Night Huntress: Up From The Grave Part 22

"Your people spent hundreds of years in captivity because of their race. Even after all this time, the memory of it must still burn."

Marie's head jerked as Bones released her to answer. The connection we now shared let me feel her anger as it pulsated through the air.

"Don't," she snapped. "You have no right, white girl."

"I don't, but Katie does. Until she ran away, captivity was all she knew, too, and now she's been marked for death because of her race." My voice roughened. "Either you believe that's wrong, or you don't."

Marie continued to glare at me, but she didn't say anything.

All at once, it felt like the temperature dropped sixty degrees. At the same time, hunger rose with an ache that reminded me of waking up as a brand-new vampire. The Remnants began to sway as though listening to music no one else could hear. They were being reactivated.

"Stop it," I said curtly. "If you try using them on us again, Bones will take your head off."

Marie gave me an irritated look.

"I'm not the one channeling them. You are."

"Kitten." Bones's voice was soft but urgent. "Look at me."

He grasped my shoulders, and I almost jerked away. His fingers felt like they were scalding. It was only when his grip tightened, holding me steady, that I realized I'd been swaying like the Remnants.

Marie was right. Although I wasn't having the same crazed response as the first time I drank her blood, I was being pulled into the icy, ravenous embrace of the grave. I forced it back, trying to forget about how good the cold was starting to feel. Then I shook my head to clear the whispers that didn't come from the nearby neighbors' thoughts. If I lost myself to this, it might take me days to recover, and we didn't have that kind of time.

Snap out of it! I ordered myself. Focus on Bones. He's what's real, not that cold, hungry power, and- "Why are you here?" I suddenly blurted. "We agreed that you'd come only after I called and gave you the all clear. That way, if things went south, you'd still be alive to help Katie."

A sardonic smile curled his lips.

"I smelled your fear when Veritas asked if we wanted to change our statements. You're never afraid for yourself, so I knew it was fear for me."

Then he drew me close, his lips brus.h.i.+ng my forehead while his hands ran down my back in a way that was both soothing and possessive.

"That's why I didn't stick to our agreement, Kitten. If you couldn't best Marie to save yourself, I knew you wouldn't let me die."

What a reckless, arrogant a.s.sumption, and how humbling that he'd been right. What he didn't know was the other reason I'd fought harder than I knew I could in order to live.

Katie. I couldn't let her die, either.

Thinking of her, out there all alone, gave me the strength to smother the siren call of the grave. Ready or not, I was a mother now, and my daughter needed me. I couldn't let her down. Too many other people already had. I wasn't about to add my name to that list.

Buoyed by that knowledge, I grasped Bones's hands, glad they no longer felt like they were burning me. The voices were gone, too, and while I was still hungry, the bottomless hole inside me had eased. Satisfied I wasn't about to lose it, I turned my attention to Marie.

"If you don't want to do this for the right reasons, do it for selfish ones. We need you to have as much of a stake in this as we do, so either you call your people off and tell everyone that you killed Katie, or we'll kill you."

She let out a sigh that seemed to hold the weariness of the world, and when her dark gaze met mine, it was with resignation.

"I do remember my people's captivity, Reaper, which is why if it were as simple as saying the child was dead, I would do it. Not merely to save my own life, but because I'm better than those who once enslaved my race."

Then her voice became brittle with bitterness.

"But unless there is a public execution, they will keep hunting for her. Even if I swore that I killed her, they would not be satisfied, and our races would eventually war. I cannot allow that, so do what you must."

At that, I expected Bones to tear her head off. A big part of me wanted him to. What she outlined was a future with nothing but death for Katie, and I couldn't accept that.

From the grim look on Marie's face, she expected that Bones would kill her, too. That's why both of us were shocked when all he did was tap his chin in a thoughtful way.

"Public execution, hmm? If we promise you that, will you agree to the rest of our terms?"

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked, horrified.

"Will you or no?" he pressed, ignoring that.

Suspicion creased Marie's brows into a single dark line.

"You came here to bargain for the child's life. Now you're willing to execute her?"

Bones's teeth flashed in a feral grin. "Publicly."

"The h.e.l.l we are," I snarled, hitting him hard enough to rock him backward.

His power flashed out, encompa.s.sing me in the equivalent of a supernatural straitjacket.

"Kitten," he said very low. "Trust me."

Marie stared at us with the same degree of wariness, but curiosity tinged her gaze, too.

"Agreed," she said. Then she accepted the knife Bones extended, cutting her hand with a single hard slice. "I swear it by my blood."

His invisible grip dropped from her neck.

"Then call your people off," Bones stated, giving my hand a slight squeeze. "We'll do the rest."

Thirty-two.

This section of Detroit's east side reminded me of photos I'd seen of Germany after the Allied invasion. Abandoned buildings loomed like battered, concrete giants over streets that appeared empty until the humps of clothing alongside them moved. Most of the streetlights were out, which could explain the burning trash cans since the summer evening wasn't chilly. Every so often, a faraway siren broke through the other sounds, but although fights, gla.s.s shattering, and the occasional gunshot seemed commonplace, I hadn't seen a single police car.

Good for us. Bad for whoever called this derelict place that America forgot home.

"Cat!"

Fabian zoomed toward me, his face lit by a beautiful smile. Then movement on the roof of one of the lower buildings caught my eye. I tensed until I recognized the vampire striding toward the edge.

"Welcome," Ian said, sounding anything but convivial. "Hope you enjoy the smell. A little more raw sewage, and it would be just like the place I grew up in."

Another form appeared behind him. At some point since I'd last seen Tate, he'd shaved his face and shorn his hair into its usual buzz cut.

"Mr. Fancy Pants hasn't stopped b.i.t.c.hing since he arrived," he muttered. Then Tate frowned, looking farther down the empty street.

"Why do you have a bunch of ghosts following you?"

I turned to see at least two dozen ghosts trailing about fifty yards behind us. Good. We'd been hoping Marie's borrowed power would lure nearby spooks like they were moths and I a s.h.i.+ning flame. Detroit was a large city, and though Ian and Tate had scented Katie in several spots, they hadn't managed actually to set eyes on her.

Now we had reinforcements, and thanks to the grave power running through my veins, the ghosts would be compelled to obey my commands.

"Where do you think you have Katie's location narrowed down to?" I asked, avoiding Tate's question.

His frown said he noticed my omission, but he replied without further comment.

"From what we've gathered, she moves around, but her scent has been strongest at the old book depository, the former Packard auto plant, former Central Station, and the old church on East Grand Boulevard."

"Thanks."

Then I faced the ghosts, who drifted closer at my beckoning wave.

"I need you to find a little girl for me," I told them. "She's about four feet tall, auburn hair, and her eyes might glow. She's probably hiding in one of the places my friend just mentioned. If you see her, only tell me or this ghost here." As I nodded at Fabian.

My entourage dispersed as soon as I finished speaking. Fabian left with them before I could specify that he wasn't included in the order. Tate shook his head in disbelief, but a knowing look crossed Ian's face.

"You're back on Marie's sauce."

Bones flew up to the roof. I followed, landing with only an additional extra step to balance myself.

"Yes," I said shortly.

"What sauce? And who's Marie?" Tate wondered, reminding me that he'd missed a lot while working for Don these past years.

"Not relevant at the moment," Bones stated. "These new developments are."

I said nothing while he brought them up to speed on Richard Trove's being a demon and why he'd backed Madigan for nearly a decade. I still didn't speak when Bones disclosed that Katie was my biological daughter, and how that was possible. Only after Ian asked, "If she's the mother, who's the father?" did I break my silence.

"The records Trove published never gave a name. Since the sperm donor was a hundred percent human, he was considered . . . unimportant."

Then I paused. I'd gone back and forth over revealing this next part, but so much had been kept from me that I couldn't do the same to someone else. Especially a friend.

"I asked Madigan, but all we got out of him was that it was one of the soldiers I was working with at the time," I finished.

Tate let out a disgusted snort.

"That's why they kept getting samples of every fluid in our bodies. Don said it was to make sure no one was drinking vampire blood on the side, so even he must not have known what it was really for . . ."

His voice trailed off as the dots connected. Then he sank to his knees as if buckling under the weight of the realization. I wasn't as affected because I'd already done the math. About two dozen soldiers had been working with me during my first year. Some had been killed on missions, more had dropped out from the stress, and some had transferred to other divisions, but only one had been there the entire time.

"My G.o.d," Tate breathed.

"It's not definite," I said softly. "It could have been one of the other guys, but Tate . . . even if we tested both of you, there's no way to be sure. Since you became a vampire, every cell in your body changed. Katie's would've, too, once they added ghoul DNA to her genetic makeup."

Tate still looked sh.e.l.l-shocked at the possibility that the little girl he'd been trying to find might be his biological daughter. Finally, he ran a hand through his hair and looked up at me.

"If tests are useless, she'll never know who her father is."

Bones slipped his hand into mine, his grip strong and sure.

"She will always know who her father is."

That had Tate on his feet in a flash. Ian hauled him back when he lunged at Bones.

"You will not-" Tate began before his mouth froze along with the rest of him.

"That's better," Bones said in satisfaction.

I didn't appreciate his method of stemming Tate's argument, but in fairness, we were short on time.

I bridged the distance between them and touched Tate's clenched fist, which had been frozen in place mid-swing.

"You have a one-in-twenty-something chance of being her biological father, so if you want to be part of Katie's life, of course you can. Bones won't stand in your way, but he'll be there for her, too. As will I."

Then I angled myself so Tate couldn't avoid my gaze.

"But first, we have to get her out of here alive. That takes priority over everything else, doesn't it?"

Tate blinked, which I took for a yes. Bones released him. The two men stared at each other while Tate shook his limbs as if to rea.s.sure himself that they were back under his control. Then his hands clenched, and a look of pure determination crossed his features.

Not again, I thought, expecting him to swing at Bones once more. Relief filled me when all Tate did was stick out his hand.

"I don't like you, and I probably never will, but from this day forward, I'm willing to call a truce for Katie's sake."

Bones shook his hand with a brief, sardonic smile.

"Truce accepted, and while I feel the same way, just like Justina, seems now I'll never be rid of you, either."

Tate let out a bark of laughter. "I forgot this truce includes her mother. That's some ugly karma the two of us are working off."

Fabian flew onto the roof, stopping Bones from whatever his reply would have been.

"They've found her!" the ghost announced.

"That was b.l.o.o.d.y quick," Ian muttered.

It was, but then again, no one could hide from the dead. Especially when they had you narrowed down to a small area. That's why we'd dealt with Marie first instead of rus.h.i.+ng here. She hadn't known Katie was in Detroit, but with a little time, she would've found her.

I flashed a tight smile at the four men, feeling the vampire version of adrenaline surging through me.