by Faith Hunter
Page 15
Yeah. Sure. Strip, Zorro. Jane regains consciousness in a field, sore but not as much as she last remembers. Jane realizes that Zorro transported her to this location on Bitsa, and he tells her that he has healed her as much as he is able, at least ensuring that she does not become infected by the werewolf taint, also commenting that she is not completely human. Jane uses Beast vision to ascertain that he isn’t human either, with tendrils of blue magic surrounding him. Zorro introduces himself as Girrard DiMercy, and explains that he used to be the misericorde for Leo’s clan, a blood-servant who brought peace (meaning death, freedom from suffering) to the long-chained vamps unable to move out of devoveo when turned. During the last vamp war in 1915, Leo’s uncle, then the Master of the City, called Girrard to come and end the suffering of Leo’s daughter, but Leo refused to allow him to do so, fighting Girrard and requiring him to leave this world to heal his wounds. Once Girrard returned, the Masters in power no longer wished for a Mercy Blade, choosing to mete out death on their own, and Leo banished him, as well as the weres who sided with the wrong faction in the war. Girrard states that having to kill their own children is taking a toll on the Mithrans, and that they need to reinstate him. By this time Jane has realized that he is the one Leo sent her to meet with, not the wolves. Girrard suggests that perhaps in her own way Jane serves as a sort of Mercy Blade for the vamps, killing their rogues. With the prodding of a memory glimpse from Beast, Jane denies this and leaves. On her back to the city, Jane gets a phone call from Angelina, Molly’s daughter, who tells her to stay away from “the blue man. ”
You Can’t Blame a Vamp-Killer For Trying: Jane goes to give her report on the werewolf incident in person at vamp HQ, noticing that many of her recommended security updates have been implemented. After depositing most of her many weapons in the provided trays and undergoing a pat-down search by Wrassler, Jane goes to see Leo, whose second, Tyler, requires that Jane undergo another search—this one a bit too personal. After making it clear to Tyler that his behavior is unacceptable, Jane confronts Leo with the news about the wolves, which surprises him. Jane tries to find out more about Girrard, but Leo refuses to tell her anything. Unfortunately Jane also has to break the news to Leo that Magnolia Sweets, his former blood-servant and lover, has died (information given to her by Girrard). Leo offers Jane the job of killing Girrard, but she says no. Jane warns Leo that the wolves plan to take him to court to get back their land and prosecute him for murder.
After Leo dismisses Jane, Bruiser takes her downstairs for a chat and gives her a lot of background on the vampire war that ended in 1915. Bruiser’s mother was one of Katie’s Ladies, and was used as a pawn by the mayor’s assistant to gain favor with the Mithrans at a party. Bruiser’s sister was kidnapped and raped by werewolves, though eventually rescued, but not before their mother poisoned her blood with silver, which killed all of the vampire Masters at the gathering. When the heirs took over, they executed the werewolves involved in Bruiser’s sister’s attack (which is actually the sentence for biting humans anyway) and exiled the rest, causing the wolves to also declare retaliation against Bruiser’s family. Leo also made Girrard leave, and Magnolia Sweets left with him, saying she could no longer stay with Leo.
Jane learns that vamps in cities across the country will be hosting parties for delegates from the International Association of Weres, and she is expected to be present and oversee the one hosted by the New Orleans vamp council. Bruiser also tells Jane that the press will be in attendance, which does not please her at all.
You Get to Dress Me: After spending time with Bruiser going over new security precautions necessary in light of the upcoming soiree, Jane heads back to her house. Finding that her current house guest, Molly’s sister, Evangelina, is sleeping, Jane decides to shift so she can finish healing and Beast can hunt. Beast sees a man watching the house—Girrard. Beast lets Jane know that he found her by placing a tracking spell on her. As she usually does, Beast catches a ride on a truck to go outside town to hunt. Excited when she smells deer, Beast is less than thrilled when she smells wolves, and gets to the kill site with a lot of wasted meat and an injured fawn. After dispatching the unfortunate young deer, Beast also scents a large cat, which Jane understands to mean that one of the werecats was watching the wolves.
After shifting back and getting Rinaldo, her regular cabbie, to come pick her up, Jane goes home to get ready for her breakfast date with Rick. However, when she arrives at the restaurant, Jane discovers that Rick was already there earlier—with another woman. Since the description does not fit any of his relatives or work associates, Jane is confused, but thinks it may have something to do with his undercover work.
A Lot of Hooey: As she walks back to her house, Jane thinks about all of the recent events and how they may be related: the unveiling of weres, the return of werewolves to New Orleans, the connection between Leo and Girrard, and wolves and cats showing up in Beast’s hunting grounds. When she gets to the house, Jane calls Derek Lee to arrange for a team for that evening, and then does some research on both weres and wolves. In order to take her mind off Rick, instilled guilt, and the confusion she feels, Jane goes to the dojo for a sparring workout. After stopping by Katie’s briefly, Jane falls asleep, unfortunately assailed by a memory of her mother being raped and her father being killed. When she awakens, Jane gets sick and takes a long shower. Afterward, Evangelina gets Jane dancing to some music, and she eats the tasty dinner her witch housemate cooked, and discovers she feels better.
Die Young Then, Sonny: At the designated time, Bruiser arrives with the limo to pick Jane up for the vamp gathering. Feeling kind of jumpy and not quite herself, Jane realizes that Evangelina worked some kind of magic on her, which Beast helps her fight. Arriving at vamp HQ, Jane is taken to the room where her crew awaits, and as she is chastising them for making too much noise and not paying attention, she spots Derek up in the ceiling, pointing guns at both her and Wrassler. Derek’s demonstration points out some of the flaws and weak spots in the system, and Jane gets a look on the security monitors at the unusual being the guys saw earlier—a greenish, reptilian-like creature who was placing cameras at various places around the building. Shortly thereafter the representatives from the vampire clans begin arriving—the former eight now condensed into four: Pellissier, Laurent, Bouvier, and Arceneau. Everything becomes eerily still while waiting for Leo to appear, which he does so suddenly that no one sees him arrive.
He Got a Whiff of Me: Leo declares the Mithrans “gathered” (which carries extra meaning for the vamps), the purpose of which is to devise a treaty with the Cursed of Artemis (the weres). Leo also states that the Sons of Darkness sanction this meeting, and that humans have grown so numerous that a treaty is necessary. Kemnebi, the African wereleopard and a woman (introduced as Safia) arrive, and Beast, after scenting them, wonders if they are like Jane. Bruiser tells Jane that Leo wants her to go through the receiving line behind the vampire clans. Jane is pleased when Bethany does not seem to remember her, but Sabina asks her if she still has the piece of the Blood Cross she was loaned. When Leo introduces her to Kemnebi, the man responds by shaking her hand but then immediately asking what she is, scenting at her throat. When Leo more or less offers her up as a bedmate, with a little help from Beast Jane pulls away and somehow manages to leave claw marks on Kemnebi’s arm.
Getting back to her job as security, Jane checks in with her guys regarding the green being, and learns that he is still in his room. After a brief but unsettling run-in with Sabina, who tells Jane of an incident that occurred one hundred years earlier, when some type of cat killed a visiting Son of Darkness, Sabina warns that if such a thing happens again, it will be Jane’s fault. Shortly thereafter, three werewolves in human form drop from the floor above, including Roul Molyneux.
You Want Me to Shoot Him, Boss? Suddenly Jane and her team find themselves in the midst of vamped-out hosts, werewolves in both human and wolf forms, and upset werecats. Kemne
bi declares that he will not negotiate with werewolves, as they are inferior, and were kicked out of Europe long ago. Raol, playing up to the cameras, which love him, takes issue with Kemnebi’s characterization of his species, and once again states his intention of taking Leo to court. Leo responds that the Mithrans at present are not bound by the laws of the United States, but by the Vampira Carta, which, Jane acknowledges to herself, fits the fact that currently vamps do not have status as citizens in the same way humans do. Jane gets notified that a bloody female vamp has appeared in the building, heading down to the ballroom. When she appears, Jane realizes it is Katie, who had been buried in the blood of all eight clans in order to heal during the events of Skinwalker, risen too soon and likely not quite sane. Katie draws power from all of the vamps and weres in the room, and Leo approaches her. Recognizing Leo, Katie allows him to embrace her, at which point he bites her neck. This action provides the impetus for more chaos, with vamps fighting each other, but Jane manages to calm a couple of them down and asks them to go and help Leo, which they do by feeding him. Unfortunately Jane learns that they also have a dead body in Leo’s office—the werecat, Safia, Kemnebi’s assistant. About that same time, the police have arrived, having seen the carnage begin on the live video feed. Puzzled as to who would have killed Safia, given that vampires wouldn’t want her blood, Jane meets with Jodi Richoux, head of the division dealing with supernatural crime, and Jodi passes on the information to the Bureau of Diplomatic Services in Washington, D. C.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up Over It: After moving the human reporters to safety and the werewolves to another room, Jane takes a few moments for herself and grabs some food before heading over to where the coroner, Peter Richoux, Jodi’s witch cousin, is examining Safia’s mauled body. Once approximate time of death has been determined, Jane tells one of her men to focus on security footage for a specific time frame. When Jodi states that they will be placing Katie under arrest while they investigate, Leo asks if they will be able to effectively and safely restrain her, which results in an agreement for Katie to remain where she is, but with law enforcement present. When one of Jane’s guys spots the green guy in the pool with bloody clothes, Kemnebi shares that the creature is a grindylow, a type of pet to the weres, but Jane knows there is more he is not saying. Going over video footage determines that Katie did not kill Safia, but also shows one of Leo’s men, Tyler, in conversation with two werewolves in human form.
