Exton

We hear an agonized scream and break into a run; we find a dock splashed with blue gore, and a shattered Keon wailing over the body of his lover.

I know the dead, and it's obvious that it's far too late for Cassie. As I get closer, I see the tiny form in Keon's arms, wailing too, as if already aware of all she's lost.

Raina's examination is quick, precise, thorough - and a foregone conclusion. "I'm sorry, Ke."

"God damn her to Hell for this." I'm surprised to recognize the hushed tones as my own.


A few minutes later, Rowan's van comes chugging down the road and rattles to a stop. Rowan's out of the van almost before it stops, but slows at the look on Raina's face. Her examination doesn't take long, either.

She moves quietly to Keon, draws him and his daughter into her arms and just holds them both. After a few moments I become aware of a sound I couldn't pick out before, a tiny high-pitched... giggle?

I turn slowly, focusing. The sound is coming from - above us?

I catch Raina's eye and mouth I'll be back. A moment later, I'm airborne - in bat form, ears swiveling, tuning in to the giggle. Then I spot him - an ugly little motherfucker of a demifae, hovering over the dock.

Okay... ass-kickin' time.

I ride the air currents till I'm just above the little bastard, then drop into a power dive. "Laugh this off, motherfucker!," I shout, but what comes out is "squee squee squee". Hmmm... bat vocabulary seems a little limited.

I lash out with a wing and tumble Giggler ass-over-teakettle. He stops tumbling about ten feet down, but by that time I've caught up to him and I whap him over the noggin again. He never gets a chance to recover; I can fly faster than he can fall and I'm always waiting to assist him on the next leg of his journey. Finally he slams into the timbers of the dock with an audible "Whoof!" - and Raina is waiting.

She left her tanto with Alise, but she has her jian, and one wing shrivels and curls as if touched by flame when she touches it with the point.

She holds him pinned in place, writhing and squealing, while I shift back to man-shape. "Hi," she says, smiling - but it's the smile of a shark that's just spotted dinner. "I'm Raina, this is Nick, and you're history."

Behind us, Rowan is still holding onto Keon and the baby. He's lost inside his own grief, like a blind man in a darkened section of a coal mine at midnight, trying to find a way out. She gives me one impatient look, as if to say, "If you're going to do something, get it done."

"What's your name, laddybuck?"

"Go to hell, vampire!"

"Wrong answer." I nod and Raina twists the sword.

The wing might be useless for flying, but it can still feel, and he shrieks and twists against the boards.

"We can keep this up all day," I say conversationally. "What's your name?"

"Carbuncle! Carbuncle! Carbuncle! Carbuncle!"

"Well, Carbuncle, I have good news and bad news." His eyes are livid with hate. "The bad news is you're going to die. The good news? You get to choose how."

"Speak plain, vampire."

"We can kill you quick and clean - or we can make a right bloody mess of it. Your call."

"And what do ye want for a quick end, eh?"

"Everything you know about Morgan Bloodmane. But don't try lying to us." I jerk a thumb at Raina. "She's an empath. She'll know if you lie. Eventually you'll tell us everything anyway." I shrug. "You can save us time and spare yourself needless pain by being straight with us. Either way...." I let the words trail off.

He talks for half an hour, and when he's done we finish him - as promised - quick and clean.

Better than the little bastard deserved....