Isabella looked up from where she was sitting on the edge of her medical bed, her expression fearful and worried as Lash stepped into her surgical suite, Ellie and a handful of legionnaires behind them. But, as soon as she saw who it was, she was hopping off the bed and throwing herself into his arms, trembling as she clung to him.
"I am so glad you are here!" she whispered hoarsely. "Without Gabriela, you are all I have left!"
"I am very sorry about Gabriela, Isabella," Lash whispered back. "But I will do whatever I can to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to you," he said after kissing the top of her head.
"Promise?" she asked without looking up, burying her face into his chest instead.
"You've my blood vow on it," he replied. "We just need to get that vial out of your head." 'Before it bursts!' he silently added.
Isabella let him carefully bring her back to the medical bed. There, after smoothly scooping her up into his arms, he laid her onto the pad inside.
"So, what are we looking for?" Ellie asked as she stepped up behind him to touch him with a light caress before swinging around to the other side of the table, her fingers dancing across the interface there.
"A small, organic glass vial," Lash indicated. "Ultrasound scanning is how you can locate its exact position in Isabella's brain."
Nodding in acknowledgment even as the medical scanner came out of the bed to arch over Isabella's body, Ellie busied herself over the interface. For his part, Lash stepped out of the way of the scanner but made sure he kept hold of Isabella's hand. After giving it a reassuring squeeze, the Spanish lilith not taking her eyes off him, he looked at the holographic image of her body as it appeared over the scanner's imaging plate. And nodded in satisfaction as a yellow dot appeared near the back of Isabella's head.
"Got it," Ellie announced, her face a mask of concentration as she peered at the interface's readout. "It's deep. But a resect with a laser to the site, then suction to extract it, and we'll have it out."
"We can't afford even the smallest crack in that vial, Ell," Lash said. "Or we'll be fighting it, like we did with Cassie."
"Tell me something I don't know," Ellie replied, grimly determined as she began setting up the procedure. "Recording so we can automate the procedure and do multiple extractions at once!"
The image above the scanner zoomed in on Isabella's brain and the vial became a clearly visible object.
"Target located," the scanner announced in its tinny voice. "Mapping local neural clusters to avoid accidental truncation and loss of function. Plotting resect course to the target. Mapping complete. Plotting complete. Initiate procedure?"
Ellie glanced at a frowning Lash, who was still studying the holographic image. Then she was nodding.
"Initiate."
There was a soft hum as a neck brace lifted up under the pad to position at the base of Isabella's skull. It then carefully lifted her head off the pad and tilted it at a thirty degree angle to give access to the back of her skull. From the sides there was a hiss as something was being jetted out of hidden nozzles and a temporary fog appeared around Isabella's head before quickly dissipating.
"Sterilization field established," the medical AI announced as soon as the fog was gone. Then four skeletal arms extended out of the top of the medical bed.
The first two pulled Isabella's hair out of the way to give access to a small point on her head. Then the third arm moved in and an almost invisible laser beam extended into Isabella's scalp, quickly burning through to the bone. It continued on, boring a small hole into, and through the skull bone itself.
"Penetration of the cerebral cavity achieved," the medical AI announced. "Extending distal operator." And the fourth arm moved in to touch the hole before drawing back. As it did, Lash noticed the very tip, a pyramid the size of the round ball on the end of a stick pin, was now gone. But, from the scalp now extended what appeared to be a plastic thread.
His eyes were drawn back to the image as the tip began to maneuver through the brain itself, a macro-nanite remote control surgical operator, using its laser to ease its way through both gray and white matter to make an unerring path directly to the vial. Thankfully it moved quickly, despite its size, and within a matter of seconds, had reached the vial.
"Enveloping target in nano-mesh," the AI reported. "Vacuum seal initiated. Seal confirmed solid. Extracting target." And Lash watched as the operator's image began tracking back the way it came in, again moving much more quickly than he expected. A few blinks later, it was being pulled from the small hole in the back of Isabella's skull, the vial firmly gripped by its vacuum tip.
Almost immediately the third arm re-extended to spray wound seal into the hole.
"Extraction complete," the AI announced and everybody, Isabella included, heaved a sigh of relief.
"Procedure recorded and repeatable," Ellie then announced with satisfaction as the medical scanner began to rotate out of the way to let Isabella sit back up. Which she did, so she could throw her arms around Lash.
"Thank you, Lash," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion, before beginning to cry in earnest with the release of tension and in relief.
As he held her close to comfort the crying Spanish lilith, much as he had done with Isla not but a moment before, the big vampire tapped his earpiece. As he did, he watched Ellie carefully bag the blood-smeared vial for later analysis.
"Vulcrum. Status report."
"Young master," the lean spymaster replied. "I have moved teams into place, but this won't be a simple operation like Antwerp. The Giovanni estate is heavily guarded by both House nestari and White Flame troopers. We're going to need to go in hard and fast to secure Giancarlo before he's either extracted by his allies. Or he kills himself to avoid capture. I have tactical operators standing by to make the first strike, and pull attention away from the agents poised to make the extraction. But I'll need your permission to initiate a terminate-positive operation against another clan."
"You have it. Terminate opposing units with prejudice."
"Understood. Moving assets into their final positions now. If you wish to observe, you have three minutes to reach the command center."
Lash gave Isabella a squeeze as her crying slowed and her arms tightened around him in response.
"I do wish to observe. But I have five more liliths to rescue from the ticking bombs in their heads first," he grimly announced. Lash then looked over at Ellie.
"Okay, Ell. Who's next?"
The Ventru little sister looked down at a tablet she produced from a thigh pocket.
"Inaya," she said, looking back up in time to see Lash's expression tighten. "And that's the last adjunct lilith with a vial. The rest are non-affiliated with House Lash."
"Let's get them all into beds for a simultaneous extraction," Lash indicated. "Time is of the essence. The sooner ..."
"We get those vials out, the better," Ellie finished for him, her fingers already moving over the tablet. "I'm calling in Silver Legion medics to help and observe. We'll have everything ready to go in about five minutes."
After sending Isabella back to her apartment to get some rest, Lash settled in to wait the five minutes. And quickly found them dragging on much longer than five minutes should.
For good reason: if any of the liliths currently carrying a vial had it activate, then they would have to once again use extraordinary effort to save her, as they did with Cassie. And, if all five went at the same time, it would be chaos. By the Day Witch, even if two of them triggered, it would be difficult to save both, even knowing what to do!
So he felt more than a little relief when, finally, Ellie announced from Inaya's surgical suite that the five remaining liliths were prepped and ready to go. By this time Lash had moved to the main medical bay, the same futuristic place Jeriko had used to recalibrate the captured liliths' minds with her psionic abilities. Standing in the same transparent lab at the center that she used as her office, Lash watched the monitor that had all five video feeds piped to it so he could follow the progress of the five surgeries all at once.
And, almost before he was ready, the surgeries were over.
"We have five successful extractions over here, Lash," Ellie reported with not a little satisfaction. "They all want to see you, and thank you personally for getting them into a place where we could help them. Especially Inaya."
"Let them know I'm on my way," Lash said, deactivating the monitors with a wave of his hand. "And get the remains of the vial out of Cassie's head before you let her go!"
The Indian lilith was sitting on the edge of her bed when Lash stepped through the legionnaires guarding the door and into the room. And, just as Isabella had, when she looked up to find him there, Inaya was off the bed and throwing herself into his arms.
"You have saved us again, Lash," she said with a voice choked with tears, squeezing him tightly. Then, unlike Isabella, she leaned back to look him in the eyes with hers, shimmering with tears yet so filled with life and vitality, it was hard not to stare deeply into them.
"I see my future will only improve, as long as it is secured by your hand, my lord," she said a bit more formally than he was expecting, as she let those tears make trails down her silky, cocoa-colored cheeks.
"I honor the protocols, Inaya," he trotted out his mantra in response. And her hand, with its gracefully long fingers, lifted to tenderly touch the side of his face.
"You do so much more than that, my lord," she replied in her musical voice. "I am carrying your child. And I want it to be born as Ventru, not Ganges. To honor you, my lord Ingamon, and the invaluable service you have rendered me, and my lilith sisters. And I intend on asking Clan Ganges to use Isla's protocol to shear me from my obligations to them. So I may ask to be Embraced by House Lash, and Clan Ventru."
Seeing his eyes widen in surprise, Inaya hastily continued.
"But only if you desire such a thing!"
Three Embraced liliths in his House? It was historically rare for even one to be Embraced, and he had Embraced two. And here was a third, expressing a desire to become a part of the power structure of his House.
"Clan Ventru isn't Clan Ganges, Inaya," he began. "And House Lash isn't House Patel."
"Which is exactly the reason why I wish to be shorn from Ganges so I may join Ventru and House Lash," Inaya said, gracefully reaching out to brush a few strands of his hair back, an intimate gesture usually shared by lovers.
And yet, were they not? Like the other adjuncts, she had insisted they resolve her seasonal without the cloud. And while it wasn't the force of nature that some of his couplings had been, it was a slow, sensuous journey of exploration that suited the goddess-level beauty from Mumbai, with her intelligence, even and forgiving nature, and desire to interact instead of just use. And, as they had talked and explored, she revealed that she had used biochems her entire life since Ascending. And he was her first actual partner.
Such a journey certainly built ties that bound. And, as he looked into her eyes, he knew the quiet, yet supremely confident lilith was as bound to him as were Fiadh, Meredith, Dru, Isla, Cassie, and Sofia.
"The human civilization in my homeland is ancient, my lord," Inaya explained in her soft, musical voice as she saw his expression deepen into thoughtfulness. "Yet vampires have only recently come to my part of the world. Ganges has only been a clan for three generations. And House Patel has only one member: me. We hide and scurry in the shadows, trying to avoid the pishaach shikaaree, the vampire hunters."
Lash immediately frowned.
"Humans in India are aware of us??" he asked and Inaya quickly wobbled her head in the style of the humans in her homeland.
"But not all. And those that do, do not realize we are world wide," the Indian lilith added as Lash's frown deepened. "The dark secret hasn't yet been discovered."
Inaya paused there to carefully go up on her tiptoes to kiss him. It was a slow and tender kiss, yet filled with incredible passion that she had obviously been building since their first, and only encounter. Even without nicking a lip or a tongue with fangs, it was powerful enough that his heart was pounding by the time she drew back to continue what she was saying.
"I deliberately left India to come to Europe to seek out a better place for me. Because I didn't want to build a House in such a place. And now ... Now I don't want our child growing up in such a place, Lash. He, or she, and ..." she paused to bite her lip with her growing desire. "And their brothers and sisters I will bear for you, deserve better than to be hunted from the shadows."
Lash's brow lifted. It was an obvious offer: a clean bloodline made available to bear children to strengthen House Lash in the future. Isla had made it as part of her request to be Embraced, Dru had verbalized it as one of her strongest wishes for their children, and Mara all but promised she would bear no children but his.
"My bloodline is only four points removed from the primary line that colonized India," Inaya pointed out, sensing his resistance. "I will strengthen your House like no other vampiress can. And I will be a companion, friend, ally and colleague that will only improve your standing within your clan, and frustrate and anger your enemies."
Lash let a quick breath out his nose. With Inaya in his House, he had no doubt there would be plenty of envy to go around. Especially out of Nosferatu and Vorinov. They would already want to go to war with Isla and Cassie Embraced into his House, and Mara pledging herself to him. Being in favor with four liliths simultaneously bestowed upon him incredible power.
"Are you sure this is what you want, Inaya?" he asked and she smiled brilliantly, sensing that he was getting close to deciding the matter in her favor.
"I haven't been more sure about anything in my entire life, Lash," she replied. "Make me yours. Forever."
He smiled. Decision made. He just hoped there'd be enough of him to go around once the situation became permanent! Luckily only Mara could give him an heir, being blood-bound to Ventru and her family, a vassal of House Lash. So that would avoid any conflict there. The actual sharing, however; that could very well be a different matter altogether!
"Very well. I will Embrace you, Inaya, as soon as you bring me proof of your shearing from Ganges."
The beautiful Indian lilith breathed a sigh of relief. Then she leaned in to kiss him again. This time, however, there were definitely fangs involved. And, after several long moment of passion, powerful enough to make the legionnaires still standing outside the open door, shift uncomfortably, she pulled back just enough to whisper:
"You shall have it shortly," she said, licking his blood off her lips. "But first ..." She looked around him to motion the guards to close the door. Then she was pulling him back towards the medical bed.