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“Dante Heller.”
"Let me leave Dante, and I will continue my journey north. I won't wait. I'll get a bus ticket and leave immediately."
“Why didn’t you take a bus before rather than risking your safety by hitching rides?”
“I was hiding.”
“From whom?”
“From Adam.” He said the words softly as if fearing Adam was close by and dropped his gaze back to the tile floor.
“You escaped Scottsboro.” He said and Skye gave the barest of nods. The defensive reaction he felt when the Master entered the room returned when he realized Skye had run from the kindred in Scottsboro and feared capture.
“Are they chasing you? Has Adam followed you or sent others to follow you?” Dante moved to stand in front of him and rather than looking down at him Dante crouched down so to be at eye level. “Talk to me Skye.”
"I escaped five weeks ago." Skye began but did not look at Dante. "A construction crew was hired to repair water damage in the dining room caused by a leaky radiator. It was a large group of workers, and on their last day, I walked out with them. When they were finished, no one noticed me. I just kept walking, and no one followed. I don't know if Adam is looking for me, but I continue to hide. I'm not important, and I doubt he would waste resources finding me."
Dante reached out and touched the side of Skye's face, and the sensation of that touch reverberated in his heart. "Years of terror are hard to put aside. I understand." This was his destiny for better or worse, and come hell or high water, this human was now his responsibility. "I'll look into it and find out if Adam or any of his ilk are looking for you." That statement resulted in a panic response from Skye.
"No, don't reach out to them, don't tell them that I'm here, just let me leave, and I will never come back to this part of the state again." His heart rate became rapid, and his agitation was obvious. "Don't let him know that I'm here."
"I won't contact them. That was never my intention, but I will check to see if you are being followed." Dante tried to clarify, and although Skye nodded nervously as if understanding, it was clear he had reservations. Dante's phone notified him of a text telling him that the Master wished to speak with him immediately. Master Louis DuCane was not someone you kept waiting so he stuck his phone back in his jacket pocket and stood up.
“I have to leave you for a while, but you will be attended to.”
“Just let me go.” Skye’s plea was such that it touched Dante’s heart and he wished he could give him what he asked but he couldn’t.
"I can't let you go, not yet." He paused and lifted Skye's face up to him in order to look him in the eyes. Lovely amber-colored eyes, soft and expressive. "I'll be back." With that, Dante turned and left, closing the door securely behind him.
Skye wasn't sure why the vampire was being so gentle and kind. Vampires were predators and never did anything for anybody that wasn't in their own interests. It could be a good cop, bad cop approach, but it didn't seem to fit. They didn't need to play games. They were vampires with the power to do whatever they wanted. They could kill him and pick his brains apart afterward. They didn't need to question him.
He wished they'd just do it and get it over with because he feared that there was no way he would ever escape from Coven DuCane. Whatever they were doing, it was pure entertainment and nothing more. It pained him to think that Ezra was a part of it all and was going to stand back and watch him be tormented and killed.
Ezra was the Master’s beloved, and he owned all the power that came with that title. In his experience, power and depravity seemed to go hand in hand. Ezra had joined the vampires. There would be no help or peace for him in that quarter.
Another guard walked in, grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him to his feet. "Get moving." The guy pushed him, nearly knocking him forward onto his knees, but he caught himself. They stepped out into the afternoon sun, and then he was rushed to a side door and into an elevator that was white and sterile, like the interrogation room he just left.
They went down several floors, and ultimately, Skye was led to a small, sterile chrome cell and left there alone. The door closed, and he heard it lock, and he was overcome with the belief that he was going to die in that room. There was a narrow bed of sorts attached to the wall and a sink and toilet in the corner of the room. He sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the wall, stretching out his legs and closing his eyes. Gradually, Skye brought his grandmother back to mind and lost himself in the image.
Dante went straight to Master DuCane’s office and was ushered inside upon his arrival. The Master wanted answers seeing his beloved in pain and upset was not acceptable but there were limits to what Dante could do or would allow considering his relationship to Skye.
The Master stood by the window when he entered and did not turn or acknowledge his presence for a few seconds. Dante remained standing in silence until the Master turned to face him and told him to sit.
Master DuCane walked over to his desk and sat down, signaling that this was a formal meeting. His desk was massive and placed him a good ten feet away from Dante. It had nothing to do with Dante and everything to do with his level of agitation. When the Master was upset, it tended to affect those close by.
“Why is he here, Dante?” The tone and the stare went right to his core.
"His name is Skye Winters, as you are aware, and according to him, he is simply passing through on his way to the Upper Peninsula." Dante began and then explained further. "He escaped the kindred in Scottsboro, Alabama, approximately five weeks ago and has been hitching his way north. His grandmother talked of family in Michigan's Upper Peninsula."
“The Scottsboro kindred splintered off from those in Pittsburgh?”
“Yes, they left before that faction of the kindred was eradicated.” The Master nodded, remembering the day vividly most likely, for he had been the architect of the eradication. “As you probably noticed, he has no magics and uses a technique of concentrated focus to block his mind from interference.”
“Were you able to break through?”
“No.”
"That's unusual. It is my understanding that concentrated focus is difficult to maintain and breaks down easily." Master DuCane leaned forward onto his desk, and Dante could feel him prodding the edges of his thoughts.
