Building From Ashes

“Just hold tight and close your eyes,” he said with a grin. “This gets dirty.”

Brigid squeezed her eyes shut and ducked down as the ground opened up beneath them.

The following night, Carwyn tried to pull her to sit on his lap in Murphy’s office, but Brigid remained irritatingly professional. He winked at her, subtly licking his lips to remind her of how she’d woken at twilight. Then he laughed internally as she kicked his shin and scowled at him. He tried to rein in his good humor—it really wasn’t appropriate considering the circumstances—but ever since the woman had married him, he felt as if he’d been floating.

Well, that and he remembered how much he really enjoyed sex.

Murphy called the meeting to order with a quiet voice. “I’m sure we’ve all figured out the basics at this point, but let’s have some specifics. Tom?”

“Jack, needless to say, didn’t keep records. And most of his people were burned in that boat when Brigid went up in flames.”

Declan coughed and muttered, “Well done, Welshman.”

There was a smattering of amused grunts as Brigid elbowed him. Carwyn thought he might like the serious Irishman after all. “Thank you, Declan. It’s nice to be recognized for my—”

“Idiocy?” Brigid said. “Recklessness?”

“I was going to say ‘strategic brilliance,’ my love.”

Tom continued. “We did find a rather princely cache of gold at his house early yesterday morning after we recovered what we could from the ship.”

Brigid asked, “Did he have stockpiles of Elixir?”

Tom shook his head. “No. There were a few boxes that we’ve already destroyed according to the directions that Carwyn gave us, but nothing substantial. We can assume, as grandiose as Jack’s ambitions were, he was a middleman. He’d already distributed his supplies. Was probably waiting for more.”

“That’s what he said on the boat. That his ‘associate’ was going to trade us for more Elixir.” Carwyn said, “Could have been lying. But we knew the drug wasn’t being produced here. So far, the locations we have discovered are Bulgaria, which has been shut down, and Brigid suspects Germany. There may be a connection in India, as well.”

“Why?” Declan asked. “Germany, I mean? Why do you think German?”

“Emily,” said Brigid. “She said that Axel was speaking German on the phone with someone.”

Tom asked, “Did she speak the language?”

“No, but she recognized it. It was the only thing that stood out to her.”

“She could have been mistaken, as well,” Murphy said. “I’m not saying she was lying, Brigid, but she could have misheard. Especially if she’d been taking Elixir for some time.”

She nodded. “That’s true. We’ll have to investigate more.”

“We’ll have to investigate a lot more if we’re going to get any kind of control over this.”

“This is bigger than Dublin,” Carwyn said quietly. “Bigger than Ireland.” The whole room fell silent, and Carwyn took a deep breath.

“I know sharing information does not come easily to any of us.” He paused until every eye was focused on him. “But I have lived a thousand years and have not seen a threat to our way of life like this in all that time.”

Murphy’s eyes narrowed, watching him.

Carwyn continued. “I have contacts, friends. A thousand years of favors owed to me. And I now have time that I didn’t before. My son was killed because he knew something about this drug. My friends have risked their lives. My own wife has been attacked and is losing a friend to this disease. I know,” he repeated, “that sharing information does not come easily to any of us, but if we have any chance of controlling this, we must begin to coordinate our efforts.”

Declan and Tom’s eyes were riveted on their sire, and Brigid glanced between all of them.

Murphy crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “What do you propose?”

“I spoke to Terrance Ramsey in London early this evening. He asked that I share some information with you and requested that I keep him informed about things going on here, as well. With your permission.”

Carwyn eyed the Dubliner. Terry and Gemma had their own spies in Ireland, just like they did in most major cities in Europe. Just as Murphy did for his own intelligence gathering. But coordination could not come from spies. Coordination could only come from allies. Would Murphy’s pride allow him to accept the help? The vampire was charming, but wasn’t known as a team player, except for a very few, one of whom had just proven to be a traitor.

Would he be willing to trust again?

After a long tension-filled minute, Murphy nodded. “What do Terry and Gemma know?”

He heard Brigid let out a long breath, and he smiled. The first bridge had been built. “We know quite a bit. Brigid?”

Brigid launched into what they had found two nights before. “Most important right now, we think we know how to detect it in humans who have taken the drug. There’s a distinctive scent that more than one vampire has noticed…”

Carwyn leaned back and let her lead. He would share the knowledge that he’d gleaned from the Vatican and from his daughter. And he and Brigid would find more. The Father might have given up the collar, but he felt the stirring of a new mission in his heart. And that night, the first stones were laid in a foundation that he hoped would rise to meet this new threat.