Page 34 of Resurrection
Seiran took the stack of books from Page, the young man pale beneath his dark skin.
“I heard about…” Page said, his cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sorry. I know you… well, I hate that you had to experience a reminder.”
Reminder of what? Gabe wondered.
“Feel worse for the souls inside the golem who had to live through it.” Seiran said. They headed for the front door. The sun was setting, the cast of colors stretching across the windows. It felt a bit unsettling to stare at the fading light. The sun itself already lost in clouds and the horizon, leaving only the wash of colors to indicate the time. Gabe knew he should feel the tug of light in some way. And he supposed he did, a little. The fading edges of fog seemed to be evaporating from his brain.
He thought he’d felt a little sluggish all day, suspected it was the distance from his Focus, the lack of shared blood, but that was only a small portion of it. The sun didn’t burn, but it did make him slow. That was good to realize. He could work around it. Maybe he should rest during the daylight hours, even if he wasn’t tired.
“It’s terrible,” Page said. “Who would do that sort of thing?”
“Not everyone sees vampires as people.” Seiran had his phone out.
“But they still have souls. They still feel pain,” Page pointed out. “To use it that way…”
Seiran’s gaze fell on Gabe. There was almost a question in his eyes, like was it true? Did vampires feel emotions the same way regular people did? The answer was yes, and no. Time could dull emotions. But often vampires went to the other extreme, feeling too much, seeking out the fringes of things, love and hate, just to feel. Gabe recalled feeling that way for a while. Could picture a handful of times in his life he’d been considered reckless, just to feel something.
“We do,” Gabe said. “Pain and pleasure, hate and love, and a thousand other things. Can we release the souls soon?” He felt bad for those stuck within it, though as the sun set, he also found it easier to wrap his power around it, cradling and comforting it as he would a brand-new vampire. The tugging on it had faded when they went into the warded area of the building, but now in the entry, it finally seemed naturally quiet.
“I hope so,” Seiran said. There was an SUV idling outside the main entry. The back door opened and it was the vampire Sam who leaned out. “About time,” Seiran griped.
“Shut up, Ronnie. Some of us have to sleep and enjoy waking up with our guys.”
Seiran flinched, but headed toward the SUV. “I’ll send you notes, Page. Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t worry about calling the Director, I’ll phone her myself from the car.”
Page lingered near the door, his gaze sad. “I’m sorry, Director Rou.”
“For what?” Seiran asked.
Page waved his hand in an all-encompassing gesture. “Everything?”
“It’s fine, Page. See you in the morning. I’m hoping to actually get more than four hours of sleep tonight.” Seiran looked at the golem. “Forest, get in the vehicle.”
Gabe followed since he had no plans to be separated from Seiran. Not until more of his memories returned and he had a better grasp of his control. At least the setting sun eased some of the constant struggle of the revenant. It almost seemed to lay back and rest. Ready to rise fast enough if he let it, but no longer fighting to take control. Normal? Or a consequence of being newly aboveground. Would the other vampire know?
The back of the SUV was roomy. A middle section of seats in which Sam sat, and the back where the golem was. Gabe took the seat beside the golem, and Seiran sat next to Sam, sliding the door shut. Seiran rattled off an address. “Meeting a handful of guards there, to pick up the last boy,” Seiran said.
“I get to scare some witch kid? I’m down with that,” Sam said.
Seiran handed a file folder over to Sam, who immediately opened it. Were the vampires supposed to have access to Dominion files? The car moved and Gabe studied Seiran as they headed toward the address.
Seiran placed a quick call to the Director of Ethics, mentioning the case he was working on, the severity of the offenses, and how he had been undermined by Director Han to the possible detriment of a child. He ended the short call, which seemed to be a voicemail with, “I hope we are in time to keep her from being abused.”
The tightness of his voice at that phrase made Gabe’s stomach hurt. Had someone abused the witch? Had it been him? He’d never thought himself possible of that sort of thing. Even in his earliest days as a vampire, he could recall stalking and seducing people, but all were adults in full use of their faculties. It was a vague memory of his childhood, as faded as it was, that made him dislike the young being used that way. Had he been? He couldn’t recall, and suspected there would be none alive to ask.
“This is sick shit,” Sam said after several minutes of reviewing the files. “I mean beyond your crappy handwriting. These kids are messed up.”
“Agreed,” Seiran said. “Did you know any of the vampires that we identified?”
“Only from their missing persons profiles. At least we know they are dead. Makes me wonder, as we have almost three dozen others who have been reported missing.”
Seiran looked at Sam. “Do you think there are more golems?”
“No idea, Ronnie. That’s strong magic. And a lot of golems if so. Who would need a golem army? And why three vampires in one golem? Are vampire souls less powerful than human ones?” He closed the file. They rode in silence for a bit. “Sorry you had to experience that today. I know you have people who handle the sexual crimes area.”
“It’s fine,” Seiran said.
“It’s not. But I know no one knew. I mean… well, fuck,” Sam said. “Sick stuff.”