Kiss of Death Page 0,8

him, anyway. They'll just drain him." It was a lot of work for a vampire to turn a human, and from what Claire had seen, they didn't seem all that eager to go through it themselves. It hurt. And it took something out of them. The only one she'd ever seen take any real pleasure out if had been Mr. Bishop, Amelie's vile, old vampire father. She'd seen him turn Shane's father, and that had been--horrible. Really horrible. This was why Shane, however he felt about Jason Rosser, was loading up a crossbow, and was more than prepared to use it. "What's Michael doing?"

"Talking sense," Shane said. "It's always his A game. For him, it usually works. Me, I'm usually Plan B, all the time."

"B for brute force?" Eve said. "Yep, that's you." Shane slotted the arrow in place and raised the window sash. He kicked out the screen on the other side and aimed the crossbow right at Morley. Morley, who was dressed in clothes that seemed pieced together out of rags, except for one brand-new Hawaiian shirt in disgustingly bright shades of neon, looked straight at the window, smiled, and tipped his head just a little in acknowledgment. "Just so we're clear, bloodsucker," Shane said. "Can he hear you?"

"He hears every word. Hey, Morley? I will put this right between your ribs, you got me?" Once again, Morley nodded, and the smile stayed in place. "You sure that's a good idea?" Eve whispered. "Threatening him, I mean?"

"Why not? Morley speaks fluent threat." It went on for a while, all the talking; Shane never took his eyes off Morley. Claire kept her hand on him, somehow feeling as if that were helping--helping them both--and finally Morley made some polite little bow to Michael, then waved at the other vampire, who was holding Jason. The vampire let go. Jason stumbled backward, then took off at top speed, running flat out down the street. The vampires watched him. Nobody followed. Eve breathed a slow sigh of relief and leaned against the wall. Shane didn't move. He still had the crossbow aimed at Morley's chest. "Emergency's over," Eve said. "Stand down, soldier."

"Go open the door. I stand down when Michael's back inside." Shane smiled, all teeth. Not quite as menacing as a vampire smile, but it got the point across. Eve nodded and ran to the door. Once it was open, Michael--still looking cool and calm--backed in, said good night, and shut the door. Claire heard him shooting the locks, and still Shane kept his aim steady until Morley, touching a finger to his brow, turned and walked off into the dark with his two followers. Claire slammed down the window, locked it, and Shane let out his breath in a slow sigh, removing the arrow from the bow. "Nothing like a little after-dinner terrification," he said, and gave Claire a quick kiss. "Mmmm, you still taste like brisket tacos." She would have called him a jerk, but she was shaking, and she was too short of breath, anyway. He was already down the hall by the time she pulled in enough air, and she used it to follow him. Michael was standing beside Eve, an arm tight around her waist. "So?" Shane asked. "What's Morley hanging around for? Waiting for us to get ripe?"

"You know what he was here for," Michael said. "We haven't gotten his people passes to leave town yet, which is what you promised him in return for not killing you three when he had the chance. He's getting impatient, and since you three are on the hook as his own personal blood donors, I think we need to get serious about making that happen."

"He wouldn't dare."

"No? Can't say that I agree with you. Morley isn't afraid of much that I can tell, including Amelie, Oliver, or a wooden arrow in the heart." Michael nodded at Shane. "Still. Thanks. Nice."

"Brute force. It's what I do."

"Just keep it aimed the right way." Shane looked as innocent as Shane ever could and put his hand over his heart. "I would never. Unless you flash fang at me again, or ever tell me to stay with the girls. Except for that."

"Cool. Let's go shoot some undead things on the TV, then."

"Loser."

"Not if I win."

"Like that ever happens." 2 The next day, Claire had classes at Texas Prairie University, which was always a mixture of fascinating and annoying; fascinating, because she'd managed to finagle her way into a lot of advanced classes