“Blake, right?” I asked pleasantly and, when he blinked, sunk into a low crescent, swept his legs. He jumped to avoid it and, by the time I made the full circle, spun his arm backward, so the butt of his katana handle struck me in the chest.
I felt nothing break, but hit the ground hard. I landed on my shoulder and felt the instant tear and, in the split second before pain struck, knew it was going to be bad.
It was worse.
It was a wave of red heat, sending pain through my arm so fiercely I dropped the female vampire’s katana. I nearly vomited, but breathed quickly through pursed lips, refusing to give in to the searing agony. I was immortal, and it was going to take more than that to stop me.
He realized the same and advanced, aimed a kick at my ribs. I rolled to dodge it, pain screaming in my shoulder as it took my weight, and climbed back to my feet, my left arm all but useless. I raised my katana again, still firmly in my good hand.
Blake’s smile was thin. “You’re going down.”
“Went down,” I reminded him. “Just got back up again. I think there’s a song about that.” But I was out of time for fighting, as sirens filled the air.
There was a pause in the fight, a long inhalation, and AAM vampires began to scatter like seeds in the wind, drifting back into the shadows from which they’d emerged. Clive still stood apart, watching the battlefield.
I faced him, refusing to yield.
“We aren’t done,” Clive said. “You’ll submit to the AAM’s authority one way or the other. The only difference is how many people will die before it’s done.”
I saw the truth in his eyes. That I was his quarry, and he didn’t care who else he had to run down to bring me in. To bring me down.
I met his gaze squarely. “You’re in Chicago now, Clive. You so much as threaten a human in my town, and I’ll bury you.”
His eyes gleamed with hatred, with purpose. And then he followed the others into darkness.
* * *
* * *
“You’re injured,” Connor said, finding me as cruiser lights cast blue and red upon the ground. He put a hand on my cheek, checked my eyes.
“Left shoulder,” I said. “I think I tore something.” Vampires healed quickly, and I could feel the dull ache as tendon worked to stitch itself back together. “But I’ll be fine,” I said, to settle the worry in his eyes. “You okay?”
“Nothing major.”
“Alexei?”
“He’s fine.”
“Good,” I said and accepted the bottle of water Theo handed me, drank thirstily.
“Maybe it’s because we’re in the Midwest,” Theo said, “but I think Chicago’s vampires are much friendlier.”
“They’re certainly smarter,” Connor said dryly, finishing the bottle I handed him.
A woman came toward us. She had medium brown skin and wide brown eyes, her black hair pulled into a sleek bun. Her dark burgundy suit was just as sleek, and a gleaming detective’s shield was pinned to her narrow waist.
“Detective,” Theo said with a nod. “This is Elisa Sullivan. Elisa, Detective Gwen Robinson. She’s the CPD’s new liaison for supernatural issues.”
“Elisa,” the woman said. “Trouble here tonight?”
“Unfortunately,” I said. “Did Roger give you the basics?”
“He told me the vamps came to Chicago to cause trouble for you,” she said, then glanced around. “They disappeared quickly.”
“They didn’t get what they want, and they need to be free for round two.”
“So you think they’ll be back?”
“Not here, and not tonight. But after me? Yes.”
She looked around. “You had permission to be here.”
“We did. Express, from the owners.”
“Any injuries?”
“A few. None major.” My shoulder was the worst, as far as I knew, and giving her the details on that wasn’t going to help.
“Do you want to press charges?”
“No. Why would I?”
She just sighed. “Vampires.”
“They are a lot,” Theo said with a smirk.
“With all due respect, Detective, arresting him would cost the taxpayers money, and it won’t change anything. I don’t want you or Theo to waste your time.”
She looked like she approved of the reasoning, if not of the answer. “All right.” She looked back at Alexei. “I’d like to speak with him, too.”
“Good luck,” I said, and she made her way toward him.
“Trustworthy?” Connor asked Theo when we were alone again.
“Yeah. We worked together before I transferred to OMB. She’s good people.”
“Okay,” I said, and made myself relax. Odds were high I’d be seeing more of Detective Robinson before this was all done.
* * *
* * *
We found a hot dog stand on the way downtown, ate Chicago dogs standing beside the bikes. I shouldn’t have had an appetite. Not after the threats, the fight, my absolute confidence that something very ugly had started tonight. Something that had begun with Carlie, but was going to have to end with me.
But I’d fought, wielded my sword, and my body needed the recharge. I managed two dogs, and Alexei ate three before he rubbed his belly in satisfaction.
“That’s the sixth one he’s had this week,” Connor said, smiling as he licked mustard from his thumb. “It’s a miracle he can walk.”
“Sport peppers aid the digestion,” Alexei said.
“No,” Connor said. “They don’t.”
Alexei shrugged, wiped his mouth with a napkin, tossed it neatly into a waiting trash can. Unparalleled aim, I thought. Which raised a question.
“Why did you throw the knife?”
Alexei looked at me, brows raised. “Because someone threw one at you.”
As simple as that, I thought, and I looked at Connor, who nodded. There was a reason they were friends. Loyalty was part of it.
Alexei reached into his pocket, pulled out the thin stiletto blade. The handle was bare metal stamped with a sideways figure eight. Leave it to a vampire, I thought, to scribe the symbol of immortality into one of his weapons.
“Nice,” Connor said, looking it over. “You keeping it?”