by Faith Hunter
I’ll Break Every Finger . . . One By One: When Misha comes into the room, she reminds Jane of an incident from their youth where Jane stood up for her, threatening a bully. Misha thanks Jane for what she did back then. Over tea and chocolate, the two women discuss Misha’s book, which is basically a study on vampires: their history, hierarchy, and even how to kill them. All of this worries Jane, but she is most upset by the discovery of her name in the book. Misha promises she will take out anything Jane does not agree to, but she needs reliable information so she can finish her book and receive payment to pay for her daughter’s treatment. Jane has the Kid research Misha’s human contact who had promised her information on the vamps, Bryson Ryder. Eli and Jane go to the man’s office, which appears to not have been visited in weeks, but his files show that he had done taxes for some local vamps. A visit to Ryder’s home leads to the discovery of dead bodies.
Have Stakes Will Travel. Amusing: The police discover two dead adults and two dead children in the house, presumed to be a vamp attack. A new law states that PsyLED gets called when supernatural attacks on humans are suspected. Jane knows that local law enforcement will eventually call, but to get him the news sooner, Jane contacts Rick, who is in charge of the Southeast territory. After what proves to be an uncomfortable phone call, Jane heads back to the house and learns that Misha’s daughter, Charly, has a very rare form of leukemia. Jane leaves messages for Misha about Ryder’s death, and then gets ready for her meeting with Hieronymus, being held in a warehouse in Natchez Under the Hill. Upon arrival, Eli and Jane notice that the guards are sporting some hard-to-acquire firepower. When a few of the guards give them trouble, Jane and Eli take them down. Jane then introduces herself to Hieronymus, noticing his formal attire and odd necklace. Hieronymus wants Jane to kill the Naturaleza vamps on the loose, and accepts the offer of the vamp disease afflicting him and his people. Jane grills Eli about the changes in her contract with Hieronymus that the vamp referred to. Eli then suggests that he and the Kid buy in to Jane’s company as partners. Jane agree to a sixty/forty division and finds herself pleased with the prospect. Good feelings evaporate, however, when Eli points out that they are being followed.
Four Dead Vamps Under His Tree: Eli and Jane decide to take up position in a shed they remember from their last visit, but on the way they have to instead take cover from the Naturaleza in some trees. In their battle, Jane and Eli make the unfortunate discovery that even silver does not kill these vamps, and in fact, most that appeared dead initially get up and walk off. Only one is truly dead, with most of her head gone. Jane sends photos of the dead vamp to Bruiser and to Hieronymus’ home. Upon their arrival back at the house, Jane and Eli discover that Esmee has gone off with two local men to hunt vamps on her own, and the two leave to find her from the trace the Kid is running on Esmee’s cell phone.
And Me Holding Only Ash: The Kid reports that he has lost the trace on Esmee, but he sends Jane the last coordinates he has. Unfortunately the location happens to be Silandre’s Saloon, the proprietor of which is one of Hieronymus’ vamps. Jane calls Bruiser, though not really wanting to, as his betrayal at aiding in Leo’s feeding from her still stings. Bruiser agrees to work on getting Jane access to Silandre—dealing with her as necessary if either she or her people have hurt Esme. Leo calls to give Jane permission to do what she must. When Eli and Jane enter the premises, they find Silandre draining a human, but she escapes. After fighting a few vamps, ones that also prove difficult to kill, Jane rescues Esmee. The one of the vamps comes at Jane.
Sheet Creases on His Left Cheek: Rather than killing the attacking vamp, Jane decides to take him prisoner so she can get information from him, and asks Hieronymus’ primo for a silver cage to keep the vamp in. Esmee expresses her regret and guilt at getting the two men involved in her plans of taking down a few vamps, but Jane tells her that the men were adults and made their own decisions, though she does confirm what a bad idea it was to begin with. Loading up the captive and Esmee and her two accomplices, after dropping the latter off at their place, Jane, Eli, and Esmee head back to the house. Upon their arrival, they discover that Esmee’s son, Gordon, alerted by Jameson, has arrived. Jane manages to get some added information from the vamps delivering the silver cage to hold the captive—such as big changes started occurring in the Naturaleza after “she” joined them, and that Leo had been notified but never sent aid—but at that point they stop talking and tell her she can find out more from Clark, Hieronymus’ primo. When she talks to Clark, Jane assures him she will protect Hieronymus. In the middle of the night, Sheriff Sylvia Turpin arrives, asking Jane why she didn’t let her know she was back in town. After a discussion and apologies, as well as the beginnings of an obvious attraction between Sylvia and Eli, the sheriff leaves. The Kid informs Jane that he believes Misha may be trying to find a vamp who will share blood to save Charly.
Makes It Easier to Stomp ’Em to Death: After a two-hour nap, Jane and Eli go to the barn to check on their Naturaleza captive. Enticing the hungry vamp with a raw steak, Jane learns that his name is Francis Arundel, born in 1820. He admits to being flown into Natchez by de Allyon, and that his mistress keeps her “cattle” underground. He demands being able to feed from a human, at which time he will give more information, but of course Jane refuses. Eli and Jane head over to Hieronymus’ clan home, to distribute the vamp cure to him and his people. After dosing everyone, Hieronymus tells Jane that magic may be behind the extra powers exhibited by the Naturaleza, and she agrees. When Eli and Jane are heading back to Esmee’s in the early morning hours, Jane gets a call from Bobby, reporting that Misha went out to meet someone the night before and never returned.
You Here to Even the Score, Dog Boy? Jane arrives at Misha and Bobby’s hotel room, and Bobby gives her a letter Misha left for her, explaining that she has gone to meet a primo blood-servant in the hopes she will introduce Misha to her boss. If she doesn’t come back, Misha asks that Jane track down Charly’s father. Misha ends her note with a cryptic comment about Bobby being a dowsing rod. Jane sends the names Misha left her to the Kid to track down, and asks him to hack in to Misha’s laptop. Jane takes Bobby and Charly back to Esmee’s house. As she muses over the current problems, someone comes to the door—Rick, with his partners, Soul and the wolf in tow, as well as the ever-present grindylow. After greeting the visitors, Jane leaves the room when she sees Soul touch Rick in a manner she doesn’t care for. When she goes outside, Bobby tells Jane that he knows Misha is in trouble—he has seen her in dreams. Jane has a run-in with Wolf, in which she socks him, and a short conversation with Rick. Jane then learns that Bobby can actually see magic, represented in colors for each individual.
I Want You to Chill, Babe: After leaving Bobby and Charly, Jane goes downstairs and joins Soul at the dining room table. Soul informs Jane of two things: she is not sleeping with Rick, and there are twelve witches among the missing in the area. Relieved at the first bit of news but not so pleased with the second, Jane asks Soul what type of magical working requires twelve witches. After Soul lists a few types, Jane asks about the insectoid-type vampires they have been running into, and Soul says that for magic of that scale to work, there would need to be a focus. Jane asks about Hieronymus’ necklace, and also retrieves the amulets she took from de Allyon’s Naturaleza vamps for Soul to examine, who determines that the items are not big enough to serve the purpose. Perusing files sent to them by the Kid, Jane and Soul discover the name of another vamp, Esther, which also provides the connection between Hieronymus and de Allyon. Soul explains to Jane about the method of feeding forced upon vampires by the Catholic Church, Fame Vexatum, where the vamps drink just enough to stay alive, not to drain and kill as the Naturaleza do. Jane concludes that someone, perhaps Esther, may be using the witches and the focus. Jane’s phone rings, and it is Misha, who only gets out a few sentences before the line goes dead. Ready for answers, Jane storms out to question Francis, the captive vamp, again. Jane gets a vague location for Esther out of Franc
is, and she and Eli head in that direction. When they arrive, Jane smells dead bodies, and Eli calls Sylvia, who volunteers to call PsyLED. The trio finds the body of Esther among the dead.
So Let’s Get It On, Baby: When she arrives back at the house, Jane confronts Francis. Soul is there, and tells Jane to not hurt the vampire anymore—until he starts talking about how he enjoys killing women and children. At that point, Soul leaves Jane alone once again with Francis, and Jane breaks the news to the vamp that Esther is dead, also informing him that she is the one who killed de Allyon. Jane asks who would now be in charge, and Francis responds that there are three possibilities, and the two bargain regarding names for food until they strike a deal. Francis gives Jane the name of Charles Scarletti, the vamp whose primo Misha was going to meet with, and also refers to those closest to Hieronymus, which Jane takes to mean his sons, Zoltar and Narkis. After dosing Francis with the vamp cure, Jane finds out from Eli that Scarletti was one of the dead vamps found at Esther’s. Jane reluctantly calls Bruiser to ask about the use of vampire blood to cure leukemia, and after checking, he replies that there have been mixed results. After letting Bruiser know that Reach was likely listening in on their call, Jane and Eli decide to spar in the gym above the garage. All goes well, until Rick walks in on Eli helping Jane up and misinterprets what he sees. The grindy stops Rick before he can hurt Eli, and he apologizes, saying he didn’t have his calming music with him. After everyone calms down, Jane determines that the best approach is to focus their efforts on finding the vampires who took the witches. However, Jane, Eli, and Bobby end up taking Charly to the hospital to see her doctor for much of the day. Meanwhile, the Kid has found a local tech guy, Bodat, who has a lot of information regarding the local vamps. From Bodat Jane learns that Esther and Silandre used to be singing partners and lovers, and Jane asks the two young men to look for a connection between the two female vamps and Hieronymus’ sons. Back at the house, Soul offers to help locate Misha with her magic. Using three of Misha’s hairs from a brush, Soul does her ritual and identifies the direction Misha is in, within ten miles. The two women hear Bobby wailing, and race to him.
The Idea of You Shackled and Bound Is Appealing: The two women find Bobby standing in the middle of his room, with his arms outstretched toward the window. Jane takes his hands and feels a huge shock, magic running through her. With Beast’s help Jane knocks the magic out of herself. Soul explains what Misha meant by calling Bobby a dowsing rod—he is attracted to magic, and she believes they can help track Misha that way. The group gets together over food in the dining room to discuss what they have learned and to devise a strategy. Combining the directional clues from Soul and Bobby with land records of property owned by Silandre, they also learn that Silandre and Leo had a relationship prior to the Civil War. Suddenly Bruiser appears, which pleases Beast, though Soul’s reaction to him makes Beast unhappy. Then Sylvia, the sheriff, arrives, and reports the number of dead at Esther’s, as well as that more witches have gone missing. Relationship overload causes Jane to leave the room, and Rick follows her outside, suggesting they both go look at the home of the missing witch family they just heard about. An examination of the house turns up scorched areas where the wards protecting the place had been blown out. After an uncomfortable personal conversation, Jane goes outside, and when Rick joins her he discovers that she has taken amulets from the crime scene. What she does not show Rick is the picture of a Native American woman that she also took because she was sure the photograph was calling out to her for some reason.
Make Ceremony With Me: In her room Jane looks over the photograph she removed from Esther’s house, and the style of the frame causes her to reminisce about the past. Owing to the binding he shares with Beast, Jane senses that Leo is about to call. He takes issue with the way Jane has redone some of the house in New Orleans—he particularly does not care for the silver now occupying his lair. After a brief conversation, Jane realizes that Beast had not gone all soft and gushy at the sound of Leo’s voice, which makes her realize that perhaps her cat has learned to withstand some of the magic used against her. The fear of the binding to Leo is what has prevented Jane shifting for months, and this new discovery leads to her decision to do so now. The first thing Beast notices is that Jane’s working out over the last few months has resulted in her becoming a bigger and stronger cat, and she is very pleased. The second thing she notices is that Bruiser watched the shift, and that he is now somehow different—no longer bound to Leo as he was. This amuses Beast. Wishing to head to the river to hunt, Beast catches a ride on the top of a truck. In order to get down to the level of the river, Beast jumps down by way of some trees, for which Jane chides her. After catching and eating some water birds, Beast smells smoke and sees a Native American woman sitting at a fire. Jane says that the woman is the one in the picture she found. The woman addresses Beast as Skinwalker, and says she must meet her at a church at dawn, in human form. When the woman disappears, Jane realizes she was never really there. Beast decides that it would be better for Jane to make the climb up the hill, so she makes the shift back. Once she is dressed and at the top of the riverbank, Jane calls Eli to come pick her up and to bring food. When they arrive at the church, Jane goes inside and meets the woman from her vision and the photograph, who introduces herself as Kathyayini. The old woman says her son married an Achee woman, the family of witches that was just abducted, and she tells Jane that she sees many types of magic surrounding her. She can also see the shadow of Leo in Jane’s soul house.
Try Not to Poison Me: Kathyayini gives Jane two riddles, which she does not understand, about cold iron, cursed trees, blood, red iron, and a dark light buried under the ground. When Jane wants to leave, Kathyanini tells her that they are in a place that does not exist here, there, or in between, but she throws Jane a coin. When she leaves the church, Jane walks into fog, and when Eli finds her, he wants her to identify herself. Apparently he saw two earlier versions of Jane that required staking, at which time they disappeared. On the way back to Esmee’s, Jane looks over the coin and discovers a dragon’s head. When they get back to the house, the Kid tells Jane what he found out about her coin, that it is a Greek sea serpent. While Jane and Eli were gone, the Kid has also gathered addresses of vamps on Jane’s kill list to see which were properties owned by either Silandre or Esther. When Rick and Soul join them in the dining room for breakfast, Rick receives a call from someone named Monica, and in spite of herself, Jane becomes jealous. Leaving the house to go outside, Jane pays a visit to Francis, but she doesn’t get much out of him other than that the leader of the Naturaleza would need to be able to communicate with the others telepathically. Jane leaves to take a shower, but when she gets out, Bruiser is in the bathroom. He and Jane have a much-needed conversation, during which Bruiser says he would even give up his freedom to keep her from being hurt, and tells her that she may ask him twenty questions. The first two: what does he mean about now having freedom, and what exactly is he now—he no longer smells the same—?
You’re a Gun Whore: Bruiser tells Jane that he is an Onorio, a being that has many of the benefits of being a vampire (long life, speed, seeing in the dark) but is not actually one. Most blood-servants do not survive the process, but he did, as well as Grégoire’s B twins. During their discussion, Jane muses over the state of the new, insectoid vamps: they were first transformed into vampires, became Naturaleza, then got the vamp plague, and somehow witches and magic got involved. Eli comes to get Jane for their search, and she gathers up her weapons. When she asks Eli to help her get some of the weapons adjusted, Rick happens to walk in, and Eli points a gun at him, not wanting a repeat of their last encounter. The grindy latches on to Rick, and Jane and Eli leave.
Maggots. I Hate Maggots. Heading back to Under the Hill to check out addresses the Kid provided them with, Jane and Eli find nothing at the first two, but the third, an old warehouse, proves to be a location of more dead bodies. After they both do a perimeter search of the building and meet up
again, Jane states to Eli that she doesn’t understand why so many humans are being killed, given that they are the Naturaleza’s food supply. After Eli kicks the door in and drops a sleepy-time grenade inside, he surmises that perhaps this group does not have a typical vamp hierarchy to keep them in line. Jane also worries that the new vamps may have a higher rising-on-the-third-day-as-revenants rate, which can only be avoided by beheading, so she texts Rick and Eli texts Sylvia to let them know that the bodies they took need to be dealt with by that method. Jane and Eli hear thumps on the floor, as the gas begins to work, and Jane wonders if perhaps all of the new vamps are revenants of a sort. The search of the warehouse turns up many dead humans, but they do find a few alive that they plan to return for. Upstairs Jane and Eli find three vamps. After they dispatch the first two vamps, the third attacks Jane, tearing into her arm and breaking the bone. Eli kills the attacking vamp, and Jane goes into shock.
I Know I’ll Have to Choose: When Jane regains consciousness, she finds Eli removing her boots. He has called Rick, who told him that Jane needed to shift in order to heal, and that she has to be naked to shift. Before shifting, Jane asks Eli if he took pictures of the dead vamps. Both Eli and Rick refer to Beast as Jane, which she does not appreciate. After eating the raw meat brought to her by Rick, Beast decides to have some fun and smacks Rick’s wolf partner in the nose with her paw, drawing blood. The grindy seems upset, but Beast thinks the were blood will not hurt her when it’s only in her stomach, and then wonders if it will hurt her at all, even in a cut. The angel Hayyel did something to both the wolf and to Beast—something Jane does not know, or anyone else. Since the mention of a leash does not elicit a positive response, Eli suggests that someone carry Beast down to the car, and she chooses Rick. Jane remerges in the back of an SUV with clothes that smell like Rick nearby. After getting dressed, she has a conversation with Eli about the two men who want her, and she explains that Beast actually wants both of them, not one or the other. Eli and Jane decide to go back to work after eating, and head to the morgue. On the way, Jane suggests that perhaps the insectoid, spiderlike vamps are Naturaleza revenants. When they arrive, they discover that Sylvia never received Eli’s text regarding beheading, and when they race inside to answer a distress call from one of Sylvia’s cops, they find two dead humans and a vamp who attacks Sylvia.
