I said, “Kyphas and I investigate. You get into position and wait.”
“For what?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll know when it happens.” I looked down at Jack. Who, while multitalented in doggy terms, hadn’t yet mastered pole climbing. I handed the leash to Cole. “You guys grab some high ground.”
Cole nodded quickly and, grinning down at my dog, said, “Come on, dude. Let’s hit the roofs. You can be my reloader.”
“Be careful, Cole,” said Kyphas.
His smile went crooked as he met her gaze, which was so damn sincere I nearly bought it. I pulled a Vayl, standing stock still, internalizing the eye rolling and grimacing that wanted to crease my face as he replied, “No need to worry about me, beautiful. I was born under a lucky star.” Oh, gag, did he really say that?
“Besides,” he added, without missing a beat, “I’ve got angels watching over me. Right, Jaz?” His eyes swept to mine, their sparkle so bright they could’ve lit fireworks.
“Close enough,” I said, coughing to hide the laughter as Kyphas put a hand to her stomach and made an I-may-vomit face.
He wheeled around, taking Jack for a quick trot down the block and around the corner, where he was sure to find a handy fire escape. Kyphas watched him all the way.
When she muttered something under her breath I asked, “What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Astral spoke up. “Kyphas just said, ‘That one, he is so likeable !’ Her tone is somewhat irritated, which does not compute with the wording.”
“Shut up, cat!” Kyphas snapped.
“I am not programmed for your orders.”
I said, “Have you noticed what a great ass he’s got too?” Cole, listening in on the party line, chuckled with delight.
“Are you joking? Every time he turns around my fingers begin to ache!” I stepped in front of her, nose to nose, to make sure we had pure communication. But I didn’t have to say a word.
She held up her hands. “I know, I know. Nothing in heaven or hell will stand between you and my slow, screaming death if I harm any one of your babes.” She flipped back her shining hair. “Already you bore me. So are we climbing this tower or—”
“Yeah. You first.”
Flash of suspicion. But she went up, stiff in the legs and back, like she half expected me to stab her on the way up. As if I’d reduce my meager forces at such a key point. But I still enjoyed making her uneasy.
I looked down at the kittybot. “This is where you take a break, Astral. Hang out here until Bergman shows up and then do what he says until I need you again, okay?”
“Hello!”
“You are so fried.”
I followed Kyphas up to the platform. Though we searched like a couple of treasure hunters, we discovered no Ufranite doors. Which meant we’d have to be patient. Surely Vayl would find a way to contact us soon.
I motioned for Kyphas to post herself at the south end of the tower while I took the opposite.
“I’m in position,” Cole whispered. “Your dog’s peeing on the roof vent. I think that means you own Crindertab’s now.”
I nodded to let him know I’d heard. Wondered how Bergman was doing and decided no news was good news.
So hard to sit and wait. I touched Cirilai, wishing it would signal me, frustrated that it and my vamp-sense were my only connections to Vayl.
Or are they? The only reason I didn’t ignore Teen Me, who was straightening her hair in the empty hope that she could make it look like Jennifer Aniston’s, was that too many other people already had.
What do you mean? I asked her.
He’s a vampire, she told me, like I was some kind of dufus for having to have the obvious pointed out to me.
I nearly said, So? But I took a second to think beforehand. The first time he’d taken my blood he’d formed a bond with me that had enabled him to sense my strongest emotions. After the second time, my Spirit Eye had opened wide enough for me to track the Vampere. And now? What had happened to us with this exchange, Eldhayr blood for Vampere power?
No clue, I thought as I crouched against the railing. But that took too much energy, so I hit my butt.
Because I was suddenly so tired. The after-bite crash had come. If I’d had to raise Grief in that moment I’d have said, “To hell with it,” and hoped for an asteroid impact to do my work for me.
We waited for an eternity. Stars came to life and died in the time I sat there trying to decide if I was already too old for this gig. I began to think I could sense the earth revolving while I remained in one place, like a chess piece that could only be moved by the hand of the universe. Then I realized I was dizzy.
Vayl, where are you? Reach me, dammit!
I closed my eyes, but that only made the vertigo worse. Instead I focused on the fat-headed nails that held the walls of the water tower together. They blurred into a rust-colored mass, like the bricks on a fog-shrouded building. And then I realized I was standing. Not in Wirdilling, Australia, at nearly four in the morning. But in London under a full moon, long before garbage trucks and sewage plants, if the stench gave any clue.
I began to walk, each step bringing my situation more sharply into focus. I had never been so strong. I felt like I could single-handedly tear the bridge I currently strolled upon from its very moorings. And part of me wanted to. It yammered inside of me like a mad dog straining at the end of its chain. Because my boys would never draw breath again.
Oh, fuck.
I glanced into the water. Saw a tall, broad-shouldered man whose shoulder-length curls were held secure by a band at the back of his neck. He wore a long black coat buttoned over a red waistcoat and black breeches. His white stockings were stained with mud, his black buckled shoes needed to be resoled. But I could never mistake those high cheekbones, slanted brows, and fierce, kaleidoscope eyes.
I’m Vayl. Or he’s me. How—?
I stopped, raised my nose to the foul night air and scented something that did not belong, even here on these careless streets. Werewolf!
I ran, still new enough to the power that I exulted in the speed I could gain and maintain. Within moments I had reached the abandoned building where the wolf hunted. Pulling my dagger from the sheath at my waist, I crept after it, the freezing river that now fed each of my humors rising quickly to a flood. It took all of my will not to release it upon the city itself, like a rain of razor-sharp ice. But I had freed the deluge once before. Some actions should never be repeated.
I found it upstairs. A shiver ran up my spine at the sound of its claws raking across the grime-laden floor as it battered its shoulder against the bedroom door. Its final blow caused a rupture that made the wood crack like the shots that had taken my sons. I jerked as if hit, my mind tearing as it tried to evade memories too fresh to bury. But I could never turn from their faces, their dark lashes brushing their cheeks as if they had simply stopped beside the road to take a nap before coming home to supper.
A scream jerked me from my nightmare and pulled me into hers. I leaped through the doorway to find the wolf crouching, grinning at the child as his distorted features and dripping fangs caused her to writhe with fear.
I know those eyes! Where have I seen that Were’s face?