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  Makeda started to speak but stopped. She turned away from Adriana. After a moment, she stood and paced in the small amount of room the furniture allowed.

  Adriana looked to Freeman. He shrugged, motioning back to Makeda.

  Finally, the female Knight of Vyntari spoke.

  “You were born sometime in the late 18th century. Your father is a French businessman who married a princess of Austria. Your aunt is Marie Antoinette.”

  Adriana’s jaw slackened, one eyebrow raising in disbelief. “I am… royalty?”

  “Halfway,” Freeman said. “You don’t have a claim to anything, but when you were alive, you probably enjoyed the benefits, trapesing between Paris and Vienna. Rumor has it your auntie even pulled strings to get you piano and singing lessons with Mozart.”

  Adriana’s memories didn’t register the name.

  Freeman waved a hand dismissively. “He’s one of the greatest composers who ever lived. There’s even a movie about him. Maybe watching it will jar your memory. Then let me know if he's really as crazy as he was in the movie.”

  Adriana looked at the floor, allowing this knowledge to ferment in her mind. “I saw another woman tonight,” she eventually said, her voice distant, as if she were reliving her nightmare. “Green eyes, blonde. She was with Dominique and me.”

  Makeda stopped pacing. She and Freeman looked expectantly at Adriana as she continued to chase the visions in her mind.

  “They mentioned a painting,” she added.

  Freeman shifted in his chair, leaning toward his computer. “Did they mention a name?”

  “I don’t think that’s relevant,” Makeda began.

  “It’s relevant if they’re talking about the ‘Two Sisters’ portrait!” Freeman said.

  Makeda turned angrily on Freeman. Her next words came in a staccato burst. “We had decided it best —”

  “She’s my sister?” Adriana asked.

  Makeda’s eyes snapped to Adriana. Just as quickly, she turned away from both Freeman and Adriana, taking a few deep breaths. Eventually, she spoke, her tone even and deliberate.

  “Both women play important roles in your history, Adriana. But you must first learn the context of your history.”

  “But one of them is my sister.”

  Makeda looked skyward before turning back to Adriana. “What else did you see in your nightmare?”

  Adriana frowned, acknowledging Makeda’s change of topic. She thought it best to just go with it. “The first girl, Dominique,” Adriana said hesitantly. “Her depression was so great she had allowed everything around her fall to decay.” Turning to Freeman, she asked, “What happened to her?”

  Freeman didn’t acknowledge her. Adriana looked to Makeda. The knight stewed for a moment. With a sigh, she said, “Michael, upload the info on the Daughters of Lilith to my computer.”

  “You sure about that, boss?”

  Makeda looked to Adriana. The vampire hoped her expression looked earnest and not needy. The elder woman sat back on the sofa and looked to the computer. “Do it. Everything pertinent to Adriana until the Millennium Massacre.”

  Freeman reached down and started typing on an unseen keyboard in front of him. “On it. Um, there’s something else you should know.”

  Makeda and Adriana looked expectantly at Freeman.

  “Gabby’s been sent on a mission without me or al-Sadat,” he said.

  “I’m aware,” Makeda replied. Off Freeman’s surprise, she looked at her watch. “I’m meeting her in an hour.”

  Adriana turned quickly to Makeda. “And you were going to leave me?”

  “It doesn’t concern you.”

  Adriana stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “You are not going alone.”

  Adriana had changed into dark jeans, a matching colored t-shirt, and a light leather jacket. The weather didn’t require one, and Adriana’s lower body temperature (a perk of being a creature effectively dead) didn’t either. She’d just become fond of the thing. She wondered if it had anything to do with her life as a vampire.

  Makeda wore similar attire, sans a jacket. Adriana remembered Freeman teasing Makeda that her taste in clothes suited a 1970s Blaxploitation star. Adriana hadn’t understood the reference until she watched a movie Freeman sent them, “Foxy Brown.” Adriana agreed with Freeman’s assessment, save that Makeda favored a braided hairstyle instead of an Afro.

  The women parked their modest sedan on Castlereagh Street near the Park Regis City Center. They walked from there down Park Street to Hyde Park.

  This late in the evening, the area was devoid of people. Trees lined the path they walked. The tree’s branches formed a canopy over the wide cement path. A series of streetlights cast a somber white glow upon the path.

  Seeing so much green in an urban area amazed Adriana. It reminded her of one of her nightmares, the wooded area near the cottage —

  Adriana suddenly stopped. “I was at Versailles,” she thought aloud.

  Makeda stopped a few steps ahead of Adriana. “What?”

  “One of my memories, I saw a forest area with a cottage.” She looked to Makeda with an air of confidence. “I read something about Antoinette on the way over. The area I saw was the palace at Versailles.”

  Makeda nodded. “Makes sense, your aunt being the queen who lived there.”

  “In my vision, I was there with the Dominique girl from the decaying mansion. We were painting a portrait at the queen’s request, for our mother and father, who were away. Perhaps it was the ‘Two Sisters’ painting?” Adriana’s mind kept going. “Maybe… maybe Dominique—”

  Makeda turned from Adriana and continued down the path. “We don’t want to be late.”

  Adriana had hoped Makeda would be more supportive of her breakthrough. She really couldn’t figure the woman out. She moved ahead, catching up with her. They continued in silence.

  As they neared the end of the canopy, Adriana saw a large fountain ahead. It had three statues spraying multiple arcs of water up, across, and back into the fountain’s base. An open area surrounded the fountain, with five other non-canopied paths branching off from this central location.

  “I wonder if my absence destroyed Dominique… my sister,” Adriana said. She still felt odd saying the word sister. She knew it meant something to her, even felt the pull toward Dominique, but she didn’t quite connect emotionally with the girl.

  Adriana also noticed that Makeda had failed to deny the tie between the two women.

  As the women reached the fountain, Adriana said, “On the way over I was reading the files on the Daughters of Lilith.” She waited for Makeda’s reaction. None came. Adriana continued. “I see they have vampire abilities beyond my speed, fangs and feeding. They’re able to taste the blood of a target and cause the victim’s blood to —”

  Makeda abruptly turned on Adriana and said, “You may wish to remain here.”

  Adriana blinked. “Why? If Gabriella —”

  Dizziness overwhelmed Adriana. She stumbled, squatting down to sit on the edge of the fountain’s knee-high outer wall. Makeda grabbed her shoulders so she didn’t fall in the water.

  “Sure you can go further?” Makeda asked.

  Adriana shook her head. “I do not understand. I was fine, and then I just felt... sick.”

  Makeda looked to the east. “That may be your problem.”

  Adriana followed Makeda’s gaze.

  A little under a thousand feet away, Adriana saw a magnificent cathedral. Built in a Gothic style, it seemed anachronistic in the middle of the steel and concrete of downtown Sydney.

  “I have seen a building like that before,” Adriana said, seemingly in a daze.

  “This building is St. Mary’s Cathedral,” Makeda began. “You’re probably thinking of Notre Dame, in Paris. Being related to European royalty in the 18th century, you were probably Catholic and would have attended service in such a place.”

  Adriana looked from the cathedral to the Knight of Vyntari at her side. “And being o
f the faith does not help me with this sickness I feel?”

  “It’s the demon inside you,” Makeda explained. “The cathedral symbolizes faith in a higher power of goodness. This faith frightens the demon, repels it.”

  Adriana looked back to the cathedral. Unfortunately, just looking at it turned knots in her stomach.

  “You can fight it if you want,” came a new female voice with a bit of an Irish brogue. “But I really don’t think it necessary.”

  Makeda and Adriana looked to the northern path and saw a woman in a light-colored pantsuit approaching. Her controlled stride alluded to an athletic prowess belayed by her conservative attire.

  Adriana remembered the woman had been in Africa along with Makeda and Freeman when she underwent her resurrection. She hadn’t seen the woman since that time but remembered her fondly as Knight of Vyntari Gabriella Doran.

  “Sorry to get you ladies out in the middle of the night,” Gabriella said as she approached.

  “We’re used to the strange hours,” Makeda replied.

  When Gabriella reached the other women, she and Makeda embraced. It was an embrace of love and respect.

  “It’s good to see you, praetor,” Gabriella said.

  “There’s no need for formality,” Makeda replied.

  “I’m afraid this isn’t a social call.”

  Makeda released Gabriella and stared at the younger woman. Gabriella did not meet her gaze. “I suspected as much, seeing as we made every effort to hide from you and the Knights.”

  Gabriella moved forward and surprised Adriana with a hug.

  “I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” Gabriella said, “but if you need anything…”

  Adriana found herself hugging the Knight back.

  After a moment, Gabriella released Adriana but placed her hands on either of the girl’s shoulders. Adriana’s vampire nature locked her in the appearance of a twenty-two-year-old. Gabriella was nearly a decade older. That and Gabriella being half a foot taller than Adriana gave the appearance of an adult talking to a younger girl — even though Adriana was actually over two centuries old.

  “I’m all for reunions,” Gabriella said, “but I need to talk to Makeda for a moment. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Adriana shook her head. Gabriella smiled. Moving from Adriana, she looked to Makeda while motioning to the cathedral. “Shall we?”

  Makeda nodded. “We won’t be long,” she said to Adriana.

  Gabriella walked toward the cathedral. Makeda fell into step alongside her, leaving Adriana alone at the fountain.

  Upon entering St. Mary’s, Makeda watched as Gabriella stared in awe at the interior. It was a sight to behold. Its designers had painted the vast space golden-brown, with a high, vaulted, red cedar roof. Majestic columns engraved with the heads of saints lined the inner worship area. Aisles on the exterior of the columns allowed easy passage to the clerestory.

  “We’ve traveled to many exotic places together, praetor,” Gabriella said, slowly moving down the center aisle among the pews. “As a Catholic, St. Mary’s is just as much a holy site for me as the Cueva de la Duda in Argentina is for we followers of the One Goddess. I figured we could enjoy its splendor before any… unpleasantness.”

  Makeda gave Gabriella time to admire the sights. Standing a few steps behind her discipuli, she eventually asked, “About that unpleasantness?”

  Instead of answering or even acknowledging the statement, Gabriella walked further down the cathedral’s central aisle and toward the altar. Makeda remained at the cathedral’s center. She looked past the beautiful architecture, checking the shadows created by the moonlight through the clerestory’s stained-glass windows.

  Makeda looked for any potential threat. She found nothing.

  That worried her.

  Adriana splashed water from Archibald Fountain onto her face. The action allowed her the conceit of doing something, but it didn’t alleviate the demon-inspired fear causing her very bones to shake.

  Standing now, she set her hands on the edge of the wall retaining the fountain’s water and allowed her head to hang low. She wanted to run back to the safety of the canopy, away from the cathedral. She also didn’t want to abandon Makeda.

  Adriana looked down to the water. Instead of her reflection, she saw the image of the malignant demon inside her. She’d gotten used to the image; the horror of knowing that thing was inside her no longer caused her grief.

  The demon’s image was shattered by the impact of a poorly aimed crossbow bolt.

  Adriana quickly looked in the direction from whence the bolt came. As she did, she forced blood to her eyes, making the whites turn red. The world shifted to shades of gray and black, with the circulatory systems of living objects pulsing in vivid red, exposing them.

  Back among the trees, Adriana saw the blood forms of a man and a woman, each holding a black object that looked like a crossbow. The woman’s crossbow pointed downward, probably to reload.

  The man prepared to fire.

  Gabriella took a knee before the altar. She bowed her head, making the sign of the cross. Makeda remained further back down the center aisle. A moment later, Gabriella stood, but her back remained to her mentor.

  “It doesn’t have to go down that way,” she said. “Unpleasant, I mean.”

  Makeda walked forward, slowly closing the distance between her and her discipulus. “It doesn’t have to go down at all. We tried to keep you out of this.”

  “The three members of the Concilium are direct links to the Word of the One Goddess.”

  “They are mortals chosen by other mortals to lead.”

  “They only want to do what’s right.”

  “And what is right here, Gabriella?”

  The younger Knight was silent. Makeda stopped a respectful distance behind her.

  Gabriella looked over her shoulder at Makeda. A strand of her blonde hair fell across her face. “We should have brought Adriana to them from Berlin.”

  “So they could destroy her?”

  “Wasn’t that the mission?”

  Though Gabriella said the words, her tone conveyed her lack of faith in them. Makeda seized on this.

  “I remember your grief when you thought Adriana was dead,” she said. “Why would you mourn if her destruction was the mission?”

  Gabriella’s lips parted, but she withheld an answer. Her head turned down and away from Makeda.

  “The One Goddess will know what to do.”

  “The Concilium is not the One Goddess.”

  “They speak for her.” Gabriella turned on Makeda. “As you once did.”

  As the male attacker released his crossbow bolt, Adriana charged at him. Using her preternatural speed (another vampiric gift), she crossed the distance to him in nearly an instant. The ability also sharpened her perception, allowing her to easily sidestep the man's bolt.

  The female attacker brought up her crossbow to fire, expecting Adriana to be several yards away from her. To her surprise, the vampire stood just to her side.

  The attacker’s crossbow was aimed at space.

  Acting on instinct, the female thrust the butt of her crossbow at Adriana. The vampire attempted to parry the blow but misjudged her attacker’s reflexes. The crossbow hit Adriana in the jaw, drawing blood.

  Using her preternatural speed, Adriana snatched the crossbow from the female’s hands. Stunned by the sudden loss of her weapon, the woman was now exposed. Adriana brought her foot up, connecting with the female’s midsection. Adriana’s opponent stumbled backward, falling to one knee.

  In her periphery, Adriana saw a chain made of white, ethereal light swing just past her side. Turning, she saw the male attacker stood just out of her range.

  He wielded the ethereal chain. It whistled through the air, its target Adriana.

  The vampire held up the confiscated crossbow, catching the chain around its middle. She pulled the weapon, drawing the man off balance and sending him stumbling toward her. Leaping, Adriana brought
her knee up to catch the man’s chin. He flipped over onto his back, his head slamming on the ground.

  He was stunned but remained conscious.

  Adriana turned just as a second ethereal chain swung at her. Adriana ducked, the chain cutting through her dark hair. The female was up and wielding a second chain. The two squared off.

  The female moved first, lashing out with the chain. She aimed to snare Adriana’s ankles. Adriana leaped toward her opponent just as the chain swept past where her feet would have been. She executed a dive roll, coming up with her foot slamming into the female’s leg. The female grunted as Adriana’s boot struck her. Her leg buckled, bringing her to her knees again.

  Despite her agony, the female reached out to grab Adriana’s outstretched leg. Rolling on her back, Adriana swept her foot out of the way. Her other foot came around to strike the female in the face. The female spun backward, landing hard on her stomach.

  Adriana dropped into a crouch.

  And then she felt the cold of an ethereal chain around her neck.

  Makeda stared at Gabriella’s back. The woman turned fully to face her, pity in her eyes as she continued.

  “Let’s forget Adriana for the moment,” Gabriella began. “Your crusade in Berlin and Oromia was misguided, putting the sacred Vyntari shards into the hands of the enemy.”

  “Are you questioning the One Goddess?” Makeda challenged.

  Gabriella’s shoulder sank as the pity left her eyes. “We both know the One Goddess had nothing to do with your crusade.”

  Makeda knew Gabriella had her suspicions, voiced in anger during the aftermath of their encounter in Grunewald Forest with Adriana. It was a testament to Gabriella and Freeman’s loyalty that neither of them outright rebelled against Makeda during their work in Berlin and Oromia.

  But on this point, Gabriella was correct. All missions for the Knights came from the Concilium, who divined the missions from the One Goddess. Makeda had developed her plans for Adriana and the shards of her accord, just as she had taken it upon herself to leave Oromia with Adriana and go into seclusion.