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"My name is Trey, from the Olympic Wolf Pack. I agree, this is an important issue, but how can we do this without causing panic? Humans are skittish enough as it is. Look at the Guardian Watchdogs and Freedom's Angels. They're getting more and more outrageous in their claims. It won't be long before somebody's killed in a human-Supe confrontation, and gangland war won't be far behind."
I tapped Morio on the shoulder. "May I field this one?" He stepped aside and I took the mike.
"With regards to that issue, we've been thinking that if we create an organization now and set up committees, we can then approach the lawmakers who might be receptive to our cause. Hell, we can make our first task to discover whether any of our representatives or senators might be closet members of the Supe community. If we could ferret them out and gain their support, we'd have a real head start."
Just as I hoped, my remark about the possibility of closeted Supes in government hit the mark. A dozen hands shot up. I turned to Wade. "Would you start a sign-up sheet for people interested in volunteering with us?" He immediately sprang into action and within two minutes, a clipboard was being passed around the room and people were actually signing up.
Since nobody was forthcoming with any info on the vampire problem, we allowed the meeting to break into a question-and-answer period, and by the time we were done, we had enough volunteers to start several committees, including one to encourage the Supe groups to register with the volunteer database we were building. Wade had also agreed to host another meeting in a month to take stock of what we'd accomplished during that time. The one thing we didn't have were any leads as to what the hell was going on with the rogue vamps.
As I was wending my way through the crowd, I saw Roz leaning against one of the walls and made my way over to him. "I'm surprised to see you here."
He ignored my comment and gave me a lazy wink. "You didn't get what you hoped for, did you?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Don't be too disappointed. Nobody here is going to be able to track the Elwing Blood Clan. Dredge is too smart for that. You know that only too well, my dear." Leaning down, he brushed against my ear and whispered, "Don't ever try to forget about Dredge and what he did to you. If you get cocky, or if you ignore history, Dredge will find you and kill you. I don't claim to understand why he's tracking you, but he is. That much is obvious, whether you see it or not. And what Dredge wants, he gets."
"Don't be so sure about that." I shivered. Roz's energy oozed around me like a sensual cloak and I was surprised to feel myself respond. I leaned in, smelling the pulse of his blood, feeling the heat radiate off of him in waves. "Dredge already had me. He'll never touch me again. If I have to stake myself before letting that happen, I'll willingly do it."
"What say we stake Dredge instead?" Roz said, letting out a low laugh. He reached out to tip my chin up, his fingers barely grazing my skin and lowered his head so that his breath tickled my ear. "You're a survivor, not a victim, Menolly. Don't ever blame yourself for what happened, and don't let him win. You're worth far more than that."
I licked my lips, hungry for him and yet terrified of my own reactions. As we were interrupted, I quickly pulled away.
"Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt but…" Brett was standing there, staring nervously at the incubus.
"What is it?" I said, composing myself as quickly as possible.
"What you were saying earlier? About the newborn vampires?" He looked decidedly uncomfortable, but I could tell that he knew something.
All business again, I cleared my throat and led him over to an unoccupied pair of chairs. Roz followed us, even though I frowned a "no" at him. I sat down and motioned for Brett to join me. "If you have something to tell me, please do. They're dangerous and they're preying on innocent people."
Deflating like a loose balloon, Brett sank into the chair beside me. "Last night while I was out patrolling the rooftops, I heard something. It was a woman. She was crying. I followed her voice, thinking somebody might be in trouble."
"What did you find?" I knew the routine by now. Brett was shy, but he loved to talk about his adventures, so I would draw him out without hurrying him, little by little, until he dished.
"I was over on Phinney Avenue North, in my Vamp-Bat gear—"
Giving him a long look, Roz said, "Vamp-Bat?"
Breaking in quickly, I said, "Brett was a comic book fan when he was alive. Once he realized he'd been turned into a vampire, he decided to take on a superhero persona. He's Vamp-Bat. Every night he patrols the city, looking for people who need help."
I carefully kept my expression neutral. The whole situation might sound ridiculous, but to Brett, it was deadly serious. He had been a caring person during life, and in a way, death had given him what he could never have before and what he'd wanted so desperately—the chance to shine through as a hero. And if it took a cheesy name and a black cape to accomplish, so what? He was out there, making a difference.
Roz took a cue from the expression I shot him. "Really? You've saved people then, from trouble?"
Brett nodded. "Not to toot my own horn because that's just not cool, but I've rescued three women from being raped. And last week I helped a man who was in a nasty car crash. I stayed with him and kept him alive until the medics arrived. I disappeared before they could catch me."
"Brett feeds on the perverts and lowlifes like I do. He's a staunch supporter of Vampires Anonymous and the mission that Wade has put forth for the group." I turned back to Brett. "Anyway, tell us what you saw."
"I was near the Woodland Park Zoo. I followed the crying until I came to a woman in the parking lot. By the looks of her clothing, she was an employee of the zoo. She was near her car, probably headed home for the night. A vamp had hold of her, and he was trying to pin her down."
"Shit. What did you do?"
"Grabbed him off her. He looked really confused, too. I managed to hold him at bay while I yelled for her to run. The dude took off and I followed him, but he slipped into one of the exhibits and got away." He shifted from one foot to the other. "Something didn't track right, Menolly. I wasn't sure what it was until I saw this." He held up a photocopied picture of one of the first four victims. "The vamp—it was this dude. I'm sure of it."
"David Barns. Are you sure?" Until the first time they rose, vamp victims still showed up under the camera's scrutiny. I'd made a bunch of photocopies of the morgue pictures I'd managed to persuade Chase to give me, and we'd passed them out during the Q&A to anybody who seemed willing to take a look.
"Yeah. And I'm positive that he wasn't just going to take a few sips and then walk away. He looked out for a kill." Brett frowned.
