Read Dead Certain (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 3) for Free Online Page B

ran errands for a while,
mainly getting food for the people that ate it, until shortly after noon. That
was when Marissa called back in. Crying. That it couldn’t be real didn’t
matter, because it was so heartrending.
    After a moment, she gave them the
orders from the Council herself.
    “He, and his people, refuse to
bend on this matter. They have declared themselves against us, openly. There is
no room now, to allow them to survive. You must do what is needed.”
    Bey looked sad, but nodded, his
pale face blank.
    “I understand. We shall leave at
once, and take care of this. I’m so sorry, Marissa.”
    “As am I.”
    Eve was too, even if she didn’t
really feel it yet. That would come, she didn’t doubt.
    It always did, when the guilt
hit.

Chapter three
     
    Bey sighed and clasped his hands
in front of him, then waited for a bit, looking toward the wall behind Eve. The
phone in Lenore’s office had been hung up, and the woman herself just sat
there, watching her maker, with a blank expression. Her dress was an odd golden
colored thing with little flowers on it, that had faded over the years. It was
a bit drab really, compared to the bright and sparkling shop out front.
    The ancient Vampire looked at his
child, sitting there and then made a face that told them he was legitimately
sad. That he wanted them to think that anyway. It worked pretty well.
    “It is always sad when a parent
must lose a child. We shall leave as soon as arrangements for travel are made.
Eve, you will go as my second in this, acting for the Council. We have three
weeks, how do you propose we do this?” He seemed pretty relaxed about it all,
once he started looking at her, as if just asking for academic reasons.
    She thought about it, then asked
to borrow the atlas that Lenore kept on the shelf behind her desk. It was
probably a bit out of date, and well worn, but the land masses would still be
about the same, so it should work.
    “Well, I get that I could
ask Zack, and it would probably work, but that might be a little bit too
expected right now. Over the last few years a lot of things have been handled
that way. Other than that, showing up at an established Node, where we can be
ambushed and almost certainly would be… They’ll be what, watching the ports?”
She glanced at the others, but they both just held still, not answering her
question. Even if it was a pretty good one, she thought. “That means we should
avoid those, too. If we go through Alaska, here, and then get a small boat, we
should be able to come in from the east, and run in? It’s a lot more work than
the other options, but might let us go in tomorrow, during the day.” If she didn’t die from the pain, and boredom. What was being proposed was an
insanely long and hard trip. Even her finger, just rubbing on the page felt
like it was taking too long.
    She drew the line to Russia with
her finger, and Bey took a deep breath.
    “It is a decent idea. A hard one,
as well. I would like to arrive in four days however, having business to attend
to before we leave.”
    She thought for a second, and shrugged.
    “Um, Nikki and I could leave now,
and wait for you, around here? On the border of Russia. Then we can all go in,
the morning you arrive?”
    Bey Blinked at her, and instead
of asking what she was getting at, nodded. Then he clapped, three times.
    “Very well. I have the location
of a trusted Vampire that will house you, until I arrive. Will you be leaving
from here directly?”
    She nodded, not knowing if her
Russian would really be up to it. That part was a bit scary, but when in doubt
they could always just come back.
    Her mentor didn’t wait, going to
find his other daughter first. She was at the far end of the mall, but when
they got there, he simply bowed to the red haired punk girl.
    “Nicole! You have been given a
duty, by the Council. You, young Eve, and myself shall go and put down the
budding rebellion in Russia. Eve knows your travel plans. You two will go