Back inside, EJ knelt and picked up the battle castanets,staring at the pool of blood where the woman had lain. “Palillos, not used. She still has the demon in her.”
“This is…not good,” Walter said from beside him.
No shit, EJ wanted to say, as he stood. Instead he settled on, “We willchat. Soon,” his tone hard. He stared at Walter, telling their bodyguard he knew that things were not right. Walter stared back placidly as EJ pocketed the castanets and the cuffs. Shoving away useless recriminations, pressing them into the neat little packet full of failures, a packet he had created while on active duty, EJ said, “More importantly, we need coffee and donuts. Call Alex for all the security cam footage. Tell him to alert the queen.”
Angie’s battle magic dropped away too fast. Out on the porch, her entire body quivered. “You want donuts?” she ground out. “Donuts?” she repeated, pointing into the night with her sword. “They’re getting away!” His sister waspissed.
“They’re gone,” EJ said, shrugging, locking away the failure with so many of the others. “When the shi—poo hits the prop, there’s nothing better than fat, carbs, and sugar.”
“At such times my kind prefer to hunt in the dark and kill, but to each your own,” Walter said. “But be careful giving me orders, Evan Junior. That comes with responsibilities you claim you do not want.”
EJ lifted his eyebrows, his eyes challenging.
Walter chuckled, smooth, musical. If black velvet could laugh it would sound like that.
EJ rejoined Angie on the covered flagstone porch.
The magic of vampires raced across the lake, the harmonics of vamp magic hushed across the cold black water. He wished he had the power to stop the Jet Ski engines and leave the vamps stranded, but that wasn’t going to happen.
He and Walter scrutinized Angie. She may have growled,before tapping her unicom and walking to the balcony’s stone railing. She stood under heavy clouds, a slow breeze whirling the sleet/snow mixture, flakes and ice falling on her face. It was freaking cold but maybe Angie was so angry she didn’t notice.
He followed her gaze across the snow-white lawn to the far shore. There were houses, all dark, only faint landscape lighting visible through the falling snow. Humans. Sleeping. In danger. Angie’s unicom called out tones.
Alex answered.
Angie said, “Before you say anything, this is the queen’s business, not mine, and I know you have me on vid. Vamps got away on Jet Skis, across the water at, maybe, a fifteen-degree angle from the porch where I’m standing. Homes on the far side appear to be occupied.”
“Copy that. Helo lifted off four minutes ago from a prearranged rendezvous location carrying a team. Secondary crew for cleanup on the way to your twenty.”
“Maybe the occupants will get lucky,” she said.
If the humans were lucky, it would be because the fangheads had an evac planned and maintained transportation on that side of the lake. Or maybe they wouldn’t be lucky, and the bloodsuckers would crash through the windows, drink down everyone inside, and steal a car. Or maybe they’d just cut off the primary driver’s finger and let them all live. All they’d need was the fingerprint.
“If they take a car and leave a finger,” Angie said, as if she read his mind, “make sure it’s reattached and the medical costs are covered by the queen’s coffers. Walter had the standard out.”
“Copy that too,” Alex said. “Your aunt is monitoring everything.”
“Crap,” Angie said. It was the queen’s favorite cuss word.
It almost made EJ laugh. “Nice trick to set Konstantin on fire,” he said.
Angie’s anger whispered away on a sigh. “He put it out,” she said. “And someone took the possessed witch out the front and away in a car.”
“I don’t guess you bothered to tag the cars before you went in, magic blazing?” Alex said, his tone just droll enough to be mildly insulting.
“No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t bring car taggers. I hadn’t known there was a party going on, or a possessed witch-vamp or…”
“And you went in blind,” Alex said gently.
“I screwed up,” she said.
“The hell you did,” EJ said, loud enough to be picked up by the unicom. “Wescrewed up. We’ll do better next time.” Because there would always be a next time, as long as a child of Prince Oleg still lived. Assuming the queen and their parents didn’t come and take them away by force to safety.
“Mmmm,” Alex said, neither agreement nor disagreement.
EJ heard the faint thudding of a chopper en route.
Angie said, “If the vamps across the lake get away without killing humans, that makes this situation one that has to be handled by EJ and me. Oleg’s scion has to be handled by us.”
