Night Huntress 07 - This Side of the Grave (2 page)

“I take it introductions aren’t necessary?”

Scratch’s gaze slid to me and then skipped away. “No,” he muttered. “You’re Bones, and that’s the Reaper.”

Bones’s expression didn’t soften, but I smiled in my best “I’m not going to kill you” way.

“Call me Cat, and why don’t we find some shade where we can talk?”

The sun’s rays weren’t lethal to vampires as mythology claimed, but we
were
easily sunburned. Expending some of our supernatural energy just to heal from the strong summer rays was pointless. A French restaurant with outdoor seating was nearby, so the four of us found a table under an umbrella and sat down as if we were old friends catching up.

“You said your Master was killed a few years ago, and she left no one to look after the members of her line,” Bones stated to
Scratch
, after the waitress took our drink orders. “A group of you banded together to watch out for one another. When did you first notice something odd was going on?”

“Several months ago, around fall last year,” Scratch replied. “At first, we just thought some of the
guys
skipped town without telling anyone. We kept an eye on each other, but we weren’t babysitters, y’know?
Then, when more of us went missing, people who’d normally say something before taking off… well.
It got the rest of us worried.”

I didn’t doubt it. As young, Masterless vampires, Scratch and others like him were on the bottom of the pecking order in the undead world. I might have some issues with the feudalistic system vampires operated under, but when it came to protecting members of their line, most Master vampires were pretty damn vigilant.
Even the evil ones.

“Then, more ghouls started showing in the area,” Scratch went on.

I tensed. This was why Bones and I had come to Ohio. We’d also heard about a recent influx of ghouls in my old home state, and reports of missing vampires.

“Hey, it’s an undead playground here,” Scratch continued, oblivious to my uneasiness.
“Lots of ley lines and fun vibrations, so we didn’t think anything about all the flesh-eaters showing up.
But some of ’em act real nasty to vampires. Harassing the Masterless ones, following them home, starting fights… it got us thinking maybe they were behind the disappearances. Problem is
,
no one gives a shit since we don’t belong to anyone. I’m amazed
you’re
interested, frankly.”

“I have my reasons,” Bones said in that same impassive tone. He didn’t even glance at me. Centuries of feigning detachment made him an expert at it. Ed and Scratch would have no idea that the reason we were pumping them for information was to see if my World’s Weirdest Vampire condition might be the reason that some ghouls were acting hostile—and why vampires were disappearing.

“If you’re looking for money, we don’t have much,” Ed piped up. “Besides, I thought you retired from contract killing when you merged lines with that mega-Master Mencheres.”

Bones arched a brow. “Try not to think too often, you’ll only hurt yourself,” he replied pleasantly.

Ed’s face tightened, but he shut his mouth. I hid a smile.
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth—especially one that bites.

“Do you have any proof that ghouls might be involved in your friends’ disappearances?” I asked Scratch, getting back to the subject.

“No. Just seems more than coincidence that whenever one of them went missing, they were last seen at a place where some of those asshole ghouls were.”

“What places?” I asked.

“Some bars, clubs—”

“Names,” Bones pressed.

Scratch began to rattle off a list, but all of a sudden, his voice was drowned out under a deluge of others.

…
four
more hours until I get a break…

…
remember
to get the receipt for that? If it doesn’t fit, I’m taking it back…

…
if
she looks at
one
more pair of shoes, I’m going to scream…

The sudden crash of intrusive conversation wasn’t coming from the mall shoppers around us—I’d tuned that out even before we sat down. This was coming from inside my head. I jerked as if struck, my hand flying to my temple.

Oh shit. Not
again
.

What’s wrong, Kitten?” Bones asked
at once.

Ed and Scratch also gave me concerned glances. I forced a smile while struggling to concentrate on them instead of the plethora of conversations that had suddenly taken up in my mind.

“Just, um, a little hot out here,” I muttered. Damned if I was going to tell two strange vampires the real cause of my problem.

Bones’s gaze traveled over my face, his dark brown eyes missing nothing, while those voices pitilessly continued to chatter on in my mind.

…
no one saw me. Hope I can get the security tag off…

… I’ll give him something to cry about soon…

…
if
she doesn’t show up in five minutes, I’m eating without her…

“I, ah, need some air,” I blurted before recognizing the stupidity in that excuse. One, we were already outdoors, and two, I was a vampire. I didn’t
breathe
anymore, let alone have any health conditions I could blame my sudden weird behavior on.

Bones stood, taking my elbow and throwing a stiff “Stay here” over his shoulder at Ed and Scratch.

I walked quickly, trying to concentrate on the cool pressure of his hand more than where I was going. My head was lowered, because my eyes had probably turned bright green from agitation.
Shut up, shut up, shut up
, I chanted at the unwelcome crowd in my head.

The din in my mind seemed to amplify the noises from the people milling around us, until everything blurred into a sort of white noise. It grew, overwhelming my other senses, making it hard for me to focus on anything except the relentless voices coming at me from all sides. I struggled to push them back, to concentrate on anything except the sounds that seemed to grow with every second.

Something hard pressed against my front the same time that a straighter, harder barrier flattened my back. Underneath the now-thunderous chatter bombarding my mind, I heard a familiar English voice.

“…
all
right, luv. Force them back. Listen to me, not them…”

I tried to picture the countless voices in my head as a TV channel I just needed to turn down—with my willpower being the remote control. Fingers stroked my face, their touch an anchor I drew strength from. With great effort, I pulled my mind away from the melee, distancing myself from the noise that wanted to consume the rest of my senses. After several minutes of dogged concentration, that mental roar subsided into an annoying but manageable mumble. It was similar to the sounds from the shoppers around us, oblivious to the fact that they were in biting distance of creatures that weren’t supposed to exist.

“I have
got
to stop drinking your blood,” I said to Bones when I felt in control enough to open my eyes. A glance around showed that he’d backed me into a pillar in what probably looked like a passionate embrace, judging from the slanted glances thrown our way.

Bones sighed. “You’ll be weaker.”

“But sane,” I added. And safer, too, because if hundreds of voices suddenly crashed into my mind during a battle, it might be distracting enough to get me killed.

I tugged at Bones’s short dark curls until he pulled back to look at me. “You know this can’t be leftovers from when I drank Mencheres’s blood; it’s happening more often, not less,” I said softly. “I have to be getting this from you. And I can’t handle it.”

I’d thought changing from a half-breed into a full vampire meant an end to my uniqueness, but fate thought differently. I woke up on the other side of the grave in possession of two things unprecedented in vampire history—an occasional heartbeat and a craving for undead blood. The side effect of the latter meant I temporarily absorbed power from the blood I drank, much like vampires absorbed life from human blood. That was all well and good, but if I drank from a
Master
vampire, I also temporarily absorbed any special abilities that Master had. This was great when it came to enhanced strength, but not so great when it came to other abilities that were out of my depth to control. Like Bones’s ability to read human minds.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Kitten,” he said, his voice low.

I shook my head. “There’s a reason why it takes centuries for vampires to get special powers, and only if they’re Masters. It’s too much to deal with otherwise. If I keep drinking from you, what happened today will only get worse. You’ve obviously grown into the mind-reading power you inherited from Mencheres, so much so that I’m starting to pick it up from your blood, too.”

And if Bones started manifesting any other abilities as a result of the power exchange he’d received from his co-ruler, I
really
wanted no part of them. I’d drunk from Mencheres once out of necessity, and it had fried me for over a week afterward. I shuddered at the memory.
Never again if I could help it.
The voices thrumming in the background of my mind seemed to agree.

“We’ll sort that out later, but we need to go back now, if you’re ready,” Bones said, giving my face a last stroke.

“I’m okay. Let’s head back, before they freak out and bolt.”

Bones slowly uncurled his body from mine. The din in my head was now low enough that I noticed several females around us checking him out. I stamped even harder on those inner voices. The last thing I needed was to hear a flood of lusty imaginings involving my husband and other women to
really
sour my mood.

In fairness, I couldn’t blame them. Even in his trademark black pants with a casual white pullover, Bones stood out like a jewel among rocks with his finely molded features and tall, sculpted frame. Every move of his body sent ripples along those lean muscles, and his flawless crystal skin practically dared people to see if it felt as good as it looked—which it did. Even when we’d first met and I plotted to kill him, Bones’s looks had turned my head. In that way, he was a perfect predator, enticing his prey to come close enough to bite.

“You’re being eye-humped by about a dozen women as we speak, but I’m sure you already know that,” I said in a wry tone.

His mouth brushed my neck with the lightest of kisses, making me shiver.

“I only bother about one woman’s desires,” he murmured, the breath from his words teasing my ear.

His body was close enough to graze mine, a tantalizing reminder of how thoroughly he could satisfy my every lustful inclination as well as a few I probably hadn’t thought of. Still, even though heat began to fill me, we had disappearances to investigate. Any intimate investigations between the two of us would have to wait.

As if in agreement, the cadre of voices in my head rose again, cutting off the warm sensuality that his nearness brought out in me.

“I don’t know how you stand hearing this racket in your mind every day,” I muttered, shaking my head as if that could clear it.

He gave me an unfathomable look as he drew away. “When it’s always there, it’s easier to ignore it.”

Maybe that was true. Maybe if I didn’t have only my own thoughts in my head most of the time, picking up on other people’s mental frequencies would seem less overwhelming. I didn’t know.

Still, I didn’t want to keep drinking Bones’s blood to find out.

Ed and Scratch didn’t comment about our abrupt departure when Bones and I sat back down with them. Their expressions were also suitably bland, but the furtive looks they darted my way spoke volumes. They were wondering what the hell happened.

“Thought I smelled someone I knew,” I offered, downing the gin and tonic that had arrived with the other drinks while Bones and I were away.

It was an obvious lie, but Ed and Scratch made agreeable noises and pretended to believe it. The look Bones gave them didn’t lend itself to further questions on the subject.

“Right then, any more names of places these nasty flesh-eaters tend to frequent?” Bones asked, as if there had been no interruption in conversation.

Scratch elbowed the other vampire. “No, but Ed has something to tell you.”

Ed looked reluctant but then straightened his narrow shoulders.

“A buddy of mine, Shayne, called me last night and said our friend Harris got the shit kicked out of him from some ghouls at a club. Shayne was gonna go home with Harris to discourage any more beatings on him. Thing is, I’ve been callin’ Shayne’s cell all day, but he hasn’t answered, which isn’t like him. When I told Scratch, he told me to come here because he was meeting people who might be able to help.”

“Do you know where Harris lives?” I asked at once.

“Yeah.
It’s not too far from here, actually.”

“Yet you didn’t go there yourself to check on him?” Bones asked with heavy skepticism.

Ed gave Bones a weary look. “No, and I still won’t unless I can get several people to go with me. I don’t want to be the
next
vampire no one ever hears from. Judge all you want, but I don’t have a bunch of badass powers to protect myself if something did happen to Shayne and Harris—and the ghouls who made it happen are still there.”