Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [424]
I looked at him, head to one side. I didn’t like the idea that one of his wolves had betrayed Nathaniel. It made me not trust him. But I understood why Mira was pissed. Richard had dumped her. A woman scorned and all that.
“First, delay the greeting ceremony,” I said. “We’re going to be ass deep in vampires; there won’t be time for anything else tonight.”
Verne nodded. “Done.”
“And I want Mira’s head in a basket,” I said.
“We need a place to meet Colin,” Asher said.
“Our lupanar is ready for company,” Verne said.
“Most generous,” Asher said.
It was generous. Maybe too generous. “You understand that we aren’t going to kill Colin for this. That whatever happens tonight—unless he attacks us, forces us to defend ourselves—we’ll be leaving in a few days, and Colin will still be Master of the City.”
“You mean if I help you hurt him, he may hold a grudge?” Verne said.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Erin was a good kid. He wasn’t even one of the young ones that had gone up against the vampires. They picked him because he was one of my wolves.”
“Nathaniel said that Mira had been paid to bring one of our animals to Colin,” I said.
“It sounds like him.” Verne’s hands balled into fists, and his power moved through the cabin like a line of heat. “I’ve wanted him to pay for what happened to Erin for ten years, but I haven’t had the power to go up against him.”
“You don’t want him dead?” I asked, and I sounded surprised.
“Colin, for the most part, leaves us alone. But better yet, he can’t call wolves. If we kill him, a new master will move in, maybe one that can control wolves. Maybe one that is a bigger, meaner son of a bitch. Dead would be great, but not until I know what it would cost my pack.”
“The devil you know or the devil you don’t,” I said.
Verne looked at me for a second, then nodded. “Yes.”
“Great,” I said, “let’s turn up the fire under this particuliar devil and roast his cojónes.”
For one of the few times on this trip, everyone seemed to be in agreement. I was used to killing vampires, not punishing them, because I’d learned a long time ago that you either killed monsters or left them the fuck alone. Once you pull on their tail, metaphorically speaking, you’re just never quite sure how they’re going to react. Sorry, cancel that. I knew exactly how Colin would react. The question was how much blood would be spilled and could we possibly pull this off without getting some of our people killed. I didn’t give a damn if we killed some of Colin’s people, in fact, I was sort of looking forward to it.
17
I WALKED THROUGH a world of silvered moon shadows and the black outlines of trees. The boots were low-heeled enough and they fit well enough that they actually weren’t bad for walking through the woods. It wasn’t the fit of anything that made it uncomfortable to be out in the woods; it was the heat and the noise. There was sweat at the bend of my knees underneath the nylons and the leather. I’d added a leather jacket, borrowed from Jason. The jacket hid the mini-Uzi and the big leather purse I had slung over one shoulder. The purse was Cherry’s and had a can of aerosol hair spray in it. I had a golden lighter in the pocket of the jacket. The lighter belonged to Asher. It was too hot to be wearing the jacket.
All that leather crinkled and sighed every time I moved. Under other circumstances, it might have been interesting; as it was, it was irritating. Important safety tip: Don’t try to sneak up on people in new leather. At least not people with supernatural hearing. Of course, we weren’t sneaking up on anybody tonight. The vampires knew we were coming.
Verne’s people had delivered the message. Once Richard arrived on the scene, my suspicious nature was ignored. If Verne said he told the vamps where to meet and why, then of course Richard believed him. Truthfully, so did I, but it still bugged me how easily Richard accepted Verne’s word.
Of course, Richard had been visiting with Verne