He planned to go down there himself, see if he could lead them out.

  He’d asked Black for assistance.

  He’d specifically asked for transport, tactical reinforcement, including things like satellite access and seers who could hack organic machines. He’d also asked for ground support, not to mention missiles and larger ordnance.

  Pretty ballsy asks… especially since we hadn’t formalized any kind of alliance yet.

  I got where Brick was coming from, though.

  We were out of time. We had to decide if we were going to do this thing or not, if we were going to join forces with the vamps to combat Charles or not.

  Apparently, Black felt the same.

  He’d already ordered the prep work and intel gathering to start, in the event we decided to go.

  We were all wary, though… for a lot of reasons.

  Vampires were sketchy allies at the best of times. No one liked or trusted Brick, and a lot of us, myself included, blamed him wholeheartedly for Nick.

  Exhaling, Black aimed his glower at Cowboy next.

  “Well?” he said. “Any objections?”

  Despite the direction of Black’s stare, it was Angel who answered.

  “No.” She folded her arms, staring at him with equal exasperation. “I don’t see how we’ve got any choice. Anyway, I think you’re right about us needing to pull Kiko out of there in person. From what I’ve seen of the drone feeds, and what Yarli is telling us, they’re more or less surrounded. Clearly, Brick wants our help, and he’s not above trapping Kiko in the damned kill box with them to force our hand.”

  Angel looked at me, hesitant, then back at Black.

  Her jaw firmed.

  “Any news on Dalejem?” she said. “Does Brick know where they are yet? Did Dorian find him? Either of them?”

  Silence.

  Then Black scowled.

  “I’ll try to remember to ask,” he muttered, his voice darkly sarcastic.

  Then, exhaling in obvious annoyance, he looked away, motioning towards the door.

  “Fine. We’re going. Get everyone’s ass geared up and loaded on the fucking choppers. Now. I’ll call that vampire fuck once we’re airborne.”

  He glared at Angel again.

  “…I’ll see what I can find out about ‘Dalejem,’” he said, using air quotes to make it clear he knew she was really asking about Nick.

  Grunting, he added,

  “Everyone keep your damned eyes open down there, no matter what we find out. Clearly, Brick wants us to think he’s got the rest of his damned brood under control… which means he probably doesn’t. He’s still consolidating power… trying to establish himself as the big vampire boss. He probably wants us down there partly for that.”

  Thinking about that, I nodded.

  Made sense.

  If he could show us off as allies, it might help convince the rest of the vampire tribes he had the resources and strategic alliances to challenge Charles.

  Of course, remembering how those southern vampires made their crossing, the sheer cold-bloodedness of the method they’d employed, only made the idea of partnering with Brick and his new “army” even more repellant.

  Truthfully, I wasn’t sure it was the right thing, going down there.

  Clicking over in my headset, I watched live drone feeds of the view Kiko and her team were seeing in person right now, from the ground. Waves of vampires were still crossing through the hole in the wall. Their outlines showed up like ghosts crossing the desert floor, barely visible in the infrared as they rushed for shelter before the sun came up.

  They looked like camouflaged packs of migrating wolves.

  I was still staring at the images when a hand closed around my arm.

  I looked up, and met Black’s gold eyes.

  “Ready, doc?” he said, gruff.

  After a bare pause, I nodded.

  Ill-advised or not, I realized Black was right… we had no choice.

  COWBOY AND MIKA locked down roles for group deployment on the way down.

  They also coordinated the best landing area with Brick’s leadership team.

  I heard Cowboy, Angel, and Mika talking on one of the secure channels, trying to determine the best place for us to touch down.

  I barely tracked most of those details, though, despite hearing parts of it on my headset. I was too busy trying to eavesdrop on Black’s half of his conversation with Brick.

  When I glanced over, he was looking at me.

  From the expression in Black’s gold, flecked eyes, I realized he’d overheard me with his mind. I hadn’t really tracked just how tightly his light was wound into mine; I’d been too distracted by everything else to notice.

  I was still looking at him when he reached into my lap, clasping my fingers in his.

  His perfect mouth curled in a faint frown.

  I heard a soft tone…

  …and voices rose in my headset.

  Black had added me to his call.

  His eyes remained on mine as he spoke.

  “––I’m not ready to negotiate that side of things,” Black said, cutting into whatever Brick had been saying. “I told you, that has to wait. We’ll talk about it later.”

  He shifted his weight from where he was strapped into the jump seat next to me, moving his leg so it pressed into mine. He pulled my hand deeper into his lap, caressing my fingers with his before raising it to his lips and kissing my palm. We were in one of his security company’s modified Ospreys, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

  “…In fact,” Black added in a growl, still watching me. “Don’t drag your newborn rapist into this at all at this point. Not unless you want to blow the deal before it’s even made.”

  I winced. I couldn’t help it.

  On the other end of the line, I heard the vampire king make a sound akin to an exhale.

  I knew they didn’t breathe, so it had to be an affectation.

  Still, it was a pretty damned convincing one.

  “We must discuss him at some point,” Brick said, making his voice conciliatory with an effort. “You may have forgotten, but I have not… I will die if you kill that particular progeny of mine. We will have to discuss some other means of… compensation. Regarding Naoko. Something that will satisfy you, but which does not end in my ultimate death, Quentin––”

  Black cut him off with a growl.

  “You’ll have to discuss that with me later, Brick. Later. Not today. Not now. It will only derail things now. I promise not to kill you, directly or indirectly, until we can hammer out more detailed terms… as in, after this operation is done. Is that enough?”

  “I don’t know, Quentin,” the vampire king said coldly. “Would it be ‘enough’ for you? Were it your life at stake? Or your wife’s?”

  “Probably not,” Black cut in. “But I’m telling you, right now, on this particular point, that’s as good as you’re going to get from me. I’m not capable of discussing Nick Tanaka with you rationally in the middle of planning a ground op… and it’s not a conversation I suggest you try to rush. Hell, I can’t even discuss it rationally with my wife. And my wife needs to be a part of any agreement between you and me when it comes to Nick.”

  There was a silence.

  I heard that odd, feigned sighing a second time.

  “And what of your wife’s sister, Zoe?” Brick said, his voice more subdued. “There are things we must also discuss in relation to her. Including how she was made.”

  There was a silence.

  Then Black let out a humorless laugh.

  “Jesus fucking Christ, Brick,” he said, incredulous. “How many of these little murderers have you made? And just how many of them are tied to your blood?”

  Despite his tone, I had trouble hearing any real amusement in Black’s voice.

  “And how the fuck are you still alive, given that?” Black added.

  “I did not make Zoe,” Brick broke in icily. “I had nothing to do with her creation. I was not implying that, directly or indirectly––”

  “Ah. So it’s just Miri’s best fucking friend you decided to turn into a murdering rapist with psychopathic tendencies? One who just happens to have some kind of grudge against me, not to mention being in love with my wife––”

  “I thought we weren’t going to discuss Naoko now, Quentin––”

  “We’re not,” I cut in, cold.

  There was a silence.

  In that silence, I realized Brick had no idea I’d joined the call until I spoke.

  “Are the relevant details hammered out for now?” I said into the silence. “Have the two of you enough to move forward, once we reach the border?”

  For a few seconds, neither answered.

  In my head, I saw two sullen schoolboys scowling as they exchanged death-looks with one another.

  “Oh, and Brick,” I added, colder. “There’ll be no more using humans to clear the mines. I hope that’s understood.”

  “I had no say in that,” Brick said, turning his attention to me, his voice warning. “That was coordinated by the other vampire clans… groups I am only now getting to know, even if they technically fall under my purview. I understand their reasoning, truthfully, but––”

  “Do you?” I cut in. “Do you understand their reasoning, Brick?”

  “––I agree the outcome was most unfortunate,” the vampire conceded, cutting me off before I could say more. “I agree with you, Miriam.”

  From his tone, his words were intended to placate me.

  They were also meant to end the discussion.

  Brick paused before adding,

  “…I will relay the terms of our alliance with those clans now operating under my authority. I admit this whole situation unfolded before I’d entirely worked out ground rules with many of my new subjects. I have been rectifying that, as quickly as I can, but I suspect this was not an accident, on Charles’ part.”

  Black grunted.

  Glancing at him, I frowned my agreement.

  Like Black, I knew Brick was right, if stating the obvious.

  Charles railed up and down to me about how our window to move against the vampires was short. He went on and on about how the vampire clans were in a state of disorganization, and that it wouldn’t last. He wanted to attack now, lock down the human governments now, before the vampires could get their shit together and mount a real defense.

  I felt Brick notice our silence before he continued.

  “…In the case of the situation at the border,” he said, his words more cautious. “I confess, I’d primarily conveyed my urgent concerns regarding time to the clans who agreed to come to our aid here, in the United States––”

  “That’s not what you said before,” Black muttered.

  Brick cut him off.

  “––I told them, first and foremost, to come quickly,” Brick said, aiming his words at Black. “And, if possible, to breach the wall in a manner that was disruptive, even dramatic. I confess, I did say it would be best if they could knock out part of the wall itself… in part to send a message to Charles, but also as a practical measure, to force them to defend it.”

  Letting out another dramatic sigh, he added,

  “This was perhaps a mistake on my part. Meaning, to give them so much leeway in the area of tactical delivery. But we are juggling several strategies at the moment, including disrupting and slowing Charles’ rollout in any way we can, and hopefully making him look weak in the process.”

  I heard the vampire frown before he added,

  “Excuses aside, I left the methodology far too vague. I think I even told them it was their problem, as long as they got it done. That, incidentally, is not meant to be an excuse,” he added. “Nor is it meant to be a deflection of blame onto my inferiors. It is rather the opposite. I see now that this was irresponsible of me, to frame things as I did.”

  I saw him in my mind’s eye, making one of those fluttering gestures of his.

  “I regret I may have inadvertently caused this,” he added, even more contritely. “By not giving them sufficient direction––”

  “In the future, you may need to,” I cut in, warning. “Give them direction.”

  Brick paused.

  Then, diplomatically, he conceded my point.

  “I understand that, Dr. Fox. I can promise to do so in the future, if you like. But my words were meant to convey that I learnt this lesson already.”

  Perhaps sensing me about to respond, he spoke louder.

  “…In any case, I am more than willing to attend to this aspect of our agreement. We do not need to discuss it further.” He added, “On a purely practical note, this massacre at the border will hardly help our case with the American humans. In the end, it will likely help Charles, in that it’s ideal propaganda.”

  Black grunted humorlessly.

  I glanced at him, agreeing.

  Brick wasn’t wrong about that. That footage of the wall breach would be playing on a loop on all of the media channels for weeks, if not months.

  Thinking about this, even as I checked my watch, I nodded again.

  “All right,” I said. “Our E.T.A. is thirty minutes. We’ll discuss the rest of this later.”

  I glanced at Black.

  He quirked an eyebrow at me.

  I could see the humor there.

  I could also feel his lingering anger about Nick.

  Looking at him, I realized that our being back here, on our version of Earth, had brought all of that up for Black again in a visceral way… what Nick did to me, what Nick did to Kiko, Brick forcibly turning Nick into a vampire, everything that happened on that island.

  Here, it was immediate to him again.

  He hadn’t been lying to Brick; he really couldn’t think about reconciling with any of that yet. He honestly had no idea how to process it here, much less what he thought should be done to move forward from that mess.

  The alliance made his confusion worse.

  So did whatever was going on with his light.

  Even now, with us just sitting here, Black’s emotions were intensifying in a way I could tangibly feel––in a way I could almost see right now. The sheer intensity of what I felt on him, coupled with an even more alarming fluctuation and instability, didn’t strike me as the best combination for going into a full-blown military op.

  It also reminded me of what Allie and Zarat said on Urtre.

  They warned me about this.

  They warned me that I shouldn’t underestimate Black’s instability right now, while his “dragon” powers were coming into their own. They said Black was likely to get more unstable as this process continued, not less.

  Being in Charles’ construct definitely didn’t help.

  It was harder to think clearly out here. It was harder to not overreact to things. It was harder to feel grounded, and not only because we were in the Osprey.

  Thinking about that, I took Black’s hand, squeezing his fingers.

  He met my gaze. From his expression I could tell he’d heard me. He’d heard me about the construct, about his light, about Allie and Zarat’s warning. Watching his face, I tensed, half-expecting him to be offended.

  He wasn’t.

  After looking at me thoughtfully for a few seconds, he nodded.

  “Okay,” he said, speaking to Brick again. “So you wanted us to come. We’re coming. I still haven’t heard a fucking plan of any kind, to get all these sociopathic vamps of yours out of there. I’m assuming you have one? A plan?”

  Brick let out another of those affected sighs.

  “We will discuss that when you arrive, Quentin. I would rather not talk specifics over an open channel, since we still aren’t sure about the security of our communications… or yours… or the extent to which either of our camps have been infiltrated by Charles’ people already.”

  I felt Black’s grudging acknowledgment of that.

  “Fair,” he said. “Is Kiko with you? Jax?”

  “Not yet. I sent a few of my people as an escort, and as additional protection. They were trapped in an area being patrolled by some of Charles’ ground soldiers, northeast of where the bulk of my people are currently congregating.”

  I felt immediately that Black didn’t like that.

  He kept his feelings out of his voice, however.

  “Fine,” Black said. “Tell them we’re coming to you, as well.”

  “Quentin. My friend. I have told you this already… you need not worry about the treatment of your friends in my care. I understand your concern, truly, and how little my words might mean to you right now, after everything, but I assure you, with all of my blood, your people are perfectly––”

  Black wasn’t in the mood to hear that, either.

  “––We’ll be there soon,” Black cut in, warning. “We’ve got the landing coordinates your team provided.” Grunting, he added, “Any cover you can provide would be appreciated. A distraction on the other side of the valley, for example, would be ideal––”

  “We won’t be able to do much––” Brick warned.

  “––Then any intelligence you can provide that might allow us to conduct a distraction of our own,” Black growled. “We’re coming to you, Brick. Maybe remember that. Maybe remember we don’t have to do that, and that this is a fucking favor––”

  “My people are forced indoors at the moment. I just arrived myself––”

  “Figure something out,” I cut in, my voice as hard as Black’s. “We all know how creative you can be when you want to be, Brick.”

  At the silence that followed, I added,

  “Okay. I think we’re done here––”

  “Wait! Miriam… wait! There is one more thing!”

  I stopped, my mind poised over the sign-off cue.

  “Your sister. She is with me, Miriam. I thought you should know.”

  Wincing, I gritted my teeth, but only nodded.

  I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that fact, but I should have expected it. Clearly, Brick was determined for me to develop some kind of personal relationship with at least one vampire. Since Nick made it impossible for Brick to use him in that role, Zoe had become the alternate.

  Funnily enough, I even understood the vampire king’s reasoning.

  From a purely psychological perspective, I could almost grudgingly respect his insight around wanting to create more personal ties, to engender some real loyalty between our camps. Alliances, real alliances, were founded on such things. Moreover, it should have reassured me maybe, that Brick was serious about making this alliance stick.

 

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