Chapter Twenty--nine
I shut the car door, leaning against it for a second, thinking that if life were fair, I could go upstairs and take the longest, hottest shower on record to help chase away the chill that still permeated every cell of me. Instead, we were back at the town house just so I could quickly change clothes. Couldn’t quite pull off my happy bar hopper disguise if I went out covered in my own blood.
“You two are back early,” a dry voice stated.
I glanced up to see Mencheres framed in the doorway of the town house. Vlad got out, shut his door a little harder than was necessary, and threw the Egyptian vampire a jaded look.
“Car trouble,” he said, in a voice that dared Mencheres to inquire further.
“You’re back a bit early yourself. Did you find anything interesting?” I asked, trying to divert his attention from the obvious fact that I was splattered in blood while the car looked and sounded fine.
“Nothing Dave had not already confirmed,” Mencheres replied, with a slight shrug.
I didn’t sigh, but I felt like it. Guess it was too much to hope that Apollyon’s address would be spray painted graffiti-style on one of the walls as an appeasement gesture from Fate after the night we had—and it was still early, by vampire standards.
“Don’t be disappointed, Cat. I didn’t expect to find anything. That’s not why I went,” Mencheres said, opening the front door for us.
My brows rose, but I went inside, figuring this conversation was best held somewhere other than on the small lawn. Vlad glanced at Mencheres with equal curiosity but also followed me inside. Once the door was shut, I gave a longing glance at the couch but stayed standing.
“Are you going to tell us why you went, then?” I asked.
“Because even if I didn’t expect to find anything new, it would be foolish not to make certain,” Mencheres said. He leaned against the door frame, the picture of nonchalance. “Besides, if I hadn’t left, then you wouldn’t have attempted to exercise your new powers, would you?” he added.
“You knew?” I blurted, not sure which stunned me more; the fact that Mencheres was obviously aware that I had the ability, or that he’d let me try using it without telling Bones on me. “Did you, um, know because you saw it?” It would be great if his visions were back up to full strength again . . .
The look Mencheres gave me—and Vlad, too, I noticed—was pointed. “No. But I, too, heard you this morning, so I didn’t need a vision to predict what Vlad would do if the two of you were left alone long enough. People’s natures can be far more telling than even visions at times.”
Vlad let out a chuckle. “You sly dog, you set me up! Here I thought I was pulling one over on you, but in reality, you were playing me like a chess piece.”
Mencheres flashed him a grin that was full of mischief. I stared, never having seen the normally reserved mega-Master vampire with such a wicked, teasing expression.
“You forget, Vlad, I’m the one who trained you in deviousness. Maybe in a few more centuries, you’ll be able to outwit me, but not yet.”
Then he focused his attention on me and his expression returned to its normal seriousness. “You were obviously injured trying, but did it work?”
I glanced at Vlad before speaking, noting the curl of his lip that said he’d rather not dwell on how well it had worked.
“Oh yeah. Blood is the key. I should have known, right? It’s always blood with the undead. Vampires need it to feed, and it’s instrumental with ghouls, because a transplanted ghoul heart might be step two in making them, but it’s vampire blood before and after death that’s step one and three.”
And blood was how Marie had gotten her powers in the first place, as a Mambo whose powers became permanent when she was turned into a ghoul. Looking back, it seems obvious that blood should have been the first thing I tried.
Then again, my logic pointed out, Vlad hadn’t thought of it, either, and he has quite a lot more experience with blood than you. Maybe I should quit giving myself a hard time and just accept that only hindsight was twenty-twenty, not foresight.
“We now know I can do it, but I feel like hell,” I went on. “I’m so cold my teeth would chatter if they still could. And I’m hungry enough that both of you are starting to look really, really good.”
Vlad’s lips curled. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to remind you that this is just the leftover power talking and you don’t really want to cheat on Bones?”
“Not that kind of hungry!” I gasped, eyes bulging that Vlad thought I’d just casually thrown out that I wanted him and Mencheres to double-team me. “I meant hungry like drinking you guys’ blood. Not hungry for . . . you know.”
Without thought, my gaze flew to the areas in question before skipping away once I realized what I was doing. Then my cheeks actually tingled with mortification as Vlad let out a long, hearty laugh. Mencheres, more courteous, pretended to suddenly find something fascinating in the door frame, but I saw his lips twitch.
“My dear Reaper,” Vlad said, still laughing. “Did you just check out our—”
“No!” I interrupted at once, almost lunging toward the staircase. “I’m tired and still dazed from the Remnants and . . . fuck it, I’m taking a shower. I mean, not a cold shower, because I don’t need that”—oh Jesus, I was only making this worse—“because I am cold already, and I need to get hot. I mean, warmer. Oh, just shut up!”
This as Vlad continued to laugh the whole time I went up the stairs. At least he seemed in a better mood after his near-death experience, even if his new cheer was at my expense. Arrogant Romanian. But considering I’d been responsible for Vlad’s recent brush with death, maybe he was owed a little masculine mockery. All things considered, his teasing was the least I could bear to make it up to him.
As for Mencheres, well, here’s hoping he chalked that up to equality. He’d seen me in less than my underwear before, so if all things were fair, I was owed that glance.
Besides, it had to be nothing more than a manifestation of the “future twinges” from her power that Marie had warned Bones about. In my right mind, I would never check out Vlad or—God help me!—Mencheres’s packages.
And neither of them was wearing tight pants, so it’s not like I could discern anything specific, anyway.
Once I was in my room, however, I didn’t jump right in to the shower. I pulled out my cell phone, pinpricks of conscience still needling me.
“Bones,” I said as soon as he answered. “I know I just saw you this morning, but wow, do I miss you!”
Three days later, I was on the couch, scratching my cat in his favorite spot behind the ears, when a faint tingle in the air made me look up. I’d gotten better at recognizing the telltale signs that said a ghost who was strong enough to get through my stinky force field of weed and garlic was about to pop up nearby.
“Visitor,” I announced, my new way for giving Vlad and Mencheres a heads-up to stop saying anything possibly incriminating. To my knowledge, my order for silence to other ghosts had worked before, but no need to tempt fate by blathering about which bar we were headed to tonight.
Not that it probably mattered. We hadn’t seen hide nor hair of any zealot ghouls since the night at the drive-in. Maybe having some of their group go missing spooked the other ghouls into avoiding popular hangouts. Or maybe the reason we hadn’t seen any of them lately was much simpler. All of Apollyon’s minions were being supplied with food, so they didn’t need to go out hunting for it. Still, we kept going out night after night. Dave said Scythe and the pack of ghouls who drew him into their group were still here. They had to pop up sometime.
A shadowy form passed through the door moments later, still too hazy for me to make out any specific features. Then that outline of fogginess settled into a slim man with brown hair and early twentieth-century sideburns.
“Fabian!” I said, my initial happiness replaced by fear when I saw the grimness in his expression. “Is Dave okay?” I asked immediately.
“For the moment,” the ghost almost sighed. “But he’s thinking of doing something very foolish.”
I stood up, my cat hissing at being jostled from my lap. “What?”
“Letting himself get caught spying,” Fabian replied.
Mencheres and Vlad came downstairs. I shot them a bleak look, already starting to pull on my boots. “We need to go get Dave, now,” I told them.
“Is he intending to do this in the next hour?” Mencheres asked, putting a calming hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t believe so.” Fabian gave me a helpless look. “Dave doesn’t know I’m telling you. He made me promise not to, until he was caught. But I swore to you that I’d protect him, and I couldn’t betray that vow, even though I’m now betraying him by telling you.”
“You’re not betraying him, you’re saving him,” I replied with all the emphasis of countless past bad decisions. “Sometimes, people think there’s no other option aside from sacrificing themselves, but that doesn’t mean they’re right. Now, why does Dave all of a sudden think he needs to jump on a grenade for us? What happened?”
“He was taken to an unscheduled rally last night where Scythe told everyone he was leaving Memphis because his work here was done. He urged his followers to remain here, staying true to their beliefs, because soon, their movement would spread enough that they could openly act against vampires.”
“Fuck,” I moaned, to Vlad’s grumbled agreement. With every new city these ghouls went to, they continued to infect others with their hatred. Scythe might be higher up in Apollyon’s organization, but he wasn’t alone in his efforts to spread his leader’s paranoia. Worse, we didn’t know which area these groups picked to settle in next until vampire bodies piling up pointed the way, and by then, it was already too late. The old saying that the best offense was a good defense didn’t do much to soothe me when it came to a game with stakes this high.
I didn’t know what Scythe’s definition of “soon” was as far as an open uprising. To the undead, “soon” could be weeks, or a few years to a decade. But whatever the time frame, I couldn’t allow him and Apollyon to meet that goal. Dave knew how dangerous that would be, too, which was why he was considering something as risky as deliberately getting caught.
“Dave’s banking on being brought to an interrogator who might know where Apollyon is. So when you tell me, Mencheres, and Vlad where he is, we arrive in time to save him and nab the bad guys, right?” I asked.
The ghost nodded miserably. “Yes.”
Vlad’s brows drew together in contemplation even as I snapped, “No way.”
“It’s an acceptable risk,” he insisted quietly.
“No, it’s not, because they’d probably just cut off Dave’s head and run before asking him even one thing,” I shot back. “Apollyon’s people don’t need answers from Dave. What don’t they already know? They know we’re after them, they think they know where Bones and I are . . . they have no reason to keep Dave alive long enough for us to rescue him. If Dave weren’t being so idiotically noble, he’d realize that.”
Vlad shrugged. “Then Fabian should return and tell Dave to start his confession with the fact that it’s not really you with Bones in Ohio. That should pique their interest enough to want to know more.”
“It’s still too dangerous,” I gritted out.
Vlad’s gaze turned hard. “One life risked to save thousands is not too dangerous. If you’re too weak to see that, then you have no business being responsible for any of the lives beneath you in Bones and Mencheres’s line.”
“Really?” I swept out my hand, indicating the room at large. “Then why aren’t you with those ghouls who wanted to blow my head off as a preemptive strike to end the war before it started? I’m only one life, after all. Wouldn’t my death take a lot of steam out of Apollyon’s war machine?”
Vlad strode forward, green light spilling from his eyes as he grabbed me. “You are my friend,” he said through clenched teeth. “I haven’t many of those, yet don’t presume for a moment that I wouldn’t sacrifice you if I truly felt it was the best way to stop this war from happening.”
He let me go just as abruptly, my shoulders still stinging from his biting grip. “But I believe Apollyon would move forward regardless,” he went on, spinning around to walk away from me. “He’d only claim you weren’t really dead, that it was a trick. And besides, now you’re of far more use to the vampire nation alive with your latest . . . ability.”
I stared at Vlad. His back was to me, long dark hair still rustling from his rapid movements. It wasn’t his stated coldness about my life, or Dave’s, that made me sad as I looked at him. It was because, even hundreds of years after the loss of one life had admittedly devastated him, Vlad still couldn’t bring himself to admit that sacrificing a life should always be the last resort. Not the first, easiest option.
“If there was no other way, I’d agree this thing with Dave was worth the risk. But we haven’t looked at all our options yet, so I say no. And if you still can’t see the value of a life, then maybe you should rethink being responsible for all the lives underneath you in your line,” I replied, calmly but with an undercurrent of steel.
Vlad turned around, nailing me with a stare that should have backed me up several steps. It didn’t. I met his gaze with an equally hard one of my own. Hell no would I flinch or apologize when I knew I was right.
“You will understand sacrifice much better when you’re older” was what Vlad muttered after several loaded moments of silence.
“It’s not sacrifice if it doesn’t mean something, and if one friend’s life isn’t precious to you, then there’s no loss involved in offering it up,” I countered.
His gaze flicked to my right, where Mencheres watched the two of us with a hooded expression. If I judged him by past actions, I knew Mencheres was ruthless enough to agree with Vlad that the risk to Dave was acceptable without bothering to look at other options first. Hell, if he wanted to, Mencheres could force me to stay right here, waiting helplessly while Dave took that irrevocable step. One snap of his telekinetic power, and I’d be unable to move, let alone leave the house to get my friend.
Of course, one snap of my new, borrowed power and I could give Mencheres a whole new topic to ponder. I locked eyes with the Master vampire, seeing from the faint narrowing of his gaze that he knew what I was thinking. The scant space between us seemed to lengthen into a long, ominous road as we stared at each other across the room.
My fangs slid out, concealed by my lips, their sharp tips touching the edge of my tongue. One swipe and I could call forth Remnants with my blood, making both Vlad and Mencheres helpless to stop me from getting Dave. The question was, could Mencheres wrap his power around me fast enough to prevent that tiny movement? And more importantly, did I want to use the Remnants as a weapon against my friends, even if it was to help another friend?
After several moments, Mencheres gave me a slight smile, inclining his head. “The life of a friend is indeed too precious to risk unless it is a last resort. We will stop Dave from doing this while we explore other options.”
I still remained tense. Was this a trick? If I retracted my fangs, would Mencheres slap his power around me while smirking about how gullible I was?
Vlad obviously didn’t think it was a ploy. He let out a frustrated growl. “Kira’s made you soft.”
“She opened my eyes,” Mencheres coolly refuted. “And you, my friend, protest too much. Before you knew of her new ability, you could have snatched Cat away to kill her with adequate vampire and ghoul witnesses. Then Apollyon wouldn’t be able to refute her death. Bones would kill you afterward, and I myself would be furious with you, but your people would be protected and the war stalled. So if you truly believed the life of a friend wasn’t precious enough to protect, you wouldn’t be here scowling at me now.”
Vlad muttered something in a language I didn’t recognize. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound like “Well played, sir!” and the glare he threw the other vampire warned that Vlad might combust at any moment.
“Aww, who’s really a widdle softie on the inside?” I teased him, feeling some of the dread leaking out of me. It would be tough, true, but we’d find another way to bring down Apollyon, Scythe, and all the other hateful warmongers under them. Hadn’t Bones repeatedly told me in the past that there was always another way?
“Actually, Reaper, the thought of your death isn’t bothering me a bit at the moment,” Vlad ground out.
I ignored that. He could huff and puff all he wanted, but Vlad kept proving that he was only brutal when the circumstances required it. Despite his frightening reputation, loyalty was Vlad’s strong suit, not viciousness. I turned to Fabian, who’d stayed silent the past several minutes.
“First, we’re going to get Dave. And then”—I glanced at Mencheres—“you and I get to reunite with our spouses, because with Scythe and the gang pulling out of Memphis, there’s no reason for us to stay anymore.”
I’d gotten on both boots and was busy stuffing them—and other parts of me—with weapons when my hip pocket vibrated in a familiar way. I pulled out my cell phone, answering, “Yep?” without bothering to look at who was calling.
“Cat.”
He only said my name, but something in Tate’s voice made me freeze as abruptly as if Mencheres had unleashed the full force of his power upon me.
“Is it Don?” I breathed, my chest tightening in a painful way. It can’t be. I just spoke to him a couple days ago! my denial screamed.
“Yeah,” Tate replied shortly, but his tone sounded as raw as I felt. “Go to the Marine Safety office in Memphis. A chopper’s waiting for you.”
I had to swallow twice before I could answer him. “I’m on my way.”
I hit end with fingers that felt nerveless, looking up to meet Mencheres’s dark, compassionate gaze. He’d obviously overheard the call.
“Go,” he said. “Vlad and I will retrieve Dave and meet you there.”
Vlad gave me a short nod of confirmation. I stopped piling on weapons and went upstairs. On the dresser was my red diamond ring. It was so distinctive that I hadn’t been able to wear it while out ghoul hunting, but I put it on now, taking comfort in its familiar weight. Then I grabbed the pet carrier. I knew I wasn’t coming back, and aside from my wedding ring and my cat, everything else was replaceable.