My eyes narrowed at Raisin’s insult. She was talking about Bruiser’s mother. The audio continued.
“I always wondered how the human woman acquired colloidal silver to drink,” Adan said. The sound of a chair cushion exhaling came over the recording. “In those days it was difficult to acquire in good quality. I salute you.”
Raisin closed her eyes as her recorded British voice said, “Difficult. Not impossible for those with the resources. I have always had excellent resources. Leo’s uncle was vicious enough, but not wise enough for this city. Leo was much more... useful. He was not intended to die. The creature who has the crown was supposed to die in his place.”
“And yet she rules. You miscalculated,” Adan said. “This timeone brave soulis not enough. We need more. Will you turn over your people to us and to the one who leads us?”
“You sayus, yet I see only you. Who is this vaunted leader of whom you have spoken?”
On the desktop, Raisin struggled. Tears and bloody snot ran down her wrinkled face, adding to the smears on her desk.
In the recording, I heard a paper slide across the desk. “These are my people. Our master, the Heir, has beenpulling strings for centuries, waiting for the time to be ripe, and though the creature killed many of his players since she arrived in this city, she and this one”—a grunt sounded. Pain. Muffled.Derek. Had to be—“opened the way at the end. We have Shaun MacLaughlinn to lead the attack and an amulet that gives him strength and speed. He will kill the creature’s protectors. We have a skinwalker to eat her and take her place. Our master, the Heir, will be revealed only after you have proven your worthiness to us, to our cause, and to Shaun MacLaughlinn’s power.”
“You will be pleased with the assistance that I can provide. The doors that I can open.” Raisin’s tone was like the snake in the garden, slithering and full of malice.
Adan said, “Immediately Shaun can commit nearly-sixty Mithrans. Shaun is a leader who can destroy the creature. The master has many,manymore. Together we can hold the States and take back the European cities from the fops who currently rule in the creature’s name.”
“I accept. You have my loyalty. I shall bow to your leader, Shaun MacLaughlinn, and this heir you speak of. My blood shall be his blood. I so swear.”
From behind me, Thema said, “So many Mithrans and blood-servants, each with so many agendas. The curse of our people has always been disloyalty.”
Into my earbud, Alex whispered. “Two intruders in HQ, passing laser alarms and cameras, hidden behindobfuscationworkings, the old spell versions that still let us collect heat sigs. One fanghead, one human. Both are going up the back stairs. They’re converging on Ernestine’s office.”
Softly Alex added, “Another being, possibly human is in the scion lair, trying to free Monique Giovanni.”
I had been told several times to end her. I should have listened. “Send a stealth team to the intersecting hallways of Raisin’s office and one to the scion lair.”
“Closest team has Aya on it.”
I sighed softly. “Do it. What’s Raisin’s full name?” Alex told me. I stood and gestured Koun forward. My Executioner. I had never given him a job like this before. Tonight was gonna suck.
Koun stepped between us, one sword high, the other still sheathed. Behind him, Thema and Kojo turned to facethe hallway, guarding us from attack. “Ernestine Frida Bisset. You have been accused of treason. You have, by the words of your mouth, consorted with our enemies. You have admitted collusion in the death of Amaury Pellissier, Master of the City of New Orleans. We hereby condemn you to death, according to the Vampira Carta of the Americas.” To Quint I said, “Remove her gag. Sit her up in her chair.”
Quint jerked the old blood-servant upright. Removed her gag. As Quint moved, Raisin spat again. This time something flew from her mouth. Midair, it glittered.
“Down!” Koun screamed. With a single downward cut, he batted the thing back at Raisin. With his other hand, he lifted the heavy desk on its end and yanked Quint and me down. His body moving vamp-fast. The desk still rocking over us.
The glittering thing hit Raisin in the face.
An explosion ripped all sound away.
The office shook. Dust and debris flew.
I crawled to my feet. Trying to figure out what had happened. Blinking against the dust and the blood in my eyes. Deaf. In my pocket, the Glob was hot, as if it had pulled energy from the air. So... magic?
The memories were splintered and confused but... Raisin had spat something from her mouth and Koun had batted it back, yanked up the desk to protect us, and shoved us down. Vamp-fast. Right?
Ernestine’s head was gone, nothing of her left above her shoulders, Koun’s blade had buried itself in the desk edge and both were still rocking. Koun nodded to me. He was okay. I checked on Quint who was trying to get to her feet. We were all covered in blood, but not our own. Quint and I were coughing against the dust and the stench of whatever had been used in the physical part of the explosion. Koun wasn’t breathing, so he was fine. And none of us were dead, thanks to Koun’s vamp reflexes.
Time solidified and stabilized. I shook my head as my brain started to work.
Raisin was no vamp. Her body had contained a lot of blood. It still pulsed from her headless neck, though weakly now. It had splattered everywhere. Koun shovedthe headless body onto the floor. The blood had drenched everything and everyone in sight. Quint dragged me toward the door. My people had ducked away at Koun’s warning. They were racing back. They grabbed at me, searching for wounds. Koun said something and they stepped back. I looked at myself. I was... a mess.
That might be a good thing. The blood of the lynchpin between two factions could be a powerful token to vamps. I looked back to see Koun levering the blade out of the wood. He placed it on the desk, palmed a different, smaller blade, and turned to face the door. I touched my crown, and thought about my damaged ears, and how I needed them right away. I felt a tendril of healing flow to them. A hum was followed by a roaring and then by voices as if from a distance. I was able to hear some. That was fast.
Gesturing my people away from the opening, Quint led us into the hallway.
Adan shoved past us into the room, fast, with a little pop of air that sent the dust soaring again. He stopped. His wild hair was flying and patchy. His eyes went wide. This was one time that not having to breathe worked against a vamp. He hadn’t smelled the blood in his wild run. Or me.
