Page 18 of Bold Mercy

Chapter Eleven

The city was in shock, but soon, there would be only chaos. Terror and disbelief were on every face I saw, and already people gathered in small groups on the streets to listen while grim speakers shouted about the end of the world, government interference, and conspiracy theories.

I wanted to shift, but I needed to stay in contact with the detective. He’d keep me informed as I tracked the killer vampires. But Avis was fast—vampire fast—and she had yet to leave the city. That terrified me, because there were only two reasons why she’d stay.

One, to kill more humans, and two, because she wasn’t afraid of being caught.

And as I followed her scent through well-lit streets crowded with cars as people attempted to flee, Rick called again. “People are dying in the streets,” he told me. “The vampires have started picking people off as they gather in groups and pile into their cars.”

“While the humans are disorganized and confused,” I told him, “the vampires will strike the hardest. They need a voice, Detective. Talk to them. Tell them that most of what they’ve heard about vampires is true. Tell them to go inside and lock their doors—vampires cannot get into their houses without an invitation.” Then I hesitated, because Avis was not exactly a vampire, and she could go wherever she pleased. Still, it might cut down on some of the deaths.

“Vampire headed this way,” Wyatt said.

And not just any vampire. I ended the call with the detective and looked up to see Bastien, the county master, walking toward me. He didn’t look like a vampire. He’d cut his long, shiny hair and donned an expensive suit, attempting to blend in with the humans. But his eyes were terrible, and I knew that he would blame himself for Avis Vine’s murder spree. As county master, that was on his shoulders.

Farrow, the girl who’d approached me when I’d first visited Frederick Axton, was at his side, and though they didn’t make themselves obvious, I saw other vampires near him, also attempting to blend in. Their lives were about to change forever, and I couldn’t imagine what they were thinking.

“Do you have her scent?” Bastien asked me.

“I do.”

“My people are all over the city. We’ll find her.” He stared at me with a stillness only vampires were capable of. “If you find her before I do—”

“I know what to do,” I interrupted, patting the stakes I’d hidden beneath my long jacket. “She won’t be the first vampire I’ve staked.”

He flinched, just a little. He got control of his emotions quickly, but I saw what he tried to hide. His eyes were brimming with desolation. “I would like to get her alive,” he said. “I would use her as an example to others who might betray their own. I can punish her in ways you cannot imagine, Kait. Bring her to me.”

He wasn’t wrong. Even though there would have been nothing as satisfying to me as staking Avis and taking her head, he could keep her alive for years with his creative torture. And he could use her to keep others in line. “I’ll think about it,” was all I’d promise.

He gave me a quick nod. “Thank you.” Then he and his people hurried on, as determined as I was to stop the carnage and capture Avis Vine.

I wondered if her insanity would affect other vampires in other cities, other countries. Avis was far from the only crazy in the world, and other vampires might only have been waiting for someone to lead them into the fray—and out of the shadows.

By dawn, she still had not been found, many humans were dead—most of them killed by other humans, terrified humans with guns—and Bastien told me that some of his vampires had joined Avis, rising up with their dark desires and, perhaps, a belief that once they were out they would become…equals, somehow. Mainstream.

Accepted.

Only that would never happen, because they had too much power, there were too few of them, and the majority of humans would only ever fear and hate them. Wolves would be next, of course. I was doubtful we could stay hidden now. That any of the nonhumans could.

Maybe my nerves screwed with my hunting, but for whatever reason, I lost Avis’s scent around four in the morning. I was exhausted, as were the wolves with me, because we’d barely taken a moment to rest. We hadn’t eaten, and now we were running on pure hatred and desperation alone.

We weren’t the only ones. Groups of humans and the occasional loner carried shotguns and blades through the city streets, searching for vampires. Maybe they thought there was safety in numbers or that if they spotted a vampire they’d simply shoot him or her and someone would burn or bury the monster, and all would be well.

It wouldn’t take them long to realize the futility and danger of their plan.

“Lucy and Ash are at Shadowfield,” Jared said. “Come home with me to sleep. We will begin the search again as soon as it’s dark.”

I surprised him by agreeing. The last thing I wanted was to be alone. I called Zach and asked him to return to Shadowfield as well, and then called my mother.

“I’m already at Shadowfield, Kaity. You’re coming?”

“Yeah. Go back to sleep, Mom.” In one’s pack was safety, comfort, and strength, and I was in no condition to deny myself.

I forgot all about the serial killer. What was one crazy fucking human in the midst of such a massive nightmare?

When we got to Shadowfield and I stumbled walking toward Jared’s house, he gave a soft growl and took my arm to steady me. “You’ll get cleaned up,” he told me. “Food will be waiting. After you eat, Nell will show you to a bed.”

His fingers were warm on my arm, even through the thin fabric of my jacket. Warm, and possessive. And yet…