Bloody Bones ab-5

by Laurell Hamilton

  I stared at Stirling's happy, eager face, until his arm dropped away from Pallas's back, and his eyes closed. He passed out from blood loss and shock, and the vampires hugged him tight, and fed.

  His eyes flew open wide, and a gurgling sound crawled out of his throat. Fear screamed out of his eyes. Pallas raised a hand and stroked Stirling's hair, a gesture you'd use on a frightened child. The fear died out of his eyes, and I watched the last light die with it. I watched Raymond Stirling die, and knew I would remember that last look of terror in my dreams for weeks to come.

  37

  There was a rush of wind that raised a fine cloud of dirt. Jean-Claude appeared as if conjured from the air itself. I had never been so happy to see him. I didn't run to his arms, but I moved to stand near him. Larry followed me. Jean-Claude wasn't always the safest refuge, but right now he looked pretty damn good.

  He was dressed in one of his white shirts. This one had so much lace on the front it looked fluffy. A short white jacket hit him just at the waist. More lace peeked from the sleeves of the jacket. He wore tight white pants with a black belt. The belt matched his velvet black boots.

  "I did not expect you here, Jean-Claude," Janos said. I couldn't tell for sure, but he sounded surprised. Goody.

  "Serephina delivered her invitation in person, Janos, but it was not enough."

  "You surprise me, Jean-Claude," he said.

  "I surprised Serephina, as well." He sounded terribly calm. If he was afraid standing outnumbered on the hilltop, it didn't show. I'd have loved to know how he'd surprised Serephina.

  Jason walked up the far side of the hill, from the direction of the Jeep. He wore black leather pants that looked like they'd been poured on him, short black boots, and no shirt. There was what looked like a silver-studded dog collar around his neck, and a black glove on either hand, but other than that he was naked from the waist up. I hoped Jason had chosen his own outfit for tonight.

  The right side of his face was bruised from chin to forehead as though something large had hit him.

  "I see your pet joined the struggle," Janos said.

  "He is mine in every way, Janos. They are all mine."

  Just this once I let it go. If my choice was belonging to Jean-Claude or to Serephina, I knew what my vote would be.

  Larry moved so close to me that I could have taken his hand. Maybe he didn't like being included in Jean-Claude's menagerie.

  "You have lost that air of humbleness that I found so appealing, Jean-Claude. Have you refused Serephina's invitation altogether?"

  "I will come to Serephina's party, but on my own with my people around me."

  I glanced at him. Was he crazy?

  He frowned. "Serephina wanted you at the party in chains."

  "We can all live with this choice, Janos."

  "Are you saying you would challenge us all here and now?" There was an edge of laughter in his voice.

  "I will not die alone, Janos. In the end you may have me, but it will cost you dearly."

  "If you will truly come of your own free will, then come," Janos said. "Our master calls; let us answer that call." Janos, Bettina, and Pallas were just suddenly airborne. It wasn't flying, or levitation. I had no word for it. Larry whispered, "Dear God." The first time you see a vampire fly is a red-letter night.

  The others scattered into the trees in that blurring motion that made them disappear almost as fast as flying. Ellie Quinlan had vanished with the rest of them. Her brother had been carried away by Janos. Until that moment I hadn't known a vampire could carry more than its own body weight while "flying." Learn something new every night.

  We found our guns and walked down the mountainside. Our crosses were well and truly lost. Even Jean-Claude walked, and I knew he had other methods of transportation. Was it considered impolite to fly when others couldn't?

  The Jeep was still where I'd parked it. The night was still thick. It was hours until dawn, and I just wanted to go home.

  "I took the liberty of choosing clothes for you to wear tonight," Jean-Claude said. "They are in the Jeep."

  "I locked the Jeep," I said.

  He just smiled at me.

  I sighed. "Fine." When I tried the handle it was unlocked. Clothes were folded in the passenger seat. They were black leather. I shook my head. "I don't think so."

  "Your clothes, ma petite, are on the driver's side. Those are Lawrence's clothes."

  Larry peered over my shoulder. "You've got to be kidding."

  I walked around the Jeep and found a clean pair of black jeans. The tightest pair I owned. A bloodred tank top that I didn't remember buying. It felt like silk. There was a black duster coat that I had never seen. When I tried it for length it hit me at mid-calf, and billowed capelike when I moved. I liked the coat. The silk blouse I could have done without.

  "Not bad," I said.

  "Mine is bad," Larry said. "I don't even know how to get into these pants."

  "Jason, help him dress." Jason picked up the bundle of leather and carried them to the back of the Jeep. Larry followed him but didn't look happy.

  "No boots?" I said.

  Jean-Claude smiled. "I didn't think you would give up your jogging shoes."

  "Damn straight."

  "Change quickly, ma petite; we must arrive at Serephina's before she decides to kill the boy just for spite."

  "Would Xavier let her kill his new toy?"

  "If she is truly his master, he has no choice. Now, dress, ma petite, quickly." I walked towards the far side of the Jeep but that brought me within earshot, and nearly eyesight, of Larry. I stopped and sighed. What the hell.

  I turned my back on Jean-Claude and slid out of my shoulder holster. "How did you guys get away from Serephina?" I slipped my shirt over my head. I fought the urge to look back. I knew Jean-Claude was watching; why check?

  "Jason jumped her at a crucial moment. It was distraction enough for us to flee, but little else. I'm afraid the room is something of a mess."

  His voice was so mild I had to see his face. I slid the red tank top on and turned. He was standing closer than I'd thought, nearly within touching distance. He stood there in his white clothes, spotless and perfect.

  "Step a few paces back, please. I'd like a little privacy."

  He smiled, but he did what I asked. A first.

  "Had she underestimated you that badly?" I asked. I changed jeans as quickly as I could. I tried not to think of him watching. It was too embarrassing.

  "I was forced to flee, ma petite. Janos calls her master, and he defeated me. I cannot stand against her, not in a fair fight."

  I slipped the shoulder holster back on, threading the belt I'd been wearing back through it. The straps chafed a little with no sleeves but it was better than not having it. I got the Firestar from under my seat and tucked the inner pants holster down the front of my jeans. It would show, even with the duster. I finally put it at the small of my back, though it wasn't my first or even second choice of places. I got the silver knives out of the glove compartment and strapped them to my forearms. I also got out a small box. It held two extra crosses. Vampires seemed to always be taking them from me.

  Jean-Claude watched it all with interest. His dark eyes followed my hands like he was memorizing the movements.

  I put the duster on and walked a few steps to get the feel of everything. I drew both knives just to make sure the coat sleeves weren't too tight. I drew both guns and still didn't like the Firestar. I finally shifted the inner pants holster to one side. It dug into my side hard enough to bruise, but I could draw it in a reasonable time. That was more important than comfort tonight. I slipped an extra clip for both guns in the coat pockets. They were loaded with nonsilver bullets. It made me nervous to only have the silver bullets that were in the guns, but Rawhead and Bloody Bones was going to make his appearance sometime tonight. Magnus might even be there. I wanted ammo for everything I'd meet tonight.

  Larry came out from behind the Jeep. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
It wasn't that he looked bad, he just looked so uncomfortable. He seemed to have trouble walking in the black leather pants.

  "Just walk naturally," Jason said.

  "I can't," Larry said. He had a silk tank top that was the twin of mine except it was blue instead of red. He had short black boots on. The black jacket he'd borrowed from Jason last night completed the outfit.

  I looked at the boots.

  "Black jogging shoes perhaps, ma petite, but white jogging shoes with black leather? I do not think so."

  "I feel ridiculous," Larry said. "How can you wear this all the time?"

  "I like leather," Jason said.

  "We must be off," Jean-Claude said. "Anita, if you would drive?"

  "I thought you might want to fly," I said.

  "It is important we arrive together," he said.

  Larry and I added salt to our pockets. With the extra ammo clips in one pocket and salt in the other, my coat hung a little crooked, but hey, we weren't going to a fashion show. We all slid into the Jeep. There was a lot of protesting from the back seat. "These pants are even more uncomfortable sitting down."

  "I will remember your dislike of leather in the future, Lawrence."

  "My name is Larry."

  I drove the Jeep down the rutted road that led out of the construction site. "Serephina wants to be immortal." I turned onto the main road and headed back towards Branson, though of course we'd be stopping at Serephina's on the way.

  Jean-Claude turned in his seat to stare at me. "What are you saying, ma petite?"

  I told him. I told him about Rawhead and Bloody Bones, and Serephina's plan. "She's mad."

  "Not entirely, ma petite. It might not give her immortality, but it would give her undreamt-of power. The question remaining is, how did Serephina grow powerful enough to snag Janos before she fed off Magnus and Bloody Bones?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Janos was in the old country. He would not have left voluntarily. He followed her. Where did she get the power to subjugate him?"

  "Maybe Magnus isn't the first fairie she's fed off," I said.

  "Perhaps," he said, "or perhaps she has found other food."

  "What other food?"

  "That, ma petite, is the question that I would very much like answered."

  "Thinking of changing diets?" I asked.

  "Power is always tempting, ma petite, but for tonight I was thinking of more practical matters. If we can discover her source of power, we might be able to undo it."

  "How?"

  He shook his head. "I do not know, but unless we can find some trick to pull out of our hats tonight, ma petite, we are doomed." He sounded remarkably calm about it. I wasn't calm. My pulse was thundering so fast I could feel it in my throat and wrists. Hear it like a rushing in my ears. Doomed: it had a bad ring to it. With Serephina waiting at the other end, it had a very bad ring to it indeed.

  38

  We walked up the stone steps to the porch. Moonlight and soft darkness filled the porch. There were no thick, unnatural shadows, no hint of what lay inside. It was just an abandoned house, nothing special. The nervous flutter in my stomach didn't buy it either.

  Kissa opened the door. Candlelight spilled behind her from the open door to the far room. No pretense tonight that the empty room was all there was. Sweat beaded on her face, golden drops in the warm light. She was still being punished. I wondered why, but it wasn't my biggest problem.

  Kissa led us through that open door without a word. Serephina sat on her throne in the corner of the big room. She was dressed in a white ball gown like Cinderella, her hair piled atop her head. Diamonds like a string of fire glimmered in her hair as she nodded her greeting.

  Magnus was curled at her feet in a white tux and tails. Gloves, a white top hat, and a cane were laid next to his knees. His long chestnut hair was the only color in the picture. Every master vamp I'd ever met had been into dramatic presentation. Janos and his two females stood in black behind the throne, like a living curtain of darkness. Ellie lay on her side in the cushions, looking almost alive. Even in her torn and stained black dress she looked content, like a cat that was full of cream. Her eyes sparkled, lips curled with a secret smile. Ellie, alias Angela, was enjoying being undead. So far. Kissa stalked to them, and knelt on the side away from Magnus. Her black leather blended with Janos's cloak. Serephina stroked Kissa's sweating face with a white-gloved hand.

  Serephina smiled, and it was lovely until you glimpsed her eyes. They glowed with a pale phosphorescence. You could still get a hint of pupil, but it was sinking fast. Her eyes matched her dress. Now that was color-coordinating.

  Jeff and Xavier were missing. I didn't like that. I opened my mouth to ask, and Jean-Claude looked at me. For just this once, the look was enough. He was the master; I was playing servant. Fine, as long as he asked the right questions.

  "We have come, Serephina," Jean-Claude said. "Give us the boy, and we will leave you in peace."

  She laughed. "But I will not leave you in peace, Jean-Claude." She turned her softly glowing eyes to me. It was like being looked at by twin flashlights, and just as human. "Niña, I am so happy to see you."

  I stopped breathing for a second. Niña: it had been my mother's nickname for me. Something flared in her eyes, like a distant glimpse of fire; then the light banked back to a cool wavering light. She wasn't trying to capture me with her eyes. Why? Because she was that sure of me.

  My skin suddenly went cold. That was it. I would have said it was arrogance, but I believed it. She offered something better than sex, more fulfilling than power. Home. Lie or not, it was a good offer.

  Larry touched my hand. "You're shaking."

  I swallowed hard. "Never admit how scared you are out loud, Larry; ruins the effect."

  "Sorry."

  I stepped away from him; no sense in huddling. I glanced at Jean-Claude, sort of silently asking if I was about to break vampire protocol.

  "She has acknowledged you as she would another master. Answer as one." He didn't seem bothered by that; I was.

  "What do you want, Serephina?" I asked.

  She stood, gliding across the carpeted floor. It looked like whatever was under that full skirt wasn't legs. Feet just didn't move like that. Maybe she was levitating. However she managed it, she kept coming closer. I wanted desperately to back away. I didn't want her close to me.

  Larry moved a step behind me. Jason moved a step up to Jean-Claude's other side. I stood my ground. It was the best I could do.

  Something flickered in her eyes, like a distant glimpse of movement through a fringe of trees. Eyes didn't do that. I looked away and realized I didn't remember looking at her eyes. So how was I looking away?

  I felt her move towards me. Her gloved hand came into view. I jerked back and looked up at the same time. I barely glanced at her face, but it was enough. Her eyes had fire burning down a long dark tunnel, as if the inside of her head fell away into an impossible darkness, and some small creatures had lit a fire against that darkness. I could warm my hands by that flame forever.

  I screamed. Screamed and covered my eyes with my hands.

  A hand touched my shoulder. I jerked away and screamed again. "Ma petite, I am here."

  "Then do something," I said.

  "I am," he said.

  "I will have this one by sunrise." She motioned to me. She took a gliding step towards Jason. She caressed her gloved hand down his bare chest. He stood there and took it. I wouldn't have let her touch me on a dare.

  "I will give you to Bettina and Pallas. They will teach you to enjoy rotting flesh."

  Jason stared straight ahead, but his eyes widened just a little. Bettina and Pallas had moved from behind the throne to stand a few feet behind Serephina. Dramatic gestures are us.

  "Or perhaps I will force you to change into wolf form until it becomes more natural than this human shell." She slid a finger under the collar on his throat. "I will chain you to my wall, and you will be my guard dog."

 
; "Enough of this, Serephina," Jean-Claude said. "The night bleeds away. These petty torments are beneath one of your power."

  "I am feeling petty tonight, Jean-Claude, and soon I will have the power to be as petty as I feel." She glanced at Larry. "He will join my flock." She stared up at Jean-Claude. I hadn't realized he was taller. "And you, my lovely catamount, will serve us all for all eternity."

  Jean-Claude stared down at her, utterly arrogant. "I am Master of the City now, Serephina. We cannot torture each other. We cannot steal each other's possessions, no matter how attractive they are."

  It took me a second to realize the possessions he was referring to were us.

  Serephina smiled. "I will have your businesses, your money, your lands, and your people before the night is out. Did the council really think I would be content with the crumbs from your table?"

  If she challenged him officially, we were all dead. Jean-Claude couldn't take her, and neither could I. Distraction, we needed a distraction. "You're wearing enough diamonds to buy your own businesses, your own house."

  She turned those glowing eyes to me, and I half wished I had kept quiet. "Do you think I live in this house because I cannot afford better?"

  "I don't know."

  She glided back to her throne and settled onto it, smoothing her skirts. "I do not trust your human laws. I will remain the secret we have always been; let others walk in the spotlight. I will be here when such modern thinkers are no more." She suddenly slashed out with one hand.

  Jean-Claude staggered. Blood flew from his face, splattering on his white shirt and jacket in bright crimson flecks. Drops of it clung to my hair and cheek.

  She slashed again, and another cut exploded on the other side of his face, splashing Jason with Jean-Claude's blood.

  Jean-Claude stayed on his feet. He never cried out. He didn't touch the wounds. He stood there utterly still; except for the blood there was no movement to him. His eyes were drowning pools of sapphire floating in a mask of blood.