AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Don't!" I shout as he starts to depress the lever to releases the flow of the colloidal silver. "I'm fine." The guard steps back and glances at Ed, who nods.
Then Julien's other memories overwhelm me, moments and times beyond his kills, carnal memories of his lust for the women he's loved, their bodies entwined. I try to catch my breath, sorting through the darkness of his mind as he chases down his targets and takes them out, one by one and the erotic scenes I happen on. When he feeds, I feel his bloodlust as if it's my own, the beating of the victim's heart so loud in his head, the warmth of the victim's body against his coldness, the coppery taste of blood acting like an aphrodisiac. Soon, sex and death blended into one mélange until I can't separate them and my mind rebels.
Julien, a warrior who sees the horror of the coming war between vampires and humans and refuses to accept it, who changed allegiance and now kills to ensure the continued existence of the Council. Who takes life with pleasure, without fear or care, feeding on his victims, feasting on them. Every kill justified and in service of the greater good. He wants me to trust him. To lie. I haven't found a reason for it; he presents no evidence to explain it when our minds touch, and so I have to decide and fast.
I breathe in a ragged breath. "He's guilty."
Finally, the guard pries Julien's fingers away from mine and I step back, tripping into Ed who rushes in to help me. I almost collapse as my own senses rush back to fill the gap when Julien and I part minds. Overwhelmed, I bend over, head between my knees, on the verge of passing out. Ed sits me down and then strikes Julien across the face with so much force that I can hear bone breaking.
"Son of a fucking bitch," he shouts and bends over at the waist, rubbing his knuckles, which are stained with blood. "I forgot how indestructible you bloodsuckers are."
Julien turns his face back, and I notice there's blood on his lips. "Is that your blood or mine?" He licks the corners of his mouth. "Oh, it's yours," he says and smiles. "Thanks for the snack."
Ed makes a fist again. "I'm going to enjoy pulling the plug on you, you traitorous sonofabitch. You had us all sucked in. What a expert liar you are."
"My pleasure, but really," Julien says and the menace in his voice sends a chill down my spine, "you're being too kind."
I pick up my notebook and pen from where they fell, my hands still shaking as I try to grasp what I've just done. I've broken my oath of office within moments of taking it. I've lied about Julien's innocence – at his request, but it's still a lie. I search his face for something, but he won't look at me. His eyes are fixed on Ed.
"The truth is," Julien says, his voice mocking. "You were too accepting of what I said. You wanted to crack the case so badly you ignored those little red flags, that nagging doubt you felt at me being so willing to help in Michel's place."
"Let that be a lesson to you," Ed says and points to me. "It takes a while to become a battle-hardened skeptic. Just remember to keep your guard up. Guys like him," he says and gestures towards Julien, "are adept at assessing a mortal's weaknesses and then exploiting them to get what they want. Pure psychopaths."
I nod, pretending to agree with him, but I know that Julien isn't what Ed imagines. At least, I hope that's the case.
Ed stands beside me
"You always were a bit thick," Julien says and smiles. "Good enough for a grunt and for police work but you're obviously way over your head. No match for an eight-hundred year old vampire."
At that, Ed grabs the switch from the guard's hand and depresses the button. Julien laughs when he sees what Ed's planning, but soon his face contorts into a grimace and his body arches backwards as if he's in terrible pain.
"Is that necessary?" I say, the pain on Julien’s face making me cringe.
"Don't worry," Ed said, his voice dripping with disgust. "There's not enough silver in it to destroy him. Let's go," Ed said, taking my arm, leading me out of the room. "You don't need to watch this."
I can't help but feel sick at this game he's playing with Ed. He has to look guilty and is inciting Ed’s wrath on purpose.
"What'll happen to him?"
"I'll let my guys practice aggressive interrogation techniques on him, you know, just for the experience. Then, when he recovers, you'll have to question him again. Detail at least one kill so we can put him away. You need to document one kill, how he did it, where he did it, and lead us to some physical evidence we can use. It shouldn't take more than a few moments direct contact."
We go upstairs to the SCU offices and I sit on the chair across from Ed's desk, glad for the rest. Strapped into the old electric chair, the silver IV attached to his arm, he looks so vulnerable. I wonder what he was like before he had been turned. A warrior – that much I know from the manuscript, but before even that, he was a priest like Michel. Loyal to his father who died fighting a war against the Church, his mortality taken from him.
Ed glances at the clock. "It's almost dawn. We'll keep him busy for a few hours, soften him up for you later. Why don't you go home and get some shuteye? You better go back to your own place. I don't want you staying at Julien's warehouse any longer. I'll put 24/7 surveillance on you starting now. Obviously, Julien wasn't on our side so I don't trust any of his men. Report back here at dusk."
A driver takes me to my apartment. He points out the unmarked car stationed outside my building to check on everyone coming and going. I go upstairs and after I feed the cats and check my email, I creep under the covers and sleep like the dead.
Chapter 12
“Love does not dominate: it cultivates.”
Goethe
I SPEND THE DAY IN A BROKEN SLEEP, waking up and turning over and over in my bed, getting up during the middle of the day to check outside where I see an unmarked sedan still on the street, the man inside smoking, a newspaper opened in his hand.
I have few of my things at my apartment – they're all at Julien's warehouse and so I have to find something from my really old clothes.
My world is now completely upside-down. Michel's gone for good. Julien is posing as a traitor and I'm no longer in protective custody. I have a stake in my coat pocket and that's about the only protection I have that I feel I can count on. I wonder if it would kill Soren, if he were to come after me.
