“How is your plan any different from that of the Order’s?” Raylion asked as they passed through the outer doors of the compound.
Cain pulled out a security badge and held it up to the scanner. “I have no intention of destroying or subjugating humans. I intend to work with them. In fact, I already am.” He motioned to the space around them as they passed through another set of security doors. “By the time I’m done, the humans will be singing our praises, begging for our help.”
Once they were past the final security doors, Cain marched toward an office area where the administrative details of the base were handled. He found an empty office and gestured to the lawyer. “Sam, you can set up shop here. I’ll send another vampire to assist you. Tell him everything you require in order to do your job.”
Sam walked into the office and flipped on the light switch. He stared at the empty desk. With a sigh, the fledgling’s shoulders seemed to drop in resignation. “Okay, I guess I’ll get settled in.” He walked to the chair behind the desk and took a seat.
“Great things to come, Sam.” Cain tapped his knuckle on the metal door frame. “Great things.”
He and Raylion continued on their way, leaving the dejected lawyer alone with his thoughts. After they’d gone a few paces, Cain turned to the fae. “Are you with me or not, Raylion? I need you to tell me now.”
Raylion was quiet for half a minute before he answered. “I cannot remain on the sidelines. Seeing a former high fae’s decapitated head given as a gift from your enemies tells me that a war’s on. Apparently, I will have to choose sides.”
“Not entirely true. You could flee to the fae realm. If you return there and swear a blood oath to never leave, I won’t bother with you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Cain saw the male fae stiffen. He didn’t seem to like the idea of being trapped in his own realm. No doubt he wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms after having been in league with the Order.
“I suppose I will have to take my chances with you and… put my neck out there, so to speak.”
Cain gave a single nod of acknowledgement. “Good choice. You will be an asset to our cause. Now, if you please, go round up any fae left loyal to the Order and bring them here. Flash into this room.” He pointed to a large open space that had once been used as a gym, judging by the exercise equipment pushed against the walls. “I don’t want attention drawn to us by having fae flash outside of the compound.”
“As you wish.” Raylion disappeared.
Cain blew out a breath when he reached the door that would lead him to the lab, a place he considered the most important room in the compound. He closed his eyes for a moment and tamped down his nerves. It was time to see if their discovery would actually work in reality, and not just on a glass slide under a microscope.
The vampire king watched Willis prepare the tools he would need to infuse Lizzy Fairchild with Cain and Alice’s blood. The scientist was a bundle of energy, and he seemed to Cain both anxious and excited, like a child about to ride a bike for the first time, hungry for freedom but scared of the pain that would result if he fell. Cain could relate.
The vampire was a hard person to surprise. Watching hundreds of years pass had a tendency to remove the novelty of everyday experiences. But now that he was on the verge of finally bringing his improbable plan to fruition, Cain realized he was actually experiencing emotions that hadn’t reared their heads in years. There was nervousness, stress, and—unbelievably—fear. He was surprised to find he missed the feeling. The roller coaster of emotions was something that humans took for granted.
“What if it kills her?”
Cain almost growled at the scientist. This was the thing Cain feared the most, but he hadn’t wanted to give voice to his concerns. Call him superstitious. “Then we will figure out what went wrong and try again,” Cain snapped. He stared out at the dozens upon dozens of sleeping dormants in the warehouse. “We have plenty of test subjects, and my vampires are finding more daily.” While this was true, the vampire king was growing weary of failure. It made him cranky. And when he got cranky, he got bitey.
Willis looked up from his work, and his brow rose. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. How are your vampires able to tell which human is a dormant? Do they have to just go around biting random people to see how they taste?”
Cain rolled his eyes. “Thankfully no. Something tells me that would cause quite a stir with the humans.” He got a mental image of his soldiers biting human after human and then tossing them aside like rotten food, one after the other, as they discarded those that weren’t dormants. “Vampires have a keen sense of smell, even better than wolves when it comes to blood. And all supernaturals possess a unique scent. We can smell the otherness in the dormants. Some of them smell stronger than others. But occasionally, we do have to taste them to confirm it, especially if their bloodline is very watered down.”
Willis seemed to consider this before speaking again. “So instead of biting, they wander around sniffing?”
Cain chuckled. “Pretty much. And I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover just how many dormants there actually are. The wolves like to brag that they don’t go around copulating with those that aren’t their true mates. Well, it seems the Canis lupus aren’t quite as chaste as they make out. Somebody, somewhere, has been evidencing a clear lack of self-control.” The king glanced down at his watch and wondered what was taking Alice so long to retrieve the girl when the door opened behind him.
He turned to find Alice and four of his vampires. Two of them held Lizzy by the arms. The woman stood between them, looking bored with her hands tied behind her back. Cain smirked. “Did she give you problems?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Lochlan, one of the males holding Lizzy, released her arm, as did Nathan, who was holding the other side.
“That will be all.” Cain motioned for the males to leave.
“What if she doesn’t cooperate?” Lochlan’s eyes dropped to Lizzy. Cain noted the hungry look in the vampire’s eyes and let out a low growl.
“If you’re hungry, Lochlan, then I suggest you go hunting outside of this building.” Cain stepped closer to the male. “If I find out you’ve fed on any of the humans or dormants in this facility, I will end you myself. Am I clear?” Cain didn’t have time for vampires that couldn’t control their urges. He needed people working in the facility to feel safe so they could do their jobs, or at least as safe as a human could feel when around a superior species that could kill them in the blink of an eye.
“Yes,” the male bit out through clenched teeth.
“If you are in control of your hunger, then you can wait in the hall with the others,” Cain instructed. “If not, then go feed and come back when you’re sated. And make yourself useful and bring some dormants back with you while you’re at it.”
The four vampires left without another word, closing the door behind them.
Cain relaxed his shoulders and looked Lizzy over. “Speaking of hunger, I hear you’ve not been eating.”
