Free Taste of Torment by Suzanne Wright

“For one thing, it is imperative that this matter is dealt with immediately. Also, most of vampirekind is now on lockdown, intent on staying out of The Call’s reach. We would therefore have no witnesses, no celebration. And I very much doubt a Prelate would risk travelling here to perform the ceremony. I haven’t yet announced my intention to step down, so there will be no one to disappoint.”
    “I agree.” I frowned as something suddenly struck me. “One thing, though. Is it really possible to remain out of The Call’s reach by hiding? I mean, Quentin’s nest was underground and yet it struck them. Is it possible that it tainted someone before them? That the tainted vampire then took it to the nest with him?”
    “Only Quentin can answer that question. None of the other High Masters know where he is. It’s possible that he did in fact die in the tunnels.”
    I hoped not, or it meant that his answers had died with him. If there were more tainted vampires out there, it was important that we found and contained them.
    There was a brief knock, and then Luther entered the room. “Please tell me you have good news.”
    Sebastian followed Luther inside. “Yes, I need something to give me hope.”
    Antonio filled them both in on our conversation with Harry Covington.
    Luther looked slightly optimistic by the end of it. “Let us pray that this woman can help us.”
    “We have to find her first.” And convince her to help. If I had to resort to Jared’s new solution to everything and kidnap her, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
    “Leave that to me.” Sebastian’s voice was full of determination. “There is no place the Keja can hide where I will not find her.”
    “Sam and I will be doing our own investigations too,” Jared informed him. “Between all of us, we should be able to find Paige West in time to help the guys.”
    Luther gave him an encouraging smile. “I have faith in you all, and so will Evan, Max, and Stuart.” He lightly touched me on the shoulder. But then he stiffened and a gasp flew out of him as his eyes took on a faraway quality that meant one thing – he was having a vision. Oh, this was never good. When Luther finally snapped out of it, his gaze ran along everyone in the room, who were all now standing.
    Most likely in response to the sheer fright on his Advisor’s face, Antonio tensed. “What is it, Luther?”
    “Please don’t talk in riddles,” I begged him. He had a habit of being very vague with his warnings, and it drove me bloody mental.
    Luther inhaled deeply. “They will come for her. Paige West, they will come for her.”
    “Who? Who will come?” demanded Antonio.
    “There were so many of them in the vision. So many. If you bring her here, they will do whatever it takes to get to her.” He looked at me then. Oh bloody wonderful. “And it could mean that you are forced to make a very difficult decision, Sam. A decision no one should have to make.”
    Well fuck a duck. I massaged my temples. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what that decision is, are you?”
    “I wish I could. But as you know, sometimes a vision can be just a feeling , a knowing . I could feel the weight of a painful, frightening decision bearing on you – a decision that affects so many, that your safety rests on.”
    Jared, who was feeling kind of numb as if he didn’t really know how to feel about all this, spoke. “So what you’re saying is that if we bring Paige West here, there’s a distinct possibility that things will go tits up and Sam could be harmed?”
    “Yes.”
    Sebastian sighed. “The question is: are we willing to risk all that happening in order to save the lives of Evan, Max, and Stuart?”
    Cursing a blue streak that had everybody’s eyes widening, Jared dropped back down into his seat and buried his face in his hands. So many emotions were flickering through him so quickly that I couldn’t even identify what they were.
    “We will give you both some time alone.”