"Well, look what we have here," his eyes were so deep a red they were nearly black and he smiled, fangs and all, as he got a good whiff of me. "Stand still little girl so I can get my claws into you. We'll have a bit of fun before I kill you." Compulsion dripped from his voice. It wasn't the thunder and lightning that Merrill could do, but it would eclipse Wlodek. This one was older, even, than the last one I'd seen at the Council meeting.
"I won't be having any fun with you," I snarled back. His compulsion had absolutely no effect. His eyes widened a fraction but that was the only indication given that I'd surprised him. My own claws slid out as I prepared for his attack. I avoided his first assault, which occurred in a rush of wind and blazing fury. He growled as he came to ground, facing me still. Not only could he fly as Merrill and Wlodek did, but he could do so as swiftly as any vampire could run. That was frightening. Now, my problem seemed to be getting close enough to decapitate him. That was my only chance of taking him down.
Flexing his claws a little, he hissed and charged me again. I slashed out at him as I whipped out of his way once more. "Nice," he growled, wiping a bit of blood off his face. My claws had barely nicked a cheek. "Little girl, I don't intend to let you live. Give up now and I'll make your death swift."
"That's an offer I'll have to refuse," I said and misted right next to him. He roared, turning in a swift circle to look for me when I appeared at his side. Moving faster than I could see, he punched my jaw, breaking it. With dismay, I heard bone snap as I swiped at him. He clawed my side even as I removed his head.
The body dropped like a sack of grain and began to flake away immediately. The pain in my jaw caused me to drop to my knees and I knew the gashes in my side were deep. When I drew my hand away from the sliced skin, it was covered in blood. There wasn't any help for it; I had to let Tony know. I didn't know if I could stay conscious long enough to get back to the embassy and I certainly couldn't go in looking like this.
Tony, I need help, I sent. I think I whimpered with the effort it took to send the mindspeech.
What do you need, baby? Tony sounded scared.
I need somebody to come get me. I got hit a little, I returned.
Where are you?
I don't know. In the middle of a big concrete drainage ditch somewhere. He wasn't going to be able to find me and I nearly panicked.
Do you have your cell phone with you?
Yes. It was in my pocket. I had no idea why he wanted to know that.
We'll be there, baby, just hold on, all right?
All right. I sat down on the concrete, then, hunching over in pain while the mister flaked away right beside me.
It took Tony and some of his men twenty minutes to get to me and Tony was running down the sloped side of the steep drainage ditch with three agents right behind him when they found me. "Lissa, what's wrong?" Tony knelt down next to me, ignoring the clothing and pile of ash that lay on the concrete nearby.
He broke my jaw and did this; I lifted the hand that covered part of my deep claw marks.
Tony swore as he examined my gashes. Is that him? He nodded toward the pile of ash and clothing.
Yes. Tony I can't go to the hospital but I need somebody to set my jaw. The rest will clear up with the sleep. I need blood, too.
"We'll take care of this," Tony assured me, motioning for one of the agents to help get me up. "Call one of our doctors and have him meet us at the hotel," Tony ordered. Another agent pulled out a cell and made a call. I was in too much pain to listen to the conversation.
"I can carry her," the agent who'd helped pull me to my feet offered, so Tony nodded and allowed it.
"Be careful, her jaw's broken, too," Tony said. The agent lifted me up—I moaned a little at the movement. It caused blinding pain in both my jaw and my side. Tony asked one of the agents to pick up the vampire's clothing and the ash that clung to it. I wondered what he planned to do with it but didn't ask. Somehow, we climbed up the steep side of the drainage channel and they placed me inside a waiting SUV.
The man waiting for us inside Tony's hotel room wasn't dressed like a doctor, but what did I know? "Just get the jaw aligned and clean out the gashes," Tony instructed as the agent settled me on Tony's bed.
Towels, Tony, I hugged myself, hoping not to get blood on his bed. We'd come into the hotel by the back way and hotel security had stood aside and watched us pass.
Tony convinced the agent to leave us alone while the doctor examined my jaw first. Getting it back in place was a bitch—I might have screamed, I think, if I could have.
"There," the doctor said when it was over. "Don't talk," he held up a hand. I nodded, tears in my eyes. "Now, what do we have here?" He lifted my shredded shirt and looked at the deep rips in my skin. "Get that shirt off," he said. "Are you sure she doesn't need a tetanus shot?" He gave Tony a curious glance.
"No shots, no drugs," Tony said. "You can use peroxide to clean it out, that's it."
"Fine," the doctor grumbled. I shrugged out of my shirt with Tony's help. I sat on the edge of Tony's bed as the doctor cleaned my side with the recommended peroxide, bandaged it with gauze and tape and then stepped outside the room to talk with Tony. I was afraid to move my jaw; it needed to stay in place so it would heal properly. Very carefully, I lay down on the bed—on the good side of my face—and closed my eyes.
"Here, baby," Tony held a partial bag of blood in front of my nose after a while. Clenching my jaw and hoping not to jar it any, I sipped slowly at the blood. Tony took the bag away when it was empty, asking if I wanted any more.
No, I sent and closed my eyes.
* * *
"This all began when we took Lissa to Vilmos' cottage. He refused to respond to our demand that he give up his human companion when the Council rejected his request," Wlodek informed Gavin, who sat on the other side of his desk. "Sebastian was already gone; he'd called to let Charles know the assassination had been carried out and we arrived perhaps two hours later. Lissa went through the house, swore that a baby had been there and that Sebastian had done something with it. Merrill and I found no evidence and the only thing Lissa could produce to support her claim was a pacifier."
Gavin was surprised that Wlodek knew what a pacifier was but held his tongue. "Lissa's sense of smell is more sensitive than mine," he said instead. "Are you sure she wasn't right?"
"I no longer know for certain," Wlodek sighed. "Sebastian has disappeared and now human children are turning up missing or dead. Find Sebastian, Gavin. If I learn that he took a baby from Vilmos' human companion and is responsible for taking these other children, well, we will deal with that situation as it arises. If you locate him and he refuses to cooperate, then kill him."