Joseph chuckled at her sarcasm. “That’s not all. There’s a section on Martin’s blog dedicated to the health benefits of drinking one’s own urine. There’s also a video where he discusses how he cured his prostate cancer by drinking apple cider vinegar.”
“Wow,” Robert and I said in unison.
“Yes, wow. It’s still up on his blog, should you ever want to see it,” Joseph joked.
“I’m good, thanks,” I said.
“You can see how nobody would believe Martin even if he did post concrete proof of Serena’s attack.”
I asked, “So, it actually was Serena who attacked Martin?”
Joseph nodded. “The IT team might have dismissed Martin completely had I not, thanks to you, told them to look out for anything that might pertain to Serena or Robert.”
“So, Serena kidnapped Robert and then held him captive in a cave? Weird,” I said.
“Serena has never been good at planning or fully reflecting on her ideas before acting upon them. She’s impulsive, which is part of the reason why the VGO want to be rid of her,” Joseph said. “It appears she wants to be rid of us, too. From what weuncovered in the cave, and based on what Robert has confirmed, Serena has been plotting against our organization for some time.”
“Which is why she kidnapped me,” Robert said. “She was planning to ambush the VGO headquarters, and she was going to do it by controlling me with my fangs. She knew I’d fight to the death because I wouldn’t be able to rebel against her influence.”
“Crazy bitch,” I muttered.
Robert continued, “Her flirting with me when we were at the VGO headquarters was only for show. She was going to use me to murder the most influential VGO members. Then, she was going to explain away the massacre by telling everyone that I, her scorned lover, had gone insane after she ended things with me.”
“Serena had much of the attack outlined in the cave,” Joseph added. “She had blueprints of our headquarters she was making Robert memorize. She also had photos of the members she wanted assassinated—those who were her biggest opponents and had campaigned most for her dismissal from the VGO. I was on the wall, of course, along with seven others.”
“How did she expect Robert to take out so many members? One against eight seems ambitious.” I kissed Robert on the cheek. “Not that Robert isn’t a big, strong vampire.”
Robert and the rest of our group rolled their eyes at me.
“This is where Serena’s horrible preparation skills come into play,” Joseph said. “Her initial plan was to only take out two members. Once she started plotting, though, she decided to throw in a few more for good measure.”
“Still, eight against one,” I commented.
“It wasn’t only going to be me,” Robert said. “She was building an army of killers. I was only her first soldier. Her plan was to turn humans in Arizona into vampires and then pull outtheir fangs immediately after they changed, when they were at their weakest. Then, once she amassed a large enough group of henchmen, she was going to order us to execute the ambush. Joseph and the other seven members were just the tip of the iceberg. If she succeeded in her massacre, her plan was to then fan out and kill other VGO members across the globe.”
“She may have even succeeded, had you not been brave enough to confide in me about Robert vanishing,” Joseph said to me. “For that, the VGO are indebted to you. So, we’re releasing you from your blood obligation to us.”
“I don’t have to give you my blood anymore?” I was so happy I nearly did a cartwheel.
“No more needles for you, Ms. Taylor,” Joseph smiled. “It’s the least we could do.”
After a pause in conversation, I asked, “How did crackpot Martin come into play in all this? Why did she attack him?”
“Martin was to be Serena’s first human-turned-vampire soldier,” Robert said. “She would have managed to turn him, too, had he not been carrying a quartz point in his pocket. That, Serena had not expected.”
Joseph added, “Serena tends to underestimate humans. She’s far too arrogant to acknowledge the threat they pose to vampires when they have the right tools or intel. It’s one of her major faults.”
“She was certainly careless with Martin,” Robert said. “After she bit into his neck, he jabbed her in the chest with the quartz. She let go of him and he ran screaming out of the cave. It was daytime, so she couldn’t chase after him.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t find him once the sun went down,” Sebastian commented.
“She was far too injured. She had to go out and feed to heal herself,” Joseph said. “She was still gone when we found Robert in the cave.”
Liz asked, “Where do you think she is now?”
Joseph shook his head. “No idea. She could be anywhere, but we’ll find her.”
Robert reached into his pocket and pulled something out. To me, he said, “Hold out your hand.”
