Page 24 of Grave Throbbing
At the curb, a large windowless van waited for them. A vampire dressed in full tactical gear opened the sliding door for them and Harley jumped in. Key was a little hesitant to follow, but he recognized Missy, another of the victims he'd freed when he'd rescued Greed from Dobbins's warehouse. In Kevlar and resting a crossbow on her knee, she looked much more prepared for this meeting with Dobbins.
"Good to see you," Key said to her as he took a seat beside Harley.
"I'm sorry Greed slipped away on us," she said. "She led him away on purpose, probably saving every person in Fanglory tonight. I love her for that."
Key wished he had the same faith. Sometimes, Greed was foolhardy and a little too independent. He hoped she was still alive when they found her. He also wished he didn't freeze with fear every time he considered the possibility she might be dead.
Chapter 9
Harley
The warehouse was everything Harley had expected from the location on the map. They were in an old section of the harbor, and if the building was two centuries old, it was probably closer to three.
Key and Missy shared their knowledge of the building with the tactical team on the ride there. Instead of pulling up to the front, they skirted the building through an alley and parked by a walk-in door that had recently been kicked in. It had been boarded up from the inside, but a vampire could easily kick it in again, if it wasn't reinforced with something more solid on the other side. A tactical soldier measured it using advanced echolocation, his vampire gift, and determined there was nothing on the other side. Another soldier kicked in the door, and they darted through the opening.
On the van ride to the docks, Harley had savored the taste of Key's spend on his lips, along with the lovely taste of his were-jaguar kisses. He immediately regretted it as the smell of vampire blood overwhelmed him.
The scent permeated from every surface, even the ones that looked clean. Automotive tools lay discarded on the floor, immobile without their air hoses. Some had been dipped in gore so thoroughly they must have clogged and stopped working.
Key followed the haphazard casting of tools, nose to the air as though searching for his sister's scent.
Harley caught a hint of it, though old, probably from when Key had rescued her the first time. Harley couldn't believe Dobbins was foolish enough to bring her here a second time. He must have known by now that Empress Marcella was on her way. The gig was up.
Harley knew little about Dobbins, though. His primary contact with the council was their leader, a vampire who only went by her first name, Chloe. Dobbins was younger than Harley, and they'd traveled in different social circles. For the most part, Dobbins kept to himself during council meetings. He lived somewhere near the docks, while Harley and the other council members lived in the same building near the courthouse.
Harley recognized Chloe's scent, fresh and bright, when he stepped further into the shadows. She'd claimed ignorance when he'd asked her about Dobbins, but Harley shivered and the hairs at his nape stood on end as he reconsidered the lie. Was she in on his torture operation? Her scent was everywhere in the building, from the tools to the benches.
Harley was startled from his thoughts about the council's involvement when Key called him over to a mess of innards and a very dead vampire corpse. "Do you recognize her?"
"Head Councilor Chloe." Harley sighed. He'd let his thoughts of conspiracy cloud the fact that the most prominent smell in the room was fresh vampire blood. "That changes things a bit."
"With her gone, who's in charge?" Key asked.
"No one until Empress Marcella arrives."
Key snorted. "You all don't have a chain of command for emergencies?"
"Don't be alarmed, little pet."
Key shuddered, even as he pushed Harley behind him. He'd put himself between Harley and danger, though Harley was older and better able to deal with the predator.
"I am in charge here." Dobbins's raspy tenor was unmistakable. "That was never in question. Councilor Chloe tried to bring me in for questioning, but that bitch Marcella can come get me if she wants me so badly."
"Empress Marcella knows we're here," Key challenged. "It's only a matter of getting her off her plane and into a limousine."
"That won't save your sister, though, pet."
Key took a step back and bumped into Harley. He was shaking. "I'll trade," he said. "Her for me."
Dobbins stepped into the halo of the building's reserve lighting, a single bulb high overhead. His face looked wan and more sunken than usual. He looked like a vampire in need of the night's fresh blood, but he held Greed tight to his chest despite her struggling, which indicated he'd had some kind of sustenance. He shoved her before him like a rag doll.
"I want you both," Dobbins said. "You've had a taste of me. Now I want to taste you, to see if your power would transfer to me."
"Leech." Key said the word like a swear.
"You have your gifts, and I have mine."
Leeches could steal power from other vampires. They woke from their first death with only the natural speed, strength, and senses of a predator, but they could drink the blood of another vampire and gain their special ability, like Harley's eidetic memory or Key's paralyzing bite. Greed's must have been enhanced healing. The way she struggled should have pulled both of her shoulders out of their sockets by now, but she looked no worse for wear, other than a few strands of hair out of place.
