things better with you and
your guy?”
He smiled. “Since yesterday? No.
Not really.”
“I’m sorry, Ellie. Want me to kick his ass?”
He laughed. “You wouldn’t even try.”
“For you? I’d kill the world for
you.”
He dashed away quick tears that sprang to his eyes. “We’re
all a little overly emotional right now, aren’t we?”
She nodded. “We went through a lot.”
“I sometimes wonder if it’ll ever end.”
She clenched her fists. “Ellie…”
“I’m just tired. Sleepless nights from…” He motioned helplessly.
“You know.”
“Yeah.” Fuck love, anyway.
Levi came into her office with Denim and Lex. Lex looked
better, but then, she never let shit keep her down for long.
Mitch had refused to allow Lex to remain Shiv Crew after
Rune had hired her, but even before she’d left for the clinic Rune had rehired
her. In a battle, Lex was…spectacular.
Jack came in, followed by Z. She looked at them all for a
moment. “I wish Raze was here.”
“Tomorrow,” Z said. He looked around. “Did someone call in
Strad?”
“No,” Rune told him. “Peel is sticking him with the new
guy.” That wasn’t a reason not to have called him in, but her crew understood.
Jack sat down and stretched his long legs out in front of
him. “Elizabeth is putting us on Llodra?”
“Yes. We have a purge order. Llodra isn’t going to be an
easy catch.”
“Open vampire season,” Levi said. “Once
again.”
Rune didn’t want to kill all the Spiritgrove vampires any
more than Levi did but they didn’t have a choice. “She’s right, baby. The
madness seems to affect them all. I don’t know why it happens that way, but
I’ve seen it too many times to shrug it off.”
If she was somehow connected to his line, she was doomed.
Maybe she was anyway. She didn’t know who she was from. Or
what.
Growing inside her mind was a seed of an idea. If she killed
off the River County vampires, the madness would be halted in its tracks. It
wouldn’t reach her.
All she had to do was kill Llodra and his children. Cut out
the contagious cancer and bury it in the darkness.
It doesn’t make sense.
No. But her fear of madness understood no logic.
“We’ll tear River County apart looking for them. There are
nests all over and we’ll clear the old ones while looking for new ones. This
morning we’ll go to his house in Willowburg. That fucking place needs burned to
the ground.
“But there are things I want you all to look for.” She
hesitated. “First, the two…hybrid dogs, or whatever they are, that Llodra has
captured.”
“Fire and Blood,” Levi murmured. “I think they’re spirits,
or ghosts…something like that. They were the strangest things I’ve ever seen,
and I’ve seen some strange things.”
Rune took a deep breath. Just talking about them made her
anxious. “We have to save them.”
“Noted,” Jack said. “What else?”
“Human bite junkies. Levi and I
spotted a few of them.”
“Tools and dogs,” Jack said. “Speaking of tools, has anyone
heard from Amy?”
Rune sighed. “My inbox was full of emails from her. I didn’t
go online until I came home, so…” She spread her hands. “I still haven’t had a
chance to read them. She’s probably pissed.”
The crew had discovered Amy when they’d gone to purge a nest
from an abandoned high school. Amy had helped save the vampires and had given
them a lot of information they might not otherwise have gotten. At least not that quickly.
“Anything else?” Z asked.
“Yes. Llodra has been torturing his people. I want to end
their suffering as quickly as possible. When you enter a room, check for
tortured vampires. Nailed to the wall, hanging from irons,
whatever. If you can, kill him or her first.”
“Are we taking different locations?” Levi asked. “If we are,
I want to go back to that house with you.”
“The house is huge,” she replied. “We’ll all search it.
After it’s cleared, we’ll spread out to
your guy?”
He smiled. “Since yesterday? No.
Not really.”
“I’m sorry, Ellie. Want me to kick his ass?”
He laughed. “You wouldn’t even try.”
“For you? I’d kill the world for
you.”
He dashed away quick tears that sprang to his eyes. “We’re
all a little overly emotional right now, aren’t we?”
She nodded. “We went through a lot.”
“I sometimes wonder if it’ll ever end.”
She clenched her fists. “Ellie…”
“I’m just tired. Sleepless nights from…” He motioned helplessly.
“You know.”
“Yeah.” Fuck love, anyway.
Levi came into her office with Denim and Lex. Lex looked
better, but then, she never let shit keep her down for long.
Mitch had refused to allow Lex to remain Shiv Crew after
Rune had hired her, but even before she’d left for the clinic Rune had rehired
her. In a battle, Lex was…spectacular.
Jack came in, followed by Z. She looked at them all for a
moment. “I wish Raze was here.”
“Tomorrow,” Z said. He looked around. “Did someone call in
Strad?”
“No,” Rune told him. “Peel is sticking him with the new
guy.” That wasn’t a reason not to have called him in, but her crew understood.
Jack sat down and stretched his long legs out in front of
him. “Elizabeth is putting us on Llodra?”
“Yes. We have a purge order. Llodra isn’t going to be an
easy catch.”
“Open vampire season,” Levi said. “Once
again.”
Rune didn’t want to kill all the Spiritgrove vampires any
more than Levi did but they didn’t have a choice. “She’s right, baby. The
madness seems to affect them all. I don’t know why it happens that way, but
I’ve seen it too many times to shrug it off.”
If she was somehow connected to his line, she was doomed.
Maybe she was anyway. She didn’t know who she was from. Or
what.
Growing inside her mind was a seed of an idea. If she killed
off the River County vampires, the madness would be halted in its tracks. It
wouldn’t reach her.
All she had to do was kill Llodra and his children. Cut out
the contagious cancer and bury it in the darkness.
It doesn’t make sense.
No. But her fear of madness understood no logic.
“We’ll tear River County apart looking for them. There are
nests all over and we’ll clear the old ones while looking for new ones. This
morning we’ll go to his house in Willowburg. That fucking place needs burned to
the ground.
“But there are things I want you all to look for.” She
hesitated. “First, the two…hybrid dogs, or whatever they are, that Llodra has
captured.”
“Fire and Blood,” Levi murmured. “I think they’re spirits,
or ghosts…something like that. They were the strangest things I’ve ever seen,
and I’ve seen some strange things.”
Rune took a deep breath. Just talking about them made her
anxious. “We have to save them.”
“Noted,” Jack said. “What else?”
“Human bite junkies. Levi and I
spotted a few of them.”
“Tools and dogs,” Jack said. “Speaking of tools, has anyone
heard from Amy?”
Rune sighed. “My inbox was full of emails from her. I didn’t
go online until I came home, so…” She spread her hands. “I still haven’t had a
chance to read them. She’s probably pissed.”
The crew had discovered Amy when they’d gone to purge a nest
from an abandoned high school. Amy had helped save the vampires and had given
them a lot of information they might not otherwise have gotten. At least not that quickly.
“Anything else?” Z asked.
“Yes. Llodra has been torturing his people. I want to end
their suffering as quickly as possible. When you enter a room, check for
tortured vampires. Nailed to the wall, hanging from irons,
whatever. If you can, kill him or her first.”
“Are we taking different locations?” Levi asked. “If we are,
I want to go back to that house with you.”
“The house is huge,” she replied. “We’ll all search it.
After it’s cleared, we’ll spread out to
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