Blood Wyne (24 page)
Crap. What was going on? But I couldn’t go back to check. Morio’s skin was clammy. He’d gone into shock and the scent of his blood was driving me nuts. As I came to the manhole cover, I knocked it away, driving straight into it with the top of my head. Sometimes, vampire strength rocked.
I hovered up and out of the tunnels, coming to rest on the street next to the manhole. Quickly, I darted to the lawn next to the sidewalk and laid Morio down on the snow-covered grass. Fuck. We needed something to cover him with. I could strip off my turtleneck, but that wouldn’t do much good. Willing Chase to hurry up, I examined Morio’s wound.
We were under a streetlamp, thank gods, and I could see the long, narrow board. Oh hell. It had driven itself a good five inches into his side. The good news was that it hadn’t been near his heart. The bad news was that he was bleeding far too much and the scent was so strong and sweet that my fangs had descended. I willed them up, pushed back the hunger, and pressed my hands against the wound, trying not to jostle the stake until we knew what was going on.
Chase climbed over the side of the manhole and yanked out his cell phone, yelling on it as he raced over to my side.
“Sharah, get a team out here now.
Fuck
, where is here?” He stopped to glance around, then caught sight of the street signs. “Cross streets: Greenbelt Drive and Vader Way East. Morio’s been severely injured. He’s losing blood.” He paused. “I have no idea what blood type a youkai-kitsune takes. And Camille’s still . . . hell, Camille and Vanzir are still down there with that thing. Just get here
stat
!” He stuck the phone in his pocket and joined me.
Fuck
, where is here?” He stopped to glance around, then caught sight of the street signs. “Cross streets: Greenbelt Drive and Vader Way East. Morio’s been severely injured. He’s losing blood.” He paused. “I have no idea what blood type a youkai-kitsune takes. And Camille’s still . . . hell, Camille and Vanzir are still down there with that thing. Just get here
stat
!” He stuck the phone in his pocket and joined me.
“I’ve got compression going, but damn, Chase, this is bad. He’s in shock. Can you cover him with your coat?”
Chase yanked off his parka and covered Morio with it, then took off his suit coat and balled it up, stuffing it under Morio’s head. “He’s pale . . . far too pale.”
“He’s lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure what to do. I have no clue about the physiology of a nature demon.” I glanced over at the manhole. Still no Vanzir or Camille. “Where the hell are they? I’ve got to go check on them. Chase, can you sit with Morio?”
He shook his head. “I can’t watch for Sharah and keep compression on his wound, too. You have to stay here with me until the team gets here.”
“We may be too late. I have to go see what’s going on with my sister.” Frantic, I smacked the ground next to me, and the thud ran in a roll beneath our feet. The blood from Morio’s wound started again, and I hustled to press my hands to the gash. The scent of the blood was also driving me nuts, and I prayed we didn’t have any unwelcome visitors drop out of the woodwork, like our vampire serial killer.
But it wasn’t another vampire that showed up. No, we couldn’t be that lucky. I heard a noise and glanced over at the nearest tree. There, in a ghostly fog, was a stark figure cloaked in the wreaths of mist. Holy crap, another ghost!
“What the fuck is this? Spook central?” I nodded to the ghost. “Chase, we can’t stay here, that thing could—” But before I could get the rest of my sentence out, the spirit hurtled itself our way with a shriek.
I threw myself over Morio’s prone body, keeping one hand pressed against the bloody fountain, as Chase paled. He was half-kneeling, half-standing, and the spirit flew right through him, knocking him to the ground.
With a groan, he hit the pavement, rolling away to come up in a crouch, a look of sheer terror masking his face. He held out his hands as the spirit wheeled and came in for another round, and this time the thing had a face—or rather it
was
a face. Like a giant skull, with mouth shrieking wide, it descended on Chase. I could do nothing, unless I wanted to expose Morio to more danger, except watch as the spirit engulfed the detective.
was
a face. Like a giant skull, with mouth shrieking wide, it descended on Chase. I could do nothing, unless I wanted to expose Morio to more danger, except watch as the spirit engulfed the detective.
“Camille! Vanzir!” I screamed as loud as I could, hoping they could hear me, hoping they were all right. “We need you!”
Just then, Chase shuddered and a sparkle of colors began to surround him. The spirit seemed to pull back, and with a massive convulsion, Chase threw it off. The ghostly mist paused, and in that pause, the sound of sirens began to blare up the road. Sharah and her men screeched to a halt in the middle of the road and leaped out of the ambulance. The spirit seemed to think the better of confronting so many and vanished into the night, a puff of fog on the wind.
Chase shook his head and turned, staring at me. “What did I do? How did I keep it from hurting me? I could feel it trying to get into my mind.”
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. That was twice tonight he’d done something to repel our attackers. It occurred to me we needed to run him through a battery of some kind of tests, though I had no clue how or what.
As Sharah and her men came over to help with Morio, the evening took on a surreal feel. The snow started again and I stumbled back, toward the manhole, terrified that if I went down I’d discover Vanzir and Camille, dead. But I had to find out. In the silent night, surrounded by the soft fall of the snow, I stumbled toward the tunnels, my hands slick and bloody. I stared at the drops of red, bringing my fingers to my nose, where I inhaled deeply. The musk of Morio’s scent was also clinging to me, and I felt a sudden wash of fear. What if he died? What would happen to Camille? What if she was . . .
Pushing the thought away, I closed myself to the fear and raced over to the manhole. I leaped over the side without a thought to what might be waiting below, and hurtled to the ground. As I landed, I flashed on my light and looked around, praying that they were okay.
I caught sight of Vanzir first. He was standing there, arms hanging down, staring bleakly at the wall, shaking his head.
“What? What’s wrong? Where’s Camille?” I grabbed him by the arm and swung him around. His eyes were spinning and I could tell he’d been feeding. “No . . . please don’t tell me . . . Camille! Where are you?”
“I’m right here.” Camille’s voice cut through the darkness as she stepped away from a pile of broken wood. Her expression was bleak, too. “Morio?” Her voice hung in the air, and I stared at her. Her dress was ripped in several places and her face was covered with dirt.
“Morio’s alive, but seriously wounded. Sharah’s up there with him now. Chase and I had to protect him against a ghost or I would have . . . are you okay?” Something in her demeanor was guarded and I couldn’t read her, for once.
A dark cloud passed over her face, but she nodded. “Yeah. I’m all right. Just roughed up. We managed to hold that thing at bay. But I want to get the fuck out of here. I need to be with Morio.” She headed for the ladder, passing by Vanzir without a word, her lips pressed together.
I watched as she began to reach for the rungs with bare fingers. “Stop! Use these.” Mutely, she allowed me to slide my gloves on her hands, then silently started up the ladder.
Turning back to Vanzir, I said, “What happened? Tell me what happened down here! We heard an explosion and Camille’s shriek . . . and you . . . laughed.”
“Camille set off one fucking hell of a spell. That I can tell you. And I fed.” He said nothing more, just stared at me. I found myself wanting to go to him, but shook myself out of it.
“Did anything else happen? Anything I should know about?” I watched his face, but he was careful not to reveal anything.
“We were fighting for our lives. Ask Camille if you want to know more,” he said abruptly, then headed for the ladder.
I glanced back at the tunnels. We hadn’t found our killer’s nest, but we’d discovered too much down here. Chase’s powers were emerging. The spirits of Seattle were growing strong and dangerous. And something else had happened . . . but just what, I wasn’t sure.
As I scrambled up the ladder, jumping out right behind Vanzir, it was just in time to see the ambulance go shrieking off, lights blazing. Camille was racing toward her car, tears pouring down her face.
“Camille—Morio, is he—?”
She stopped, fumbling to open the door. “He’s alive, but in critical condition. I’m headed to the hospital.” Pausing, she stared at Vanzir, who headed over to her car.
“I’m going with you,” he said.
She flashed him a dark look, then shrugged as he leaped in the front seat.
“I’ll meet you there,” I said, heading toward my Jag. Yes, something had happened, and I wanted to know what. But nobody was talking. I threw the car into gear and screeched away from the street, Chase following me.
I decided that I had to contact Ivana Krask as soon as I’d cleaned up and ask for her help. If she could take care of some of the spirits in the Greenbelt Park District, I’d buy her a whole fucking side of beef, if she wanted.
CHAPTER 14
The FH-CSI building was always lit up. As I pulled in, I saw Camille’s car, but neither Camille nor Vanzir was in sight. She’d sped down the road like a bat from hell. Chase leaped out of his car, right next to me. He met up with me and we silently jogged to the building.
As we headed toward the medic unit, I glanced at him. He wasn’t panting as much; he was having an easier time. I had set my pace briskly but held back so that he’d be able to keep up. Usually Chase struggled, but he was breathing easily at this point. But right now, Chase’s changes weren’t my main focus.
As we burst through the ER doors, I could hear shouts from one of the emergency rooms and saw two of the nurses, both elves, preventing Camille from bursting through the doors. Vanzir was sitting on one of the sofas, his head down, elbows propped on his knees.
I hurried over to my sister. “What? What have they said?”
“Only that he’s alive. He’s hurt so badly, Menolly. A splinter from the stake hit his liver or something bad like that. I know he can heal fast, but he has to stay out of danger long enough for the process to begin.” Her face was streaked with tears, the mascara leaving long trails along her cheeks. She looked stunned, like a deer caught in the headlights.
She’s in shock
, I thought,
and nobody has bothered to notice
. With Morio’s life-threatening injuries, it was no wonder, but . . . I motioned to one of the nurses. “My sister’s in shock, I think. Can you get her a blanket?”
, I thought,
and nobody has bothered to notice
. With Morio’s life-threatening injuries, it was no wonder, but . . . I motioned to one of the nurses. “My sister’s in shock, I think. Can you get her a blanket?”
She nodded. “Be right back. Meanwhile, some food would probably help her.”
“She’s insane. How can I eat right now?” Camille shook her head, but Vanzir was on his feet, heading for the door. He was pulling out some change for the vending machines.
Chase joined us after peeking into the ER. “He’s alive. They’ve taken the stake out of his side and are working on his injuries. Sharah and Mallen will do everything possible to help him. Please, trust them.”
Camille sniffled and Chase handed her his handkerchief. She dabbed at her tears and blew her nose. A nurse came rushing back and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, leading her over to a chair.
“Sit here and if you feel faint, let us know. We’re all working on your husband right now, but ask at the front desk if you need help.” She scurried away, a worried look in her eye.
Vanzir returned and handed her both a couple of Reese’s peanut butter cups and a package of cashews. “I couldn’t find a Milky Way . . . sorry. But these should help. I’m going to find some coffee for you.”
Camille gave him a long look, then accepted them and ripped open the candy, forcing herself to eat. “I do trust them—I’ve trusted Sharah with my life before. But . . . but . . . he was hurt
so
badly . . .”
so
badly . . .”
Pausing, she let out a low, bleak sigh. “I don’t understand. How did the ghosts grow so powerful? Death magic won’t work on them, that much I can tell you. They seem supercharged.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m not an expert on spirits. Do you think they’re over a ley line?” I frowned. Where was Delilah when we needed her and her super-duper computer?
Crap, Delilah!
I hadn’t even thought to call and let them know how we were.
Crap, Delilah!
I hadn’t even thought to call and let them know how we were.
I held up my hand and moved to one side, punching speed dial for home on my phone. Delilah answered.
“We’ve been wondering what the hell’s going on. Are you guys okay? I’ve been antsy all evening. I’ve had the feeling something went terribly wrong.”
“It’s bad.” I lowered my voice to keep Camille from overhearing. All of us had super-sized hearing. “Morio’s in surgery. He was seriously injured when a spirit tried to stake me and ended up running it through his liver.”
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