Dead Certain (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 3) Read online

  The phone hung up then, and Eve waited, not knowing what would happen next.

  It was hugging, as it turned out. The real kind. The tiny bald man actually picked her up and squealed happily while he did it.

  “Eve! You are well again, and whole, already? Young Zackary suggested that it might happen thusly, but to see such is a miracle worthy of great tales. I have been seeking a way to save the life of my maker and wife, but other than destroying the Greater Demon known as The Bold, I have not found any. You, perhaps, have something that might bring success in this area?” He seemed interested in that, but was still holding her in the air, and spinning a little.

  “Maybe. We need to kill one of them, but they don’t have to stay dead. Once the link is broken it will stay that way. We have a meeting with Fram in three weeks, to really look into getting that done. No tricks or anything. We should get with Zack on it, and Darla. Keeley, too, since if nothing else, we can ambush Fram with her, and make him kill himself. She’s done that to him before, so it could work. Really though, as long as we don’t get in his way too much, I doubt he’s going to be that big of a pain about it all. On the bad side, he’s working on a plan to start a war, between the Humans and Vampires. He’s not the only one of his kind in on it either, so that isn’t good. I think we need to stay out of that though. I do, anyway.”

  Lenore nodded, and Bey just looked at her, his face filled with character, and hope. Possibly that Maggie would survive the whole thing.

  He made that part pretty clear, too.

  “You do not seek to remove them both from this world, for what was done to you? It was a great harm, and none could place blame for your rage, but you hold your hand? Truly?”

  “Yeah, I know, it probably means I’m an incredible pussy, but the real facts here say that I don’t survive trying to do that. As long as I just focus on the one little thing though, breaking that link, maybe it can happen? Before you ask again, yeah, I really do want them both dead, on a certain level. I’m willing to admit that I’m being petty about it though. Fram, he used her against me like that on purpose, I bet, knowing it would hit all the right buttons to set me off. It burns inside that he did that to me. I can’t let that feeling win, or it will cause me to make the wrong moves. So we do this instead, and call in whatever help we can to make sure it isn’t some kind of trap.” She smiled, and put her arms around Bey’s back. He was very firm, and incredibly strong, she noticed. He was still holding her up, and smiling.

  “That is a wise way to be. Yes, it may be hard, but at times we must all make compromises in order to reach the best outcome. Now, we should practice your Russian. I don’t doubt that Marissa will do her very best, but being prepared never harms anything, in my experience.”

  Then, without waiting, she got to clean, and then go help Nikki, while Bey followed her around, drilling her non-stop in a different language. She was starting to learn enough that about half of it even made sense when she heard it now. If she really focused she could work it out, most of the time. That wasn’t going to hold when people were speaking it for real though, since Bey was going slow for her still, like she was a little kid, and pointing at things to help her remember what the words meant.

  She answered though, her words clumsy and syntax horrible, she didn’t doubt.

  They ran errands for a while, mainly getting food for the people that ate it, until shortly after noon. That was when Marissa called back in. Crying. That it couldn’t be real didn’t matter, because it was so heartrending.

  After a moment, she gave them the orders from the Council herself.

  “He, and his people, refuse to bend on this matter. They have declared themselves against us, openly. There is no room now, to allow them to survive. You must do what is needed.”

  Bey looked sad, but nodded, his pale face blank.

  “I understand. We shall leave at once, and take care of this. I’m so sorry, Marissa.”

  “As am I.”

  Eve was too, even if she didn’t really feel it yet. That would come, she didn’t doubt.

  It always did, when the guilt hit.

  Chapter three

  Bey sighed and clasped his hands in front of him, then waited for a bit, looking toward the wall behind Eve. The phone in Lenore’s office had been hung up, and the woman herself just sat there, watching her maker, with a blank expression. Her dress was an odd golden colored thing with little flowers on it, that had faded over the years. It was a bit drab really, compared to the bright and sparkling shop out front.

  The ancient Vampire looked at his child, sitting there and then made a face that told them he was legitimately sad. That he wanted them to think that anyway. It worked pretty well.

  “It is always sad when a parent must lose a child. We shall leave as soon as arrangements for travel are made. Eve, you will go as my second in this, acting for the Council. We have three weeks, how do you propose we do this?” He seemed pretty relaxed about it all, once he started looking at her, as if just asking for academic reasons.

  She thought about it, then asked to borrow the atlas that Lenore kept on the shelf behind her desk. It was probably a bit out of date, and well worn, but the land masses would still be about the same, so it should work.

  “Well, I get that I could ask Zack, and it would probably work, but that might be a little bit too expected right now. Over the last few years a lot of things have been handled that way. Other than that, showing up at an established Node, where we can be ambushed and almost certainly would be… They’ll be what, watching the ports?” She glanced at the others, but they both just held still, not answering her question. Even if it was a pretty good one, she thought. “That means we should avoid those, too. If we go through Alaska, here, and then get a small boat, we should be able to come in from the east, and run in? It’s a lot more work than the other options, but might let us go in tomorrow, during the day.” If she didn’t die from the pain, and boredom. What was being proposed was an insanely long and hard trip. Even her finger, just rubbing on the page felt like it was taking too long.

  She drew the line to Russia with her finger, and Bey took a deep breath.

  “It is a decent idea. A hard one, as well. I would like to arrive in four days however, having business to attend to before we leave.”

  She thought for a second, and shrugged.

  “Um, Nikki and I could leave now, and wait for you, around here? On the border of Russia. Then we can all go in, the morning you arrive?”

  Bey Blinked at her, and instead of asking what she was getting at, nodded. Then he clapped, three times.

  “Very well. I have the location of a trusted Vampire that will house you, until I arrive. Will you be leaving from here directly?”

  She nodded, not knowing if her Russian would really be up to it. That part was a bit scary, but when in doubt they could always just come back.

  Her mentor didn’t wait, going to find his other daughter first. She was at the far end of the mall, but when they got there, he simply bowed to the red haired punk girl.

  “Nicole! You have been given a duty, by the Council. You, young Eve, and myself shall go and put down the budding rebellion in Russia. Eve knows your travel plans. You two will go ahead and see to scouting the area first. Do not engage, unless it becomes needful. If that happens, execute them all. Do you understand? This is a great honor. One that I hadn’t thought you would ever be allowed. I’m very proud of you.”

  Then he turned and walked away, getting both of them to follow along. Nikki, who was a decently old Vampire, about the same age as Lenore, most likely, started to whine a bit, almost instantly. Like she hadn’t even heard the part about it being a great honor? Even better, that Bey, her maker, a being that was practically her father, was proud of her?

  No, that didn’t seem to be the case. Instead she kind of seemed like a wimp, as they covered the slightly sparkling red brick of the main walkway, heading back toward Yoghurt World.

  “I can’t. I have things t
o do here. Besides, how are we getting there? I don’t really like long ocean voyages that much, if it’s all the same. I get seasick.” She plodded along, grumpily, which did seem pretty realistic if it was all about pretending to be a Human. For a Vampire talking to The Bey, it was practically suicidal. She had things to do? More important than putting down a freaking rebellion, and saving innocent people from almost certain death? Not that anyone had mentioned that, but any fight Vampires had planned would end up getting innocent people killed, wouldn’t it?

  Bey gave her a tolerant smile, and clapped, happily.

  “Wonderful, Nicole, you have already discovered the plan! You shall run the distance, except for the smallest of journeys by water craft. You have two days to make the trip, and then two to get the lay of the conditions there. I trust that will be enough time?” He was being willfully mean about it, acting so happy and like it was an easy thing to do.

  “Two days? No one can do that? It must be six thousand miles! We won’t have enough night to make it.”

  Eve took over then, moving a little faster.

  “So we go in during the day, too. Really, we can do it in two major legs. The first to the coast, in Alaska, then the rest of the trip, once we get across the ocean. That should only take about ten hours, even if we run slow. You have super speed, and so do I.” She looked at Bey, and then shrugged. “I get that we’ll need to be careful on the ground over there. Hiding, and all that, while we travel. No one has officially announced that other countries have Vampires, yet. We need to keep that secret for them, until they’re ready. Still, other than being boring and hurting, it won’t be an issue. We can go eat now, so that you’ll have fresh links for it. Think of it as a road trip?” Eve hoped that Nicole would leave it at that, but didn’t really count on it happening.

  She was psychic, apparently, on top of her other powers it seemed, since the woman managed to complain the whole freaking time they were getting ready.

  Eve ignored it, trying not to seem like she was about to tear into the local Proctor physically. That she was actually being edged toward that, well, it was a sign of her own weakness, wasn’t it? She had to be stronger than that, and controlling herself was a big portion of what she needed to be doing. While it might be tempting to give in to her anger, she knew that if she did, people would die. Ones that shouldn’t.

  Thankfully, they were able to start shortly after that, Lenore having given them a nice and brightly colored printed map. It had the complete route marked out, along with instructions on how to find the right house once they got into place. Otherwise they’d probably end up lost and wandering around, until they were killed for their nifty running shoes.

  She had on those, at least. Nikki had boots. It wouldn’t really matter, except that they were going to end up being ruined by the distances traveled. Her shoes would too, but they’d only cost about twenty bucks at Wal-Mart. The boots on her new companion’s feet looked expensive, and had cool buckles on the sides that were a shiny brass color.

  No one was going to give her a chance to back out though, since Eve was supposed to keep her awake from then on, and had to be with her for that to happen. They’d started once already, and she wasn’t going to do the first day over again, now that they had a good start going for the second time.

  So they ran. Walking really, and while it was a bit uncomfortable, she kept them going at a steady pace. It was dark out when they left, or nearly so, and that veil of darkness was following them as they traveled, heading the direction they were. They didn’t go very fast though, only about half what Eve could really have managed, if she were alone. That made the whole thing worse, since it took longer to finish up.

  When they finally got to the coast of Alaska, which was still white with snow where the map took them, Nikki stopped, then screamed into the early morning light.

  “Fuuuuck!” It wasn’t exactly directed at her, so there was that, for once.

  Eve smiled, waited a beat, and took a deep breath.

  “We need to find a boat or something, and then get across before it gets light out. Unless you’re up to swimming?” It was about ninety miles, but she wasn’t all that great in the water herself. She could keep her head above the surface, maybe, but it seemed like a bit much to ask for.

  Nikki glared at her, but pointed down the rocky coast, to where a small boat sat, away from the beach a good way. It meant running down and stealing it, but no one came to stop them, so they were in the water, paddling fast, before she noticed the leak. Eve pushed herself into pain then, and propelled them through the water like they had an engine in the back. It worked well enough, especially once Nikki got it and started to bail the cold salt water out with her hands.

  In a way it was harder than running would have been, since she didn’t really know what she was doing at first. It took hours to get across too, and was daylight when it happened. Still, they weren’t met on the beach when they got there, even though they did see people.

  Instead, they just waved, hid the boat in some bushes, and started to run again. That part was way harder, since they had to hide a thousand times before they got anywhere near their destination. Nikki kept trying to take breaks too, signaling to Eve that she couldn’t take anymore. That wasn’t true though, so after the first few times she simply ignored the other Vampire, pushing faster when she tried to wave to her, as if she were urging her on.

  It still took forever, compared to what they could have done, but they made it. Two full days, and nights, later, they were there, looking for the right house in a small town that held a few thousand of them. They were all mainly big places, ones that held lots of no doubt tasty people. Still, she thought they had the right location, finally, and Nicole agreed, pointing out the numbers on the houses helpfully.

  People on the street looked at them funny, but no one attacked them or called the cops, so that was a good sign, Eve thought. They all just looked a bit bitter and frowned, except for some of the men, who seemed a lot more pleased to see them than the others did. They didn’t have time to stop for a date though, so Eve waved to them, and kept Nikki moving to their destination, which was a large blue painted door in the side of a gray house that had at least three stories.

  She moved to it and knocked, hoping she was close to the right place. It was dark out, which wasn’t a hardship for them, but would make it look wrong if they had to pound on too many doors, looking for the right place.

  After a minute the door opened, and a woman, who looked to be about thirty, was wearing a plain blue dress and was as dead as they were, saw them and made a rather annoyed sound.

  “You are from Council?” The English was accented and stilted, so she nodded and switched to Russian. It was the language of the place after all, and she needed the practice.

  “That’s right. Bey sent us? This is the right place, then?” She hoped the woman would be able to understand her.

  That seemed likely, since there was a soft exhalation, rather than the lady asking if she could please save her ears by speaking English.

  “Ah, you speak very properly. Very well, it will save a lot of effort. I haven’t used the tongue of the English for more than a century. I do not think what I know is even accurate anymore. Come, be welcome. Do you need food, or drink? I have some vodka that I’ve been saving for guests?” She seemed pleased by that announcement, but Eve didn’t really drink. Not that they’d get drunk, but there was too great a chance that it would be poisoned, or make her sick somehow. Wasn’t alcohol mainly carbs? She’d been warned away from those well enough that she hadn’t even been tempted to try any real food yet.

  Nikki however nodded, and spoke in flawless Russian to the woman. Naturally, and like that was why she’d been asked to come in the first place. It was hard to remember how old she was sometimes, looking like a punk rock reject like she did. Young, and decently pretty. Face piercings, and leather jackets, could throw a person off in some ways. There it was though. She sounded nearly like a native.
/>   “That sounds wonderful, thank you. It was a long trip. We ran in on foot, from America.”

  It was a bit of a surprise, as they went in, but Nikki, for all she was a lazy, wimpy, whining waste of space as far as travel, or being up all day, went, was actually pretty good when it came down to making nice with the natives. The woman, Iryna, was totally charmed within a few minutes, and chatting away with them both like they were all old friends, no more than an hour later. She was, as it turned out, for all that she seemed like a housewife, actually the local area ambassador. That put her in charge of the eastern half of Russia, more or less.

  “I have held that position here for seven years now. Before that I worked in Moscow. I was a dentist. There was much call for one of those that worked the night shift. I don’t really do well in the daytime. It’s a weakness of mine, but no one else wanted the job, and it pays enough to be worth doing. How about the two of you? The Lord, he did not tell me why you were coming here, to our country?”

  Nikki started to speak, her voice harsher in this language. It even changed the way she held her face and body, which was interesting. She was more upright, and scowled a bit the whole time. Holding her small, clear colored glass of vodka she seemed very at home, too. Eve had skipped it, and was amazed that the other woman could even keep the stuff down, after catching a whiff of it. It had to be magical powers, since she wouldn’t have been able to manage it herself.

  “There have been some problems, and…” Eve didn’t reach out and hit her, not even playfully, because it might start a real fight. She needed to do something to get the other woman to shut up though, so she wouldn’t give away everything to a person that was, for all they knew, a spy. Iryna had just told them that she’d worked in Moscow until recently. That was where the problems were coming from, as far as Eve had been told.

  So she laughed out loud, and then made a face at Iryna that she hoped would be funny, even in a different language.

  “Eh… Well, I guess I should let the other shoe drop then?” She glanced over at the punker, and winked, then spoke to their host directly. Lying her ass off, even if she didn’t know why at the moment past a few tiny suspicions that were probably wrong. “Nikki is being groomed for a new job, back home, and Bey wanted to make sure that she learned to stay up all day for it. I don’t know all the…” She wanted to say specifications, but didn’t know how to in Russian, so scrambled for a bit. “I don’t know exactly what it is. It’s a big thing though. An important one. So he sent us here, running on foot, in order to make certain she had to stay up the entire time. He really is coming, but it’s just about that. It’s why he didn’t come himself right away, since we had to go so slow, in order to keep Nik here awake and moving. It can be hard during the day, at first, to run full speed.” Now she just had to signal her traveling companion not to give the game away. She really didn’t know how to do that, but as it turned out, she didn’t need to.