Sunfall Read online

  Her eyes darkened perceptibly. “You look devastatingly attractive in my chair.”

  Instead of letting on how deeply her words affected me, I arched one eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Someday soon, I’m going to make love to you, right there, until you scream.” She glanced at her watch again. “Unfortunately, it can’t be today.”

  I went to her, threading my arms around her neck and pulling her down for a long, slow kiss. Her tongue slid possessively against mine, and for one sweet moment, I let myself forget all about the chaos around us.

  “I’ll be counting down the seconds,” I whispered against her mouth.

  *

  Headquarters swarmed with security officers, each of whom held an automatic rifle. They stood in pairs—one vampire, one wereshifter—and regarded each other just as suspiciously as they did those who entered the building. We had to show our identification four separate times before we were granted access to the conference room next to Helen’s office.

  We entered to find Malcolm, Karma, Solana, and Helen already present. Malcolm stood before the large bay windows that looked out over the dark swath of the East River and the colorful lights of Long Island City, speaking softly with Karma. Solana was perched on one arm of the leather sofa along the far side of the room next to Helen, who lay propped up on several pillows. Her face and arms were almost entirely covered with bandages, but her eyes were alert and focused as she watched us enter the room. Val led us to her, then dropped into a crouch so Helen wouldn’t have to crane her neck.

  “Helen. How are you feeling?”

  “As well as can be expected,” she rasped. She was trying hard not to open her mouth too widely, and as a result her words were slightly garbled.

  Val looked from her to Solana. “Is there anything you need from me?”

  “At the moment, no.” Solana smiled ever so slightly when I reached across to squeeze her hand. “Thank you.”

  The door opened again to admit Constantine, followed by Summers and Foster. Constantine looked as though he wanted to join us, but then Malcolm turned and gestured toward the table. With the exception of Solana and Helen, we each found seats. Dark circles prevailed beneath bleary eyes for nearly everyone at the table. Malcolm was the only one who seemed rested, and I wondered if perhaps the past few weeks had been a blessing in disguise for him.

  “We have no time for pleasantries,” he began. “Earlier, Helen answered several questions for me regarding the object of Balthasar Brenner’s raid earlier today. It is very painful for her to speak so I will communicate the information to you, except when she is the only one capable of answering a question.”

  I glanced at Helen again, wondering just how much she was suffering. Burn wounds were, I’d heard, some of the most agonizing to endure. Doubtless Solana had arranged to have her fed, and vampires did heal at a faster rate than humans. But what Helen really needed was the blood of a wereshifter. I looked to Constantine, wondering whether he had offered himself or planned to do so, but his expression was inscrutable.

  “Brenner removed six vials and a flash drive from the medical vault,” Malcolm continued. “These items contained specimens and extensive notes from a series of highly classified experiments involving the vampire parasite.”

  “What kinds of experiments?” Summers asked, clearly displeased at his own lack of knowledge.

  “The research was attempting to create a new, improved strain of parasite—one combining elements from all seven subspecies.”

  Beside me, Val tensed and leaned forward. “Improved? What the hell do you mean by that?”

  The question had exploded from her before she could temper her anger, and I reached for her hand, hoping my touch would prove soothing. I wasn’t surprised at her suspicion. Valentine was heavily invested in finding a cure for the vampire parasite—or at least a way to curb its appetite and most detrimental effects—but that priority wasn’t shared by most of her colleagues.

  “The goal of the project as it has been explained to me,” Malcolm said, “was to create a version of the parasite that would combine the strengths of all seven clans while eliminating their weaknesses.”

  Val shifted restlessly in her chair and muttered something beneath her breath, so quietly that even I couldn’t make out the words.

  “Was the project a success?” I asked.

  Malcolm looked to Helen. When she spoke, I had to lean forward to catch her soft and poorly articulated words. “No. The engineered parasite was a disaster. A cannibal. It would only feed on the blood of other vampires.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Constantine.

  Helen gestured to Solana, who leaned in to catch her words. A frown spread across her face as she listened, and when she finally turned to face the rest of the room, she looked deeply troubled.

  “The modified parasite rejected human blood as sustenance and would only accept the blood of vampires who had been infected by one of the original seven strains. The test subjects demonstrated an increase in physical strength and in resistance to sunlight, but their appetites were insatiable. When left unfed, they experienced rapid mental deterioration.”

  “And now Brenner has this research in his possession?” Fury laced Val’s voice. When she leaned heavily back in her chair, I rested my hand on her knee. Beneath my palm her muscles leapt into sharp relief.

  I didn’t have to guess what she was thinking. A Frankenstein’s monster that preyed exclusively on other vampires would be a formidable predator, and if Brenner could produce enough of them, he could conceivably hunt vampires into extinction. Or, if he managed to infect enough vampires at once, he could easily start a civil war.

  Malcolm raised one hand in an attempt to forestall an outburst. “Helen has assured me that the cannibal parasite was destroyed, as was the vial containing one subspecies. He may have the notes, but without that seventh vial he cannot duplicate the research.”

  “Bullshit. All he’d have to do is figure out which parasite he’s missing and capture a vampire from that clan.”

  Helen shook her head and tried to raise herself into a sitting position, only to gasp in pain. She slumped back against the couch as Solana bent over her in concern.

  “The synthesis will fail unless the parasite comes from a blood prime,” Solana reported a moment later.

  “Which strain was destroyed?” asked Foster.

  Once again, Solana bent to hear Helen’s response. “The vial containing the Sunrunner parasite. After the failed experiment, their blood prime demanded the destruction of her sample.”

  “Tian?” Val was on her feet, gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles turned white. “And you don’t think it’s a coincidence that Bai was beaten into a bloody pulp? We have to assume Brenner has Tian’s location!”

  “But how would he have known about the experiments at all?” Constantine’s voice was taut, and my panther vibrated at his obvious distress.

  “Darren.” Summers spat out the traitor’s name.

  “Darren would never have had access to the research,” Foster countered.

  “But maybe he saw references somewhere?” I said. “Enough to piece together the gist of the project?”

  “Possibly.” Malcolm turned his attention to Helen. “I’m aware that Tian is notoriously reclusive. Do you know her current location?”

  “No,” Solana reported after a brief consultation. “Aside from her retinue, only her second-in-command has that information.”

  “Which we can assume was tortured out of him by Brenner,” Val repeated. She took her seat again, and beneath the table, I pressed my leg against hers in a silent attempt at reassurance.

  “Does anyone know Bai’s prognosis?” Malcolm asked.

  “If there is any change in his condition, Helen will be informed,” said Solana.

  “There must be something we can do while we wait for him to come out of the coma,” I said. “Surely the other members of the delegation must be able to get a message to Tian, e
ven if they don’t know where she is.”

  “And in the meantime, we need to double our efforts to track down Brenner,” said Constantine. “If we can determine his movements early enough, we might be able to slow him down or overtake him.”

  Malcolm rose and began issuing deployment orders. He charged Summers to spearhead the search for Brenner’s whereabouts, and asked Foster to work with the Sunrunner delegation to make contact with Tian. He instructed Constantine and me to begin requisitioning personnel and supplies for a raid, and Val to implement a withdrawal freeze at the bank in order to forestall a financial panic.

  “Karma and I will see to the security of Headquarters. It must be left well-guarded.” He returned his gaze to Helen. “You will remain here to oversee the defenses?”

  “Very well.” Her unhappiness was clear, even through the rasp of her voice.

  Malcolm looked around the room, meeting each of our eyes in turn. “Be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. At the first strong lead on Brenner, we will depart.”

  Chapter Nine

  Val grabbed my hand as I turned toward the door. “I need to speak with Solana. Do you want me to meet you at home?”

  “I’ll stay.” I paused, trying to choose my next words carefully. “I know you’re upset with Helen, and for good reason. But I don’t think Solana is going to be able to—”

  Val shook her head. “That’s not why I need her help right now. I want to go back up to the lab and get some blood work started so we have a better sense of what the Tear of Isis flower actually does, and why.”

  “And how long its effects will last,” I added, saying what she wouldn’t. I could see it flickering in her eyes—the fear that she would descend once again into the emptiness of unmitigated and unquenchable thirst. That her soul would again be lost.

  “That, too.”

  “We’ll be okay. No matter what.”

  Val slid her arms around my waist. “I know.” When I tilted my head back to search her eyes, she smiled. “I believe in us more than anything.”

  I rested my cheek against her chest, trying to soak up each moment of closeness before the inevitable chaos. The feel of her arms around me was nothing short of miraculous. A part of me still couldn’t believe she had returned to me from a place that—according to some—was beyond death.

  “Toward the end of that meeting, I had a thought,” she said into the silence.

  “Oh?”

  Absently, she smoothed her palms across the small of my back. “The vampire parasite is powerful enough to transform the structure of a person’s circulatory system—we know that for sure. But the same must be true of that flower. I can’t think of any other way for it to have done what it did to me and to Solana.”

  “And you think it could be the basis for a cure?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe I’m making bad conjectures.” A lopsided smile curved her lips. “This wouldn’t be the first time over the past two years that I’ve seen something I can’t explain.”

  “How soon will you know the results of the tests you want to run?”

  “Days. But I don’t want to waste any time on the front end. We could get called away at any second, and God only knows what will happen then. And who knows—maybe the blood work will reveal something we can use to counteract whatever Brenner’s planning.”

  She looked over my shoulder and I turned to follow her gaze, reluctantly breaking her gentle hold. Solana was conferring with Malcolm as the others filed out the door.

  “I’m going to call Tonya,” she said quietly. “I don’t think the regular Consortium staff can be trusted.”

  My skin prickled. Tonya had been a physician’s assistant of sorts at Consortium Headquarters until a few months ago when Valentine, in a fit of thirst and pique, had turned her. I hated the thought of Val’s lips pressed to Tonya’s skin, of her cries of abandon as Val stroked and sucked her into oblivion, of Val moving above and inside her.

  “Baby, hush, it’s okay.”

  Her words shattered the images cascading before my mind’s eye. Only then did I become aware that I was trembling. A nearly subvocal growl vibrated in the back of my throat, and I forced my panther to subside into the depths of my consciousness.

  Val rubbed my lower back in slow circles, and I took a few deep breaths as I scanned the room to see if anyone had noticed my lapse. Fortunately, they were all caught up in their own affairs. When Val cupped my face and drew my gaze to hers, I began to apologize.

  “No. You have nothing to be sorry for. The only thing I need to know is that you’re sure of me now. That you trust me to be true to you. To us.”

  I rose onto my toes to nip at her chin, then soothed the spot with my lips. “I do.”

  She searched my eyes, then smiled. “I like the sound of those two words.” But before I could reply, she stepped back and raised her phone. “I’ll make the call. Will you tell Solana the plan?”

  I waited a respectful distance behind Malcolm and caught Solana’s attention when he turned for the door. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her face was drawn and pale, but the anxiety that had seemed to crackle around her mere hours before had subsided. Our world was in chaos, but deep inside, she was at peace. I could empathize.

  “Do you have a few minutes? Val would like to run some blood tests. They shouldn’t take long. She’s hoping this is the first step in pinning down the biological mechanism of the flower.”

  Helen opened her eyes briefly, but for once her scrutiny didn’t leave me cold. I wondered whether the hell she’d just endured would temper her aggression, or at least her methods. Or perhaps Solana’s presence was responsible for the nascent change I felt in her.

  “Go,” she said to Solana. “You need answers.” Her voice was barely audible, even to me. “Please ask Constantine to stay.”

  Solana brushed the lightest of kisses on Helen’s shoulder before joining me. We met Val at the door and headed for the stairwell.

  “Thanks for taking the time,” Val said as we ascended. The slight note of deference in her voice surprised and gladdened me. I would forever be in debt to Solana, and apparently, Val felt the same.

  “What kinds of tests will you run?” asked Solana.

  “I want to do a full workup, but that will take a while.” Val held the door for us both, and my shoulders tightened at the memory of having been shot in this very hallway only a few hours ago. Battling down both the flashback and my defensive panther, I retraced our earlier steps toward the laboratory.

  We rounded the corner to find two pairs of guards flanking the door. All the blood had been cleaned from the floor and walls, and the antiseptic scent burned my nostrils. As we approached, the guards closed ranks, blocking the threshold.

  Val halted and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Are we going to have a problem, gentlemen?”

  One of the vampires, a tall, dark-haired man with a hooked nose, was the one to answer. “We can let you in, Missionary, but two of us must come with you.”

  A chill ran over me at the sound of Valentine’s official title. I still thought of the Missionary as the brute who had turned her and in so doing dramatically changed the course of both our lives.

  “Fine. We have one more joining us.”

  I took the opportunity to check my phone while we waited. I’d missed a call from my mother. Her voice mail message was a rambling monologue about how she missed me and how many feet of snow had fallen in the latest blizzard and was I studying too hard. We were living in two separate worlds, and the disconnect between her questions and my life made me feel a sudden sense of vertigo.

  But then Val brushed a light caress across my shoulders, the barest hint of a smile curving her lips when I met her gaze. Even now, acting in an official capacity before perfect strangers, she took the time to make me feel cherished. We had claimed each other in this brave new world, and I could miss my biological family without having to feel utterly adrift.

  When Tonya appeared a few minutes later, I wa
s careful to control my voice and expression even as I loosened my hold on my panther ever so slightly. Tonya flinched as she shook my hand, and I knew my nonverbal warning had worked.

  “Let’s go.”

  Instead of turning toward the records vault, Val led us down the intersecting corridor in the opposite direction. She paused at a door on the right to enter a code on the security pad attached to the knob. When the guards would have followed her inside, she shook her head.

  “This is the only entrance and exit. Stay outside.”

  The room was a laboratory, complete with workbenches and stainless steel shelves populated by all kinds of equipment. Val went to a drawer and withdrew two syringes, several vials, and a tourniquet.

  “I want to run a full battery of tests on these samples,” she said as she rolled up her sleeves. “And for what it’s worth, I want to take a look right now as well.”

  “What will you be able to see?” asked Solana.

  “The parasite is visible through most microscopes,” said Val. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to tell anything about the effects of the flower, but I do remember what my blood looked like when the parasite was consuming it, so I can make some comparisons.” She looked to Tonya. “I’d like you to do a finger stick also, as a control.”

  Once Tonya had moved on to Solana, I followed Val to the back of the room, where she turned on the largest of the microscopes arranged on the bench. After preparing a slide of her own blood, she bent over the device. I couldn’t help but hold my breath, and I had to force myself to think rationally. Even if the flower’s effects were already wearing off, that didn’t mean I was going to lose Valentine. The Tear of Isis bloomed in thirteen places across the world each month. In the short term, we could harvest it from another location. In the long term, we could try to synthesize it.

  Val raised her head, confusion written plainly on her face. “I don’t know how to interpret what I’m seeing.”