Morganville - 10 - Bite Club (17 page)

Fear closed in, icy and sharp. Gloriana was still smiling at her, but it didn't look warm anymore. It looked...predatory. And cruel. Claire swallowed and stood up. Her chair scraped back loudly. All of them were staring at her now, and the only one who didn't seem to be on the verge of flashing fangs at her was Oliver. He was frowning, but now it was aimed at Gloriana.

"Glory," he said. "Were you glamouring the girl?"

"A little," she shrugged. "I just wanted to play."

"Oh, for pity's sake, play with someone else. She's Amelie's property. And she's hardly worth your efforts."

Glory laughed. "I know. But I didn't hurt her, did I?" She turned that smile back on Claire. "Leaving us so soon, little one?"

Claire took a giant step back. The smile didn't work now, probably because she had so much adrenaline racing through her body. "Stay away from us," she said. "Stay away from Shane."

Glory rolled her eyes. "I don't want your boy," she said. "Whatever would I do with him? He isn't good for very much except violence. So much of that inside him."

Claire left her mocha sitting on the table and moved for the door as fast as she could.

She looked back over her shoulder as she left, but nobody had moved, not even Oliver, although he was watching her go.

Glory was laughing and seemed to have forgotten all about her already.

Claire stepped out into the sunlight, ran half a block down, and leaned against the rough bricks between two storefronts. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing and controlling her shaking. Then, finally, she put her earbuds back in place. It took her two tries, thanks to her unsteady fingers.

"I didn't get anything," she said to Frank. "I didn't know she could do that, make me feel like that. I didn't know anyone could do that. Bishop couldn't."

"It's a pretty rare power, even among vampires," Frank said. "I only knew of three or four who had it.

Killed two of them. Too bad I didn't make it a clean sweep."

"I didn't even know what she was doing. I had no way to fight it." Claire took a deep breath. "Thanks for snapping me out of it."

"She wasn't even trying," Frank said. "If she had been, you wouldn't have left that easily. Like she said, she was just playing."

That was awful. Awful. Claire felt ill and filthy, as if she'd drunk a gallon of sewer water. She wanted to throw up, thinking about how easily she'd been walked around like a puppet. About how she'd felt everything that Glory wanted her to feel. "It didn't do any good," she said. "We didn't find out anything."

"Maybe we did," Frank said. "She mentioned that she saw Shane at the gym, didn't she?"

"So? Even I've been to the gym. So has Eve. Lots of people go there. Including vampires."

"But why would Glory? She doesn't fight. She makes other people do her fighting for her." Frank's voice sounded oddly preoccupied. "I've been going over the rolls of vampires in Morganville. Looks like some haven't been surfacing in their usual routines recently."

"You mean...you mean they're missing?"

"I don't want to jump to that conclusion, but I found five -- no, six -- that aren't following their usual patterns."

"Well, some left, you know. With Morley. They're in Blacke, that little town outside of -- "

"I know about Morley. I'm not talking about his people. These are other vampires that haven't surfaced in the past three weeks. No checkouts at the blood banks. They haven't shown up on surveillance.

They're not communicating at all on the phones or computers."

"How can vampires go missing ? Who are they?"

"Nobodies, in terms of the Morganville hierarchy. Just your regular vampire working class. And they haven't been missed all that much. Vampires may socialize, but not like humans do; they're used to not seeing each other for long stretches. Doesn't raise any questions."

"So where are they?" Claire asked. "Do they have any connection to Bishop?"

"Not that I can find. In fact, looks like they were on Amelie's side in the conflict with her father." Frank was silent for a moment, then said, "It bothers me that I don't have eyes inside the gym. I can't see or sense anything within those walls."

"What?"

"It's recent construction. No cameras. No portals. No way of observing what's going on there. It seems like a lot of this connects through there, some way. I wish I had some devices there."

"Inside the gym." She thought about it for a second. "You want me to...what? Put cameras in there?"

"What, you're scared to act as my spy?" Frank sounded amused now. "Knowing you, that doesn't stop you. Never seen a kid so fearless, deep down. Not even my son."

Shane. Claire remembered Glory talking about him, and felt a little sick -- not because Gloriana was drooling over him, as Ysandre had, but because she wasn't. Because to her, Shane was just another piece of meat, something she might get some use out of.

Or not.

Whatever was going on, Gloriana was in it up to her pretty little neck. Claire was sure of it.

"All right," she said. "If you want eyes in the gym, I'll make sure you get them.

Somehow."

SHANE

I felt like I was cheating on Claire, and I couldn't figure out why. All I did was fight...and I did damn good, too. Jester didn't totally wipe the mat with me, and I was able to keep on going. When I got tired, Vassily passed me more protein shakes. I didn't like the way he smiled or the way he watched me, like a proud owner of a pit bull in the ring...but that didn't mean I didn't like being in the ring, either.

So why, on breaks, did I go sit down with my phone and text Claire? It was like I'd been out kissing some other girl and felt like I had to tell her I did love her, no matter what I'd been doing that she wouldn't like.

Well, she wouldn't like this. I knew that without any doubt at all.

"Hey, meat! You done pushing buttons yet?" That was Jester, dancing around in the ring, looking lean and dead-fish pale, punching the air in a blur. "I'm ready to push yours!"

I shot him the finger and finished sending my message, took another drink of my protein shake, and felt the aches and pains magically recede. Not that they were healing, exactly...maybe they weren't as bad as they should have been, but I was going to have bruises tomorrow. Lots of them.

But you couldn't let pain stop you. I'd let it stop me once, when my house was on fire. I'd touched Alyssa's door handle and burned my hands and I hadn't kept on going, I hadn't saved her. I'd let them drag me out of the house, and she'd been lost in there.

I couldn't ever forget what it cost to fail. Dad hadn't let me forget, either.

Pain was good. Pain kept you sharp and kept you motivated. Pain made me feel alive.

Especially when I was facing a vamp who wanted to teach me a lesson.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. I ended up on the mat a lot, and it was tough to get up and keep going. People gathered -- humans, vamps -- all watching as Jester and I toughed it out. He was faster than me and stronger, but I didn't give up.

Finally, Vassily made me stop. He clapped Jester on the shoulder and said something in his ear, and Jester smirked and ducked under the ropes and was gone, and all the motivation just...bled out of me. I dropped to my knees, gagging for breath. There was blood in my mouth and a weird buzzing in my ears, and I'd never felt quite that bad in my life, not even when I'd been in the hospital and circling the drain.

It was like I'd cannibalized parts of myself to stay on my feet, and now the pain and the emptiness flooded into me and swamped me, and I just wanted to lie down and die.

Vassily passed me another sports bottle. I didn't want it, but I couldn't help myself. I drank. I felt better, or at least not as prone to dying. He checked my eyes and nodded.

"You'll be all right," he said, all business. "Dehydration and exhaustion. Four more of the drinks will put you right, but stay off your feet for two hours before you head home. There are bunks in the next room. Rest now."

"Thanks," I mumbled. I didn't feel grateful. I didn't feel much of anything except filthy and guilty inside.

What the hell was I doing? Why was I doing it? I didn't even know, except that when I was fighting, it seemed like I was fighting every bad thing in my life that had ever happened. I was fighting for my sister and my mother and even my dad. For Claire, trapped in this damned town. For Michael, turned vamp against his will. For Eve.

For me, for once.

I sacked out for the next two hours, sipping those drinks, and with every slow mouthful I felt better.

More stable. Whatever was in them was great stuff, because the pain faded to twinges, and the guilt faded along with it. I was okay. No, I was better than okay.

I was strong and getting stronger, and that was what I'd always needed to survive here. I had people to protect. This was going to make all the difference.

I was emptying the last bottle when Vassily came in with Gloriana. Glory looked fantastic, and I felt sweaty and dirty and bruised, and I had to sit up. No lying down in her presence.

"Shane," she said, and gave me that smile. "I just met your little friend Claire. You should be proud; she's not afraid of much, you know. But so fragile. And I'm quite concerned about her relationship with Myrnin. He's so unstable, don't you think?"

I did think that, and had all along; she was just saying what was obvious to me and everybody else except Claire. "I don't like it," I said. "But she does what she wants."

"Yes, she does." Glory studied me for a few seconds, then glanced over at Vassily. "I think he's ready, don't you?"

"Ready for what?" I asked.

"Ready to hear the rest," Vassily said. "You showed tremendous courage today, Shane. And great talent. We have an opportunity for you, one that I believe would take advantage of your best qualities. You see, we can offer you the chance for two things you have always wanted."

"Money," Glory said. "Real money, enough to take care of yourself and Claire for the rest of your life."

Well, who didn't want money? I'd been scratching away at it, doing it the hard way like I was supposed to, but that sounded good. Really good. "What's the second thing?" I asked.

Vassily's turn. "A way out of Morganville," he said. "Before it's too late. Because this town is going to be destroyed, one way or the other, and if you're smart, you'll take the money and the chance to earn your free passage out while you still can."

Cash and a free pass? I blinked, because it sounded like they'd read my mind. I wasn't completely sure that wasn't the case. Glory was freaky good at guessing what I was thinking...or making me think that way. That should have alarmed me, but not coming from her. It just seemed...nice. Like I didn't have to fight to be understood anymore. Glory just got me.

"What about Claire?" I asked.

"Of course, Claire would be able to go with you," Vassily said. "And anyone else you'd like to see safely gone from Morganville. You can save them, Shane. All you have to do is what you do best."

"Fight," Gloriana said. Her eyes weren't blue anymore. They were a light, sparkling color, almost white, and it should have been terrifying, but it just looked beautiful. I felt warm and weightless and totally at peace. "All you have to do is fight on camera, for an audience. Do you think you can do that?"

I smiled and said, "Where do I sign?"

They had the papers right there, and I scribbled signatures in all the right places.

Vassily gave me an envelope of cash, real money, more than I'd seen since my dad had been doing illegal arms deals out on the road.

Glory's eyes went back to blue, sweet, human blue, and she kissed me on my sweaty forehead and handed me another sports bottle. "Rest," she said. Her fingers combed through my matted hair. "Don't you worry about a thing."

I sank down on the bunk and closed my eyes, but I didn't go to sleep. Not quite. Not for a while.

Or maybe it was a dream. It felt like a dream, what they were saying when they thought I couldn't hear them.

"It's dangerous," Glory was saying. Her voice had gone flat now, not lyrical and lilting like it was when she talked to me. She didn't sound like the same person at all.

"We have a limited time before Amelie discovers what we're doing. She's got spies everywhere, and I'm almost certain that there is surveillance, as well. Are you sure that the uplink is secure?"

"I'm sure," Vassily said. "The girl who gave us the encryption was one of the best.

For months she had video streaming from Morganville without anyone suspecting it.

She modified the code to ensure no one could detect this upgrade, in exchange for some favors. The money's already pouring in, my dear. The plan's going very well."

"And the old man? Is he pleased?"

Old man. That sounded ominous, and reminded me of things I'd hoped I'd never have to remember.

Surely it wasn't the same old man. No, they had to be talking about some other vamp.

They were all old, older than dirt, and black and rotting inside. I knew that.

"I wouldn't say pleased. He's...content to wait, for now. I've had to go to considerable trouble to lay false trails, since his disastrous intervention drew Amelie's attention. I believe I've convinced him to wait until we have adequate resources for the next steps."

"He's unpredictable. You need to watch him. He got away from me and tried to kill Myrnin, you know. If he'd succeeded..."

"I know. I've locked him up again. For his own protection."

Glory laughed. "Oh, he won't like that. Protect yourself, Vassily."

"I've been feeding him enemies," Vassily said. "I believe he's satisfied enough at the moment. How long until the boy's ready, do you think?"

"Oh, he'll fight, no question about it, but I don't like letting him leave us. Those friends of his, that girl, they could ruin everything."

"Or cement everything he's learned," Vassily said. "I believe in taking risks."

"Well, it's yours to take," Glory said. "I'll do what I can, of course."

"For a price."

"Nobody works for free, my darling."