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The woman blushes slightly, waving her hand at the lycanthrope. “You flatter me, Christopher.”
“I’ve asked her to look into possible local places Patrice might have taken the girls.”
Fran moves across the room, sliding a pocket door under the stairwell. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you my top contenders.”
We enter a room that looks like something from a spy movie or television show. Computer screens line the walls, and a control center sits in the middle. Franbegins typing, pulling images up on all the screens. “These are the places that I’ve narrowed down as possible hideouts.”
I stare at the screens, seeing different buildings, most looking abandoned. “How many is that?”
“Forty-two,” she answers.
“How the hell are we supposed to check forty-two buildings?” I ask.
“I have a pack of lycan—” Topher starts.
“No,” I interrupt. You saw how effective that was in Alabama.” My words come out more harshly than intended.
“What are you not telling us?” Alex asks, staring at the elderly vampire in silence, no doubt, reading her thoughts. He turns toward a screen on the far wall. “This is where she thinks they’ll most likely be.”
Fran wrinkles her forehead. “I was getting to that part, young man.” She moves closer to Alex, staring him in the eyes.
“Yes,” he answers. She repeats the motion, and Alex answers again. “I’ve had it since I was changed.”
“I’ll be damned,” Fran exclaims, clapping her hands loudly. “I always knew it was a possibility but have never seen it until now.” She moves closer to Alex. “You’re special, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?” Thorne speaks for the first time since arriving.
“I’m talking about the vampire council and why immortal children are outlawed.”
“They’re outlawed because of their inability to control their emotions,” Topher answers.
Fran shrugs. “Maybe. I’ve always had other theories behind the law.”
“Because Alex can hear other people’s thoughts?” I ask, confused.
“That, among other things.” She types quickly on the keyboard, pulling up what looks like ancient writing from an even older looking book. “I took the liberty to upload both Harrison’s and Viktor’s libraries into one source a few months back.”
“Harrison?” I ask. “The one who nearly killed Amelia?”
“The very same.” She zooms in on the document.
“That’s Sanskrit,” Alex announces, staring at the screen.
Fran turns toward the child. “Can you read Sanskrit?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I recognize a few of the characters.”
“There’s not much mentioned, but I remember reading this not too long ago.” She pushes a button on the keyboard, and the unfamiliar language translates into English. She highlights a passage. “How about now? Can you read that to us, Alex?”
“A child inflicted with the blood of a vetala may hold power in their body.” He turns toward the rest of us. “What is a vetala?”
“They were believed to be spirits inhabiting thebodies of the dead,” Fran answers. “It’s a fancy way of saying vampire.” She types a few more things, pulling up an old black-and-white photograph. “This is a picture of what was believed to be an immortal child from the late 1800s.”
I stare at the image of a beautiful young girl. An oversized bow holds her perfectly styled ringlets in place. She’s smiling, displaying two tiny pointed teeth hanging over her bottom lip. The caption under her picture reads, “Telekinesis.”
Fran pulls up another picture—this one of an older boy. The photograph looks to be from around the same time period. The caption under his picture reads, “Telepathy.”
“Like me,” Alex says from behind.
