Page 58 of The Flame Game

I kept quiet, wondering what other secrets I might learn about the vampire with more compassion than many men.

“You want information from Michella.”

“I want to hang Morrison from the rafters,” my husband growled. “After cutting him open and allowing crows to feast on his entrails.”

Ew. “That is gross, Sam.”

“Warranted, however,” the vampire said. “Let’s barter, Samuel.”

“I’ll bite,” my husband announced. “Remember that NY mafia group annoying you?”

“With unfortunate clarity.”

“Task force reassignments happen at the end of January, and I will leave a note for my wife informing her they deal in human trafficking and the illegal, unwilling sex trade. A pregnant, cranky cindercorn in charge of said task force will give you the results you want in a rather short period of time. If anyone can ferret the bastards out, it’s her. In exchange, you will help us eradicate the dust producers and find the source of the rabies outbreak. Be careful with your gorgon, Saven. They’ve been infecting feeder mice.”

“Feeder mice? Interesting. We do not feed her snakes feeder mice. She has milk snakes. They prefer worms, so we just go above at night and dig for her if our supply is low. In a pinch, we will go to a bait store, but that is rare.”

“She has no venom? How is she with petrification?” Quinn asked, his tone sharpening.

“Her ability to petrify is practically non-existent, but she is highly contagious. If you have someone who wishes to become a gorgon, you go to her. But she lacks the defenses of other gorgons. Even her bile is impotent.”

“Damn it. How does she infect someone if her defenses are nil?”

“Blood transfer, like lycanthropy, or extreme contact to her bile. It takes a lot of bile to pass on the contagion, however. Her snakes can infect her victim as well, so she’s not precisely without all defenses. When her snakes bite, it takes several hours for the infection to take hold, after which petrification occurs. In a week, the new gorgon will reverse to flesh. None of those she has infected are contagious.”

“How many has she infected?”

“There is a hive of twenty members who have undergone the process. They were all willing.”

“Snake species?”

“Kingsnakes except for the male. He has Oenpelli pythons.”

“Never heard of them.”

“They are endangered and may go extinct. They are found in Australia. They’re constrictors. His snakes are gray, but sometimes they change colors somewhat.”

“How are his petrification abilities?”

“The hive is aware of its weaknesses and hide. I will have them tested for rabies and treated as necessary. They do use feeder mice and rats. I helped them get supplied from local pet stores.”

“Good. If they are not infected, get them vaccinated.”

“There is a vaccine for gorgons? For rabies?”

“Yes. They dislike being treated as animals, but after seeing hives wiped out, most hives are vaccinating against it. They started a few weeks ago. If Chicago doesn’t have a supplier for the vaccine, call the CDC and put in the request. They will send a nurse, and you will need to give them the count of gorgons needing to be vaccinated. If the hive has a surrogate, she will need to be treated.”

“The hive has an arrangement with my succubi as needed.”

“How is their reproduction rate?”

“The females produce one or two eggs per clutch, and their survival rate is fifty percent.”

“That’s low.”

“I’m aware. But the whelps that do survive are healthy, at least so far as we can tell. They have five, ranging in age between a year to three years old.”

“Have they been socialized?”