A human carrier roared in front of me. Lights flashed along its top. I stumbled and turned. My wounded leg buckled under me. I lunged off my good hind leg and started again. The smell of river water grew stronger. I lifted my head to look for any signs of bushes or a shoreline.
I headed west and slinked through the bushes and shadows surrounding the dwellings. Human carriers rolled past. Some slowed and made honking noises. One of the human carriers with the flashing colored lights shined a powerful light in my direction. I hid within a lilac bush along a fence and waited for them to leave. The moon crested the tallest dwelling.
I welcomed the opportunity to rest. My wounded hind leg burned with pain.
The light went dark and the carrier left. I trotted from under the bush and continued west. I moved carefully from cover to cover and did my best to avoid humans. There were few of their carriers on the roads. By the time the moon had risen high above, the smell of the river was strong and inviting.
I loped from the shadows toward an open dirt lot. Colored lights flashed on. A bright white light caught me. I dashed to the left.
A sudden sting, like from a bee, popped me beside my tail. Desperate to escape, I ran faster.
My legs grew clumsy. My paws knocked against each other. I slowed and dragged my numbed hind legs. A feathered human weapon clung to my haunches. I tried to gnaw it off but my head felt too heavy to hold upright. Drowsiness smothered my panic. I lay on the cool ground and watched through dimming eyes a human approach, a rope in her hands.
CHAPTER 17
THE YAPPING OF EXCITED dogs awakened me.
“Felix.”
I lifted my groggy head in the direction my name had come from. Recognizing the scent, then the voice, and finally the orange aura, I struggled upright to my paws. A cone of white material encircled my head.
A familiar man stepped close. His hand reached into my cage. I whimpered in anticipation of regaining my freedom and clumsily turned my head with this cone around it. His fingers stroked my muzzle and I licked them in appreciation.
The man fumbled with the front of the cage and opened the door. He spread a blanket on the floor and beckoned me with a soothing whisper.
I limped out of the cage and lay in the center of the blanket. Shutting my eyes, I summoned the transformation.
Pain enveloped me. I clenched my teeth to keep from yelping. Saliva bubbled through my lips. My legs trembled and my tail twitched from the agony.
The dogs in the cages around us whined and barked nervously.
Fur retracted into flesh. My skin felt on fire. This cone around my head dug into my neck. My bones twisted and realigned from the shape of a wolf into that of a vampire. The toes on my forelimbs stretched into fingers. My hearing grew dim. The smells in my nose became simple. Abstract thought returned, and my awareness swelled with the names of things inside the dark kennel, especially this plastic doggie cone I found wrapped around my head.
I ripped the thing off.
The man laughed. “You’re lucky I didn’t bring a camera.”
I wiped the drool and sweat from my face. “Screw you.” I pulled the blanket over my nakedness.
“How the hell did you end up here?” Bob Carcano lifted the blanket away from my left leg. “What happened?”
“Shotgun. Vampire hunters. Then a dog catcher nailed me in the ass with a tranquilizer dart.”
He felt my swollen wound. “They could’ve done a better job treating you. Mind if I help?”
I flinched. “Be my guest.”
Bob dragged the razor edge of his fingernail over the lump and cut my skin. He squeezed tainted blood through the incision. I clenched my fists to withstand the anguish. Sweat trickled from my brow, pooled in my eye sockets, and stung my eyes. Blood spurted from the slit. The pellet popped out and rattled across the linoleum.
“Silver,” Bob said. “Must have been agony.”
“It hurt like hell, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Bob spit on his fingers and massaged my wound.
The pain ebbed as his vampire enzymes deadened the nerves and began healing the injured tissues. I lay on the floor and breathed deeply, relieved that I had survived and was back in the form of a vampire.
Bob offered his hand. “Let’s go.” He helped me up.
Walking stiffly, I dragged the blanket along and followed Bob to the exit. “How’d you know I was here?”
“A wolf gets trapped in Denver-news like that has a way of making it to my ears.” He reset the alarm by the door and pocketed the key. “You aren’t the first vampire I’ve rescued from the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter.”
We went outside and proceeded toward his Buick Regal. The chill caused me to wrap the blanket tight against my naked body. The muffled barking inside the shelter carried into the darkness. Cold gravel in the parking lot poked the tender soles of my bare feet. I leaned on Bob’s shoulder to offset my still-weakened left leg.
“What time is it?”
Bob pulled back the cuff of his jacket to read his watch. “A little past three.”
“Thursday morning?”
“Yeah.” Bob aimed his remote at the Buick. Its lights flashed and the honk chirped twice. He opened the rear door for me. The interior dome light blinked on. “Don’t take this wrong, Felix, but you stink like a sewer.”
“That’s a relief. I thought you were going to say I smelled like I had spent the night in a kennel.”
“There’s a grocery bag with some clothes,” he said.
I found old trousers and a frayed sweatshirt. I shrugged off the blanket and put the clothes on.
Bob’s gaze lingered on me. “You’re in good shape, Felix, even if there is shrinkage of the important parts. Blame that on the cold. It’s been a while since I’ve had a nice-looking naked man in my car.”
“I thought you were celibate.”
“I’d make an exception for you.” He squeezed behind the steering wheel. “Vampire to vampire. What you don’t know, I’ll teach.”
“Think I’ll pass.” I pulled the door closed. The dome light went off. “Thanks, though.”
Bob handed a large plastic 7-Eleven cup over his shoulder. “It’s half cappuccino-yogurt shake and half goat’s blood. Should perk you right up.”
We left the parking lot. I sipped the shake, its rich coolness refreshing me. Coffee and goat’s blood go so well together.
“Make sure you stay on that blanket,” he cautioned. “I don’t want your funk stinking up the upholstery.”
“Where we going?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Take a whiff of yourself. The closest shower or bath. I ought to dip you for fleas.”
“Take me to Wong’s place first.” I related what had happened at the condo.
“Vânätori?” Bob’s aura throbbed in concern. “Could you recognize them?”
“By their auras but not by their faces. It’s kind of hard to loiter when someone’s drawing a bead on you with a shotgun.”
“And you ran down the stairs?” he asked. “Why not up to the roof and then crawl down the outside wall? They’d never be able to follow you.”
I paused, too embarrassed to answer right away. “I’ve been having problems clinging.”
Bob slapped the steering wheel. “Goddamn it, Felix, I told you that not drinking human blood would weaken your vampire powers.”
“And Ziggy? He was never more than five minutes away from a human neck and the vampire hunters still got him.”
“Ziggy’s arrogance did him in.” Bob’s voice sharpened. “As for you. Clinging against gravity is the first power to go. Then your sixth sense falters. After that-”
“Take the next right at Broadway,” I interrupted.
“Aren’t you listening?”
“Stow it, Bob. I’ll deal with this on my own terms.”
“On your own terms all right. Until your head is cut off and your fangs carried away as a trophy by those fanatics.”