Page 21 of Sergi (Of Blood & Dreams #7)

Chapter Twenty

Devon stared at his satellite phone while the team unpacked the gear from the vans.

“You’ve been staring at that for some time, my friend.” Remus dropped into the seat next to him. “Are you expecting his locator to suddenly show up?”

Devon ran a hand through his hair and looked out the window at the tiny village, though he wasn’t really seeing it. His mind was a hundred years in the past, remembering some ill-advised mission he’d talked his friend into. “You never know. Sergi never gives up.”

Remus grunted. “A pit bull. I sensed it in him the first time we met.” He studied his hands before meeting Devon’s eyes. “We have to be ready for anything. Everything.”

He shook off the past and turned away from the village. “How long have you known Carlos?”

Remus chuckled. “Since he was a pup. He was always the one slipping out in the evenings, curious about everything. He never showed fear and was always the first to step up.”

They sat in silence, thinking about their males and their fate—alive or dead.

Devon shook off the tension that had been riding him since they left Deva. “Let’s go find them.”

They jumped out of the van and picked up their duffels.

Devon stuck his head back into the van to speak to the driver. “Stay alert. They might not have anyone watching from town but assume they do.”

“I’ll keep you posted, boss.”

Devon closed the door and tapped it twice with his fist then stood back as the van slowly moved away, heading for a garage on the other side of town. The drivers would remain with the vans to ensure they weren’t tampered with.

Three miles before they reached the village, they’d stopped at a gas station where Rafael had arranged for the motorcycles. Devon and Remus gave the three team members their final instructions and watched them head off into the woods. The team would take small trails until they were a mile in, then cross to the road leading to the lab. Team One was officially in play.

Now that the vans were out of the way, it was time to ensure the rest of the team wasn’t being watched.

Once the vans were out of sight, Devon turned to find Remus in deep conversation with a local man. He found a spot on a rock wall to wait and surveyed the area, searching for anyone who showed interest in their group who might be a vampire. There were several people eyeing them, but none he would suspect of being vampire, but that didn’t mean there weren’t eyes on them from inside one of the several buildings surrounding them.

Ten minutes later, Remus shook the man’s hand and met Devon at the wall.

“Is he going to be trouble?” Devon asked.

Remus shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s the mayor and wanted to complain about the vehicles that use the road that goes up the mountain. And, of course, was worried about the size of our party. The village have enough problems with some of the men, vampires I assume, who come to town.”

“That makes sense.”

“Apparently, the government disregards his concerns.”

“Which means someone in the government is being paid off.” Devon wasn’t surprised.

Remus rubbed his chin. “It would be necessary to keep the lab a secret all these decades.”

“There’s a small House not far from Brasov that’s tied to House Larkin. I imagine many of the government officials are vampire.”

“Does this impact our mission?” Remus asked.

“No. Bella would have raised it earlier if she considered them a threat.”

Rafael ran up to them. “Everyone has settled in. We have three rooms, and the money we gave the innkeeper has calmed any concerns he had. He’ll also contact a restaurant to bring us dinner.”

“Let’s get inside.” Devon stood and stretched his back as he gave a final scan of the area. “I want to check on the House and see if they’ve picked up any chatter.”

The inn was two stories and had a couple dozen rooms, but most were empty. From what Rafael told them, the other rooms were rented by local villagers. Their three rooms were adjoined at one end of the first floor.

Devon found Bella in the room by the exit door. She huddled over her seat at a round table and sipped from a mug as she scrolled through her tablet. The room was filled with everyone’s gear that had been sorted into two piles.

His nose led him to the counter in a tiny kitchenette, where a fresh pot of coffee waited. After rubbing the dust out of a mug, he poured a cup and sat across from her.

“Team Two left for their inn.” Bella pointed to a paper map on the table. “The inn is the one circled in blue, and the cafe where they’ll spend most of their time monitoring the road is circled in yellow. The garage is the green one, and this inn is red.”

Devon gave the map a quick scan, familiarizing himself with the town. “Anything from home?”

She nodded. “The city safe house has been quiet.” She gave him a pleased grin. “I think Lorenzo’s thinking twice about disturbing the local street gang. The coastal safe house also appears quiet. It’s more difficult to do drive-bys on a dead-end street. But there has been activity at the front gates to Oasis as well as the manor.”

When her pleased grin turned to one that was more wicked, he asked, “What?”

She turned when Remus set a mug on the table and took the last chair. “Excellent timing. Lucas has two shifters patrolling the front gates to Oasis, and after a couple passes from an unknown vehicle, the wolves made their presence known. The cars haven’t returned. When the manor started seeing several unknown cars making frequent visits, Decker sent four wolves to the main gate. Those vehicles haven’t been back either. Cressa put the security teams on level three alert, and she’s working with Decker and Lucas in preparation for a level two.”

Devon shifted his gaze to Remus. “Were the shifters at the gates your idea?”

He shrugged. “I merely suggested to Decker there wasn’t any reason to hide our involvement. We lost the element of surprise with the raid on Shadow Island and the attack at Oasis.”

“Perhaps it’s time to start adding more shifters to the safe houses, the manor, and Oasis.” Devon grimaced as he took another swallow of the coffee before pushing it away. “Having a handful of shifters is helpful, but if Lorenzo comes full force, we’ll be outnumbered.”

Remus nodded. “We have to be careful not to leave the packs without their own defenses, but smaller packs could take refuge with the larger packs until we return. That will free up wolves to increase your security.”

Devon nodded. “Bella, send a note to Cressa. Have Decker contact Braden and Elijah.” He stopped and glanced at Remus, who nodded his consent. “Have them start working on an updated security plan to support Remus’s suggestion. Let Decker take the lead on what works best for the shifters.”

Bella didn’t waste time sending the message.

“Where are the rest of the team?” Devon asked.

“They’re doubling up in the other two rooms.”

“Except for the four shifters I’ve assigned to patrol the inn.” Remus pulled over the map and gave it a quick scan.

“Should I send a couple of the vampires to help?” Bella asked.

Remus shook his head. “Let the wolves handle it. They’ll be less conspicuous.”

“Agreed.” Devon looked at his watch. “I’d like to move out at midnight. If we keep a fast pace, we should arrive at the lab by midday.”

“Are you still confident that’s the best time to infiltrate?” Remus asked.

“Up to now, the teams have all gone in at night, which has probably kept the facility’s security on alert for more early morning visitors. I doubt they’d be expecting a raid in the middle of the afternoon.”

“Then we stick with our plan.” Remus’s gaze flicked to the window. “Let’s get some rest before dinner.”

Bella rose. “Take the beds. I need to check on a few more things.”

The two males took a bed as Rafael came in and dropped to the floor near the gear, his body turned on his side. The male had been working hard, and he wouldn’t stop until they found Sergi and Carlos. There wasn’t anything more Devon could say to reduce Rafael’s survivor guilt. He had to work it out on his own.

Devon stared at the ceiling and ran through the planned mission one more time before letting his thoughts turn to Cressa and their time on the south coast of Spain. He didn’t know how long he’d slept when shouts woke him. It was dark, but he didn’t waste time to glance at his watch as he flew through the door.

Several team members raced ahead of him toward the front of the inn, where they took up defensive positions. Devon didn’t stop until he found Remus, who was kneeling over one of the wolves. It was lying on its side, panting heavily.

“What’s happening?” He asked.

Remus stood. “Four vampires attacked. I don’t think they were expecting wolves. We took down three, but one male took off toward the woods.”

“How long ago?”

“Only a few minutes.”

“Have we sent anyone after him?”

Bella rushed over. “I was getting ready to send a vampire and a shifter. We were able to save one for questioning.”

Devon checked his boot to ensure he still had a dagger on him. “I’ll go.”

Remus began stripping. “I’ll follow as soon as I shift.”

Then Devon was off, racing in the direction Remus had pointed. Although it was dark, Devon easily found a trail and assumed the vampire would take an easy path until he put some distance between him and the village. Once he felt safe, he’d veer off to confuse anyone trailing him.

The vampire had to be caught before he reached the lab. They couldn’t lose the element of surprise. He wasn’t sure where these four vampires had come from, and he hoped Bella would get something out of the one they kept alive.

Devon ran some distance before spotting a small deer trail. He stopped and listened. The snapping of twigs came from the right. The same direction the deer trail headed, and Devon took the path at a dead run. He’d traveled a quarter of a mile before a wolf sprang from the woods.

The massive wolf stopped in the path. His coat was a dark sable, and it looked as if someone had dipped his ears and tail in a pot of black ink. His eyes changed from a fiery, red glow to dark brown.

Remus.

This was the first time Devon had met his wolf. The red glow returned to the wolf’s eyes, and he raced off into the woods. When Devon followed, Remus stopped and tossed his snout to the right.

Devon understood, and he raced back to the path to continue his pursuit. Remus would flank the vampire.

If compared from a human perspective, one would expect a younger vampire to be faster than an ancient. The fact was, in most cases, the opposite was true. He would agree that many of the aristocrats couldn’t keep a long and fast pace. He snorted. Most could be taken down in the first mile. But vampires born in Houses built from the old days, when war was an ever-present danger, the older one was, the more deadly they were.

Venizi was right when he’d said the vampire race had become too complacent. The larger Houses kept a well-trained security team and cadre, but the smaller Houses had become dependent on the stronger Houses for safety. Over the years, there were fewer Houses training their people as House Trelane and House Venizi did. And without continued training and testing of skills, their Houses would remain weak.

The difference between Trelane and Venizi was that Lorenzo wanted to old days of war, where vampires were the dominant species. Devon envisioned a world where vampires, shifters, and dreamwalkers formed an alliance, not to take over humanity but to live as true equals, maintaining a sustainable balance.

The bottom line was that while Devon was a few minutes behind the vampire, he’d eventually overtake him. The only question was how far he’d have to run to catch him.

The answer came sooner than he expected when the vampire he’d been chasing came racing toward him. If he was shocked to see Devon, the terror in his gaze overrode any concern.

“Wolf. There’s a wolf coming.”

Before the vampire reached Devon, he fell face-first into the ground.

That wasn’t the best way to describe it. He was trampled to the ground by the wolf who now stood on the vampire’s back, his fangs gripping the vampire’s neck. He shook the vampire a few times until the male went limp.

Remus stayed on the vampire, but he lifted his head and looked toward Devon. Blood dripped from the wolf’s fangs, but Remus would stop if Devon asked. He considered the situation. Bella said they’d saved one, so they didn’t necessarily need this one.

Devon waved Remus off and squatted next to the vampire. He slapped the male’s face until he woke.

“Don’t move. I’m going to ask you a question. How did you find us?”

When he didn’t respond, Devon said, “Alright. If that’s your choice, I’ll let the wolf finish you.”

“No. No.” The male gulped air. “We come to town every other day to check in with our lookout.”

“And who is that?”

When he didn’t respond, Remus placed his front paws on the male’s back.

The vampire visibly shook, and the scent of urine made Devon’s nose twitch. “It’s a guy that works at the garage. He saw your vans pulling in.”

“The owner?”

“No. One of the mechanics is a vampire.”

“So you decided to take us down?”

“We didn’t know who you were other than vampires running with filthy shifters. There’s only one response for that.” When the vampire realized what he said, the shaking increased along with a bit of whining. “It’s what we’re taught. Anyone willing to work with shifters is no better than them. You’re…” He seemed to search for the right word, then spit out, “You’re an enabler.”

Devon didn’t have a response to that. He let the silence grow until nothing could be heard but the occasional hoot, the rustling of a small creature scurrying past, and the labored breathing of the wolf. Drops of bloody drool fell on the vampire’s bare neck, and he began to struggle again.

“Please, let me go. I’ll go straight to Bucharest and fly back to the States.”

“What House are you from?”

It took a moment before he rasped out, “Larkin.”

It would’ve been too easy for it to have been Venizi. Devon stood and nodded to Remus. “I’ll meet you back at the inn.”

He turned and jogged back the way he’d come. The screaming followed him for only a minute before it stopped.

They’d found the mole. He’d let Bella take care of him and the one they’d saved once she was done with her questions.

He grinned. This had been the first time he’d hunted with Remus. Whatever tension he’d been holding in was gone. Those old feelings of going to battle returned, along with the scent of victory.