Page 49 (2/2)
I jerkedcarefully to the front of the saloon/store and out into theain until ere back at the SUV "Witches areinto cockroaches, and Nostrana is a witch working for a va us the truth," Eli said
"She saveto being anything nonhunored it "I need to talk to Francis"
Without co the Under the Hill streets and passed by the old warehouse/bar where we had fought and survived Once again, a surge ofin the air "Stop the car" Before Eli had co between buildings, following the scent Within three steps, Eli was behinda hand in, pulling out the coin the tribal elder had given me in the church-that-wasn’t The silver coin was hot to the touch, the teics I reached into another pocket and touched the pocket watch It too was heated And stank of old blood
"Here It’s here" I turned in a slow circle, holding the coin out before aain!" Leading me toward the middle streetand as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone
The coin was now neither warm nor cold and the watch was ination Maybe I’d been palling around with supernats for so long that I was starting to scent ics everywhere I dropped my arm Stuck the coin in ers "Crap Okay Let’s go home, Eli"
He raised his brows "You’ll tell me what this little jaunt was about later" It wasn’t a request More a coo" While he drove, I texted A lot
There wasn’t ot back to Ese," I said
"We killing the vamp?"
"Francis? I hope not But we may have to cut off his clothes"
Eli’s forehead wrinkled "Say what?"
"Francis is one of the new spidey va old blood on Francis, stinky stuff" Stinky stuff like the pocket-watch amulets, but I didn’t share that with Eli, not yet "Francis is healing even without bloodon hi hi hiht be what allowed de Allyon to do what he did and control the vamps under him so well, and take over other cities, and be a Naturaleza in a world where all the other vaht it was in surprise, not negation I pulled out the pocket-watch amulet
"Didn’t you ever wonder why the priestesses and the European council allowed de Allyon to keep his own territory, operating as a Naturaleza in open violation of the Vampira Carta? And no one tried to stop hied
"So far as we know," I agreed, as Eli pulled the SUV to the garage "He had to have so on the other vamps, some kind of weapon or way to protect hiue"
"A witch circle," Eli said, surprised
"Exactly Powering so on objet d’art, "that allowed hiue and he decided it was the perfect weapon to expand his power base" I flipped open the pocket watch, catching a whiff of that alotten the amulets--off Naturaleza vah to be the amulet or focal object But I think it’s tied in soht It wasn’t bright and the sun was hidden behind layers of clouds, but it was daylight It would do Inside the garage, the shadows enfolding us, we stood, letting our eyes adjust
Eli said softly "Francis is one of the revenants He’s faster and stronger than anything I’ve ever seen"
"Yeah And what I’ is that some of the revenants have been killed true-dead et brought back, there areoff at the horizon "What’s your strategy?"
"I’onna pull his cage into the yard, out back where the kids can’t see it happening, and let hiivefor, I’ll kill hihty cheerful about it"
"I aed with his eyebrohich was really cool, and followedEven with his accelerated healing powers, Francis Adrundel was noand blistering and screa, he emptied his pockets I picked up the pocket watch and tucked it into my other pocket I didn’t knohat the watches did, but I had an idea that getting theether could eventually be a proble H’s primo, and asked hi he was beco had to die true-death eventually, but so far, he’d been useful I wanted him kept undead
I had timed it well An hour before sunset, I calledrooone, Soul was dressed in silver-colored gauzy clothing that re earpieces with hisfrom them Brute and Pea looked beautiful and cute and deadly Part of me wanted them on my team, and the other part of me knew that would be a mistake I’d eventually have to kill the wolf and I really didn’t want to kill anything that an angel had cursed