“Holy crap,” she whispered, unable to look away as Officer Randy pushed her back. The vampire had totally lost it, wild and screaming as a mass of men piled on top of him. The knife was sent skittering across the floor. It was quickly followed by a howl of anger, and she heard Captain Pelhan shout, “Got ’im!”
The men atop the vampire fell off, and the incensed man rose like a vengeful god. His suit was torn, and his hands were cuffed. Fury spilled from him in a roar, spittle flying as he lashed out at anyone who came near. The men circling him knew to keep back. Suddenly Trisk realized almost every officer in the room had a bandage or limp.
“Easy, now. We have your master downstairs,” Pelhan said, his hand raised in placation. But the living vampire’s expression twisted into frustration, and Trisk’s eyes widened when the cuffed man stared down at his bound hands and his shoulders tensed.
“Uh, those aren’t going to hold him,” she said to Randy.
“Captain!” Randy shouted, but it was too late and the cuffs broke with an echoing ping.
“Dude!” the kid at Randy’s desk exclaimed, his eyes wide as again Trisk pressed back, the charmed silver cuffs on her wrists preventing her from even protecting herself, much less helping.
“Where is he!” the vampire shouted, lashing blindly out at the captain.
Pelhan took it right on the jaw, reeling backward as officers fell on the vampire once more. “Son of a bitch,” he said, feeling his face. “Get him down. Now! And no weapons!”
“But sir—” someone complained.
“No weapons!” Pelhan bellowed, his brow furrowed as he watched the vampire struggle under six men. “We hurt this loon, and we pay for it through the nose. Someone find out who his master is so we can get him in the right cell!” Still holding his jaw, he bent down over the pile of men, his face inches from the incensed living vampire. “Who is your master?” he asked. “You can’t take him out of here now anyway. The sun is up.”
“Let him go!” the man in the powder-blue suit raged. “You have no right to hold him! You have no right to hold me!”
“Tell me who he is, and we’ll take you to him,” Pelhan said patiently, but the man twisted and bucked, trying to escape.
A woman in uniform inched closer, a mass of stapled paper in her hand. “I think I heard him ask for Ormand, Captain.”
Pelhan sighed and leaned back on a desk. “Do we have Ormand here?”
“Yes, sir.” The woman studied her papers.
“Well, we can’t take him down like this,” Pelhan said, and with a roar, the vampire made another bid for freedom. Three more men fell on him.
There has got to be a better way, Trisk thought. “Hey,” she said suddenly to Officer Randy, still standing beside her. “If you uncuff me, I can circle him.”
Pelhan’s eyes lit up. His sharp whistle brought everyone’s attention up. “Tex,” he demanded. “Circle the bastard.”
“Here?” A thick man disentangled himself, breathing hard as he pulled out of the pile-on.
“I don’t see any humans, do you?” the captain said, glancing at the kid with the amulets and getting a thumbs-up. Shrugging, Tex pricked his finger with the sharp point of what looked like a pen but was probably anything but.
Immediately Trisk knew it had been a mistake when the scent of the blood hit the living vampire, and with a bellow, the man rose, throwing everyone off him.
“Now, Tex!” Pelhan shouted, and the officer wiped the drop of blood on a wooden disk he’d taken from his pocket, tossing the charm at the vampire and shouting a word of Latin.
Trisk shuddered as the circle rose up around him, the earth magic both alien and familiar as the witch used the magic of plants and his blood to do the same thing she could do right from the ley line. The vampire slammed into the circle, falling back in a hunched rage. He was caught, and his threats cycled down to an eerie, rocking anticipation that was somehow more disturbing.
There was a collective sigh as everyone picked themselves up off the floor, inspecting new hurts and righting desks as that kid swore and laughed. Someone went for a mop, and the people who had clustered at the doors to watch quickly found something else to do. Trisk looked at Officer Randy still gripping her bicep, clearing her throat for him to ease up. “You should have circled him with a ley line charm,” she said as Pelhan watched his people reorganize with a tired patience. “Avoided the blood issue. Don’t you have any ley line witches on your payroll?”
A hint of embarrassment colored Pelhan’s stubbled cheeks. “We do, but we like to keep them in research and development.”
She tugged out of Randy’s grip. “You should give them guns and put them on the street. At least temporarily.”