Companions (27 page)

"Selena?"

"What?" Selena blinked, and Siri's worried face came into focus. "Sorry. I was thinking that I ought to be at the church by now. I better go change clothes."

"But what's the plan?" Haven insisted. "What do I do?"

Selena looked at Haven's bag. "You have weapons in there?"

"That's why I drove. There's more stuff out in the Jeep. Couldn't bring the arsenal on a plane."

"Good." Selena jerked a thumb at Siri. "Show her how to use them."

"What do I do?" Siri asked.

Selena looked Haven over critically. "Get him shaved and into a suit. He is not coming to my cousin's reception looking like that."

Except for the threat of vampires, Selena thought, it was a perfectly normal summer Saturday evening at Navy Pier. Which meant that it was crowded and happily noisy, full of kids on the carousel, long lines waiting for the short ride on the huge Ferris wheel and the short movies in the IMAX theater, not a table was empty at any of the restaurants, either inside or out. She swept the crowds with not only her extra senses but also her policeman's eye for trouble. What she saw were families on a night out and dating couples everywhere, hand in hand, enjoying the bright lights and cooler air of the early evening. If there were vampires in the area, their presence was well masked by psychic white noise from thousands of minds.

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No one paid any special attention to her, a tall woman made taller by a pair of painfully tight high-heeled pumps, dressed in a long green satin dress with a matching lace bolero jacket. There were wedding parties on the pier all the time, her outfit made it obvious what she was doing here. Selena made her way carefully up the length of the pier. She came back past the children's museum, where a young audience was enthralled by the boundless energy of a group of dogs in an obedience competition, and the brightly lit windows of the stained-glass exhibit, and finally found her way back to the sculpture garden near the entrance. The air was full of music, and people danced with mosh pit togetherness below the outdoor stages. The air was also perfumed with the aromas of fried food and whiffs of diesel fuel from the big yellow speedboats that whizzed passengers on lakefront tours. The renovated pier reached out a long neon-lit arm into the calm waters of Lake Michigan, and boats of all shapes and sizes filled the water and the docking slips. Some of the larger ships berthed at the pier were close to the size of small passenger liners; they offered dinner cruises and hosted parties of all sorts, including wedding receptions. The wedding guests were boarding the
Queen Eleanor
while Selena did her reconnaissance. She was supposed to already be on the boat with the wedding party, smiling and posing on command for yet another photo session. The photographer and videographer would be furious at her holding up their show, but she didn't much care.

Selena had told her fellow crusaders to meet by the shoe statue out front, which seemed a fitting rendezvous point. Siri and Haven were there when she arrived. Her first comment upon approaching the pair was to Siri. "He cleans up well, I see." Then she looked at Haven and asked, "What's that?"

"Flame thrower."

"Goes well with your tie." The canister he carried didn't outwardly look like a weapon. It might have been mistaken for a fire extinguisher, and possibly might have started life with such a benign purpose.

Haven struck her as the sort who excelled at improvising weapons from household devices.
Bet he was a
treat in the prison machine shop,
she thought. "I'm not sure that thing is such a good idea in a crowd."

He gave her a look that clearly asked if she wanted his help or not. "I have a very accurate aim."

"Okay." She wasn't going to argue about it.

Siri was dressed in a short ice-blue dress of shiny doupioni silk, with a matching shawl. The ensemble made Selena envious, but she smiled when Siri shifted the shawl to give her a quick glimpse of another homemade looking weapon slung on a shoulder strap. Siri gave a nervous smile. "He says it fires incendiary rounds."

"And a charming accessory it makes," said a man, stepping out from the shadow of the big silver shoe.

Not a man, Selena realized as Siri whirled furiously on the newcomer. Not a mortal, at any rate, but the newcomer was the blondest, tannest vampire Selena had ever seen. He was big, too, topping her six-foot height by several inches, with broad shoulders and a deep chest.

"You!"

It was a hard word to hiss, but Siri gave it her furious best. Selena noted the instant recognition and hate in the California companion's expression. The newcomer gave a depreciating smile and shrug.

"Old friend?" Haven asked. He shifted the flamethrower a fraction; his thumb hovered over a switch at the top of the apparatus. "Siri?"

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The tan vampire ignored the others for the moment and spoke to Selena. "You know me as Moscowknight, Layla. Good evening, DesertDog."

"His name's Yevgeny," Siri snarled. "Why aren't you dead?" she demanded of the newcomer. "I thought you were dead."

"I don't think she likes him very much," Haven said to Selena.

"She has good reason," Yevgeny said. "Selim never told you what happened to me?"

"Leave Selim out of this. I don't care if you did change your mind at the end. What you were going to do was awful. You have no business being alive. And what are you doing here?"

Selena recalled the conversation back at her apartment and asked Siri, "He the one you hit with the chair?"

"Yes."

Pale brows lowered over extremely blue eyes. "You hit me with a chair? I have no memory of that. I was attempting to commit suicide at the time," he told Selena and Haven. "I wasn't a vampire then."

"What are you doing here?" Siri repeated.

"It's not all that safe for a vampire to travel on a commercial airplane, you know," Yevgeny told them.

"There was a flight delay at the airport that had me worried. I managed to reach O'Hare before dawn, but I couldn't find my way to Layla's right away. I went to sleep on a warehouse roof. Passed out before I could get to shelter, and the sunburn is still fading. I followed some of your actions in my dreams, but I had to wait until sunset before I could join the hunting party."

"I didn't ask you how you got here. I want to know what you think you're doing trying to be a hero?"

"Perhaps it's part of my community service."

"Moscowknight," Haven interrupted Siri and Yevgeny's conversation. "You're one of our crew? You're not a companion."

"Pot calling the kettle black," Selena murmured.

"I used to be a companion," Yevgeny said. "That should count for something. "Believe me," he continued. "No one has a stronger reason to fight for companions' rights than I do. I've known you were our leader for some time, Siri," he added. "But I haven't told on you to the Enforcer of the City, have I? I have a great deal to make up for. I'd like to start by offering my help tonight."

Selena put herself between Siri and the vampire. "This is all very interesting, but we don't have time to explore personal histories or guilt trips. Welcome to the crew, Yevgeny. Happy to have your help."

"But — " Siri sputtered.

"Get over it," Haven advised.

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Siri gave them a dirty look. "I was going to say, but he can't kill vampires."

"No, but he can beat the shit out of them," said Larry, materializing out of the shadows. Selena frowned; the way they could appear like that was so annoying. The dark-haired vampire exchanged a nod with the blond one. Then Larry touched the dangling sleeve of his suit coat. "And I'm not completely helpless.

Catie's coven has finished warding the
Queen Eleanor,"
he told Selena. "Those protection spells might slow some of the bad guys down, if they get that far."

If they get that far.
Now there was a thought. Selena's plan had been to use the companion group as bodyguards on board the cruise boat. That wasn't a good plan, she realized now. It was a defensive maneuver that would leave Karen vulnerable if Rosho made it onto the boat. Why let him get onto the boat? It was far better to go on the offensive, wasn't it? Selena winced at the thought of putting bystanders at risk, and weighed it against the prospect of leaving Rosho on the loose. It wasn't only for Karen's sake that the old vampire needed to be disposed of. The world in general would be a better place without him in it.

"Selena," Lawrence said. "You're wanted on the boat. What do you want us to do?"

"Siri, you and I are on the
Queen Eleanor.
You three do what you do. Hunt." The two vampires and the mortal grinned. She gave Haven points for having the most dangerous smile. "Be careful," she instructed.

The trio of males had a moment to look pleased at her concern before she added, "I don't want any civilian casualties. And don't let anyone see you."

The two vampires and the mortal vampire hunter suddenly wore identical smirks. Okay, so vampires could teach classes in being discreet, but she had her doubts about Haven's ability to be subtle. There was nothing more she could do but turn and walk away from the amused males, with Siri hurrying after.

Heading for her assigned post, Selena prayed that she hadn't unleashed hell on the city.

"Because sometimes a guitar is just a guitar."

Selena shook off the sense of deja vu and blinked at her Uncle Gary. "That's supposed to be a joke, right?" She looked around to see if there were any wolves in the area, but the only canines nearby were the ones in the obedience trials. The view of the stage with the canine obstacle course was pretty good from the top deck of the cruise boat. The dogs looked like they were having a great time.

The grizzled retired beat cop was not pleased with her lack of enthusiasm. "What's wrong with you tonight, girl? You're standing around stiff as a board. Let's dance."

The band was playing a medley of disco hits from the seventies that Selena wouldn't have danced to even if she hadn't been on duty. The bride and groom and lots of middle-aged guests were slipping and sliding on the dance floor, which had somehow gotten covered in pastel confetti. They all seemed to be having a wonderful time. Even Aunt Catie was out on the dance floor, laughing and shaking her bootie, and staying close to Karen.

"No, thanks," Selena told her uncle.

"You keep staring out at the pier and at the water like you were expecting the boat to be boarded from land
and
sea."

He'd been a Navy SEAL before he became a cop, and he was one sharp old dude. Selena glanced at the sky. Vampires couldn't fly, but they could jump pretty high and far. "And air," she told her uncle.

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"Actually," she added. "I'm just looking for escape routes."

"For what?"

"I don't want to be around when Karen tosses her bouquet. I'd probably catch it, and you don't want to know what I'd end up bringing to the altar."

"Long as you marry a cop, I wouldn't care." He gave a disgusted snort, and finished off the glass of champagne in his hand. "You're not funny tonight, kid. Stop acting like you're walking a beat. The buffet's not worth crashing the party for," he told her. "What happened to proper sit-down dinners at weddings?"

"Dinner comes later, Uncle Gary, after the boat leaves the dock." Which she hoped would be soon. Not that vampires couldn't swim, or wouldn't still be there when the
Queen Eleanor
returned to the pier, but the cruise might give the swat team on the ground a few more hours to hunt. And she and Siri a few more hours to fret. She forced herself to smile. "I think I'll go ask when we set to sea." It was as good an excuse as any to work her way through the crowd.

She didn't go far before she spotted Siri, elegantly leaning against the ship's rail, gaze fixed on the shore.

Selena was stopped for brief conversations with a great aunt and a cousin from each side of the family before she made it to Siri's side.

"You're supposed to be watching Karen," she reminded the Californian. The Californian, she noticed, wore a vacant expression, and her pupils were huge. Siri's hands were wrapped around the rail in a death grip. Selena passed her hand in front of Siri's face. "Hello? Where are you?"

"I smell smoke," Siri answered. She uncurled a hand from the railing, and grabbed Selena's wrist. "Smell smoke."

Yevgeny whirled away, barely dodging the burning vampire when it sprang up from the floor.

Larry kicked it, and it went back down, hitting a pool of spilled oil. The oil caught fire, and flames
raced across the garage floor, sending up stinking dark smoke. The vampire's face was a mask of
pain, her hair was a torch, but she tried to rise again. Haven stepped forward and shot a jet of
flames straight into her screaming mouth. Larry beat out the fire that had started on his trouser
leg. While he bent over, a vampire jumped on his back. Larry flipped the attacker over his head.

The vampire landed on his back in the puddle of burning oil, and Larry didn't let it get up. On the
other side of the garage, Yevgeny was laughing and pounding the head of a third vampire to a
pulp against a thick concrete pillar. Sprinklers rained water down from the ceiling, but water
wouldn't work againstthe chemical mixture Haven sprayed on the next vampire that rushed at
him from the shadows.

When Siri let her go, Selena didn't know where or who she was for a few seconds. When she realized she was on her knees and probably ruining her dress, she grabbed the rail and pulled herself to her feet.

Reality didn't seem very real to her for a few more moments. Then noise, sight, and color penetrated her awareness. The band was playing "I Only Have Eyes For You." She felt the evening breeze on her face and caught a whiff of fried food from somewhere on the pier. The thought of fried meat made her gorge rise, but she swallowed hard and looked at Siri.