Save the Last Vamp for Me (21 page)

He had a point. Few of our clients lacked money, though I knew for a fact that Mr. Whitehaven would reduce rates for those who really needed our services.

The stairs weren’t very wide, and there wasn’t a guard rail to keep anyone from falling over their edge. We were in single file, Derrick in the lead. Logan was behind me, Danielle behind him. Enid and three other hounds followed her, and bringing up the rear were two of Derrick’s minions.

We weren’t the only ones heading for the upper level. The catacombs’ “cathedral” was a long, narrow cavern, and stairs had been hacked into the stone on both sides at each end.

The plan was simple: Start at the ends and meet in the middle. Replacements would arrive at some point for the vamps who pulled the sunrise deady-bye shift.

My legs were growing heavy. “Haven’t you heard of elevators yet?”

“Little metal boxes that carry people from floor to floor? Why yes, I have. They’d ruin the mood in here,” Derrick replied.

“Mood, schmood.” My earlier exhilaration over finally having a psychic lead had worn off. Tiredness was creeping in, one slow step upward at a time. “You mean elevators would ruin the creepy.”

The catacombs were that in spades. The bones embedded in the walls were mostly human, since only young vamps left any behind when they died. Human victims, hundreds or maybe thousands, had been used to decorate the place their murderers were laid to rest.

That was just all kinds of wrong, with more wrong piled on top because human tourists came to gawp at the bones.

Yep, I was definitely moving into cranky pants territory.

“It is a place of death, Miss Jones.”

“Says the vampire lord who can’t drive worth a flip,” I muttered.

“We didn’t crash.”

“We came close, dude. Pro tip: Corners? You slow down for them. The brake pedal is there for a reason.”

Derrick laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.”

“You do that, Derryboy.” I looked up and sighed. We weren’t even halfway yet. “This is bull crap. Form a line, folks, and join hands. Discord Airlines is now boarding for takeoff.”

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I
had to go back for Derrick’s two minions, since they couldn’t edge past the hounds. Enid and company joined us up top by taking their private, magical teleport.

Each hole in the wall opened onto a tunnel filled with deep alcoves and actual rooms. There were enough to slow even the hounds down, we learned.

Thanks to Logan’s nose—he knew Mom’s scent since he’d spent time around her—we could check each spot almost as quickly as the hounds did. I sent them to cover the right-hand side of the tunnel, and we two-legged types took the left.

The tunnels ranged from two to three miles in length, each. Halfway down the first, my headache returned. By the end of the third tunnel, I had the shakes and felt nauseated.

As we entered the fourth tunnel, I realized my coffee and toast Breakfast by Terra had been fourteen or fifteen hours previous. I hadn’t eaten since, not a good thing considering I’d teleported three...no, four times?...and used my telepathy for scanning three hours straight. Oh, and finally got a rise out of my psychometry to boot.

Throw in the emotional ups and downs, a few adrenalin surges, and I was one sad, weak little panda.

Even so, I protested when we exited the fourth tunnel to see four vampires coming down the ledge, ready to take our places. “Mom could be in the next tunnel.”

“If she is, they will find her,” Derrick said.

“Discord, we’re useless if we’re exhausted. Might miss something.” Logan rubbed his face with both hands. “And you’re shaky. Have been for more than an hour.”

“The creepy ambiance got to me,” I lied, only to have him focus his bloodshot eyes on me, one eyebrow barely lifted. “Not gonna fall for that, huh?”

“Not even on your birthday.”

“Damn.”

Enid gently nosed my hand. “
I will bring her to you if she’s found. Go and rest
.”

I had to look worse than I felt, if a hound was advising me to get some sleep. “Okay, fine, I surrender. Not sure I can make it down the steps though.” My nausea rose at the thought. “Or teleport again.”

“
I will take you and your companions down and return
.” Enid pushed by to put herself in the center of us. Derrick told his two minions to wait for the new arrivals; we laid hands on the hound, and were on the ground floor a blink later. All I saw of the hound was an afterimage, she left so quickly.

Logan drove, and Derrick claimed shotgun, leaving me to ride in back with Danielle. It wasn’t until the vampire called ahead to arrange food and make certain rooms were ready for us that I realized I hadn’t called to check on anyone. They probably understood, but it made me feel like crap. Again.

Back at Derrick’s, I peeked into the library. Kate was gone, but Leglin was using one of the sofas as a bed. His huge paws rested on the coffee table. I smiled, noticing an inch or two of tongue protruding from his closed lips. He was snoring to beat the band. I shut the doors and followed the others to the dining room. Stone was there, serving himself from the buffet.

“I must take my rest now. Eat, drink, and take your own rest,” Derrick said, inclining his head before leaving the room.

None of us felt like talking. Alanna, Soames, Gabriel, and Danielle’s two cousins filed in a few minutes later to muted greetings.

I’d hit the point of having done without food long enough that my stomach was too mad to accept much. None of the shifters suffered the same problem. They loaded up on their first run down the buffet, and some were already sitting down with seconds by the time I’d finished my measly servings of Eggs Florentine and fresh cantaloupe, which was all my stomach deigned to accommodate.

I fell asleep at the table.

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I
woke up to way too much teal and a vague recollection of Logan carrying and tucking me into bed. Derrick needed to hire a new decorator. I sat up to look around, and yep, everything from carpet to wall paint was some permutation of teal. The wooden parts of the furniture were painted white, but that didn’t do much to offset the horrid color choices of everything else. Not that I disliked teal, but I did prefer it to be less enveloping. No fireplace, but there was a bathroom.

After making use of it, I found my running shoes tucked under the side of the bed, their toes pointed out. I put them on and headed out the door, pausing to look over the railing at the main hall below. The now familiar bustle of people made it clear that Mom was still missing.

Enid and Leglin greeted me at the foot of the stairs. “Hey. Anyone feed you two yet?”

“
Dog food
.” Enid sniffed to express her opinion of that. “
We finished searching the catacombs hours ago. The dhampyr requested our assistance in searching other areas. I chose to report to you, but allowed the others to comply with his request
.”

“Thank you. You didn’t find anything?”

“
The dhampyr has it. A necklace
.”

My heart jumped, and I dove into the crowd to look for Stone. It was more difficult that it should’ve been to find him, considering his height, but when I did locate him, Stone was sitting down at one of the tables. “You found a necklace?”

“Yes.” He pulled it from the pocket of his jacket, in one of the ever present baggies. “Do you recognize it?”

“Gimme.” It was Mom’s, a delicate gold infinity charm on a simple box chain. My topaz birthstone winked from the cross of the symbol. I’d thought it was a bow when I was little. “My dad gave it to her when I was born.”

Stone handed the bag over. “Can you use it?”

I already had the baggie opened. “About to find out.”

The charm and chain spilled into my palm, and instantly, one of my abilities kicked in: Retro cognition.

I was in Mom’s kitchen, watching as she spun around, her mouth falling open, when a vampire snapped the locks and shoved open the back door. The Chihuahuas, gathered around her feet, squealed and scattered around the end of the center island.

Red didn’t run. He rose to all four paws, his hackles rising, and stalked forward to put himself between Mom and the vamp. His lips skinned back to bare his teeth, and the red pit growled.

“I suggest you leave before he attacks,” Mom said.

A second vampire walked in behind the first. This one was taller. “I’ll handle the dog.”

Red’s growl deepened, and I could see his muscles tensing.

“Get out of my house,” Mom demanded. “Right now.”

“My master wants to speak with you, Mrs. Jones.”

Mom paled, only then realizing they were vampires. She glanced at the clock, but it was only a few minutes after six. There was a half hour or more before sunrise.

Red attacked, and she screamed, grabbing her favorite cast iron skillet off the stove top. The dog lunged upward, his head darting as he bit the taller vamp on each arm before trying for its throat. The shorter vamp slid past them, heading for my mother. She swung the skillet, but he caught her wrist and twisted, forcing her to drop it.

I hadn’t even noticed it on the floor.

She sagged, forcing the vamp to bend over her since he didn’t let go, and then shot upward, the top of her head colliding with his face. He fell backward, still holding her wrist. Red noticed. The dog backed a few steps before biting the downed vamp’s arm, just above the wrist, and hard enough for me to hear bones snapping. Mom yanked free, nearly falling on her butt. Red lunged forward and up again, latching onto the upright vamp’s hand and wrist. The vamp’s other hand disappeared between them, and I dropped the necklace to cover my ears as Red’s muffled scream of agony filled the air. Blood poured down.

“Red!” Mom cried, scrabbling for her skillet. His hind legs kicking, the dog refused to let go and the vampire swung him around, trying to sling the dog off. Blood sprayed everywhere.

The other vamp regained his feet just as Mom’s hand closed around the handle of her skillet again. He slapped her across the face hard enough to knock her sideways, into the cabinet. Her eyelids fluttered, but didn’t completely shut. Satisfied she was out of the fight, he turned and slipped in blood on his way to aid his fellow minion, who stopped trying to sling off Red.

Then he drove his clawed hand into the dog’s throat and ripped it free. Red thrashed and went limp, his jaws still locked. A low, soft gurgle seeped from him, and that was it.

Hot tears were pouring down my face.

“It’s not letting go.”

“We’re running out of time,” the other said. He grabbed Red’s body and pulled the dog away. The taller vamp yelled, holding up his maimed hand.

“You asshole.”

“Shut up.” The shorter one dropped Red’s body and went for Mom. Grabbing her arm, he dragged her through the blood and past Red. My sobbing echoed hers as she stretched out her free arm, trying to touch the dog. She was yanked away before making contact.

The vision ended, leaving me on my knees in the main hall of Derrick’s home. Logan knelt beside me, his arms around me as he quietly purred. Before I hid my face against his shoulder, I spotted Danielle glaring from the ring of silent bystanders.

She could go to hell.

I needed the comforting.

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