by E. S. Moore
I ran the name through my memory banks but was coming up blank. If I’d ever heard his name before, he hadn’t been important enough for me to remember. There were just too many vamps to remember them all, though I did know most Counts and Countesses.
But if this guy wasn’t important enough to remember, why would Countess Baset want him dead? I guess he could be an up-and-comer, someone who’d only recently started making a name for himself. He could also have been one of her vamps who split from her House without her permission.
I hated the fact that I didn’t know. I might kill, but I always knew why I was killing. I wasn’t even sure this guy was a real vamp. For all I knew, he was just some kid hopped up on drugs who was calling himself a vampire Count to pick up girls.
I tucked the paper back in my coat pocket and tossed the coat onto a chair. I couldn’t do anything about it now. The sun was just coming up, so there was no way I was going to be able to leave to get information on the guy. I’d have to wait until evening.
And wait I did. The heavy drapes over the windows kept out the light of the sun, leaving my room nearly pitch-black. I could have turned on a light and read, but the darkness suited my mood. I wasn’t feeling nearly as bad as I’d felt before, but I still wasn’t feeling happy-go-lucky. I had a feeling it would be a long time before I reached that point again.
It’s hard to make it through so many hours of sunlight without going crazy. I didn’t even have a TV in my room, which I was starting to think was a mistake. On days like this where I had so much shit flowing through my head, I really could use the distraction.
I did have a few books tucked away that I could read, but that would require turning on the light. While my vampire-enhanced vision was nice, it wasn’t so good at picking out tiny words on a page. Besides, I doubted I would be able to follow along with a book right then. I’d never be able to focus.
I settled on alternating between lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, and pacing. At around noon, I took a long bath, hoping to soak the bad mood away. I closed my eyes and let the hot water soothe my aching muscles and joints. My back was throbbing where I’d been gouged a few months ago. The stitches were gone, but the scars were definitely still there.
When night finally fell, I was so relieved I almost wept. I hurried out of my room and nearly collided into Ethan as he headed for the bathroom across the hall. The clothes he planned on wearing were wrapped in a tight bundle, tucked under his arm. He’d probably snatched them off the floor, not really caring whether they were dirty or clean.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, eyes still heavy with sleep.
“Hey, can you do something for me?” I said, putting as much cheer into my voice as I could. I was going to try to stop grouching at everyone I lived with so their lives were at least bearable when I was around.
“Sure.” His eyes lit up with the prospect of something to do. “What do you have in mind?”
“Could you scrounge up a TV from somewhere and get it hooked up in my room? I’m tired of sitting in the dark with nothing to do every day.”
He gave me an odd look. I’d never been one for watching television. “Of course,” he said. “We don’t have one lying around, but I can send Jeremy out later. I’m sure he can pick one up for you.”
“Thanks.”
Ethan smiled and headed into the bathroom, whistling.
I smiled until the door was closed and then let it drop. I started for the stairs just as Jeremy headed up them. I forced my smile to return and nodded at him.
He stopped, his own smile fading. “What’s going on?”
I hesitated. “What do you mean?”
“You’re acting strange.”
I tried on another smile, not quite sure what he was getting at.
“See,” he said. “You’re smiling.”
I stopped trying. “I’ll be back later tonight,” I said. “Make sure Ethan stays safe.”
Jeremy nodded, his face all seriousness. I frowned at him and he suddenly broke into a huge grin. “That’s more like it.” He continued on up to his room, chuckling.
I went downstairs, shaking my head. This time, the smile I felt cross my face was real.
I silently thanked Jeremy for that little moment as I went down into the basement for my weapons.
Any and all of my pleasant thoughts bled away as I got ready. I just couldn’t be happy when I was going to kill someone for a vampire Countess. This was the sort of thing I’d fought against for years.
I was sulking by the time I had my gear in place and was heading out the door. I still had Jeremy’s keys and decided to make the best of them. There was no sense risking my neck on the slick roads with my Honda, especially since I was already distracted.
While I’d resigned myself to having to make the kill, I still didn’t know where this Count lived.
But I knew where I could go to find out.
Mikael wasn’t all that thrilled to see me again. I don’t think I’d ever visited him this many times in such a short span of time before. And I was sure he wasn’t happy that I was still coming to him after he’d asked me not to.
He patted the girl he was sitting with on the ass and shooed her away as I approached. I gave him my best winning smile. It only seemed to make him that much more irritated.
“I need information on a name,” I said, sitting down across from him. I slapped some money on the table.
He gave me an exasperated look. “We are done,” he said, crossing his arms and sitting back. “I have given you all the information I have on Countess Baset. You must do this on your own.”
“That’s already been taken care of,” I said. “This is something else.”
Mikael’s eyes widened. “You’ve killed Baset?”
“No,” I admitted. “We worked out an agreement.”
His mouth slowly unhinged until he was gaping at me. I think it was the first time I’d ever shocked him into silence. He normally knew everything I knew, and then some. The idea that I’d surprised him made me smile another real smile.
“So, about this other name . . .”
Mikael shook his head as if coming out of a trance. “How did you manage it, my sweet? I cannot believe you have dealt with her and survived, yet I detect no lie.”
“I think I deserve some secrets of my own, don’t you think?”
His eyes narrowed, but he ended up nodding. There was a good chance he’d figure out what was going on anyway. He was good at finding out things.
“Okay,” he said. “Who do you require information on this time, so soon after your latest escapades?”
“Count Strinowski. I know absolutely nothing about him. I need to know what he’s done and where he lives.”
Mikael’s brow furrowed. “You do not know what he has done? Why would you ask after a vampire whose crimes you do not know? How did you come by his name?”
“I have my sources,” I said, jaw going tight. I so didn’t want him to know I was working for Baset. He’d probably figure it out on his own, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him myself.
He studied me for a few seconds before sighing. “He is not a good man. Not many vampires are, no?” He laughed. “He is much more in your skill range than Baset was, though I’d love to know how you overcame her.”
I bristled a bit at that and motioned for him to continue.
Mikael chuckled wryly to himself. “Not even a hint?”
“No,” I said firmly.
He shrugged. “Count Strinowski is only a Count in name, one he has given to himself. He lords over no one but his victims. He is but a step away from rogue, but it is a bad step. He likes torture.”
I groaned. Another one of those. “Okay,” I said. “Do you know why anyone would want him dead?”
Mikael laughed. “Pick a reason. He claims he is the head of a House, yet he has no werewolves or vampires to call his own. He moves around a lot, so no one can really pin him down. He kills wherever he goes. He tortures anyone he can
get his hands on—werewolves, vampires, Purebloods—it does not matter to him.”
I nodded. He might have killed one of Baset’s wolves. She would want revenge for that. It made perfect sense, though I found it hard to believe she couldn’t have taken care of him herself.
“How do I find him?” I asked.
“It is not easy,” Mikael warned. “Like I said, he moves around often, never staying in one place more than a week or so. He is very good at hiding, very chameleon-like. Until the bodies start popping up, he is usually invisible.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. If Mikael didn’t know where to find the Count, then I had no other way of tracking him. I didn’t know what Baset would do if I failed in this.
“Do you know where he is?” I sounded more desperate than I would have liked.
A smile crept across Mikael’s face. “It may be that I’ve come across information hinting at his current location, yes. It is not confirmed, so I could be wrong.”
“But you’re never wrong.” I felt a smile of my own forming.
Mikael shrugged as if that was granted.
“Where?” I asked.
Mikael gave me an address that would take me quite a ways out of the city proper. In fact, it would take me right past a certain road with a certain little road sign leading to a certain little town. My heart gave a hop at the thought of passing by Delai.
I thanked Mikael and rose. He reached out and touched my hand before I could walk away.
“Is everything really better for you in regard to Countess Baset?” He sounded genuinely concerned.
“Better?” I shook my head. “Not really. But she is no longer hunting me or those I associate with. You’re safe.”
He nodded and withdrew his hand.
I turned away to catch Bart watching me. We stared at each other for a few heartbeats before he nodded and looked away.
That simple gesture lifted my spirits a little more. Was I finally getting past all the grudges and anger? First Jeremy, then Mikael, and now Bart. I hoped everything else would fall into place just as easily.
I walked across the room feeling better than I had in a long while. It wasn’t as much of a peaceful feeling as I’d had in Delai, but it was something. Now I just had to finish this kill so I could focus on other matters.
I pushed through the doors of The Bloody Stake, mind churning, and walked right into a pair of Adrian Davis’s wolves.
18
“Not this again,” I groaned. “Don’t you have anything better to do than piss me off?”
These two weren’t identical twins like the last, but it amounted to the same thing. The woman was a tiny thing, her hair pixie-cut short. Heavy purple eye shadow made her eyes nearly gleam. The knot of scar tissue on her forehead was mostly concealed by makeup, but it was still visible.
The guy was big, but not too big. He was totally forgettable as well. I might have passed by him a thousand times and aside from the scar, I never would have paid him a second glance.
“Adrian wants to see you,” the woman said. Her voice was surprisingly deep and I wondered if there was more to her than the obvious.
“So I’ve heard,” I said. I was nervous as hell since we were still in The Bloody Stake parking lot. If they were to attack, there was a good chance Bart would have all our heads. Fighting in Polaris was bad enough. Fighting here was suicidal.
“We aren’t to hurt you.” The woman’s eyes flashed yellow for a split second. “Adrian’s orders expressly prohibit it, even if you are responsible for the deaths of the Garretts.”
“The twins?”
The man growled, so I took that for an affirmative.
“I didn’t kill them.” I kept my hands well away from my weapons in case Bart was watching. “They shouldn’t have come at me in Mephisto’s territory, just like you might not want to start something here. It won’t end well for any of us.”
I felt bad for what happened to the twins, but there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn’t even sure they were both dead. Last I saw of them, one was missing a head, the other unconscious. As far as I knew, Mephisto was keeping the one alive, syphoning information from him.
“We will force you to go if you try to resist us,” the man said. His voice wasn’t much deeper than the woman’s.
I waved a hand dismissively, hoping bravado would make them reconsider confronting me here of all places. “Adrian can wait,” I said. “I’ve got things to do.”
The two wolves looked at each other, frowning. Tension flowed between them, and I knew chances were good I wouldn’t be able to talk my way out of this.
“You must come with us,” the woman said. She appeared agitated. It was obvious she wanted a fight, but she wasn’t stupid. It was unlikely she’d attack me here against Adrian’s orders, but I’d been wrong before.
“It is important you meet with him,” the man added, as if that would change my mind.
They were standing between me and Jeremy’s car, though I doubted they knew the beat-up station wagon was my ride out of there. I would have to go through them both to get to it.
“I really don’t want to have to hurt you,” I said. “I’ll see Adrian when I have time.” I glanced over my shoulder at the bar. So far, it didn’t appear anyone had noticed anything through the window, but it was only a matter of time before someone caught wind of the situation.
Actually, that might not be such a bad thing. If Bart were to step outside now, I was pretty sure the wolves would step down. I just had to hope Bart would keep them busy long enough for me to put distance between us so they couldn’t follow me.
“No,” the male werewolf said. He took a step toward me. “We cannot return without you.”
I sighed and moved my hands to my waist. Maybe if I could just incapacitate them, Bart wouldn’t hold it against me. The silver wouldn’t paralyze them, I knew, but a knife in the gut would slow down even a werewolf.
“If you really thought you were going to be able to bring me in with just the two of you, you were sadly mistaken.” Being nice hadn’t worked, so I was going for intimidation. I was tired of Adrian thinking he could just send his wolves to collect me whenever he wanted.
The woman smiled. “What makes you think it’s just the two of us?”
I turned just as a fully shifted wolf jumped off the roof of the bar. He hit me in the chest and we went down in a tangle of limbs. We rolled a few times and I came out on top. Before he could get a good grip on me with his claws, I leaped off him, hands going to my waist.
Both knives came free and I had one in the air before my coat could settle. It hit the unshifted male wolf in the stomach. He jerked back a few steps and looked down at the blade sticking out of his gut. He reached down, touched the blood running from the wound, and stared at it for a moment before looking up at me.
“You fucking bitch,” he growled. “I’m going to kill you.”
“You can try.”
The female was using a car to shield herself as she moved around to flank me. She kept her head low so I wouldn’t have a target, though I could see her feet beneath the car. I backed up in the hopes of keeping all three wolves in front of me, but when I looked, the shifted wolf was gone.
“Shit,” I said. I tried to spin around, but he was already behind me. Huge, hairy arms encircled me, trapping the arm with the knife at my side. I managed to keep one hand free.
The werewolf with the knife in his gut laughed. He pulled the blade free and his laughter turned to a hoarse scream. He looked down at the blade in disgust and stupidly threw it to the ground.
“Get her in the car,” he said.
I didn’t give the wolf who had me a chance. He wasn’t nearly as strong as Baset’s man. I jerked my arm free and elbowed him in the muzzle. He howled as something broke. His grip loosened and I easily pulled away.
My fangs pushed through as the thrill of the fight coursed through my body. I drew my sword as I spun away from the were’s next lunge. One of his teeth wa
s hanging from his mouth, shattered by my elbow. I kicked him in the back of the knees as he passed and he went down to all fours.
It didn’t slow him. He used his momentum to leap on top of a car, spin, and then leap at me in one fluid motion. It looked as if he’d practiced the move a thousand times before.
An explosion rocked the night just as he leaped. The wolf exploded in a mess of blood and guts that rained down over everyone. The force of the blast sent him spinning sideways and he crashed to the ground in a pulped mess.
I immediately dropped to the ground. There was a growl and another boom echoed in the otherwise silent parking lot.
Blood and brains splattered all around me. I covered my head with my hands, though it wouldn’t do a whole hell of a lot of good if the gun was turned on me next.
There was a long moment of silence. I stayed down, knowing there was a good chance that if I made any sudden moves, I would lose my head just as the two wolves had. I knew fighting here was a bad idea, and I was terrified I would end up paying for it.
“Get off my property,” Bart shouted. I looked up to see he had his gun trained on the female wolf. She was standing a few feet from the car she’d been using for cover. It looked as though she’d been about to come at me from behind when Bart blew her associates apart. “Or you’re next.”
She snarled at him, but when he firmed his grip on his shotgun, she decided it might not be a wise idea to growl at the guy with the gun. She bared her teeth at me before turning and running away, leaving her dead companions behind.
I watched her go and resisted the urge to yell something after her. I had blood on me and knew Bart wasn’t going to let me off the hook, but since he let the female wolf go, I hoped he might do the same for me. I stood slowly and turned around to face him.
He had his gun trained on me, a determined look in his eye. “Tell me why I shouldn’t just shoot you now and be done with you.”
I put away my sword and knife, making sure to make every movement slow and precise. I didn’t what him to think I was planning on doing anything stupid. He was already pissed as it was. Anything I did would only make it worse.