Читаем Dark Song полностью

Cornel impatiently waved his hand toward the newly made vampires to silence them, annoyed by their continuing noise. The whining broke off abruptly. When it did, the uneasy rippling in the floor and walls ceased as well.

Ferro experienced an unfamiliar sense of relief. A flutter of awareness touched his mind. The merest hint of fragrance pushing out the scent of decay and rot. Bergamot, orange, vetiver, camellias and sandalwood. It was there and then gone as if it had never been, but strangely, it was an alarm, triggering an unease over the rising sound of the newly made vampires. If they didn’t always sound off like that to their masters, why had they continued to do so and increased their volume? There was no answer. He had to be watchful. There were secrets here, and the brethren had risked everything to learn them.

Cornel paced across the floor, his movements so smooth he appeared to glide. “If we had that kid Josef, we would have exactly what we need by now. That idiot prince, Mikhail, has no idea what he has in that kid. They’ll never catch up with you, Sergey. Never. They don’t have your foresight. You’re working without their tools and yet you’re still ahead of them.”

Ferro had to admire Cornel. He didn’t fawn on Sergey. He didn’t apologize or back down even with the implied threat that Cornel might be trying to get Sergey killed. He simply spoke matter-of-factly, stating what he needed and then ending with praise, knowing that was really what Sergey would focus on the most. After centuries of being abused by his brothers, always looking like the buffoon, Sergey craved and demanded respect. He needed those around him to stroke his ego.

The conversation told Ferro a lot about Cornel. He might be content to stay in the background, but he had the streak of brilliance that ran in the Malinov family. He could be a huge threat to the Carpathians. Cornel hadn’t mentioned Elisabeta. Ferro wondered if he was aware she was the real brains behind Sergey’s genius and now that she was gone, Sergey was incapable of leadership without her. Perhaps it was too soon for any of them to have figured that out yet.

Ferro knew Josef was considered very special by Gary, and that was huge praise. At one time Gary had been in the human world and he was a genius with a quick, decisive mind. He knew the ways of modern technology. When he had been converted by Gregori Daratrazanoff, second-in-command to the prince and from a powerful family in the Carpathian lineage, Gary had been presented before the long-dead ancients to be judged worthy of becoming a Carpathian warrior. If accepted, he would be wholly of the Daratrazanoff lineage and all past warriors would pour their battle and healing experience into him, as well as all other knowledge. He would wake a Daratrazanoff but already ancient, without emotion or the ability to see in color.

It would take a man of great strength to handle the terrible burden of such a sudden difference in one’s life. Carpathians lost color and emotion over time. Those things faded, allowing them to get used to it and giving them time to reinforce their desire to uphold honor at all costs. Gary was forced to deal with it almost immediately.

If he said Josef was needed by the Carpathian people, it didn’t matter that the kid had blue spiked hair and piercings, which didn’t offend Ferro in the least. The kid had to be protected. Knowing the vampires had their eyes on him made that even more imperative. Ancients were used to sharing knowledge by acquiring it and simply sending that information to the others. The internet and the use of it seemed useful but not imperative until just that moment when Cornel acted as if Josef was the most important person to focus on acquiring. The implication Ferro was getting was that he was more important even than Elisabeta.

“This Josef you speak of is the boy Traian and his lifemate brought with them to the fortress where they are holding Elisabeta,” Sergey said. There was speculation in his voice. Too much interest.

Cornel nodded. “Yes. It would be good if we could lure them both out from under Tariq’s nose. Or if we can give the infection more time to spread, place our spies so that the command works and the gates are open, we can go in and retrieve both. That way, we can kill as many as possible.” Before Sergey could reply, Cornel turned toward his brother. “Dorin, what of the plan to use our pawns in Tariq’s club? Are they in place? That could be just the thing to bring the hunters out into the open.”

Sergey looked pleased. “A bloodbath in Tariq’s precious nightclub. Feasting on his well-dressed patrons. A great idea.”