The Den of Shadows Quartet - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [121]
“This is a copy of a painting made back in 1690,” their host explained as she placed the first print on the table. “I don’t suppose either of you recognizes it?”
The painting focused on an intimidating building, the outside walls of which were painted black with an abstract design in red. The grounds maintained the pattern with burgundy-leafed ground cover that had been carefully planted around black stone. A path of white slate wound sinuously up to the door, which was flanked by lushly growing roses. The blooms, which had been carefully depicted by the artist, were pure black.
The painting looked familiar, but Turquoise could not place it.
Jillian Red launched into a history lesson. “In the early sixteen hundreds two sisters, vampires both, founded an empire they called Midnight. This building was the heart, the symbol so to speak, of their power. They were less than five hundred years old, young compared to most of their kind, but they both were ruthless, and more organized than their elders; their determination allowed them to take control swiftly.”
Jillian glanced at the white stucco ceiling, and continued, “Jeshickah, the younger of the two sisters, was the absolute ruler of Midnight. For a few hundred years, she controlled nearly all the vampires, the shape-shifters, and the witches. As for the humans … they were little more than cattle. If a human was sold into Midnight, that was the end.”
“You keep saying Midnight was,” Turquoise thought aloud, anxious to get to the present and learn what the job was. She was not a fan of history, and she already knew more about the vampiric slave trade than she cared to. “What is it now?”
“I’ll get there,” Jillian chastised. “In the early eighteen hundreds, Midnight was destroyed by a group of older, stronger vampires. The building was leveled, and every living creature caught inside was killed. Of course the vampires survived, but with the property and slaves lost, the empire lost its heart, and the rival power was able to take control.
“The new leaders banned the slave trade — they did not approve of caged meat — but as you two have witnessed, the laws have slackened over time. The original vampires of Midnight were able to pick up the trade again.” Jillian sighed. “That might have been bad enough, but …” She reached into her briefcase again, and this time pulled out a glossy eight-by-ten photograph.
“This was sent to me a few days ago.”
The photo did not need to be explained. Someone had rebuilt Midnight.
“The trade has been pulled together by a new master, one of the trainers from the original Midnight. My employer, who wishes to remain anonymous, was unconcerned about Midnight’s revival until recently, when the original founder returned. With the groundwork already in place, Jeshickah is expressing an interest in taking charge again. My employer would like that threat eliminated.
“The offer for Jeshickah’s death is a half million to each of you, with that much again to split as you wish if the job is done within the next week. I am only the agent, and have only been contacted via writing, so I can offer little more information than I have given you. Are you interested?”
“Why hire two Bruja to go after one leech? It’s a waste of money” Ravyn asked, the question both practical and suspicious. An anonymous employer could mean many things. It could be he had no intention of paying, or more likely it meant that he feared his target.
“My employer has a wish to have this job over quickly,” Jillian answered. “Hiring two of you is insurance. If one of you does not succeed, the other might.”
In other words, they were expendable, and Jillian’s anonymous employer wanted to have a backup in case one of them got killed. Someone either didn’t have much faith in Bruja abilities, or had more information than Turquoise and Ravyn were receiving.
“Sounds fun,” Ravyn acknowledged, scraping away a speck of blood she had just noticed on one of her burgundy nails. “With