Bite Me_ A Love Story Part 18

And she's, "Look."

There were fourteen cards on the table. All kinds of pictures and numbers. And I'm like, ready to go, "'Splain, please." But then I see what she's big eyes about. They are all the same suit. So I'm, "They're all swords."

And she's like, "Yes. I'm not sure how to even interpret this."

And I'm all, "She's hurt, she's not alone, and all the cards came up swords?"

And she's, "Yes, dear, that's what I just said, but I don't know what it means."

And I'm, "I do. Can you do them again?" And I slap another hundred in her jar.

And she's, "'Kay."

Then she lays them all out again, and this time there's a lot of swords, but also other cards. And I'm, "Well?"

And she's all, "In this configuration, the swords signify north, but also, the air, a sailing s.h.i.+p perhaps. It doesn't make sense."

And we're like, "What? What?"

And she's like, "A sunken s.h.i.+p?"

And I'm like, "It makes total sense."

And Flood is like, "It does?"

And I'm like, "Stay right there, Madame. We may be back."

And Flood is like, "What? What?"

And I'm all, "I forgot to tell you about the little guy with the sword."

And he's like, "You really adjust to this magical stuff fast, Abby."

And I'm like, "Are you trying to say I'm perky? Because I'm not. I'm complex."

I am. Shut up, I am.

He's looking at me right now, like we should be going. Even though I am typing at awesome speed. Okay, that's it, dude, you're hars.h.i.+ng the depth out of my literature. I'm coming. What a whiner. Gotta go. We're going to run out of dark. Byez.

THE OLD ONES.

Makeda put on the gla.s.ses and watched the bricks at the corner of the building light up. They'd find the cats by behavior, because even vampire cats are cats, and they marked their territory. Elijah had told them where it had started and where it was likely to move. The special sungla.s.ses, combined with their vampire vision, allowed them to see the phosphorus expelled in the cats' urine as glowing. They could even see a half-life, of sorts. Something marked days ago would glow much dimmer than something marked only a few hours ago.

"That way," said Makeda.

Rolf c.o.c.ked his head toward the boarded-up loft apartment on the second floor. "That's the loft where Elijah said he turned the first cat. There are people up there. Sounds like two."

"That's also where he was fried by a jacket covered with sun lights," said Makeda. "I say we clean up the cats first, they're less tricky."

Rolf nodded to Makeda, who bolted down the alley without another word. They followed the trail, a mark here and there, many blocks until they reached the Mission, where the trail started to sunburst out.

"I don't know which way to go," said Bella. "We need to get a vantage point."

Rolf looked around and spotted the tallest building in the area. "How about that one, the one that looks like a robot pterodactyl is perched on it? He pointed to the black gla.s.s Federal Building.

Makeda said, "It's an abomination."

"Said the abomination," snarked Rolf. "I'll go. I have to go up solid, I need the gla.s.ses." He shrugged off his overcoat and dropped his weapons on top of it.

"Well go to mist if you lose your grip," said Makeda. "I'll catch your gla.s.ses. If you fall off of that thing solid we'll have to sc.r.a.pe you into a bag to get you back to the s.h.i.+p."

He grinned, showing his fangs, then started a steady climb up the sheer corner of the building.

Bella pulled a pack of cigarettes from her jacket, shook one out, lit it, then blew a long stream of smoke up after Rolf. "What if Elijah lied about turning more humans? He's lied before."

When they'd retrieved the old vampire from the City initially he'd brought along a blond vampire woman, claiming she was the only one. She hadn't survived the first month at sea. Weak vessels, Weak vessels, they called her type. they called her type.

"He didn't admit turning the cat, either, until we found the news stories on the Internet."

"We need to talk to him again when we get back to the s.h.i.+p, if there's time."

Rolf thumped to the pavement beside them. "That way. About six blocks. There's a sunburst pattern that's centered there and spreads out ten blocks or so in every direction. I could actually see a hundred or so cats on a roof there."

"Let's go, then," said Makeda.

"That's not all," said Rolf. "There is a group of men hunting them. Eight of them."

"How do you know they're hunting the cats?"

"Because two of them lit up their coats. If I hadn't been wearing the gla.s.ses I'd be blind. They're wearing the sun jackets that Elijah warned us about."

"Well, f.u.c.k," said Makeda. "That's eight more we have to kill."

"At least," said Rolf. "How much time before daylight?"

"Two and a half hours," said Bella, checking her watch. "Don't we have a sniper rifle on the s.h.i.+p?"

"Somewhere," said Rolf.

"Well, they can't turn on a sun jacket if they're dead before we're within five hundred yards."

"Messy," said Makeda. "Bullets leave bodies."

"I'd rather have to dispose of a couple of bodies than get fried by a sun jacket," said Bella, taking charge now. "Rolf, you and I will go after the cats. Take out as many as we can. Makeda, follow the hunters, keep your distance, see where they go, and meet us back at the s.h.i.+p. Tonight cats. Tomorrow night, humans."

"I hate cats," said Makeda.

"I know," said Bella.

"There's something else," said Rolf. "There was something else on the roof with the cats. Something bigger."

"What do you mean 'something'?" asked Makeda.

"I don't know," said Rolf, "but it wasn't putting out any heat, so it's one of us."

20.

Hunters TOMMY AND ABBY.

Somehow it had seemed to make sense that he follow Abby's interpretation of Madame Natasha's reading, but now, standing on the dock by the black s.h.i.+p, with the night almost gone, he wasn't so sure.

"You think she's in there?"

"She could be. I saw in the City Blog that this s.h.i.+p arrived-there was a picture, and it looked cool, and-oh, I don't know, I'm new at this. You can't expect me to be good at everything. Why don't you go all misty and sneak aboard?"

They heard bare feet on teak and suddenly a gorgon of blond dreadlocks popped up over the top of the smooth black carbon fiber of the c.o.c.kpit.

"Irie bruddah. Irie sistah. Howzit?" A young man, very tan, heat coming off him, but with a thin black ring inside his life aura.

Abby elbowed Tommy and he nodded to show he'd seen it.

"What did he say?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know," Abby said. "It sounds Australian. If he goes off about going down under down under to have a go on his to have a go on his dirigity-doo dirigity-doo I'm going to kick him in the kidneys with my forbidden love Chucks." I'm going to kick him in the kidneys with my forbidden love Chucks."

"Okey dokey," Tommy said.

The blond guy held up a pair of night-vision binoculars, looked quickly through them, then set them down again. "Shoots! You be deadies! Jah's love to ya, me deadies!"

He vaulted up over the edge of the c.o.c.kpit, landed on the deck eight feet below, then jumped over to the dock. He was very fit, very muscular, and smelled of fish blood and weed.

"Pelekekona called Cap'n Kona, pirate of the briny science, lion of Zion, and dreadie to deadies of the first order, don't you know."

He extended his hand to Tommy, who shook it, tentatively. "Tommy Flood," Tommy said, then, because he felt as if he should have a t.i.tle, added, "writer."

Then the blond Rasta man took Abby in his arms, hugged her, and kissed her on both cheeks, then let his hands linger on her back and slide down. He let go when she bent one of his fingers back, driving him to his knees. "Back off, you f.u.c.king hemp Muppet! I am Countess Abigail Von Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay Area darkness."

"Countess?" Tommy said out of the corner of his mouth.

"And a slim and delicious deadie biscuit, too, as fine as a snowflake, yeah," said Kona. "No harm, me deadies, I'n'I have grand Aloha for ya, but can't bring ya on the s.h.i.+p. That Raven Raven s.h.i.+p will kill ya dead for good, don't cha know. But we can chant down Babylon right here, mon." He produced a pipe and lighter out of the pocket of his baggies. Out of the other he pulled a sterile lancet, the kind diabetics use to poke their fingers for blood tests. "If one of me new deadie dreadies would donate to a mon's mystic. Jus' a drop two." s.h.i.+p will kill ya dead for good, don't cha know. But we can chant down Babylon right here, mon." He produced a pipe and lighter out of the pocket of his baggies. Out of the other he pulled a sterile lancet, the kind diabetics use to poke their fingers for blood tests. "If one of me new deadie dreadies would donate to a mon's mystic. Jus' a drop two."

Abby looked at Tommy. "Renfield," she said, rolling her eyes.

Tommy nodded. She was talking about Renfield, the crazed blood slave of Dracula in the original Bram Stoker novel. The original "bug eater."

"Maybe we can help you with that," Tommy said.

Abby said, "You're not worthy of our aid, not worthy to be free, and we would surely both be tools, to help you, vampire fool." She curtsied. "Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal Les Fleurs du Mal. I'm paraphrasing, of course."

"Nice," Tommy said. She knew her romantic poetry, not very well, or accurately, but she knew it.

"Ah, mon, I tried dat paraphrasing in Mexico one time. The boat, she stop too quick and dis brutha drop out da sky like one rock. No mon, Kona doan like de heights."

"Not parasailing, you imbecile, paraphrasing."

"Oh. Dat diffren."

"Ya think," said Abby.

Tommy said, "Kona, I will give you a drop of blood, but first, are you saying that this s.h.i.+p belongs to vampires?"

"Ya mon. Me deadie masters, mon. Powerful old."

"Are they on the s.h.i.+p now?"

"No, mon. They here to fix up this calamity. Vampire cats dat old one leave."

"Just the cats?"

"No mon, dey clean it all up. All the peoples have seen them, or know about it. They cleaning house, brah."

Abby shook her head like she had water in her ears. Tommy knew how she felt. "So, these old vampires are here to take out witnesses and whatnot, and they left you in charge of this s.h.i.+p? Just you?"

"Oh yeah, sistah. Kona ichiban ichiban top-rate pirate captain of briny science." top-rate pirate captain of briny science."

"Why would they do that? You're not even trying to keep a secret."

Kona let his good-time bravado slip, his shoulders slumped, and when he answered, the breezy island bulls.h.i.+t accent was gone, "Why would anyone believe a word I say?"

"Good point," Tommy said.

"And besides, you two already knew about vampires. No heat in the night-vision goggles."

"Also a good point," Tommy said. "So these are the vampires who came to get Elijah?" Abby had told Tommy that the Emperor had seen Elijah and the hooker, Blue, leaving with three vampires, taking a small boat out into the fog off the St. Francis Yacht Club.

"Ya, mon. Dat old bloodsucka be locked up below now, air tight. Dat buggah stone crazy, him."

Tommy expected a chill of sorts, but instead of alarm, he felt his senses and mental acuity almost tightening down. There was no flight response, only fight. That was new.

He said, "So Elijah, the hooker, and how many others?"

"Just the three, mon. No hooker. She second gen vamp, mon. They doan make it long. Curl up and die for good, she."