Snippet #1978338

Silas raised his eyebrows. "A kidnapping, then? Well, that's different. The lycans finally got enough sense to try something other than brute force. They must have been from a pack. A kidnapping implies that there's something they want, either from the girl or from someone who values the girl's life."

He hoped they hadn't been from Calvin's pack, what with the tenuous truce meeting on the horizon. A confrontation between his coven and that pack like that could make the meeting awkward. Especially since he was planning on asking Viktoria to come along. She seemed somewhat...resentful towards him, perhaps because of the difference in the way he behaved towards her and Colby. Silas doubted Viktoria understood that he valued her just as much as he did Colby. He simply had a different way of treating her, since she was a very different person than Colby. He had often entertained the idea of asking her if she was interested in receiving training from him, to become a Death Dealer. They were few in number now, with not many vampires mastering the skills of old, the deadly arts beyond their enhanced physical attributes as vampires. Viktoria reveled in being a vampire, he could see that, and she was as fast and capable as Silas had ever been. And no doubt the coven would need more who could fight with more than just their teeth in the days to come.

"You'll be accompanying me to the meeting as well," he continued to Viktoria. "Hot-headed or no, you have too much potential for me to keep you here while the coven moves ahead. I ask only that you follow my lead."

Silas then turned to the girl Viktoria had brought in, Jessenia, curled up in the chair next to her with her knees tucked to her chest. He wasn't sure what to make of her. He couldn't help but be delighted when his coven members brought him promising recruits, and at the same time he strongly disliked those who sought no more than a shelter, a place to hide from the other species, and a group to take care of them. He couldn't yet tell what type Jessenia was, but he had a suspicion she was the former.

"And what about you?" Silas asked, leaning back and propping his feet up upon his desk. "What was your take on the lycans you ran into tonight? Did you think them mindless brutes, like so many of our kind?"

It was a bit of a test. He needed to learn more about her, her opinions, her beliefs, her personality. Every detail was important, if Jessenia was to become a member of his family.

"And how old are you? If I might ask. You were clearly bitten young."

---

Lauren smiled happily at Mr. Zane, flashing brilliantly white teeth. "We can do that. Your daughter will have whatever she needs. For now, my laboratory is easily one of the safest places in the city. I've got a full detail of guards assigned to protect me and anyone else inside. I can send a few of them to pick up your daughter, if you wish."

Her guard led the two of them back towards the black suburban they had arrived in. Lauren was very pleased with how this trip had gone. If Mr. Zane proved valuable, which she believed he would, then the doctor truly believed she could make some meaningful progress towards a cure, and if not that, a kind of more effective weapon against the creatures. Taking care of the daughter would be simple enough, at least temporarily. For now, she still held sway with higher-ups and could simply request that such a thing be done, as a reward for a kind civilian who assisted her. However, if her work turned up no results, and she lost her power and resources, things would undoubtedly not go as well. But, Lauren was confident in her abilities. If Mr. Zane could produce a subject for her, she could produce something of value from subsequent tests.

The three of them climbed into the vehicle and set off away from the hospital, back towards the lab. As Lauren sank into the comfortable passenger seat, she remembered just how exhausted she was. Perhaps a few hours of sleep were in order, once they got back, and once she had shown Mr. Zane the goods she had promised.