Chapter 44

This is the only night of the year that Bert allows us to wear black to work. He thinks the color is too harsh for normal business hours. I had black jeans and a Halloween sweater with huge grinning jack o' lanterns in a stomach-high line. I topped it off with a black zipper sweatshirt and black Nikes. Even my shoulder holster and the Browning matched. I had my backup gun in an inner pants holster. I also had two extra clips in my sport bag. I had replaced the knife I'd had to leave in the cave. There was a derringer in my jacket pocket and two extra knives, one down the spine, the other in an ankle holster. Don't laugh. I left the shotgun home.

If Jean-Claude found out I'd betrayed him, he'd kill me. Would I know when he died? Would I feel it? Something told me that I would.

I took the card that Karl Inger had given me and called the number. If it had to be done, it best be done quickly.

"Hello?"

"Is this Karl Inger?"

"Yes, it is. Who is this?"

"It's Anita Blake. I need to speak with Oliver."

"Have you decided to give us the Master of the City?"

"Yes."

"If you'll hold for a moment, I'll fetch Mr. Oliver." He laid the receiver down. I heard him walking away until there was nothing but silence on the phone. Better than Muzak.

Footsteps coming back, then: "Hello, Ms. Blake, so good of you to call."

I swallowed, and it hurt. "The Master of the City is Jean-Claude."

"I had discounted him. He isn't very powerful."

"He hides his powers. Trust me, he's a lot more than he seems."

"Why the change of heart, Ms. Blake?"

"He gave me the third mark. I want free of him."

"Ms. Blake, to be bound thrice to a vampire, and then have that vampire die, can be quite a shock to the system. It could kill you."

"I want free of him, Mr. Oliver."

"Even if you die?" he said.

"Even if I die."

"I would have liked to have met you under different circumstances, Anita Blake. You are a remarkable person."

"No, I've just seen too much. I won't let him have me."

"I will not fail you, Ms. Blake. I will see him dead."

"If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't have told you."

"I appreciate your confidence."

"One other thing you should know. The lamia tried to betray you today. She's in league with another master named Alejandro."

"Really?" His voice sounded amused. "What did he offer her?"

"Her freedom."

"Yes, that would tempt Melanie. I keep her on such a short rein."

"She's been trying to breed. Did you know that?"

"What do you mean?" I told him about the men, especially the last one that had been nearly changed. He was quiet for a moment. "I have been most inattentive. I will deal with Melanie and Alejandro."

"Fine. I'd appreciate a call tomorrow to let me know how things went."

"To be sure he's dead," Oliver said.

"Yes," I said.

"You'll get a call from Karl or myself. But first, where can we find Jean-Claude?"

"The Circus of the Damned."

"How appropriate."

"That's all I can tell you."

"Thank you, Ms. Blake, and Happy Halloween."

I had to laugh. "It's going to be a hell of a night."

He chuckled softly. "Indeed. Good-bye, Ms. Blake."

The phone went dead in my hand. I stared at the phone. I'd had to do it. Had to. So why did my stomach feel tight? Why did I have the urge to call Jean-Claude and warn him? Was it the marks, or was Richard right? Did I love Jean-Claude in some strange, twisted way? God help me, I hoped not.

Chapter 45

It was full dark on All Hallows Eve. Larry and I had made two appointments. He'd raised one, and I'd raised the other. He had one more to go, and I had three. A nice normal night.

What Larry was wearing was not normal. Bert had encouraged us to wear something fitting for the holiday. I'd chosen the sweater. Larry had chosen a costume. He was wearing blue denim overalls, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a straw hat, and work boots. When asked, he'd said, "I'm Huck Finn. Don't I fit the part?"

With his red hair and freckles, he did fit the part. There was blood on the shirt now, but it was Halloween. There were a lot of people out with fake blood on them. We fitted right in tonight.

My beeper went off. I checked the number, and it was Dolph. Damn.

"Who is it?" Larry asked.

"The police. We've got to find a phone."

He glanced at the dashboard clock. "We're ahead of schedule. How about the McDonald's just off the highway?"

"Great." I prayed that it wasn't another murder. I needed a nice normal night. At the back of my head like a bit of remembered song, two sentences kept playing: "Jean-Claude is going to die tonight. You set him up."

It seemed wrong to kill him from a safe distance. To not look him in the eyes and pull the trigger myself, to not give him a chance to kill me first. Fair play and all that. Fuck fair play; it was him or me. Wasn't it?

Larry parked in the McDonald's lot. "I'm gonna get a Coke while you call in. You want something?"

I shook my head.

"You all right?"

"Sure. I'm just hoping it's not another murder."

"Jesus, I hadn't thought of that."

We got out of the car. Larry went into the dining room. I stayed in the little entrance area with the pay phone.

Dolph picked up on the third ring. "Sergeant Storr."

"It's Anita. What's up?"

"We finally broke the paralegal that was feeding information to the vampires."

"Great; I thought it might be another murder."

"Not tonight; the vamp's got more important business."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's planning on getting every vampire in the city to slaughter humans for Halloween."

"He can't. Only the Master of the City could do that, and then only if he was incredibly powerful."

"That's what I thought. Could be the vampire's crazy."

I had a thought, an awful thought. "You got a description of the vampire?"

"Vampires," he said.

"Read it to me."

I heard paper rustling, then: "Short, dark, very polite. Saw one other vampire twice with the boss vamp. He was medium height, Indian or Mexican, longish black hair."

I clutched the phone so tight my hand trembled. "Did the vampire say why he was going to slaughter humans?"

"Wanted to discredit legalized vampirism. Now isn't that a weird motive for a vampire?"

"Yeah," I said. "Dolph, this could happen."

"What are you saying?"

"If this master vampire could kill the Master of the City and take over before dawn, he might pull it off."

"What can we do?"

I hesitated, almost telling him to protect Jean-Claude, but it wasn't a matter for the police. They had to worry about laws and police brutality. There was no way to take something like Oliver alive. Whatever was going to happen tonight had to be permanent.

"Talk to me, Anita."

"I've gotta go, Dolph."

"You know something; tell me."

I hung up. I also turned off my beeper. I dialed Circus of the Damned. A pleasant-voiced woman answered, "Circus of the Damned, where all your nightmares come true."

"I need to speak to Jean-Claude. It's an emergency."

"He's busy right now. May I take a message?"

I swallowed hard, tried not to yell. "This is Anita Blake, Jean-Claude's human servant. Tell him to get his ass to the phone now."

"I..."

"People are going to die if I don't talk to him."

"Okay, okay." She put me on hold with a butchered version of "High Flying" by Tom Petty.

Larry came out with his Coke. "What's up?"

I shook my head. I fought the urge to jump up and down, but that wouldn't get Jean-Claude to the phone any sooner. I stood very still, hugging one arm across my stomach. What had I done? Please don't let it be too late.

"Ma petite?"

"Thank God."

"What has happened?"

"Just listen. There's a master vampire on his way to the Circus. I gave him your name and your resting place. His name is Mr. Oliver and he's older than anything. He's older than Alejandro. In fact, I think he's Alejandro's master. It's all been a plan to get me to betray the city to him, and I fell for it."

He was quiet so long that I asked, "Did you hear me?"

"You really meant to kill me."

"I told you I would."

"But now you warn me. Why?"

"Oliver wants control of the city so he can send all the vampires out to slaughter humans. He wants it back to the old days when vampires were hunted. He said legalized vampirism was spreading too fast. I agree, but I didn't know what he meant to do."

"So to save your precious humans you will betray Oliver now."

"It isn't like that. Dammit, Jean-Claude, concentrate on the important thing here. They're on their way. They may be there already. You've got to protect yourself."

"To keep the humans safe."

"To keep your vampires safe, too. Do you really want them under Oliver's control?"

"No. I will take steps, ma petite. We will at least give him a fight." He hung up.

Larry was staring at me with wide eyes. "What the hell is happening, Anita?"

"Not now, Larry." I fished Edward's card out of my bag. I didn't have another quarter. "Do you have a quarter?"

"Sure." He handed it to me without any more questions. Good man.

I dialed the number. "Please, be there. Please, be there."

He answered on the seventh ring.

"Edward, it's Anita."

"What's happened?"

"How would you like to take on two master vampires older than Nikolaos?"

I heard him swallow. "I always have so much fun when you're around. Where should we meet?"

"The Circus of the Damned. You got an extra shotgun?"

"Not with me."

"Shit. Meet me out front ASAP. The shit's going to really hit the fan tonight, Edward."

"Sounds like a great way to spend Halloween."

"See you there."

"Bye, and thanks for inviting me." He meant it. Edward had started out as a normal assassin, but humans had been too easy, so he went for vamps and shapeshifters. He hadn't met anything he couldn't kill, and what was life without a little challenge?

I looked at Larry. "I need to borrow your car."

"You're not going anywhere without me. I've heard just your side of the conversations, and I'm not getting left out."

I started to argue, but there wasn't time. "Okay, let's do it."

He grinned. He was pleased. He didn't know what was going to happen tonight, what we were up against. I did. And I wasn't happy at all.