Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
“When we were hunting Sergey and the other master vampires, the newly made vampires could detect us when they were together,” Ferro told the other hunters. “It has something to do with the psychics being close to one another and their gifts specifically blending together. However it works, they can detect our presence, even when we’re unseen. Elisabeta thinks it will occur the same way in the club if the males are close to one another, although they will not know the reason we are there.”
“You have their names, right?” Josef asked.
“Naturally. They applied for the job, interviewed and got it,” Maksim said.
Josef put his laptop on the table and opened it. “This is clean, you don’t have to worry. If you have the names, I can check them against the ones in the database of the Morrison Center. They tried to wipe some of them, but I have all the original data and receive it as it comes in. I might not get all of them, but we can get most of them. That should cut down on a big part of the search.”
Ferro liked the kid more and more. He was also beginning to think there was more to technology than he’d given it credit for.
Tariq pulled up his laptop. “This isn’t clean,” he said. “But I’ve got our secret weapon, Elisabeta, if she doesn’t mind once more helping me out, so I can send these names to you.”
“Just lend me your laptop,” Josef objected. “I can do the work on yours and then wipe it, and if Elisabeta doesn’t mind, she can work on me instead. She’s getting used to the mess inside my brain.” He sent Elisabeta a small smile.
Elisabeta smiled back at him and nodded her head. “There’s no mess, Josef.”
Ferro was shocked that she spoke aloud in the room filled with so many others. Apparently she shocked all of them as well, but no one reacted or brought attention to the fact.
Tariq pushed his laptop across the table to Josef and they all watched as his fingers flashed across the keyboard. Ferro hadn’t thought it possible for anyone to type that fast.
Ferro, what is it that the Malinovs wanted more than anything else? Elisabeta asked.
Ferro frowned. What was it the Malinovs wanted? They were reputed to have had many fiery debates all night and close to the dawn with the De La Cruz brothers, Astors, their cousins and so many others before they turned vampire. They were always riling against the prince and discussing how he didn’t deserve to rule the Carpathian people. They felt they could do a better job. That others could do a better job. They claimed the Dubrinsky lineage had a defect that ran deep and would bring disaster to the Carpathians if they didn’t do something soon. They achieved quite a following with their persuasive arguments and fiery rhetoric.
Power? To rule? They wanted to become the prince. To have what the Dubrinskys had.
Elisabeta was silent. They could all hear the keys clicking as Josef sat hunched in his chair, his fingers flying madly over the keyboard. Ferro had eyes only for his lifemate as her mind turned over the puzzle set before her.
Ferro suddenly felt the stillness in the other ancients so connected to him—to Elisabeta. They were aware she was putting the pieces together. Like Ferro, they knew how astute she was.
The prince of the Carpathian people cannot want power, Ferro. He has to be selfless. He has to be a vessel for his people.
That is true, Elisabeta, but not everyone understands that concept. Many rulers, in fact most rulers, are just the opposite. They do not serve their people; they expect their people to serve them.
Again, there was silence. This time, Ferro realized even Tariq was aware, through Gary, that Elisabeta was considering what the Malinov brothers were after. He didn’t want to influence her thinking one way or the other, and he hoped the others wouldn’t make the mistake of asking her questions. Elisabeta had her own way of getting to the right conclusions. She had spent centuries observing the brothers, more time than anyone else. They hadn’t known she was there, so they hadn’t been guarded.
Was Tariq born around the same time? Or was he older than them?
It was nearly impossible to tell any Carpathian’s age. Tariq was born after we were, but before the Malinov brothers. He knew them. He knew Vlad’s oldest son. He knew many of the Carpathian people. He came to the monastery once.
Again, Elisabeta fell silent. This time, Tariq flicked a quick glance at Gary, and Ferro knew immediately the two men were communicating telepathically and no one else was privy to what they were saying, not even Maksim, Tariq’s partner. Another prickle of unease slid down Ferro’s spine, and this one was fierce. Often it was that first acting on the awareness of danger that saved one’s life.