Fallen Angels

by Judith Post

"Not this time. He took off the minute I saw him. Voronika's been running from her creator for a long time. The rogue will turn her in."

  "Like a bounty hunter?" Danny let out a long breath. "Vampires do that? I feel like I'm in a comic book. You remember that Voronika threw our killer at us, don't you? That's how he got away."

  "She thought I'd set her up, betrayed her. She hates him too."

  "Why? Did he smell bad? Like food gone sour?"

  Enoch had to remind himself that, to Danny, Voronika was only a vamp Enoch had seen in a vision. He didn't know anything about her except that she'd saved Marie. He had no idea why. "She liked Liza and Marie. She was trying to protect them."

  Danny rubbed a hand over his eyes. "So she likes humans?"

  "Some humans, the nice ones."

  "So she's a good guy?" Danny shook his head. "Is she going to be okay?"

  "If I have anything to do with it, she will be."

  Danny nodded. "If you want to forget about me, about this case..."

  "She might run. If she takes off, I can help you again." He might as well. He'd like some good to come of his stay here. After the rogue saw Voronika, he probably headed straight to Vlad. Enoch wouldn't follow him there. He wanted as little to do with Vlad as possible. But eternity was a long time, and Enoch would run into the rogue again. He'd make sure of it.

  Danny frowned, confused. "It sounds like you have your hands full."

  "I'm used to that."

  “Then I’ll talk to Tony, see what he says, if a waiver will work. He knows I've taken you to crime scenes.” When they passed Katy’s bar, Danny glanced at it, and Enoch pulled to the curb.

  “We can’t work on empty stomachs.” Was it the food that enticed Danny or the bar girl?

  Danny slid out of the car. “Won't hurt to check on her, but I'm not sure it’s safe leaving a Jag on this street.”

  “We’ll sit by a window so we can see out. If anyone bothers it, they’ll be sorry.” Enoch didn't try to accumulate vast stores of wealth like Caleb had, but he did enjoy each and every luxury he had. He'd earned them, and no one had better mess with them.

  He followed Danny into the bar. It was too late for the lunch crowd and too early for supper, so traffic was slow. When they went to a booth by the front window, Danny glanced around the room. Katy was parked on a stool, leaning against a male customer. When she saw them, she pulled away and came to get their orders.

  “About that,” she said, motioning toward the man, “Lucky and I go way back. We lived together until he moved away a year ago.”

  “What brings him back to town?” Danny asked.

  “Me.”

  “So it’s serious, huh?”

  “It could be. Or not.” She arched a brow at him. “I thought I'd see more of you after you saved my lush and wonderful ass.”

  “I've been too busy chasing leads, but I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  Katy flipped her order pad shut. “No worries. You can cross me off your list. Lucky will be staying at my place from now on.” She turned and stalked back to her stool.

  Enoch gave Danny a look, but Danny shrugged it off. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  Once back in the car, Enoch said, “You okay?”

  “I'm fine. That woman's trouble waiting to happen. I’m still hungry, though, and Katy sure as hell wasn't going to serve us.”

  “Where to then?”

  “I got paid. What if I splurge and take you to Powers Hamburgers?”

  "Powers it is." There was nothing like a burger buried under grilled onions to set the world right.

  Chapter 21

  Voronika woke in a strange room, a strange bed. Then she smiled, remembering. She was staying at Enoch's place—a safe haven. There were no windows, but she sensed it was dark. She stretched. The satin sheets caressed her skin. Lots better than blankets on a cement floor. She pushed herself to her feet and cracked the door. Was Enoch here?

  A lamp spilled light across the thick carpet in the living room. She padded down the hallway to the kitchen. A bottle of red wine sat on a counter and she poured herself a glass. Then she went to stand in front of him. She felt the half-smile die on her lips when she looked at his face. Something was wrong. "What is it?"

  "The rogue followed you here. He was watching us from the balcony."

  Her heart stopped. Did it still beat? It was a useless organ now. But fear paralyzed her. "Did you catch him?"

  "He was gone before I reached the French doors."

  "I have to go."

  Enoch reached out and caught her arm. "I can help you."

  The wine glass began to slip from her fingers. Enoch took it. Her entire body trembled. "He'll find me. If I stay here, he'll catch me."

  Enoch stood and wrapped his arms around her. "I can protect you. You can stop running if you want to."

  "It's Vlad," she hissed. "No one can stop him, not even you."

  "He can't beat me. He always runs. He's afraid of me. I can protect you."

  "Then you're a fool. Vlad doesn't play fair."

  Enoch tightened his hold on her. "I can destroy him. If you run, he'll follow. He'll never stop looking for you. And someday, he'll find you. What then?"

  "I'll walk into the sunlight."

  "If he lets you. He'll drag you somewhere, and you'll be his until you can escape again. IF you can escape."

  She hugged herself. Enoch was right. She knew it. Vlad would come for her in the dark, and she'd be locked somewhere before the sun came up. And then… He enjoyed her torment. He loved it that she loathed him. "I should quit now, before he gets here. He won't make it by morning. I could…"

  "Give up?" Enoch's expression told her what he thought of that.

  "I can't go back to him. I can't." She should say more, explain, but the words wouldn't come.

  "Then use yourself as bait," Enoch said. "Bring him here to me. Help me destroy him."

  Could she do that? Was she brave enough? She'd like nothing more than to watch Vlad be annihilated. It would be worth the gamble, wouldn't it? "How would you do it?"

  "You'd stay here in my apartment. He can't get in without an invitation. When he tries, I'll use the Light."

  "The light?" What was he talking about? A stake, yes. His bare hands, maybe.

  He lifted his left hand and aimed it out the glass doors. A shot of light blasted skyward. She gasped. "Can Caleb do that?"

  "No."

  Voronika walked to the French doors that led to the balcony. She looked out at the evening sky. If she ever had a chance to stop running, stop hiding, this was it. "I'll do it."

  Enoch hugged her to him. His arms felt strong, safe. But he didn't know what he was getting himself in for. Neither did she. This wasn't going to be easy. She was certain of that.

  Chapter 22

  Danny was still at the station when Enoch called. He'd taken his damned time. Danny flipped open his cell, half pissed. "Well? Are you coming or not?"

  "Voronika's being a problem. Can you stop by my place? You can help settle this."

  Danny couldn't believe what he'd heard. "Settle what?" How was a cop supposed to call a truce with a vampire?

  “She won't listen to me. Maybe she'll listen to you."

  "Are you nuts? She doesn’t even like me."

  "I just need a professional opinion. Get here as soon as you can."

  Danny stared at his phone. Dead tone. Enoch had hung up. He'd done it on purpose so that Danny couldn't argue with him. Damn it! Danny looked at his watch. He'd spent the afternoon going through notes Derek had taken doing interviews about Gail Lahmeyer's murder. No one had seen or heard anything. Danny would have to dig deeper. He glanced out the office window. Dark outside. He wanted to stop by to see Maggie Gilroy after seven. If he was going to stop at Enoch's place first, he'd better get going.

  It took a while to warm up his car and defrost the windows. It was another fifteen minutes to Enoch's apartment building. The streets weren't bad, but they weren't good ei
ther. It must have drizzled during the afternoon. Intersections were slippery. He hoped Enoch had put the Jag back in storage.

  Enoch had caught him off guard. By the time he reached his penthouse, he'd run all kinds of ideas through his mind. What in the heck was going on with Voronika? And what was he supposed to do about it? He knocked on Enoch's door and braced himself. If vampire girl bared her fangs at him, he was out of there.

  "Good. You're here. Talk to her!" Enoch ran his hand through his hair in exasperation.

  Danny stepped inside. He looked around the apartment expectantly.

  "She went to the back room. She wanted to give you a minute to get comfortable." Enoch led Danny to the high counter at the kitchen. "Want a beer?"

  "She won't bite me, will she?"

  "Not even a nibble." Her voice came from right behind him. Danny jumped. Damn vamps! How did they do that? He hadn't heard her sneak up on him. She gave him a disgusted look. “You,” she said.

  The feeling was mutual. Danny turned to his friend. "What the hell's going on?"

  "I've talked her into staying here so that I can protect her, but she insists that I keep working with you. I don't want to leave her alone at night, but she swears that if I don't go, she will."

  "Like hell." Working with a vampire hunter was strange enough. There was no way he was buddying up with a vampire.

  "See?" Enoch said. "I told you."

  Voronika leveled a glare at Danny. Her yellow eyes freaked him out. "How are you going to stop me?" she asked.

  "Him." Danny pointed a finger at his friend. "That's his job. He takes care of bad vampires."

  "But I'm good. And I want you to find whoever killed Liza and attacked Marie."

  "Don't you have bigger things to worry about right now?"

  Her yellow eyes glittered. Danny took a step backward. "You know about

  Vlad?"

  "Who the hell is Vlad?"

  She turned on Enoch. "How much have you told him?"

  "Enoch told me that he couldn't come with me tonight because the rogue who attacked Derek knew you were here."

  "The rogue attacked a human?"

  "My partner on the force. Enoch was there and pulled him off."

  She shivered, and Danny could tell that she was frightened. He didn't expect to, but he felt sorry for her. "Enoch says the rogue will turn you in, and then you're in trouble."

  "Vlad will send someone to get me. He didn't free him. I belong to him."

  "Slavery went out of style a long time ago. Enoch thinks he can help you. Let him. He's already given me the names of the other women he saw when he touched Marie. I can contact them."

  Enoch's expression turned bleak, and Danny realized that he hadn't told Voronika about the list.

  “Enoch saw more than one woman?” Voronika asked.

  “Yeah, but I know which he'll go after next. She's the only one I have to worry about right now.”

  She raised a silver eyebrow and looked at him appraisingly. "And you came to see Enoch even when you knew I'd be here?"

  “Ummm...” He wasn't sure how to answer that. "Enoch asked me to stop by."

  "His help must be important to you or you wouldn't have braved coming here. You're not sure I'm house trained yet."

  "Look. If Enoch thinks it's more important to stay here and watch over you…"

  She cut him off. "I'm safe here. Your next woman isn't. Enoch's going with you."

  Danny couldn't help it. He let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm a cop. I don't know how to deal with you two. I'm out of here!"

  He started for the door, but she smiled seductively. “Should I try the legendary vampire charm on you, mesmerize you with my powers?”

  “You can try. I don't think it'll work. I've already seen your fangs. This is between you two. Figure it out yourselves.”

  "That's easy." She turned to Enoch. "Go with him and protect those women, or I'm leaving. Then you'll have plenty of time to help your friend."

  Danny didn’t know what to say. Why was this case so important to her? "What do you care?" he demanded.

  "He's killing innocent women."

  "What's that to you? You're already dead."

  “Undead. And how do you think it happened—that I stood in line for a vampire to bite me? That I chose this? Wanted it?”

  "That's not…"

  But she didn't let him finish. She was too wound up. “I was married, happy, when Vlad took me. My damned beauty. It was supposed to be my salvation—it would find me a good husband, a good life." She hissed. "It cursed me. Vlad attacked Erik and fed on him in front of me.” She closed her eyes and shuddered. “All the pain and twitching. I tried to beat Vlad off. It was useless. Then he took me. I hate vampires. I hate myself.”

  Neither man spoke. The silence stretched between them uncomfortably. Finally Danny said, “I'm sorry. I was an ass.”

  “How would you know? But if you can protect these women from the monster who's killing them, do it.”

  Her suffering was so intense, it hit Danny like a physical blow.

  Enoch’s voice was low and sincere. “I'll do everything I can to help Danny," he promised, "but I'll move heaven and earth to keep you safe.”

  Danny's curiosity got the better of him. “How long ago… I mean, when were you married?”

  “You’ve heard of the Dark Ages? They were darker for me.”

  Danny stared. That long ago? How long had Vlad kept her? How many years…centuries…had she been running from him? He shook his head. His views were beginning to blur. He was beginning to worry about Voronika as much as Maggie Gilroy and the other women on the clown killer's list. He looked at Enoch. "You can keep her safe, can't you?"

  Enoch and Voronika exchanged glances. “There are no magic elixirs,” Enoch said. “I’ve lost over and over again. Voronika knows that.”

  “The battles or the war?”

  “Both. I win the battles eventually, but I’ve suffered enough casualties—like Alessandro—that the victories come at a high price.”

  "And you're okay with that?" he asked Voronika.

  "I'm tired of running. And some day, I won't be fast enough. Vlad will catch me. I might as well make my stand here. With Enoch's help."

  Danny sighed. “You’re telling me even angels don't have guarantees.”

  "Is there in your line of work?" she asked him.

  Danny thought of Liza Marsdale and Gail Lahmeyer. "No." But they'd saved Katy Torrence. And he'd save Maggie Gilroy too. No matter what.

  Chapter 23

  Maggie Gilroy braided the fine strands of Heather's hair. She'd never tried to braid cornrows before, and she wasn't good at it, but Heather coveted Tamara's exotic hairstyle.

  "Here." Tamara leaned over the metal railing on her hospital bed. "She has to have a clip on the end."

  Maggie took the bright hair clip and snapped it in place. "What do you think?"

  Tamara shook her head. "You should have waited for my mom to come back. She's better at it." Tamara's mother had gone out for supper. She'd promised to bring Tamara back a hamburger and fries. Heather too.

  Maggie's shift had ended a half hour ago, but she'd stayed to be with Heather until Tamara's mother returned. They all felt sorry for the little girl. The doctors had released her earlier that day, but her mother still hadn't shown up to get her. No big surprise. The mother rarely made it to the hospital to visit her. Tamara's mother, bless her, had done double duty for both girls.

  Maggie took a mirror off the hospital stand and handed it to Heather. "Maybe we should start over." Heather's fine, blond hair was all braided in tight rows that hugged the little girl's head, but the rows were none too straight.

  Heather looked at herself and grinned. "I like it."

  "Your friends at school won't even recognize you," Maggie told her.

  The girls beamed, and Tamara's mother bustled into the room, her hands full of Happy Meal boxes. "One for you, and one for you." She placed them on the roll carts for each girl to e
at.

  "Thank you." Maggie appreciated how nice it was that Tamara's mother included Heather in the many treats she brought in.

  "No biggie. Has anyone called about her yet?"

  "The grandfather's coming to get her. They haven't been able to get in touch with the mother."

  Just then, footsteps sounded in the hallway. A tall, thin man who looked to be in his mid-fifties poked his head around the door. The nurse on duty pushed a wheelchair into the room. "Your grandpa's come to get you," she told Heather.

  The man scowled at his granddaughter. "What have you done to your hair, girl?"

  "Braided it. Like Tamara's."

  He looked at the little girl in the next bed. "Their kind have the faces for it. You don't."

  Tamara's mother rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

  "Do you have everything you need?" Maggie asked, gathering up the things the hospital was sending home with Heather.

  No one had brought another set of clothes for her, so she was dressed in the same jeans and sweat shirt she'd arrived in. Maggie helped her into her winter coat. "Stay well," she said.

  The little girl hugged her. She looked around the room as if she was sad to leave. "Let's get going," the grandpa said. "My TV show's on at home, and I have a six pack waiting for me."

  Heather climbed into the wheelchair, and Maggie listened to the footsteps as they rolled her away.

  Tamara's mother looked at her own daughter. "You're comin' home with me tomorrow. You ready for that?"

  "Does Aletha have to be nice to me since I was sick?"

  "Honey, your sister's already nicer to you than you deserve, but she might go easy on you for a while."

  Maggie left while they were laughing and talking. On her drive home, she pushed her workday out of her mind. She was tired. It had been a long day and she worked again tomorrow. Part of being a nurse—two, twelve hour shifts back to back. She was going to go home, feed her cats, and take a long bath. And she was going to call it an early night.

  Chapter 24

  Danny turned on Wells Street and glanced at Voronika in the back seat. Some compromise. Lucky him. Enoch didn't want to leave her alone, and she didn't want him to stay home with her. So here they were. All together. One happy family. When he'd told his supervisor, Tony, about Enoch using his psychic abilities to help save two women, Tony had okayed letting Enoch work with him on the clown killer's cases. But how would he explain this? Not. Voronika had squirmed from the minute she got in the car. He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “No reflection.”