Blood Wyne (19 page)
I was gaining on her and, before I realized it, had caught up. Grabbing her by the arm, I whirled her around to face me. She snarled. My enemy. My friend. The mirror of what I could become.
“Oh Sassy, I’m so sorry. But I promised. You’d hate who you’ve become, if you were still in there.” And even as she clawed at me, leaving one long scratch down my face, I brought the stake down on her heart, piercing the Chanel suit, piercing the flesh, driving it deep into her. What started as a bloodstain was followed in seconds by dust and ashes as she let out one long shriek and vanished before my eyes into a small brown stain against the snow. I knelt beside the pile of ashes.
“What was life has crumbled. What was form, now falls away. Mortal chains unbind and the soul is lifted free. May you find your way to the ancestors. May you find your path to the gods. May your bravery and courage be remembered in song and story. May your parents be proud, and may your children carry your birthright. Sleep, and wander no more.”
Our prayer for the dead. We’d had to say it far more than we ever wanted to the past year. But now Sassy was with her ancestors, and, hopefully, her daughter, whom she’d mourned all these years. Tears slid down my cheeks, and I dashed them away. The Sassy I knew would have handed me one of her crimson handkerchiefs to dry my eyes and not make a mess on my clothing. The Sassy I knew would have. . .
“Thank you, Menolly . . .” The voice trailed on the wind as it crossed past me. I whirled to find myself facing a faint figure, translucent against the snow.
“What . . . Sassy?” She was there, large as life, but pale and misty. I noticed that her hair was a brilliant blond, and she looked younger. A little girl stood by her side, holding her hand, and on the girl’s other side, Janet—as a young woman, vibrant and smiling. The child had Sassy’s nose and eyes.
“Oh, Sassy . . . you found them both.”
Sassy tilted her head to the side. “Thank you,” she said again, her voice a whisper on the breeze. “I can go now. I can leave. And look—” She opened her mouth to smile. No fangs. The vampire within her was gone, destroyed by death.
Smiling through my tears, I pushed to my feet and raised my fingers to my lips, blowing her a kiss. She caught it, then slowly turned and, hand in hand with Janet and her little girl, walked away, vanishing into oblivion. Where she’d been standing lay a neatly folded linen handkerchief, crimson red, with a bloodred rose across it.
I picked both up, pressing the handkerchief to my lips. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, and tucked it in my pocket.
I silently returned to the house and tidied up, tossing the broken furniture. Then, flipping through the address book on her writing desk, I looked up the name of her lawyer. He knew she was a vampire, and—like most of us who kept property—she’d provided for the possibility of her being staked.
I put in a quick call to him, filled him in on the circumstances, and asked him to see that Janet was given a decent burial, and if he would call me when it was scheduled. It wasn’t against the law for a vampire to kill another vampire, so I had nothing to worry about concerning Sassy’s death. Her name would be stricken from the vampire rosters the government kept, if she had registered, and that would be that.
He thanked me, took my number, and hung up.
Looking around one last time, I let out a long breath and then softly locked the door and drove back to the bar. It was done. I’d killed a friend. I’d also killed a monster primed to take on the world. As far as nights go, this one ranked right up there on the suckometer.
I entered the bar through the back. I was covered with dust and blood and still had a few wounds from the fight with Sassy that were healing up. They’d vanish soon, unlike the scars Dredge had left on me before I died.
Heading for my office, I intended to wash up and then change before heading out to see how Derrick was doing. What with the early rising thanks to the sun setting earlier, even though I’d been through the haunting, talked to Wade, and staked Sassy, it was still only a few minutes past eleven and the bar wouldn’t close until two A.M. But as I opened the back door, I heard a commotion out front. The gates wouldn’t help when we were open.
With a groan—couldn’t I have one moment without incident tonight?—I pushed along the hall and entered the main bar. Derrick was standing there with the shotgun out, pointed at a group of about five leather-clad bikers. Chrysandra had the telephone in hand, eyeing Viper, one of the bikers who had been a customer off and on over the past year. He was pointing a Natchez bowie knife at her heart, barely touching her chest. The blade itself was over eleven inches long and it gleamed, sharp and ready to pierce.
“I see we have a standoff,” I said, coming up beside Derrick. No doubt they had a few stakes in their packs, just waiting for the likes of me. “Whatcha doing, Viper? Why are you threatening my waitress?”
His gaze flickered toward me. “Menolly . . . It’s you we want. Come along quietly and everyone else earns a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Oh joy, just what I needed.
A Buffy-wannabe in a biker suit.
A Buffy-wannabe in a biker suit.
“Can’t we have a civil conversation? I haven’t done a damned thing to bother you. You’ve sat at my counter, drinking booze and talking to me, and yet tonight you come into my bar and threaten me, my staff, and my patrons? What’s wrong with this picture, dude?”
He gave me a once-over, and I saw exactly what he thought of vampires. At least
now
. Good ol’ boys were transparent as hell, whether they wore overalls or leather and chains. Viper and his buddies had no doubt heard the news and decided to help the cops by killing every vampire in the area.
now
. Good ol’ boys were transparent as hell, whether they wore overalls or leather and chains. Viper and his buddies had no doubt heard the news and decided to help the cops by killing every vampire in the area.
“How many of us are you planning on dusting? How many do you think you can possibly get through before we get to you? You can get away with murdering us, but when we hurt you, at least self-defense will play into our trial. You have no excuse. Here I am, running a legitimate business that’s bringing in money for the city, and you boys just can’t wait to spoil things.”
I leaped up to land on the bar. Staring them down, I gave Chrysandra a faint shake of the head.
Stand still, don’t try anything.
I hoped she caught my meaning. “What happened? You just hear the news that there’s a vampire serial killer out there—a male, I might add—and decide that every vamp has to pay?”
Stand still, don’t try anything.
I hoped she caught my meaning. “What happened? You just hear the news that there’s a vampire serial killer out there—a male, I might add—and decide that every vamp has to pay?”
He shuffled his feet, and color began to rise in his cheeks.
“You’re a regular reader of the
Seattle Tattler
, too. Am I right? You hooked up with Andy Gambit and Taggart Jones?”
Seattle Tattler
, too. Am I right? You hooked up with Andy Gambit and Taggart Jones?”
Mr. Bowie Knife blinked. “Those freaks? No. They don’t like us, either.”
“I see. So you haven’t run away and joined the Earthborn Brethren? Or Freedom’s Angels? Or one of the numerous other hate groups?” If they weren’t part of the movement against the Fae, I might be able to reason him off his high horse. I turned on my glamour. Hell, I’d use every trick in the book to protect Chrysandra and my bar.
Viper blinked again. “Um . . . no. What’s that got to do with anything?”
I let out a long breath, for effect, and a loud one. “How many times do the cops come by and harass your group? How often do you guys get thrown in jail just for hanging around the wrong side of town? After all, aren’t
all
bikers troublemakers and lawbreakers?”
all
bikers troublemakers and lawbreakers?”
He stared at me for a moment and I saw the knife waver. I was making an inroad. I crossed my arms and stared him down, willing him to lower the knife. As he slowly acceded—he was easy enough to take on once I’d gotten his attention—I leaped lightly off the bar and walked toward him, holding out my hand.
“Put the knife in my hand, slowly, hilt first.”
“Viper, what are you doing, man?” One of his buddies started forward, but I gave him a look and motioned toward Derrick with my head. “Move and he blows you out of the water, dude. And Humpty won’t even be able to
find
all of the pieces, let alone put himself together again.”
find
all of the pieces, let alone put himself together again.”
He froze, and Viper slowly handed over the knife. I examined it. Nice blade. “Now the sheath.” He obeyed, and I strapped it to my belt, then slid the bowie knife in and snapped it shut. “Good boy.”
Chrysandra lithely stepped out of the way, and I put my finger on Viper’s chest. “Snap out of it. Now.”
As he blinked and saw me standing there, wearing his knife, with Derrick aiming for his chest, Viper sucked in a deep breath. “Oh shit.”
“
Oh shit
is right.” I smacked him across the face. Hard. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, dude? You want to help out in the investigation, you don’t do it that way, you idiot.”
Oh shit
is right.” I smacked him across the face. Hard. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, dude? You want to help out in the investigation, you don’t do it that way, you idiot.”
Frowning now, he cocked his head. “Are you looking for the killer?”
“Hell yes! He’s giving a bad name to all vamps. Just look: I put a gate on my bar and I never had to think about it before. And you come in here, bent on killing me? You think we don’t want him caught for all the trouble he’s causing? You’re all jacked up the wrong way, bro.”
Viper blushed again and stared at his feet, looking for all the world like a giant teddy bear. “I’m sorry, Menolly. I didn’t think . . .”
“No. You didn’t. You reacted instead, and that’s usually a bad idea. In this case, you were lucky. Do you really think that I couldn’t stop you from hurting my waitress? And if you’d tried, I would have ripped your throat out. You got it? You don’t bother me or mine. You leave the vampire hunting to me, and you make sure word gets through to your eager-beaver brethren before some idiot gets himself fanged to death. Because I’m more patient than most vampires. Got it?”
He nodded, thoroughly shamed. “I’m sorry . . .”
“Apologize to my waitress, and to Derrick. Poor man’s finger’s had to keep the trigger from sending a nice little blast into your gut for so long I bet he has a cramp. Then get the hell out of my bar and go do something useful. Make sure the Toys for Tots motorcycle ride goes smoothly, or something helpful like that.”
As Viper hastened to obey, and his followers took note and followed his example, I strode toward the back and grabbed a spare set of clothes. I’d take a shower upstairs. I found Erin cleaning one of the guest rooms. She did a quick drop to the knee, then back up again.
“Just getting the dust. Tavah said that there has been some interest in booking the rooms. She told me word’s getting around.”
“Erin.” I wasn’t sure how to break the news but knew I’d better before she heard it from somebody else. “Let’s sit down for a moment. I’ve got something to tell you, and it’s not pleasant.”
She dropped the cloth on the desk and promptly sat on the bed. I smiled at her obedience, but decided I’d work on severing the cords as soon as possible. It was time to wean her. I wanted her to be able to think on her own in case anything happened to me.
I sat beside her and took one of her hands. Vampires weren’t a touchy-feely group, but I thought this news would go down better sugar-coated. Erin might not have been in love with Sassy, but she liked her.
“I went to see Sassy . . .” I let the words drift.
Erin blinked and shifted in her seat. “Do I have to go back?”
“No. No, you don’t. In fact, you can’t. Janet died while I was there.”
She dropped her head and a tear trickled down one cheek. I squeezed her hand. “Janet was always nice to me. She stood as a buffer when Sassy got too eager. Janet held Sassy back from her predator nature until a few months ago. But when her brain tumor started catching up with her, she couldn’t muster enough strength to help Sassy keep herself in check. Janet took to her bed over a month ago, and I knew it wasn’t going to be long.”
“At least I managed to keep her from turning Janet. I was with her at the end, and she went peacefully. But Sassy was feeding on her. Did you know
that
?”
that
?”
“No,” Erin said, and I heard the ring of truth in her voice. She couldn’t lie to me, not at this point in her development. “I didn’t know, or I would have called you sooner.” She paused, then looked up at me. “You killed Sassy, didn’t you?”
I bit my lip, then gave her a short nod. “I had no choice, Erin. I promised her, some months back, that I wouldn’t let her become a monster. And that’s what was happening. When you let your predator take over from the reasoning side of yourself, you forever lose control. There’s no coming back. Some vampires live for thousands of years without losing control,” I said, thinking of Roman. “Some don’t.” Dredge had totally given in to his predator and embraced the fury and terror he spread.
“Did you . . . was it by stake?” Her voice was very small now, and she looked afraid. I nodded. “Did it hurt?”
“I can tell you this: After she died, her spirit came back and thanked me. She’s with her little girl now, and they’ve gone to their ancestors.”
We sat there for a while, hand in hand, thinking about Sassy. After a while, Erin stood up and kissed my hand, then went back to work. I wished her a good night and headed downstairs. It was time to go home. Derrick and Chrysandra could take care of the bar for the last hour or so.
I needed to see my sisters, to hold Maggie, to push the memory of killing someone who’d once been a friend out of my mind. For the first time in a long while, I mourned not being able to sit out under the light of day, to bask in the healing rays of the sun. The moon gave pale comfort, and the new moon—none at all.
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