We parked Lizzy’s car, and I cast a ward around it. The car was much too noticeable, and I didn’t want anyone trashing it, although I noticed a couple of dents in the side that hadn’t been there the last time I saw it. I pointed them out to her.
“No biggie. I know a dwarf who runs a garage, and he’ll take the dings out in exchange for a reading,” Lizzy said. “He’s addicted to trying to win the lottery.”
“Can’t you tell him he’s not going to win?” I asked.
She winked at me. “Oh, he wins a few bucks occasionally.” She chuckled. “It all depends on what numbers he chooses, and how am I supposed to know that?”
When we walked into Rosie’s, Jill, the overnight bartender, gave us a look.
“I thought you went home,” she said.
“I thought so, too. Sloe gin fizz and a double of Redbreast,” I said.
When Jill brought our drinks, I took a good swallow, then said, “I ran into a gang of vampires near my house, and Lizzy bailed me out. Figured it would be safer here until daylight.”
Lizzy laughed. “As though you needed bailing out. Jill, she was kicking ass.”
Trevor, Josh, and Jolene came over from where they were sitting. “Gang of vamps?” Trevor asked.
“Yeah. Six of them,” Lizzy said.
“That’s unusual,” Jolene said. “They usually hunt alone.”
I shrugged. “You know that guy I kicked out a few nights ago? Seems he got himself staked, and they decided I was the one who did it.” I took another sip of my whiskey and shuddered at the burn as it went down.
“Were you?” Josh asked.
I gave him an are-you-really-that-stupid look. “Oh, yeah. When I get off work here, I’m always keyed up, so I go hunting vampires to burn off a little energy. And when I can’t find any vampires, I wrestle with demons.”
More people had come over and gathered around us.
“There is a rumor of a Hunter in town,” Josh said.
Sliding off the barstool, I stepped before him, pulled my jacket open with my hands, and asked, “Do I really look like a Hunter? One of the baddest paranormals in anyone’s mythology?”
Considering that the top of my head came to his chin and he outweighed me by at least sixty pounds, I knew I looked slight standing next to him.
Everyone laughed, and Josh looked sheepish.
“Well, Hunters are supposed to be strong mages.”
“That’s me! And since I don’t have a big-ass sword, I just bite their heads off.”
His face turned red at the laughter.
“To be honest,” I said, “they fell prey to a pink Mini-Cooper. Left a couple of dents. If you don’t believe me, go take a look at it. It’s parked across the street.”
That deflected everyone’s attention to Lizzy, who told everyone how she had seen the vampires attack me and driven into them to rescue me. By the time she finished her story, someone had bought both of us another drink. A few people went outside and then came back, telling of the dents in Lizzy’s car.
The conversation turned to the number of recent vampire attacks and theories about the vampire deaths. Some people agreed with Jenny that a vampire gang war was going on. Someone else said the vamps and the shifters were warring. And everyone had heard the rumor of a Hunter, but since no one had ever seen a Hunter, that theory gained little traction.
But I had to wonder. Someone with a very sharp or spelled sword was killing vampires. If it was a Hunter, then I was in danger as well. Not a very comforting thought. I downed the rest of my whiskey, and saw my hand was still shaking. Maybe the run-in with the vamps scared me more than I was willing to admit to myself. Or maybe it was the thought of a Hunter finding me.
Chapter 9
At sunrise, Trevor drove me and Lizzy home in her car, with Josh and Jolene following us. I had lost track of how many drinks people bought me, and I certainly wasn’t in any shape to drive, even if I had a license. Lizzy was close to being passed out.
I dragged myself out of bed around noon and went into work early so that I could talk to Sam. Of all the people I had met, he seemed to have the most common sense, and the most knowledge of the paranormal-supernatural scene in Westport. And in spite of myself, I liked him. I admitted that I might have some kind of weird daddy fetish, and was trying to substitute Sam for Master Benedict. But the fact was, I needed a sounding board. I had a lot of tactical experience, but my elders had always handled strategy, and I felt out of my depth. I hadn’t mentioned my conversation with the vamps to anyone, but I wanted Sam’s take on things.
He was behind the bar when I arrived, and I took a seat there.
“Heard you had some excitement last night,” he said. “Hungry?”
“Yes to both,” I answered.
He took my order for breakfast and sent it into the kitchen, then came back. I told him what had happened, including my short conversation with the vampires.
“They said that?” Sam asked. “They said their master was killed by a Hunter?”
“They think so. ‘The final death’ was the phrase he used.”
“Damn.” Sam leaned back against the back bar, one arm resting on his stomach and supporting his elbow, the other hand stroking his chin. After some time, he asked, “And he said they had no master?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Well, that’s a shocker. The Master of the City, Lord Carleton, has been here since the late eighteen hundreds. He really was a lord, First Baron of Dorchester. Born in 1724. I don’t know when he was turned, but supposedly it was during the Revolutionary War. He was in charge of all British armies in North America and was the Governor of Canada.”
The kitchen boy came out with my breakfast, and Sam poured me a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice.
“From what I know,” Sam said, “a vampire that old could only be killed by a Hunter, a powerful mage, or another old vampire.”
“And if another vampire did it, then he would inherit all the master’s obligations and children,” I said. “They would have a new master.”
Sam nodded. “That’s the way I understand it. Now, there are a few mages here with the power to contest him, but they never have. All the vampire attacks make sense now. The younger ones never have much control, and with no master, they’re suddenly free to feed whenever and on whomever they want.”
“Is this something Blair should know?” I asked.
He gave me a startled look. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
I shrugged. “I’d rather he leave me alone. But young vamps running around unsupervised in a city is like turning a bunch of children loose in a candy shop. Sooner or later, the newspapers and TV stations will get word of something going on and blow the roof off everything.”
Sam sighed. “You’re probably right. Hate to see Blair go up against a Hunter, though. He may irritate you, but better the devil I know than whoever would replace him.”
Blair walked through the door at five-thirty, came directly to the bar, and sat down. Sam was still there, and I muttered, “I think an informer hangs out here.”
“Why do you think that?” Sam asked, his face a perfect model of innocence.
“On duty, Lieutenant?” I asked. Blair nodded, and I poured him a cup of coffee and placed a menu in front of him.
“I heard you had some trouble last night,” he said.
I turned to Sam and gave him a raised-eyebrow look, receiving a sour expression in return.
“Not at all,” I said. “I finished my shift at two, then I hung out until the sun came up, and there wasn’t any trouble in here. Who did you hear it from?”
“There was an altercation involving a group of people in front of your apartment complex,” Blair said.
“Really?”
Sam stepped forward. “Lieutenant Blair, are you aware that Lord Carleton is rumored to be dead?”
The shock in Blair’s eyes told me he hadn’t heard. He opened his mouth, then after nothing came out, he shut it. H
is eyes shifted back and forth between Sam and me. After a minute or so, he carefully asked, “When was this supposed to have happened?”
“Don’t know,” Sam said, “but I would guess it occurred around the time all the beheadings started. That would explain all the rogue attacks.”
Blair shook his head.
“That would be before I got to town,” I said, and stared at him, hoping to get a reaction.
“The vampires seem to think that the same person who killed their master is responsible for the deaths of their fellow bloodsuckers,” Sam said.
Blair was silent for a bit, staring down at the menu. Then he tried to change the subject.
“I heard that a pink car ran into that group outside your apartment complex.”
“I don’t own a car,” I said. Turning to Sam, I asked, “Do you know anyone with a pink car?”
Sam rubbed his chin. “My mum used to own a pink car. 1959 Cadillac. Sold it decades ago. God, was that thing a gas hog.”
Blair gave up. “What’s the special?”
“Baked chicken breast with either asparagus or snow peas,” I answered.
He ordered it with the snow peas.
While Blair ate his dinner, Sam and I talked at the other end of the bar.
“One thing for sure,” Sam said, “is you’re not walking out of here alone anymore. If Dworkin can’t give you a ride, we’ll figure something else out.”
“Yeah, but what about evenings I don’t work? Should I just be a prisoner at night?”
“Your place is warded, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t help but glance at the bar’s front door. “Oh, yeah. No one is getting in there. But if I can’t go out, I might as well be in jail. That’s no way to live.”
I was going stir crazy sitting in that apartment alone. I went out for a run in the mornings when I woke up, and I came to work, then I went home to sleep, and it all started over again. If I couldn’t go out at all, I knew I’d go berserk. Lizzy’s brunch group was the only social life I had, and in spite of being skeptical about it at first, I found myself looking forward to it.
As I worked, I noticed Sam circulating around the bar, stopping and talking to various people. He also had a long conversation with Blair before the policeman left. Then Sam came over and explained the plan.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Carleton knew not to mess with Rosie’s,” Sam said. “If I have to educate a new generation, then so be it.”
I was almost at the bus stop when a dozen vampires appeared as if by magic. Their speed always gave them an advantage when dealing with humans or shifters. I recognized a few of them from the previous night.
“Back for more?” I asked, casting a personal shield to protect myself.
“You think you’re smart,” one of them said, immediately lowering my already low opinion of his intelligence.
He snarled, showing his fangs, and leapt toward me. A gun fired to my right and behind me, and a small explosion left a large hole in the vampire’s chest. He crashed to the ground, and his clothing caught on fire.
A fireball whooshed by me on my left, and another vamp turned into a torch. He let out a high, keening sound.
Several of the vampires had already started toward me, and their momentum carried them forward. Some of the others milled around in apparent confusion.
I sent a burst of force toward the three who were closest to me, and they stumbled backward. Another gunshot knocked one of them down, and he, too, caught on fire. A bolt of lightning hit another one, and the air seemed to open above the third, pouring water over her, and then the water froze solid, anchoring her in place. I turned to see who might have pulled that trick, and saw Sam was the closest person to her. I hadn’t known he was an aeromancer.
Before I could think about the wisdom of what I was doing, I jumped forward, and grabbed two of the vampires, one by the hair and one by the throat. I slammed their heads together, three times, then booted the guy in the gut, sending him flying away. A girl swung at me and I blocked the blow, then punched her in the face, burying my fist halfway into her skull.
A flare of fire and light was accompanied by more keening, and I saw a second vampire turn into a torch. More fireballs came from other directions, with predictable results. The gun fired again, and a woman landed on the ground next to me, shock in her face and her clothing erupting in flame. She opened her mouth in a scream, but with her lungs blown away, no sound came out.
Two more guns fired from farther away, and two more vamps went down.
Someone shouted, “Freeze! Hands in the air!”
I saw the vampires still standing hold their hands in the air. Several men, some in police uniforms, ran out of the darkness, pointing pistols at the vampires’ heads and ordering them to lie on the ground. Once the vampires lay down, the men clamped heavy shackles on their wrists and ankles.
Someone approached me, and before I could strike, I realized it was Blair, with a large pistol in his hand.
I nodded to the pistol. “Very impressive. What kind of ammunition are you using?”
“High-explosive incendiaries. It doesn’t kill them, but it disables them for a while. The more they burn, the longer it takes for them to recover.”
“Shoot them in the head if you want to kill them,” I said. “The reason people cut their heads off is to separate the brain from the body. If their brains are scattered to kingdom come, they can’t regenerate.”
“I thought you didn’t know anything about vampires,” he said.
I gave him a smile. “Did you know that gnomes are primarily insectivores, although they do like a bit of greens with their bugs. They’re particularly fond of lambs quarter and chickweed, though they also like purslane, pigweed, and a number of other common weeds. They don’t seem to like flowers and vegetables, though. That’s why they’re called garden gnomes.”
He stared at me with his mouth hanging open.
Looking around at a number of men and women I had never seen before who were taking charge of the vampires, I said, “Thank you, Lieutenant. I’m pleasantly surprised. When Sam told me the two of you wanted to set up an ambush, I was rather dubious. This worked far better than I ever dreamed.”
He looked down at the girl with the caved-in face lying in a pool of blood, then looked back up at me.
“That’s pretty impressive, too.”
I shrugged. “Magic, Lieutenant. And a black belt. Not as flashy as fireballs and lightning bolts, but I make do with what I have.”
Not that I wouldn’t love the ability to throw fireballs and shoot lightning bolts. And that trick Sam pulled with the water was pretty cool, too. My magic was solely tied to the ley lines. I pulled the power and redirected it, but I couldn’t transform it. I did know a few witch spells, but that was another story.
Sam gave me a ride home, and I discovered that Josh and Trevor were the mages throwing fireballs and lightning bolts. I wondered if I had been a little too rough on them. When he dropped me off, I thought about what having friends would mean. Obviously, it meant sticking up for them if they had troubles and feeling free to ask for help to solve your own problems.
“
That was a strange concept. As a Hunter, if I had to ask for help, it was marked down as a failure, a sign that I was inadequate. Looking around my empty apartment, I felt rather inadequate to deal with my new world.
Chapter 10
Liam was behind the bar and Blair was sitting at the bar drinking coffee when I walked in the next afternoon.
“Hello, Liam,” I said. He turned to look at me and dipped his head in acknowledgement, then went back to staring at the room. He had never acknowledged such a greeting before, and I was so shocked I almost dropped my coat. I hung it up and said, “Good afternoon, Lieutenant. Just coffee today, or are you planning on dinner?”
“Maybe later. I need you to come down to my office and give a statement concerning last night and the incident the previous night.”
“Can’t I do it here?”
He shook his head. “It needs to be a formal statement on the record. We have enough to hold the prisoners we took, but to put them away, we need your testimony as the victim of their crimes.”
“And as soon as they heal and bond out, I’ll have to deal with them again.”
I was attracting entirely too much attention from Blair and the police. Sooner or later, he or someone he worked with would decide to check on my background and find out I didn’t have one. Other than abruptly disappearing while in middle school, then abruptly reappearing to file for a passport five years later, I didn’t exist. I could come up with a story about living in a cult or a hippie commune, but putting together an air-tight background would take some time and careful thought.
Then there was the possibility, slim I thought, that I had left a fingerprint or DNA sample at one of the murders I committed for the Illuminati. I hoped there wasn’t any evidence in anyone’s database tying me to a crime, but I couldn’t be completely sure. I was trained not to make assumptions. “The wrong assumption will get you killed,” Master Robyn had said more than once. “If it’s not a verifiable fact, you can’t rely on it.”
I went back to Sam’s office and spoke to him, and he encouraged me to cooperate with the police. With a sigh, I went back to the bar.
“All right. When?” I asked Blair.
“Tomorrow? Set a time and I’ll make the arrangements.” He handed me his card. I looked at the address and had no idea where it was but figured I could use my map to find a bus route to take me there.
“Do you like working here?” Blair asked, taking me by surprise.
“Yeah, I do. The people are nice and Sam’s a good boss. Some people say they care about their employees, but how many people would do what he did for me last night?” I shrugged. “There are always assholes you have to put up with working in a bar, but this place is better than most.” Hell, it was my dream job. I had expected to end up working as a hotel maid cleaning toilets or something.
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