No Man's Land (25 page)

Kelly shook her head. “I got it. I’ve probably only got a dozen or so slugs in my legs and arms. Once I dig them out, I’ll be able to start healing. Give me half an hour, then we can head out to check the traps and plan some kind of ambush. I doubt that guy was the only one they’re sending tonight.

Jaq nodded, watching the vampire stagger from her truck to the door of her trailer. Half an hour. She’d be back, but not to check traps with Kelly. There was something else far more important that they needed to do first.

25

K
yle waited impatiently in his car. He would have been a lot more comfortable waiting for Juan in the human diner down the street, but it was too risky. Vampires always did their subversive business, their clandestine meetings, in human diners, and his father was too smart not to know trouble was brewing. Diners were out.

Everything stood on a razor’s edge. Tonight they’d take West Virginia. He had his vampires poised at the border, ready to move. And tomorrow, his corporate business would move in, sealing the deal on the largest money makers in the state.

Everything else needed to wait until he heard from the Kincaid female, and he knew she was watching to see him prove himself. It was the waiting that was the hardest. He pushed the need for action down deep within himself and practiced calm. Patience was a critical trait for a vampire, although the high level of self–control he desired would not be his for many centuries. Seeing his second walking briskly towards him, he was finally able to relax the tension from his shoulders.

“Sorry I’m late, Sir,” Juan said with barely concealed excitement. Juan always had difficulty hiding his emotions. If he hadn’t been so loyal, so capable, that trait would have stalled his career a hundred years ago.

“Do you have the information?”

Juan spread a map out before him. Red circles dotted the paper like chicken pox. “I’ve got the addresses for two–hundred werewolves in the state, most clustered towards the east. Should we move house to house? Send groups of two or three to take down a section of them at a time?”

Kyle frowned. “Two hundred?” That couldn’t be right. The angels would never allow that many werewolves to congregate in one area. The most he’d ever seen in a twenty–mile radius was fifty, and that was rare.

“My source insists that he’s correct.”

That would require a change of plans. Kyle didn’t have enough vampires to attack two hundred werewolves at the same time, and success required surprise. Once those things had time to transform and take to the woods, they were a pain to catch.

“Then we need to draw them together so we can hit them fast and hard, all at once. It would need to be something urgent enough that they’d come without taking the time to change form. They’re easier to kill on two legs.”

Juan chewed thoughtfully on the end of a pen as he scanned the map. “Then we probably need to attack a group of humans. They’ve got some kind of agreement with them and will run to defend them. “Maybe Martinsburg, at the veteran’s hospital?”

“A hospital?” Kyle shuddered at the thought. Ill humans had a horrible aftertaste. “How about the racetrack/casino here, in Charles Town?”

“It’s Sunday night. Live racing is only Saturday through Wednesday, and only the die–hard gamblers will be at the casino late on a Sunday. We’ll have more humans to threaten at the hospital.”

Ugh. He could wait. Should wait. Friday or Saturday night would be better, and vampires never did anything in haste. Kyle looked at the map, his eyes tracing the distance to Charles Town. Martinsburg was closer to the Maryland border. They could be in and seize the hospital before the werewolves even knew they were in the state.

“There are fifteen buildings at the VA hospital, though. We’ll be too spread out.”

“That is a drawback,” Juan admitted. “We could take the main building and the community center — they’re liable to have the most humans.”

True, but Kyle didn’t like the way the other buildings crowded in close, or the one that stood between the main building and the center. It would split them into two groups, and even with the big parking areas, there were plenty of tall buildings and tree–lined walkways for the werewolves to sneak up on them. He didn’t want his trap to turn into a siege. But the casino…he
should
wait. One week, or maybe a few months when warmer weather tempted more humans to visit.

“We’re taking the casino. Are we ready to move tonight?”

West Virginia. It might be slim pickings, but it would be his — a territory of his own, no matter how small.

“Yes, but we need to be elsewhere tonight,” Juan replied with barely concealed excitement. “Kincaid has crossed the border into DC and attacked. Durand has ramped up his fighters in the suburban Maryland areas. You and your staff are to provide back up in Potomac in an hour to flank Kincaid as the Master pushes him north–west.”

“Kincaid what?” Kyle asked in shock.

Maybe he didn’t need to wait for the Kincaid Consort to pick sides. If Kyle stood with his father, they’d push Kincaid back in a matter of weeks and have the justification and outrage to take at least three states. Of course, once his father got his hands on those states, he’d be unlikely to gift them to Kyle.

The vampire mulled over the situation. This changed everything. He could proceed as planned, but ignoring his father’s summons would bring unwelcome notice to his West Virginia project. Plus he’d have to face the old man’s wrath. Forget New York — for that, he’d probably be shipped off to France.

“Why in the world would Kincaid attack
us
?” Kyle wondered. There had to be a catch, something he was missing. It just didn’t make sense.

“Kincaid claims the Fournier family has declared war on him by killing two of his vampires then trespassing into his lands to deliver the insult. Once there, the Fournier agent killed another of his vampires, displaying his body in a clear declaration of war.”

Juan recited all of this as if reading from a paper. The man practically danced with excitement. All this intrigue in his own backyard was clearly too much for a young vampire to take.

Kyle frowned. Could Kincaid be lying? It was inconceivable that his father, who had never shown interest in the southern lands, would have done such a thing. And besides motive, it wasn’t his style. That sort of message was arrogant and flashy, the act of someone who let unseemly emotion rule their actions.

“Who? I didn’t do that, and my father wouldn’t have bothered. If he wanted their territory, he would have poisoned them all, or had Kincaid knifed in the back. Is this possibly a ploy of Kincaid’s to turn my father against me, to somehow implicate me in a sloppy incident?”

Because this would be blamed on him. He was the caretaker for the lower states. These events would land right on his doorstep. His responsibility; any protests of innocence would fall on disbelieving ears. The whole family would think he screwed up and started a war without adequate planning.

Kyle thought furiously. What would Kincaid gain from this? Did that Consort of his set this up? He couldn’t see an advantage to her if Kincaid was killed. She’d be forced to immediately become Kyle’s Consort and hand the whole lot over as a sort of dowry. No, the most likely result from this move would be a split between him and his father, and a significant delay of his plans for seizing the lower states. If his father thought he’d been carelessly assassinating vampires, risking the family and acting without permission, he’d be kept in New York for centuries. Kincaid would have bought himself time.

Of course, there was another possibility nagging at his mind. The one who truly gained the most advantage from this was the old man himself. Kyle had allies, but support for him would be weak if his family thought he’d been so rash and impulsive as to whack the Kincaid wasp’s nest without an adequate plan in place. They’d all think he wasn’t ready. His Father’s lands would be safe from him for centuries while he rebuilt support. It would be the perfect thing to put him in his place, and the whole time his father could appear the disappointed Master, lovingly holding his son back until he was ready.

“I wouldn’t put it past the Master to do this,” Kyle thought out loud. He’d normally never say this sort of thing, but Juan was the only vampire in his family he could trust enough to speak candidly around. “I’m implicated. It will turn some against me and might force me back into his fold. I won’t have the backing to move forward with this hanging over my head.”

“A temporary setback,” Juan commented. “We’ll assist him, protest that you’re innocent, and wait for better timing.”

“But what about West Virginia? We’re ready — everything is in place.” Kyle asked, more to himself than to Juan.

The best move he could make would be to join his father and push back Kincaid. That’s what every reasonably intelligent vampire would do. Leaving the Master to his own devices and taking West Virginia would give Kyle nothing but a tiny, poor territory. He’d not have the time to wait on the other parts of his plans. He’d need to strike right away, or risk being sent off by his father and losing his newly won territory after holding it a scant few weeks. It was madness.

Juan shook his head. “You should be conservative in your plans, cautious. Wait until you’re completely ready to make a move; don’t jump ahead and lock yourself into a course of action that might lead to exile. There will be another opportunity.”

Kyle thought for a moment. His starting territory would be miniscule. Once his father’s forces repelled Kincaid, either or both groups would squash him in a matter of weeks. He wasn’t ready. The smart, mature plan would be to support his father, push back Kincaid, head to New York like a dutiful son and wait for a better chance. He was young. He could wait hundreds of years for the right moment. It was what an Old would have done, what any intelligent vampire would have done.

“Tell my vampires to advance as planned,” he told Juan. “Tonight. Then pull together a meeting at sunup to plan phase two. We need to think of all the scenarios that could result from this little war and have plans in place to take advantage of any of them. I want more than West Virginia in my hands before the blood dries.”

Juan’s face was tight, but he nodded. “Yes, my Master.”

Not yet
, Kyle thought.
But soon. Very soon
.

26

A
t least Jaq gave a perfunctory knock before she barged into the trailer, unlike Melody and the other neighbors. It still didn’t give Kelly much time to clean up the mess. Jaq halted abruptly on the doorstep, her eyes sweeping over Kelly with alarm before she shuttered them back into calm friendliness.

“Give me a moment to wash up,” Kelly grumbled, sponging herself off with paper towels. There was already a pile of bloody ones on the counter and in the sink, but she was still bleeding, gaping holes and gashes unhealed from where she’d dug out the silver. It wouldn’t get any worse, but it sure as heck wasn’t going to get any better. Not that it mattered. She just needed to run on adrenaline until they’d safeguarded the neighborhood from any more vampire intruders. Perhaps after that, Jaq could keep watch while she rested. Rested for all eternity.

“What’s this?”

Kelly glanced over her shoulder to see Jaq holding up a tangled mess of yarn.

“It’s supposed to be a scarf. I’m not having much luck with it though.”

“Vampires knit?”

“No, humans knit. Vampires make a big knotted mess and pretend they know what they’re doing. Maybe I can use it as a tourniquet. I can’t seem to stop bleeding.”

The werewolf dropped the yarn back onto the sofa and walked to Kelly, gently examining her arm. “Should we tear up sheets and bandage it? Probably wouldn’t be a good idea for you to be leaving blood trails everywhere.”

Kelly pulled up her shirt, showing her the taped gauze at her waist. “That was the worst. These have almost stopped bleeding.” Stopped bleeding, but not even scabbed over. If she needed to run or fight, she’d be covered in fresh blood as the fragile clotting broke open.

Jaq’s jaw set into a hard line. “Come on then. We’ve got a lot to do and we need to make a brief detour first.”

Kelly didn’t protest as the werewolf led her out the door and down the lane. Her mind whirled as they climbed the step to Melody’s house. Were they collecting supplies? More silver chains? One of Joe’s carving knives?

Bright fluorescent light greeted the vampire as Jaq flung open the door and half dragged her into the trailer. Inside were Melody, Barbara, Margaret, Shanna, and Kristen. They stood with arms crossed, regarding her with somber expressions. Kelly’s eyes strayed around the room and froze as she saw a chair. It was padded, with arms that hinged out to the sides. Everything else faded into a blur except that chair. It was eerily similar to one from her memory. She felt the panic race through her veins, remembered the feel of metal on her fangs, the pain that had collapsed her surroundings to white.

“I know you’re pissed, but I had to tell them.” Jaq’s voice jolted her out of the nightmare, and she reached out, clinging to the werewolf’s thin arms.

“Oh, I can’t
believe
we’ve got our very own vampire, right here in the neighborhood!” Margaret squealed, hopping from foot to foot in excitement. “I’m A positive and so is Barbara. Melody and Kristen are O negative, and Shanna is O positive. Which would you like today?”

Kelly’s head spun with relief. The chair wasn’t for her; it was for them. Jaq had told them, and strangely enough they seemed excited by the prospect of having a vampire living down the street. How could she explain this to them? It wasn’t like they saw in the movies, all sex and pretty drops of red — especially since she had no fangs.

“I …I can’t. You’re my friends, my neighbors, not a source of food.”

Melody shook a finger at Kelly. “You eat my tuna casserole, don’t you?”

Kelly couldn’t help but grin. “Every chance I get.”

“Well then, feeding you tuna casserole isn’t any different in my book then giving you some of my blood. It’s the neighborly thing to do.”