Dead Rising (30 page)

The dining room was to the west, and the throne room to the east. I headed to the front door and found my way blocked. I’d need to get through the scene of a battle to light the north candle, and I had less than thirty minutes to do it in.

“Move. Out of my way!”

Probably not the best way to address a group of vampires, but I was in a hurry. They paid no attention to me, but one shout from Dario had them all luring the spirits away from the door.

I had no idea where Leonora was. Probably hiding somewhere. It irritated me more than usual, feminist that I was. I
wanted
her to be a strong kick-ass leader. I wanted her to be someone I could support fully. But the thought that she’d stood by while Jean-Marc had killed Shay and then her family, that she’d hedged her bets while Dario took a stand…it bothered me. Dario was willing to put his life on the line for what was right. He’d do the dirty work when it came to what the
Balaj
and his blood-siblings needed to survive. As much as I wanted to see a female break through the vampire glass ceiling, Leonora wasn’t it. She was self-centered, weak. I was pissed at her for that, and I was equally pissed at Dario for not taking the reins of power thirty years ago instead of letting her rise to the top.

Although now was not the time to think about politics within the Baltimore
Balaj
.

My hands shook as I lit the candle and incense. Twenty minutes. Maybe less. I didn’t have a second to spare checking my phone, and honestly I was dreading what it might tell me. I hadn’t counted on this when I was devising the timing for the spell, and had come to the horrible realization that I might fail. The chanting didn’t have instantaneous results, and if any of the incense in the four quarters ran out before I’d begun the banishment ritual, the specters would escape my reach.

Done. I ran through the icy cold in the foyer, and found my way blocked by a wall of vampires in combat.

“Move!”

My shout didn’t do squat. I wasn’t even sure they heard it with all the chaos going on. I had to get by and fast. Time was running out while I stood here, waiting for a space to squeeze through. I couldn’t use my tunnel of light blessing without killing the vampires I was trying to defend, so I did the only other thing I could. I drew my sword.

I elbowed the nearest vampire in the ribs, putting all my weight into it before jumping back. That did nothing. It was time for drastic measures. Using a half-sword grip, I used Trusty as a wedge to squeeze between two fighting vampires.

That worked. I’d never seen vampires move so fast. Trusty flared with a white light, and the pair yelped, jumping to the side. Others did the same and I instantly found myself in a room with vampires pressed frantically against the walls as they ran for the exits, leaving me to face six non-corporeal figures.

They advanced and I swung, thrilled to see my blade do what hands and fangs could not. The spirits howled in pain and rage, trying to edge around me just out of range to my back. I spun, holding them at bay and giving the vampires a chance to exit the room. When I was sure the last was out, I dropped to my knee, placing my sword tip-down with my forehead resting on the blade. I waited.

And I felt them, digging into me, pulling at my soul. Blood beaded on my pores, and I forced myself to concentrate. Just one second more.

Jesu, luys im chanaparhy
.

The tunnel blasted from me to the doorway, instantly frying every spirit. I took a breath to steady myself, well aware that time was ticking away. Then I dismissed the tunnel of light and ran.

I’d killed six specters with one blessing, but Russell had gone all out and summoned at least two dozen for tonight. The hallway was a battleground, but I didn’t have the time to do my trick twice. Fighting my way past the bloody vampires that crawled with broken limbs in the hallway, I ran up the stairs. Ten minutes? Less? Crap, I didn’t have enough time! Not wanting to waste a moment longer to find the best spot, I dropped my supplies down on the carpet at the top of the stairs and melted the bottom of the candle, jamming it onto the carpet. Pulling my sword I knelt once more.

“Souls without form, restless spirits, I command you to return to the grave and await the trumpet call of the Lord’s messenger. Sleep until Judgement Day, then rise to await your measure at the gates.”

I repeated the chant over and over, sprinkling the incense on the candle flame where it sparked and spiraled upward in a ring of white smoke. I called and ordered the spirits to rest in peace as I burned the slip of paper with the name of the dead. My breath became visible, sudden chill raising the exposed flesh of my arms. They were searching for me, trying to climb the stairs as the vampires struggled to hold them at bay.

“Await the trumpet. Await the call of the Lord’s messenger. Sleep. Sleep.”

One by one I felt the specters blur and fade, their spirits reluctantly making the journey between this world and the next. I also felt the vampires nearby, their presence sparking like static along my skin. Funny how I’d gotten used to it with Dario, but not with the others. The spirits that remained quickly seemed to realize what was going on, and the noise of battle approached. The incense for the perimeter was now gone, and all that was keeping me going was the steady chant, the dying incense before me, and the sulfur smell of paper on the fire.

Eight down. I’d gone through thirty names, and there still had to be at least ten spirits working their way up the staircase toward me. I chanted faster, worrying that Janice’s list wasn’t all inclusive, and that even after I’d recited and burned the last name, there still might be spirits to battle. Worse was the blood that decorated the hallway. Dario, or perhaps Leonora, had called out all the stops on this one, and the house was full of vampires. Some of them were screaming in pain, injured at the bottom of the stairs. Others were motionless, their eyes blank in faces coated in blood.

I remembered Leonora’s threat, but it wasn’t nearly as horrifying as looking at those dead vampires and knowing I’d failed them.

There was something else raising the hair along the back of my neck. It wasn’t just the chill of the specters and the electric feel of the vampires I was sensing. Something else was there, growing in strength, something that smelled like a dead possum in the summer’s heat and felt like sticky fur as it pressed on my mind. My concentration slipped, and I redoubled my efforts, straining to focus against the foul presence as I recited names, commanding them to the grave as I burned the slips of paper.

One by one, the spirits flickered in and out of this plane. I leaned heavily on my sword, well aware that my incense only had a few minutes left tops. I pushed, holding nothing back. The dead possum smell filled my nose and mouth, and suddenly there was nothing. The air around me echoed with its silence and I toppled forward with the vacuum of sensation, my sword clattering against the ground.

“You okay?”

I looked up to see Dario at the top of the stairway, five other vampires crowding behind him to get a look. “Yeah. They’re gone, and shouldn’t be back. I’ll get to salting graves first thing in the morning.”

He nodded, cool and distant toward me. I struggled to my feet, legs shaking, and picked up my sword.

“Are all your people okay?” I thought about the blood in the hallway, the dead I’d seen as I’d chanted my spell, about the arterial red sprayed against the walls.

“We lost six, and there are a lot of injured that aren’t healing as quickly as they should. It’s too soon to know if they’ll make it.”

Damn. I’d done my best and still felt like I’d failed. If the mass banishment didn’t convince Russell to stop this attack, I really
would
have no choice but stand by and let the vampires defend themselves. Six. Plus those that had died last night and Saturday night. Plus all the injured who would need a massive level of blood consumption to heal. The loss of vampire life was devastating, but the risk of discovery once they had to increase their feeding was also worrisome.

“Do you need anything?” Dario half turned, as if he wasn’t sure whether to come closer or leave. “I need to go help with the injured downstairs, but if there’s anything…”

A thank-you would have been nice. Although I felt like a total selfish jerk for even allowing that thought to cross my mind after he’d just witnessed the death of his brothers and sisters. “That bag of ribs would be great about now.” I tried to laugh. “And a beer if you all have any. I just need a few moments to re-group, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

He nodded, his expression remote. “I’ll send someone up with them.”

And then I was alone at the top of the stairs with my sword, a gutted candle, and a little pile of ash. It seemed so anticlimactic. There was still work to do. I needed to confront Russell again and try to dissuade him from continuing with his revenge. I needed to salt the graves. Just some loose ends to tidy up. Why, then, did I feel like I was missing something?

I jerked my head around at the sound of scuffing feet right next to me. A vampire stood there holding the bag of ribs in one hand and a bottle of beer in another. He’d managed to climb the stair and come right up to me without my even hearing him. On the street, I might have picked up his presence, but here where a house full of vampires constantly plucked at my senses, his approach hadn’t been noted.

“You need to leave the house,” he announced.

Were they throwing me out? What the heck? I’d come here, risked myself, used my own personal supply of incense materials and candles, and they gave me a bag of ribs and tossed me out on my ass?

I gripped my sword tight. The vampire’s eyes darted to it and he took a step back. “I’m not threatening you or anything. It’s just that Leonora doesn’t wish you any good, and injured vampires need to feed to heal. You’re not safe right now.”

That was the explanation I’d been looking for. So much better than
“you must leave this house”
. “Sarge drove me here. Is there someone available to drive me home? Is there somewhere safe I can wait for a taxi?”

Taxi. Crap, I couldn’t take a taxi. I had no way to pay for one. Hopefully Sarge was still around, or another vampire’s…companion. I didn’t want to ask for a ‘blood slave’ to give me a lift. I was coming to hate the term and didn’t want to use it.

The vampire frowned. “We evacuated the humans when the attack began and can’t spare someone to drive you right now.”

Which left me walking, or locked in the basement room. I think I’d rather walk.

“I’ll stay with her, Marcus. You go back downstairs and help.”

Dario. Relief flooded me. I hadn’t realized how tense I was. A house full of injured and hungry vampires and the prospect of a midnight walk through the city carrying a sword weren’t all that had me on edge. I was worried about what would happen between Dario and Leonora. Vampires had been injured and killed tonight, and the spirits were only temporarily banished until I managed to salt the graves. It was a night of success and failure—mostly failure. I’m sure the death toll would have been far worse had I not helped, but perhaps if I’d let the vampires find and kill Russell, none of them would have died at all. One life in exchange for many. I wasn’t convinced I’d done the right thing. As much as I didn’t want Russell executed, was his life worth any more than the six who had died this evening?

Marcus handed me the ribs and silently vanished down the stairs, leaving me holding a bag and a sword, and staring at Dario. “Can I borrow your SUV? I’ll get out of here. I know you’ve got injured to take care of.”

He shook his head. “I’d prefer you stay here. This necromancer knows who you are, right? Sarge said there was a magical tracking device on your car tonight. This guy has to know you were involved tonight, and he’s going to be pissed. I don’t want you home alone, and I can’t spare anyone go with you right now. You’ll need to stay.”

He still cared. He didn’t want me home alone. I clung to those words.

“Here? You want me to stay at the top of the staircase?” It wasn’t the windowless cell in the basement that Leonora had threatened me with, but I still felt uncomfortable being somewhere with no secondary exit beyond a long drop from a second story window.

Dario shrugged. “Yes, here. Or the back garden, if you prefer. We’ve moved the injured out of the hallway. If we’re quick, your presence shouldn’t upset them.”

“They need blood? Who is supplying them with blood?”

Of course they needed blood. The real question was how were they going to get it if they were injured and dangerous? I thought about Shay. Perhaps there were some donors who would accept some pain and violence for an appropriate recompense.

“I won’t lie to you, Aria. We have humans who are willing to help for drugs and money. There is considerable risk to them in donating blood to vampires so severely injured.”

I caught my breath. This was their nature. Dario’s
Balaj
seemed to be far more careful and concerned about human lives than other vampire families I’d read about. Templars should never judge. There was no evil here, just the circle of life. I shouldn’t judge. But I couldn’t help it.

Dario reached out and took my arm. “We do everything we can to ensure our donors survive, but family comes first. I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

Would I sacrifice a chicken to save my sister? A cow? One of the puppies in the barn? I understood the moral dilemma, but wasn’t sure I could ever make that call. When did one life become more important than another?

“I promise you, we will restrain the injured. We will do everything within our ability to ensure the human isn’t killed. We don’t want to lose any of our regular blood donors. They’re who we can call upon in emergencies when hunting for a meal isn’t possible.”

I knew all this. My mind accepted it, but my heart thought of the injured desperately biting and drinking from a human too high to know the danger they were in. My heart was conflicted.

So I transferred the bag of ribs to my other hand and gripped my sword tight. “I think I’ll wait in the back garden.”

I practically had to run to keep up with Dario as we dashed down the stairs and out the back door. The yard wasn’t large compared to my family estate in Middleburg, but the landscaping made it seem a little paradise. Stone pathways meandered through wildflower gardens. Tall trees shaded cushioned benches. Hedges blocked the view of neighboring houses and provided a maze of private corners and secluded spots. We wandered into their dark depths and sat in an alcove where I dug into the ribs like a woman starved.