First Drop of Crimson

In the negative column, Web wouldn't easily let the source of his million-dollar industry flee out the door. Web was a powerful Master vampire. In addition to him, Ian had also reported eight other Master vampires in the home, plus other undead guards. The best way to ensure they got Nathanial out alive was a quick, brutal attack. Dawn would see blood spilled; of that, Spade had no doubt.

Which was why he had sent Denise half an hour ago to the docks. She'd wanted to go with them, insisting her presence was necessary because she was the only one who knew what Nathanial looked like. Spade countered that should there be more than one Dragon-blooded bloke inside, they'd grab him, too, but it made no sense for Denise to storm the house just to make an identification. He didn't want to scare her by stressing how dangerous this was for them, strong vampires all, to attack a Master vampire's well-guarded home. For all they knew, Web might have fortified his house with booby traps. So have Denise, still mostly human, go with them? She'd be killed or get him killed protecting her. Or both.

Spade sought to soothe her by saying he'd need her to man the escape boat they'd rendezvous to, but Denise saw through the lie, because she'd turned away in frustration. Selfishly, Spade hoped this was another reason Denise would welcome changing over once her brands were off. Being a vampire did have some drawbacks, but those were vastly overshadowed by the benefits, in his opinion.

"Fabian's presence will be priceless for searches and warnings, but if things get dicey, Cat, that new pyrokinesis power of yours will be quite useful, too," Spade said, strapping on a final knife.

She grimaced. "Yeah, about that...I don't have it anymore."

Ian's brows rose. "Only a few months ago, you exploded an entire house and a Master vampire's head right off his shoulders. You're saying that ability's gone?"

Cat looked at her hands and sighed. "Because I was a half-breed before changing over, Fate thought it was funny to make me feed off vampire blood instead of human blood. I absorb power from undead blood whenever I drink - and sometimes, that means any special powers the vampire has, too. Kinda like normal vampires absorb life from human blood when they drink. But just as vampires need to keep feeding regularly to sustain the life in them, the power I absorb feeding from vampires fades with time. So the pyrokinesis I absorbed after drinking from Vlad was only temporary. All my hands are good for now is throwing knives. Or doubling as sparklers."

Spade digested that. "If that's not common knowledge, we might still be able to use it to our advantage. The threat of you being pyrokinetic might be enough to sway matters, even if you're not any longer."

"You want me to bluff if things get dicey?" she asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "If we're in that much trouble, what's to lose by trying?"

Crispin snorted grimly. "Let's hope we don't find ourselves in that much trouble, mate."

"Agreed," Ian muttered.

Spade glanced at the clock. Almost three A.M. It was time.

"Remember, the human has to be taken alive," he said. Then his voice hardened. "But everyone else can die."

Denise grumbled under her breath as she, Bootleg, and another vampire named Lyceum reached the Fontvieille pier. How stupid did Spade think she was? Oh sure, he was counting on her to have the boat at the proper coordinates of the Mediterranean. That was why he'd sent two other vampires along with her.

"You smell angry," Bootleg remarked conversationally.

"How stupid does he think I am?" Denise blurted, out loud this time. "Oh sure, I'm so necessary here. Except for the part where I don't even know how to drive a boat!"

Lyceum didn't quite stifle his laugh. "I don't know what they're doing, cheri, and if Spade didn't tell me, it's dangerous. You didn't really expect him to bring you? You're a human."

The vampire said it in the same way he might have said with the word moron. Denise's fists clenched. Vampire elitism when it came to humans was as rampant as it was infuriating.

"Humanity doesn't equal inferiority," she got out. "And you don't leave your only witness behind when you're looking for the perpetrator."

"You do if there might be danger," Bootleg said with a shrug. "Especially since it's you."

Denise glanced at him with curiosity and annoyance. Was she considered extra helpless as a human female, or had Spade told Bootleg what was in her blood? "Why especially me?"

"Because of Giselda," Bootleg replied.

"So true," Lyceum chimed in.

Denise felt like they were speaking another language. "Who or what is Giselda?"

The two vampires exchanged a look that stopped Denise in her tracks. "Don't you even think of holding back, or I'll...I'll tell Spade you let me get away from you," she improvised. "And that I got mugged," she added for good measure.

Cries of "Mon Dieu!" and "That's not fair!" echoed immediately from the two vampires.

"I'm a crazy human female, you know I'll do it," Denise warned them, her internal alert system telling her that this was important.

Lyceum gave Bootleg a dirty look. "You brought her up. You tell her."

Something like a sigh came out of Bootleg. "Giselda was Spade's lover during the Franco-Prussian war. He intended to marry her, except she was still human. You have to be a vampire to be married as one, and Giselda resisted changing over."

Lyceum muttered something in French that made Bootleg nod. Denise didn't need it translated to guess it was something derogatory about Giselda's choice.

"And?" she prompted, premonition sliding up her spine.

"Spade was called away by his sire to assist in some dispute. He didn't take Giselda in case war broke out between his sire and the other Master. She was to stay in her chateau. But weeks later, when Spade sent word that all was well and he'd be returning soon, Giselda decided to go to him instead. She sent a messenger ahead to announce her arrival."

Bootleg cast a sideways glance at Denise that made her want to smack him in impatience. "Go on," she said.

"On the way, her carriage had a mishap or it was attacked, I don't know which. I do know Giselda was gang-raped by a group of French deserters - either before or after they killed her," Bootleg summarized bluntly. "Spade went looking for her when she didn't arrive at the time her message described. He found her body in the woods."

Denise felt ill even as several things clicked into place. Why did you have to kill him? she'd asked Spade months ago, standing over the body of her attacker in the parking lot. Because of what he intended to do. No one deserves to live after that. And Ian's comment, I haven't seen Charles this attentive with a human in almost a hundred and fifty years...Hasn't he told you about her yet? Then last week in Nevada, You have no idea how much I do understand...

Spade did know the horror of discovering the broken body of someone he loved, just as she did. It was the worst, most helpless, most heartbreaking, rage-inducing feeling in the world.

Was that why Spade never dated humans? They really did have a lot in common. Spade shunned relationships with humans because of Giselda, and Denise had avoided the undead world because of Randy. How ironic they'd been drawn to each other despite these reservations.

"Cheri, don't cry," Lyceum said softly. "That was a long time ago."

Denise brushed her cheek, only realizing then that it was wet. "Sorry. I just...I know what it's like," she finished, wiping her other cheek.

"We're glad you came along," Bootleg said, smiling at her. "It's good to see Spade happy again. Why, I'll bet he'll be doing cartwheels once you change into a vampire."

For the second time, Denise stopped in her tracks.

"What makes you think I'll be doing that?"

Web's house was on the edge of Monte Carlo and La Rousse. He'd picked the highest point as far as topography, no doubt for defensive reasons more than aesthetic ones. It did make the Greek-style architecture look impressive, rising up from the rocky hill with tastefully hidden spotlights shining on the different foliage and the house, but Spade knew those spotlights were also security. They kept all access to the house well lit, making Spade deduce that Web had human as well as vampire guards. A vampire wouldn't need the spotlights to see everything.

"From what I heard in the humans' minds who live here, food is delivered on a regular basis to a man secured in the cellar. The stairway is accessible through a hidden door in the walk-in freezer," Crispin whispered. "Fabian, find the freezer and check there first. Ian, do you remember passing through something cold before you were taken to the human?"

"No, but where the bloke is during the day when he'd be fed is likely different than where they'd have him to entertain guests."

"Good point," Alten replied.

"I'll search for it," Fabian promised.

The ghost streaked off toward the house, passing right through trees and then, finally, the exterior.

Even if Web's guards were startled to see Fabian, they wouldn't realize he was a scout and not just a stray spook looking for a new place to haunt. Most vampires never mixed with ghosts. Cat, of course, hadn't let that stop her from befriending one and making him part of her family.

Spade glanced at the sky. "Less than two hours until dawn. With luck, Fabian will find him quickly and we can be in and out before they marshal a significant defense."

Cat glanced at the sky, too, but with trepidation. Being a new vampire, she was still susceptible to the pull of the dawn. Once the sun rose, she'd be too lethargic to fight, but Spade didn't intend for them to be there when the sun rose. If they were, then they'd be captured. Or dead.

After several tense minutes, Fabian's hazy form appeared in the doorway of Web's house. The ghost wordlessly gave a thumbs-up signal.

Ian grinned at Spade. "All right, mate. Let's have some fun."

Spade returned Ian's smile with savage anticipation. "Indeed."

The five vampires rose, Spade and Crispin at the front, and charged toward the house.

Alarms tripped, both visual and audible, when they were fifty yards from the house. Spade wasn't con cerned; he'd expected that. When the first swarm of guards, human and inhuman, appeared and began firing at them, he threw two of his silver grenades. So did Crispin. Then the five of them hit the ground right before the explosions sent silver shards ripping through Web's guards.

The screams were music to his ears. He volleyed two more grenades through the window to clear the scrambling he heard inside, smashing through right after those satisfying twin booms.

"Kitchen, last room on the left," he heard Fabian shout. Then another series of booms went off.

Spade didn't turn around to see what was happening. For one, nothing but an exorcism could harm the ghost, and for another, all four of his friends were strong, capable fighters. All Spade's attention was focused on one thing: Find the source, and pray it was Nathanial.

He sped through the opulent rooms and hallways, his feet barely brushing the ground. When he neared the kitchen, a quartet of silver blades speared him in the chest right before Spade saw the two vampires crouched behind a door. They came out, crowing in victory, but Spade just yanked the knives from his chest and sent them sailing at the hearts of their owners. The blades landed with multiple thuds and cries of pain.

I'm wearing a Kevlar vest. You're not, Spade thought coldly, pausing to give the blades a rough twist before leaping past the fallen vampires.

More crashing and explosions sounded at the front of the house. Alten, Ian, Cat, and Crispin were taking the brunt of the attack to draw attention away from him, Fabian running interface to warn them of each new danger. Still, they could only be successful at that for so long.

Even through the other sounds, Spade heard stealthy noises ahead that let him know the kitchen wasn't empty. When he reached it, he threw in his second-to-last silver grenade before rolling inside after the detonation. The three vampires wounded on the tile met a quick, rough death at the end of his knife.

But despite his rapid, thorough search of the kitchen, there was no walk-in freezer. Just a regular one with no door behind it, as Spade discovered when he ripped it from the wall.

A series of loud pops followed by heavy thuds in his back had Spade spinning around, snatching the human guard who tried to run after shooting him in the back.

"Where's the walk-in freezer?" he snarled.

The man just bleated in terror. Spade snapped his arm and twisted it, ignoring the instant high-pitched scream. "Freezer," Spade repeated before gripping the man's other arm in open threat.

"Th-this way," the guard got out between heaving sobs, pointing.

Spade dragged him in that direction, ducking to avoid another volley of silver and flinging his own blades in response. He was running low on knives, but he couldn't risk using his last silver grenade. Not yet.

The guard led him to the pantry and then pointed at an inner door with his unbroken arm. Understanding dawned. The pantry was the last door on the left in the kitchen, and that's where the freezer door was located. Spade yanked at the subtly designed handle made to look like just another shelf and the door swung open. He ducked immediately, but the guard wasn't as fast. A flurry of knives landed on the man. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Spade vaulted forward on his belly, slicing into every bit of flesh he made contact with as he made his way into the freezer. Hard forms landed on him in a pile. Spade kept an unyielding grip on the knives in his hands, ignoring the pain from the stabs where his vest didn't cover him, and slashed out with relentless purpose. It was so small in the freezer; his attackers had no room to maneuver out of the way, and no protective gear over their hearts like Spade had. After a frenzied minute filled with ceaseless hacking, Spade rose, blood spattering him and the vampire guards dead at his feet.