"I don"t know, but the possibility is there-a strong possibility," Sebastian said. "I don"t know. My experience with Tereza made me gun-shy. I thought a blood transfusion would be enough to save her, and it wasn"t. It was a horrible mistake. Once she was dead, it was too late. The formula must be drunk by a living person."
So, Parrish and his vampire friends were out of luck. There was no Holy Grail-no cure for their particular brand of vampirism.
"At least, I a.s.sume," Sebastian admitted with a defeated sigh. "I... your mother"s death shook meprofoundly, Matyas. I had never loved anyone enough to want to live with them forever besides your mother-and then to have things go so horribly awry. It was devastating. And then there was you... I knew that my blood had tainted you, as well. I thought the formula must surely be a curse, a poison.
Thus, I found myself unwilling to experiment with any other lives. Not with my blood, nor with formula. I have never attempted to duplicate it."
Matyas"s gaze seemed to linger on the dark splotches on Sebastian"s face. "And now you have to."
Sebastian didn"t say anything. The answer was obvious, as was his need for blood.
Matyas turned his head to expose his neck again. "Drink," he said.
Sebastian hesitated, clearly moved by his son"s sacrifice. He took Matyas into his arms in an embrace, and then plunged his fangs deep into his throat. I heard Matyas gasp in pain and surprise.
I turned away. I didn"t like being bitten, and I had no desire to watch someone else being drained, either. I made my way back to Sebastian"s car. The car did not come with a radio, I discovered in my search for distraction. I kind of wanted to see what was happening, but just when I thought I"d take a look, Sebastian opened the door and slid into the driver"s seat.
He smelled like blood. In the enclosed s.p.a.ce, the earthy, metallic odor was unmistakable.
Of course, it smeared his chin and chest.
Sebastian started the car.
"The parking attendant is going to call the cops unless you have some napkins hidden in this car somewhere," I remarked as dryly as I could, given how much my hands shook as I cranked the window down a crack.
When Sebastian steered around Matyas"s p.r.o.ne form, I couldn"t help but ask, "Sebastian, uh, everything work out with you and Matyas?"
"Under your seat," he said.
"What?"
"Handi Wipes." After groping around for a moment, my hands seized on a canister of alcohol wipes. I offered them to Sebastian, who pulled out a fistful. "He"s not dead," he said.
Well, I"d hoped the h.e.l.l not. After all, Matyas had offered freely. Of course, so had Feather, and she"d nearly died. Sebastian scrubbed at his face, smearing it pink.
"Ugh. You"re making it worse. Pull over a second and let me do it," I told him.
Sebastian wedged the car into a s.p.a.ce one floor up between a minivan and a pickup truck covered in political stickers. As soon as he shifted into park, I began daubing at his face like a mother hen.
"I"m having some trouble with control lately." He shut his eyes and leaned his head heavily back onto the seat. "I noticed," I said, finishing my ministrations by b.u.t.toning up his coat to hide the stained shirt.
"I can"t seem to get enough. The Hunger... it"s never been so strong before." Sebastian shifted into reverse and pulled the car back out. As we started circling our way upward, Sebastian fished a wallet out of his back pocket and handed it to me.
"It"ll be okay," I said lamely. I didn"t have a better answer.
"Part of me wanted to kill him, Garnet. My only son."
I couldn"t precisely say that I knew how he was feeling, but I"d been wrestling with a similar question all day. I"d decided that what separated the good guys from the bad guys came down to intent. How could I continue to feel morally superior to the Order if I started acting like them? I"d killed, but so far, the deaths on my hands could mostly be considered self-defense. I recognized that in truth, there was an element of something much nastier, like Lilith"s- and my-desire for vengeance, but when I"d walked through that door, they were the ones holding the weapons. For now, that"s what was important.
If I could stay on that side of the line, I could live with myself.
"I know," I said finally. We were approaching the ticket booth, so I handed Sebastian a twenty. "But you didn"t, and that"s what counts."
"Yeah," Sebastian said, as he handed the ticket and the money to the bored-looking attendant wearing a Somali-style head scarf. She handed Sebastian his change and mumbled a thank-you without really ever looking at him. I wondered if we could have driven out with his face completely smeared in blood, after all.
"The worst part? I"m still hungry," he said, as we pulled out past the early evening crowds headed to the bars on State Street. "I need that formula, Garnet. You do have it somewhere, right?"
"Yeah... about that." I chewed my lip. Finding Parrish might be a problem. Then I had an idea. "Do you remember William from last night?"
Sebastian gave me a concerned glance through narrowed eyes. "I nearly killed his girlfriend, right?"
"Yeah, that"s the one." I smiled. "We"re going to help him pick up a hustler."
I sent Sebastian two doors down to the clothing boutique for a new shirt while I collected William. The Closed sign hung in the window, and all the lights were out. Though I couldn"t see William, I a.s.sumed he was in the back counting out the till. I reached for my key to unlock the door, then remembered I"d broken it. I tried the door anyway. I was surprised when it opened, but more so to find William"s key ring hanging on the other side. Sloppy and very unlike him. I left it as I found it, intending to drag his b.u.t.t out here to show him the evidence of his absentmindedness.
As I approached the storeroom, I heard voices. At first, I thought maybe William had tuned the store stereo system to NPR to keep himself company while he worked, but then I recognized a few words, chiefly, my name.
Someone"s muscular arm propped the door open slightly. Black T-shirt and the dull glint of the muzzle ofa large automatic weapon slung over said shoulder was all I needed to tell me the Vatican agents had cornered William. I pressed myself against the bookcase when the agent turned to glance toward the interior of the shop. I willed myself to melt into the shadows as he scanned the room.
"We have lots of grimoires," I heard William protest. "You want a book of shadows? We have a million blank ones. Or I could order you the book by Curott by that name."
"Don"t play stupid with us, Warlock."
Mother of All, they thought William was a player. Which, as funny as that might strike me on one level, meant he was in real trouble. I had to help him, but how?
I thought about the display of wands at the front of the store. There was a silver-plated one with a big honking amethyst crystal at the top that could probably do some serious damage if I swung it hard enough. Problem? I"d only get one shot. These guys had guns.
I always had Lilith, but I"d never asked Her to distinguish between friend and foe before. Somehow I imagined She"d just as likely slaughter William as save him, especially if he bolted, which any sane person would. No, Lilith was a last resort only.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and felt for the part of me I usually kept under lock and key.
Purple light streamed out, filling me, surrounding me. I visualized myself surrounded by a bubble of luminescent purple mist.
"What I need," I told the universe, "is a distraction. Something big enough that all the agents will go and leave William unharmed."
I held my hands out-my right hand, palm up; my left, palm down-and began to spin in a clockwise direction. Golden light swirled in a spiral from my fingertips, creating a kind of magical tornado. I could feel the power building. When it reached its peak, I released it through the top of the bubble and sent it in the direction of the storeroom.
A cell phone trilled.
I could hear a brisk exchange, then: "We have to move out. Now. The source has been attacked. We"ll deal with you later."
With a thanks to the universe, I rested my palms on the floor and grounded any excess energy charge I might be holding. While I crouched behind the shelves, the agents hurried past me. I felt rather than saw Sensitive pause, but he followed his compatriots out the door without a word. Once the door closed, I stood up and drew the purple mist back into myself.
When I opened my eyes, William was standing in the doorway of the storeroom gripping a crowbar in his hands as though it were a baseball bat. "Garnet? Is that you?"
"Yes," I said. "Are you okay? They didn"t hurt you, did they?"
William lowered the crowbar with a relieved sigh. "Those guys. They were looking for you."
"I know." "Are they the ones who broke in this morning?"
"No," I said.
"Are you sure? Because they have guns." He stopped his litany long enough to take a breath. Then he added, "They thought I was a Warlock."
I couldn"t help but crack a thin smile. "Pretty cool, huh? I guess the new haircut is working for you."
"Yeah," he said, returning the smile with a bubble of hysterical laughter. He shook his head. "Man, I tell you, when outer planets go retrograde, the world gets really f.u.c.ked up."
"I blame Lilith, myself," I said.
"That"s one seriously bada.s.s asteroid, then."
I nodded, though I wasn"t sure he could see me in the darkness of the store. "Yeah. It is."
"I should probably put the money in the safe," William said. "They didn"t take it. I offered, but they didn"t go for it. Sorry about that. I mean, the money. I just wanted them to go away. I f.u.c.king hate guns.
Can I offer a suggestion? The police. I could call the police. I"ve got a pretty good description: guys carrying guns."
"First things first. Why don"t you go over to Holy Grounds? I can take care of things here."
William seemed deeply relieved. "Cool." Then, he said, "Oh, and that special delivery you ordered finally came. I left it by the register."
When I made it to the coffee shop, I discovered Sebastian and William sitting together on the couches in the back. They looked chummy. I was surprised, considering the last time William saw Sebastian he was tearing his girlfriend"s throat out. William had probably gone into full denial mode.
Sebastian had found a red silk shirt, which in combination with the black trench coat and jeans made a striking ensemble. He"d also taken the time to comb his hair and tie it back with a black ribbon.
William, meanwhile, looked frazzled. The dye job, which in the daytime had made his hair appear all shiny and new, now looked monotone, like a bad wig, in the artificial light. Sitting next to Sebastian, William seemed skinny and frail. Breakable. I worried that he wouldn"t be up for our Parrish-hunting adventure, but all he had to do was point us in the right direction.
"I understand they"re quite cold," Sebastian was saying as I approached.
"Yeah, but worth it," William replied. "All the time you were there you never even got your feet wet?"
I plopped myself into a nearby ratty, floral-print, overstuffed chair. Even though one of the springs was missing, it felt good to take a load off and sink into the upholstery. I was planning on telling Sebastian that the special delivery had turned out to be his mandrake and that I had it with me in the pocket of my jeans, but their conversation distracted me. "What are you guys talking about?" "Mountain climbing," William said. "Well, specifically, mountain lakes."
I nodded. Business at the Holy Grounds was winding down. Besides William, Sebastian, and me, only a few other customers remained. A barista I didn"t know busily wiped down tables and prepared the place for close. I wondered where Izzy was. Had she taken a day off after all the excitement last night? I hoped she was okay. At least the new barista didn"t seem bothered by us stragglers.
"You mountain climb?" I asked William. It was uncharitable, but I couldn"t quite picture William rappelling down the side of a mountain. I guess I always imagined that sort of thing took more muscles than William seemed to have.
"My dad was into it," William said with a shrug. "He"s originally from Washington State. When we went back to visit grandma, we"d hit the mountains for a few days."
"Huh," I said. The boys compared notes about the best trails and equipment and stuff I couldn"t begin to understand. But we had more important things to consider. "Did your Goth friend say where he found the vampire hustler?" I asked William.
"That"s kind of a major change of subject," William noted. He adjusted his gla.s.ses with his finger.
Sebastian had been taking a sip of coffee, and he nearly choked. "Vampirehustler? You"re not talking about your ex-boyfriend vampire, I hope. The one who has my grimoire?"
"Yeah," I said, chewing on my fingernail in antic.i.p.ation of Sebastian going ballistic again. Instead, he seemed to be concentrating on taking slow, even breaths. I thought I heard him counting to ten.
"The s.k.a.n.ky vamp biting for bucks on the dark end of State Street is your ex-boyfriend?" William asked. The look on William"s face implied he hoped I washed after interacting with Parrish.
"Parrish isn"t s.k.a.n.ky. It must be someone else," I said. Here was something I hadn"t counted on. What if there were two vampire hustlers in Madison?
Sebastian shook his head. "Unfinished business," he muttered.
William glanced back and forth between Sebastian and me. "You guys aren"t thinking about having some kind of three-way, are you?"
"Eek!" I said, just as Sebastian said, "Good G.o.d, no."
"Oh, well, it"s just I heard that there"s another vamp who"d be up for something like that if the price was right."
My expression must have given away the fact that I suspectedthat vampire was Parrish because Sebastian said, "Nice. So the kinky one has my grimoire? Things just get better and better, don"t they?"
"He told me he didn"t do that, just bite," I said, and instantly regretted it.
Both of the boys gave me the and-you-believed-that? look.
I frowned. I didn"t like hearing Sebastian besmirch Parish"s character, especially since I knew how embarra.s.sed Parrish was by the whole affair. I desperately wanted to defend Parrish"s honor, but everyexcuse I thought up sounded lame. Anyway, Sebastian would just give me grief about still being hung up on Parrish. Instead, I said, "Look, Parrish will give the book back if I ask him. I"m sure of it."
"Are you guys talking about the grimoire that the Vatican wanted?" William asked.
"What do you know about the Order?" Sebastian demanded of William.
"Our Roman friends just paid a visit to the store," I explained. "Apparently, they thought I might have hidden it there."
"Instead you gave it to your ex-lover, who is apparently selling his bite on the street," Sebastian muttered into his coffee. "Where it"s much safer."
"Actually, it is," I pointed out. "Anyway, I thought you told the truth about the copy in your safe-deposit box. They should be off the scent."
"I imagine the Order is merely being thorough. They"ve got the microfilm, now they want the original.
Besides, as I said, my most recent notes are on the paper version."
"You made backups?" William asked, then with a sage nod, added, "Sweet."
Sebastian smiled at William. "Yes, a number of them. The original is in a rare book collection in Budapest."
"Smart." William nodded.
"Not necessarily," I pointed out a bit cruelly, but I was still feeling the sting from Sebastian"s constant dissing of Parrish. "After all, something must have put the Vatican on to you in the first place."
"You mean other than my son?"
"Yeah," I said. "As neat and tidy as it would be to blame all of this on Matyas, I doubt the Vatican would invest this kind of manpower to hunt you down simply on the word of a dhampyr."