Real Vampires Live Large (39 page)

“Prove it.” I swooped over the clearing, then hovered over the dome again. I could see Valdez next to Flo. She'd calmed down, Richard's arms around her. One by one, I identified my friends who had come to help. No sign of Frederick. But Derek was there, Bela, Will, Damian, Diana and . . . Blade, the real one, not the Blade look-alike. He stood by the gold doors and looked up at me like he wanted to throttle me or kiss me or both.

“Kaplan. Get your ass out here and give Valdez your power.” Simon in command mode was apparently hard if not impossible to resist.

“You sure, boss? What's to keep Glory from dropping you anyway?”

Simon looked up at me. He didn't look like Jerry now. More like a weasel with a receding hairline. “Good question. I want some guarantees.”

“So do I.” I made another swoop, this time letting the top of the spike brush Simon's loafers.

“I guarantee to give Florence the antidote and to release her.” Simon looked down. “I think her former lover may be willing to take her back.”

Richard was holding Flo like he'd never let her go and she seemed to be taking a lot of comfort from him. He looked up at me and sent me a mental message to be careful. Yeah, right.
Now
he remembered me.

“And Valdez? I want a show of faith. Have Greg fix him first.”

“Gloriana, drop him. I'll take care of the worthless bastard. ” Blade stared up at me, his hands fisted by his sides. I checked out the area. I couldn't believe it, Mara wasn't with him.

“No, I've got to get Valdez back to normal.” I swooped again, but I felt tired, like this really had drained me in a new and not-so-nice way. I wiggled a talon and Simon shrieked.

“Don't drop me!” He looked up and tried to whammy me. I could tell. I just brushed past the dome again.

“Fix Valdez.”

“Kaplan, do it.”

Greg grabbed Valdez's leash and pulled him into the domed building. I heard a humming sound. God knows what kind of device the EVs had in there. A fistfight broke out between Blade and one of Simon's followers. Maybe an EV. I didn't know or care, but I was relieved when Blade managed to knock out the other guy.

Obviously the EVs were so busy turning their power into saleable commodities, they didn't reserve a whole lot of power for themselves. Take Simon, for instance. No way could I have held a vamp like Jerry this way. No matter what form I took, he'd have managed to do me one better and overpower me.

The door opened and Valdez pranced out.

“Shit, Glory. Look at you. That a pterodactyl?”
Got to love a dog who'll watch the Discovery Channel with you.

“Yes, puppy.” The ground blurred and I heard Simon yelp. I'd swooped a little too low and he'd scraped his leg on the spire. I saw blood drip on the gold dome. I sniffed. Sarah's perfume had been swept away in my change and I could smell Simon's very rich, very potent blood. For a moment I wavered, feeling a pull deep in my gut. Feed from Simon? No way. No how.

“Final guarantee, Simon. You let us all leave here, safe and in one piece, power intact.” I swooped again, this time shredding his pants. More blood. God, the smell. This was a bad idea. My fangs were full out and I could almost taste him.

“Put me down, Gloriana. I'll let you taste me. You can feed from me. It will give you a rush unlike any you've ever known.”

I jerked when something brushed my cheek.

“Don't do it, Glory.” Blade was in blackbird form, flying next to me. “He's a liar.”

“Swear a solemn oath. You capable of that, Simon?”

“Drop him, Glory. I'll be all right.” Flo had managed to pull herself together. She stared up at me. “But he has to keep his word if he swears in Honoria's name or no one will follow him. These people will do anything for that demon.”

“Sounds like a plan. Swear away, Simon.”

“Ungrateful, bitch!” Simon shouted down at Flo. “You were never as great as you thought you were. I've had better sex with a were-duck.”

Flo screamed and hurled herself into the air. No power though. Instead of changing as she'd obviously planned, she fell to the ground at Richard's feet. He picked her up and cradled her against his chest.

That did it for me. I swooped again. “I think I'd do better to skewer you here and now. Honoria would probably be grateful.”

“I wouldn't anger Honoria if I were you. And I have fellow EVs on the Council. Kill me and they'll never stop hunting you. You'll not live long enough to enjoy your mangy dog.”

“Hey, asshole. I'm not mangy. I could whip
your
skinny ass.”

I grinned to hear Valdez back in top form. Blade hovered near me.

“Drop him, sweetheart. We'll figure things out.”

“No, I think we can make a deal.” Simon said it quietly, like he didn't want the guys down below to know he was scared.

“Deal? Flo needs an antidote and we need to be able to get the hell out of here in one piece.” I was so damned tired. These leathery wings were unbelievably heavy and every flap took a lot out of me. I barely scraped above the top of the dome.

“That can be arranged. First, call off your people. We don't need a war now, do we?”

I looked down at my friends, seemingly in control of any ground war. My people. Like I was in charge? I felt a surge of energy.

“What's the matter, Simon? You afraid Honoria will gobble you up if you lose too many men? I'll get my people to back off if you—” Simon tried to grab one of my talons and I saw his coat rip some more. “Keep squirming and this discussion won't matter. You're hanging by a shred, King.”

“All right. Name your terms. But keep it quiet. There's no reason the peasants need to hear our agreement.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“This whole deal is really bad for your image, isn't it? Wonder if the ‘peasants' know that's how you think of them.” God, but I was exhausted. I felt Blade beside me, willing me to be strong. It helped and I gained altitude. “Swear that you will leave me, my friends and my dog alone from now on.”

“I swear that I will not harm you, your friends or your dog.”

“Louder.” I swept my beak toward the crowd gawking up at us.

“Honoria won't like—”

“Screw Honoria.” Oh, boy. Thunder clapped, lightning sizzled nearby and the golden dome actually glowed. Most of the “peasants” fell to their knees and started praying frantically. I felt the electricity in the air and was tempted to skewer Simon and fly out of there as fast as my leathery wings could carry me.

“Say it, Simon. Loud and proud. You will not harm me, my friends or my dog. Not now, not ever. And swear it on Honoria's sacred bible.” More thunder. Wind whipped around me, making it hard to keep altitude. I flapped my wings, gripped Simon tighter and felt him shaking. Maybe Honoria
would
gobble him up for making such a poor showing here. I couldn't stress over it, I had a little thing like survival on my mind.

“I swear that I will not harm you, your friends or your dog. Not now and not ever. I swear it on Honoria's sacred bible.” Twin bolts of lightning shot from the dome, barely missing both of us.

“Hmm. I'd say the lady's pissed. But it works for me.”

“Then put me down now, you bitch.”

“Potty mouth.” I looked at Blade. “What do you think? Is it a done deal?”

“If you aren't going to drop him, then end this. Put him down, Glory, and let's get you the hell back to human form.” Blade dove toward the ground.

Oh, shit. Back to human form. All my old fears rushed right past the adrenaline that had helped me change in the first place. I dropped toward the ground, so hard and fast that Simon actually bounced when we landed.

“Son of a bitch!” He gestured and two of his men ran to help him to his feet.

“Concentrate, Glory. You can do it. Change back.” Blade, Flo, Richard, all my friends crowded around me. Or as close to me as they could get with my twenty-foot wing span. Some faced out, like they were guarding me. Sweet.

“I'm so tired.” My wings lay on the ground and I felt mud beneath my cheek. A pterodactyl. If I got stuck with a beak that made Cyrano de Bergerac look snub-nosed, I'd . . .

“You're Gloriana St. Clair, a blood-sucking vampire. Let me see you, Blondie.”
Valdez licked my cheek.

My cheek. My human cheek. “I did it!” I laughed, sat up and looked down. Yep, I was back to my old, slightly chubby self, complete with muddy running shoes instead of some really wicked talons. Wonder Freakin' Woman.

Simon Destiny had disappeared inside his domed building. I heard the sound that probably meant he was being powered up. His word or not, I wasn't waiting around to find out.

“Let's go.” I grabbed my T-shirt, but Blade took it and gently wiped mud off my cheek before he handed it to me again.

“I like the way you look in the Kevlar, Gloriana. Today you proved you really are amazing.”

I soaked in the praise, then looked around. “Thanks, love, but would someone drive us the hell out of here?” I was all for the juicy reunion thing, but not while surrounded by EVs giving me the hairy eyeball. I hopped in the Hummer, Valdez right behind me. He leaped into the backseat.

“I can drive us, Glory.” Richard helped Flo into the back. “I saw the way we came in, I can get us out of here.”

“Wait! What about Flo's antidote?”

“Go. I don't want it.” Flo leaned against Valdez. “I don't trust Simon to give me the right thing anyway. Let's go. I can beat this by myself.”

“Get in, Jerry.” I hopped out again. “Flo can ride up here. We can sit in the back.”

“No, I want to make sure you're well away from here before Simon comes out. I'll meet you back at your place, Glory.” Blade leaned into the car and gave me a soul searching, heart melting kiss.

God, but I'd missed him. I grabbed his hair and kissed him back, letting him read that. Then I glanced around the clearing. “Promise me you'll go ahead and leave here. Don't try to do anything stupid, like take on these EVs and their drones.”

Blade frowned. “They need to pay, Gloriana.”

“You're seriously outnumbered. Even if their power levels are low, they're bound to launch a counterattack as soon as they get over their shock at being invaded. Get our friends to safety.” Yep, I'd read him right. It wasn't like Jerry just to let a woman save the day. And I had, hadn't I? I looked at him for a long moment, until he nodded and gestured toward the rest of the troops.

“As you wish. Now get out of here.” He slammed the car door. Richard put the car in gear and we lurched forward.

“I'm sorry, Glory. This is all my fault.” Even Flo's voice was weak.

“Nonsense, Florence. Simon came to Austin to be with his son. You didn't see Frederick there just now, did you, Glory?” Richard kept his eyes on the rough track, expertly driving the Hummer through mud and over rocks. I was glad he knew how to get home, because I was totally lost.

“No, Freddy wasn't there. But I can't say I blame him. His father is a powerful man. He'd probably be reluctant to declare open war on him. And we did okay without him. We had plenty of help.”

“I'm sure as shit glad to be back. What the hell happened to me? One minute I'm outside the church, eyes peeled for trouble and then zilch.”
Valdez sighed and laid his head on Flo's lap.
“I woke up with that machine stuck on me. Like a freakin' shop vac, only more like a leaf blower. Whomp! I'm me again.”

“I know, puppy.” Flo rubbed his ears and looked at me. “Will you ever forgive me, Glory? You had to change! I know you hated that.” Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I got us all into this because of my involvement with Simon. I think . . .” She stared at the back of Richard's head. “I think he did a, what you call, whammy on me.”

“Of course he did. You acted totally out of character.” I reached back and squeezed Flo's hand. “I felt it, the pull. And then there's the whole Brad Pitt thing. I know he's your dream guy.”

“Yes, Simon's very handsome.” Flo pulled her hand away. “And sometimes generous.” She showed me a nice size emerald ring on her left hand. “I have a souvenir at least.” She held out her hand, which was shaking, by the way, and admired the beautiful green stone. “I guess I should have thrown it in his face as a ‘screw you' gesture. But he picked out my fantasy ring. Hard to give up.”

Throw it in his face? Yeah, right. Ever read “The Girl's Guide to Immortality”? A book I really should write someday. Rule number one: Never return gifts, especially expensive jewelry. A woman who may have to support herself forever needs all the help she can get. Okay, so I'd turned down that Mercedes Blade kept dangling in front of me. For purely practical reasons. Do you know what the insurance and upkeep would have cost me?

I smiled at Flo. “You should definitely keep it. Or sell it and keep the money if looking at it creeps you out.”

Flo slipped it off her finger and put it in my hand. “Sell it. I don't want anything to remind me of that gut-sucking bastard. And I'll use the money to buy something completely different.”

I jammed the ring into my pocket. “How are you feeling, Flo? Still in VV withdrawal?”

She nodded. “I'm really, really weak, like I want to just lie down and die. And yet when I lie down, I crave—” She looked at Richard again. “I hope this gets out of my system soon. I can't stand feeling so out of control.”

“We'll help you, Florence. Won't we, Glory?” Richard turned the car onto a paved road. “We'll be home in about an hour, with a few minutes to spare before sunrise. Lie back and close your eyes. Rest. You too, Glory.”