I hesitated at the edge of the crowd, gaze fixed on the placid vamp being led under the yellow tape to the waiting I.S. cruisers at the curb. "I don't know," the cuffed man said, sounding bewildered. "I don't give a fuck what a Were thinks of my mom. He pissed me off."
The undead vamp's response was mostly unheard, and I watched the two meld into the lights and excitement of six I.S. cruisers, two news vans, eight FIB vehicles, and all the people who went with them. Everyone's lights were on, revolving if they could. The cold night air had the feeling of wrap-up, and I sighed. I hated being late to a riot.
I wasn't going to wait for Marshal, who was still parking his car. They wouldn't let him in. I'd be surprised if I got in without some trouble; invited or not, the FIB didn't trust me anymore. Stupid-ass prejudice. How many times did I have to prove myself?
Chin high and eyes scanning, I edged through the crowd to where the yellow ribbon met the wall, deciding I would just slip under the line and hope for the best. My motion to dip under the tape was halted, however, when I almost knocked heads with a familiar face doing the same thing.
"Hi, Tom," I said acerbically as I drew back. "We just keep running into each other."
The former I.S. agent dropped the tape, his shocked expression turning to frustration. He took a breath to say something, then clenched his jaw. Silent, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.
Surprised, I stared after him until the snow and the crowd took him. "Huh," I muttered, then, sort of disappointed he hadn't stuck around to exchange barbs, I dipped under the yellow tape and yanked the closest door open, eager to get out of the cold. The air was still between the twin sets of doors, and I could hear voices echoing, raised in anger and frustration. A cluster of FIB uniforms gathered past the second set of doors, and I decided that was my best bet.
"Sorry, ma'am," a low voice said, and I jerked my hand from the inner door, instinct pulling me back before a thick-fingered hand could touch me.
It was a dead vampire, a fairly young one by the looks of him, set to be door guard. Heart pounding, I cocked my hip and gave him an up-and-down look. "I'm with the FIB," I said, and he laughed, the rim of his blue eyes thinning as he started to pull an aura.
"Witches don't work for the FIB," he said. "You look more like a reporter. Get behind the line, ma'am."
"I work outside the lines, and I'm not a reporter," I said, looking up at his clean-shaven face. Any other time, I would have stopped to enjoy the view, but I was in a hurry. "And knock off the aura crap," I said, ticked. "My roommate could eat you for breakfast."
The vamp's eyes went full black. The background noise of angry people abruptly vanished. The blood drained from my face, and I found my back against the outer doors. "I'd rather sip you for breakfast," the undead vampire murmured, his voice running like cool fog through my soul. A pulse from my scar sent a shock of reality through me. Damn it, I hated it when vampires didn't recognize me.
My gloved hand had covered my neck, and I forced it down and my eyes to open. "Go find a rat," I said, even as his playing on my scar felt really good. My thoughts went to Ivy, and I swallowed. This was so not what I needed.
Vamp boy blinked at my unusual resistance, and with that slight show of confusion, his hold on me broke. Damn, I had to quit teasing the dead ones.
"Hey, Farcus!" a masculine voice shouted from beyond the glass, and he turned, even as he kept me in his vision. "Leave the witch alone. That's Morgan, the FIB's whore."
Farcus, apparently, dropped back, the rim of his blue eyes growing in surprise. "You're Rachel Morgan?" he said, then started to laugh, showing his pointed canines. Somehow that irritated me more than him playing on my scar had.
I pushed forward. "And you're Farcus, rhymes with Marcus, another lame-ass vampire. Get out of my way." His laughter cut off as I bumped him, and he growled when I leaned on the door and passed into the warmth of the mall.
As far as malls go, it was nice, with the food court up front, wide aisles, and two stories to make a fun place to shop. I slowly loosened my coat and scarf as I scanned the open area. I was too late to do anything. Thick in the air was the choking scent of angry Were and the spicy tang of angry vampire, all mixing with the aroma of burgers, fries, and Asian food ruined by too much grease. Over it all was the sound of eighties pop done instrumentally. Surreal.
The surrounding shops on both levels had their gates down, and employees were clustered behind them, loud with gossip. The lower floor was a mess, with several tables sporting broken legs and everything shoved out of place. A red smear on the floor and pilings gave me pause until I decided the splatter pattern wasn't right for blood. It was ketchup, which might be why the humans had gathered by the ice-cream counter. Young kids wearing too much black mostly, but there were some late shoppers braving the encroaching Inderlander shopping hours, too. They looked scared, but there were no paramedics.
At the other end of the food court were the Inderlanders, and here was where the lawsuits would come from. Most had makeshift bandages pressed against their arms or legs. One was flat out on the floor. Weres and vampires. No witches, who were like humans in that they knew to get out of the way when predators fought. It was quiet over there, and most looked confused, not angry. Clearly the riot had ended as quickly as it had started. So where's the little instigator? I thought, not seeing anyone matching Mia's description among the walking wounded.
Stopping in the middle of the open hall, I dug the locator amulet out of my bag with a faint, foolish sense of optimism. Maybe I'd done it right and didn't know it? But as I held the smooth disk of wood in my hands, it stayed a slightly damp disk of wood. No glow, no tingle. Nothing. Either I'd flubbed the charm, or she wasn't here.
"Damn," I whispered, brow furrowed. It had been a long time since I'd misspelled a charm. Doubt in one's abilities wasn't healthy when you worked with high magic. Self-doubt led to mistakes. Double damn. What if I really messed up one day and blew myself to bits?
The familiar cadence of Ivy's boots pulled me around, and I shoved the amulet back in my bag. I was really glad she was here. Bringing in a banshee, even a cuffed one, was not as easy as it sounded-which was probably why the I.S. was either ignoring or covering up her activities.
"I thought you were working," I called out as she approached, and she shrugged.
"I finished early." I waited for more, disappointed when she shook her head and added, "Nothing. I didn't learn jack."
Jenks was with her, and he lit on my offered fist, looking tired and cold. "You're late," he said. "You missed all the fun."
A passing vampire with his hands cuffed snarled at us, trying to scratch at the new blisters on his neck. "Pull your damned wings off and then see if you can fly," he muttered, lunging, and making the I.S. cop with him jerk him back.
"Shove it up your ass and make a breath mint out of it!" Jenks shouted after him, and I wondered just how much "fun" I had missed, and if it would be showing up on our doorstep in about forty-eight hours, after it posted bail.
"Making friends, I see," I said, gazing at the aftermath.
Ivy took my elbow and began leading me from the Inderlander side of things. The I.S. officers were watching me, and I felt uneasy. "What took you so long?" she asked. "Edden said he called you."
"I was at my mom's. It takes three times as long as it should to leave." I exhaled loudly, not seeing Mia anywhere. "It's over? Where's Mia? Was Remus with her?"
Jenks clattered for my attention, and he pointed to the human side of the food court. My lips parted, and I blinked. The fussing child should have clued me in even if the man standing protectively over the slight, elegant woman hadn't. Damn, she looks midthirties, not three hundred, I thought as I took in her slight, almost fragile-seeming frame next to the average-looking man as he held a baby bundled up in a pink snowsuit. The toddler was probably only hot, and I wondered why he just didn't take the snowsuit off her. Not a scrap of skin was showing apart from her face and her hands, gripping a sticky lollipop. Disappointment that my amulet hadn't worked filled me, then I shoved it aside.
Apart from his ever-moving eyes, Remus looked entirely unremarkable in his jeans and cloth coat. Not ugly, not attractive, maybe a little tall and bulky, but not overly so. That he could have beaten up Glenn looked doubtful, but knowing how to hurt a person and the willingness to use that knowledge, coupled with surprise, could be deadly. To be honest, he looked harmless-until I saw his eyes follow an FIB officer, hatred in the way he clenched his jaw, an almost eagerness to hurt reflected in his gaze. And then he dropped his attention and shuffled his feet, becoming a janitor standing over a woman way out of his league.
"Why are they just sitting there?" I asked, turning away before they felt my eyes on them. "Did the warrant fall through?"
Jenks slowly rose from Ivy's shoulder to see them better. "No, Edden's got it, but both of them are quiet right now, and he doesn't want to do anything until he gets more people out of here. I've been listening, and the I.S. doesn't care that Mia's killing humans."
A pang of worry made me stiff with tension. "Are they covering it up?"
"Nah. Just ignoring her. Everybody has to kill to eat, right?"
He said it with just the right amount of sarcasm, and I knew he didn't agree with their policy. Everyone had to eat, but eating people wasn't polite.
Jenks's wings fanned, to send the smell of soap to me. He was wearing his wraparound robe instead of his usual work clothes, making him look exotic, and I wondered how Bis was doing watching the church by himself. "I think she and Remus think they are going to slip out with the humans," he said as he landed on my shoulder.
Ivy laughed softly. "I call dibs on the big one."
"I don't know," I said, trying to read Mia's body language from across the large room. "They have to guess we know who they are. I mean, we've been to their house. I think they're waiting because we are."
Ivy smiled, showing a slip of teeth, potent after Farcus's play for my blood. "I still call dibs on the big one."
"Rache," Jenks said, his voice concerned. "Look at Mia's aura. Have you ever seen anything like that?"
Taking a slow breath, I willed my second sight into play. All witches could see auras. Vampires couldn't. Weres couldn't. Some humans could, gaining the ability from hybridizing with elves. Pixies saw them all the time whether they wanted to or not. If I tapped a ley line and worked at it, I could see the ever-after layered over reality. This far out from the center of Cincinnati, it would likely only be stunted trees and frozen scrub. When I'd been in my early teens, I'd spent a lot of time overlaying the ever-after on reality until a trip to the zoo cured me. The tigers had known what I'd been doing, and they'd started for me as if they could walk through the glass to reach me.
I didn't look at auras much. It was illegal to screen employees by their auras, though I knew for a fact some food chains did. Dating services swore by them. I was of the opinion that you could tell more about people in a five-minute conversation than by looking at their auras. Most psychiatrists agreed with me, whether they were human or Inderlander.
Exhaling with a long, slow sound, I turned back to the cluster of humans. Blues, greens, and yellows predominated, with the accompanying flashes of red and black to give evidence of the human condition. There was an unusual amount of orange in a few people's outer fringes, but everyone was upset, and it didn't surprise me.
Remus's aura was a nasty, ugly red with a sheen of purple and the yellow of love at its core. It was a dangerous combination, meaning that he lived in a world that confused him and that he was moved by passion. If one believed in that kind of thing. Mia's...
Jenks clattered his wings, shuddering almost. Mia's was not there-sort of. I mean, it was there, but wasn't. Looking at her predominantly blue aura was like looking at the candles of a protective circle when the candles existed both here and in the ever-after. It was there, but sort of displaced sideways. And it was sucking in everyone else's aura with the faint subtlety of the incoming tide filling a tidal pool. The baby's was exactly the same.
"Look at Remus," Jenks said, shifting his wings to tickle my neck. "His aura isn't being touched at all. Even by the baby's, and he's holding her."
"That might explain why he's still alive," I said, wondering how they managed it. I'd been told that banshees didn't have any control over whose aura they sucked up along with ambient emotions, but clearly that wasn't the case.
Ivy stood beside us with her hip cocked, looking miffed that we were discussing things she couldn't see. It was with an unfamiliar enthusiasm that she straightened and smiled, saying loudly to someone behind me, "Edden. Look, she finally made it."
I dropped my second sight and turned, finding the squat, muscular man almost to us. "Hi, Edden," I said, shifting my bag up higher and unintentionally making Jenks take flight.
The captain of Cincinnati's FIB department shuffled to a stop, his khakis and starched shirt saying he was in charge as much as the badge pinned to his belt and the blue FIB hat he had dropped on his graying head. The gray seemed to be heavier now, and the few wrinkles deeper.
"Rachel," he said as he extended his hand and I shook it. "What took you so long?"
"I was at my mom's," I said, watching the cops behind him start to gossip about us, and he raised his eyebrows knowingly.
"Say no more," he said, then went silent when a Were walked past, limping and with a nasty gash on his forearm.
"You gotta keep 'em separated," Ivy murmured, then turned to us, her expression sharp. "You really think having those two in with the humans is a good idea?"
Edden put a thick hand on my shoulder and turned us away, moving slowly to the cluster of FIB officers by the kiddie rides. "I've got three plainclothes with them. We're getting people out one by one. Nice and easy."
I nodded, seeing the cops in there now. Ivy seemed less than convinced, and at her sigh he held up a hand. "We're waiting for social services to get here to take custody of the kid," he explained. "I don't want charges dropped because of a sympathy plea if it goes to trial."
His voice was grim, and I remembered that these were the people who'd put his son in the hospital.
"That's great," Ivy said, her eyes on the group, "but I don't think it can wait any longer."
Jenks spilled a yellow sifting of dust, and Edden and I turned. Remus watched from under lowered brows as two more bystanders were escorted away for "questioning." As we watched, his voice became loud, almost echoing. Holly started crying in earnest, and Mia took her, holding her close, clearly peeved.
"Edden, do something," I said, ready to go over there myself. Missing baby wagon or not, Remus had put an experienced FIB agent in the hospital. I didn't like unaware innocents surrounding him. And if I could tell who the plainclothes were, so could Remus. He was a child of the system, all grown up and made deadly. Like raising a wolf among people, society had turned something already dangerous into twice the threat.
Edden looked at the three officers in with the humans and, frowning, he bobbed his head in a meaningful way. Immediately the female cop got between Remus and the last few people. Two hefty-looking men in identical coats went for Remus, one angling to get him away from his wife and child, the other pulling his cuffs. It was way too soon, and Remus lost it.
Shouting, Remus jabbed a fist out, almost scoring on the smaller FIB agent, who stumbled back. Remus lunged after him, smacking an elbow viciously into his head, then grabbing the hand of the dazed officer and twisting it to force the man to the floor. Remus knelt on his shoulder, and at a snap of cartilage, the downed officer cried out in pain. My gut clenched. It sounded like Remus had just dislocated the man's shoulder; Jenks vaulted into motion, Ivy leapt at them, and suddenly-I was standing alone.
"Jenks, no!" I cried out, heart pounding at the thought of Remus's hand smacking into the small pixy. But he had come to a halt two feet from contact. Ivy, too, slid to a stop. The sound of fear rose from high-pitched voices, and every vampire in the place turned, their eyes black.
Remus had taken a hostage. And with one hand, he worked the gun from the downed officer's holster and stood up with it, still holding the downed officer's wrist with one foot on his shoulder. Shit. Why had I agreed to this again?
Mia and the baby were in the grip of the second officer, being slowly pulled back. She could kill them in an instant, but she only looked annoyed. The third officer had the humans and was hustling them out. The click of six safeties going off sounded loudly, and then Edden shouted, "Don't do it, Remus! Let him go and get your face on the floor!"
"Stay back!" Remus screamed as the remaining humans and Inderlanders dove for cover. "Let go of my wife! Let go, or so help me, I'll kill him! I broke his fucking arm, and if you don't get back, I'll shoot him!"
Ivy was between me and Remus, feet wide and hands out in a show of goodwill. Her body was tense, but she was about ten feet back-it was too far away for her to grab him easily but also far enough that she could evade all but the most accurate bullet. Jenks had vanished into the ceiling somewhere; I'd be willing to bet he could dust someone's eyes in half a second if he wanted to. Edden and the rest of the FIB officers had frozen, not wanting to trip the man into further action-but it was Mia who was the real threat. From across the court, I.S. officials were watching with concern, not wanting to have to take action. Mia sniping a human in corners and dark alleys could be overlooked to promote a greater peace. Murdering FIB officers in the mall would force them to react, and neither party was eager for a war.
Mia's lips were open and her pale eyes were narrow in anger. Holly's voice was high, complaining, and the banshee looked insulted as she jerked out of the grip of the FIB officer holding her. Upstairs, the people behind the gates pressed close, trying to see, thinking they were safe. A cool draft replaced the fleeing Inderlanders and humans.
"I said back off!" Remus shouted, glancing up at the people whispering from the second floor. "Let my wife go! You're hurting my baby! Let them both go!" Eyes wide and wild, he looked to the front of the mall. "I want a car! Get me a car!"
Edden shook his head. "Remus, we can't let you out of here. Put the gun on the floor and lay down with your hands on your head. I promise you no one will hurt your wife or baby."
Remus looked panicked. The officer he had pinned under his knee was sweating, panting in pain, expression tight and probably kicking himself for letting Remus get his gun. The I.S. personnel inched closer. Ivy didn't move, but I saw her tense. So did Mia.
"Stop!" she shrilled, letting the toddler slip gently to the floor, where the little girl stood, gripping her mother's leg, her eyes wide, and silent at last. "Remus, stop," she said softly, her voice elegant and holding an odd accent. "This isn't going to help me. This isn't going to help Holly. Listen to me. You're going to hurt Holly if you do this. She needs a real father, Remus, not a dead memory. She needs you!"
The man brought his attention from the upper floors and focused it on his wife. Grief marked his expression. "They'll take you from me," he begged. "Mia, I can get us away. I can keep you safe."
"No." Mia started for Remus, and Ivy intercepted her, holding her in a loose but unbreakable grip, six feet back. Holly wobbled unsteadily after her, again latching on to her mother's leg for support. The I.S. personnel watched, tensing.
One hand on her daughter's blond head, Mia gave Ivy a mocking look, then focused on Remus. "Love," she said, her well-born voice full of persuasion. "It's going to be all right." She glanced at Ivy, and in a voice carrying strong conviction, she said, "Let me go. I can calm him. If you don't, he's going to kill that officer before you can move, and I will lose the only man I can love. You know what he means to me. Let me go."
Ivy's grip tightened, and Mia frowned. "I can give him peace," she insisted. "It's what I do."
"You hurt my friend," Ivy said softly, and a shiver ran through me at her anger.
"It was an accident," Mia responded coldly. "Leaving him like that was a bad decision. We will accept our mistake and do what's necessary to make reparations. I have not lived this long by risking my life or letting my instincts rule me. I can calm him." Her voice changed, becoming softer, but her eyes were almost black with what looked like vampire hunger. "No one will get hurt," she said. "Let me go. The law can decide what is just."
Yeah, like I believe that.
Remus's breathing was harsh, and the man under him was gasping in pain, eyes trying to stay open as the agony pulled them shut. Mia hadn't said "trust me," but I'd heard it. Ivy must have, too, for she hesitated only briefly before she slowly released the banshee. My pulse hammered as the woman stood free, shaking her coat as if she were shaking off the memory of Ivy's touch.
Edden shouted, "Back off!" and I felt the tension wind tighter even as everyone retreated. A faint dusting of gold was sifting down, and Jenks dropped to my shoulder.
Mia picked up Holly, and with the toddler on her hip, she went to Remus as calmly as if they were shopping for peanut butter. "Let the officer go," she said, laying a light hand on his shoulder.
"They will separate us," he pleaded. Behind him, FIB officers were creeping closer, but Edden waved them to a stop when Mia caught sight of them. "I love you, Mia," Remus said, desperate. "I love Holly. I can't live without both of you. I can't go back to that place in my head."
Mia made a shushing noise and smiled at him. "Let the man go," she said, and I wondered if this had played out in their living room before they had fled, leaving Glenn for dead. "Once they hear what happened, we can return to the way we were."
I doubted that, but Remus shifted in uncertainty. Around me, the officers tensed.
"Let them cuff you," she whispered, the small woman on tiptoe to almost whisper the words in his ear. "I will protect you. We will not be separated. If you love me, trust me."
My eyes narrowed in suspicion. Trust me? Jenks's wings clattered, and I glanced at him.
"I don't li-i-i-ike this," he said in a singsong voice.
Yeah. Me either. I was a witch, damn it. Banshees were way out of my league.
Mia put a small hand against his cheek, and with Holly happily babbling between them, Remus exhaled, his shoulders slumping and his chin dropping to his chest. "I'm sorry," he said, carefully sliding the safety on the gun before tossing it to spin on the floor, away from everyone.
"Thank you, love," she said, smiling, and I wondered if the young-seeming but age-old woman was going to throw him to the mercy of the court, letting him take the blame for Glenn's injuries while she hid behind the excuse of being a bystander. She was up to something. I could feel it.
Remus let go of the man's wrist, and the FIB officer cried out in relief. Edden gestured, and the men behind Remus moved, jerking him off their fellow officer and cuffing him. From the other side of the food court, the I.S. officers buzzed, some of them swearing, most laughing. Ivy pulled herself together, trying to find her usual svelte elegance. Her eyes were black when they met mine. A pulse of fear went through me, then vanished. She looked away, and I resolved to keep my distance for a while. I should have brought my perfume...
"Be careful!" Mia demanded as the officers handled Remus roughly. A woman cop had closed in on her and Holly, and seeing it, Remus stopped, his arm muscles straining and a fearful look in his eyes.
"No," Mia demanded in a high voice before Remus could react. "Don't separate us. I can keep him calm. I never wanted to cause any trouble. We were just sitting there."
Jenks snickered from my shoulder. "Didn't want to cause trouble. Does she really think we're buying that crap?"
"Yeah, but look at him," I said, gesturing at the man. Under Ivy's watchful attention, Mia had rejoined him, and he was again docile. Meek, almost. Creepy, definitely. It was easier this way, and less embarrassing, seeing that the I.S. was watching. Not to mention the news vans out front. If it hadn't been for Ivy, this would've been a lot more difficult. As long as Mia didn't want to cause trouble, Ivy could keep her in line, and with that, Remus would do the same.
Beside me, Edden huffed in satisfaction. "Got 'em both, when they were too afraid to even try," he said to me, gesturing with his chin to the I.S. But I had my doubts that this was over. From Mia's words, I guessed she thought all we wanted was Remus. When she found out we were after her as well, things might get ugly.
"I don't like this," I murmured to Edden, thinking this was too easy, and he gave me an insulted look. Okay, so we had her walking to the door, but she was not going to meekly let us take her baby. She lived with a serial killer, for crying out loud! That she was pushing him around should be a big warning to Edden. "This isn't over," I whispered.
Edden snorted. "What do you want me to do? Cuff the baby?" he said, then shouted, "Pack it up!"
People started to move. Remus was led to the front doors, his head bowed and looking beaten with his hands cuffed before him. Ivy and Mia were six steps back, and Jenks and I fell into place after them. The baby was still on Mia's hip, and the little girl was watching me from around her mother with eyes so pale, they looked albino. Peeking from under her pink snow hat, her hair was a wispy blond that reminded me of Trent's, and it looked nothing like the jet-black severity of her mother's. Holly had her thumb in her mouth, and the child's unblinking stare was getting to me. She started to fuss when I looked away, and Mia jiggled her. Tension tightened my gut. This was too easy.
"You're losing her, pixy," Mia said, shooting a glance at us over her shoulder.
Jenks let slip a burst of green dust. "What?" he said, and I wondered at his panic.
"You've lost her already," Mia said, the banshee's voice faint, as if she was seeing around corners to the future. "You see it in her eyes, and it's killing you slowly."
Ivy gave the woman a soft jerk to turn her back around. "Leave him alone," she said, then glanced at Jenks, her eyes crinkled up in disgust. "She's trying to feed off you," she said. "Don't listen. She's a liar."
Mia chuckled, and Jenks's wings fluttered against my neck. "I don't have to lie, and it doesn't matter if he listens to me or not. She's going to die. And you, silly vampire?" She looked askance at Ivy, and Ivy paled. "I told you that you were weak. What have you done in five years? Nothing. You think you're happy, but you're not. You could have had everything, but now she's gone, even though she's right next to you, because you were afraid. It's over. You were passive, and you lost. You may as well be what everyone wants you to be, because you aren't ever going to find the guts to be who you want."
I felt the blood leave my face. Ivy's jaw clenched, but she kept us moving forward at the same steady pace. Holly gurgled happily. Angry that Mia was hurting my friends, I snarled, "What about me, Ms. Harbor? Got anything in that bag of hate for me?"
She turned her cold blue eyes to me, and the corners of her mouth lifted. Her eyebrows arched slightly, making an expression of pure, delighted malice. Then Ivy pushed her through the double set of doors and they were gone.
It was snowing still, and I hesitated in the chill air lock. "Get in my bag, Jenks," I said, standing between the doors while FIB personnel eddied past us. The pixy seemed to be in shock, unable to move, and I reached up for him.
"I'm going!" he snarled, wings clattering as he dropped into my waiting bag and I zipped it closed. I'd put a hand heater that deer hunters use in there, and I knew he'd be all right.
My knees felt funny as I left the mall and entered the snow, and I slowed to try to see if Marshal was anywhere. No Marshal, no Tom-just faces craning to get a look at something. My breath steamed, and I was reaching for my gloves when the child-protection van pulled in under the tape the FIB had strung up.
"Mia!" Remus called out as two men tried to force him in the back of a cruiser. His voice was panicked, and I watched the banshee stiffen in Ivy's grip. Only now did she realize we were after her, too.
"Remus! Run!" she shrieked.
The baby started to cry, and Remus exploded into motion. His entire face changed. Gone was the panic, replaced by a delicious satisfaction. He moved, hooking a foot behind one of his captors and giving a yank. The man went down, slipping on the snow, and Remus went with him, slamming his fists on the man's throat. From there, he rolled to take the other man down. Just that fast, he was gone, spinning under the car and shoving through the crowd.
"Get him!" I cried, seeing him up and running awkwardly, from the cuffs.
"Run, Remus!" Mia shouted, urging him on.
Ivy shoved her at the nearest FIB officer, then leapt for the cruiser. She landed on the hood, and the car's shocks squeaked when she jumped off. I heard her booted steps in a fast cadence, then nothing.
In a belated rush, FIB officers started after them on foot or scrambled into their cars. It had been only three seconds, but Edden had lost him. The news crews were going nuts, and I looked for a place to hide. I hated news vans.
A soft thump pulled my attention from the cold parking lot. Someone gasped and pointed, and I followed a mittened finger to a blue lump on the snowy pavement.
"Edden?" I called, unheard over the noise. It was the FIB officer Ivy had shoved Mia at. The banshee was gone. Seeing several people trying to help him, I scanned the parking lot for Mia's long blue coat and a pink snowsuit. Crap on toast, I'd known this was too easy.
"Edden!" I shouted, then I saw Mia almost thirty feet away, head down and walking fast. Holy cow, how had she done that?
Adrenaline pulsed through me, and I hesitated for a split second. It's a banshee. I shouldn't be doing this... But if I didn't, who would?
"Hold on, Jenks," I said loudly, then looked for Edden's gray hair. "Edden!" I shouted again, and when he looked up, I threw my bag. "Take care of Jenks!" I exclaimed when he caught it, and then I ran after Mia. Why am I doing this? They don't even trust me.
"Miss, oh, miss," a news reporter said, getting in my face, and I elbowed her out of my way. Cries rose up behind me, and I couldn't help my smile.
In three seconds, I was through the ring of watchers. Darkness replaced the glare. A muffling silence pushed out the noise. Action replaced a frustrating inaction. I was moving, and I had a clear and definite goal. Mia had a good head start, and probably a car, but she also had a baby, and Holly was not happy.
Following the sound of a frustrated toddler, I ran through the parked cars, the blur of gray and falling snow quickly becoming a background nothing. The puddles of overhead light were flashes of interruption. I ran, chasing a weak prey, gaining fast.
Holly's whining grew faint when Mia's awkwardly running form vanished behind a Dumpster next to a delivery entrance. In six seconds, I was there. I skidded to a stop at the mouth of the walled parking lot, not wanting to get beaned by anything. My eyes scanned the open bay, finding Mia with her back to a padlocked door and Holly clutched to her. The small overhead light showed her proud, scared determination, and I struggled for breath. She had no way out. Ivy would catch Remus, and I would bring Mia back. It was done.
God help me if it's not that easy.
My pulse slowed, and I raised a placating hand. "Mia, think about it."
The woman clutched her daughter so tightly the baby started to cry. "You'll kill her," the banshee said, the anger a stark fury. "You can't care for her. If you take her from me, you'll kill her as surely as if you drowned her in a well like a cat."
"Holly will be fine." I took a step forward. The tall walls hiding the delivery entrances surrounded me. It seemed warmer without the wind, and the snow fell peacefully between us. "The people at social services will take good care of her. You can't raise a child on the streets. If you run, that's all that's left for you. I've seen your house, Mia, and you can't live like that. You don't want to force Holly to live like that. Give me the baby, and we'll go back. Everything will be okay. There can be a peaceful end to this."
Helpless as she looked, I couldn't bring a banshee in alone by force, but if I had her baby, she wouldn't run off again. I'd been moving forward all this time, and now only a few feet separated us.
"What do you know about peace?" Mia said bitterly, jiggling Holly in a vain attempt to get her to stop fussing. "You've never lived without running. It's all you do, run, run, run. You know you can't stop. If you do, it will kill you."
I halted, surprised. "You don't know anything about me."
Her chin lifted, and she shifted Holly so they were both facing me. Finally the little girl stopped crying, staring. "I know everything about you," she said. "I see inside you. It pours from you. You won't let yourself love anyone. Like that vamp. But unlike Ivy, who's merely afraid, you really can't love anyone. You're never going to have the happy ending. Never. No matter how you look for it, it's out of reach. Everyone you love you will eventually kill. You are alone even now, you just don't realize it."
My jaw was clenched, and my hands were fisted. "It won't work, Mia," I said, thinking she was trying to upset me to make herself stronger. "Put the baby down and your hands behind your head. I'll make sure Holly is okay." Damn it, why hadn't I brought my splat gun?
"You want my baby?" Mia mocked. "Fine. Take her."
She was holding Holly out to me, and thinking she was starting to understand, I reached out. Holly gurgled happily. I felt the unfamiliar weight of an entirely new person fill my arms. Mia backed up a step, a harsh gleam in her eye as she glanced at the open lot behind me. A car was coming, and its lights shined into the dead end, making it bright.
"Thank you, Mia," I said, reaching to take Holly's hand before she hit my face. "I'll do what I can to keep Holly with you."
Holly's cold, sticky little fingers met mine, and my hand closed reflexively around them.
Pain came from nowhere. My heart jumped, and I gasped, unable to cry out. Fire blazed across my skin, and I found my voice.
A harsh guttural scream ripped through the icy night, and I sank to my knees. My skin was on fire, and my soul was burning. It was burning from my chest outward.
I couldn't take a new breath, it hurt that much. People were shouting, but they were too far away. My pulse was firing madly, and every beat pushed the fire through my pores. It was being stripped from me-my aura was being ripped away, and my fear was feeding it.
Holly gurgled happily, but I couldn't think to move. She was killing me. Mia was letting Holly kill me, and I couldn't stop it!
I managed a harsh gasp, and then, as suddenly as it had come, the pain vanished. I felt an icy wash of black flow through me, in time with my fading pulse. Holly cooed, and I felt her being lifted from me. Her lack of weight unbalanced me, and I slowly collapsed to the pavement. But still, the wash of black flowed through me, and it was as if I could feel the frightening nothing within me, growing larger. I couldn't stop it. Couldn't even think how.
Mia helped me down, and grateful for small favors, I stared at her exquisite boots. God, they must have cost more than my last three months of rent combined. I could feel the night air raw on my unprotected soul. And finally Holly stripped the last from me, the flood of black slowing to a trickle and stopping to leave only a fading, empty warmth.
I tried to breathe, but it wasn't enough. The snow hurt where it hit my skin, and I whimpered.
"I will not let them take Holly," Mia said as she stood over me. "You're filthy animals, and you'd kill her, even if only by accident. I worked too hard for her. She's mine."
My fingers twitched, accidentally rolling a gray pebble between my cold skin and the pavement. Mia stepped away and vanished, her footsteps fading quickly. I heard the slamming of a car door and then the car's idling away. All that was left was the falling snow, each flake making a soft tap as it landed on my eyelashes and cheeks.
I couldn't close my eyes, but it didn't seem to matter as my fingers quit moving and the heavy blackness finally smothered me.
