Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [421]
It was a mini-Uzi on a shoulder strap. It had a clip that attached to the back of the skirt so it didn’t swing around too much, but you could pull it out into the open with one hand.
When I put it on, Asher’s only comment had been, “We can’t kill them, Anita.”
I looked at the weapons that I’d laid out on one of the last clean spaces of floor. There was an American Derringer, a second Browning Hi-Power, a sawed-off shotgun, and one pump-action shotgun.
I looked up at him. “I didn’t bring everything I had.”
“So glad to hear it,” he said. “But the machine gun is a killing weapon, nothing more.”
“The reason I’m in this outfit is because you said we need to make a good show. Well, we can’t cause harm from a distance. We can’t spread corruption with any of your bites. What the hell are we going to do, Asher? What can we possibly do that will impress them?” I swung the Uzi into my left hand, pointing it at the ceiling. “If there’s anyone with him tonight that we can kill, I’ll kill them with this.”
“And you think that will impress or frighten Colin?”
“Have you ever seen a vampire cut in half by one of these?” I asked.
Asher seemed to think about that for a few seconds as if he’d seen so many horrible things that he just wasn’t sure. Finally, he shook his head. “No, I have not.”
“Well, I have.” I let the gun swing back to the small of my back. “It impressed me.”
“Did you do it?” he asked, his voice soft.
I shook my head. “No, just saw it done.”
Jamil knelt beside me. He was wearing something that had started life as a black T-shirt but had been cut so severely at the neck, arms, and midriff that it looked more like a wishful thought than a shirt. It covered his nipples, and that was about it. But his upper body was muscular and impressive nearly bare. We were going for impressive tonight. He’d gotten to keep his black jeans and I was jealous. But Jamil didn’t belong to Jean-Claude, so there’d been no time to have some piece of leather specially made. Truthfully, I hadn’t been a hundred percent certain Jamil was even going to come with us. Not only was Jamil coming but so was Richard. Surprise, surprise. Jamil took an armload of clothes for Richard to choose from. Shang-Da was coming along as well, and he needed to change. Though he, like Jamil, had never belonged to Jean-Claude intimately enough to have specially made clothes. So it was whatever they could find in his suitcase. Happy hunting.
16
DAMIAN HAD REFUSED to share a shower with Asher, even though they were both dirty and would need someone to help scrape the stuff from the harder-to-reach places. I’d suggested they share a shower because they were both guys. I knew that Asher was bisexual, but I still had a hard time wrapping my Midwestern upbringing around the fact that it didn’t matter what sex Asher shared a shower with, he saw both as sexual objects. I knew it, and it didn’t really bother me, but every once in a while, the knowledge surprised me. I don’t know why.
Asher came out of the shower with nothing but a towel knotted at his waist. Damian went into the shower. The last of the night. Jason had helped Asher scrape the harder-to-reach places. Jason didn’t tease the vampire. He just went in, helped him clean up, and got out. I’d actually wondered, after Jason’s little confession, if he would tease men the same way he teased women. Apparently not.
The scars on Asher’s chest were very visible. As he walked, the scars on his right thigh flashed from the towel. The rest of him was a pale golden perfection. He’d once known what it was like to walk into any room and have people gasp at his beauty. People still gasped, but not for the same reasons.
Zane and Cherry were being very careful not to look at him. They kept their faces blank, but their discomfort screamed