The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Vampiric Extraction

With a slice of light, a teleportal irised open to let Mordecai step out into the hallway just outside of his hotel room, his face thoughtful. He let it wink out of existence as he reached for the handle of the door, his key already in the lock, pushed into place with a trickle of psyken. Then his shields were up as he stepped into the darkness beyond. One never knew what to expect when walking into a room filled with vampires.

"Mordecai?" Aizea's voice husked from the darkness, filled with fear.

Immediately a psyken field snarled into being around Mordecai's clenched right fist at hearing the note of panic in the Lilith's voice.

"Yes," he carefully replied, barely resisting the impulse to telepathically scan the room. "Is there a problem?" the man in black asked as he paused in the doorway, wishing his eyes would adjust to the darkness within somewhat more quickly.

"No," the Lilith almost sobbed with relief. "Not any more. Katya, the lights."

Mordecai blinked as the room's lights came on, one of Aizea's breeders standing by the light switch, her big brown eyes wide with fear as she stared at the big psionic and the tight knot of psyken seething with raw power around his fist. Then his eyes were tracking across the room to find the figure of the Lilith, kneeling on the bed with the other three breeders sitting in a tight huddle behind her. Her arms were spread back around them; scant protection against what could've been a psionic attack.

A frown appeared on the man in black's lips at seeing the defensive cluster, which the breeder Katya joined quickly, crowding in close as she shivered in reaction to the almost palpable pall of fear that filled the room. Fear that seemed to be swiftly ebbing upon Mordecai's return.

He let a quiet snort out as he abruptly realized why they were so frightened.

"Let me guess," the big psionic began in a low voice, "psionics passed by the room just out in the hallway and scanned to see if any psionic were in here."

"The scan left us all feeling nauseous, although the armor prevented us from passing out," Aizea explained, looking pale and drawn. "It was a very powerful sweep and we feared it would reveal us to them, our natural enemies."

Mordecai smiled tightly.

"No, the armor would've prevented your mental signatures from being read. And I warded the room against casual penetration. Still, I better step out and take a look, . . ."

"No!" Aizea shouted. Then, in a much quieter voice when the man in black shot a hard look at her: "No, please, stay. I think they've gone. Besides, we'd feel much more safe with you here, with us."

"I see." Mordecai's lips pursed into a frown. "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised you were visited. The city is crawling with psionics, as if somebody kicked over a giant anthill and all the ants are now scrambling in every direction, looking for new bolt holes. I'm almost feeling relief that I'll be leaving shortly myself! It's getting just a little too crowded here for my liking."

"Leaving??" Aizea's face began to take on a mask of fear once again. "But that'll leave us unprotected. I don't even have the M'tada to guard us!"

"Don't worry," the man in black replied, closing the door behind him as he stepped into the room proper. "I've put some thought into that." A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Does your clan have any strongholds or nests in Europe?"

It only took the Lilith a moment to reply.

"No. The clans are being pushed out of continental Europe by a growing tide of psionics." She sighed heavily. "That's one of the reasons my clan brought me to Calgary; we thought that North America was still relatively free of the psionic wave that's drowning Europe." Her face twisted into a bitter grimace. "Unfortunately the Elders were wrong."

"Ah. And all I was looking for was a 'yes' or 'no'." Mordecai smiled tightly. "That means you won't be coming with me to Europe, then." He pressed on before Aizea could hotly protest the decision.

"As far as I know, psionics are still gaining toeholds in South America. Mostly due to the fact that your people hold that continent so tightly. Any attempt to break into any of the large cities like Rio de Janeiro has met with heavy resistance. So, to South America I will send you. You should be able to find elements of your clan there and protection from the psionic invasion of North America."

"You're, . . . sending us to South America?" Aizea asked cautiously, not sure if she understood what the big psionic was suggesting.

"Yup," Mordecai confirmed, slipping Paladin out of an inside pocket. "Paladin, give me an overlay map of South America."

The holographic display flickered into view with a topographical map of South America. The man in black frowned as he leaned in close to pick out the detail.

"Key in on Brazil. Give me a psionic detail on the main cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Brasilia. And give me the updated species overview from the most recent lone gunmen biodiversity survey."

"Your people actually know how many vampires are in Brazil?" Aizea asked softly and Mordecai nodded as he watched Paladin paint the holographic map with several different shades, details of the three cities in separate windows to the side. The cities themselves were also heavily shaded, each shade representing a sub-species of Humanity. For the most part, the color was Normal-blue. But vampire-purple was also heavily prevalent.

"We're able to tap into several information sources that, properly filtered and manipulated, give us the data that we need." He smiled thinly. "But don't worry; only a very select few of us actually have that data."

"Like you."

"Like me." He indicated the coastal city of Rio de Janeiro with a finger. "There. Rio has a massive concentration of vampires." A quirky smile touched his lips as he considered the irony. "I guess your people like the beaches." The smile vanished. "Or the Normals that do, taste pretty damn good. Either way, I'll send you there, with enough resources that you'll be able to find accommodations and support yourselves long enough to make contact with your clan." His dark blue eyes rose to find Aizea's purple ones.

"I'm sure you'll have less of a problem getting around in the midst of your own people."

The Lilith blinked as she contemplated that. Indeed, with her native abilities and strengths, she would have little trouble among her own people. As for finding her clan amongst the clans of South America, there was a good chance of that as well. It appeared that the psionic knew what he was talking about. At the very least, it would get them out of this deathtrap of a city.

"Very well," she said finally after a long pause. "I can see no flaw in your plan. We'll go to Brazil. When do we leave?"

"As soon as I get us tickets." Mordecai indicated as the holographic representation of Brazil winked out. "Paladin, uplink to a local Normal communication grid and tap into the Internet. We need to book some plane tickets. Five adults for Rio and one for Paris!"

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