The Bite of Silence by Mary Hughes

Author:Mary Hughes [Hughes, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Series - Vampire
ISBN: 9781605048543
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2009-12-28T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

The limo threaded through traffic with agonizing slowness. Twelve city blocks normally takes about two minutes. We left the hotel at ten fifty and when I checked my phone again at eleven we had gone all of one block. At that rate we’d hit Times Square just in time to throw kitty litter on the blood.

“We’ve been hearing rumors of a vampire terrorist in New York for the last year.” Klaus acted as cool as the refrigerated dill of similar name. Only a slight whitening around his nostrils betrayed he was as tense as me. “We traced the rumors to Aylmer Tafel. He was already using a shadow company of mine, eMailnXpress, for his business, which made his apartment ridiculously easy to infiltrate. Unfortunately Aylmer’s cohort and Bujný a Zvuk were not so easy. So when we heard the charming cousin Twyla was coming to New York, I was sent to escort her. We hoped to learn more.”

Nikos, splayed like a roadblock between me and Klaus, started growling.

“Who’s we?” I asked before Nikos could do something we’d all regret (but mostly Klaus).

“New York’s ruling vampires, the Cadre. We’re the equivalent of your Chicago Coterie.”

I looked to Nikos. His closed eyes said “long story”. Five minutes and another half block went by. I poked him. “We have time. Give me the MTV version.”

Nikos shot Klaus an irritated glance, like my curiosity was his fault, and said, “The Coterie runs businesses, vampires and blood in Chicago.”

I did a mental translation to v-Mafia. Not that I knew anything about La Cosa Nostra beyond film and TV, but that was my main source for info on vampires too.

“My alliance stands against them.” Nikos gave Klaus another glare, this one pointed. “And so against the Cadre.”

“I am not the enemy here.” Klaus sneered at Nikos down his nose. “I do not work with Aylmer or his unknown associate. Our goal is the same as yours, to keep vampires from going feral tonight.”

“Not the same.” Nikos advanced to glowering. “I want to keep humans from dying.”

“Well, pardon me for not thinking of a few humans when our very existence is at stake.”

“We would not die. Humans would, and more than a few.” Nikos leaned over Klaus until they were practically smashing noses.

“A drop in the bucket compared to all vampire kind.”

The testosterone being flung around was giving me chest hairs. “Hey guys. Enough. Stopping this plot will save both human and vampire lives.”

They both humphed back and sat in stony silence for another eight blocks. By then it was eleven twenty. “This is ridiculous. We’d make better time walking.”

“Not tonight.” Klaus darted a glance at Nikos. “Not with all the foot traffic.”

“Are there really that many people? A million?”

“Let me put it this way. The city removes all trash cans, mailboxes and newspaper machines for the event.”

“For room?”

“And to reduce the potential for terrorism.”

We fell silent again, thinking about terrorists, about Aylmer and his unknown associate. I really hoped my cousin was okay. But at that moment I might have shot him myself for getting us into this mess in the first place.

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