Blood Wyne (4 page)
Chase led me to the elevator. “So, are you guys ready for Yule yet?”
I grinned. “More or less. Delilah hasn’t tipped over the tree yet, but then, we anchored it to the ceiling first thing. Camille and Iris have the house looking like a winter wonderland. All we need is snow for it to feel like the holidays.”
“Does Otherworld get much snow?” he asked, holding the door open for me.
I swung in behind him. “Depends on where you’re at. Y’Elestrial—yes, we get quite a bit of snow there . . . I fell silent, biting my lip. Our home city was now sacrosanct and off limits to Camille, although she could still go to other parts of Otherworld. And to us, too. “I miss it. The city is beautiful, but now, I wonder if we’ll ever see it again.”
“Queen Tanaquar and your father still won’t relent?” He looked uncertain, like he thought he should pat me on the shoulder or something.
Shrugging, I shook my head. “When Delilah and I demanded they allow Camille to return to her full status, they told us we had two choices: Abide by their decree or suffer the same fate ourselves. So we all went to work for Queen Asteria instead, and the Otherworld Intelligence Agency is history. At least for us. At least for now.”
“They aren’t talking to me, either,” he said. “Ever since your civil war, it’s like they’ve decided that the FH-CSI doesn’t need to be kept in the loop.”
“Join the club. Father tried to guilt-trip us like crazy, but Delilah and I shut him out. We hated to do so, but he hasn’t been by our sides, up to his elbows in demon blood, wondering if Shadow Wing is coming through next. He doesn’t know how fucking hard Camille’s worked, nor does he understand the decisions she’s had to make. How could Delilah and I stand by and just watch them throw her away?”
Chase nodded. “I get it. I really do. And I admire the choice you made. You three—no matter what, no one will ever come between you.”
He looked wistful, and I wondered if he missed Delilah. He was actually at our house more often now that they’d broken up, and he seemed far more relaxed and happy. So did Delilah, even though she was still finding her way with Shade, the half dragon, half Stradolan. A part of the Autumn Lord’s world, Shade had strode into her life and they were slowly building what looked like it could be the love match of the century. I’d never seen Delilah’s heart so free and easy.
“You okay, Johnson?” I tapped him on the arm.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “And just in case you’re wondering, no—I’m not pining over Delilah.
I’m
the one who decided I couldn’t handle a relationship. And frankly, it’s a good thing. My moods are swinging like crazy now that my powers are opening up. I’m happy one moment, pissed the next.
Not
good boyfriend material. Sharah’s found someone in town who’s going to help me learn how to channel the energy.”
I’m
the one who decided I couldn’t handle a relationship. And frankly, it’s a good thing. My moods are swinging like crazy now that my powers are opening up. I’m happy one moment, pissed the next.
Not
good boyfriend material. Sharah’s found someone in town who’s going to help me learn how to channel the energy.”
“Good, because unbridled psychic energy is dangerous for all concerned.” I stopped him as we stepped out of the elevator. “Truth time.”
“What?” His dark eyes glistened, and I resisted the impulse to reach up and brush back an unruly cowlick—it was so out of place on his meticulously groomed body that it distracted me.
“Are you sure you’re okay with my sister seeing someone else? Because if you have any thoughts of a reunion later, you’d better say something now. She’s falling, Chase. She’s falling for Shade like I’ve never seen her fall before.” I had no intention of letting him put her on the spot later, forcing her to make a choice she thought she’d already made.
He gazed at me, his eyes limpid, his expression torn. Then, slowly, he asked, “She really loves this guy?”
“I think he’s the one, Chase.”
“Then I’ll remain her blood brother, and I won’t interfere. Because I honestly don’t know what the hell’s going to happen in my life.” He paused. “Can I ask
you
something, now?”
you
something, now?”
So relieved by his reply that I would have granted almost any favor, I nodded. “Ask away.”
“Do you think someone like Sharah might ever see me in anything but an official capacity?” He sounded hesitant, almost embarrassed to be asking.
I knew full well that Sharah was in love with the detective, but that was her place to answer, not mine. I gave Chase a soft smile. “Listen, you’re a catch. You’ve had your share of screwups, but, Johnson, you’re okay, and I think you’re going to make somebody happy someday. Could someone like Sharah be interested in you? I don’t see why not.”
He thought for a moment, then led the way to the morgue. “We’ve kept the bodies. We still don’t have IDs on three of them. The other one, we know who she is but can’t find any family to notify. But word is getting around on the streets. I’ve got to warn the streetwalkers soon. They deserve to know if there’s some nutcase out there targeting them.”
I stared at the brilliant white walls of the morgue, the shimmering stainless steel of the sinks and tables. This was my domain—the domain of the dead. Had Dredge not brought me back to life, I’d have walked the hallowed halls, crossing over to the Land of the Silver Falls.
Every time I came face-to-face with mortality, I remembered my own immortality and once again had to face the fact that I was a predator. A creature who belonged in the shadows. Never again would I walk under the sun, not until the day I was ready to give it all up and go home to my ancestors. Until then, there was only the moon for me.
Four bodies were laid out on tables, covered with white sheets. Spotless sheets, like freshly fallen snow against a barren background.
“I take it you’ve watched them for any signs of rising?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Nothing. I think they’re truly dead.”
I approached the first one and pulled back the sheet. She was unearthly in her silence, in her stillness. Like a statue, or a figure frozen in ice, she lay there, pale from the lack of blood. I leaned down and examined the puncture wounds on her neck.
Vampire.
I could feel him.
Smell
him. The vamp who’d killed this woman was male and fairly young—at least as a
vampire
. That much I could tell. Quickly, I checked the other bodies, startled by the similarity of their looks. They could have been sisters.
Vampire.
I could feel him.
Smell
him. The vamp who’d killed this woman was male and fairly young—at least as a
vampire
. That much I could tell. Quickly, I checked the other bodies, startled by the similarity of their looks. They could have been sisters.
In a way they are
, I thought.
Sisters in death.
They were killed by the same vampire. I could smell him on them, his breath, his scent, his . . .
, I thought.
Sisters in death.
They were killed by the same vampire. I could smell him on them, his breath, his scent, his . . .
Oh crap.
I jumped back, trembling. Very little set me off, but this—this was too familiar, still too stark in a memory that I’d never, ever shake.
I jumped back, trembling. Very little set me off, but this—this was too familiar, still too stark in a memory that I’d never, ever shake.
“Did you check to see if they were raped?” My voice was sharper than I meant it to be, but I couldn’t help it.
Chase looked at me, his expression slipping from neutral to pained. “Yeah, we did. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to tell you. I know what that does to you.”
“They were, right? You wouldn’t find semen, but they were torn and bruised. I can smell it. I can smell the blood-lust . . . not just around the puncture marks.” As I felt the room spin, my fangs came down and I began to panic. I had to get out of there. “Chase, I have to get up to the surface. Now.”
“Come on.” He guided me out but wisely didn’t touch me.
When we came to the elevator, I held out my hand. “You’d better not ride up with me. It’s too dangerous right now. I’ll meet you out front.”
He didn’t question, just stood back, letting me board the car without him. I punched
M
for the main floor and counted the seconds as they ticked by. The elevator wasn’t slow, but by the time it reached the main floor and I managed to haul ass outside, it felt like I’d spent a thousand years locked in the car.
M
for the main floor and counted the seconds as they ticked by. The elevator wasn’t slow, but by the time it reached the main floor and I managed to haul ass outside, it felt like I’d spent a thousand years locked in the car.
A thousand years of memories, a thousand years of wanting freedom, a thousand years of wondering if we had another Dredge on our hands.
CHAPTER 2
Chase followed me outside. “You okay?”
I slowly looked up at him, letting my fangs show. “No, not totally, but I will be. Just . . . some memories you never shake. Some deeds are never undone. Dredge was a horror beyond anything you can imagine. Karvanak might have come close, but Dredge—he thrived on the pain of others. On humiliation and degradation. He laughed as I screamed, Chase. He laughed like he was watching some stupid sitcom. And then he . . . when he . . .”
I was awash in the sudden memory of his laughing face as he mounted me, raped my bleeding body, tore at the lacerations that he’d spent hours carving into my skin, and for a moment everything shifted beneath my feet. I wanted to hunt, to chase, to kill—but he was dust. I’d already toasted him and there was nothing left I could do to him.
“Menolly, Menolly—snap out of it. Listen to me!” Chase’s voice cut through my bloodlust fog like a razor, slicing the veil of hunger so quickly it felt like I’d been ejected from a womb.
Blinking, I shook my head and stared up at him. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” He looked puzzled. “What did I do?”
“You yanked me out of bloodlust. When I’m in bloodlust, very little can penetrate the hunger, let alone shake the crazies off me. Camille can do it, but she has the force of the Moon Mother behind her. An older vampire can do it—and once in a great while, someone comes along with that ability, but seldom an FBH.” I regarded him quietly, wondering just what powers had woken within our detective when he’d been given the Nectar of Life.
“I have no idea how it happened, but I’m glad it worked. I don’t carry a straw and I’m not up for being a long cool drink.” He frowned. “What happened?”
“Flashback. I still get them once in a while, but it’s been far less since we dusted Dredge. Before then, almost every day I relived Dredge’s torture in my dreams. And I couldn’t stop them—couldn’t wake up. But when it happens during the nights, I go into a bloodlust and my predator surfaces, seeking an outlet for the pain of the memories. The past few months, it’s only happened a few times.”
“That’s good, right? Do you think you’ll ever be free of it?”
“You can kill the source, but some sins are never washed clean. Whatever Karvanak did to you—can you easily forget that?”
He shook his head. “And that was just my finger and some . . . light torture. What you went through . . . yeah. I get it.”
“Let’s change the subject. Give me the locations where you found the bodies. We can find out if they’re on a ley line, or if they’re near any known vampire nests.” My head had already cleared from the panic and hunger, and I suspected that Chase had somehow had more to do with it than he realized.
“Come on back in the building. I’ll have Yugi get the information for you.” He paused at the door. “Thanks, Menolly. I know you don’t have to help out with things like this—and I realize it takes you away from your real work—but you have to know, I appreciate the assistance.”
For what was not the first time since we’d met, I looked up at the detective and saw yet another facet of his personality shining through. He was human and fallible, but even the gods had their faults. Johnson had taken more than most FBHs could handle and still walked through with his head held high. He’d undergone demonic torture and managed to come out relatively unscathed. He’d fought alongside the rest of us against demons, ghouls, and zombies, and there was no way we could fault his courage. All in all, his indiscretions aside, Chase was one of the good guys.
I leaned up on my tiptoes and did something I rarely did—even with my sisters. I gave him a peck on the cheek.
He blinked, slowly raising his hand to his cheek. “What was that for?”
“The fact that you have to ask means you earned it, dude. Now shut up and let’s get in there. We’ve got a serial killer to catch.”
So—I guess it’s roll call time. I’m Menolly D’Artigo,
jian-tu
turned vampire.
Jian-tu
means . . . well, the most equivalent job over Earthside would be ninja without so much assassin attached to it. But I fell—literally—into a nest of vampires. Dredge, the most villainous piece of filth that Otherworld had ever seen, caught me, tortured me, raped me, killed me, and brought me back as a vampire. After that, I spent the next year in rehab learning how
not
to kill my family or friends.
jian-tu
turned vampire.
Jian-tu
means . . . well, the most equivalent job over Earthside would be ninja without so much assassin attached to it. But I fell—literally—into a nest of vampires. Dredge, the most villainous piece of filth that Otherworld had ever seen, caught me, tortured me, raped me, killed me, and brought me back as a vampire. After that, I spent the next year in rehab learning how
not
to kill my family or friends.
I’m half-Fae, half-human, and along with my sisters Camille, a wicked good witch and priestess of the Moon Mother, and Delilah, a werecat who’s also a Death Maiden, I work for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Or rather,
worked
. Until a couple weeks ago. You see, last month the queen of our home city-state and her lover—our father— disowned Camille for traitorous activity. It was a frame-up, not so pure and not so simple. Delilah and I backed her and got ourselves tossed out on our ears, too, so we now all work for Queen Asteria, the monarch of Elqaneve, the elven lands.
worked
. Until a couple weeks ago. You see, last month the queen of our home city-state and her lover—our father— disowned Camille for traitorous activity. It was a frame-up, not so pure and not so simple. Delilah and I backed her and got ourselves tossed out on our ears, too, so we now all work for Queen Asteria, the monarch of Elqaneve, the elven lands.
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