Holy cannoli. Aidan and Randa walked side by side down the middle of Main Street, coming to a stop in front of Matthias. But it was the two men behind them on whom Glory’s eyes were riveted—and Matthias’s eyes too, she guessed. It was Mirren, holding Will Ludlam in a headlock, that bigass gun of his pressed against Will’s temple. Even a vampire couldn’t survive a direct shot to the brain, Mirren had once told her.
Check and mate.
CHAPTER 36
The more Mirren considered the idea of using Will as a pawn, the more he thought it might work. Will might prove to be the flipping genius he claimed to be. They’d argued about it all the way through the earthen tunnel from Aidan’s house to the clinic, then resumed the discussion after they’d discovered the clinic in fames and had taken another of the secret exit tunnels into town.
Thanks to Aidan’s foresight and Will’s blueprints, they’d spent the last few years digging tunnels through the hills of Chambers County like ground squirrels. There were many, many ways in and out.
“My father won’t let you kill me,” Will had insisted. “He wants me back licking his boots too badly.”
“You overestimate your value,” Randa had snapped at him, but Aidan shut her down.
“This is no time for you two to start. Mirren, what do you think?”
He thought they were badly outnumbered, their people were scattered in all directions, and God only knew how many were even left to fight, if they were willing. He thought any idea was better than none, however, and he didn’t want Glory right in the middle of it. That stubborn woman had shut him off like a bad radio station.
“Will’s right.” They finally reached the end of the tunnel and Mirren climbed up to the opening first, using the rope ladder hanging from a hidden mechanism at the top. Shoving aside the grass-and-pine-straw-covered hatch lid, he shushed them, scented the air, and listened. Nothing nearby but wildlife of the nonvampire variety.
Once they’d all exited and the hatch cover replaced, he pulled the .45 from his waistband. “Will’s right. This might be the only thing that will buy us time to get people into Omega. Hannah, when we get to the edge of town, circle around to the church—I think we can assume the community center entrance to Omega is unusable. Start herding people down to Omega using the church entrance.”
“Move the pew right in the dead center of the sanctuary,” Will said. “The hatch is below it. There’s a little notch dug into the outside arm of the pew so you’ll know which one it is.”
“You might need me to fight.” Hannah actually stomped her foot, which made her look even more like a pink-hoodied eleven-year-old.
Hannah was vampire strong but still a child, and Mirren didn’t want her in the middle of this fight. Mirren gave Aidan a raised eyebrow.
“Hannah, listen to me,” Aidan said. “In order to get people to go into Omega, we need someone at the entrance they’ll listen to. They all know you. They know you were one of my first lieutenants. Randa hasn’t been here long enough for people to follow her lead, and the rest of us have to deal with Matthias. We need you to do this.”
The kid wasn’t happy about it, but she nodded.
“One question,” Randa said. “What if people don’t want to go into Omega? What if they’ve decided, after tonight, they want out of the whole deal?”
“Is that what you want, Verandah?” Will had been walking ahead of them, but circled back to face her.
“Shut it.” Mirren jerked Will beside him and sped up. He didn’t know what was going on with those two, but it seriously had to stop. “Hannah, if anyone says they want out, tell them we’ll get them out. But they need to go into Omega for tonight, just till things settle down.”
Will pulled out of Mirren’s grasp but kept pace. They crested the hill that sloped down to where Main and Cotton Streets intersected, and Mirren eyed the setup. Matthias stood in the center of a group of people, vampire and human, by the looks of it. As Glory had indicated, Melissa and Krys were both being held. He scanned the rest of the canvas. Some people milled around, confused. Others were slipping onto side streets, putting distance between them and the action. A few of their scathe members were forming into small clusters. Too many forms lay on the ground, unmoving.
Mirren pointed toward the church, which sat three doors from the intersection. “Hannah, start pulling people off the side streets and take them in the back side of the church, away from Matthias. We want the church off his radar as long as possible.”
“OK, I will.” The girl set off perpendicular to the road, blending into the wooded area faster than anyone in a pink-striped hoodie should’ve been able to. They all probably underestimated the kid.
“I’ll go in first with my hostage. Aidan, you and Randa back us up.”
Randa nodded, but Aidan assumed his stubborn Irish-pig-farmer look. Damn, but Mirren hated that expression. “What?”
“I go in first. This is my scathe. I brought all these people together, and I won’t hide behind anybody.”
Of all the times for the Irish farmer to make an appearance…“And just what happens if Matthias or one of his idiots pulls a gun and blows your brains out?”
Aidan met Mirren’s gaze, his eyes the color of arctic ice. “Then you will take over this scathe and keep Penton together.”
“Aw, fuck me.” Mirren stared at the ground. He’d have said the same thing in Aidan’s place. “Well, go, then. Will and I will be behind you.”
They walked the rest of the way into town in silence—a silence that spread as more people spotted them.
Mirren watched Matthias’s face as they approached. He knew the second the man saw Will and interpreted the situation—his jaw clenched and his nose wrinkled like he’d been thrown in a vat of rotten fish.
They stopped, the small Penton group facing the much larger band of Matthias and his hired guns. It was like the showdown in High Noon. The Pentonites were Gary Cooper, facing down Lee Van Cleef and all his bad guys. Gary Cooper ended up having to throw down his badge and quit playing by the rules, but he’d also won.
“Matthias.” Aidan’s voice was a strong baritone, and he was making sure not only Matthias heard it but the rest of the people who’d begun to gather as soon as the Penton leaders appeared.
Mirren hoped they understood the situation with Will and didn’t think he and Aidan had turned on one of their own.
“Aidan Murphy.” Matthias talked to Aidan, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off Mirren and Will. “What is it you hope to accomplish by holding my son? Or are you part of this charade, William? I suspect the latter, given your history of poor decisions and misguided loyalties.”
Will grinned. “Hi, Dad. Sorry I can’t shake your hand and welcome you to Penton, but I seem to have a gun to my head.”
Mirren grimaced. One of these days, he might have to shoot Junior for real, just on principle.
“So I see.” Matthias finally turned to Aidan. “It would seem we’re at a bit of a stalemate. Obviously, I don’t want you to shoot my son. Worthless as he is now, I still believe he’s salvageable with the right incentive. And you no doubt don’t want me to kill your wife.”
He looked to his left and nodded. “Now, as for the human, well, let’s just use her as an example of how serious we are about breaking up your little empire here.”
Mirren’s conscious thought went cold and black as he watched the vampire who held Melissa Calvert wrap his free hand around her forehead and break her neck with an audible snap. Her eyes were open wide and startled when her body hit the ground.
Aidan started toward them, fangs bared, and only Randa’s grip on his arm kept him in place. “Don’t,” she hissed at him. “It’s what he wants.”
“Goddamn son of a bitch.” Will stepped forward, but Mirren jerked him back in place, pressing the gun’s barrel more tightly against his temple. It was too late to save Melissa and too early to attack. But the cold blackness had settled over Mirren’s heart, and he wanted to see blood on his own hands.
>
“Now, here are my terms.” Matthias had a minion carry off Melissa’s body and smirked before turning his attention back at Aidan. “Your wife and all these other good people, including her”—he pointed at Randa—“can leave unharmed. You and Kincaid and my ingrate son can turn yourselves over to me. You’ll be taken to New York, where the Tribunal will be assembled for a fair trial. Aidan Murphy, you will be tried for the illegal turning of your wife, which in our world’s current condition can be a death-penalty offense. Kincaid, you will face execution for the murder of my esteemed colleague and close friend Lorenzo Caias.”
Calm settled over Mirren as he listened. If they turned themselves in, they’d be dead before the hour was up. Glory, where are you?
Her anger washed over him, burning as hot as his own anger ran cold. He killed her. He killed Melissa.
Where are you, Glory? Focus.
A pause, then finally, Behind Matthias. Fire hydrant.
He scanned the area and saw her, staying as hidden as she could. Get to the church and create a diversion. Give people time to go into Omega—Hannah’s helping. Then go with them. Shut the hatch behind you.
In the pause that followed, while Aidan and Matthias argued and Will strained against his hold, he waited for her to give him grief over his order to leave him behind. You hear me?
On my way.
He saw her move, but she was being careful. Nobody who wasn’t looking for her would see her. Good girl.
CHAPTER 37
Glory slipped from cover to cover as she made her way toward the Penton First Baptist Church. If Mirren Kincaid thought she was going into that big hole in the ground and pulling the hatch shut behind her, leaving him to deal with Matthias, he needed a new brain.
As she got closer, she spotted Hannah, talking to people and hustling them into the church’s sanctuary from the back entrance. Glory wasn’t sure what was weirder: seeing this Native American kid, at least by all appearances, directing adults like a traffic cop or seeing a horde of vampires congregating in a Southern Baptist place of worship. It was a toss-up.
The sanctuary was lit only by a couple of battery-operated fluorescent lanterns, which bounced a faint light off the polished wooden pews. Two of the long benches had been moved to the side, revealing a narrow opening in the tile floor. At least a half dozen of the Penton scathe members were helping the humans get started down the ladder.
Glory saw Jeff Jackson approach the hatch, and he gave her a wan smile before descending. She was glad he’d made it.
She helped a couple of others get in line for the descent into Omega before spotting a vampire she’d seen once before—she thought his name was Cage, maybe? She remembered him because of his accent—clipped, British. He didn’t look much older than Will, only with caramel-colored shoulder-length hair and mossy-green eyes. But despite the baby face, Mirren had said he was next in line to become one of the lieutenants.
She opened her mouth to ask why he wasn’t out rounding up fighters, but then she saw what he was carrying—or rather, who. Mark, who was still unconscious. “I wanted to get him into Omega before all hell breaks loose,” he said.
God, Mark. He’d be lost without Melissa, and Glory didn’t know if he’d even want to survive. But they had to give him the best chance. “There are already lots of people down there,” she said, helping him maneuver Mark into place ahead of some of the others. A sea of hands pitched in to lower him into the hatch. Someone took hold of the unconscious man from below, and they released him into the waiting arms of his fellow Pentonites. The vampire pulled her toward the front door. “Here’s the setup—I’m bonded to Mirren, so he was able to share the plan.” Cage eased the door open a couple of inches so she could see out. The standoff in the middle of the intersection a few yards away continued, and Glory forced herself to ignore Melissa’s still form on the pavement. “Give me about forty-five seconds to get back in place. We have most of the scathe scattered in a circle around the intersection, ready to fight. In just under a minute, start…whatever it is you’re doing.”
She nodded. “Watch your heads, and tell your people to stay low to the ground. I don’t have any control over what’s going to fly and where it will go, but anyone standing upright could get beaned.”
Cage grinned as he headed toward the back exit. “This should be interesting.”
Yeah, interesting.
Glory glanced at the second hand on her watch and spent the next forty-five seconds scanning the intersection, noting the location of light poles, trees, the smoking ruins of the community center, cars parked on the street, the traffic light directly over Matthias Ludlam’s ugly head. She had special plans for that one.
At forty seconds, she closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. The power of the images almost rocked her backward—Mirren was sending her energy. She recognized his cold calmness and was able to convert it to her own heat. This is for you, Melissa, and for Mark. For all of us. Let’s hope my practice pays off.
Glory opened the door wider, her eyes flying open when she heard a power line snap over the intersection. She kept her focus as people scattered. Directing her powers at the traffic light, she saw it sway violently, then fly straight down at Matthias. He moved too quickly for it to get a slam to the head, but it hit his shoulder hard enough to knock him off balance.
A row of pine trees cracked at the edge of the nearest tree line and came flying at the intersection. Glory felt movement behind her as the number of people descending into Omega increased, but still, she kept her powers focused on the street.
Aidan grabbed Krys when her captors fed, and the couple ran toward the church. Randa and Cage had been leading scathe members into skirmishes at the edge of Matthias’s group, but the hired vampires were feeing toward the old mill, so the lieutenants ran toward the church as well.
Glory stepped aside so they could come into the door without touching her. She didn’t have to close her eyes to concentrate now. With Mirren’s power fueling her own, she directed her own orchestra of flying objects. A stop sign tore from the earth and joined charred bricks from the community center in a swirling cloud of debris that filled the intersection, just as if a tornado had touched the ground filled with the pieces of people’s lives.
Glory was aware of nothing now, just the power flowing out of her, until she became aware of wetness on her left arm. Hannah tugged her away from the door, and Glory fell. Pain blossomed in her shoulder, and she looked down at it, not sure what had happened.
“Matthias saw you from the street and shot you,” Hannah shouted. “Everyone’s in Omega that’s coming. We have to go. Krys can treat you.”
Matthias shot her? If he shot her, it meant he was still out there. “Go first; I’ll follow,” she shouted at Hannah. The girl looked at her, black eyes filled with tears. Glory remembered Mirren saying she was one of the few vampires he’d ever seen who could still cry.
“Go to Aidan’s greenhouse and wait,” Hannah shouted. “He’ll find you.”
Hannah knew she wasn’t going anywhere without Mirren, and she wasn’t going to try to change her mind. Glory felt a rush of love for the little girl—it was hard to think of her as a vampire—as Hannah disappeared into the hatch. Glory eased herself to her knees, sliding the tiles back in place with her right arm and trying to ignore the throbbing pain of her left.
Once the hatch was in place, she examined the pews. They needed to be moved back, or the hatch would be exposed. She wedged her hip against the end of one and tried to shove it, but they’d been built back in the day when solid, heavy oak was used to make church seating that would last until the Second Coming. It wouldn’t budge.
Idiot, use your powers. Glory stumbled when she stepped back, the room growing gray. She couldn’t pass out, not until the hatch was hidden. She sat on another pew, took a deep breath to clear her head, and concentrated on the two displaced benches. It took more energy, but eventually, they both slid into place.
Glory sat still another
minute, fighting the urge to stretch out on the pew and go to sleep. But she couldn’t, not yet. She had to find Mirren.
“Guess you found your powers, after all, Gloriana.” Matthias stood in the doorway of the church, his gun leveled at her. “If you’d just let me use them in the beginning, we could have avoided much of this unpleasantness.”
Gasping, Glory struggled to her feet, heart pounding. She’d wasted too much time. Had he seen where the hatch was? She didn’t think so, but who knew?
Time seemed to hold its breath, and the sound of Matthias chambering a round into his pistol echoed through the sanctuary.
Glory dropped to the ground, crying out as her injured arm hit the floor with her body weight on top of it. Matthias’s bullet dug a trench into the pew where she’d been sitting. Rolling underneath it, she riveted her attention on the heavy pulpit, where dozens of preachers had probably stood over the years, pounding out the gospel.
Well, today’s gospel was that good conquers evil—at least she hoped it was. Matthias’s footsteps grew louder as he approached, and she heard another bullet hit the gun’s chamber. With a burst of energy, using everything she had left, she honed in on the pulpit and heard the crack of wood as it dislodged from the floor, the gale of wind it created as it few overhead, and the thud as it reached its target.
Matthias hit the carpeted floor with a grunt, the pulpit on top of him looking as big as her old VW Beetle.
Glory’s eyes met the wide, angry stare of Matthias beneath the pews for a second before she scrambled from her hiding place and used her good arm to pull herself to her feet. She ran for the back exit of the church and into the damp night air that still smelled of smoke.
She knew Matthias was only temporarily stunned, and getting out from under the pulpit would be easy work for a vampire.
Absolution Page 25
