by Parker Blue
“Benjamin,” Austin said to a tall, skinny vamp in the other car, “could you bring the map, please?”
The difference between the two men was clear in just the way they treated their subordinates. The clash between Luis and Austin was more than just a struggle between the old guard and modern ways—it was a fight to shape the very values and principles of the organization for the future. Would Luis’s entitled might-is-right dictator attitude prevail . . . or would it be Austin and Alejandro’s more laissez-faire, inclusive approach?
WELL, LOOK AT YOU, MISS SMARTY-PANTS, Fang marveled.
Annoyed, I ignored him and concentrated on what Austin was doing.
Instead of a paper map, Benjamin brought up a map of the area on his tablet. Using Google Earth, he zoomed in to the area surrounding the farm where the local police had reported some problems. “One main house and two smaller outbuildings,” Benjamin said. “Not too big.”
Austin nodded and told Luis, “From one of the rogue recruiters, we’ve learned they’re structured in cells.” He explained the hollow tooth problem. “So, our first thought was that there probably aren’t too many people there.”
“Except the rogues called it a training camp,” I reminded him.
Austin nodded. “They may have new recruits as well—no idea how many.”
“We need to do some reconnaissance first,” Luis said.
They agreed on a general strategy while some of Luis’s guys replaced the tires I’d shot on one of the cars. Another stayed with the remaining car, which wasn’t going anywhere, to wait for the auto service to show up. That left the other three stranded vamps to squeeze into the back seat of the other three vehicles. For some reason, they didn’t want to share with Austin and me. Not that I was complaining.
Once we were about a quarter mile from the farm, we all pulled over to the side of the road where we could hide the cars in the dark trees. We’d go on foot from here, so as not to advertise our presence. But first, Austin and Luis sent out scouts to check out the area.
“Is it really possible to sneak up on a vampire?” I asked as I got out of the car.
Austin shrugged. “Yes. In a crowded city, people and noise are always around. We tend to tune them out most of the time, or we’d be constantly paranoid.”
“And out here in the country? Will they be more alert?”
He shrugged again. “Depends on how many people they have coming and going—how many strangers. As a training camp, it probably has a good-sized turnover of unknowns, but since they operate in cells, there shouldn’t be too many there at one time. We may not alert them right away.” He glanced aside at me. “Besides, we have a secret weapon.”
“What’s that?”
He grinned. “You. We figure most of the rogues will be men—they don’t seem to have a whole lot of female initiates that we’ve seen.”
HA! CHAUVINISM WILL GET THEM EVERY TIME.
“So, if you don’t mind using Lola to hold them in check so we can question them, we’ll avoid a lot of bloodshed.”
“Okay.” I used to slay vampires to keep the lust and Lola in check, but I didn’t need to do that anymore. So, I was happy to help in a way that would avoid bloodshed, especially for my allies.
One of Luis’s men slipped in next to Austin and Luis. “No patrols—they must be confident no one can find them.”
“How many?” Luis asked.
“Maybe twenty,” the scout said. “Not sure. They all seem to be in the main house.”
EIGHTEEN AGAINST TWENTY, Fang said. NOT BAD ODDS WHEN YOU CONSIDER YOU AND I COULD TAKE ’EM ALL ON.
That might be Fang’s idea of fun, but it wasn’t mine.
“Can you confirm that they’re all in the main house before we go in?” Austin asked me.
I’d never thought about using Lola to do that. Then again, all I had to do was deploy Lola like a man-seeking missile, and she could find every single one.
“I should be able to,” I told him.
Luis nodded, and we snuck up on the three buildings. Only the main one had any lights on, and the other two were dark. Lola verified there were no men in the smaller ones.
I let Lola out slowly, sending her lust-seeking tendrils through the main house. “Sixteen men,” I whispered, knowing Austin and Luis would be able to hear me. The ones inside were partying too hard to hear anything anyway—whooping it up and having a good old time.
“Disgraceful,” I heard Luis mutter. “No dignity.”
Like there was anything dignified about sucking blood. “What do you want me to do?” I whispered.
“Can you hold them all?” Austin asked.
Fang snorted. OF COURSE SHE CAN.
“Sure.”
Lola had just been gently testing their chakras, but at Austin’s request, I thrust her into all of them so fast I felt most of them bow with the movement. “Got ’em.”
A chorus of exclamations and “What was that?” followed.
“I thought you had them,” Luis said in disapproval.
“I do, but I can’t tell them what to do if they can’t hear me.” Idiot.
Austin nodded and strode toward the front door, me right behind him. Luis and the others followed more slowly, as if they didn’t quite trust the demon in their midst—me.
Austin burst through the door and yanked on the cord attached to the stereo system. Good—relative silence. Before they could all pile on top of my boyfriend, I yelled, “Stop!”
THIS IS A RAID! Fang yelled, and I almost grinned. But since no one else here could hear him, I stifled it.
All the rogues obediently froze, and I stared around in disbelief. What the hell were they doing? Shirtless, with most of their chests covered in blood, they’d been jumping around like savages in front of the roaring fireplace as if they were rehearsing for Lord of the Flies. Bottles of booze and munchies lay everywhere. What the heck? They didn’t eat human food.
NO, Fang said grimly, BUT THEY DO EAT HUMANS.
Oh, crap. “What’s going on?” I whispered to Austin.
He didn’t answer me—he just looked grim, his face as tough as granite and royal rage blooming in his eyes as he glanced around the room, apparently counting statuelike vamps. “Twelve. Where are the other four?”
“In other rooms,” I said.
Luis sent his guys to find them, and Austin gave the others a quick hand signal. Suddenly, my view was blocked by three hulking bloodsuckers.
Annoyance filled me.
HE’S TRYING TO PROTECT YOU, Fang explained.
I don’t need protection—Lola has a good hold on the rogues. I tried to push one guy aside, but he wouldn’t move. Well, I knew how to make him move.
HE’S NOT TRYING TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE ROGUES. THEY KNOW YOU CAN HANDLE THAT. THEY’RE TRYING TO PROTECT YOU FROM WHAT YOU’LL SEE, Fang said, sounding as if he agreed with Austin. HELL, I’M NOT SURE I WANT TO SEE IT, EITHER. NOT IF WHAT I SMELL IS ANY INDICATION.
I stopped, appreciating Austin’s consideration. But I was also a tad horrified, wondering if my imagination was conjuring up something worse than reality.
I’LL CHECK IT OUT.
Austin’s voice came from the other side of the vamp wall in front of me. “Val, they’re all here now.” As if Lola didn’t know. “Could you please ask them all to open their mouths?”
“Open your mouths and leave them open,” I ordered.
“Thank you,” Austin said.
I heard some shuffling around, then Luis said, “Only three have the false tooth. We removed them.”
“They must be the leaders,” Austin said. “The rest are probably trainees.”
Benjamin came up behind me. “Hey, boss. We checked out the other two buildings—look like fight rings.”
Was it possible the blood on their bodies came from each other?
NOT ALL OF IT, Fang said grimly from the other room.
Crap. I didn’t feel any more men in the house. Were there other men here . . . dead? Or women, dead or alive? Lola wouldn’t be able to feel them.
Fang trotted back to stand beside me. TRUST ME, BABE, YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON IN THOSE OTHER ROOMS.
“Thank you,” Austin told Benjamin. “Val, if you could ask the three trainers to step outside?”
It took a moment to sort them out, but I did, and ordered them, “Answer any questions they ask you.”
Austin led them and me outside onto the porch where the air felt a whole lot fresher and cleaner. Only Luis and Fang followed us, and Austin closed the door, probably to block my view of the scene inside. What the heck had happened in there?
“Who’s in charge here?” Luis demanded of the three.
Their jaws moved back and forth laterally, but nothing happened. Good thing Austin had thought to remove the false teeth.
“Answer him,” I ordered, reinforcing it with a surge of Lola’s special brand of compulsion.
In unison, they said, “Zachary.”
“Which one of you is Zachary?” Luis asked, jabbing his finger into the tallest one’s chest.
“None of us.”
“Is he inside?”
“No, he’s not here.”
“Where is he now?” Luis asked. “When will he be back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Alejandro?” Austin asked.
“I don’t know.”
Broken record much? “What do you know about Alejandro and Vincent’s whereabouts?” I asked, trying to get beyond three word answers.
“Mike and Ike were supposed to kill Alejandro. They said they didn’t—he and the other guy disappeared.”
“Disappeared where?” Luis asked.
DUH. IF THEY DISAPPEARED, HOW WOULD DUMB AND DUMBER HERE KNOW WHERE?
“I don’t know.”
“Where are Mike and Ike?” Austin asked. A much better question.
“Not here.”
Obviously. “Do you know where they are now?” I asked.
“No.”
“Where do they usually hang out?” I asked before Luis could twist one of their heads off in pure frustration.
“Club Gothick, and they often troll the parks, especially HemisFair Park.”
“Is that where they’re most likely to be?” I asked.
“No, they—”
But I didn’t hear his answer as I felt one of Lola’s strands abruptly recoil and snap back into me. A second and a third followed, almost giving me whiplash. I gasped. What the heck?
THEY’RE KILLING THEM, Fang told me. INSIDE THE HOUSE, LUIS’S PEOPLE ARE KILLING THE TRAINEES.
“What’s wrong?” Austin asked.
“Stop,” I said, gasping. “Tell them to stop killing.”
“Why?” Luis demanded, a hard edge in his voice.
“Because they’re hurting me each time they kill someone in my thrall,” I bit out. “I’ll lose control.” Besides, it wasn’t exactly sporting to kill a helpless victim.
Austin opened the door and yelled, “Stop. Cease what you’re doing until we tell you otherwise.” He turned back to me. “Are you okay now?”
I nodded shakily. It felt like three gaping holes in my psyche, but I’d live. The remaining thirteen lifelines were still intact.
“What’d they say about where the candy twins are mostly like to be?” I asked.
“They heard we’ve been asking around about them, so they’ve gone into hiding—somewhere Mike and Ike think we’ll never look.”
“We have what we need,” Luis said. “Let’s kill the rest and go.”
“Kill the rest?” I repeated. “How do you know they’re all bad?”
“We know,” Austin said curtly.
TRUST ME, THEY DO, Fang agreed.
How? When he remained silent, I said, Tell me. Or I’ll go look myself.
I . . . DAMN IT, VAL, Fang said, sounding as though he wanted to cry. DON’T GO. THEY VIOLATED THREE GIRLS . . . BEFORE AND AFTER THEY KILLED THEM. AND EVEN IF SOME OF THEM DIDN’T DO IT, THEY DIDN’T STOP IT EITHER.
Fang’s distress was so great that he inadvertently shared his memory with me. I got a flash of blood-soaked sheets, sightless staring eyes, and mutilated bodies.
Quickly, he cut off the connection, but not before I got a very good glimpse of what had been done to those poor girls. I turned away, trying not to be sick.
Damn it, I’d forgotten this wasn’t just a war between the good and bad vamps, between good and bad demons. I’d forgotten innocent humans were still in danger from the monsters. I’d forgotten just how damned important my job was. No one should have to suffer that kind of torture. No family should have to experience that kind of loss.
This had to stop. Now. I nodded curtly at Austin. “Do it.”
“On my signal, please, Val,” Austin said. He and Luis shoved the three men back into the house. “Heads up, boys,” he called inside. Glancing at me, he said, “Let them go, please,” then shut the door again, remaining outside with us and Luis.
DO IT, VAL.
I pulled a stake out of my back waistband, just in case, then pulled Lola free. There were a couple of moments of unholy noise inside, then it suddenly ceased. Our side had a head start, especially over the newly-turned vamps, so I had no doubt we’d won. The whole thing made me sick, but at least the monsters wouldn’t be harming any more young girls.
Austin turned to Luis. “You’ll take care of the gir—The bedrooms?”
Luis nodded briefly. “It will be my honor to see that they are cared for. Leave the rest of it alone—a lesson for Zachary and any who would try to harm people under our protection.”
“Agreed,” Austin said.
Well, I kind of liked Luis for saying that. “Is there anyone . . .” I started to say, then wondered if I really wanted to know the answer to that question.
“No one left alive,” Austin said with a grim look.
I sighed. I was afraid of that.
“You can trust Luis to do what is right for the humans,” Austin said.
I nodded, somewhat surprised, but glad to hear it. I’d been wondering how Austin and Luis could possibly be on the same side to work together in the Movement. In this, apparently, they were united.
“And I’ll call Lieutenant Ramirez, let him know what happened so he can handle it,” Austin said. He tossed me his keys. “Why don’t you bring the car around? I’ll make sure our guys are okay and that they clean themselves up.”
He was obviously trying to get me away from the carnage. Well, I wanted to get away, too. I walked toward the car, Fang following.
This should feel like a victory. Instead, it made me feel heartsick and kind of scummy. Sixteen people had lost their lives in there tonight, and it was mostly because of me.
NINETEEN PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES, Fang corrected me. BUT TRUST ME, THOSE SIXTEEN VAMPS DESERVED EVERYTHING THEY GOT. AND YOU SAVED THE GOOD GUYS FROM GETTING HURT.
Maybe, but were there any good guys here? Really?
Chapter Nineteen
Val
A SEARCH OF IKE and Mike’s favorite park hadn’t yielded any results, so I went home disappointed. We’d thought they were individual rogues, maybe a gang of thugs. But their organization, training camp, and structure made it obvious they were a lot more organized than we’d expected. Which meant there was going to be a lot more violence and bloodshed before we were done.
That realization, combined with the earlier bloodbath, left me depressed, and I went to bed feeling out of sorts and annoyed with the world. When
I woke up the next afternoon, I wasn’t much better. Tonight, I had to go to Jen’s birthday dinner, and I wasn’t sure which one I’d rather do less—have dinner with Mom or set up vampires to be slaughtered en masse. Neither sounded fun.
Nevertheless, I’d promised, and Fang, Ivy, and I drove over to Mom and Rick’s house in Ivy’s little bumblebee.
“You said your family is fully human. How do they feel about other demons?” Ivy asked apprehensively.
I shrugged. “They love Shade and Micah. They don’t seem to have a problem with anyone but me.” I grimaced. “It was tough on Mom having a teenage daughter who’s a succubus—she didn’t know how to handle it.” Still didn’t, really. Rick was the one who’d helped me with that. “They think I’m a bad influence on my little sister.”
Fang snorted. YOUR LITTLE SISTER DID STUPID ALL BY HERSELF.
Yeah, but Mom didn’t see it that way.
“Because you hang out with vampires and demons?”
“Yeah, that, and because Jen thought she wanted to be like me for a while.” I grimaced. “After she and Rick—my stepfather—were kidnapped and almost killed by rogue vampires, I think she got over that particular fixation.”
Ivy looked sympathetic. “Yeah, I can see why your parents might have a bit of a problem with vampires.”
It was strange knocking on the door to the house where I’d grown up, but I didn’t feel welcome enough to barge right in. Mom opened the door, looking as wary as I felt. Would we be able to get through one evening without arguing?
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, Fang said drily.
Well, I was tired of fighting, so I made a mental note to keep it light. “Hi, Mom,” I said and reached out to give her a hug. It was a little awkward, but she was trying to be nice, too, so it was okay. “Something smells great.” It really did—the aroma of garlic, onions, and tomato sauce scented the air, making my stomach rumble in anticipation.
“Jen,” she called over her shoulder, “Val and Fang are here. Put your cat in the bedroom, please.”
AH, THAT’S NO FUN, Fang protested halfheartedly.
