Hit List (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 20)

THING TWO CAUGHT me around the waist and arms. It put me up against him, and the moment my chest touched his, I knew it was a her. I'd known that some of them were women, but I'd expected to notice it before we were pressed breast to breast; so much for my powers of observation. My face was tucked into the bend of her neck, between the mask and the hood, but there was no skin to find. The mask was part of the hood. I was betting it was snapped in like the gloves. But I didn't need skin to smell the lion inside her. She lifted me easily and sat my ass back on the table edge.

She shook her head at me, blue eyes very serious.

"Are you forbidden to talk because you're both women?" I asked.

"They're not both women." It was the growling voice of the werewolf, back again. "They're a mated pair of lions, or want to be, but their vampire masters see them as theirs. They will share them with other vampires, but not allow them to be with each other."

The female Harlequin moved in front of him, blocking his path. She shook her head.

"Their masters cut their tongues out with silver. It's something they can cut off us that won't harm our fighting skills."

"Why?" I asked.

"The tongues will grow back, eventually, and they are supposed to learn to obey their vampire masters. The Harlequin that stayed loyal to the Mother are very old-school, Anita Blake. Animals to call, no matter how skilled, are still animals, and they treat us like animals."

The female looked back at the male. There was another shared look.

"If the Mother of All gains her body, then all the shapeshifters will go back to being animals," the werewolf said.

"Is the other Harlequin, the one that carried in my friend, a lion, too?"

"No, she's another leopard."

The werewolf drew a blade and knelt by my feet. The woman touched his shoulder, but when he went to cut through the rope on my ankles, she didn't stop him. I heard chains rattle and the other lion was unlocking the cuffs on Lisandro's ankles. It was too good to be true, but for once I just let him slice through the ropes on my wrists. Too good or not, I'd take it.

He handed me my own guns. "I didn't dare take more, and we've melted down your holy objects; they're gone."

I checked the Browning and the Smith & Wesson automatically to make sure they were loaded. They were. I tucked the S&W down the back of my jeans. "Don't apologize, this is great."

He handed Lisandro his main gun, too. He checked to make sure it was loaded just like I had. "Thank you," Lisandro said.

"Thank me when you're safe," he said, and started for the door.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"She thinks you gain power over people with their names; it's old magic."

"Sorry, didn't mean to be rude," I said.

"Thaddeus," he said. "My real name is Thaddeus."

"No matter how this turns out, thank you, Thaddeus," I said.

He nodded, and led the way to the door. The silent werelions fanned out to both sides. Lisandro touched my arm so I'd let him go ahead of me. His thigh was completely healed already; let's hear it for no silver, and let's hope that our luck stays this good. Of course, no one's luck stays this good.