At Grave s End

by Jeaniene Frost

  “Just let’s be clear about one thing—if you kill me, it won’t be because I did this. I didn’t rat you out to Patra, though thumbs-up to whoever did. If you kill me, it’s because you’re afraid that if you don’t, one day you might watch her walk away with me. So right back at you, Crypt Keeper, what’s it gonna be?”

  Dark brown eyes that could melt me were flat and icy now.

  “I gave you the chance to own up to your deeds with dignity. You refused. Right then, we’ll have it your way. You’ll stay chained here, no food, no companionship, until hunger and solitude soften you up. We’ll see what you have to say again in a month or so. Let him be alone with his deceit and his spinelessness. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying my wife’s company.”

  Bones took my hand. I resisted long enough to hold up the messily written page and have Tate read it as Rodney chained his arm back into place.

  Promise I’ll find who it is, but if anyone comes in this room but me or Bones, you scream as loud as you can.

  “Don’t worry, Cat,” Tate said, with a touch of humor. “I’ll be right here.”

  When Rodney closed the door behind us, I whirled on Bones. Do you still think it’s him? I demanded.

  He stared at me with competing emotions across his face, none of them pleasant. Finally, he shook his head.

  No.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  O F OUR BAKER’S DOZEN UNDEAD SUSPECTS, we had it narrowed down to four. This was an exceptionally painful process for Bones, since each of them had spent no less than a century with him, and he considered them all close friends. Caesar hadn’t suspected Brutus, either, however, and look where that got him. So Bones had to be unmerciful in his evaluations.

  Zero was on the list, despite his outward slavish devotion, then Tick Tock, Rattler, and Doc completed our suspects. Vlad he kept as a potential alternate.

  While I’d been eating breakfast, Bones had finally called Don to tell him he’d arrived. My uncle asked about Tate, of course, and got a brusque response that he was still unshriveled “for the moment.” I could just picture tiny gray hairs being yanked from Don’s eyebrow during that conversation. Don loved Tate, but he was also a realist. He knew what would happen if Tate was guilty of this crime. Vampires didn’t do probation.

  To reinforce Mencheres’s description of a slow recovery, Bones moved with notable sluggishness compared to his normal prowling strides. We spent the afternoon on the couch while Mencheres brought him up to speed on what had occurred when he was presumed dead. In brief but unsparing detail, Mencheres described how Patra had crashed the event at the opera house. My mother gave up pretending she wasn’t eavesdropping and sat in a nearby chair. When Mencheres was finished, she broke the loaded silence.

  “What a real bitch, Catherine. You should kill her.”

  Bones let out a snort. “I intend to do the honors myself.”

  And in the meantime, we’d see who here tried to contact Patra to let her know Bones was alive. Don had arranged for tapping of all the phones, and even interceptions of the wireless signals coming out of the house. Computers, text messaging, and anything else aside from homing pigeons were confiscated. Security purposes, Mencheres coolly stated, and no one dared argue with him. When the traitor made his move, he’d have to do it by phone, and then we’d catch him. Now we just had to wait.

  “Bones, you are still pale,” Mencheres said. “You should feed and get more rest.”

  “Right.” Bones tugged my hand. “Kitten, I want to show you something.”

  I followed him downstairs to the basement, passing through several rooms I hadn’t bothered to explore in the past few days. At least a third of this house was underground, a good vampire and ghoul analogy. What you saw on the surface was only the beginning, much like the species themselves.

  Two vampires bowed at the waist before they held the wooden double doors open for us.

  Several people, all human, glanced up when we entered what appeared to be an entertainment area. Some of them were on a large sofa watching the plasma TV, others played on one of the four billiard tables, and five looked to be engaged in a game of poker.

  “What is this?” I whispered.

  Bones’s wave encompassed the room. “This is a vampire’s version of a kitchen, luv. Caring for humans in exchange for their blood is how many vampire households operate. I wanted you to see it.”

  “Dibs on the redhead!” a freckled young man called out, coming forward with a grin. “You’ll like me, I taste the best.”

  “You think I’m here to feed on you?” I gaped when he tilted his head and bared his neck.

  Bones chuckled. “He does indeed. Sorry, Neal, but she’s not going to bite you, and you don’t taste the best,” he corrected him before laying a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do, however. Though you should eat fewer onions.”

  I watched as Neal went to Bones, who sealed his mouth on Neal’s neck and bit him like he was a walking cupcake. Less than a minute later he stopped, closing the holes and giving Neal a companionable chuck on the chin.

  “Less garlic as well, mate. I’ve drunk Italian chefs who didn’t have such a reek about them.”

  Neal’s smile didn’t slip. “Best pizza I’ve ever had, Whitey, and it was loaded with onions and garlic. Sorry.”

  Bones gave an amused snort. “Toothbrush, lad. Familiarize yourself with it or you’ll never get turned. No, don’t get up,” as one of the girls rose from the couch. “We’re taking a quick walk and then we’ll be off.”

  My mother would pass out if she knew this was underneath her, I thought dazedly. Living snacks, all within biting reach.

  “Who are these kids?” I asked low. None of them looked much past their twenties.

  Bones led me through another set of rooms. There was a library, computer area, even an underground Jacuzzi. And every few dozen feet there were bedrooms. Some were occupied, some were empty, and a few with closed doors had the unmistakable sounds of sex coming from them.

  “Oh, they’re from all sorts,” he replied. “Some are college students, aspiring artists, runaways from bad homes, street children, or budding apprentices. Neal’s one of those. He wants to be a vampire, so he’s showing his commitment by being a meal and doing small errands. Whenever you have a group of vampires who live in a large house, you generally have one of these situations.”

  “Are they all tranced?”

  “Blimey, no. They’re aware of what keeps them and why. The runaways get homeschooled, a place to live, and an allowance they save for whenever they wish to strike out on their own. For their own safety, though, most of them don’t know where they’re located or the real names of who keeps them. When they leave, what they do know is wiped from their minds. It’s happened this way for millennia, Kitten. A form of feudalism, as I told you before.”

  “Feudalism?” I stopped near one of the bedrooms with the heavy breathing. “Is that what you call it?”

  “This”—Bones nodded at the doorway—“is consensual. While I can’t speak for all households, as a rule it’s considered very bad form to mesmerize one’s food into shagging. If you’re a guest and you do such a thing, it’s almost cause for death. Now, if the human fancies a tumble, then who’s to criticize? It’s their choice.”

  Who’s to criticize? Me. Nice, Mencheres. Provide all-you-can-eat meals, in every possible way. Do be sure to feed regularly, Bones, there’s a good lad! Asshole.

  “You know better, Kitten,” Bones said with all seriousness. “It will never happen.”

  I believed him, even if irrationally I still felt threatened by the easy opportunities available. “Is that why you showed me this? So I wouldn’t worry you were trying to conceal something?”

  “That’s one of several reasons, yes.” Bones started to smile. “The main one is behind you, ogling your arse and about to get beaten for it.”

  “Amigo,” a voice said in a wheedling tone. “I haven’t seen it for days—”

  My whirling to barrel into him
cut off the rest of the sentence. Juan returned my hug, crooning in Spanish.

  “Mi querida, your husband’s back, que bueno.”

  “Yes, I’m glad he’s here as well,” I sniffed. “And that you are, too. How do you feel?”

  Juan grinned. It was his usual lecherous grin that reminded me crossing over didn’t change the essence of the person.

  “I feel wonderful, and you are even more beautiful with these new eyes of mine. Look at your skin.” He fingered my cheek. “Magnifico.”

  “That’s all the pawing you’re allowed, mate.”

  Bones gave him a light punch, knocking him back a pace. Juan didn’t quit grinning.

  “I must thank you for many things, amigo, but this most of all. You have made women even more appealing to me, ah, the scent of them. Their heartbeats. And how they taste…” He closed his eyes. “Delicioso.”

  I swung my gaze to Bones in disbelief. “You’ve turned him into even worse of a pig!”

  Bones shrugged. “He’s just a bit overwhelmed with all the new senses. He’ll get used to them. Or get neutered if he forgets himself and even thinks of palming your arse, do you think I’m blind?” He slapped at the hand wandering with feigned innocence near my hip. “Control, amigo. Learn it.”

  “Querida.” Juan kissed my cheek, this time with respect. “I’m not ruled by my hunger and I can once again fight. He’s given me power…and I won’t squander it.”

  One of the girls who were watching TV came down the hall with a flirtatious giggle, eyeing the two men. Juan went on full alert, his nose crinkling and green lights appearing in his eyes.

  “Speaking of not squandering it…” He gave me a last quick kiss and followed after her, grinning.

  “La rubia, por favor…wait. I am thirsty, and very susceptible to flattery…you could talk me into anything…”

  “So much for fighting the good fight,” I observed dryly. “He’ll have a harem within a week.”

  Bones watched Juan disappear down the hall, nuzzling the blonde’s neck in a manner that didn’t speak only of hunger. “He’s a fine bloke. He’ll learn.”

  “Learn what?” At least he can’t get or pass diseases anymore, I thought. That’s one advantage turning Juan into a vampire did for womankind.

  Bones put an arm around me as we headed toward the exit of this flesh feast. “He’ll learn that many women can satisfy for a short period of time, but when he falls in love, only one will sustain him forever.”

  I cast him a sideways glance “Are you trying to seduce me?”

  His lips curled with promise. “Absolutely.”

  My fingers laced in his. Yes, there was so much wrong with our situation. Someone we trusted wanted him dead, and that was just the start of our problems. Still, life was wasted on those who didn’t live in the time they had, be they human, vampire, or ghoul. Or a freaky mixture of the two, like me.

  “Good.”

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  T HE WAITING WAS GETTING TO ME. UNDER other circumstances, I would have considered spending most of my time with Bones behind closed doors as a vacation. But suspiciously eyeing the people around me whenever we left the bedroom was not my idea of relaxing. It was worse for Bones, I knew. At least I didn’t have emotional attachments to whoever the traitor was.

  This morning at breakfast, Bones upped the ante. As I munched French toast, he casually mentioned to Zero that Reno should be a pleasant change in temperature compared to here in Whistler, British Columbia. All of our suspects were close enough to have overheard. Here I thought I’d outgrown Clue. Will it be Zero in the kitchen with a cell phone, or Doc in the drawing room with a pistol?

  Speaking of Doc, he’d been acting strangely. Several times, we saw him lingering near the hallway where Tate was being held, wearing his guns, chewing on an unlit cigarette and watching everything around him with a surgeon’s attention. He seemed to appear behind me whenever Bones wasn’t there, soundless as a shadow. When Bones would appear, he’d exit in a polite but deliberate way, still staying in close proximity.

  It creeped me out.

  Bones didn’t care for it, either, but out of necessity didn’t confront Doc or show that it bothered him. Instead, he would smile and say things like, “Oh, there you are, mate,” in such a breezy, unaffected tone it was all I could do not to applaud. Maybe in another couple centuries, if I lived that long, I’d have such good acting abilities as well.

  Tick Tock and Rattler, the other two suspects, went about their business in such a blithe manner I mentally placed them lower on the totem pole. If anything, they seemed to sense my discomfort around Doc and tried to lead him off the few times Bones wasn’t glued to my hip. I took to wearing knives under my clothes, though they didn’t provide much comfort. With how blazing fast Doc was with those guns, I’d be pumped full of bullets before even getting a chance to fling one.

  Soon after the Reno announcement, Bones went for his morning drink. I wandered outside on the porch. Vampires traditionally hated the freezing cold, having no internal heating system as a human did. Mencheres didn’t choose to hide out in the Canadian mountains in December on a whim. He knew it was a place the undead usually avoided. At this time of year, Florida was full of pulseless visitors. You couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a nonbeating heart.

  It was with mild trepidation therefore that I glimpsed a lone figure in the trees just to the left of where I was on the wraparound porch. I knew that form by now. Tall, lean, and deadly. Something glinted, and the sudden chill I felt made the outside air seem balmy in comparison. It was the reflection of sun off metal.

  Without obvious rush, I turned and headed toward the door, concentrating all my willpower on not letting my pulse race. Such a sound might as well be a scream of fright to a vampire. As I walked, I wondered if I could dodge the bullets fast enough to avoid any vital organs. But it made sense that Doc would aim for my head. Why would he target anything else?

  The door opened before I reached it, Vlad at my side, right in the way of any oncoming gunfire. I couldn’t remember when I’d been so glad to see him.

  Thank you, I sent to him without giving a last look over my shoulder like I wanted to.

  “It’s freezing out here,” he said with a sardonic twist of his mouth. “You’ll catch your death.”

  “Stay away from Doc, Kitten,” Bones began as soon as we were in our room and I told him what happened.

  “You should just grab him and find out what he knows,” I muttered, irritated with myself for presenting such an open target.

  “Yes, well, it would take longer to torture it out of him than to be patient and wait for him to get caught spilling it,” Bones said with calculated menace. “Believe me, if it were a matter of preference, you know mine.”

  Yeah, I had a pretty good idea. If imagination failed me, I was sure he could arrange for a demonstration to jog my memory. Whenever we left this room, his mask of cheerful obliviousness was on with full force. Once inside, it fell from Bones like scales. He rubbed the side of his temple almost impatiently. However rough it was on me, it was certainly worse for him.

  “You must go crazy wishing for a few minutes of real peace and quiet,” I said. “I mean, it’s never quiet for you, is it? Either you’ve got noise from people around you or the crap rattling off in my head.”

  He smiled with a trace of bitterness.

  “Don’t fret, luv, I had a bit of real silence not too long ago. It’s highly overrated, if you ask me.”

  He sat on the high-backed chair near the bed. Red velvet, mahogany wood, gold threading, maybe a real Louis the Eighteenth. Bones looked compatible with it, just as beautiful and finely molded.

  I sat down and rested my head on his legs. “This isn’t your fault,” I said, softly but out loud, so he could hear it both ways.

  He sighed. “Then whose is it, Kitten?”

  Whatever I might have replied cleared right out of my head. Bones yanked me down on the carpet and covered me before my heart even fini
shed its beat. No, it wasn’t from being overwhelmed by passion. It was because of the sudden eruption of gunfire.

  He dragged me to the bathroom before snapping, “Stay here,” and disappearing in a blur. His quickness actually made me shake myself for a second before I ignored his directive and vaulted after him. No way was I sitting it out by the tub and hoping for the best. Doc only used silver bullets. It would be just as dangerous for Bones as it was for me.

  Without bothering with the stairs, I jumped the three floors down and followed the direction of the other streaking bodies, not to mention the noise. There was another succession of bullets, too fast for me to count, and an accompanying shout that picked my feet off the ground and had me diving forward. The commotion was coming from the dungeon below, and the voice yelling out was Tate’s.

  I blasted past the other vampires racing down the narrow hallway and made it through the ruined door, hurtling straight at the man who raised the knife even as I crashed into him. The force of my velocity bashed both of us through the wall in an expulsion of concrete. Before I allowed myself to think, I jammed one of my silver knives into the form scrambling away. I didn’t have time to wonder what part of him I’d pierced, or why the hell it wasn’t Doc, because he was yanked out. Just as swiftly my legs were tugged on next, and I was plunked out of the new hole in the wall.

  Above Tate’s panicked cries of “Cat! Cat!” I heard Vlad’s cool voice.

  “You’re holding the wrong man, Bones, and you owe Cat your life.”

  “Kitten, are you all right?”

  Bones had Doc gripped in such a way that it stalled my response. Or maybe belated dizziness from the impact of my head smashing through solid concrete was to blame. I shook some of the blood off my forehead and accepted Spade’s hand to help me to my feet. The small room was shoulder to shoulder with people.