Chapter 27 #2
“You talk about weakness of the Ministry and weakness of the Variks, but you’re the one who is working with humans to take down your own kind,” Marcus snarled, trying to draw her attention to him.
Minerva laughed again and dropped down in the metal folding chair in front of him. “What better spies are there than humans?” she mocked.
Marcus knew that she was referring to Ethan and his initial role as a spy in Marcus’s house, but he believed Ethan when he said that he told the League leader nothing about Marcus and his family they didn’t already know. Marcus trusted Ethan. Would never doubt him.
“But you’re right. Humans are weak. They are needlessly cruel to each other.
So petty and vindictive. And so very easily manipulated.
” Minerva rested her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward.
“They outnumber us by more than two thousand to one. Why not use such an army to cull the weak from our own ranks? I would rather waste a hundred human lives than one vampire life on a member of your family.”
“Why would they follow you if you’re only leading them to slaughter?”
A soft giggle slipped from her and it was more frightening than her rages.
“All I need to do is give them some weapons and a little armor. They believe they have a chance at winning. I know they believe that if they assist me, play like they’re the good follower, they will get close enough that they will one day be able to kill me.
” She sat in her chair again and folded her arms over her chest, a smug smile twisting on her lips. “Isn’t that right, Carl?”
There was a slow shuffling in the little crowd wrapping around Minerva’s back.
The vampires parted after a moment and the man Marcus had seen in his own house shambled forward, looking as if he was perfectly balanced on the threshold of life and death.
There were several fresh bite marks on his throat.
His shirt had been torn at the collar and down the front.
There were more bite marks on his chest.
Minerva had handed Carl over to her clan to feed off.
When he’d been taken right to the edge of death, he’d been given enough of her blood to hold him in the land of the living but not enough to transform him into a vampire.
He was little more than a mindless husk, existing to follow her every instruction regardless of what it was.
Movie zombies had more autonomy and drive.
If she never spoke to him again, he would remain standing in a room until his body finally decayed into nothingness.
The creation of husks was highly illegal, banned by every vampire ministry for centuries.
It was the first one Marcus had ever seen, and he prayed that he never looked on another.
It was cruel. He had no idea if any of Carl’s consciousness remained in his brain, but his existence had to be the worst kind of torture.
The man deserved death, not an eternity of shambling servitude.
If Minerva succeeded in getting rid of the Ministry and claiming power for herself, it was clear that Carl represented a good slice of the world she planned to create.
“Humans are pets. Servants. They are meant to be food for us. Nothing more.” Minerva smiled at Marcus. “I will see to it that vampires not only claim their spot at the top of the food chain, but that humans understand that they are at the bottom.”
“But you just said they outnumber us—”
“Fear and manipulation are all I need. We will remake the world into a utopia for vampires.” Minerva stuck out her bottom lip, giving him a false look of sadness. “But you and your clan won’t be around for it. You’ll be taken care of as soon as we collect that final brother of yours.”
“You’re not going to find Bel,” Rafe growled. “You’ll never find him.”
Minerva laughed and stood. She gave a little shake of her head before turning to stroll toward the door she’d entered through.
“He’s proving to be trickier than we expected, but we’ll find him.
I’ll put a thousand husks on his trail if I have to.
I’ll get that little pet as well. Turns out he’s some unfinished business for me. And I so hate leaving loose ends.”
Marcus bit his tongue, wanting to demand what she was talking about with Ethan, but he trapped the question behind his teeth.
It was better if he didn’t draw her back into the room.
He kneeled on the concrete, his knees aching, as he watched all her little minions follow Minerva.
Carl brought up the rear, his shoes scraping along the floor with each slow step.
When the door was closed and the bolt slid back into place, Marcus started to count to one hundred. He wanted to give enough time for any of her minions to wander away. Sure as he could be that they were finally alone, Marcus turned as best as he could to look at Winter and Rafe.
“Well, she’s a fucking nut job,” Rafe muttered.
Marcus couldn’t argue that point. Minerva had gone off the deep end, but that wasn’t his main concern. “What did she mean by that comment about Ethan? How is he unfinished business?”
Winter sighed. He still lay on his side, his hands pulled down between his bent knees thanks to the short chain bolted to the floor.
“Minerva is the one who murdered his family. She and a handful of her clan slaughtered everyone in that apartment building. I’d just uncovered it when she attacked my house. ”
“Fuck,” Marcus whispered. “How was she not brought up before the Ministry? She should have been executed for such a thing. It endangers all of us. Could have led to discovery.”
“I would imagine that she got out of execution the same way you’ve been protecting our family for years,” Rafe said with a half smile. “The Black Wolf clan isn’t an impoverished clan. Enough money and the Ministry would have looked the other way.”
“There is one good thing about crazy people,” Winter said. He groaned a little as he pushed himself into an upright position. Sweat glistened on his forehead in the low light despite the coolness of the room. Marcus was willing to wager that it was from pain snaking through his brother’s body.
“Really? Because I can’t think of any,” Rafe mumbled.
“Get them to fly into a fit of rage, and they tend to not notice things going missing. You know…things like keys.” There was a soft jingle as Winter opened some of the fingers on his right hand to reveal a ring of keys.
Holy fuck, he’d picked Minerva’s pocket while she attacked him!
Marcus and Rafe laughed softly for a moment. They still had an uphill battle ahead of them, but it was at least a little easier if they weren’t manacled.
At Winter’s instruction, Marcus inched closer to him, presenting his hands to Winter. It was slow going as Winter tried one key after another in the lock, but he finally located the right one, freeing Marcus. Taking the keys from Winter, Marcus freed his brothers as silently as possible.
“What’s our next step? If I know Bel, he’s already on his way,” Rafe asked.
He was leaning heavily against the wall, rubbing his wrists, while Winter remained seated on the floor.
At the very least, he looked as if he’d found a more comfortable position.
They were all in horrible shape. Marcus’s legs were trembling where he stood, threatening to collapse before they could even make it to the door.
They weren’t going to be much use in a fight if they didn’t feed soon.
But that wasn’t even their first problem. They still had to get out of this torture chamber, and it sounded like Minerva’s keys weren’t going to do much good against a slide bolt.
“Do you have any idea what Bel’s plan might be?” Winter asked.
“Probably grab whatever wicked shit he’s cooked up in his lab and storm the house. Well, that’s assuming he could even figure out who attacked us.” Rafe dropped his head against the wall and swore softly. “Bel,” he whispered. “Please, run. Just fucking run.”
“He’s not,” Marcus said.
Rafe blinked back tears and flashed Marcus a crooked smile. “I know.” It was a hard thing. They all wanted Bel to escape and be safe, but they knew he wouldn’t leave them. It was both touching and terrifying.
Winter pressed his hands to the floor and carefully pushed to his feet. He swayed for a moment, putting his hand quickly against the wall to steady himself. “Do you think Ethan reached him?”
“Yes.” Marcus didn’t hesitate. He had to believe that Ethan reached Bel in time. He had to believe that his lover was safely in his brother’s hands, or he’d lose all hope. He couldn’t think of Ethan injured and dying somewhere. The only reassuring thing was that he was not in Minerva’s hands.
“Guess you’re wishing you’d listened to me when I told you to change his sexy ass when you had the chance,” Rafe grumbled.
Marcus shook his head and was instantly relieved that it didn’t make the pounding in his skull worse. “No. It has to be something he wants.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure he didn’t imagine something like this happening. Bet he’d want it now.”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” He looked over at his brother and smiled. “I love him, Rafe. And I’ll always love him, whether he’s a human or a vampire. That’s never going to change.”
“Fantastic. When we get out of this, you can swap out that stupid collar for a wedding ring,” Winter grumbled. He pushed off the wall and took what looked like some pained steps toward the door.
“Go to hell. That collar is fucking gorgeous,” Rafe said, following Winter.
Marcus couldn’t believe it, but he was smiling as he followed Rafe and Winter.
His body hurt, and he was moving like an old man.
They had little chance of escaping Minerva’s house without a lot of help.
But he couldn’t stop his smile. He had his brothers, his family, with him.
And soon, he was sure Bel and Ethan would be with them as well.
“You think Minerva is kind enough to have humans guarding us?” Marcus asked, shoving Minerva’s stolen keys into his pocket. “I’m feeling a bit peckish.”
Winter snorted and Rafe moaned softly.
“Yes,” Rafe said. “I’m famished. I’d kill for a couple of really big ones with strong hearts and slow legs. Let me ride him like a jockey as he pumps that blood straight down my throat. Not going feel guilty about draining them.”
Sadly, Marcus had to agree. These humans attacked his family first, and now they were going to feed his family.
After that, they could focus on escaping and finding Ethan and Bel.
Marcus mentally sighed. And destroying Minerva.
She couldn’t be allowed to continue on her path of destruction.
It was the only way to protect his family and so many other vampires and humans.
But first, food.
Then Bel and Ethan.
Then kill Minerva.
Yeah, that was a sound-ish plan.
Fuck, he needed to feed.