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He gave me a lazy smile. "Got stakes?"
I blinked, realizing that I didn't exactly walk around carrying wooden pointy things. "Uh…"
"No? I thought so." He stood back and unbuttoned his duster.
I had a sudden giggle fit when he grabbed the lapels and opened the coat, reminding me of some two-bit sleazy flasher from the wrong side of the tracks, but my giggles were cut short when I saw the arsenal attached to the inner lining. Wooden stakes, daggers, a nasty looking semiautomatic, a blowgun, shooting stars, a pair of nunchakus, and I'm not sure what else dangled from their respective loops. This bounty hunter meant business all right, and it was obvious he'd spent considerable time Earthside.
He smiled at my reaction. "Catch." He pulled out a couple of stakes and tossed them to me, square end first. I caught them, cautiously giving them the once over. A simple stake, and yet it could dust me for good. Of course, it could kill a human, too, if properly aimed with enough force, but to my eyes, the toothpick on steroids had that whole mystique thing going on and I couldn't help but feel like I was holding a time bomb.
"Thanks, I think." I glanced up as he pulled out a pair for himself. "I guess we'd better see what we're up against." I edged forward to the first body and yanked the sheet off, jumping back out of reach.
The man on the slab was a big one. Tall, with bushy gray hair, his chest a barrel. His abs covered with a layer of fat but definitely steel belted—it would be hard to take him down in a fight. And from a peek under the covers, it was obvious that he'd probably made some woman very happy. He could have been a mountain man, an old hippy, a retired football player gone ZZ Top. But whatever he'd been, he would never again walk in the daylight. His face was frozen in horrified terror, caught by the folds of his wrinkles.
"What's that around his mouth?" Roz pointed to something that had dried to the skin, maroon and splattered.
I leaned close, sniffing. "Blood." I pried open the man's lips. Blood had dried on his teeth, too, and as I watched, thin, needle-sharp teeth were descending out of his gums to cover his incisors. I let go and jumped back. "He's turning. I don't know when he'll wake, but it won't be long."
Roz and I quickly examined the other two—a young Japanese woman who could have been a model, she was so pretty, and a nondescript young man probably in his late twenties. Both were on their way to signing up for my side of the street. I looked at Roz, hesitating. I'd never staked one of my own. While I didn't have any qualms about it, somehow it seemed unfair to kill them because of what they were, before they'd had a chance to do anything.
"You know when they rise, they'll go on a rampage without their sires here to guide them through the transformation." He tapped the stainless steel slab. "We have to do it."
He was right, but it still seemed one more step toward a life from which my sisters and I would never be able to return. We were quickly sliding into territory in which lived only the most hardened agents from the OIA. The shadows were unrelenting when asked to give up those who walked their paths.
A thought struck me. "What if they head back to their sire? Shouldn't we follow one? They might lead us to Dredge and the Elwing Clan."
Roz frowned. "That means letting one of them go free to wreak havoc. Are you willing to sacrifice innocent lives to these monsters? If you are, then by all means, I'll stand back and let one of them go, but it's on your head."
Damn it, I didn't want the choice. I weighed the benefits. If the vamp made its way back to Dredge, we'd be able to track it and bingo, have one up on the Elwing Blood Clan. But what if it didn't go back to Dredge? What if, instead, the new vamp just went on a murderous drinking spree and left a trail of bodies in its wake? Could I sacrifice innocents on hope alone?
I didn't have to ask Camille and Delilah, I already knew what their answers would be. I sucked in a deep breath and walked over to the mountain man. "I guess we'd better stake them before they wake up."
As I stared at the naked man, I knew precisely what he'd be thinking. Images of his death would run through his mind, along with the realization that he was forever trapped inside his all-too-dead body. And then, the thirst would hit, and the rage. And when those took over, everything else went out the window.
The burly corpse suddenly sat up, his gaze darting around the room.
"Holy crap!" I jumped back as he took a swipe at me, thanking my reflexes. A newborn's hunger pangs hurt so badly that they empowered the fresh vamp with phenomenal strength.
Within a fraction of a second, he was off the table, eyes burning bloody crimson, and he was headed right for me. As I crouched in position, the sheet on the second table fluttered and the young Japanese woman sat up. Roz raised one of the stakes and cautiously moved in, the hem of his duster fluttering against his long legs.
"Be careful, Roz! She's small but deadly." My shout startled Mr. Meaty. The big man jerked his head around, staring at Roz, as confusion rippled across his face.
And then, it was all about the fight.
I hoisted one of the stakes in my left hand while sliding the other through my belt, point to the side so I wouldn't suffer a nasty accident if I fell. Then I waggled my fingers, beckoning him in. "Bring it on, boy. Come and get me."
With his massive head of frizzy hair cascading around his shoulders, the naked behemoth lurched toward me, eyes aflame. He sniffed the air and paused.
"That's right, you can't smell a pulse. It's because I'm one of your own kind." As I muttered an oath, he lunged. I swiped with the stake, missing by inches, and suddenly we were entwined in a grappling match. He clapped his hands against the sides of my shoulders and shoved, slamming me to the floor. I arched my back and vaulted to my feet, landing with ease. Thanks to my training, my acrobatic skills had blossomed after death. I was twice as quick as most vamps. My adversary glanced at the doors leading out of the morgue. If he could get to them before me, he could escape to hunt.
"You want to feed? You have to get through me first," I said, jumping between the newborn and the doors.
As I waited for him to bring it on, a glance showed me Roz was in the midst of a life or death struggle. The young woman—strike that, newborn vamp—was straining to reach his neck. She could kill him, but Roz's demonic nature was a big plus. It would give him an edge that might just keep him alive.
The third vamp hadn't risen yet, but we didn't have much time. I turned my attention back to the burly man, who was angling, trying to get past me. I feinted to the left, letting him think I'd taken too wide of a step. As he charged the door, I whirled, stake in hand, to meet him chest level. The wooden point plunged deep, impaling him with muscle-rending impact.
He turned to me, holding out his arms, a pleading look on his face. He was an animal at this moment, a frightened and hungry creature. The pain and confusion in his eyes made my gut ache. Been there, done that. Didn't like being reminded of it. And then, he was dust, bursting into a cloud of smoke and powder. The stake fell to the ground.
I snatched it up and raced over to the still-covered third body, shoving a lab cart out of the way. The tray tipped, instruments spilling everywhere, the sound of metal and breaking glass shattering the air like an alarm. I leapt over the mess, raising my stake above the third body.
