You okay?No answer came and fear stirred. Michael?
I'm okay.
His words were a sigh in her mind, and she closed her eyes in relief. Are you badly burned?
Not as burned as I could have been. The sun block did take some of the sting off the sun.
But… ?
But it's nearly eleven, Nikki. A deadly time for me, no matter how many layers I wear.
Can you move?She'd been burned badly herself once or twice and knew how painful it could be.
Yes. The vampires came down this way. I can smell the scent of their evil.
So you should be able to find the tunnel easily enough?
Hopefully. I'll meet you there.
Don't go out in the sun again.
His smile spun through her mind, a liquid caress that stirred her senses and made her body ache. Never fear, my love. I have no intention of getting a tan deeper than the one I already have.
She wrapped her fingers lightly around the necklace. "Head downtown," she said. "Toward the Civic Center area."
They pulled away from the curb and joined the slow crawl of traffic. They were past the Federal building and closing in on Market Street by the time the necklace began to burn white-hot in her hand. "Pull over and stop," she said.
"Thought they were in a train tunnel," one of the Feds said as he opened the car door for her.
"No." She climbed out and for a moment wished she could simply relax under the cool canopy of trees in the nearby gardens. "They're in an underground room of some sort, accessed through the sewers. It's close to a train tunnel, though."
"Sewer rats," one of the cops muttered. "There are hundreds of them down there, and hundreds of places they can run."
"I doubt if we're after homeless folk," the blue-eyed FBI agent said. "This is too well organized for them." He handed her a flashlight, then added, "Which way?"
She took a deep breath and fought the pull of the images pulsing from the necklace. One little push, one tiny reach, and she'd be with Anne Harris, sharing her pain, sharing her fear. She swallowed back bile and nodded up the street. "That way."
They were close to a hall of some kind when she stopped. "Here," she said, pointing to a grate. "We need to go down here."
Several cops glanced at each other, then bent and levered free the grate. A ladder led down into deeper darkness.
"Down there?" The cop pointed his flashlight at the rusty-looking ladder.
"Yep. You want me to lead the way?"
"I'll lead the way," Blue Eyes said. "Mitch, Davidson, you follow me down. When we know it's safe, the rest of you follow."
They disappeared into the darkness. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, needing to move, needing to chase the images flashing through her mind. She crossed her arms and reached out to Michael instead.
You near?
Close. I'm not alone, though.
Fear tripped through her heart. What do you mean?
I mean there's a Loop of vamps nearby.
What in hell is a Loop?
It's a term for fledglings who were all basically created around the same time. They tend to flock together.
I thought fledglings couldn't control their bloodlust enough to hang around with anyone but their master?
The newly risen can't. But these have a few years on them and, while the bloodlust still reigns, common sense is beginning to reassert itself. There is safety in numbers.
What sort of numbers are we talking about?
Five.
We've already destroyed six of his vampires. How many of these so called Loops has he made?
Quite a few, by the look of it. Our boy appears to like his harems.
Bile rose in her throat. What are we going to do?
Nothing much we can do. I doubt if the police will be too pleased if you suddenly lose direction.
Besides which, we have to free Anne Harris.
Yes.He hesitated. She lives. I can hear the frantic sound of her pulse.
So could she, through the necklace. Only the sensation came with flashes of horror—fragmented memories of what the vamps had done to her. Repeatedly.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Could you go rescue her before we get there?
I could—but I prefer not to. I don't think Farmer has realized you're not working alone. I prefer to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Why?
Because he'll undoubtedly change his method of attack once he realizes you have a vampire protecting you.
"All clear down here," a distant voice said. "Start climbing down. You first, Miss James."
She did. She stepped off the ladder and into inch-thick muck. The air had a slightly damp, fishy smell, and the darkness was lifted only by the lonely flashlight beams. She clicked hers on and swung it around.
Graffiti greeted her—angry scrawls and disjointed pictures—representing God knew what.
"Where now?" the Fed said once the last of the officers was down.
"That way." She pointed to the darkness on her left.
In single file, they began moving through the darkness. Some of the tunnels were so damn small they had to almost bend over double. Others seemed to soar high above them.
And all the while the pulsing got stronger, until the agitated beat of Anne's heart was a rhythm that matched her own.
Michael?
Here.His mind voice was a whisper that breathed warmth past her ear. Darkness brushed across her fingers, searing heat deep.
And the vamps?
Up ahead.
Energy surged to her fingertips. She flexed her hands, trying to relax.
They're not going to attack?
No. I think they plan to await discovery then attack.
Why?It didn't make any sense to give up the advantage like that, though they were talking vampires. She guessed it didn't really matter if they did give up the benefit of surprise. Fledglings or not, they'd still beat the crap out of most of the officers here.
I suspect Farmer intends to let the police finally know what they are up against.His mind voice was grim.
Thank God there are no reporters down here with us. It'd cause a panic if people knew vamps were real and living in the sewers.
His smile spun around her, a touch of sunshine through the darkness . This is a city renowned for both its tolerance and its diversity. Somehow, I don't think people would be all that surprised.
The necklace burned into her hand. She held it by the top of the plastic instead, but it made very little difference to the images assaulting her mind. Anne was alive but in a bad way. She might not have had a heart attack like Dale Wainwright had, but the vamps had assaulted her and fed off her, and she was struggling to survive.
We're approaching the large chamber where the Loop waits,Michael said. You'd better try to warn the police.
She cleared her throat. "We're nearing where Anne is, but there's something waiting just ahead." As she spoke, fog seemed to stir the darkness. It wasn't the vampires, wasn't anything threatening. Yet it came with an almost overwhelming feeling of fear.
The Fed with the blue eyes hesitated and looked over his shoulder. "What do you mean by some thing
?"
The ethereal form disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Maybe it had been nothing more than a puff of colder air drifting in from the vent ahead.
She dragged her gaze back to the agent's. She couldn't tell him it was vampires, because he wasn't likely to believe her until he saw them himself. And maybe not even then.
"Just that. There are five 'somethings', actually."