Soul Meaning (A Seventeen Series Novel: An Action Adventure Thriller Book 1) (17 page)

‘That’s impossible!’ Pinchter retorted. ‘You have no idea what you’re up against this time. Vellacrus is—’ He stopped and clamped his lips shut once more.

Victor patted Pinchter’s back in a friendly manner and motioned to Bruno and Anatole. ‘Fear not, Marcus. You’ll talk. I promise you that at least.’ He headed down the corridor that led to the kitchen and opened the door to the cellar. ‘Down here if you please, gentlemen.’

Pinchter’s protests faded as he disappeared below ground. The door closed softly behind the four men.

Cigarette smoke wafted past my head. I looked over my shoulder.

‘He’s a scary man,’ said Reid, strolling down the stairs.

Godard sighed. ‘He needs to be. He’s the future leader of the Bastians.’

An hour later, footsteps rose outside the study. The door opened and Victor strode in.

‘This is taking too long,’ he said, frustration evident in his tone. He rubbed the bloodied knuckles on his right hand absent-mindedly.

Anna looked away, a muscle twitching in her jawline.

‘Can we help?’ said Reid mildly.

Victor looked at us. His gaze focused on me. ‘Yes, I think you can, actually,’ he said after a moment.

The cellar under the mansion was large and cool. Racks of dust-covered wine bottles occupied a generous portion of the extensive floor and bare light bulbs cast a yellow glow on the brick walls.

Pinchter sat tied to a chair in front of a table at one end of the vaulted space. Bruno stood silently behind him. Anatole leaned against the wall to the side, a frown darkening his normally jovial countenance.

Pinchter’s face was a bloodied pulp. His nose was broken in at least two places and his left eye was swollen shut. His right wrist was twisted at an odd angle.

Undaunted, the little man spat out a broken tooth and sneered.

‘What now, Victor? You’re going to set the rest of your dogs loose on me?’ He glared at us out of his bloodshot right eye.

‘Just let me shoot him,’ muttered Anatole.

Victor shook his head. ‘No, that would be far too easy. I have a better idea. I’m going to leave you in the hands of the “half-breed”, as you like to call him.’

My eyes narrowed at the Bastian noble’s words.

Pinchter’s widened. ‘You wouldn’t dare!’

Victor smiled coldly. ‘Oh but I would.’

Pinchter glanced at me and snorted. ‘He couldn’t do anything even if he wanted to. Look at him!’ An ugly grimace crossed the man’s lips. ‘You know as well as I do that he has never attacked an immortal in cold blood. All he ever does is run!’

Reid took a step forward. I put a hand on his arm and felt the rigid tension running through him.

‘It’s all right,’ I said quietly, my eyes never leaving Pinchter’s battered face.

The little man smirked. ‘See? Your half-breed is nothing but a coward! Every Hunter knows it. How such a weakling could come from the bloodline of Tomas Godard—’ He broke off abruptly.

A hush fell across the cellar.

‘The tip of this blade is exactly an inch from your heart,’ I explained in a low and measured tone.

Pinchter gulped. His frozen gaze drifted to the wakizashi partially embedded in his ribcage.

‘I believe you’re aware of my abilities?’ I added in the same neutral voice.

The little man nodded frantically.

I was surprised at how calm I felt. The anger that had been burning inside me for days had all but melted away.

In its place was another, stronger emotion.

‘You’re right,’ I stated, more to myself than to him. ‘So far, I have only ever killed to defend myself.’ I watched understanding begin to dawn on the man’s startled face. ‘I think I’m beginning to grasp why Vellacrus wants me out of the way.’

I nudged the blade slightly. The immortal gasped. Blood seeped onto his shirt.

‘It’s because I truly am the only one who can stop her. I believe that’s what Mikael meant when he said those words to me.’

The expression in Pinchter’s eyes confirmed my suspicions. I leaned forward. Pinchter moved back in the chair as far as his bonds allowed him.

‘Thank you. It makes sense now. I’ve been running for a long time.’ My voice hardened. ‘I won’t anymore.’

Minutes later, Reid and I followed Victor into the study.

‘Well?’ Godard observed our grim faces anxiously.

‘Vellacrus is gathering all the Crovir Hunters,’ Victor announced flatly. ‘They’ll be in Europe tonight.’

Chapter Sixteen

R
oman Dvorsky was an older
and thinner version of his son. Though disease had ravaged his immortal body and added lines to his face, he walked with a confident step born of a natural leader.

‘Victor.’ He crossed the foyer and hugged his son.

‘Father,’ Victor murmured back.

The Head of the Order of Bastian Hunters looked around the foyer. ‘It’s good to see you looking so well,’ he told Godard. His gaze shifted. ‘And this must be your granddaughter.’

Anna nodded an acknowledgment and returned the older man’s stare steadily.

The dark eyes so similar to Victor’s finally fell on me. I was subjected to a long and penetrating stare. ‘Lucas Thorne.’

I frowned at the name. ‘I prefer Soul.’

Stony silence descended on the lobby. Roman Dvorsky watched me with an inscrutable expression. ‘Soul it is then. I guess I owe you a long-overdue apology.’

Victor’s father had not travelled alone; the Dvorskys’ estate was swarming with Bastian Hunters. They arrived in a large convoy of transporter vans and SUVs earlier that day and were busy setting up a security perimeter around the grounds.

I had been receiving guarded looks for most of the morning.

‘Bet they make you feel twitchy, huh?’ said Reid.

He leaned against the window frame next to me and gazed outside. We had retired to the study while Roman Dvorsky and the other members of the Bastian First Council gathered in the kitchen for a meeting. The lawn in front of the mansion was crawling with immortals.

‘I guess they’re on our side now,’ I said.

Reid shifted and stretched his wounded arm. ‘Well, they do say the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

I had a feeling the majority of the Bastian Hunters out there would not be subscribing to a similar viewpoint.

‘How’s your chest by the way?’ I glanced at the outline of the dressing beneath his shirt.

‘Much better than I thought it’d be,’ said Reid. ‘The doc said I’m healing fast.’ He made a face. ‘Though she still hasn’t given up on getting me to stop smoking.’

I smiled.

The door opened behind us. Bruno appeared on the threshold.

‘The boss is asking for you.’ He hesitated. ‘Mr. Roman is who I mean.’

I looked at Reid. He shrugged. We turned and followed the bodyguard to the back of the manor house.

Several Hunters stood to attention next to the windows and doors of the kitchen. A couple of them visibly stiffened when I entered the room.

The Godards and the Dvorskys were already seated at the table. A number of unfamiliar faces occupied the chairs around them.

‘I’ve updated the Council members about recent events,’ said Victor. He indicated the empty seat at the end of the table. ‘Come, join us.’

I crossed the floor and took the chair. Reid leaned against the wall next to me. He folded his arms, nodded amiably at the Hunter beside him, and assumed a bored air.

An uneasy hush filled the room.

It was broken by a stout man with the expression of a bulldog.

‘Look here.’ The immortal turned to Roman, distaste twisting his lips. ‘Do you really expect us to work together with this—
half-breed?
’ He gestured vaguely in my direction.

Godard went rigid. Anna placed a hand on his arm. She was also frowning.

‘I will not have you speak so of my grandson,’ said the former leader of the Bastian Hunters.

‘I mean you no disrespect, Tomas,’ said the stranger coolly. ‘However, you have to admit that your grandson’s existence flies in the face of the conventions of our society.’

A sigh left Roman Dvorsky’s lips.

‘All right, everyone calm down.’ He turned and addressed the man with the bulldog face. ‘We’ve already gone over this, Costas,’ he said in a patient voice. ‘Soul came off our wanted list a long time ago. We have no grief with him.’

‘Still, to have someone like him share a table with the most senior members of the Bastian Councils is deplorable, not to mention a clear breach of our rules,’ grumbled the man named Costas.

There was a grunt beside me. ‘Who made those rules?’ said Reid.

Costas’s gaze shifted past me. He scowled at my partner. ‘And you are?’

‘A friend,’ said Reid. ‘For now.’

‘The affairs of immortals do not concern you, human,’ the Bastian immortal stated dismissively.

Reid struck a match and lit a cigarette. He ignored Anna’s glare and nonchalantly blew a couple of smoke rings toward the ceiling.

‘Correct me if I’m wrong,’ he drawled, ‘but it seems to me that the “half-breed” and the “human” pretty much saved your immortal asses in the last few days.’

Costas snorted. ‘I heard you nearly got yourself killed.’

‘Well, I gotta admit, when it comes to dying, you have the advantage over me,’ Reid said steadily.

‘It’s okay,’ I said quietly. I turned and observed the faces around the table. ‘Let’s get something clear,’ I said, making no attempt to hide the coldness in my voice. ‘I have no love lost for you or most other immortals, be they Crovir or Bastian. As far as I’m concerned, you can continue to have your petty disputes for the rest of eternity.’ I frowned. ‘Unfortunately, the current situation concerns us all. This is a matter of survival, pure and simple.
You
need
me
. And for the time being, as much as I hate to admit this, it appears that I need you.’

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table.

‘Whatever Agatha Vellacrus is plotting, she believed that I was the only one who could stop her. That’s the reason the Crovir Hunters have been after me for the last two weeks.’ I glanced at my grandfather. ‘And I hear that for Felix Thorne to personally come out on a Hunt is practically unheard of.’

The man next to Roman stiffened. ‘Thorne is here?’

‘Yes,’ Victor’s father replied wearily. ‘He killed Soul a few days ago, outside the safe house in Vilanec.’

‘And it was his seventeenth death at that,’ Anatole said cheerfully. His eyebrows rose at Victor’s expression. ‘What?’ he asked with an innocent shrug.

Bruno sighed and shook his head.

‘We were
trying to keep that fact a secret for as long as possible,’ Victor explained stiffly.

‘Oh.’ Anatole pulled a face. ‘Sorry boss, but half the men out there know about it already.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Won’t be long till the other half finds out either,’ he added under his breath.

Costas had gone red in the face.

‘Impossible!’ The Bastian noble shot out of his seat, the chair clattering to the floor. ‘You’re lying! There’s no way he could have survived his seventeenth death!’ He turned to Roman. ‘This is a grotesque farce, Roman! I demand that you—’

‘Costas is right,’ the man on the other side of Tomas Godard interrupted. ‘No immortal has ever lived beyond seventeen deaths.’

‘Soul did,’ said Victor above the furor that followed. Dvorsky’s voice had an edge of steel to it. ‘I was there.’ He waited until the rumble of voices died down. ‘And you forget. No one in our history has the ability he has.’

The other Council members shared guarded glances.

‘How is that possible?’ said Costas finally.

One of the Hunters pulled his chair up.

He sat down slowly, a stormy expression still clouding his face.

‘No one knows the answer to that question,’ said Victor. He glanced at me and hesitated. ‘But I think we should hide this fact from the Crovirs for as long as possible. If they believe Lucas is out of their way, they will get bolder. And they may let their guard slip.’

The man next to Roman leaned forward. ‘What do you have in mind?’ he said, eyes shining.

The Council members stared at Victor expectantly.

He looked at his father. The leader of the Bastian Hunters nodded.

‘First and foremost, we must protect Anna Godard,’ said Victor. ‘She appears to be a crucial component to Vellacrus’s plan. We cannot let her fall into the hands of the Crovirs at any cost.’

Anna stiffened at his words. ‘Wait a minute. That’s going a bit far!’ she protested.

‘My dear, as much as I dislike admitting it, Victor’s right,’ said Godard. ‘I would hate to think what that woman would do to you if she had you in her grasp.’

‘So what, I’m just supposed to hide and let others get killed because of me?’ Anna retorted. ‘That makes me feel so…useless!’

‘You’re not,’ I said quietly. ‘If we find out what Vellacrus is up to, you may be the only one who can put a stop to it.’

With Anna’s knowledge of Strauss’s research, I was confident she would get to the bottom of what the Crovirs were plotting and find a solution to the problem. As I was rapidly discovering, she was too stubborn to resist a challenge.

‘All right,’ Anna muttered. ‘But no pointless heroics, okay?’

I smiled in response.

‘That’s not the entire plan, is it?’ said Costas incredulously. ‘Surely we do not need the whole Order of the Bastian Hunters just to keep one woman safe?’

‘No,’ said Victor. ‘There’s more.’

‘Vellacrus arrived in Prague last night,’ said Roman. ‘She wasn’t alone. Almost the entire Order of the Crovir Hunters came with her.’

Shocked murmurs broke around the table at this news.

‘The Crovir First Council will be meeting this evening at Kazimir Benisek’s mansion,’ Roman continued. ‘Victor and I are intending to drop in for a visit.’

Stunned silence followed this statement.

‘That’s suicide,’ the man next to Roman said dully.

I watched Victor and his father with a frown. The Council member was right. What the Dvorskys were proposing was madness. I caught the glint in Victor’s eyes and relaxed slightly.

‘No, Grigoriye. Suicide would be going in without a plan,’ said Victor.

He gestured to Bruno. The bodyguard stepped up to the table and spread a map across the surface. A series of high-definition satellite and surveillance photos were pinned to it.

‘Roman and I will go in through the main gates of the compound with an appropriate-sized escort,’ the Bastian noble continued, pointing at a section of the map and a corresponding picture. ‘We’ll have a team of Hunters waiting here, here, and here,’ he indicated three spots on the periphery, ‘in case there’s any trouble.’

He straightened and looked around the table.

‘The aim is simple, gentlemen. We want to surprise and confuse the Crovirs. They will not be expecting this.’ He observed the various expressions of incredulity washing across the faces of the other Council members with a small smile.

‘Roman and I will pretend to be passing through Prague on our way to Budapest,’ he added, unperturbed. ‘Vellacrus will not dare do something to us in the open, not in front of the entire Crovir Council. And you forget—we have allies among the Crovirs. Not everyone in their ranks wishes to see another immortal war.’

‘And what exactly are you hoping to achieve with this harebrained move?’ said Costas after a while, his face bearing a look that managed to combine disbelief with disgust.

‘Well, I doubt Vellacrus will just come out and tell us the details of her plans,’ drawled Victor. ‘No. We’re just the decoy.’

Grigoriye frowned. ‘The decoy?’ he repeated, his puzzled countenance mirroring the others around the table.

‘Yes,’ said Victor. ‘While we distract Vellacrus and the Council, another team will infiltrate the mansion to collect information about what the Crovirs are plotting. Benisek is Felix Thorne’s chief intelligence officer. I’m certain there’ll be a lot of data in that place.’ He tapped a finger on the blown-up photograph of the manor. ‘This team needs to be small—three, four men at the most. They will have to be in and out of there before we leave the estate.’

He scrutinized the faces in the room. I was hardly surprised when his gaze found mine.

‘I propose Lucas, Reid, Bruno, and Anatole,’ said Victor. ‘They worked well together in Vienna.’

A grin lit up Anatole’s face. ‘Now we’re talking!’

Anna scowled. ‘That sounds too risky.’

‘On the contrary,’ said Victor, his eyes never leaving my face. ‘If anyone can overcome the Crovir Hunters, it’s Soul. So, what do you say?’

I watched the immortal for several seconds.

The plan was bold and utterly foolish; the chances of us making it out of the Crovir compound unscathed were slim at best. Still, I could not shake the feeling that our time was running out. We had to get some answers fast.

‘I’m in.’

Victor’s gaze shifted to my side. ‘Hasley?’

Reid looked at me questioningly. I shrugged, indicating that the choice was his to make.

He stepped away from the wall and crushed the cigarette butt in an ashtray on the table. ‘Ninety-nine-point-nine percent chance of getting captured or killed. Zero-point-one percent chance of success,’ said the former US Marine. ‘What’s not to like?’

Victor nodded with a satisfied expression. ‘It’s settled then. We leave at dusk.’

T
he Bastian Council broke up and vacated the room in a low rumble of murmurs. I rose and stopped by Anna’s chair.

‘Do you have some time to spare?’ I said in a low voice.

An idea had been taking shape in my mind for the last two days. The time to see it through was now or never.

‘Yes. By the sounds of it, I’m about to have plenty of that precious commodity on my hands soon enough,’ she said, rolling her eyes.

‘Good. Come with me.’

Anna looked puzzled but followed me nonetheless. I led her out through the back door and headed for the woods at the rear of the mansion. Her eyes widened when we came to a shooting range.

‘What are we doing here?’ she said guardedly.

I removed the Glock from the holster on my hip and checked the magazine. ‘You need to learn how to use a gun.’

I knew from talking to Tomas Godard that Anna had never handled a firearm in her life. Sullen silence followed my words. I looked up into a stormy green gaze.

‘Why?’ Anna said stiffly.

I watched her carefully while I tried to figure out the quickest way to convince her that this was a necessity. ‘If you can defend yourself, less people will have to die protecting you.’