CHAPTER 1
“There is something else you need to know about the job,” said the Priest, his red robes flowing behind him as he paced round the room. Connor sighed and slumped forwards over the table, resting his head on his arms.
“What?” he muttered. The Priest glanced at him and scowled. Connor could feel the contempt and disapproval emanating from him in waves and ignored it.
“The vampires’ need for sexual congress is as strong in them as their need for human blood. Their appetites are extreme, their practices.... unholy.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “I’m aware of that,” he said.
The Priest hissed in annoyance. “I am warning you they will try to seduce you,” he spat. “Do not underestimate them, boy. It is a weapon they use to great effect. It is also their greatest weakness.”
“Weakness? They don’t have weaknesses.” Connor laughed, relishing the anger he was inspiring.
“Yes, weakness,” the priest continued. “They are immortal. But not infallible. There are some vampires who are just too strong to be taken down by force, but a lover can get closer than an assassin, and that is how we will destroy them.”
“Oh,” said Connor, absently rubbing the small scar on his chest where they had inserted the implant.
The Priest watched him for a moment. “It’s a tracking device,” he said, not bothering to hide his pleasure at the thought. “So we can monitor your progress,” he added. “Consider it an insurance policy.”
Connor glared at him, insolently. “And if I don’t do as you ask?”
The Priest smiled at him. “One job. That’s all we ask. One small favour. You’ve shown yourself to be effective, if unorthodox in your methods in navigating the underworld. Most humans are not tolerated by the paranormals, let alone close to them. What we ask is not beyond you. Locate and seduce The First. Nothing more, nothing less. We will know when you’ve succeeded. We will do the rest. Without him, the others will fall. He is the root of all evil in their world. You will be a hero. And when you return, we will give you something in return.”
Connor ran his fingers through his hair and was glad the Priest couldn’t read his mind.
“Why should I?” he asked, shaking his head. “You drag me off the street, then insist I go on some crazy suicide mission for you.”
The Priest paused for a moment, the reached inside his robes and pulled out a battered photograph and slid it across the table.
Connor glanced down, forcing himself not to react, even as his stomach threatened to empty its contents.
“We can help you, Mr Chambers. You can’t run forever.”
Panic surged in him, threatening to rob him of his senses. How could they know, he thought to himself. What do they know?
“Your ‘defect’ is likely to be negligible,” the Priest continued. “However, it is still illegal not to have been registered and reconditioned. A disagreeable process, by all accounts... but we can offer you a new life. One without such... unpleasantness.
“We won’t even ask how you evaded detection. Or who helped you.”
Connor almost laughed. Help, he thought to himself bitterly. I wouldn’t call it that.
“Fine.” He sighed in defeat. “I’ll fuck the Boss Vamp for you.”
The Priest snarled at him.
