Judgment
Dez and Iris looked at each other.
“Cassidy,” she said.
“Michael and Jim,” he answered.
They pushed to their feet. Iris rushed over to cradle her daughter, who looked to Dez unconscious but alive. He bypassed them, hustled up the bleacher aisle.
Michael knelt over someone. When he noticed Dez he said, “Don’t know if he’s gonna make it, man.”
Dez climbed the steps, his vision wavering, and finally reached the spot where Michael knelt.
Jim looked terrible. He’d changed back to nearly human form. His facial structure was still vaguely wolflike, and he was hairy, but these details scarcely registered. His body was covered with blood, cuts and bites.
“You know,” Michael said, “his wounds don’t look as deep as they did a minute ago.”
Maybe it’s because his body is shrinking, Dez thought. Jim had lost the seven-foot-plus stature of the werewolf and had nearly returned to his normal five nine. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but to Dez it did look like the wounds were knitting.
“Let’s get them to the queen’s chambers,” Mara called from below.
Dez peered down to the deck and saw that Mara was cradling Cassandra, who didn’t stir.
“Queen’s chambers?” Michael said. “You mean your mom?”
“She wasn’t a mother,” Mara said and spared a bitter glance at the queen’s decapitated body. “She was a diseased narcissist who destroyed lives beyond counting.”
Mara carried Cassandra across the deck. When they neared Iris, who clutched her daughter to her chest, Iris said, “Why should we trust you?”
Mara paused. “Because there are still a handful of vampires alive in the building, and you need my protection.”
Michael shrugged. “Hard to argue with that.” His eyes shifted to something behind Dez. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Dez turned and saw the enlarged black-and-orange eyes of the vampire child. Despite the blood and viscera caked on its mouth and upper chest, its look of adoration was unmistakable.
“Looks like you got yourself a fan,” Michael said.
Dez frowned. “We wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for this…kid.”
Michael chuckled. “You don’t even know what to call it.”
Dez chewed the inside of his mouth, met the vampire child’s alien stare. Slowly, cautiously, Dez reached out his hand. The child stiffened and retreated a half step. Dez waited, arm out, until the child crept closer. He touched the hairless scalp, gave it a caress. The vampire child leaned into Dez’s fingers.
* * *
The queen’s chamber was actually a coach’s office. Judging from the size of the space, the swimming coach at this school had held considerable sway. There was a king-sized bed in here, as well as a couch, a recliner, and a desk. There was a flat-screen television above the desk.
They situated Cassidy on the couch and placed Cassandra and Jim side by side on the bed. No one spoke much. Dez couldn’t begin to relax, not only because he didn’t trust Mara but because, as she’d mentioned, there were still several vampires alive in the school. Dez didn’t know the exact number but guessed it was four or five. When he mentioned this to Iris, she merely shrugged and squeezed her daughter’s hand. She sat beside Cassidy on the couch, peering down at her blissful face, occasionally kissing her brow or her freckled cheeks. Dez decided not to bother Iris. If he were in her position, he’d drink in the moment too. The kid might have a concussion, but he was pretty sure she’d be okay. Other than the fact she was a vampire.
He banished the thought and crossed to stand beside Michael at the bedside.
Michael gazed at Jim, who was an ordinary person now, save the many wounds that latticed his flesh. “Think he’ll pull through?”
“He’s a tough old bastard,” Dez answered.
“He killed five of us,” Mara said. She faced them across the bed, her hand on Cassandra’s shoulder.
“You mean the five zealots who were trying to murder us?” Michael answered.
“They were following orders,” Mara said.
Michael nodded. “Like I said.”
Dez asked, “Will they try to break in here?”
Mara shook her head. “Doubtful. Aliyah was loyal to the queen. She was in love with the prince. She won’t rest until they’re avenged. But the other survivors just want safety. A place to call home.”
“A steady supply of blood,” Michael said.
Mara’s look went steely. “It isn’t our fault.” She nodded over her shoulder at Cassidy. “You’ll soon see. The child will need to feed.”
The thought had occurred to Dez, but he’d tried not to linger on it. It was difficult enough traveling in a group. How much more challenging would it be with Iris’s daughter, a five-year-old vampire, to care for? With winter fast approaching?
Simple, Dez thought. You won’t. Leave Iris and Cassidy here. Michael and Jim too, if the princess will give them shelter. You go east and find your son. Don’t complicate the mission by involving others.
A scratching sound. Mara gave them a guarded look, then stepped over to the door. “Who is it?”
A pathetic whimper. She glanced at Dez, then opened the door. The vampire child came bounding through and made straight for Dez. As it nuzzled into Dez’s leg, Michael said, “You know you’re gonna have to name it, right?”
Dez considered how cold the winter would be, how harsh. “I don’t think so,” he answered. “I’ll have trouble enough keeping myself alive. It’ll be safer here.”
Michael nodded. “Oh, I see. You think it’s just gonna let you go? Watch you ride off into the sunset while the rest of us bid you farewell?”
Dez looked at it.
“That lone wolf stuff sounds romantic,” Michael said, “but you’re better off with your friends.”
Dez lowered his voice. “It’s not fair to Iris. She finally has her daughter back.”
“Iris is old enough to make her own choices.”
“What about you?” Dez asked. “You’ve gotta be tired of these near-death experiences.”
“What, you think my life was tranquil before? Joe and I damned near died a dozen times before we ran into you.”
Dez bit his lip. “Winter’s coming. If you stay here—”
“With the vampires?” Michael asked. “Shit, somebody needs to remind you about the food chain.”
“I would protect you,” Mara said. When Michael and Dez looked at her, she added, “We’re not monsters. At least, not all of us.”
Michael folded his arms. “And what happens when one of your buddies gets a wee bit thirsty and decides to pay us a visit in the middle of the night? You really think you can rein them in?”
“I’ll have Cassandra,” she said.
Michael gave her a dubious look. “I hate to break it to you, but Cassandra might not be long for this world.”
For the first time since the battle, Mara’s sarcastic smile showed. She drew back the sheet covering Cassandra’s upper body, and there, above her breasts, where Quincey had peeled her flesh down in a ragged flap, was now a shiny lightning zigzag of new skin.
“She’ll survive,” Mara said.