Microsoft Word - The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.doc (31 page)

I knew this was going to happen
 
, she thought, and felt only

a drowsy sense of panic.

The repeating projectile rifle spoke again. The rest of the little-girl Nichtvren’s head exploded, gobbets of steaming preternatural flesh smoking and splatting against shredded metal and cracked concrete. The rifle went back to speaking in stutters. Liana tore her sword free and raised her head as the

body thumped to the ground, runnels of self-cannibilizing tissue

fuelled by an extra-human metabolism turning into rot.

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Damn they go quickly
.

Her legs folded again as the green light spilled away, back into the depths of the ring. A low, keening hum drilled through her head and receded; Liana found herself sprawled on the dock as the noise drained down through whimpers and yelps into silence. There was one last spatter of projectile fire, then the whine of antigrav that might as well be silence swept over the dock.

Liana decided to stay right where she was. She blinked, and

another shadow fell over her.

“
Cherie
?” Tiens, his angelic face twisted with worry, came  into view. His hair was full of blood, and it striped and spattered  his shredded suit. He looked like he’d gone a few rounds with a  vegaprocessor. “Liana?”

Go away
. Her mouth wouldn’t work to frame the words.

Then, wonder of wonders, the best thing in the world happened. Another shadow mated with Tiens’ over her and a pair of yellow eyes under strings of lank dark hair met hers.

“You look like shit,
 
chica
,” Lucas Villalobos said hoarsely,

in his throat-cut voice.

But Liana had already passed out.

Lucas set the bonescrubber, his fingers deft and as painless as possible. A sharp jab of heat, the numbing  of analgesic, and the silvery cuff around her left upper arm began to fill with red light. When it faded to green the break would be mostly healed and she would just have to be careful for a few days while the

255

fresh tissue settled. Two hot tears trickled down Liana’s cheek

and she couldn’t wipe them away because her right hand was

locked around the scabbard.

Tiens stood, his hands in his pockets and his head down. “I did not know,” he repeated, and Liana felt only weary amazement that he would repeat the obvious.

“Of course you didn’t  know.” The analgesic made her  tongue feel too thick for the words. “Isis save me, Tiens, you  think I’d come back here for
 
you
 
? You tore my heart out, threw  it on the floor and stamped on it a few times.”

“Why didn’t you use the rifle?” Villalobos said for  the third  time  –  a sure sign of his irritation. The thick-ridged scar running  down the side of his face twitched, its seams and puckers  moving independently to his mood. They called him the  Deathless, and even Jaf respected his ability.

Of course, any demon might be wary of an assassin who

couldn’t die.

“Decapitation’s surest.” Liana squeezed her eyes shut,  wishing she could rest.
 
And I had to prove I could do it
. “I  presume the money’s safe?”

“You bet.” Lucas shrugged, then peeled the latex gloves off

with small snapping sounds.

“Money?” Tiens sagged even further.

“You weren’t the only one wanting the bitch dead.” Liana  let out a small, painful hitching laugh. “Come off it, Tiens. A  Master of that calibre wouldn’t be coming back just for you.  She’d made a lot of enemies with the games she liked to play;  you were just an afterthought. Our client paid double for her to

256

be killed in transit to Bangkok. Just be glad I’m not charging  you for the dust-up too.”

“For
 
money
?” Tiens was having a hard time with this. “You  were raised better,
 
petite
.”

This is your honour
. It stung just for a moment through the painkillers. Liana opened her eyes and stared at him. “You can go away now.”
 
Now that I’ve proved to myself that I can stay away from you. Like mother, like  daughter, huh
?

“Lia  ”–

“I’d take that offer if I was you suckhead.” Lucas’ whisper  was as soft as ever. The shiver that usually traced down Liana’s  spine at that tone was muted, but still there through the chemical  numbness.

The bonescrubber cuff clicked and hummed to itself. A sharp twinge of pain buried itself under the analgesic, shooting through her arm, and Liana sucked in a breath.

“Liana  ”–

“Get the hell out of here,” she said tonelessly. “Hold your

breath until I call.”

It wasn’t as good as it could have been, because he’d be able to hold his breath anyway, at least until he wanted to seduce someone new. But he left, thank the gods, walking heavily one step at a time like a mortal human to the door of the room Lucas had rented deep in the Tank’s seething mess of crowded tenements. The hinges squeaked, the door opened and closed, and Liana waited until the disturbance of his aura vanished into the psychic noise of so many poor people crowded all together.

257

“You OK?” Did Lucas actually sound, of  all things,
 
tentative? Wonders never cease
. “Just fine,” Liana murmured.  She glanced down at her right hand. The gem was dead-dark and  quiescent, and she suppressed a shiver at what she might have to  do on the next job. “Where are we headed next?”

“Fuck,  girl, don’t you want to take a rest?” But there was no  heat to it. He, of all people, understood how she felt about this  city, this place, the obligations and duties lying just under the  streets to trip her up, rising like invisible wires. A net that would catch her if she stayed here much longer.

“Goddammit, Lucas,” she said wearily, “just tell me what

the next job is. I’ve got to get out of here.”

“What about . . .” The question failed on his lips, and Liana  looked up at him. The Deathless looked tired,  grey riding under  the sallow of his skin.

“Tiens and I were over a long time ago, Lucas. I told you,

I’m with you now. I’ll let you know if that changes.”

He nodded, but he didn’t look relieved. “Did you see your

madre
?”

She almost shrugged before she   remembered the bonescrubber, forced herself to hold still. “I got that out of the way. She won’t expect me for another couple of years now.  Wish I’d gotten to see Jaf though.”

“I dunno.” Lucas settled on the bed. “Thought you were a

goner,
 
chica
. You got  some balls.”

And a broken heart. And a serious need to get out of this town before it eats me alive
. “That’s one way of putting it,” she agreed, and dropped her gaze to the bonescrubber sleeve, waiting for it to turn green so she could peel it off.

258

And get the hell out of Saint City.

On to the next job.

259

To Ease the Rage

C. T. Adam s and Cathy

Clam p

E
 
ven cops get scared sometimes. Oh, we’re taught to ignore it  –  to fight even when our instincts scream for flight. But the fact is that, occasionally, underneath all that adrenaline and razor-sharp training is a thread of fear. This was one of those times.

“My God, Sylvia. I can’t believe you’re just telling me  about this now. How long’s it been going on?” Linda Montez  was one of my best friends on the force. She shook her head  incredulously before pouring herself another glass of beer from  the half-full pitcher on the table. Normally, I’d be chugging one  down with her  –  but I couldn’t afford to be at less than my best

right now.

“About two weeks, although it might be longer. But it was a

week ago Wednesday when the first call came.” The vinyl  covering of the booth squeaked in protest as I leaned back and  reached down to shift one of the springs that was trying to come  out of a hole in the fabric. I scanned the crowd of the bar,  looking for anything out of place. But I knew every person I saw

–  other cops, neighbours, people I’d grown up with. If any

stalker was among them, it was that much more frightening.

260

“So, just ‘I remember’ and then hangs up? But .  . . I mean,  you’ve turned this in, right?” Her tongue flicked out to wipe off  the moustache of foam on her upper lip. But her eyes were  concerned.

I nodded. “Of course. The department’s being great about it, what with those cops over in Martinville having gone missing.  They traced the calls . . . but they’re being made from those throwaway prepaid cell phones. So, it’s someone smart. No decent fingerprints or footprints around my place, even though I

swear
 
I saw someone running into the shadows away from  the  window. Nothing on the security cams or even the traffic cams.  Nobody I’ve busted has gotten out recently, and older parolees  have alibis. They’re taking it seriously. They just don’t have any  leads.”

“Could you change your number? Move? Request drive-bys

for a while?”

I knew Linda was trying to be helpful, but she didn’t raise

any ideas I hadn’t already thought of.

“I’ve changed my number twice now, and it’s unlisted. I  don’t
 
want
 
to move. I just barely signed the contract with my  landlord to buy the place . . . and I
 
refuse
 
to be chased into  hiding. And yeah, Jenkins and Arellano already offered to add  my street to their  beat. It’s just so damn frustrating.”

Linda didn’t have anything more to add other than a kind offer to let me stay at her place  until they caught the guy. But staying out of harm’s way wasn’t an option. I wasn’t willing to run or hide . . . probably a failing on my part. “Can’t. No, I just want to catch the guy.”

261

Linda paused and then looked around before lowering her voice and leaning forwards. “You don’t suppose . . . it could be one of
 
us
 
, do you? I mean, the timing . . .”

I let out a deep, slow breath. I didn’t want to think about that either, but the fact was that nobody in the department had expected me to get this last grade  promotion. I beat out several guys who’d been on the force longer. “I hope not. I’m trying not to believe one of them is capable of it. And I don’t know what it would solve for one of the guys to have done it. It wouldn’t change the promotion and I can’t  imagine a couple more bucks a month is worth killing me over. It’s just not logical.”

Linda patted my hand and lifted her purse strap to her shoulder. “Not everything in life is logical, Sylvia. You know that. Emotions are at the root of more than half the crimes in the city.”

I snorted derisively. “Try closer to 90 per cent. So, yeah, I know. I need to keep my options open . . . look at everyone with a critical eye.” I lowered my brows and gave her my best. ‘hard cop’ look. “It’s not
 
you
, is it?”

She laughed, a bright happy sound that at least eliminated one suspect. “Yeah, right. Like I’d take
 
you
 
on. I might have failed my academy finals, but even
 
I’m
 
not that stupid.” With a shake of her head and a chuckle she slid out of the booth.  “Look, I’ve got to  get home. The kids are probably home from choir practice by now and I have to put dinner on the table.” She reached out and touched my arm. “If you won’t stay on our couch, will you at least be really careful? Don’t go chasing people into dark alleys without calling for back-up. OK?”

She knew me far too well. That tendency of mine was probably responsible for my promotion, but had cost me several partners. Only Tim had really understood the need to
 
act
, and it had cost  him his life when he chased a fugitive down a dark

alley.