Chapter Fifteen

"How would a castle attack?" Carwyn murmured into the frosty air outside the house that looked over Annette Bay. The night was nearly over, Ben was sleeping, but Carwyn couldn't rest.

Unlike his younger companion, he couldn't sleep until dawn called him. During the long winters in North Wales, he'd often spent more time outside than in, reveling in the rich darkness of the mountains and enjoying the snow on the peaks that surrounded the tiny valley where he'd hidden from the world.

Now the world was laid out before him, the brutal reality of it, the slithering politics and the destruction. What Ben had told them about the attack that Brigid and Tenzin had found the night before disturbed him on a deeper level.

He knew there was evil in the world. He'd seen the cruelest acts of war and the desperation of the survivors. He'd seen good men turn to darkness when there was no place left in the light. He knew that keeping a code of morality was considered useless to many of his kind.

After all, what god could judge those who never died?

What he could never reconcile was evil for evil's sake. The wanton destruction of a family, the death of an immortal who had found a modicum of peace. Useless, disgusting cruelty.

"Carwyn?"

He turned to see Buck standing in the doorway, offering a steaming cup of something. Carwyn walked toward him and realized it was herbal tea.

"You don't seem like the type to drink much," Buck said, "or I'd offer you a whiskey."

"I do love a whiskey." Carwyn took the mug. "But I appreciate the tea too." He sipped it, glad to taste honey instead of sugar. "Where are we with finding that boat?"

"I've called the main office in Seattle, so they're on it. Katya's tracking all of Oleg's fleet that we know of and trying to get information on all his unregistered vessels too."

"So she's still convinced that Zasha is working with Oleg?"

Buck shrugged. "You have to admit it makes sense. You want to disrupt the territory of your enemy before you try to take over. Makes the new boss look like a better bet than the old one, you know?"

Okay, the human had a point, but Carwyn knew that Zasha wasn't working with Oleg. Brigid would have figured that out by now.

"Henri Paulson's boat," Carwyn said. "The one that went missing. Could Zasha be working off that?"

"The Flying Dolphin? It's good-sized. Possible. That might be the reason they were meeting. Zasha wanted to buy his boat. Or they took it."

"No one's seen or heard from Paulson in months, right?"

"Not that I know of, but that's not unusual. He's real private."

"But his crew has gone missing too. Is that normal?"

"No."

Paulson. Why did that name sound so familiar? Henri Paulson. There was something there. A thread that begged to be tugged.

"Any idea how we're supposed to get around?" Carwyn asked. "I can't fly. I never wanted to, but I have to admit, it'd be convenient right now."

"Katya's sending the Pacific Lady back to Ketchikan for you."

"The boat that carried us here?"

Buck nodded. "I'll go with you, help out Jeb so Jennie can stay here. He's the water vampire who captains the Lady."

"So no choice but to get around by boat?"

"It's the best option here."

Carwyn sipped his tea and stared out over the water. "How would a castle attack?"

Buck looked confused. "How do you attack a castle?"

"No." He sighed. "It's a chess thing. I don't know much about chess, but a smart young man told me that I fought like a castle, which apparently used to mean a chariot."

Buck frowned. "Attacking like a chariot? That's a chess thing?"

"I'm told it is."

The older man pursed his lips. "So a direct frontal attack by Roman chariots wouldn't happen until the opposing army was in disarray. They'd be circling the ground troops at first, the archers riding in the chariots would be shooting arrows into the battle until things were all messed up, and then once that shield line was broken, they might do a unified frontal assault."

He blinked. "That's a surprising knowledge of Roman military history, Buck."

The old man shrugged. "It's an interest."

Carwyn frowned. "I feel like I should know that better than you."

"Were you a Roman?"

"No, hated the bastards, but I've spent a lot of time in Rome." Carwyn finished the tea in one gulp. "I appreciate the insight. I'm not a wind vampire like Ben or a water vampire of any kind, so finding a boat is one hundred percent not my strength. But I am very good at breaking things."

Buck nodded slowly. "And… would that be helpful?"

No, but it might be satisfying. "Maybe. Let's see if we might be able to throw this army into disarray, shall we? Shoot some arrows from the perimeter. Is there anything that you know of, any particular base on land that Zasha is attached to?"

"Nothing jumps to mind, but I might be able to find something. Zasha was in town a bit last summer, and I can make some calls."

"Do that." Carwyn started to go inside. He wasn't tired, but he wanted to try to call Brigid if she'd pick up the phone. "I'll see you at nightfall, Buck."

"Sleep well, Carwyn." Buck raised his mug. "And I'll find something. Just give me a few hours. I know a lot of guys who know a lot of people."

"Good man."

He stared at the blank screen and contemplated what he'd say to Brigid if she picked up.

I love you.

I know why you did this.

Where the fuck are you?

No, not the last one. He was starting to understand why Ben was holding back from finding his mate. Currently there were two fronts to this battle; in theory, putting pressure on Zasha from two different directions.

Carwyn liked the idea of shooting arrows from the perimeter. It wasn't as satisfying as rolling through the middle of a battlefield like a tank, but he could shoot arrows. He was Welsh, wasn't he?

If Brigid and Tenzin could focus on finding that boat with Oleg's help, maybe he and Ben could find Zasha's base. Shoot arrows around the perimeter until they knew where to barrel in and demolish.

He really wanted to demolish something.

Carwyn hit the button on his tablet that called his wife and waited.

And waited.

He was nearly ready to throw the thing against the wall when she answered.

"Carwyn?"

Fuck me, who else would it be? He swallowed the anger and stared at the screen, trying to judge her mental state from a wavy digital image on the screen. "I'm here."

She released a long breath and closed her eyes. "I miss you."

"So tell me where you are."

"Moving soon," she said. "It wouldn't matter, and I still can't tell you because I promised."

"You're on the Kenai Peninsula at Oleg's compound, and Tenzin is with you."

Brigid pursed her lips. "She can't keep her mouth shut to save her life, can she?"

"Not from him."

"So Ben's with you."

"You know he is."

"That means you could find me."

"I will find you. All I'd need to do is set foot on the ground there and you know I'd find you."

"Carwyn—"

"But a young wind vampire convinced me that it was a good idea to let you and Tenzin work together. Is he wrong?"

She shook her head but said nothing.

"Is this some sort of strange bonding ritual between you and the psychopath?"

"Zasha or Tenzin?" Brigid ran a hand across her forehead and rubbed her temple. "Sorry, that's not fair. She took a test."

"Only passed by a slim margin from what I heard." If there were vampires he'd trust with his mate's life, Tenzin was not on the list. But she was as terrible as Zasha, so that was something. "Is Oleg helping you?" He hated the Russian on principle, but at least he had faith the fire vampire wouldn't want to piss off any of Brigid's many powerful friends.

"Oleg is helping me work with my fire," Brigid said. "We need to find a boat."

"Because Zasha is coordinating hunting parties on a boat somewhere, then sending vampires ashore to wreak havoc on isolated vampires and their humans."

She blinked. "How did you?—?"

"Ben tells me everything."

Brigid leaned closer to the screen. "Is he with you?"

"No. But I heard about the raid." He reached out his hand, then pulled it back. "How are you?"

"It was bad." Her voice was rough. "That's not why I'm asking."

Carwyn sat up straight. "Did something happen to Tenzin?"

"No, but someone set fire to their loft in New York. No one was hurt, but it sounds like their home was pretty much destroyed. Don't tell him yet. Tenzin is…"

"Angry."

"I've never seen her like this," Brigid said. "We're lookin' for anything that's connected to the Sokholovs in Alaska. She's got Gavin looking."

"Good." He didn't want to talk business with her. He wanted to scream at her, but he knew it wasn't productive. "Listen, Brigid?—"

"I shouldn't have left. Mo chroí. My heart." Her voice was barely over a whisper. "I'm sorry I left. I wanted to protect you, but most of the time I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark up here. It's a bog. There's nothing I can hold—" Her voice caught. "I want to do something, but I don't have a plan for this, Carwyn. There're too many variables. And this place is giant. Vast on a level I can hardly wrap my brain around. I don't know what I'm doin', and now Tenzin says that she's gonna kill Zasha and I'm really not sure how she plans to do that but?—"

"Shhhh." He ached to reach her. He wanted to grab her, shake her a little, then hide her away from any harm. "The first thing you need to do is listen."

Brigid closed her mouth.

"Maith an cailín. Good girl." Carwyn took a deep breath. "We're coming around to the same ideas from different places. For now we work apart. We utilize Oleg's and Katya's resources. If Gavin finds anything on land, you tell me. If we find anything from our side, we'll tell you. Ben may be strong as hell, but he's not as experienced a hunter as Tenzin is. I may not like the woman, but she hunted a clan into extinction because they wronged her. She can find Zasha Sokholov."

"That seems to be the reason she needs to find them."

Carwyn leaned forward. "Zasha was part of her sire's clan?"

"Not exactly."

Carwyn thought back to their last time together in Las Vegas, before Brigid had left and he'd gone half-mad. "Mate. Zasha had a mate."

Brigid nodded.

"And that mate was part of the clan." It all fit together. "Tenzin killed Zasha's mate."

"What would you do to avenge your mate?" Brigid asked. "Even after centuries."

"I'd tear down the world for you," Carwyn whispered. "I'd break every rule. I'd demolish this world from the foundations if you were taken from me."

Brigid rested her head in her hands. "You're still really pissed at me, aren't ya?"

Carwyn didn't want to respond, so he just stayed quiet. "The next time I call, you answer your phone, Brigid."

"Is ea," she whispered. "Yes. I'll answer."

"And the moment you find a hint of Zasha's presence on land, you call me. You tell me immediately. I may not fly, but I have ways. Anywhere on land and that psychopath is mine."

She nodded.

"Good." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You have Gavin looking?"

"Yeah, Tenzin called Chloe."

"Have him search for a vampire named Paulson. Water vampire and captain of the Flying Dolphin out of Vancouver. The ship went missing a while back, a few weeks after Zasha was seen meeting with the owner. That might be the boat we're looking for. Katya hasn't been able to find it and the crew is all missing, but Gavin might have better luck."

"Paulson," she said. "I'll pass it along."

The following night, Buck and Carwyn took the boat out to a small island within spitting distance of Ketchikan where a luxurious house rose from the shores of a small cove thick with frosty pines.

"It was snowed in a month ago," Buck said. "But melted now. Zasha rented this place at the beginning of the summer. Not a bad report from the owner. The place was spotless when the party left."

"How many?"

"According to the human who owns it, there was the ‘tall, redheaded fella' and three others. Two men and a woman. He thought they were Russian. Their secretary said something about a fishing trip. They didn't make any trouble." Buck pointed to a boathouse that sat on the water. "There's a twenty-five-foot fishing boat stored in there. According to the owner, they used it but they didn't buy fishing licenses or any gear from what he heard."

"So maybe they were exploring," Carwyn said, "not fishing."

"Possible." Buck looked over the dark water. "There are countless coves and inlets in the interior like this. Alaska has more shoreline than the entire rest of the United States combined, and the Alexander Archipelago has over a thousand islands. Only a few of them are populated. It's mostly national forest."

"Dense forests." Carwyn sniffed the air. "Isolated places. Lots of wildlife."

"They're only accessible by air or boat," Buck said. "The Inside Passage protects the area from heavy weather. If you wanted to hide out here, you could do it. Lots of people have."

"That's why Katya keeps a loose grip on the area," Carwyn said. "Because mostly it's impossible to police."

"Partly." Buck nodded. "And there aren't really enough people to create problems. Like I said before, most of the vampires who come up here want to live quiet."

"Which gives one vampire who wants to wreak havoc an easy place to hide." Carwyn nodded at the shoreline where he could see Ben waiting. "Let's go ashore. See if Zasha and their party left anything for us to find."