“Priceless,” Erron laughed. “Give Orpheus my regards.”
“We gonna have a problem here?” Adam asked. I watched the two men for signs of violence, ready to back up Adam if necessary.
But Erron’s expression sobered. “Nah. If there’s one thing I hate worse than Hekate Council ass kissers, it’s Caste members.”
Adam relaxed a tad and nodded. Then both males resumed their scan of the immediate area. Giguhl and I traded speculative glances. The exchange between the mages surprised me. This recreant thing was obviously a bigger deal than I thought at first.
More than the tension, something else was bothering me about the cemetery. I put a hand on Adam’s arm. “Do you feel that?”
Adam shot me a worried look. “What?”
“The ground is vibrating.” But that wasn’t it exactly, either. It was subtle, almost like white noise, except palpable.
“Anyone picking up movement?” Adam whispered.
“Not me,” Giguhl said.
I shook my head. The smell of copper was weaker here, and my gut told me the coast was clear for the moment. But I knew better than to relax.
“So what’s your story, Red?” Erron asked. “Why are you fighting vamps, being one yourself?
“I’m mixed-blood, actually. The Caste vamps are working with my grandmother, who wants to wipe my mage half of the family from the planet.”
Erron took that in stride. “Cool.”
“Any chance one of you could whip us up some new hardware?”
Adam jumped in before Erron could offer. “I got it.” He did his thing and handed over a brand-spanking-new gun. The handgrip warmed quickly in my palm. “And before you ask, yes, I remembered the apple bullets this time.”
I grinned at him. On the list of things I liked best about Adam, his ability to conjure weaponry tied for third with his adorable dimples.
Erron nudged my arm. “There’s Zig.”
I looked up to see the Rockabilly guy walking toward us. Instead of speaking, however, his hands moved with lightning speed. Sign language? Since when are mages deaf? Or drummers, for that matter? Adam and I exchanged a look. But he looked less surprised than I felt.
“Ziggy says that there’s a clear path to the wall on the other side. We could flash out, but if we do that, they’ll keep coming back. They always do. I suggest we move toward the wall to draw them out. Face them down and end this now.”
Erron and Ziggy looked to Adam. It rankled that they assumed he was calling the shots. But as a Pythian Guard, Adam had as much— if not more— tactical experience and training as me. Still, my pride took a bit of a ding.
“Sabina?” Adam said. “You cool with that plan?”
I smiled widely at the mancy and saluted. “Yes, sir.”
His lips quirked. “Let’s move.”
We ducked and ran around the crypt we’d been hiding behind. Given the trick the Count had pulled earlier, I thought it best to have more than just the gun. So I reached into my boot for the knife I kept there for special occasions. I didn’t think it’d do much damage against these guys, but I’d take any small advantage I could get at that point.
We forged a serpentine path through the maze of crypts and columbaria. The cemetery wasn’t huge, but the height of the structures and the way they were crammed together meant lots of hiding places for enemies. Finally, I could see the wall on the opposite end of the place ahead. We rushed past a large mausoleum, dedicated to a fraternal order of some sort.
And stumbled headlong into the Count’s creepy gang.
Everyone went still. The leader of the mysterious vamps tipped his chin and held out a gallant hand. “Shall we?” He held out his cane— with the blade hidden back inside— as if he actually expected me to just shrug and come along.
Adam and Erron answered the question for me with a couple of bolts of fuck-you-very-much. But this time, the vamps expected it. They scattered and rolled to avoid the strike. The magic slammed two vamps in the back and ricocheted into the caretaker’s shack, which shuddered and spat bricks to the ground like broken teeth.
I delivered two bullets into the downed vamps while I had the chance. Their cinders swirled away in the breeze.
The other eight scattered. Two— the Count and a female— flanked us, and the others took to the vault roofs.
“Go up, G!” I shouted as I ran toward the Count. From the corner of my eye, I saw Adam head toward the female. Erron and Ziggy ran farther into the cemetery after the others, including Red Sonja.
The Count smiled eagerly and beckoned me with his fingers. I stuck the gun in my waistband and lunged for him. I’d use the gun only when I knew he couldn’t use magic to disarm me again.
He flew to meet me. And when I say flew, I mean his feet literally left the ground. We slammed into each other. He weighed more, so when we fell I was at the disadvantage. I rolled quickly to avoid any restraining holds. As I did, I kicked out, the heel of my boot punching into his chest.
I came up into a crouch, my weight evenly distributed in case he went for the tackle. Instead he jumped up, winked at me, and disappeared. I spun in a quick circle but couldn’t find him.
Still on guard for his reappearance, I palmed my gun again and did a quick scan to check on Adam. The female’s body slammed back into a wall. From somewhere the mage produced an applewood stake. Before she’d recovered from her fall, he was on her. A swift downward stab and she was no more.
Magic sizzled through the air, and the Count reappeared directly behind Adam.
“No!” I dove and tackled him from behind. We rolled down the path, our limbs tangled. Behind me, I heard Adam shout something, followed by boots pounding against the packed earth. The Count came out on top, but his weight suddenly disappeared as Adam jerked him off me. The vamp’s legs got tangled in his cape and he stumbled to his knees. Adam grabbed his hair back.
“The knife!” he yelled.
I tossed it and he caught it in midair. In a smooth motion, he swooped in with the blade. But before he could deliver the deathblow to the vamp’s neck, the fucking guy disappeared again.
“There,” I called, pointing to a crypt on the far end of the aisle. The Count had gone to higher ground.
I started to give chase, but Adam stopped me. “He’s mine.” With that, the mage disappeared. As I watched, he rematerialized just behind the Count and tapped him on the shoulder. The vamp spun just in time to receive a fist to the face.
Satisfied Adam had the situation under control, I looked up to see Giguhl pick up the male he was fighting. He hefted the squirming vamp over his head like a sack of potatoes. Then my demon tossed the guy down, where he landed with a thud at my feet.
I smiled down at him. “Ain’t gravity a bitch?”
The bullet shattered his face before his body ignited.
“G, go help Adam. I’m going to find the Amazon.”
As the demon leapt from roof to roof on his way to assist Adam, I ran in the opposite direction to find the female.
A streak of shadow between two buildings. I cut through the space and peeked around the corner before following. Something slammed into my back. I flew forward, the ground rising quickly to meet me. The gun skittered away upon impact. Rough hands grabbed at my arms, tried to pull them behind me. My nails found purchase on a handy patch of skin and dug in.
The female grunted and reared up, giving me enough leverage to flip over. As I came around, I bucked my hips to unseat her the rest of the way. I came up in a crouch and faced her.
I waited for her to pull the sword. Go for a body blow before taking off my head, perhaps. But she surprised me by falling back into a fighting stance. The tactic caught me off guard. Then I remembered what the Count had said about killing Adam to ensure my cooperation. Obviously, her plan was to subdue instead of kill.
That was her first mistake.
We circled each other slowly in an aisle formed between clumps of tombs. From the other side of the cluster of buildings, I heard grunts and the sounds of fists on bone. Every now and then, the fighting would be punctuated by a burst of magical energy.
The bitch’s fangs flashed. “I’m trying to decide if I’m going to impale your lover with my blade or if I’ll rip out his throat. If you’re nice, I’ll let you watch.”
That was her second mistake.
A red haze descended over my vision. My hands itched to destroy her mouth for even daring to speak those words. My fists led the way, going after her face, her torso, anything to punish her. Her foot whacked into my ribs with a painful punch to my kidneys. She followed with a chop to my throat that had me gasping for air. For her trouble, she earned a backhand. She spat a mouthful of red-tinged spit to the ground.
Apparently, the taste of her own blood flipped a switch somewhere under all that chain mail. Because the next thing I knew, she came after me in a blur of fists and kicks.
I was too busy defending against the blows to inflict much retaliatory damage. I’m not a small woman, but she had to have three inches and a good twenty pounds of muscle on me. Her assault pushed me back until we were back in the main avenue of the cemetery.
Another magical blast slammed through the air not far from where we fought. This one larger than the rest. Giguhl shouted something at Adam, followed by a high masculine scream. “Porcia!”
The blows stopped suddenly. The female had ignored the magic, but the Count’s cry got her attention. Interesting .
She slammed past me to give aid to her comrade. Stunned by the sudden lack of pain, it took me a second to give chase. By the time I reached her, she was already climbing up a wall, trying to reach the Count.
I grabbed her by the chain mail and ripped her off the side. Above us, the Count was trading zaps with Adam while trying to ward off the blows of a severely pissed-off demon. Erron and Ziggy fended off three other vamps on the tombs across the way.
Porcia’s elbow crashed into my nose. Bone crunched, followed by a warm gush of blood. I scrambled to catch her, but the haze of pain and the throbbing pain in my eyes blurred my vision. By the time I recovered enough to try again, she’d already made it to the rooftop. For a big girl, she certainly was agile.