Page 14 (1/2)

13

The afteruess you could call e&039;d had a battle maybe more like a supernatural skirmish? The wounded have to be tended, the blood has to be cleaned up, the bodies have to be buried Or, in this case, disposed of - Pa the bodies of Hallow&039;s coven inside

They hadn&039;t all died Hallow, of course, was still alive One other witch survived, though she was badly hurt and very low on blood Of the Weres, Colonel Flood was gravely wounded; Portugal had been killed by Mark Stonebrook The others were more or less okay Only Chow had died, out of the vaent The others had wounds, some very horrible, but vampires will heal

It surprised

"They were probably good witches, but they weren&039;t good fighters," Paical ability and their willingness to follow Hallow, not for their battle skills She shouldn&039;t have tried to take over Shreveport with such a following"

"Why Shreveport?" I asked Pa

I shuddered I didn&039;t want to consider Pa a spell on you while you question her?"

Pa

"Sorry about Chow," I said, a little hesitantly

"The job of bartender at Fangtasia doesn&039;t seeood-luck job," she admitted "I don&039;t know if I&039;ll be able to find so Shadow both perished within a year of starting work"

"What are you going to do about un-hexing Eric?"

Pah to talk to me, even if I was only a human, since she&039;d lost her sidekick "We&039;ll make Hallow do it, sooner or later And she&039;ll tell us why she did it"

"If Hallow just gives up the general outline of the spell, will that be enough? Or will she have to perform it herself?" I tried to rephrase that in my head so it was clearer, but Pam seemed to understand me

"I don&039;t know We&039;ll have to ask our friendly Wiccans The ones you saved should be grateful enough to give us any help we need," Paasoline around the roo to reht want froical paraphernalia, in case one of the cops who canize the relanced at my watch I hoped that Holly had made it safely home by noould tell her that her son was safe

I kepton Colonel Flood&039;s left leg He&039;d sustained an ugly gash in the quadriceps It was a serious wound He ht of it, and after Alcide fetched their clothes, the colonel limped around with a se, the packmaster had to allow his Weres to take hi to help off the books, since no one could think of a good story that would explain such a wound Before he left, Colonel Flood shook hands cereh I could see the sweat beading on his forehead even in the frigid air of the old building

I asked Eric if he felt any different, but he was still oblivious to his past He looked upset and on the verge of terror Mark Stonebrook&039;s death hadn&039;t made a bit of difference, so Halloas in for a few dreadful hours, courtesy of Pam I just accepted that I didn&039;t want to think about it closely Or at all

As for o hoe of him any hours of the night here in the city? Shreveport was ho on using Chow&039;s e day, at Paestion

I dithered around indecisively for a fewtospecific, and no one soughtthe other vampires directions about Hallow&039;s transportation, I just walked out The night was quite as still as it had been, but a few dogs did bark as I walked down the street The sht was just as dark, and even colder, and I was at low ebb I didn&039;t knohat I&039;d say if a policeman stopped me; I was blood-spattered and tattered, and I had no explanation At the otten ht up with me He was very anxious - almost fearful "You weren&039;t there I just looked around and you weren&039;t there," he said accusingly "Where are you going? Why didn&039;t you tellhi for hih I couldn&039;t have told you exactly why; after all, no one had hithad been h Eric hadn&039;t been restored to hi Hallow around to the va, in a painful and terminal way

Undoubtedly, Paun this whole course of action And Fangtasia would acquire a new bartender, so in the tourist bucks She and Eric would open the strip club they&039;d been considering, or the all-night dry-cleaners, or the bodyguard service

My brother would still be o home with you I don&039;t know the I hurt inside when Eric said so that was so contrary to his nor Eric&039;s true nature? Was his flash and assurance so he&039;d assumed, like another skin, over the years?

"Sure, come on," I said, as desperate as Eric was, but in

I&039;d settle for quiet

He loaned th, at least He picked me up and carried me back to the car I was surprised to find that my cheeks ith tears

"You have blood all over you," he said into et excited about it," I warned "It doesn&039;t do a thing for e of crying, alet rid of this coat now," he said, with soet it cleaned" I was too tired to respond to disparaging coht and s cup of coffee and a hit of oxygen By the tied, and I was calm as I let us in the back door Eric cao around the kitchen table, as I leaned left to flick on the light switch

When I turned on the light, Debbie Pelt was s in the dark at un in her hand

Without saying a word, she fired at me

But she&039;d reckoned without Eric, as so fast, faster than any huht in the chest He went down in front of me

She hadn&039;t had time to search the house, which was lucky Froun I&039;d taken from Jason&039;s house I pumped it - one of the scariest sounds in the world - and I shot Debbie Pelt while she was still staring, shocked, at Eric, as on his knees and coughing up blood I racked another shell, but I didn&039;t need to shoot her again Her fingers relaxed and her gun fell to the floor

I sat on the floor ht any and twitching in a pool of blood

There wasn&039;t much left of Debbie&039;s upper chest and neck

My kitchen looked like I&039;d been disht

I started to reach up to scrabble for the telephone at the end of the counter My hand dropped back to the floor when I wondered who to call

The law? Ha

Sam? And mire him down further in my troubles? I didn&039;t think so