Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

eyes compelling, every hair in place in spite of the humidity and heat. He was having a difficult time maintaining, with the scent of blood so heavy in the room.

    Dominic paid little attention to any of them, his attention caught by the sixth man in the room. This was the one who kept the vampire in line, kept him from falling on the lab techs and devouring their blood. He was the one in charge, the one who made certain the vampire in the chair allowed the humans to take the blood from his veins. Twice this one had narrowly missed being killed by Dominic. His name was Flaviu, and they had detested one another as youths. Flaviu had shown a proclivity toward harming animals even before he lost his emotions. Dominic had not been surprised to see him choose to betray the Carpathian way of honor very early.

    Flaviu stood up abruptly, exposing his fangs in a threat, yet backing away slightly to give himself more room. His gaze shifted surreptitiously toward the door. “You are—unexpected.”

    Dominic ignored him, treating him as he might a lesser vampire—with contempt, as if he were beneath Dominic’s notice.

    The fangs slipped again, betraying the egotistical characteristic so prevalent in vampires. When he spoke, Flaviu’s voice was raspy, as if he couldn’t get his voice to work around his fangs. The vampire in the chair moved restlessly, earning him a reprimand from one of the surly lab techs.

    “What are you doing here, Dragonseeker?” Flaviu demanded, his tone high-pitched. “No one is supposed to be in here. You have to leave.”

    Dominic stopped moving around the room, examining each of the experiments and checking the slides under the lens of the microscope. The silence stretched and lengthened. He let the vampire squirm under his piercing gaze. Several more heartbeats went by and even the techs looked up from their work.

    “Do you really think I will obey a worm like you? I have come at the call, but I will not walk blindly into a trap for anyone. Stand aside or challenge me, but think carefully before you do.” His tone dripped contempt.

    The room darkened. The tension stretched to a taut, thin margin. Hissing, Flaviu backed away from Dominic. The vampire sitting in the chair jumped to his feet, knocking the techs out of his way.

    “Henric,” Flaviu snapped sharply.

    Instantly the lesser vampire stopped his forward motion, but his eyes glowed red with hatred. Without another word, the two vampires left the room. Dominic allowed a brief flare of satisfaction.

    They’re going to be waiting for you. The first chance they get, they’ll ambush you.

    I am well aware of that. I will lead them straight to you.

    Good idea. I’m getting bored while you’re having all the fun. Work your magic, Dominic, and get into the main room.

    I scanned the techs as I came in, and none of them knows the security code to the room.

    He glanced at the men, who immediately looked away and went back to their respective workstations, each clutching a vial of blood. He moved closer to one of the stations. Several vials of blood were labeled with various names, Brodrick’s most prominent. Someone wanted to see if the jaguar-men had an effect on parasites. He moved closer and tested the nearest tech for resistance.

    His brain was wide open, which made sense. The vampires would want men they could easily influence working the computers in the laboratory. He attacked swiftly, piercing the man’s mind to search for the experiments. He shared his findings with Solange.

    The techs believe the men working in this region have all been infected with an unknown parasite and they are working on a solution. It was suggested to them that the men who live and work here—meaning the shifters, although it is clear the techs do not understand they are shifters—might have built up an immunity against the parasites. So they are testing their blood against the infected blood. They had some results with Brodrick’s blood.

    Solange brushed against his mind, a gentle, loving slide that shook him with the intensity of feeling in that small, tender gesture.

    “What are you doing in here?” The voice was harsh and commanding.

    Dominic turned slowly, his gaze falling on the guard. The gun was pointed firmly at his chest and the eyes were flat and cold. He nudged the brain of the tech closest to him.

    The tech responded immediately. “He’s consulting with me, Felipe.”

    “Sorry, man,” Felipe said, shaking his head.