Page 26 of Wonder
Nicky, however, wasn’t willing to wait. “Did you see them?”
“Yes.” Cal scowled. “I think it will happen around noon. There weren’t significant shadows. The vampires were chasing a rabbit shifter, but she stayed in her human form. They caught her right as she was running out from under some trees onto a grassy area.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head against his andGreg’s clasped hands. “They bit her neck.” He made a face before taking a deep breath. “They took turns draining her dry, then they left her body out in the open and walked away.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Simon’s voice was gentle. “Were there any landmarks?”
Cal lifted his head again and opened his eyes. “Yes. It was a park. There was a path off to one side and a huge tree that looked like it’d been hit by lightning.”
Tucker met my eyes. “Roy Miller Park.” I nodded. Back when my cousin Daniel had been alive, he’d hosted several District get-togethers there. Tucker squinted at the sky. “The park entrance is about twenty minutes from here, but that tree is another ten-minute walk at a minimum.”
Simon shifted restlessly. “We need to leave now.”
I scowled. “Not without having a plan.”
He swallowed back whatever he wanted to say, but I could feel his tension and frustration through our connection. Now was not the time for me to start feeling his emotions, dammit.
Cal stood up. “I brought my bat’leth, and Greg’s got a sword.”
I turned my frown on him. “Okay. So we all walk in there with our weapons? We need to find the Wonder, but then what? The vamps will hear us coming.”
“I can go ahead in mist form. If I don’t see them, I’ll turn back to human and I’ll be able to smell them.” Simon put his hands on his hips.
Tucker rubbed his jaw. “If they don’t want to fight, won’t they just turn into mist themselves?”
Simon shook his head. “Not if they haven’t eaten recently. My guess is last night they stayed in mist form as long as they could. They won’t have the energy to change forms today.”
Greg pulled out his car keys. “I can drive.”
“I need to get some weapons out of my minivan. I’ll meet you out front.” Simon took off at lightning speed into the house.
I gritted my teeth. We still didn’t have a fucking plan. I waved Greg and Cal toward the back door. “Y’all go on ahead. Tucker and I will be right behind you.”
“I’ll stay here with Nicky and Jackson.”
I looked at Shane in surprise. “Are you sure? Didn’t you want to get on the road?”
“Not yet. My grandmother is here. I’m sending her with you.” He held out a hand toward... nothing. Luckily I was aware Shane could interact with ghosts. “This is Dimi.” He made a face. “She’ll let me know if things... go badly, and I’ll take Nicky and Jackson with me to Houston.”
Fuck. “Ah. Okay. Good plan.” At least someone was thinking strategically. I faced the space Shane had gestured toward. “Uh, nice to sort of meet you, Dimi. Thanks for helping us out.” I regarded Nicky. “Shane, if you don’t have anything else to do while you’re waiting, could you go online and order Nicky some more clothes and a phone?”
Nicky’s worried expression lightened a little. “I get my own phone? I’ve never even held one.”
Shane nodded. “Yeah, definitely. We’ll pick one out together.”
That’d be a great distraction for Nicky.
I shifted on my feet. I needed to go. “Get him anything he might need. Toiletries and stuff too. Text me the total and I’ll Venmo you.”
He grinned. “No need. Rory’s almost got the fund set up for District Monitor stipends, and expense reimbursement will be part of it. I’ll make him use this as a test run for the system.”
“Shit, man. Tell him thanks from me.” One of Shane’s partners had come into a lot of money recently. When he’d learned about the campaign, he’d been horrified that none of the Texas DMs received any sort of compensation for the work, so he was donating the money to rectify the situation.
I headed inside, needing sturdier shoes and my guns. I didn’t know how to use a sword, but I had a knife.
After I was dressed suitably and armed, I met Tucker at his car. He’d gotten a Kevlar vest out of the trunk—the one that didn’t say “Police” across the back—and he’d stuck it in the rear seat with his baseball bat. His gun was in a hip holster. He might end up shifting, but he always liked to have options.
“I hope we don’t run into any NPCs.” He opened the driver’s side door and slid inside.
“Fuck, a bunch of humans having a kid’s birthday party would be the icing on this shit cake. Let’s try to come up with some sort of plan by the time we get to the park.” I got into the passenger seat and set my backpack between my feet.
