The Unmasking (Dhampyre the Hunter Book 1)

by David Burkhead

  Mary's eyes went distant for a moment then she nodded. "Judy says I can trust you." She shook her head. "That's funny. Judy hates everybody and trusts no one."

  Ware looked at me, a question in his eyes. I shook my head. I had not Pushed. Leaving aside the ethical issues of using the Push that way, I needed to save what little I had for when we needed it.

  "Just tell us what happened, Mary," I said. "Everything you remember. Try not to leave anything, no matter how small, out."

  I set my phone to record and noticed Ware doing the same. Mary sat in silence for several seconds, then drew a deep breath and began talking.

  "It started when I was one of several girls hired for a party." Mary looked at Ware. "You know the kind, Detective."

  Ware nodded. "Who else was there?"

  "Mm. There was Juicy, Tiff, Sweet Lin, and, um, Daisy."

  Ware made a note. "I see. Go on."

  "Well, first it was some young uns." Mary held up a hand before Ware could speak. "Not kids young. Gangbangers. All full of macho but, y'know the type. They couldn't have afforded a back alley blow from any of us. Not normal-like. So I's wond'rin' what's goin' on but, y'know, the money's good so I lays there and lets 'em. Some wants my cooshie. Some wants my mouth. There was one guy who wanted the back, but Mary don't do that. You know."

  "I know," Ware said.

  So, these boys, they all go two, some three, times and then the others come in."

  I leaned forward. "The others?"

  "They was three of them," Mary said. "I remember there was somethin' different about em. Judy starts tellin' me to run. And then I hear Jimmy tellin' me the same, and I ain't heard Jimmy in years."

  "Jimmy?" I ask.

  "It ain't all girls up inside my head," Mary said. "Sometimes the boys and girls get together and have a fine old time."

  Mary shook her head. "Well, Judy and Jimmy are tellin' me to run but there's gang bangers all over and...and these new ones. Dark they is, not a normal dark but somethin' unnatural. But a red almost like they's been boiled. And they was all chubby-like but the way they moved. I knew they was strong. I knew if I ran they would...they would..."

  Mary stopped and hugged herself.

  "You're safe now, Mary," Ware said. "They can't hurt you anymore. But I need you to tell me everything."

  Mary nodded. "So, I lay there quiet-like. Hoping. Praying, that they would choose the other girls and leave me alone. One of them grabs Tiff. He twists his hand in her hair and pulls her head back like she's a doll or somethin'. I see her struggle but she might as well be kickin' at a brick wall for all the good she does. The guy, he leans down toward her neck. I'm thinkin' maybe he's going to kiss or lick. You know. Some guys like that stuff before they get off, pretend we're girlfrien's."

  "I can't see from where I am, but it wasn't lickin' or kissin' he was doin'. His head comes down to her neck and Tiff opens her mouth and screams. The guy lifts his head from her shoulder and I see blood runnin' down from Tiff's neck. The guy had bit her, deep. And the guy just looks at her and she goes quiet."

  Mary licked her lips. "You got somethin' I can drink, Detective?"

  "I'll get it," I said, rising. "Will water be fine for now?"

  "Could I...maybe...have a Coke?"

  "Bottom shelf in the refrigerator." Ware pointed. "Cans should be cold."

  I grabbed not one but three cans. I brought them back and handed one each to Ware and Mary, keeping the last for myself.

  Ware took a pull from his drink. "So, the guy looked at Tiff and she quieted."

  Mary tilted back her head, can to her lips, and took four or five swallows before setting the can back down. "Yeah. I was about to scream myself only one of them grabbed me." She held up her injured arm. "He looked me right in the eye for a second. I don't know what that was about but Judy was telling me to run but he had me and I couldn't. Then he bent down, opened his mouth and...and...bit me. I shouted then because it hurt. It hurt more than anything Gregor ever did. He pulled back from my arm and I swear his 'spression was pure shock. He drew back a hand then and slapped me. I thought sure my head was comin' right off my shoulders and I passed out."

  Mary took another long drink from her can.

  "You're doing great, Mary," Ware said gently. "What happened then?"

  "I woke up to Judy and Jimmy and half a dozen others I ain't heard in years screaming at me, telling me to get out of there. I opened my eyes and saw the three...the three things workin' at Juicy. One was at her neck and the other two each held an arm. She was being still, not fightin' at all, but I could see pain and fear in her face."

  "You sure?" I asked.

  Mary looked at me for a moment then shook her head. "When you been on the street long as I have, you know what pain and fear look like."

  I met her gaze then inclined my head, acknowledging her point.

  "And then?" Ware asked.

  "Then, I saw they wasn't lookin' at me. The gangbangers, they was all sleepin'. You know how guys get after."

  "You saw a chance," Ware said.

  Mary nodded. "I rolled to my feet, real quiet like. And then I saw the door was open and I just...I just ran. It was a short hall, then an outer door and I was outside. I ran until a cop stopped me." She shrugged. "I was never so glad to see a cop in my life." She chuckled. And if her laughter had a hysterical edge to it, who was I to judge? "I hadn't bothered to straighten up. I just ran. So my shirt was down around my waist and I was floppin' in the breeze. So, they hauled me in. And Jimmy told me to ask for you, Detective."

  "I see," Ware said.

  Mary nodded. "He said you'd helped us before and would do it again. Judy said no one would help us. No one would believe us. And then Jimmy said you would. And then Jimmy went away, leaving just me and Judy. But I did call you, I did. And you came."

  Ware gave her a gentle smile. "Of course I did. And so did Dani."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  A long, hot shower went a long way toward making me feel better. I emerged from the bathroom in a fresh change of clothes. The towel that I was using on my hair was not as soft as those at the hotel, but it did the job.

  Ware was sitting at the kitchen table, talking on his phone. His jacket hung on the back of the chair.

  "Yeah," Ware was saying. "I didn't want to tell him. Hell, I didn't want to tell anybody. But he figured it out so here we are. Just bring him. Probably the only way we can keep him quiet." He paused for a moment. "Okay, see you then." Ware hung up.

  "I need to do some shopping," I told Ware.

  Ware hesitated before looking up at me and answering. "Can you give me a list and let me do it?"

  "I could, but why?"

  "I promised Mary we'd keep her safe." Ware sighed. "And I hate to admit it, but when it comes to vampires, you'll be better at keeping her safe than I would." He looked me in the eye. "And you will, won't you?"

  I drew in a breath at the trust in Ware's eyes. In my experience cops rarely trusted anybody but other cops. What could I do but nod? "I'll keep her safe."

  "Good." He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. "I called Jan and asked her to pick up Tommy before she heads over. Should be maybe thirty minutes before she gets here."

  "And Mary?"

  "She's sleeping in the back." He shrugged. "She never does well in lockup. Her voices won't let her sleep. I wonder if half her problem isn't simple sleep deprivation."

  "Schizophrenia is a pretty serious issue all by itself."

  "Is there anything you can do about that? Your 'push' you called it?"

  "I've never used it to correct psychological problems, but I suppose I could try." I frowned as a thought occurred to me. "I wonder. What she described..."

  Ware watched me with expectant eyes, not saying anything waiting for my mind to work its way through what she had said and what I knew. "Vampires like to leave their victims aware. Fear, pain. I don't know, maybe they just like the taste of epinephrine in their victim's blood. They leave them aware, but
they'll immobilize them with a Push. From the description, the vampires did that with the others, so why not with her? Not only did the vampire hit her when she struggled, but she was able to flee."

  I gave my hair a final swipe with the towel and dropped it across the back of a chair. "Maybe her schizophrenia, her 'voices', blocks out the Push."

  Ware pondered for a moment. "I thought insanity left one more open to vampire suggestion. Renfield..."

  "Renfield," I spat. "Pure fiction. There's no indication that Vlad Dracula was a vampire and Stoker got more wrong than he got right." I sighed. "I'd like to ask Matei about this." I shook my head. "He picked a fine time to disappear."

  While Ware was gone, I removed the rest of my oak dowels from the car and began whittling points on them. The bone-handled knife proved able to hold a fine edge and carved into the wood easier than I had expected given oak's hardness. Soon I had a dozen stakes laid in a row on the table and a pile of wood shavings.

  My phone rang. I answered.

  "Herzeg."

  "Dani, it's James. I'm going to be a bit delayed."

  "Anything wrong?"

  "Accident with injuries. And I was right there. So, until the uniforms show up, I'm stuck."

  "I understand." I switched the phone to my other ear. "Anything you need from me?"

  "Jan should be showing up soon. Give her a rundown on what we learned from Mary, would you?"

  "Jan. That's Detective Tanner, right?"

  "That's right."

  "You know she hates my guts."

  Ware laughed. "She just hates civilians butting into police work only this isn't police work anymore. She's a good cop."

  "All right. I'll tell her."

  "Thanks. I've got most of the things from your list. I've still got to pick up the silver solder and a torch. That's next once...and speak of the devil, a deputy just rolled up. Let me get him briefed and I'll be on my way."

  "Talk to you later then. Bye."

  "Bye."

  Ware disconnected.

  I put my phone back on its holster and stood up. I looked around the kitchen wondering, if I were a trash can, where would I be?

  My third choice paid off, the cabinet under the sink. I carried the trashcan to the table and swept the oak shavings into it. I then went to what had been choice two, a narrow closet that served as a pantry, and removed a broom and dustpan. I swept the floor around the table, cleaning up the remainder of the shavings.

  I was just finishing up, putting the trash can back under the sink when I heard the garage door open. I turned to see Detective Tanner enter through the kitchen door. Tommy followed her.

  "Where's James?" Tanner asked, her eyes boring into me.

  I smiled. "He went to get some supplies."

  "And he left you here alone?"

  I spread my hands indicating the emptiness of the areas around me.

  "Where's the witness?"

  "Mary's sleeping," I said. "She had a rough night."

  Tanner opened her mouth to say something, but Tommy spoke instead. "Hey, is there anything to drink here?"

  Tanner cast him an irritated look, then pointed at the refrigerator. "Pop's in the fridge."

  "Thanks."

  Tanner turned back to me.

  "Look," I said before she could speak. "You don't want me interfering in police business, I get that. But vampires aren't police business. The police aren't equipped, physically, psychically, mentally, or in other ways, to handle them. While I occasionally do other things as a private investigator, things necessary to keep the company running, killing vampires is my job. I want to get that job done as quickly as possible so I can get out of your hair and hopefully we'll never see each other again. All right?"

  Her face clouded with fury and I braced myself for the onslaught but then the storm passed and she smiled. "Fair enough, Ms. Herzeg. We take care of the vampires first. The rest can wait."

  "So," I said. "Peace?"

  She nodded, then held up a hand. "Don't think this means we're besties or anything."

  I suppressed a smile. "I wouldn't dream of it."

  "So, vampires are real?" Tommy took a pull from his can of soda. "That is so cool."

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. "That is not 'cool'. They are not romantic figures of the night. They are monsters. You can consider every single one to be a complete psychopath who sees you as nothing but a meal."

  "The correct term is 'antisocial personality disorder'," Tommy said, holding up a finger.

  Before I could respond, Tanner held up a fist. "Tommy, I will deck you."

  "Just sayin'."

  "Antisocial personality disorder. Psychopath." I shrugged. "Whatever you call it, they are monsters, nothing more. If you see one, you kill it, because you can be sure he's going to kill you."

  I did not go into the fact that some of the monsters had learned to fake a semblance of normalcy having decided that it was easier to entice food to come willingly rather than to hunt. With any luck, Tommy would never need to know more than the bare outline.

  When Ware returned with the items from my shopping list I sat in the small living room while he and Tanner leaned over the kitchen table studying a map of the city.

  Tommy had said that if he couldn't get online he was going to catch a nap, so he'd taken one of the bedrooms.

  I started unpacking the bags of Ware's purchases.

  Ware had gone all out, picking up quality fixed blade hunting knives instead of the engraved ones I'd suggested. He'd also included a drill and a selection of fine drill bits. It was going to be a shame to ruin the blades by drilling holes to contain silver solder. The heat from melting the solder would further damage their temper. Nothing to help that.

  I laid the knives out on a small table. A bundle of oak dowels took a space next to them, followed by a large roll of silver solder wire.

  While I worked, I listened to Ware and Tanner talking.

  "This is where the 'party' was," Ware said.

  "You think they're still there?" Tanner asked.

  The next bag was unexpectedly heavy. I opened it. Ammunition. Nine-millimeter, forty, and forty-five. I wondered who was carrying a forty-five. All hollow point and ready for treatment with the silver solder.

  "It's all we've got to go on. If they're not there, we might find something that will lead us to them."

  "So when we going?"

  "Dani has to get us outfitted to fight vampires. Speaking of which..." He raised his voice. "Dani?"

  "Take me a couple hours to—" I waved down at the stuff on the table. "—prepare all this." I looked down. That was all the bags. "Drill? Torch?"

  "I left them in the garage," Ware said. "Figured better to do the messy work in there."

  "Right. So, couple of hours. By then the sun will be close to setting so better to wait until, um, I'd say midmorning, just to be safe."

  "What's the matter, Herzeg?" Tanner's voice carried some bite to it. No, we weren't anything like friends. "Afraid?"

  "One vampire, even two," I said. "When I'm the one hunting? Not a problem. But we've got at least thirteen here. Meet them on their turf, when they're awake and active? Hell, yes, I'm afraid."

  "That just means you're not stupid," Ware cut in before Tanner could reply.

  Tanner came into the living room, a can of soda in her hand and a deep scowl on her face. "Are we going to have another massacre tonight?"

  "I wish I could say with certainty we wouldn't," I said. "I can't imagine enough vampires in the city to put together the level of Push needed for something like those last two so soon. But a few days ago I couldn't imagine as many vampires working together like they have been here."

  "So, sitting and waiting might mean we end up with dozens more dead?"

  "And if we run off into a small army of vampires on their terms, all we manage is adding ourselves to the dead."

  "She's right, Janice." Ware followed Tanner into the living room. "We've got to play it smart."
>
  Tanner rounded on him. "I never expected to see you just sit back while people are being murdered. While. People. Are. Being. Murdered."

  "I know, dammit. I know." Ware shook his head. "But we don't do them any good by getting ourselves killed."

  Tanner stared up at him. "So, what do we do while waiting?"

  "Are you a believer, Detective?" I asked in the silence that followed.

  Tanner's hand rose to touch just under her collar. I presumed she wore some kind of religious symbol under her blouse. "What if I am?"

  "Then I would suggest you pray. Or—" I started scooping up knives. "—you could help me with this."

  The safehouse was intended as a place to hide, no more than that. As a result, it had sleeping and eating accommodations. What it lacked was anything like a workshop. There was a workbench in the garage, probably installed when the house was built, but nothing in the way of tools.

  Ware had anticipated the problem. In addition to the items on my list, he had purchased two C-clamps and a drill with a selection of bits.

  I clamped the first knife to the workbench and fitted a slim bit into the drill. A few minutes later I had a dozen small holes through the blade of the knife, just behind the edge. A few more minutes with a torch and silver solder and I had a dozen small, bright dots that made the knife at least somewhat effective against vampires.

  I repeated the task with each of the other knives.

  By the time I finished that work, it was late and I was ready to head to bed. Tanner showed me to the room that would be mine.

  While I was tired and short of sleep...again...I found sleep eluding me when I lay on the bed. Too wound up, I guessed. I sat up and reached for the bag on the nightstand. I rummaged in it for a moment, then came out with the antique dagger. I drew the dagger and inspected it closely. No rust, not yet anyway, but I would soon need to see about proper storage for it. You didn't want to store a carbon steel blade in a leather sheath. The leather would hold moisture leading to rust.

  I snorted. Vampires were rising to war. People were dying. And here I was worrying about proper care of a dagger.

  I lay back against the headboard and spent a few minutes spinning the knife, the round end of the piece of bone that served as the grip rotating against the palm of my land. The motion soothed me. Before long I relaxed enough that I thought I could sleep. I put the knife back into its sheath and set it on the nightstand next to Ware's CZ. I scooted down to lie flat on the bed.