A Brush With Death

  As she held the phone in her hand, Kasey wondered if Hades screened his calls or if he would take a call from an unknown number. His reach was vast and Kasey could use any information he could get his hands on. So, she took a deep breath and dialed Hades' number.

  The phone rang and rang, eventually going to voicemail. Kasey scowled at her phone. It might have been late for the civilized world, but for New York City’s King of the Underworld, his day ought to just be getting started.

  Kasey tried him again, just in case. Once more, the line rang out. She cursed whatever malfeasance was keeping him from taking the call. He’d offered his help this morning and now when she needed it, he was nowhere to be found.

  Now she definitely needed that help, and not for herself but for the city. Something was going down and time was quickly running out. She could use all the boots on the ground that she could get.

  Hades, it seemed, would not be among them.

  Kasey dropped Vida’s phone back into its cradle and considered her options.

  Should she warn the public? The last thing she wanted to do was cause a panic, but while she didn't know what shape the threat to the city might take, it seemed like a safe assumption that the general public was in danger. If the vampire court's chemical compound got loose, there would be bloodshed on the streets.

  After what one person had been able to do to Casimir’s, Kasey hesitated to even think what an army might do to the city. The police would be forced to act, and the only thing that stopped the John Doe had been a bullet through the head.

  Widespread distribution of the compound would result in massive casualties and a devastating loss to the city's morale as law enforcement officers were compelled to put down the infected.

  That was without reference to any of the rituals contained in the Libro Sanguis. In his time, Carys would have been limited by the amount of blood he was able to shed and store for his rituals. The Feudal Court had been preparing for months. Who knew how large a stockpile they might have obtained? Or what manner of misery they planned to unleash on the city.

  Vida’s phone rang. She scooped it up, hoping that it might be Hades returning her call. Kasey answered it, unsure who else might be calling the morgue at this hour.

  “Hello.”

  “Kasey, its Cal. I've found him.”

  She leapt off her chair. “What do you mean you found him? The vampire?”

  Cal was breathing heavily. “Yes. You guys must have got him good in the park. He was running like a wounded beast. I followed the trail to a club in Brooklyn. I've checked, he's in there.”

  Kasey couldn't believe her ears. “You're sure it's him?”

  “Absolutely, same preacher I saw on the news,” Cal replied. “He's hurting but he won't be for long. With the women he had around him, I think he's planning to feed.”

  “Where are you?” Kasey darted to the door of the morgue. Cracking it open, she mouthed at Kendra, Get Bishop.

  Kendra nodded and hurried up the stairs.

  “The place is called Evening Forever. It's on 47th Street, near the docks.”

  “That's thirty minutes away,” Kasey muttered as she hastily considered her options. “I need you to keep an eye on the place. Make sure he doesn't leave.”

  “Already on it,” Cal replied. “I've called in the pack. They're on their way.”

  “Perfect. Don't move without me though. This one has arcane talent. Don't do anything rash. “

  “Understood, boss. Get here quick. Who knows how long he plans to lay low here.”

  “We're on our way,” Kasey replied and hung up.

  Her heart pounded as she raced up the steps from the precinct's basement.

  She reached the lobby, only to find Kendra and Bishop hurrying toward her.

  “Kasey, what is it?” Bishop asked. Her hand hovered toward her holster.

  “Cal found him,” Kasey said between pants. “He found the vampire. He’s at a nightclub in Brooklyn, Evening Forever. Cal thinks he might have gone there to feed.”

  “Brooklyn is the heart of the Night Crew's territory,” Bishop replied. “If he has gone to the club, it's only because he feels safe there. Sounds like a trap. Just like the church.”

  Kasey nodded. “The vampire was wounded in the park and could have gone anywhere. Instead of going to ground or fleeing the city, he sought refuge in a nightclub, and hovered about where Cal can find him readily. We've looked for weeks and found almost no trace of their movements. This is too easy, but we can't ignore him. We're out of time.”

  “We can't walk into a trap either. It will be a massacre. Remember the private hospital, Kasey. The five of us barely got out alive. A nightclub will be a nightmare to navigate. We won't know who's with him and who is simply an innocent bystander. He used his preacher’s alias to stir up trouble and set the stage. If we knock down the front door and start shooting, we'll be playing right into their hands. We’ll lose even if we do get him.”

  “I am open to suggestions,” Kasey replied, “but we don't have much time. Cal is going to try to keep him there while we rally our forces. But if we lose him, we'll have no way of knowing what they're planning. We need to find him and get answers. Before the city burns.”

  “Leave the city to me,” Kendra replied. “I have friends in the media. I'll make sure the truth goes out, not the one-sided dribble the preacher was feeding those ratings junkies. We are going to need to distract them though, give them something other than wizards to be frightened about. A vampire would do nicely, if you catch my drift.”

  She wanted a trophy to drag before the camera crews. It would be jarring for normals to see a vampire in the flesh, but it would also be effective in shifting the public’s ire toward the true threat.

  “That's all well and good if we survive,” Bishop said, “but that entire area is miles of warehouses and logistics infrastructure. There are literally hundreds of options for them to conceal an ambush, and equally as many places for them to hide should the fight go our way. Besides, if the Night Crew owns Evening Forever, there could be tunnels and bolt holes all through that club.”

  Bishop was right. Storming the nightclub was an almost suicidal prospect, but doing nothing shifted the danger to the people of New York. Kasey looked around the precinct’s lobby. There were dozens of officers on duty guarding the station. More than a few of them were listening in on the conversation.

  Kasey dropped her voice to a whisper. “You are right, Bishop. What's more, the vampire knows it too. He is relying on one of two things. First, that we won't have the guts to go in and drag him out of his little stronghold. Or second, he's hoping we do, so that he has the chance to knock me off and look good for his boss. In either case, his overconfidence can be our advantage. For the first time today, we know where he is and we can put a stop to whatever they're planning. We have less than two hours till midnight. Unless we drag him out of there by the scruff of his neck, somebody else is going to be hurt.”

  Bishop closed her eyes, and Kasey knew she had won. Bishop never put her own personal safety above the people of the city. She took her duty to protect them as seriously as Kasey did.

  “We can do this; we can save them, but we need to move soon,” Kasey said.

  “What's the plan?” Bishop asked, opening her eyes. “I'm not sending good officers to their death.”

  “I have Cal on the ground there now. He is establishing a perimeter and sounding out the area.”

  “How does one man establish a perimeter?” Kendra asked.

  “He calls in a pack of werewolves and shuts the place down. We'll also have plenty of muscle to back us up.”

  Bishop put her hands on her hips. “We could be up against the Night Crew and their vampire masters. Not to mention those new drugs they have. We're going to need more.”

  “I also have Strang mustering the ADI. I'll have her bring whatever strength she can, to Brooklyn. Between the wolves, the ADI, and whatever NYPD muscle you can bring to bear, we’ll have a smal
l army.”

  “If he sees you all coming, he might flee,” Kendra said.

  “That's why a small group of us should enter first,” Kasey replied. “Time our arrival two minutes ahead of the convoy so that they think we've fallen for their ruse. As they try to clamp their jaws shut around us, we bring the hammer down on them and grind them to dust.”

  “Two minutes is going to feel like a long time with a vampire trying to kill us,” Bishop said.

  “People have been trying to kill me all day. It will be nice to share the load a bit.” Kasey punched out a quick message to Marion Strang.

  It would also be nice to be fighting with the ADI rather than against them. With the power the vampire had unleashed, a few more wizards would be a welcome addition to the strike team.

  “Just today, Kasey? People have been trying to kill you as long as I’ve known you,” Bishop replied. “You have a greater capacity for attracting calamity than any person I’ve ever met. Just knowing you has tripled my insurance premiums.”

  “Oh, did she burn down your home too?” Kendra asked, with a wicked grin. “Mine was a historical masterpiece, and she reduced it to cinders in an afternoon. Such a shame.”

  “If I remember rightly, your siblings had more than a little to do with it,” Kasey began before Bishop cut her off.

  “Sounds about right. She doesn’t get invited to many housewarmings, our Kasey. You can understand why.”

  Kasey held up a hand. “All right, I see how it is. If you two jokers are finished, can you sort out the transport? I just need a minute.”

  Bishop shot Kendra a conspiratorial wink. “I’m sure we can manage that. I’m going to have to run it past the Chief first.”

  “Chief West? I haven’t seen him since the Policeman’s Ball,” Kendra said. “Mind if I tag along?”

  “It never hurts to have a millionaire in my corner,” Bishop replied.

  “Billionaire, with a B,” Kendra replied. “It’s ludicrous, I know, but it does come in handy.”

  The two of them headed for the elevators but Kasey had different plans. Instead, she made her way downstairs to the bathrooms in the basement. It was the one place in the Ninth Precinct few people bothered to venture, and one of the only places Kasey was confident she could get a little room to think.

  She locked the door behind her, trudged over to the sink, and leaned on the counter. She stared down at the white porcelain, afraid to look in the mirror.

  Since she had woken up, there had been no less than four attempts on her life, not including the kidnapping. She’d had her own car blown up, survived a drive by, renovated a church, and been knocked about by a vampire. She felt like death warmed up and that was without considering everything her mother had dropped on her.

  Slowly, Kasey raised her eyes to the mirror.

  She was covered in dust and dirt. There was a nice bruise forming on her right cheek, and a handful of minor cuts and abrasions on her arms, and her hair was a hot mess. On any other day, her reflection might have given her pause. She’d taken a beating, physically and emotionally. But as she stared into the mirror, her warm brown eyes stared back.

  A single thought ran through her mind.

  I may be bruised but I’m not broken.

  As Kasey looked at each of the wounds, her perspective changed. No longer were they signs of everything that had gone wrong for her. Instead, they became signs of everything that had gone right. The truth was that her enemies had been trying to kill her all day, and she was covered in the evidence of their failure.

  She was still standing. The Feudal Court had sent their assassins to ensure that New York City's protector would be out of commission, leaving the city defenseless for whatever predations they had planned. They had failed.

  Sure, it was almost midnight, the very literal eleventh hour, but there was still time for one more play. One desperate gambit to stop the vampires in their tracks and save the city she loved.

  As she studied her reflection, Kasey knew she was walking into the open jaws of a waiting lion, but there were millions of innocent people in this city who were counting on her. Many of whom slept in their beds, even now. They had no idea that what was transpiring while they slept would throw their world into chaos and death. They were the reason this had to be done.

  Kasey had no doubt that it was a trap, but this time she would be ready. There was no way of knowing what the vampire had planned, but she was not alone. She had Cal and his pack, Bishop and the NYPD, and whatever manpower the Arcane Council could bring to bear.

  If the vampire had any sense at all, he should have run for his damn life.

  Kasey turned on the faucet. Running her hands under the water, she splashed some of it on her face. The icy cool water stung a little as it ran over her wounds, but she pushed the discomfort away. Pain was not a new experience, and she'd had far worse.

  She was still wearing the NYPD issue bulletproof vest. She'd not had a moment to take it off. She could tell that it was hiding several bruises where it had likely saved her life.

  Kasey washed her face, pushed her hair back out of the way, brushed off her second favorite leather jacket, and headed upstairs.

  One thing was certain, the Feudal Court was spoiling for a fight.

  Kasey was going to give them more than they bargained for.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was past eleven pm when the three squad cars rolled through Brooklyn. Much of the borough was asleep but its clubs and bars were still doing a roaring trade. Kasey had opted for a small escort: Bishop and ten officers in tactical gear ready to kick down the club's front door and deal with its vampire infestation.

  Evening Forever was in a strange position for a nightclub. Huddled in the midst of several city blocks’ worth of warehouses that served as storage for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, it looked out of place.

  Most buildings in the area sported a few broken windows and run-down brick façades that spoke of decades of neglect. Warehouses didn't need to be pretty to serve their function.

  Evening Forever, on the other hand, had a sleek steel and glass shopfront lit by soft LED lights that allowed those on the street a passing glimpse inside the club. For it to survive without being vandalized, there had to be an understanding with the locals.

  As the convoy rolled to a halt in front of the club, Kasey was confident that Bishop was right. It wasn't just a random respite for the vampire; the club was likely owned by the Feudal Court and being used as a front for their operations in the area.

  Cal's discovery of the slaughtered vampires a few blocks away, reinforced her assessment, but raised a host of other questions. Who had killed them? What else did the vampires own? What other dangers waited for them in this sleepy little street in Brooklyn? There were a dozen warehouses nearby, all of which could conceal the presence of the vampires or their Night Crew lackeys.

  The preacher had chosen his ground well, but this time Kasey was the bait, in a much larger trap.

  She stepped out of the car and looked down at her watch. Their reinforcements were only a few minutes away. Kasey just needed to lock down the club until they could arrive.

  Bishop and her officers disembarked, checked their weapons, and gathered around Kasey.

  “We don't know what to expect in there, so watch your shots,” Kasey began.

  “Remember, if you see a vampire, aim for the heart or head. Nothing else will slow them down,” Bishop added.

  “How do we know if they are a vampire?” The question came from an immense officer that had a portable battering ram slung over his shoulder. The Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun he carried looked almost small in his hands.

  “He'll be trying to eat you, Henley,” Bishop replied. “Any other questions?”

  The officers shook their heads.

  “Good,” Bishop said. “Kasey, where is our backup?”

  “Right here,” a deep voice called.

  Five figures emerged from the shadow of an alley that s
eparated Evening Forever from the warehouse on its left. One of the officers raised his weapon in surprise but Cal held up his hands.

  “Easy, buddy, we are on the same side.”

  Cal and his companions were dressed in tracksuits and zip up hoodies. Clothes that were easily discarded when the time came for them to shift. A werewolf's transformation happened on a molecular level and tended to be destructive to anything in its path, including the clothes the werewolf had been wearing.

  “But you don't even have any weapons,” the officer replied as he appraised the five men who looked more like they were out for a winter jog than to do battle with a den of vampires.

  Cal laughed. “We are the weapons. And there are a dozen more of my pack watching the building.”

  Bishop addressed her officers. “If you see anything that looks like a wolf, leave it be. It's on your side.”

  “Wolves, vampires,” an officer muttered. “I feel like I'm in a movie.”

  She was tall, brunette, and carried an MP5 submachine gun.

  “More like a nightmare, Hitchins,” Bishop said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “but it's on us to put that creature down before it can do any more harm. So, take a deep breath, steel your nerves, and show them what the Fighting Ninth does to creatures who threaten our city.”

  Kasey led the way to the club. She held her power close, ready to use at a moment's notice. Not that it had done them much good in the park.

  The vampire seemed to work some sort of dark arcana into its spells. Whatever the energy was, it was highly reactive and had taken apart Kendra's shield like it was made of tissue paper. Kasey's job, as she saw it, was to keep those around her alive, while they helped bring down the vampire. Backup would be here soon. They just had to hold out until the cavalry arrived. A job that was far easier said, than done.

  As they approached the club, the bouncer stepped up to meet them.

  “I'm sorry, we're closed for a private function,” the man said in a heavy Eastern European accident.

  “We know. We are the entertainment,” Kasey replied.