Free Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2) by C.A. Kunz Page B

stronger. This Childe seems to be different,” Lisbeth whispered anxiously.
    “Yes, and her appearance has not been the same from vision to vision. At first she had black hair and now she has bright red, curly hair. Maybe you are losing your touch, old girl,” Andrei stated dryly.
    “I have had just about enough of you!”
    “Silence you two! I tire of your incessant arguing!” Valdir whispered. “Maybe it is time for all of us to pay a visit to our dear Lucien. It would seem that a little persuading is in order.”
    “I have a plan, Valdir. Give me a little while longer and Lucien will be compliant with our wishes,” Andrei stated confidently.
    “What are you playing at, Andrei? You have been at this for quite some time now, with no results!” Lisbeth put her hand up protesting Valdir’s attempted interruption. “Let me finish! You have always been a little sneak, and I have never trusted you. You’re just lucky that I cannot see into your mind. But trust me when I say, when I do find out, you will no longer be Cain’s favorite little errand boy,” Lisbeth whispered angrily, glaring at Andrei. Giving a glance to Valdir, she stormed out of the great hall.
    “That woman is such a nuisance,” Andrei commented, leaning back in the ornate, dark red wood high back chair he was sitting in.
    “Quiet, Andrei,” Valdir muttered as he spun to look Andrei dead in the eyes. “I know what you have been up to in Astoria. For your sake, it better pan out. I am tired of cleaning up your messes! If those girls cause any issues for us, you will be kissing sunlight. Understood?” he growled, his eyes turning jet black. Andrei looked at him with shock written all over his face.
    “How do you know?”
    “Don’t concern yourself with that. Just make due on your promise, and bring Lucien back to us. And find the Childe!”
    Andrei stormed into his personal chambers, his normally deathly pale face was bright red with anger. “What am I, some kind of servant at their beck and call? I will show them. Yes, I will find the Childe and bring her…directly to Cain. Those bumbling fools will receive no credit for this! The only decision I will have to make is will the Childe be alive or dead when I present it as a gift to him.”
         
    Holding a piece of paper in her hand, Linda scanned it from top to bottom. Coming face to face with her slightly fuzzy, black-and-white picture, she stopped. I look so happy. She traced the picture with her index finger and then read the heading on the flyer, “Missing.” Of course my family is looking for me, why wouldn’t they be? She thought.
    “You really need to stop dwelling, Linda,” Becca stated nonchalantly, her voice echoing slightly in the abandoned tunnels beneath Astoria. Many years ago, the tunnels were used for drainage, but now were vacant and dilapidated. The limestone walls of the tunnels were grungy and most of the metal gates that separated the many chambers connecting the tunnels were now rusted. They were officially condemned thirty years prior.
    “Becca, don’t you ever miss your family…your friends?” Linda asked while still looking at her picture.
    Becca thought about it for a few seconds and then said, “Not really. What about you, Amy?”
    “Like my family really cares about me! Did you see the picture they picked for my flyer? It’s hideous! They only want me back so they can put me back in juvie so they know where I am at all times,” Amy answered as she stared directly at Linda, her eyes turning jet black. “Besides, now we’re vampires. How could you miss being an insignificant human?” Linda didn’t answer.
    I wish I could just go home, I don’t belong here with these girls. Damn you, Andrei, for doing this to me! Linda thought as she continued looking at the flyer.
    “Why do you think Andrei took us in the first place?” Becca asked while she thumbed through an old issue of a fashion magazine.
    “It doesn’t matter why! He just did! And