by Skye Knizley
Raven put her glasses on when they stepped outside and glared at the sun. The way she was feeling, the added weight of the sun was making her feel sick.
“So what next, partner,” Levac asked.
“Myung Choi. He’s the only lead we have left unless something comes out of the evidence we dropped off,” Raven said.
“I didn’t know we had an address,” Levac said.
Raven held up her phone. “Aspen texted it over this morning while we were with Riscassi the younger. It looks like he’s got a place in Albany Park.”
“Any background?”
Raven shrugged. “He wasn’t in the system, not by name, anyway. Aspen found him by his MyFace account.”
“So…our potential suspect is either clean, or really, really good.”
Raven opened the Shelby’s door. “I’m hoping he’s just really good, otherwise we’re at a dead end.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
2222 Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, IL
Koreatown. Little Korea. Little Seoul. The area between Kedzie Avenue and Pulaski had been called many things over the years. Even when Korean-Americans started moving north, it was still called by an assortment of names, not all of them generic. Unlike most “Little China” areas, the change to Koreatown from ordinary Chicago streets was subtle. Once you were west of Acme Electrical you first passed a variety of noodle restaurants, then the language changed from signs in English to signs in Korean intermixed with Spanish and Arabic. Raven drove slowly through afternoon traffic. The pain behind her eyes was getting worse and she felt like she had a fever, something she’d never experienced. Not like this.
She parked in front of a pawn shop called Four Deuces and got out, hoping some fresh air and the breeze from the street would make her feel better. It didn’t. The scent of blood and old death hit her so hard she almost vomited right there in the street. She fought for control and looked at Levac, who had also detected the odor. He stepped onto the sidewalk and checked the door, which was locked. He shook his head at Raven, and she started down the alley between the buildings. Most of the storefronts in this part of town had two and three stories of apartments above them accessed by a side door. Four Deuces was no different and Raven pushed through the rusted metal door into a narrow stairway that led to the upper floors. She waited for Levac to catch up then took the stairs to the second floor. The stairs emptied into a dimly lit corridor of white linoleum scarred by years of use and white-washed walls stained by handprints and things Raven didn’t care to speculate on.
There were two doors out of the hallway, both to the left. The first bore the name John Win. Raven knocked politely and counted to six before an older Korean man opened the door. He peered at her over his spectacles and said something in Korean.
Raven held up her badge. “I’m sorry to bother you, sir. Agents Storm and Levac, is everything alright?”
The man said something else in Korean and tried to slam the door in her face. Raven let him, all she could smell from his apartment was mild incense and liniment.
“What did he say?” Levac asked.
Raven shrugged. “I’m pretty sure something like ‘fuck off.’”
She proceeded down the hall to the next apartment, where the odor suddenly became stronger. She looked back at Levac and drew her weapon. He followed suit and Raven stopped in front of the door. Unlike the plain white door belonging to Mr. John Win, this was painted red and had three large deadbolts holding it shut. Raven pushed on the door and confirmed they were locked, then leaned back and kicked the opposite side. The door exploded off the hinges and fell to the floor with a crash. Beyond was a large apartment that looked more like it belonged in the heart of Midtown, complete with a Persian rug, big screen television and leather sofa. The television was on, playing some kind of infomercial at low volume, and lights were on deeper inside the apartment. Raven entered and stepped to the side so Levac would have a clear shot at anything ahead of them. Levac entered with his weapon aimed at what looked to be the kitchen. Raven motioned him forward then turned down the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
The first bedroom was the master and contained a large unmade bed, two nightstands and a walk-in closet filled with expensive clothes, many with the tags still attached. Out of curiosity, Raven looked at one and almost whistled at the price. She’d been known to drop a grand on leather pants or a coat every now and then, but for eleven thousand dollars, the suit should have been gold, not sharkskin with a lime green lining.
The next room was smaller and though obviously intended to be a bedroom with its closet space and overhead Mickey ceiling fan, it had been converted into an office with enough computers to run a small country.
Lying on the floor amidst the shards of a broken mirror was a faceless body. He lay there on his back in a pool of dried blood, blank eyes staring at the light. By the look of things he’d been there for quite some time and was starting to decompose.
Raven tried to cover her nose with her hand, but the scent was too much. She made it to the bathroom just in time. She was still sitting on the toilet with a cold rag on her forehead when her phone started singing with Aspen’s tone. She pulled it out of her pocket and placed it on the counter beside her.
“Yeah, Asp?”
“Ray? Honey you don’t sound good, are you alright?” Aspen asked.
Raven held the cloth to her head. She felt like she wanted to die. “I’m fine, blood just got to me, what’s up?”
“You’re sick,” Aspen said. “I need you to come to the lab.”
“What, you mean like with a cold?” Raven asked.
“No, I mean really sick. You’ve been infected with a two-hundred year old disease designed to kill vampires,” Aspen said. “I think it must be Frost’s fail safe in case you got away.”
Raven shook her head. “I’m not a vampire.”
“Which is why you’re still alive, Ray. Please, I need to come in now, I found a cure, but you need it right now. I have Thad giving it to everyone at the house already,” Aspen said.
There was a crash from the hallway outside, not far away. Raven set the phone aside and picked up her pistol before opening the door. From the bathroom she could see the door and the living room, which were both empty. There was no sign of Levac, who had been waiting for the crime scene team. Except Aspen was on the phone, which meant he hadn’t made the call.
She hefted her weapon, which felt like it weighed a ton, and crept down the hallway. When she reached the end, she pressed her back against the wall and peered around the corner. Levac was seated in the kitchen with his back to her. She could tell from the way his head was hanging that he was unconscious, but alive. Raul stood beside him with a pistol leveled at Levac’s head, while Frost was seated on a chair, a wooden stake in one hand. He looked up when he spotted Raven in the shadows and smiled.
“Ah, Storm. I knew the noise would bring you out. I thought about shooting you in the bathroom, but that wouldn’t have been much fun,” he said.
Raven raised her pistol. “You have a screwed up idea of fun, Frost. Let him go!”
Frost glanced at Levac. “Him? He’s too weak to be one of you, he’s human. When you’re dead, he goes free.”
He cocked his head and looked like he was trying to dislodge something from a tooth. “Speaking of dead, how are you still alive? The old woman said it would kill master vampires in a matter of hours, yet you’re still here. Raul, remind me we have to pay her a visit and explain we want our money back.”
Raul chuckled. “Maybe take it out in poon, those women were hot, boss.”
Raven shook her head. “Did you just suggest raping women while standing in front of me? Your stupidity knows no bounds. Cut him loose!”
Frost stood. “No. It’s not as if you can do anyth−”
Raven’s attention was on Raul, his breathing and the movement of the pistol in his hand. H
e exhaled and she squeezed her pistol’s trigger. The recoil almost dropped her to the floor, but her aim was true. The thirty-caliber bullet passed through his left eye and out the side of his skull, spraying the kitchen with blood and what little brains he’d possessed. He fell to the ground without firing a shot, leaving Frost alone and staring open-mouthed.
Raven struggled to stay on her feet. “It wasn’t a request, Frost. Drop your toothpick or I put one through your nose.”
Frost looked back at Raul and shook his head. “He was a good man, skeeter. You will pay for his death.”
“He was a killer and a psychopath. You know, like you. Last chance, pal, drop the weapon.”
Frost smiled. “You’re too weak to do that again, vampire.”
Raven thought he was going to call her bluff. That he could see she could barely hold her weapon in two hands. Instead, he threw the stake at her and ran out of her field of vision. She followed after, but was only fast enough to see him crash through the window on the far side of the room. She reached it just behind him and saw he’d landed on the back of a passing tractor trailer.
“Who is this guy?” Raven muttered.
She turned to Levac and checked his pulse. He was alive and coming around and Raven cut him loose with a knife from her boot. By the time she finished, he was awake and she was exhausted. He rubbed the knot on the side of his head and made a face.
“The one with the fez jumped me, what happened?”
Raven sank to the floor and pointed at Raul. “The fez is dead, Frost got away and I threw up.”
Levac knelt beside her. “You look terrible, when was the last time you fed?”
“Thanks, Rupe. You look amazing, too,” Raven said.
“I’m not kidding, Ray. When?”
Raven rubbed her eyes. They felt like they were on fire. “You were there, you forget your beef sandwich already?”
Levac reached out and pressed a finger to her pulse. “I mean blood, Ray. When did you have any?”
Raven pushed his hand away. “This morning.”
Levac shook his head. “You look like it’s been weeks and you’ve been going three rounds with an alpha lycan. Let’s get you up and to the car.”
“Don’t move her!”
Raven blinked and looked past Levac. Aspen was standing in the doorway with Silver Van Helsing and a handful of her hunters.
“How did you find us? I was just talking to you.”
“We were already on the move, I used your cell phone to triangulate which building,” Aspen said.
Silver knelt opposite Levac. “Raven, how many fingers am I holding up?”
Raven made a face. “I’m not that far gone, Sil. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Hunting the bastard using my family name to hunt innocents,” Silver said.
“Let me in, Rupe,” Aspen said.
Levac stepped away and Aspen took his place. She was holding a syringe of something yellow and milky.
“What the hell is that?” Raven asked.
“The cure for what ails you,” Silver said. “You’re lucky I remembered this from…a while ago.”
Aspen began swabbing Raven’s arm with alcohol. “Like I said, honey, you’ve been given a disease. The sarin wasn’t a fluke, it was to weaken your system so the disease would take.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Bullshit, they couldn’t have known I would respond.”
Silver reached in her pocket and pulled out a black box about the size of a deck of cards. “Yeah, they did. I found this in your car when we were trying to find you yesterday. It was probably put on there when you shipped it back from Seattle.”
“They’ve been tracking us?” Levac asked.
Aspen tapped the syringe and looked at Raven. “Babe, this is going to hurt.”
Raven met her eyes. “Do it.”
Silver straightened and look at Levac. “For weeks. The other Sidhes Frost attacked were practice for coming after House Tempeste.”
Raven didn’t get to say anything else. Whatever was in the syringe hit her and her blood felt like it was on fire. She could feel it doing something, chasing whatever was in her body and killing it with extreme prejudice. She felt her skin bubble and crack, weeping blood that dripped to the floor in tiny rivulets that smelled like Sulphur.
When it was over, she felt like someone had waxed her entire body with boiling wax and a belt sander. She opened her eyes and knew her vampire was out of its cage. She could see heartbeats and her thirst was almost overpowering.
“Blood! I need blood, the thirst…”
Aspen’s pounding heart thudded in Raven’s ears when she moved close and offered Raven a bag of whole blood. “Here, lover.”
Blood had never tasted so good, nothing had ever tasted so good, not in her entire life. She finished the bag and forced her monster back into the recesses of her mind.
“Thank you,” she said when she could speak.
Aspen smiled. “Anything for you, babes.”
Raven took her hand and closed her eyes. “Okay, so Frost and his thugs are hunting my family. Is there any chance he is working with the coven trying to kill my mother?”
Raven’s senses were so hyped up she could hear Silver shrug. “Unknown, Raven. Frost has been off the radar with only a handful of sightings since he escaped from an Arizona prisoner transport a year ago.”
Raven could feel her body returning to normal, feel her skin and flesh regenerating from whatever had been done to her. “Okay, what about background? He just wakes up one day and decides to become Van Helsing? Silver, did he have any contact with Antonio Riscassi while he was in prison?”
“I don’t have his full file with me, but that name is familiar. Who is he?” Silver asked.
Raven opened her eyes. “He’s a crime boss with connections to Lord Strohm and a serious hate for my family. His people killed my father.”
Silver looked confused. “Your father isn’t dead−”
“It’s complicated. Rupe, we still need a crime scene unit to clear the scene and give us a rundown on the evidence,” Raven said.
Levac’s jaw fell and he had trouble finding his voice. “Is that really the priority? A maniac is out there trying to kill your family−”
Raven pulled herself to her feet. “I’m pretty sure there are at least two and I have no idea how to find them. But I do have a nice shiny crime scene that might help me catch a killer who walks through mirrors, so let’s get back on the job.”
Aspen shook her head. “Um… Ray? You look like Carrie on her way home from the prom.”
Raven looked down and saw what the others did. While the injuries were fading, the blood and ichor from the disease and its cure covered her arms and stained her pants so badly they squished when she moved.
“Marvelous.”
She pulled her blood-matted hair back and twisted it into a knot. “Fine, Asp grab your kit, you can be our tech. I’m not letting this crime scene wait any longer.”
“What about me and my team?” Silver asked.
Raven looked at them, four men in tactical gear armed with shotguns and MP5s along with Silver, who had a Colt Python strapped to her thigh.
“Have you ever processed a crime scene before?”
Silver pursed her lips. “Not exactly.”
“I didn’t think so. I think we have this, Sil.”
“Alright. We’ll catch you later.”
She was halfway to the door when Raven stopped her. “Sil?”
Silver looked back. “Yes, Raven?”
“Thanks for helping Aspen save my ass,” Raven said.
Silver broke into a smile. “You’re welcome. I still owe you for Abraham.”
Aspen went with them to grab her kit from her Jeep and Raven returned to the bedroom, where the victim still lay. Now that her stoma
ch was under control, it wasn’t as hard to look at. He was in a state of undress, but unlike Arel who looked like had been caught with his pants down, this man had been that way at the start. He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and still had one fleece slipper on.
His wounds were also more severe, almost vicious in how deep and frequent they were. His entire body was covered with the ancient symbols, from ankles to neck.
“This is much more violent, Ray,” Levac said.
“He was the first, the one who started this spree,” Raven said. “He’s been dead almost a week.”
She stepped into the room and picked up one of the pieces of mirror. It had what looked like the same white body paint on the back. She set it aside and closed her eyes, letting her senses do their work. They had never been this heightened before and she could almost see what had happened. The man, presumably Myung Choi, had been in the room sitting at his desk. There was a square on the wall just behind his desk where an old mirror was hanging. The…clown or whatever he was, entered from there and attacked by surprise…but where or how had he gotten the sedative? He must be carrying it with him, but from where? Surely there were no pharmacies in the space between spaces.
“Are you okay?” Levac asked.
Raven opened her eyes. “Yes, just learning new tricks. There was a mirror behind the desk, I have a hunch that is how our clown got into the room.”
Aspen entered with her kit in hand. She set it down outside the door and pulled her AFIS scanner from the outside pocket.
“Okay, Mr. Doe, let’s see who you are.”
She pressed on the man’s hand until there was enough coagulated blood to refill his thumb, then ran his print through the system. The result was almost immediate. The machine chimed and Aspen checked the readout.
“Brandon Mackenzie, 28, records clerk for District One,” she said. “That explains why the game is based on your casefiles, he provided them.”
Raven looked at him. “The kid with the television who always ignores me? What’s he doing here?”
“Not a lot,” Levac said.