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CHAPTER 7
“Good gods, how can you get in so much trouble in one night?” Camil e stared at me, her mouth open. “We leave you alone to get some sleep and you end up involved with Blood Wyne’s son?”
“Son implies youth, and Roman, while he doesn’t look a day over thirty-five, isn’t youthful by any stretch of the imagination.” I glanced around. The kitchen was almost back together after the demons invaded our home, but there were stil deep gouges in a few of the wal s and the tile needed to be replaced. The guys had pul ed together, and in one month they had cleared out al the debris and repaired a good deal of the damage. New appliances gleamed in the dim light.
“What do you need us to do?” Delilah asked.
“Can you run down as much information on the Greenbelt Park District as you can find—
especial y regarding ghosts and haunting? And anything you might happen to hear about vampiric activity there.”
“Sure. Not a problem.” Delilah bobbed her head and I smiled. The new do suited her so wel ; it was choppy and spiky and gave her an edgy look that rocked. She’d given in, once it was cut, and tried to dye it back to her normal golden color. For the most part, the calico mess that had come through had abated, though it stil showed through here and there.
I looked at Camil e. “Now to the problematic. Today Chase is breaking the news of the vampire serial kil er. I’ve got my bookkeeper working on a gate for the Wayfarer, but Camil e, you’d better take extra precautions at the Indigo Crescent. I’m afraid the backlash could reach your shop, too.”
Her shop had been rebuilt and was open again, this time with Gisel e, a demon, as the general manager. But that didn’t preclude an attack by the Buffy wannabes.
She jotted down a note for herself. “Wil do. Anything else for now?”
I shrugged. “I get to go shopping for a dress, and if I want it, a fur coat, thanks to Roman. Why do I feel a little like I’ve stumbled into the movie set of Pretty Woman? Only I’m no whore and Richard Gere doesn’t hold a candle to Roman.” Memories of his fangs on my neck rose up and I closed my eyes, reveling once again in being able to let myself go, total y, without fear of hurting anyone. A rush of power surged through me and I jerked my head up, eyes wide, feeling like I could take on Shadow Wing himself.
Camil e coughed. “What the fuck did Roman do to you? I’ve never seen that look on your face before, and I’m not sure what to think.”
The energy rol ed through me and I shook my head. “I have no idea . . . unless . . . his blood—we exchanged blood and that means I am connected to his power. The effects wil last for a while, given his age and strength. I never thought about this possibility.”
“And because he drank from you, he’s got Dredge’s power in him?”
I nodded. “Yes, but he’s more powerful than either Dredge or me, so it shouldn’t have much of an effect on him.”
The phone rang. It was Tavah. “I just locked Erin in the safe room and I’m heading out to my lair.
Lucius just came in to watch for the day.” Lucius was Fae and he watched over the portal on weekdays. Kendra, an elf, took the weekends.
“Sounds good. I’ve asked my accountant to set up a gate system. Before you head out tonight, watch the news. You might want to double-check the security on your lair.”
I hung up, sighing. How many vampires were going to be targeted after Chase broke it to the press that we had a serial kil er with fangs on the loose?
Standing up, I glanced at the clock. Enough time for a quick shower and then into the dark slumber. I blew kisses to my sisters. As I headed downstairs, I had the sneaking suspicion my dreams were going to be ful of dark vampires and the flow of delicious, ancient blood.
“Menol y! Menol y! We need you awake. Now.” Camil e was standing far enough away to avoid my backlash as I sat up in bed, startled awake at the first moment of sunset.
I blinked. “What? I’m awake, I’m awake.” As I pul ed out of the long day of walking between worlds—and I’d had some incredible dreams of both Roman and Nerissa—I noticed that she was dressed in a heavy spidersilk skirt and a leather bustier over a pale lavender shirt, and she had on her granny boots. That could mean only one thing.
“Who the hel are we fighting?”
“How’d you guess?” She laughed, then sobered quickly. “Seriously, there’s trouble over in the Greenbelt Park District. The news broke about the vampire serial kil er, and some reporter also managed to scare up the rumors of ghostly activity. A group of wannabe vampire hunters and ghost hunters decided to join forces and exorcise the area. In the course of two hours, they’ve managed to rile up the spirits. Chase needs our help to see if we can figure out what to do about the ghosts that have come out of the woodwork.”
“Fuck. Fuck me hard. Why the hel do people pul this shit? They have no clue of what they’re doing and yet they go in and hold a little séance or fuck around with a Ouija board and before they know it, they’ve got a bunch of pissed-off spirits on their ass. Any chance we can keep the posers out while we clean up their mess?” I leaped out of bed and yanked on a pair of jeans and a turtleneck.
“Chase has put up a blockade, but a group of them are trapped in the basement of an old building with a group of angry spirits and can’t get out.”
I stopped. “Shit, I’m supposed to meet Wade at the bar. Let me make a quick cal .” I dialed Derrick and asked him to tel Wade I’d be there as soon as I could. “Okay, let’s head out and see what we can do.”
On the way upstairs, Camil e glanced over her shoulder at me. “You be careful. The city’s gone apeshit, and being a vampire is not a Good Thing right now. Seriously, it’s brought out every loco from the Eastside up to Shoreline and down to Renton. And not just the ones who want to turn you into a pile of dust mites. We’re talking seriously il FBHs. For some reason, the news sparked off that fringe element, and Seattle’s turned into loony-tunes town today. There’s an anti-Supe ral y going on down by the court-house and a new organization cal ing itself the “Earthborn Onlies” is holding some sort of vigil in front of the Supe-Urban Café. Marion has hired guards to keep watch, although the cops are doing a pretty good job of holding the nutjobs in check.”
Great. Just great. That was al we needed. This was why we weren’t tel ing people about Shadow Wing and the demons trying to break through. If news of a vampire serial kil er could do this, what would people do when they got wind of an impending demonic invasion?
Everybody was waiting in the living room for us. Except Delilah, that is. She was stil confined to home care. Her ribs were almost healed, but she was off any strenuous activity until the end of the year. But Shade, her lover, was there, as were Camil e’s three men, and the Demon Twins, as Iris cal ed Rozurial and Vanzir.
