Part 36 (2/2)

The older the vampire was, the quicker and more widespread the healing. With enough years, youngsters would ultimately gain that sort of power, as well.

After two hours, Tamsin was prepared for her biggest role yet.

Outside her mansion, Sorin waited for the broadcast to end, using an encrypted cell phone to handle Underground business: the updating of Robby Pennybaker's demise from spywork. Still doubtful of the Master's methods, Sorin's mind stayed focused on the fire that would burn in front of him; it was one of the only methods that could harm him, so caution was wise.

Predictably, the superstar performed without error.

As the flames consumed her home, the Servants, dressed in protective gear since they were stunt technicians in their Above lives, whisked Tamsin out of danger. Quickly, they subst.i.tuted a body that had already been burned and stripped of identifying features.

Then they carried out the necessary, routine trickery: with Robby Pennybaker, for instance, they had slowed his vitals after he had attacked his first, unlucky victim, then stolen his ”corpse” from the morgue to avoid investigation; with Jesse Shane, they had wired his ambulance to explode in a remote area, leaving only body fragments behind-so mangled that the investigators would never discover that Jesse Shane's remains were not among the carnage.

And so it went with all the ”deaths.”

For Tamsin, they had found a suitable woman on the streets who no one would miss. No, there was not a person on earth who would care about yet another transient gone absent-not on a night when one of the world's biggest stars fell from the heavens.

In no time, Sorin and the Servants had transported Tamsin Underground without anyone Above being the wiser. Though Sorin was able to partially close Tamsin's throat wound, the cut ran deep. It would require the doctor's skills to complete her now.

While the Servants gathered with the rest of the excited Underground in the emporium where they awaited Tamsin's arrival, Sorin brought the new Elite to the Master.

He was only just slipping into the secret room himself, his aura s.h.i.+ning. After he flipped on the radio, they heard the devastated voice of a dead-of-night DJ yelling and crying about tonight's Internet broadcast. The Master's aura brightened further, a halo surrounding an eclipsed sun.

The finest resurrection of all, Sorin thought. My master. Thank the day for this new Elite. Thank the day for his awakening at the terrible rise of the activities Above.

While the vampire they called Dr. Eternity settled his child on a bed of silk and rose petals, he spoke, profound sadness weighing his tone.

”They say my son was destroyed.”

”It is for the best. In the end, Robby caused an information leak and changed the retrieval mission of him and his father into a convenient erasure. Between this rogue Elite and Lee Tomlinson, it has been made clear that betrayal will not go unpunished.”

”At what price?”

”Youwere once taught to withold mercy from traitors.”

”Yes.” A simple acknowledgment had never sounded so sorrowful.

The Master laid a hand on Tamsin's self-inflicted wound. ”One lost child is ushered out by the birth of a new one. Makes sense.”

”We will grieve Robby properly. And Marla Pennybaker's mind will be wiped, leaving no trace of tonight after she is returned Above.”

”No trace except for Limpet and a.s.sociates-something we weren't able to solve. I know that, Sorin. I know it very well, and we'll lock our community down until we know how to proceed, for the time being.”

Relief glowed through Sorin. Perhaps the Master was planning aggressive action now. Perhaps he would soon be ready to vanquish their enemies.

The Master's aura flickered as he healed Tamsin Greene. Her skin had gone pale with the loss of blood, but her flesh was blooming back to its gorgeous, smooth, dark shade with the absorption of the Master's power. Her lips reddened.

Yet, just as she was becoming a reflection of her human self again, the Master went a step beyond, suffusing her with the true nature. The Allure she would be trained to control.

It began with her skin, which hushed a feathery mist of ghostly white-so light that her limbs seemed to float on air. Her eyes brightened open, irises mirroring a swirl of inhuman shades, hints of the afterlife, glimpses of places she would never be able to retire to now that she was without a soul.

Sorin thought of the room with the hundreds of vials-a h.e.l.l on earth.

Fully turned now, Tamsin was breathtaking. Slowly, she sat up, put her hands to her face. When Sorin held up an outdated looking gla.s.s, she gazed upon herself.

Like all of the Elites, she fell in love with the new image. She drank herself in, laughing and complimenting.

From the corner, the DJ on the radio was accepting phone calls from fans in hysterical denial.”You're a legend,” the Master said to his child. ”And when the world has grieved and made you more of a G.o.ddess than you ever thought possible, you'll go back to them.”

”But not until after the rest of the procedure,” she said.

Unlike Robby Pennybaker, Tamsin was accepting of the necessary steps because the doctor's success rate in creating new careers for the Elite was astounding.

Tonight, after returning Tamsin to her more human form, the doctor would see to her recovery. She would stay Underground for decades, long enough to make her an even bigger legend. Years of experience predicted that the public would yearn for another Tamsin Greene, would crave a remedy for their nostalgic love of a talent who had died too young.

Meanwhile, she would train to ”act human” and control her new powers. Underground, she would feed off Servants and Groupies who were addicted to an Elite's angelic beauty and glamour. She would be pampered and wors.h.i.+pped, young and ageless, never changing until the doctor stepped in once again.

Because, before her release to a Servant Above who would maintain her career, she would undergo an alteration. Most stars had taken part in a process similar before coming Underground anyway, so it was a familiar procedure.

In the final phase before a comeback, the Elite went ”under the knife,” as the doctor called it. With preternatural efficiency, he would use all the skills he had been taught by a human Servant-a plastic surgeon-over fifty years ago. He would transform Tamsin's face. Give her a new ident.i.ty. Work with such speed that the still-young vampire could not heal before he was finished.

And, when he was done, her flesh would wrap over cheekbone and chin implants, the star bearing only an eerie resemblance to her old self. Simple cosmetic changes that did not require surgery would aid in the rest of the masquerade, completing her fresh look.

But the most important element was this: Allure s.h.i.+ning through her eyes, convincing anyone who looked into them that she carried the essence of a dead legend-a familiar star who would have aged so tragically during the pa.s.sage of years. Then, when the public noticed her eternal youth, she would return Underground to start again.

Better than Botox. And longer lasting, as well.

Although not everyone knew it, this doctor was the best career fixer in town.

Tamsin and her mirror were still enjoying an intense affair. ”A legend. Just like Jim Morrison.”

The Awareness between the Master and Sorin wavered, like a human chuckle.

”Your new family is waiting,” the second-in-command reminded her.

The Master rested a hand on Tamsin's head, thus altering her to the quasi-human form that would house her Allure. He looked into her multi-colored eyes.

”Secrecy, my love,” he said. ”I don't exist for anyone except you and your siblings. Remember that.”

She nodded, knowing the price of revealing the true Master. Back to mortality. Back to aging and eventually withering away. And for a professional who was so accustomed to signing non-disclosure agreements in her contracts, this step presented no difficulty.

”Yes, Master,” she whispered, kissing his hand with fervent grat.i.tude.

Then Sorin led Tamsin up from the bed, guided her out of the darkness and through the tunnels. To the emporium.

As the doors opened, the haremesque grandeur embraced them. Cut gla.s.s, rich velvets and brocades, heady incense and flesh. Her fellow Elites-the ones who had yet to be released-stood before her, flanked by the Groupies, then a handful of Servants.

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