"Okay, but he's pretty broken up over Tucker."
"She didn't make it," I said.
He shook his head. "She was torn up, nearly yanked in half. All that was holding her together was the Haz-Mat suit."
"So you didn't have to stake her," I said.
"The vamps did the job themselves," he said. "They got Tucker's body up but not the vamps you did in. They're still down there."
I looked at him. "Let me guess, it caved in--didn't it?"
"Not five minutes after they pulled Tucker's body out, and laid you on the grass, the whole thing went. The vamp body that the Traveler was using started to burn. I've never seen one of them burn before. It was impressive and scary. The rubble covered the vamp. They couldn't dig him out until dark because that would have exposed him to sunlight again. He dug his own way out while they were still getting started."
"He attack anyone?" I asked.
Larry shook his head. "He seemed pretty calm."
"You were there?"
"Yep."
I let it go. No sense worrying over what might have happened if the vamp had clawed his way to freedom pissed. I also found it very interesting that the Traveler couldn't stand the sunlight, and Warrick could. Surviving sunlight, even dim sunlight, was the rarest of talents among the walking dead. Or maybe Warrick was right. Maybe it was God's grace. Who was I to know?
"Is it my imagination or are you just moving better, with less pain?" I asked.
"It's been another twenty-four hours. I'm starting to heal."
"Excuse me?" I said.
"You've been out for over a day. It's late Sunday afternoon."
"Shit," I said. Had Jean-Claude met with the council without me? Had the "dinner," whatever it was, already happened? "Shit," I said again.
Still frowning, he said, "I've got a message from the Traveler for you. Tell me why you suddenly look so scared and I'll give it to you."
"Just give it to me, Larry, please."
Still frowning, he said, "The dinner is postponed until you feel well enough to attend."
I settled back against the pillows and couldn't keep the relief off my face, my body.
"What the hell is going on, Anita?"
Maybe it was the concussion. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't like to lie to Larry face to face. Whatever it was, I told him truth. I told him all of it. I told him about Richard and the marks. He knew about that, but not what I'd discovered recently. I left out a few things, but not much. When I was done, he sat back in the chair looking stunned.
"Well, say something."
He shook his head. "Sweet Mary Mother of God, I don't know where to start. Jean-Claude had a press conference last night with the Traveler at his side. They talked about vampire and human unity in the face of this awful event."
"Whose body did the Traveler use?" I asked.
Larry shivered. "That is one of the creepiest vamp powers I have ever seen. He used some vamp from Malcolm's Church. Malcolm was at the press conference. too. The Traveler used his powers to help rescue the other vamps, including Malcolm."
"Who acted as intepreter while the sun was up?" I asked.
"Balthasar, his human servant."
"Balthasar as a public servant, that is creepy," I said.