by Skye Knizley
“Why? What have you done?” Levac asked.
Shysie looked at him. “Deal or I ain’t saying anything.”
Raven shrugged and slid out of the booth. “I don’t deal. Two of your contacts are dead, in very gruesome ways. I know you’re involved, and so does whoever killed them. Let’s go, Rupe.”
Shysie turned in the booth. “Dead? Who’s dead?”
Levac switched the image on his phone to show Carmichael’s corpse in the morgue. He showed it to Shysie and said, very quietly, “Carmichael and Arel are both dead, and it wasn’t an easy death.”
Shysie’s hands went to her mouth and she curled her legs up, almost like a frightened little girl. “Oh my god, what happened to her?”
Raven sat back down. “Someone killed her and cut her face off. Arel, too. Do you still want to screw around?”
Shysie shook her head. “No… no. I thought you were here about the game. Look, I don’t know anything, okay? I’m just a messenger. I make sure everyone is on the right page, I give them their second clue and send them away. At the end, I buy them a drink and they go home, that’s it.”
“Tell us about this game. What is it?”
Shysie wrapped her arms around her knees. She was small she almost looked like a child. “It’s fun, I mean yeah we do some trespassing and sometimes people get a little hurt, but it’s a murder mystery. People pay through the website and we do a lottery to choose who gets to play. We only let one in ten actually play, so the game pays for itself and then some.”
Levac sat beside her. “It’s more than that, ma’am. You thought we were here for a different reason.”
Shysie sighed. “Okay, look, I want protective custody. I’ll do time for my part if I have to, but if they find out I told you, I’m dead.”
Raven nodded. “Agreed. Talk to us.”
“They don’t just take the money, they steal identities from people not chosen for the game. The credit card numbers and PayBuddy accounts are where the real money is. The game is real, it keeps the marks from getting suspicious, but most of the bankroll is stolen,” Shysie said.
“Who is running it? Who is the boss?” Raven asked.
Shysie opened her mouth to answer and blood fountained over her lips. Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in horror as life seeped from her. It took a Raven a moment to realize what had happened, then the sound of a silenced weapon clicked in her mind and she was on her feet, weapon in hand.
Across from her, Levac grabbed Shysie and pushed her into the booth, one hand clamped to the wound in her neck.
“Ray? Do you have the shooter?”
Raven spotted him, moving through the crowd. He wasn’t hard to miss, he walked like he owned the place. He was a tall blond man with a trim mustache, piercing blue eyes and easy ‘I can do whatever I want,’ grin. He held a silenced Glock close to his side, almost out of sight.
“In a manner of speaking.”
Sawyer Frost stopped less than ten paves from Raven. “I apologize, I was aiming for the traitor, Levac. Collateral damage.”
Raven went to raise her weapon and Frost shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that, skeeter. Do that and my men start cutting down this crowd. I’m here for you and your lapdog, that’s all.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a Federal Agent−”
Frost stepped closer. “Save it! I know what you are, you’re a monster who feeds on humans! Drop the weapon and surrender, or we start shooting!”
Raven checked the men overhead. They had fully automatic Berettas hidden just beneath their jackets. She could probably take Frost and a few others, but the cost would be severe. She couldn’t risk that many lives.
“Leave Levac. He isn’t what you think he is, he’s just human and he can save the girl. Do that and this doesn’t have to get messy.”
Frost glanced at Levac, who was desperately trying to keep Shysie from bleeding to death. “Agreed. You are the Master, he will be freed when you die. Drop the badge and the weapon and come with us.”
Raven set her badge and gun on the table. Rupe, get her to a hospital and call Aspen.
Levac met her eyes. Are you out of your damn mind? They’re going to kill you!
Raven shook her head. Not right away. He wants me for a reason.
She looked at Frost. “Alright, let’s go.”
Frost shook his head. “Not so fast. This will keep you docile.”
He stepped in close and shoved an automatic hypodermic into her leg. Raven barely had time to be annoyed before she felt the anesthetic enter her system. She suspected it was laced with garlic, which they hoped would weaken her. Their ignorance was in her favor…if she woke up again.
Consciousness faded and she felt the ground come up to greet her with a right cross.
*
Unknown Location, Somewhere in Chicago, IL
She hated waking up like this. It was almost never somewhere pleasant, like beside Aspen on a shady beach. It was always a lab, or the bowels of some creepy dungeon or deep inside a rusty, haunted ship. She fought the effects of the drug still slowing her thoughts and dulling her senses, but neither moved nor opened her eyes. She controlled her breathing until she no longer felt lethargic, then stretched her senses. She could feel a breeze from somewhere to her right and the air smelled fresh. She could also sense the presence of a single person, male, wearing a cologne she didn’t know and didn’t care for.
“You’re awake. Impressive.” It wasn’t Frost, it was a voice she didn’t recognize.
“Who can sleep with the stench of your cologne in the same room? Go take a shower, women will thank you,” Raven said.
She raised her head and looked around the room. To her surprise it was a hotel room. From what she could see out the window, it wasn’t far from the Loop and she was about forty stories up. It was a large room with a king-size bed, sitting area, office and bathroom. She was tied to a chair with what felt like rope laced with wood and garlic. Seated opposite was a heavy-set man with dusky skin, a close-cropped beard and shaved head. He held a wooden stake in his hand and was sharpening it with a fighting knife.
“It’s Moroccan, I don’t expect a creature like you to appreciate the aroma,” the man said.
“That’s good, cause I’m not appreciating. It smells like ass, did you ask for cologne or toilet water?”
The man stood, took a step and slapped her hard enough she could taste blood on her lips. “Shut up! You’re only alive because Van Helsing want’s your coven.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “We don’t have covens, that’s witches, moron. Where do you get your intel, the History channel?”
He slapped her other cheek and Raven saw stars. Whoever he was, he was strong. For a human.
“I’m guessing you like hitting girls. It would explain the perfume, you’re not trying to attract them, you’re trying to make them sick,” Raven said.
“Shut up!”
This time his slap was so hard she felt the skin on her lip split and one of her teeth crack. Raven spat the tooth into the man’s face.
“If that’s all you got, we can do this all night.”
The man turned dark with fury and wiped the blood off his face with the palm of his hand. He then cocked his fist and Raven anticipated an even harder impact, one she could roll with and, perhaps, break the chair she sat in. The guard’s attack was stopped by Frost, who entered with a towel over his shoulder.
“Stop it, Raul, she’s baiting you. Don’t you know who this is?” Frost asked.
Raul stepped back, rubbing the edge of his hand. “No, sir.”
Frost picked up a chair, set it in front of Raven and sat ass-backward. “This is Ravenel Tempeste, Princess of the House Tempeste, the vampire government in these parts.”
“Very good. And you’re Sawyer Frost, a petty thief and sociopath with
delusions of grandeur,” Raven said.
Frost’s face hardened. “That name no longer has any meaning. I am Van Helsing, vampire slayer.”
Raven twisted her wrists. The ropes were tight, but not as strong as they thought they were. “You’re a nutjob with a pretty face.”
Frost stared at her, then smiled and rose to his feet. “How are those ropes, Princess? Enjoying the garlic?”
“Immensely, thank you. Could I get a little salt and pepper, too?”
Frost slapped the back of her head. “You’re a mouthy bitch. Where is your coven?”
Raven sighed. “Like I told jumbo over there, we don’t have covens, that’s witches. You’ve seen too many angsty vampire movies.”
Frost hit her again. “You’re lying. Where is your coven?”
“Why don’t you let me go and I’ll show you.”
Frost reappeared in her line of sight. “I’m not that stupid.”
Raven cocked her head and continued to work the ropes. “Are you sure? Cause so far, I’m not impressed. Garlic, stakes, some wood-fiber rope and you think I should be betraying good people to a scumbag like you? Not in this lifetime.”
Frost sat back on his chair. “Look, Princess, this can go one of two ways. You can cooperate, and we stake you, no muss no fuss, or you can make us torture you. I can promise, the torture will take days. I know how tough you fuckers are.”
Raven shook her head. “You have no idea, pal. You just started a war you can’t win.”
Frost shrugged and walked into the next room. “Raul, get the UV.”
Raul stood with a self-satisfied smile and picked up what looked like a large six-cell flashlight. He held it close to Raven’s face and turned it on. She could feel the heat of the bulb and mild annoyance from the ultraviolet light, but that was all.
“If we’re going to tan, can I get my bikini?”
Raul looked surprised. He shook the flashlight, turned it off, looked at the bulb, then pointed it back at Raven, who blinked in the light.
“Boss, there’s something wrong with the light!”
Frost came back and snatched the light out of Raul’s hands. He repeated Raul’s performance then pointed it at Raven.
“Equipment malfunction? I hear a lot of guys have that problem. Have you tried that pill?” Raven asked.
Frost punched her in the stomach, just below her sternum. Raven felt the breath rush out and she fought for breath while Frost played with the light. When she could breathe again, she snarled at Frost. “I’m going to fucking kill you, bub.”
Frost smiled his shit-eating grin. “You know how many vamps have sat in that chair and said that, Princess? Thirty-four. You’ll be thirty-five−”
He was cut off by a squawk from the radio on the table. “Van, something’s wrong, I lost contact with Jimmy and Luke.”
Frost turned away and picked up the radio. “What about Chance and Mari?”
“Still here boss, but there’s something…”
He trailed off into a sick gurgling noise, then the broadcast stopped. Frost stared at it, then clipped it to his belt and drew his Glock. “Watch her, I’m going to take two men and go see what’s happening.”
Raul nodded and sat in front of Raven while Frost hurried through the door. Raven met Raul’s gaze and smiled. “Ever see an angry Master vampire before?”
Raul smirked. “We’ve killed all kinds, bitch. You’re just big mosquitos.”
Raven let her power flow into her eyes and the world went blue. “I doubt that, jumbo. See, a Master would do this…”
She snapped the ropes around her wrists, stood and kicked Raul in the face before he could react. He fell back to the floor with a thud that caused items on the dresser to fall over and cupped his hands to his shattered nose. Raven grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall.
“You helped him torture thirty-four innocent people? And you call them monsters. How many of you are there?”
Raul wrapped his hands around Raven’s wrist and tried to wriggle free. “We are an Army! If you kill me, he will hunt you all down!”
“Not if we kill him first.”
Raven punched him in the gut and tossed him onto the bed. “Stay there. I don’t have the evidence to arrest you, but I swear to God if you move I will end you.”
She turned away and began rummaging through the equipment. She found a Smith and Wesson model 29 in a holster along with three speed-loaders and a box of rounds. She stuffed the speed loaders into the pocket of her sweater along with a handful of shells and gripped the revolver. It was heavier than her Automag, with a shorter barrel and wooden grip, but it felt almost good in her hand. She hadn’t fired one in years, but knew it would come back.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and leveled the revolver at Raul’s head. “Go ahead, punk. Make my night.”
Raul raised his hands and sat back down.
“Good boy. Stay.”
Raven backed into the hallway and pulled the door shut. She gripped the handle and squeezed until she felt the mechanism inside squash, then turned to survey the hallway. It was empty, beige and almost unrecognizable. It was clear that it was a hotel, but under renovation. The wallpaper was torn, the carpet gone entirely revealing the concrete floor and most of the room doors were open. Frost had somehow taken over an entire floor of an empty hotel, which indicated someone else was doing the planning. Frost wasn’t smart enough to pull this off.
Raven hefted the revolver and started down the hallway. Her vampire senses told her there were people on this floor, in rooms to either side of the hallway. She moved to the doors and peered in, not surprised to find each had a handful of hungry embraced tied up on mattresses and watched over by men armed with M-16s and AK-74s. Raven entered and knocked both men out before they could move. When they were down, she took a knife from one and cut the vampires free.
“Thank you, Fürstin,” one of the females said.
Raven could tell by the look in her eyes she was starving and in pain. They all were. Part of her wanted to tell them to just go, but that meant innocents might get killed when the hunger took over, and these psychopaths were anything but innocent.
She pointed to the two unconscious men. “Sate your hunger and get the hell out of here. Do not fight unless they fire upon you, just run.”
One of the Embraced hugged her. “We thought we were dead. They tortured us, Fürstin!”
Raven disengaged from her. “I know. I’m going to stop them.”
She repeated the same in three more rooms before confirming there were no more captives. When the mix of Embraced and purebloods were gone down the back stairs, Raven started down the front, intending to make as much noise as necessary to make sure the vampires got to safety.
Most of the floors she passed were empty and almost impassible. Construction crews had left equipment at every stairwell, likely to keep passersby from walking on unsafe floors, falling through holes or, more often, stealing everything that wasn’t nailed down.
She was at the third floor before she heard voices somewhere ahead. A guard was talking to Raul on the radio and coming up the stairs. Raven waited in the shadows until he came into view and then held up her weapon. “Freeze! FBI!”
The guard squeezed off a burst that blew holes in the wall beside her and grazed her arm. Raven squeezed the revolver’s trigger and watched the back of the vampire hunter’s head explode outward, spraying the wall with blood and grey matter.
Raven knew the noise would draw more attention. She ran, her boots pounding on the stairs as she descended two at a time. She reached the next floor and kicked it open to face off against three armed men who started firing the minute she entered. Raven squeezed off two shots that went wide before diving into one of the open rooms. She hit the ground and rolled behind the wall before replacing the two spent cartridges with loos
e ones from her pocket.
She heard “We’ve got her, Van, she’s on the second floor,” just outside her hiding place. She fell flat and fired two shots into the man’s chest, then rolled sideways and emptied the revolver into the other two. All three fell to the ground, dead or dying. Raven reloaded with one of the speed loaders then picked up the radio. “Hey, Frost. It’s me, the Princess. Why don’t you grow a pair and come after me yourself?”
There was a pause, then, “Impressive. No vampire has ever escaped us.”
“Get used to it, pal. Your hunting days are over.”
She turned the radio off and tossed it aside as she started down the corridor. There was a mezzanine that overlooked the lobby and she headed in that direction. She could see the balcony, it was only a few meters away when something behind her clicked and the doors beside her exploded outwards. Raven leapt forward to avoid the worst of the blast, but she was peppered with wood, silver and garlic from an improvised explosive intended to kill vampires. As she lay there, ears ringing and blood streaming from what felt like a thousand cuts, she hoped that the Embraced hadn’t encountered something similar.
She picked herself up and checked her wounds. None of them was serious, they were already healing, but she was beginning to feel the thirst. It wouldn’t be long before she would need blood or fall on her ass. In addition, her clothes were shredded and most of the ammunition she’d collected had spilled to the floor. She spotted one of the speedloaders and scooped it up. She stuffed it into what was left of her sweater and turned to look for the other when the nearby elevator chimed and two of the hunters stepped out, rifles spitting lead. Raven fired two shots and leapt over the railing, still firing. She rolled just before she hit the ground and made a three point landing on top of a plastic-covered pool table. When she raised her head she spotted more of the hunters entering from both sides, guns blazing. She jumped off the pool table and slid on her knees behind a soda machine. Bullets thudded off its steel frame and sent coins spilling onto the marble floor, but it held. She reloaded her last six shots and snapped the cylinder closed. She dropped three of the men with well-placed shots to their necks and heads, then rolled from cover and killed two more tossing it aside and calling on her vampire.