Imperium (Caulborn) by Nicholas Olivo Read Free Book Online

to Mr. Bruli’s house.”
    “Seems pretty cut and dried to me,” she said. “We ask him some questions and hopefully figure out where the missing people went.”
    “Not what I meant. Have you ever seen a vampire before?” She shook her head. “All right, you know how a caul protects you from mental domination? Well, vampires are always exerting a subtle form of mind control. They’re walking, talking corpses, but they use their powers to look like everyone else. Just relax your eyes, and your caul will allow you to see them as they really are. It’s a dramatic shift, and I want you to be prepared for it.
    “Also, forget anything you’ve heard that makes vampires out to be tragic, noble or misunderstood. They’re evil and they’re only out for themselves. They accepted the pact that the Caulborn laid out only to prevent humanity from hunting them to extinction. They’re living in hiding right now, but we have to watch them constantly so they don’t make a grab for power.”
    Megan frowned at me. “If they’re that much of a threat, why not just wipe them out and be done with it?”
    That was a valid question, and I’d be lying if I hadn’t thought the same thing myself. “For the same reason that you were negotiating with hostile aliens, Megan. Ultimately, we have a lot to learn from each other. Vampires are experts at manipulating the underworld, both politically and magically. They’re long-lived, and can teach us things that the history books can’t.”
    She nodded. “I see what you mean. They’re a necessary evil.” She took a piece of my pizza and chewed it thoughtfully. “Huh, that’s not bad.”
    Once we’d finished eating, we drove to the address Galahad had given us. I had Megan drive a few blocks farther down and we parked on the side of the street. As I plugged some quarters into a parking meter, Megan gestured at the dashboard clock. “We’ve still got lots of time before we’re expected. What do we do now?”
    “We’re going to make good use of the time,” I replied as I headed down an alleyway between two buildings. “Come on.” I ventured halfway down the alley, and then turned to make sure Megan was following me. The alley was dim, the nearby streetlamps its only source of illumination. I squatted down and took a slow breath. The alley reeked of trash, which was exactly what I wanted. Megan’s nose wrinkled in distaste, but she knelt down next to me, her head cocked in a rather cute gesture of confusion. Then I drew upon the Urisk’s faith in me and mentally called out to the rats.
    I could sense a handful of them scurrying through the dumpsters, skittering along the neighboring alleys. There were dozens more under the street, crawling through the sewers. I didn’t need that many. Three or four would do. I called out to the ones in the dumpster ahead and willed them to approach me. Megan squeaked and jumped to her feet as three of them answered, charging out from beneath the dumpster. They stopped about two feet from me, sat back on their hind legs and looked at me the way a dog looks at its master. I pictured the vampires’ lair in my mind, making it clear where I wanted them to go. Once I was sure they understood, I pointed, and the rats took off down the street.
    Megan stepped next to me as I stood up. “What was that all about?”
    “Just running recon.”
    “With rats.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of disbelief.
    I nodded. “Yes, with rats. The Urisk communicate telepathically. They found that their telepathy didn’t work on humans, something about the human personality blocks their attempts at communication. That’s why the original Dover Demon wasn’t able to talk with the teenagers he encountered. But they can talk to most other creatures on this planet. When they visit our realm, they use small creatures like rats and squirrels to do surveillance for them.”
    She paused. “That doesn’t sound like a typical caulborn-to-fae linkage,”