Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires 5)

Was this the moon she meant? If so, who were the "kings"

that were supposed to fal ?

My stomach churned in warning. I'd dreamed about a moon, but that had to be coincidence. Because if it wasn't, and the rest of the dream hadn't been coincidence either . . .

I shook my head. That was grief-driven wishful thinking and a ridiculous waste of time that was only going to make me feel worse - or stupid - in the long run.

"Jesus Christ," Catcher muttered, stepping beside me at the door. "What in God's name happened?"

"I'l tel you what happened," I said, pul ing out my phone to cal Jonah back. "Our second crisis for the week."

Dead lake. Red sky.

At least there was only one crisis at a time.

CHAPTER NINE

THE FAIRY TALE

Except there wasn't only one crisis at a time. I reached Jonah on my way to the House - the river and lake were back to black and stil sucking magic from the city like it was going out of style. Which meant not only had that p ro b le m not been solved - the entire situation was escalating. I felt a real jolt of fear. I had no idea where this was headed.

When he met me at Cadogan, we joined the dozens of other vampires who stood on the lawn behind the House, staring up at the sky. And we weren't the only ones. I hardly passed a single house between Wicker Park and Hyde Park where folks weren't standing outside, fingers pointing upward or hands over their mouths in shock.

White lightning flashed across the sky, and claps of thunder drowned out the sounds of the city. There wasn't a thunderhead in sight, and I could al but hear Chicagoans'

silent accusations: These things didn't happen before vampires.

What they weren't considering, of course, was that vampires and other sups had been in Chicago at least as long as humans, and this didn't have anything to do with us.

Unfortunately, I didn't know how to prove that to them.

I'd texted Malik to give him a heads-up that I was bringing a Grey House vamp onto Cadogan soil, and he offered Jonah a handshake when we joined him and Luc in the backyard.

"I don't suppose there are Moon nymphs out there who could be responsible for this?" I asked. "Or maybe Wind witches? Atmospheric gremlins?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Malik said.

"Me, either," Jonah said. "But we clearly can't deny there's something larger at work here."

"The question now is what to do about it," Luc said.

"Especial y within our current operating limitations."

He'd only just spoken the words when a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. We instantaneously hit the ground, just in time to watch the blaze of plasma strike the weathervane on the roof of the House accompanied by the loudest bang I'd ever heard.

The block went dark. The lights in the House flickered and went off, and then came back on in a sickly shade of orange - security lights I'd only seen during previous emergency dril s. We had a couple of emergency generators in the basement to keep the emergency lights, security systems, and blood refrigeration on during power outages.

The fol owing silence was fil ed with the shouts of humans down the block and the sound of sirens already heading down the road.

Beside me, Malik sighed. "We do not need this. Neither the drama nor the danger."

When another bolt of lightning lit the backyard, Malik cast a wary glance across the lawn. The crowd of vampires was splitting as someone walked through them. After a moment, Frank pressed through the final knot to step in front of us.

He surveyed the sky suspiciously, then looked at Malik with obvious disdain. His thoughts were easy to read: Goddamn Chicago vampires. Incapable of managing their affairs.

"What is this?" he imperiously asked when he reached us. I didn't bother introducing him to Jonah. He didn't seem the type to be interested in others, and there was no point in dragging Jonah into our problems.

"This is not the work of vampires," Malik assured him.

"We have no information beyond that."

"This isn't going to help the reputation of the Houses overmuch," Frank said.

"No, it is not," Malik agreed. "Which is why we wil investigate the cause in order to limit the effect."

You could al but see the wheels turning in Frank's mind.

But at least the wheels were turning. This was usual y the point at which the GP henchman blamed us for whatever was happening, regardless of our role, and made us swear we wouldn't leave the House to fix it.

There was no way to win.

But Frank actual y seemed to be considering the problem and our options. Maybe he was capable of independent thought, instead of just blaming Cadogan f singx it.

"There is a group you could contact," Frank said.

We al looked at him expectantly.

"The sky masters."

Malik immediately shook his head. "No."

"Who are the sky masters?" I whispered.

"The fairies," Jonah whispered back. "The mercenary fairies."

"There's a reason they're referred to as mercenary fairies," Malik pointed out. "Our relationship with them is tense, at best, and it's only that good because they are wel paid for their efforts."

"Be that as it may, this is clearly a matter within their purview. There is no better group to ask. There is no other group to ask. I suggest you select an away party and send it. Now."

Frankly, I thought it was a stupid idea. We'd already talked with two supernatural representatives - nymphs and the siren - and neither had anything to do with the problems the city was facing. Would visiting a group that already hated us accomplish anything other than raising their ire?

Malik, ever the diplomat, managed a respectful nod for Frank before looking at us. "Tread careful y into the world of fairy. They are a different breed of supernaturals, no pun intended. Different expectations, different formalities. But they know things. He's right; it's worth the trip. Find the queen. Pay her a visit and discover who's doing this."

"And make them stop," Franklin said. "Anything less is unacceptable."

The away party arranged and orders issued, Malik looked at Luc. "Get everyone back into the House. It's not safe to be outside."

Jonah and I shared a nod and began to walk back toward the House. Anticipation began to flutter in my stomach, but it was Malik's parting words that triggered the ful -out panic.

"And may God help us al ."

The emergency lights didn't provide much ambience, but they provided enough il umination for me to find my way upstairs and grab my sword and dagger.

Jonah trailed me al the way to my room, which surprised me. I hadn't expected him to fol ow, and I certainly hadn't invited him. But by the time I realized he was traipsing up the stairs behind me, tel ing him to stay put would have been that much more awkward.