Chapter 35

Michael and the admiral had taken only enough time to change into the fatigues they kept in the trunk of the car before beginning their hunt. It hadn't been hard to know where to go.

Unlike Gabrielle's attempt to track Vanessa's scent before, her sulfuric scent had given them direction. That and the admiral's close proximity that had told him where she'd been spending her time.

Her scent was nearly drowning in creosote, a bush common to southern California and he had smelled something else. While he had been working on her, he took a piece of her clothing where he had smelled something he didn't recognize. It was organic matter, that he knew. The what was less defined.

While the others drove back to the estate, Black and Michael made their way over to the storage facility on the far edge of the base. It was a nondescript building most people believed housed excess paper goods. No one was ever seen going in or out carrying anything more than a briefcase. What they didn't know was that the lower level, one not marked on the elevator, led to a laboratory accessible only with the highest of clearances.

Black swiped his card in the elevator and down they went. When the doors opened to release them into the white and silver expanse of sterility, Michael saw a handful of white lab coats milling around their stations. Some were at microscopes, others tinkering on metal tables. A supervisor approached.

The nametag on the white coat said Harris. His glasses were rimless, leaving an unobstructed view of his dark eyes. Dark hair, closely shorn, stood up a fraction higher on the top than the sides. The muscles under the white shirt, tie, and lab coat marked him as a strong man. As he drew closer to Black, his confident exterior began to crumble.

Nervously, Harris cleared his throat. "Sir. May I help you, Sir?" He paused before each "Sir" and his tongue flicked across his lips. A tic maybe.

The admiral handed the strip of Vanessa's black turtleneck to Michael. He knew his place. Obediently, he took point.

"Harris, we need this fabric run. The admiral needs an analysis on organic matter. Specifically to pinpoint location if that is possible."

The lab technician held out his clipboard, Michael placed the fabric on it. The tongue flicked over his lips again. Definitely a tic. "Your timeline, Sir?"

"Yesterday."

If Harris considered that a challenge he showed no sign. He gave a brief nod. "Sirs," he said then retreated, briskly making his way to his station equipped with a microscope, centrifuge and several other items he hoped would give them their answer quickly.

Black's phone appeared in his hand. "I trust you can handle things from here, Michael." "Yes, Sir."

He watched the admiral dial and glide in his creepy manner off into a quiet corner. Michael wished he could wipe the smug grin from those thin pale lips. It would have been a great pleasure to smash his fist into that grim white face.

Ever since the admiral brought him into the fold after the War, Michael had been forced to serve under him. He hadn't known what he was doing when he'd agreed to serve under Black. Michael had assumed he meant in the same unit and thought the blood exchange was a vampire version of enlistment. Kind of gross, but what wasn't once he had to survive on blood? If he had known what allowing that bite would do to the rest of his eternity he never would have agreed. That blood exchange had firmly and finally bound him to the admiral for the remainder of time.

Michael settled himself to wait. Being a vampire brought with it certain special abilities. People usually fantasized about the strength, hypersensitivity, of course the near indestructibility; few people realized the advantage of the patience an endless life afforded. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back and every so often remembered to breathe in case anyone happened to be watching.

In a holding pattern, he turned his thoughts inward to the things foremost in his mind. His unit. And Becca. He thought about units past. How many had they had lost over the nearly sixty years he had been in, commanding for most of those? This batch was a good mix.

Ryan was strong both mentally and physically. And despite his joviality, he wasn't a fool. Gabrielle more than balanced out his optimism with her astounding cynicism. She saw scandal and deceit around every corner, whether it was political or personal. He knew she watched the admiral and him closer than was necessary. It had even crossed his mind more than once she was informing on their doings to someone higher up in the chain of command.

And now they had Becca. Adding a human, preternatural or not had been a bad idea. He'd told Black as much years before when they'd tried it the last time. Michael's responsibility was to his unit, he wanted to keep them alive and a human was a liability, he'd said. Becca was different. From that first night when she'd challenged Black for him, taking the risk for him, he had felt his long dormant heart stir. After their test run when she'd taken out the three shifters, she'd proven she was worthy of a shot. The

entirety of the unit had slowly been changing their minds about her, not the least surprising of which was Gabrielle.

The fact that the ice queen was being social and even concerned for a human was beyond his understanding. Even if he didn't understand her motives, the outcome was groundbreaking. Becca was accepted by the unit, protected by the unit, and helpful to the unit. Those details were not lost on the admiral.

Initially Michael wanted to keep her with him to best protect her humanly frail body. Quickly it had become for more personal reasons. He could no longer argue that he wasn't in love with her. Yet he couldn't believe he had confessed himself to her. And now Admiral Black knew. Hell, he'd seen it all over Michael's face when she'd been taken. There was no way of keeping him from using the knowledge to control her too. Sometimes, even when Black knew something, he made Michael tell him if for no other reason than to drive home the point, "I own you."

The continued unraveling of her capabilities was going to be a huge area of interest to Black as well as a sticking point for Michael. She was getting stronger every day in her ability. Michael had to wonder if it was the blood he'd given her; he'd never given his blood to a human before her. How it effected one like her was beyond him and he definitely wouldn't want to ask Black about it. Concern for what Black might use it for overshadowed his personal reservations about her dual residence in his head. Until he understood it better, it was safer for them both if Black didn't use him as the middleman to manipulate her. "Stay out" as he'd told her, was the safest play for everyone. Michael wasn't sure he could live with himself if Black used him to bring her to harm.

"Sir." Harris' voice broke into his internal meditation and Michael realized he hadn't been breathing. Within a blink, Michael reanimated. Unnerved, Harris clicked his pen and tapped it on his clipboard.

Michael's countenance, darkly reflecting his thoughts, brightened to avoid frightening the man. "What did you find Harris?"

Harris flicked his tongue over his lips again before indicating with a head gesture that Michael should follow. Michael didn't have to speak or gesture to Black, once Michael started moving, the admiral started moving. In an instant he stood beside Michael and proceeded to follow Harris to his station.

Harris was visibly excited. "This sample had some unique plant matter in it from an especially rare plant, the Chocolate Lily." He pointed at the microscope on the table and Michael leaned in to examine the slide.

On it he saw some darker bits of powder that must have been pollen by the smell. It wasn't entirely sweet. Like most flowers, it held a hint of musk as well. He let the thought swirl in his head and watched the admiral react. It was the smell that had caught

his attention during his interrogation. Michael felt the impulse from Black and followed it.

"How rare is this flower? Where can it be found?" he asked, knowing that was exactly what the admiral wanted him to ask. They'd done this so many times by now it was automatic.

"It's extremely rare except for a place not far from here. Are you familiar with the Chocolate Mountains?" he asked, continuing when neither of the men answered his question. "Well," he waved his pen, "it's from the mountains."

Michael hid his disappointment well. "Can you isolate it any more than 'in the Chocolate Mountains'?" The name called to mind a children's board game.

Tongue flick. "Yes Sir, I can." Harris pulled out a lower drawer on his table, popping it up to waist level. On it was a laptop. Long fingers typed incredibly fast, navigating through the internet search to stop at an aerial photo.

Further study revealed it to be the Chocolate Mountains and surrounding area.

One long finger pointed to the right side of the monitor. "Do you see here where the mountains begin and the Salton Sea area is here?" He pointed to the western edge of the mountains.

"Yes."

"That is where the soil changes. The soil content on the plateau where the inland sea lies is high in salt, but here, where it begins to move up into the mountains, there's a drastic reduction in content." He saw Michael beginning to interrupt and held up his finger. "The soil on the fabric you brought in has a mixture that tells me it spent some time right in here. I would say there's about a two mile radius where it could have picked up that particular mixture."

Michael glanced back at Admiral Black. He gave one brief nod. They were done.

"Thank you, Harris." Michael slid the fabric sample from the table and put it in his pocket before the technician saw his hand move.

Outside the building, they made their way to the vehicle Admiral Black had been driving, a black Mercedes. There was no point in him trying to blend in with a fleet vehicle and he liked his comfort. The trunk contained all of the firepower they would need to stop a creature like themselves. A demon was something else entirely. Michael had only heard stories about them. He'd never actually met one much less tried to fight one.

"Sir, have you ever dealt with demons before?" he asked once they were inside the vehicle and safe from uninitiated ears.

Black drove fast, speeding through the gears; he drove stick as he wanted to control every detail of the vehicle. Not surprising given his penchant for controlling everything else within his reach.

"I have. They are not an easy opponent, nor are all of them alike. We cannot know what we will be faced with when we find it," Black spoke to the windshield.

"What type did you encounter, Sir."

"Water demons. They were more common in Andalucia before the war with France. There were fountains in every town and many of those were used as hiding places for demons.

We were a relatively new arm of the military, what with the country being fresh from its own revolution, but the team was a good one. They tried several different methods but found the most effective to be pouring lamp oil into the fountains and setting them on fire. The fire purified the water and burned the demons as they tried to escape. But I cannot imagine we could destroy a fire demon in the same manner, we will need to do the opposite and extinguish his fire. Let us hope it isn't that one, though the sulfur has me concerned." The pale-haired head tipped to point forward. "As does the lack of water out here."

Michael watched the scenery whip past at over one hundred miles per hour. They were leaving the well-irrigated paradise that was San Diego and entering the desert that rode beside it. The sun would have been debilitating were it not for the special tinting the admiral had installed in his windows. As it was, they were comfortable.

"Will she hold it against you when you have to kill her brother?" "Sir?" Michael had been expecting this.

"He is preternatural, we both sensed it. I would assume we cannot completely erase his mind, though he is more easily manipulated than his sister. He knows not only of our kind but also more about our operations than I care to consider." His tone was airy, absentmindedly running through a "have-to" list.

"Sir, I've given this considerable thought and I believe Kyle would be a useful resource for us."

Black twisted his neck to stare unblinking black orbs at him.

"At present we have no reliable technologically savvy assets who can compare to him. You saw how he operated in there. His knowledge is unparalleled. I would guarantee his ability encompasses more than just computers."

"And how can you guarantee his loyalty?" The taunt in his voice confirmed for Michael that Black already knew where he was going and he was going to make him say it. Control freak.

To let the words implying he would be responsible for harm to Becca come out of his mouth nearly caused Michael physical pain and to utter them would save her brother. "Because Sir, if he were to betray us we have his sister."

Black smiled. Michael hated his smile.

"Then that only leaves us with her partner. Unfortunate that one had to come at such an inopportune time."

He couldn't save them both. Michael only had so much pull with the admiral and at present he had exhausted that. He would try to help Danny later. Maybe he would be able to earn some leeway by proving himself useful. If Danny would cooperate, he thought grimly. "Yes Sir."

They arrived at the base of the mountain, stopping the car at an overlook at the edge of the Salton Sea. There were no other cars in sight. The admiral handed Michael a pair of binoculars from his center console.

It was no use arguing. Michael opened the door and stepped out into the baking heat. As much as he tried to prepare himself, it was never enough. The heat of the direct sun was excruciating. In minutes he felt his body beginning to fade. It would decompose with too much heat. There was only so far one could push a corpse, animated or not. With not much time to mess around, Michael moved quickly.

He was using the researcher's search radius to define his parameters. Another sniff of the piece of cloth gave him more specific criteria upon which to base his search. At his fourth vantage point, partway up the side of the hill, he spied a small cabin. It was barely visible so well did the faded wood blend with the reddish brown sand around it. Once he saw it, he couldn't lose sight of it. There was no movement or signs of life from within. Creosote and the strange musky sweet smell of chocolate lilies wafted in the late afternoon breeze. Without a doubt he knew this was what they were looking for.

Using his full speed, Michael made it back to the Mercedes and blissful shade. The admiral had a thermos ready for him. They always traveled well stocked in this part of the country. There was no telling when one might get caught in the heat and need something. After he drank his fill of nourishment, something strange niggled at Michael's awareness. He shrugged it off and reported his findings.

"I've found a cabin on the hillside. It appears to be abandoned." Black smiled again. "I believe we have found our demon."