"Aim for its neck," he said. "Cutting its head off is the only way to kill it."
Just like a vampire, she thought bleakly. Maybe they were some sort of vampire family offshoot.
They tracked the kite through the parking lot. The creature was running on all fours, and it was amazingly fast. She ran flat out, but she could barely keep up with Gabriel, let alone the creature.
"Listen," he said. "Can you hear that?"
Who could hear anything past her labored breathing and pounding footsteps?
She frowned, concentrating, and after a few seconds, caught it — the soft whump, whump of rotor blades. A helicopter, approaching fast. "Sounds like someone's coming to collect their pet."
"Maybe we should let them, then."
"Thought SIU policy was to kill on sight?"
"It is. But these things keep appearing. I think it's about time we learned from where."
The kite stopped and stared skyward. Gabriel halted behind the cover of several old elms. She stopped beside him and tried to catch her breath. So much for thinking she was fit. Maybe she'd better start heading back to the gym.
The helicopter came into sight — a long red and silver bird that gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. She shaded her eyes and stared up at it. Was that some sort of canon hanging out the side of the helicopter...
"Fuck, they're going to shoot it." Fear burned through Gabriel's voice. He flung an arm round her waist and pushed her to the ground, holding her tight as he covered her body with his.
Behind them, hell exploded. Asphalt and dirt fired into the air, and then a wave of heat burned over them, thick with the smell of burned flesh. She threw her arms over her head and cowered under the protection of Gabriel's warm body. Another bomb exploded, closer this time. Huge clumps of black asphalt rained around them. Gabriel's shudder ran right though her, then she gasped as a sharp twist of pain ran along her calf.
Then nothing. For several long minutes, they simply lay there. The sound of the helicopter faded into the distance. All she could hear was the crackle of flames as they licked through the trees behind them, and the thunder of her heart, beating in rapid time with Gabriel's.
"You okay," he whispered, his breath tickling warmth past her ear.
"Think so. You?"
"A rock has torn a hole in my jacket, but other than that, I'm fine."
She smiled. He sounded more aggrieved about the jacket than he did the fact he was probably cut as well. He rolled to one side, allowing her to sit up. Obviously, beheading wasn't the only way to kill a kite. Blowing the shit out of them worked fairly well, too. Two gaping wounds now marred the parking lot, one where the kite had stood, and the other just before their row of trees. The old elms had no doubt saved their lives.
Gabriel got his viaphone from his pocket, and called in the fire brigade and an SIU cleanup team. When he'd finished, she motioned towards the craters.
"Someone didn't want to risk anyone following their pet."
He nodded. "They must have been watching with binoculars. Interesting that they chose to blow up the kite, rather than us. They must have an abundant supply of them."
"Now, that's an ominous thought."
He rose and held out a hand. She let him pull her to her feet, her fingers almost lost within the heat of his.
"So, what happens now?" She gave his hand a light squeeze and then pulled hers away.
"Normally, we'd go back to headquarters and fill in the required mountain of paperwork."
She raised an eyebrow. "I sense a but coming here."
"I think it's more important right now that we go visit old uncle Mark."
She frowned? "Who's Uncle Mark?"
"Mark Allars."
Anger rose, and she had to clench a fist against the sudden urge to whack him across the ear. "You know him?"