Chapter Ten
Al mal paso darle prisa.
That would have been her mother's advice. It roughly translated into if you are forced to take a bad step do it now so you won't have to suffer the knowledge of what you were about to do.
Luna was her mother's daughter so she finished overriding the security cameras to automatically purge their footage in about twenty minutes. This gave her enough time to get to the holding cells and inject him with the liquid silver nitrate. It was the first time she'd done it this way. She'd killed Jessica by changing the steel hypodermic needle to be used for her lumbar puncture to a silver one. Luna hadn't wanted to destroy the young vampire but she'd remembered that they'd met before and it was possible that she knew of her association with Alcide. The packmaster had ordered her not to take any chances so Jessica had to go.
And now another vampire was to meet the same fate.
It was the ideal time. At two in the morning the lab was deserted except for the security detail and a couple of techs that were passed out in the upstairs lounge waiting for it to be five so that they could check on some tissue samples that they had growing in a petri dish.
Luna knew that she was running out of time. She'd received a secured email outlining the procedure for Northman's transfer to the Oklahoma lab. It was to take place in the afternoon so that left only tonight to carry out her orders. Unlike Jessica who had been a risk to Luna's cover, Northman was a risk to the entire operation itself because he'd provided them with the means to garner even more power. What the wolves and every other shifter knew was that just like the Fellowship had gone after the vampires it was a given that they would be the next target. The Fellowship needed to be destroyed and the best way to do it was from the inside.
Earlier she stowed the capped syringe inside Northman's cell. It had been easy because Sookie had gone home early and she'd been asked to look in on the vampires until the next shift could get there. The holding cell pavillion would be deserted now. She checked the camera's and saw that the other security guard was out back enjoying his third cigarette of the night. It was now or never.
She shed her clothes and after a moment of intense concentration she shifted into a small green moth that flew into the air vents. Luna's excellent sense of direction followed her through all her forms and a few minutes later she emerged from the vent located in the ceiling of the vampire's cell. The insect landed delicately in the tiled floor and in less than a breath Luna stood in front of the bound vampire.
The nude woman slid her hand under the gurney and retrieved the silver-filled syringe. She uncapped it and leaned over the sleeping man to get access to the aorta. A werewolf who was also a physician had told her that this was the best way to guarantee death a quick untraceable death.
She'd just located it and was about to plunge the needle when in a flash his eyes opened and a hand came up to grab her by the neck. In her panic she dropped the syringe which rolled off the gurney and crashed into the floor. The vampire pulled her to him and she felt his fangs pierce her jugular cruelly.
Eric drank and drank as Luna struggled from under his grip. The powerful shifter blood coursed its way through his veins burning all traces of the blood derivative that they'd kept him on. Pain from the silver cored bonds lessened considerably and he pulled his right hand free from its shackle.
Luna's eyesight dimmed and her body felt numb. Defeated, she stopped struggling and the vampire lifted her off the floor altogether. Her last thought was of how disappointed Alcide would be when he learned of her failure. She should have told him how much he meant to her—how he was her everything.
Eric waited until her heart had slowed down to a sluggish beat before he withdrew his fangs. Sated with her blood he let her drop onto the floor unceremoniously. Then he turned his attention to the band holding his neck in place. A quick but forceful tug and it tore. He made quick work of the rest of his restraints until he was finally free of the infernal gurney that had kept him a prisoner for years.
He lifted Luna's unconscious body and pressed her limp hand on the black scanner that hung on the wall. The apparatus beeped and the green light indicated that it had located her prints amidst its databank. The glass slid open and he stepped out half-dragging and half carrying the shifter. Intuition told him that he had but a few minutes to leave the building so he rushed out of the corridor. If he'd more time he would have considered freeing his fellow inmates if only to create a distraction but he wouldn't risk wasting the precious seconds. Luna's handprint opened every sealed door until at last he was in the lobby.
The space was brightly lit but empty. Eric's sharp eyes scanned the area. He had assumed that the door would be guarded even this late but he'd apparently been wrong. Without losing his grip on the woman, he pressed the handicapped button and the double doors parted.
The night was cool and Eric took a deep, unneeded breath of air that was not stale with the smell of chemicals and disinfectant. Before him lay the institute's well-lit private lot with its state-of-the-art security cameras zooming right and left. There were a few cars parked but he did not need a vehicle to get around. Briefly, he considered leaving Luna slumped by the entrance but on the day she'd taken him to see Newlin he'd caught the smell of pack in her clothes. If he was to find Pam he might require assistance from Alcide's wolves even if the latter had ordered Luna to end his life. He would bring the little shifter with him and use her to ensure Alcide's compliance.
He balanced her in his arms and took to the sky. His destination determined by an instinct stronger than himself. Eric's blood called to him and he always followed his blood.
XxXxXx
Sookie was restless. She'd been tossing and turning in her bed and no glass of warm soothed her enough to get some sleep. At two she'd given up and gone to sit in the kitchen table nursing a cup of chamomile tea.
It wasn't like she did not know what was troubling her. In fact her source of anxiety had a name and a face. He was in her mind and her blood literally.
For the millionth time Sookie wished her Gran would be there to guide her. Her own heart was leading her to dangerous path and she could not continue to trust it.
He'd lied to her and all her instincts told her that she should forget him but her blood called out to him and she knew that without a doubt that she would do anything in her power to be with him even in it meant asking for a transfer to the Oklahoma City lab.
A loud sound startled her and her tea sloshed on the table. She set the cup down and tied her pink robe around her body. From the hallway closet door she retrieved her shotgun and carefully stepped towards the front door.
TBC.
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