Dev's hands rolled into fists and he actually took a step toward the other man. I touched his arm, because I knew that would go badly. I'd seen them both in practice and Kaazim would kick his ass.
Nathaniel said, "Dev isn't just one of your tigers now. He's a lion, too. The golden tigers are supposed to rule all the other colors, but he's beginning to rule other groups as well; isn't that part of your legend, too?"
"And Sin literally made the earth move just before we got on the plane," I said. "Just because people are younger than you are doesn't make them children, just young."
"We don't have time for this; night is coming," Damian said.
"You are right," Jake said.
"We don't have time to admit aloud that the Mother's energy is waiting inside Anita like a coiled snake in the dark ready to strike? We don't have time to say that if she does not pick a tiger to love and marry, all we do here in Ireland is useless, because the Mother's power will consume the world and all of us with it?"
"She will not consume us today, but once night falls Damian's old master will do her best to destroy more of Dublin's people," Fortune said.
"You are letting your fears get in the way of our mission," Jake said, gently.
"No, Jacob, I am not. You and Fortune are allowing all this to interfere with our first and most important mission. What does it matter to us if all of Dublin burns tonight, if we do not prevent the evil from rising again?"
"Are you saying that it doesn't move you at all to see all those people in the beds there?"
"I am sorry that she has done this to them, she and her people, but if Jean-Claude and you had been able to contain the power it would not have come to her. They might not be hurt if you had chosen a tiger to call your own."
"Are you saying that somehow by marrying one of the tigers, magically all the scattered bits of the Mother's energy would be chased out of everyone else, or that Jean-Claude would suddenly be powerful enough to keep this kind of shit from happening?"
"That is what legend tells us."
"I think you're whistling in the dark, Kaazim."
"What does that mean?"
"I think you don't know how to put the genie back in the bottle."
"If you could call the djinn as the old Master of Tigers could do, we would have a formidable weapon against our enemies."
"Sorry that I didn't inherit anything but his ability to control the tigers, but I still think you worked all those centuries to kill the evil queen and didn't think what might happen afterward."
There was a moment when he glanced at Jake and Fortune but tried not to, and that was enough. "It is hard to plan for all eventualities," Jake said.
"You saw the defeat of your tyrant, but not what would happen to her vacant throne," Damian said.
"We thought that the one who defeated her would take her throne by right of conquest," Kaazim said.
"But by the time you won the war, the vampire council had imploded and there wasn't a European throne to take," I said.
"We did not anticipate an American king," Jake said.
"Echo says what we really didn't anticipate is that it took centuries to build the council's power base, and we expected it to transfer seamlessly to the next ruler, the next council," Fortune said.
"A little naive of you all, wasn't it?" I asked.
Kaazim gave me a sour look. "Perhaps in retrospect," Jake said, smiling, but not like he was entirely happy with it all.
"Kaazim, I'm sorry we got through your shields further than you wanted, or we wanted, but can you get past it to do your job here and now?"
"We can put out this fire tonight, Anita, but it is like a house fire when the world is about to burn."
"Can you follow orders and do your job to help us save Dublin, or not?"
"What does one city matter if you carry the seeds of the apocalypse inside you?"
"I'll take that as a no," I said, and looked to Jake and Fortune. "All right, tell us what you've learned, because we need a plan before nightfall that doesn't need Kaazim to work."
"I will do my part of any plan," he said.
I shook my head. "You had your chance, Kaazim. You said you'd let Dublin burn, let Ireland be destroyed tonight, because you're worried about a disaster that's not here yet."
"You feel her power inside you. You must," he said.
"Power is not destiny," Jake said.
"I'm a big believer in free will," I said.
"And I have seen too many centuries not to believe in fate," Kaazim said.
I turned to the rest of them. "Let's find Edward and get our plans off the ground without gloomy puss here."
"I am not a puss," he said.
"Fine. Without gloomy dog here--no, that doesn't work, does it?"
"Gloomy puppy?" Nathaniel offered.
"Gloomy pup?" Pride suggested.
"I expected better of you," Kaazim said.
"Dev isn't perfect, Uncle Chaz, but he's trying, and you really are a gloomy hound and always have been."
"Uncle Chaz?" I said.
"When we were little, they were Uncle Jake and Uncle Chaz," Pride said.
Kaazim ignored the old nickname; too angry to care, I think. Then he said, "You are right." He turned to me. "And you are right, as well. I have made the mistake of a soldier: letting the fear of defeat in war steal my courage for fighting today's battle. Thank you for reminding me that if we do not win today's battle, then we will never survive to win the war."
"I was thinking more, you win the war one battle at a time, but okay, let's go find Edward and get our well-armed ducks in a row."
"How do you know what ducks you need, our queen?" Jake asked.
"We'll figure that out as we go," I said.
He looked at me for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. "Just like that."
"It's Edward. It's me. It's all of you, Nolan, and his people. It's the gentle folk of Ireland singing sweet songs in our ears. With all that on our side, Jake, we'll figure out which ducks we need."
"Before nightfall?" Kaazim asked.
"Yes."
"There is no doubt in you," he said.
"I don't have time for it."
Fortune came up to me and Dev because he was so close, throwing an arm around us both. "We'll find gigantic carnivorous ducks," she said, and kissed us both one right after the other so that I tasted the echo of his mouth on hers. Nathaniel came over and added his kisses to ours, and Damian came to kiss two out of the four of us. Kaazim made an impatient sound that we were wasting time, but I've gone into a lot of fights now, and starting with a kiss beat the hell out of starting with a punch.
71
DAMIAN GAVE ADDRESSES of the old lairs that his old master and cronies had used five years ago; since they'd been using some of them for centuries it was a good bet they were still using some of them. You'd expect that once we knew possible places to go we'd suit up and bust down some doors, but it didn't work that way in America or in Ireland. The police would be gathering information on the addresses: public records, blueprints, find out if they were owned and lived in by human beings we could verify, because some of the addresses hadn't been used by M'Lady and her crew in a while, like decades. He made a list of centuries-old lairs. Not because they had been used recently, but because she owned them and she gave up nothing. Some of the buildings probably didn't even exist anymore. Those would be weeded out first and then they'd gather as much intel as possible. I'd worked with enough tactical units to know that the information gathering saved time and possibly lives later, but it was still a delay that always drove me a little crazy. It wasn't as bad this time because we didn't know which address we needed to hit, and the info would help us narrow the choices.
What to do while we waited? Edward and I both had some ideas; they just weren't the same ones. "If we can figure out why the holy objects didn't work at the police station and get them working before we send people into battle again, it will give us an advantage. It will give an advan
tage to the newbies who have never fought vamps before."
"How do you know the newbies will have that much faith?"
"They're fresh out of the packaging when we all believe in right and wrong, and that we can save the world. Your faith is always shinier before it gets a good test run."
"But not stronger," he said.
The comment surprised me from Edward, but I nodded and said, "No, not stronger, just newer."
"Your cross didn't go off either, you know."
"When no one's cross worked at the door to the station, I didn't think to draw mine. I might have, but about then he went out the door into the sunlight. I've never tried to trap a vampire between a cross's glow or burning to death in sunlight. I think I'd go for the cross first, if it were me, but once it gets dark the crosses will be the only glow they need to fear. Besides, Damian was right beside me; when some of the vampires are on our side, holy objects are a mixed blessing."
"If I'd brought my flamethrower, that wouldn't be true about the glow."
"You've almost burned one house down around us. It's left me not a fan of your flamethrower."
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Nope." I smiled when I said it, but I meant it.
Edward wanted me to go off with one of my people and try to heal my wounds with a little sexual healing before I did anything else. "It will take time for Pearson to get permission for you to do a demonstration to peacekeepers he doesn't have under his direct charge."
"How much time?" I asked.
"Make it a quickie, thirty minutes or so; they won't have everything organized before that."
"I knew there was a reason we were friends; I like a man who considers thirty minutes a quickie."
He grinned. "Twenty minutes in a pinch, but you're not just having sex; you're trying to heal a wound made by something supernatural. That might take more time."
I double-checked with Pearson, but Edward was right; it was going to take time to get all the Gardai's ducks in a row. Apparently someone had recorded us shooting the burned vampire to pieces in the street with a smartphone. It was all over the Internet and it looked pretty brutal, so the upper management of the local constabulary wasn't sure how much more help they wanted from the Americans. When I pointed out that they'd probably want the Americans on their side come nightfall, he'd said, "No one making this decision saw the vampires in person today. None of them have even walked into a crime scene or seen a victim in person. They don't want to believe what's happening to our city."
"They better believe and fast, Pearson, because we all need to make plans to try to keep Dublin from going up in blood and vampires tonight."
"I know that, Blake, but I'm not the one ultimately in charge."
"Are you actually saying that the powers that be may send me and my people home tonight rather than let us stay and help you fight?"
"It's not a fight, Blake. It's a crime to solve."
"We know who's behind it, Pearson. We just need to find her and make sure she can't do this again."
"We only have your vampire's word that it's his old master, Blake. We have no proof that we can take into court. We can't arrest her unless we catch her hurting people personally."
"Are you honestly saying, with Flannery and his people telling you the same thing that Damian and I are telling you, that it's not enough to convince your boss's boss that we just need to find her before nightfall and end her ass?"
"They aren't comfortable with the American solution."
"American solution . . . Shit, Pearson, you saw what just one vampire did to your . . . peacekeepers today. What do you think is going to happen when night falls and she can control that many vampires?"
"I can't prove that will happen, Blake, and neither can you."
"If they wait until tonight to plan a response, it's going to be a bloodbath. You know that."
"I have been very clear about what I believe is happening and will happen tonight, but you have to understand we have never had vampires here. We're Irish; we can usually make friends with any supernatural element that comes our way."
"Yeah, just a magical minority. I get it, but, Pearson, the Fey are scared, too. They don't know what's happening to Dublin, and they're worried it's going to spread from here to other cities."
"The gentle folk are part of the discussion with my superiors."
"And they still won't budge?"
"They're budging, but not as fast as you are wanting."
"It's not what I want, Pearson. It's what's needed."
"Perhaps, but I have to go through channels, Blake, and if you, or any of your people, act without clearance from us, then your likelihood of being escorted out of Dublin and to the airport when we need you most is almost a given."
"I'd like to say you're joking, but I know you're not."
"We do things differently over here, Blake."
"All bureaucracies are the same, Pearson. We've just had longer to deal with the problem in my country."
"No, Blake, one of the reasons that we preferred Forrester to you is that even your own FBI hasn't invited you to lecture and help train their agents. Even your own countrymen consider you more likely to resort to violence. Plus, you are a beautiful woman who is completely comfortable with violence. That unnerves some people almost more than the necromancy."
"Are you saying this comes down to some kind of weird sexism?"
"Publicly I will say no, but privately, a little bit."
"So if I were less attractive, this would go over better?"
"Even taller and more physically formidable would help, but you're this petite, attractive woman and it seems to bother some of my superiors that you're so comfortable with violence."
"That is ridiculous," I said.
"A little bit," he said.
"I can't grow taller in the next few hours, Pearson."
"I know that."
"Is there anything I can do to help them like me and my people better?"
"Stay out of trouble, and by trouble, I mean don't shoot anyone. Don't do anything violent until I've talked them through this."
"And if I'm attacked, can I defend myself?"
"Of course, you can defend yourself, but if you are attacked, making sure there are witnesses to them throwing the first punch, so to speak, would be helpful."
"So you're saying that even if I defend myself, any violence will count against me, us?"
"Just don't shoot anyone, please."
"I really don't want to get close enough to use a blade, Pearson. That's a good way to get even more hurt than I am."
"No, Blake, no blades either. Don't shoot anyone. Don't cut anyone with a knife."
"These are vampires, Pearson. What am I supposed to do, arm-wrestle them?"
"I know this sounds unreasonable to you, Blake."
"Damn straight, it does."
"But we don't resort to guns as soon as you do in your country. We call ourselves peacekeepers for a reason, because we see keeping the peace as our primary task."
"If you and your superiors don't have a battle plan before dark tonight, there won't be any peace in Dublin. As soon as Flannery's friends' magic fades enough, the Wicked Bitch of Ireland is going to call all her vampires to her. She has created an army here; don't you understand that?"
"We're hoping that most of the vampires are in the hospitals, currently under sedation."
"The drugs won't keep them unconscious once night falls," I said.
"The doctors think differently," he said.
"Because they think the vampires are people with a disease, and they aren't."
"Vampirism is a disease, just like cancer," he said.
"Yes, but cancer patients don't crave human blood, or become stronger and faster. They can't capture people with their gaze and force them to turn on their own people."
"The doctors in charge of the patients think the drugs will keep them comatose tonight."
"Fine, but what about the other
vampires in the city?"
"We're hoping that most of them are either dead or in the hospital wards."
"Oh my God, are you telling me that they, that you, really believe that we have most of the vampires in the city contained?"
He cleared his throat and said, "That is the prevailing theory."
"Theories are great in the laboratory, or in the boardroom, but out on the streets your theory is going to meet reality tonight."
"If you don't shoot or stab anyone between now and nightfall, I may be able to get them to agree to you and your people being part of the watch groups that will be patrolling the city."
"If we help patrol the city we will be cleared to shoot in self-defense, at least?"
"I won't ask that question and neither should you, Blake."
"Why not?"
"Because sometimes it's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission and be denied."
"Jesus, Pearson, you're setting your fellow Gardai up to be slaughtered."
"I'm doing the best I can; just stay out of trouble for a few hours. We have time before dark, if nothing else goes wrong and ends up on YouTube."
"We have no control over who has a phone and records what," I said.
"Stay out of sight then, just until I can talk them through this, and then you can show us how a holy item is supposed to work."
"Fine, fine, but . . . fine," I said, and hung up because I didn't trust myself to say more. Apparently I had time for more than just a quickie.
72
MY FIRST CHOICE would have been Nathaniel, or Nathaniel and Damian, but I'd fed the ardeur on them recently and I needed to give them another day of rest. Maybe more now that Nathaniel had donated blood to multiple vampires today. I actually asked Dev to go with me, but Jake stepped in, saying, "He has donated much blood today and should rest before he feeds anyone else again."
Dev had protested, but in the end we'd listened to the older and more experienced voice, which left me with a quandary. Fortune had also donated to multiple vampires, Magda was thirty minutes or more away with traffic, and honestly girl-on-girl sex took longer, because it was girl foreplay for two, instead of just one. Yes, some men need more foreplay than others and a lot more men enjoy foreplay than will admit it, but I was out of women and almost out of men. Just when you think you've overpacked, you realize you didn't bring enough of something.
I'd done my best to get both Ethan and Domino off my list of lovers, because they both wanted more emotional commitment than I could offer. I was so over my limit for emotional caretaking, but I needed to use the only healing ability I had, which like so many of the abilities I had inherited was sexual in nature. As Dev had said earlier, lust was better than fear, or death, or violence, and I could feed off anger, but I couldn't heal with anger and that was what I needed.
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