by Megan Hawke
And then the rest of them were upon us.
Gabe went a little berserk. He tossed them left and right, not really doing much good. Heidi tore the leg off of a chair, and was using it to smash zombie heads to mush. Even for a super fast vampire it took time to smash a head to mush, and she was constantly moving to keep from getting caught.
Using my kukri, I disemboweled a zombie, then decapitated another. Another grabbed my left arm, and without thinking I thrust the kukri through his head and kicked him away. My knife went with him.
The witches all joined hands and started casting a spell. A wave of cold swept through the room, and I heard the kitchen staff racing for the back door. That couldn’t be a good sign. I found myself surrounded by eight zombies.
I cried out when the disemboweled one jumped me from behind and sank his teeth into my shoulder. I tried to pull him off, but two more rushed me. They started pounding me with their fists, no skill at all. Just flailing fists. So I thrust out my wings, which went straight through the zombie on my back, ripping him off.
Spinning, my wings extended, I knocked all the zombies down around me. That gave me all of a three second respite. Then the zombie with my kukri in his head charged me. I flipped him over my hip, seized his collar and pulled him to his feet. Then I lifted him overhead, and threw him at the witches.
"Bull's eye!" I took out three witches, including Momma Zuza. They got right back up and resumed their spellcasting.
I tried to charge the witches, but a zombie tackled me around the knees. Down I went. He wouldn't let go, and more zombies were bearing down on me. If enough of them got their hands on me they might be able to take me out. Then I noticed one had a stake. Panicking just a tad, I ripped off the head of the zombie holding my knees, and crushed it between my hands.
The zombie went limp and I scrambled to my feet.
"Halt! Police!" Detective Grinstead shouted from near the front door.
His gun was out and pointed at me. I couldn't believe they were already back. Cops always show up at the worst possible time.
"Well fuck me to tears," I muttered.
"Your language has deteriorated considerably since your death," Heidi said.
Detective Parker came in from the kitchen, gun drawn. Of course, she was aiming at me, too. Everyone wants to shoot me.
I threw the headless, disemboweled body at Parker. As she dodged aside, I charged the witches amid Grinstead's really bad shooting. He missed with five shots, and then I plowed into the witches. Three of them jumped forward to protect Momma Zuza. One of those was the witch that held me captive to drain my blood. I pounded a fist into her belly, that lifted her up and over behind me.
"Bet that hurt."
"Jesus!" I cried when Momma Zuza held up a cross.
Just inches from my face. I averted my eyes, but not before the sight of that holy symbol burned its image in my vision. As I reeled away, I noticed another witch pulling a gun from her robes. An Uzi. I lashed out with a backhand, sending her stumbling way with a cry.
"Don't move!" Grinstead cried, his pistol in my face.
"You should know better," I said. My right hand came up and around, grabbed his gun wrist and pushed it aside as he pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed my right cheek and ear. "You came in way too close and we both know no bullet is going to stop me."
"Oh, shit," he cried as I twisted his arm behind his back.
"Don't shoot!" Parker cried.
I looked up and saw the Uzi wielding witch aim at us. She looked pissed, blood streaming from her nose, and turban all askew and half unraveled. Grinstead was between us, held tight by me. I spun around as her dark eyes narrowed, and she pulled the trigger.
Half a dozen bullets ripped into my back. Silver bullets. Oh, they were blessed, too. Very painful. I pushed Grinstead away and dropped to my knees.
Gabe roared. I didn't know a werewolf could do that. Such a deep manly roar, too. Grinstead was just staring at me open-mouthed as Parker ran towards me, a pair of handcuffs in hand. I just knew they were enchanted.
"Get out!" I cried, and scrambled to my feet. I charged Parker.
She dropped the cuffs and raised her pistol. Ducking, and cutting left, I plowed into her and shoved her to the right. I would've just surged out, but I couldn't at that time. But Parker was faster than anticipated, and grabbed my right arm. Before I realize what happened, she twisted that arm behind my back and pressed a wooden stiletto over my heart.
"Freeze!"
The stiletto was a foot long, sharp-pointed, and very narrow dagger, only made of wood instead of steel. The wood was bare, sanded but not lacquered or otherwise stained. You needed bare wood to stake a vampire. Detective Parker knew what she was about.
I froze. "Help!"
My cry for help had an unusual effect. I felt Gabe and Heidi react. Of course. But I also felt Dane, Desiree, and Kale react, feeling my fear. And surprisingly, I felt five other people react. Momma Zuza's vampires. I felt them react, and head my way.
"Surrender or Sable dies!" Parker cried.
"Don't!" I said. "Are you mad? If they stop fighting the zombies will butcher them. Tell Momma Zuza to call off her zombies first."
"No! It's a trick. Don't believe anything that lying vampire says!" Momma Zuza said.
"Call off your zombies," Grinstead said.
I said, "She's trying to murder us. We know the truth about her."
Momma Zuza narrowed her eyes, but the witches behind her looked startled. I smiled at them, which caused some consternation. Then the vampires charged through the front door.
"What?" Momma Zuza said. "How? Stop!"
The five vamps stopped and looked at her. Oh yeah, show everyone your power over them. Show the cops how you control them. I saw by the look on her face she knew she'd made a mistake.
"Nice trick, Zuza. I wish I could command them like that," I said.
"It's my magic that stopped them," she said. Quick witted. "I don't control them. What lies are you trying to spread, Black Heart?"
"Then why can't you stop me? Or control me or Heidi?"
The vampires attacked. They attacked zombies, Gabe, and one of the witches. I felt Parker's hold on me waver, loosen just a bit.
"Run!" I smashed Parker's stiletto-wielding hand aside, elbowed her in the ribs, and twisted free. The witch was already to the front door, with her witches in tow. Zombies followed, defending. "Get out now!"
Heidi surged out the back, through the kitchen. I ran for the kitchen door. Gabe paused long enough to break a zombie's back over his knee, then slowly backed out through the kitchen door. I made sure he was out before I followed, overturning tables and pulling appliances down behind me. Heidi had already gotten her SUV, and was racing towards us.
Cops were shooting at her, ripping her SUV up pretty bad, as she weaved between them to reach us. I pushed Gabe towards the SUV.
"Go with Heidi. I'll meet you at the house that we met in after the raid."
I couldn't say more than that, since Parker's hearing was as good as mine.
Someone was coming after us. They were crashing through the kitchen. I heard Parker curse and had to smile. Running as fast as I could, I headed for my motorcycle. Parker was fast on my heels, with Grinstead a little behind her and falling back. I yanked the Ninja out of the shrubs and started her just before Parker reached me.
"See ya!" I cried, and took off.
I laughed at her cry of frustration. I turned onto Greenville and headed south, pulling all the converging cop cars after me. Then it was time to lead them a merry chase again, away from Heidi and Gabe. We went west, over Central Expressway, through the Park Cities, and into Uptown before I lost them.
Heidi and Gabe were waiting inside the house when I arrived.
"Why did you want to come here?" Heidi said.
"Just in case one of us was followed." I stopped for liquid refreshments before going to the house. I tossed Gabe a beer and Heidi a plastic bag of blood. I drank my blood at the sto
re, so I opened the bag of M&Ms I also bought.
"No beer for me?" Heidi said.
"I can't afford to let you get drunk." One beer was enough to get either Heidi or me drunk. Vampires were highly susceptible to intoxicants. "So, do y'all think the cops noticed that Momma Zuza was controlling the vampires?"
"I didn't until you pointed it out," Gabe said. He popped his beer open and took a big swallow. "But they're not dumb. They saw the same thing we did."
"Ah, but can they get past their convictions that I am guilty, and that I am controlling the vampires," I said. Pausing, I grimaced as I considered how quickly and eagerly the cops chose to believe I was guilty. "People have a hard time letting go of prejudices. I'm a vampire, and I still haven't gotten over all of my prejudices towards vampires."
"Maybe they have prejudices against witches," Heidi said. "I've recently developed an attitude towards them."
We laughed. "You and me both." I stewed in my own dark thoughts while chomping M&Ms. "I called them."
"Called who?" Gabe said.
"You did?" Heidi said. "Then you're still linked?"
"I don't know. When I called for help, I did it at a deep psychic level I didn't know I could tap," I said. I shrugged. "I panicked. I'm not ashamed. Much. I thought I was about to die. But when I…sent that cry for help out, I felt both of you react, and our jailed friends, too. And I felt Momma Zuza's vampires react, and knew they were coming. But she reasserted control the moment they arrived."
"Could you call them again?" Gabe said.
I looked at them, pursed my lips. "Maybe."
"How can we use that?"
"I have an idea. But I need some answers first." I tossed a few more M&Ms into my mouth. "I need to speak with a witch, and I only know one honest witch."
"Who?" Heidi said.
"Detective Billy Grinstead."
Chapter 16
Before we could do anything else, I had to get all those silver bullets out of my back. We went into the bathroom, and I stripped and knelt in the tub. Working together, with my direction, Gabe and Heidi started cutting me open and fishing out the silver bullets. I could perform self-surgery faster, since I could feel exactly where the bullets were inside my body. But the bullets were all in my back, a location I couldn't reach.
It hurt like all hell, but they got the job done. Then I rinsed off and cleaned up the tub. My tank top, that I borrowed from Heidi, was a bloody ruin. But I had nothing else to wear.
"I lost my Gurkha knife."
"Of course you did," Gabe said. He grinned. "But I like where you lost it. Right between the eyes. Ouch."
"Yeah, if he was still alive that would've hurt," I said.
"Y'all are sick," Heidi said. She looked herself over. "All this fighting is ruining my clothes, and my manicure."
Gabe was the only one with intact clothes. Maybe it wasn't so bad to have to undress to morph before a fight, and thus preserving your clothes.
"You guys can get naked before each fight, too," Gabe said. "I won't say anything."
"You dream in Technicolor, boy," I said. I walked around the living room, looking all around, studying the layout, ceilings, walls. "How fast could you wire this room with audio and video?"
He shrugged. "Couple hours. But everything's closed. I wouldn't be able to buy anything I need until late tomorrow morning."
It was going to be close. If it worked at all. There was less than twenty-four hours before I had to turn myself over to Jeric. There was only a four or five hour window of opportunity Sunday evening. I was toast if anything went wrong.
I gave Gabe the bank card. "Get what you need. I want everything linked to a website, too."
"A website?"
"Whatever it takes to allow lots of people to log in and watch everything that goes down in here," I said. "I want a webcam site. Can you set it all up before tomorrow evening at sunset?"
"Oh man. That's a tall order," Gabe said, looking round. "I'll try."
"Do it. We have no leeway," I said. "And buy more weapons. Swords, stakes, and javelins scattered around the house might be a good idea. Weapons ready at hand."
"What are you planning?" Heidi said. She looked worried, and with good reason.
I graced her with a roguish grin. "Mischief and mayhem, baby."
After rearming, I headed for the door. "Y'all do what you need to do. I'll meet you back at the loft before sunrise."
"Where are you going?" Heidi asked.
"To talk to the police," I said, and grinned at their shocked expressions.
Flying would've been faster, but I wanted the motorcycle. So I rode it over to Baylor University Medical Center. It was just a few blocks from Deep Ellum and provided a parking lot where my bike wouldn't stand out. I left it next to two other motorcycles and flew off to Deep Ellum.
I circled above, watching and waiting. The streets were eerily empty for a Saturday night. Maybe half the usual crowd. The threat of a werewolf reprisal had to be the cause. I was cut off from my usual sources of information, but it seemed logical. The wolves had already attacked Deep Ellum once. It was the most obvious target.
Sergeant Longhouse's car was parked in its usual spot. I spotted the car Parker and Grinstead drove next to it. The station's parking lot was only big enough to hold their squad cars, both marked and unmarked. There was another parking lot for their personal cars, just half a block away and around the corner.
The Paranormal Investigative Team worked the graveyard shift. Which meant they didn't get off work until the wee hours of the morning. I was patient. My options were limited, and my need was great. But around five in the morning my patience paid off. Parker and Grinstead came out and headed for the parking lot for civilian cars. I smiled and swooped down.
They'd both changed clothes since the fight inside Primary Urges. I guess blood and guts on their clothes bothered them. Grinstead was wearing a brown suit and white shirt, no tie. Parker wore dark gray pants, white button down shirt and red leather jacket.
Between the substation and the parking lot was a vacant lot. I dropped down, pulled in my wings and drew one pistol. Parker's and Grinstead's low voices and footsteps came to me. Their heartbeats were normal, so they didn't know I was there. Perfect. Holding the pistol close to me, under my boobs, I willed myself down and sank straight down into the earth.
Down in Mother Earth I couldn't hear or sense them as well as normal, but I concentrated and managed to follow their progress. They drew closer and closer. Nobody was going to like what I planned. They left me no other choice. So when the two cops were abreast with me, I willed myself up and popped out of the earth next to them.
"Halt. Don't move a muscle," I growled, eyes narrowed at their startled faces. "Silver bullets kill both witches and werewolves." I smiled grimly. "I don't miss."
"You're making a big mistake, Sable. Assaulting police officers is a felony," Detective Parker said.
They raised their hands as I stepped closer. I felt their hearts racing. They reeked of fear, which was very exciting to a vampire. It made my mouth water.
"I have a death sentence hanging over my head right now. If you catch me, I will be summarily executed." That made them a little uncomfortable. A little more worried. "No trial. No lawyer. No rights. Just dead." I smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. "What a great way to repay all my pain and suffering helping the police rid themselves of pesky rogue vampires."
"You're a rogue vampire now, Sable," Grinstead said. "Attacking us proves it."
"This proves nothing. Didn't you see who was controlling the new vampires at Primary Urges?"
"I saw you call them, and they came," Parker said.
"What? You can't see me call a damned thing," I said. "You're a werewolf. Don't be dense."
Parker's eyes narrowed. She tensed up. Only my gun kept her from morphing into a wolf. Even a quick-tempered wolf understood that pointblank was too close to play with. It was early Sunday morning, and Monday was the full moon. That had to be messing with
her head big time. Werewolves weren't slaves to the full moon, but it made them antsy and impetuous.
"I heard you cry out for help. It had a profound effect on Gabe and Heidi. I'm sure it had a profound effect on all members of your vampire family, including the five vampires you created this last week." She looked so proud of herself. "Moments later they charged in, ready for battle."
"And when they charged in, what happened?"
"Momma Zuza saved us all by stopping them," Grinstead said. "Her magic is powerful."
Disgusting. He was impressed with her and her command of magic. I thought cops questioned everything and everyone's motives. Could she have hexed them all?
"Powerful enough to stop ravening vampires?"
"Yes."
Parker nodded agreement. They were convinced I was guilty, and Momma Zuza hung the moon and stars just for them.
I stepped up closer to Grinstead. That discombobulated the boy. I licked my lips, watching his eyes lock onto my mouth. Then I smiled.
"You really believe that?"
"Absolutely."
"Why can't Momma Zuza stop me? Or Heidi?" Neither said a word. Confusion clouded their faces a long second. "Momma Zuza can only control the vampires that she created with stolen vampire blood. She controlled the previous group of murderous vampires, and she controls this group."
I think they waffled for a whole second. Then both frowned and looked determined. Their level of fear dropped.
"It's not going to work, Sable," Grinstead said. "Momma Zuza warned us you'd try to convince us you were innocent, and she was guilty. We're not going to fall for your vampire mind tricks."
I stepped back and just blinked at them a long moment. "What vampire mind tricks? No one told me I could perform mind tricks. I could mesmerize you, Grinstead, but not Parker. She's alpha, and way too powerful to succumb to a vampire's gaze."
"Damn right," Parker said.
"You're both idiots," I said. I was too pissed at their gullibility to be anything but rude. Worse, I was the same way not so long ago. Anything negative you said about any vampire was the gospel truth to me. Questioning it was not an option. I looked at Grinstead. "And to think I saved your life and took six blessed bullets for you tonight, when that witch was going to kill you to get to me."