Good Intentions (56 page)

this mansion. There are doubtlessly a few social types will ing to show you around if you’re interested in that sort of thing.” Molly frowned a bit. Inside, she suspected that she would be nothing short of appal ed, but there was a cover to maintain here. “I think we’l take things a bit slow, thanks. We’re still hoping to get to know the rest of our fell ow Practitioners better.” “Of course,” Woods shrugged. “I’m just saying, bring together a gathering of people with power and knowledge beyond ordinary mortals, add in the thril s of a secret society, then provide demonstrable proof that they’re al above the law, and the result will be…” he gestured grandly with his open hand and with the one holding his champagne glass. “…us.” His smile broadened. “I am therefore reluctant to pass judgment on our hosts.” “I find it al a bit gross, to be perfectly honest,” Ms. Black confessed in a conspiratorial tone. “There are a couple of men here I’ve met before from my other social functions. I used to think they were charming and attractive, but now that I know what I’m looking at? Ugh.” “And there it is, ladies,” Woods nodded, as if drawing a lesson to its conclusion. “The vaunted charm and sexual al ure of the undead crumbles once you see past the façade. You either see a dark, sensual, mysterious yet entirely human lady or gentleman, or you see a well -preserved corpse—but still a corpse. “At that point, they’re like any other predator. Recognize it for what it is and you are already less attractive as prey. Their physical prowess isn’t to be taken lightly, nor the wealth of experience that many of them have attained. They’re inhumanly dangerous, but in the end, they aren’t looking for wary meals that might put up a real struggle. They look for the easy bite. Survival is the top priority, far above pride or the need for a chal enge.” He downed the last of his champagne and placed it on a passing waiter’s tray. Then Woods reached out to take Molly and Onyx both by the hand with practiced grace. “But enough about them. Let’s talk about us.” Molly cocked her head warily. “What was that you said about recognizing a predator for what it is?” Woods pursed his lips with amusement. “Yet I’m alive and healthy, so my predatory nature shouldn’t make me any

less charming.” Molly and Onyx shared a smile and a knowing glance. Mr. Woods was indeed charming, and witty, and handsome… and they would both have paid good money to see him hit by a bus. * “They looked kinda like the wannabe-Goth version of the Vil age People,” Jason said with a shrug. He and the others stood between his car, Taylor’s, and Wade’s pick-up truck in the parking lot of a gas station. To one side was the road. To the other three sides of the station were tal evergreens. It was just cold enough to see one another’s breath. “I mean, there was Gothy Gangster Dude with his tommy gun, and there was Goth Cowboy, and there was Goth…I dunno, he had a longsword on his back. Goth SCA Guy, maybe?” “I thought you said they were emo-looking,” Drew said. “Goth ain’t emo. Goths have self-respect.” “Look, I was a little too freaked out for labels right then.” Wade and Drew both scowled skeptically at Jason, but Taylor didn’t. “Al Lorelei said was that you can usually spot them because they’re al pale and they mostly dress with some holdovers of their old timeframes from when they were human,” she put in. “So maybe the gangster guy was turned into a vampire in the 1920s or something. The one at the party half-looked like he should’ve been at a Renaissance faire, and he had that crappy wannabe English accent.” “Seems like a kinda thin basis for profilin’,” Wade frowned. “Y’know, if I had found out Saturday night there really were vampires out there, I wouldn’t be tel ing my friends about it

two nights later,” Jason had to say. “I’d have been tel ing people within like five minutes.” “Oh, ‘cause you were so quick to tel me Lorelei’s a demon, right?’” Taylor snapped back. “And anyway, I’ve been busy, okay?” Wade’s frown didn’t go away. “Doin’ whut? ” Taylor quickly fell silent, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked sharply at Drew and Jason, who both glanced away awkwardly. “Look,” she said, “can we stay on topic? This is serious. I mean, do you really think that Lorelei’s the type to go for kidnap roleplay with goofy costumers?” “Hey, I ain’t about to try to figure out what kinda freaky shit turns her on,” Wade shrugged. “But ah ain’t sayin’ this ain’t trouble. Ah drove by that estate mahself, an’ ah’m pretty sure ah saw dudes tryin’ ta hide their guns under their coats. Ah mean, even if that’s some rich dude’s house an’ he’s just got bodyguards, they wouldn’t be out at the gate wearin’ black trenchcoats in the middle o’ the night.” “Pretty sure that longsword I saw was for real, anyway,” Jason shrugged. “You go to enough conventions, you get to know the difference.” He glanced around at the three sets of eyes that stared back at him. “What?” “Whatever. They got our boy an’ we gotta do somethin’ about it,” Drew said. “Ain’t like we aren’t al on the same page there. Did Lorelei say how to fight vampires? Like do bul ets work?” Taylor shrugged. “Al she said was that they’re really vulnerable to fire and that they really weren’t a threat to her. Said they’re tough and scary compared to normal people, but nothing she couldn’t take care of. She just wanted to take care of the one at the party so he wouldn’t eat anyone there that night.” “But y’al don’t know if they really hypnotize people or whatever?” Wade asked. “Not if you can see them coming, I guess. The one at the party looked at me trying to be al flirty, but…wel , I knew what he was, so I just thought he was gross.”

Drew and Wade both turned to Jason. He took a deep breath. “Sunlight, holy water, fire. Bul ets probably won’t hurt them a lot or really any of the normal stuff, ‘cause they’re partly dead, right? So they don’t need their organs to work. Cut things off of them, though, and it’l matter. Stake through the heart is supposed to either kil or immobilize, depending on the legend or the fantasy derivative. Sometimes silver is supposed to work. Sometimes it’s not.” “Thought silver was for werewolves?” Drew asked. “Look, this shit’s al supposed to be fantasy in the first place,” Jason shrugged. “There’s al kinds of folk legends and stuff, and who knows which culture’s more accurate than another or even if there really are that many different kinds of these things. And you’ve got a hundred asshole authors trying to cash in on a vampire fad right now. Every freak writing smut on the internet uses vampires, for God’s sake. The whole thing should’ve died out ten years ago when the hot Goth chicks stopped showing up to the vampire LARPs.” “Y’al were there for them good ol’ days, were ya?” Wade quipped. Jason sighed. “I heard about ‘em, anyway,” he muttered. “Point being the legends are al diluted. Who knows what’s actually legit and what isn’t? But if Lorelei said fire’s good, then I’d go with fire. Not like we’re going to get our hands on holy water at this time of night anyway.” “Rachel’s supposed to have a big flaming sword,” Drew noted. “Where the hell ’s she in al this mess?” “Alex said she can’t see him al the time. Like if Lorelei’s with him. That’s what went wrong at the pool hall with that Gorge dude,” Jason reminded him. “So either vampires count for that, or there’s something else going on. And it’s not like she’s got a phone number.” As he spoke, there was an audible “clack” from the doors of the gas station’s mini mart. Drew looked over to see the attendant, a thin, young man, locking the doors and looking at the four of them with obvious wariness. He also pointedly looked away when he noticed Drew looking back. Drew checked his watch and frowned. It seemed a bit early for the guy to be closing up his shop given the posted hours. It was late, but not that late. “No, but if both Alex and Lorelei are in that house, we need some kinda help like that,” Wade said. “We gotta figure

out how to get her attention.” A black SUV pul ed up to one of the pumps. Drew nudged Wade, who nodded. “Attendant’s gone twitchy, too,” Drew murmured. “Wish we could just cal the cops,” Taylor frowned. She kept her voice low since Drew had obviously quieted down. It made her nervous. “Yeah, but with what we’ve already seen, we can’t be sure they aren’t paid for already,” Jason shrugged. His voice wasn’t quite so subtle. He wasn’t shouting, but suddenly the others felt as if he might as well have been. The SUV’s occupants, a man and a woman, both got out of the vehicle. They were well dressed, al in black and looking a little pale. The woman’s clothes showed off her figure. The man wore a well -tailored suit. He walked with her to the door to the mini mart. Wade threw down his cigarette butt and crushed it out. “Ah jus’ wish it wusn’ so late already,” he grumbled. “Liquor stores al gonna be closed by now.” “Liquor stores?” Drew blinked. “You serious?” He watched as the couple tried the mini mart’s doors, then looked at one another and sighed. “Yeah,” Wade nodded. “You’d think the one place that’d be open late at night’d be where you’d go to buy booze.” The couple approached. “Hi, ‘scuse me,” the man said with a smile. His voice was a bit gravel y, and the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to have any cigarettes, would you? We’re out, and that stupid market’s closed,” he added, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m dying for a smoke,” the blonde complained with a winning smile. “Yeah, ah gotcha,” Wade nodded. He patted his pockets. “Ah. Crap, ah think ah got a spare pack in mah glove box. C’mon, ah’l hook y’al up.” Wade turned, fishing his keys out of his pocket.

“You’re a lifesaver, sweetie,” the woman said. She fol owed close behind Wade to the passenger side of Wade’s pickup. The man cocked his head curiously. “Did I hear you guys talking about looking for drinks?” he asked. “You know, we’re on our way to a party ourselves.” “You don’t say,” Drew shrugged. “Good night for that. Partying,” Jason nodded. “I can’t stand having no party to go to on, um…Monday night,” he finished lamely. The man smiled. “We could help you out with that, you know,” he said. “Supposed to be pretty willd.” “Jus’ right in here,” Wade said. He glanced in the side-view mirror as he opened the door. He saw his own reflection, but not the woman’s. Wade opened the door and reached inside. “Take your time,” the blonde told him. She looked back to her companion, hoping to catch his eye. Wade grunted as he reached inside the glove compartment. The blonde was very close to him. Wade fumbled around a bit, saying only, “Jus’ gotta tear off th’ plastic.” The tearing sound seemed a touch off base to Natalia. She had just managed a wink in Lucien’s direction before she caught the red glow out of the corner of her eye. She was fast, but taken by surprise as she was, Natalia couldn’t get out of the way quick enough to avoid the emergency road flare Wade swung at her head. He caught her in the side of the neck, rather than the head as he’d hoped, but it did plenty of damage just the same. Drew tackled Lucien immediately. The stocky vampire was staggered but didn’t go down under the assault. He quickly snatched up a gun from inside his sport coat. Drew grabbed at the armed hand while Jason rushed in to help. Taylor glanced around, quickly looking for something to do. The blonde flailed willdly, screaming and trying to batter Wade away. She did a good job of it, forcing him back despite the fact that her hair had caught fire almost instantly.

Her neck seemed to be burning, too. Wade was slammed up against the side of his pickup. He held onto one of her arms, though, and jabbed the road flare at her mid-section. Taylor opted to help the other guys, who weren’t even armed. Drew and Jason couldn’t bring the guy down, and in fact Jason was quickly kicked to the ground. Drew kept struggling with the man’s gun hand. Taylor came around to their opponent’s left, swinging a wide kick at the back of his right leg. Most of his weight was on that leg as she hit him right behind the knee. He fell back with Drew on top of him. Drew poured everything he had into keeping that gun-wielding hand down while throwing his knee into Lucien’s groin. The knee shots didn’t matter a whole lot to Lucien. It wasn’t pleasant, of course, but that sort of pain just wasn’t debilitating for the undead. Lucien twisted to get his left arm over toward his right as if to pry Drew’s hands off his wrist, but then the vampire threw a back-fisted blow across Drew’s jaw. It hit him like a basebal bat, even despite a poor wind-up and little leverage. Drew was sent staggering back. Natalia flailed and screamed at Wade to knock him down, then battered willdly at the flames over her upper body in a vain attempt to put them out. Wade fell to the ground. The moment tore his road flare from his hands. It had already broken in half and scattered across the pavement, anyway. He figured he was screwed. Then Jason was there, grabbing the burning woman by the waist of her pants. He pul ed hard, twisting her around to hurl her at Lucien even as the other vampire rose with his gun in hand. Taylor saw it coming and shoved Lucien toward the oncoming flames. She wasn’t strong enough to move him, but it threw Lucien off-balance enough that he didn’t get out of the way in time. He tumbled to the ground with Natalia on top of him while Taylor scrambled out of the way. Natalia was already beyond rational thought. She grabbed at Lucien, trying to get help from something, anything able to put out the flames. Lucien was badly burned before he managed to fight her off of him in a panic, but by then Drew was upright. His foot came down brutally on the side of Lucien’s knee with a cringe-inducing crunch. Natalia tumbled away. She quickly lost her footing, stumbled and fell down on the pavement again. Her dead flesh continued to burn, but there was nothing left in her throat to sound out her agony.

Lucien could and did heal his broken joints, but there was nothing he could do about his burns. Fortunately for him, he hadn’t caught on fire in his unwanted tussle with Natalia. Drew kept up the pressure, throwing blow after blow down on the vampire and keeping him off-balance. Lucien’s undead strength was somewhat drained by his burns, but finally he managed to catch Drew’s wrist and twist it painful y, then kick him away with shocking force. The vampire got to his feet just in time for Taylor’s car to slam into him. There wasn’t a lot of speed to it, but she didn’t hold back and there was plenty of weight. Taylor struck him dead-on from behind, sending him tumbling facedown to the ground again. Taylor hit the brakes reflexively, but then let her car rol forward until she felt her front left tire rol up on top of him. She heard an agonized, frustrated cry. It was only then that she threw on the parking brake. Drew got to his feet, clutching his side and huffing painful y. He looked over at the vampire pinned facedown under Taylor’s front wheel. Then he looked up to see Jason there with the vampire’s pistol in his hands. “You okay?” Drew huffed. “Yeah. You?” “Yeah. Where’s Wade?” As if in answer, Wade passed between the two, pulling back the slide on the pistol he had retrieved from his truck. There was a tire iron tucked into his belt. “Ah’m fine. Gonna hold up a gas station is al ,” he growled. “Watch that asshole under the car.” Drew glanced down to see Lucien pushing up against the wheel of the car. He was pinned right below the shoulder blades and thus unable to get much leverage from his arms, but his legs were trying to gain purchase for a mighty heave. Drew kicked the vampire’s feet backward, causing him to slip and then grunt in pain as the car settled back down upon him again. Jason watched Wade with no small amount of nervousness plain in his face. “You think he’s really gonna—?” Wade smashed the glass of the mini mart door with the tire iron. He reached inside, threw the latch on the door, and