Max pauses, draws a breath. He hasn’t looked at me since we sat down on the bench. He does now. “I think we’re dealing with a coyote. I think he takes money from these people to get them across the border. Then he kills them and dumps them within sight of the border. Probably lets them know how close they are before he kills them.”
It doesn’t take much of a leap to know what Max is leading up to. “You think this coyote is a vampire.”
“I do. The slash marks are clumsy. Because the bodies are found in Mexico, we haven’t been able to do anything but drug sampling. But I’d be willing to bet if we could do the autopsies here, we’d find something under those slashes.”
He would. When I worked as a Watcher, I used the technique myself. A vampire can erase puncture wounds from a live donor, but not a dead one. Slashing the throat is a way to hide the fact that a body has been sucked dry.
Confirming that Max is right about this and how I know that he’s right is not something I want to share. I already know what he thinks of me. “What do you want from me?”
“There’s a pattern to the killings. We find the bodies on our patrols on Tuesday mornings. Always in roughly the same location.”
“If you know this, you don’t need me. Set a trap.”
“We did. Once. The guy slipped past us as if he were invisible. But not before leaving us another victim. A young girl. You have to realize, Anna, our emphasis is on stopping the drug trade. Not human trafficking. We don’t have the resources to conduct another undercover op. That’s why I’m here. To ask you to come with me tomorrow night. If I’m right, the only way we’re going to stop him is by fighting fire with fire.”
I snort. “You mean vampire with vampire.”
Max’s mouth tightens. “This isn’t a joking matter.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
His expression shifts, softens. “Sorry. I know I’m asking a lot. I don’t know what else to do. If we don’t stop him, he’ll go on killing. He likes it. He’s found an easy food source. And he takes money from victims desperate to make a new life.”
He pauses, draws a breath. “Culebra told me you’re some sort of über-vamp. Well, I need an über-vamp. I can’t think of another way to stop him.”
Über-vamp. Yeah. That’s me, all right. Head of the thirteen vampire tribes. Only thing is, except for a few extra abilities, I don’t feel any different than I did before. The only thing that’s changed is that I have another über-vamp, Chael, gunning for me.
I push the thought out of my head. I can probably help Max. I’m stronger than other vamps. The question is, do I want to?
Stupid question. I choose my words carefully.
“I’ll do it. But not for you. I’ll do it because a vamp who acts like this is a rogue, a killer, a threat to all vampires. Sooner or later, what he’s doing will come to the attention of vampire hunters. Then none of us will be safe.”
Max lets his relief show in a tiny gesture of gratitude. He holds out a hand.
I let my feelings show by standing up and taking a step out of reach. The wound is still fresh. “Where shall I meet you?”
He stands, too, lets his hands fall to his sides. “The border crossing at San Ysidro. Tomorrow night. Ten o’clock.”
I nod. Max stares at me a minute, waiting for the ice to melt, I suppose. It doesn’t, and finally, he walks away.
For the first time, I notice.
Max was hurt in Mexico. A broken ankle. He’s not limping anymore.
At least one wound has healed.
CHAPTER
It’s a clear, quiet, moonless night. Max and I have tramped across two miles of barren desert. We’re both dressed in dark camo, ski masks covering our faces. I have a .38 strapped to my waist. Just in case Max’s coyote turns out to be human after all.
Max dons night-vision goggles. I don’t need them. The creatures of the desert are as clear to me in the inky blackness as they would be in the brightest sunlight. I see more than Max ever can, down to the tiniest scurrying insects he crushes underfoot as we trudge onward.
I hear more, too. The faraway cry of a bird of prey. The squeal of a rabbit as the jaws of a coyote snap closed around its neck. The pebbles pushed aside in the wake of a slithering snake.
Then, something else.
I touch Max’s arm. Signal him to stop. Point off to the north.
Too far away for him to see, there’s a dim shadow against the darkness. Moving toward us.
Max doesn’t question me. We seek cover behind the sloping bank of an arroyo, dry as dust in the summer heat. And hunker down to wait.
The shadow draws closer, divides into three. I probe, careful to keep my own presence hidden. The unmistakable psychic pattern of a vampire comes back like the blip on radar. At least one of them is vampire.
Then a feeling I’ve come to recognize swamps my senses. Revulsion. Rage. Bloodlust so powerful the vampire within bursts from its human cocoon with the gnashing of teeth.
Evil approaches.
Max seems to detect the change. He leans away from me, an involuntary, instinctive reaction to danger. “What’s wrong?”
I strip the ski mask from my face, let it fall to the ground. It takes effort to speak, to form words and force them through a throat that wants to howl. “Stay away from me. No matter what happens.”
I don’t wait for his reply. I leap over the embankment and head out to meet the monster.
CHAPTER
She senses my approach.
She.
Max’s coyote.
We’re still a mile away from each other, but she picks up the rage. I close the distance in seconds.
Then we’re face-to-face.
I point to the man and woman at her side. They are stunned by my sudden appearance, by my vampire face. They are young, maybe twenty, dressed in dark jeans and hoodies that are tattered and stained. Each carries a small satchel. They cringe away, look to their guide.
I look at her, too.
Let them go.
The vampire tilts her head to one side, studying me. Physically, we are evenly matched. She is weighing her options.
You have no options.
She is cloaking her thoughts. After a moment she says, Perhaps you are right. These two are of no consequence.
Do they speak English?
A nod.
I drag my eyes away from her, motion to the couple. “The border is three miles straight ahead. There is a tear in the fence. You can make it on your own.”
I am trying very hard to sound human. Even to my own ears, my voice is rough. It comes from my gut, not my vocal cords. A growl.
The humans are mesmerized. They can’t look away from my eyes.
The vampire raises a hand, strokes the hair of the woman. They want to stay with me
She has not shown her true nature. The woman steps behind her for protection. The vampire laughs.
The fury in me builds. I realize her intention. Her mouth opens, her teeth gnash. She reaches behind to pull the woman forward.
I have her neck before she can grab the woman. I pull her away and spin her around, showing the cowering couple the true face of their savior.
They jump back, mouths open in astonishment.
The vampire laughs again. I force her to her knees. Reach into the pocket of her jacket. Pull a wad of bills from inside.
“Take your money. Go. Now.”
This time, there is no hesitation. They circle around us in a wide arc, uncomprehending, fearful the creatures might change their minds. Then they’re off, running across the desert floor.
I hold the vampire on the ground until the rustle of their clothes, the sound of their footsteps, are a distant echo.
You could have let me keep the money.
She is not afraid.
Why?
Do you know who I am?
Everyone of our race knows who you are.
Then you know I can’t let you go.
Still no reaction. Her mi
nd is closed. Mine is not. Do you think because you are not resisting I will spare you?
I think you will spare me because I have something to offer you.
I pull her to her feet. She faces me squarely. We are the same height. Her dark eyes have changed back; she still holds the vampire in check. She wears pants and a blouse that skims her shoulders, a denim jacket. Her hair is tied back from her face with a scarf. She looks like a woman of about twenty-five. Her thoughts are much older, much darker.
The creature before me radiates malevolence. She has killed for a hundred years. She has a taste for it. Lust for blood oozes from her pores like the foul smell of rotting meat. My instinct to kill her now and quickly battles with a desire to find out what a being like this thinks she can offer me.
See? You are curious.
I backhand her across the face. She flies fifty feet and lands on a barrel cactus.
She struggles to her feet. Damn, bitch. That hurt.
I’m at her side with my hands around her throat before she can finish whining.
She still has not released the beast. I can feel her fury building. She wants to. What is holding her back?
I have killed vampires before. Vampires more powerful than this sniveling female. It can be done many ways. This one, however, deserves to die slowly. The same way she has killed the helpless humans she’s lured to this place with a promise of a new life. She will feel her life ebb away drop by drop until there is nothing left but an empty husk.
I am done with you.
For the first time, something besides sarcasm and confidence flickers in the depths of her eyes. Fear is there, too. She pulls away, her hands on my arms as she tries to break my grip. Her struggles are fruitless.
But I have something you want. Information I am willing to offer in return for my life.
You have recklessly taken human life. Left bodies to be discovered—
No one of importance. No one who will be missed. I have incited no threat against us. Why should it matter to you that I thin the ranks of the miserable? I do them a service, ending their pathetic lives.
Her attitude is like a red-hot poker in my gut. Do you ask them first? Give them a choice? You kill for sport. You take their money. Worse, you offer hope, then snatch it away. You are an animal. You deserve the same fate as those you toy with, the ones you consider unimportant. I am here to exact vengeance.
Then what Chael says about you is true.
The name makes me draw back a tiny step, to look into her eyes. What does Chael have to do with you?
She takes advantage of the momentary distraction to draw herself up. Chael says you think more of mortals than you do of your own kind. I see he is right. Her words drip acid. Well, be warned. You may soon find yourself alone. There are many of us who are tired of hiding. The tide is rising.
So this is why you are here? To deliver a warning? You have made a grievous mistake if you think killing innocents is the way to gain my support for your cause.
She shakes her head. I am not here to gain your support. Chael told me there would be only one thing to tempt you away from the path you have chosen. Kill me now and you will never know how to achieve what it is your heart desires.
And how do you know what my heart desires? How does Chael?
It is obvious. You wish to return the gift of immortality, to become human.
I make a guttural sound in my throat—half snort, half snarl. You think you can forestall the inevitable with this foolish talk? The only reason you are not dead already is that I want to make sure the humans are safely away before I end your miserable existence. They have been traumatized enough.
I may not be so easy to kill.
Finally. The beast is unleashed. Her right hand dips into her jacket. Lightning fast. She pulls out a small stake and lunges for my chest.
I am faster. A half turn and the stake strikes a rib. It tears flesh and opens a gash that weeps blood. The pain, the smell of my own blood, only strengthen my determination. Adrenaline propels me forward and I wrest the weapon from her hand, toss it away.
She makes her move. Locks her arms around me, intent on bending me backward; snapping jaws seek my throat.
I am stronger. It takes very little effort to break her grip. Our positions reverse. For a fleeting moment, I have a glimpse into her head. Hate boils in her blood, turns her thoughts red with rage.
And Chael is there, too. His whispered entreaties that she should seek me out. Tempt me with the secret.
Chael is there.
Who is this female to Chael?
What is the secret?
No matter.
The bloodlust burns too strong to pull back now. Nothing is more important than the hunger. I tear at her jugular. Her blood, hot and delicious, fills my mouth, my senses. She squirms and pounds at my chest with her fists. The blood from my chest wound seems to mingle with her own blood as the one flows out and the other flows in.
She is strong. Her will to live is not easily extinguished. She is kicking at me, her hands frantically seeking anything to use against me.
Too late to deflect it, I feel her fingers close around the gun clipped to my belt. She fires it without drawing it out of the holster. The roar of the gunshot rips the quiet fabric of the night. A bullet pierces my side.
The bullet moves inside me, scorching a path through muscle and sinew before it explodes out. It does not penetrate organ or impact bone. It does not weaken my resolve.
It does not stop me from snapping her arm.
We both scream in pain.
It’s the last sound she makes. She is getting weaker. I regain my hold, lock my jaws tight once again. Her blood is no longer thick, but thinning out as the last drops are consumed. She no longer fights. She is no longer capable of shielding her thoughts. The atrocities she’s committed, the victims she’s tortured, the senseless agony she’s inflicted. All threaten from the dark. There is no thought of loved ones or family. Like her victims, she has lived most of her second life alone. Only fear is left. Dread.
As I drain the last of her blood, feel the shudder as her soul leaves the body, my hatred ebbs. I rejoice.
It is just.
She has died like her victims, alone and afraid.
The metamorphosis begins the instant the soul leaves the body. The young woman I held in my grasp is an old, withered shell by the time she hits the ground. It is the way. Drained of blood, the vampire body reverts physically to its mortal counterpart. I stand looking down at an old lady well past her one hundredth birthday.
My metamorphosis begins, too. The human Anna comes back, slowly, reluctantly.
Slowly. Infusion of blood temporarily warms a body that is even now returning to its natural state. The warmth fades too quickly.
Reluctantly. With the return to human form comes rational thought. I will not forget what I have done.
I have killed.
I have no regrets. She deserved to die. I only wish killing didn’t come so easily.
But what of Chael? What was this woman to him? His instincts were good. The fairy tale of regaining mortality is the one carrot he could dangle in front of me—the one prize I might be tempted to pursue.
But not at the cost of more innocents.
Never at the cost of more innocents.
With rational thought comes something else—awareness of the pain that racks my side. Slowly, carefully, I draw myself up, stretch gingerly, willing the healing process to move more quickly, to numb this ache.
CHAPTER
“Anna!” Max’s voice. “Where are you?”
I rouse myself and step over the vampire’s body. I realize I never learned her name. Does it matter? Not now.
Max is fifty yards out, moving toward me at a run.
“Here.”
I let him find me. He has his gun in his hand and he is breathing hard. When he sees the crumpled remains on the ground, he turns to me, startled, bewildered.
“Who is that?”
�
�Your coyote.”
He kneels for a closer look. “She’s an old woman. How could she possibly—”
“What you’re looking at are mortal remains. You were right in suspecting a vampire was behind the attacks. She was with a couple when I found her. I let them go.”
“I know.” Max holsters his gun. “I saw them run by.”
“Did they make it?”
“From what I could see.”
“Good.”
Max switches his gaze from the corpse to me. For the first time, he sees the blood soaking my shirt, on my thighs.
“You’re hurt?”
“No.” Not much anyway.
I don’t think I’ll tell him I let myself get shot with my own gun. “It looks worse than it is.”
He nods. Luckily, he knows how it is with vampires.
“What should we do with that?” He points to the thing on the ground.
“Bury it.”
Max swings his flashlight in an arc. “I didn’t bring a shovel. What can we use?”
I spy a flat piece of rock and a long, sturdy branch kiln-dried by the sun. I retrieve them. “It will take work, but we can use these.”
I hand him the branch to begin scraping away sand and follow after, scooping out a hole with the rock. My side screams in protest, but within fifteen minutes we have a hole big enough and deep enough to cover the corpse. I grab her by the arm and throw her in.
“She’s really dead, right?” Max asks.
“You mean is she going to rise up in three days and come after us?” I prod at the body with my foot. “No. She’s gone.”
We set to work, shoveling the sand back in, tamping it down with our feet, setting a layer of rock and debris over the grave. To protect it from scavengers.
A flashback. Another vampire corpse. Another grave dug in the desert. Another pair of hands working beside mine.
Chicks Kick Butt - Rachel Caine, Kerrie Hughes (ed) Page 22
