One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress 2)

"He's here. Alive still. If you want him to remain that way, you'll do what I tell you."

The other minions began to fan out, trapping me with the bedroom as my only exit. Since it was a closed area, there was no help there.

"Let me see him."

Curly Hair smiled smugly. "No demands, girl. Do you think those knives will really protect you?"

When my grandparents were murdered and I'd rammed a car through a house to rescue my mother, I thought I couldn't get any angrier. How wrong I was. The unadulterated bloodlust pouring through me made me tremble. They took my shaking for fear, and their smiles broadened. Curly stepped forward.

Two of the daggers flew out of my hand before I even articulated the order to my brain. They buried past their hilts in the heart of a vamp to my left, who had been licking his lips. He pitched forward before his tongue finished its insinuating path. More knives replaced those, and once again both my hands were full.

"Now I'm going to ask again, and don't piss me off. I have spent the morning up to my ass in guts and I am low on patience. The next one's aimed for you, Brownielocks, unless you show me what I want to see. Your boys might get me in a rush, but you'll be too dead to care."

My eyes bored into his, and I let him see that I meant every single word. Unless they showed me Bones, I was going to assume the worst and go down in flames, and by God, I'd see they went with me.

There must have been something in my gaze he took seriously. He jerked his head at two of his stunned lieutenants. They took a last look at their friend, who was slowly beginning to shrivel, before trotting off. One untwisted knife wouldn't have killed the vamp. But two had done the necessary damage to his heart. In the background, I heard the clanking of irons, and then I knew where they had Bones. Hell, once I'd been chained there myself. Now I was sure I could hear a heartbeat. Did they have a human guard on him?

The leader studied me dispassionately.

"You are the one who's been murdering our kind the last several years. A human with the strength of an immortal, the one they call the Red Reaper. Do you know how much money you're worth?"

Holy shit, now that was ironic. He was a bounty hunter, and I was his mark. Well, it was only a matter of time, I supposed. You can't off a hundred creatures and expect no one to get cranky.

"A lot, I hope. Hate to be on clearance."

He frowned. "You mock me. I am Lazarus, and you should quake before me. Remember, I hold the life of your love. Which means more to you-his fate, or yours?"

Did I love Bones enough to die for him? Absolutely. Relief that he wasn't behind this made me almost cheerful about my impending death. Any day of the week I'd rather die than suspect him of such cruelty again.

Sobbing brought my attention back to the situation. What was going on? A glance at my watch showed fifteen minutes before bomb time. Bones would have to get out fast before that missile hit. Lazarus wouldn't be around to collect any cash. Maybe I'd tell him that before the timer ran out.

Something human and weeping was thrown to the surface near my feet. I gave it a disparaging look before turning to Lazarus.

"Quit stalling. I don't need to see one of your chew toys to believe you're all badasses. Really, I'm quaking. Where's Bones?"

"Bones?" Lazarus said, his eyes darting around. "Where?"

Two things occurred to me at nearly the same instant. One, from Lazarus's expression, he had no idea where Bones was. Two, the tear-streaked face turning up at me belonged to the lying little shit who'd seduced and dumped me when I was sixteen.

Chapter Six

DANNY?" I SAID IN DISBELIEF. "DANNY MILTON? You're the reason I had to drag my ass all the way from Virginia?"

Danny also wasn't happy to see me. "You ruined my life!" he wailed. "First your freak boyfriend crippled my hand, then you're not dead, and now these creatures kidnapped me! I hate the day I met you!"

I snorted. "Right back at you, asshole!"

Lazarus regarded me suspiciously. "He said you used to be in love with him. You're just pretending not to care now so I won't kill him."

"You want to kill him?" Perhaps I was crazed with the knowledge that less than fifteen minutes remained, or maybe I was just fed up. "Go ahead! Here, I'll help!"

I pulled the gun from the back of my pants and shot Danny at point-blank range. Lazarus and the other vampires were momentarily stunned at this turn of events, and I took advantage. The next rounds landed full in Lazarus's face. I didn't bother firing into his heart, because I wanted him alive. He had information for me, if I lived, and I emptied the clip into him while my free hand flung knives at the remaining five.

They charged me. Fangs sank in and ripped my flesh before I threw them off. This was a flat-out brawl, rolling around on jagged rocks, pummeling and hacking any flesh that wasn't mine. I was acutely aware of the seconds ticking by as I struggled to keep my knives in my hand and their fangs from my throat. After all, it was one thing to die for Bones, whether he'd gone mental or not. Quite another to die for that sniveling prick Danny Milton. You could safely say I still held a grudge.

The last vampire was eliminated with a gouge to his heart, and my watch showed less than thirty seconds. Lazarus, not dead after a face full of silver bullets, crawled toward Danny. Danny, still alive, moaned helplessly and tried to back away. There wasn't enough time to pump Lazarus for information, let alone kill him and rescue Danny. Barely enough time to do just one.

Without a moment to think, I grabbed Danny and tossed him over my shoulder, running flat-out for the entrance of the cave. He screamed at the jostling and cursed me between gasps. The timer went to zero just as the sunlit mouth came into view. Behind me I heard Lazarus running also, but too far back. He'd never make it. Neither would I. Time was up.

Instead of the explosion I expected, there were voices. Movement right outside. Two figures entered the cave as I was almost upon them. It was Tate and Dave. I shouted because I knew they couldn't see me in the dark.

"Don't shoot!"

"Hold fire, it's Cat!" Tate boomed.

What happened next happened almost instantly, though it would be forever slow motion in my mind.

"Hostile coming fast, aim high!" I yelled, and ducked down to clear their line of fire. Tate, who hadn't relaxed stance, fired blindly into the blackness behind me. Dave, who had lowered his gun to try to locate me in the stygian dark, came throat to face with Lazarus instead.

There was a sickening gurgle as his artery was freed. I screamed, dropping Danny and rushing to him. Lazarus threw him at me with full force, and Dave's body knocked me flat. Hot blood sprayed my face as I locked my hands around his neck, futilely trying to stem the flow. In the midst of this Tate was still shooting, and Lazarus cracked him against the cave wall and ran out. Outside there was the spattering of more gunfire as the perimeter troops shot at the fleeing vampire.

"Man down, man down!"

Juan sprinted inside the cave, flashlight drawn, followed closely by Cooper and three others. I tore my shirt off to apply pressure to Dave's neck.

Dave could barely talk, but he was trying. "...'on't...let me...'ie..."

There was only one chance. Maybe not even that.

"Hold him," I snapped to Juan. Then I dashed deeper into the cave as rapidly as I'd left it. When I came to the first body, I hoisted it on my shoulders and ran back.

"What are you doing?" Cooper demanded.

I ignored him, taking a knife and slicing deeply into the dead vampire's neck. Blood dripped, but not enough. I hacked the head off completely and flipped the vamp upside down, holding him by his feet. Now a steady stream of purplish liquid trickled directly onto Dave.

"Open his mouth. Make him swallow," I commanded. God, let it not be too late. Let it not be too late...!

Juan pulled back Dave's lips with tears coursing down his face. He was praying as well, out loud and in Spanish. Ruthlessly I kicked the cadaver to send more blood downward, and Juan forced Dave to swallow.

The skin around Dave's neck reacted to the undead blood, but not quickly enough. The flow from his jugular slowed even as the edges started to close. Soon it stopped. Dave was dead.

I stormed out of the cave, seething with grief. Men were searching the area, and I grabbed the nearest one.

"Where did he go? Did you see which way he went?"

The soldier, Kelso, blanched at seeing me covered in blood. "We couldn't tell. Someone said vampire, but all I saw were trees. We're looking now. He can't be far."

"Like hell he can't," I snarled. A Master vampire at full gallop, even injured, could run upward of sixty miles an hour. No way was Lazarus getting away. No way.

The three men still hovered around Dave's lifeless body. Juan wept unashamedly, and Tate's eyes overflowed with tears.

"The vampire got through the perimeter," I began without preamble. "I'm going after him. Tate, fix me with a transmitter and have the team follow. I'm telling you right now, I don't give a shit what the rules are, because I'm changing them. When I get him, only the ones who do exactly what I say will be with me. If you don't, you can hang back with the rest of the crowd. I'm not standing over the body of another man today, no matter what Don thinks is acceptable. Whoever wants to be there when this vamp gets his, come with me. Tell the rest of the crew to stay back until we come out."

Tate and Juan stood immediately. Cooper hesitated. I stared at him and didn't blink.

"Pussying out, Coop?"

He shot me a measured look. "I'm half Sicilian and half African. Both sides believe in retribution. The only pu**y here is yours, Commander."

"Then order the rest of the men to stand by and follow me. We'll see what you're made of."

He jerked his head at where Danny lay, still huddled in shock. "What about him?"

"Hand him over to the medics. He's got a gunshot wound."

"The vampires shot him?" Tate questioned in surprise. Vampires didn't traditionally use guns. Why would they, when their teeth were more powerful?

"They didn't. I did. Let's move; every second counts."

Cooper chucked Danny over his shoulder and headed out into the light without comment. I heard him direct the troops to stay back while we checked the cave for survivors. As he did that, I closed Dave's eyes. When Cooper returned, I held the flashlight in front of me so they could see where they were going.

"This way."

When we reached the area where I'd killed the other vampires, I started in.

"All right, men, I'm only going to say this once. Take a knife, grab a vamp, and I don't care if you have to suck the blood off their balls, you're going to get as much of that liquid in you as possible. Humans can drink a pint of blood before the body automatically regurgitates. I expect a pint in each of you, and now. The vampire who killed Dave was a Master and he's running better than a mile a minute. We don't have time to argue about morality. These bodies are shriveling with every second. You're in or you're out."

So speaking, I led by example and sliced the neck of the corpse in front of me, digging my mouth in like a pit bull. For a second, no one moved. I picked my head up and scorched them with the emerald glare from my eyes.

"Would Dave have shrunk back from avenging any of you out of squeamishness?"

That did the trick. Soon the sounds of sucking and swallowing were heard in the cave. It tasted bad, decomposing as quickly as it was, but even after death, the blood still held power. After several hard pulls, I felt the change begin. The second it started to taste less heinous, I threw the vamp aside, shaking.

"Everyone stop," I ordered.

There was glad compliance. With my mixed lineage, it took much less for me to acquire a liking for it. They weren't in danger of succumbing to the urge to feed like I was.

"Cat?"

Tate reached out to touch me, and I flinched. His heartbeat was louder in my ears, and I smelled blood, sweat, and tears on him. That was the whole point. I could smell him now-and everyone else.

"Don't touch me. Wait." My hands clenched. Dimly I remembered Bones flattening me on the bed, restraining me from chewing his throat open. Ride it out, Kitten, it will pass...

Several deep breaths later I could think again. Un-erringly I went to where Lazarus had lain after I shot him. I took a long, deep whiff of his blood, and then licked it, letting his scent fill my nose. With grim satisfaction I turned to Tate.

"I've got him. Give me the transmitter and follow me by car. When I stop moving, that means he's down. We'll find out what he knows."

"Cat..." Tate looked in wonder at his hands and then around the cave. I knew he was experiencing more than he had before. "I feel..."

"I know. Let's go."

Chapter Seven

THE BULLETS SLOWED LAZARUS, SILVER BEING kryptonite for vampires. Lazarus had used his power to heal himself, but because he hadn't fed yet, he wasn't running on all cylinders. Most of Dave's blood had spilled onto the ground, not in his mouth, and he'd hightailed it into the woods without stopping for another snack. I exceeded my previous maximum speeds and made up lost ground, his scent pointing the way like invisible road signs. Furthermore, I knew these woods. This was where Bones had trained me. Roots and potholes Lazarus stumbled on, I vaulted over with ease while the memories came so hard and fast, I could almost hear his voice behind me, that English accent mocking.

Is this the best you can do, Kitten? That all you've got? You move that slowly and you'll be nothing more than a flush in some bloke's cheeks...come on, Kitten! This is a death match, not a bloody tea party!