Free Vampires Dead Ahead by Cheyenne McCray Page A

It is no different here.
    “Also,” Volod continued, “my force will be only of the size I need to control our world. I think you need to see for yourselves.”
    Volod glanced at Seth, who gave a short nod before he faded into a shadow on the floor. A shadow that quickly moved and vanished among other shadows in the room.
    A few members of the conclave made sounds of surprise and unease.
    Seth reappeared, behind Marcus, with a dagger pressed against Marcus’s throat.
    “Call the bastard off!” Marcus tried to shout in anger but the blade was so close to his throat that his words came out in a strangled plea. A red mark appeared on his neck followed by a drop of blood rolling down his pale skin.
    The conclave members to either side of Marcus moved as if to help the Vampire.
    Katherine—formerly known by the unacceptable shortening of her name, Katy—the Los Angeles Witch stepped forward. Vampirism looked good on her. She radiated confidence and a quiet beauty that she didn’t have before she was turned. She opened her mouth and started to speak.
    Her beautiful Witch’s voice echoed throughout the chamber as she spoke in a chant, weaving her spell. “Sit, all who dare to go against us, and do not move.” When she heard protests coming from the immobile Vampires, she added a single word that came out far more powerful than any words she had spoken before. “Silence.”
    Immediately there was not a sound in the room, save for the crackle and hiss of the torches.
    A feeling of satisfaction rose up within Volod. “Now that you’ve met Seth the Shadow Shifter and Katherine the Witch,” Volod said, “I would like to introduce you to Daniel, a Shifter.”
    The conclave members remained silent, locked in the Witch’s spell, as Daniel shifted into a lion. The Shifter’s roar was so loud, it seemed as if the room trembled with it. He leapt forward toward Alexander. Papers scattered onto the chamber floor as he landed on the conclave table, his huge jaws within inches of Alexander’s face.
    Volod wanted to laugh at the fear he saw in every conclave member’s expression. If he didn’t need them and their resources, he could have had them all slaughtered by now.
    “All of the Shifters and Dopplers maintain the fierce hunger and the basic instincts of their animal form,” Volod said, “while keeping the intelligence and abilities of their race.”
    “Reese. Terrance.” Volod gave them each a brief nod. “Both Shifters.”
    Terrance transformed into a snarling Doberman while Reese took the form of a tiger. Each joined Daniel on the table, the tiger in front of Cecilia, his nose nearly touching another member of the conclave, Wilhelm.
    “I’m sure you K’touc have recognized these three as Dopplers.” Volod gestured to the paranorms as he spoke. “Meet Kennedy, Jessica, and Rebecca.”
    Kennedy’s body expanded, his height increasing as he shifted into a grizzly bear; Jessica became a ferret and Rebecca, a raven.
    “You may wonder whether such small creatures as a ferret and a raven have enough strength to be a part of a Vampire paranorm army,” Volod said. “Let me assure you, they can do things that no other paranorm or Vampire could. Attacking from the air like Rebecca or squeezing into small places like Jessica.”
    With a slight movement of his fingers, Volod indicated that Elliot and Jorge take their Werewolf forms. In seconds both were snarling, vicious wolves.
    “You think they look fierce now?” Volod flashed his fangs as he smiled. “Wait until the full moon. A Werewolf Vampire is truly a sight to be seen … and avoided.”
    Volod held his hand out to Monique and she took it as he presented her. “Please meet the lovely Monique, a Proctor. As you can see she is Elvin, more powerful than you would likely believe.
    “Paranorms have a desire to feed on their kind,” Volod continued. “To a one they believe this is a better life for them … they believe their friends who have not been