“Ha ha. So funny. Not. No, this is a serious call.”
“I was being serious,” he muttered, then, “What’s up?”
“Raphael was going to call, but I persuaded him to let me do it, since you two would spend twenty minutes insulting each other, and then hang up without getting anything done.”
“I don’t see any downside there.”
“Exactly. The ‘downside’ as you put it, is that you wouldn’t get a piece of news that I think you’re going to want.”
“I’m listening.”
“Christian called. You know who he is?”
“Sure. Raphael’s flunky down south.”
Her deep sigh told him the jab had hit its target. He smiled, even though he loved Cyn. “Sorry. Tell me what your Vampire Lord Christian had to say.”
“Say ‘please.’”
“So cruel. Please, Cyn baby.”
Another deep sigh. “Can we be serious now?”
“Yes, dear.”
A few seconds passed during which he thought she might actually hang up and let her bloodsucker lover do his own calling, but then she said, “Okay. So Raphael and Christian were talking about general stuff, when he mentioned a report he’d received from one of his vampires in West Virginia—that’s part of Christian’s territory. Anyway, the guy’s a small-town sheriff down there, and before you ask, I don’t know why.”
Nick opened his mouth to comment—not favorably—on a vampire being sheriff, but decided he wanted to hear the report instead. Cyn wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important.
“It seems this vamp sheriff had a run-in with a creature he’d never encountered before, a creature who killed three of his vampires. No loss on the vamps, since they were troublemakers who’d been one bad night away from a stake for a long time. But the interesting part is that, although this creature appeared human, the vamp’s senses were telling him he wasn’t. And when he talked to the gas station owner—that’s where everything went down, at a gas station—the owner insisted the guy had wings. I mean, the creature—whatever he was—had wings. Bat wings, with huge talons that he used to slice the vamps open after they attacked his girlfriend.”
Nick froze. “When was this?”
“A few nights ago, I think. Christian just mentioned it to Raphael last night. Why? You know something about it?”
“I might. Does Gabriel know about it?”
“Gabriel? No, I haven’t seen him. Why?”
“I need him here,” he said absently, his thoughts racing ahead of his words. “Tell Raphael to expect Gabriel’s request to travel here. Tell him to think of it as payback for stealing my warrior.”
“He didn’t steal—”
“I know. Sorry.”
“Hell, now I know something’s up. You never apologize when it comes to Raphael. So does it have to with bat boy?”
“Don’t call him that,” he snapped. “He’s Dragan.”
“He’s a dragon? I didn’t think they were real.”
“Not a dragon. His name is Dragan, and he’s one of mine.”
“One of. . . . Christ, Nick, are you telling me he’s one of your warriors?”
“Yeah. That’s four, Cyn. If it really is Dragan . . . they’re all free. But I have to find him before Sotiris does. That’s why I need Gabriel.”
“Raphael won’t object. He understands loyalty.”
“Thanks. I’ve got to go, babe.” He hung up while Cyn was still talking, but he had calls to make, and he didn’t know what else he’d say to her anyway. Dragan was free. He dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward, his arms propped on his thighs, head in his hands. He felt . . . lightheaded, as if the world had just tilted somehow, and then put back where it belonged after all this time. This, the fact that his last warrior had been freed from Sotiris’s curse, had shaken him to his core. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, blew it out slowly, then picked up his cell phone and called Damian.
“Yo, Nico,” Damian answered.
Nick blinked. “Yo?”
“Casey’s influence. What’s up?”
“Dragan’s on his way.”
“Shit. Why didn’t you start with that? How far? Where from?”
“I don’t know, but close. Fuck! I should have known. I’ve been thinking about him for days, and couldn’t figure out why. Damn it. Listen, call Kato, get him out here. You and Casey—”
“Got back into town last night. We’ll be there as soon as you hang up. Gabriel?”
“I’m calling him next. I just got off the phone with Cyn. She’s giving Raphael the heads-up.”
“Will the bloodsucker let him go?”
“According to her, Raphael understands loyalty, so yeah.”
“See you soon.”
Nick didn’t respond, just disconnected and called Gabriel.
“Nico,” Gabriel answered. “Cyn just told me.”
“Of course, she did. I told her I would.”
“Hana and I are practically out the door. We’re leaving tonight, taking one of Raphael’s jets.”
Nick chided himself for forgetting about Gabriel’s need to travel at night, then cut himself some slack. This was hardly a typical night. “Good of Raphael,” he said tonelessly, because it was, and because he didn’t want Gabriel getting stuck between the two of them.
“I doubt we’ll make it to Florida before morning, but we’ll come to the house first thing after sunset. Do you know where Dragan is?”
Nick could tell Gabriel was moving while he asked the question, so he kept the answer simple. “Not yet, but I will. I have to find him before that fucker does.”
“Damn right. See you tomorrow night.”
Manhattan, New York, NY
SOTIRIS COMPLETED the final diagnostic and deactivated his device. He was a fucking genius. He couldn’t fully test it without blowing up himself and half of Manhattan, which would be a waste. And his talent was far too important to waste.