Page 49 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)
The following night, Mika called Esen—one of the wind vampires in Oleg’s druzhina—who met them at a prominent point near a small lake. Oleg took to the air with his soldier, who flew him through the dark clouds toward the citadel where Danior the vampire was locked in his dungeon.
Oleg didn’t like flying, but Esen was part of Oleg’s inner circle, and flying was the fastest way to get where he needed to be.
He landed on a high parapet that overlooked the river valley and turned to survey his territory before he walked inside the castle.
The rich, tree-covered folds of the Carpathian Mountains stretched behind him, and rolling hills in front of the castle dropped down to a river that cut through the valley.
The village in the distance was lit by bright gold electric lights, and the wind swept through the trees, wafting the scents of pine, cedar, and moss to his nose.
The air was sharp and cold. A thread wrapped around Oleg’s neck and crept down his spine.
“Knyaz?” His house manager arrived at the doorway.
“Get me a telephone, Omar. And a very long extension. I should like to call Polina.”
Moments later, Oleg was sitting in the dungeon with Danior, the Poshani vampire who had killed his people and beat his driver nearly to death. The prisoner wore an ancient iron collar around his neck that was chained to the wall, keeping him on the ground.
Torture for a wind vampire.
Juliya’s interrogations had not loosened Danior’s tongue, and the wind vampire stared at Oleg with haughty eyes, daring him to kill him.
“I am not going to end you yet,” Oleg muttered.
“We’re going to call my daughter first.” He dialed the old rotary phone and listened to the device click as it turned.
“There is no internet here.” He glanced at Danior.
“But I may have them build something. The vampire I am planning to take as my mate likes computers and internet things.”
“Young,” Danior muttered.
“I know, but what can I say? I am fond of a well-balanced battle-ax, so we are all biased toward the modern technology of our human years, are we not?”
The phone started ringing, and a few moments later, Polina was on the phone.
Oleg winked at Danior and put his finger to his lips to mime “quiet.”
“Papa?”
“Lisichka, I know you spoke to someone at the gold exchange about Vano getting the money from Ivan, yes?”
“You owe me for how much I had to bribe him, but yes. Did you want?— ”
“I don’t need the name.” He glanced at Danior and put a finger to his lips again. “Can you tell me the dates of the gold transfers again?”
“Give me a moment.”
There was a rustling sound on the other end of the line, and Oleg watched Danior, whose eyes were fixed on the phone with a most intense expression.
Danior was a Poshani vampire. He worked for Vano. If he was any kind of Poshani, he believed that whatever Vano had ordered him to do was in the service of his own people, not a Russian earth vampire who ran an organized crime network.
Torture wasn’t working, so it was time for the truth.
“There was a payment on the fifth of August last year. Then another on the seventh of November.” Polina listed off three more dates, and Danior’s eyes never wavered from the phone.
Oleg asked, “And you’re sure these transfers weren’t going to Poshani accounts?”
“The payments I make to Vano for construction or other contracts all go through a holding company in Poland so the Poshani workers can collect their government pension credits. These appear to have come from Ivan’s personal accounts going to Vano’s personal accounts.
Though I have some questions about other gold I’m seeing transferred into Vano’s accounts when you have time to speak to Radu. ”
“Oh?”
“I can’t say for certain,” Polina continued, “but I believe Vano may be skimming money from the clan. I’d have to have a bookkeeper look for it, but there are regular and significant amounts flowing into his personal gold stores in the days after we record transactions with our company.”
“I see.” So Tatyana was correct again. Oleg glanced at Danior. “Tatyana said that Vano has been accusing the human cooks of overfeeding the children in the kamvasa, so he may be trying to cover his tracks.”
The moment that Danior heard “overfeeding the children,” his eyes went wide and Oleg felt his energy change. The air in the dungeon started to whip around the four stone walls.
“That’s despicable.” Polina added, “Let me know if you’d like me to fax this paperwork to you. You’re at the citadel?”
“I am.” Oleg angled himself toward Danior. “And yes, if you have records you can fax to me, do that. Omar will bring them to me.”
“Of course.”
“Have a good night.” Oleg hung up before Polina could mention her daughter or mate. He stared at Danior, who was glaring at him.
“Your boss betrayed his people by asking you to do Ivan’s dirty work,” Oleg said quietly. “What is more, Ivan paid you to kill his own men. His own drivers and guards. People whose families depend on them and who had pledged loyalty to Ivan.”
Danior remained silent, but Oleg could see his fangs were long, and the vampire swallowed visibly.
“Is it bitter?” Oleg whispered. “That taste on the back of your tongue when you learn that your own terrin is stealing so much that he would take food from the mouths of Poshani children to cover his deceit?”
Danior curled his lip and glared at Oleg. “What do you want?”
He spread his hands. “I am a reasonable man. All I want is the truth. Give me that, and I will hand you over to the terrin.”
The hollow look in the vampire’s eyes was enough to tell Oleg that he knew he would die no matter what.
“Your fate will be what the Kali demands,” Oleg continued. “But the manner in which you face that fate is entirely up to you.”