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"Keep that shit away from me," I said. "Tie him up with it. You think it's strong enough to hold him?"
"You want me to tie you up and see if you can get loose?"
I flashed him the evil eye. "Yeah, and I want to go dance in the sunlight, too. Hurry up. We've got to get out of here in case they return with reinforcements."
Just then, Delilah and Wade caught up with us. "What's going on?"
"Check that woman over there. Is she still alive?" I motioned to Wade. "You do it. Delilah, I need you to help Roz tie up our friend here with this delightfully stinky rope."
As Roz held the dude down, Delilah wrapped the rope around his arms, and another length around his feet. The minute the rope hit the vamp's skin, he screamed.
I kicked him in the side. Hard. He'd been in on the kidnapping and I had zero sympathy for him. "Shut up or I'll give you a good reason to scream. My sister's learning death magic. I'm sure she and her partner have something to corral a vampire." I was bluffing, but he didn't have to know.
Wade motioned me over. "She's dead, and she drank. Look at her chin."
The woman's face was splattered with blood. Bob had forced her to drink before she died. It wouldn't be long before she started to rise. I blankly turned back to Roz. "Give me that stake."
Wade blanched as I leaned over her. "I'm sorry," I said. "I hate doing this but…" Grimacing, I plunged the stake into her heart and shuddered as a low wail filled the air and her body exploded into dust. She'd been turning fast. The newborns were gaining power at a rapid rate. Dredge's blood was strong. All of his children—including me—were exceptional in strength.
"Menolly, the morgue," Delilah said. "We don't have much time."
Shit. The morgue! In my excitement over catching one of the newborns, I'd almost forgotten. "What are we going to do with him until then? We don't dare leave him alone or he might call his grave-mates and he has information we need."
"You go on ahead. Wade and I'll take him home. You'll just have to take care of the vamps in the morgue yourself." Delilah dusted off her jeans as Wade yanked our prisoner to his feet. Lucky for us he was in obvious agony from the sting of the garlic-infused ropes and paying little attention to what we were saying.
"Are you nuts? We can't allow that creature in our house! Let me think for a minute." I mulled over our options and then snapped my fingers. "Got it. Come here, the two of you. Roz, can you watch over our buddy here for a moment?" Roz traded places with Wade as I motioned for Delilah and Wade to follow me over to where I hoped we couldn't be heard.
"I want you to take him to the Wayfarer. It's closed now, so there won't be any customers there to question you. Downstairs, near the room with the portal in it, you'll find a metal door. Tavah knows you, so she won't attack. Here's the key for that room." I removed a heavy key from my key ring and pressed it into Delilah's hand. She curled her fingers around it and let out a little mew. The key had some iron in it. A tiny puff of smoke rose from her hand. "Yeah, I know it hurts, but it's not enough to damage you."
"What's behind the door?" Wade asked.
"A magic-proof chamber, built to house rogue OW visitors the Wayfarer might need to deport. The OIA built it, and Jocko kept it top secret. I don't think he ever told Wisteria, and none of my bartenders know about it. When I took over, Headquarters let me in on the secret. That room will hold a minor demon, so it should hold a vamp. He shouldn't be able to send any messages out on the astral, either. Lock him in and head for the morgue. And don't dawdle."
Delilah let out a rough laugh. "That's going to come in handy, probably more than we think. Okay, get moving and don't worry. Wade and I can handle it. But… give us one of those stakes. Just in case?" Her eyes took on a feral gleam and I had a dark sense that someone was watching through her eyes. The scent of bonfires filled the air and then, with a gust of wind, was gone.
"I think you have company on your shoulder," I said softly, handing her my stake.
"I know," she whispered. "I can feel him here. The Autumn Lord has been around since the first bodies were found."
"Well, we don't have time to ask why. Go. Keep your cell phone on." I pushed her and Wade back over to Bob's side, where they yanked him to his feet and headed toward the Jeep, dragging him between them. Roz and I followed, keeping an eye on them till they sped off in the night.
"I hope they'll be okay." I couldn't bear it if something happened to Kitten because of me.
"They're strong, they're experienced." Roz shrugged and handed me the purse the woman I'd staked had been carrying. "Here, you might want this… to identify her with. Come on, let's get to the morgue. I hope we're not too late."
I carried the purse gingerly. Within it were the last things she'd touched. Dredge had purged her of her life. I'd purged her of her death. I could only hope she was walking with her ancestors.
We were only a few blocks from the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigations building where Sharah had ordered the new bodies brought. As we screeched into the parking lot, we saw Trillian and Chase climbing out of the car.
"What the hell took you so long?" Trillian asked. "Stop for a drink or something?"
"Shut up, Svartan. We came across the first four newborns in the park, harvesting more victims. Three of them got away. The other vamp is on his way to a holding pen for now."
"And their victims?" Chase asked, paling.
I stared at him, daring him to comment. "They carried two of them off with them—one a teenaged boy. The third we dusted. She was already starting to turn."
He paled, then rushed to the building with me hot on his heels. Roz and Trillian brought up the rear. Roz was readying stakes and tossed one to Trillian, who grunted, catching it lightly.
