Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 62

Hi,

So, no matter if this is a battle of minds or wills, Anna is stuck in the middle of it. Will she fight her way out of Vladislav's hold on her? Find out in this chapter! I hope you like it :-)

Lara

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Chapter 62

Vladislav's expression didn't change. There was no flicker of motion in the vastness of his eyes, not even a small change in the atmosphere or a flare in the auratic setup around him. As if the presence of a magical artifact unknown to him could by no means be a considerable threat – even if Alexander himself was the one who might be carrying it.

"Let him keep it," Vladislav said, his eyes still on Alexander. "Whatever magical weapon he carries – it will do him no good. As a vampire Adorján does not have the ability to use it."

Helèna Bathoryn turned to Vladislav slowly, her frosty blue eyes void of emotion. Her mouth thinned and for a moment I thought she was going to argue, contest what he was saying.

"You are in my territory and in my city, without permission," Alexander said softly. "I want you to state your business, then go and take it elsewhere."

Vladislav cocked his head. "Is it your city?"

Time did another flip-switch-trick, as if I got stuck in one second while everybody else moved forward. Something changed. Another component had entered the dangerous mix-up in the street. The shadows parted like multiple folds of a big veil that had been drawn all over the place.

My senses sparked up in the endless maze of smoke-filled visions Vladislav had trapped me in. Vampires stepped out of shadows like silent, skillful hunters. At first I didn't recognize anyone. Then I saw Shinji, stepping forward, slowly closing the distance between him and Vladislav.

I caught another glimpse of motion. Fabrice stepped into the street with a small army of vamps behind him. His long black hair was tousled and looked dirty. His gaze was hollow, eyes like two endless holes of obsidian black. Not like him. No, not like him at all.

About thirty vamps were behind him, approaching silently and swiftly. Three faces in their crowd were familiar – vamps I'd seen on my two visits to Fabrice's lairs. They were probably all rogues, vampires that Alexander had pronounced anathema in the city. And I was pretty sure that, somehow, Vladislav had messed with them.

"Turning vampires that I pronounced anathema against me. I thought you were more resourceful than that, Vladislav," Alexander said.

The blue in his eyes was icy and seemingly hollow. The unreadable, blank face itself was proof enough. I had no idea what Alexander was planning, but whatever it was, he was doing his best to hide it from the outside world – most of all his maker.

"I have resources in more places than you think, Adorján," Vladislav said softly.

Five figures stepped forward and into the light. My eyes widened. I knew those vampires too.

Lloyd Thyler, Brian Grisston, Arnold Chester, Stig Muller and Juan Jervez. They undoubtedly were all coven leaders in Alexander's territory and presumably five of the most powerful vamps in New York.

Crap.

Five out of formerly seven coven leaders had run over to Vladislav. Leonhard Goshanger had been killed. That meant only one coven leader remained: Victor Crawford.