Daywalker chronicles com.., p.49
Daywalker Chronicles Complete Series Boxed Set, page 49
I scratched the back of my head. “Dracula still doesn’t have a phone. He dropped his in the toilet.”
Zoey shook her head. “Kevin did the same thing just last week. For someone who insists he’s not a multitasker, you’d think he’d recognize the danger implied when tweeting and peeing at the same time.”
I snickered. “Dracula wasn’t peeing.”
Zoey raised an eyebrow. “Good Lord. Well, the good news is we know where he is. If we follow the howls we’ll find him.”
“Why not go after Lust? He’s the only one of the remaining Deadlies in a host.”
Zoey nodded. “And he can leave his host at any time. So far as we know, he’s not posing a grave threat to anyone at the moment. Those wolves are.”
I checked my phone. No updates from Dylan yet. I shot him a quick text.
Status?
My phone indicated he received the message but didn’t respond. He must’ve been busy. Trying to control a pack when not shifted himself probably wasn’t as easy as if they were all shifted at once.
I had to make a decision. “I agree. He may need some assistance. It wouldn’t hurt to get Lust’s location while we’re at it. If the opportunity presents itself while we’re out anyway, we might as well give it a shot before he also decides to leave his body.”
“I don’t have a clear vision of what Lust is up to at the moment,” Sloth reported. “A lot of darkness surrounds him. Darkness and sweat.”
Zoey chuckled. “That’s not a surprise. I can take a good guess at the activity causing the sweat.”
“Darkness, though?” I raised an eyebrow.
Zoey shrugged. “Some people prefer doing it in the dark.”
“Really? Not me. The visual appeal of my partner is a part of the experience.”
Sloth looked over his shoulder at me. “Lust is insatiable. There is no visual appeal to humans. Not for us. You’re like bugs.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m a vampire, technically. Not human.”
“You look like one,” Sloth said. “Eventually I imagine Lust will see things differently through human eyes and come to appreciate the human form. I find it quite delightful, in fact. It’s well suited to lethargy.”
“Can you tell us anything else about Lust’s location other than darkness and sweat?”
“He’s still in the same host that my host told you about before.”
“Do you have Dennis’ phone?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. How would I know?”
I pressed my lips together and grabbed the trench coat that Dennis was wearing. It was now in a crumpled-up pile on the floor next to his pair of red Speedos.
Zoey tilted her head. “A trench coat and Speedos?”
I shook my head as I searched the pockets of the coat. “You don’t want to know. But I found it!”
I held it in front of Sloth’s face and facial recognition unlocked it. “Dennis delivered something to Lust shortly after he infected Dracula with Gluttony. Let’s hope he used his phone’s GPS on deliveries. If he did…”
“If he did what?” Zoey asked.
I smiled widely. “Bingo. The address of every place he visited is right here in the search history of his GPS app. If we can narrow it down, we’ll know where the host lives.”
“We won’t know if Lust is still there,” Zoey said.
“Not for sure, but it’s a good place to start.”
I took a quick screenshot of the various addresses that popped up in the “recent locations” section of his GPS. I opened his text messaging app to send it to me. Unfortunately, given the last message he sent to me, I was reacquainted with his dick pic.
Zoey was peering over my shoulder. “What the hell?”
“He was infected with lust. I passed my number to his boss and asked him to give it to him. How was I supposed to know this was what he’d send me on first contact.”
Zoey snickered. “So gross!”
“You’d be surprised how many times I’ve gotten these through the years. It comes with the territory of being female and joining forums on computer programming or playing online games. Tends to be a sausage fest, and there are always one or two creeps in every online community who think they’ll be able to impress you with their wiener schnitzel.”
I attached the screenshot to my text message and sent it to me. I slipped Dennis’ phone back into his trench coat. There was no reason to take it with us. Once it turned off, without Sloth there to activate the facial recognition, I couldn’t access it anyway.
“So we check on the wolves, then start checking these addresses?”
I nodded. “Starting with the first one entered after the schoolhouse. It should take us to Lust, or at least where Lust was when he first infected Dennis.”
“Lead the way. You know this area better than I do. I’d suggest following the howls.”
“I can do you one better. I can track Dylan’s phone.”
“Please tell me that isn’t so you can constantly spy on each other.”
I chuckled. “No, that wouldn’t be healthy for the relationship. Given the threats we face, though, it’s always useful to know how to find one another. He isn’t responding to his texts, so we’ll find him. If we find him, we’ll probably find the wolves, and hopefully Dracula will be there as well. If Logan and Ian can’t be helped, we’ll have to find a way to restrain them before we go after Lust.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
My GPS showed Dylan moving along the riverwalk in Woldenberg Park. The French Quarter basically curved around a bend on the Mississippi River. Woldenberg Park ran the length of the French Quarter between the river and all the debauchery.
Usually, the riverwalk in the park was filled with tourists, musicians, and street performers. There were a few tall hotels along the way. I imagined after Gluttony struck on Bourbon Street, a lot of folks had retreated to their rooms.
I showed Zoey the location on the phone. She tilted her head. “Was that where it sounded like the howls came from before?”
“Not exactly, but that’s where Dylan is now.”
Zoey nodded. “Let’s check it out.”
We didn’t race this time. This wasn’t the time for games. If Dylan was on the riverwalk, we’d probably find Logan and Ian there as well. There was a good chance Dracula was either flying overhead or with Dylan.
When we arrived at the park, a Carnival cruise ship was sailing along the river. They had cruises running all along the Mississippi, from New Orleans to St. Louis or all the way to the Twin Cities. I didn’t get it. If you’re going to take a cruise, why sail the muddy Mississippi rather than the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean? If I was going to take a cruise, I wanted to see things I couldn’t see by car. To each their own, I suppose.
It struck me that the folks on that ship probably didn’t have a clue what was going on in New Orleans unless they’d only recently boarded.
I found Dylan at the southernmost section of the riverwalk. Logan and Ian, still shifted, were standing beside him, howling toward the river.
I touched my brooch. Dylan jumped a little when he saw me.
Zoey appeared next.
“Holy crap. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry. What’s going on?”
Dylan pointed down the river toward the cruise ship. “I managed to take control of Logan and Ian. They can’t shift back, but I can communicate with them. They know who touched them. It was Wrath. He left his host shortly afterward. Logan and Ian could sense his presence somehow, even without a host. They sniffed him out here. Wrath possessed someone at the last minute, and he boarded that ship.”
“What? He could infect everyone on that boat and spread his vice to wherever the ship goes.”
Dylan nodded. “Dracula flew aboard. I was about to text you, but we were trying to stop Wrath. It’s not easy to do that when you have a couple shifted werewolves with you.”
“Did anyone see them?” I asked.
Dylan chuckled. “Most people think they’re in costumes. Frighteningly realistic costumes, no doubt, but this is New Orleans. The street performers don’t cut corners.”
I looked at Zoey. “We need to get on that cruise ship and stop Wrath before he infects the passengers.”
“I agree,” Zoey said. “We can catch up to the ship on the astral plane.”
“Take Logan and Ian back to the cemetery. The consecrated ground might allow them to shift back. Did you get a good look at the passenger who Wrath possessed?”
“He was an old man in khakis, maybe seventy. He was with his wife. Dracula is following him. Find Dracula and you’ll be able to identify the host.”
I kissed Dylan on the cheek. “Thanks! We’ll meet you back at the cemetery after we finish this. If we’re successful, you’ll know. We eliminated Gluttony, and everyone he infected went back to normal. The same should apply to Logan, Ian, and Alexander Van Helsing.”
“Got it. If those two are gone, we should be safe to leave the cemetery. If we’re not there, look for us at the schoolhouse.”
I nodded. “Be careful. Sloth is at the schoolhouse. The other four demons are still unaccounted for. They haven’t taken hosts but could at any time. If you leave, don’t let anyone touch anyone.”
Dylan and the wolves took off back toward the French Quarter. Zoey and I went astral and ran out onto the river. Walking on water never got old. Going astral was always a bit surreal, but running across water was next-level cool. It took a different kind of focus. To pass through a building or any other physical object, all I had to do was recognize it wasn’t really there on the astral plane with me. To keep my feet on the ground, I had to imagine it was real. Walking on water required imagination. It was real, but I had to think of it more like it was ground. If I didn’t, I’d sink right down to the riverbed.
We ran fast and caught up to the cruise ship. Scaling the sides of a ship that large wouldn’t normally be possible but, again, with a little bit of imagination we could do just about anything in the astral plane.
“Wahoo!” Zoey shouted as she jumped from the water, did a somersault in the air, and pulled her astral body over the rails of the ship deck. I took a more conservative approach and ran straight up the ship’s hull.
“First things first. We have to find Dracula.”
“Think he’s still in bird form?” Zoey asked. “He could be perched anywhere on the ship’s decks or rails.”
“Stay astral until we find him. Check the decks. If Dracula was following Wrath’s host, he might be inside the ship. Probably in the passenger quarters.”
“If I don’t see any white songbirds on deck, I’ll meet you down under.”
The ship was huge. You could probably go on a cruise and not see the same person twice if you didn’t tend to frequent the same spots. The whole ship was overdecorated. It really matched the theme of the Carnival brand. Anywhere else it would have been gaudy. On the ship, though, it seemed to fit.
There were several bars, all with different themes based on the lit signs over each entrance. The passengers were still exploring the ship. Only a few of them had taken a seat at any of the bars.
I’d only taken one cruise in my life. A vacation with my family when I was only twelve. Obviously, I didn’t drink at the bars then. I remembered, though, that they charged all a passenger’s drinks to a card and billed them at the end of the cruise. My parents lost their minds when they realized how much they’d spent on watered-down alcoholic beverages over the course of a five-day sail in the western Caribbean.
Without a card, I couldn’t order anything. Trying to grab a drink and blend in wasn’t an option unless I could convince another passenger to buy me a drink. Not that I needed a drink. Once we identified Wrath we’d need to get him alone before we went after him. A fight in a crowd on a cruise ship wouldn’t bode well for anyone involved.
I found an elevator at one end of a hall between two of the clubs. I could have called it myself, but another man was already waiting for it to show up. I followed him inside, still on the astral plane so he couldn’t see me. There were several floors, but I wasn’t sure which ones were the passenger quarters. I figured I might as well get off when the passenger with me did. As luck would have it, he was heading to his quarters. I walked the whole floor and didn’t see Dracula. There were several old folks who could have been Wrath’s host, but without Dracula, there was no way to know.
I found a stairwell. No one else was using it. It made traveling between floors astrally a bit simpler. It was one thing to stay astral and maintain my footing on the floor without falling through, but it was a lot harder to focus to interact with something small and specific, like an elevator button.
I went down another floor, where I found Dracula. He was following an older couple that fit the description Dylan gave me. I didn’t dare appear yet. Showing up at that moment might have drawn attention and distracted Dracula from his pursuit.
The elderly couple entered an elevator. Dracula followed them inside, and I joined them. The elevator took us back up to the floor with all the clubs. Go figure—I could have just stayed put and found them just as well.
The couple entered a jazz club, and Dracula sat outside the club on a bench that ran the length of large windows that looked out at the river and shore to the east. At least I thought it was east. I wasn’t good with cardinal directions.
There were too many people strolling through the area to appear next to Dracula, so I found a restroom and went inside. Someone was on the john. I stepped out again and waited my turn before I went back inside. I touched my brooch and materialized, then waited a few seconds to make sure the restroom’s former occupant was clear of the area before I left. I found Dracula and sat beside him.
“Well, I didn’t expect this.”
I glanced toward the bar. “I take it that Wrath is possessing the old man?”
Dracula nodded. “I didn’t know what else to do but do my best to follow them. Not much more I could do.”
“Zoey is here. We can take out Wrath if we can find Zoey and get him alone. Has he touched anyone?”
Dracula shook his head. “Apart from his wife, no one I’ve noticed. I think he’s waiting for the right opportunity.”
“Any sign that Wrath infected the man’s wife?”
“Not that I can tell, but it’s hard to say. How dangerous could an old woman be, anyway?”
I smirked. “You might be surprised. We think Wrath works through violence, but violence can take many forms. We’ll have to keep an eye on her and anyone else the man might touch.”
“It’s just a matter of time.” Dracula pinched his chin. “Wrath has a plan, here. I haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
“Has he noticed you? The demons emerged at the schoolhouse. Wrath knows who you are.”
Dracula shrugged. “We shared an elevator. I’m sure he knows I’m here if he does recognize me.”
“Then whatever he’s planned is going to take a sharp right turn. He isn’t here only to spread his vice. This is about self-preservation. The chances that we’ll get a shot at him in private are slim. Especially if he sees me. After Gluttony, all the demons know I can kill them.”
“Then you’d best hurry and find Zoey before the proverbial shit hits the propeller.”
I tilted my head. “The propeller?”
“We’re on a boat. It makes more sense than a fan.”
I stood to leave. It wouldn’t take Zoey long to find me. She was moving around astrally, which meant she could skip between the front and rear decks of the ship fast. Once she saw I wasn’t astral she’d stop and find a place to re-materialize.
Half the deck chairs were already occupied by sunbathers. It didn’t take long after a ship left port before everyone’s ill-conceived Mississippi River vacations began. Cruising often cost less than beachfront hotels. All the meals were included—the cruise ships made most of their money on drinks. For someone who didn’t have or couldn’t get a passport, a domestic cruise on the river might have made some sense. The cruise ship experience sans the exotic ports of call. Plus, the entire trip was within the range of cell service.
“Any luck?”
I jumped a little at the sound of Zoey’s voice and clutched at my chest. “Damn. Didn’t expect you so soon.”
“Sorry. I had to find a place to come back to the land of the living.”
“Dracula’s just inside. He’s watching Wrath and his host’s wife drink at a jazz bar.”
“I can’t reap the demon in public. Not without causing a panic.”
“If Wrath starts spreading his vice, a panic will be the least of our worries.”
Zoey followed back through the automatic glass doors and we sat next to Dracula. I looked back into the bar.
“Where’s the host? I see his wife, not him.”
Dracula shrugged. “Somewhere in the bar. He got up about the time you left.”
I sighed. “It’s probably been an hour at least. That means that Wrath could jump to another host and we wouldn’t know it.”
Zoey shook her head. “If he’s smart, he wouldn’t try. Once he does that, he can’t skip hosts again and that might be his best chance to escape if we corner him.”
“I should go astral again,” Zoey said. “I can sneak in and take a look.”
Before I could respond, Zoey flipped up her hood and disappeared. A couple of seconds later a crowd of about six men and women stepped out of the club in unison. Their eyes were glossed over as if in a daze as they took several steps forward in unison.
“Infected by Wrath?” I whispered.
Dracula nodded. “I suspect so. I wasn’t aware the demons could control people they infected like this.”
The old man—the host—and his wife followed behind the group. Her eyes were glossed over like the rest. The man had several broken chair legs in his hands that he distributed among the six.
“Vampires, I presume?” Wrath asked.
