I stiffened when the chatter on the line turned into a womans tired voice. Im sorry, Rose said, clearly distracted. Captain Edden is in a meeting. Can I take a message?
A message? I thought, then I exhaled, trying not to get mad. Ivy was tense enough. Sure. Tell him that Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks are at Cormels rescuing Nina from Felix. Free Vampires might be involved, and any help the FIB could provide would be appreciated, I said sarcastically. But I realize youre a little busy this morning. What with your meetings and all. Im turning my phone off, but Ill check my messages when were done. Bye-bye now. Not waiting for a confirmation, I hung up.
Ticked, I hit the dash, then winced when I noticed Ivys eyes had dilated at my anger. Sorry. I needed David and the muscle he commanded. Why didnt he answer his damn phone!
Ivys jaw tightened. They must have caught Jenks. Lets go.
She reached for the door handle, and I took her arm, stopping her. Her eyes fixed on mine, and I let go, stifling a shiver at the depth of fear in them. No one caught Jenks, I said, looking over the quiet parking lot with its handful of cars and a sad attempt at landscaping between us and the twin-door front. No one had bothered to take down the Pizza Piscarys sign, and it looked old and tired. But we can get out of the car. The cameras are down.
Get out. It was a good idea. Between her frustration, my fear, and a car smelling like an aphrodisiac mix of both of us, it was a wonder she hadnt tried to jump my jugular. And the cameras were down. Jenks had made us wait a block away while he spent five minutes clearing our way. Anyone watching the video feeds might notice that the sun never got any closer to rising, but I doubted it.
We reached for our doors simultaneously, not worried about anyone actually looking out a window. The fresh air shocked through me, clearing my head. Ivy, too, seemed to breathe easier. A siren lifted from across the Ohio River, then faded, pulling my attention to Cincinnati and the brightening sky. Ivy got her katana out from the backseat, leaving the sheath on as she made a few practice moves to loosen up and get rid of some adrenaline. Me, I leaned against the car and tried calling David again to no avail, deciding to mute it instead of turning it off. If worse came to worst, I could be found with the built-in GPSproviding we werent too deep.
There he is, Ivy said in relief, and I dropped the phone into my pocket and leaned into the car to get my shoulder bag. Jenks was a silver trace of dust when I levered myself back out, and I tugged my red jacket down and made sure the cuffs of my jeans werent rolled up.
I think I know why David isnt answering your calls, the pixy said as he came to a hovering, white-faced halt before us, and my heart dropped. I didnt see Nina, he added quickly when Ivy paled. Or David. But the ground floor where the restaurant used to be looks like a blood orgy just finished and your pack was the main entertainment, Rache.
Shit.
Weres couldnt be turned, but they could be bound. Anger mixed with fear, the icy slurry setting my heart pounding as I strode for the front door. Anger won, and I pulled my splat gun with a cold certainty Id use deadly force if needed. David was my rock, the one person in my life who could walk into any situation and find justice with a no-holds-barred force that held no apology, no thought to the future. Heaven help the person who hurt him.
And you think youre a bad alpha, Jenks said, easily pacing me.
Rachel, wait up! Ivy all but hissed, jogging until she caught up. With a shake, she shook the sheath from the katana.
Go right in, Jenks said as we got closer, the old oaken door silent and unmanned. No one is conscious.
Asking Ivy to wait, I pulled my phone back out and hit 911. I already knew which button to hit to go to their answering machine, and as soon as I got the beep, I rushed to say, This is Rachel Morgan. Runner number 2000106WR48. Im at Pizza Piscarys. Its sunrise. There are multiple unconscious vampires and Weres needing medical assistance. Use caution as a master vampire may be awake and violent. And try not to shoot us, okay? Its me, Ivy Tamwood, and Jenks Pixy.
I ended the call, and Ivy moved. Grimacing, she yanked one side of the big oak doors open and lurched in. I almost ran into her when she stopped dead in her tracks.
The predawn light didnt go very far, and I stared, hand over my nose as I tried to figure out what my still-adjusting eyes were seeing. Holy crap, I whispered, looking over the loungelike arrangement of couches and tables set between the still used bar and the stone fireplace. Slack-faced people were strewn everywhere, all of them smeared in blood. Some were in skimpy evening wear, others in utilitarian uniforms. It was a free-for-all, everyone-welcome-no-one-leaves blood orgy. As Jenks had said, they still breathed, but it was obvious they were stupefied with either blood loss or blood indulgenceor both.
Where is my pack?
Ivy draped her scarf over her mouth and went in. Heart pounding and looking for something to shoot, I followed. It got worse as my eyes adjusted. Blood smeared the floor, furniture, and skin, but there were no large pools of it. People I hardly recognized wearing my dandelion tattoo looked as if they might have resisted at first, Cormels children in skimpy attirenot so much. All dripped blood. No one was tending the satiated or depleted, which was not the normif any of this could be considered normal. It smelled like stale alcohol and dead things by the side of the road.
Wheres David? I whispered, and Jenks hummed back from the fireplace, his trailing sparkle the only clean thing in the room.
Hes not here, he said, expression grim. Downstairs, maybe? Thats where they wouldve taken Nina this close to sunrise. Everyones aura looks okay. No one is going to die. Today.
David wouldnt leave his people like this. I tucked my splat gun away, my anger growing. All of them had taken my hurt for me, and I didnt even know all their names. I wasnt going to let this go, and someone was going to answer for it.
White faced, Ivy crouched beside a big man with bulging muscles. Dan, she said, giving him a shake, and the man snorted, eyes fluttering. Dan, wake up. Who did this?
Please dont say Nina, I thought, knowing Jenks was thinking the same thing as he sat on the banister and sifted an unhappy blue dust.
Ivy? The man smiled, then winced as pain etched his expression. Dont move me. Oh God, dont touch me. Are they gone?
Ivy took her hand away. With overindulgence, the undead left their victims with a very low threshold to stimulation. Even the breath of their assailant could register as unbearable pleasure, and the effect lingered for a time. Danny. Who did this?
That bastard Cormel has been keeping in the basement, Dan breathed. It was the Free Vampires. They got him out. The Weres showed up, following them, and things got out of hand. He pulled us all into it. They tried to get him to go with them, but he wouldnt and they finally went away. Left us as we were. His breath came in a staggering hiccup as he tried to sit up. My God, he said, eyes unfocused but brilliant. Id die for him. Hes like liquid fire.
Felix was here. The Free Vampires werent. And Nina was with Felix.
Ivy didnt move when Dan gripped her arm, and the ragged tear in his flesh began to fill with blood. Where is he? he begged, his legs twisted at an odd angle. I . . . Confused, he looked at the vampires around him as if only now remembering. Where is he?
Ivy knelt, her katana within reach as she moved his hand off her and he moaned in pleasure. Shhh, she soothed, yanking a throw from a nearby couch and tucking it under his chin. Go to sleep. Rest.
No, he said petulantly. I need.
She nodded, her expression soft and caring. I know. Go to sleep.
Dan stared up at her, panting as she gently brushed the hair on his forehead, and I shuddered as he fell unconscious.
Ivys expression was tight with a hard anger when she rose, her grip white knuckled on her katana. Its not supposed to be like this, she whispered, eyes black.
But it often was.
I followed her into the kitchen and the small elevator just off it that led to the lower rooms. Half the industrial ovens had been removed to make room for a big, comfortable table that could seat twenty people. Vampires were homebodies, keeping their children close and fostering a dependence that was attractive and felt safe. But it was a lie, and the danger usually came from within the same walls. Were taking the elevator? I asked, though it was obvious.
I followed her into the kitchen and the small elevator just off it that led to the lower rooms. Half the industrial ovens had been removed to make room for a big, comfortable table that could seat twenty people. Vampires were homebodies, keeping their children close and fostering a dependence that was attractive and felt safe. But it was a lie, and the danger usually came from within the same walls. Were taking the elevator? I asked, though it was obvious.
Ivy hit the down button and the doors slid apart, the car having returned to the surface to rest. She strode inside, her katana in hand and her hair pulled into a ponytail as she put herself at the back of the lift. Arms crossed, she waited for me. The elevator looked awfully small.
Im taking the dumbwaiter, Jenks said as he saw in her black-eyed, tense state.
Seeing me balk, Ivy tried to find a less aggressive poise, and with my thoughts on finding David, I got in. Jenks hovered at the closing doors, darting away as they slid shut. Whats your plan? I said as the lift descended.
Ivys posture tightened. Felix dies, Nina lives. Thats my plan.
Yeah, I had a similar one. You cant kill him, I said, knowing she wouldnt like that.
You dont understand, she almost snarled.
Angry, I made a fist and hit the stop button. Dont you dare tell me I dont understand! I whispered, getting in her face and backing her up a step. Not three years ago I came over here looking for revenge after Piscary blood raped you. I let him live, and you will not kill Felix!