Jeaniene Frost - Up From the Grave

Dark gray eyes met mine, causing me to draw in a breath. Would I ever get used to seeing my own eyes look back at me from that tiny face?

“I remember you from the base,” she stated. “You tried to make me come with you. You are very hard to neutralize.”

From her tone, that last part was a compliment, though I wasn’t sure how to respond. The person she remembered trying to “neutralize” back then had been Denise, shapeshifted to look like me. In actuality, Katie had only tried to kill me once, and she’d damn near succeeded.

“Thank you,” I settled on, adding, “you’re very tough, too, but you don’t have to be anymore. We’re going to take care of you.”

Then I couldn’t help it; I took her hand. She flinched, her fingers tightening on her knife. After a glance at Bones, her grip loosened.

I let her go. If her first instinct was still to stab me, it was obviously too soon for tactile displays of affection.

Tate’s gaze tracked what happened, too. He put his arm around my shoulders, giving me a firm squeeze.

“Cat is my friend,” he said cleanly. “I hug my friends sometimes to show I’m happy that they’re there. Or I take their hand like this.”

His fingers twined through mine, and he held our hands up. She stared as though he’d magically pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

I understood then, and couldn’t stop the tears. Katie had never been taught to touch anyone except in violence. No wonder she’d flinched when I took her hand. She thought I was about to hurt her.

“You poor little girl,” I whispered. “It’s okay now, I promise.”

“Isn’t this sickeningly sweet?”

The mocking purr didn’t come from Ian, though from his expression, he’d been thinking something similar. Tension rocketed through my emotions as Bones’s power erupted, firing toward that voice, only to have it dissipate like he’d funneled it into a vacuum.

“Ooh, do that again,” our unseen intruder urged.

I recognized him now, and everything in me stiffened. Trove.

Smiling, the demon walked into the boiler room, his red-tinged gaze flicking between me and Katie. He was dressed in a suit and tie, his steel-colored hair coiffed to perfection and trademark handsome features set in a pleasant mask. He could have been dropping in on another fund-raising event, he looked so pressed and polished, and since we hadn’t heard him approach, he must have used his teleporting trick to get here, damn his evil hide.

Bones lowered his hand. The demon would only grow stronger from another telekinetic blast.

“Cat,” Trove drew out in a satisfied purr. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your daughter?”

I leapt up, standing between Katie and Trove without the slightest care that she had two silver knives, and I’d turned my back on her. Tate growled, flanking me. Ian pulled out his weapons, his mouth curling into a nasty smile.

If we were the picture of hostility, Bones looked like a study in Zen. He practically strolled toward the demon, both hands in his pockets as if he couldn’t be bothered to hold their weight up himself.

“What brings you here, mate?” he asked with remarkable casualness.

Trove grinned. The sight of those fancy white teeth made me fantasize about knocking them down his throat until he choked on them.

“A desire for mayhem, of course.”

I didn’t want to take my eyes off our unwelcome visitor. Then a small, clear voice asked, “Are you really my mother? The old man said she was dead.”

I couldn’t help it; I glanced behind me.

Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. The cautious hope in Katie’s gaze nearly brought me to my knees. I wanted to smother her with assurances that she’d never, ever be alone again, then I wanted to hug her until she forgot what it was like to feel afraid. The only urge stronger was my need to kill the filthy creature who threatened her.

Since I had to do that before the other, it gave me the strength to turn around, facing my enemy instead of my daughter.

“The old man lied. I am your mother, and I’m not leaving you again,” I said, my voice strong despite emotional walls breaking everywhere inside me.

Tate nudged me, glancing to the side. I followed his gaze, seeing a small door in the farthest corner of the room. Trove blocked the way we’d entered into the boiler room, but we weren’t trapped. This must lead to the tunnels Bones had mentioned. I didn’t think it was an accident that his moseying had placed Bones right in Trove’s path. Should the renowned politician attempt to stop us, he’d have to get through Bones first. Even if Bones’s telekinesis was ineffective against him, that would still take some doing.

Trove glanced behind us, as if guessing our intention. And then he smiled.

I felt the whoosh before that familiar earthy scent filled the room. Katie let out a small gasp.

When I turned around, over two dozen ghouls blocked the other door. From their power levels, they weren’t random guys Trove had teleported from some local undead bar. They were trained fighters, and their muscular builds only added to their air of menace.

“Did I forget to mention?” Trove asked with false innocence. “I decided to bring some friends with me.”

T his keeps getting better and better, I thought jadedly. We hadn’t brought anyone with us because we didn’t want to draw the Law Guardians’ attention, and now we were outnumbered by a lot.

The leader of the group, a tall African-American with biceps thicker than my thigh, stepped forward.

“Give us the child,” he ordered.

“Fuck you,” flew out of my mouth before I realized that (a) I seriously needed to watch my language now, and (b) diplomacy would be the better tactic. I might be able to wipe the floor with them if I utilized my borrowed powers, but we were trying to prevent a war, not start one.

“Um, I meant fudge sticks,” I backtracked quickly, “and you don’t need to take the child. Your queen agreed to call you off.”

Trove appeared more shocked than the ghouls. “She what ?”

I couldn’t resist a smug smile. “Oh, so you weren’t following us when we went to see Marie? We came to terms. All we have to do is hold up our end of the bargain, and she and the ghouls leave us alone.”

Our end was to release a video of Katie supposedly being killed—Marie had said nothing but a public execution would cut it, and the Internet was public—but I wasn’t about to tell Trove that. Or the other surprise we had in store for him.

The burly ghoul pulled out his cell phone, dialing.

“My queen, it is Barnabus,” he said moments later. “I am with the vampires, and they have the child. They claim that they . . .” Pause. “Yes, I understand . . . if that is your command, Majestic.”

He hung up. The other ghouls looked at him expectantly. Trove almost hopped up and down in impatience. My fangs slid out, ready to draw blood, if needed.

“Well?” the demon demanded.

Barnabus stared at me, frustration stamped all over his features.

“The Reaper speaks the truth,” he said, almost spitting out the words.

I didn’t move, but inside, I was letting out a whoop and pumping both fists in the air. Marie had come through! She was renowned for keeping her word, but to say I was worried that she’d make an exception in this case was to put it mildly.

“We have been ordered to leave,” Barnabus continued.

Can I get a Hell Yeah? rang in my mind, though again, I stayed perfectly quiet. I didn’t even crack a smile. Go me.

Trove, however, reacted like he’d gotten a face full of salt.