?’ He removed a cigar from the inside pocket of his coat, lit up, and inhaled deeply. ‘To be honest, there are times when I really look forward to the final death.’

The ensuing silence was broken by the squawking of a pair of crows as they lifted off the ground ahead of us.

‘She must be stopped,’ Victor stated flatly.

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ muttered Reznak.

‘Who else will help?’

The Crovir noble was quiet for a beat. ‘I know of at least two other First Council members, as well as several in the Second Council and the Assembly, who will want to see her plans fail,’ he said finally. ‘Their men are loyal to them, as are mine.’ He hesitated. ‘To be honest, some of us have been thinking it was time to put an end to Vellacrus’s rule. Her actions will undoubtedly lead us to another immortal war. She never wanted the original truce in the first place, but since she wasn’t the leader of the Order of Crovir Hunters at the time, she couldn’t influence that decision.’ A humorless laugh escaped his lips. ‘It looks like she’s about to get her wish.’

‘Still, she has many faithful followers,’ said Victor.

Reznak nodded. ‘Yes, she does. Half of them do so out of greed and a hunger for power. The other half are just too afraid to stand up to her. But if another potential leader was to come to the fore and challenge her...’ He lapsed into silence.

Victor smiled faintly. ‘Are we in the presence of her proposed replacement?’

Reznak shrugged.

‘Who knows what the future holds,’ he said, a shrewd light gleaming in his eyes. ‘But no, I really wouldn’t want that kind of responsibility. It would distract me from my main interests,’ he added on a more serious tone.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me.

‘However, the question still remains, Lucas Soul. If and when the time comes, will you have the courage to end it all? Will you be able to kill your own kin in cold blood?’

The wind picked up, causing ripples to course across the heather. Dead leaves and twigs snapped and swirled around our feet in an unruly dance in the expectant silence that followed.

The Crovir noble’s question hardly surprised me. After last night, I knew the Bastians shared the same concern. Up until yesterday, I had had similar doubts. Then, for the umpteen time in the last eight hours, I recalled the look in Agatha Vellacrus’s eyes.

‘Yes,’ I said in a cold and steady tone.

Reznak’s stare persisted for several more seconds. A grunt left his lips and he turned to Victor with a strangely satisfied expression.

‘The vaccine is being made at our lab in Germany,’ he said. ‘Burnstein had the virus flown across from the States a month ago. From what Vellacrus revealed to us last night, they’re probably days away from the final product. The next step will be to carry out a short, accelerated trial on a group of volunteers to identify any significant side effects. Once she gets the all clear from Burnstein’s scientists, Vellacrus will start the inoculation program.’

We reached the crest of the hill. Reznak stopped and studied the landscape stretching to the village drifting out of the morning mist in the distance.

‘One more thing. Vellacrus intends to put all the resources of our Councils into hunting down Anna Godard. Wherever she is, she won’t be safe for long.’ He looked at Victor. ‘Pinchter is not the only Bastian willing to betray you for the gift of true immortality. There will be others eager to work with Thorne and Vellacrus.’

Victor’s eyes narrowed. ‘Do you have names?’

Reznak shook his head. ‘Vellacrus isn’t that trusting. I believe only she and Thorne know the identities of the possible traitors in your midst.’

Victor was quite for some time. ‘Tell us about Germany.’

We were back at the estate an hour later. The air had lost its wintry chill and the sun was warm on my face when I stepped out of the SUV. I followed the others inside the mansion, my mind still buzzing with the information Reznak had shared with us.

The foyer was crowded and noisy. The Bastians were getting ready to leave; Victor had called his father on the drive back and updated him on the outcome of the meeting.

Anna crossed the hall toward me. ‘Is it true? The Crovirs may only be days away from completing the vaccine?’

I nodded. Her eyes darkened.

Victor came up behind her. ‘We need to move you to another safe house.’

Anna glanced at him distractedly. ‘Yes, I know.’

‘The equipment you asked for will be there.’ Victor stopped a passing Hunter in his tracks and handed him a piece of paper. ‘Here, give this to the techs. They’re the codes for the Crovirs’ satellites.’

He turned back to Anna. ‘We’ve located five Bastian and four human scientists specializing in the areas you asked about. They should be making their way to the compound as we speak.’

Godard appeared beside Anna and laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘It’ll be all right, child. I won’t leave you.’

Anna wrapped her fingers over our grandfather’s.

‘Get me something from that lab,’ she said in a low voice, her eyes never leaving my face. ‘Without a sample of that virus or the vaccine, we won’t have a chance in hell of stopping the Crovirs.’ Her narrowed gaze shifted to my left. ‘And you, make sure he’s okay.’

‘Yes ma’am,’ said Reid.

The Godards headed for the front doors just as the sound of rotor blades rose from outside. I frowned when I saw the black chopper landing on the lawn.

‘How many men are you sending with them?’

‘From here on it’ll be Costas and Grigoriye,’ Victor replied.

I startled and opened my mouth to voice a protest.

Victor put a hand up to silence me. ‘The helicopter will take them to an abandoned airfield a few miles from here, where they’ll take a jet to their final destination. The Bastian Hunters guarding the safe house won’t have a clue who they’re protecting. And the fewer people know about it, the better.’

His words made sense. Still, I could not quiet the feeling of dread in my gut; I hated the thought of being separated from the Godards.

I strolled out to the porch and watched them leave, my sense of unease unabated. Anna’s grim face disappeared from view as the helicopter rose toward the sky.

I was still standing there a while later when Victor spoke behind me.

‘You ready?’

I turned and looked around. ‘Your father?’

‘He’s talking to the Bastian Councils as well as our Assembly,’ said Victor. ‘Not everyone believes Vellacrus has such a terrible plan in motion. Now that we have some evidence, it should be easier to convince them that action needs to be taken.’

He looked over his shoulder. Roman walked past one of the windows in the study; he was talking on his cell and frowning.

‘We have to gather as many troops as we can.’ Victor directed a somber gaze my way. ‘I fear we will need them all at the end.’

Victor’s words were still ringing in my ears when we crossed the border into Germany several hours later. According to Reznak’s intel, the Crovirs’ research facility was located in a forest outside the town of Amberg, in the state of Bavaria. By the time the convoy of SUVs reached the heavy woodland surrounding the facility, a group of local Bastian Hunters had completed a preliminary recon of the site.

‘This is a map of the area,’ said the leader of the team as he led us inside a makeshift tent. The immortal, whose name was Friedrich, pointed at the printouts on a foldable table. ‘And these are the corresponding satellite images from an hour ago.’

We studied the pictures in silence. I exchanged a troubled glance with Reid. This was not going to be a walk in the park.

‘How deep is this thing?’ Victor finally said, fingers tracing the thermal outline of the subterranean structure that dominated the ground-penetrating radar satellite imagery.

‘Our best estimate? About two thousand feet,’ said the Bastian Hunter. ‘And that’s just the first level.’

Anatole whistled softly and earned himself a dark look from Bruno.

Friedrich indicated the pictures. ‘From what we deduced, the labs are located at the very center of the structure, here and here. The rest of the facility consists of a score of specially designed ventilation shafts, four security rooms, a canteen, a gym, and the administrative and living quarters for the staff.’ He looked at Victor. ‘We’ve patrolled the perimeter and can confirm the number of guards is accurate.’

A bleak smile crossed Victor’s face as he stared at the heat signals crowding the images. ‘Vellacrus has already increased security. Somehow, I’m not surprised.’

‘Going overland undetected is going to be virtually impossible,’ continued the Bastian team leader. ‘Even if we disable their satellites, they’ll shoot us down before we get within spitting distance of the main elevator shaft. Luckily, we may have found an alternative route to get inside.’

One of his men handed him a roll of paper. He unfolded it across the tabletop.

I pushed aside the feelings of trepidation I still harbored about the Godards. ‘What’re we looking at?’

Friedrich glanced at Victor. The Bastian noble nodded. The Hunter cleared his throat.

‘It’s a mining map of the area. This entire forest is located above the remains of an old coal mine. You probably passed the main gates on the way here.’ He tapped the paper. ‘We’ve identified three other access points into the facility; here, here and here. Two of the tunnels are being guarded by the Crovirs. The third one isn’t.’

Victor frowned. ‘What’s the catch?’

‘The tunnel collapsed,’ said Friedrich. ‘Not completely, obviously,’ he added at our expressions. ‘There’s about twelve feet of rubble blocking the entrance. Beyond that, it looks clear all the way to the central structure.’ His fingers moved across the thermal images. ‘There are too many shafts and side passages for a security team to be able to cover practically, even with the added number of guards. And they have to have safety exits for the facility. This tunnel leads to one of them. We’ve already confirmed that they have no cameras down there.’ He hesitated. ‘There’s a strong possibility that the rest of the tunnel is unstable. It may explain why they seem unconcerned about guarding it. However, I believe it’s our best chance of getting in and out without being detected.’

Victor raised his eyebrows at me. ‘Lucas?’

I considered the map and the satellite images on the table for a moment. ‘He’s right.’

Victor nodded. ‘I concur.’ He turned to Friedrich. ‘Leave half the men on the surface. We might need them for backup.’

Friedrich’s team had used their time well. When we reached the site of the abandoned tunnel, the men were unloading a micro digger from the back of a flatbed truck. Steel girders lay on the ground.

‘We borrowed them from a local construction site,’ said the Bastian Hunter by way of explanation at our stares.

‘What’s the steel for?’ said Reid curiously.

‘They’re to support the tunnel entrance,’ said Friedrich. ‘We’ll need an escape route if we get out of the facility alive.’

Anatole had gone pale. Bruno frowned at him. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘You know how I feel about underground spaces,’ muttered the red-haired immortal.

‘We were underground at Benisek’s mansion,’ Bruno pointed out.

‘Yeah, but at least I could see starlight and smell fresh air,’ Anatole replied glumly. ‘This is gonna be like that time in Rome. Remember? When we were in the catacombs? God, I hated that trip. The rats were the size of my arm.’

Bruno rolled his eyes.

The tunnel was clear for the first ten feet. Beyond that, an impenetrable wall of compacted earth, wood, and rock barred the way.

It took an hour for the digger to move the core of the debris. After the last support beam was fixed into place, we geared up and checked our weapons.

Victor was staying topside to cover us. He put a hand on my shoulder as I turned to follow the others into the passage.

‘Be careful,’ he said quietly. ‘I’ll be waiting for your return.’

I nodded and climbed through the ragged opening after Reid and the Bastians.

It was like stepping inside a tomb. The air was dry and choked with the dust stirred up by the excavation. The light from our torch beams washed over rusting roof bolts and girders supporting a low ceiling. Timber frames propped up sections of the walls. Some had given way, causing tiny landslides that revealed the bare rock underneath.

‘You okay?’ said Reid.

‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

To be truthful, I was not particularly comfortable with confined underground spaces either. Months spent in the battle trenches during the First World War had seen to that. I also had a highly unpleasant memory from my time in Vienna in 1683, when I became trapped for several days in one of the city’s tunnels after it caved in behind me. Had it not been for a fortuitous explosion from a nearby Ottoman mine, I would have been buried alive for the rest of the siege, along with the rats.

I took a deep breath and headed into the mine. Up ahead, Anatole muttered a short prayer.

A hundred feet in, we came to an open elevator shaft descending into pitch blackness. Friedrich shone his torch over the control box at the side and pulled a lever. Nothing happened. He opened the panel, changed the fuse and the battery, and tried again. A high-pitched roar erupted from the old electric motor. The gears engaged and the elevator whined into life.

A wire cage rose shakily past the corroded rungs of an emergency ladder. We stepped inside it and started a slow, rickety descent into the gloom. Two hundred feet down, abandoned galleries appeared off the central shaft.

‘How far are we going?’ Anatole eyed the tunnels being reclaimed by the shadows above us with unease.