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My back was a mass of dark bruises. My ribs were decorated in putrid purple. There wasn’t much I could do about it, except hope the aspirin kicked in. Well, there was one thing I could do—move. Stretching exercises would limber the body and give me movement without pain, sort of. The stretching itself would feel like torture. I’d do it later. I needed to eat first.

I was starving. Usually, the thought of eating before ten made me nauseous. This morning I wanted food, needed food. Very weird. Maybe it was stress.

The smell of bagels and melting cheese made my stomach ripple. The smell of fresh brewed coffee made me want to chew the couch.

I scarfed down two bagels and three cups of coffee while Ronnie sat across from me, sipping her first cup. I looked up and found her watching me. Her grey eyes were staring at me. I’d seen her look at suspects like that. “What?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Nothing. Can you catch your breath and tell me about last night?”

I nodded, and it didn’t hurt as much. Aspirin, nature’s gift to modern man. I told her, from Monica’s call to my meeting with Valentine. I didn’t tell her that it all took place at the Circus of the Damned. That was very dangerous information to have right now. And I left out the blue lights on the stairs, the sound of Jean-Claude’s voice in my head. Something told me that was dangerous information, too. I’ve learned to trust my instincts, so I left it out.

Ronnie’s good, she looked at me, and said, “Is that everything?”

“Yes.” An easy lie, simple, one word. I don’t think Ronnie bought it.

“Okay.” She took a sip of coffee. “What do you want me to do?”

“Ask around. You have access to the hate groups. Like Humans Against Vampires, The League of Human Voters, the usual. See if any of them might be involved with the murders. I can’t go near them.” I smiled. “After all, animators are one of the groups they hate.”

“But you do kill vampires.”

“Yeah, but I also raise zombies. Too weird for the hardcore bigot.”

“All right. I’ll check out HAV and the rest. Anything else?”

I thought about it and shook my head, almost no pain at all. “Not that I can think of. Just be very careful. I don’t want to endanger you the way I did Catherine.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“Right.”

“It isn’t your fault, none of this is.”

“Tell that to Catherine and her fiancé if things go bad.”

“Anita, dammit, these creatures are using you. They want you discouraged and frightened, so they can control you. If you let the guilt mess with your head, you’re going to get killed.”

“Well, gee, Ronnie, just what I wanted to hear. If this is your version of a pep talk, I’ll skip the rally.”

“You don’t need cheering up. You need a good shaking.”

“Thanks, I already had one last night.”

“Anita, listen to me.” She was staring at me, eyes intense, her face searching mine, trying to see if I was really hearing her. “You’ve done all you can for Catherine. I want you to concentrate on keeping yourself alive. You’re ass-deep in enemies. Don’t get sidetracked.”

She was right. Do what you can and move on. Catherine was out of it, for now. It was the best I could do. “Ass-deep in enemies, but ankle-deep in friends.”

She grinned. “Maybe it’ll even out.”

I cradled the coffee in my bandaged hands. Warmth radiated through the cup. “I’m scared.”

“Which proves you aren’t as stupid as you look.”

“Gee, thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome.” She raised her coffee cup in a salute. “To Anita Blake, animator, vampire slayer, and good friend. Watch your back.”

I clinked my cup against hers. “You watch yours, too. Being my friend right now may not be the healthiest of avocations.”

“Since when was that a news bulletin?”

Unfortunately, she had a point.

17

I HAD TWO choices after Ronnie left: I could go back to sleep, not a bad idea; or I could start solving the case that everyone was so eager for me to work on. I could get by on four hours sleep, for a while. I could not last nearly as long if Aubrey tore my throat