"Our alliance has been sealed," Mencheres said formally.
Bones was more casual about it. "Then this is a party, mates. Let's have at it."
Chapter Ten
BONES, EVER PARANOID THAT ONE OF THESE guests could be Max's mysterious benefactor, was plastered to my side. I didn't mind for two reasons. First, he could be right. There was a shitload of pulseless people here, and who knew how many of them were really allies? The other reason was simple. That new throb of his power felt like a caress along my skin.
But when the naked human men and women came out to mingle among the guests, I stopped in my tracks.
Bones chuckled, hearing the question in my mind, or guessing from the look of my face.
"These are the hors d'oeuvres, Kitten. See that glitter they're covered in? It's a very special mixture, edible as well. Note the ones with the extra arms? They don't have birth defects, those arms are food delicacies shaped like limbs and glued onto them. Ghouls have to eat also."
I stared in disbelief as one of the walking treats sat on the lap of a vampire, offering her neck. Meanwhile, a ghoul sedately gnawed on what appeared to be a fake fourth arm protruding from her torso. Yuck!
I found my voice. "That is the sickest version of a snack plate I've ever seen. How did you get these people to agree to this? Mind-fuck them?"
He snorted. "Not nearly. They're willing volunteers, pet. Some are humans who belong to Mencheres or me, and others are groupies, for lack of a better word. People who know about vampires and ghouls and are hoping some nice undead bloke will choose them to change over. It happens, of course. Else they wouldn't flock to us in droves. Some of them offer more than a bite or a beverage, but that's their choice. I don't require it."
Oh, so they were dinner and entertainment. How my life had changed. Here I was, one of the hosts of a bang-and-bite soiree honoring Bones's alliance with a mega-Master vampire. What next, presiding over a massive orgy?
Bones caught my hand. "We're sneaking away for a moment," he whispered, backing me into a nearby study. Once past the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, he pressed a lever, and then we were in a narrow dark passageway before I'd ever seen where it was.
"Secret tunnel?" I teased. "How very cloak-and-dagger."
He smiled. "Ah, here we are. Alone at last."
"Here" was a small room, unfurnished, no windows. Only a hatch in the ceiling about three feet square in size.
"Leads to the roof by way of the attic," he supplied. "Quick way to make a dash for it, if one needed to. Also, this room has thick concrete walls, so less sound travels."
So that meant we could talk without being overheard. "You can read my mind now," I breathed. "God, Bones, that kind of freaks me out."
"I'd tell you I won't listen to your thoughts, but that would be a lie. You're too close to me for me to block them out completely, and I can't say I would even if I could. I want to know all of you, Kitten. What you show me, and what you try not to."
There was no use arguing over it. If I'd been endowed with the same power, I'd be just as guilty of using it. Mencheres had said Bones's strength would grow, but he hadn't mentioned that he might get new abilities altogether. I wondered what else was going to be different.
"My vision and hearing are clearer," Bones answered for me. "And of course I feel significantly stronger. As for what else is different, we'll have to wait and see."
"I still don't know about this," I muttered. It was weird having him pull the questions out of my mind before I could even ask them.
Bones studied my face. "I haven't changed, luv. Just my abilities. Can you believe that?"
He would have heard the answer before I said it out loud, but I did it anyway.
"Yes."
Bones gave me a few drops of his blood to replenish what he'd drunk before we returned to the questionable festivities. I felt like I'd downed a bottle of NoDoz, I was so wired.Don will be doing backflips when he gets his sample for his weekly collection, I thought irrelevantly.
Tate was across the room. He caught my eye and rubbed his nose, twice. I tensed. That was an old signal that there was trouble. He turned around in the next moment, so it wouldn't have been obvious to anyone that a message had just been exchanged.
This was a time when Bones's new telepathic eavesdropping would come in handy.Something's up, Tate's freaked. If you have a lockdown mode for this place, now would be the time to implement it.
Bones made his way over to Mencheres, keeping me close to his side as we passed by other people. They didn't exchange words. Maybe Mencheres had also heard my mental warning, because he nodded once and then gestured to a nearby guard.
That's when all hell broke loose.
A vampire walking toward us blew up. Just blew into pieces of scorched body parts. Then three more rushed in our direction at kamikaze speeds.
Bones threw me across the room like a Hail Mary football to Tate, who darted forward. It wasn't a moment too soon. The explosion from the charging vampires momentarily deafened me. Tate caught me, using his body as a shield from the sudden attack of human and inhuman bombs that seemed to be all around us. Two more of our breathing treats went off like Roman candles, splattering gore on whoever was lucky enough not to be killed by their close contact. I craned over Tate's shoulder and kicked as he barreled us away from the crowd.
"Goddammit, let me go!"
"You don't understand," Tate ground out, giving me a rough elbow to the head that briefly stunned me into limpness. Then I started to wrestle with him as he sped through the throngs of people. Each exit was guarded by vampires who belonged to Bones or Mencheres, but they let us pass after a shouted command from Bones. Hearing his voice made me weak with relief. At least he was still alive.
Tate clamped his hand over my mouth, not letting go, even when I bit him. It was the most damage I could inflict in the position he had me in, flung over his back like a sack. Only after we were outside on the lawn did he stop running.
"Let go of my hand, I have to go back inside," he almost snarled, dropping me.
I released my bite and began to yell. "What the f**k, Tate! You think I'm just going to stay out here while people are exploding-"
"There's a bomb, Cat. This place is going to blow."
That shocked me into silence for a second, then I started toward the house again.
Tate punched me, hard, rocking me back.
"I don't have time to explain," he spat. "But I am going to get everyone out, even your vampire lover. If you see Talisman, grab him. He's involved. Guard the perimeter, Cat."