"This was supposed to be a happy day," Beth whispered as she stared down into her tea.
Meryn tapped her fingers on the sofa's arm. "Nigel, does anyone else know you found the body?" Nigel shook his head.
Kendrick looked at Meryn his eyes wide then he began to chuckle. "Little genius."
Vivi glanced from one to the other. "What?"
Kendrick bowed in his chair. "Allow me?" he asked Meryn.
"Sure."
Kendrick straightened. "If we can secure the body without anyone else the wiser, then the killer will have no idea that we know they exist. They will think we're still looking for Augustus Pettier. It may give us the upper hand."
Law exhaled. "I'll go secure the body from where the twins left it." He turned to Gavriel. "Where do you want it?"
Gavriel grimaced. "Do we even have a morgue?"
Beth shook her head. "We cremate our dead in Noctem Falls."
Gavriel eyed Rheia and Ellie. Rheia scowled. "I will take a look to see if I can determine the cause of death, but that's it."
Gavriel looked relieved. "I will take it." He turned to Law. "Could you assist her? After she has determined all she can learn from the body, take it to the cremation chamber to be cremated. We will store his ashes respectfully until they can be handed over to his sister."
Rheia stood slowly. "I was really hoping that by this time we would have been celebrating everyone's recovery."
Law looped his arm through hers. "We'll get there."
Rheia looked over her shoulder. "I would say to send Colton when he gets back, but he has a weak stomach. Make him stay here. I won't have the energy to baby him later."
Gavriel gave her a sad smile. "We will ensure he stays here."
Vivi sat back and closed her eyes. How had everything gone so wrong? When they heard Aiden calling for Goddard and Viktor over the walkie-talkie, everyone looked around worriedly. It took the men thirty minutes to return. All four men looked exhausted. When they sat down Adriel turned to Ellie and Vivi. "What?" Vivi asked.
"All the blood that was collected to treat the children and the sick vampires is gone." Adriel sat leaning forward his elbows on his knees. He rested his chin on his laced fingers.
"The stone!" Vivi gasped.
Aiden shook his head. "If you're talking about the black and gray thing, it's still in the mini-fridge on the opposite wall. But Goddard confirmed all of the blood from the walk-in refrigeration unit is gone. He said he helped bring it down from Level Six after the blood drive and saw where it had gotten stacked. It's all gone."
Gavriel turned milk white. "My blood?"
"It's right here!" Vivi announced pulling the injector cartridge from her lab pocket. "I stuck it there when we got that panicked call from Meryn. It never made it back to the refrigeration unit."
Gavriel let out a shaky breath. "Thank the gods," he whispered reverently.
Ellie simply buried her face in her hands and wept. Grant pulled her close his lips pulled back in a snarl. "Give me just five minutes with DeLaFontaine," he begged.
Colton looked around his eyes narrowing. "Where is my mate?"
"She went to go play with a rotting body that has been marinating in shit for the past couple weeks. Did you need her for something?" Meryn asked.
Colton's eyes widened. "She's what?"
"She's went to see if she could determine a cause of death for Augustus Pettier, did you need to go to the infirmary to be with her?" Meryn eyed Colton.
He shook his head looking a bit green. "No, I think she can handle it. She does have a guard right?" he asked quickly.
Meryn nodded. "Law went with her."