Last Breath (The Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine

Author:Rachel Caine [Caine, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Myrnin had shed all hint of

madness, which was a blessing; he

moved with the lithe grace and

speed of any vampire, and we

communicated

through

slight

gestures and looks as we took the

cracked, mouldering steps up to the

building’s door. I remembered

when this had been built; it seemed

like such a short time ago that I’d

stood on these steps with the then-

mayor, shaded by a black umbrella

and waving in regal boredom to a

crowd of gawkers. It had been one

of the last times I had appeared in

public to humans, because one of

them had attempted to throw silver

solution on me. One of my

bodyguards had been badly scarred

in the assassination attempt.

I remembered the inside of this

place.

It was nothing like my memories.

The ruin of the reception area

was breathtaking; the carpets were

mildewed and curling, the walls

furred with thick, black fungus.

Paint peeled from the sagging

ceiling, but I could still see the

lovely art deco designs beneath,

like the straight bones of a rotten

body.

There were no draug there to

meet us.

The narrow hallway ahead was

too small for Myrnin and I to enter

together, so with a tiny gesture I

held him back, and plunged on

ahead, into a waking nightmare.

At first glance, I thought there

was only one draug in the room; we

could not see them, not clearly,

even concentrating on them directly.

But Magnus wanted me to see

him. It pleased him to show me his

mask, and, behind that, his true

nature. The mask was a rubbery

caricature of humanity, exactly

bland; the thing behind it was made

of darkness and rot, and was only

vaguely in a shape that mimicked

our own.

‘Amelie,’ he said. Unlike the

draug’s call, this was a humanlike

voice, one that cut through Myrnin’s

device cleanly. ‘You surprise me. I

thought you’d run. You always

have.’

‘I am happy to surprise you,’ I

said, and pointed my shotgun at his

chest. He was too far away for it to

be effective, and he knew it; he

smiled, a rubbery stretch of falsely

human lips while the thing behind it

bared teeth.

I sensed the draug rather than saw

them as they emerged from the

mould-encrusted walls, flooding

down in pools and forming into

shapes. They were all around us. I

cast a lightning-fast look at Myrnin,

who was slightly behind me to my

right. He, too, was surrounded.

‘Well,’ Myrnin said, in a light

and oddly happy voice, ‘I believe

it’s time for a field test.’

And he aimed at the wall of

draug closing on him, and fired.

I spun toward mine and fired at

the

same

instant,

sending

a

devastating spray of silver pellets

into them. The friction of the air

softened the metal and spread it,

adding to the chaos of the effect,

and with one shot, three draug

shrieked and blew apart into liquid

that rushed across the cracked tile

floor toward the sparkling blue

pool.

I pumped the shotgun and fired,

keeping time with Myrnin’s blasts.

Vampire ears are sensitive, and the

noise was painfully loud, but a

fierce joy was on me as I saw our

enemies fall. It was like the old

times, the oldest times, riding to

battle with a sword singing in my

hand and a scream rising in the back

of my throat, my hair flying like a

banner …

I heard a splash. Shane had

entered the pool. I pumped another

round into the shotgun and fired, and

risked a glance in his direction. The

boy’s form glided through the

water, heading toward the deeper

end.

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