Demon Song

8

I burst from the water and took a huge gulp of air before diving into the surf once more. I used to swim every night, relieving the stresses of the day. Since Vicki died, I hadn’t spent much time down here, in the water off Vicki’s estate. Mostly because of the restraining order that Vicki’s mom had put into place when she contested the Will. But one of my many phone messages over the past few days had been from my attorney, telling me the judge hadn’t renewed the order. I was free to go back to the estate.

I’d parked at the guesthouse—my house, for years, until Vicki’s death—and hurried to the beach, stopping just long enough to grab a couple of big towels from my linen cabinet, one to lie on and one to dry off with. The ocean was calling to me. Just hearing the waves, smelling the salt on the air, helped calm me.

I breaststroked out until the lights from Cooper Manor were just a small dot on the dark horizon. The water was cold, but I felt overheated, so it was perfect. I could feel the ocean like a living thing around me—each fish and plant made itself known without speech or effort. It had been like this my whole life, not just since I learned I was a siren. Maybe it should have occurred to me that my love of water was deeper than other beachgoers’, but I’d trusted the grade-school aptitude test that told me I had no paranormal talent.

Flipping onto my back, I stared up at the twinkling stars and felt safe and secure for the first time in days. The bullet wound in my shoulder had healed and was now nothing more than another scar in a sea of them. I floated and kicked and let the tension seep out of my body with each rise and fall of the swells. Maybe I could sleep a full night for a change.

“I was going to suggest this, but you’ve found the answer on your own.”

The female voice to my left startled me enough that I lost my buoyancy and dropped beneath the waves. I came up sputtering and blinking water out of my eyes.

Lopaka, high queen of the sirens, had watched me nearly drown with amusement. You weren’t drowning. Sirens can’t drown. The oceans won’t allow it. She spoke into my mind and I tried to answer in kind.

Where her voice was the sweetest ringing of crystal wind chimes, my telepathy sounded like the harsh squawking of gulls: I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t startle me. I’m not like other sirens. I’d hate to prove your no-drowning theory wrong.

She laughed and the water grew more alive around us. I could feel more fish come to investigate, and strands of seaweed, completely out of place this far from shore, drifted by. Lopaka plucked the narrow green fronds from the water and began to idly twist them. “I would hate that as well. Monarchs should never be proven wrong. But while I am no psychic, I am … connected to my people, in tune with my subjects. Which is why I’m here. What was causing you such distress? I felt as though your very soul was screaming in agony earlier today. But now you seem well.”

Whoa. She could feel me in pain? I so didn’t want to project my life onto anyone. “How much earlier? It’s been a busy day. I got shot around two this morning and wanted to snack on my therapist about an hour ago.”

She shook her head with mild confusion. “It wasn’t physical. I’ve learned to tune such things out. This was psychic pain—panic and heartache and fear, all rolled into one. It was strong enough that I nearly fell, but I couldn’t find the source for some time. It was as though I was being blocked when I searched.” Her hands finally stopped fiddling beneath the water and came up bearing a crown fashioned of seaweed and tiny shells. She put it on her head while I wondered where in the world she’d found the shells. When I looked closer, I realized they weren’t shells but living snails, mollusks, and tiny starfish, clinging to the stiff blades of sea grass.

We were drifting out to sea, and that was going to mean an exhausting swim back unless we started now. “First, the crown thing is a very cool talent. Second, we need to start back or I’m going to be too tired to make it to shore. Last, do you recall what time you had the panic attack?” I’d felt that kind of panic twice in the last twenty-four hours—first when Kevin was being shot at and again while at the prison. Both times I’d been behind magic barriers.

“It was late afternoon. Definitely not night.”

I began to do the backstroke toward shore both so we could continue to talk and because it’s less tiring. The queen swam smoothly beside me. Her seaweed crown began to slip, but two tiny crabs crawled down and grabbed onto strands of her golden hair to stabilize it. “That wasn’t me then. I know exactly what you were feeling because I was feeling it, too. It was my mom.”

Lopaka turned her head and one storm gray eye dipped below the waves. The remaining pupil took on the color of the dark water and I could feel the strength of her will in its glittering depths. “Tell me.”

So I did. I stared up at the stars and swam and talked. By the time we reached the shore, I was both mentally and physically exhausted. I wasn’t sure exactly why I’d just told all my innermost secrets to Queen Lopaka, but I wasn’t sorry I had.

As she climbed out of the water, she took off the crown of seaweed and let it float out on the tide. I watched all the animals scatter back into the water and marveled at the beauty of the ocean. She handed me one of the thick towels I’d left on the beach, a vivid blue one that reminded me of the sky above the Isle of Serenity, Lopaka’s home. She took the red one that made her eyes turn silver. As I flipped my hair over to fluff it dry, I spotted a conch shell on the beach, one of the most beautiful I’d ever seen. I collect shells but only those I find myself. I tugged it out of the sand until it came free. I let the surf wash off the remaining dirt and held it up to look at it more closely.

Queen Lopaka stepped closer to see it in the dim light from the moon. “It is befitting a princess. The sea finds you worthy.”

That pulled a laugh from me. “I’ve always considered finding shells luck, not design.”

She smiled and it held a depth of knowledge that I didn’t possess. “You’re still young. Much of life, and death, is by design. Take your mother, for example. She is, by design, a siren. She carries our blood. There are many humans who carry siren blood, but not all are tied to the ocean. I believe she is, even if she doesn’t exhibit any other symptoms.”

I wrapped the towel around me and sat down on the sand. The queen sat down beside me, perfectly at ease. “What do you mean, tied to the ocean? I was afraid that was affecting her, but I don’t really understand how it works.”

The queen held out her hands to the water with a beatific smile. “You feel the ocean, as do I. It lives, moves inside us, touches our hearts. You feel it more strongly now that your talent has fully manifested, but you’ve always felt it. To be apart from the ebb and flow of the ocean is to be in pain. The psychic torture you felt was the tearing of the bond between a siren and her ocean. I’ve felt it before, which is why I came to you today. While I wasn’t aware your mother had enough blood to be tied, it appears that she does. And now she’s behind walls, far from the water, with spelled barriers that sever magical ties. In effect, she’s starving to death … and she has no idea why.”

Oh, crap. Mom wasn’t only going through withdrawal from the bottle; she had been literally cut off from a vital organ. She was being tortured, though her jailers didn’t know it. I felt a pain in my chest. “What can we do? Is there some way to prove this to a judge so she can get released?”

Lopaka shook her head. “I wouldn’t suggest requesting her release. She’s broken the law and, frankly, her drinking has to stop. She’s endangering people and harming herself. Is it possible to simply add a saltwater fish tank to her cell? That would restore her connection, if only slightly.”

I shook my head. “I doubt it. Even with spells to make it unbreakable, other prisoners would complain about the smell, or the lights, or something.”

She nodded. “You may be correct. Perhaps there is a more elegant solution. We have a detention center on the island. I could petition the court to have her transferred to Serenity’s jail for health reasons. I have no doubt that her state of mind is affecting everyone in her present facility. If there have been more fights or suicide attempts, the judge will surely see it’s in the interest of all parties to move her. But if they refuse—” She touched my arm and her face looked truly stricken. “Then she will die. Not quickly and not kindly. And even if she is released when her condition becomes clear, the damage would be done and I don’t know if she could be saved.”

I looked out at the wide ocean and felt my eyes well. “I should have done something.” I didn’t know what I could have done, how I could have known, but I felt responsible.

“Celia, no. You have no part in this. You’ve already borne more burdens than most should have to suffer. I believe your mother can be helped, can be brought back into balance. I’d like to try, if you’ll allow me.”

Did I trust Lopaka to make my mother a whole person? Hell, yes!

She laughed because apparently I’d broadcast that thought.

I let out a slow breath. “Yes. I would be thrilled, and honored, if you could help her.” Gran would be thrilled as well. She might finally feel confident that Mom could get the help she needs, with people who understood why she’d turned to alcohol to mend herself.

“I’ll contact the authorities in the morning. Now I must go. I’ve kept several people waiting on board my vessel.” It made my eyes go wide. She’d interrupted a meeting to come see me? She stood easily from her near-yoga position and I realized once again that she looked really good for her age. Hell, for any age.

But she was more than beauty. She was mercy, too. I was completely sincere when I touched the glittering gold and pearl ring on her hand. “Thank you, Your Highness. I would never have expected the kindness you’ve shown me, and now my family. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

She smiled almost sadly and lifted my chin. “You have my brother Kalino’s eyes. How could I see them in pain and not help?” Her hand pulled away from mine and she turned, walking into the sea. She dived into the water without so much as a splash.

I sat there, feeling both happy and sad, happy I had an answer to the question about my mother and sad because she was suffering. I stood up and realized my muscles had stiffened; fleetingly I wondered if Lopaka was feeling the burn, too.

I grabbed the clothes I’d left folded on the rocks and hobbled slowly back to the guesthouse that had been my home for the past few years, feeling muscles pull that I hadn’t felt in months. I really needed to swim more often. I probably should drive back to Gran’s house—it would always be Gran’s house in my head, even though I now owned it and had been living there since Gran had moved out—but I honestly wasn’t positive I could work the clutch right now.

So I went into the house and checked the fridge. Nothing. Nothing in the freezer or cupboards, either. Well, hell. I was going to have to drive to town for an energy drink or walk up to the main house and beg for kitchen privileges. David and Inez certainly wouldn’t mind. We’d always been close. But I’d been working so much that I hadn’t seen much of them lately. Maybe I should call first?

Nobody answered. Well, I couldn’t expect them to be home every night of the week. They probably wouldn’t mind if I went up and used my key, but it felt … weird now that they owned the place. Vicki’s probate wasn’t done yet, but her former employees had a valid lease.

I was just going to have to stop whining and suck it up to drive back to town. At Birchwoods, I’d drunk the last of the shakes I was keeping in the car. So, after a few minutes of stretching, I forced my aching joints back into clothes, stowed my weapons, and gingerly duckwalked out to the car. I’d left my cell phone in its holster; it registered three missed calls, all from the same number and all in the last few minutes.

Alex.

That was a call I definitely wanted to return. I started the car and slowly pushed in the clutch to put it into gear. Ow. Sharp little shooting pains coursed up my thigh, bringing sparkles to my vision.

I was reaching for the phone when it rang. I answered immediately: “Celia. What’s up, Alex?”

“Oh, thank God!” Her voice was low and panicked and all of my senses went to high alert. The pain in my leg disappeared as if by magic. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing. “Celia, I did what I promised. I brought a priest out to the zoo. You’re right; something weird is going on. There have been reports of people going missing for weeks, but nobody’s followed up. I don’t know if it’s because of jurisdictional bullshit or if somebody’s suppressing the reports inside the department. But … shit! There’s screaming coming from inside now. They won’t let me in to check on Father Joseph. I’m going to go back and get help, but in case they follow me I want you to get the photos I’m about to send you from my cell phone back to my lieutenant. He’ll get the right people out there.”

In case they follow, my ass! “Don’t be a hero, Alex. I’m on my way.”

Now her voice went hissing and harsh: “Don’t you be an idiot, Celia. They’d be expecting you. I don’t plan to play hero. I’m driving away from the facility right now. I don’t like leaving the priest, but he’s a warrior class two. He can handle himself. Hopefully. But if you don’t hear from me by morning, get the files to Lieutenant Blanchard. He’ll know what to do.”

I didn’t know her lieutenant all that well and the thought of having to talk to him made me uncomfortable. We’d met, like, once. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. But Alex is as tough as I am, maybe more so. If she said “don’t come,” I had to respect that. “You call Vicki if bad things start to happen. Okay? Promise me you’ll call on Vicki.”

I didn’t doubt for a second that no matter how exhausted Vicki was, she would help Alex. There was a sigh of relief in her voice when she responded: “I don’t think I’ll need to. I just passed through the farthest perimeter barrier. I should be home free. But we need to talk in the morning. I’m headed back to the station to turn all this in and file an official request for investigation. Get some sleep, girlfriend. I’ll be okay.”

“How about I stay on the phone with you until I know you’re okay and back in the city? I’ve been ambushed out there before, and there’s nobody around to hear you scream. Vicki would haunt me forever if I let anything happen to you.”

There was a long pause; the only sounds were the crackling of static and the roar of wind past two cars. Finally she responded: “Okay. You’re right. That makes sense. Let me plug in the car charger and put the phone on hands free.”

So we talked. For the next twenty minutes we talked about the reports she’d discovered of guards going missing and escapes that had never made the news. “Then I dug deeper,” she explained. “I wanted to see if there were any workers’ compensation claims against the private corporation that runs the facility. If people were going missing, then getting hurt was the next step. There were almost a dozen claims in the last year. And though I couldn’t find any record of a budget increase, there seem to be more guards on duty than are on the payroll. I saw dozens of guards, but the facility’s website only shows a standard complement of fifteen for the overnight shift. If they’re secretly hiring more staff, there are definitely problems there.”

A hideous thought formed in my head. Did I dare tell her about the guard with the glowing eyes? He’d moved almost too … fluidly. Almost as though— “There may be another explanation, but you’re not going to like it.”

Her voice grew wary, with an edge of fear. “What?”

“When’s the last time anyone did a head count of prisoners?” She didn’t respond, so I kept going. The red light gave me a chance to flip over to the Internet on the cell. I typed in demonic possession & werewolves. Six pages of results came up, including three from the major churches. “What if … and this is only an if … demons were possessing the prisoners as well as the administrators, but not the guards?”

She began to follow my reasoning while I scrolled through websites. But the light turned green, so I couldn’t spend much time reading. “There are too many guards and someone would raise a fuss if they all started acting weird,” Alex mused. “But one or two administrators could order the release of prisoners.…”

“Who could then come back as ‘new hires.’ There would be no paperwork because they wouldn’t be on the payroll. And nobody would be the wiser.” It was a conspiracy theory of the highest order and no small feat. But the demon who had tried to claim me was both patient and smart, and since the disk with the spell to bring him forth had gone missing during the fight with Eirene, I couldn’t guarantee that he wasn’t already in this realm.

“Yeah. We’ve got to get someone in there. Immediately. Okay, I’m just coming up on the QualMart at Terrance Drive. I should be fine from here. Thanks, Celia. Really. This gave me a chance to think and I really do feel better talking to you.”

We’d never been very close. It was more a matter of vying for Vicki’s time than any actual animosity. I’d always hoped we could be friends. I figured if my best friend loved Alex, then I should try to like her or at least get to know her. But we’d never managed to get beyond the superficial.

Until now. “Me, too. Don’t bother about sending me the photos. Give them to your lieutenant personally. Oh, and before I forget, what’s the scoop on the sniper who tried to take off my head at the Will reading?” Alex had been there and had seen John Creede use damned impressive magic to stop the bullet before it reached me. He’d won a lot of points that day.

“Crap! That’s right. I never told you about that. Guy’s name was Selik Mahrain. He’s a professional hit man and INTERPOL has been looking for him for a long time. They were more than happy to come collect him. Last I heard he was in a Turkish prison, awaiting trial for the murder of a Shiite leader. He’d been hired by the queen of a Grecian island to remove you before you met with the siren head queen.”

“Ah yes. The lovely Stefania. Did I mention she was Eirene’s mother and the one who’d put a death curse on me and Ivy when we were little kids?”

Alex let out a noise that was close to a raspberry. “Charming woman. Is that the one you killed?”

“No. I killed Eirene, the daughter. Mommy dearest was killed by Queen Lopaka, who didn’t take kindly to Stefania trying to kill her brother’s only remaining grandchild. Meaning me.”

“Okay, the station is in sight. Go home. Get some rest and we’ll talk tomorrow. I should know more after I make my report.”

Conveniently enough, by the time I hung up I’d arrived at one of my favorite restaurants. La Cocina y Cantina is a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that was the favorite hangout of me, Vicki, Emma, and Dawna. We’d held Vicki’s wake there. It served the best food in the world. As I pulled into the parking lot, the main lights flicked off. What time was it? I’d forgotten to put on my watch, so I checked my phone display: 10 P.M. Why was the restaurant closing? They normally stayed open until midnight or later.

I got out of the car and knocked on the front door. A woman’s head poked out from the kitchen. Her face exploded into a smile and she rushed forward, rubbing her hands on the ever-present snow-white bar towel. She unlocked the door with a flourish. “Celia! What you doing here at this hour? Huh? Come in and sit down. Come. Come.” Barbara was part owner of the restaurant. She ushered me in like there was a storm outside and locked the door again, being careful to pull down the blinds. “You want a late dinner? Pablo will make you a ‘sunset smoothie.’ ”

Ooh. That did sound good. It was a concoction they’d come up with after my vampire attack. As long as I didn’t think too much about the cow blood in it, it tasted wonderful. But at least the blood was cooked. So it was sort of a beef fajita shake, without the beef. “Sure. That sounds good. What’s up, Barbara? Where is everyone? I was surprised the door was locked.”

She looked around as though afraid. “Bats. A whole flock of them. One old vampire showed up about a week ago and turned three of the boys in the neighborhood. They were bad boys, always into something. Stealing, drugs. But they’d never hurt anybody until he found them. Now people are scared. They’re not coming here after dark and I can’t blame them. If we didn’t have to clean up, we wouldn’t be here after dark, either. But for you … we’ll make an exception. Anytime. Day or night. You come and we’ll make you dinner.”

That was sweet, but I hated seeing nice people being terrorized. This business was all the family had. I felt my brow furrow and anger rise. “You fix me a shake. I’ll be right back.”

I stood up. She clutched at my sleeve. “Oh no, Celia. Don’t go out there. They’re not like you. They’re bad, bad vampires. I don’t want you hurt.”

My smile probably had a dark edge. “Barbara, I was putting vampires in their place before I was turned. Now I’m a lot harder to hurt, and I’m a lot smarter than them. I got to keep my brain.” I patted her arm. “I’ll be fine.”

Her face was wary, but she let me leave, then locked the door behind me. Every third streetlight was out. I’d heard some parts of the city were doing that to save money, but it made the sidewalks dark for long stretches.

I started walking, jingling my keys, anticipating that I’d soon be followed. It didn’t take long. There were four of them hiding in the darkness. I could just make them out because of my vampire vision. Two of the boys were growling, which made the small hairs on my neck rise. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. It was one thing to take on one or two bats, but taking on four might be biting off more than I could chew. Maybe one of them would be willing to listen to reason.

Don’t laugh. It could happen.

I hissed and let myself get all glowy. “Evening, gentlemen.”

“Prey!” One of the boys leapt into the air and came down on the other side of me. I’d done that leaping thing once. It was pretty amazing, but I didn’t like being surrounded.

“I don’t want to have to hurt your fledglings. But your flock has to leave. I’m protecting this block.”

I wasn’t sure which one I was talking to, but after a long pause one vampire floated forward. Yeah, I said floated. That’s never good. Only the really old ones can do that. “This isn’t anywhere close to your side of town, Celia. You don’t make the rules here.”

Oh, crap. I didn’t know the voice, but he knew my name. He floated on power, gleaming with both internal and external light. He’d been killed early in life but long, long ago. The black eyes were ancient, pitiless and remorseless. The slope of the nose and high cheekbones reminded me of high-caste Spanish.

“Do I know you?”

He smiled, but it was really more a baring of fangs. “Lucien was right. You’re just eye candy. You got lucky with Luther and Lilith. But Edgar’s a fool for trusting you. That’s why I decided to start my own flock. We don’t trust anybody.” He moved slowly forward and so did his fledglings, widening their group to flank me.

I guess that meant I wasn’t going to get a name. I pulled my knives from the sheaths. He stopped abruptly and stared at the twin blades. “Are those the blades that killed Luther? They witched?”

“Better than you’ve ever seen. The black one killed Lilith, too. You willing to risk whether I’m faster than you?”

“She’s not bluffing, Marco.” The voice seemed to come from far away and echoed between the buildings like it was everywhere.

Just as Edgar descended onto the scene, Marco hissed. He snarled, showing sharp teeth. “Nobody invited you to this party, Edgar. We’ll all be better off if I just let the fledglings take her down. She’s an abomination. My boys are still feral enough that she won’t be able to handle them if they attack at once.”

Unfortunately, he was probably right. Three against one is just plain bad odds. If I lost even one of the knives, I was probably a goner.

Edgar looked at me and there was something in his eyes that hadn’t been there the previous night. Desire.

It wasn’t sexual, but it was real. “Why kill her fully? She would be an amazing vampire. Tough, fierce, smart. A force to be reckoned with.” He smiled and it made every hair on my body stand at attention.

Now Marco was smiling, too. Shit. “We could call her Lilith in honor of the one we lost. She’ll never know the difference once her memories are gone.”

Five against one, and I’d seen Edgar fight. “I helped you save Kevin.” I was down to bargaining as I tried to find a wall to keep my back safe.

Edgar took another step forward. He wore chino pants, a gray dress shirt, and shining black dress shoes that were more suited to a boardroom than a slaughter on a deserted street. “True. And I’m certain he’s grateful. But you don’t realize just how safe it made you when I believed you were his Vaso. Now he doesn’t have a clue where you are. If you were attacked by three feral new-turns and I saved you by bringing you over, there wouldn’t be much he could do. Would there?”

Marco was licking his lips and drooling all over the ground. “I’ve heard siren blood is like nothing else. Never had the chance to test that rumor.”

I took another step back and my heel caught the edge of a discarded bottle. I lost my balance for one brief moment and the air blurred as they descended. My arms were pulled nearly out of their sockets and my knives disappeared. Where Edgar smelled of expensive cologne and mouthwash, Marco smelled of sweat and leather. They were on either side of me, close enough that one strike would end it.

Edgar’s face moved forward like lightning and I braced myself, waiting for the pain. But it didn’t happen. Instead, I heard his voice in my ear like velvet over steel. “What will you give up for your life, Celia Graves? I can put a stop to this right now.”

I didn’t want to answer, but I heard my own voice, breathy with fear: “What do you want?”

“Kill her,” Marco hissed. I ignored him. Edgar was the one with all the chips at the table.

“I want the artifact. If you swear you’ll bring it to me, I’ll end this and make your favorite café nice place for tourists again. If not, then I bring you over and you’ll still bring me the artifact. Except you’ll be just like me—preying on friends, clients, and your saintly old grandmother for your next meal. And this time, I will be your master.”

That set my blood boiling and I pulled away from the young vamps holding my arms. My muscles screamed in agony, but I put the pain aside. Unfortunately, I hadn’t a clue what Edgar was talking about. The only artifact I had in my possession was an ancient divination tool called a Wadjeti that had been given to me by … well, crap. It had been given to me by Eirene and Stefania. If Edgar wanted that, there had to be more to it than I’d thought.

Marco leapt backward when I crouched to fight, but Edgar held his ground and laughed. “You’re definitely a fiery one. But you’ll lose. You can’t win with these odds.”

“She can with a little help!” The male voice had a heavy Mexican accent and was followed by the sharp retort of a shotgun. One of the fledglings caught the blast full in the face. Whatever was in the rounds caused him to scream and race into the darkness before falling to lie still and silent at the edge of the next circle of light.

Pablo carried a double-barrel shotgun, but Marco floated into the air with confidence. “I’ll take care of the little man. You handle the girl.”

“Chicken!” I taunted him, not sure what I could do to help my friend. Then I realized he didn’t need help. Barbara stepped out of the restaurant behind him, also carrying a shotgun, followed by Juan, their oldest son—who looked serious and competent as he jacked a round into the chamber of his pump-action weapon.

Nearby, two more shop doors opened and more shotguns appeared. A trigger was pulled. The young vamp to my right tried to dodge, but his chest exploded and he screamed as liquid fire burned through him. Then the one on my left was hit. I picked up one of the pellets that bounced on the ground and squished it between my fingers. I’ll be damned. I didn’t know they were putting holy water into pellets. It was like a high-powered paintball. Probably wouldn’t kill a regular human, just bruise. But a vamp? Instant agony.

The third new-turn had enough sense to turn on his heel and run. Marco wasn’t so easily dismissed. He descended on Pablo like an eagle, long duster flaring behind him like a cape, fangs as sharp as talons. Without even thinking, I pushed Edgar out of the way and raced forward, knocking Marco out of the air before he could collide with my friend. Juan and Barbara started taking potshots at Edgar. He must have realized he’d lost the upper hand, but he took a flying leap and landed on top of me. My face planted into the asphalt, chin first, as Edgar grabbed Marco with one hand and soared into the sky.

Edgar paused to give me a parting comment, just out of reach of the rounds of holy water blasting out of shotguns from nearly every window on the block: “This isn’t over, Celia. My offer stands. You can’t stay awake forever and I know where you live.”

I was bleeding from nose and mouth as Barbara rushed over to help me up. People were collecting the bodies of the two boys who were from the neighborhood. The people’s faces showed mingled pride and sorrow as they cut a branch from a nearby tree and sharpened the wood into a stake. The vamp with his face shot off was still alive enough to thrash under strong arms as the stake was driven into his heart. A wailing woman in the background was held back as three men struggled to put him down. Then he was still and the woman—probably his mother—was allowed forward to cry over the son she’d actually lost many nights before.

“Celia,” Barbara admonished with both fear and cracking pride in her voice, “I told you he was a bad one. But did you listen?” She dusted off my clothes while handing me her dish towel to mop the blood from my face. I heard a sniffle and looked down to see her eyes wet with tears. “No, you didn’t. And it was a very brave thing. It made everyone feel ashamed that we hadn’t stood up to them earlier.”

That hadn’t been my intent, but I was glad it worked out. Damn, but my mouth hurt. I didn’t think my nose was broken, but I definitely needed to see what my mouth looked like. “Bafrom?” I asked with a mouthful of cotton, and pointed to the open doorway. She let out a surprised sound and hurried me into the building. We were followed by a dozen other people, cheering and shouting my name like I was a conquering hero.

Except the hero isn’t the one who’s supposed to need saving. I felt like a complete idiot. I’d taken the enemy for granted and barely scraped out by the skin of my teeth.

Speaking of my teeth … I turned on the light in the ladies’ room and worriedly held back my lips. My bottom lip was cut in two places where my fangs had dug in. That accounted for the blood. But my two front teeth and one fang were loose. I could wiggle them and it hurt when I did. I didn’t know what would happen if I broke a fang. It was probably worth asking someone about. I was definitely going to have a fat lip in a few minutes. I hoped it wouldn’t last too long.

When I exited the bathroom, cheers went up a second time. Barbara and Pablo bustled forward and guided me to a chair. My knives were on the table and I gratefully put them back in their sheaths. I really didn’t want Edgar to get his hands on them.

The sumptuous scent of cumin, chili powder, and onions rose in the steam from a shake glass. Yum. A sunset smoothie. Just like Mama never made. I put the straw between my lips and … ow! Okay, sucking was a bad plan. Who knew it required uninjured teeth? So, while everyone stared at me, I drank down the shake like it was a tall glass of milk. I’d lost blood, so I wasn’t going to cringe about the contents.

It was good enough that I ordered a second. At least two adventurous people ordered one as well. Who knew? It might be the next hot thing in the restaurant if the surprised but delighted expressions of the others were any indication.

By the time I left an hour later, my purse still the same weight as when I arrived due to Pablo insisting my food was on the house, I was full but exhausted beyond all reason. Edgar and Marco were still out there, waiting for me to be alone. There was only one place where I’d feel safe, and it was the same place I’d woken up this morning.

After I changed all the alarm codes and locks, of course.

The night was about to get even longer.