Darkling

Chase was curled up on the sofa next to her, snoring softly. Trillian and Morio were nowhere to be seen. Morio was Camille's other lover—the other member of the little harem she had going. Morio was a youkai-kitsune, a fox demon. Japanese and as gorgeous as all the other men anxious to be in her entourage, Morio had been teaching her death magic, a skill which she was picking up all too easily. I glanced at the clock. Wade should be along before long.



Delilah woke Chase and he yawned, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. They made for a striking couple. They shared the same height of six-foot-one, but Delilah was as golden as Chase was swarthy. Her felinelike features sparkled with energy, while his Mediterranean good looks could make the cover of any GQ magazine. He wasn't my type though. Neither were Camille's lovers. Most men didn't appeal to me and with good reason.



I pulled Iris aside. "Would you take Anna-Linda into the kitchen and get her something to eat, then tuck her into bed? If you have any sort of 'don't run away' spell, now would be a good time to use it."



She nodded and gently led the girl away, asking in soothing tones what she'd like to eat. As far as I could tell, Anna-Linda still hadn't pegged me for a vampire, and I wanted her feeling refreshed and safe before she realized what I was. No sense in having her so terrified she'd run again.



When they were out of earshot, I settled down on the ottoman and motioned for the others to lean in. "I don't want the girl overhearing what I'm about to tell you," I said. "She's been traumatized enough for one night."



Chase frowned. "I have news for you, too—"



I shook my head. "Slow down there, bronco. Chase, you're going to find the bodies of two drug dealers in one of the alleys off of Wilshire Avenue, near the parking garage. They accidentally ingested every tablet of Z-fen that they happened to have on them. I stopped them from raping that little girl. They were going to drug her and put her to work turning tricks. Her name is Anna-Linda Thomas and she's a runaway from Oregon. I smell a bad home life, but you should check it out before saying anything. She's skittish."



"Whoa. That's some evening you had." Delilah blinked, turning her winsome face toward me. She had grown up a lot over the past few months, that naive spark missing from her eyes. But it wasn't just the demons who'd vanquished it. No, a black scar in the shape of a scythe adorned the center of her forehead. She was a marked woman, and it had changed her in ways I could only begin to fathom.



I turned my attention back to Chase. He yawned and flipped open his notebook.



"Can I get some coffee?" he said. "Meanwhile, give all that to me again. Slowly this time."



Delilah unfolded herself from the sofa and headed toward the kitchen in search of caffeine. Camille caught my eye and gave me the thumbs-up. She was a lot like me, although I could out-ruthless her any day of the week.



I went over the incident again, step by step, not bothering to hide my impatience when Chase let out a loud sigh.



"Look, I don't give a flying fuck that you're squeamish about my methods, but you'd better get one thing through your head," I said. "Not only are we at war with the demons, but with a world full of perverts out there. If Iris and I hadn't shown up at the precise moment we did, that little girl would be on her knees sucking cocks, pumped up on Z-fen. Or maybe she'd be taking it up the ass for some businessman looking for a game of rub-and-tickle. You want that to happen? Fine. But I can't stomach the thought of waiting for the cops to answer a nine-one-one call. And I don't like the odds of those bottom-feeders buying their way out of jail."



Chase stared at his notes. I'd either made him furious or hit a nerve, because he closed the notebook and returned it to his pocket. His eyes cool and glittering, he said, "Before you three came along, I played by the book. I was a good cop. Or so I thought. I obeyed the rules. Now… I don't know what I am."



I repressed my urge to shake him by the shoulders. "Listen to me. You've learned to adapt. We all have to. And because you have, you'll have a better chance of surviving the chaos that's coming. Go ahead and return to playing good cop and bury your head in the sand. We'll go home, and leave the portal to Shadow Wing. Where will all your rules and regulations get you then?"



He paled and I felt a flicker of guilt, then squashed it. Of all of us, I was the most pragmatic. Trillian was right up there behind me, and Camille and Morio next in line, but Chase and Delilah tended to hesitate when facing difficult choices. I didn't blame them. It simply wasn't in their natures to play rough. But if we were to stop the evil filtering in from the Sub Realms, we couldn't afford to be picky when it came to breaking a few rules.



"Yeah, I know," he said after a moment. "I hear you loud and clear, even if I don't like the message."



Delilah returned from the kitchen carrying a tray with the coffeepot and mugs. She'd added a glass of milk for herself and an empty goblet for me, which she held up. "Drink?"



I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm not thirsty."



"Okay, truce on the pimp issue," Chase said, accepting the coffee. "Now, tell me, where do you get that blood you keep on ice, anyway? Or do I really want to know?"



I grinned. "I wondered if you'd ever get up the guts to ask. Every few weeks, Camille visits one of the smaller farms around here."



Chase turned an inquisitive eye her way. "Yes?"



Camille laughed. "One kiss and the manager gives me anything I want. They keep some of the blood they drain from their livestock for us. Since it's an organic farm, the blood's untainted by chemicals."



"So animal blood works?" Chase asked, looking less freaked out than I'd expected, though that might be because the answer was a lot less frightening than he'd probably been imagining.



"Oh sure. It's not my favorite, but it serves a purpose, at least for awhile. It won't stave off the hunger for too long, but it's enough to get me by for awhile. Our freezer's packed with it—enough to last me four or five months if I have to hole up." I paused for a moment. "Okay, what's your news, Johnson?"



He stared into his cup and then looked up to meet my eyes. "The four bodies we took in tonight? The ones killed by vamps?"



The tone of his voice told me I wasn't going to like what was coming next. Camille and Delilah stared at the ground. Apparently they already knew.



"They're gone."



"What do you mean, they're gone?" I stared at him. "Corpses just don't walk away. Well, not all that often."



"Use your head, girl," Chase said, looking exhausted. "We have four newborn hungry vamps on the loose. One of the laboratory techs saw them rise. He managed to hide until they left. He's an elf who works with Sharah." Chase lifted his cup to his lips. The coffee was scalding, but he didn't even flinch.



Freakin' bloody hell. "Do you think they were wannabes, then? Groupies who found a willing vamp to sire them?"



He shook his head. "I checked into their background. None of them hung with that crowd. They didn't cruise the clubs, they had good jobs, apartments, pets, families. Now I have to decide whether to notify their families or not. What can I say? Your daughter's dead, but she got up and walked away? Or do I just wait until they're reported missing? This is a sticky wicket, and I'm so damned glad that so far, only the FH-CSI is involved. But what I really need is for somebody to get out there and catch these new vamps before they start preying on the people of Seattle. That's on top of catching the joker who sired them."



Great. This night was just getting better and better. "Got any clues?"



"I don't know. You know the vamp community better than I ever could. My men and I'd be sitting ducks if we went into some of the sub-cult clubs that have sprung up over the past few years. And don't think I don't know about what goes on in there. I've heard about the parties at Dominick's." He set down his mug and gave me a tired shrug. "I know it's a lot to ask on top of finding whoever killed them in the first place but…"



I looked from Delilah to Camille. "I assume you two will go along for the ride?"



Camille nodded. "What else can we do?" She looked like she was going to say something, but then shook her head.



"Okay, you've got something on your mind. Give it up."



She stared at the floor for a moment. "As far as you know, how often do vamps leave their kills out for others to find? Wouldn't they normally take someone back to their nest if they were intending to sire them?"



What she said made sense, but I didn't see how it related. "Go on."



"I just think… it seems like this might be a message. That we were meant to take notice of those bodies, especially since Chase received that anonymous tip. Whoever it was didn't try to hide the bite marks, did he?" She frowned, pursing her lips in a gesture that reminded me so much of Father it was hard to look away.



"What she's trying to say is: Do you think this might be the Elwing Blood Clan's way of letting us know they made it through the portals?" Delilah rattled out her thoughts like staccato bullet play. She shivered and I realized that she was waiting for me to explode.



Both my sisters knew that I hated discussing the Elwing Blood Clan. My blow up shortly after Yule when they told me that the Clan might be headed this way proved that I wasn't ready to talk about them yet.



Trouble was, Delilah might just be right, and if she was, I was in for a world of hurt. I crossed to the fireplace, gazing into the flames that crackled and popped. The winter was cold all right, and suddenly it seemed bleak and dark. Spring was a long ways off, and for me, the returning light would never again cross my face. After a moment, I turned.



Chase looked mildly confused, as usual, but Camille, Delilah, and Iris eyed me cautiously. Once, I'd lived like them. Once, I'd taken deep breaths, felt my pulse race, enjoyed the cold and heat and the sun on my face. The Elwing Blood Clan had taken all of that away. Dredge had taken it away.



Stronger, older than any of them, he was their leader, dark wine on a hot summer's night. Dredge had shredded my skin. He'd taught me how closely pleasure is tied to intense and exquisite pain. He'd used every weapon he could think of that wouldn't kill me outright, including his own body. He'd ripped open my soul and nobody bothered to put Menolly back together again. And then at the end… he forced my lips to his wrist where he'd opened a vein. His blood trickled down my throat. I had no choice. It was swallow or choke. And so I swallowed. And then, the end came that was only the beginning to torment…



Shaking my head, I quickly barricaded my thoughts. Some roads were too dangerous to walk down. The OIA brought me back to sanity, but they couldn't take away the scars that were left on my body and heart. Sometimes wounds never heal. Sometimes memories never fade.



"Then I suppose we'd better find out if they're behind this," I said. "Wade should be here any minute. If anybody knows about anything new going down in the vamp community, he will. He keeps close ties with most of the nests and clubs."



Wade made it his business to know what was happening in the underground. There were three layers within the Supe community—those who were out of the closet and lived open lives; those who hadn't mainstreamed, but who could still pass for humans; and then there were the Supes who hid themselves away and steered clear of the human side of life. At least the average FBH's life.



"If it is them…" Camille said, her words drifting off.



"If it is Dredge, then Wisteria's going to be with him and my guess is they'll be trying to find their way into the Subterranean Realms to meet up with Shadow Wing." I paused, wiping my hand across my eyes. I usually didn't tire but right now I felt a thousand years old. "I want you to promise me one thing."



"What's that?" Chase asked, staring at me.



As I dropped my hand, I realized it was wet—slick with bloody tears. I'd been crying and didn't even know it. I didn't bother wiping the blood off my face but looked him straight in the eye. "If the Elwing Blood Clan's involved, Dredge is mine. And nobody says a word about what I do to him, no matter what I do. Understand? He's mine."



Delilah let out a small mew. Camille blinked but didn't say a word. She gave me a look that told me she understood. Chase nodded once. I turned back to the fire as Iris came up, carrying a towel over her shoulder.



"Menolly? Maggie's awake and looking for you. Would you like to come hold her for me while I make up her cream and sage? I think she's hungry." Her flaxen hair shimmered under the incandescent lighting, her gaze showing no pity, only clear, pure support. Grateful, I forced my lungs to take a long, deep breath. I didn't need to breathe, but it helped me focus when I was stressed out.



"Thanks," I said. "I'm right behind you."



We headed into the kitchen, where Maggie was sitting in her playpen, blinking. I glanced at Iris. "You woke her up, didn't you?"



Iris shrugged. "Hard to say. I went in my room to get a notebook and must have made too much noise. She started whimpering so I brought her out." She turned away, avoiding my stare, but I knew her too well. Maggie hadn't woken up on her own.



"Thank you," I said, shaking off my gloom. "How's the girl?"



"Anna-Linda is sleeping. I slipped her a potion. She needs the rest and I don't want her waking up during the night." Iris pointed to her room. "I put her in my bed. I can sleep in the rocking chair or on the sofa if need be." She set a pan on the burner and added cream, sage, sugar, and cinnamon. Maggie's special drink would help her grow up big and strong. And smart, we hoped.