Read Blood From a Silver Cross (Kat Redding) Online

Authors: E.S. Moore

Blood From a Silver Cross (Kat Redding) (14 page)

BOOK: Blood From a Silver Cross (Kat Redding)
12.42Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
15
I
t was like dominoes. The first wolf began his shift and the ones behind him did the same. The combination of fear and the smell of blood had set them off, which was bad news for anyone who wasn’t a supe. One man who’d come out with the rest, slipped back inside, his face pale and bloodless.
“Goddamn it,” Bart muttered as he raised his shotgun. I placed a hand on his arm before he could fire. If he killed one of the wolves, the rest would attack. He might have dealt with fights on his property before, but I had a feeling he’d never dealt with this many at once.
He glanced at me and then lowered the barrel so it wasn’t pointed at anyone, though he still held it in a way that would allow him to fire off a quick shot if needed. There was no way he was going to remove his finger from the trigger. I just hoped it didn’t go off accidentally.
“Get back!” I shouted, hand moving to my own gun. I wouldn’t draw unless I had no choice. I think Bart would forgive me this time if I were to shoot someone, but I didn’t want to risk it if I didn’t have to.
A half-dozen shifted werewolves prowled in front of us. Closer to the building, a pair of vampires with blood dripping from their ravaged gums stood, watching. The only Pureblood left outside—if you didn’t count Bart—was the young man standing behind us. He looked terrified, and rightfully so. If the weres attacked, he’d probably be the first to die.
Eyes peered out from the windows of the Bloody Stake. It seemed everyone had risen to see what was happening—everyone but Mikael. I didn’t see his face in the crowd.
A werewolf snarled and Bart swung his gun around to him without actually raising it. The wolf bared his fangs but didn’t charge.
“Blood has been spilled,” one of the vampires said. He looked eager for a fight, but was standing well back of the wolves. He wasn’t dumb enough to get too close.
“It’s none of your concern,” I said. “Go back inside.”
“Who are you to tell us what to do?” the other vampire said, grinning. His nostrils flared as he drew in the scent of death.
The first vampire braved a step forward. “This place belongs to us,” he said. “It’s time we took it back for good.”
I winced, knowing what was coming next.
There was a loud boom, and the vampire’s head splattered against the wall behind him. His body dropped limply to the ground. His buddy flinched and with an oddly chipper smile, vanished back into the bar where he wouldn’t be a target.
“Anybody else?” Bart shouted, gun trailing from left to right without actually aiming at anyone.
Two of the wolves at the back spun and loped off, leaving their tattered clothes behind. I noticed a few of the faces at the window had vanished, though I didn’t think the vampire was causing problems inside.
That left four wolves facing us. The vampire’s blood had started to push a couple of them into a near blood frenzy. They snarled and slavered as they paced. Their muscles were tense, seconds from springing.
I drew my gun. Bart and I could handle four.
One of the wolves stepped forward and I aimed at him. “I wouldn’t do that,” I said. His eyes were wild, crazed with both fear and hunger. If he so much as twitched in my direction again, I was going to have to put him down.
Another of the wolves slunk off, presumably to find an easier target. While they didn’t know I had silver bullets in my gun, they knew a shot to the head could be deadly, even to a werewolf.
“If you ever want to come back here,” Bart said, face red with anger, “you better go now. I won’t hold this against you.”
Another wolf turned and loped off, leaving two.
“I’d do as he says,” I said. “He’s a pretty damn good shot.”
My hand was steady as I drew a bead on what I took to be the leader. In times past, I would have killed him already. This wolf was the first to shift, which set off the rest. My old self viewed that as a killable offense.
But I was trying to be a better person. I’ve spent time with weres who weren’t bad people. I knew now that some could be saved, even this guy. Maybe he hadn’t fed for a while and the blood had triggered the monster inside him faster than he could control. It wasn’t his fault he was what he was.
The lead wolf snarled, but slowly backed away. I was worried he was heading for the bar where all the Purebloods were hiding, but instead, he turned and ran off, crossing the road without stopping for the light traffic. The last wolf took off after him, either giving chase for a fight or because they were friends. I didn’t care. I was just happy they were gone.
Even after they’d vanished, Bart and I stayed vigilant. Just because they appeared to have left, didn’t mean they were actually gone for good. I wouldn’t put it past an angry were to loop around and try to come at us from another angle.
“Go on,” Bart said, startling me. I glanced over to see him talking to the Pureblood guy. “Take your girl and go before they come back.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. The kid ran for the bar. He barely slowed to rip open the door and stumble inside. A moment later he returned with the pale young girl on his arm. They got into a car and tore out of the lot.
“Know him?” Bart asked, turning toward the body. He’d lowered his gun and took his finger off the trigger, so I put mine away. I kept my hand close to my knives just in case. I wasn’t about to believe all of the wolves were gone. I had a feeling we were being watched.
I knelt by the body and studied the face. I almost expected it to be one of the three men I’d seen by the trash bin, but that wasn’t the case.
But he was familiar. It took me a moment to figure out where I’d seen him.
“He’s a werewolf,” I said, swallowing hard.
The guy wasn’t shifted and was fully dressed, telling me he hadn’t seen his attacker coming. One of his knuckles was scraped where he’d either fallen or tried to strike out at his assailant. The only other wound I could see was the slashed throat and burn from the silver cross on his forehead.
“I don’t think I’ve seen him here before,” Bart said.
I hadn’t either. In fact, I’d only ever seen him once.
The dead wolf lying in the parking lot was the one who’d helped me when the female wolf I thought to be Keira had attacked me. I didn’t know his allegiances, but now I knew he hadn’t been following Nathan.
He’d been following me.
“I’m going to go in and close up the bar,” Bart said. “I have clean-up to do and can’t run the place while I do it.” He started to walk away, but hesitated. “Don’t leave until I’ve had a chance to talk to you.”
He limped away.
Great. I hoped Bart wouldn’t hold this against me. The body had been found next to my Honda, and while he didn’t know how I knew the guy, I was pretty sure he’d figured out I was a part of this somehow.
The wolf was actually dressed nicely, as if he’d been planning on heading to an expensive restaurant after following me around a bit. He was wearing a black suit and tie with a white dress shirt underneath. His shoes were scuffed, but I had a feeling if I were to find his vehicle, I’d find a pair of polished dress shoes there.
These weren’t the sort of clothes you shifted in.
“Why were you following me?” I muttered as I scanned the area.
I couldn’t figure out why he would be after me. He sure as hell didn’t look like one of Baset’s men and there was something about him that told me he didn’t follow Adrian.
So who sent him?
A feeling of dread crept into my gut. If it wasn’t Adrian and it wasn’t Baset, then I could think of only one other person who’d have someone following me.
Mephisto.
I’d only seen the vampire count once as I’d sped away from his territory, but that one look told me all I needed to know about him. He was powerful—something I’d already known—but he was also interested in me. He’d stopped his men from coming after me when they had me all but trapped.
“Son of a bitch.” If Mephisto had someone following me, I was in more trouble than I’d thought. I knew I’d drawn his interest, but hadn’t been sure he’d stuck a tail on me.
And if the wolf had followed me here . . .
I immediately thought of Ethan. Did Mephisto know where I lived? Why didn’t I just invite all of the werewolves and vampires who knew where I lived over for a party? Maybe we could hash out our differences with a big old orgy of blood and death. Last one standing inherits the city or some shit like that.
I plucked the cross off the dead wolf’s forehead. Blood was splattered across it from where it had sprayed from his throat. It was uncomfortable in my hand, as if my body knew the silver should have affected me, but it didn’t burn. I turned it over a few times, wondering how many more people would have to die like this before I managed to stop them.
The bar doors opened and Purebloods started filtering out. I dropped the cross next to the body before rising. I put myself over the body just so no one would get too close. There were quite a few rubberneckers who just about plowed into one another as they drove off the lot, hoping to catch one last glimpse of the body. Bart urged them along, gun still in his hand.
As soon as they were gone, I glanced around, searching for a watcher. I felt like I had a bull’s-eye painted on my chest. Anyone could be out there now, watching me. Did Baset have someone following me as well? Did Adrian? Had their men watched the Left Hand kill Mephisto’s wolf?
I could feel panic setting in. I mean, Christ, I knew I was in a shitload of trouble, but this was starting to get ridiculous. I very nearly expected to turn around and see the road to Delai appear and Levi come waltzing out to crush me into dust.
“You know the guy?” Bart said as the last of the bar’s patrons left.
I nodded. “I’ve seen him before, but don’t know his name or anything.”
Bart scowled at the body. “This might hurt business a bit.”
“Look,” I said, turning to face him, “I’m sorry about this. This isn’t my fault.”
“I know,” he said. “The Left Hand did it.”
“So you know of them.”
He gave a single-shoulder shrug. “Don’t serve ’em, though. They aren’t worth the trouble.” He heaved a sigh. “Do you think this is a message for you?”
I thought about it. At first, I’d thought it very well might be, but now that I recognized the face, I wasn’t so sure. He could have been checking out my Honda, maybe placing some sort of tracking device on it when he’d been jumped. There was no reason to believe the Left Hand even knew who I was.
“I don’t think so,” I said, eyeing my bike. “At least not a message for me specifically.” Could they have known this was Mephisto’s man and was warning the count that they were coming for him?
Bart glanced around the now empty lot. “Bad things are coming,” he said. “I can feel it in my bones.”
I turned to follow Bart’s gaze, which now rested on his bar. A curtain fluttered, but I didn’t see anyone inside. I wondered if Mikael was still there or if he’d left with the others. I didn’t recall seeing him. In fact, I’m not so sure he had anywhere else to go. The guy was always sitting in the same booth at the Bloody Stake like he was glued to it.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen.” I don’t know why, but I felt the need to apologize. “I think this guy was following me and got killed for it.”
“But not by you or yours.”
It was a statement, but I felt the need to answer anyway. “No,” I said. “Not one of mine.”
Bart rubbed at his face. “Things like this keep happening. It’s almost not worth it anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I felt horrible. Every time I came to the Bloody Stake lately, it seemed like someone died.
“This isn’t your fault,” Bart said. “While this might hurt numbers for a little while, it seems like this might be more problematic for you. I’m starting to get worried about you.”
I almost laughed. “I’ve been worrying about me for a long time now.”
“But things have been worse lately, haven’t they?”
I sighed. “Yeah,” I said, “they have.”
“I just want you to be careful. I don’t want you to end up dead, no matter what others think.”
And with that, he turned and limped his way back to the bar.
I stood there, feeling trapped. When I’d started hunting vampires and werewolves, I never thought it would end up like this. I’d figured I’d go for a few years until I went after someone bigger and better than me and that would be that.
I’d come across quite a few people now who could rip me apart without batting an eye, and yet here I was. Instead of killing me, they’re putting me under their thumbs. Before long, I wouldn’t be able to move one way or another. And then what would happen? Would they all converge on me as one? Will they tear each other apart trying to lay claim to me?
I knew I’d have to do something about it eventually, but first, I had to deal with the Left Hand. Sure, I could wait and hope they took out Baset or Adrian or Mephisto for me, but I wasn’t counting on it. To let them run free would be to put others I cared about at risk, and I didn’t just mean Jonathan.
I walked around the parking lot, looking for any sort of clue as to who the Left Hand member might be. Could it have been the trio near the trash bins? I checked the ground carefully there but found only garbage and a few recently used cigarette butts. I found no sign, outside the body, that anyone from the Left Hand had ever been there. There wasn’t even a broken or empty syringe.
Bart came out of the bar as I walked back toward my bike. He raised an eyebrow at me. He was carrying an industrial strength trash bag. There’d be no decent burial for this guy.
“You still here?” he said as he strode over to the body.
“Just leaving,” I said. Blood was drying under the wheels. It would be a bitch to get out. Traces would more than likely remain for weeks. “Need me to help with this?” I asked, indicating the body.
BOOK: Blood From a Silver Cross (Kat Redding)
12.42Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Speaking for Myself by Cherie Blair
Winter Garden by Beryl Bainbridge
I'm Not Dead... Yet! by Benson, Robby
Operation London by Hansen, Elle
Starved For Love by Nicholas, Annie
Analternative (3-Pack Bundle) by Daughter, Saffron
Yowler Foul-Up by David Lee Stone
The Hinky Velvet Chair by Jennifer Stevenson