Page 96 of Sinner's Sacrifice
“No. Baz, Yvgeny, and Anna are eight hundred years old.”
Eight hundred years? She couldn’t wrap her brain around that.
“Transition?” Brian asked.
“Something happens to them to make them what they are.” Nika shrugged. “Baz doesn’t like talking about it.”
“What do you mean, make them what they are?”
“I mean, it’s a medical condition. It’s not magic. And whatever its mechanism, most people who try it die.”
Brian stared at Nika with wide eyes. “You said something about genes.”
“Yeah, you have to have the right genes. The frequency of finding them in people has dropped off a cliff. Anyone who does have them...” her voice trailed off.
“You have them?” Sam asked.
“Yes, and so do you,” Nika replied. She gave Brian a half grin. “And I think you must too, for them to want to protect you this much.”
“Baz cut off some heads. Is that what it takes to kill one?” Sam asked.
“There are some injuries they can’t come back from. A stab in the eye they can heal, but if they lose their head or enough of their brain is destroyed, no.”
“Wait a sec, are they going to try to transition us?” Brian asked, backing away from Nika.
“Baz and Yvgeny aren’t. I don’t know about Baz’s mom. She’s hard to read. It’s those other assholes I’m worried about.”
“Yvgeny apologized before he sent me down here,” Sam said. “I think he wanted to tell me himself, but we ran out of time.”
“Would you have believed him?”
“If I hadn’t seen that fight, no. I would have thought he was bullshitting me, and it would have made me angry.”
Brian walked toward the screens. “The police are here.”
Men and women in NYPD uniforms milled around in the lobby.
Nika glanced over then put her hands on her hips. “Decision time. What are you two going to do next?”
“This is crazy,” Brian said, rubbing his face with both hands. “If I report that there are vampires living in New York City, I’ll be laughed out of the FBI.”
“I came to a similar conclusion,” Nika said with a small smile. “And it doesn’t leave us with many options, does it?”
“But something happened here tonight,” he argued. “A coordinated group tried to get into the hotel and when it didn’t work, resorted to using military grade weapons. I’ve got to give the FBI something.”
Nika smiled. “You give them the truth. You tell them that a group of well funded human traffickers attacked the Brezniks because they’re interfering with their operations. That’s what I’m going to put in my report.”
Brian opened his mouth, then closed it. “Yeah, I guess that is what happened, just not all of it.”
Nika turned to Sam. “What about you?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I have a few things to say to Yvgeny and I’d like to mash that British guy’s balls into paste.”
“I don’t blame you,” Nika said. She glanced at Brian. “Are you staying or going or what?”
“If I could get out of here without being seen, I should do that. But is that even an option?”
Nika tilted her head to one side. “Yvgeny always has an escape plan. There’s probably a hidden exit in here.”