Darkling

I snatched it up and raced over to the still-covered third body, shoving a lab cart out of the way. The tray tipped, instruments spilling everywhere, the sound of metal and breaking glass shattering the air like an alarm. I leapt over the mess, raising my stake above the third body.



Twitch. The vamp was about to rise. Oh shit. I brought the stake up and plunged it through his heart before he could open his eyes. He let out a long whispering sigh, sounding like a breeze filtering through a hollow husk, and then vanished in a puff of dust and ashes.



Two down. I turned my attention to Roz. He was just bringing his stake down into the girl's chest and she let out a screech as she, too, disappeared into the abyss.



The immediate danger gone, I felt my legs ripple and I slid down onto the floor, staring at the stakes. Roz joined me.



"You okay?" he asked.



I shrugged. "There but for the grace of the gods, go I…"



"Nope. It won't happen. I watched you take down those two vamps. You're a survivor, Menolly. That's how you managed to break away from Dredge when he'd stripped everything he could from you. That's how you managed to fight your way back from the madness that he inflicted on you."



At my look of surprise, he pushed a lock of unruly hair off his forehead. "I know more than you think I do. Anyway, we still don't know where the Elwing Blood Clan is, but we'll find them. Don't worry."



"Right." He might know a lot about me, but I still didn't know him well enough to trust him. And yet… Roz seemed to be determined to help. And if it was Dredge and the Elwing Blood Clan, we needed everybody we could scare up for the hunt. I pushed myself up and dusted off my jeans, then held out my hand, yanking him to his feet.



"Come on, we need to let the others know we're okay. We have to figure out what the fuck is going on before it gets any worse."



On the way back to the bar, I asked Chase, "So what are you going to tell their families? And what did you tell the families of the first four?"



He paled. "Officially, we haven't found any of the missing. Since we run everything, including the bodies, through the FH-CSI office, we can fudge documents, as much as I hate doing it. All the techs from the investigation at the theater were our men, and we told the management there that a police informant had gotten beat up. Hush hush stuff. If any of their staff was found discussing it, they could go to jail."



"That's using your badge," Camille muttered, grinning. "You know somebody's going to leak something to the tabloids."



"Probably, but we can't control everything." He rolled his eyes. "You know, as well as I do, that everything had to be done in secret because they were vamp murders. There isn't—nor will there ever be—a record of those bodies. I hate doing this to the families, leaving them to wonder why their loved ones vanished, but at the moment, that's all we can do if we don't want full-scale panic to break out."



"Any missing person reports filed yet?" Delilah asked.



He shook his head. "Not yet, but my guess is by tomorrow. We'll officially 'look into the situation' but we can't keep up this charade. Seven people in two nights? Camille's right—this kind of story doesn't stay under wraps for long and pretty soon some savvy reporter's going to put things together. At the least, the department's going to take shit for not having a clue as to what happened to those going AWOL."



Delilah's cell let out an obnoxious series of beeps and she flipped it open and spoke in low tones. After a minute, she folded it closed and smiled. "Well, one bit of good news. I put out the call for a community Supe meeting. Seems like Zach, Siobhan, and Wade have been broadcasting like crazy because it's on for tomorrow night. We'll meet at the V.A. hall."



At least one thing was going right, I thought. But something nagged at me. I looked over at Roz. "Have you ever been to Aladril?"



He blinked. "No, actually, I haven't. Their city is highly warded against astral demons such as myself. I tried to get in once and couldn't set foot through the city gates. They don't need much of a military with their magical abilities, I'll tell you that much."



No wonder they weren't worried about the war between Lethesanar and Tanaquar. Any city that had the ability to magically deny entry to demons was far more powerful than Y'Elestrial's queen, or the sister battling for the crown.



Camille looked at me. "You really think we should go, don't you?"



I gave her a curt nod. "As in, yesterday. Queen Asteria told us to find the seer named Jareth. She seems convinced that the Elwing Blood Clan is behind this; she sent Roz to help us out because of that. Maybe this Jareth can give us some insight. After all, we aren't making much progress on our own, are we?"



"We don't even know what we're up against," she said, glancing at Delilah. "Not really. I think Menolly's right. But we'll have to leave at dusk and return before dawn. Tomorrow night's no good, with the Supe meeting. What about the night after—Sunday night?"



Delilah shrugged. "Fine with me. What do you think?" she asked, glancing in my direction.



I frowned. "If we have to wait until Sunday, then Sunday night it is. But don't be surprised if we see more dead bodies and more vamps rising."



"Why is the Elwing Blood Clan doing this?" Chase asked. "I thought Wisteria would try to help them head for the Sub Realms."



I stared out the window. "Maybe that's not their primary focus. Maybe they're out to raise some other sort of havoc."



Camille blinked. "Scary thought."



Chase dropped us off at the bar. While he and Delilah said good night with a little make-out fest, I leaned against the building, talking to Roz.



"I'll contact you tomorrow night," he said. "I'll be at your meeting. Until then, keep watch, and be wary." His eyes flashed a dangerous shade of desire as he gazed at Camille. She was heading toward her car.



"Remember what I told you," I whispered. "One slip and I'll make sure it's your last."



He snorted, but inclined his head. "Perhaps you'd care to take my mind off her?"



If I hadn't been a vampire, he would have had me right there. I could feel his focus, the sensual thrust of his words. Incubi were sex incarnate, and there was a reason they never wanted for partners.



"Be careful what you wish for," I told him. "Trust me, there are some paths not safe for even demons like you to tread. I take no lovers, and with good reason."



As Roz headed down the street, Delilah broke away from Chase. "Drive safe, babe," she said.



"I'm heading back to the lab to give Sharah a ride home," he said.



Delilah blew him a kiss and headed over to Camille's Lexus.



As Chase pulled out of his parking spot, I watched him drive away. He looked weary. As had Sharah. I wondered what it must be like, working with the dead and injured day after day.



It was one thing to walk among the undead. We were trapped in our bodies, living in limbo but still in existence. But the healers and medics who worked in silence at the sides of those who'd crossed over, who tended wounds and held the hands of those in pain… they were a special breed.



And for someone like Sharah, niece to Queen Asteria, to stand her ground even when a horde of demons was headed our way… Well, in my book, she had more balls than most men I'd ever met. This wasn't even her world. But OW was one step away from Earth, and would be next in line when Earth fell. Without our help, both worlds were doomed. There was no question of "if it happened"… only when.



Iris was waiting up for us as we trekked into the house. She waved a video camera. She beamed as we came in. "I've got wonderful news!"



Camille dropped into the rocker and leaned her head back. "We could use some, believe me," she said.



Delilah slumped on the sofa and began to pull off her boots. "Man, am I beat. I got contracted for a possible case, by the way, so I should be bringing in some more money in a few weeks. Some sort of cheating spouse thing again, I think. Boring, but it pays the bills."



Now that we were responsible for our own expenses, we all were working harder. It had been kind of fun when the OIA paid our freight and our day jobs were covers, but now that we were fending for ourselves we had to make sure we brought in enough to cover expenses. Luckily, both buildings—the Wayfarer and the Indigo Crescent—had been bought outright by the OIA, who seemed to have dropped all interest in them when Lethesanar stirred the cauldron with her dirty little war.



Iris eyed Camille and Delilah, a frown playing across her face. "I notice neither one of you touched your suppers. They're still in the refrigerator. Something wrong with my cooking?"



"Of course not." Camille yawned. "We had to go meet Menolly down at the bar, so we didn't get a chance to eat. I could sure go for a plate of lasagna right about now, though."



"Me too!" Delilah flashed the house sprite a bright grin and looked ever so hopeful.



"Yeah, yeah." Iris snorted. "You both eat like farmers. I'll heat your plates in a moment, but before another—" Here she stopped and looked at me. "I know you have bad news, it's written all over your face. But hold it for a moment."



I held up my hands, shaking my head. "Not a word. Not a word."



"Good." She held up her video camera and motioned for us to gather round. Camille and Delilah groaned, but Iris wouldn't take no for an answer. "Get your butts over here. You're a long sight younger than I am and I'm not complaining, so hurry it up."



We gathered around her and she set the camera to playback. There, in living color, was our Maggie, taking her very first steps by herself. The little gargoyle clutched at the coffee table as she came to the end, holding herself upright, and then, one finger at a time, she-let go, balancing precariously as she toddled toward the camera, arms outstretched.



We could hear Iris murmuring in the background and then Maggie took two steps, let out a particularly loud mooph and fell back on her butt, her tail splaying out to the side. She started to wail and the camera went dark, but there it was, in full glory. Maggie's first steps on her own.



Delilah clapped her hands and Camille immediately headed toward the kitchen while I grabbed Iris and spun her around, proud as punch of our little girl.



"Put me down this instant!" Iris said and I complied. When Iris chose to be stern, her voice took on that do-not-disobey-me tone and nobody, not even me, ignored it. "And just where do you think you're going?" she added, pointing at Camille.



Camille stopped in midstep. "Nowhere," she said, turning with a grin on her face. Uh huh, score one for Iris.



"You're going to wake up Maggie, aren't you? Well, I won't have it. That poor baby's sleep schedule is scattered to the winds thanks to the three of you. You have to start coordinating your play time with her or she's going to be all out of sorts. I just got her down to sleep an hour ago and she's going to stay asleep, so keep out of my room. You can give her a kiss tomorrow. Menolly, you can peek in on her before you go down for the day, but don't you dare wake her if she's still snoring."



Her hands on her hips, Iris looked ready to take on the world.



Even I had to admit that I wouldn't want to face her when she was in fighting form. For one thing, none of us were quite sure just how strong a Talon-haltija's powers were. But we'd seen some fairly impressive displays and we knew they weren't the sum of her talents.



"Iris is right," I said, glancing at Delilah and Camille. "We should work up some sort of a play schedule. We all like to tote Maggie around, and it's not fair to her if we can't get our act together."



Delilah grabbed her laptop off the coffee table. "Let's just do it, then, while Iris is making our dinner."



Iris nodded her head. "Smart girls. And I thought you'd like that news. You can tell me what happened tonight after you get your schedule together. Post a copy on the bulletin board in the kitchen so I know who's planning what."



As she left the room, Delilah pulled up Word, and created a new file using a calendar template. "We'll start with one week. When does Maggie need her naps? Does anybody know?"



Pushing thoughts of rogue vampires and grisly murders to the side for the moment, I settled in on her right as Camille curled up on her left. We glanced at each other and though it went unspoken, I knew they, too, were grateful for something to think about that wasn't covered in blood, reeking of demon scent.



CHAPTER 7



We finished the schedule and posted it on the bulletin board while Iris served up Delilah and Camille's dinners. As they ate, we told her about Roz and the three new victims.



"So you've no idea why they were chosen?" Iris dished out second helpings to my sisters. I wasn't fond of watching people eat—it brought up too many memories of being alive and how much I'd loved a good meal—but I put aside my discomfort for the sake of discussion.



I shook my head. "No. We really don't know any more than we did before, except that these murders took place up in the Green Lake area."



"That's where Sassy lives," Delilah said, stabbing a noodle with her fork.



"Which is why I'm going to pay her a visit tonight." I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs.



Iris frowned. "Do you think she had anything to do with it?"



Camille and Delilah both jerked their heads up. Apparently the thought hadn't occurred to them, though it had lurked in the depths of my brain.



I shook my head. "Sassy doesn't strike me as the type to play renegade, but then again, when… if… the predatory nature takes over, she might lose the ethics she's tried to cultivate since her transformation."