Industrial Magic
Page 107
No, Cassandra said, her first words since wed begun. It wouldnt. Not to you.
She moved to the window and opened the blind. For a moment, she just stared outside. Then she turned back toward us.
You have to see this from a vampires point of view. Do I think such a slight is grounds for killing someones children? Of course not. But I can understand why Edward might. What is the life of those children to him? No more than those bodies in his field. A means to an end. Is he killing them because he wants them to die? No. Hes killing them because he wants to cause pain, to hurt those who hurt him. They killed his life partner. I dont think you really understand what that means.
Theyd been together a long time, I said. Obviously, they
Obviously nothing. What do you consider a long marriage in your world? Twenty-five years is a cause for great celebration, isnt it? Edward became a vampire when Queen Victoria took the throne. Hed been one for less than a decade when he went to Russia and met Natasha, who had just become one herself. They have never been apart since. One hundred and fifty years together, with no one else: no parents, no siblings, no children, no friends. Nothing but each other.
Now shes gone, and he wants revenge. Hell keep killing until hes repaid every Cabal for her death, by killing children from each.
No, hell keep killing until hes dead, Cassandra said. Nothing else will stop him. I have no idea what his plan is, and he may very well have one, but he wont stop when he reaches the end, because he wont feel avenged. How could he? No hurt he inflicts on the Cabals will match his own.
Okay, said a sleepy voice from the other seat. Jaime opened one eye. I get the whole eternal love thing and, as weird as it sounds, I think youre right that my spook is this Natasha chick, but that leaves one big question. Why the hell would she want to help us catch her man?
Does she? Lucas said. Im not certain that would be a correct interpretation of her actions to date. The only clue shes given us is the vampire lead, which was undoubtedly meant not to tell us that our killer is a vampire, but that she is.
I nodded. Maybe figuring that if Jaime knew she was a vampire, shed know the right way to make contact.
So what does she want? Jaime asked.
We all looked at Cassandra.
I dont know her well enough to answer that, Cassandra said. The only thing I can say, with some certainty, is that she wasnt a passive or unwilling partner in anything Edward did.
In other words, I said, shes not suffering a sudden attack of conscience and wants to help us stop Edward before more kids die.
Definitely not, Cassandra said. She may be seeking the same thing they sought before her death: protection from a rival Cabal, offering to help you find Edward on the condition that the Cortezes protect him from the Nasts. Or she may be hoping to feed you false information and lead you away from him.
Doesnt matter either way, Jaime said. Unless she learns how to carve words in my flesh, shes not telling us anything. Wherever she is, its out of necro calling range. Shes trying her damnedest to change that, but its not working.
And where exactly is she? I said. Stuck in limbo? Or a demon dimension? Or some separate vampire afterlife? Maybe if we knew
We can look into that, Lucas said. But we may never find the answer. The important question right now is not where is she, but where is he?
We knew Edward was almost certainly in Miami. Why go elsewhere when all the Cabals were right here? But where to find him? At this point, we might as well grab a map of Miami, start tossing darts into it, and conduct our search that way.
Benicio left shortly after that to start working the Edward angle with the Cabalsor the Cabals that werent already working it. Presumably, the moment the Nasts heard the words vampire suspect theyd known exactly who was killing their kids and had started searching for him. Of course, it would have been nice if theyd shared that information, but that would also mean sharing the glory when he was caughtand accepting full blame for letting him slide from their grasp in the first place.
The only way youre going to catch him is when he goes for his next victim, Cassandra said as she settled onto our hotel sofa. And the best way to do that is to set a trap.
Not a bad idea, Jaime said. One possible targetor two of themare your nephews, Lucas. Im sure your dad wont want us using them for bait, but hes got the firepower to make sure theyre safe. If youre there, it wouldnt be too bad for the kids. They know you
Lucas shook his head. They dont know me.
Well, maybe not very well, but youre their uncle. They see you at Christmas, family picnics, whatever. They
I mean, quite literally, they dont know me. Weve never met, and its unlikely they know I exist. Not only do my nephews not know me from a stranger, they barely know my fatherthats Hectors way of punishing him for his succession choice.
Okay, Jaime said. But, still, this guys going to go after those kids sooner or later. Hector knows that. Im sure hed help if it meant his kids would be out of danger for good.
She moved to the window and opened the blind. For a moment, she just stared outside. Then she turned back toward us.
You have to see this from a vampires point of view. Do I think such a slight is grounds for killing someones children? Of course not. But I can understand why Edward might. What is the life of those children to him? No more than those bodies in his field. A means to an end. Is he killing them because he wants them to die? No. Hes killing them because he wants to cause pain, to hurt those who hurt him. They killed his life partner. I dont think you really understand what that means.
Theyd been together a long time, I said. Obviously, they
Obviously nothing. What do you consider a long marriage in your world? Twenty-five years is a cause for great celebration, isnt it? Edward became a vampire when Queen Victoria took the throne. Hed been one for less than a decade when he went to Russia and met Natasha, who had just become one herself. They have never been apart since. One hundred and fifty years together, with no one else: no parents, no siblings, no children, no friends. Nothing but each other.
Now shes gone, and he wants revenge. Hell keep killing until hes repaid every Cabal for her death, by killing children from each.
No, hell keep killing until hes dead, Cassandra said. Nothing else will stop him. I have no idea what his plan is, and he may very well have one, but he wont stop when he reaches the end, because he wont feel avenged. How could he? No hurt he inflicts on the Cabals will match his own.
Okay, said a sleepy voice from the other seat. Jaime opened one eye. I get the whole eternal love thing and, as weird as it sounds, I think youre right that my spook is this Natasha chick, but that leaves one big question. Why the hell would she want to help us catch her man?
Does she? Lucas said. Im not certain that would be a correct interpretation of her actions to date. The only clue shes given us is the vampire lead, which was undoubtedly meant not to tell us that our killer is a vampire, but that she is.
I nodded. Maybe figuring that if Jaime knew she was a vampire, shed know the right way to make contact.
So what does she want? Jaime asked.
We all looked at Cassandra.
I dont know her well enough to answer that, Cassandra said. The only thing I can say, with some certainty, is that she wasnt a passive or unwilling partner in anything Edward did.
In other words, I said, shes not suffering a sudden attack of conscience and wants to help us stop Edward before more kids die.
Definitely not, Cassandra said. She may be seeking the same thing they sought before her death: protection from a rival Cabal, offering to help you find Edward on the condition that the Cortezes protect him from the Nasts. Or she may be hoping to feed you false information and lead you away from him.
Doesnt matter either way, Jaime said. Unless she learns how to carve words in my flesh, shes not telling us anything. Wherever she is, its out of necro calling range. Shes trying her damnedest to change that, but its not working.
And where exactly is she? I said. Stuck in limbo? Or a demon dimension? Or some separate vampire afterlife? Maybe if we knew
We can look into that, Lucas said. But we may never find the answer. The important question right now is not where is she, but where is he?
We knew Edward was almost certainly in Miami. Why go elsewhere when all the Cabals were right here? But where to find him? At this point, we might as well grab a map of Miami, start tossing darts into it, and conduct our search that way.
Benicio left shortly after that to start working the Edward angle with the Cabalsor the Cabals that werent already working it. Presumably, the moment the Nasts heard the words vampire suspect theyd known exactly who was killing their kids and had started searching for him. Of course, it would have been nice if theyd shared that information, but that would also mean sharing the glory when he was caughtand accepting full blame for letting him slide from their grasp in the first place.
The only way youre going to catch him is when he goes for his next victim, Cassandra said as she settled onto our hotel sofa. And the best way to do that is to set a trap.
Not a bad idea, Jaime said. One possible targetor two of themare your nephews, Lucas. Im sure your dad wont want us using them for bait, but hes got the firepower to make sure theyre safe. If youre there, it wouldnt be too bad for the kids. They know you
Lucas shook his head. They dont know me.
Well, maybe not very well, but youre their uncle. They see you at Christmas, family picnics, whatever. They
I mean, quite literally, they dont know me. Weve never met, and its unlikely they know I exist. Not only do my nephews not know me from a stranger, they barely know my fatherthats Hectors way of punishing him for his succession choice.
Okay, Jaime said. But, still, this guys going to go after those kids sooner or later. Hector knows that. Im sure hed help if it meant his kids would be out of danger for good.
