continued efforts in fighting the Rogues. In the dark ages of man, long before Dante‘s eighteenthcentury birth in Italy, the Order had acted as sole protector of the vampire race. Then, they were revered as heroes. In the time since, as the warriors hunted down and executed Rogues all over the globe, putting down even the smallest uprisings before they had a chance to take root, the Darkhavens had relaxed into a state of arrogant confidence. Rogue numbers had been few in modern times but were growing again. Meanwhile, the Darkhavens had adopted laws and procedures for dealing with Rogues as mere criminals, foolishly
believing
that
incarceration
and
rehabilitation were viable solutions to the problem. Those of the warrior class knew better. They saw the carnage up close and personal, while the rest of the population hid in their sanctuaries, pretending they were safe. Dante and the rest of the Order were the Breed‘s only true defense, and they chose to act independently—some might argue in defiance of—impotent Darkhaven law.
―Now they‘re asking for our help?‖ Dante fisted his hands at his side, in no mood to deal with Darkhaven politics or the fools who peddled them.
―I hope Lucan‘s called this meeting so we can prove we‘re savages and kill their friggin‘
messenger.‖
Gideon chuckled as the glass doors of the lab whisked open in front of them. ―Try not to scare Agent Chase away before he‘s had a sporting chance to explain why he‘s here, will you, D?‖
Gideon strode inside. Dante followed, giving a nod of respect to Lucan and his brethren as he entered the spacious control room. He turned his gaze on the Darkhaven agent, holding it steady as the civilian vampire rose from his chair at the conference table and looked upon Dante‘s bloodied, battered condition in barely concealed disgust.
Now he was damn glad he hadn‘t paused to tidy up before coming in. Hoping to offend further, Dante strolled up to the agent and held out his grimy hand in offered greeting.
―You must be the warrior called Dante,‖ said the low,
cultured
voice
of
the
Darkhaven
representative. He accepted Dante‘s outstretched hand and clasped it briefly. The agent sniffed almost imperceptibly, fine nostrils flaring as they picked up on Dante‘s certain stench. ―A privilege to meet you. I am Special Investigative Agent Sterling Chase, of the Boston Darkhaven. Senior Special Investigative Agent,‖ he added, smiling.
―But I‘ve no wish to stand on ceremony, so please, all of you, feel free to address me as you will.‖
Dante merely grunted, biting back the choice form of address that leaped to his tongue. Instead, he dropped into the seat next to the agent, holding him in a cool, unwavering stare.
Lucan cleared his throat, all it took for the eldest of the Breed to resume command of the gathering.
―Now that we‘re all here, let‘s get down to business. Agent Chase has brought some disturbing news from the Boston Darkhaven. There‘s been a rash of young vampires going missing lately. He‘d like the Order‘s help in recovering them. I‘ve told him we will.‖
―Search and rescue‘s not exactly our thing,‖
Dante said, his eyes on the civilian as a rumble of agreement kicked up from around the table of warriors.
―That‘s true,‖ Nikolai put in. The Russian-born vampire grinned from under a long hank of sandycolored hair that didn‘t quite conceal the wintry chill of his ice-blue gaze. ―We‘re more of a bagand-tag operation.‖
―There‘s more to this than just a few stray vampires out past curfew and in need of collars,‖
Lucan said. His grim tone dialed down the attitude in the room at once. ―I‘ll let Agent Chase explain what‘s going on.‖
―Last month, a group of three Darkhaven youths left for a rave somewhere in the city and never returned. A week later, another two went missing. More disappearances have been happening from Boston area Darkhavens every night in the time since.‖ Agent Chase reached into a briefcase on the floor beside him and pulled out a thick file. He tossed it to the center of the conference table. From within the manila jacket, about a dozen snapshots spilled out—faces of smiling, youthful vampire males. ―These are just the reported disappearances so far. We‘ve probably lost another couple of individuals in the time I‘ve been here meeting with you.‖
Dante sifted through the pile of photographs and passed the folder around the table, figuring they couldn‘t all be runaways. Life in the Darkhavens could be a bore to young males with something to prove to the world, but nothing was so bad it would drive groups of them away at a time. ―Have there been any recoveries at all? Any sightings? This many missing individuals in such a short period of time—seems like someone ought to know