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"I’ve spent all the years since full of guilt and h I didn’t rehts, my plans, my whole life But the experience doesn’t own me I own it What I do with it is up to ic is up to her"

CHAPTER 22

The First Day I Woke Up Dead

Molly was nowhere in sight e got to the address we thought Jack Shroffru was using as a lair, but I knee had the right place as I walked around the house, looking it over fro in the wind There were no bird sounds, no stealthy motions oflive anywhere except the far-off stink of skunk

As Beast and I reconnoitered, the Kid stole in to the security system and disabled the important parts--like the part that sounded an alar still worked Everything still showed little green lights on theto do the occupants of the house any good for a while Go, geek--electronic hero in SpongeBob SquarePants flannel pj’s I really was gonna buy hihts

And the best part caer inside--her scent and footprints running off out of sight, doind Second, the place reeked of vaic and lizard And third, it was poorly defended Shoffru believed the nuht with him kept him safe He was about to learn a painful lesson

The house o stories of stucco and tile on a tiny lot that barely qualified for the designation I could smell water from everywhere, pools, bayous, and the scent of rain on the air Fertilizer stink ca of vamps, human blood, and the prevalent skunk s time for skunks and wondered if it was possible to lure skunks into a house With their superduper noses, vamps would likely asphyxiate Except for the fact that they didn’t need to breathe Yeah That

The house was equipped with electric vamp shutters that worked as well for hurricanes and security as they did for keeping the sunlight out of a lair while vae, pool, gated yard, and golf course access I iined a foursome of vamps in plaid knickers and those white shoes with frilly collars golfing at night by the light of a full moon Tams on their heads A ly

I smothered my reaction and went back to work The first-floor shutters of Shoffru’s rental house were closed, leaving the best access on the second floor, where the shutters were open and doors leading out onto the balcony were open as well I didn’t have a ladder, but I had Beast strength and I was betting on her lendingon the second floor, and pull myself up Well, except for the shoulder Which was nowhere near a hundred percent

I had perched Rachael behind the house on the golf course side, in a short tree, within whip length of the back door Bliss, terrified and uncertain, but determined to stay, ith her I didn’t want theive them a real job or have theoing into the vaer for that, and it would surely result in injury or death for theolf course, upwind, so that when he played, even the air itself would assist his spell Unfortunately the skunk seneral direction, and I wondered hoell he was dealing with the stink And the amorous skunks for that matter

With everyone in place, I headed back where Shiloh waited It was across the road and down the block from Shoffru’s house, about a hundred feet away, in a vacant house that was being re the s and doors Shiloh was sitting at an open space where a door would eventually go, on the second-floor porch, Eli’s gun on a tripod that she had asseirls are no pushovers even before they acquire fangs

I chuckled under my breath and nodded at the rifle and scope in Shiloh’s hands "Keep an eye on the house Once the action starts, any vao" I paused "You can tell the difference froave a ladylike snort of derision and repositioned her rifle "I could do that the first day I woke up dead Prey don’t just smell different, they look different" I wanted to shudder at her casual use of the word prey, but she added, "They look beautiful and desirable and tasty" Her voice went dreaister "They look like so you want to protect and love and savor as you drink the how to blend all the desires into one, and then take control of that desire"

There didn’t seem to be much left to say to that one "Ick" see her balanced and useful to the plan I settled on "All righty, then" I didn’t know her well yet, but already Molly’s niece gaveslowly down the road behind the house we had appropriated At this hour, it was either a dog walker, a sleepwalker, or Molly "Gotta go," I said One-handed, I swung off the second-story porch and landed on the ay below

Pulling on Beast’s speed, I skirted through backyards, swung over low fences, and up to Molly She stood for a ht from a house nearby

She had cut her hair, and wild red curls danced in the night breeze Her skin was pale in the diht A lot of weight She earing skinny jeans and a dirty T-shirt with a way-too-big sweater She looked afraid--shaking, her hands tre, her heart rate too fast and uneven Molly stood there, waiting And I pulled on Beast’s eyesight to see her led with motes of power, like rainbows on steroids with diahtly to her, as if she wore a black cloud Flashes appeared within the cloud, like lightning, but clutched close and well contained For now