He always held back.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vlad shouldn’t be in this position. He was Vlad Sinclair, the Grand Vizier of all Wizards, reduced to making an unholy allegiance with humans because someone had discovered a way to kill Wizards. Now the Talons threatened to kill all Wizards, not just Fire Wizards, if Vlad didn’t do as he was told.
Vlad stared at the flames in the fireplace in his office while the president of the Talons sat behind him, waiting for his response. This plan was supposed to be easy. Instead, it had turned into a cataclysmic disaster, and the latest casualty was Bealtaine. The festival was suspended until the female Wizards had returned and the murders had been solved. He’d tried to forestall the Grey Council’s decision but was overruled. The aging members believed in majority rule.
That would change when he took total control and obliterated the council. But to do so, he needed the Talons.
As he watched, the once robust fire turned the oak log to a blackened core and stone-grey ash. He felt like those poor bastards during the Middle Ages whose arms and legs were tied to horses and their bodies torn limb from limb. Helpless. The emotion was new and unwelcome and raw. He could well imagine the president of the Talons and his henchmen volunteering during the burning times of the Middle Ages.
It would be a pleasure to take them all down.
Vlad faced Constantine and purposely raised his voice enough to cause the pictures on the paneled walls to clatter. “How can I trust that you will keep your word after the recent series of blunders?”
Constantine looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting to the pictures on the wall. The president of the Talons, dressed in a dark wool suit and vest, sat in Vlad’s favorite chair, pulling at a loose thread on his sleeve. Vlad knew Constantine’s nervousbehavior had nothing to do with Vlad’s outburst. Something—or someone—else had him worried.
Constantine adjusted his tie. “The man in charge assures me the deaths were necessary. You must admit the way we neutralized the press, suggesting the murders were the work of a serial killer, was inspired.”
“Must I?” Vlad edged closer until he towered over Constantine. His voice was deceptively calm. “And how do we explain the death of twenty-three people in The Inferno restaurant in Pike Place Market? Gas leak?”
“Precisely.” The Talon president’s voice sounded unsteady. “The report is on its way to the media outlets as we speak. We discovered an informant and made the decision to have him, and those he might have contacted, neutralized.”
“Ah, well, that makes me feel so much better.”
Constantine pulled on his loose thread again, this time snapping it free from his sleeve. “We have another problem. The vamp Sorsha is snooping around. We managed to convince her it was not in her, or her people’s, best interest to interfere, but I don’t trust her.”
Vlad almost laughed at Constantine’s comment. Thinking you’d convinced a Vampire of anything was foolish and often fatal. But like Sorsha, Vlad walked a fine line. Things were getting out of control. With the Grey Council and the whole magical community in a panic, it wouldn’t take much to tip the scales. Vlad would present evidence that the Talons were involved in ethnic cleansing for their own gain. Until then, he had to appear to cooperate with the Talons a little while longer. He was close to achieving a lifelong dream. But he hadn’t expected so many deaths or resistance. He shut his eyes for a moment to collect his thoughts.
The Talons and the magical community liked to joke that Earth Wizards were as slow to respond as a mountain risingout of the ocean. The myth worked to his advantage. When he accused the Talons, everyone would believe it was after a long and thorough investigation.
Constantine cleared his throat. It was evident the human was uncomfortable. The man’s hatred of Wizards ran deep. His first wife had left him for an Air Wizard. But like Vlad, Constantine valued power and needed Vlad in the same twisted way Vlad needed him.
Vlad nodded for Constantine to continue. Like most humans, the man never seemed to run out of words to say.
Constantine shifted in his chair. “We have a problem. Rowan was seen talking with the vamp Sorsha. We are concerned she might betray us and convince him there is more to the murders than the work of someone out for revenge.”
He really was surrounded by fools. “Sorsha is Rowan’s ex and might have resumed their relationship. Nothing more. She cares only for her people and would like nothing more than for us to destroy ourselves. I’m more concerned about your failures. I ordered Rowan to find who was killing Wizards, and you were tasked with leading him down a false trail. If he gets too close to the truth, that’s on you. Fix it.”
“We have it under control. We planted evidence that will lead Rowan to Zacharias, who is the man supplying the poison-laced MCR. Rowan will believe he solved the case. To give him an extra added incentive, the latest victim of the Wizard poison was his brother Stryker.”
Vlad erupted from his chair. “You fool! You truly believe Rowan won’t burn the truth out of this Zacharias? And when he does, you’d better start digging your own grave. By killing his brother, you haven’t stopped him, you’ve set him in motion. His brother is the only family he has.”
Constantine steepled his hands and shrugged. “Rowan is one man. I have hundreds at my disposal. If he comes after me, we’llbe ready. That is what’s wrong with Wizards. You believe they are better than us.”
Vlad thundered toward Constantine, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him off his chair. “Rowan is no ordinary Wizard, you sniveling lump of clay. Rowan and his brother were from the working class. When Rowan was sixteen, he bargained with his master that if he could take out a faction of mercenaries who had been terrorizing a neighboring village, he could gain freedom for himself and his brother. It took him less than thirty minutes.”
“I can’t breathe.”
Vlad released his hold on Constantine and let him drop to the floor. “Oh, and did I mention that it was rumored that Rowan and Stryker’s mother was descended from a dragon? You want Rowan as a friend, not an enemy.”
Constantine gripped the arm of the chair and struggled to his feet. He rubbed his neck, eyeing Vlad. “What do you want me to do?”
Vlad used his inner strength to curtail his simmering rage. What he wanted to do was have all humans die. Especially those of mixed human and magical blood. Those he wanted dead first. They were an abomination, but to accomplish his goal he had to play nice with the Talons. He didn’t mind that the Talons were killing Fire Wizards. It was that they were killing too many, too fast. His plan had been to solve the mystery of the murders by blaming the Talons. He would be the hero, so that when he asked for more control, all in the guise of protecting the magical community, it would be like a walk in the park.
There was still time to salvage the Talons’ mistakes. He tossed another log onto the fire and waited until it was seated and the flames caught. “If your plan is to blame Zacharias for the murders, you must make sure he and Rowan never meet. Another topic.”
Vlad rested his hand on the mantel. “Any word on the location of the female Wizards and the Wizardlings they kidnapped from the Fertility Festival?”
