“But why would he kil one type of woman, over and over?”
“Think about it for a minute.” Wade let me figure it out for myself.
“Oh, Great Mother.” And I knew. I knew exactly why our kil er had turned into a serial kil er. “He’s attacking his sire, over and over.”
“There you have it.” I couldn’t see him through the phone, but I could hear Wade smiling.
“I’ve got to go. I need to tel Chase what we’re dealing with.”
“Do you want me down there? Maybe I can help.”
I thought. Camil e and Tril ian were spent. Morio was out of commission. Vanzir was at home protecting Iris and Maggie. Smoky and Roz were gone. Delilah was stil recovering from her injury.
It was either wait for Shade to get here or . . .
“Yeah.” I gave him the address. “Hurry.”
“Chase!” I slapped my phone shut and hurried over to the detective. “I know why he’s kil ing them. I know who we’re looking for.”
“Who is he?” Chase whirled, a look of relief on his face.
“I don’t have a name, but I’ve got his profile. Wade remembered that the guy who seemed odd
—that he was wearing a clerical col ar.”
Chase shook his head. “And?”
“Ten to one our suspect was a priest or other clergy member while alive. We think his sire was posing as a prostitute. This would explain why he’s targeting hookers with similar looks. His sire probably has long brown hair and was around that age when she was turned.”
Il umination washed over Chase’s face. “Crap. And when he was turned . . .”
“Right—he had a psychotic break. His conscience couldn’t reconcile his old beliefs with his new state of being. Wade’s on his way to help. Now that we know what his motives are, maybe we can track him.”
Chase nodded. “Got your drift.” He put in a cal to Yugi. “Listen, check on any priests or clergy members that have gone missing over the past six months for me, would you?” He glanced at me and added, “Also, any who have died in that time period. I need the info ASAP. Find out the locations of where they died or went missing, too.”
As he hung up, we came to the girl. She was splayed out like the others, her skirt ripped away from her, her private areas bloody and maimed. He was getting worse, that much was apparent. I averted my eyes, wanting to give her privacy, though I knew she would never have privacy again until she was in the grave, and then she’d have an eternity of it.
Chase hung his head and let out a long sigh. “He sure hates hookers. Probably women in general.”
“I’m so tired of this shit,” I whispered, turned away.
“So am I.” Chase slid a hand on my shoulder. I glanced at it, considering shaking him off—I real y wasn’t in the mood to be comforted—but realized he meant wel .
“I can tel by the smel , even from here, that we’re dealing with the same vampire. The scent of death and mold and . . . mold . . .” Wait a minute. “I smel mold.”
I hurried to her side and knelt down, sniffing near her neck. “Chase, there’s only a residue of the scent, but she’s been around viro-mortis slime. And I guarantee you that she hasn’t been prowling around in the tunnels. This verifies it, he’s using Underground Seattle—the hidden part—as his base. He must have brushed up against a wal . This smel s like green viro-mortis slime, so it wouldn’t be too dangerous to him.”
“You mean we have to go back down there? With those ghosts?” Chase paled.
“No. I mean I have to go back down there. You stay topside. I’l wait for Wade, though. Maybe together, he and I can trace our vamp. At least Ivana Krask ate up a lot of the ghosts . . . at that one particular juncture.”
Chase’s phone rang and he flipped it open. “Yes? What?” He shifted to pul out his pen and notebook, jotting something down as he listened. “Right. Where was he last seen? . . . Good work.”
After he hung up, Chase scribbled on another sheet and tore it off, handing it to me. “We have our man. A priest named Charles Shalimar disappeared two months ago. Guess where he disappeared from?”
“The Greenbelt Park District?”
“Bingo. There’s a Catholic church near the park—Our Lady of Mercy—and several priests live at the rectory. Charles didn’t come home from a late-night visit to the hospital where one of his parishioners had asked for him. From what Yugi said, someone looked into the disappearance but nothing was found, and for some reason, nothing more was ever done or said.”
“Where was he last seen?”
“He said good-bye to the night nurse after his charge died and mentioned something about walking home. The hospital is about ten blocks from the church and the quickest route would have taken him right through the park.”
Chase held up his phone. Yugi had e-mailed him a picture of the priest. He looked to be in good shape for his age and physical y fit. But not fit enough to fight off a vampire.
“The park . . . where we’ve found most of the victims.”
“Yeah. Apparently he’s returning to the scene of his own murder.”
I pul ed out my cel . “Can you e-mail me that picture, so I know who I’m looking for?”
“Sure thing.” He punched in my number. “One other thing, Menol y.”
“What?”
“Be careful. Yugi mentioned that we’ve been getting reports tonight of vampires around the city being attacked. It looks like the Earthborn brotherhood’s up in arms and taking action. Two members of the cult have shown up dead with vampire punctures. I’m going to have to go on TV
with a press conference here in a bit.”
Great, one more thing to worry about. I nodded, and as soon as Yugi beamed me a picture of the good priest, I jogged back to the manhole cover to wait for Wade. I was tempted to head down without him, to rampage through every tunnel and opening, but I knew better. Dealing with a psychotic vampire wasn’t going to be easy, even with my strength. Psychosis made for strength.
psychotic vampire wasn’t going to be easy, even with my strength. Psychosis made for strength.While I waited, I thought over the situation. There were far-reaching consequences that I real y didn’t want to see happen. The fal out onto the vampire rights movement was going to be deadly.
For one thing, the church was not going to be forgiving of a vampire turning one of their priests.
They’d been relatively quiet on the whole issue, only issuing a statement that once a mortal died, his or her soul moved on so whatever was left could not be considered the same person as they were before. Thank heavens, the law ignored their moral imperative, because they were wrong. Al vampires retained their souls—we were stuck in our bodies, unable to break free until the sun, a stake through the heart, or in some cases extreme fire put an end to us.
But although the church had not been our friend, neither had it been our enemy. No, it had been the fringe cults that had sprung up. When the portals opened and we came over from Otherworld, the cults had taken root. They’d grown when the Earthside Supes came out of the closet. The fringe faction were reactionary. They didn’t have much to lose, unlike the government and religious institutions, so they could afford to become extremists.
But with this, would the truly religious take up the crusade against vampires? Would they join the ranks of the Earthborn Brethren? And what would they do once they found out about the demons?
Al of this was running through my head as I waited for Wade. Half a block away, Chase and his men worked over the crime scene. To pass the time, I pul ed out my phone and punched speed dial for home. Iris answered.
“Iris, hey . . .” I stopped. How the fuck could I tel her everything that had passed so far this evening? Luckily, she’d already heard some of it.
“Menol y! Where are you? Camil e cal ed, so worried about you. She told me what happened at the hospital.”
I could hear the question behind her words. “I’m al right. I had to get out of there. The pul to Morio was too strong. I spent some time with Roman to take the edge off. But I’ve got news about our vampire serial kil er—he was a priest, and he’s targeting women who remind him of his sire, who posed as a hooker. I’m waiting for Wade. We’re going back in the tunnels to find him.”
“What about the ghosts?” Her voice was soft, a tremor of fear behind it.
“Ivana dealt with most of them. And hey, two vampires are better than one, right?”
“Just you be careful, missy. Maggie needs you. We al need you.” She hesitated, then added,
“You know none of this is your fault, right?”
“Morio is. I know people are saying no, he just was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the fact is he pushed me out of the way to save my life, and he almost died for it. I’l never forget it. I’l never look at him without remembering that.”
“Menol y, do you think Chase feels that way about Zachary? Zach did the same thing, and Karvanak paralyzed him. He’s forever maimed for performing a selfless act. But Chase doesn’t blame himself, does he?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he should. Maybe not, but I can’t forget it. The look on Camil e’s face, and what happened to her afterward—”
“What are you talking about?”
Crap. I almost blurted out Camil e and Vanzir’s secret. “Nothing. Never mind and please, don’t ask.” With relief, I saw Wade pul up in his black Beamer. “Wade’s here. I have to go. I’l cal you as soon as I’m able. But please, don’t worry. We’l be okay. We should be fine, especial y now that we know who we’re looking for.”
She didn’t answer, but I could hear the sprite’s soft breathing. Feeling under the gun, I sought for something else to soothe her worry. “I have to do this. We can’t let any more women die—and there was another murder tonight.”
“I know,” Iris final y said. “I just don’t want you going down there feeling guilty over Morio. I don’t want your subconscious doing anything to get you hurt. Sometimes you have more conscience than I think is good for you, girl.”
“I have to. Otherwise, I’d just be another monster.” Hanging up, I slid my phone in my pocket, watching as Wade hustled over to my side. “Yo. We’ve got to get moving. He could be long gone by now.”
“Do you real y think he is?”
I shook my head. “No. Actual y, I think his lair is near here.”
“If things end up playing out the way we think they are, I wouldn’t worry about him disappearing.
He’s pul ed to this area. I worked up a quick profile based on everything we talked about. He’s probably feeling so much guilt over either fucking a hooker, or even thinking about it, that he’s compel ed to stay here. He’s constantly searching out his sire, and—in his mind—kil ing her over and over again. But because she’s a vampire, she can’t die and his subconscious knows that. So he has to strike again and again. In a sense, he’s trying to cope with a feeling of impotence since he can’t seem to strike her dead.”
I stared at Wade. “We real y need to talk more often. Crap, that’s good. And we are dealing with a priest.” I told him what Chase and I had found out about Charles Shalimar.
“That adds a whole new layer of guilt. I guess we’re good to go.”
I brought out several wooden stakes, handing him a couple of them, fixing several in my own belt. Then I handed him a cross.
“What the . . .? Religious objects don’t work on us.” He took the wooden T and frowned at it.
“What should I do with this?”
“Ah, it won’t work on you or me, but remember—he was a priest. He’s had a psychotic break.
The cross may very wel carry some impact with him since he is a believer and he sees himself. . ..
wel , hel . . . I don’t know exactly what he thinks he’s thinking, but it can’t hurt to try. The crosses won’t actual y hurt him, but he might think they wil . And that could buy us valuable time.”
“Bril iant. So, shal we?” He motioned to the gaping hole.
I flipped open my phone and cal ed Chase. He might be only a block or so away, but it was easier to cal than run over there. He answered. “Chase, Wade and I are headed down. I suggest you keep some of your men in the area for a while.”
“I’l stay myself. We’l be over in a few. And, Menol y—”
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
I slid my phone back in my pocket and looked at Wade. “Time to go hunting, babe.” And I jumped into the hole, floating down, hoping that this time we’d successful y bag our quarry.
CHAPTER 21
The tunnels were becoming al too familiar. Old friends, almost, or rather—frenemies. They were comforting in their darkness, and I felt at home in the dusky passages, but they were also fraught with danger and my common sense kept me alert.
“I smel something,” Wade said. “Blood.”
I inhaled deeply and the coppery scent spread through my body. “Blood. Of course—he has to be covered with her blood. You didn’t see . . .” Visions of her mutilated body raced through my mind and I tried to shake them away. “He has to be covered in her blood. Fol ow the scent and we fol ow him.”
And so, silent, we tracked him through the tunnels. We headed in the direction of the passage where we’d found the shadow men, but fifty feet or so before the fork, the scent led us to the left wal of the passage. It was brick and seemingly solid. I frowned, running my hands over the aged tablets. And then I felt it—a thin line, running vertical y.