Bad Moon Rising (Pine Deep 3)

She shrugged. “Mike would just be dead. None of the qualities he has as a dhampyr would be infused into the local landscape. ”

Weinstock grunted. “So…he’s a sick, twisted, murderous bastard but a good guy sick, twisted and murderous bastard?”

“More or less, yes. ” She held up an emphatic finger. “That doesn’t make him any less dangerous. If he’s been this badly brainwashed, then he’s on a par with a suicide bomber…a total fanatic. ”

Val made an ugly sound and they all looked at her. “I don’t care if he’s Saint Jude reborn—if he comes near Mike again I’ll kill him. ”

No one doubted her.

“Try calling Crow again,” Newton suggested after a moment. “And maybe those cops, too. ”

Crow’s phone went right to voice mail again, so she tried LaMastra’s cell and got the same thing; but when she called Ferro’s phone it rang six times before going to voice mail. A signal, but no response.

“This is bad,” Mike said.

“You know that,” Weinstock asked, “or are you guessing?”

“Some of both, I guess. The Bone Man told me that Griswold was going to do something today. Something called the Red Wave. ”

Newton turned away from the window where he’d been watching the storm clouds thicken and darken. Even though it was only three o’clock it was as gloomy as twilight outside. “Which is what exactly?”

“I’m not sure. He wasn’t sure, either. All we know is that Vic and Ruger have been working hard to make as many vampires as possible so that the Red Wave will work, and that whatever it is will be bad. Really bad. ”

Val cut a look at Weinstock. “The Festival?”

“Has to be…damn it!”

“And it’s supposed to happen tonight?” Jonatha asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t know what it’ll be or when it’ll start. ” He put his head in his hands. “It’s so frustrating to know some things in so much detail and not other things. I feel like I’m trying to put a puzzle together and I don’t know if I have all the pieces or even if the pieces are part of the same puzzle. ”

“I have to go and warn Crow. If he’s walking into a trap…” The hunting hawk look was back on her face even though her eyes were bright with terror. She looked at Newton, expecting him to say something, perhaps offer to guide her to Dark Hollow, but he blanched and even backed up a step.

“I…can’t…” he said.

“Val,” Weinstock said, “no, we could never get out there and find him. Not in time. We have to do something to stop the Festival. If Ruger and his goons show up tonight, it could be a slaughter. Everyone’s going to be in costume…Ruger could walk right up to someone and no one would know who he was until it was too late. ”

Chapter 37

1

“Dear God!” gasped Crow as he climbed to his feet. Tears streaked his cheeks, but not just from the cordite. “Dear sweet Jesus God. ”

Beside him, LaMastra was furiously reloading his shotgun, flicking frequent nervous glances around at the shadows as he worked. The vampires were sprawled like dolls knocked off a shelf by an earthquake, their white faces strangely empty of malevolence. Kneeling, Crow peered in wonder at the face of Jimmy Castle.

“He doesn’t have any fangs,” he said softly. LaMastra looked up from his shotgun. “They must have gone away after he died. Anyone finds these bodies it’ll just look like we murdered them all. ”

“I don’t care,” LaMastra said, and Crow turned and gave him a sharper look. The big man’s eyes were twitching and jumping, and he had a nervous tic that made it look like he kept trying to smile.

Christ, thought Crow, don’t wig out on me now. But then LaMastra’s eyes hardened. “Hey…reload, damn it! Get your head out of your ass. ”

“Right, sorry…” He dug in his pockets for shells.

Slotting the last shell into his shotgun, LaMastra said, “We have to get out of this place. ” He picked up the fallen Maglite. His own flash had shattered when they fell through the floor, but Crow’s sturdy little flash was still working. LaMastra held it above him as they began to explore the cellar.

Crow looked around at the walls, trying not to look at the bodies. “These old farmhouses usually have a yard entrance to the cellar. I saw one outside, but it was chained shut just like the front door. ”

“Good call,” said LaMastra. “So let’s find it, blow the lock, and get the hell out of here. ”