I didn’t have to. One sat on the desk, right where Nocturne’s glass had been resting.
I snatched it up and made a call on my phone. Toni answered. I let her know that several more rats might flee the ship and that she should wait for the right one. She said I had two minutes left before she was coming in.
My brother and I did our best to creep down the stairs toward the sounds of conversation that were drifting up from the throne room. Despite our best efforts, I was pretty sure they would be able to hear us coming, so when we reached the bottom of the stairs I decided to simply enter the room.
The scene inside the double doors made it clear that we would have no chance to sneak anyone out under Christian’s nose. He was standing in the center of the room talking with Marie, who had her arms crossed and wore a pout that would do a reprimanded five-year-old proud.
“Did you seriously think I wouldn’t know that you were behind what happened back then? Did you think there would be no repercussions for trying to kill me? For murdering my family?” Christian snarled.
“Wow, like, I don’t know what you mean. I get how it must have been a drag that those hunters found the nest and all, but it’s totally uncool for you to insinuate that I had anything to do with it,” Marie said.
“Oh, I’m doing more than insinuating, Marie—I’m stating it as a fact. And as soon as I deal with Chance, we are going to finish this conversation. Pray that I go to the council instead of asking darling Katy to take your head off right now.”
Martin stood to one side watching the exchange. My mom was next to him, wearing the expressionless stare of someone who had been compelled to wait. Kevin was near the throne. Martin must have been too caught up with the current exchange between Christian and Marie to notice that he had slipped away. Kevin was now splitting his attention between the seventy- seven positions on the golden chair and the argument in the middle of the room.
A short girl with stylish shoulder-length brown hair stood nearby. It took me a second to realize it was Megan. She looked significantly healthier, and I had to do a double take to make sure it was her. Not only was she more beautiful than I had remembered, but she wasn’t wearing a dress. Not that she was naked—she had on jeans and a V-neck t-shirt that must have come from some all-night big-box retailer. Her last dress had been thrashed beyond repair, and apparently she hadn’t been able to get Martin to stop by a local couture shop to replace it.
Her eyes flicked to mine and she winked. My father’s ring hung from her necklace, replacing the small golden cross I had seen that night back in the apartment. I knew that her wearing the ring meant something, but whatever it was slipped away at the sound of Katy’s peppy greeting.
“Howdy, Chance!” she said, stepping out from where she had been lurking in the shadows. Her axe rested over her right shoulder like an old friend.
If the stealthy rescue attempt failed, which it certainly had, the backup plan called for Bryan and me to draw attention to ourselves and then hightail it out of there as quickly as possible, sparking Christian to come after us in pursuit. The werewolves, waiting in ambush, would be on him as soon as he exited the club, taking away any home turf advantage and making it less likely for vampire witnesses to report that a werewolf attack was responsible for the kill.
Katy’s greeting drew Martin’s attention away from the argument. After seeing us, he noticed that one of his charges was missing. He strode up to Kevin and gave him a backhand that sent the kid splayed out onto the floor, unconscious. Deed accomplished, Martin took a position beside Christian, protecting his flank. My mother stood stock still, expression still vacant.
Bryan and I definitely had their attention, but I was starting to realize the flaw in part B of my plan. Christian wasn’t that far away, and I had serious doubts about Bryan and me being able to escape the club before he caught us.
Christian’s smile was devoid of warmth. “Chance! I have to admit that was clever of you, using werewolves to do your dirty work like that. It cost me a number of friends. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to hold that against you.”
“Be my guest. I certainly hold a grudge against you.”
He let out a short laugh. “Before I kill you, and then turn your mother, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Oh, no, go right ahead. Seeing as it’s the last one you’ll ever be asking anyone, I might even answer it.” If he was going to be throwing around threats, I didn’t want to feel left out.
“The thing is, I find it a little odd that the werewolf bitch not only seemed to know who you were, but is apparently quite fond of you. Tell me—did you realize what she was, or are you so ignorant as to not know you were sleeping with a dog?”
“Oh, I know what she is all right. And who said she was my girlfriend?”
Christian gave a sideways look to Katy, who shrugged.
“I have my sources, and Toni was only too happy to confirm it, right before she and the rest of the mongrels attacked us. Chance Lee, the vampire hunter, in bed with a werewolf. I imagine if Robert were alive, he would be disappointed in you. I must admit, I was quite surprised!”
I tried not to let Megan’s stare bother me. If I lived through this, I was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
“I thought everyone loved surprises.”
Christian brightened. “Oh, I do! Let’s see if you have any more, shall we?”
He moved, and I fired. He was faster. The Saiga thundered in the large room, its buckshot passing through the area where Christian had just been. It added what I think they call “distress” to the throne as the ball bearings peppered the gold, leaving dents in the soft metal.
Bryan also opened fire and moved to the side, dispersing Christian’s targets. He tracked the charging vampire with a stream of lead. Bryan’s angle meant that any of his shots that missed—which would be most of them—headed right for Katy. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her duck out of the way of the gunfire, heading back into the shadows that haunted the periphery of the room.
The few rounds that did strike Christian caused little blossoms of red to appear in his already-stained shirt. They didn’t slow him down. I barely had enough time to drop the shotgun and pull out a stake before he was on me. I tried to angle the stake so Christian would impale himself on it when he hit me. They did that a lot in the movies.
I halfway succeeded. The wood drove deep into his gut instead, several inches south of its intended target. The impact sent me falling back to land hard amid the throw pillows.
I spun quickly sideways to avoid the rending that I knew was coming. Sure enough, either teeth or claws raked against my side as I turned. The pain was intense and I knew I was in trouble. It was the same side I had been shot in, but this wound was worse.
Christian was on me before I could begin to stand, his hand coming straight for my face. In desperation, I tried to maneuver for a throw, but I knew I wouldn’t pull it off in time to save myself. I had no spell to keep my blood in.
Megan landed on his back, her nails ripping into the sides of Christian’s throat. Blood sprayed me as Christian’s neck was torn open. It was more than enough to send his blow wide, and I managed to get my face out of the way before it was spread across the floor.
Martin leaped over to us, ignoring me to focus on the bigger threat. He grabbed Megan, pulling her off Christian and flinging her to the side. Megan sailed inches away from my still-unmoving mother to go crashing into the movie screen, crinkling a scene between two lovely ladies and a multi -tentacled thing.
Martin raged at Marie. “You bitch!” He must have thought that Megan was one of Marie’s vampires, and that she had been ordered to attack Christian.
Marie shrugged. “What? She’s not one of mine.”
“She’s with me!” I pulled the stake out of Christian’s gut and lunged up, driving its point up at his chest.
Once again, he was too fast. He sprang out of the way, just in time to get a back full of 5.56-millimeter full metal
jacket. Finally getting an open shot, my brother had opened fire, and for once managed to hit what he was aiming at. Bullets don’t actually have enough force to throw a body like they do in the movies. So Christian didn’t so much fly forward as shiver when twenty-odd holes sprouted out of him.
Martin was clearly debating going for Marie anyway. He probably assumed she was lying, and was considering whether they needed to bother going through the vampire council to administer her punishment.
Not wanting to lose the advantage, I sprang, once again going for the kill—or at least the incapacitation a wooden stake through the heart would bring. I knew Christian would intercept the blow, which was why it had been a feint.
As Christian swiped at the stake, I dropped low, sweeping his legs out from under him. He hadn’t seen it coming, and went down. I followed him to the floor, stake at the ready, looking for an opening. I had to be fast to have any chance of taking him out.
A chorus of booms sent shockwaves through me. Dropping the assault rifle, Bryan had run up and fired his .44 Magnum point-blank into Christian’s leg. His kneecap exploded as one round hit it dead on.
“How do you like that, bitch?” Bryan said before putting the remaining three rounds into his other leg. I would have been a lot more proud of him if he hadn’t been holding his gun sideways.
“Don’t just stand there, you idiot. Get him!” screamed Christian.
At Christian’s order, Martin moved, thoughts of Marie swept from his head. It was unfortunate for him, because as he whirled to make a move on my brother and me, Marie stepped forward, her hand shooting through his back.
Martin made it halfway to us before he noticed his heart was missing. He looked down, not seeing anything wrong with his chest, then dropped to his knees. He fell face first on the shag carpet, revealing the gaping hole in his back.
“You’ll pay for that!” Christian spat out the cliché vehemently enough that it almost worked.
“Whoops, was I not supposed to do that? I’m sorry, Christian, I thought you were talking to me. Like, wow, totally my mistake. Next time you should be more specific about who should get who.” Marie smiled and gave a “forgive me” shrug, which was a little difficult to believe given the bloody organ she held in her hand.
It had become clear to everyone that if Christian survived, Marie was finished. After killing Martin, I hoped Marie would make a move on Christian, but rather than join the attack, she started making a beeline for the ruined movie screen. I doubted she was checking on Megan, so I could only assume she was headed for a back exit.
I used the distraction caused by Martin’s untimely demise to jab the stake home. It stalled briefly on Christian’s chest plate before resuming its move inward. Christian’s hand lashed out, crushing my wrist as he stopped the stake. He pushed back and the stake withdrew. Then Megan was beside me, both of her hands over mine, pushing downward on the stake.
The gore-covered skewer hovered, shaking, its dripping point poised above Christian’s chest for a loud heartbeat. Then another.
But it wasn’t heartbeats I was hearing—someone was having a go at the metal security doors. Toni had finished waiting. The werewolves were huffing and puffing and battering the door down.
Christian’s brows furrowed as his eyes took in Megan and me. Comprehension slowly dawned on his features. “It can’t be. You’re a hunter!”
“I’m actually retired. But for you, I’m making an exception. Oh, by the way, this is my girlfriend.” The statement had the drama I was going for, though I realized too late that it would have bigger implications in Megan’s mind.
Unfortunately, that climactic moment wasn’t followed up by the satisfying sound of wood piercing Christian’s heart that I had hoped for. Instead, he roared, arching his back and shoving us both away with a burst of incredible force. I rolled to a stop against a wall fifteen feet away. The stake was lost. My right hand was broken, crushed between the vampires in the struggle. I clumsily drew out my Kimber with my left and took aim.
Megan was quicker, of course, going again for Martin’s throat. He was waiting for it. He grabbed her out of midair and tossed her at me. I stepped out of the way and Megan landed where I had been, springing back up like a cat. She faced Christian in a crouch, arms out, fingers clawed.
The booms grew more feverish, but still the security door held. Christian laughed as he advanced.
“Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin. Your wolf friends will be too late, I’m afraid. You played a good game, Chance, and I have to admit, you did have a surprise or two up your sleeve. But the deck was stacked in my favor and you’re all out of surprises.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go counting your chips yet,” I said, moving towards Christian, our eyes locked together.
Christian laughed. “Oh, my—now I know why your mother loves you so much. You are ever the optimist! It’s a pity—” He had been about to say something else, but abruptly stopped as his vocal cords were severed. It had been a clean blow, the axe blade passing through Christian’s neck in one powerful swing. His body fell forward, revealing the girl standing behind him.
“Surprise!” said Katy, watching Christian’s head roll to a stop against a garish red pillow. His triumphant look changed to one of incomprehension even after it had been separated from his body, its eyes staring back at Katy.
“That was for my sister, you asshole.”
Chapter 30
“Man, I can’t believe I missed all the action!” Kevin said, rubbing his temple.
I helped him to his feet with my good hand. “Don’t feel so bad. For what it’s worth, I would have traded places with you,” I said, wincing as a sharp pain sliced through my side.
“Well, at least you guys owe me a show, so it’s not a complete loss.”
“Huh?” I said.
“Remember? Back at the hotel? Marie said if I stayed put in the restaurant she would vamp out for me.” I remembered.
Marie beamed. “I most certainly did!” She walked over to stand right in front of Kevin, her grin broader than normal. Kevin took a half step back in spite of himself.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“One sec!” said Kevin. He rushed to where Martin’s corpse had started to flake away, dug through the dead vampire’s pockets, and ran back to Marie with his smart phone. He held it in front of him, camera apparently at the ready. “I hope you don’t mind, ‘cause I want to remember this!”
“Not at all. Are you ready now?”
Kevin nodded.
“Well?” Marie asked.
“Well what?” asked Kevin.
“Want to see it again?”
“What?” The phone obscured the expression on his Kevin’s face, but not the tone of his voice.
“Dude, are you stupid? Vampires don’t vamp out,” Bryan explained, putting a hand on Kevin’s shoulder and giving him a pity pat. I shook my head, and Marie’s grin did the seemingly impossible and got even wider.
“At least not in the way you’re thinking,” I added. “If you saw the way Megan dressed when she was on the prowl for some hot, hot loving, you might disagree.”
“Chance!” Megan said.
“What? Lacey’s not here, so I felt obligated to fill in.”
“Where is she? Is she okay?” Megan asked.
“She’s fine—she’s resting back at the hotel after a run-in with Christian and a spell or two.”
Kevin was livid. “Are you kidding me? You said you’d show me! That is cold-blooded, lying to a kid like that.”
“Well, then, all things considered, you shouldn’t be surprised!” Marie smiled, proud at her joke. “Get it? Because I’m cold-blooded! Besides, technically I did show you. You’ll note I never promised that it would be exciting.”
Kevin went from mad to utterly dejected.
Marie tilted her head, lips pursed. “Aw, if it means that much to you, I can do a pretty mean hiss.”
When Kevin grudgingly nodded, Marie gave us all a demonstration of
a hiss worthy of any B-grade horror flick, complete with claw-hand motions and a good enough view of her pearly whites to impress. After she finished, she raised her eyebrows at Kevin, signaling her need for his approval.
Shoulders slumped, Kevin lowered his phone. “Okay, that wasn’t bad.”
Marie beamed. “So, like, not to be rude, but it’s almost dawn, and sooner or later those wolves are going to break down my door. Y’all should call them off and then make yourselves scarce. I need to go call the council and report this tragic, yet unexplained, murder of a vampire elder.”
Epilogue
I gave up on finding a decent radio station and slipped a CD into the player. The last station worth listening to had faded out an hour after leaving Albuquerque. I turned up the volume and upped the cruise control to eighty.
The morning had been a mess. Lacey had agreed to do one minor spell that would at least stop me bleeding out my side, though I was on my own for my crushed hand. She said any more magic would be too much for me to handle, or for her to manage.
Sorting things out between Megan and Toni proved impossible, at least with them in the same vicinity. It was like oil and water. The only thing that saved us from an epic catfight was the impending dawn that forced Megan to go to ground, so to speak.
Toni and the wolves had headed back to California, and their lives, families, and jobs. I had to promise Toni I would be out for a visit before the month’s end. Certain threats were levied against my man-parts should I fail to do so.
Megan left as well, devastated by my indecision. When I’d looked to Lacey for help, she said, “What do you think, Chance? She flew halfway across the country to fight for you. Vampires don’t exactly travel well. If they get caught out in the sun, they’re toast. Literally.”
I knew that. Of course, Toni had done the same thing, bringing half of her pack with her.
“Come on, Chance—why the hell did you lead her on like that? I mean, giving her the ring, for chrissakes!” With that, Lacey had also walked away.
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