Nicholas gasped. “What have you done?” he asked Francesca. Valerie clawed at the light coming through the trap door, startling Nicholas and making him jump back.
“She’ll calm down after she’s had her first blood,” Francesca said. “But it will be alien blood.”
Nicholas shook his head. “No, no. How did you choose her?”
“She came to me. Apparently Valerie came to the mansion looking for her friend Courtney.” Francesca noted the look on Nicholas’ face. “Valerie and I had a rather… informative conversation before I released her from her trance.”
Nicholas felt sick to his stomach. If Courtney finds out, she’ll never forgive me, he thought.
“The girl came here to warn her friend about aliens,” Francesca said.
Dumbfounded, Nicholas and Jaxson were left speechless.
“It seems Valerie had just returned from a place called the Neptune Corporation,” Francesca continued. “Her friend Courtney works there as an assistant to Kevian, the alien you told us about, Jaxson. The aliens appear to have integrated themselves into the human population in their attempt to steal the planet’s water. Valerie overheard the aliens’ plans and was concerned for her friend’s safety.”
“If she was about to expose the aliens, then you should have let her do so,” Jaxson said. “It would alert the humans to the danger without any risk of our involvement.”
“Francesca did not know that until after she had already bitten the girl,” Gaunt said. “Nonetheless, we may now use the girl against the aliens.”
Talia stepped forward. “Why do you look so displeased, Nicholas? Didn’t you and Jaxson come here to complain that we were not taking any action against the aliens?”
“This isn’t taking action against the aliens,” Nicholas said. “All you’ve done is murder an innocent girl. It’s the aliens we should be killing, not children.”
“So emotional,” Talia lamented. “You Young Bloods are limited by your emotions, unable to see the big picture.”
Tobias nodded. “The girl is not one of us and therefore can be used as a tool against the aliens, as may any human.”
Jaxson extended his arm, pushing Nicholas back. “I think what Nicholas means is the humans are not fungible. You exist down here in the depths but we function at night up there, interacting with the mortals in their society. Out of necessity, we forged relationships with some humans. That’s how we acquired and maintain this mansion. We need to be able to interact with certain humans, even to the point of inviting them to the mansion, and not find that they’ve been murdered.”
“This girl had no practical value to you,” Marcus said. “However, she is much more valuable now, undead, than she was alive.”
Nicholas gritted his teeth. “You heartless bastard. She was just a girl.”
“Everyone you’ve ever bitten was just somebody,” Gaunt said. “All of our meals have lives that are interrupted by us. Do the humans mourn the life of a cow whenever they eat a hamburger? If it had been a young man, or an old woman, would that have made any difference?”
“With respect,” Jaxson said, “there is a difference. This was someone Nicholas knew.”
“Yes,” Francesca said. “Valerie told me you, Nicholas, were the reason she believed she would find her friend Courtney here.”
Nicholas glared at Francesca. “Leave Courtney out of this. If you dare to harm her, I’ll…”
Jaxson yanked him back. “Calm down,” he whispered to Nicholas. “You can’t address the Elders that way.”
“To the contrary,” Francesca said, “I have no interest in harming Courtney. She is integral to our plan.” She made eye contact with the struggling Valerie, who at once became motionless. “Valerie, you will remain in this trance until I command you to awaken. You will ignore the ravenous hunger within you. When you are released from this trance, you will return home. Tomorrow, you will seek out your friend Courtney and accompany her to the Neptune Corporation. Once there, you will identify those you know for certain to be aliens and attack them to feed your bloodlust. Then, you will attack all the remaining Neptune employees until none are left alive.” Francesca turned to the others. “If my theory is correct, Valerie should be able to kill all the aliens in the building. However, if the alien blood remains toxic to her, then she will probably only be able to bite one or two aliens before she herself succumbs.”
“What about Courtney?” Nicholas asked. “Valerie will be in the midst of a blood thirst; she’ll drain Courtney in her frenzy without thinking.”
Francesca looked puzzled. “By then, Courtney will have served her purpose. Her role is to provide Valerie with access into the building.”
“Courtney is our Trojan horse,” Tobias explained. “Valerie is our secret weapon, as were the Greek soldiers hidden within the wooden horse allowed into the gates of Troy. Do you know what happened to the wooden horse once the Greeks sprung from its belly and attacked their enemies?”
Nicholas and Jaxson shook their heads.
“No one knows; no one cares,” Tobias said. “History books spend pages about the construction of the Trojan horse, yet not a word about its fate. The horse was an implement, an incredibly important one but nonetheless discarded once it had achieved its purpose.”
Nicholas glanced at Jaxson, who saw the fear in his eyes. He then turned to Gaunt. “The wooden horse was useless but Courtney can still be useful. Her father is a general who commands the military base in town. I can use Courtney as a conduit to her father and the military might of the humans if we need it.” He glanced at Francesca. “Assuming she still lives.”
Gaunt turned to Francesca. “A valid point.”
Francesca addressed Valerie. “You will not harm Courtney.” She looked at Nicholas. “Satisfied?”
Nicholas nodded. Jaxson grasped his arm and led him away. “We’ll take our leave now.” They climbed the stairs to the mansion, neither one looking back into the darkness. They continued into the study.
“That was clever of you, to appeal to their logic rather than to make an emotional entreaty,” Jaxson said.
“They’re out of control,” Nicholas said. “They’re so divorced from humanity they only consider people as things to be used and manipulated.”
“We use and manipulate mortals, as well,” Jaxson said. “Have you forgotten ordering your dinner tonight?”
“It’s not the same. We make exceptions. We have feelings and develop relationships. The Elders have no social interactions. We have more in common with the mortals than we do with the Elders.”
“Perhaps; in some ways.”
Nicholas grimaced. “It’s one thing for them to prowl the city at night using the subterranean tunnels to hunt for their victims, but if they start killing people we know – right in our own home – that indifference will catch up with them. When the humans show up here hunting for vampires, they won’t make any distinction between the Elders and us. To them, we’ll all simply be vampires to stake.”
“You worry too much,” Jaxson said reassuringly. “The Elders have survived for millennia; you have to trust their judgment.”
Nicholas nodded. “I’m going up to my room. It’s been a long night.”
“Good night.” Jaxson accompanied him from the study and watched the younger man ascend the marble staircase. Then he glanced downward, casting a wary eye toward the basement.
The next afternoon, Courtney Cartwright and Valerie Rumson got off the bus at the stop near the Neptune Corporation building. “Are you all right, Valerie? You barely said a word during the entire bus ride.”
“I’m fine,” Valerie replied.
“You haven’t even asked about my date last night.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. How was your date?”
“You don’t sound terribly interested. I guess you’re nervous about seeing Kevian for a job at Neptune.”
“Kevian,” Valerie repeated. “There was something I wanted to tell you about Kevian.”
“What was it?”
Valerie looked confused. “I don’t remember.”
Courtney smiled. “Kevian’s a wonderful man. He’s been so kind to me. I know he’s much older, but if I weren’t dating Nicholas…” She looked at her. “Val, are you listening to me? I’ve never seen you so distracted.”
Valerie turned to her friend. “Sorry.” She found it hard to concentrate. She felt as though she were in a daze. She glanced up and saw they had arrived. The sunlight hurt her eyes. Valerie didn’t realize it would be the last time she would ever see sunlight. Once she had tasted blood, her transformation into a vampire would be complete and she would be forever at the mercy of the sun’s rays.
Courtney and Valerie rode up in the elevator. “Remember, let me do the talking,” Courtney said. “I’m sure I can convince Kevian to hire you.” The elevator doors opened and the girls passed the reception desk.
“Good afternoon, Courtney,” Rosemary greeted them. “I see you’ve brought your friend back.”
“Yes, I’m hoping to get Valerie a part-time job here. Is Kevian in his office?”
“Yes he is.” Rosemary pressed a button on her phone. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”
A moment later, Kevian stepped out of his office and walked toward them. Valerie felt an adrenaline rush as soon as she saw the alien. Her mind dimmed as Francesca’s hypnotic restraints lessened and she felt the overwhelming compulsion to feed on alien blood. She started toward Kevian.
“Val, wait,” Courtney said, pulling her aside. “I told you, let me do the talking.”
Valerie’s first instinct was to destroy the impediment between her and her prey, but subconsciously she recalled Francesca’s instructions not to harm Courtney. Kira stepped into the hallway from the conference room. Valerie recognized her as another alien and was torn between competing desires to bite Kevian, who was closer but blocked by Courtney, and Kira who was farther away. Her heartbeat raced and she became visibly agitated, shaking like a junkie in need of a fix.
Courtney noticed the change in her behavior. “Val, are you all right? You’re trembling. You can’t possibly be that nervous; it’s only a part-time job.”
Valerie wasn’t listening to Courtney now. Her senses were acutely heightened and she was being assailed by the sights, sounds, and smells in the office. She turned in Kira’s direction, deciding she would be the easiest prey.
Rosemary’s voice boomed in the background, “You had two messages while you were at lunch, Mr. Bellamy.” Valerie pivoted and saw the man Rosemary was speaking to standing beside her. Bellamy, Valerie thought, remembering that was the name of the alien Kira and Kevian had spoken about. She leapt onto him and sank her fangs into his throat, shocking everyone around her. Only Kira, who had seen Jaxson attack the Africans the same way, realized there was a vampire in their midst.
Courtney stood transfixed, horrified, as her best friend savagely attacked Bellamy. Kira rushed to aid him, but it was too late, as Bellamy’s lifeless body slumped to the floor. Valerie spun around and pounced on the alien princess. Kira pushed against Valerie’s chest, trying to keep the vampire at bay, as she felt her breath inches from her neck.
“Kira!” Kevian dashed toward her.
“Wooden projectile through the heart,” Kira called out to her brother in their alien tongue, recalling Jaxson describing the wooden spear as the one thing beside sunlight that could destroy him.
Kevian’s eyes darted across the office and landed on a mop in a bucket left behind by the cleaning crew. As Kira struggled to hold off the vampire, Kevian grabbed the mop and broke off the mop head. He charged forward with the jagged wooden pole and plunged it into Valerie’s back, piercing her heart. Valerie released her grip on Kira, staggered, and fell back onto the floor.
Kevian rushed to Kira. “Were you harmed?”
Kira shook her head. “No, you stopped her in time.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t think I could have held her off much longer. Her strength was incredible.”
“She must have been on PCP or bath salts,” Rosemary said, still shaking. “I’ve read about that. The kids take that stuff and go on wild, violent rampages. It gives them superhuman strength. She would have torn you apart.” She glanced down at Bellamy and screamed. “I think Mr. Bellamy is dead.”
Courtney was in shock. She stood shaking her head. “No, that’s not possible. Valerie would never do drugs.” She gazed at her friend’s body, impaled by the large wooden stake. Kira dispersed the crowd as Kevian approached Courtney.
“Courtney, I - I had no choice. She was going to kill my sister.”
Courtney closed her eyes and gulped. She nodded. “I know. I saw everything but I can’t believe it. Valerie’s dead? She’s my best friend. This can’t be happening.”
Kevian embraced her awkwardly. He wanted to comfort her. Through his own action, he had tainted the innocence he so cherished. He had killed many men without compunction during the water wars, but this was different. In war, he had been spared the sight of their loved ones grieving for those fallen on a distant battlefield. They never saw him deliver the death blow, as Courtney had. Death had been cleaner and simpler then. He wondered if, when the tears streaming from Courtney’s eyes had dried, the girl would ever look at him the same way again.
Courtney sobbed, hugging Kevian. She realized he had had no choice and that Valerie had turned into some creature attacking like a rabid dog, yet she was still having difficulty contending with the fact that despite her growing closeness to Kevian he had killed her best friend.