Page 29 of Under a Wicked Moon
Antonio snapped his fingers. The copilot handed what looked like a cell phone into the back seat. Antonio swiped through a few screens and waved the phone in her direction. “She’s transmitting. They both are. The trackers must be removed from both of them right now, or I’m leaving them here.”
They put a transmitter in me? That’s what’s in my side?She touched the now healed area just below her ribcage. Biletinged the back of her throat as an uncontrollable shudder swept through her with a coldness that had nothing to do with the frigid breeze. Her heart rate escalated as she resisted the urge to tear her skin apart looking for it.
“Can we do this on the other side of the border?” Roman asked.
Antonio shook his head. “I’m not getting shot out of the sky because these two are transmitting a giantbull’s eyesignal to guide a missile. After last time, I swore I’d never go down in one of these tin cans again.” He touched his cheek. “Takes too long to heal afterward, and the burns on the face are so unattractive.”
“Do you have a suggestion to remove them? And is it fast?” Roman massaged his forehead. He met Ky’s gaze and shrugged. “No choice. We need this ride.”
“Give me a knife,” Ky said. “Pretty sure mine’s in my side. I’ll cut it out. What’s another pint of blood loss today?”
Vivi pressed on her side, detecting nothing. If a transponder had been implanted, it was deep.
Antonio grabbed Roman’s arm as he removed his knife. “Don’t be dramatic. This need not be barbaric. We have more efficient ways, but you’re going to have to be open-minded.”
“Get your hand off me.” Ky glared at Antonio’s hand.
The vampire held his hands up and called out, “Rys, can you take care of this for us?”
The pilot pushed out of his door and walked around the chopper. All four of them recoiled.
“You expect me to trust a Volkinar vampire?” Ky backed a step away from both the unknown vampire and the helicopter, keeping her behind him. Volkinars had diverged centuries ago from regular vampires as an offshoot with evolved, superior night vision that left their eyes almost white. They’d perfected sorcery, which was the use of power gained from the control of evil afterlife spirits. Typically, they were good at divining and summoning spirits or ghosts.
“Volkinars aren’t necessarily evil, but one of our kind faces one only when you want it to do something for you.”Her father’s voice echoed inside her head from one of the learning lectures he forced on her as a kid.“Nothing they do comes for free. Find out its price.”
Vivi stepped out from behind Ky and scowled as the Volkinar approached. He was sinewy strong, which he toned down to casual in his dark T-shirt and blue jeans. The vampire had come up with aces in the hair department, with a thick dark mane and graceful facial symmetry.
“What do you want in exchange?” she asked.
The edges of the Volkinar’s eyes crinkled as if he laughed at her, although his lips didn’t alter their fierce straight line. “How about you owe me one?”
The Volkinar’s voice had come out low and raspy as if he spent the last few decades chain-smoking.
“There’s no way I’ll agree to a nebulous IOU. I want this agreed upon now. I won’t randomly do something for you at some unspecified time in the future.”
“He’s helping you because I asked him to,” Antonio said.
She dismissed Antonio with an irritated side-eye. “What’s in this for you?” she asked Rys.
“Not getting shot out of the sky sounds fair. You’re a cute little feisty thing, but you offer nothing I want.”
“I want it clear that you’re doing this because you have an agreement with that other vampire, and you don’t want to be shot out of the sky. You will not show up in my life at a later time and ask that I help you.”
“This isn’t the nineteenth century. The rules have changed. Fair warning, it’ll hurt,” Rys said. “It must be ripped out of you, but you won’t bleed.”
“You’re going to enjoy it, aren’t you?” she asked.
A smile lifted one side of his lips. “Probably.”
Ky took her arm and drew her away. “Let me go first.” Ky turned away from her and stalked back toward the Volkinar. “That way if the process is fatal, it’ll be me who dies.”
Roman said, “If he dies, I’ll kill all of you vampires and pilot the damned craft myself.” If it was possible, the air went colder.
“You guys sure curse a lot, given…” Antonio trailed off.
“Given what?” Roman’s eyebrows rose. “Given our brother, Shane,wasthe language police?”
Everyone stilled.
