Revenant's Kiss (Chronicles of the Afterlife) (43 page)

"You’d been expecting what, more vampires," Jennifer asked likely just this side of spiteful.

"Dimitri is a vampire," Marcia tried to argue.

"He was a vampire," she grudgingly admitted, "now he’s something else."

"I know," Marcia insisted, "I knew the minute we saw those things in the dark that it was so
much worse."

"You’re completely blind aren’t you," Jennifer jumped to her feet, "you think because vampires
are beautiful and charming and on occasion lucid that you’re not dealing with a monster? Are you so
simple that a pretty outer package has you fooled, these things, these revenants are just vampires
stripped down to their basics. Killing and feeding off of innocent people is all they do," Jennifer kicked
the side of the carousel breaking out pieces of a grime covered mirror. She was trying to ignore the tear
streaked Marcia as well as the attention of Tom’s people patrolling the floors. "Don’t tell me this isn’t
my fault," she warned when the medium looked like she was going to say something. "This is on me,"
she stuck her finger in her co-workers face before ordering, "get cleared by Tom’s people and get back
to the church where it’s safe." More tears were imminent but Jennifer was in no place herself to be a
shoulder, Doug would serve as a better consoler. "Please just go," she wanted her safe, away from
here, "please." When Marcia nodded and took off in the direction of Tom’s horrific decontamination
team Jennifer deflated and stumbled back to sit on the carousel’s platform.

Once upon a time this place had held good memories for her, she had so few good memories
anymore from her childhood. This was just another one that felt like it had been erased, she would likely
never think of this building again without reliving Malcolm’s death. The look on his face when those
hands had taken hold of him, she would always see that look and know that it should have been her.

"Should I have been insulted by your little speech back there," Jennifer nearly jumped out of her
skin when she looked over her shoulder to find Ethan looming over her.

"Jesus Christ," she swore but made no move to pull a weapon, "what are you doing here?"

"Your government friend invited me, here I’d thought that was because of you." He gave one of
his charmingly crooked smiles, "then again given your speech to your friend I think rather not."

Jennifer shrugged, "just because you come off as a descent human being doesn’t mean I don’t
still think vampires are monsters. Ada started this," just saying that reality put things in perspective, there
was vengeance to be paid on that account.

"She did," Jennifer watched him as he cautiously, and at human-speed, made to sit down next to
her. It should have put her ill at ease, but she’d been aware that his proximity should have done that
from the beginning but it didn’t. "Going after her won’t be easy," which wasn’t information he had to
share with her, she’d been nearly killed without a fight with that monster. And even if that had never
occurred she’d barely survived a gun fight with Nickolei who had been a vampire less than half Ada’s
age or strength.

"I’m not a fool, if I thought I could handle her on my own I would have done it already." She
was going to get up and stomp off but one look at his face had her planted in her seat, "what is wrong
with you? You told me that you’d been Nickolei’s creator, which essentially made you his vampire-papa. I killed him," she reminded in case he’d forgotten, they should not be on the same side. This
revenant thing was a one time deal, or it should be but she was getting a vibe from him that indicated he
didn’t think so.

"You put him out of his misery," Ethan told her.

"He didn’t seem miserable to me," he’d seemed down right plucky so far as she could
remember. "You should be pissed, isn’t he one of yours," Jennifer taunted, aware that he was probably
as protective of his team as she was of her own.

"He wouldn’t have liked me and mine, even if he had Ada would not have let him go." She got
the impression there was a huge story here she didn’t care to hear. This time she did stand up with the
intent to leave but before she could take off the vampire actually had the nerve to take hold of her hand.

"What are you doing," she gave a pathetic attempt to dislodge the appendage but she knew that
she was putting little effort into the movement because his grip was not at all forceful.

"I am sorry for the loss of your people, it is not an easy burden but you know as well as I that
there is always a price to be paid when war is waged and that price is always paid in blood in this
Afterlife." Jennifer shook her head at him, "and it is a price me and mine will gladly pay when it’s Ada’s
turn." Jennifer huffed but sat down next to him again, she was still trying to figure out how they were
going to deal with the revenant situation, she couldn’t wrap her head around the Ada situation just yet.

"To be clear, when Ada’s turn comes," she paused looking down at his hand around hers, "I’m
going to kill her."

"I wouldn’t have it any other way," he didn’t look like he was lying, but then he was an
exceptional liar.

She looked at him full on to tell him, "if you’re lying, if say this did happen and you were playing
me for your masters sake, I’ll kill you to."

"And so you should, but I assure you I am not playing you," Jennifer exhaled almost relieved just
to hear it, even if it was just another lie. Without thinking about it she gave into momentary exhaustion
and leaned her head on his shoulder. More time then she’d realized had passed if the vampire was here,
but she was glad it had passed without her notice, she was glad to see him.

"Jennifer!" Tom snapped from across the room, he’d either come from somewhere or had been
watching her for some time, he clearly didn’t like what he’d seen. Tiredly she leaned away from the
vampire and sat up straight to face him. She half expected some kind of reprimand which gratefully
never came, "we’re moving out." He didn’t address Ethan just marched off in another direction
probably to get his people ready.

"Here we go again," Jennifer got to her feet, and the vampire followed before she could blink.

"Lead the way," he offered her his arm all old school gentlemen and she rolled her eyes deciding
to ignore him, content that he would follow when she marched off in front of him.

                                                            
✦✦✦✦

She hadn’t realized until Tom led them back down to the basement that Ethan’s people had been
trailing them the whole time, all six. She probably should have known, there were a multitude of reasons
that she should have been able to notice them. She chalked her obtuseness up to the fact that she’d
been trying to ignore Ethan on her way to the basement, and then once she’d reached it hadn’t been able
to take her eyes from the pool of blood that was seeping it’s way into the concrete. There were a
multitude of reactions that all seemed to want to hit her at once and she could react on none of them.
Part of her wanted to shoot Tom for stopping her before she could try to pull her friend inside, part of
her wanted to break into tears and never stop, that same part was probably the one that wanted to lock
down. She could simply curl into a little ball and never get up again, there would be no failing anyone
ever again if there was no one to fail. It was probably the most tempting thought in the bunch, but that
blood was all that was left of someone that she’d cared for deeply and he deserved more then that. He
would have wanted this to be stopped, he wouldn’t have wanted it to happen to anyone else. That was
why she had no time for tears or mourning or anything else, there was only room for vengeance.

Tom included only three of his own people in this little meeting, one she didn’t recognize, he had
very general, forgettable features even, brown eyes, the only memorable thing about him was that he had
a short cut mohawk. The second was a female she’d seen once or twice, Jennifer tended to remember
her specifically because of her amazon height as opposed to her run way model features. The third
she’d met on multiple occasions, his hair had once been a chestnut brown but had silvered almost all the
way through giving it a dusty look, but even more definable was his ludicrous handle-bar mustache.
Perry was probably around the same age Manson had been, and one of the best like Manson too. He
usually greeted her by reminding her that she’d lost a bet with him and that she still owed him five bucks,
today he simply offered her a nod. She grimly returned the greeting, aware that these two men wouldn’t
be the only personnel that Tom would bring with him but still found it disconcerting that he didn’t simply
include them all especially given that put more vampires in the room then humans at the moment.

"We’ll start with a simple question," Tom started as soon as everyone was in the room, "we
need to know how many vampires we can expect to be down there."

Jennifer looked beside her aware that Tom was talking to Ethan, not even at gun point, that was
something she wouldn’t have expected. She folded her arms over her chest putting the door she and
Marcia had been pulled through to her back while waiting for his answer. "As far as we know only
three of ours have disappeared, I can not say if vampires from other covens in the area have missing
numbers."

"Three is a lot," Jennifer supplied.

"For a human perhaps," Ethan chided addressing her albite not at all seriously, "no need for
alarm that is why I’m assuming we are here." Ethan indicated his small group of vampires, if he was right
and there were only three revenants from vampire origins that would give them two to one odds. Those
were considerably better odds than the ones Tom and her were looking to face.

"I was not alarmed," she grumbled even though it probably would have looked better for her to
simply keep her mouth shut and stoically stare the vampire down. "So what’s the plan, are we letting
them in here, we could bottleneck them at the door, or are we going back into the tunnels down there
and clearing them out."

"My people are already closing access in the sewers within a thirty mile radius," Tom stopped to
stare directly at her, "if we’re lucky they haven’t dispersed further."

"Okay, then what," but she suspected she already knew.

"Once those perimeters are blocked off and secured we’ll have teams of four, two with
flamethrowers and the two reserves going in armed with our standard issued M16's and for back up use
only with these." Tom put down grenades that Jennifer had never seen in person, a frisson of both
excitement and alarm went down her spine at the sight of it.

"Holy crap Tom," she reached over and tested the weight of the item in the palm of her hand, "is
this what I think it is?"

"Thermobaric grenades, it is for back up only as the blast is likely to kill everything in the sewers,
they’ve been ordered to use them only if they’re overtaken."

"Is that you’re only backup," she asked only because she could tell by the look on his face, or
lack thereof that if things got out of their control it wasn’t outside possibility that he’d drop a nuke on
them.

"No," he didn’t elaborate, but she was expecting that, she just hoped he was going to stick to
thermoberics rather then resorting to an A-bomb.

"Okay, so what are we doing while your guys are pushing," he probably would have gotten
around to saying but she was in a pushy mood and didn’t enjoy the idea of sitting still much longer then
she already had.

"We keep this building locked down and let them in, take them out and push back, if things go
the way they should we meet the others half way down the pipes." Jennifer nodded and glanced to her
left to the vampire that she knew had been standing patiently by, quiet as the grave.

"How are we going to try and anticipate the vampire-revenants, I don’t know if you’ve seen
them up close just yet but it isn’t exactly like they go down easy." She hadn’t bothered to try and shoot
her vampire in the head when she’d seen him but she wouldn’t want to bet money that these super
revenants went down that easy. If a bullet to the head wouldn’t put a vampire down she wasn’t going to
keep her fingers crossed that it would work on them just because they were dead-er then they used to
be.

"Your vampire has volunteered to take point, that way if we encounter those specific revenants
we’re as prepared as we could be for them." Jennifer nodded but didn’t like that Tom likely wouldn’t
allow her anywhere near the front where she wanted to be.

"Good plan," but even she felt as if she was pouting waiting for the imminent news of where she
was going to end up, likely safely tucked in the middle somewhere.

"The Hunter is on me, it is a non-negotiable condition, you can understand that we have no
reason to trust your men at our backs." Jennifer probably shouldn’t have immediately broken into a
smile the way she did at the prospect of not getting stuck under Tom’s over protective wing somewhere
at the middle of his parade. Considering how deeply Tom was scowling she probably should have
stowed the smile all around.

"It’s fine Tom, I don’t mind babysitting," she would actually be more then thrilled to take up
watching the vampires back since she didn’t find it likely she was going to have to put much effort into
doing so. Dimitri was hers, she didn’t care how durable of a revenant he was she would be the one to
put him down if it killed her.