Chapter 38

'You do realize you only left me two days ago right?'

'Yes Jerry, I realize that,' I say with an exasperated sigh and small smile on my face.

'I knew you couldn't live without me, didn't I tell you?' Jerry's sarcastic voice tumbling out over the line.

'Yes Jerry, I can't live without you. I would shrivel and die from sheer joy.'

'Oooo... low blow.'

I chuckle and say, 'But besides that I need your marvelous tech savviness to help me play detective.'

'Well considering I'm dealing with an ancient relic of a woman like you who has no computer skills whatsoever, what can I do for you zombie girl?'

It was so strange how calm I felt talking to Jerry. My humanity had slipped back on and I felt free as I say, smiling and looking up at the ceiling of this ancient building, 'I need you to start looking at disappearences of at least three or more at a time, in a radius of thirty miles.'

'Is this just alocated to the USA?'

'Worldwide. Start with remote areas, as news is seldom, unless its big and won't be noticed by big news stations.'

'Ok, your asking a lot but I'll get it done.'

'Call me if you find something interesting.'

'Consider it done,' and just like that he was gone.

It felt like I was back at my penthouse, working at my desk, relying information to him, and tasks. How strange it was to slip back into something so easily. He was a good man, and considering everything that had happened, I was amazed by him. Putting my phone down, I think about what's to come next. With four lines of inquiry, it wouldn't be long before we had at least more than the bread crumb Dante had handed to us. His fear of this Silent Phantasm was palatable, and I knew I had reason to fear. His words to me keep haunting my mind as I looked down at the lines and lines of names in this ancient book, 'To seek him will be your undoing Natasha...you should stay here... safe... with me.'

His words always had a double meaning. There would be a price to pay for what I was doing and I figured it would be death. My undoing would be trying to follow these bread crumbs. But I had to do this, the Phantasm was after me as well, with a reason.

I could hear the murmur of Nick's voice from the rows of ancient books and scrolls but not see him. I wouldn't listen in, so I just lean back and close my eyes, thinking on it more. Dante had never said Nick's name, only the Dragon Prince. Could that lead me on my inquiry. From what Furlow had told me, the Dracul broke off from the Won many millennia ago. So long ago, in fact, that it was believed that vampires had originated from two seperate lands. Or so Furlow said. So could what Dante mean that instead of looking at the younger Royal Pureblood clans, I should be looking at the two older clans? His clues were so hard to figure. There was a price, a lining, and so much more. Dante had deep pockets, so to line his pockets nicely it meant a lot of gold and antiquities. He sold tridium and humans to the Phantasm, so there had to be a trail there. Dante was good at laundring money and sources, but there were only three spots to get Tridium in the world. However Jay said the Phantasma wasn't interested in Tridium. It left my head spinning.

The question of why the Phantasm needed Tridium was a real concern. I knew it was used as a drug to dull the vampires senses, but could the Phantasma have weaponized it to kill Purebloods. Just then Nick comes up and says, 'I gave Igor the first three names to research and follow the money in those families after the death of...'

He stopped talking when he noticed the frown on my face and asks, 'What is it?'

'Dante said he sold Tridium to the Phantasma. What if they have weaponized it?'

Nick just stares at me for a moment, stone still, his blue eyes slightly dulled as he thought. Then his eyes sharpen on my face, a twitch at his temple as he says, 'I'll need to speak with the Won on that, since they own two of the Tridium mines.'

Nodding I whisper, feeling as if we are suddenly being watched, 'If there has been a sudden surge in one of the mines we might be able to follow that trail back to the Phantasma as well.'

Now Nick had an evil grin on his face as he says, 'Nina, you have my full attention.'

...D...

Five days had past as Nick and I worked over the Alpha who had died with only a few hundred names to work with. It had narrowed down the search, but still it would be a long while before we had a possible name to search. No news had come from the Tridium mines, same output as normal, or so the Won said. Nick told me never to trust the Won, as they were greedy and wouldn't tell even if they were. As for Jerry, he had seen a few interesting disappearances but none sparked real interest to me, or gave me a feel to worry about.

As for the help of the Night Hunters, Nick had been blocked on all fronts whatever information they did find was not shared and it was to sheer frustration that Nick almost wanted to kill another Pureblood.

Suddenly Nick slams the Alpha book shut, which makes me jump. He had been so calm until then and I stare up at him with worry. Nothing in his manner, pheremones, or power had changed, but I could sense it and I ask softly, 'What's wrong?'

'This seems like a pointless exercise. We are being blocked on all corners except your little imp and I'm not satisfied with the result.'

'All we can do is finish this. If nothing comes of it, we move on to another form of inquiry.'

'Such as?' Nick asks, giving me a disgusted look.

'I don't know, but we have to close one thing before we can open another.'

'You told me yourself that you have picked apart everything that Dante said to you over the week and yet we are no closer to finding the answers.'

'It takes time...'

'We don't have,' Nick snarls, cutting me off.

Standing, he steps away from the table and I look down at the book he had been working on. We were so close to finishing the Alpha rank and then we would be more than seventy five percent done. There were few Pureblood, so it wouldn't take near the time this had. Sighing, I reply softly, 'I know time is short. In these few months you have made it clear that the Royal Clans are being decimated, but this is all we can do. The Silent Phantasma has had, probably, hundreds of years to plan this. We can't believe we will find them in so short a period. They will have covered their tracts well.'

Nick sighs and I understand his frustration. This felt like menal work for someone of so high a station, but I knew that only the best results came from those at the top working at the bottom.

Finally he sits back down, looks at me and says, 'Then we have finished the Alpha, on to the Purebloods I believe?'

Nodding he slides the books over and hands me the key. There was something very unnerving about this, he was a Pureblood handing over the records of his lineage to me a bitten clanless without even batting an eye. Everything about him exuded lethal power in very finite control, and yet he was handing over something so preciously important to him. Taking the key from him, our hands brush and that electric zing goes through me again as we both jerk away from each other. Without looking at him, even though I knew his eyes were boaring into me, I unlock the book. That single click felt like a door had suddenly slammed shut inside me, all humanity disappearing in an instant and cold precision dominated my being. However, just as quickly as it was there it was gone.

Nick stops me from opening the book as he says, 'Listen Nina, I appreciate all your help, but it seems that we are going down an endless rabbit hole with no ens in sight. I tols you I would give you two weeks and it has been two weeks. I think...Nina are you listening to me.'

I wasn't, in fact, I had opened the book and it had flopped to something very unnerving. Nick saw it too.