One Foot in the Grave (25 page)

“Juan, make sure those two vamps don’t pull out their silver!” I managed to shout before an elbow to my face cut me off. Ow ow oww! My nose broke and I tasted blood. That didn’t stop me from returning the favor and slamming the vampire’s face into the ground, however, which produced a satisfying crunch.

“Now we’re even,” I panted, then flicked a knife from my boots and sent it home through his back. “And now I’m ahead.”

“Cat, watch out!” Cooper yelled.

My head snapped up to see another vampire flying toward me. I reached in my boots again—and found nothing. I was out of knives, and out of time to get away.

Then suddenly the vampire was knocked to the side. Tate’s head appeared in the jumble of flying limbs. He
must have barreled into the vamp at the last second. I scrambled forward to the silver knives, scraping the hell out of my knees on the concrete, but came up with several lovely, gleaming blades.

“Heads up!” I called out. My guys ducked immediately, and those blades landed in undead flesh, garnering fresh howls. Tate jumped back on the vampire who’d tried to ambush me, and I tossed him a blade that he caught one-handed before driving it into the vamp’s back.

“Don’t twist, don’t twist!” I reminded him, joining in Cooper’s fight.

Five minutes later, it was done. Francois was the last vampire to be taken down, and when I pulled him off Annette, lodging a knife firmly in his back, he was still cursing her.

“Why?” he demanded at last, his accent making the word almost incoherent.

Annette had blood all over her, some of it hers, some of it Francois’s. With her unmarked skin and that red gore coating her, she could have passed for a curvy Sissy Spacek at the end of
Carrie
.

“You see who she is?” she asked Francois curtly, jerking her head toward me. “Your sire wants her.
My
sire loves her. I’m sorry, Francois, but my loyalty is to Crispin, not Ian.”

I maneuvered Francois over to the van, where Annette began wrapping duct tape around his wrists. It wouldn’t be enough to hold a vampire normally, but too much jiggling would drive that knife farther into Francois’s heart, and he’d know it.

“You may as well kill me,” Francois said bitterly.
“For that is what Ian will do once he discovers we were duped and failed him.”

“I don’t think so,” I replied. “Or I’ll tell everyone that Ian fell for the same trick back in February. See, I had
him
in the same position you’re in, Francois, and Ian seems the arrogant type who wouldn’t want that to become public knowledge. If you guys behave, you’ll live to bite another day, I promise.”

Tate came over. He took off his shirt and handed it to me.

“Your nose is still bleeding, Cat.”

Yeah, I knew that. I could taste it, since it was running in a slow drip into my mouth. I swiped at my face with Tate’s shirt. Annette finished with Francois’s wrists and then sliced her palm, holding it an inch from me.

I met her eyes…and then brought her hand to my mouth. Her cut had been deep, and though the wound healed almost instantly, the blood it drew remained. I sucked on it for a second, noting with detachment that she tasted different from Bones, and felt my nose tingle as it healed.

“Thanks,” I said, dropping her hand.

A slight smile curved her mouth. “Wouldn’t want to have your lovely face marred, now, would we? After all, you have another party to go to.”

A
N HOUR LATER, ONE WOULD NEVER GUESS
I’d done anything more strenuous today than paint my toenails or shop at the mall. I was relaxing in the steam room, with an attendant rubbing my feet, of all things. I’d tried to politely refuse such pampering, but I was told it was part of my prearranged treatment. And truthfully, it felt so wonderful, my protest was halfhearted at best.

After that, there was the sauna, exfoliating, and an herbal bath with exotic oils and mints. If there was any trace of Bones’s scent on me after this, it’d be a frigging miracle. Even my teeth were treated to a bleaching solution that nearly burned my gums off.

When I was done being put through a high-end version of a car wash, the attendant came in and handed me a box.

“Here you go, miss. This is for you.”

Inside was a dress, a cell phone, a set of car keys with a vehicle description, and a pair of high-heeled shoes. As soon as I took them out, I smiled. The guys wouldn’t be the only ones with dangerous footwear. The heels on these were solid silver, covered with only a layer of black paint.

I got dressed quickly, checking the clock on the wall. Then I looked at my reflection and paused. The dress had Bones written all over it, since it was more like a teddy than evening wear. It had a halter that plunged to my waist in a style that would have made even Jennifer Lopez pause. Double-sided tape held the two black strips of material to my breasts in vertical swaths. The bottom was attached, cut high on the legs front and back, and the only thing that saved the outfit from being obscene were the translucent bits of fabric that ranged from hip to mid-thigh length and swayed when I moved.

One thing was for sure—this dress sure as hell didn’t lack for fluidity. There wasn’t enough of it to hinder movement.

Once I had my makeup on, the new cell phone from the box rang as if on cue. An unfamiliar voice was on the other end.

“Reaper, meet us at the overpass of Forty-fifth and Wilkes. You’d better be alone. By now you should know that we have four of your people, and we don’t need all of them.”

How charming. Not even a hello. “I’ll play ball, but if you kill any of them, you’re next.”

I was already on my way to the parking lot, those
new keys in my hand. They went to the blue Explorer parked near the entrance. I fastened my seat belt as I drove off, since going through the windshield wasn’t in my plans tonight. At least not that I knew of.

Two cars waited for me at the designated area with four vampires in each of them.

“Let’s get this show on the road, boys,” I greeted them.

Sixteen pairs of eyes roamed me from head to high-heeled feet. Helpfully I spun in a circle and stretched out my arms.

“You can check me for weapons, but what you see is what you get. Now, if you’re finished gaping, I have a date with whoever your boss is.”

“Hello there, darling,” a voice behind me said, with a pronounced English accent.

I spun around to see a tall vampire with long, spiky black hair lounging by the guardrail. He hadn’t been there a moment ago. His aura announced him as the most powerful of the group, a Master vampire, and it wasn’t the first time I’d met him.

“Where I come from, it’s polite to introduce yourself first before calling someone a sexist demeaning nickname, or maybe you weren’t brought up with manners?”

He smiled and straightened from his easy slouch to sweep me a bow that was still the courtliest I’d ever seen.

“Of course. How
rude
of me. My name is Spade.”

I controlled my expression to show nothing, but inwardly I grinned. This was Bones’s best friend. Years
ago when we met, I’d automatically assumed he was a bad guy and tried to smash his head in with large stones. After Bones arrived and cleared up his identity, Spade had brushed himself off—and then roundly criticized me for my method of introduction.

“Spade. Nice name. Were you forced to pick from a comic book or something?”

I knew why he’d chosen the name, of course. Spade had been a South Wales prisoner along with Bones. The overseer used to call the former Baron Charles DeMor-timer by his assigned tool, a spade. He’d kept the name so he wouldn’t forget his former helplessness.

His mouth twitched before he stilled it. “I’ll ponder my choice later, angel. If you would step this way? I’m going to search you for weapons.”

The other eight formed a protective circle around us as Spade ran his hands leisurely and thoroughly over me. When he was finished, he wore a slight grin.

“
Now
it’s a pleasure meeting you.” He inclined his head toward one of the cars. “After you.”

We drove to a deserted road where a helicopter waited. There was no more conversation. I drummed my fingernails on my leg as we took off. The other vampires kept staring at me, but I ignored them. For his part, Spade was silent, but every so often, he’d cast a sideways smirk at me.

We landed just over two hours later. I didn’t have a watch, but guessed the time around eleven-thirty.
Soon, then. Very soon.
I said a silent prayer that no one but my father would get killed tonight, and then I got out to start the party.

Ian certainly liked to entertain in style. This house was even grander than his last one, a virtual mansion. Gardens formed eerie shapes in the moonlight, and torches were decoratively displayed for maximum effect. Sculptures frozen in permanent pose either welcomed or warned, and some of them were downright barbaric. Idly, I wondered if the ancient-looking Greek ones were authentic as we crossed underneath a marble trellis. Knowing Ian’s penchant for rare and valuable things, they probably were.

The collective force of supernatural power that hit me when the doors opened made me pause. It was like walking into liquid electrocution with all the inhuman currents buzzing around. Good
God
, what kind of creatures were in here? A twinge of apprehension shot through me. This was the big leagues and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go pro, but it was too late to turn back now.

There was a gauntlet of vampires and ghouls lining the hall we strode through. The weight of their stares was heavy, but I looked straight ahead and forced my legs not to tremble.
Never show fear
. That would be the same as ringing a dinner bell.

A set of impressively carved, giant double doors were pulled open by two attending vampires. Spade motioned for me to go inside. I squared my shoulders and straightened my spine, gliding into the dangerous unknown as casually as if I were Cinderella to the ball.

Thunderdome
, was my first thought. Gothic, luxurious Thunderdome. An amphitheater of sumptuous
chairs, couches, and pedestals circled an open bare center that could have been an arena. The room was set up stadium style, with each level overlooking the ominous square platform. Since my path took me in a straight line to center stage, that’s where I went.

Murmurs broke out at the sight of me, so many it was hard to translate. Apparently I was the main attraction tonight. How flattering. With sheer willpower I refused to search the dozens and dozens of faces for the one I loved. Bones was here. Even in the maelstrom of whirling energies, I could feel him. Hell, I could
smell
him after downing all that blood last night.

Ian was seated front and center like royalty. The lowest balcony was one level up from the platform, so I tilted my head toward him and feigned surprise.

“So
you’re
the one who’s behind all this? Serves me right for not twisting that knife before. Come on down and I’ll fix my oversight.”

Ian had dressed up as well, wearing a vintage flowing shirt with ruffles of antique silk. I guessed it was late seventeen hundreds, from the style. Its pearly color nearly matched his skin, and his chestnut hair was tastefully arranged. Turquoise eyes gleamed at me with anticipation.

“Your prissy pants suit didn’t begin to do you justice, Catherine. You are simply dazzling.”

“Once and for all, and it’s good that so many people will hear this so I don’t have to repeat it—my name is Cat.” Since they’d all seen me, concealing my work name hardly seemed important. “Now, I dragged my ass up here for a reason, and it wasn’t to hear that you
liked my dress. Where are my men? And what do you want? It must be a real doozy for you to track me down and blackmail me.”

Ian had a superior grin when he answered, comfortable in his presumed control. “You can thank your old friend for helping me find you,
Cat
. I have a feeling you’ll remember him. Crispin, say hello to your former protégée.”

“Hallo, luv. Long time no taste,” a voice drifted down to me.

I hid a grin and turned in his direction.

Bones cleaned up better than Ian, in my prejudiced opinion, and I couldn’t help the tug of a smile when I saw his hair. Sometime since I’d last seen him, he’d colored it the same shining platinum it had been when we first met. It was newly cut as well, hugging his head in closely cropped curls. His shirt was a full-bodied crimson, contemporary by contrast with Ian’s, and his skin glowed like cream-covered diamonds against the vivid fabric. It was time for me to look away. Fast. Before I drooled.

“Bones, what an unexpected revulsion,” I said cleanly. “Jeez, you’re not dead yet? I’d hoped to see the last of you years ago. Still having that premature ejaculation problem?”

Ian guffawed in amusement. So did the rest of his section. They were segregated by lineage, with the youngest members higher up in the nosebleed seats. Bones sat symbolically on the lower edge of Ian’s group, and a snort of laughter accompanied his response.

“Perhaps if your snoring hadn’t been so bloody loud
in the interims, I would have been able to concentrate better.”

Touché. I turned my back to him. “All right, Ian. Enough of this crap. I’m all decked out in my pretty dress and it’s clearly a party. What’s the occasion?”

Ian went right for the melodramatic. “Far and wide I’ve told everyone that the avenging human called the Red Reaper is actually a vampire disguised behind a pounding heart and warm flesh. There isn’t another known half-breed in the world. Put simply, I want you with me, Cat, as part of my people. Since I didn’t reckon on you being agreeable to the thought after our last meeting, I’ve taken four of your men to ensure that you’re more…open-minded when we discuss it now.”

Ian didn’t know I’d already gotten back three out of those four, and had six of his own men to boot. He probably just thought Francois and the others were running late.

“Uh huh,” I said cynically. “I’m guessing this whole being ‘part of your people’ means I’d have to spend a lot of time with you.”

Ian smiled with more than a hint of wickedness. “You would require supervising at first, after all.”

“And if I refuse, I suppose you’ll kill my men?”

He shrugged. “Really, poppet, would it require me killing all of them before you’d see what I’m offering isn’t so repugnant? I think it would only require killing one or two, at most.”

You cold bastard
, I thought, eyeing Ian. The fact that he was being practical, not maniacal, told me a lot about him. Ian didn’t seem like he’d particularly enjoy
killing a couple of my men, but he’d do it. Bones had some of that same coldness, I knew. And so did I, if I was honest.

“You told people about me,” I said abruptly, changing my tactics. “But I bet they had trouble believing you. Want me to give them a demonstration of what I can do? I mean, you’ve got all these guests, but so far, they haven’t seen anything exciting yet.”

An interested look came over Ian’s face. Bones had said Ian liked a flashy show. It didn’t appear that he was wrong.

“What are you offering for a demonstration, my lovely Red Reaper?”

“Bring out your strongest fighter. I’ll beat him or her, and I’ll do it with only what I’ve got on me now.”

I spread my hands and twirled to show that I didn’t have any weapons, but of course Ian would know that I’d been searched. It wasn’t my fault no one had taken a good look at my shoes.

“What do you want if you win?” Ian asked.

“One of my men back unharmed. And I get to pick who.”

Ian looked me over for a long moment. I gave him my most innocent expression. “Agreed,” he said at last.

“Good,” I said instantly. “I’ll take Noah.”

Shit, if I could win back Noah myself, that was a big load off my mind. Wouldn’t Ian be surprised later when he found out he’d bartered his only hostage back to me?

Bones chose that moment to stand up. “Ian, before this circus begins, I have an issue to settle with you.
Frankly I would have skipped this event altogether if you hadn’t commanded me to appear. That is the rub, my sire. I wish to be under no one’s authority but my own, and it is time. Release me from your line.”

Ian looked like he’d been punched in the gut before he shielded his expression.

“We will speak on this later, Crispin, when there aren’t so many distractions,” he said, struggling to stall without appearing weak.

Bones encompassed the multitudes with a wave of his hand. “There is no better time than now, with all present to observe tradition. I want nothing more when I leave than what is mine by right—the vampires I’ve created, their possessions, and all my human property. I’ve waited long enough for this, Ian, and I’m not waiting any longer.”

There was an uncompromising edge to his last sentence, and everyone there heard it.

Ian’s tone changed from coaxing to curtness on the spot. “And if I refuse? Are you threatening to challenge me to win your freedom?”

“Yes,” Bones replied bluntly. “But why the need? Our paths go back to our humanity, and we shouldn’t part with one of us destroyed by stubbornness. Release me by your favor and not by a fight, for that is my wish.”

I couldn’t imagine having a centuries-old history with someone like Bones had with Ian, and one that had literally transcended death to boot. Ian didn’t seem like anything special to me, but for Bones to try so hard not to have to kill him, there must be more to him than met the eye. I knew loyalty over Ian changing Bones
into a vampire would only go so far. Maybe Ian was a bit like Don. Ruthless and manipulating when it came to what he wanted, but at the core, not an evil person. Otherwise Bones wouldn’t bother asking for his freedom, when he could challenge Ian to a duel and kill him for it. Bones could beat Ian if it came to that, and he knew it. The question was, did Ian?