Page 27

“Where are you?” I ask.

I hear music and voices in the back and can barely make out his voice.

“At a club. The Tower,” he shouts.

“I think you should stay at the house,” I say. “Things are happening, they may be moving against us.”

“What?”

He can’t hear me over the music and I put down the phone, furious. How could he be partying at a time like this? It seemed foolish and irresponsible, and I worried that he was not as careful as I thought he was.

I have called Ragnar and Layrr but both their phones have been turned off. Something is happening back home. Marlon had sent me a message the previous night, saying that the latest shipment of product would be accompanied by a small army to protect it. But this is the last I’ve heard from anyone out west.

I have always kept out of politics but I can’t ignore what is happening now. This could be the end of my family and everything I have worked so hard for. But leaving Izzy behind is causing me something close to physical pain. After the night we just had, it feels wrong to abandon her in the Capital. I know now that she also feels the attraction and the connection between us and despite the turmoil that it brings her, she does not want to resist it. I am almost sure that our missions are inalignment and that her father’s killer is linked to whoever has been targeting me.

As the Grey Mountains rise before us, I feel myself calming down and my resolve steadying. In the capital I may not have felt entirely safe, but here was my turf, I was in charge. My first stop was the Eyrie, where my second-in-command, Finn, was waiting for me.

“What is going on with the signal?” I asked him, irritably. “I have been unable to get hold of anyone?”

Finn nodded slowly. “There has been a disruption of the signal. It is unclear if it is deliberate.”

“Where are my sons?”

“They went with the convoy of shipment. I sent crows with them. They reported back that there was an attempted ambush but our men fought them off. They gave chase and are in hiding somewhere around Mill Creek.”

I stood at the window and gave his words some thought. Mill Creek was a dangerous area, very inhospitable ground and not ideal for a battle.

“Do we know who they are?”

“It is unclear who they are affiliated to, but they are strong and fearless, our kind.”

“As we thought.”

Finn said slowly, “There are rumors of drugs, of incredible strength and regeneration.”

“Regeneration?” I asked, incredulous.

“These vampires must be burned or they come back to life.”

I thought of what I’d heard in the capital about tainted blood. I wondered if some of them were taking the drugged blood intentionally, to increase their strength and fighting ability.

“Ragnar says they will wait for night-time to hit them.”

“I will join them, send word to Lord Ferney that I want him and his men at the castle as soon as possible.”

I could see he didn’t like the thought of me getting involved but this was time for a show of strength.

“What do you hear of Elspeth?”

Elspeth headed the family of Een, the third partner in the Syndicate. His face was grave. “They have also been losing product shipments and people. They have reported it to the Council but nothing has been done.”

“What about the main center?” This was the main blood bank and situated outside the capital.

“According to my sources, no problems. Business is booming.”

“Tempesto,” I muttered, darkly.

“Sire, you must feed, especially if you plan to go out later.”