Necroscope II Wamphyri(Vampyri) - By Brian Lumley Page 0,167

Château Bronnitsy.'

This was news to everyone except Layard. Lips tightened and heartbeats stepped up. Ken Layard took up the briefing. 'We're pretty sure he's there,' he said. 'I located him - I think - but only with the greatest difficulty. They've got espers blocking everything in there, far more concentrated than we've ever known it before. The place is a mental miasma!'

'That's a fact,' Roberts nodded. 'I tried to pin-point him, get a picture of him - and failed miserably! Just a general mind-smog. Which doesn't bode at all well for Alec. If his being there was all above board, they'd have nothing to hide. Also, he's not supposed to be there at all but here. My guess is, they'll be milking him for all he's worth. And for all we're worth. If I'm cold-blooded about it, believe me it's only to save time.'

'What about Carl Quint?' John Grieve put the question. 'How's he faring?'

'Carl's where he should be,' Layard said. 'Near as I can make out, in a place called Chernovtsy under the Carpathians. Whether he's there willingly is another matter.'

'But we think willingly,' Roberts added. 'I've managed to reach and see him, however briefly, and I think he's with Krakovitch. Which only serves to confuse things further. If Krakovitch is straight up, then why is Kyle in trouble?'

'And Bodescu?' Newton asked. He now felt he had a personal vendetta with the vampire.

'That bastard is heading north,' Roberts grimly answered. 'It could be coincidence, but we don't think so. Ultimately, we think he's after the Keogh child. He knows everything, knows the guiding force behind our organisation. Bodescu has been hit, and now he wants to hit back. The one mind in this entire world which is an authority on vampires - particularly Yulian Bodescu - is housed in that child. That has to be his target.'

'We don't know how he's travelling,' Layard carried on. 'Public transport? Could be. He could even be thumbing lifts! But he's certainly not in any sort of hurry. He's just taking it easy, taking his time. He got into Birmingham an hour ago, since when he's been static. We think he's put up for the night. But it's the same story as before:

he exudes this mental swamp. That's what it's like:

groping around in the heart of a foggy swamp; You can't pinpoint him at all, but you know there's a crocodile in there somewhere. At the moment, Birmingham is the centre of it . .

'But do we have any plans?' Jordan couldn't stand the inactivity. 'I mean, are we going to do something? Or do we just sit here playing with ourselves while everything goes to hell?'

'There are jobs for everybody.' Roberts held up a huge, controlling hand. 'First I need a volunteer to go up and help Darcy Clarke in Hartlepool. Apart from a couple of Special Branch men - who are good blokes but simply can't be expected to know what they're on - Darcy's on his own. The ideal thing would be to send a spotter, except we don't have one right now. So it will have to be a telepath.' He looked pointedly at Jordan.

Harvey Newton got in first, however, saying: 'That's me! I owe Bodescu that much. He got by me last time, but he won't do it again.'

Jordan shrugged and no one else objected. Roberts nodded. 'OK - but stay sharp! Go now, by car. The roads will be empty, so you should be able to go flat out. Depending on how things go at this end, I'll probably be joining you sometime tomorrow.'

That was all Newton had wanted. He stood up, nodded once to all in general, got on his way. 'Take a crossbow,' Roberts called after him. 'And Harvey, next time you "shoot your bolt" make sure you hit the target!'

'What's my job?' Jordan asked.

'You'll work with Mike Carson,' Roberts told him.

'And with me and Layard. We'll try to locate Quint again, and you telepaths can take a stab at sending to him. It's a long shot, but Quint's a spotter, he's a psychic sensitive; he might just feel you. Your message to him will be simple: if he can he's to get in touch with us. If we can get him on the phone, we can perhaps find out about Kyle. And if he doesn't know about Kyle - well, that in itself will answer one question. Also, if we do manage to contact him, it might be a good idea to tell Quint