Blood Empire Reborn, page 21
“Sir, there’s someone coming down the driveway. I don’t recognize the vehicle.”
“I’ll go see who it is. Thanks, Émile,” Luke replied.
The caretaker nodded and led Luke outside. Luke stood on the top step of the stairs leading down to the parking area, watching the beat up old Citroen 2CV work its way down the ramp along the side of the cliff.
“That car is going to fall apart at any moment,” the caretaker said. “They’ll never get back up the road in that thing.”
Luke nodded, squinting and trying to see who was driving the classic two-horsepower French car. He guessed the driver gave up on the engine and just put the car in neutral. The car drifted down the ramp, picking up speed as gravity did the work the motor seemed incapable of.
Once the car made it off the ramp, the driver hauled the wheel over, trying to coast all the way into the parking area but coming up short. As the car entered the shadow of the house, the reflection on the windshield disappeared, revealing Pieter’s face. Shaking his head, Luke stepped out to greet his friend. Pieter climbed out of the car, cursing.
“Stupid piece of shit…” Pieter drew back his foot as if he were about to kick the tire, then thought better of it.
Luke, about to draw Pieter into a hug, stepped back, taking in the state of Pieter and his clothing. They were dirty and stained, with dark patches looking like dried blood. Pieter had a sizable scratch across his cheek, crusted with blood.
“Gods below, Pieter, what happened to you?” Luke asked.
“It’s a long story.” Pieter shook his head, pursing his lips. He took a deep breath and let it out explosively. “Everything is going to shit, Luke.”
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days,” Luke said.
“I know, I saw, but it’s been non-stop, then my phone died, then I couldn’t get a charger. I only just got away.” Pieter paced pack and forth, bordering on frantic.
“Pieter. You’re not making any sense.”
Pieter stopped, turning to Luke, huffing. “I know.”
“Come inside, take a shower, and get some food. We can sit down and sort it out.”
Pieter nodded, letting Luke take his elbow.
“Is there a room made up?” Luke asked the caretaker.
Émile nodded. “Yes, sir. We made up four rooms for the newcomers. We didn’t know one of them would be staying in your room. Second floor, third room on the right.”
Luke smiled. “Excellent. I’ll take my friend upstairs. If you can let my associates know Pieter is here and that I’ll be down shortly, that would be appreciated. We’re also going to need a rental car so he can leave when he’s ready to.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll get something down here tomorrow.” The caretaker walked off toward the dining room.
“Someone’s staying in your room?” Pieter, despite his exhaustion, quirked an eyebrow up, looking curious.
“Yes. Maggie just arrived with a few others from the North Portland Pack to help us with the children,” Luke replied.
“Children?” Pieter sighed. “I have a feeling your story is going to be as lengthy as mine.”
Luke escorted Pieter up to the unused room and left him to take a shower. Running up to his room, Luke grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of workout pants, leaving them on Pieter’s bed. He returned downstairs and refilled his beer before joining Maggie at their table.
“Pieter’s here?” Delilah asked.
“Yeah, he’s upstairs cleaning up,” Luke replied.
Luke finished his dinner while they waited for Pieter to come down. As soon as he emerged, he filled a plate to heaping levels, sat at Luke’s table, and dug in. He was about half through before he noticed everyone staring at him.
“Sorry. It’s been a couple days since I’ve had anything to eat.” He looked between Simone and Maggie. “I’m sorry for my terrible manners. I’m Pieter van den Bergh.”
Simone reached across the table and shook Pieter’s hand. “I’m Simone Ndiaye.”
“We’ve met before, in Portland. Maggie Rabinowitz.”
“Ah, yes. Luke said you’d joined him. It’s good to see you again,” Pieter said.
“Take your time, Pieter. Eat as much as you need to. We’ll meet in the sitting room and go over everything there.” Luke turned to Maggie. “Can the others get the kids handled for the evening? I’d like you there so you’re up-to-date on everything. You’ll be in charge here if we need to move out for whatever reason.”
“Of course. Let me talk to Fatima.” Maggie patted his leg and found Fatima, who’d picked a spot at a table with some of the children. She already had them laughing.
Pieter dove back into his food while everyone else talked idly, keeping the topics light and inconsequential since young, impressionable ears surrounded them. Luke didn’t join the conversation, though he tried to pay attention to it. His eyes kept flicking over to Pieter to see if he was done eating. The tension in his gut, growing steadily since he’d lost communication with Pieter days ago, had fully tied itself in a knot. Whatever news Pieter brought, it would not be good.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
With the kids making their way to their rooms for the evening, Luke joined Sam, Pablo, Simone, Delilah, Pieter, and Maggie in the sitting room, now their communal lounge. Luke, with Pablo’s help, switched out his cushy wingback arm chair for an antique love seat so he could sit with Maggie while they had their war council. While the rest got comfortable, Luke and Pablo fetched drinks. Once everyone was situated, Luke shut the door and settled in next to Maggie. She pulled her legs up under her and leaned into Luke, resting her head against his shoulder. Making eye contact with Luke, Pieter raised his eyebrow and smiled.
“Now that we’re all here, where should we start?” Pieter asked.
“That’s up to you,” Luke replied.
Pieter opened his mouth, closed it again, then sighed. “You go first. Get me up to date on what you’ve been up to.”
“OK. Simone, I’m going to summarize what you told us about your pack. If you need to jump in to correct something or add details, please do.” Luke filled Pieter in on what happened with Simone’s pack and how they found them out of their territory in Cambrai with the Bordeaux nest of vampires.
Then, he broke down their raid on the Cambrai houses and finding the children, including their failure to sweep the other houses and find Pieter’s father. Luke suspected the person dragged out with their head covered was likely him. The closer Luke got to finishing his update, the antsier Pieter became. His fidgeting and discomfort worried Luke. His friend was usually so confident and self-assured. The change in Pieter made Luke want to keep talking, so he didn’t have to hear the news Pieter didn’t want to talk about.
When he eventually finished, Luke bought more time for his friend by getting another round of drinks for everyone. Maggie offered to help carry drinks back.
“Your friend seems pretty nervous,” Maggie said.
“Yeah. I’m a little scared to hear what he has to say. It’s not going to be good.” Luke poured another beer and set it on the tray.
Maggie, smiling, stepped behind the bar and behind Luke, wrapping her arms around his waist. “You look very sexy behind the bar, pouring drinks.”
Luke chuckled, rinsing another glass before putting it under the faucet. “Well, if the vampire slaying thing goes south on me, I can always see if Pablo will give me a job slinging drinks.”
Squeezing Luke, Maggie stepped back, resting her hands on the top of Luke’s hips. “I have to warn you, I’m not going to carry these beers for free. I expect payment.”
Luke turned around, resting his hands on her waist. “Can I pay you in kisses?”
“Acceptable.” Maggie tipped up her lips and pulled Luke in for a kiss. When they parted, she walked around the bar and grabbed one of the trays laden with drinks. “That’ll hold me for a down payment.”
Luke admired her form as she walked out of the bar, the tray balanced on her hand like a pro. When she was out of eyeshot, he grabbed the second tray and followed. Together, they distributed the drinks then returned to their love seat.
“You’re pretty good with a drink tray, Maggie,” Pablo said. “If you get tired of the doctor gig, I could hire you down at the pub.”
“My service industry CV might be a bit out of date. I mean, the last time I waited tables was in Paris in the 1950s,” Maggie replied.
Pieter took a deep drink of the strong, boozy beer Luke had given him. “I guess it’s my turn to go.” He made eye contact with Luke, focusing on him. “I’ve lost the entire south of Belgium.”
Luke sat up, nearly spilling his beer and unsettling Maggie. “What?”
“When we turned over the mansion in Liege, they hit every one of our strongholds in Tournai, Mons, Charleroi, Namur, and Liege. By the time we realized what was happening, they’d barricaded themselves in the mansion. We rushed to help our other house in Liege, but it was too late. All we found were bodies. After that, I had to call an evacuation of all the families living in the south.”
Pieter hung his head, his breathing trembling as he tried to control his emotions. Setting his drink down, Pablo stood up and stepped over to Pieter, squeezing his shoulder. Pieter set down his glass, and stood up, surprising everyone, and pulled Pablo into a tight hug. It took a second for Pablo to respond to the sudden hug from his onetime rival, but when he did, he wrapped his arms around the man, patting his back soothingly.
Once Pieter felt ready to resume, he sat down and took another deep drink. “I’ve spent the last several days evading vampires and rogue wolves, trying to find any surviving pack members.”
“Did you? Find any?” Luke asked.
“A few, and I’ve been in contact with a few others. Jan tells me several have turned up in Antwerp.” He shook his head. “I don’t know where they got all the muscle—so many vampires and werewolves.”
“Well, I think I know where they got some of the werewolves. Some were from the Bordeaux Pack, but not all the kids we rescued from that house were from the Bordeaux Pack. There were a couple from the Lille Pack. Pieter.” Luke waited until Pieter looked up. “There were two from your pack as well.”
“What?” Pieter’s eyes shot wide open.
“Two boys. Brothers. They said wolves broke into their house and bagged them. They don’t know what happened to their parents. They overheard one of the wolves with an Antwerp accent ordering the others to take them to Lille for the vampires.”
The blood drained from Pieter’s face. “And the boys don’t know who kidnapped them?”
Luke shook his head. “No. The one is too young, but his older brother didn’t recognize the voices, just the Antwerp dialect.”
“What are their names?” Pieter leaned forward, sitting on the edge of the chair.
“Hugo and Noah Maes.”
Pieter sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t have any good news. Their parents were found floating in the canals six or seven weeks ago.”
“You don’t sound surprised.” Sam said, her eyes narrowing.
Pieter, his elbows resting on his knees, stared down at his clasped hands. “I’m not. Since I’ve returned home from Portland, members of our pack have gone missing or been found dead.”
“What kind of members?” Sam asked, peering intensely at Pieter.
“Non-white members.” Pieter rubbed his temples. “At first, it seemed random. Sometimes families just disappeared. It’s happened that people have moved on without really giving notice. It looked like that. Then a few bodies showed up in local morgues. That’s when my father recalled me.”
“Who would do this?” Delilah asked.
“I don’t know. Father integrated the pack a long time ago; he wanted to make all werewolves in Belgium part of one united pack, where all had an opportunity to prosper. Of course, there were objections at the time, but father and I insisted it was necessary for the pack to survive and grow, and we have. I thought we’d put that behind us.” He put his head in his hands. “That’s why father sent Amiata and Olivia to Portland. He didn’t tell me. I should have seen it, but I was too deluded and ignored the warts. I only wanted to see the good we’d been doing.”
“Pieter, I hate to ask, but with the vampires taking your territory, who have they been killing?” Luke asked.
“People loyal to my father.”
“Does that include more non-white Belgian wolves?” Maggie asked, her fingers rubbing over the back of Luke’s hand absentmindedly.
Pieter nodded, still looking down. “They’ve been the most loyal supporters of my father, the most willing to help fight for the pack. They wanted to protect their stake in the pack. Now we’ve let them down.”
They sat quietly. Luke felt for his friend. Pieter was having a crisis of confidence at his inability to protect his packmates. Their deaths sat heavy on his conscience, and if he let it, they could destroy his ability to take the needed steps to move beyond this situation and protect those who still lived.
“You look exhausted, Pieter. You should get some sleep,” Sam suggested. “We can’t do anything tonight. Let’s start fresh in the morning.”
Pieter nodded and stood up. “You’re right. My brain is dead. I can’t think.”
Luke kissed Maggie on top of her head. “I’m going to walk Pieter up to his room.”
Maggie patted Luke’s knee and shifted so Luke could stand. He followed Pieter out and led him to the room originally planned for Maggie. Opening the door, Pieter waved Luke in.
“Everything is going to shit, Luke.” Pieter’s eyes were filled with pain as his shoulders slumped.
“I know. Get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll see what we can do to salvage the situation,” Luke said.
“You’re a good friend.” Pieter took a deep breath and rotated his shoulders before looking up at Luke. “So, how long have you been seeing Maggie?”
“Just after the freighter.”
“Good for you, my friend.” Pieter ran his hands through his hair. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sleep well, Pieter.”
“You too.”
The following morning, they met in the sitting room after breakfast to continue their discussions. Pieter, who’d disappeared for a few minutes during breakfast, had new information to present. Once Luke fixed another round of coffees for the gang, they shut and locked the doors to prevent any accidental interruptions.
“I spoke with my brother this morning,” Pieter said. “He’s heard from Le Mousquetaire. They want to exchange my father.”
“In exchange for what?” Luke asked.
“Brussels.” Pieter slumped into a chair, his head falling into his hands. “What choice do we have? I don’t think we have the wolves in place to defend it or retake it, and we have to get my father back alive.”
“Do we have proof he’s still alive?” Luke asked.
Pieter nodded. “Jan says he spoke directly with him for a couple seconds.”
“Do you have an exchange location yet?” Luke asked.
Pieter sighed. “Not yet. Jan’s trying to get it set up. He’s organizing our people from Antwerp.”
“Do you want us to escort you to the meeting?” Luke slid to the edge of his chair, leaning toward Pieter.
“I don’t know. Let me think about it.” Pieter stood. “I’m going to take a walk and clear my head.”
Luke rose and unlocked the door for Pieter, shutting it after he left.
“Now what?” Pablo asked.
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m getting concerned our decoys in Antwerp might be vulnerable. Whoever is betraying Pieter and his family is not just some lone rogue element. After what he told us last night, I can’t help but think it’s a sizable force within the Flanders Pack.”
Luke paced about the room, holding his hands behind his back while everyone else sat quietly, nervously watching Luke prowl. Finally, he stopped, resting his hands on the back of the chair Pieter recently abandoned. He made eye contact with each person as he looked around the room.
“Sam, recall our people from Antwerp. Tell them to slip out of town quietly if they can,” Luke said.
Sam nodded. “Where do you want them to go?”
“Tell them to take the train to Dinant. If they need to, take a circuitous route to make sure they’re not followed.” Luke looked toward Pablo, Delilah, and Simone. “I want to have all the weapons loaded and all the ammo we have ready to go.”
They all nodded.
“What about me?” Maggie asked.
“I’d like to say just relax and keep an eye on everyone here, but that would be foolhardy. Nothing has been going right. Each move we make is countered, and we keep spiraling downward. Work with your team to get the kids ready for evacuation. Let’s be ready to go on short notice.”
Sam raised her hand, grabbing Luke’s attention. “We’ll need more vehicles. Even with all three of yours, that’s not enough for all the kids and the wolves coming down from Antwerp.”
Luke nodded, pursing his lips in thought. “I’ll get us two more vans. That should cover it with my vehicles. I can probably ask Anne-Marie if she’d drive her van as well.”
“I’ll check the rental sites.” Sam pulled out her laptop.
“We’ll probably have to pick it up in Charleroi or Brussels,” Luke said.
“That’s OK. If you drop me off at the nearest train station, I can make it from there. I enjoy riding trains. What’s your project?”
Luke, his lips drawing into thin lines, took a deep breath. “I think I need to visit the Mithraeum.”
Maggie, watching his face, must have noticed the slightly haunted look in his eyes at the mention of his Mithraeum and gave him a comforting smile. Everyone else in the room, save for Simone, nodded lightly at Luke.
Pablo stood and clapped his hands together once to draw attention to himself. “Well, kids, let’s go play with guns.”
Luke unlocked the door, letting Pablo, Delilah, and Simone out. He was only a few steps down the hall when Maggie caught up. Saying nothing, she wound their arms together and walked out the front door with him, arm-in-arm.
