My question was met with silence.
“Either you can talk to me willingly, coherently, or else I’ll simply rip your mind apart getting the information for myself.”
“Only Du Bussey is supposed to have that talent,” he blustered. “That’s why we were supposed to stay back, out of range.”
Okay, with that admission I now knew it was someone Marcus had worked for who had ordered his death.
“Don’t you know that it’s a family trait?” I said, looking at him. “Father…oops, I forgot, he’s my brother now…passed that on to me.”
I felt the man tense, and as I stepped forward and straddled his ass, he stiffened even more. I leaned forward, whispering to him, “Crap, when he’s fucking me, I don’t know whether to call him Daddy or Bro.”
That pushed him over the edge. He panicked and clawed the ground, and the iron-willed control he’d had over himself opened just enough for me to get inside of his mind.
I could have ripped him open there and then, but I wasn’t that confident about skimming through the debris and finding what I wanted. I still needed the VCR chain of events of his memory. And I found what I was looking for. The same dark-haired man I’d seen in the mind of the other assassin. Only this time, I got a name and address to go with the face.
The sound of leaves crunching under her massive paws gave Shade’s presence away as she sauntered back to us.
The vehicle isn’t far.
Are you full, Shade?
No, I could eat some more.
How much more do you think I should drink? I don’t want to be going up in Flame.
She eyed him carefully.
Thirty would do it. Better make it twenty-five, just to be on the safe side.
I nodded and looked down at my prisoner. “Did they say why they wanted Marcus dead?” The man just groaned. “I can go back in and dig around for it, if necessary.”
“They said he never fulfilled a contract after taking payment for it.”
“You do know that you’re going to die, don’t you?” I told him coldly. “I’ve already killed the others that were with you, and before the night is out, I am going to kill Randall Dennison of 316 Wiltshire Drive, apartment 6b. And after that, I will hunt down and kill whoever I can get from his mind.”
“This has nothing to do with you!” the man screamed.
“You dared to fuck with my family. Of course, it’s got something to do with me,” I retaliated. “Now, I’m going to drink from you, and then I’m going to slash your throat and let the rest of your life blood bleed out on the ground, just the way you hoped Marcus would die when one of you shot him in the throat.”
Having no more to say, I fanged him and took my quota before raking my nails down across his neck and opening up his vein. His initial scream turned into a gurgle, and as he thrashed for his life, I actually had to force my weight down on his back to keep him still. Straddling his body, I cut my wrist open and offered the bleeding limb to Shade, who lay beside the soon-to-be corpse and leisurely lapped up my offering.
A cell phone rang, the electronic musical notes cutting into the silence. Keeping my opened wrist pressed to Shade’s mouth, I patted the man’s pockets with my free hand and found the phone, pulling it out and looking at the caller ID. I smiled when I saw that it was Randall. I flipped the cell phone open, grinning at Shade as I did so.
“Richard, is it done? Monahan is all over my ass on this one. Richard?” This Randall person was one panicked assassin’s broker. How the hell had he survived in this business?
“I’m sorry. Richard can’t come to the phone right now, he’s dying,” I said. “Oops, I’d better amend that…he’s dead.”
“Who the fuck is this?”
“His killer.”
There was silence at the other end for a moment, and then, “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
Monahan…fucking right, I know who I’m dealing with, thanks to that snippet of information you just let slip, I thought. They’d shot Marcus because of me. He hadn’t fulfilled the contract on me, and he’d lied about it. This was all about my one big mistake last year, my one big final human mistake that warranted me being tagged by a vampire.
I tightened my grip on the phone. “I know exactly who I’m messing with, Randy,” I told him, deliberately bastardizing his name. “You can pass on the word to Silas that I’ll be seeing him tonight.”
There was a longer pause. I could almost hear the wheels turning in the man’s head. He had only ever spoken the name Monahan to his people, yet I had called my old boss by his first name.
“Who is this?”
I gave Shade another wide grin, “Just tell him Sex sends his regards,” I said and then snapped the phone shut.
Was that wise? Telling him who you are?
Shade blinked at me. I could get nothing out of her big yellows eyes.
I’m not Sex. He’s just an image in a magazine, and that image will get me in to see Monahan. At work, he always had a new trainee assistant in his office. He would rotate them every six months. The bastard didn’t even attempt discretion. You’d hear moans and grunts in his office all day long. It didn’t matter to him if it was male or female, as long as it wasn’t fat.
Shade nudged my wrist with her nose indicting that she was done, and I lifted my arm up to my mouth, closing the wound with my tongue. I shook the man I was still sat on, and when he didn’t move, I stood up.
Being Xavier won’t get me into the building. As Edward, Monahan was disgusted with me. He always had some biting comment to make every time he passed by my cubicle.
Shade sat in front of me, her panther tail slowly swishing.
That was then, this is now. What are you going to do?
I lifted the car keys and shook them at her.
Road trip. Lead on, MacDuff. We are burning the night.
Yeah, but what are you going to do about the people after Marcus?
I’m going to kill’em. What else?
I just needed to hear you say that, My Lord Emperor.
She got up off her haunches and led me farther into the woods, taking me to the assassins’ hidden car, which was big, black, and nondescript. Yup, every mafia-car cliché ever produced by Hollywood.
I opened the trunk and found the object of my desire. It was a case, and opening it up I stared down at the M40A3 - a sniper rifle. I had read about these, and I could feel the drool building in my mouth.
Taking it out, I tested its weight. I took a look through the scope and frowned. It seemed off. I chambered a round and took mark at a tree about five hundred yards away. Then I fired…and missed.
Hmmm.
Shut up, Shade.
I said nothing.
I heard that smirk.
Hellcats do not smirk.
I took the scope off and flicked on my crystal vision. Oh, yeah, it was a hell of a lot easier to see and focus when I was full of essence. I shot again and this time hit my mark.
Nice, Xavier.
We’re good to go.
I set the rifle back in the case, closed the trunk, and climbed into the driver’s seat. Shade sat heavily down beside me with a thump, her tail waving agitatedly. She kept testing the air with her nose and glancing over her shoulder toward the wreckage of the ravers’ building.
Call Claudius. He’s searching for you.
What? How do you know?
My ears are more sensitive than yours.
I flipped open the dead man’s cell phone again and keyed in Claudius’s number. He picked up on the first ring, and I said his name.
“Xavier? Are you alright?” he asked, his voice full of worry.
“Yeah, everything is fine. I’ve got a ride,” I told him.
“I heard gun shots.”
“That was me. I was test-firing my new best friend,” I said, laughing.
“Your location?”
“We’re in the woods behind the building. Three targets have been eliminated, others acquired,” I
relayed. Then my own voice became more concerned. “How is Marcus?”
I heard a ruckus, and it was obvious the device was being snatched from Claudius’s hand. I could image what my apple orchard looked right now, and blood-covered was a big part.
“Marcus is pissed,” he growled into the phone.
I smiled as I heard his voice. I had been terrified that I wouldn’t hear it ever again “You know that it is considered a sign of mental illness if you refer to yourself in the third person, don’t you?” I remarked, keeping my voice light. “How are you doing, Pretty?”
Shade leaned heavily against my thigh, and I reached down and scratched her head just behind her ears.
“What the hell were you thinking, running off by yourself?”
I dropped my voice down to let him hear my concern. “Pretty…are you okay? I need to hear it.”
There was a moment of silence, and then I heard his deep sigh. “Thanks to you and Father, I am alright. Thank you, Little One.”
“Besides,” I hurried on, aching to be there with him, “I think I flew more than ran.” I gave a weak laugh. “I have to ask you a couple of questions, Marcus, and then I gotta go,” I said, brushing at my eyes as they began to tear up.
Damn, who the hell would’ve figured I’d get something stuck in my eye way out here.
Don’t lie to yourself. You’re in luuuuvvvvv.
Shade head-butted my leg, and I winced, grabbing at my knee.
“Go? Go where?” Marcus shouted at me through the cell phone. I knew he wasn’t going to be happy. “Xavier!”
“Does Silas Monahan know you’re a vampire?”
“Monahan?”
“He’s the one that ordered this little shindig tonight,” I said, looking back at the corpse that was now blending in with the night. “Does he know you are a vampire?”
“No,” Marcus answered. “He just thinks I have a special talent. Does he know about you?”
“Well, thanks to Frederick’s ad campaign, I’m kind of hard to miss,” I told him. “Match that up with a police record for prostitution, and the missing person’s report out on me, and it was probably only a matter of time. This is all entirely my fault.”
“You did not shoot me in the throat,” Marcus threw back at me before asking, “What happened to the assassins?”
“They’re no longer a concern,” I said simply.
“You killed them? Oh, Xavier…”
“Don’t. I’m not done with the killing yet. Put Claudius back on.”
“Xavier…” Marcus’s voice softly whispered my name into my ear, and there was so much emotion in that one word that it pulled at my heart. Shade was right; I was in love with him.
“Don’t make me think about it, Marcus. Please, put Claudius back on, or I’m hanging up.”
The phone was handed back, but not before I’d heard Marcus’s angry retort of, “We are not done yet!”
“Xavier?” Claudius’s voice was a whole lot of calm.
“Don’t take Marcus back to the Manor,” I said. “There might be more waiting for him there. How many knew he was coming here tonight?”
“I had suggested it earlier in the week, but I did not know we were coming for sure until I got the call from your mother. I called Marcus right after that. What are you thinking, Xavier?” Claudius asked.
“That there might be a traitor in your midst,” I told him. “You can tell Marcus, but do it later. Explain that I’ll take care of it after I deal with this other situation.”
There was a pregnant pause, then, “Can you carry out what you intend? You are alone out there, after all.”
That comment made me stop and think about what was going on. I had fully expected Claudius to start ordering me to get my ass back to them. Instead, it sounded like I was getting his blessing. I cleared my throat.
“I’ve got a Hellcat. I’ve got a rifle. I’ve got ammo and I’ve got fangs. And just for surprise, I have wings too. They won’t know what’s hit them,” I said, my voice full of a confidence I didn’t quite feel. “You just keep Marcus safe for me,” I pleaded.
“If I have to tie him down, I will,” Claudius promised.
“He’d like that,” I laughed. “I’ll call you later when it’s all done.”
As I snapped the phone closed, Shade began shrinking her body into that of a housecat. The transformation was always so cool to watch.
More comfortable for me, Xavier, while you’re driving.
My fingers tightened around the steering wheel, and I sat there for a moment, just staring out through the windshield, listening to the beating of my heart as it settled into a higher beat than what was normal. Then again, nothing about this night was normal.
Xavier?
I killed three people tonight, Shade. I probably will kill three more.
Would you rather have Marcus dead?
No!
They started it. You finish it and finish it hard, so no one will dare come after your family again. That is the sign of a ruler…and you will make a good ruler, my Lord Emperor.
Shade snuggled her body in closer to me, settling down beside me and pressing up against the warmth of my low rider leathers.
Are you ready now?
Ready as I’ll ever be.
I started up the car and threw it into drive, switching the radio on and scanning the bands, searching for some music that was appropriate to commit mayhem and murder by. Nothing took my fancy, so I set it back to a John Tesh song I found on an easy-listening station.
At least, I could calm down a bit.
Kill me, kill me now.
Shut up, Shade. I like him. Go to sleep.
The car sped back toward the city, and I tried not to think about what I had to do…what I was going to do.
Twenty-Four
Angel of Death
Ain’t it always the way…You’re on a road trip, and there is nothing good to listen to on the radio. The CD player did have some outdated greatest hits in it, but I wasn’t that desperate to listen to music. Instead, I let the haunting notes of the waltz I had danced to earlier play out in my head, along with the image I could still see of Marcus, laid out in a growing pool of his own blood. Shake it off. Stay objective.
I’d always heard the term “stay frosty” being mentioned in movies. I understood what it meant now. I had to keep my edge hard. Block out the bad stuff and concentrate on the mission ahead.
Shade happily snored on the seat next to me. Who knew cats snored? And she didn’t keep it quiet either. I glanced down and saw her paws twitching as she slept. What was she dreaming of?
“Shade. Shade? SHADE!”
Her head popped up off the seat and she looked at me, blinking.
Are you drunk, pretty kitty?
Yeah. Too much essence. Too much at once. I feel bloated.
She yawned and flattened her ears to her head before lying back down. I reached over and poked at her ribs.
Do that again, Xavier, and you’ll lose a finger.
We’re almost there.
I’m up. I’m up, for Pete’s sake, I’m up already.
I glanced over and saw that she was licking at herself, between her back legs. “Ewww.”
Avert your eyes, you pervert. You’ve done worse.
Averting, averting, averting. By the way, if I could do that…
Shut up!
Note to self—cats are crabby if you wake them up.
It was 3:00am when we finally pulled into the city. At every major intersection we passed I saw my own smutty face staring out from billboards. Jeez, it was embarrassing…and sort of hot, considering I’d been a dorky fat kid all through school and for several years into my career. Yet just look at me now! If that was what I looked like in Flame, it’s a wonder Marcus ever managed to prise himself off of me. Wait, he never really did get off of me. Not that I minded.
Oh God, you’re thinking about him again.
What?
Shade did a funny kind of shiver that made her
fur puff out from her body like she’d just stepped out from under a hot hair dryer.
You get this strange smile on your face every time you think of him. It’s sort of a grimace, but with joy in it.
Her little kitty tail smacked down on the seat between us. Being so small you wouldn’t think that it could have the same effect on me as the large red panther one that she wielded with such skill and pride, but I guess there’s something to say about conditioning, because I actually flinched.
Get your game face on, Xavier.
I looked across at her. Where the hell had she gotten that expression?
Your father and I would watch Sunday football when you and your mother were cooking dinner. And based on that information alone, you preferring to play housewife, how could you not be aware that you were gay?
Not a topic to be discussed, Shade.
But…
“I said no. Now concentrate, we’re here. There’s two men posted outside Randall’s door. Can you get up on his balcony?”
You’re in a huff so you won’t Silent Speak to me?
Alright, I’m in a huff. Because you keep pushing me, Shade. I’ve got to put a bullet through someone’s head tonight. I’m a little agitated over the whole thing, and you’re not helping.
Her little kitty eyes peered out through the side window as Shade stood up on the armrest of the door.
I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you’re not even five months old. Is it apartment 6B he’s holed up in?
Yes. I’m going to park three blocks back and come over the roof. What’s the range on Silent Speak?
We are blood bonded. There is no limit unless one of us is dead…and that would be you.
Slowing down, I lowered the window so Shade could jump out, noticing that I had caught the attention of the doorman. I slowly continued on my way, turning my head side to side as if I was searching for an address.
I drove a couple of streets over, parked the car, took the gun case from the trunk and then, backtracking to the building I had selected for making my ascent, I scaled the wall a little before pulling the fire escape down. Its unfolding hinges sounded like broken fingernails on a chalkboard, the screeching noise causing the small hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Considering this was supposedly a ritzy part of town, you would have thought that they’d keep the damn thing oiled. Then again, this whole place was now a ritzy re-vitalized area. They probably never thought to check it.
Cake: A Blood Nation Novel (Volume 1) Page 34