All the King's Men: The Beginning Read Online Free PDF

long, and their faces appeared more elongated. Some might describe their features as gaunt, or perhaps taut. Drecks preferred to remain hidden in human form, though, and could shift into any persona they liked, although once they chose a human image, they usually stuck with it.
    "How's Queen Cara?" Royce said as he took a glass of wine offered by Bain's secretary.
    Bain always kept a stash of aged red wine on hand for Royce, who had a taste for it.
    "She's well," Bain said, selecting water instead. "And how is Lady Jora?"
    Royce nodded as he sipped his wine. "Better than ever." He regarded the glass. "Delicious, as always," he said. "I do so enjoy our meetings a little bit more because you serve me such rare vintages."
    Bain gestured toward a seat. "I'm nothing if not hospitable. Please, have a seat."
    He and Royce met once every month to keep an open line of communication between their races, but Bain felt their meetings were little more than a front. Especially as of late. His instincts told him Royce was hiding something.
    "Have you made any headway on finding the source of cobalt manufacturing or distribution?" Bain said after a few more pleasantries and small talk.
    Cobalt had first appeared in the 1980s as a human recreational drug, but had quickly found its way into the vampire population for its ability to provide an intense high that vampires couldn't get from other human drugs. Not even alcohol could keep a vampire drunk for long, and hangovers lasted all of an hour in all but the most extreme cases. For vampires who longed for a dip into the wild side, cobalt provided the right avenue of self-destruction, and while the dreck-made drug had remained small-time for the better part of the three decades since it was first introduced, the last year had seen an incredible surge in use. Almost as if vampires were purposely being sought in droves by cobalt dealers.
    God forbid if cobalt ever found its way into the royal family. Bain didn't think he would be able to deal with that. Certainly his son and daughter would have the sense not to degrade the family name that way. He had an image to protect—a picture of control and power he had to keep in place for his people. He couldn't afford to be seen as weak or to have the royal line tainted with such corruption.
    "No, not yet," Royce said. "My people are still following up on leads."
    "Your people have been following up on leads for months, Royce. Meanwhile, my people are dying."
    Cobalt overdose was becoming more prolific. And overdoses ended in death in almost half the cases. His enforcement agency, All the King's Men, had been hauling in dealers for months, but it seemed like for every one they brought in, two more took his place. Vampire Dreck Affairs in Atlanta had raided a manufacturing facility going on a year ago that had been a bloodbath. Those drecks had been well funded and heavily armed, and many agents and enforcers had been killed. Still, for all their raids and arrests, they were no closer to having answers than they had been a year ago. The vampire community wasn't in an epidemic—at least, not yet. However, if they didn't get answers soon, it was hard telling how bad the situation could get.
    Royce sighed sympathetically. "I know, Bain, and I'm truly sorry. We're doing all we can, but whoever is making and distributing cobalt has done a good job to hide their tracks."
    Bain's eyes narrowed. He wished he could see inside Royce's mind, but part of their truce was that he wouldn't dig inside his thoughts during their meetings. If he did, Royce would feel him. Bain couldn't hide the niggling, worming sensation those being probed felt. The only beings vampires could go mind running in without being detected were humans. Of course, there were exceptions, but more often than not, that was the rule.
    If only Micah were here. Micah was the only vampire Bain knew who was capable of thought patrol without being detected. Micah heard everything in every mind in a room