The Undead Pool

“She’s going to blow chunks!” Jenks warned, and I winced when she began to throw up great gouts of black vomit. It tended to clear a room out fast, and everyone gave her space as Ivy held her hair out of the way. Felix, the bastard, seemed amused.

“Sure, laugh now while you got the chance,” I whispered, and he turned to me, clearly having heard.

But the elevator opened again and more FIB and I.S. guys poured out. “Edden!” I called as I saw his balding head among the rest. David was with him, looking an odd mix with his long duster and borrowed FIB hat, and a knot of worry eased. He was all right. He must have escaped the chaos upstairs and gone for help. Seeing me, his lips curved up in relief and I knew we were okay.

Felix was smiling despite his hands being cuffed behind his back. As the only awake undead, he might be able to turn this around, especially if he kept acting cooperatively. But I’d seen the madness behind his eyes. He wouldn’t take Nina with him—not if I could help it.

“She’s been attacked,” I heard Ivy snarl at someone. “Get away from her.”

“I’m good?” I asked the man checking out my ID, and he nodded, handing my gun back. “Edden! David!” I called, and David touched Edden on the shoulder, leaving him with two officers as he started to me. Tired, I leaned against the back of a couch, getting nasty, icky blood all over it.

“I know I said I’d call you,” the Were said as he closed the gap. “But they did an end-around and took my scouts by surprise. I went to the church, but you were already gone— Hey!”

I pulled him into a hug, breathing in the complex scent of woods and gunpowder. “I thought you were upstairs in that mess,” I said. “I was so mad.” Leaning back, I looked at his grinning, sheepish face. “I still am mad!” I said louder. “Damn it, David. You’ve got to be more careful!”

Jenks wreathed us with a silver dust. “She was ready to avenge you,” he said, laughing. “I’ve never seen her aura like that, all silvery with the need to do mean justice.”

“I was not,” I said, embarrassed that some of the officers were listening. “Okay, I was,” I admitted. “So I take it you found some Free Vampires. Is everyone upstairs going to be okay?”

He nodded. “They are, though I might have to watch a couple of the younger ones for a while to make sure they don’t need some extra help avoiding addiction.” He leaned in, whispering, “They’ll be fine. The focus is stronger than any residual vampiric pheromone bonds.”

That was a relief, and I gave his shoulder a last shove to show how much he meant to me as Edden finished up with his officers and came forward. “You could have called,” I said.

“They took my phone.” There was a swelling on his face, and he wasn’t standing with his weight on both feet. Clearly he was hurting, and David shifted to make room for Edden.

“Rachel,” the older man said as he rolled to a stop, hands in his pockets as he ran his eyes up and down me. He didn’t look much better than David, and I wondered when was the last time he slept. “This looks familiar,” he added as he took in the mess and the officers trying to make sense of it.

“Ah, we need an lightproof bag from the I.S.,” I said as I looked at the two guys trying to wake Cormel up. “Cormel needs protective custody. I don’t care if Felix is acting sane, he isn’t.”

Head bobbing, Edden crossed his arms over his chest. “You got a few minutes to give a statement?” Edden asked, and my eyes narrowed.

“You got a few minutes to answer your phone?” I shot back, and he ducked his head, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.

“Sorry.”

It was the best I was going to get, and I pushed off from the couch, leaning on David as we limped to the elevator. Nina and Ivy were in it, and Ivy held it for me when she saw us coming. “Thanks for getting here when you did,” I said to David and Edden. “I think we can safely say the Free Vampires are trying to rid Cincinnati of the undead, and they don’t care how many people they hurt doing it.”

Edden winced, looking at David. “That’s what he said, but seriously?” he said, still not believing it when David nodded. “They’re nothing more than a cult. A not-well-funded one at that. Where are they getting the magic to control the waves?”

Elves? whispered through me, and I banished the thought. Trent would know, wouldn’t he? He was their unofficial leader, their Sa’han. “I don’t know, but it’s not the demons,” I said as the doors slid closed and the lift jiggled into motion. “Al said the waves are being collected before they can leave the area. I think Cincinnati is a test case. One of the vampires upstairs said they came here to get Felix, probably because he hasn’t fallen asleep like the rest. If you give him enough rope, they might come find him again, but I want protection for Ivy and Nina.”

“We’ll be fine,” Ivy protested as she held Nina upright, gaze falling when I looked at her. The memory of my pack members taking my punishment was too new.