The Bite of Silence

by Mary Hughes

  “Twyla.” Nikos sat up easily to take my face in both hands. His sable eyes searched mine. “This was about giving you strength, not stealing it.” He kissed me, softly. For such a big man he could be amazingly gentle. “We’ll talk of hearts later. Have you laid any plans for battle?”

  “What? Me? Why should I-”

  His dark look cut me off. And that was the Spartan general too. Never accepting anything less than a soldier’s best.

  “All right, wait. Let me think.” I tried to imagine myself the warrior Nikos thought me. Tried to pretend I had as much to contribute as everyone else. Hell, it was better than thinking about hearts. “Do you have your computer? I can show you what I know about the Magie company I set Aylmer up with. Klaus. Whoever.” I did a face-palm. “Now I understand why Aylmer had me use Jones instead of his real name. Damn, there’s so much I’m missing. Maybe you can fill in the blanks with some translations.”

  Nikos leaped out of bed, sweeping me along easily in one arm. He sat me in a chair in front of his netbook. Naked. Between the bent bedposts and the upholstery cleaning from my, um, he was going to have quite a bill.

  I pulled up my web-based email. Leaning over my shoulder, Nikos started scrolling through it. The position must have been uncomfortable for him but I loved the feel of his heat behind me, the small kisses he bestowed on me each time he paged down.

  While he read, I thought out loud. “We have to assume the vampire plot has something to do with the favor Aylmer asked me. I can’t imagine him feeling obliged to invite a houseguest for anything less.”

  “Reasonable.” Nikos was a fast reader, flipping through emails as quickly as the connection let him. No doubt we’d have to buy a second bookshelf for our bedroom-shit. He distracted me by pointing to a paragraph in Czech. “Bujný a Zvuk Magie has a number of subsidiaries. The group you worked with is Steale Programové. They do computers. I don’t like this.”

  “Computers? That only proves Aylmer wasn’t the one I got the job for. He thinks computers are the joint invention of the devil, the IRS and little green men.” Conscience kicked me as I remembered the blood in Aylmer ’s bathroom. Crazy, yes. But injured, possibly critically. Maybe bleeding out…no, I had to trust Nikos’s judgment. Aylmer was alive and relatively intact. I hung on to that.

  As Nikos flipped emails, his dark eyes flashed taupe in the screen’s reflected light. “Specifically, Steale Programové computerizes light and sound systems.”

  “Taken in conjunction with Times Square -damn.”

  “What?”

  “Steale Programové must be involved with the New Year’s sound system. And shoulder-to-shoulder skyscrapers make Times Square a box canyon of sound. What time is it? We need to get out there.”

  “Past ten thirty.” Nikos started throwing on clothes, not his usual suit and tie but black jeans and sweater. Somehow he made even the casual clothes look severe.

  Or maybe it was the long leather coat he used to cover the three-foot kopis that made him look so deadly.

  I dressed too. “I read up on the New Year’s celebration because I planned to go. People start arriving before sunset, whole blocks of them. By ten thirty the area from Thirty-eighth Street to Fifty-ninth is filled. The entertainment has to reach all of them, so there’s a huge sound system. Then when the Ball drops, everything stops except for the beat marking the seconds. The whole square counts off the last ten seconds. A million people, chanting together.”

  “You’ve mentioned the Ball Drop before. What is it?”

  I stared at him. “How can you have missed the most important New Year’s fixture of the last hundred years? Nearly six tons of crystal and LEDs starts at the top of a flagpole at eleven fifty-nine and descends to the bottom in exactly one minute, flashing a huge light show. We’ve gotta hurry, Nikos.”

  “First we must gather information and allies.” Nikos flipped out his phone, hit a speed dial. “Julian. There’s a problem.” He spoke rapidly and to the point.

  While he talked I picked up the switchblade xiphos, tested the feel and weight. It was built for gigantic Nikos, thick and heavy in my hand. Although I wanted to be useful if it came down to a battle, I’d be more likely to hurt myself with this than help. Reluctantly, I set it back down.

  “Julian said the hypnosis device was destroyed.” Nikos slipped his phone back into his pocket, his face grim. “Tonight we are dealing with the unknown.”

  I started for the door. “All the more reason to hurry.”

  “No. We can’t go into battle blind-” His fangs shot out full-length. He pulled me from the door with a low growl.

  A rich voice sounded from the hallway. “Pax.”

  It was Klaus. Nikos growled louder and, pushing me behind him, drew his sword from under his coat.

  “I need to talk to you, Nikos. I demand pax.”

  “We don’t have time.”

  “Make time. Would I risk crossing you if it weren’t important?”

  “Fine.” Nikos yanked open the door and pointed his sword at Klaus’s throat. “Make it good. And fast.”

  Klaus raised both hands. “Somebody’s going to fuck over vampires tonight at Times Square. I need your help to stop him.”

  Chapter Five

  The limo threaded through traffic with agonizing slowness. Twelve city blocks normally takes about two minutes. We left the hotel at ten fifty and when I checked my phone again at eleven we had gone all of one block. At that rate we’d hit Times Square just in time to throw kitty litter on the blood.

  “We’ve been hearing rumors of a vampire terrorist in New York for the last year.” Klaus acted as cool as the refrigerated dill of similar name. Only a slight whitening around his nostrils betrayed he was as tense as me. “We traced the rumors to Aylmer Tafel. He was already using a shadow company of mine, eMailnXpress, for his business, which made his apartment ridiculously easy to infiltrate. Unfortunately Aylmer ’s cohort and Bujný a Zvuk were not so easy. So when we heard the charming cousin Twyla was coming to New York, I was sent to escort her. We hoped to learn more.”

  Nikos, splayed like a roadblock between me and Klaus, started growling.

  “Who’s we?” I asked before Nikos could do something we’d all regret (but mostly Klaus).

  “ New York ’s ruling vampires, the Cadre. We’re the equivalent of your Chicago Coterie.”

  I looked to Nikos. His closed eyes said “long story”. Five minutes and another half block went by. I poked him. “We have time. Give me the MTV version.”

  Nikos shot Klaus an irritated glance, like my curiosity was his fault, and said, “The Coterie runs businesses, vampires and blood in Chicago.”

  I did a mental translation to v-Mafia. Not that I knew anything about La Cosa Nostra beyond film and TV, but that was my main source for info on vampires too.

  “My alliance stands against them.” Nikos gave Klaus another glare, this one pointed. “And so against the Cadre.”

  “I am not the enemy here.” Klaus sneered at Nikos down his nose. “I do not work with Aylmer or his unknown associate. Our goal is the same as yours, to keep vampires from going feral tonight.”

  “Not the same.” Nikos advanced to glowering. “I want to keep humans from dying.”

  “Well, pardon me for not thinking of a few humans when our very existence is at stake.”

  “We would not die. Humans would, and more than a few.” Nikos leaned over Klaus until they were practically smashing noses.

  “A drop in the bucket compared to all vampire kind.”

  The testosterone being flung around was giving me chest hairs. “Hey guys. Enough. Stopping this plot will save both human and vampire lives.”

  They both humphed back and sat in stony silence for another eight blocks. By then it was eleven twenty. “This is ridiculous. We’d make better time walking.”

  “Not tonight.” Klaus darted a glance at Nikos. “Not with all the foot traffic.”

  “Are there really that many people? A million?”
>
  “Let me put it this way. The city removes all trash cans, mailboxes and newspaper machines for the event.”

  “For room?”

  “And to reduce the potential for terrorism.”

  We fell silent again, thinking about terrorists, about Aylmer and his unknown associate. I really hoped my cousin was okay. But at that moment I might have shot him myself for getting us into this mess in the first place.

  At eleven thirty-five the intercom switched on. “The streets are closed to Thirty-eighth Street. This is as close as I can get, sir.” The limo pulled to a stop.

  When I jumped out cold air smacked me in the face. But that wasn’t the only shock. Light slashed my eyes, radiant as the day.

  Some cities are a river valley of skyscrapers cut by streets. Manhattan was more like the floor of an ocean, rising tides of multihued neon and LED fish spiraling up for miles. The pervasive intense light, the overwhelming abundance of swirling blinking color was more deafening to me than the blast of sound from the several stages and million people.

  Nikos slid out behind me. His reaction was even more pronounced. His nostrils flared, and his eyes burned bright. Tyger Tyger, all that warm blood. He pulled back, his hands and jaw clenching rhythmically. “I hate crowds.”

  “Nikos, we only have twenty-five minutes. We need to hurry.” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him forward. It was like dragging a cliff.

  “Wait. I have a call.” He tapped his pocket. I couldn’t hear anything above the crowd noise.

  “Sounds like an excuse to me.” I tugged again.

  “It may be important.” He reached into his coat.

  Twenty-four minutes. I tried to grab his wrist but he played arm double-dutch and I ended up with my hands twisted and him with his phone out.

  But he just stared at it. “Damn. Missed call.”

  “And excuse gone. Come on.”

  “No. Not yet.” His eyes were a little wild, gazing at the thousands upon thousands of people, thick even here on the back side of things. North of One Times Square was where all the action was. I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for him if we had to go there.

  “This is not getting us anywhere.” Klaus emerged from the limo. He pushed past Nikos, grabbed my hand and marched off.

  Nikos stared after us, outrage on his face. “Wait. We don’t know where we’re going.”

  Klaus shot him a triumphant look over his shoulder. “The center of things, of course.”

  As Klaus dragged me along my phone rang. I couldn’t hear it but I felt its vibrations in my pocket. I whipped it out one-handed. “Hello?”

  “Twyla? It’s Nixie. Hey, Julian tried to raise Nikos but couldn’t connect. We’ve got some serious shit on that Steale Programové. They programmed the light and sound for this year’s Ball.”

  “The Ball? I thought a U.S. company did that. They did an awesome job last year.”

  “The Magie guys stole the contract. It’s all shady and nefarious. But this means your bad guy is at New Year’s Ground Zero. One Times Square.”

  “Nikos!” I twisted, walking backwards on tippy-toe trying to see the limo. It was already swallowed up by the crowd but Nikos’s huge keyed-up body was impossible to miss. I shouted, hoped his super-duper vampire hearing would let him pick out my voice. “Nixie says Steale worked on the Ball. We have to get to One Times Square.”

  I couldn’t see Nikos’s face very well. But by what I could see, his expression was tight, his eyes closed. “Nikos! Twenty-three minutes.”

  That finally got through to him. He started after us with all the enthusiasm of a man wading naked into Lake Michigan in the middle of winter. Without a word, but jaw clenching like he was chewing bullets, he followed us.

  “It’s just a little crowd,” Klaus called.

  I caught the twinkle of his blue eyes. “How come the blood doesn’t affect you?”

  “Oh, it’s not blood that has poor Nikos upset.” He laughed and refused to say more, despite my prodding.

  When Nikos caught up he grabbed my hand-and glared at Klaus, his sable eyes sparking murder. I wondered, if not blood, what it was about the crowd that bothered him so. As a Spartan general and warrior throughout the ages, it couldn’t be crowd phobia. How would he have fought?

  We passed a uniformed officer herding people into a pen. He ran to stop us. “You! You can’t go there.”

  I gritted my teeth against a sharp reply. Twenty-two minutes. How long would Officer Krupke here delay us?

  Nikos didn’t even slow. “You will let us pass.” His voice, hollow and ringing, stopped the officer flat.

  “But-” The officer turned, watched us with a puzzled expression.

  “How’d you do that?” I said. “You didn’t even wave your hand.”

  “Yes, that was impressive,” Klaus said. “Are you an ancient?”

  “I’ve got a couple millennia. You.” He snapped his fingers at another police officer. “We need to get to One Times Square. Take us. On a route with no people.”

  The officer cut his way past the pens of dancing, shouting, laughing people. Nikos clutched my hand harder.

  Partially to distract him from the crowd, partially because I was curious, I asked, “Can all v-guys influence people that easily?”

  “More or less.”

  “So if Aylmer ’s accomplice was a v-guy, he wouldn’t have needed my help-he could have hypnotized his way into the Magie company. Does that prove he’s human?”

  “Perhaps. Unless Magie is run by my kind.”

  “Oh.” I really hoped not.

  Even with the police escort it was eleven forty-two by the time we jogged up to a long narrow building. One Times Square, with its façade of full-color ads and news zippers, was as well-known as any Hollywood star’s face. The Grande Dame of New Year’s, where even the police outpost sported a pink and blue neon sign. The officer got us inside through Walgreens’ retail space.

  Only three stories were occupied. The next twenty-two floors were untenanted. The officer told us this at Nikos’s prompting. Ever the general, Nikos wanted to know the lay of the land, but I found the info interesting for its own sake.

  Or I would have if it weren’t eleven forty-three p.m. and counting. We took the elevator to the twenty-third floor then hiked up the remaining two flights. Paradoxically Nikos relaxed as we mounted the final stairs.

  I shook my head. “A whole building just for billboards?”

  “It avoids the hassle of being a landlord, does it not?” Klaus shrugged. “Besides, most of the windows are covered by the spectaculars, scrims and signs. Unusable as office space.”

  The door to the roof was locked. The officer used his key, but the door didn’t budge. He frowned. “This isn’t good. I’d better call for backup.” His hand went to his radio. Before he could connect Klaus sank white fangs into his neck.

  The officer’s face scrunched in extreme agony-or pleasure. His eyes rolled up into his head and he dropped limp to the floor.

  “What the hell did you do that for?” I checked the officer’s pulse, good, and his neck, perfectly intact.

  Klaus shrugged. “The door is blocked. Something is on the roof, something unexpected. It’s better if we don’t have an audience.” He pointed at the door, grinned at Nikos. “I don’t mist. Would you do the honors?”

  “Fledgling.” Nikos dropped into smoke and shot through the door. Moments later it was open. Klaus sauntered through. I peered out more cautiously after him.

  The roof was typical Manhattan -cooling tower, pipes and metal grates. It was empty except for two men. One wore a funky Giants hat and was bundled in a coat. His eyes were panicky and his arms were behind his back. Above him, the huge New Year’s Ball blazed, its reds and golds and greens cascading merrily across the white template of his face.

  The other man was gray-haired and thin as a rail. He held a gun trained on the panicked man.

  Passing the gray-haired man on the streets, I wouldn’t have looked twice, mi
ght not have seen him at all. He was that ordinary. No, even Walmart has some style. This man was flat, washed out.

  Except for his eyes. He was endlessly surveying the rooftop, as if it were about to erupt hordes of enemies. His eyes twitched continuously, like acid burned them. Twitch, twitch, twitch. Or like he was sick. Or maybe the brain that the eyes were attached to was sick. That possibility was downright scary.

  As I edged out onto the roof the gray-haired man saw us. The gun snapped into both hands-aimed at me.

  Handguns are hair-raising enough-packaged death. Having one pointed at me? My vision darkened, the metal barrel unnervingly bright in contrast. I couldn’t hear beyond the whoosh of my heart. My whole being jumped to the nozzle of that gun. I’m going to die. Now.

  Nikos stepped in front of me and just that suddenly the threat was gone.

  I heard the man spit. “Damn.” His voice was hoarse, like a lifelong smoker. “I needed Aylmer to get me into the Magie, but I should have killed him. Now I’ll have to kill you.”

  I peeked around Nikos. The thin man’s features were red and scarred, less than perfect. Even if I hadn’t suspected it, that would have told me he wasn’t a vampire. I didn’t recognize him, despite him obviously recognizing us.

  “Mr. Jones, wait.” Nikos’s hands were up, peaceful, but his stance spoke volumes of readiness. I wondered how he knew the man’s name. “Why are you doing this?”

  The man laughed, high-pitched. “Why kill thousands of people? Why destroy hundreds of monsters?”

  “No, Mr. Jones. Why destroy the fragile peace vampires and humans have?”

  “Peace.” The gun shook. “I fought for peace, once.”

  “You were in Vietnam.” Nikos nodded. “It was horrible.”

  “Horrible? Horrible? You punks are all alike. Think you know what it was like when you don’t! It wasn’t M*A*S*H. Nam was brutal. Savage.”