Darkling. Part 6

I blinked. Well, well, well... a vampire who could summon a Protector? The spiritual guard dogs were usually only accessible to high level mages or witches, and they were often used to catch and deport unwanted netherworld creatures. Did we have a vamp running around who had access to magic? It was something to talk over with Wade, that was for sure.

"So, do we have a deal? We work together to find Dredge. When we do, I'll let you have the honor of dispatching him, as long as I get to watch?" Roz's smile told me he was certain I'd say yes. I found myself smiling back. I didn't trust him, but the old saying wasn't a bad one. The enemy of my enemy is my friend The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"I'll think about it," I said. "But there's one condition. I want your oath, or you can just walk out that door and go back to hunting through bedrooms for clues to Dredge's whereabouts."

"What's that?" Roz leaned against the counter, folding his arms. He winked at me, but I ignored the come-on. It was second nature to an incubus to try and seduce any woman within arm's reach. I had no plans on giving him the opportunity of adding me to what was no doubt an incredibly long list of conquests.

"My sisters-they're beautiful. You leave them alone. I find you trying to seduce one of them and I will make sure you're off Earthside and headed forcibly to the Sub Realms. They have enough troubles without adding an incubus's wandering hands to the list."

He snorted. "But if they make the first move-"

"Then you very politely thank them, tell them you're flattered, but refuse. Get it?" Hands on my hips, I leaned toward him, and gently smiled to show him the tips of my fangs.

With a cough, he straightened his shoulders. "Got it. No problem. Now, when do I get to meet these delightful treats?"

"Just as soon as I'm off work," I muttered. "Go back to your drink." As he moved to return to the booth, I stopped him. "By the way, how did you get through the portal without us knowing?"

Roz laughed then, a full, rich, deep-throated chuckle. "I didn't use the Wayfarer's portal. Let's just say that we incubi have our own methods of transportation." With that, he saluted me and returned to the booth.

First chance I had, I called home to tell them about Roz and ask whether they wanted to meet me in town, or whether I should bring him out to the house. Both Camille and Delilah felt it safer to drive in to talk to him after hours rather than let him know where we lived, at least until we had a better idea of what he was up to. They showed up near two A.M., closing time for the Wayfarer, and settled into a booth to wait.

I could see Roz looking them over but when I glared at him, he went back to nursing his second snifter of cognac. As Chrysandra and I put away the last of the gla.s.ses and finished cleaning the counters and tabletops, there was a noise at the door. I hadn't bothered to lock it before cleaning up, just flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED. The door slammed open and as I turned to tell whoever it was that we were closed, I saw Chase and Sharah standing there.

"What's wrong?" I hurried over to them. Both looked woozy, and Chase, especially, looked like he was about to puke. I led him to a chair as Delilah rushed over and knelt beside him. Camille hurried behind the counter to get a little sparkling water and ice for him to sip.

As he tried to gather his composure, tasting the water with tiny sips, Sharah looked up at us, her expression pained. "The vampires have struck again..."

"d.a.m.n it, I was afraid of that. Wait," I said, "are you talking about the original ones or-"

"Or the four newbies?" She flinched. "We don't know; it could be either. For all we know, the newborns could have joined up with their sires. Whatever the case, we've got three new bodies in the morgue and I'm afraid they're going to rise. How long do we have?"

I glanced at the clock. "Depends on when they were killed. Depends on how they were killed, and how much blood from their sires they drank. Come on," I tossed the rag on the counter. "Chrysandra, finish cleaning up. Lock the door after we leave and call Togo to come walk you to your car. If he b.i.t.c.hes, tell him I'll rip out his throat if he doesn't haul his lazy a.s.s over here. I'm not kidding." Unlike Tavah, Chrysandra was no vampire and she was all too vulnerable. She nodded, keeping her eyes on the counter.

Camille, Delilah, Roz, and I followed Chase and Sharah out to the street. Chase had brought an SUV.

"Get in, we don't have time for everybody to find their respective cars." The fact that he didn't even ask who Roz was told me how upset he must be. Chase was all about caution.

We packed into the back seats and Sharah rode shotgun. As we headed toward the hospital, I prayed that they were wrong, that it was just some everyday nut job who'd decided to go Freddy Krueger on his victims. The last thing we needed was a growing nest of bloodthirsty vampires in the city. News like that couldn't be kept quiet for long.

As Chase flipped a switch and the siren began to scream, I looked over at Roz. He stared back at me, a look so deadly on his face that I only prayed I'd find Dredge first. Because from his expression, it was clear that Roz wasn't about to take prisoners. And I wanted first crack at my sire.

CHAPTER 6.

A cold wind was moaning in off the harbor, rattling the windows of the car as the lights of the city pa.s.sed in a blur on our way to the FH-CSI morgue. The skysc.r.a.pers lined the horizon like a string of diamonds. I-5 was empty at this time of night, and I glanced at an overpa.s.s as we sped by. We were in a race against time, but how much we had, I didn't know. I'd never sired another vampire, nor did I plan on doing so. But now I wished I'd talked to the older vamps around town about the process. Knowledge, even dark knowledge, is better than ignorance.

"Chase, were the bodies found together like the other four? That might indicate they were killed by the same vampire-or group of vamps-who killed our missing newbies. The last thing we need is a bunch of bloodsuckers scattered around the city, randomly attacking people."

He let out a sigh. "Yeah, but they weren't anywhere near the Delmonico Cinema. We found this trio over in the Green Lake district. In Green Lake park, actually."

Delilah gasped and I elbowed her quickly but gently, giving her a warning shake of the head. Sa.s.sy Branson lived in the Green Lake area. Could she be involved in this? We'd attended her Christmas party the month before.

Sa.s.sy was a socialite whose friends still thought she was alive. She pulled off the reclusive eccentric with elegant panache, and had done her best to keep her death secret. She lived in fear of being outted. With impeccable manners, she was the last vampire in the world I'd expect to take a savage turn. But the predatory instinct eventually took over most vamps. Was it possible that we weren't facing down Dredge after all? Had something s.h.i.+fted in Sa.s.sy's nature? No, I refused to believe it. But she might might know something about the murders. know something about the murders.

I kept my mouth shut as we burst through the doors and hurried down the stairs, past the magical sensors to the morgue. The OIA techs were standing sentinel, guarding the bodies. The reek of formaldehyde and disinfectant permeated the corridor, and both Camille and Delilah looked ready to puke, but the smell just floated on by me as I turned my attention to the room.

We could have been in a bus station, for all the lockers that covered the walls. Or a school. But behind the doors of those gray metal compartments lay the remains of carnage and time. Tables lined with instruments filled the room. Scalpels. Scissors. Saws. Bright lights hung from the ceiling, tools to destroy illusions, to invade and explore and discover. Jars filled with odd shapes floating in them rested in rows on a shelf.

Look close, look away. At the end of the day, I thought, this is all that remains this is all that remains. I tried to wrench my gaze away, but the circus of colors and shapes fascinated me.

In the center of the room stood six long tables, and on three of those tables were bodies covered with sheets so pristine, so white they were spun sugar on snow. Brilliant, unnatural. Where were the stains? No laundry in the world could erase the scars of blood that tattoo the dead.

Chase motioned me over. "It might be better if the others stand back, just in case something happens."

"Just in case the victims rise, you mean."

He nodded and leaned close to me. "If that happens, do you think you can handle them? I've never fought a vampire and I'm not sure how to go about it. And neither have the techs here." With a glance at the others, he added, "I don't want to see Camille or Delilah get hurt... or anybody else."

He made a good point. And the truth was, I wasn't sure I could take on all three before they got past me to the others. When they rose-if they did-they'd be ravenous, looking for the nearest jugulars to satisfy their thirst. And they'd drain their victims dry, and the next, and the next. On the way home, after I rose, I'd left a trail of carnage that I could still see if I closed my eyes and let myself remember. By the time I reached our house, I'd managed to quench my thirst enough to lock myself in my room and yell for Camille to get help. And then, it was all black, for months. A black abyss, a void in my memory that I'd never, ever remember. Memories I didn't want to reclaim.

I thought for a moment, then turned to the others. "Get out. Roz, you stay. You're an incubus, you'll be able to help me. But the rest of you-Chase, that includes you-get out and bar the door until I tell you it's okay. And peek through the windows to make sure it's me giving you the A-OK and not somebody trying to mimic my voice."

Camille and Delilah started to protest but when I shook my head, they herded everybody else out of the room. I turned to Roz. "You ready? If they rise, chances are their sires are from the Elwing Clan, as much as I don't want to believe it. I expect you to follow my instructions if you're working with me. You aren't in this game alone. Got it?"

He gave me a lazy smile. "Got stakes?"

I blinked, realizing that I didn't exactly walk around carrying wooden pointy things. "Uh..."

"No? I thought so." He stood back and unb.u.t.toned his duster.

I had a sudden giggle fit when he grabbed the lapels and opened the coat, reminding me of some two-bit sleazy flasher from the wrong side of the tracks, but my giggles were cut short when I saw the a.r.s.enal attached to the inner lining. Wooden stakes, daggers, a nasty looking semiautomatic, a blowgun, shooting stars, a pair of nunchakus, and I'm not sure what else dangled from their respective loops. This bounty hunter meant business all right, and it was obvious he'd spent considerable time Earthside.

He smiled at my reaction. "Catch." He pulled out a couple of stakes and tossed them to me, square end first. I caught them, cautiously giving them the once over. A simple stake, and yet it could dust me for good. Of course, it could kill a human, too, if properly aimed with enough force, but to my eyes, the toothpick on steroids had that whole mystique thing going on and I couldn't help but feel like I was holding a time bomb.

"Thanks, I think." I glanced up as he pulled out a pair for himself. "I guess we'd better see what we're up against." I edged forward to the first body and yanked the sheet off, jumping back out of reach.

The man on the slab was a big one. Tall, with bushy gray hair, his chest a barrel. His abs covered with a layer of fat but definitely steel belted-it would be hard to take him down in a fight. And from a peek under the covers, it was obvious that he'd probably made some woman very happy. He could have been a mountain man, an old hippy, a retired football player gone ZZ Top. But whatever he'd been, he would never again walk in the daylight. His face was frozen in horrified terror, caught by the folds of his wrinkles.

"What's that around his mouth?" Roz pointed to something that had dried to the skin, maroon and splattered.

I leaned close, sniffing. "Blood." I pried open the man's lips. Blood had dried on his teeth, too, and as I watched, thin, needle-sharp teeth were descending out of his gums to cover his incisors. I let go and jumped back. "He's turning. I don't know when he'll wake, but it won't be long."

Roz and I quickly examined the other two-a young j.a.panese woman who could have been a model, she was so pretty, and a nondescript young man probably in his late twenties. Both were on their way to signing up for my side of the street. I looked at Roz, hesitating. I'd never staked one of my own. While I didn't have any qualms about it, somehow it seemed unfair to kill them because of what they were, before they'd had a chance to do anything.

"You know when they rise, they'll go on a rampage without their sires here to guide them through the transformation." He tapped the stainless steel slab. "We have to do it."

He was right, but it still seemed one more step toward a life from which my sisters and I would never be able to return. We were quickly sliding into territory in which lived only the most hardened agents from the OIA. The shadows were unrelenting when asked to give up those who walked their paths.

A thought struck me. "What if they head back to their sire? Shouldn't we follow one? They might lead us to Dredge and the Elwing Clan."

Roz frowned. "That means letting one of them go free to wreak havoc. Are you willing to sacrifice innocent lives to these monsters? If you are, then by all means, I'll stand back and let one of them go, but it's on your head."

d.a.m.n it, I didn't want the choice. I weighed the benefits. If the vamp made its way back to Dredge, we'd be able to track it and bingo, have one up on the Elwing Blood Clan. But what if it didn't go back to Dredge? What if, instead, the new vamp just went on a murderous drinking spree and left a trail of bodies in its wake? Could I sacrifice innocents on hope alone?

I didn't have to ask Camille and Delilah, I already knew what their answers would be. I sucked in a deep breath and walked over to the mountain man. "I guess we'd better stake them before they wake up."

As I stared at the naked man, I knew precisely what he'd be thinking. Images of his death would run through his mind, along with the realization that he was forever trapped inside his all-too-dead body. And then, the thirst would hit, and the rage. And when those took over, everything else went out the window.

The burly corpse suddenly sat up, his gaze darting around the room.

"Holy c.r.a.p!" I jumped back as he took a swipe at me, thanking my reflexes. A newborn's hunger pangs hurt so badly that they empowered the fresh vamp with phenomenal strength.

Within a fraction of a second, he was off the table, eyes burning b.l.o.o.d.y crimson, and he was headed right for me. As I crouched in position, the sheet on the second table fluttered and the young j.a.panese woman sat up. Roz raised one of the stakes and cautiously moved in, the hem of his duster fluttering against his long legs.

"Be careful, Roz! She's small but deadly." My shout startled Mr. Meaty. The big man jerked his head around, staring at Roz, as confusion rippled across his face.

And then, it was all about the fight.

I hoisted one of the stakes in my left hand while sliding the other through my belt, point to the side so I wouldn't suffer a nasty accident if I fell. Then I waggled my fingers, beckoning him in. "Bring it on, boy. Come and get me."

With his ma.s.sive head of frizzy hair cascading around his shoulders, the naked behemoth lurched toward me, eyes aflame. He sniffed the air and paused.

"That's right, you can't smell a pulse. It's because I'm one of your own kind." As I muttered an oath, he lunged. I swiped with the stake, missing by inches, and suddenly we were entwined in a grappling match. He clapped his hands against the sides of my shoulders and shoved, slamming me to the floor. I arched my back and vaulted to my feet, landing with ease. Thanks to my training, my acrobatic skills had blossomed after death. I was twice as quick as most vamps. My adversary glanced at the doors leading out of the morgue. If he could get to them before me, he could escape to hunt.

"You want to feed? You have to get through me first," I said, jumping between the newborn and the doors.

As I waited for him to bring it on, a glance showed me Roz was in the midst of a life or death struggle. The young woman-strike that, newborn vamp-was straining to reach his neck. She could kill him, but Roz's demonic nature was a big plus. It would give him an edge that might just keep him alive.

The third vamp hadn't risen yet, but we didn't have much time. I turned my attention back to the burly man, who was angling, trying to get past me. I feinted to the left, letting him think I'd taken too wide of a step. As he charged the door, I whirled, stake in hand, to meet him chest level. The wooden point plunged deep, impaling him with muscle-rending impact.

He turned to me, holding out his arms, a pleading look on his face. He was an animal at this moment, a frightened and hungry creature. The pain and confusion in his eyes made my gut ache. Been there, done that. Didn't like being reminded of it. And then, he was dust, bursting into a cloud of smoke and powder. The stake fell to the ground.

I s.n.a.t.c.hed it up and raced over to the still-covered third body, shoving a lab cart out of the way. The tray tipped, instruments spilling everywhere, the sound of metal and breaking gla.s.s shattering the air like an alarm. I leapt over the mess, raising my stake above the third body.

Twitch. The vamp was about to rise. Oh s.h.i.+t. I brought the stake up and plunged it through his heart before he could open his eyes. He let out a long whispering sigh, sounding like a breeze filtering through a hollow husk, and then vanished in a puff of dust and ashes.

Two down. I turned my attention to Roz. He was just bringing his stake down into the girl's chest and she let out a screech as she, too, disappeared into the abyss.

The immediate danger gone, I felt my legs ripple and I slid down onto the floor, staring at the stakes. Roz joined me.

"You okay?" he asked.

I shrugged. "There but for the grace of the G.o.ds, go I..."

"Nope. It won't happen. I watched you take down those two vamps. You're a survivor, Menolly. That's how you managed to break away from Dredge when he'd stripped everything he could from you. That's how you managed to fight your way back from the madness that he inflicted on you."

At my look of surprise, he pushed a lock of unruly hair off his forehead. "I know more than you think I do. Anyway, we still don't know where the Elwing Blood Clan is, but we'll find them. Don't worry."

"Right." He might know a lot about me, but I still didn't know him well enough to trust him. And yet... Roz seemed to be determined to help. And if it was was Dredge and the Elwing Blood Clan, we needed everybody we could scare up for the hunt. I pushed myself up and dusted off my jeans, then held out my hand, yanking him to his feet. Dredge and the Elwing Blood Clan, we needed everybody we could scare up for the hunt. I pushed myself up and dusted off my jeans, then held out my hand, yanking him to his feet.

"Come on, we need to let the others know we're okay. We have to figure out what the f.u.c.k is going on before it gets any worse."

On the way back to the bar, I asked Chase, "So what are you going to tell their families? And what did you tell the families of the first four?"

He paled. "Officially, we haven't found any of the missing. Since we run everything, including the bodies, through the FH-CSI office, we can fudge doc.u.ments, as much as I hate doing it. All the techs from the investigation at the theater were our men, and we told the management there that a police informant had gotten beat up. Hush hush stuff. If any of their staff was found discussing it, they could go to jail."

"That's using your badge," Camille muttered, grinning. "You know somebody's going to leak something to the tabloids."

"Probably, but we can't control everything." He rolled his eyes. "You know, as well as I do, that everything had to be done in secret because they were vamp murders. There isn't-nor will there ever be-a record of those bodies. I hate doing this to the families, leaving them to wonder why their loved ones vanished, but at the moment, that's all we can do if we don't want full-scale panic to break out."

"Any missing person reports filed yet?" Delilah asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet, but my guess is by tomorrow. We'll officially 'look into the situation' but we can't keep up this charade. Seven people in two nights? Camille's right-this kind of story doesn't stay under wraps for long and pretty soon some savvy reporter's going to put things together. At the least, the department's going to take s.h.i.+t for not having a clue as to what happened to those going AWOL."

Delilah's cell let out an obnoxious series of beeps and she flipped it open and spoke in low tones. After a minute, she folded it closed and smiled. "Well, one bit of good news. I put out the call for a community Supe meeting. Seems like Zach, Siobhan, and Wade have been broadcasting like crazy because it's on for tomorrow night. We'll meet at the V.A. hall."

At least one thing was going right, I thought. But something nagged at me. I looked over at Roz. "Have you ever been to Aladril?"

He blinked. "No, actually, I haven't. Their city is highly warded against astral demons such as myself. I tried to get in once and couldn't set foot through the city gates. They don't need much of a military with their magical abilities, I'll tell you that much."

No wonder they weren't worried about the war between Lethesanar and Tanaquar. Any city that had the ability to magically deny entry to demons was far more powerful than Y'Elestrial's queen, or the sister battling for the crown.

Camille looked at me. "You really think we should go, don't you?"

I gave her a curt nod. "As in, yesterday. Queen Asteria told us to find the seer named Jareth. She seems convinced that the Elwing Blood Clan is behind this; she sent Roz to help us out because of that. Maybe this Jareth can give us some insight. After all, we aren't making much progress on our own, are we?"

"We don't even know what we're up against," she said, glancing at Delilah. "Not really. I think Menolly's right. But we'll have to leave at dusk and return before dawn. Tomorrow night's no good, with the Supe meeting. What about the night after-Sunday night?"

Delilah shrugged. "Fine with me. What do you think?" she asked, glancing in my direction.

I frowned. "If we have to wait until Sunday, then Sunday night it is. But don't be surprised if we see more dead bodies and more vamps rising."

"Why is the Elwing Blood Clan doing this?" Chase asked. "I thought Wisteria would try to help them head for the Sub Realms."