Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth Read Free Book Online Page A

into his head, and slowing down his thought processes for normal conversation.
    But it took only a second for him to realize he’d slipped. “A fake. A politician.”
    “Maybe the president figures you need that more than you need a field agent. That’s probably why they sent him over earlier than expected.”
    Then, with a deep breath, Griff decided to tell him.
    “And the cancer’s back.”
    Cade’s fingers hesitated on the keyboard for a fraction of a second.
    “I know,” he said, the clatter of the typing picking up again.
    He knew. Of course he knew. He probably knew before Griff did. But he didn’t say anything; he was waiting for Griff to let him in on the secret. His version of courtesy. Of friendship.
    “What did the doctors say?” Cade asked.
    “Inoperable.”
    Cade looked back down at the computer and finished entering the case into the log. He probably knew that, too.
    “I’m sorry,” he said.
    Everyone around him dies, Griff thought. Sooner or later. But not him.
    Griff worried what would happen once he was gone.
    Griff was the closest thing Cade had to a friend. Over thirty years, he had only seen the gulf widen between Cade and everyone else. Without some kind of connection, Cade might forget what it meant to be human completely.
    Griff wondered how dangerous that might be.
    And remembered that whatever happened, he wouldn’t be around to see it.
     
     
     
    THE KID CAME out of the bathroom, breaking up what could have been an awkward moment. His hair was still wet, and he was trying to smooth the wrinkles out of his shirt.
    He froze when he saw Cade at the computer.
    Griff stood up and guided Zach over to the table.
    “Relax,” he said. “He won’t bite.”
    “You’re. Not. Funny.” Zach was breathing hard.
    “Show him your papers.”
    “What?” Zach was shaking. He wouldn’t take his eyes off Cade. Griff couldn’t really blame him—he remembered the first time he’d encountered Cade, and he’d had a lot more training, with physical combat under his belt. It was a little like waking up and finding a cobra coiled on the next pillow.
    Cade was doing his best to ignore this, to spare Zach any further embarrassment. Still, they had work to do, so Griff carefully reached into the jacket pocket of Zach’s suit and took out the envelope there.
    “Show him your orders from the president,” Griff told Zach. “Go on. Do it.”
    Zach took the envelope back from Griff, and stepped forward to hand it to Cade. As soon as it touched the vampire’s fingertips, Zach jumped back again.
    Cade opened the envelope and read aloud: “‘I hereby invest Zachary Taylor Barrows with the powers of liaison for the Office of the President of these United States, with all rights, privileges and duties pertaining to that position....’”
    Cade finished reading the letter silently, then nodded. “Welcome aboard,” he said, folding it into the envelope again. “You are now a designated officer of the President of the United States. You are under my protection. ”
    Zach’s breathing began to slow. A little. “What? What does that mean?”
    “That means he can’t hurt you. Even if he wanted to,” Griff said. “He’s bound to follow your lawful orders, and keep you from harm.”
    Zach looked back and forth between them. “What is that, like a magic spell?”
    “Actually,” Cade said, “it was a blood oath.”

FIVE
    1867, FORT WARREN,
GEORGES ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS
     
     
     
    C old water stung h im, a wet slap against his face. He woke up, not knowing how long he had been asleep. For one blessed instant, he thought it had all been a nightmare.
    Then he felt the chains on his wrists, and it came back with terrifying clarity.
    He was in a dank stone cell, the floor covered with the shit and filth of other men. His arms were locked in heavy manacles above his head. There was a dull ache in his chest, and he remembered being shot.
    He looked down, and saw the bullet wounds healing on his chest