Bad blood, p.13
Bad Blood, page 13
part #7 of Jack Dahlish Series
Without thinking, I formed a ball of the blue fire in my hand. I tossed it overhand, like a baseball, and watched it fly through the air to splash across the wounds Mariah had opened on the shapeshifter’s back. The bear roared in pain, and the massive head looked from me to the vampire waiting in front of it.
The black hairs almost seemed to retract into the body as it shrank, and bumpy pink skin began to appear. The shapeshifter continued to shrink, and black feathers sprouted. Within seconds, I watched in stupefied wonder as a large crow squawked loudly and took to the air. A single feather fell to the ground as the bird disappeared into the night.
Mariah hissed angrily, and then she started to shudder and shiver until her vampire features receded. In not much longer than it had taken the shapeshifter to turn from a bear into a crow, her human mask was back in place with only a dire frown marring her beauty.
“Annie,” I said, looking around the yard for her as I tried to ignore the aching pain in my midsection. “What happened to her?”
“There,” Mariah said, pointing wearily toward the deck on the back of the house nearby.
I hobbled up the stairs, and found a dark form huddled in front of a large outdoor firepit. Kneeling, I reached out with a shaking hand to turn her over. Annie was so incredibly still, and I knew she would have fought the devil himself if she had been taken against her will. I was afraid of what the shapeshifter might have done.
Her chest rose slowly, and I released my pent-up breath in shuddering relief. I put a hand near her mouth, and felt the slow, even breaths of deep sleep or unconsciousness. I searched for any injuries, but it was hard to see anything in the dark. With no more than a thought, my coin began to shine until I could see her as easily as on a sunny day. There were no obvious wounds, but I saw glistening wetness in her dark hair. I got my arms underneath her as the light faded, and I lifted her easily from the deck.
“How is she?” Mariah asked as I joined her back on the lawn, concern in her voice that I appreciated.
“Unconscious but breathing,” I said, walking past her as I quickly headed for the gate that exited onto the front lawn.
TWENTY
A nnie’s eyelids fluttered as the paramedic gingerly dabbed blood from her hair. She had been hit with something, and I hadn’t seen the gash on the back of her head until the EMT found it during his examination of the unconscious woman I’d carried back to the crime scene. I’d been lucky the ambulance was still there.
“This is going to need stitches,” he told me. “A doctor should really look her over, too. You don’t want to mess around with head injuries. We’re heading back to the hospital now, and we’ll take her to the emergency room.”
I opened my mouth to say I’d ride along, but then I saw Mariah in the corner of my eye. Instead, I got the name of the hospital from him. I grabbed Annie’s hand and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. Her eyes tried to focus on me as I did so. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She nodded faintly as her eyes began to glaze over.
Watching the ambulance drive away, navigating the police vehicles that clogged the street, was worse than the fight I’d just been through. I winced at the reminder and rested a hand against my side, which was still tender from the pressure of the shape changer’s bear jaws.
“What the hell was that thing?” I asked Mariah.
She shook her head, watching the ambulance leave the scene. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Come on, Mariah, you have to know something. This thing has been killing Harrison blood donors, and I think it was doing that to lure one of you out. I don’t know if the shapeshifter was targeting you specifically, or if you were just convenient since you could be counted on to show up at crime scenes.”
She turned to me with a pleading look. “I promise, Jack. I know as little about this creature as you do.”
“I find that hard to believe. Uriah brought in his own investigator, which tells me that he knew something bad was coming for him or his family.”
She snorted contemptuously. “If he knows anything specific, he hasn’t shared it with me. I’m still young by vampire standards, Jack. It’ll be decades before I’m included in the inner circle.” She’d told me at our first meeting that vampires had life spans more than twice that of a normal human. Uriah, patriarch of the family, was over a hundred and eighty and expected to lead them for several more decades.
Gritting my teeth, I had to bow to the logic of her statement. “I need to talk to Uriah. This thing just attacked me and my own, so I’m going to take it down. With or without his help, but with would be easier for everyone involved.”
She sighed and lowered her head so that dark curls fell to cover her face. I’d pushed my vision of the supernatural world down hard enough that I couldn’t see her vampire features under the mask. “I’ll try to arrange something. It’s the least I can do when you just saved my life.”
I turned to her and noticed the slumped shoulders and rigid posture. “You were caught by surprise, Mariah. The way I remember it, you saved my life while that thing had me in its jaws.”
She smiled faintly, looking up at me through a curtain of hair. “I still owe you. Again. Give me five minutes.” She walked away as she pulled out her phone.
I stuck my hands in the pockets of my coat, hunching my shoulders against the creeping cold of the deepening night. The exertion of the fight had caused me to sweat, and that moisture was now turning icy against my skin. I contented myself with watching the crime scene from the back of the crowd while I waited on Mariah.
Amazingly, the number of people in the street had grown in the short time I’d been off rescuing Annie from the shapeshifter. Several people turned onto the street to walk toward those behind the barricades, most likely coming in from nearby streets as the news of the murder filtered out. Not that I could see anything worth watching, since the detectives were all inside the house.
The crowd on the opposite side of the street rippled, and I turned to watch as they parted to allow an older man through. He was wearing jeans, a denim shirt, and a brown vest, with a necklace of jade and turquoise hanging around his neck. His unbound hair was white as snow and fell past his shoulders, framing a face that was dark brown and wrinkled like old leather. I knew I was looking at the shaman that Uriah had brought in.
The old man walked slowly but confidently toward the barrier, where he leaned in to speak a few words with the cop standing behind it. The kid was young enough to be fresh out of the academy, and he looked around wildly after the shaman finished speaking. He reached up to press a button on his radio, speaking quietly into it. There was a short silence, then a squawking reply that I couldn’t make out from the distance.
Whatever was said must have been approval, though, because the barrier was pulled aside to let the shaman through. He stepped onto the sidewalk and started walking up the path to the front door of the house. Halfway there, he stopped and turned to look back at the crowd. His pale eyes searched everyone waiting for any exciting developments, until they locked in on mine. His mouth tightened in something akin to disapproval, and then he turned away to continue the slow walk to the open door, where a detective was waiting to greet him.
I found it interesting that he was welcomed into the house with a deference I’d never seen toward an outsider. Either Uriah was leaning hard on his contacts to get special access for the shaman, or the shaman had his own political connections to smooth the way.
Whatever the case, the old man was getting a look at the scene long before I would be able to. The officers outside the house were settled in their stances, with none of the energy and bustle that would come when the investigation was wrapping up and the house would be sealed off before they drove away. I would normally have to find a way in after they departed, but I was now certain that I was dealing with the same Nox that had killed the others. The same one that had attacked Mariah and almost killed me.
There was a light touch on my arm, and I turned away from the house to find Mariah standing beside me. “Uriah agreed to meet,” she said, with a sour twist to her mouth.
“When and where?”
“He leaves that to you, but it must be a public place at a time when there will be other people around.”
I laughed bitterly. “Doesn’t trust me, huh?”
She shrugged, looking away in embarrassment. “He’s under a lot of stress right now, Jack. I’ve told him before that I trust you, but that doesn’t seem to be enough.”
We were back to her being too young to rank highly in the hierarchy of the clutch. I wasn’t that upset, though, because I wasn’t sure I’d be willing to go into the vampire’s den without a lot of backup. I didn’t expect him to try and attack me, but I also didn’t want to tempt fate. I considered meeting places, and thoughts of malls, amusement parks, and even the zoo flashed through my mind.
There was only one place that would be suitable, though, considering what we needed to discuss. “Tell him to meet me at the Den. I’d prefer it to be soon, so we don’t waste more time.”
She nodded. “I’ll text you when I have it nailed down. I know you want to be at the hospital.”
I really did, but there was one other thing I needed to know. “I saw that shaman, I think. Did you know he would be coming here?”
She looked confused for a moment, and she went up on her toes to look over the heads of the crowd. “I’ve never even met the guy yet. When he’s on the estate, he’s always closeted with the elders or sleeping in his guest room.”
“Well, if you want a glimpse just stick around. He’ll come out eventually.”
“I wish I could, but my boss is already irritated with me for leaving the house without him.” She winced as she glanced over her shoulder, and I followed her gaze to see the older man sitting behind the wheel of the SUV with a scowl. “Time for me to get back to work. Give Annie my thanks, and my wishes for a quick recovery.”
“Mariah.” She turned to look at me. “What did you mean when you said the shape changer smelled like bad blood?”
Her nose crinkled up, like she smelled something foul. “There’s an odor that comes from blood that’s no good for us, one that instantly tells us it will be harmful if we try to drink it.”
“What, you mean like drinking curdled milk? So the blood has spoiled somehow?”
“No, more like a donor that has been diseased. In rare cases, there are people with genetic anomalies that renders their blood toxic to any vampire. That’s what this Nox smells like to me.”
I watched her get into the SUV, and her boss started talking the moment the door was open. From the look of his face, it didn’t appear to be a pleasant conversation. The vehicle backed out of the street to do a three point turn before speeding away.
The news van that had been blocking my car was gone, and as I maneuvered to leave the street, I couldn’t stop replaying the battle against the shapeshifter through my head. I felt more certain than ever it had been lying in wait for Mariah to arrive, but I didn’t know why. Was it just to send a message to Uriah, that any of the vampires were at risk?
Hopefully, after I met with the Harrison patriarch, I’d have more answers.
The woman behind the desk just inside the hospital doors directed me toward the emergency room, where Annie would have been taken when she arrived. Then I had to face a nurse who was struggling to do five things at once, and as I stood at the high counter, I looked over the dozens of people waiting to be treated. It was strange not to know which of them were Nox.
For a moment, I tried bringing my vision of the supernatural world forward. Almost instantly, the smell and taste of wet skunk filled my nose and throat as the air filled with a yellow haze. I shoved it all back down again, resigning myself to waiting out the essence. It would eventually fade. I hoped.
The nurse finally gave me her attention, and I learned that Annie was still being treated. I wanted to go back and be with her, but the nurse firmly told me to take a seat. Not wanting to cause a scene, I decided to be patient. I found a spot between some squabbling kids and an old man with a dripping nose, where I could face the door Annie would come out of once they were done with her.
I must have drifted off into a half-sleep at some point, because one of the kids bumped against me and my eyes opened. The room was a little blurry, but after a few blinks I could see that the people in the waiting room had changed enough that at least half an hour had passed. I blamed the adrenaline from the chase and fight, leaving me drained as it wore off.
I pulled out my phone and found a text waiting from Mariah. Den confirmed, one hour. That gave me the time I needed to get ready. I called Richard first, to let him know about the meeting. He said he’d keep a table near the back reserved for us, and he could clear out anyone sitting nearby at the bar for privacy.
Several minutes later, the door I was impatiently watching opened, and Annie shuffled through it. She looked tired, and I noticed that she was favoring her left arm, which appeared to be wrapped with bandages beneath the sleeve of her sweater. I stood up quickly, waving until she focused on me. The wan smile on her face sent relief through me as I hurried over to give her an arm to lean against.
“Get me out of here, Dahlish. Hospitals freak me out.”
Once we were out in the night air, I offered to pull the car up. She snorted and kept walking, so that I had to hurry to keep up. “What happened?” she asked. “I remember something was attacking Mariah, but then it’s all a blur.”
I told her about the shapeshifter that had turned into a bear, and how it had dragged her away. Then I went through the fight, and she gingerly felt my stomach and sides underneath my coat. I winced as her fingers touched areas that were far more sensitive than normal. “You should have been looked at, too.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said dismissively. “The coin will heal me faster than any doctor could, but I’ll end up with some nasty bruises.”
“That was too close, Dahlish.” She said it quietly, grimacing as we crossed the parking lot to where I’d parked.
“We’ll be better prepared next time. Speaking of which, I need to get you to Windemere so you can rest, then I have a meeting to go to.”
“I’m going with you,” she said once I’d explained about meeting Uriah.
“No, Annie. You need to rest. I know you have a mild concussion at the least.”
She didn’t deny it, which confirmed that the injury was worse than just mild. “You can’t meet with those vampires alone.”
“I’m not,” I assured her, helping her get into the passenger seat. After a quick stop at a drugstore to pick up a prescription of pain pills, which I could tell were needed by the way she clenched her eyelids shut against any bright light, we continued to Windemere. Annie needed to sleep, and I needed to reach the Den to find out more about what was happening in my city.
TWENTY-ONE
I got Annie settled in our bed, though she protested the entire way from the garage that she was going to go with me to the meeting. “Fine,” she said as I pulled the covers over her, “let me sleep for ten minutes and then I’ll be ready to go.” She was already out as I pulled the door quietly shut and walked softly down the hall.
Turvord was in the kitchen, with a steaming cup of coffee sitting in front of one of the stools at the island. I slid onto it and blew to cool the liquid. “I don’t know how I made it through all those years without you.”
The nisse beamed, as he always did when I complimented him or praised his skills. As a protector of the house, I knew he took enjoyment from seeing those who lived there prosper and succeed. Anything he could do to contribute gave him pleasure. “Thank you, Master Jack, but I’m merely performing my duties.”
“And I am eternally grateful for it.” The coffee was finally cool enough, and I took a cautious sip. I normally stayed away from caffeine so late at night, but I had a feeling it was going to be many hours before I was able to continue that night’s rest.
“How is Miss Bishop doing? I fear she looked rather dazed as you passed through.”
“Concussion,” I said. “She claims it’s minor, but I think it may be a little more serious than that. We picked up a prescription for pain medication on the way, and she took one in the car. Hopefully, she’ll sleep all night and give her brain time to heal.”
Turvord turned to open one of the pantry doors, and he started rooting through boxes and bags. “I’ve had to deal with a few concussions in my time. Lots of fluids and protein are good for a speedy recovery, along with sleep and rest.” He leaned back to give me one of his rare scowls. “Rest means no physical exertion, Master Jack.”
I held up my hands defensively. “I’m not planning on taking her along tonight.”
“For several days,” the nisse clarified. “Another knock to the head could be disastrous, and the brain is one organ you don’t want to mess around with. We must let it heal.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, raising a stiff hand to my brow. The nisse rolled his eyes and went back to his search, and I couldn’t help laughing. It was good to see Turvord getting accustomed to my often strange sense of humor. “Seriously, though, I’m counting on you to help me keep her in check. You know Annie, she’s going to try to get back out there as soon as she can.”
“Leave Miss Bishop to me,” the nisse said with determination. “She will get the rest she needs.” I knew that tone. It was the same one I’d heard after several fights, when I’d tried to get back into training without letting myself fully heal. Turvord had an iron will when it was necessary, and he took his job of protecting us seriously.
With my mind set at ease as far as Annie was concerned, I drained the coffee and got a refill before I left the house. The night air was still and silent, broken only by the occasional car passing on the residential street or the whispering gurgle of the river that passed behind the property. I crossed the lawn and entered my code on the small panel beside the armory door. As soon as the locks clicked open, I pushed it open.
