Lavos Read online

  “I’m guessing it wasn’t a full nest. They wouldn’t have allowed that much blood to go to waste. The stink of death is too strong to detect how many were here,” Lavos stated. “We’d better check the neighbors.”

  “Shit. You think there could be more victims?” Kar didn’t wait for an answer. “What are we going to do with these three to hide their murder? The state troopers can’t find this shit. Burn the house down?”

  “It’s too close to the woods. We’d risk it spreading despite all that rain that came down in this area a week ago,” Lavos decided. He shot a look at Garson. “Tag, you’re it.”

  “Fuck no.” The other man shook his head. “No way.”

  “I’m sure they have a shovel in the shed,” Kar snickered. “You said you wanted to pound something. Try earth while you bury them deep, and make sure it’s far enough away from the house that they aren’t found.”

  “What about all the blood?”

  Lavos felt a headache coming on. “We’ll handle that later, once we call for reinforcements. Maybe Davis can set a few bombs along the foundation and bring it down without causing a fire. He might be able to make it look like a propane accident. Nobody is going to want to waste the resources to rummage through the rubble if there’s no smell of death. They like to bring in cadaver dogs for that shit. No bodies means no digging. Get rid of every piece of those poor victims. Wrap them up in the destroyed carpets and bury them far from here. We’re going to go check out the nearby houses.”

  “You guys suck ass!” Garson stomped toward the door.

  Kar grinned, following Lavos. “That’s what you get for bitching so much in the Jeep.”

  “Shut up,” Lavos warned. “Or you can do the digging.”

  Kar frowned but didn’t make another comment.

  Lavos hurried down the stairs and walked outside. He bypassed the Jeep and his gaze roamed the landscape. “That way.” He pointed.

  “You picked up the scent of the prick who did this?”

  “Nope. I see a faint light coming from that hill over there.”

  “Why not drive?”

  “It’s faster to run, and quieter.” Lavos took a deep breath. “Race you.” He rushed forward before his friend could respond.

  Ten minutes later they walked out of the second cabin. Lavos fought his rage. “Two people lived there, and they didn’t leave willingly.”

  “No shit. It looks like someone put up a fight. Why did they take these ones away when they left the bodies of the other family? Do you think these are victims of that nest that attacked us? Those soldiers had to come from somewhere.”

  Lavos shook his head. “Those bodies in the other house aren’t more than maybe a couple days old. We’d taken that nest out before then.”

  “Shit. More Vampires in the area?”

  Lavos glanced up at the night sky. “I’m hoping they didn’t turn them. What if they’re starting a new nest? That first family could have been slaughtered by a newbie group if they put up too much of a fight. You know how nuts they are right after they change.”

  “Fuck.” Kar lifted a hand and ran it through his hair. “Why would they do that?”

  “Decker already sent some of these assholes to cause trouble. I’m sure he’s heard from someone that Lorn took the clan and we extinguished Borrow’s nest. Payback. To be a prick. Should I go on?”

  “Nope. Do you want me to take the Jeep and drive until I get a cell signal to call in reinforcements? We could be dealing with a blanket effect in this area if they’ve decided to take it over. How many residents do you think live within the Kegslee town limits?”

  “Maybe twenty-five tops. That’s a lot of Vampires to support in a nest, and it still doesn’t account for why the master allowed the waste of that family of three. You saw all the blood spilled. Every drop would be precious, unless they’re killing the wildlife to feed from.”

  “This is all kinds of fucked up. But this town is close enough to launch an attack against us.”

  Lavos blew out a breath. “Exactly. Stick close. Let’s go check out more homes. We need to discover what we’re dealing with before we ask more of our people to come here to clean up this mess. I don’t want them walking into a trap.”

  “What about us?” Kar frowned. “I don’t want to end up facing down a few dozen Vamps.”

  “You were bitching about no excitement on a Friday evening. Feeling bored now?”

  “Sometimes I hate you.”

  Lavos grinned. “You don’t mean that.”

  “How can you smile? We might end up tangling with a nest of suckheads. It’s just the two of us,” Kar reminded him. “Three, if we go back and grab Garson.”

  Lavos lifted his hand, concentrating until claws slid out of his fingertips. The deadly tips were a menacing sight. “Decapitate the fuckers. We can handle some Vamps.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “I’m pissed,” Lavos admitted. “Lorn’s got enough shit to deal with right now. He doesn’t need this on top of it all. Stay close and alert.”

  “Fuck.” Kar allowed his own claws to slide out. “I liked these clothes. I got dressed up for the Tab twins because I figured we wouldn’t be gone long. Blood is a bitch to wash out.”

  “This is more important.”

  They went north, jogging through the woods. Lavos came to a sudden halt and cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”

  “It sounds like someone’s car alarm.”

  “The battery would have died if it had been going for more than a few hours. That means the scene will be fresh. Let’s go.” Lavos zeroed in on the direction of the sound.

  Chapter Two

  Jadee couldn’t take the siren for long and shut it down. It was starting to give her a headache, and she wanted to be able to hear what was going on outside. That thought reminded her that her father had cameras mounted to the exterior of the RV.

  She placed the rifle on the dining room table but kept it close. She found the remote for the television near the driving compartment and flipped channels to locate the feeds. The first one revealed the passenger side of the RV.

  The woman by the door wasn’t there anymore. A little satisfaction struck. She flipped to another channel, getting a view of the front. Jadee didn’t see anything on the driver’s side or on the rear camera. She lifted her chin, peering at the roof. It was all quiet up there.

  “They don’t like loud noise,” she deduced. “I might survive this after all.” She spun, talking to the tablet. The three people locked inside the trailer were still in view. Mark’s mouth moved soundlessly, a reminder that she’d muted the device. She turned it back up.

  “Jadee? What happened? Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I hit the panic alarm and they stopped attacking. I don’t see them on my cameras.”

  Peggy clutched at her brother Brent. “They’re coming after us again!”

  Mark turned in his chair. “Shut up.” He faced forward. “They’re sensitive to noises. That was smart of you.”

  “Didn’t you try that last night? I’m hoping someone heard it and help arrives.”

  “There’s no one within range to hear us.” He paused, probably for effect. Mark loved dramatics. “All the residents are dead. We found blood in every home we checked when we arrived.”

  “Everyone?” The news stunned Jadee. “As in, the entire town?”

  “We can’t be sure, since we only went to a few homes,” Peggy whispered. “But we didn’t see anyone while we were driving around, before they took out the vehicles.”

  “We checked the home of our website tipper first,” Brent explained. “His front door was kicked in but he wasn’t there. It’s not a big town and they only have one diner. It was empty.” Brent kept Peggy in his arms, trying to ease her visible shaking. “Probably sixteen homes in all in this area. We couldn’t find any survivors in the few homes we searched the first day. Then we set the trap, hoping to catch whatever had made people disappear.”

  Jadee was out