Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1)

Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1) Page 28

“Someone’s been tailing you? Why haven’t you said anything?” Ryan interrupted. Both men stared at her.

“I haven’t seen anyone. I smelled wolf, but it might be a coincidence.”

Ryan looked at Andreas. “Do you believe that?”

“Not for a moment. These wolves are aggressive.”

“Hey, I can handle the tail.” Ari wished she’d never brought it up. “Let’s get back to the point. If we keep the details of our investigation among the three of us, there shouldn’t be another leak. If there is, then we start pointing fingers. In the meantime, we declare a truce. How about it?”

No one spoke. When she looked at Andreas, he shrugged.

“Ryan?”

He scowled but said, “I’ll go along.”

“Good. So let’s talk about what happened to Gordon. He heard the name Pavlov. Isn’t that out of a science book? Experiments on dogs, not rats.”

“Conditional reflex,” Andreas said. “Pavlov was studying the reactions to stimuli.”

Well, that was kind of specific information. Ari wondered if it was book learning or firsthand knowledge. The vampire had been around a long time. Someday, when he was in a better mood, she intended to ask him things like that.

“Yeah, I remember. And you’re right, Ari. It wasn’t rats. When the dogs heard the food dish, they got excited,” Ryan added. “Or something like that.”

“Close enough,” Andreas said. “His work eventually resulted in attempts to control the responses, such as the aversion therapy used in some addiction treatment.”

“Are we talking mind control?” Ari asked.

“Aw, don’t do this to me,” Ryan protested. “First voodoo, now mind control?”

“Might not be so far off.” Andreas steepled his fingers. “Experimentation of some kind would fit the facts. Unless the Pavlov reference was just a crude form of ridicule.”

“It’s got to be significant. Who throws around the name of some guy from a high school biology class unless it’s important?” She turned to Andreas. “Has conditioning ever been turned into full mind control?”

“With humans? Limited. Brainwashing, like in certain cults. To my knowledge, never with vampires.” Andreas shook his head. “It is almost inconceivable.”

“Wish we knew what drugs they used,” Ryan said. “The CS techs didn’t find drugs at the house, but I could have them look again.”

“Not necessary.” Andreas drew an insulated packet out of his leather jacket pocket and handed it to Ryan. “The sample was extracted before we gave Gordon new blood. Whatever was in his system should be in here. I added…a special preservative and kept it cool. But the fluid still has a short shelf life.”

Ryan opened the packet wide enough, and Ari saw the small vial of blood inside. “I’ll run it by the night lab. Put a rush on it. We should have results by tomorrow.” His voice held a note of grudging approval.

“I believe it is the altered Fantasy or a similar drug,” Andreas continued. “Gordon was more expansive when he was not under pressure. He described images, impressions really, that sounded like hallucinations. I am concerned the wolves are trying to alter or at least have a temporary effect on the vampiric neurological system.”

“But why?” Ryan asked.

Andreas shrugged. “Any number of things, I suppose. Control could be one of them. Perhaps a biologist or Otherworld lab tech could hazard a better guess.”

“Good idea. I’ll talk with the OFR lab. But whatever they’re doing, it hasn’t gone well,” Ari said. “Unless death or violence was the goal. Their hostages were a mess. Gordon’s recovering, but what about Marcus? He was nearly mummified.”

“Yes, decaying,” Andreas said. “It is the same process as any dying vampire, except in painfully slow motion. Without sufficient blood, the vampire body loses its fluids, shrivels, mummifies, and without intervention, turns to dust.”

“My God,” Ryan said. “How could anyone sit by and watch that happening?”

Ari didn’t have an answer. Considering parts of history, like the Nazi death camps, this wasn’t the first time a similar question had been asked. It was still unanswerable.

Ryan ran a hand through his hair again. “Here’s the deal, Andreas. Ari thinks we need you on this investigation. I’m going to trust her judgment. Don’t have to tell you I have my doubts, but no one should be treated the way your friends were treated. If we work together, maybe we can stop these guys.”

Andreas looked at him from hooded eyes. He nodded. “Agreed.”

Ari watched the simple exchange. Some sort of understanding had passed between the two men, something she hoped she could build on. She stood and stretched cramped muscles. They’d been talking a long time.

“So what next?” she asked. “It’s hard to anticipate what they’ll do if we don’t know what they want. Can we put all the pieces together? What’s their end game?”

Ryan drummed his fingers on the table. “Drugs and money are a long-standing combination. But I can’t imagine how that ties in with kidnapping and mind control. Are they drug dealers or mad scientists?”

“Perhaps they are both,” Andreas suggested. “With one side supporting the other.”

“Explain.” Ryan looked interested.

“Let me see if I can.” Andreas cracked a smile. “I was thinking out loud. What if the original Fantasy is all about money? And they use that money to fund the experiments on the altered drug? With an ultimate goal of obtaining total control over a vampire.”

“And the violent incidents were bad side effects,” Ari said, drawing the logical conclusion.

Andreas stood and strode across the room. “That would make Olde Town’s vampires the guinea pigs. The lab rats.”

“Until my visit to Molyneux forced him into scaling down his experiments to two,” Ari said, not looking at Andreas. Damn, she didn’t want to carry around the guilt for what happened to Marcus and Gordon.

“Aren’t we getting carried away? This is all kind of far-out theory. And it still doesn’t tell us why someone picked Riverdale. Or why somebody would go to such efforts to control a vampire.” Ryan stopped in exasperation.

Andreas and Ari exchanged a look. If you could program a vampire to do your bidding, take control of his supernatural powers, the potential for misusing the magic was tremendous. And if you could program several…well, Ari didn’t even want to go there.

Ryan caught their silent exchange, thought about it. His next words were subdued. “Yeah, I guess the control stuff is obvious. Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

“The formula’s not perfected yet,” Ari reminded them. “We’ve still got time to stop this. I just don’t know how. Or where to start.”

She was relieved when her phone rang, delaying the inevitable admissions from her partners that they didn’t know either.

Ari smiled when she heard Brando’s voice. “I thought you were out of town. How was the trip?”

“It was good. Got home this evening, and Claris told me about your drug case. I might be able to help.”

“Really? What do you know about Fantasy?” Ari shrugged as Ryan and Andreas turned to look at her. Stunned, she listened while Brando presented a huge break in the case. Five minutes later, she relayed the information to her partners.

“Brando heard this wizard, Daniel Dubrey, speak at a conference. Um, I think he said three or four years ago. Anyway, Dubrey’s work was based on combining chemicals and magic. He was doing lab trials on medicines enhanced by spells and potions. Brando says it’s really specialized stuff. One of a kind. And here’s the kicker—he lives near Toronto, Canada.” She gave a double thumbs-up. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

Ryan broke into a grin. “So there’s our starting point. Whether he’s the manufacturer or not, he’s got to know something. You should go to Canada. Talk to this wizard, and while you’re there, see if Molyneux’s been around.”

“You think Molyneux is in Canada?” Andreas asked.

“We know he is. Sorry, forgot you hadn’t heard.” Ryan told him about the border crossing. “Don’t ask me how they missed our BOLO.” He turned back to Ari. “While you follow the drug trail, we’ll keep searching for the pack.”

“Nobody wants to come along?” she asked.

“My department won’t approve a trip without consulting the local PD in Toronto. And that takes time.” He glanced at Andreas. “Unless I’m mistaken, his travel is defined by the sun. You can slip in and out without anyone being the wiser. Besides, this wizard is more likely to talk with a witch than either of us.”

“You are the logical choice,” Andreas said. “It might be a good idea for you to be out of town for a day or two to confuse whoever has been tailing you. While there, don’t approach Molyneux on your own. He will be among friends. The same goes for Sebastian, the vampire prince. He is a brutal dictator and no friend of Prince Daron.”

Ari brought her chin up. She hated it when someone told her what to do. Or even worse, what she couldn’t do. “You keep forgetting I can take care of myself.”

“So you’ve said before. But it would be better to stay out of situations where you might have to prove it.”

When Ryan didn’t come to her defense, Ari realized her partners had found something else they agreed on. “Hey, no ganging up. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I’ll visit Dubrey, and if I have any time left, I’ll see what the locals say about Molyneux and Sheila. But I’m not going after the wolf or some evil prince. Satisfied? ’Cause that’s the best you’re going to get.”

With Ryan’s threats of dire consequences ringing in her ears if she wasn’t back the next evening, they parted near the steps of the Magic Hall. Wondering if her elusive tail was watching, Ari headed for the airport.