Free Death Deceives: Book Three (Mortis Vampire Series) by J.C. Diem Page B

spokesperson had very short auburn hair, teeth that overlapped in the front and a prominent nose. The other five were even less appealing than she was.
    “ What is your name?” Gregor asked her.
    “Marie,” she said and swivelled to face him.
    “Do you know where your master was taking you, Marie?” Gregor asked.
    Marie shook her head. “Something strange happened to Antony a few nights ago. When he came back from a hunt, he was a different man. He’d also captured a slave.” She nodded towards the human. He stood by the side of the road, staring vacantly at nothing. The death of his hypnotizer hadn’t snapped him out of his daze. I figured it would wear off in its own good time.
    “ Your master was leading you to your doom,” Geordie said solemnly.
    “What do you mean?” asked one of the male captives.
    “Have you heard of the legend of the First of our kind?” Gregor asked the group. He received six nods.
    “What do legends have to do with what happened to Antony?” the female asked. She lowered her hands and crossed her arms over her chest. The rest hesitated and dropped their hands as well. Standing in the light of the van, I’d been watching their shadows and none were acting independently so far. Some shadows could keep up the pretence for a while but they always gave themselves away in the end.
    “ He isn’t a legend,” Luc said and drew the group’s attention. “The First is very real and he has created an army of grey creatures.”
    Incredulous, the female gaped at Luc. “ You are speaking of the monsters attacking Russia? How is this possible?”
    Headlights lit up the road and we paused until the car swished past. “It is a long story,” Gregor said, gaining their attention again. “The short version is; our Father’s blood was tainted and the taint has carried to each and every vampire ever created. Eventually, our blood transforms our shadows into sentient beings. Once this happens, they have the ability to possess us. Your master was possessed and was answering the call the First has sent out. You were being taken to his lair where you would all be turned into what our friend here calls ‘imps’.”
    At Gregor’s nod in my direction, six heads swivelled around to view me. “Who are you?” Marie asked.
    “I am Mortis,” I replied. I expected screaming, panic and attempts to flee and was surprised when the female started giggling.
    “Mortis isn’t real,” she told me when she recovered herself. “She’s just a fairy tale told to fledglings to make them obey the rules.”
    Clearly, a demonstration would be required. Putting my swords back in the sheaths that crisscrossed my back, I held my hands up with the palms facing the small group. This time, the predicted screams issued forth. One of the vamps managed to slip between Geordie and me and tried to run. I let him get fifty feet away before chasing after him.
    Putting on a burst of speed, I leaped into the air. Wind blew my hair back and rushed through my ears then I landed in front of the fleeing lackey and turned to face him. Shocked that I’d managed to get ahead of him, he skidded to a stop and landed on his backside. His feet scrambled for purchase but I didn’t give him the chance to scurry away again.
    Grabbing him by the ankle, I dragged him back to the group and dropped him in their midst.
    “Are you going to kill us?” Marie asked in a small, frightened voice.
    “Only if anyone makes me chase them again ,” I said darkly.
    “None of us are going to kill you,” Gregor soothed them while frowning at me. “We were trying to prevent any unpossessed kin from being taken to the First’s lair.”
    “W hat are you going to do with us?” asked one of the others.
    Gregor looked momentarily dumbfounded. None of us had thought that far ahead. Privately, I’d expected the entire group to have been taken over by their shadows. What the hell do we do with them now? Taking them with us wasn’t an option. Not if we