"Something's different about you," Roz said. He shot me a curious glance. "You've changed. Your fear's gone. Want to talk about it?"
"No," I said. "Not really. Just leave it at this: I can fight Dredge now, and I can win. I couldn't before, but now… I have a chance."
"Hmm…" was all he said, but I knew that wasn't going to be the end of it. "Turn up there. Left. Then left again in two blocks. We can park in the nearest lot once we're there. The newborn's nest isn't far."
As I took the lead, Camille and Delilah followed behind. We rolled through the dark city streets. The winter freeze still hadn't broken and a sudden flash hit me. Loki—Loki held Dredge's soul in his hands. "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice…"
"What?" Roz shot me a confused look.
"It's from a poem Camille read to me. Fire and ice… the unnatural winter… Loki and Dredge—don't you see, Dredge is corded to Loki, the lord of chaos. And when he crossed over Earthside, he brought that energy with him, along with an unnatural winter. All the snow we've been getting. It's due to the incredible power Loki's given to Dredge!"
"What are you talking about? What about Loki and Dredge?" Roz sounded vaguely irritated.
I let out an exasperated sigh. "I found out that Dredge is corded directly to Loki. Somehow Loki sired him and Dredge has become a channel for the demigod, which is one of the reasons he's so damned powerful. Loki hangs with Fenris, that damned wolf-son of his, and the pair do their best to wreak havoc on the world. Which means Loki may be trying to use Dredge to usher in his own miniature scale Ragnarok. We've been having an unnaturally cold and icy winter here. Guess who came to town right around when it started?"
Roz straightened up. "Dredge and Loki are corded? Loki's a vampire?"
"Not in so many words, but yeah, in a way. Enough to turn Dredge into one." I didn't know how to explain it because I wasn't sure I fully understood myself. "It works out… just trust me."
"How did you find out? Holy shit, this makes him much more dangerous than I thought. No wonder he's gotten away with his mayhem all these years."
"Don't ask how I know, because right now I don't even want to go there." I paused, then added, "I've cut him off, Roz. I've performed the ceremony to refute my sire."
Simple words, but Roz sucked in a deep breath. "Menolly, do you realize the implications of what you did?"
"Fully. As I said, don't ask. I don't want to talk about what it cost me in order to free myself."
"Well, I'll be a son of a bitch. You've got guts, I'll give you that. You do realize that you broke the cardinal rule of your kind?"
With a shrug, I pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine, patting the dashboard. "Do you think I really give a fuck?"
He let out a short laugh. "No, I can see that you don't." He glanced out the window. "Here come the others. Let's go stake us some bloodsuckers."
As he climbed out of the car, I caught a glimpse of his face: tall, dark, and shady but also looking scared shitless. Either the threat of Loki or my turning traitor against Dredge had thrown Roz into a tailspin. As we approached the sidewalk, the others swung in behind us. Roz handed everybody a couple stakes. I threaded mine through my belt.
We cut across the grass, off of the path toward a copse of fir and willow. I walked a little ways ahead, trying to pinpoint any undead who might be walking the area. As we neared the edge of the thicket, a tingle raced up my spine.
"We're near," I whispered. "Either their nest isn't hidden that well or somebody's out for an evening stroll."
Camille and Delilah separated, flanking Chase and Morio. Camille raised her hand toward the sky, while Delilah closed her eyes and began to sniff the air. Chase and Morio watched our backs, while Roz and I scanned the area in front of us.
After a moment Camille lowered her hand. "The Moon Mother's singing tonight. She says be very cautious in the trees. Something's got them up in arms tonight. They're acting sentinel for a creature who means us harm."
"I smell dryad on the wind. Want to make a bet Wisteria's lurking and she's stirred up some of her cronies?" Delilah pulled out her long silver knife with her right hand and flicked open the wrist blade fastened to her left. "I'm ready."
"Let's get in there and clear them out. We'll deal with Dredge after we clean up this mess. And remember—we take the offense. Wisteria's a handful, but if we go in with guns blazing, we can take her down." I strode forward, Roz by my side. The others followed, Chase and Delilah shifting positions to guard Camille and Morio, who were whipping up some sort of magic.
As we entered the thicket, a loud rustle signaled visitors. As a patch of overgrown ferns parted, out leapt three floraeds, Wisteria in their center.
"Well, well, if it isn't my pretty captors," she said. "Too late, girls. You're on our turf now." She looked directly at me, smirking.
"Still a little too much swagger, I see." I motioned to Roz and we stepped aside as Camille and Morio moved forward.
Wisteria and her buddies joined hands. A low rush of brambles crept out from the undergrowth, their thorns looking way nastier than I wanted to tangle with. Camille stared at the runners and laughed.
"Is that all you've got?" She grasped Morio's hand and they let loose with an invocation that echoed through the trees. A flash of silver washed through the area and the brambles froze, then fractured like an ice sculpture hit by a hammer.
Wisteria shouted. While her friends' lunged forward, ready for the fight, she held out her hands and runners spidered out of her fingertips. The vines enveloped Camille, entangling her arms and snaring her in a web of green.
Morio took a bead on Wisteria. "Foxfire!" He sent a globe of light zinging right at her eyes and as the orb hit, it exploded in a blinding flash.
As Wisteria screamed, Delilah ducked her way through the tangle of vines. Before the floraed could stumble out of the still glowing afterflash, Delilah brought her knife down hard against Wisteria's chest, sinking it deep into her flesh.
"Fuck you!" Wisteria gasped, stumbling in my direction.
I leapt and landed at her side. In a single motion, I caught hold of her hair and yanked her head back so hard and fast that I could hear the bones break. As I let go, she dropped to the ground. The sound of scuffling behind me stopped and as I turned, the other two floraeds were running like hell toward the parking lot.
"Should we follow them?" Delilah asked.I glanced in their direction. They were headed across to the thicket beyond. "Leave them. Let's go after the newborns. But first, I want to make sure this bitch is toasted. Anybody got fire?"
Roz pulled a small, round ball out of his pocket. "Get back."
"That won't spread and hurt the animals, will it?" Delilah asked.
He shook his head. "Nope, it's magical. Lasts for only a few moments and it's localized. Now, move it."
We stepped back as he pulled off a seal and tossed it onto Wisteria's chest. There was a sudden flare and her body blazed with a light so bright it hurt my eyes. A few seconds later, the light faded. All that was left of our little troublemaker was a pile of ashes.
"I want some of those firebombs!" Delilah said.
Roz snorted. "As if I'd give you any."
"What other surprises do you have under that coat?" Camille asked, scooting close to him and peeking in his coat.
"Any time you want to know, babe, I'll be glad to give you a taste of what else I've got hidden under here." Roz's voice was cushioned in silk and he batted his eyes at Camille. "Want to play show-me-yours now?"
"Enough. Let's get moving." I pushed ahead of them.
We headed into the thicket and Camille once again raised her hand. "The willows are quiet now. Wisteria was the one stirring them up. They're watching. Just watching."
The undergrowth surrendered to a path that had been hidden from the walkway. No doubt they'd gone to a lot of trouble to forge a trail out of sight to passersby. Snow-covered huckleberries and ferns shimmered in the dark of the wood, while scuttling noises announced the presence of squirrels and other night creatures who lived on the outskirts of the zoo.
"This way," I said. I could smell the faint whiff of vampire on the wind. All vamps had a scent. Not quite decay, not quite perfume, we smelled like graveyard dust and old bones and lilacs and yew trees and the faint promise of passion in the night. A vamp could always smell a vamp, which meant that if they were near enough, if they were paying attention, the newborns knew that I was on the way.
As we pushed on through the bushes, Camille tapped me on the shoulder. "Over there—see?"
I squinted, staring into the darkness. There it was: the entrance to an underground vault with stone steps leading down to the door. Probably a utility shed sunk into the ground for protection, or maybe an old foundation to a house long forgotten. Whatever it was, the newborns were using it. Which meant that the floraeds had probably scouted it out for them at Dredge's request.
"Let's go. Stakes at the ready. Watch your backs." I wiggled my finger at Roz. "Come on. We take the front. I'm the least likely to get hurt by this bunch, and you're next in line. Camille and Morio, you fall in behind Roz. Then Chase. Delilah, bring up the rear and keep a close watch on our backs."
The steps had cracked, with weeds growing through the fractures in the concrete. Patches of ice and snow dappled the dark cement, and I slowly began to descend the narrow stairwell, hand resting on one of the stakes in my belt. The door at the base of the stairs was dimly lit by a single touch light that hung at a lopsided angle on the side of the wall. Whatever this place was, it barely extended above the surface. We were almost fully underground.
I frowned at the door. Metal, it had a vaultlike wheel for a door handle, reminding me of the submarines we'd seen on late night World War II movies.
"A bunker," Chase said, his voice low.
"What?"
"Fallout shelter. I'll bet you this was built in the fifties during the Cold War." He let out a sigh. "Whoever owned this land must have sold it to the zoo at some point and forgot to tell them this was here."
Cold War. I vaguely knew the reference, but it wasn't important. What was important were the vamps waiting for us on the other side. I could smell them now, thickly. I couldn't tell how many might be inside, but my guess was that we'd be facing at least four.
"Be careful. I don't want any more company on my side of the fence," I said, raising my foot. With one well-placed kick, I smashed the door open, the metal shrieking as hinges twisted and the door crashed in against the wall.
As I rushed in, Roz followed me. A blur of motion greeted us.
We were in a short hall that opened into a larger room, two more doors on the other side. A quick count told me we were facing three vamps. I took on one while Roz spun into the room, aiming at the second. The third rushed past in a blur, headed for Camille who was standing behind me. And the fight was on.
My opponent was a woman. She let out a long hiss and backhanded me before I could dodge to the right. Shit, I thought, flying back. A martial arts freak. She must have had an extensive background in it before she died. The moment I touched the ground, I rolled and flipped, coming to my feet again as I circled around to get a better angle while staying out of her reach. I learned fast. Once kicked, twice as quick.
"Why are you helping them?" She beckoned me to move closer. "Come over to our side, sister. You are one of us."
"I'm no more one of you than I am an ogre," I said, spitting at her feet. "I'd offer you the chance to live, to learn how to control the thirst, but something tells me you wouldn't be able to handle it."
"Why should I? Our sire's promised us a playground." And then she struck again, but this time I was watching every twitch and was ready for her. I turned to the side just as she lunged, grabbing her arm as it shot past me.
"So sorry to cut this short, but I don't have time to play," I said. She might be stronger than when she'd been alive, but I was a long sight more powerful and I yanked her to my side.
Fighting me, she lurched into my arms.
I thrust the stake up into her chest, watching her eyes as she realized what was happening. And then, like lava hitting the ocean, she burst into a thousand ash flakes. I snatched up the stake and turned to see how the others were faring.
Roz was tangled with one of the men. As I turned, he'd just managed to stake him. Two down, one to go.
The other vamp had hold of Camille's throat and was trying to bite her. As I moved in to help, Morio dropped his stake and before you could say fox, he started to shift.
I'd never seen him in full demon form before. Fully eight feet high with glowing golden eyes and fur the color of burnished copper, he'd changed into a fox-man, rearing up on two legs, long muzzle bristling. But no shy fox this—no, he was a demon fox. His nose was black and wet, and steam poured out of his nostrils. As he grimaced, a full row of razor sharp teeth gleamed in the dim light of the bunker.
Instead of paws, he still had hands and feet, but they were fully furred with long, curling claws. Without thinking, my gaze traveled down his length. Whoa! No wonder Camille appreciated him, I thought, staring at his nether regions. Morio might not be a tall man, nor muscle bound, but he sure made up for it in other ways.
He grabbed goth-boy by the scruff of the neck and jerked him off of Camille. The vamp gave a frightened cry. For a moment, I thought I saw a spark of humanity peering out from behind those dead eyes. Then the fear disappeared and the vampire swiped at Morio, catching him across the upper arm.