Dahlia heard a clang. Through the throng of panicked bodies, she glimpsed a female elf with rough black hair opening a drainage grate in the middle of the court. She was holding a plump little boy in her arms, and he was shrieking with terror. The elf and her captive dropped down into the black opening.
The boy's father, a muscular guy with a shaven head wearing a Chicago Bears jacked, jumped down into the dark hole in pursuit, but Dahlia didn't imagine he had a chance against an elf. The child's scream came up from the darkness. Dahlia plunged in like Alice in wonderland following the White Rabbit—though Alice, if Dahlia remembered correctly, hadn't landed on an irate human. Dahlia's abrupt descent knocked the wind out of Bears Guy, and in the moment of silence that followed, Dahlia said, "I'm here to get your son back."
Off she took, moving as silently as possible through the dark tunnel. The flat Mary Janes were turning out to be unexpectedly convenient, though she would never admit that to Taffy. And then she ran full tilt into something solid.
"Oof," the elf said, and then said a lot more in her whistling, popping native tongue. Dahlia felt the elf's sharp fingernails stab into her chest. Going for the heart, she realized, and grabbed the elf's bony wrist and thrust it away from her with all her strength. her leg brushed against something in the awful, snarling struggle. She thought it was the little boy.
After what seemed like an hour, Dahlia had smashed all the bones in the elf's hand, and the elf was making pain noises. But Dahlia was growing tired, and the elf was still disconcertingly full of fight. Suddenly Dahlia was startled to feel someone human moving up behind her. From his scent, she could tell Bears Guy had arrived.
Dahlia said, "Get the child and go," in her most commanding voice. Instead, a warm hand felt her face, then traveled down her arm to fix the location of the elf. Dahlia smelled the gun and knew what was about to happen. the explosion was terrible in the confined space.
The elf howled and before it could make another move, Dahlia ripped its head off. She collapsed to the floor beside the body.
After a second's rest, Dahlia made herself sit up against the wall. "Do you have the boy?" she asked wearily.
"Yes, I have Darryl," Bears said, his voice so incredibly relieved and tender it was all even Dahlia could do not to weep.
"Good you were armed," Dahlia said. "Though of course I would've beaten her."
"No doubt of that sister. I'm an off-duty cop. I'm always carrying."
Dahlia had lost a lot of blood. When she tried to stand, she almost crumpled back to the floor, but she knew it would be twice as hard a second time. She followed Bears, who was carrying Darryl. They made their way through the dark tunnel and toward the stream of light where the entrance was located and where all kinds of noises were pouring through the hole.
Dahlia felt absolutely grumpy at the prospect of being seen so disheveled, wearing the awful puffer coat, shredded and bloodied. the wounds were beginning to heal, though not as fast as they might. She needed blood and needed it soon.
Dahlia passed Bears to leap through the hole. She reached down behind her to pull him and Darryl up. When she straightened, she found five guns pointing at her.
"Put those things away." yelled Bears. "My kid'd be dead if it wasn't for this lady."
Dahlia looked so small and so injured that it was maybe a little easier for the police officers to believe him.
There were dead elves—in whole and in part—littering the entire floor of the center court. Santa was on a stretcher with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. Families huddled in semihysterical clusters, talking to men in uniforms. Things had moved swiftly while Dahlia was underground. She turned to find her friends.
"Wait," said a deep voice, and Dahlia paused in midstride. Bears stepped in front of her. "Darryl wants to thank you." The little boy held out his arms. He wanted Dahlia to pick him up.
With the police watching, Dahlia had no option but to take the child. Her mouth started watering immediately. Darryl smelled so good, and she was so hungry. Her fangs popped out. She smiled with a closed mouth and didn't try to say a word.
"Cold," said the little boy, touching her cheek. She nodded. She was always a little less than room temperature. "Thank you," the child said, and then he was more than ready to go back to his father. "You smell funny," he told Dahlia when he was safe in his father's arms, and it was true. She smelled like vampire and blood and elf and the dreadful purple puffer coat. She pulled the garment off and dropped it on the floor, since the mall court could hardly get any messier. She felt much more like herself. She wondered if she could find her heels.
She saw Katamori and Taffy. Katamori held his arm up and Dahlia crept under it surprised and pleased at the gesture. His sleep black hair was still in place. There was only one small stain on his trousers. he was a quick and neat killer, and Dahlia admired him very much.
"Are all the children OK?" she asked the police officer.
"Yup. One of the dads got bitten by one of those things, but other than that—good guys six, bad guys zero." He grinned.
"Nice to be included in the good guys," Taffy said. The three vampires did their best to look benevolent.
5
At the next later that night, Dahlia took a quick shower and was in her favorite black negligee when someone knocked on the door of her bedroom. When she answered it, to her not-so-great surprise, Katamori stood in the doorway.
"You never asked why I was at the mall," he said. Katamori stepped forward, shut the door and locked it behind him. "I went to buy a present for you."
Dahlia was genuinely astonished. "Really?" Then she smiled. "I found a gift for you, too, though not at the mall."
It was his turn to be taken aback. "Truly?"
"Yes, here it is," Dahlia presented him with a beautifully carved wooden box. Katamori opened the antique box very carefully, and inside was a glowing book, perhaps a century old, one of the most inventive and exquisite Japanese pornography.
"You take my breath away," Katamori said, raising his eyebrows at the first picture in the book. "We will have a wonderful time with this." That was exactly what Dahlia had hoped for.
"You didn't ask what I got for you," Katamori said, turning the pages slowly.
"Oh, you found something?"
"Yes, I was successful."
Dahlia eyed him from head to toe. "I don't see a gift," she said.
"I've hidden it. It's very small."
"Well," Dahlia said thoughtfully. "I suppose I have to search you to find it?"
"I happen to be free for the rest of the night," he said, "so you can take your time."
Later, when they lay twined together on Dahlia's bed she admired the delicate golden chain with its beautiful jade pendant. The pendant lay between her breasts, a sight Katamori found entrancing.
"Why did you come back to the mall?" she asked. "Taffy returning didn't amaze me; Taffy has a soft heart. But you don't."
"I certainly hope not." said Katamori. he looked away. "But I knew you would come back, and I could not let you do that alone."
They lay in silence for a few minutes. Katamori was waiting for Dahlia to speak. His proud lover might not take his words as a compliment. He wondered if the pendant would have to go back to the store. He wondered if he'd have to remove it from some part of his anatomy first. "What are you thinking?" he asked finally.
"I was wondering how you would look in a Santa Claus costume," Dahlia said. She laughed when Katamori pounced on her.
"I'll try it if you'll dress like an elf," he said, and Dahlia rolled on top of him.
"We've had enough elves," she said. "But, I'm up for reindeer antlers…oh." After that there was no more conversation.
A week later they passed Christmas night together very happily. They'd perfected the position in the ninth picture by the time the sun came up.
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A Very Vampire Christmas - Charlaine Harris Page 2