"Blood Pool" - читать интересную книгу автора (Donna B. Ella)

Chapter Four

Nightmares interrupted Raven’s sleep that night.

If at all possible, his face appeared whiter than the down feathers of a swan. He possessed all the grace of one, too. That’s where the similarities ended, though. Raven had never encountered such power, with a single exception.

Her father.

One would have to know her father to appreciate the significance of what she was thinking. To Raven and her mother, he’d been gentle and kind, but to others, he could be-and often was-ruthless. He was powerful and used to getting his own way, but he had an old world charm about him that enabled him to win many disputes easily. When Raven’s father wanted to, he could be the most charismatic man on earth.

Of course, he could kill his adversaries, but there was no sense of accomplishment then. He savored the hunt, as did all Lamai worth their salt. It was part of being born a Lamai, whether by choice or not. But time had worn away some of the rough edges of Raven’s sire’s personality.

The man in her dream, however, was not her father.

“Soon I will get you, ma beauté. I am close, very close. The time has come…”

Raven writhed in bed, moaning from the nightmares that had been beleaguering her all night.

“I have someone I wish for you to meet. You will be so surprised,” the monster in her dream continued in a singsong voice.

Then this foreign figure diminished and familiar ones immediately replaced him: her mother, Bo, her father, Frank and Solaris. All were telling her something, but the voices sounded like electronic voice phenomena or static on a television set. The images faded, and only the voices remained.

Before she knew it, she was squinting into the morning sun that blazed through her windows. She’d had her worst night’s rest in a while, and it promised to be a grueling day, beginning at the hospital and ending with a meeting at Town Hall.

After an exhausting day at the lab spent going over reams of paperwork, Raven arrived at Frank’s office. The sun settled where low clouds met the horizon. She walked straight in and began recounting the meeting with Julianna at The Bed and Brew.

“Frank, I met with Jules the other night and she advised me to speak with you. I need to know what’s going on.” This time, she took the cognac he offered and settled into the wingback chair opposite him.

He looked uncomfortable and resigned, though she couldn’t discern why.

“You know my threshold for weird is quite vast, but there are things happening that push the boundaries even for me. The man in my autopsy room, Derrick, showed up in my car. My car. And he was going through the transformation.” Raven took a deep breath, watching Frank’s reaction.

Frank emptied his glass, poured another drink for himself and sighed.

Raven continued, hoping to get Frank to open up. “The guy was freaked out and asking a lot of questions, said I’m in trouble. Warned me about some evil that’s around and mentioned a Courtier de Sang. He wanted to know about my father. If you know anything, Frank, you’ve got to fill me in. Why would he want to know about my father?”

Frank hitched a shoulder and rubbed a hand across his chin before he spoke. “Your mother loved you and Tobias with all her heart. You know that, don’t you?”

She nodded. “My father made sure I remembered my mother and how much she loved me. We celebrated her birthday, which I thought odd, but my father presumably had his reasons. And he still keeps her pictures in his wallet and all over his homes.”

Frank smirked. “Yes, all half-dozen of them-or is it seven homes now? Anyway, Tobias, although he’s a complete bastard now, was a different…being…when you were younger and your mother was still alive.”

Raven shivered at the thought of her mother dying so young. “I know her death…did something to him.” She pulled her legs up and tucked her skirt around them, then curled them underneath her.

Frank rocked his recliner back and forth, like the ticking of a clock. “I’ve known your parents for a long time. I grew up with your momma. We all lived in New Orleans at one point. She was a spitfire. I was quiet as a kid, but your mother spoke her mind, no matter what other people thought. The two of us were inseparable as kids, and even into our teenage years.” His face had started to glow with emotion, raw and intense, while he traveled back in time. “I sort of looked after her. Especially when she would talk about the neighbors’ dead relatives who came to her with messages for them. I got into many fights defending your mother’s…sanity.” He laughed to himself.

“You were born down there, in the Garden District. Ah-such a beautiful place to live. I’m thinking of moving back when my term as mayor comes to an end. Your father…” Frank shook his head. “Tobias is an enigma for sure. I’ve seen the maniacal side of him, and then there’s the giving side. Your mother gets most of the credit for that. Did you know how much he’s given to the people of New Orleans since Katrina? All in memory of your mother, and surreptitiously.” He appeared lost in the past. His eyes held a faraway gaze.

He rubbed his hand across his forehead. “Your mom-Nicolette-was gorgeous. A Creole beauty with eyes as green as emeralds, and long, curly hair. She had legs that seemed to go on forever. She could have been a model.”

Raven observed the musings of her friend and mentor carefully. “Sounds like you were in love with her, Frank.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Of course I was-since I was six years old, and she was toddling around with her mop of golden curls and enchanting smile,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Her momma, your grandma, was from Averton, in France -a beautiful blonde with the same eyes as your momma. And your grandfather,” Frank laughed and slapped his knee, “he was a force to be reckoned with in the Vodou community. In any community, really. Your grandma had him under control, though.”

He sighed. “Then when we got older, I went off to college. Tulane University. Your mother didn’t want to continue with school. She stayed home. I tell you, Raven, there weren’t too many men who met your mother and didn’t fall in love with her. I teased her and said it was magick, that she put a spell on all the men she met.” He became quiet, and his demeanor changed. The muscles in his face were drawn. His lips were set in a tight line.

“Nicki only had eyes for your father, though. She politely turned Southern men away…except there was that one man who unfortunately did not take no for an answer. Laroque. You were only about a year old at the time, maybe two. Your father was in and out of your lives a lot back then. He asked me to watch over you while he was gone, and since I went to school locally, I agreed. Your father wanted to take you both with him, but your mother was hell-bent on staying home to look after her aging parents. He went out to make his fortune-or at least to keep an eye on it, I suppose. I didn’t question your father. He trusted me, and I wouldn’t betray that trust, or Nicki’s.” He poured more cognac into his glass.

“After your grandparents passed, your father bought a shop in the French Quarter, and your mother ran it. They supplied the local Vodou community with herbs, oils and candles, and she gave readings. That’s where she met Philippe Laroque. He practiced Vodou and Santaria, and he was a powerful bokur.” He lowered his voice every time he said Laroque. Like a curse, it seemed that just speaking the name held a power all its own. Frank reclined in his chair, closing his eyes for a moment. “Is a powerful bokur. He’s a charming guy. Handsome, I suppose. He’s had many women, but the one he couldn’t have was the one he wanted most.”

“My mother.”

“Your mother.” He sat forward, leaning toward Raven. “Laroque had just returned from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Ph.D. in epidemiology and microbiology. He knew who your father was and wouldn’t dare let anyone know his true feelings for Nicki. But she was very psychic, and I guess a woman’s intuition knows these things. His magick was powerful, and he used it to shield his growing love for Nicolette.” He stared silently at his hands. Finally, he spoke again, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Raven.

“One day, at Mardi Gras, he went to see your mother. He’d been drinking and…and things got out of hand. He raped Nicki. Your mother was never the same after that.” Frank seemed lost in thought, and he rubbed his forehead as if dreading what he was about to say. “She wanted to kill herself. I-I had to talk her out of it…many times. I never understood why she took the blame. But, nine and a half months later, your mother gave birth to another daughter-Laroque’s child.”

The glass Raven had been holding slipped from her hand and fell to the floor. “She had another child? I have a sister? Where is she?”

He walked over to his desk and reached into the drawer. He handed Raven an old, worn photo.

The girl was a miniature version of Raven’s mother. “Your father proved his love for your mother, I must admit. He never blamed her-not that he would-and tried his best to find Laroque, to exact revenge. Your father told Nicki they would raise the little girl as his own, but I guess it proved to be too much for your momma. She told me she couldn’t look at her younger daughter without thinking of the way she’d been conceived. Your mother couldn’t look at herself, either. Soon after Jade turned two, your mother was dead. The coroner ruled it a suicide.” Frank gazed out the window.

To past memories that plague his mind? Raven wondered.

Frank got up from his seat behind the desk and sat next to Raven, taking her hand in his. “Your mother got very depressed after the child’s birth. We tried to keep the baby a secret. My sister raised the little girl. I met Deidre when Jade turned three years old, and we married a year later. Laroque was off doing some sort of research in San Francisco. Or so the story went, but eventually, Laroque found out about her. Jade was about four years old then. He took her, and he’s raised her ever since.

“After Laroque took Jade, Tobias moved up here with you. I stayed, finished law school. Three years after that, I had the opportunity to join a prestigious law firm in Boston, so we moved. Jade was long gone by then, so…there was no reason to stay.” Frank took the photo and carefully placed it back in his desk drawer.

“Jade,” Raven whispered. A million questions raced through her mind. She plucked one. “How did Laroque get Jade? And how do you even know it was Laroque who took her?”

Frank sighed. “We assumed, at the time, he took her from school. She left in the morning and never returned home in the afternoon.”

Raven couldn’t hide the shock in her voice. “That’s it? Did the police look for her? How do you even know she’s still alive?”

“Of course we had the police involved-the New Orleans PD at first, then Tobias’s friends on the Seacrest police force, even some of his friends with the FBI. Your father’s reach is vast, but Laroque managed to stay under the radar. I believed Laroque took Jade to Haiti, and I was proven correct when he eventually sent a message letting me know she was well. Every year a picture was sent,” Frank said, frowning. “Your father did the best he could, Raven.”

“Hmm…yeah. I was raised by nannies until you moved to the island,” she responded bitterly.

“Tobias wanted to keep you girls together, but it wasn’t a realistic plan. I raised you for the most part, when your father was away. You were with the nannies for only a short period.” He smiled. “Just remember, you’re the product of the great love your parents had for each other. That, in and of itself, is very powerful. I’ve seen both sides of Tobias, and I prefer to stay on his good one.” Frank’s face turned emotionless.

She felt disconnected. It was a great deal of information to absorb. “I think his good side died with my mother.” Raven picked up her glass and handed it to Frank.

“I think you may be right,” he agreed.

“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me about my sister?”

“I can only speculate. I think your father wanted to forget that part of his life and telling you would only stir up unwanted memories.”

“But if he wanted to keep us together, as you say, why wouldn’t he tell me?”

Frank arched a brow. “You’ll have to ask him about that.” He shifted in his seat before he revealed another fact. “There’s one more thing, my dear…about the dreams I’ve been having of your mother. She’s telling me that Courtier de Sang is Philippe Laroque.”

“And?”

“That’s all she keeps repeating, that and to tell her family she loves them.” A tear fell down the face of the man Raven had come to think of as her foster father. “Talk to Solaris, Raven.”

Her day was apparently still far from over.

A primal, rhythmic cadence echoed off the walls of Blood Pool. Bodies gyrated in a dancing frenzy to the thump of the beating drums. Strobe lights blared in red and gold as the dancers swirled seductively around the dance floor. A couple simulated sex, the male exposing fangs as if ready to sink them into the neck of his partner. Raven’s antennae went up as she wondered whether this odd behavior could have something to do with the strange happenings on the island.

The woman began to laugh as she playfully slapped her lover. She yelled over the music, “Solaris will never allow us back in the club if you bite me here. What if someone slips on the blood and she gets sued?”

At least they were being practical, Raven thought as she weaved her way to the bar, almost expecting to see Derrick standing there.

Solaris was dressed all in white. Her hazel eyes, starkly contrasting her ebony skin, cautiously scanned Raven’s aura. Raven could feel Sol’s psychic probes. Cuing Raven to follow, both women entered Solaris’s private office. It was a bit quieter back there thanks to the soundproof walls Solaris had installed.

“What a day,” Raven moaned, running her hand through her hair. She admired the wooden carvings hanging on either side of a large window behind Solaris’s desk. “These are new. I like them. Thailand?”

Solaris crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you’re not here to chat about my new art pieces, Raven, and no, they’re from Nigeria. Frank has been in touch with me. He’s very worried for your safety. I am, too. Sit.”

Raven kicked off her ankle boots and sat cross-legged on Solaris’s plush leather sofa. “What’s going on? This has been one freakin’ weird day. I find out today that I have a sister, as part of Frank’s ‘true confession’ about what happened to my mother. She had…what? Postpartum depression? Did they even call it that back then? Did she experience this after I was born?” She took a deep, cleansing breath, trying to assimilate all that she learned. “Plus, I’m having strange dreams. The man from the other night, Derrick, who allegedly died here, showed up in my car. He seemed very much alive and going through DNA changes from human to…I’m not sure what, but I’d venture to guess a vampire.”

“Seems you had a very enlightening day.”

“Shit, did you know I have a sister?”

Solaris took some powder out of a silk pouch and sprinkled its contents onto a charcoal briquette. Myrrh and frankincense simmered in the brazier. She took her time, her movements deliberate. Raven took the opportunity to calm down, watching the smoke swirl upward.

“Yes, but only recently was I able to receive that information, which was patchy at best. Frank filled in the blanks. More importantly, did Frank tell you what I confided to him? Those powerful sorcerers are close. I don’t believe they’re here on Mirabelle, but on Hannah’s Vineyard instead. More will die.” She paused. “Raven, there’s a deep hatred connected to Tobias.”

“Not surprising.”

A violent crash sounded, and broken glass flew into the room. Raven jumped up, the adrenaline rush activating her Lamai instincts. With long-reaching fingers, the intruder grabbed for Solaris, but missed his target. Raven lunged toward the trespasser, clutching his shoulders and flinging him back onto the couch. Silver-blue eyes stared back at her.

She muttered, “Derrick.”

As he struggled to reach Solaris, Raven could see his fangs had fully formed and he craved blood. Breaking free from her grip, he attempted to grab Solaris. He jumped and landed on the heavy desk, knocking over the brazier. Solaris prayed in the corner to her loa for protection.

With one flip of her wrist, Raven pinned him down. Her knee dug into his chest, her fangs unsheathed and ready to kill.

“No…” he pleaded. “It’s what he wants… Don’t!”

In an instant, an engraved silver blade sliced through the air and lodged in Derrick’s aorta. Enough blood spurted from the wound to indicate he’d already feasted tonight.

Solaris wiped the unknown victim’s blood from her face with the hem of her skirt.

“Are you all right?” Raven asked her trembling friend as she knelt next to Derrick, feeling for a pulse.

“Is he d-dead this time?” she asked.

“Yes. I’d say the combination of the magick infused into your blade and the silver itself killed him. He wasn’t that strong-yet.”

The door of Solaris’s office broke off its hinges as a massive, grimacing beast with golden eyes pounced on the desk, claws digging into the fine wood. The wolf howled into the night. His black fur shimmered in the lamp light. He began to tear at the corpse, ready to rip into its chest, but soon caught the scent of death in the air. In a glimmer, he changed to his mortal form and tossed the body aside like garbage.

“Are you hurt?” Bo asked, taking Raven in his arms, searching for any wounds she might have suffered. “Solaris, are you okay?”

Solaris paced. “I’m fine, Bo, but I’m afraid I’ve killed this man.”

“You had no choice.” Raven walked over to Solaris and gave her a reassuring hug.

“I suppose I’ll have to close early tonight,” she said. Picking up her phone, she hit the speed dial marked Victor, her head of security and a Lamai. “Clear the place, Vic, we’ve had an incident… That’s all right, you acted accordingly. You stayed at your post. I’m fine, but I need to fire Mick. He should have been in here.”

Bo surveyed the room. “Mick? Is he new?”

“Yes, he’s been here for a few weeks and is supposed to be at my side at the slightest hint of trouble. He’s Lamai, and,” she glanced at Raven, “well, I don’t have to tell you about your ability to hear sounds beyond a human’s capacity.”

Raven knew this event had taken its toll on Sol. She was a healer, and taking a life went against all her beliefs, even if that life was no longer human and she was acting in self-defense.

Raven nodded, looking sadly at Derrick’s body. He didn’t deserve this. “You should get cleaned up, Sol. I’ll call the office and get the body out of here and down to the morgue.”

“Damn! I can’t remember the last time I was attacked-by anything. I’ll be upstairs if you need me,” she said.

“Maybe you need to rework your charms around the place,” Bo remarked.

Solaris shot him a foul look.

He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just suggesting,” he said.

Raven called out to her friend. “Hey, Sol-thanks.”

The priestess ignored Bo. “Don’t mention it.” She walked to the door, looked back and shook her head. “Mick!” she called as she stood by her office door.

“Yes ma’am,” a low voice grumbled.

“Get your things, you’re no longer needed here. Hey! What’s that crap under your nose? I told you, no drugs!” Solaris reprimanded.

“Miss Sol, I don’t do drugs-you had me tested a week ago. I-I don’t know what happened.” The young Lamai tried to explain his way out of this predicament as he wiped the white powder off his upper lip.

“I have zero tolerance here. I need to be able to depend on my people. Sorry, Mick,” she said as she headed for the stairs. “Get another blood test, and if you come up clean, I’ll give you a better reference. Otherwise, don’t list me as your last employer.”

Raven stared at Bo, unable to fathom what had just happened. “Derrick stopped me from killing him. He said, ‘That’s what he wants.’ This vendetta of his is connected to my father. Solaris was in the middle of explaining what she found out psychically when Derrick came crashing through the window. Courtier wanted me to kill Derrick-but why?”

Bo held her tightly. “I don’t know. But we’ll find out.”

“I have a sister,” Raven said, searching his eyes, hoping to find some sanity there.

Bo softly kissed her. “I know, sweetheart. I saw my grandfather this afternoon. He told me. According to him things are not as they appear to be. You and I must be careful.”

“I’m always the last to know,” Raven complained as she leaned into his muscular form.

Flashing lights blinked on and off, lighting up the night as the officers arrived at the scene. A lone partier stood on the corner, wistfully playing his harmonica. More and more, the influences of the south were making their way onto Mirabelle.

What else was in the winds? It had to be powerful magick, without a doubt, and men who knew how to wield it.

Gary Davis rushed in, his hair spiked with what looked like super bionic-strength hair gel. He’d apparently been out partying, though he was still on call. Raven’s young assistant almost plowed right into her.

“Whoa… I’ve got it, Davis. You can go,” Raven said.

His face lost all color as he recognized the victim. “I-it’s the guy-the missing body! H-how did he get here? What the hell happened? Y-you’re full of blood, Dr. Strigoi. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, Gary, really. Go. I’ve got this.” She walked over to her co-worker and put her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll explain this to you someday soon. For now, go back to your date and don’t worry about me.”

He looked at one of the officers, shaking his head. “She never calls me by my first name. Shit, this must be bad.”

The officer shrugged, winked at Bo and began snapping pictures of the crime scene. Gary left the scene appearing more puzzled than when he walked in. Joe Menendez soon arrived, and he and Bo worked in concert, processing the scene and questioning any potential witnesses.

After they were finished, Bo dropped Raven off at her office, where she spent the next six hours performing an autopsy on the man she knew only as Derrick.

In a normal human body, the internal organs are of certain sizes and weights. The heart of an ordinary adult male, for example, would weigh about ten and one-half ounces. The liver, the largest internal organ, can weigh up to three pounds.

The organs in a vampire’s body are smaller, though, allowing room for the growth of arteries and veins. The exception is the heart, which has to pump the extra blood. It always doubles in size.

Always-no exception.

Raven and other Lamai born of different magickal or human beings had the same sized organs as a human, with only slightly larger hearts. Their cellular make-up changed due to the combination of human and magickal DNA.

Derrick’s organs were much smaller than that of a typical male of his age and size, yet they were normal for a vampire. Nonetheless, his heart remained within the ten-and-a-half-ounce range. It had not grown in size, as his arteries and veins had. Once the DNA had transformed, his organs would follow suit. His DNA changed, but his heart did not. Something was not right.

“That’s odd,” Raven remarked to herself, looking through the oculars of the electron microscope.

“What is?” Tracy asked as she entered with the two samples of frozen red blood cells Raven had asked her to retrieve, along with the written report of Derrick’s blood work-up. What was left of his blood, which wasn’t much, filled a small vial.

“His red cells have an odd feature, a spaghetti-like shape, which may explain why his heart didn’t enlarge.” Raven took the reports from Tracy and skimmed them. She noted high titers of anti-factor VIII autoantibodies. “He would have bled out at the slightest cut.”

Tracy appeared as perplexed as Raven. “A Lamai who had a bleeding disorder? Now that’s a new one for the journals. Was it pre-existing?”

Raven scratched her head in frustration. “It wouldn’t matter. Once he went through the transformation, he wouldn’t be affected by any immunodeficiency conditions he may have suffered from previously. This has to be purposeful.”

Tracy sighed. “You’re losing me.” Tracy sat next to her, reading the report.

“Either his blood was altered, or whoever turned Derrick somehow made it so that his factor VIII remained elevated… or altered.” Raven shook her head in horror, her eyes widening. She recognized this odd feature in the blood cells, but couldn’t remember where she’d seen it before.

“Whoever is responsible has to have a medical background,” Tracy added, looking at the sample sitting on the scope. “This is the sample of your blood?”

“Yes, taken last year. I also have a sample of Victor’s, Solaris’s head of security, and a fresh sample of my own blood.”

“There’s a severe cellular modification to the victim’s platelets-different from what would be expected in the average change from human to Lamai, if you can cite an average. Both your platelets and Victor’s are dissimilar to those of the victim.” Tracy spun around in her chair, facing Raven. “Have you ever encountered anything like this before?”

Raven looked up at her friend. “No. Never.”

“It looks like the cells have been modified. There was a change beginning to take place in the DNA and RNA. Something was brewing in his blood. Where would we possibly start testing?” Tracy asked. She seemed to be trying to figure out how much blood remained, and if they could even perform the proper testing.

Raven crossed her arms over her chest and exhaled a deep, frustrated sigh. “We can’t rule out molecular changes on the quantum level.” Raven watched for her red-haired assistant’s reaction.

“Magick,” they said in chorus.

“Or something more sinister,” Raven whispered.