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I pul ed out my cel . “Can you e-mail me that picture, so I know who I’m looking for?”
“Sure thing.” He punched in my number. “One other thing, Menol y.”
“What?”
“Be careful. Yugi mentioned that we’ve been getting reports tonight of vampires around the city being attacked. It looks like the Earthborn brotherhood’s up in arms and taking action. Two members of the cult have shown up dead with vampire punctures. I’m going to have to go on TV
with a press conference here in a bit.”
Great, one more thing to worry about. I nodded, and as soon as Yugi beamed me a picture of the good priest, I jogged back to the manhole cover to wait for Wade. I was tempted to head down without him, to rampage through every tunnel and opening, but I knew better. Dealing with a psychotic vampire wasn’t going to be easy, even with my strength. Psychosis made for strength.
psychotic vampire wasn’t going to be easy, even with my strength. Psychosis made for strength.
While I waited, I thought over the situation. There were far-reaching consequences that I real y didn’t want to see happen. The fal out onto the vampire rights movement was going to be deadly.
For one thing, the church was not going to be forgiving of a vampire turning one of their priests.
They’d been relatively quiet on the whole issue, only issuing a statement that once a mortal died, his or her soul moved on so whatever was left could not be considered the same person as they were before. Thank heavens, the law ignored their moral imperative, because they were wrong. Al vampires retained their souls—we were stuck in our bodies, unable to break free until the sun, a stake through the heart, or in some cases extreme fire put an end to us.
But although the church had not been our friend, neither had it been our enemy. No, it had been the fringe cults that had sprung up. When the portals opened and we came over from Otherworld, the cults had taken root. They’d grown when the Earthside Supes came out of the closet. The fringe faction were reactionary. They didn’t have much to lose, unlike the government and religious institutions, so they could afford to become extremists.
But with this, would the truly religious take up the crusade against vampires? Would they join the ranks of the Earthborn Brethren? And what would they do once they found out about the demons?
Al of this was running through my head as I waited for Wade. Half a block away, Chase and his men worked over the crime scene. To pass the time, I pul ed out my phone and punched speed dial for home. Iris answered.
“Iris, hey . . .” I stopped. How the fuck could I tel her everything that had passed so far this evening? Luckily, she’d already heard some of it.
“Menol y! Where are you? Camil e cal ed, so worried about you. She told me what happened at the hospital.”
I could hear the question behind her words. “I’m al right. I had to get out of there. The pul to Morio was too strong. I spent some time with Roman to take the edge off. But I’ve got news about our vampire serial kil er—he was a priest, and he’s targeting women who remind him of his sire, who posed as a hooker. I’m waiting for Wade. We’re going back in the tunnels to find him.”
“What about the ghosts?” Her voice was soft, a tremor of fear behind it.
“Ivana dealt with most of them. And hey, two vampires are better than one, right?”
“Just you be careful, missy. Maggie needs you. We al need you.” She hesitated, then added,
“You know none of this is your fault, right?”
“Morio is. I know people are saying no, he just was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the fact is he pushed me out of the way to save my life, and he almost died for it. I’l never forget it. I’l never look at him without remembering that.”
“Menol y, do you think Chase feels that way about Zachary? Zach did the same thing, and Karvanak paralyzed him. He’s forever maimed for performing a selfless act. But Chase doesn’t blame himself, does he?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he should. Maybe not, but I can’t forget it. The look on Camil e’s face, and what happened to her afterward—”
“What are you talking about?”
Crap. I almost blurted out Camil e and Vanzir’s secret. “Nothing. Never mind and please, don’t ask.” With relief, I saw Wade pul up in his black Beamer. “Wade’s here. I have to go. I’l cal you as soon as I’m able. But please, don’t worry. We’l be okay. We should be fine, especial y now that we know who we’re looking for.”
She didn’t answer, but I could hear the sprite’s soft breathing. Feeling under the gun, I sought for something else to soothe her worry. “I have to do this. We can’t let any more women die—and there was another murder tonight.”
“I know,” Iris final y said. “I just don’t want you going down there feeling guilty over Morio. I don’t want your subconscious doing anything to get you hurt. Sometimes you have more conscience than I think is good for you, girl.”
“I have to. Otherwise, I’d just be another monster.” Hanging up, I slid my phone in my pocket, watching as Wade hustled over to my side. “Yo. We’ve got to get moving. He could be long gone by now.”
“Do you real y think he is?”
I shook my head. “No. Actual y, I think his lair is near here.”
