He laughed. The Master of the City threw back his head and laughed as if I’d just told the funniest joke since Bill Cosby retired from stand-up.
“Well said, James, well said. You are correct, of course. Had I not been protecting the ‘douche-rocket,’ as you so eloquently put it, we would not be in this predicament now. But I don’t believe that is the point.”
“You’re damn right that’s not the point, you pointy-toothed son of a bitch,” Sabrina said. She pushed her way past me and got right up in the Master’s face. She looked up at the boss vampire with a set jaw and gleam in her eye that said she really, really wanted to stake something.
“Have I done something to offend you, Detective?” Tiram said with a raised eyebrow.
“You mean other than aid and abet a kidnapping, harbor a fugitive and assist in the assault of a CMPD detective? I’m sure I can come up with something else, but that sounds like a good start to me. Now why don’t you come clean about what you really wanted out of this mess and quit yanking our chains before I haul your ass five blocks south and stick you in an east-facing cell?”
Tiram glared at Sabrina, then looked back at me. “Can’t you keep your human under control?”
“I’m not even stupid enough to try, pal. She carries a gun and a stake, and knows how to use them both.” I held up both hands and tried not to smile at Tiram’s discomfort.
“And he knows exactly where I’d shove that stake if he or anybody else ever tried to control me, asshole. Now spill. What was this all about?”
I put a hand on Sabrina’s shoulder. “Stand down, Wyatt Earp. It was all a play to get us to kill Wideham. Or Wideham to kill us. I don’t know which, and I really don’t think the Master here really cared one way or the other.”
“Well said, James. You’re absolutely correct. I had no real preference which group survived this encounter, as long as one of you did not.”
“Why?” Sabrina asked.
She looked around the room and I could see the sheer carnage start to sink in. There was blood thicker than the paint in some places, and the carpeting was so sodden it squished under our feet. There were pieces of vampire everywhere, and the stink of blood was enough to make a slaughterhouse smell like a rose garden.
“Because now we can’t band together to overthrow him,” I said, looking at Tiram.
He nodded. “Wideham’s group was stupid, but numerous. You are few in number, but you have amassed some very powerful allies in a short period of time and have proven resourceful. I did not want you to join forces with Wideham against me. I could easily slaughter one of you, but not both.”
“And now, with Wideham turned to so much crud on the carpet, Tiram’s power base is solid again. Because we don’t want to run things, and even if we did, we couldn’t take him without a lot of help,” I said.
“And thus status quo is restored,” Tiram said with a little bow.
Sabrina looked at the Master and smiled. “Fair enough. Stalemate. We aren’t strong enough to beat you in a fight, and you don’t have enough muscle to kill us off, not to mention that there’s a lot of interest from local authorities when a police officer is killed. But remember one thing, Master. These guys do have friends with a lot of juice in this town. And I’m one of them. So you screw with them, and I’ll hurt you in ways you can’t even imagine.”
“I have a very vivid imagination, Detective.” Tiram looked at her with a leer.
I grabbed the front of his shirt and picked him up. “You ever look at her again, and I will rip your head off and drink you dry from the inside out. Do you understand me?”
Tiram nodded, a little smirk playing across his face. “You can try, James. You can try.”
I saw a shadow flicker across his eyes, and I flashed back to a couple of possessed faeries I’d killed recently. I started to have a sneaking suspicion that Tiram might have a hitchhiker in his psyche, but I wasn’t going to go after him tonight. I was tired, hungry and not at all sure I could beat him on my best day. I set him down, deciding to find a better day to take on the Master of the City.
“I am so glad we have reached a peaceful conclusion. But what shall we do about all of this?” He gestured to the mess, including the puddles of dissolving vampire strewn around the apartment.
“Call a cleanup crew and mojo your way out of the bill?” I suggested with a shrug.
Tiram cocked his head to the side and laughed again. “Well, of course. But I was referring to them.” He pointed more specifically to the vampires we didn’t kill. There were a good five or six of them in various states of disrepair, but they’d all heal with enough blood and time out of the sun.
“I don’t really care. We didn’t kill them, but that’s as far ahead as we thought. There were other things we had to take care of, if you know what I mean.” I waved a hand at Sabrina, and the Master nodded.
“Well, I am short on kitchen help, and they should be able to wash a dish if nothing else. All of you!” He clapped his hands, and the recuperating vamps all came to attention, or at least managed to stand. “Go downstairs and hide in the walk-in freezer. It has a bolt on the inside of the door, and a five-gallon bucket of blood labeled ‘pig testicles’ on the top shelf. Try not to spill too much.”
The survivors made their shuffling way out of the apartment, giving Greg and me wide berth as they did. I didn’t blame them. After all, we had kind of shot them just about an hour before.
“Okay, then,” I said, “What are we all waiting for? Let’s go home. Maybe get a little sleep.”
“And a shower,” Sabrina said, looking at the brains and blood splattered all over her clothes.
“Need help washing your back?” I asked.
She glared at me, and I gave her my best innocent smile, which was hampered by the fact that my fangs were still extended. Hey, I was hungry. Really.
“As soon as I do, Jimmy, you’ll be the first to know.” She smiled a little at me as we all walked down the hall to the elevator.
Chapter 26
It was a little surreal riding in an elevator with the Master of the City. This was the same guy who’d stood by as Krysta tossed my best friend off a roof, the same guy who hid the Professor from us while Sabrina was his captive. Every instinct in my body told me I needed to kill him. Well, every instinct except the ones that were screaming to run away as fast as my size elevens would carry me.
For his part, Tiram just stood in the elevator like anyone else, watching the numbers change and whistling a little tune.
“So, how did you become the Master of the City?” I asked in a feeble attempt at small talk.
“I killed my predecessor,” Tiram said simply.
Greg shot me a look that said, Do not piss off the badass super-vamp.
I didn’t take the hint. “Why? Just to run Charlotte? Or did he do something to you?”
“He was the Master. I wanted to be. It was impossible for me to become Master while he yet lived, so I solved the problem. And now, gentlemen, I bid you adieu.” He bowed gracefully to Sabrina as the doors slid open behind him. “Detective,” he said, making a grand gesture for her to exit the elevator. She ignored him and pushed her way out of the elevator.
That gesture froze in mid-swoop as he caught sight of King and Krysta squaring off in the lobby. In the middle of a giant atrium of marble and glass, the werewolf and my vampire mommy looked like a couple of prizefighters circling, looking for the right moment to strike. Krysta had the lobby guard by the throat, using his body as a shield, and King was circling her, trying to get a good shot. He had his AR-15 at his shoulder, and the assault rifle looked like a toy in the hands of the seven-foot werewolf.
“It seems your friend has found his quarry, Black,” Tiram said from beside me. “Unfortunately for him, she is under my protection as a visiting vampire to our fair city. Should she come to any harm, I would be forced to respond with extreme retribution.”
“In English, please. It’s been a long damn night.”
“According to the ancient treaties of vampiric territory and hospitality, if your wolf friend kills Krysta while she’s under my protection, I’ll be forced to kill him and anyone that tries to help him.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said,” I said, heading toward King. “Greg, get Emily out of here. Abby, go find us some transportation. It needs to seat at least six. Sabrina, cover me. Tiram—”
“I will do as I will, Mr. Black,” the Master Vampire snapped.
“Fine, just don’t get in my way while I clean up your mess. Let me deal with King.” I turned to face the Master, and he held up both hands with a slight smile on his face. I knew there was more going on here than he was admitting to where Krysta was concerned, and it was really pissing me off. Out of the corner of one eye, I saw Greg pull Emily from behind the guard’s desk and hustle her out the front doors. Abby was long gone, and with Greg keeping Emily safe, I could concentrate on the big furry problem at hand.
“I wouldn’t dream of interfering.” Tiram leaned against the wall beside the elevators, arms folded, as I headed toward King.
“King, what’s going on?” I asked, as I came into his peripheral vision.
“What does it look like, Jimmy? I’m going to kill this bloodsucking bitch.” He never took his eyes off Krysta, who kept an equally sharp focus on King.
The guard looked at me as if I were Santa Claus, the Tooth Faerie, and Jesus Christ all rolled into one. Yet he was the one I was least likely to save. At least he wasn’t likely to have to live with the disappointment.
“I can’t let you kill her, King. She’s under the Master’s protection.”
“So you’re working for the Chief High Bloodsucker now? Can’t say as I’m surprised. All you bloodsucking assholes stick together anyway.”
“I’m not working for him, you dick. I’m trying to save your life. If you kill her, Tiram kills you. And I don’t let my friends die on my watch.”
“Then don’t worry about me. I’m not your friend.”
“Fine, but I’m still not going to let you get yourself killed on my watch.” I stepped directly into the line of fire and held up both hands so he’d see that I was unarmed.
I didn’t expect him to believe it, of course, but not holding a weapon at that second was the closest he was going to come to me being unarmed. I had a Glock 17 in the back waistband of my pants and a magical sword hanging off my belt. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to take King if it really came down to it. I knew I didn’t have any silver ammo, but I wasn’t sure what he’d loaded up with, and I didn’t want to think about the damage he could do with the bowie knife on his belt. In my hands, it would be a short sword. In King’s, it was more like a toothpick. But the rifle was my first concern, mostly because it was pointed right at my face.
King took a couple of steps forward. I took a couple in the other direction to counter, but I heard Krysta whisper from behind me. “Don’t get too close, or he’ll shoot through you to kill me.”
“Stop right there, Kyle. I don’t want to hurt you. But I’m not going to let you murder her.”
He lowered the rifle an inch or two and looked at me as if I were nuts. That seemed to be the look I was getting the most this week.
“Putting that monster down won’t be murder, Jimmy. It’ll be public service.” He raised the gun again as he spoke.
I drew my pistol and aimed it at his left knee. “I don’t have any ammo that will kill you, Kyle, but I bet putting a round through that kneecap won’t be much fun if it’s silver or lead. Now lower the weapon.”
He lowered it, but asked, “Why are you protecting her? You just shot, slashed, and stomped your way through a bloodbath of biblical proportions, and now you’ve got a conscience? Is this some kind of vampire unity thing? Am I going to have to kill you, too? Because she dies tonight. Or I do. There’s no third option.”
“There’s always another option, King.”
“Not for me. She killed my wife. She dies. End of story.”
“Is this what your wife would want you to be doing? Come on, man. Let’s go get a beer, talk about women and forget this crazy bitch.”
“You go get a beer. I’ve got killing to do.”
I looked up into his yellow eyes and saw the pain there. Tears welled up, and he reached one paw over to dash them away. I snatched away the rifle, bent the barrel and tossed it across the lobby. King’s hand flew to his bowie knife, but I caught his wrist before he drew it.
“No,” I said. “You know it’s worth your life if you hurt her while she’s under Tiram’s protection.”
King looked down at me with a face full of anguish. I could almost see his dead wife’s face in his eyes. “You act like I care, boy. You don’t know loss. You don’t know pain. You don’t know anything. Now get out of my way.”
“I know I’m not letting a good man kill himself for revenge. I know you miss her, but this is not the way. Now pull in the fangs. We’re leaving. Now.”
“I’m not,” King said through clenched teeth. Then he punched me in the gut with his other hand, and I flew a good three feet before I hit the floor.
I shook my head to clear the cobwebs then stood up, facing King. “Ouch. Look. There is no more killing people tonight, no matter how much they deserve it. And if you have a problem with that, then we should deal with it right now.” I pulled a pair of knives from my arm sheaths.
“So be it, Jimmy. Hate it had to go this way, but that bitch dies tonight, and anyone in my way dies with her.” He drew that massive bowie knife and let out a roar that shook the windows.
We charged.
Everything I knew about knife fights I had learned watching Jackie Chan movies and Deadliest Warrior reruns. By the way he swung his giant toothpick at my head, King had a little more practical experience. So I figured I’d have to do what I always did when I was outclassed in a fight—cheat. As the werewolf charged, I did the most counterintuitive thing in the world. I threw away one of my weapons. Of course, I threw it right at King, so there was a point to it.
Pun totally intended. The knife sank hilt-deep into the werewolf’s shoulder, and he paused for about half a step to yank it out and toss it aside. I waited until he was almost on top of me, then jumped straight up into the air, using my height and vamp-strength to my advantage. King slashed at my feet, but I was a dozen feet in the air and climbing by the time he got to me. I twisted around in midair and came down behind the wolf-man, who ignored me and kept charging straight for Krysta.
Krysta responded just as I expected, by throwing the guard at King and running for the hills. “Way to help yourself out, lady!”
“I don’t fight dogs!” Krysta yelled back at me from her new hiding place behind an ATM.
I tossed my other knife at King’s furry back, and he drew up short as the new blade sank to the hilt in his muscled flesh. King caught the guard and set him down before turning to deal with me.
“I guess we’re going to have to resolve this little disagreement before I move on to the main event,” he growled.
“Gotta get through the undercard first, Rocky.” I drew my sword and hoped it wouldn’t turn King to dust if I cut him with it.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Jimmy.”
I’d noticed that people only said things like that when they intended to hurt me quite badly. “And I don’t want to get hurt, so why don’t we just call this off and grab a beer?” I gestured toward the street outside. “There’s a great brewery just a couple blocks from here. You’d have to de-fur, though. I think they have a no pets rule.”
King just snarled and charged me again, leaping the last ten feet to block my jump. I stood there, waiting for him to land, then stepped to the side as soon as he got to me, slashing toward his right hamstring with my sword. He twisted at the last second and caught my blade on his, twisting my sword aside and leaving me open. With his left hand, he landed a shot to my jaw that spun me completely around and made my ears ring. I recovered quickly enough to drop to the ground a
nd slash at his ankles, but he hopped over my attack easily and kicked me in the jaw on the way up.
I flopped onto my back and sprawled on the cold marble floor, dropping my sword in the process.
King landed nimbly in front of me and sneered down at me. “Not used to fighting someone who’s as fast and strong as you are, vampire?”
“Not used to fighting someone who smells like a wet cocker spaniel, furball.” I spat a little blood out along with the wisecrack, then quickly scrambled out of the way as the big bowie knife slammed into the floor where I’d been lying. I picked up my sword as I rolled over it, came up behind King and drove the mystical blade through the back of one leg. He howled in pain and swept a huge furred arm across my chest. I flew about eight feet before landing flat on my back again, this time cracking my skull on the floor.
After a couple of seconds, the stars cleared from my vision enough for me to see King limping toward me, bowie knife in one hand and my sword in the other. Sabrina stepped out from behind a desk by the elevators and fired three quick shots at the wolf-man, but he just winced and staggered. He didn’t fall. I tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness took over, and I went back down on one knee.
King got to where I was kneeling and tossed my sword aside to snatch me up by the collar of my jacket. The sudden motion made the room spin again as he held me high over his head and drew back for a finishing blow with his bowie knife. The combination of the spinning room and the pain from my other injuries left me with only one move, so I used it.
Just as King slashed forward to gut me with his pig-sticker, I puked square in his face. A fountain of blood from dinner earlier cascaded into his eyes, nose and open mouth. The werewolf dropped me straight down onto my face as he tried to wipe the blood from his eyes. I lay there for a second or two listening to the werewolf curse before I got enough equilibrium back to stand up fast. I landed an uppercut to King’s testicles on the way.
The Black Knight Chronicles (Omnibus Edition) Page 53
