Raven Mask (24 page)

If I could get one of the vampires to open the door, one of us could slip inside and crack a window.

Brilliant,
she said sarcastically,
and if any vampires happen to spot us? What do think they will do?

To a bird and a cat? We’re insignificant.

They might kill us just for sport,
Zaphara said,
and one of us would have to shift back to open a window.

Then
don’t get caught.

You are telling me not to get caught?

You’re the one going in when the big bad vamp opens the door,
I told her as I flew onto the porch.
I trust your ability to remain unseen and to stay alive and my ability to play the crazy, confused bird part for all it’s worth.

This I cannot wait to see.

I’m a smaller target. There’s less chance of them catching me, kitty cat.

If you want to keep your feathers,
do not call me that.

I began tapping on the boarded window in a rhythmic manner. It sounded faintly like Morse code. Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap. I waited a second, listening. Tap-tap-tap. I still couldn’t hear anything on the other side.

TAP-TAP-TAP!

Then it came, the sound of heavy footfalls, of hurried and careless footsteps. I’d never heard a vampire make so much noise. One of the doors creaked open.

TAP-TAP-TA…

I stopped tapping when the vampire walked out.

“What the fuck do you think you’re—” He caught sight of me.

“Kra?”
I cocked my head to the side. The male was young, with long wheat-colored hair that fell in a braid. He was wearing a blue shirt with a pair of torn jean shorts. I never understood wearing a long-sleeved shirt with shorts.

TAP-TAP-TAP.

“Shoo!” He waved his arms at me.

I opened my beak and let fly a series of clacking and screeching insults, then jumped onto the porch, fanning my wings out and shaking them at the vampire like demented maracas.

“Get the hell out of here!” he said in an angry whisper.

“Kree,” I said softly. No.

He lifted his foot and I darted between his legs, catching his bare skin in my beak.

“Kra!” I crooned my victory, ambling out of his reach.

“Stupid bird!” The vampire hissed, fangs dribbling with spittle. Why did some vampires do that when they went all vampiric on someone? The whole slobbery fang thing was so unattractive.

I began making a series of clicking noises, strolling toward the steps.

The vampire got to his feet, grumbling something about tearing out every one of my feathers.

Uh-huh.

I jumped to the second step, taking my sweet-ass time.

Zaphara?

Hmm?

Get ready to bolt.

Such a shame, this is quite amusing.

Ready? I’m about to really piss him off.

He was moving slowly, like a kid trying to catch a wild animal.

I jumped down to the next step, then the next. He hurried. I stopped and he stopped, trying to be inconspicuous like some horrible cartoon character.

Come on, dip-fangs, make a grab
.

The vampire finally lunged at me. I took three quick hops, pushed off the walkway, and launched myself into the air, then dove into the thicket of branches just in time to see him fall on his face.

Nice.
Zaphara was a sleek black streak as she bolted into the building.

I’m in,
she said.

Good,
I thought,
now let’s start taking these fuckers out.

Feeling a little battle lust?

Maybe I am.

We are supposed to wait for the others.

You need to get me inside. Go find a secluded window and let me in, damn it.
I scratched my head against a branch.

The sound of her scoff filled my mind for a brief moment. I’d wait in the tree until she found an unguarded window.

The vampire on the porch was wiping blood off his mouth.

“Pierce your lip?” I crooned softly, cocking my head.

Chapter Thirty-One

The vampire had given up and gone back inside. It seemed like I’d been waiting in the tree for a good twenty minutes when I finally lost my patience.

Zaphara?

No response. I wobbled across the branch, having to stretch my legs. It was a bitch trying to do nothing. I wasn’t used to waiting, probably because I sucked at it.

Zaphara, don’t play games with me
.
What’s taking so long?

Still nothing, only the soft sounds of the breeze, the hum of a car here and there, and distant noises of kiddies exclaiming, “Trick or Treat!”

This hadn’t been a good idea. They shouldn’t have come with me. It was too risky. Oh, I understood some of the reasoning behind Lenorre’s determination to be present and to take care of the Count herself. If she didn’t, she’d only appear weak in front of the vampires in her keep.

A barely audible trilling meow came from the ground below. Zaphara stared at me with those wide amethyst eyes. Even in her animal form they were strange and inhuman, not quite animal.

Finally!

I found a way in, but I do not think going back is a good idea.

Why?

We are badly outnumbered and they would notice us slipping through the back.

By how much?

A dozen
. Her feline head tilted to the side, ears swiveling as if she was listening to something I couldn’t hear.

And?
I was irritated. Why did she have to draw everything out? Couldn’t she just tell me?

The two children you were looking for…I may have found them. What do they look like?

I turned my head, getting a better view of the black, shadowy figure on the ground while Zaphara scratched the back of her front leg with her hind leg. The gesture was amusing. She played the cat very well.

Short brown hair, tan skin, dark eyes.
That’s what Timothy looks like. I saw a few pictures of Alyssa at her parents’ home. She has long blond hair and blue eyes.

There’s more than one of those.

What?

Kassandra, we need to leave.

Her ears flattened against the back of her head as she turned to look toward the church.

Zaphara, tell me what’s going on. What do you mean there’s more than one of those?

Please, Goddess, don’t say it. I had one of those moments when you don’t want to know, you don’t want to hear the evil truth, because you already have a pretty damn good idea what it is, but you have to know, you have to face the reality of that truth.

You know what I mean
.
We must go. Now!

I didn’t have time to form a response. Zaphara was like a blink in the darkness. One moment she was there, the next she had disappeared. I had no idea where the fuck she’d gone.

The two double doors to the church were suddenly flung open, as if they’d heard her command. The same vampire I’d pissed off emerged, followed by three other vamps.

“It wasn’t normal,” he said. “That bird was seriously fucking with my head. It wasn’t just a bird. I know it wasn’t.”

“You’re so full of shite,” an accented female voice said. “What the ’ell was a bloody budgie gonna do to you? It was just a bird! And as you can see, it’s gone.” She motioned toward the yard.

I tilted my head again, trying to get a better view. She was shorter than the male vamps that surrounded her. One of the others stepped forward, running a hand through his long black hair. “She’s right. I don’t see a bird.”

“I swear a bird was out here, a big black annoying bird. I’m not lying. Why would I lie?”

“I don’t doubt you saw a bird,” the woman said. “I doubt the bird was more than a bird.”

The vamp with the long dirty blond hair that had tried to kill me began to fidget. “I’m telling the truth. It tapped on the window. I came out. It started baiting me. It didn’t act like a normal bird. Normal birds don’t walk right between your legs!” He motioned at the part of his leg I had sliced up, but the wound had already healed. He was a vampire, after all.

“Maddox.” The vampire with black hair said his name like a command. The vampire that had been standing apart from the group came forward, bowing from the neck up. “M’lord, what have you?” His tone was rather unfriendly and sarcastic, as if he didn’t like the other vamp. His name somehow suited him. He was built, more built than any vampire I’d ever seen. His salt-and-pepper hair was cut short, almost to the scalp. The black shirt he wore looked like it struggled not to rip against the bulk of his muscles. The way he held himself made me think he was an older vampire. I couldn’t exactly pinpoint it, but I got a strong sense his resentment had to do with being bossed around by the newbies. I’d be pissy too.

The vampire with long black hair wrapped an arm around the woman’s waist. She was wearing a bright red dress that clashed with the red fall of her hair. The dress was strappy and slinky, swaying any time she moved even the slightest, giving an illusion of Hollywood glamour. Goth boy was wearing a red-and-black zoot suit. Most vampires had a taste for fashion, but some of those tastes were a bit eccentric. The outfits alone might’ve worked, but together they looked cheesy.

“Sorry, Brody, there’s no budgie,” she said to the younger man.

Goth boy turned to Maddox, who stood waiting for his orders with more patience and reserve than I would’ve been able to muster in his situation. “See to it Brody does not speak of this. If Master hears his insanity about birds he’s liable to kill him just for a laugh.”

“It is done,” Maddox said. “Come, Brody. Will you be quiet or must I give you another lesson on the power of silence?”

Brody looked scared shitless. I didn’t have to smell it. It was written across his features. He bowed his head, his hair falling like a silken curtain to hide his features.

“I’ll shut up. But I know what I saw.”

“Just cram something in your mouth,” the woman said.

“Come, children,” Goth boy said cryptically. “The night is young.” At his command, they went back inside the church. Maddox turned, looking out over the yard. He wasn’t a fool. The others might be, but not ol’ Maddox. With a bang, he shut the two doors.

Well, that was certainly interesting.

Are you quite done?
I jumped at the sound of Zaphara’s voice. She slipped out from beneath the cover of bushes near the porch.

Yeah, I didn’t know you were still here.

I couldn’t leave you alone
.

I didn’t intend to do anything stupid. Just eavesdropping.

If they had noticed you they might’ve killed you.
She headed for the corner of the street.

I swooped from my perch, following her to the parked car. She was right. I would’ve been in deep shit had I been spotted, at least where Brody was concerned. Was he beginning to feel a little mentally unstable?

I did learn one thing,
I told her, trying to fly at the same pace she was walking.

What did you learn? How to hide in a tree?

Besides that.
Brody is the weakest of the vampires on the porch. Goth boy is arrogant, full of himself and his abilities. The woman is so in love with Goth boy that if he said jump, she’d ask how high, and Maddox is not one to fuck with. He means business.

Terrific, that gets us where?

You really aren’t very good at this, are you, Zaphara?
I flew ahead of her, glancing back.
It tells us where to drive the sword. If we seek information, Brody is our best bet. He’s afraid of Maddox, and I’m pretty sure Maddox is the vamp that does the devil’s work.

I thought you did not believe in the devil?

I don’t.
It’s a figure of speech.

The black Tiburon came into view. Rupert was standing outside, propped against the Mustang. I landed on the hood of his car. If I could’ve communicated with him, I would’ve told him his ass should’ve been sitting in the car. As it was, I did my best to give him a scolding look.

“What?”