just ask the next vampire I saw if I could take a bite out of him or her.
Scratch passed the blood-smeared knife back to Bones once he was finished swearing his fealty. I resisted a sudden urge to lick the blade and
concentrated on the road, making a mentalrundown of ways I could get blood. Juan, a member of my old team, was undead just a year, so he was
a possibility. Maybe I could get him to ship some of his blood to me, though Juan would wonder why I wanted it. None of them knew about my odd
diet yet.
Boness best friend, Spade, knew what I fed off of and Id had his blood before, but I didnt want to make it a habit. Spade was a Master vampire,
so that meant he was too strong. Most of Boness friends were too strong, in fact.
Dammit. Not drinking from Bones without starving would be more difficult than Id imagined.
For now, dont tellanyone of our association, Bones said to Ed and Scratch, centering my attention back on the present situation. Go about
your business as if wed never met. Heres a number where you can reach me. At the first sight of those ghouls, you ring me straightaway, but do
not confront them. Understood?
Got it and Sure were the responses. I wondered if they did understand. I did, and wasnt thrilled.
I dropped the vampires off close to the Easton fountain where wed met them, waiting untilId driven a couple miles away before I slanted a
glance at Bones.
Youre using them as bait.
Bones met my gaze, his dark brown stare concealing nothing. Yes.
God, I muttered. Youre not letting them tellanyone that theyve just been upgraded from being Masterless to belonging to a powerfulvampire
so those ghouls willstillconsider them easy meat. Thats deliberately putting them in danger.
No more than they were before, as they said themselves. But now if theyre harmed, Illhave rights under our laws to investigate, he replied with
annoying logic. Believe me, pet, Im hoping nothing happens to them and their usefulness comes from pointing me in those ghouls direction. But if
Apollyon is behind these attacks, we need a way to get to him without looking like were being mindlessly antagonistic. Otherwise . . .
Bones didnt have to finish the sentence. Otherwise, Apollyon willhave more fuelfor the rumors that Im seeking to be some sort of vampiric
Stalin, I mentally finished. Right, because thats what I put on my To Do list every morning. Brush teeth. Wash hair. Rule undead world with an iron
fist.
I dont know why ghouls would listen to Apollyon about me being a threat anyway, I muttered. I might have a wacky diet as a vampire, but
Apollyon cant tellpeople that Illcombine ghouland vampire powers anymore. Changing over took care of that paranoid rant from him.
Boness stare was sympathetic, but unyielding. Kitten, youve been a vampire for less than a year. During that time, youve blown the head off a
Master vampire through pyrokinesis and frozen dozens of vampires into a stupor through telekinesis. Your abilities, plus your occasionalheartbeat,
are bound to frighten some people.
But theyre not my abilities! I burst. Okay, the intermittent heartbeat is mine, but allthe rest were borrowed powers. I dont even have them
anymore, and if I hadnt drunk from Vlad and Mencheres, I never would have gotten them in the first place.
No one knows how you got them, or that you lose them after a while, Bones noted.
Maybe we should tellthem. But even as I said it, I knew better.
He let out what might have been a sigh. If Apollyon knew the source of your abilities, he could argue that you could manifest any power you
wanted merely by drinking from a vampire who had it. Better he just thinks youre extraordinarily gifted based on your own merits.
In other words, no matter how we tried to dress it up, I stillcame across as a dangerous freak. I took in a deep breath in the hopes that the
familiar gesture would calm me. It didnt. Allit did was bring the scent of blood into my lungs, clenching my stomach in an almost painfulway.
Too bad your co-rulers visions stillarent back to fullstrength. That would take the guesswork out of whether or not this is Apollyons doing.
Bones gave a shrug in concurrence. Mencheres has had a few more glimpses into the future, but nothing relating to this, and he stillcant
command his visions at willyet. With luck, his fullpowers willreturn soon.
But untilthen, we were on our own. So we stick to not telling anyone how I absorb power from blood, and to using Ed and Scratch to lead us to
these ghouls to see if Apollyon is behind them.
Thats right, luv.
I closed my eyes. I might not like the plan, but at the moment, it was our best option.
That just leaves one more thing, I said, opening my eyes to give Bones a wan smile. Finding someone other than you for me to feed from.>
4
I didnt recognize the guards who ran onto the helicopter pad to escort me and Bones into the compound run by my former boss and uncle, Don
Williams. Then again, I hadnt been back here since last year. Maybe I shouldve called first. Announcing myself to the controltower once I was
inside their air space wasnt really giving notice, but Don needed to know about the trouble brewing. That sort of information merited a face-to-face
update, in my opinion. Plus Juan was here, and I hoped he was open to the idea of letting me take some of his blood.
Of course, if I were being entirely truthful, Id admit the impromptu helicopter trip to eastern Tennessee was about more than information or even
eating. Business had made Don cancelour last few attempts at getting together, so it had been months since Id seen my uncle. We might have
had a rocky start to our relationship, but Id missed him. This trip was a chance to killthree birds with one stone, which Don should appreciate. He
was allabout multitasking.
We had reached the double doors of the roof when Bones stopped walking so abruptly, one of the guards collided into him.
Bloody hell, Bones muttered.
My head whipped around, but nothing unusualwas going on except the guard looking embarrassed about plowing into Boness back. Then pity
and resolve skittered across my subconscious. I tensed. Those werent my emotions.
What? I asked Bones.
His expression became so controlled that fear flared in me. The guards next to us exchanged baffled glances, but if they knew what the problem
was, I couldnt tell. I couldnt hear anyones thoughts but my own at the moment.
Bones took my hand. His mouth opened, but before he could speak, the roof doors swung outward and a muscular vampire with short brown hair
strode toward us.
Cat, what are you doing here? Tate demanded.
I ignored the question from my former first officer, keeping my attention on Bones. What? I asked a second time.
His hand tightened on mine. Your uncle is very sick, Kitten.
Something cold slid up my spine. I glanced at Tate. From the grim set of his shoulders, Bones was right.
Where is he? And why wasnt I called?
Tates mouth twisted. Dons here, in Medical, and you werent called because he didnt want you to know.
Tate didnt sound like he approved of that decision, but anger flared in me.
So the plan was not to tellme unless there was a funeralto attend? Nice, Tate!
I shoved by him, pulling my hand out of Boness grip to dash into the building. Medicalwas on the second sub-level, one floor above the training
facility and two floors above where we used to house captive vampires. I stabbed at the down button on the elevator, tapping my foot in impatience.
A few startled looks were thrown my way from the guards, but I didnt care that my eyes were glowing or that fangs pressed against my lips. If those
guards didnt know about vampires before, Tate could dealwith altering their memories so they wouldnt remember later.
How the helld you know about Don? I heard Tate demand of Bones.
From the scurry of activity going on to make him presentable for her was Boness short reply. Mind reading, remember?
The elevator doors opened and I went inside, not caring to listen to anything else. Normally Id be worried about leaving Bones alone with Tate
since the two of them mixed like oiland water. But now, allmy thoughts were on my uncle. What was wrong with him? And why would he forbid
anyone to tellme about it?
I almost ran out of the elevator when it opened on the second floor, dashing down the hallway and through the doors marked MEDICAL. I ignored
the staff I passed along the way, not needing them to tellme where my uncle was. Dons coughing and muttering to someone in the last room on the
right told me that.
I slowed when I reached the door, not wanting to burst in if my normally debonair uncle wasnt dressed.
Don? I called out, feeling hesitant now that only a few feet separated us.
Give me a moment, Cat was his response, sounding hoarse but not like he was in imminent danger of dying. Relief swept through me. Maybe
Don had caught swine flu or something equally nasty, but now he was recovering.
A nurse I didnt recognize came out of his room, giving me a look that required no mind-reading skills to interpret.
Hes getting dressed, she said in a crisp tone while the ammonialike scent of annoyance drifted from her.
I take it hes not supposed to be up doing that? I asked her.
No, but thats not stopping him, she replied bluntly.
I can hear you, Anne, my uncle snapped.
She gave me another pointed look before lowering her voice to a whisper. Dont let him overexert himself.
A round of coughing prefaced my uncle muttering, I can stillhear you. My brows rose. Whatever was wrong with Dons health, his ears were
sharp as ever.
After another series of fumbling sounds, my uncle opened the door. He had on a slightly wrinkled pullover shirt paired with gray pants that
matched the color of his eyes. For a second, I just blinked, realizing this was the first time Id seen Don with his hair mussed and wearing something
other than a suit and tie.
Cat. Im afraid youve caught me a bit by surprise.
The irony in his voice was familiar, even if his appearance wasnt. In the months since Id seen my uncle, he seemed to have aged ten years. The
lines around his mouth and eyes were pronounced, his gray hair was nearly white, and his impeccable posture was slightly stooped. I swallowed the
lump that worked its way into my throat.
You know me, I managed. Always a pain in the ass.
Don reached out to squeeze my shoulder. No youre not. Not even when youre trying to be.
The way he said that, combined with the sadness that flitted across his expression, almost made me lose it. Right then I knew that his condition
was terminal. Otherwise, Don wouldve told me with sardonic affection that yes, I was a colossalpain in the ass and always would be. Not held on to
my shoulder with a grip that trembled even as he managed to flash me a smile.
Allthe things Id dismissed before came back in sharp focus. Dons recurring cough the past severaltimes Id spoken to him, brushed off as just
a cold. The plans canceled at the last minute, rescheduled just to be canceled again . . .
I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the weight loss that his clothes concealed, taking in a deep breath that filled my lungs with the scent of
antiseptics, sweat, and sickness. More tears burned my eyes that I blinked back. Whatevers wrong with him, vampire blood willcure it, I reminded
myself, trying to get a grip on my emotions. Don was probably just being stubborn and refusing to drink any, even though he of allpeople knew the
amazing healing powers of undead blood.
Well, Id get him to rethink that stupid decision.
So, I hear you didnt want me to know you were sick, I said, managing to sound mildly chiding instead of hysterically worried. Point for me.
Youve had enough to dealwith lately, Don replied.
I let go of him and swept my gaze around the room. His bed was one of those adjustable ones where the head and foot could be raised, but it
lacked the normalhospitalrails on either side of it. An open laptop was perched on a rolling tray nearby, alongside severalstacked folders, his celphone,
pagers, and an in-house office phone.
How typicalof you not to stop working even though you looked like death warmed over, I said in a half-joking, half-censuring way.
My uncle gave me a balefullook. I might look like death warmed over, but now you are death warmed over, remember?
I wouldve smiled at his quip, but I was too worried by the grayish tone to his skin and the slow, painfulway he moved as he took a step away
from me. My uncle always had a commanding presence no matter the circumstances, but now, he seemed frail. That scared me more than facing
enemy forces while unarmed.
Whats wrong thats got you here? I asked, again controlling the fear that made my voice higher than normal.
I have a bad flu, Don replied, his words roughened by a cough.
Dont lie to her.
Boness voice flowed into the room, and a few booted strides later, so did he. His dark brown gaze focused on Don, who visibly stiffened.
Your abilities dont give you the right to
My bloodline does, I interrupted Don, clenching my hands into fists. Youre my family. That means I have a right to know. And if you dont tel
me, Illjust green-eye your nurse untilshe does, I mentally added.
Don was silent for a long moment, looking between me and Bones. Finally, his shoulder lifted in a faint shrug.
I have lung cancer. His smile was strained, but his trademark dry wit stillrose to the occasion. Appears those warnings on cigarette packages
are correct.