Chained - Zara Novak Page 0,47
parapets at the top of this castle. Where is my husband?”
“All right. Easy, easy,” he said, holding his hands up at my empty threat. “Just don’t do anything hasty. He went to Monroe’s.”
Monroe. I remembered the name from the conversation with the Vigliati daughters a few days ago. “He went there to steal back the heirloom. He’s doing the job that Vigliati requested.”
Wardorf nodded. “I insisted he take backup, but he wanted to go alone. He should have been back by now. This is unlike him.”
“Where about is this Monroe based? Where does he live?”
“He has a country manor a few hours from here. I’m not sure if that’s where Vincent went, but it’s Monroe’s permanent residence. It’s highly likely any items of value are in his vault there.”
“Is it dangerous?”
Wardorf laughed. “Monroe is a mafia boss, just like Don Cartello. His house is a fortress, guarded by his own private militia.”
“All vampires?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Maybe some human slaves.”
I paused and thought for a moment. “Why are vampires so scared of the voice?” I asked, looking at Tasha and Wardorf.
“Because your kind is dangerous,” Wardorf said. “Power like that, it goes to a woman’s head.”
I stared daggers at Wardorf. Tasha actually stepped up with a helpful answer. “There was a breeder in years gone by, they called her the woman in white.”
Both Wardorf and Tasha shivered at the name. “The woman in white?” I asked.
“Can we please not,” Wardorf began.
“She wants to know, and she deserves to. If she’s going to live in our world, she should know what people might think of when they see her.”
“Tell me who she is,” I ordered. “Quickly.”
“She was a breeder of a powerful vampire leader,” Tasha said. “It was about the start of the last century. Her voice was very powerful, stronger than normal I hear. Well to cut things short she quickly let her powers get the better of her. Before long she was the one running things, and her husband was just another figure at her side.”
“What did she do that was so bad?”
“She tried to take absolute control, and she had some success too. She wanted to be the undisputed queen of our world.”
“Queen?” Wardorf said, sitting forward and resting his arms on his legs. “More like tyrant from what I hear.”
“Tyrant?” I asked.
“She killed thousands of our kind,” Tasha explained. Her gaze was in the distance now, as though reliving some dark past. “Using her power she took control of many strong vampires underneath her. They carried out her bidding; she led a genocide against those that went against her. Eventually it came to an end. Vigliati himself led a charge against the woman in white and he managed to kill her. Her empire of tyranny came crashing down.”
“Yet he took a breeder for a wife himself.”
Tasha nodded. “Your kind is incredibly rare and grants a tremendous amount of power and respect amongst vampires. To pass up one such as yourself, a vampire leader would be foolish. There are many out there that still fear breeders however.”
I thought for a moment while I let the words settle in. There was still so much that I didn’t know about this strange side of myself, but even I could see I had been dealt a hand, one that I wasn’t playing properly.
“This woman in white, I take it she had her nickname for a reason?”
“Allegedly,” Tasha said. “She only ever wore white, but I never saw her in person.”
I looked at Wardorf. “How far is it to Monroe’s country house?”
“About five hours by car.”
“Is there a quicker way?”
“Chopper. We can be there in forty minutes.”
I nodded to myself. “Something tells me he needs my help.”
“Your help?” Wardorf said. “What can you do?”
It was a brilliant question, and one that I didn’t have an answer to. All I knew is that something had gone wrong, and I was the only one that could help. “That’s for me to know and you to find out. Can you fly this chopper?”
Wardorf nodded again. “Yes, but I’ll have to get a team first, storming into Monroe’s place is going to require manpower—”
“We’re not storming in anywhere,” I interrupted. “It’s just me. Get up. We fly now.”
“Sunset isn’t for another hour; I can’t go anywhere until then.”
“One hour then. Then we’re out of here.”
Wardorf stood up. “You’ve got to be fucking crazy. Monroe is the most dangerous vampire in this whole god damn game. There’s no way you can fight your way out of