Chapter 4 #2
He had perfected the art of speaking to the undead over the centuries, knowing the right tones to use, the right things to say to flatter and put them at ease.
Going into battle with one of them felt as if it were a part he’d stepped into and knew the role so well he never had to think about what to say or do any longer.
That was dangerous, and he recognized it as such.
There was no room for complacency even when hunting and slaying a newly turned vampire.
The master vampire regarded him without moving, his red-rimmed eyes flickering with malice and hatred.
He appeared quite handsome, his clothes tailored to his fit physique and his dark hair slicked back.
Unlike those impersonating the ancients, his hair looked real.
Tomas was aware that if a woman saw him, she might very well find him attractive.
“Tomas?” A flicker of apprehension showed on his smooth features and was gone quickly. “I heard you and your brothers were far from here.”
“You obviously heard wrong.” That simple statement revealed the vampires were keeping track of him and his brothers.
Because the vampires attempted to use the other ancients’ faces and hair, did that mean they were watching them as well?
Worse, sharing information with one another? It was imperative he find out.
“Your informant was clearly wrong, old friend.” He spoke as if they were friends; in the old days, growing up, Gustov had followed him everywhere.
He was a few years younger, but those years didn’t count once both hit fifty.
Over the years, Gustov had been a formidable vampire hunter.
He had lived far beyond the expectation of a hunter. He had lived with honor.
Fleetingly, Tomas wondered what had happened inside the Carpathian’s mind, his heart, which switch flipped to allow him to give up his code and become the very thing he’d hunted for centuries.
He had to let that go for the moment. Gustov had always been extremely intelligent and skilled in a fight.
It mattered little how much experience he had in battles with vampires if he wasn’t paying attention.
Master vampires were always up to something.
“Do you have an enemy who wishes you gone?” Tomas sounded solicitous, worried for his old friend.
“The one I follow believes I am capable of handling even the strongest of our enemies,” Gustov responded.
His voice turned sly. “Join us, Tomas. Call to your brothers. At long last, we have the means to defeat the prince, to wipe him and the Dubrinsky line from this earth. We will hold reign over all species.”
Ordinarily, Tomas would pay no attention to anything a vampire said.
Nearly every word out of their mouths was a lie.
For some reason, he heard truth in Gustov’s voice.
Instantly, despite the fact that his brothers were in battles of their own, he opened his mind to theirs.
They needed this information should he be defeated by the master vampire.
“No one can defeat the prince, not when he has so much power.” Tomas spoke cautiously and even looked around him as if he feared the forest had ears.
“And there is always a Daratrazanoff guarding the prince. Gregori. You and I both know that combination can set fire to the earth. We would all be annihilated if we went after Mikhail directly.” The way he worded his protest made it sound as if he wanted to destroy the prince but feared the power of Dubrinsky and Daratrazanoff.
It was well known to the Carpathian people that if Gregori amplified Mikhail’s power, it was worse than any nuclear bomb detonating.
Gustov’s mouth, a slash of darkness, pulled into a macabre grin. “That’s just the thing, Tomas.” He looked around the forest and lowered his voice, taking another step closer.
Tomas held himself in place, knowing that Gustov very well could be setting up to attack using his whispered, confidential conversation to distract him.
“There is an ancient weapon known to my master. He is not yet one of us and stays that way, so no hunters will come after him. But he is…more.”
Tomas schooled his features to appear shocked and interested. He, too, looked around and kept his voice very low. “He is not yet turned?”
Gustov gave him another macabre grin, showing stained, jagged teeth.
“He reprimanded me and said I should have waited, that I would be more powerful than a vampire. I didn’t believe him, but he defeated every one of the skilled fighters I sent against him, even when he was truly outnumbered.
He spared me because he has a mission. He explained how he spent time in the underworld and he learned of a powerful weapon that had been broken apart.
The three parts link together to form the weapon.
Dubrinsky and Daratrazanoff cannot hope to defeat this weapon.
It was made by ancients with the metal falling from the sky. ”
Gustov believed every word he was saying. If Tomas could feel alarm, he would have been broadcasting warnings immediately. As it was, he registered that Gustov was telling the truth, trying to persuade Tomas to join their cause.
“You’re positive your master was telling the truth?” he pushed. He could feel his brothers’ concern in their stillness.
Gustov looked gleeful, certain he had persuaded Tomas to their side.
Tomas and his brothers were known to be fierce fighters.
They were phantoms few saw if they desired to remain unseen.
His brothers always traveled with him. The triplets would be a tremendous asset, and Gustov was certain they could persuade other ancients to join the cause.
“He was definitely telling the truth. He knew the weapon was in three parts and fit together. He had an idea of where each piece was and how he could acquire it. Once he has all three pieces, he will rid the world of the Dubrinsky and Daratrazanoff lines and he will be in power. Every species will have no choice other than to do as we demand.” Now Gustov sounded triumphant.
“Where in his vision of a different world do we come in?” Tomas asked.
“We will be his army. Ancients, like you, if you resist becoming vampire, will have the highest positions. Then I and others like me will run his army of the undead. His plan is well thought out.”
When we were in the States with Tariq Asenguard, do you recall Ferro claiming Elisabeta?
She had been held captive for centuries.
At first, it seemed as if everything was fine, but then there were undertones, a threat to Elisabeta.
That threat came from Gary Daratrazanoff, and it was very real, Tomas reminded.
He protected an ancient counsel, one that ensured the prince would not go insane from the madness that runs in his family, Mataias said.
That was the explanation, Tomas agreed, but it never made sense to me. Why would he be willing to destroy an innocent Carpathian woman, risking her lifemate to turn, especially when he is so powerful?
What are you thinking, Tomas? Lojos asked.
Gary became one of us in the most difficult way possible.
Ancient warriors from the Daratrazanoff line poured their knowledge and skills into him when he was reborn.
Is it possible Gary is aware of an ancient weapon that could destroy our people?
That he thought Elisabeta might know where those pieces are?
He kept his attention on Gustov. “You say this weapon your master seeks is in pieces. How does he know where to find those pieces?”
For the first time Gustov looked annoyed. “He refused to say, only that he knew the ancients had such a weapon and that it was made from material that fell from the sky several thousand years ago.”
We know that meteorites have been used by the ancients for everything from jewelry to weapons, Tomas informed his brothers. He was the accepted scholar in the family, but all three shared information constantly. What one knew, so did the others.
“Did your master give you his name?” Tomas ventured.
More and more it sounded as if Justice had made a wrong turn.
No one could blame him. He’d lived a legendary life and sacrificed for his family, condemning himself to the underworld in order to keep his family out.
He’d been there for centuries, locked behind gates.
Carpathians kept him there. That alone would be viewed as a betrayal after all he’d done for his people.
Gustov looked crafty again. “There is no need for names; he is legendary.”
For one moment, Tomas felt every year of his long life on earth.
Justice. He hadn’t allowed himself to really believe the man had turned against his people.
It wasn’t just that it would be nearly impossible for a lone hunter to bring down a man with Justice’s centuries of fighting experience; it was that Tomas had held out for far too long.
If a man as strong as Justice had succumbed to the dark side, did anyone have real hope?
He knew Ferro still felt those stains, the scarring on his soul that even his lifemate couldn’t remove. Was it really too late for all of them?
Tomas knew he continued to evolve just as his brothers and the other ancients did. Was Ferro still changing despite having a lifemate? Was that a curse given them because they had lived far too long? Hunted too many? Killed so often?
Gustov shook his head. “We do not speak his name. We do not take the chance that hunters will go after him until he is ready. At long last we have the ability to destroy the Dubrinsky and Daratrazanoff lines. You must join us, Tomas. You can see how we will triumph.”
“The weapon is in three parts and the master knows where each of those parts is located?” Deliberately, Tomas used the term “the master” instead of “your master.” Gustov would take it that he was persuading Tomas to his side.