I needed blood to bait the vamp. Lots and lots of blood.
A team of oxen turned the corner. I ran at them, pulling a throwing knife . The driver, an older Latino man, stared at me. His hand reached for a rifle lying on the seat next to him.
“Get off! Loose vampire!”
He scrambled out of the cart. I sliced a long shallow gash down the ox’s flank. It bellowed. Blood dripped on the ground. I ran my hand along the cut. It came off wet with hot crimson, and I waved it, flinging red drops into the wind.
The ox moaned. I grabbed the chain loop.
An emaciated shape leapt off the rooftop. Ropes of muscle knotted its frame under skin so tight that every ligament and vein stood out beneath it. The vampire landed on the pavement on all fours, skidded, its long sickle claws scraping the asphalt with a screech, and whirled. Ruby eyes glared at me from a horrible face. Massive jaws gaped open, showing sharp fangs, bone white against the black mouth.
The vampire charged.
It all but flew above the ground with preternatural speed, straight at the ox, pulled by the intoxicating scent of blood.
I thrust myself into its path, my heartbeat impossibly slow in my ears.
The vamp’s eyes fixed on my bloody hand. I’d have only one shot at this.
The vampire leaped, covering the few feet between us. It flew, limbs out, claws raised for the kill.
I thrust the chain loop up and over its head.
Its body hit me. The impact knocked me off my feet. I crashed to the ground and rolled upright. The vamp lunged at me. The chain snapped taut on its throat, jerking it off the pavement. The bloodsucker fell and sprang up again, twisting and jerking on the end of the chain like a feral cat caught in a dog catcher’s leash.
The ox bellowed in pain. I breathed, short and shallow.
The vampire flipped and lunged in the ox’s direction. The tree shook and groaned. Blood spurted from under the chain on its neck. Either it would snap the tree or the chain would slice its throat.
The bloodsucker threw itself at the ox again and fell to the ground, its leap aborted by the chain. It picked itself up and sat. Intelligence flooded into its burning red eyes. The huge jaws unhinged and Ghastek’s voice came forth.
“A chain?”
“You’re welcome,” I growled, fighting the urge to bend over in relief. Ghastek must’ve gotten close enough to grab the bloodsucker’s mind. “I had to cut an ox to get the vamp fixed on me. The bill is all yours.”
“Of course.”
You bet your ass, of course. An ox cost about a grand. A vampire, especially one as old as this one, went for about thirty times that. And Ghastek didn’t even have to buy a new ox, he just had to pick up the vet bill.
The vampire squatted in the snow. “How did you manage to get a chain on her?”
I sagged against the ox cart. “I have mad skills.” My face was hot, my hands were cold. My mouth tasted bitter. The adrenaline rush was wearing off.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
“One of Rowena’s journeymen fainted,” Ghastek said. “It happens. Needless to say, she’s now barred from navigation.”
The journeymen, Masters of the Dead in training, were perfectly aware that if their control over the undead slipped, the vampire would turn the city into a slaughterhouse. They had nerves like fighter pilots pre-Shift. They didn’t faint. There was more to it, but Ghastek’s tone made it clear that getting any more information out of him would take a team of lawyers and a medieval torture device.
Just as well. The less I interacted with the People, the better. “Did it kill anybody?”
“There were no casualties.”
My pulse finally slowed down.
To my right, a humvee swung into the parking lot at a breakneck speed. Armored like a tank, it carried an M240B, a medium machine gun, mounted on the roof. The gunner was pale as a sheet.
“Cavalry,” I said.
The vampire grimaced, mimicking Ghastek’s expression. “Of course. The jocks got all dressed up to kill a vampire, and now they won’t get to shoot the big gun. Kate, would you mind stepping closer? Otherwise they might shoot her anyway.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. I moved to body shield the vampire. “You owe me.”
“Indeed.” The bloodsucker rose next to me, waving its front limbs. “There is no need for concern. The matter is under control.”
A black SUV turned the corner into the parking lot from the left. The two vehicles came to a screeching stop in front of me and the vampire. The humvee disgorged four cops in blue Paranormal Activity Division armor. The taller of the four leveled a shotgun at the vamp and snarled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’ve could’ve killed half of the city!”
The SUV’s door opened and Ghastek stepped out. Thin and somber, he wore a perfectly pressed gray suit with a barely visible pinstripe. Three members of the People emerged from the SUV behind him, a man and two women, a thin brunette and a red-haired woman that looked barely old enough to wear a suit. All three were meticulously groomed and would’ve looked at home in a high-pressure boardroom.
“There is no need to exaggerate.” Ghastek strode to the vampire. “No lives were lost.”
“No thanks to you.” The taller cop showed no signs of lowering the shotgun.
“She is completely safe now,” Ghastek said. “Allow me to demonstrate.” The vampire rose from its haunches and curtsied.
The PAD collectively turned purple with rage.
I backpedaled toward my office, before they decided to remember I was there and dragged me into this mess.
“See? I have complete control of the unde ...” Ghastek’s eyes rolled back into his head. His mouth went slack. For a long second he remained upright, his body completely still, then his legs gave. He swayed once and crashed into the dirty snow.
The vampire’s eyes flared with bright murderous red. It opened its mouth, revealing twin sickles of ivory fangs.
The PAD opened fire.