The three girls continued to listen until they heard someone approaching the door. It was Avalon, the Black Scribe. The lad was about their age, but due to his position on the ruling council they didn't know how far they could trust him. In his hand was a long rectangular box. He knocked briefly and then entered the chamber hall. Gregor looked up and Avalon almost cringed at the look on his face.
"Avalon, I didn't call for the scribe. What is the meaning of this interruption." roared Gregor.
"A package for you, my king...It was marked urgent, but had no return address, and the delivery person knew nothing of it's point of origin. After today's message I thought it might be related." explained the scribe.
"Very well," said Gregor regaining a hold on his temper. "Bring it to me."
Gregor opened the box and saw it was full of long stemmed white roses. He rummaged through them until he found the card. He picked it up and smelled a familiar perfume as he brought it out of the box. The card simply read "An Eye for an Eye" in evenly spaced type, but when he flipped the card over he saw that a small medallion had been taped to the back of it. He looked closely at it and recognized the BHC comm badge embedded in its finely crafted gold. Gregor pressed the activation button and the hidden comm badge and watched the computer console at his desk.
INCOMING COMMUNIQUƒ FROM SASHA CULLEN, the screen read.
Gregor tore the flowers from the box and as he did a thorn embedded itself in his forefinger. He howled with rage and pain and tossed the flowers to the floor. When he looked down, it wasn't a thorn at all, but a pendant of some sort. He pulled it from his finger and examined it. It was finely crafted silver and was in the form of a coiled rattle snake with ruby red eyes.......the emblem of Nytshade the White Queen.
"JOOOOOONNNN!!!!!!" Gregor roared. "You'll pay for this...I swear it!!!!"
Nytshade paced in her elegantly appointed office as she listened to the speaker phone ring. On the fifth ring, she was ready to give up when the other end was picked up, and a pleasant voice answered.
"Thank you for calling Psy-Chance Industries. How can I direct your call?"
"I need to speak with Mr. Gil de Rubio. It's urgent."
"Mr. Gil de Rubio is in a meeting right now, could I place you in his voice mail, or is there someone else that could help you?" the receptionist countered.
"Listen closely to me, girl. My name is Jon Ellen Tolliver and I will speak to Mr. Gil De Rubio now, or tomorrow after I do finally speak with him, you will no longer have a job," spat Jon.
"Yes, Ms. Tolliver," the young girl said quickly as she put the call through.
"Hello, Jon," Victor Gil de Rubio, A.K.A. Mischance answered. "What is so urgent that you need to disturb my meeting?"
"Victor, please............I know what your 'meetings' consist of. I remember the intern from Tolliver Enterprises I let you borrow....and I thought Clinton was bad," said Jon.
"If you called to judge my taste in women, Jon, I really don't have time. I really have a company to run here," said Mischance.
"I'm sorry, Victor. You're right. It's necessary to call a meeting of our Hellfire associates. One of the students at the White Hellfire Academy was taken or convinced to leave by a member of the BHC. I want to know who took him, how they did it, and why. Can you meet me here in an hour?" asked Jon uncharacteristically humbly.
"Of course," said Mischance. "We'll be there as soon as possible, but how do you know it was the BHC?"
"They left a calling card," said Jon fingering the silken cloth with Gregor's monogram. "And who do you mean we?"
"Nevermind that....what kind of calling card?" said Mischance.
"They left one of Gregor's handkerchiefs, but that's unimportant....Get here as soon as you can," said Nytshade.
"Touch it as little as possible. I've got a plan!" said Mischance.
"Just get here as soon as possible, Victor," pleaded Jon. "We don't have time for games."
Margaret Miller, A.K.A. Shockwave, looked from Janista to Glittergirl as they hurried to the boys dormitory.
"Janista, you heard what they said in the council meeting," whispered Shockwave. "Somehow the White Queen is involved in Sasha's disappearance. Open warfare between the houses could put you in danger here. I don't know what the council will do when they realize they have a white hellion on campus."
"I can't believe Nytshade would kidnap anyone, but there's no time to worry about that, now" stated Janista more forcefully than she usually spoke. "We've got to concentrate on figuring this mess out."
"Hey look," said Shae, "There's the guys now!!! Hey Johnny, Hey Las.....c'mere guys."
Belasco, Johnny Blaze and Psi-Shot approached from the steps of the dorm where they had been playing a round of hackey-sack. Cannonball and Kid Sampson had left together to hit some clubs in town earlier in the day.
"Hello ladies," Belasco purred as his eyes wandered up and down the bodies of the three young girls. "What can we gentlemen do to make your stay on this mudball more....shall we say...pleasant?"
"Cut the crap, hornhead," said Shockwave. "This is serious."
Belasco ran his hands through his thick dark hair and felt the small nubs on his scalp. Nobody could really distinguish him from human until he utilized his power and "massed up". Then, however, his horns grew and his demonic appearance became evident. He was rather sensitive about this issue and Shockwave's comment shut him down quickly.
"What's wrong," said Johnny Blaze in rapid fire fashion. "We're not looking for any trouble, so if you guys are, then we aren't interested."
"Speak for yourself," said Belasco sullenly.
"Quiet down you guys," said Psi-Shot who finally found his voice after being stunned in to silence by Janista's nearness. "They seem to be really serious."
"We are," said Shockwave. "Puma never came back from her run this morning, and we know why."
"She can get into the clubs.........looking as ummm developed as she does," mumbled Johnny Blaze. "Maybe she ummm..went with Cannonball and Sampson."
"No, Psi-Shot," said Janista placing her hand on his arm. "Something's happened to her and your inner circle think the IFHC has something to do with it. We gotta find her and fast to stop the fighting before it begins."
Psi-Shot would have done anything Janista asked at this moment, as he felt his whole face flush from the touch on his arm.
"I knewit ......trouble.......Weshouldjustrelaxand......and....and....and.....lettheadultshandlethis. Wedon't wanttomakeitanyworse bydoingsomethingfoolish," blurted out Johnny Blaze.
"Slow down before you overheat, Johnny," said Glittergirl. "We aren't being foolish. We are just doing what's right. Now let's get going before they think to shut down the campus."
And with that the three young heroes went to investigate the disappearance of their friend.
Paramount had removed the hooded cloak and the stealth suit he had worn in the kidnappings and padded naked through his lab. He had long since finished gaining any useful information from his "guests" and had allowed them to fall into the darkness of a drugged troubled sleep. His interrogation served a two fold purpose. By gaining what data he could about the current runnings of the branches of the IFHC, he could more easily turn them against one another, and every time he made skin to skin contact with one of his captives, he more solidly latched onto thier bio-signature making it possible for him to morph into them. He looked over the softly breathing features on the tables in his lab. They had all collapsed into unconsciousness hours ago. Blink, in her weakened condition due to her longer stay in the lab, went out relatively easily. Puma was the next to succumb to the welcome embrace of the dark, but Alex........he was another story. WildChild had fought Paramount with every last breath in his body. Each time the madman turned up the juice on the electric shocks or tried a different variety of tortue, WildChild seemed only to become more hardened. It was only when Paramount began threatening the comfort and safety of the ladies in the room that the young man began to crumble.....and finally along with the other prisoners he passed out from the pain of the process.
"Foolish young man, letting his own weakness for female flesh guide his whims," Paramount hissed. "When will they learn the only companion anyone needs is themselves."
Paramount laughed to himself.
"Things have gone quite well, up to this point. The fire's been lit, now it's up to me to fan the flames, but I'll need to change into something......more comfortable before I go."
Paramount concentrated and where once the pale, blue eyed man with shockingly white hair stood, now stood the naked form of Blink. Paramount surveyed himself in the mirror and smiled as he slid his hand down his smooth hip.
"Come along darling, let's see how hot under the collar, we can get those fools in the BHC," Paramount said to himself and then he began to laugh.