“First of all, the soldiers are thick here in New Orleans. The most obvious reason for this is that even before the Vampire Apocalypse, the city was full of people who were obsessed with the undead, thought they were a vampire, or were simply into the dark and mysterious. These humans found it far more fascinating and … well, safer to join up with the council rather than have to fight for their lives every day.”
Dang. People were flocking to join up with the vampires here, that was encouraging.
“The survivors are congregating in the French Quarter. Thus far, I have only been able to locate them going into the LaLaurie Mansion and the pirate bar.”
Christina rolled her eyes. “Well they aren’t being very secretive are they?”
“No. No, they are not. I was able to spot the humans without seeking them out. It is safe to assume that the Vampire Council will have been watching them for some time now. They are probably waiting for the survivors to get their numbers up before they pursue and attack.”
I nodded, understanding what he was saying. “The more survivors gathered, the bigger the massacre.”
“Precisely,” Anthony agreed.
Luke drew in a deep breath. “All right. This gives us a good idea of where to look for the survivors, anyway. What are your ideas as to where Korina might be?”
“Yes, of course, Korina. She is not active with the Vampire Council, well not that I know of anyway. I investigated her plantation home and there was no sign of her having been there. I found two of her pathetic minions and asked of her whereabouts, either they truly did not know or they lied, however they both insisted that they did not know.”
“Dammit!” Christina slammed her fist into the table. “They’re going to tell her that we’re looking for her.”
Anthony dismissed her with a small wave of his hand. “Truly, I’m wounded, do you honestly think me dense enough to let them live? I took care of them accordingly. Although, finding them leads us to the assumption that she is, indeed, in New Orleans.”
I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, taking in the information. “So, we are still left having to hunt her down.” I sighed with exhaustion. I was so ready for a nap.
“Yes, little Hunter, but that is what you do so well.” I caught the flash of Anthony’s grin as I tilted my head back up. “However, I am here to assist you, which should ease the difficulty of that particular task.”
Another wave of exhaustion washed over me and I yawned, stretching out my arms. “I need to get some sleep before we head out tonight.”
Anthony pushed his chair out and stood, “of course, let me show you to your rooms. They might be a little dusty, but the beds are still comfortable.” He gathered his silverware onto his plate and picked it up. We all followed suit, clearing the table and putting the food away. Then, Anthony led us all upstairs to show us our rooms.
***
The burgundy comforter fluffed up around me like I was laying on top of a cloud. I couldn’t sleep, which was strange for two reasons. One, I was exhausted and two, over time I had learned to sleep whenever I could.
It was the thoughts of possibly being able to end a vampire bloodline that kept me awake. Would it really help? Could we take back society with the one task alone?
There was a light knock on my door and then it opened a crack. “Chloe, you awake?”
I lifted my head off the pile of pillows and looked up at the sound of Drew’s voice. “Yeah, I’m awake. I can’t sleep.”
He slipped inside and shut the door softly behind him. I turned on my side and patted the bed, inviting him to lay down beside me.
“Maybe you would get more sleep if you actually tried taking your clothes off and getting under the covers.”
I smiled. “Oh look at you, trying to get me out of my clothes.”
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You know that is not what I meant?” He slid onto the comforter next to me and wrapped his right arm around me. “Seriously though, you even have your shoes on.”
“I can’t help it. I’m not comfortable here.”
He nuzzled my neck. “I’m surprised you don’t have your holster on too.”
I reached my hand back and slid it under one of the pillows. When I pulled it out I held my forty-five up for him to see, giving it a little wiggle. “I drew the line at wearing the holster, but you can never be too cautious.”
He rolled his eyes and took the weapon out of my hand, rolling over me and sliding it back under my pillow.
“What about you?” I countered, stopping him while his face was directly over mine. “You can’t tell me you’re walking around in jeans and a tee shirt, without a gun.” My hands went around his waist and pulled at his shirt, I felt the gun tucked into the back of his pants and raised my eye brows. “Ah, see! I knew it.”