Page 44 of Bound by Vengeance
“No vampire has ever come back from being aSavage?”
“None of us have ever heard of it happening.The descent into Savagery is a slippery slope that can’t be climbedagain.”
“Then where is he getting people for theSavages to kill?”
Was Vicky onto something in her undergroundworld? Was she even now walking into a nest of Savages down there?Removing his phone from his pocket, he called her, but she didn’tpick up. He forced himself to remain calm as he put his phoneaway.
“We dealt Joseph a large blow when wedestroyed the Savages in the warehouse Kadence led us to,” he saidto distract himself from his concern over Vicky.
“We assumed Joseph had more establishmentslike the warehouse because it’s better to be prepared for theworst. And a possibly large number of growing Savages out therewould be the worst, but that place might have been his onlyestablishment.”
“So, it’s possible we haven’t encounteredmany Savages recently because he’s working to reestablish hisarmy.”
“Yes. Where Joseph’s getting those peopleand vampires from would be a good question to answer,” Lucien said.“There’s been a small increase in missing vampires, but many vampsup and leave somewhere without any notice to anyone. I believeJoseph is responsible for at least some of the missing, but notall.”
“What ifJosephhas moved? What ifhe’s gone somewhere else to locate recruits?”
“We’ve debated this amongst ourselves,”Lucien admitted. “But Joseph is so hell-bent on destroying Ronan,none of us see him going far.”
When Nathan turned his attention back to thecrowd, the familiar sense of time slowing came over him. Thefrenzied dancing of the humans eased until it became more like theywere performing the robot.
All her life, Kadence had alwaysknownthings. Her transition into a vampire had unlockedsome deeper power within her laid dormant until Ronan’s bloodaltered her hunter DNA and her knowing had become flashes ofpremonitions, or things guiding her places.
All his life, there were times when theworld around him slowed. Times when everything became distinct in away it hadn’t been only seconds before. The odd phenomena hadhelped him eliminate his opponents in more than a few battles.
He’d told no one about his odd episodes; hedidn’t know how to explain it, but as the dancers slowed, a new andfar more disturbing idea occurred to him.
“What if the Savages reallyaren’tkilling as much as they normally would?” he asked as the fast-pacedrhythm of the world resumed.
“There’snoway Joseph could curbtheir appetites. I’m a purebred vampire, I know how difficult it isto control mine, and the Savages have embraced the darkness. Theywon’t be denied,” Lucien insisted.
“But what if he’s given them the promise ofsomethingbiggerto keep them under control?”
“Like what?”
Nathan ran a hand through his hair as hecontemplated this. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted.
“I don’t think there’s anything big enoughto supplant a Savage’s bloodlust.”
“But what if there is, and Joseph is usingit to control them?”
“Then we’re probably fucked.”
Pulling out his phone, Nathan texted Vicky.It didn’t matter that they owed each other nothing, he had to knowshe was okay.
Like Lucien, he didn’t know what Josephcould offer a Savage to keep their murderous impulses leashed, buthe couldn’t shake the feeling something big loomed on the horizon.Something that would shatter all their worlds.
• • •
Vicky followed Duncan through the tunnels,alternating her beam from the ground to the gloom ahead. He’d takenher on such a twisted route that she had no idea where they were.Judging by the increasing number of tree roots poking through thewalls, they’d moved closer to the surface.
“This group is smaller,” Duncan said. “It’sonly a few young women who had enough of being abused on thestreets. They go above to get supplies, but they’re mostlysubterranean.”
Vicky flashed her light overhead when aripple of movement caught her attention. A moth fluttered againstthe concrete before diving toward her beam.
Definitely closer to the surface.
“It’s Duncan!” he suddenly called out. “I’mcoming closer!”
