That Sergei Yakut hadn't informed his son of Niko's recent contact, or of the current rash of Gen One slayings, was telling. No matter how Alexei tried to posture himself as his father's right arm, Yakut evidently held him at some distance when it came to trust. Not surprising, given Yakut's suspicious nature. Evidently that suspicion extended to his own blood kin as well. Alexei cursed. "He should have told me. I would have made certain he had proper protection in place at all times. Instead, the bastard who attacked him is still on the loose. How can we be sure he won't come back to try again?"
"We can't be sure of that. In fact, we're better to go on the assumption that there will be another attack. My guess would be sooner than later."
"You need to keep me informed," Alexei said, his tone taking on that irritating edge of entitlement again. "I expect to be alerted immediately of anything you find, and anything you or the Order may know about these attacks. Anything at all. Understood?"
Nikolai let his answering smirk spread slowly over his face. "I'll try to remember."
"My father thinks he's untouchable, you see. He has his hand-picked bodyguards, all of them trained by him, loyal to him. And he has the counsel of his private oracle too."
Niko gave an acknowledging nod. "The child, Mira."
"You've seen her?" Alexei's gaze narrowed, though whether with mistrust or basic curiosity Nikolai couldn't guess. "So," Yakut's son said, "he let you meet her, then. He let you look into her witchy eyes."
"He did."
When Niko's jaw remained firm, probably rigid, Alexei grinned. His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Pleasant glimpse she gave you of your fate, was it, warrior?"
An instant replay of the heated vision ran through his mind like a brush fire, searing him from the inside. He shrugged with a cool he damn well didn't feel. "I've seen worse things."
Alexei laughed. "Well, I wouldn't worry if I were you. The little bitch's talent is far from perfect. She can't show you everything of your future, only brief flashes of what may come, based on the now. And she can't help you put anything of what you see into context either. Personally I don't find the brat nearly as amusing as my father seems to." He grunted, lifted one shoulder along with the corner of his sneering mouth. "The same could be said of the other female he insists on keeping around despite my doubts."
There was no question who he meant. "You're not fond of Renata, I take it?"
"Fond of her," Alexei muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's an arrogant one. Thinks herself above everyone else because she's managed to impress my father a time or two with her mind skill. Since the night she arrived here, she's been far too bold for her own good. You'd be hard-pressed to find a man among all those in my father's employ who wouldn't like to see her taken down a notch. Put the cold, uppity bitch in her rightful place, eh? Maybe you feel the same way, after what she did to you tonight in the city?"
Nikolai shrugged. He'd be lying if he said it didn't irk him on some primal level that a female had laid him low in combat. As grating as it was to have been on the receiving end of her mental assault, Nikolai couldn't deny some amount of awe. Obviously she was a Breedmate, since nature was averse to wasting powerful extrasensory gifts on basic Homo sapiens stock.
"I've never seen anything like her," he admitted to Alexei. "Never even heard of a Breedmate with that level of ability. I can see why your father would sleep better knowing she was nearby."
Alexei scoffed. "Don't be too impressed with her, warrior. Renata's skill has its merits, I'll grant you. But she's too weak to control it."
"How so?"
"She can send the mental wave out, but the power bounces back at her, like an echo. Once the reverberation hits her, she's utterly useless until it passes."
Nikolai recalled the debilitating blast of mental energy that Renata had unleashed on him in the warehouse. He was Breed - his alien genes giving him the strength and resilience of easily ten human men - and he had been unable to bear the pain of the incredible sensory assault. For Renata to go through that same anguish every time she used her skill?
"Christ," Niko said. "It must be pure torture for her."
"Yes," Alexei agreed, not bothering to conceal his light tone. "I'm quite sure it is."
Nikolai didn't miss the smile on the younger Yakut's lean face. "You enjoy that she suffers?"
Alexei grunted. "I couldn't care less. Renata is unsuitable for the role my father has given her. She 's ineffective as his bodyguard - a risk I fear might yet get him killed one day. If I were in his place, I wouldn't hesitate to turn her out on her haughty ass."
"But you're not in your father's place," Niko reminded him, if only because Alexei seemed overly eager to imagine it. The vampire stared at Niko in silence for a long, awkward time. Then he cleared his throat and spat on the ground. "Finish your search, warrior. If you find anything at all of interest, you will inform me at once."
Nikolai merely stared back at Yakut's son, wordlessly daring the civilian to command his promise. Alexei didn't press it, just pivoted slowly on his heel and marched back in the direction of the lodge.
Chapter Six
Renata quietly opened the door to Mira's room and peered inside at the sleeping child who rested peacefully on the bed. Just a normal little girl in pink pajamas, her soft cheek lying against the thin pillow, breath puffing rhythmically out of her delicate cherub's mouth. On the rustic little table next to the bed lay the short black veil that shielded Mira's remarkable eyes at all times when she was awake.