beyond the group. âThatâs why you canât afford to fall in love, let somebody get under your skin like thatâtheir voice will be in your head until the main vamp is dead. Youâll be in hell, and want to take your own life every night when one of them assumes her voice to fuck with you . . . or tries to climb into your bed to make you forget sheâs dead. Thatâs why I wanted Wizard to kill herâso heâd remember that when the succubus comes for him. His hell is brand-spanking-new. Ask me how I know.â
âLeave him be,â Marlene warned. âOne step of awareness at a time.â
âMaybe you havenât noticed, Mar, but we seem to be running out of time.â
Marlene and Shabazz held each otherâs gaze in a deadlock before Shabazz turned away and looked up at the sky.
âWe need to move out,â Damali said quietly, sensing the environment, and then she looked up at the sky. âBut I donât think itâs safe yet.â She glanced at her group and they nodded their agreement. The team was wired, still breathing hard, and pumped from the battle. âI know we all wanna get out of here, but we need to be strategic, and not just run headlong into another setup.â
âSheâs on-point,â Shabazz said, nodding in agreement. âOur slayer is coming into her own.â
Marlene glanced at Shabazz and looked away.
What was
that
about? Damali assessed her team with caution. âWe should hold up for a moment, and make sure weâre clear. I can hear sound coming back, but itâs not all the way back, yet. Soon as it does, and traffic can be clearly heard, we move.â Again, her gaze went to the heavens.
Mike nodded. âSheâs on about the sound.â
âWhen we get back to the compound, we need to have a meeting.â Damali glanced around at her battle-weary team. âAnybody notice the death-wounds these things sustained to turn âem?â
Damaliâs question was met with silence.
âDid anyone get a good look at their throats before they flamed?â she asked, repeating the question more slowly. She let her breath out hard when her team just shook their heads. âWell, it wasnât the normal two-hole vamp bite that turned these things into whatever they are, thatâs for sure.â She wiped her hands off on her backside and picked up a walking stick.
âYeah. Baby girl is coming into her own,â Shabazz muttered as the team collected their ammo.
Marlene glared a Shabazz. âThatâs enough!â
âTalk to me, Marlene,â Damali ordered. âWhatâs up with the vibe?â
âHowâs everybodyâs ammo?â Shabazzâs question was an open diversion, a tension release valve, more so than an actual need to know.
Damali looked at him and Marlene hard and let it go. Later.
âLow, and fucked up,â Rider retorted, still angered by his jammed magazine. âWell, this has been fun.â
âCrossbows are on E,â J.L. said, his expression worried.
âAlmost out of grenades,â Mike added, throwing Marlene herwalking stick after retrieving it from a pile of smoldering, putrid ash on the ground.
âSoundâs back. Weâre clear to move out,â Big Mike announced.
âLetâs roll,â Shabazz said, throwing Damali a stake heâd picked up. âTime to call the limo.â
Marlene and Shabazz glared at each other, but didnât say another word as they walked. All Marlene did was grab her cell phone out of her satchel and punch in a code and hang up. But it was the way the seer had flung the cell phone into her bag that Damali noted.
âShabazz is right,â Damali chimed in, taking the lead between her sparring mentors. âThis alley is hot territory now that we have sound back in it. Weâve kicked up a lot of dust, made a lot of noise, and the cops are sure to be here soon.
Cormac McCarthy
Bear Grylls
Emma Nichols
Herbert Lieberman
Erle Stanley Gardner
Chase Novak
Selena Wolfcastlin
Amy Malone
Jonathan Javitt
Chris Kuzneski