“Wouldn’t it be obvious if he was?” Kira asked, frowning.
“No,” Mencheres replied. “When a vampire is killed, the body decomposes back to its true age. Josephus was several hundred years old. There would have been little left of him except withered skin and bones.”
Not a pretty mental image, but dead bodies seldom were. Kira still didn’t understand the significance of the knife wound as being suspicious, unless the other Enforcers revealed that Mencheres left all their knives back at the park. Though Josephus could have grabbed his own blade before he chased them and later been killed with that . . .
“There you have it,” Vlad said, sounding satisfied. “Vampire or ghoul, Mencheres doesn’t use knives to kill. He simply tears someone’s head off with his power. Radje would’ve needed a knife against an Enforcer, and the element of surprise, too. Explains why Josephus’s wound was in the back. Poor bastard probably never saw it coming.”
A flash of that day at the warehouse skittered across Kira’s memory, and she grimaced. Mencheres had decapitated all of the ghouls with a mere thought, faster than it would have taken for him to gather up one of their knives. Why would Mencheres ever use knives when his telekinesis was a far faster and deadlier weapon?
“Radje must have taken Josephus’s head off after he was dead to make it appear as if I’d done it,” Mencheres mused. “Clever. He must not have thought anyone would look for a knife wound, or that evidence of one would remain. With an Enforcer’s death blamed on me, most of my allies would fall away. He already knows I sought death before. This would leave me in a far more desperate position to give him what he wants first.”
“What does he want, aside from your being dead?” Kira grumbled.
“My power. Cain was the father of our race, cursed by his god forever to roam the land as a fugitive in punishment for murdering Abel. But Cain pleaded that his sentence was too great, and his god took pity, marking Cain so none could kill him. Cain thus became the first vampire, dependent on blood for sustenance but beyond mortal death and possessing incredible power. Cain then made his own race to replace the family he’d been driven away from, but to only one of his offspring did he will out a portion of his incredible power. Enoch was that first recipient, and many centuries later, Enoch passed on Cain’s legacy of power to his heir, Tenoch, who then passed it to me.”
Veritas’s blond brows rose. “How could Radjedef get that from you now? You gave that power legacy to Bones when you merged lines with him.”
“So I did, and Bones cannot will the power to anyone else until he masters it completely. It took me several hundred years to do that. Radje has no intention of waiting that long. He wants me to will out all the power left in me. It’s the only way he can be assured of finally possessing Cain’s legacy.”
“But if you will out all your power . . .” Kira’s voice trailed off.
He gave a grim snort. “It will likely kill me. Or Radje will, once I’m weakened after giving it to him. If I live after willing him my power, I am the evidence of duplicity. If I’m dead, Radje could cloak his new additional power, and few would ever know he has it.”
Veritas’s face was very solemn. “You expect the Guardian Council to believe your charges against another Guardian of conspiracy, murder, exposing the race, and blackmail. All based on conjecture when your own adherence to our laws has been spotty at best.”
“Spotty? He’s done nothing wrong,” Kira said in frustration.
“Rumors abound that Mencheres conjured wraiths to find and kill his wife. Black magic is expressly forbidden in the law, but of course, all those who witnessed Patra’s death and the deaths of her guards are loyal to Mencheres and will not confirm this.”
She gave a sharp look at Vlad as she spoke. He winked at her, his mouth curving in a sly smile.
“Did those same rumors mention how Patra summoned an army from the grave to ambush me and my people?” Mencheres countered.
“She sent zombies after you?” Kira asked, incredulous.
“Yes,” Mencheres replied shortly. “And anything from the grave cannot be killed by normal means. Even my telekinesis was useless against them, for grave magic is not subject to the powers of the living, as Patra knew.”
“You could have filed a formal complaint—” Veritas began.
“Which would have taken weeks to investigate,” Mencheres interrupted. “Leaving me and most of my people dead by then because Patra would have conjured another form of grave magic to finish us after that one failed. It was only a lucky guess that saved us that time, but it was already too late for the dozens who had been cut down.”
The Law Guardian’s jaw was still set in a hard line. Kira could almost feel the tension between the three of them, and their infighting would only help Radje.
“I understand your reverence for the law, Veritas,” Kira said. “You’re a good cop. But if, hypothetically, Mencheres did conjure that spell against his wife, then he knows a surefire way to kill Radje. He also knows no one’s willing to testify against him, either out of loyalty or fear. Yet Mencheres refuses to use this unbeatable power against someone who’s pulling out all the stops to bring him down.”
Kira leaned closer, and her voice dropped. “If he did use that power before, it only was in self-defense, and almost every law allows latitude for self-defense. He’s not using it now even though it would be the fastest way to win, so isn’t he then proving his utmost respect for the law?”
Veritas stared at each of them for a long time, her blue eyes far more ancient than her teenage appearance. Kira remained absolutely still. Praying the Law Guardian would see past Radje’s house of cards.
“I may be inclined to believe you, but the rest of the Guardian Council will require proof, not conjecture, no matter how compelling,” Veritas said at last.
And in the time it took them to gather that proof, Radje would be busy setting up more frame jobs for Mencheres, killing who knew how many more innocent people. Kira’s teeth ground together. She’d helped catch a crooked cop once with Pete. Maybe she could do it again with Radje.
“I know a way to bust Radje,” she said. Three gazes swung in her direction. “But we’ll have to go back to Chicago to settle some business first.”
Chapter 29
Kira rode the Chicago Transit Green Line as if it were her first time. This was such a familiar route to her along the Loop, but now, everything about it was different. The multitudes of scents were overpowering, even more dominating than the roar of the transit car as it bulleted along the tracks. Aside from the harsher aromas of alcohol, urine, body odor, perfumes, and bad breath, the scents lingering on the car were also like fingerprints of emotions.
Of course, she could also smell traces of blood, either dotting the transit car or lingering on some of the people who entered and exited on their way to their next location. She’d recently fed again, so that scent didn’t arouse hunger in her as much as acknowledgment. Blood was a part of her life now, no more a choice than her deciding not to breathe when she’d been human. In some ways, Kira couldn’t believe how short a time had passed since she’d first woken up as a vampire. It felt far longer, much like the time since she’d first met Mencheres. Calendars, dates, and clocks were just not an accurate way to measure some things.
The voice announced that the Clinton Street stop was next. Kira shouldered her purse and stood, not needing to hold on to the back of the chair or the pole for balance. When the car stopped, she got off, headed now for the familiar streets that led to Tina’s apartment.
So many times before, Kira had walked this part of West Loop after dark with her attention focused on any alleys opening up to her side, or extended patches of darkness where streetlights didn’t penetrate. Or for the sound of footsteps following her too closely. Now she strode down the streets without looking anywhere but straight ahead, her steps brisk and confident. No patches of darkness, weapons, alleys, or lurking strangers could do her harm anymore. Everyone along these street
s had heartbeats, making them vulnerable to her, not the other way around, should they choose to cross her path with malicious intent.
She made it to Tina’s building just a little faster than she would have under normal circumstances. Couldn’t attract unwanted attention by streaking up the streets with supernatural speed, after all. She used her key to get inside, then chose the stairs instead of the elevators to avoid any of Tina’s neighbors who might happen to recognize her if she rode up with them. Kira already knew her identity had been leaked to news stations in the past several days. The last she called Tina, her sister had hung up without speaking. She didn’t think Tina was angry with her. She assumed Tina’s phone line was monitored, which meant her cell probably was, too. Kira didn’t bother calling her brother; he almost never had a working number.
The stairwell was empty, allowing Kira to move at what was fast becoming a more natural speed to her. She reached the fourteenth level in mere minutes, brushing her hair behind her ear reflexively before entering the floor. Once outside Tina’s apartment, however, she paused.
Two heartbeats were inside, not one. Kira inhaled near the door, but she couldn’t distinguish anything overly helpful. She’d never caught her sister’s scent as a vampire though the heavier citrus fragrance around the entrance probably belonged to Tina. Who was in there with her sister? And would whoever it was present a problem?
She couldn’t afford to walk away now. She’d risked too much to come here. Kira knocked, again smoothing her hair to the side as she waited. First she heard footsteps, a heartbeat right on the other side of the door, and then a gasp before the door opened.
Tina stood on the other side, still blond and petite like always, but with a healthier glow to her complexion than the last time she’d seen her. Kira smiled. Mencheres’s blood had brought her little sister back, and she now had the treatments for Tina’s disease running all through her veins.
“Hey,” Kira said. “Can I come in?”
Tina’s blue eyes were wide, and her scent—yes, it was that citrus blend Kira had caught a whiff of outside the door, like oranges and cloves—soured ever so slightly even as her pulse sped up.
“Is everything okay?” Kira asked, tensing. Was a cop in the apartment with Tina? Good Lord, had they sent someone over after Kira called the last time?
“Kira?” Tina said tentatively, as if she didn’t quite believe who she was seeing.
“Who is it, T?” her brother’s voice called out from inside the apartment.
“Rick’s here?” Kira asked, shaking her head. “Oh, Tina, you didn’t let him move in, did you?”
“ ’S it?” Her brother appeared behind Tina’s shoulder. His eyes were red and from the crease on his cheek, he looked like he’d just woken up.
“Kira, holy fuck!” he said, his eyes bulging when he saw her. “You’re in big trouble, man. Like, huge,” Rick finished.
“Hi, Rick,” Kira said in a dry voice. “Joey finally threw you out?”
Tina stepped back mutely. Kira walked inside, one sniff revealing that Rick smelled like pot, some other drug, cigarettes, and alcohol. A glance showed he’d set up a bed on Tina’s couch. It looked like he’d been there for days. Empty beer cans, an ashtray overflowing with butts, and a couple wadded-up bags of potato chips completed the picture.
Kira wanted to slug him, and not just for trashing Tina’s place while he made himself at home.
“You’re smoking around Tina? She’s got CF, and she just got out of the hospital a few weeks ago after almost dying, but your goddamn nicotine habit is more important than her lungs? You couldn’t even go outside to let her breathe some clean air in her own apartment, Rick?”
His face turned mottled red. “You’re wanted by the fucking cops, the FBI, and maybe more, but you’re going to bitch at me for smoking? Dude, you’ve got some nerve—”
“Oh be quiet,” Kira snapped.
To her surprise, Rick stopped speaking. At once. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then his eyes bugged, and his hands started waving around like they were on fire.
Kira spun, expecting to see someone behind her, but no one was there except Tina. She’d just closed the door and stood staring at her.
“Your eyes . . .” she whispered.
Kira cursed. She’d kept a perfect grip on her emotions the entire way here, but five seconds in her brother’s company had her dropping her normal disguise to glare bright green supernatural daggers at him. Now she had to fix this mess.
“Rick, sit down. Find a mental happy place or something,” she directed him.
Rick sat on the floor, his frantic motions stilling and an expression of peace settling over his features. Kira found herself being grateful that she hadn’t been a vampire when they were growing up and she’d had to babysit him for her father and his new wife. She might have taken horrible advantage of her mind-control skills. Rick had been a handful even as a child.
Then she turned to Tina, who had her eyes closed while a single tear slipped down her cheeks.
“Don’t, Kira,” Tina said, shaking her head with her eyes still squeezed shut. “Whatever you did to him, don’t do it to me. I knew it. I saw that tape on YouTube, and even though I didn’t want to believe . . . still, you never would have gotten involved in something like that, then just disappeared. Even if you did, Mom’s cross . You wouldn’t have let someone rip it off your neck and use it that way if it were only an act. You haven’t taken her necklace off since she died, so when I saw that, I knew it had to be real . . .”
Kira’s hand closed over the cross at her throat. It had shocked her knowing Mencheres used it to cut into his own throat and feed her his blood, but it never occurred to her that Tina would see that and be able to determine it wasn’t twisted role-playing. Tina was right, though. She hadn’t taken this necklace off, not since she’d unhooked it from her mother’s throat and put it around her own the day before her mom’s funeral.
“Tina . . .”
She wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t anticipated telling her sister this soon. Eventually, yes, but not tonight. Rick, she didn’t think she could ever tell.
“The police found a bunch of blood vials in your apartment. They asked me if I’d known you were into vampire role-playing, if I’d ever seen that guy in the video before, or if I knew where you were.” Tina’s voice cracked. “I told them I didn’t know anything, but I did recognize that guy from the hospital the night I came off the vent. The nurses kept going on about how it was a miracle I recovered like that. I’ve never felt better lately, either. Then when I saw the tape, him, what happened, and you vanished . . . all of a sudden, I knew why I was better.”
Oh God, Tina had thought it all the way through. Kira wrestled with what to do. One flash of her eyes, and Kira could make Tina forget everything, but though with Rick, she didn’t have a choice, Tina might be able to handle this.
“I met him by accident,” Kira said, trying to sum up the past incredible few weeks in as short a way as possible. “Saw things that let me know he wasn’t human, but he couldn’t make me forget them like he could with most people. When I told you I had the flu, that wasn’t true. He kept me with him, hoping that I’d fall under his power and that he could erase my mind of what I’d seen, but it never happened. Then he let me go, but I felt something so strong for him, I looked for him. That brought me to the club. You saw what happened there.”
Tina didn’t say anything, but her face went a shade paler. Still, her small frame was straight.
“He set fire to the place? Killed those people?”
“No,” Kira said at once. “He was set up by that bastard who ordered my death. I may be away for a while, but I wanted to see you again and tell you . . . well, I didn’t intend to tell you this, but I wanted to tell you that you don’t need to worry. I’m okay, better than okay, and once this is taken care of, I’ll be back in your life just like before.”
Tina finally met Kira’s gaze. Another tear slipped down her cheek.
“I’ve been so scared. I thought you were gone forever because you were something else now. I don’t know what all this means, and it’s so hard to even believe, but when I heard you bitching at Rick, I knew it was still you inside.”
Kira felt her own gaze grow moist. “Of course it’s still me. It’s nothing like the myths, Tina. I don’t kill people. I don’t hide out in a crypt during the day. You can see that I’m still wearing Mom’s cross, so I don’t recoil from religious objects, either. Most of what you’ve heard is wrong, in fact.”
Tina still seemed a little dazed, but Kira remembered how overwhelmed she’d first felt, too, and that had been with more proof than Tina had seen.
“Do you have fangs?” Tina asked, looking both fascinated and hesitant.
“Yeah.” Kira smiled wryly. “I’m still getting used to them.”
“And the guy . . . you and he . . .”
“His name is Mencheres, and I love him,” Kira replied softly. “He’s amazing. I don’t have time to tell you how much, but he really is. You’ll meet him soon, I promise.”
Tina glanced over her shoulder, as if Mencheres would magically appear behind her through the door. “That’ll be, ah, a little weird,” she said with a catch in her voice. “I mean, you’re my sister, so you don’t feel like something other even if you are now. But he’s all the way other. He even looks like a vampire, with that tall, dark, and hot thing going on. Does he live in one of those big creepy houses?”
“No, both places of his that I’ve been to were pretty normal,” Kira replied while thinking, aside from the house I haven’t seen. The huge triangular one in the Giza Plateau.
Tina’s gaze flicked behind Kira. “You can’t tell Rick. He loves you, but he rolled over on you as soon as the cops questioned him. Told them everything you’ve done since you were ten. If he knows about this, he’ll go to the police, the news, you name it.”
“No, I’m not telling Rick,” Kira sighed, following Tina’s gaze to her brother. Rick hummed to himself as he sat, looking far more relaxed than she’d seen him without being heavily stoned. “He won’t even remember that I came here, either. But you will. If you want to.”
Eternal Kiss of Darkness nhw-2 Page 25