DRACO
AKANE
I strode up to the office building, Flynn a half-step behind me, and nodded at the guard at the door. He stepped aside, pulling open the door next to him, and gave me a small bow without saying a word.
Inside, the walls were stripped bare, the carpets ripped out, and all the furniture removed. There was a bit of dust and dirt, but surprisingly little trash; the new inhabitants must have taken at least some time to clean up after they kicked out the ghouls who were squatting.
We passed dozens of guards, armed with machine guns and rifles and all manner of carefully lethal weaponry on display. Unlike most cultures or companies, they weren’t using a few, uniform weapons. They were all allowed to choose whatever they wished.
Speaking of which, the guards themselves were similar to the weapons they bore. While many of them just had the basic vampire package, I saw representatives of every vampire subculture. The Nosferatu and ghouls were easiest to spot, but there were also Canians in their fire jackets, Belians with their fixers on their arms, and even a few Nessians.
Eventually, we found the center of the floor, a large and open room that had likely originally been intended as a conference or breakfast room of some type. Other than a few tables and chairs, there wasn’t any more here than anywhere else.
It was occupied, of course.
“Miss Akiyama,” Kelly, the ex-Belian who led the retinue, said with a slight bow. “Thank you very much for coming.”
I bowed as well, as Adam and Flynn exchanged a quick bro-hug, with lots of back-slapping. “Of course, Corporal. Anything for a friend.”
She frowned at my waist. “Where’s your sword?”
“Right here,” Flynn grunted as he returned to my side.
Kelly glanced at the man—and the sole blade at his side—for a moment, before shrugging. “Well, if you don’t want to go buy a new one, I’m not going to make you. For now, I’d just like to introduce you to someone.” She turned to the man in the chair. “Akane Akiyama, Magister of the Kensei, I would like to introduce Dracul de Moarte, Noble of the Draculas.”
The man wasn’t anything really exceptional, for a vampire. He had the black hair and pale skin they found attractive, but other than that he didn’t look particularly monstrous. His fangs were hidden behind his lips and a small smile, his long-sleeved shirt concealed his whip-like muscles. He wasn’t even armed. All in all, he looked just like any other vampire you would run into on the street.
Except for his eyes.
Beautiful, gorgeous eyes, a rich sapphire blue, a rare and enchanting color even in the era of the toy maker. But despite their allure, their color wasn’t the most important part. Not directly, anyway.
Vampire nighteyes were pure black, something related to the pupil expanding as part of the nighteye process. Angelic dayeyes were the opposite, with the iris expanding and the pupil shrinking, resulting in an eye that seemed nothing but color.
The Dragon had both.
In a city where surgery was everyday and reshaping your entire body was only slightly more difficult, the Dragon was one of only two people who had successfully combined dayeyes and nighteyes. The Kellions had cheated by making one eye day and the other night, but this was different. This was true fusion, true synthesis, something that only the Mother Monster herself had ever managed to pull off.
Dracul had godeyes. The perfect eyes, capable of seeing in virtually any light level. From so pitch black baseline eyes would swear there was no light at all to bright enough to knock a vampire unconscious, it didn’t matter. He could see everything.
There were no shadows in his eyes. No bright spots or glare. Perfect sight.
“Honored Magister,” the Dragon said warmly. He indicated a chair that one of his men had produced—a simple cheap plastic folding chair, but no worse than the one he was sitting in. “Please, take a seat. Corporal Sanguinas has been telling me all about you.”
I sat, slowly, with Flynn taking up position behind me, and forced myself to speak. “I thought we came here to discuss business. Two of our own are missing. Alex Gabriel and Jarasax of the Blood-Doused Hunters.”
“Skipping the formalities, I can understand that.” He waved off a waiter who had been approaching with something that looked like red wine, but almost certainly wasn’t. “The Corporal tells me she suspects that Belians were behind the kidnapping.”
“That is the working theory,” I said.
“Unfortunately, I can’t just order them to explain themselves,” the vampire said with that small smile of his. “I might be leader of all vampires in name, but it is more complicated than that.” He shrugged. “Besides, the Throne of Abriymoch has been empty ever since Belial died. It makes dealing with them harder than it has to be.”
It took me a moment to parse what he meant. “You think one of the Nobles is acting alone.”
“Or pretending to act alone,” he said. “It’s one of their favorite tricks. A minor loophole in the retribution laws. They all decide on a course of action, one of them carries it out, and pays the fees if things go sideways.” He shook his head. “Sooner or later, Butler is going to get tired and authorize a killing instead of a minor fee.”
I ignored that. “But you know where they would take captives.”
“There are a number of places—their power has waned drastically since Shendilavri, but they still shouldn’t be underestimated. Safehouses, outposts, a couple hidden fortresses… not to mention Phlegethos itself.”
“They wouldn’t take them to Phlegethos,” Kelly said. “Too dangerous. Too many secrets for them to ferret out if they escape. If they hit the pheromone slave override, then the entire Belian standing army would switch off like a light.”
That was something to keep in mind.
Dracul nodded. “I agree. Belial’s lieutenants are scared and confused, but they’re not stupid. They didn’t keep their positions these past few years by taking unnecessary risks. No.” He held out his hand, and one of his men dropped a file into it. “They’ll take them the same place Belians always take things they want kept, but forgotten.”
Kelly closed her eyes. “Blood and shadow, no.”
“You knew this was coming,” the Noble said mildly. “You don’t get to act surprised.”
“I was hoping I was wrong,” she grumbled.
Adam stepped up. “For those of us who didn’t grow up in this city…”
“I don’t understand either,” Flynn said.
“The fortress of the half-succubus,” Kelly said quietly. “The Venus-Star, the Lady of the Heavens, She of the Divine Drink.” She sighed. “It is called Jealous Heart, founded by Inanna, but is now ruled by the Noble Ishtar.”
She closed her eyes.
“My ex-girlfriend.”
Behind the Scenes (scene 258)
I actually really like this scene, but it’s even shorter than normal.
break
Domina Urbana 