Lord of Misrule Page 0,34

put the paintball gun aside--honestly, it wasn't much use now, with the vampires missing in action. "They're not getting in here, Gramma. We won't be having any Greenwood in Morganville."

"I ain't so much worried about you and me," Gramma said. "But I'd be worried for the Morrells. They're gonna be coming for them, sooner or later. That family's the poster children for the old guard."

Claire wondered if Richard knew that. She thought about Monica, too. Not that she liked Monica--God, no--but still.

She thanked Gramma Day and walked back into the kitchen, where the policemen were still talking. "Gramma Day thinks there's going to be trouble," she said. "Not the vampires. Regular people, like those people in the park. Maybe Lisa Day, too. And she thinks you ought to look after your family, Richard."

Richard nodded. "Already done," he said. "My mom and dad are at City Hall. Monica's headed there, too." He paused, thinking about it. "You're right. I should make sure she gets there all right, before she becomes another statistic." His face had tightened, and there was a look in his eyes that didn't match the way he said it. He was worried.

Given what Claire had just heard from Gramma Day, she thought he probably ought to be. Joe Hess and Travis Lowe sent each other looks, too, and she thought they were probably thinking the same thing. She deserves it, Claire told herself. Whatever happens to Monica Morrell, she earned it.

Except the pictures from Gramma Day's book kept coming back to haunt her.

The front door banged shut, and she heard Hannah's voice--not an alarm, just a welcome. She spun around and went to the door of the kitchen . . . and ran directly into Shane, who grabbed her and folded his arms around her.

"You're here," he said, and hugged her so tightly that she felt ribs creak. "Man, you don't make it easy, Claire. I've been freaking out all damn day. First I hear you're off in the middle of Vamptown; then you're running around like bait with Eve--"

"You're one to talk about bait," Claire said, and pushed back to look up into his face. "You okay?"

"Not a scratch," he said, and grinned. "Ironic, because I'm usually the one with the battle scars, right? The worst thing that happened to me was that I had to pull over and let a bunch of vampires off the bus, or they'd have ripped right through the walls. You'd be proud. I even let them off in the shade." His smile faded, but not the warmth in his eyes. "You look tired."

"Yeah, you think?" She caught herself on a yawn. "Sorry."

"We should get you home and catch some rest while we can." He looked around. "Where's Eve?"

Nobody had told him. Claire opened her mouth and found her throat clenching tight around the words. Her eyes filled with tears. She's gone, she wanted to say. She's missing. Nobody knows where she is.

But saying it out loud, saying it to Shane, that would make it real, somehow.

"Hey," he said, and smoothed her hair. "Hey, what's wrong? Where is she?"

"She was at Common Grounds," Claire finally choked out. "She--"

His hands went still, and his eyes widened.

"She's missing," Claire finally said, and a wave of utter misery broke over her. "She's out there somewhere. That's all I know."

"Her car's outside."

"We drove it here." Claire nodded at Hannah, who'd come in behind Shane and was silently watching. He acknowledged her with a glance; that was all.

"Okay," Shane said. "Michael's safe, you're safe, I'm safe. Now we're going to go find Eve."

Richard Morrell stirred. "That's not a good idea."

Shane spun on him, and the look on his face was hard enough to scare a vampire. "Want to try and stop me, Dick?"

Richard stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the map. "You want to go, go. We've got things to do. There's a whole town of people out there to serve and protect. Eve's one girl."

"Yeah, well, she's our girl," Shane said. He took Claire's hand. "Let's go."

Hannah leaned against the wall. "Mind if I call shotgun?"

"Since you're carrying one? Feel free."

Outside, things were odd--quiet, but with a suppressed feeling of excitement in the air. People were still outside, talking in groups on the streets. The stores were shut down, for the most part, but Claire noticed with a stir of unease that the bars were open, and so was Morganville's gun shop.

Not good.

The gates of the university had opened, and they were