Teslar resisted an urge to lick the tears flowing down Elliot’s cheek. Instead, he smiled and tenderly ran his fingers through the young man’s hair before he opened a drawer and removed the captive bolt. He would insert it into Elliot’s brain, keeping him immobile and paralyzed. Elliot would be very much aware of what was happening as he watched Teslar collecting his fear-infused blood.
Just as he was about to pierce the base of Elliot’s skull with the captive bolt, Marcellus and Crowbar barged into the crystal room.
“Get out, you idiots,” Teslar snarled.
“But Master…it’s Saint and the Iniskium. They’ve found us.”
Teslar hissed in disgust as he tossed the captive bolt onto the table.
Why must Saint insist upon ruining everything? Why had he been so cursed to forever be plagued by his uptight, party-crashing clone?
“Marcellus, get Ash to evacuate everyone through the south tunnel. We’ll re-group again in the LaSalle Street freight tunnels. We’ll need a diversion. Crowbar, you take Cyrus and…whatever that new girl’s name is—”
The whites of Crowbar’s eyes showed up starkly in his face. “Jane Farrant? But she and Cyrus are both practically new to the immortal life. They’ve never engaged in a battle, let alone one where Saint was present—”
“Which is why I’m sending you,” Teslar said briskly as he pulled a dazed-looking Elliot down off the table. “I want you to face my clone, Crowbar.”
Crowbar’s face stiffened in fear. Of course he knew Teslar had just signed his death warrant. Well, that’s what the loud-mouthed fool got for flapping his mouth in front of the meal Teslar had been harvesting, telling Elliot about his former lovers. If Saint didn’t separate the fool’s head from his body, Teslar would when he had a spare moment.
He shoved Elliot toward the crystal room’s escape tunnel, but he’d apparently cultivated the young man’s fear too well. Elliot stumbled on rubbery legs and fell hard to the floor. Teslar started to shout at him in rising frustration when he noticed that Marcellus and Crowbar hadn’t moved. He turned up his ascendancy to maximum levels.
“Did I not just give you two orders?”
They scurried out of the room. Teslar gritted his teeth in mounting outrage as he glanced around the crystal chamber. He’d never valued anything so greatly in his life…save the woman. Damn, Saint. This was his special place, and now his clone had gone and ruined it all! He was going to treat that girl, Alison, to a slow, tortuous death for betraying his location.
A shout erupted out of his chest and he kicked the only object available to him. Elliot grunted in pain and looked up at Teslar in shock.
“Fuck it.” He kicked Elliot again, this time in the face, before he leapt fifteen feet to the escape chamber.
Chapter Twelve
Fardusk and Isi’s flashlights flickered off walls as they made their way down the circular limestone tube.
“So what are the Iniskium?” Alison asked Fardusk. She and the tall, somber chief of the Iniskium walked in front, Saint and Isi behind. Alison had to skip and trot to keep up with Fardusk’s long strides.
“Iniskium was the name of an ancient tribe of people who once lived in this area on the banks of what you call the Chicago River. Today, it refers to the survivors of that tribe,” Fardusk said, keeping his gaze trained down the tunnel. The passage that had been dug by the Scourge revenants under Teslar’s command was much narrower than the tunnels dug by the city. It hadn’t been reinforced by concrete and was crumbling in spots.
“But what are you? He said Saint made you.” Alison tilted her head back toward Isi. “Does that mean he turned you into vampires?”
“We have many of the characteristics of our sire, although we are not as strong. Vampire is a word used by humans, as is werewolf. But we think of ourselves only as the Iniskium warriors who help Saint hunt the Scourge revenants. We must fight hard, because our numbers have decreased over time while the revenants’ numbers grow,” Fardusk said.
“Werewolf. Wait…was that you guys on the subway platform? Were you those wolves who fought off Teslar’s followers?” Alison asked.
“As I said. We share the same characteristics as our sire. A wolf is always the animal nature of the Iniskium, while the Scourge revenants resemble their creator—although Teslar can transform into any number of beasts, while the revenants can usually transform only into one fixed form.”
With his powerful hearing, Saint heard Alison whisper to Fardusk. “Did you ask Saint to turn you into what you are?”
Fardusk didn’t respond.
“It’s all right,” Saint said, startling Alison.
“No,” Fardusk continued now that Saint had given him permission to reveal one of the most painful secrets of Saint’s past. “Saint attacked our village many centuries ago, when he was new to this Earth…before he had learned to control his bloodlust.”
Saint met Alison’s stare when she glanced back at him speculatively. “Don’t you hate him for it?”
“No. But he hates himself,” Isi supplied drolly.
“Quiet, Isi,” Fardusk commanded. Isi immediately looked contrite. Fardusk didn’t exert his authority often, but when he did, it carried absolute weight amongst the Iniskium.