*

  David watched as Sian ran out of the room. Jewel walked over and placed her hand in his. “What do we do now?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure.” David looked at the mess around the room. “I guess we should clean up.”

  “Or we follow her?”

  David studied her face. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking it’s not safe. Anywhere. For anyone alone. Especially not for Sian.”

  David hesitated for a moment, then realized she was right and bolted out the door, dragging Jewel with him.

  “Slow down, I’m struggling to keep up,” Jewel cried.

  David instead snagged her up into his arms and picked up his speed. “I don’t want to let her get out of my sight.”

  He nodded down the hallway where Sian was just now turning the corner. He ran faster. “Call her on your phone.”

  Jewel struggled to pull her phone out of her pocket. He shifted her in his arms so that she had better access.

  He turned the corner in time to see the elevator doors closing. “Shit.”

  He hit the door to the stairwell full force, kicking it just before it would’ve slammed into Jewel, and bolted down the stairs, jumping from landing to landing to landing. “Do you remember what floor the Council meeting was on?”

  “Third down,” Jewel said, holding the phone ringing in her ear. “She’s not answering.”

  The entrance to the third floor was ahead. He lowered Jewel to her feet then pushed the door. It was locked from the other side.

  With a hard look at Jewel, he backed up then rammed into the door hard. The doors gave way, spilling him out to the hallway. He recovered his footing in time to see several men standing at the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.

  He bolted towards them, Jewel at his heels. The double doors opened and Sian walked out. She was immediately engulfed by the waiting men.

  “Stop!” David ripped down the hallway toward the closest vampire, tossing him to the ground. The others turned on him. He didn’t recognize any of them.

  “Who are you, and what do you want with Sian?” he roared.

  “The Council has determined that she is a threat,” one of the men snarled. “She’s to be taken prisoner until the tribunal can address this issue.” He gazed at Jewel beside David. “And anyone that helps her will be considered a traitor as well.”

  “No,” Sian cried out, clutching the documents in her arms. “I’ve done nothing.”

  “We’ll see about that,” one of the other men snapped.

  The smile on his face sent chills through David’s spine. Of course, Sian was trying to protect the Council. They were going to do whatever they could to have her removed. Once they did that, they would slowly take out anybody not favorable to their cause.

  That couldn’t be allowed. But were these men the enemy, or were they just part of the clan doing their job and not knowing to the truth? He wished he had Tessa here to tell who was lying and who was not. His sister had so many useful skills. Not for the first time, he wished he could learn a few of them for himself.

  But then he didn’t need her to tell him what instinct was already screaming in his mind. He could see the joy in the other man’s eyes. The will to fight. The urge to kill. These men were just plain assholes. He fingered the silver in his pocket, hating to use it, but it would be one way to find out if these assholes were enhanced.

  “So what’s it going to be, boyo?” said the vampire currently holding Sian in a tight grip.

  He raised his gaze to Sian, seeing both the fear and the rage in her gaze. She’d never let herself be taken. Not like this. She had her baby to protect, and he knew as well as she did that these men had been after her before.

  A quick glance behind him told him the man he’d knocked out was slowly waking up again.

  And that Jewel had positioned herself to take him out if need be. Good, he didn’t have to worry about that one. That left three between Sian and himself.

  Meeting Jewel’s gaze for a quick instance, she gave him a quick nod.

  He met Sian’s gaze. She narrowed her gaze at him. He smiled.

  “Well, if she’s a traitor…” David turned with the spike in his hand and stabbed the first vampire in front of him. The man blew up in a cloud of nasty-smelling smoke and ash. David smiled at the other two. “I guess we know what side of this war you’re on.”

  The men launched themselves at him.

  Neither reached him. Both blew up in a cloud of ash in front of him. Coughing and waving the air in front of his face, David backed up so he could breathe.

  And that’s when he saw Sian standing behind the two piles, silver spikes in her own hands.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded. “But this changes things.”

  “Do you have a private place where no one can find you until the others get back?” David asked her urgently.

  “I’ll go to my quarters and lock myself in.” Sian said. “I have lots of paperwork to do anyway. I was going to show the Council this first, only I’m afraid it might be a bloodbath now.” She gave the two of them a wan smile. “Feel like escorting me?”

  “And standing watch, but not your quarters. They will look for you there,” David said, not liking the lines of fatigue on the beautiful woman’s face. “You’re tired and should rest.”

  She laughed. “Yes, I’m tired, but not exactly so tired as to need to sleep.”

  “And how about baby,” Jewel asked gently. “Maybe you and baby should have a nap together.”

  “We’ll see,” she compromised. “First let’s get to safety. Someone is going to be looking for these men soon.” She curled up her lip as she stared at the piles of ashes. “We need to clean up the mess, but we don’t have time. As soon as they see the ash, they are going to use that as evidence that I’m a traitor.”

  “Not necessarily.” Jewel walked to the small door off to the side. “This is where they keep all the cleaning supplies. I know there’s a lot of ash, but we can vacuum it up.”

  David reached in and pulled out a large commercial system and turned to the women. “Start walking. I’ll clean this up and follow you.”

  He turned it on, only to find it had an incredibly powerful suction. He had the mess cleaned up in just a couple of minutes. Replacing it in the closet, he sprinted down the hallway to catch up to the women. They weren’t very far ahead. He snagged an arm from each and urged them forward.

  “Let’s move it. We need to get out of sight and fast.”

  Chapter 11

  Tessa worked as hard as she could to remove the energy from Seth’s system. But every time she removed handfuls, more poured in. She didn’t understand why. Or how. His body was not responding the way it should have. The way the others did. This was once again something new. She sat back on her heels.

  “What is it?” Cody asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t seem to stop the blackness from pouring in,” she said in frustration. She motioned to the full length of Seth. “It’s all centered on his chest and abdomen.” She stared down at her brother. “I haven’t given up, I’m just not sure what to do.”

  “And that in itself is nothing new either,” Cody said. “It seems that we’re constantly coming up against something different.”

  She nodded. An idea hit. She turned to face Ian and Wendy. “Ian? Are you sure the surgery hadn’t been done already? Sure that Seth was just going into surgery and not coming out the surgery?”

  Ian frowned, puzzled. “We assumed he was. I think the doctor said he was. But I’m not sure.”

  Wendy walked closer to Tessa. “Why?”

  “There’s something going on in his system that I’ve never seen before.” She shrugged. “I just wondered if they’d had time to do something that you might not have known about.”

  Rhia’s hard voice cut through the silence. “Something like what?”

  Tessa swiveled so she could look at her mother. “I can’t say yet.”

  “Then who can?” Rhia studied her son as she walked closer. “He doesn’t look any different. He still looks the same innocent boy who left the house weeks ago.”

  “But he’s not,” Tessa said.

  “How do you know that?” Rhia asked in anger. “You might see energy, but you obviously can’t see what’s wrong with him. So then you can’t know what has changed.”

  Tessa straightened. How did she explain that she knew stuff that she didn’t understand and couldn’t explain herself? “I don’t have all the answers. I have some of the answers. No, that’s not always enough.” She took a step back, letting her mother get closer to Seth.

  She wasn’t sure she was doing any good as it was. Seth hadn’t shown any noticeable difference with her removing the energy from his system.

  In her head, Cody said, You did a lot more to save me. Why can’t you do the same to save him?

  Good question, she said. I don’t have an answer for that.

  Inside, it felt like her heart was breaking. Why could she not save her brother when she worked so hard to save Cody?

  Did she not want to save Seth? Was she scared of him? Resentful?

  Had he hurt her so bad that she wanted him dead even when she might be able to do something about it? Was she such a small person inside?

  No, Cody snapped. Don’t even begin to think like that. You’re a beautiful person inside and out. Maybe there’s a reason why you can’t save him.

  She spun to look at him. Of course. I don’t have the same bond with Seth that I have with you. I followed that bond deep into your center so I could help you. That bond does not exist between my brother and I, and what little bond there is has been broken.

  Can you fix it? Or do you not want to fix it?

  I don’t know, she whispered, hating the uncertainty in the doubt in her voice. He’s my brother and I should love him, but right now I don’t even like him, and there is a part of me that really hates his involvement in all of this.

  And you don’t believe he is innocent?

  She shook her head. Not at the end. Maybe at the beginning. I just don’t know.

  Do you want him to be innocent? Do you want to give him a chance to explain? Don’t you want to know for sure? I’d give a lot to see my brother again. To ask him why.

  Of course, she whispered. But wishing for something doesn’t make it so.

  No, but maybe with a new perspective, you can come up with a new solution. Didn’t you see other men, human or vamp, where the black just kept pouring in?

  Maybe, she said slowly, turning back to stare at her brother. But in those cases, there was some foreign object inside their body, and that’s what had been causing the blackness.

  And maybe this is just a more advanced version, Cody suggested. For your sake and everyone else’s, please take another look.

  Ignoring the confused looks of everyone around her as they tried to understand what she was doing, Tessa circled Seth’s body then dropped to her knees across from her mother. She started at his feet and looked well below the darkness, trying to see if there was something – anything – that would be causing this energy. She worked her way slowly up past his hips and his belly, stopping at his ribs. Instinctively, she laid her hand on his chest and this time picked up an odd pulse. She could sense it from deep below the energy. She didn’t know what it was, but it was there.

  Excited, she ripped open his shirt, realizing he was dressed in pants and some kind of gown over his shoulders and belly.

  As soon as his belly was exposed, everyone gasped.

  In a harsh voice, Rhia asked, “What is that?”

  Tessa let her fingers gently stroke the edges around what appeared to be a slowly healing wound, but in the center sat something metallic, slowing the healing process down. She wasn’t even sure that the tissue would be able to heal over the inanimate object. And that’s obviously what the surgeon had been hoping would happen.

  “I have no idea.” She studied the object in fascination. “It has a pulse, as if it’s sending out waves or beats.”

  “What do you mean, Tessa?” Cody asked. “What kind of beat?”

  “A pulse.” She held the palm over the metallic object and whispered, “Boom, boom, boom.”

  “Like a heartbeat,” Wendy asked. “Or a bomb.”

  That brought more cries from Rhia. “Get it out of there. We need to get it out.”

  “I agree, but I’m not sure how to take it out.” She didn’t want to touch it. It had evil scientist crap written all over it. “I’m afraid forcing it out will cause more harm than good.”

  “I don’t think there’s a choice.” Cody pointed at the healing skin. “Another hour and it will have closed up completely, and no one would know. If you weren’t taking another look, it wouldn’t have been found in time.”

  Serus said, “There’s no guarantee he’s going to survive anyway.”

  Rhia reached over and grasped her hand. “Please, if you can take it out, then take it out.”

  “I can take it out,” Tessa said gently. “But I can’t guarantee how he will heal afterwards because I don’t know what it is attempting to do.”

  But Rhia wasn’t listening. She was staring in horror at the metallic object. “It’s another one of their nasty toys. Please take it out.”

  Tessa glanced up at Cody, a question in her eyes. He nodded. She took a deep breath and centered herself inside. Deanna, Hortran, if you are there, please help. Silence. Then again, what else had she expected?

  She exhaled gently and held both hands over the top of the object, sensing the pulse building and building. She lowered her hand, trying to pull the pulse and disperse the pulsing energy. But nothing seemed to work. She laid her hand atop the object, trying to sense what it was.

  As soon as she touched the cold metal, she knew.

  Anger slid through her. It was a bomb intended to take her brother out and who was around him at the time.

  Maybe with a remote device to trigger it, maybe not. Maybe it ran on time. Maybe Seth knew about it. She had no idea, but she had to stop it before everyone she loved and cared about died right now. Because she was pretty damn sure that it was going to blow up if she pulled it out.

  Realizing nothing was working, she said in her mind, Cody, it’s going to explode. I’m not sure if it will be now or in five minutes or five days, but it’s going to.

  Cody crouched beside her, studying the object. Are you sure?

  Yes, she whispered. I’m sure.

  She took a deep breath. I think pulling it out will make it self-destruct. She hated the nerves galloping in her stomach, the tremor in her voice. She barely managed to hold her hand steady above the object, and only because she didn’t want to worry all the others.

  This is not for you to do alone. Cody said, reaching for her hand. We need to find a way to save this. Can you draw the power away from it?

  No.

  How about the opposite then. Fill it to the brim with energy and short it out.

  She brightened. That might work.

  She started to pour energy through her left hand and then her right hand. Centering the beam on the object, pounding it with these waves and waves of energy, she drew from her feet, from her body, from her heart and soul. And then when that wasn’t appearing to be enough, she pulled from Cody.

  Cody turned to the others surrounding them and said, “Everyone make a circle and hold hands. Tessa needs energy quickly.”

  Everyone formed a circle around them, encircling Tessa. She was only dimly aware of their physical actions but recognized the surge of energy when her father placed his hand on her shoulder. And still it wasn’t enough. She poured and she pulled and she poured and she pulled. Finally she could sense a weakening within the system. The start of something…hopefully it would be enough to destroy this.

  Then that too slowed down. She twisted, looking for something else to help her slam energy into this thing.

  And then Beast stepped inside the circle of vamps and straddled Seth’s legs. In a surprise move, he placed his jaw directly on top of Tessa’s hands.

  Sizzling filled the air then sparks flew in all directions. Followed by a funny pop then…nothing.

  In the silence, she could feel the energy drain from her hands. She turned to look at those gathered around to help. “Burnt out. You can back up now.”

  Beast lifted his head and shuffled back slightly. Tessa raised her hands and stroked him on the back. “Thanks, Beast.”

  Beast made a snuffling sound and pushed his head into her hand.

  Rhia leaned forward but still stayed away from Beast. “Are you sure it’s okay now?”

  Tessa laughed. “It’s safer now than it ever has been.”

  Cody said, “Tessa thought it was a bomb, possibly with a remote detonator. We won’t know much more until we get that device back to the lab and get it analyzed.”

  Silence.

  “That’s terrible,” Wendy cried out first. “How could they do that?”

  “And did Seth know?” Ian asked. “Surely this wasn’t done with his approval?”

  “No, he wouldn’t have,” Serus said. “This is the best proof of his innocence yet. There’s no way he’d have become so indoctrinated he’d have given up his own life for the cause.”

  Rhia let out a cry and reached for Serus’s hand. “I’m so glad we found it. We could have lost him.” She turned to Tessa. “Can you take it out now?”

  “I think so.” Using her nails, she plucked the offending item out, cutting the bits of tissue that were already trying to enclose it, then held it up in her hand for all of them to see.

  It was smaller looking now that it was free. It was a thin, flat disc. Innocuous-looking. There was nothing on the outside to indicate what it was for. But she could no longer sense anything alive inside – energy or otherwise. Cody picked it up from her hand to examine it, leaving her free to turn her attention back to Seth’s gaping wound.

  But, now that the foreign object was removed, Seth’s body was already starting to heal. “He’ll be fine now,” she said with satisfaction.