Out of the Shadows 014
A 5-star machine-augmented MIDNIGHT'S WAR novel
“If I refuse, how long will you give me before that metaphorical burial you promised.”
“You will not leave this villa. Your research will be appropriated. Your company will be dismantled. The world will be informed that you met with an unfortunate accident while on vacation in Italy. Everyone will believe it and mourn the tragedy of so much unrealized potential.”
“Murder,” he said flatly.
“Call it what you will,” she countered with a smile. “We’ve endured for thousands of years by eliminating every possible threat. It’s nothing personal, Elliott. We simply will not allow you or your work to expose us.”
He turned away, mind racing through scenarios, searching for some leverage, some escape. “I could go public. Right now. Call the press.”
“With what?” Sofia asked calmly. “A vampire conspiracy theory? You’d be laughed out of Silicon Valley. And even if by some strange chance you found a journalist who would take you seriously, you wouldn’t live long enough to see the story published.”
She was right. He was trapped, cornered, helpless like prey. A wave of anger surged through him. “So this whole charade—flying me to Rome, the elaborate dinner, the excessive flattery—it was all just to get me here? Where you could deal with me one way or another?”
“It wasn’t a charade at all,” Sofia said. “A genuine evaluation. We needed to know if you were worthy.”
“Worthy of being killed? Or worthy of being turned?”
“Both require certain qualities.”
“And what have you decided?”
Sofia regarded him thoughtfully. “Your fate is not up to me. It’s still being determined. Medici favors offering you the transition. Romanov is more cautious. In the end, I think it will depend entirely upon your decision.”
Elliott’s mind raced, weighing alternatives that seemed to narrow with each passing second. Join them or die. Become a monster or become a victim. But was there really a choice at all? And was the transformation truly monstrous if it preserved his life’s work?
“How long will they give me to decide?”
“You have until sunrise,” Sofia replied. “After that, the Council will require your answer.”
Elliott nodded slowly, his gaze drifting to the telephone on the desk. “Can I at least call Immy? Let him know I’m all right?”
“Your CFO is of no importance,” Sofia said. “In fact, we encouraged him to work with you when he did his original due diligence on your first business plan.”
Another betrayal. Elliott closed his eyes briefly, absorbing the shock. “Immy too? Is there anyone in my professional life who hasn’t been planted by your… what did you call it, your Council?”
“Fewer than you’d assume,” Sofia admitted. “We’ve been reasonably thorough.”
“I see.” Elliott turned away, moving to the window to stare out at the moonlit grounds. He could see guards—or whatever they were—patrolling the perimeter. No escape there. “And Chiara? My tour guide. She was with me all day, so she’s not one of you?”
“No, she’s just an employee,” Sofia said. “Though she knows how to be discreet.”
Elliott stood in silence for several long moments, weighing his options. Death, or a form of life he couldn’t begin to comprehend. The end of everything, or a beginning beyond imagination.
“If I agree,” he said finally, turning back to her, “what happens to HemaTech? To my research?”
“Your company continues, under your leadership, with our investment and protection. Your mRNA therapies will be developed, but deployed very selectively. Your employees will be well-compensated for their discretion. I’d assume a false front of some kind will be deployed, perhaps an anti-cancer drug or a new vaccine.”
“And my research into extending human lifespan?”
“Will continue,” Sofia assured him. “But with safeguards. Parameters we will define together to ensure it doesn’t reveal too much about our biology. The benefits of your work will still reach humanity—just not all at once, and not without our oversight.”
Elliott nodded slowly, his decision crystallizing. Not out of fear, though he certainly didn’t want to be buried on the villa’s unholy grounds. Not out of greed, though the promised wealth was substantial. In truth, it was mostly out of scientific curiosity. Out of the same drive that had led him to found HemaTech in the first place: the relentless pursuit of knowledge.
If what Sofia claimed was true—and the evidence before his eyes suggested it was—then she was offering access to biological secrets beyond his wildest dreams. Mechanisms of cellular regeneration, aging prevention, and disease resistance that would revolutionize medical science.
“If I do this,” he said carefully, “I want guarantees. Written agreements. Ironclad protections for my team, my research, and myself.”
Sofia’s lips curved into a smile. “Of course. The Medici have been men of business for a very long time, after all. They have excellent lawyers.”
“And I want to know everything,” Elliott continued. “The complete biology. The full history. No secrets.”
“In time,” she promised. “Such knowledge only comes with trust. And trust must be earned.”
Elliott took a deep breath. “Then I accept. I’ll join your Council, on the conditions I’ve outlined.”
Sofia nodded, a look of genuine pleasure crossing her features. “I’m very pleased to hear that! It’s a wise decision, Elliott. One you won’t regret.” She moved to the doors, pausing with her hand on the ornate handle. “Shall we inform Lorenzo?”
Elliott straightened his tie and squared his shoulders. “Lead the way.”
As they moved through the corridor, past the ancestral portraits that now took on an entirely new significance, Elliott found his gaze drawn to the painting at the top of the stairs—the one Sofia had mentioned. The man depicted there stared back at him with eyes that seemed eerily familiar, eyes he’d looked into across the dinner table mere hours ago.
Elliott suppressed a shiver as the final piece clicked into place. This wasn’t the end of his life’s work. It was the beginning of something far more fantastic, and far, far greater than he had ever imagined.
Sofia led him back toward the pool, where the gathering waited in expectant silence. Lorenzo de Medici—the original Lorenzo, born in the 15th century—rose to greet them, his eyes alight with anticipation.
“Mr. Grahame has made his decision,” Sofia announced.
“And what is it, Mr. Grahame?” Medici said, his dark gaze fixed on Elliott.
Elliott met the ancient being’s eyes without flinching. “I understand your offer. I accept your offer. In its entirety.”
A murmur of satisfaction rippled through the assembled guests. Medici smiled, revealing teeth that seemed just a fraction too sharp in the moonlight.
“Welcome, Mr. Grahame,” he said, extending his elegant hand. “Welcome to a very long life indeed.”
Just finished this on Audible. Enjoyed it very much, and I usually don't read vampire fiction.
I opened this expecting to skim it, and I ended up reading every word. Very good!