“She’s technically part of the Everhart coven,” Angie said, her eyes glued to the wall screen, “and part of Yellowrock Clan, but she’s not the queen’s godchild, and her mother and our mother had different fathers. She does wet-work jobs for the queen, sometimes alone, sometimes with Quint, Aunt Jane’s lady-in-waiting and armorer. Quint is a certified psycho too. Shiloh and Koun sometimes work together. Shiloh’s still a vampire bounty hunter, like Aunt Jane used to be.” Her voice was almost reverent as she watched the vid play over and over. “Last I heard Cousin Wacko and Walter had a falling-out.”
“Which begs the question, why did the queen send herhere?” EJ asked.
“The Dark Queen never does anything by accident,” Angie said.
Ojossaid, “The personal protocols on Walter’s apartment have been overridden. See views three and four for camera videos.”
View three was Walter’s main room. View four was Walter’s bedroom. In low light, the décor in both areas was rich, ornate, with antique Persian rugs, tablecloths, long tufted couches with pale-colored throws everywhere. It all showed as greens on the screen, but EJ thought it might all be reds and oranges and intense blues. He realized he had never been into Walter’s rooms. Another indication they had not allowed the vampire into their lives.
On the video, the steel shutters opened and Shiloh slipped in. She pulled off her helmet and tossed her straight dark redhair, her eyes dark, skin pale. She walked around Walter’s apartment, touching things here and there. Sniffing. Placed her helmet on the dining table. Studied the stacks of papers, riffling through them. She laughed, the sound coming through the speakers, just a little off, faintly derisive.
On the screen, Walter’s eyes opened.
Faster than the video could pick up, Shilohmoved. Not vamp-fast. Faster. EJ had never seen anyone or anything move so fast.
“Hello, lover boy,” she said, her voice so throaty it sounded as if she had smoked a case of cigars and guzzled a case of whiskey. And knowing this vampire witch, she may have.
“Shiloh,” Walter said calmly. “We have never been lovers. It saddens me that the queen chose to send you to assist me.”
“Drag your head out of your ass. Not everything is about you. Aunt Queenie sent me to assist my cousins. Not you. You were just the whipped cream on the milkshake.”
She sliced her wrist and held it to his mouth. “Drink. We have bad fangheads to track down and behead.”
“So bloodthirsty,” he murmured. Instead of licking the proffered treat, his fangs clicked down without his jaw unhinging, which wasn’t always easy. He sank them into her wrist.
“Bastard,” she hissed, jolting at the sudden pain.
“Cousin Wacko,” Villetti repeated the title, his tone concerned.
As he should be, EJ thought. How had she moved that fast? There hadn’t even been a blur on the screen.
Walter chuckled, wrapped his hands around her arm, and sucked.
“Le Vampire Sauvage is at your door,” Villetti said. “Perhaps we can ask why she’s here.”
EJ had been so deeply into his thoughts he hadn’t realized it.He palmed three amulets. From the corner of his eye, he saw Angie reaching for hers. Taking his cue from them, Villetti scooted away from Angie and freed his service weapon, checked his magazine for vamp-killer rounds, and placed it on a cushion, safety off.
“Close your eyes,” EJ said. He buzzed the door open and closed his eyes, one arm over his face.
A blinding flash and massive sound wave hit the room.
He tossed his amulets. Rolled away from the couch. Hit the floor. His attack amulets sang disharmony, clashing, piercing noises. Disorienting.
Angie rolled the other way, her own amulets flying. One anti-flash-bang amulet discharged, adis-illuminationworking that muted the dazzling light. Another amulet silenced the deafening explosion. One of Angie’simbalanceworkings pinged like ricochets off steel, created to affect the inner ears of vamps.
From somewhere a final amulet sang like trees falling in high winds. He recognized Shiloh’s signature notes of asmoke bombworking sometimes called black fog. EJ hated that one. It took forever to clear a room afterward.
Shiloh said, “Sgrios draoidheachd.”
Instantly, all her own workings and their countermeasures were gone. Even black fog. When his vision cleared, Cousin Wacko was sitting on his kitchen table, her legs in a full lotus, an apple from his refrigerator in her left hand. She bit in, munched, and swallowed. “Hey there, kiddos. You’ve grown. That’s your boyfriend, Angelina? He’s hot. I guess you don’t want to share.”
“I didn’t think Rachel was into guys,” Angie said, her tone cold.
“I don’t share,” Villetti said at the same time.
“Too bad.” In three chomps she finished the apple and tossed the core into the sink without looking or aiming. “I have news. Thebleed and readdisclosed what we’re really facing, but no one believed it, which is why you haven’t been informed yet. Alex went back to the vids of the reception and also through all the vids he had of your Asshat’s house. You thought you were looking at Rule of Three but it seems we’re really looking for a five-person witch circle, a pentagram with five fangheads led by the snake himself, Konstantin. Their plans initially included Ravensport, Terenzio Marrazzo, Willim Yorath, and Walter, with your human as fill-in, and Terenzio as another weak link. When Nyoka fell into their hands—against her will, by the way—they no longer needed Ivyanna at all.”
Angie asked, “Do they think she’s dead?”
