Missing Vampire: Reward Available (Hypernaturals 6)

Breakfast and Plans

Morgan and I sat at the breakfast table demolishing hearty crepes and massive omelets filled with French country bacon, tomatoes, sour cream, spinach, and cheese. We drank a light roast coffee that seems (from her expression) to have pissed off the cook to serve.

This was our consensus favorite bean from the choices Fiona's roaster brought in. Even though she was very French, she personally agreed that the French often over-roast coffee beans.

Because we are in France does not mean drinking French Roast as far as both Morgan, myself, and the roaster is concerned. Sure: people like it. They are not hypersensitive Vampires. French Roast tastes like coffee-flavored with charcoal to me. I am not saying other people should not drink it. I do not care. I do not want to drink it.

The cook did not seem to agree with our assessment so I checked our coffee for snails to be sure it is not booby-trapped.

"I have been thinking about how to try and get as many HPA members into one place as possible. Spread across all these countries that would seem to be quite difficult." Morgan said between bites.

"I have too, my Morgan. I think we cannot expect to succeed in trying to get them all into one place. Perhaps two though? Or three?"

Morgan looked amused at my possessive use of her name. Not as if I have not used it before. Maybe it is only now registering. Or now it has new meaning? "It would need to be organized carefully to strike all at the same time. Any one particular place going dark would warn the others. The same thing is true of a single attack. If we gather a large group and then destroy it, the rest of the HPA would go to ground. That is the likely result no matter how many we succeed in removing. Hmm. I think one of the places would require a great deal of Vera's help."

"The Siren Hall in Bulgaria?" I asked.

"Exactly. We would need to be able to sort out the collaborators from the innocent and only kill the HPA and the guilty collaborators of the Sirens." Morgan looked up and to the right as she pondered. She added, "That is asking a lot of Vera, Adrian."

Morgan ate some more omelet and realized I am not saying anything. Only watching her. "What?"

"Sorry. Got lost in you for a moment. I waited for a really long time for you. Sometimes I still get a frisson of emotion: worry that it is not real. There you are though." I heaved a contented sigh. Morgan seemed to blush. Slightly. Heat came to her face I could see.

"Yes." I went on. "We'd need to plan that so that Vera either has the innocent stay away, or at least give us a complete list of non-collaborators so that we can separate them out on site. You are not going to be happy with the next thing I am about to say."

Morgan looked at me intently, to discern my thoughts, and I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes. "You are going to do something stupid again. Put yourself in harm's way. In this context, that means you are going to go to the Siren Hall. Not only to it. In it."

"Yes. This cannot all be on Vera. That is not fair. Won't work anyway." I agreed. "You know the Sirens. If we are to rain down our unholy Vampiric wrath upon them, Siren rules need to be observed. I must to go into the Siren hall, declare openly how I have been wronged, and outline what the cost to them will be. What my eye for an eye calculation is. It is the Siren way, and if I do not do that correctly, we start a Siren war."

"If we do not exact revenge, the global Siren community will think us weak as a species, and continue doing things like this, or even worse. I hate to say it but I agree. Collaboration with the HPA must be punitively addressed." Morgan did not look happy about her conclusion. "While you were out on your walking tour of the Alps, I spent a great deal of time with the Sirens. I understand that culture far better now. I agree with your assessment as to how they must be approached. Further, even with Vera helping, being able to be there, confront Sirens, and scent their reaction with Hypersensitivity is a required double-check. We must respond in kind, in scale, and with accuracy. Even if we do nothing against the HPA, we must exact a cost for Siren's working with them, at the very least."