“What if they use a gun against your magic?” Ripley asked, and Trisk frowned.
“They won’t,” she promised, hoping she wasn’t mistaken. “They’ll think we’re helpless. Trust me on this. Inderlanders are so used to hiding our skills that we don’t see them as a threat anymore.” Which was a shame. But it would only work once. Vampires weren’t stupid.
Watching the two men out the front window, Trisk shouted, “That’s the only weapon we have!” Then she hesitated. “Wait a minute!” She turned to Ripley. “Right?” she asked pointedly.
Her expression sour, Ripley reached under the seat, then cranked the window down to throw out a gun, followed by a long, wicked-looking knife in a leather sheath.
Hearing them clatter on the pavement made Trisk feel better. “We don’t want any trouble!” she shouted, watching the man in the suit direct two of his men to collect the weapons and fall back. “We just want to come into Cincinnati. No one is sick.”
An odd, not unpleasant scent was drifting in the open door along with the sound of crickets. Vampire incense. She’d smelled it on Rick before, but never this strong. There had to be eight vampires surrounding them now, and she reached for a ley line. A sparkling warmth filled her, making her feel better. Behind them in the distance, a light winked on the road and was gone.
The two vampires waited patiently in the glare of the headlights. The hippie had a bandage on his wrist. There was another on his neck. The young man in the suit looked fine, but he moved with a slight limp. Living vamps, she thought. Maybe they don’t know who we are.
“Am I addressing Dr. Felecia Cambri?” the suited vampire called out.
And maybe someday we’ll fly to the moon and back. Trisk grimaced, feeling responsible for everyone in the van, Kal included. Orchid made a surprised chirp, and Daniel and Takata exchanged worried looks. “Who wants to know?” she yelled, and the vampire’s smile widened.
“Manners, manners,” he said. “You’re correct, and I do apologize. I’m Piscary, in charge of the city at the moment until we can get things sorted out. Beside me is Sam. He is assisting me tonight. Could we talk about what happened in Sacramento?”
Trisk thought about it for three heartbeats, then reached for the doorframe.
“Whoa, hold on,” Daniel said, pulling her back. “You’re not going out there.”
She slumped, her attention shifting between his severe expression to Orchid hovering dead center of the van, hands on her hips as she spilled a bright gold dust. Ripley was grim-faced behind the wheel, and Takata, though wide-eyed, was clearly recklessly ready for anything. Kal, of course, just lay there. “Thank you for getting me here,” she said. “This is my ride.”
But as Ripley and Orchid objected, Daniel lurched to get out of the van ahead of her. “Daniel,” she protested, but his jaw was set and she could tell he wasn’t getting back in. Orchid, too, zipped out, flying over her head, easily evading her to alight on his shoulder.
“This is my fault, too,” Daniel said as he zipped up the jacket he’d gotten from Captain Pelhan, and Trisk slumped. “Coming?” he asked.
“Bad idea. Bad idea,” she muttered, then louder, “Ripley, keep Takata in the van.” She slipped out, feeling the hard pavement all the way to her skull. “You shouldn’t be here,” she added as she and Daniel began walking forward.
“When is conversation not a good idea?” Daniel said, convincing Trisk he had no clue.
Behind them, the van’s door creaked open, and Trisk spun, a sigh of exasperation slipping from her when Takata began to get out. But it was Piscary who called out, “Donald, get back in the van. I told your mother I’d have you home in time for breakfast.”
“Dude! How do you know my name?” the teenager said, then yelped when Ripley reached across the wide bench seat and yanked him back in, telling him to sit or she’d rip off his balls and feed them to the troll under Twin Lakes Bridge.
The van door slammed shut again, and Trisk stopped right before the two vampires. “Promise you’ll let them go,” she said, feeling responsible. “Do that, and we’ll come quietly.”
Piscary smiled, his lips tight to hide his teeth. “I intend to,” he said, his smooth speech making him sound older than he looked. “We’re one man short, though,” he said, eyes on the top of the surrounding cliffs as a rock slid and fell. “Is Dr. Kalamack still unconscious?”
How does he know that? she thought as she nodded, both glad and uneasy that Kal was being included in this.
“It’s probably easier to keep him that way for now,” Piscary said, his eyebrows high as he motioned to the watching men and one came forward. Sam joined him, the light from the headlights flashing on them as they went to the van, chatting with Ripley for a moment before levering themselves in and bundling Kal into the blanket she’d gotten from May.