But it would also redeem Devin in his family’s eyes. I mean, I’d need Alice’s heart. I had to eat it to regain my abilities. But perhaps that could be explained. Hell, he could even blame me for it if he wanted. He’d still have the merit, in his father’s eyes and the Order’s, earned by ending Alice.
And I’d have my life back. My abilities.
One thing at a time.
I had to stake Alice first. And that wasn’t going to be easy.
One high-heeled step at a time. I needed to focus on ending Alice—I’d worry about sorting out how I was going to take her heart, and what I’d tell Devin, later. Presuming he was still alive.
If both of us were still alive…
There’s nothing worse than helmet hair. And after a ride I tended to have an odd combination of helmet hair and a wind-blown mane. Not the best look. But my hair wasn’t like human hair; it was magical. It was the only part of me that retained any of my natural shapeshifting ability.
A quick brushing was usually sufficient. But now I wouldn’t have time for even that.
I’d never pushed my bike so hard, so fast, as I weaved between the cars on Interstate 70. I could only hope I’d avoid the highway patrol. I didn’t have time for their bullshit. Lives were on the line.
The funeral home was in Lee’s Summit—a suburb to the East of Kansas City, and generally a home to what I’d call upper-middle class. Not the wealthiest community around K.C., but certainly more affluent than most. I imagine it was something of a sweet spot for Alice as a place where she might set up shop. Particularly if the notes Devin had on her were accurate.
If she really was trying to offer dying people a chance to become vampires, she needed to work with a community that was well off enough that people would plan their funerals if they were dying. But not one so wealthy that people had their funerals and plots purchased years before they were ever in poor health at all. Suburban folks tended to be too busy with the hubbub of life, manicuring their lawns and keeping up with the Joneses, to think about funeral planning until one’s death was staring them in the face.
Of course, the church where the Order met was an hour west of the city, and Lee’s Summit was a good thirty minutes to the east, depending on traffic. And I was already at least an hour and a half behind Devin, since I’d had to wait for Donnie to pick me up and go back for my bike.
There was a good chance I would be too late. Unless Devin hesitated before going in… before confronting her. And if he kept up the ruse long enough, perhaps he’d gotten Alice talking, gradually working to convince him to accept her “offer.”
Or perhaps he’d had an innocent enough interview and left. Not likely. I mean, if the whole point was to get actionable intelligence, to get insights into Alice’s process and maybe an invitation to join her growing youngling coven, I couldn’t imagine it would go quickly.
And I don’t know how long it took before Devin actually got in to speak with her. Vamps who engage humans during the daytime have routines. They usually make appointments. They meet in windowless rooms on the interiors of buildings.
I pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home. Devin’s car was there, and two others. Identical black Dodge Chargers with incredibly dark-tinted windows. My first thought: maybe to block sunlight. They probably belonged to Alice.
“Those cars belong to the Order,” a familiar voice said.
I turned, and Brucie was floating about six inches above my right shoulder. “Brucie,” I said, “what are you doing here?”
“Do you think I’d let you have all the fun without me?”
I snorted. “This isn’t going to be fun, Brucie. I don’t know what, if anything, Alice could do to you. But you’d better stay back. This could get nasty.”
“You forget,” Brucie said. “What she did to you, she did to me, too. This isn’t just your fight, Nyxie.”
I bit my lip. “Brucie, since you can turn to steam—dissipate—could you get in there and run a little intel before I come barging in? It would be helpful to know what I’m facing.”
“Two steps ahead of you, Nyxie. Already done.”
I raised my eyebrows and cocked my head. “And?”
“Alice is here. But she isn’t the only vampire. About a dozen more are hiding in the mortuary.”
I nodded. “And Devin?”
“In a room talking to Alice,” Brucie said. “I can’t get in, though. I mean, that room is water-tight. Not even a gap under the door. But there are two other members of the Order, I think. Lurking outside. Shrouded in black cloaks.”
I shook my head. “They’re going to ambush her. This isn’t an intelligence-gathering mission—they’re using Devin as bait. They’re going to try and stake Alice…”
Brucie shook his head. “Devin is bait. But it isn’t the Order that has cast the hook.”
“It’s Alice,” I said. “She knows what’s happening. She’s using Devin to lure the others in, and if there are a dozen more vamps waiting…”
“It’s going to be an ambush,” Brucie said. “A slaughter.”
22
BRUCIE DISSIPATED, AND in the form of steam, went back in for more intelligence. I needed as much information as he could give. If I was going to intervene and stop twelve vamps and Alice from slaughtering Devin and the other members of the Order, I needed every advantage I could get.
I loaded my crossbow, strapped on my utility belt, and fastened it with a half-dozen stakes and plenty of bolts. It was all my belt could hold.
And it was all the stakes I had on me. At least I had two stiletto heels, if push came to shove. But once I staked a vamp, I couldn’t use the same stake twice. Not if I didn’t want to revive the vamp I’d downed.
I’d have to take out as many from a distance as possible. Crossbow bolts would have to do the trick.
Thankfully, apart from Alice, I was reasonably sure the rest were younglings. Hell, I’d probably offed a few of her progeny already without realizing it. And to think, I hadn’t even bothered questioning most of them when they could have led me to Alice all the while.
But I never would have imagined that Alice, of all the vampires out there, would be siring a whole army for herself. She’d spent most of her existence trying to eliminate vamps for the Order. But I suppose being spurned by the Order had given her a different perspective on everything.
It certainly explained why I’d encountered so many younglings recently.
I had to be careful—if she had that many new vamps on the prowl, and more than a few had met my stake, or heel, she probably knew what I was up to.
It was all starting to make sense.
Wolfgang didn’t want me to eliminate Alice. He’d set this up because they anticipated that I’d be the one getting caught in this ambush.
Wolfgang and Alice had worked together. Both nightwalkers. Both spurned by the Order.
Of course they were teaming up. And since I’d put a wrench in her plans by eliminating so many of her progeny…
I couldn’t believe I didn’t see this coming. Sending me to the Order, and on a series of missions that would eventually lead me into Alice’s and Wolfgang’s trap. Apparently Wolfgang figured I was formidable enough that he couldn’t take me out himself. What they didn’t anticipate was that Devin would show up without me.
Brucie reappeared at my side. “Devin is still in there talking to her. The other two members of the Order are waiting just outside her door.”
I shook my head. “Idiots. The room might be soundproof, but Alice can probably hear their heartbeats regardless.”
“If she can,” Brucie said, “she hasn’t made a move on them yet.”
“Because Devin isn’t their target,” I said. “Killing him is small game for Alice. She’s still hoping I’ll show up to save him.”
“Which is exactly what you’re doing.”
I nodded. “I’m walking right into her trap. But what choice do I have? If I don’t move in, the other hunters from the Order will. They�
�ll force her hand. Trust me, she has no intention of letting anyone leave this place alive.”
“And she has a crematory in the mortuary,” Brucie said. “Easy way to dispose of their bodies.”
“And mine,” I said. “I can heal myself from a bite or a wound, but if I’m burned completely… If I’m boiled…”
“Still won’t kill you,” Brucie said. “But she could trap you as steam. Put you in an urn or something.”
I huffed. “Like a genie in a bottle. Sang that song last night. Little did I imagine…”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Brucie said. “How about you show them that, once again, they’ve underestimated Nyx?”
I nodded, gripped my crossbow with my finger on the trigger, and pulled open one of the white double doors at the funeral home’s entrance.
There just wasn’t another way in. Not for me, since I couldn’t change phases the way Brucie could.
But he was ahead of me—he read my mind, so I didn’t even need to ask him.
The stench of vampire flushed through my nostrils. Usually a vampire had something of a distinct scent, but when this many of them come together, identifying one of them was like trying to identify a single scent at a Yankee Candle store. The whole place just smells like Fruity Pebbles.
The stench of vamp was far less pleasant. They smelled like skunk combined with jock strap, and a little bit of “something dead.” And when their odors combined… I’ll just say I envied a human’s poor sense of smell.
The funeral home had a lot of floral couches. As I entered, there was a makeshift sanctuary on one side where I imagined they conducted funeral services for the bereaved.
On the other side, a hallway with doors.
Two men in black cloaks stared right at me. One of them said something to the other, which prompted him to march in my direction. Not the most graceful, or silent, walk for a guy who was hoping to take Alice by surprise. These hunters were arrogant.
And without reason…
I mean, from what I had learned, every hunter the Order had ever sent after Alice ended up missing. Most of them, I guessed, were amongst the rank whose odors were currently turning my stomach.
Were these the best hunters the Order had to offer?
So far, I wasn’t impressed.
“What are you doing here?” the man whispered as he pulled down his hood.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked.
“Look,” the man said, ignoring my question, “we know what you are. We have from the beginning. I know you have… skills. We could use your help. But we have values, and your lifestyle…”
I shook my head. “You’re seriously going to lecture me on values right now, while your son is in there with one of the world’s most dangerous vampires?”
“You don’t understand. This is an opportunity for Devin.”
I shook my head. “Whatever. I’m not here to help you. I’m just here for Devin.”
A grimace distorted the man’s face, and he poked me repeatedly in the chest as his tone turned firm. “Stay away from my boy. I’ll not have some fairy leading him down the road to perdition.”
I snorted. “Not a fairy. I’m an elemental. But I do know a sprite. They’re sort of like fairies, if you’d like to meet him. And don’t worry, your son wants nothing to do with me. I’m just here because we have a common goal. And I feel a little bit responsible for what’s about to happen to him in there.”
“About to happen?” Devin’s father asked. “We won’t let that happen.”
“He’s not here for the Order’s judgment?”
“When he stakes her, he’ll be redeemed. I’m just here to make sure he doesn’t get turned into one of them. And to keep him from becoming one of your kind.”
I cocked my head. “An elemental? Don’t worry, it’s not contagious.”
“I mean a…”
I raised my hand to stop him. “That’s not contagious, either. And besides, I’m not gay. I’m a woman. So I don’t see what your beef is.”
“My beef is your beef,” Devin’s dad said crassly. “You’re living a fantasy.”
“Honey,” I said, “walk a mile in my shoes and then we’ll talk about fantasies.”
Devin’s father glanced at my boots. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in those…”
“It’s a shame,” I said. “Because you need me if you don’t want to be caught dead today. Did you realize there are at least twelve more vampires here, waiting for you? They’re probably listening to our conversation at this very moment.”
Devin’s dad cocked his head and his eyes widened. “Twelve, you say?”
I nodded. “Nothing I can’t handle, presuming most of them are younglings.”
“You could handle twelve younglings?”
I shrugged and grabbed a pen out of my pocket. “Let me see your hand.”
The man cocked his head. “Why?”
“Just do it,” I said. “Palm up.”
Devin’s dad showed me his hand. I clicked my pen and started to write. Do the opposite of what I’m about to say.
Devin’s dad looked at it and nodded.
“If you all are certain you can handle Alice, focus on her. I’ll take out the younglings.” I winked just to make doubly sure he understood I was wanting him to do the opposite.
“Alright,” Devin’s dad said. “I like that plan. Because I want to be sure that Devin’s the one who strikes the final blow.”
I nodded in understanding. He was willing for me to risk myself against Alice—but Devin had to be the one to stake her. Acceptable, I supposed. Even If I’d need to double-cross them in the end to take her heart.
No redemption rituals for Alice.
Hopefully the vamps had heard us and would be deceived into thinking that I’d be the one coming after them. I didn’t know how skilled these hunters were. Taking on twelve was difficult odds, even for me. But at least there were two Order hunters. They’d have to be good, but their chances weren’t zero.
Better than they’d be if I let them go after Alice. She might be one vampire, but she was more dangerous than all the others combined.
Of course, the ruse depended on my belief that these younglings were listening. New vamps aren’t all that hard to kill, but they are unpredictable. It made some sense that I’d do what I said out loud to Devin’s dad. Younglings crave blood like nothing else; the chance to feed from the Order’s hunters would be irresistible—and they’d likely go into a frenzy. Not an easy “vampire mode” to deal with. But it would also make them more vulnerable if I did manage to stake Alice.
In a frenzy over the humans from whom they’d want to feed, I’d be able to take them out one by one… They wouldn’t be drawn to me, since I don’t have blood. The hunters would consume their focus.
Again, the plan hinged on the presumption that I’d still be alive after confronting Alice.
No guarantees.
Suddenly, Brucie appeared on my shoulder.
Devin’s dad took two steps back.
“Never seen a sprite before?” I asked.
The man’s jaw was dropped halfway to the floor.
“Stop staring,” Brucie said. “I mean, I know I’m cute. But it’s a little creepy.”
“Any intel?” I asked Brucie.
“Yes,” Brucie said. “But I don’t know if I can say…”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve read my mind. Anything you could say that only I’d understand?”
Brucie nodded. “The Frenchman near the Rhine.”
My memories from back then, when I was an elemental, and from before I was brought—courtesy of a coven of witches—to the Americas were sketchy. But when he mentioned it, the whole incident came flooding back.
Flooding… another bad water pun.
I cocked my head. “I’d almost forgotten about that.”
“I’ve got your memories,” Brucie said. “Anything you want to remember, I just have to put the memory back in your mind, which is
what I just did.”
I nodded. It wasn’t my most successful hunt during my time as one of the Neck. I’d taken the form of a delicate dame. The Frenchman who’d been wading by the waters was immediately enthralled by my beauty.
The thing I didn’t know was that before he’d come to my waters, he was being hunted already—by one of the local clans. He was a long way from home. Not sure what his purpose was so far from France, but he clearly wasn’t a welcome presence.
I was so fixated on my whole allure—the process, the seduction—that I didn’t realize a whole band of men was lurking in the bushes and encroaching on our position even as I serenaded my victim.
But once they saw me, once they realized what I was… Well, I became the better prize.
They charged at us while I was distracted. I took a spear to my back. But I couldn’t let the Frenchman go…
I’d forgotten that, too. A truth that was only recently revealed to me again. If I don’t finish my meal, if I don’t succeed in my seduction, I remain in human form until I do.
I knew it back then. I’d forgotten that fact, it seemed, after it actually happened. Brucie had reminded me of it—which was why I absolutely couldn’t allow Alice to get away. Not scot-free, and not even in the hands of the Order. Not until I ate her heart.
But the point Brucie was trying to make was that the twelve vampires, like the Germanic clan that had sprung on me before, was closer than I realized. They were about to pounce. We didn’t have time to spare.
All those thoughts, of course, flooded through my mind the instant Bruce mentioned the Frenchman on the Rhine.
I looked at Devin’s dad intently. At some point, perhaps, I’d learn his name. But I didn’t have any inclination to be better acquainted with this man than was absolutely necessary. “We have to move now,” I said.
Devin’s dad looked back at the second hunter. He waved his hand in a strange combination of moves. A kind of sign language. Smart, since vampires you were hunting could hear you speak out loud.
The second man came forward, a golden crucifix in his hand, and he extended it. The whole thing illuminated with sunlight, casting a beam of it all around.
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