A couple weeks back, during a live reading and chat in the Caged Readers Group on Facebook, the members expressed an interest in my returning to the world of Vampires. My recent and future scheduled projects have been predominantly Fantasy based wit...
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Reluctant of her decision, Renee reached out to the envelope she hoped would have the most promise. As she lifted the note from the device, her stomach lurched as the other two went up in flames. She crossed the room to sit on the bed. There had to be something of value in there or she would scream. She couldn't think about the others and about the messages she'd lost, there was no point in it.
The name stared back at her, taunting her with the secret inside. Brigytah. What did she have to hide? More importantly, how did he know her secret? Could she really trust the information provided? All the speculation in the world wouldn't make her feel any surer about her decision. Noemi and Calista were both out of the picture, Brigytah was her main threat and she had to be dealt with. Any information that could help her get inside the woman's mind would be more than welcomed.
Inside the envelope was a black piece of paper with silver lettering. The secret that she wanted desperately to know. Written in code, three single words that together meant absolutely nothing to her. She yelled a curse to the man who had given it to her. Nothing was ever simple. She flipped the paper over and on the back, a time was written. A glance at the clock told her that she had exactly four hours, four hours to figure out Brigytah's secret or someone would suffer for it. She flipped the paper back over to read the words again.
Cypress. Claret. House.
"What the hell?" Renee fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling for just a moment. She needed just one second for her mind to rest. She blocked out everything in her mind, everything that had been weighing on her since she'd gotten the stupid assignment that sent her to Chicago. Just as her mind was beginning to settle, her phone rang, and she sighed.
She reached for the device she wished she could toss out the window and answered it.
"Renee, I've just received some troubling news about your transfer, please explain yourself." Nicole, the Head of the Texas house spoke with her usual annoyed tone and Renee set up.
"Have you now? I wonder from who." Renee rolled her eyes because she knew exactly who had sent the message to the woman who was still technically her boss until Xavia was back on her feet.
"The temporary Head says you've been making trouble. Now, I find that hard to believe because the Renee I know, as difficult as she may be, isn't a trouble maker. Tell me whats going on."
Before Renee could speak his voice came over the line, Donovan, "Be careful what you share." It was a simple warning, but she understood what he meant.
"Just clashing personalities is all, nothing to worry about," she lied because she didn't want the shit that was happening in Chicago to find its way back to Nicole.
"I hope that is all, you're such a good agent, I would hate to have to reprimand you." Nicole sucked her teeth. By reprimand she meant dry out. That was the ultimate punishment for agents who misbehaved. They were bled out and left in a box for years. The process was agony because the vampire wouldn't die, just suffer a terrible hunger until their sentencing was up.
