Drawing Down the Mist

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

  Sasha had handed the bag off to Prima, who had pulled a series of phones from inside and then lined them up on the table, putting them at the ready for Sasha. Before coming back here to the bedroom, Sasha had used each one of them to make calls. Most were short and sweet. A couple took a little longer. When she was done, she’d excused herself. Dee had waited a moment before following.

  “No, we’re not going back. We have things to do here first.”

  She respectfully disagreed. “Okay. I’m done with being in the dark. Come on.” She took Sasha’s hand and tugged on it. “Explanation time.”

  Back in the main room, Sasha looked over at Rodney and nodded. “Dee and Prima need to be brought in.”

  “Good call.” Rodney dropped into his chair and made a complete three-sixty turn.

  Sasha nodded at both Prima and Dee. “Tell them.”

  He was smiling. “All righty. First and foremost, you must all know that I’m a rock star and I got it nailed.” He looked up at Sasha. “Thank your pal, Eli, next time you see him.”

  Sasha’s expression darkened. “Just tell them.” It didn’t escape Dee’s notice that Sasha blew right past the mention of Eli, and she had a sinking feeling she knew why. She’d lay odds that the handsome man she’d encountered at Duncan Gardens would never be seen again. Hopefully his demise was on his own terms.

  “Okay, okay. They went with KED.”

  Sasha nodded, and a light entered her eyes. “Good. We’ve got them.”

  Both Rodney and Sasha sucked at explaining what was going on.

  “What is KED, and why is that good? You two are horrible when it comes to cluing us in.”

  Rodney turned his chair until he was looking at Dee. “We nicknamed it knock ’em dead. KED. In simple terms, it’s an airborne virus that attacks the human immune system. The kicker is, it’s selective and affects only some of the human population. It’s all in your DNA. Some it kills. Some it doesn’t. That’s how they designed it.”

  “A kind of survival of the fittest,” Sasha added. “Rather ingenious of the bastards. Some die immediately, some it takes a bit longer, and some are immune.”

  It hit Dee forcefully. “In other words, it’s getting rid of a lot of threat by killing a large segment of the population and ultimately creating a herd of the finest cattle. Cattle, of course, being the humans the vampires want to feed on.”

  “I knew you were smart the first moment I met you.” Sasha put an arm around her shoulders.

  She didn’t feel very smart. She felt scared. She’d been out in the city breathing in whatever it was they’d let loose into the air. If what Sasha said was right, just because none of the three humans in the room succumbed right away didn’t mean they were immune. “We had to have breathed the fumes in when we were outside. We could still die.” Her heart sank. So much for having time to investigate her attraction to Sasha.

  “Au contraire,” Rodney said as he got up. “Nobody in this room is going to die.”

  “How can you be so sure? We were out there. We breathed the tainted air. We’re probably dying right now.” She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want Rodney or Prima to die.

  “We’re prepared.” Sasha squeezed her shoulder again. “That bitch didn’t get the drop on me this time. I’m a lot older and a whole lot smarter than the last time we came face-to-face. She underestimated me and my buddy here. You’ll survive this because we have you covered.”

  “Locked and loaded.” Rodney held up a small vial of a golden liquid. “You thought I was just living down here being all paranoid and stuff. The crazy guy that thought someone was out to get him. Ha. Joke’s on all of you. Someone was out to get me and you and you.” He pointed to Dee and Prima. “While you’ve been up there living under Big Brother’s nose, I’ve been a busy guy, and this is going to save your lives and everyone else’s. So come on over and step up. Doc Rodney has the cure.”

  “What does it do?” Enough weirdness had invaded her life over the past few days that she wasn’t jumping into anything without questioning first.

  “This—” Rodney held the vial upside down as he pulled the plunger on a syringe he’d inserted into the small rubber cap, “is a twofer. First, it will render you immune to the virus.”

  “And the twofer part?”

  He put the vial down, held the needle up, and pushed the plunger until drops fell from the tip. “Two, any vampire who has the poor judgment to try to take a little sip of your blood is in for a really big surprise.”

  Dee waited for Rodney to continue, but apparently he wasn’t going to spill the secret until they asked. Seriously, he was awful at this. Prima beat her to it. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Rodney. What’s the surprise?”

  This time Sasha smiled as she looked into Dee’s eyes. “It renders human blood toxic to a vampire. One sip and it’s the last sip they’ll ever take.”

  ***

  Katrina was so shocked for a moment she didn’t move. Then she screamed and kicked at the dust where Eli had just been standing. All that remained to even hint he was there was a pair of shoes and a pile of clothes. “You bastard! You dirty, fucking bastard! How dare you do this. How dare you take your own life. You were mine!”

  It was incomprehensible. Eli, trusted and privy to her every secret, her go-to man in any and all situations, was a Judas. To have him turn on her like this was as bad as Maria refusing her affections. He had escaped her wrath, and she couldn’t do a thing about it. Maria or Sasha or whatever she wanted to call herself would not win. Eli might have passed along critical information to her, but in the end it wouldn’t make any difference. It was already too late. Nobody could do a thing to stop what was happening. All they had to do was look around this city and they would know. She would succeed.

  The virus had been let loose in every major city in the United States. Humans were dying by the tens of thousands, and vampires were rising as they never had before. It was like Mardi Gras in a very bloody and preternatural way. It was marvelous and thrilling and perfect.

  Still, she needed to do some damage control. Eli had tossed Sasha the phones, which was a small problem. She needed to reach out to her counterparts, and those phones were the most efficient way to make that happen. Still, the loss of the phones wasn’t a showstopper. Back in the hotel suite her laptop was still sitting on the desk. Inside it was a treasure trove of information.

  Kicking at the dust one more time, she whirled and ran back to the car. This wasn’t her city, and she didn’t know her way around that well. She was stuck driving herself back to the hotel, and she hadn’t driven herself anywhere in years. Why would she, when she had Eli to do all the work? The upside was that she had a memory that most would kill for. It was no problem for her to retrace the route here without a single wrong turn. It was more challenging to figure out the car, given how long it had been since she’d driven. Things had changed in the interim. Finally, she got it and was driving out of the park.

  At the hotel, she raced back to her room. At the door she realized that she didn’t have the keycard. It had been with Eli. Her frustration was immense, and for a second she was frozen. All it took to open the door was one powerful kick. It crashed open, the door falling to the floor with a loud bang. Inside, she leveled another kick at one of the bodies that lay in her way as she tried to get to the desk. Her rage was massive by the time she sat down and flipped open the laptop cover. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as skillfully as Eli’s had done. She was pulling up files with all the phone numbers she’d need when her cell phone rang. The sound of the ringer made her jump.

  “Yes.” Her curiosity was too great to let the call go unanswered, though that was her first instinct. Too much work to do to be bothered with unimportant calls.

  “Meet me on the Monroe Street Bridge. One hour.”

  The call ended before she could say another word. Well, well, well. That was unexpected. Slowly she put the phone down and smiled. Yes, she would definitely be there in an hour.

 
Chapter Twenty-two

  It had taken less than ten minutes to make the calls. The conversations were quick and pointed. Eli’s gift of the bag full of phones made Sasha’s job easy, and Rodney had a long list of numbers already programmed into his phone. Once all the players were in place and the wheels of the cure in motion, she’d used Eli’s phone to put in one final call. Out of all of them, it was the one that meant the most. Everything was going well except for one thing: Dee had refused to allow Rodney to give her the injection that would make her immune. Sasha was having a hard time understanding or accepting her logic.

  “Explain to me again why you won’t take it?” Sasha was staring at Dee and working very hard not to hold her down so Rodney could give her the shot that both he and Prima had already taken.

  “Simple. You’re going after her.”

  “Of course I am.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “This will protect you.”

  “It won’t protect you.”

  Sasha stopped and thought about what she’d said. In so many ways it didn’t matter. Once she took care of Katrina, her job on this earth was done. If she died, her demise was a hundred years overdue. “You could already be infected. We have to stop it. We have to protect you.”

  “None of that matters.”

  “It matters to me. You’re more protection to me if you’re immune.” She’d say whatever she needed to in order to keep Dee safe. In this short amount of time, she’d become precious to her, and she wanted her to live out her life without having to worry about what Sasha’s kind had done to the humans.

  “No, I’m not. We’re running out of darkness, and if you’re going to kick her ass, you’re going to need strength. I can give it to you.”

  “I don’t understand…” She stopped talking and stared because suddenly, she did understand. The realization of Dee’s intent horrified her. “No! Absolutely not.”

  “My choice.” Dee just stared back at her.

  “No, it is not.”

  Dee put her hands on her hips and challenged Sasha. “You need fresh blood to be as powerful as possible. I can give that to you. She’s not going to beat you.”

  “Rodney brought me packets. They’re in the fridge. I don’t need you.”

  “Got her all stocked up thanks to friends in high places,” Rodney added.

  Dee kept her gaze on Sasha. “Oh, right, and you’re going to carry them in your pockets just in case. That’s bull, and you know it. I’m your best chance at success.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Absolutely yes. Let’s go get this over with. We’ve got a vampire to take down. You’ve waited too long already for this. Let’s go!” Dee almost ran to the door. She didn’t look back.

  “You’re going to lose this one,” Prima told her. “You haven’t known her as long as I have. Short version: she doesn’t back down once she digs in.”

  “I like her spunk,” Rodney added. “Kind of reminds me of someone else we all know and love.” He looked pointedly at Sasha. “Take this,” he said as he pressed a small device into her hand. She glanced down and realized it was the remote that would open the big steel door. “You better follow her before she gets herself killed out there.”

  “I may kill her myself,” Sasha muttered as she followed Dee out of the bunker.

  ***

  Dee knew she was right. She also knew that Sasha wouldn’t rest until the woman from the park was toast. The best shot Sasha had to make that happen once and for all was to fortify herself with Dee’s blood. Yeah, it sounded creepy, and the last thing she’d ever imagined herself doing was being the Holy Grail for a vampire, but hey, part of life’s great journey was doing strange and unusual things. It would make for a good story for her family fifty years down the line. If, that is, she actually survived the night to have a family down the line.

  Sasha wasn’t totally wrong in saying that she was going out unprotected. She’d seen what was out there, and even though Rodney and Sasha had put a machine of salvation into motion, the solution would take days, weeks, or even years, depending on how widespread the toxin’s effects were. With something so invasive, a great deal of damage could be done in that amount of time. She just hoped they ended up saving more than they lost.

  Truthfully, she didn’t wish to be one of the lost either. She also didn’t want to lose Sasha. She had heard the finality in her voice earlier when she declared that living beyond tonight didn’t matter. In a way, she understood. Sasha had lost everyone who’d ever mattered to her. She’d had to walk the earth as a solitary creature for more time than she should have.

  Until now. The draw Dee felt toward her was so strong it was like an invisible steel band. How many of her friends had she watched as they fell in love and discovered life partners? How many times had it happened to her? That would be a big, fat zero, until now, and though it was most assuredly crazy that it was this beautiful vampire who made her believe in happily-ever-after, that’s what had happened. Nice and normal love would be cool. Then again, when had Dee ever settled for nice and normal? Her family would resoundingly say never. No sense in changing character now. She was what she was, and she liked who she liked.

  She was already outside in the woods when she heard Sasha’s light step behind her. “Let’s go kick her ass.”

  Sasha put a hand on her shoulder and turned her so they were looking at each other. “It’s my fight.”

  “We can do a quid pro quo later. Tonight I’m your wing woman. Some other night, you can be mine.”

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  It was true, she didn’t. “Don’t have to. Want to.” Dee wanted to get going fast in the direction of the car.

  “Why?”

  She looked down into Sasha’s expressive eyes. She studied her face and smiled. “Because you’re the most exciting woman I’ve ever met, and I don’t want to lose you now.”

  “Vampire.”

  Dee shrugged. “Vampire. Woman. Semantics.” She pressed her lips against Sasha’s. The kiss filled her with such joy she didn’t want to stop. She did, bringing her head up and cupping Sasha’s face with her hands. “Got it?”

  Sasha just nodded. “Good. Then let’s do this.” Dee turned away and, for the third time in one night, started running in the direction of the car. She was going to have some seriously sore quads come tomorrow.

  ***

  Katrina’s fury only increased by the time she stood in the middle of the Monroe Street Bridge. Despite her having dialed every number in her computer files before coming here, not one of the calls was picked up. It didn’t make sense. Not only should they have been waiting for her call, but they should also have been ready to roll. Something had apparently gone very wrong. Damn Eli. This was all his fault.

  In a fit of rage, she threw the laptop through the window of the hotel room. The glass shattered as the computer flew out into the night. Shards of glass fell to the floor, glittering in the lamplight. Her hands shook, and all she could think about was revenge. This was her doing, and she was going to pay. Her fury built as she made her way the few blocks from the hotel to the Monroe Street Bridge.

  The normally heavy traffic was quiet. Not a single car went either north or south. In fact, the entire city was uncharacteristically quiet, thanks to her handiwork. At least something was going right. Out there in the darkness, her soldiers were multiplying. It was as she wished and as she needed.

  For the moment she could focus on what was to come. She waited away from the covered benches in the center of the bridge. They contained beautiful and interesting elements of design, but standing near them was impossible. The strong smell of urine and alcohol lingered deep and heavy. In addition to the stench, the view was obstructed. It was imperative that she have full sight of the bridge, and she could get that only by standing outside. She watched the north and south access. She would be coming from one or the other direction. She did not expect anyone from the water side. The falls below were raging, an
d the white water sent spray up and into her eyes. It was beautiful if one was into that sort of thing.

  “I didn’t think you’d come.”

  Katrina had turned away from the spray and watched as the woman walked her way with slow, easy steps. Even after all these years, she recognized the stride. She knew how she moved, how she looked. She’d watched her for hours as she’d strolled in the gardens and the fields with her sisters and, on rare occasions, her brother. When he was there with them, he was treated like delicate china, unlike the girls, who were strong as well as beautiful. In her heart, one was more beautiful than the others, and she’d quickly been able to capture her affections. The circumstances for the sisters were dire, yet it hadn’t mattered. She’d never expected to fall in love and be loved in return. It had been a unique and magical time.

  Everything had changed when that love was betrayed. In all her years she’d never been turned on before. And no woman had ever walked away from her. Not successfully, anyway, and that record would not be broken now. Her beginnings on the street had taught her that no slight can go unpunished regardless of how long it took to deliver the fatal blow. She’d waited a long time for this, and after the hiccup earlier tonight, she planned to savor the current victory.

  “Of course I would come. I’ve been looking for you since you killed my family and made me into this thing.” She waved her hands up and down in front of her body.

  “And I’ve been looking for you. Who’s the blood donor?” The way her words made the lines harden around Sasha’s mouth gave her some satisfaction. She liked that she could get under her skin.

  “You don’t need to worry about her.”

  Katrina laughed. “You think I’m worried? Oh, little Maria, you’re just the same, aren’t you? You change your name, your hair, your clothes, and none of it makes a difference. You’re still the little princess worried about everyone else. Daddy’s perfect little girl.”

  “I’ve changed more than my appearance, and that should concern you. I gave up perfection the day you sank your fangs into my neck.”