by Judith Post
"The angel's helping his friends. I saw eight generals and the angel's girlfriend. We killed one of them. They killed everyone else."
Gino stared, dumbfounded. "Ten people killed everyone you sent?"
"Eight generals, the angel, and his friend," the vamp corrected him. "The angel can kill thousands of vampires at one time."
"How?"
"The Light." The rogue said it reverently.
"You admire him."
"He's protecting some of my closest friends."
"You're friends of the generals?"
"I've fought alongside Ulrich and Nula. I respect them."
"And now they're your enemies?"
"No, but they're my master's enemies, and I have no choice."
Gino thought about that. "Sort of the mess I'm in right now."
"I understand."
They were silent a minute before Gino said, "So what now? A full scale attack didn't work. What's our next move?"
"I don't know. My master hasn't decided yet, but when he tells me, I'll come to your window again."
Gino nodded, and they both headed back to their temporary homes. The vamp knew, as well as he did, that their bosses could throw them in the flames any minute. The rogue might not have any say in the matter, but he did. Gino wasn't going to wait until Manny got good and pissed and sent him on a suicide mission. If he was going to battle an angel and eight generals, he was going to do it his way. It was time he took matters into his own hands.
Chapter 43
When the phone rang that morning, it was Danny. "Didn't know if you'd want to go to the morgue with me today or not. It's not like we're going to see anything new. And you don't need to touch a dead body to see what's going to happen next."
"Doesn't matter," Enoch said. The day after the battle was quiet, so was last night. He was getting restless. The invasion hadn't worked. The big three would think of something else. "I haven't seen you for a while. It's a good reason to have lunch somewhere if you have time."
"For a free lunch?" Danny laughed. "It's the only thing I have time for these days."
"Good, I'll pick you up."
"I'm out of your way."
"Don't care. I have the whole day to myself."
When Enoch pulled to the curb of the police station with his Jag, Danny let out a low whistle. "Nula's not asleep in the back seat, is she? What did you do? Toss her in one of your hammocks?"
"No, she was a little cramped in this car, and the Land Rover has tinted windows, so we traded. She put the seats down in the Rover and now she has a queen sized bed." Enoch checked for traffic and pulled away once Danny was settled and comfortable.
"So what are you going to do?" Danny asked. Before Enoch could start listing strategies, he added, "Let the Jag sit in your drive?"
Enoch shook his head. Talk about being on the wrong page. His mind was on vampires, and Danny's was on the car. "Why not? It's summer. The sun won't hurt it. Not much ice or snow in July. Which reminds me, your wedding's only a few weeks away."
"Yup! Then Maggie and I will be official. I'll be telling the world that I want to spend the rest of my life with that woman."
Enoch smiled. "You sound more relaxed. Things must be in good shape."
"After I talk you into stopping at the stationary shop to pick up thank you cards, everything's ordered and decided. Now we just have to pull it together on the big day. What kind of food are you fixing for the reception?"
"Voronika called Maggie with the list she has so far. Let's hope it doesn't get any longer."
Danny shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. More leftovers."
Enoch pulled into an open space next to Doc's huge, red Suburban. On their way to the morgue, Enoch said, "Doc's going to love seeing me. Since I came to Three Rivers, he's had a lot more business." When he entered the room with gurneys lining the walls, each with a dead body, Doc turned and raised white eyebrows.
He got straight to the point. "I can't say you didn't warn me. Is there any truth to the newspaper headlines? Did any of these guys peddle drugs in town?"
"The ones from Detroit are using rogue vamps to scare away small street dealers, but the guys from New York are only here to hunt," Enoch said.
Doc shrugged. "Maybe they should shoot deer like everyone else."
"Any questions I can answer for you?"
"How do I explain how so many of them died of a broken neck or a stake through a vital organ?
"Ritual killings?" Danny suggested.
Doc rolled his eyes. "Tell me what happened." When Enoch explained, Doc nodded his head, impressed. "Not bad. That means your vamp friends won't torture their enemies, right? There are some things I won't condone."
Enoch thought of Gunther capturing the first hunter and taking him to Caleb's. He pushed the thought away. "Bart won't allow it. He doesn't believe torture is honorable."
"Bart's a good man. Vamp. Hell, I'm starting to sound like you." Doc motioned to all of the bodies. "All of these men died fast. Your vampires are proving more ethical than some people. I'm glad you told me the score, though, what's really going on, or I'd be getting pretty hot under the collar by now. I'd start to wonder about you two." Enoch's face showed his relief. Doc nodded. "Thanks for filling me in."
"It's only fair."
"And your side?"
"We lost Gunther."
"Only one?" Doc stared. "Your team killed all of these, and you just had one casualty?"
"Bart and his generals fight rogue vampires all the time. It's what they do. Mortals are even easier to dispose of."
"It sounds like their job isn't any better than yours."
"It's not."
Doc waved his hand, dismissing them. "I'm sorry about your loss. I really am, but it's time you get out of here. Go eat lunch or something and let me get back to work. I can't save the world, but I have lots of toes to tag." When they turned to leave, Doc said, "Wait. One more question. If you don't want to answer it, I'll understand, but you've hinted it will be a bad day for humans if the other side wins. Can you spell out what that really means?"
"The best scenario would be if the rogue vamps back the crime bosses and let them rule whatever cities they want."
"That's the good scenario?" Danny asked.
"And the worst scenario?" Doc pressed.
"The vamps drain the crime bosses and do whatever they please."
Doc cringed. "All righty then. I'll bag and tag as many bodies as you send my way and be happy about it."
On their way to the Jag, Danny said, "He's a good guy to work with, isn't he?"
"The best. Do you think he feels that way about us?"
Danny grew serious. "Hell yes. If you weren't taking a stand here, the generals would all be dead by now. Then what? Would your angel friend defend mankind?"
"Good question." Enoch would like to think that Caleb would have stepped in before he lost Bart and the others, but Caleb had a way of ducking responsibility, and it was more than likely that he'd have waited too long. Then what would he do?
Danny answered his own question. "I'd rather count on you than your golden buddy, thanks anyway. I’m guessing Doc feels the same way."
They were quiet while Enoch drove to the party store to pick up Danny's thank you cards, then they headed downtown to Coney Island. The smell of chili sauce hit them the minute they opened the door. Enoch inhaled deeply. Heaven. Beef Wellington or blackened salmon couldn't compete with a good hot dog on the right day.
Sitting on stools at the counter, Danny took a sip of his Coke, then said, "Forgot to tell you. Kandice broke up with Gino."
Enoch scowled. "It might be too late for that."
"Why? He's kept his hands clean, hasn't he?" Danny asked. "He's hip deep in muck and comes out smelling like a rose."
"He's starting to sweat." Enoch finished his hot dogs and pushed his plate away. He glanced at Danny's plate. As usual, his friend had finished before him. "He was sent here to do a job, and he's not getting it done."
&nb
sp; The sun beat down on the cement sidewalk, and Enoch cranked up the car's air conditioning. When they passed the turn for Gino's hotel, Danny smiled. "Bet he's fuming about now."
"He'll make his move soon," Enoch said. "He's running out of time."
Danny sighed as they pulled in front of the station. "Back to the love of my life."
"Your job or Derek?"
"The kid is pretty fetching, but I meant my job." Danny got out of the car and gave Enoch a quick nod before heading to the building.
Enoch started for home, and his mind, once again, turned to Gino. When you corner a rat, it turns and fights. Enoch went to the house and locked the grids and doors behind him. And then he waited for Gino. He was sure he'd come, one way or another. And he'd be dangerous.
Chapter 44
Gino weighed his options. He couldn't force his way into the psychic's fortress, and he couldn't think of anyway to sneak inside. So that left blackmail. A trade. Tit for tat. Maybe Manny's idea had been the best, after all. He drove to Kandice's apartment building and waited for her to walk to her car. Someone had warned her off him in a way she took seriously. She hadn't returned his calls. "Let's take a ride."
"What…."
Gino cut her off. "No noise. No talking, this is business, and you'll do as you're told."
"Or what?"
"Just shut up and get in the car." Gino motioned to his silver Audi. If someone was going down, it wasn’t going to be him.
Kandice turned to walk away from him, and he pressed a gun to her side. "Let's keep this as civil as possible, okay?"
Twenty minutes later, Gino pulled into Enoch's drive. The Jag was there, so he was home. Gino knew the psychic would recognize his Audi, so he parked in easy view of the kitchen windows and waited until Enoch stepped out of the house. Then he backed out of the car with the gun in his hand. He kept it aimed at the passenger side and motioned for Kandice to step out too. When she did, Gino nuzzled the gun against her ribs. "It's time we talk," Gino told Enoch. "Don't do anything stupid or our little, lovey girl will get hurt."
Enoch glanced at Kandice. "Are you okay?"
When she nodded, Gino said, "Let's keep it that way. I want you to unlock everything and let me in your house." Still fixing the gun on her, Gino reached into the backseat of the Audi and tugged at a bag of stakes and a crossbow.
If Enoch was upset or nervous, it didn't show. "Have it your way." He opened the kitchen door and slid the key into the metal grid. Then he stood back to let Gino enter.
Something wasn't right. The guy was too calm, too self-assured. Gino glanced inside. No noise. There didn't seem to be any alarm. But no one stayed this cool when he was worried. He waved the gun again, this time at Enoch. Dumb move. Bullets didn’t hurt the bastard. He pressed it back against Kandice. "Step away and throw me your keys."
Without a word, Enoch did as he was told.
"Stay back." Still no fidgets or nervous glances. But the guy was an angel, right? He wouldn't listen to Gino at all if the kid weren't in trouble. Still… It never hurt to have a little extra security. He pressed the gun between Kandice's shoulder blades.
"You've got what you want," Enoch said. "Leave her out of it."
Finally. So Mr. Cool could sweat. Gino walked Kandice inside with him, then slammed the kitchen door and pulled down the grid, locking both. He glanced out the kitchen window, expecting to see Enoch pounding on the door, trying to break it down. Icy fingers of fear slithered down his spine when the psychic sank onto a lawn chair and raised his face to the sun, completely relaxed. Holy shit. What the hell was inside the house with him? Sleeping vamps, right? Easy to stake. So why was the psychic not worried at all?
Gino glanced over his shoulder, made a slow turn, looking anywhere and everywhere—the ceilings, corners. Where would a vampire hide? He pushed Kandice toward the basement door. Vamps were probably hanging from the rafters, ready to drop and fight. "You first," he told her. "And don't make any fast moves."
Together, they looked in both rooms and in a small room under the front porch. Nothing. They were peering inside a chest freezer when a floorboard squeaked overhead. Confident bastards. They didn't even go to the bother of floating like his friend did so that he wouldn't hear them.
He pulled Kandice close to him, like a shield, and climbed the stairs. Shoot for the head, he reminded himself. Stakes to the heart. Bullets to the head.
He pushed the door all the way open so that no one could hide behind it, then looked around. No one. The kid's legs were moving like lead. She must have heard the noise too. Her face was pale, her lips tinged with blue. Gino had been in tight spots before. Never panic, he told himself. Keep your wits about you.
He moved into the center of the kitchen and looked through the archways to the rooms beyond—a living room in the front of the house, a dining room to the side. He'd make a circle. When he stepped through the arch, a hand whipped out and crushed his arm in a vise like grip. Fingers squeezed until he dropped the gun. Then Enoch ripped Kandice away from him.
Gino could feel his face redden with anger. "I have your keys! How did you get in here?”
"I have friends." Enoch motioned for Kandice to pick up the nine millimeter. Then he wrested the crossbow out of Gino's hands. "Good luck."
Panic tumulted in Gino's stomach. Bile rose in his throat. "You can't leave me here."
Enoch nodded for Kandice to go to the kitchen. "You wanted a tour of my house. You've got one."
"No! You can't do this!"
Enoch gave him a shove. It knocked Gino backward. He fell, then scrambled to his feet. He had to get out of here, but by the time he reached the kitchen door, Enoch had pulled and locked the grid.
"You can't do this!" Gino screamed.
"Yes, I can." Enoch slammed the kitchen door and locked that too.
He heard Kandice ask, "You're just going to leave him in there?"
"Yup."
"Won't he come after me again?"
"We won't have to worry about him anymore."
There was something about the way he said it. Gino looked around the kitchen and picked up two, serious looking, butcher knives, but he knew it was pointless. Then he headed upstairs. A male and a female vampire were waiting for him outside their bedroom door.
"Just for the record," he told them, "I never wanted anything to do with you guys. Manny made me come here."
"It's your job," the male said. “And for what it's worth, we'll make your death quick and painless."
Gino’s pulse quickened. He didn’t want to die. Not like this. “I could join you. I’m trained. I have skills.”
“But no principles. You’re brave enough, but not worthy.”
It could be worse, Gino decided. When Tito disappeared and they finally found him, it almost made Gino sick. It had taken his friend a long time to die.
Gino faced the man and lowered his knives. "Just do it." Strong fingers grabbed his head and shoulders, and there was a loud snap.
Chapter 45
Enoch waited until his friends returned to their bed before he called Danny and explained what had happened. "Where should I drop Gino's body?"
"You don't do anything. The techs found your fingerprints on the guys you tossed against your shed."
"And?"
"They matched them to an Edward Smythers who disappeared from Pennsylvania in 1912. They're having problems with that since they assume this Edward must be dead by now. He was in his thirties when he left town."
"In lots of ways, he is dead," Enoch said.
"Exactly, so let's leave him that way. But why Edward? That name doesn't suit you."
"I needed an identity that fit the times. I was living with Grace then."
"You loved her as much as I love Maggie, didn't you?"
"I loved her enough to stay in one place for forty-two years until she died. I only left for short trips when I had to."
"And no one noticed you didn't age?"
"That's why I had to leave Philadelphia once
she was gone. People start asking questions when they get gray hair and wrinkles and you don't."
"Will you tell me about it someday?"
"Nothing to tell. I met her when she was in her late twenties, married her, and stayed with her until she died in her sleep. Every minute with her was pure joy."
Danny was silent a moment. "So you swore off women and romance. They die. You don't."
"It hurts too much."
"Being you sort of sucks, you know that?"
"It's crossed my mind."
"But now you have Voronika. She'll never age. If…" He stopped abruptly.
"…I can keep her from getting staked," Enoch finished for him.
Danny cleared his throat. "Sorry. Thinking out loud." He paused. "Back to business, though, and Gino's body. I say you have Bart and Claudia drop him at the back door of a funeral home and leave him there."
"Works for me." Enoch liked the irony of it. "The big three will send more vamps now, older and stronger. It would be better if we don't see each other for a while."
"No free lunches?"
"Unless you want to be used as bait again."
"I need to lose a few pounds anyway. Good luck, Enoch."
"Thanks. We'll need it." Enoch spent the next few hours meditating. Inner peace was getting harder to come by.
Chapter 46
Enoch called everyone to the kitchen table that night.
"What if I send messages to the big three?" he asked. "This war won't benefit them. The balance is going to be upset, and it'll take years to restore any kind of order."
Keb shrugged. "You can try, but every vampire in the world knows they've gone against Caleb…and they're losing. Their reputations are at stake."
"Okon, Yerik, and Ragnar's egos are as big as their life spans," Bart said. "If they don't at least put on a good show, cause some kind of serious casualties, then Caleb won't even listen to their fussing and threats. They'll lose ground, and they won't like it."
Enoch looked outside at the clear, night sky. The windows were open to let in fresh air, and he could hear frogs croaking from the ditch across the street. "If we can't reason with them, we'll have to fight them." He'd wanted to avoid that. At first, all he was concerned about was keeping the generals safe. Then, he thought if they won a few small battles and the big three saw how much their rebellion was going to cost them, they'd find some way to save face and quit. But that hadn't worked either.