This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress, #5)(90)

“Pick up that sword,” I said to Apollyon, enunciating each word. “Or I’ll kill you where you kneel.”

I wouldn’t take any enjoyment out of it, but I’d do it because it had to be done. Veritas had already sentenced him to death on behalf of the vampire ruling body. If I walked away, it wouldn’t save his life. She or someone else would just kill him.

“No,” Apollyon said, almost a whimper. Then he scrambled forward and tried to run.

I caught him before he’d made it even a dozen feet, letting him hit me with all the power in his stocky body. He only had his hands, and I still had a really long blade.

“Apollyon had all of you getting your hate on because of a lie that I’d become a half vampire, half ghoul,” I called out to the ghouls who watched us with grim enthrallment. “Because if someone’s unusual, then you should be afraid of them, right?”

Apollyon tried to tackle me to the ground, but for all the years he had on me, he obviously hadn’t spent them learning how to fight—and I’d had one hell of a teacher. Despite the pain still arcing down my side, I swiveled at the last moment, leaping onto his back when his momentum still had him charging forward. Then I brought my sword against his neck.

“You all want to know why I have abilities other new vampires don’t?” I said, digging that blade in. “Because I don’t feed from humans; I drink vampire blood.”

And then I yanked it toward my body, cutting my hand to grip the naked edge for maximum balance, feeling more satisfaction from that public admission than I did seeing Apollyon’s head separate from his neck. All my life, I’d had to hide what I was. First as a child when I didn’t even know why other kids weren’t like me, then when I hunted vampires in my late teens and mid-twenties, and finally, my oddities this past year as a full vampire. Well, I was done hiding, hating, or apologizing for the parts of me I hadn’t chosen and couldn’t change. If some people had a problem with my differences, that was just too f*cking bad for them.

“That’s right, I eat vampires,” I said again, louder this time. I pushed his body away and stood, shaking the blood off my sword as I faced the remaining group of ghouls.

“World’s freakiest bloodsucker, right here,” I went on. “And you know what? If that makes some of you uncomfortable, too bad. If it makes some of you so uncomfortable you want to start shit with me about it, step right up and see if I don’t eat the hell out of you next!”

I’d meant that last part as a threat, but somewhere in my impassioned declaration of independence from hiding what I was, I’d neglected to think through my phrasing. I saw Bones raise a brow, a muffled snicker broke out from Ian, and then Vlad laughed loud and hearty.

“With that sort of invitation, Reaper, you might want to suggest the line form to your right.”

“That’s not . . . I meant eat them in a bad way,” I sputtered.

“I think you made your point, luv,” Bones responded, his face carefully blank even thought I caught a faint twitch to his mouth. Then his expression hardened as he looked at Veritas, who’d turned around to watch me behead Apollyon. “And I second it,” he said, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

The Law Guardian stared at me. I didn’t regret a moment of my public declaration—aside from perhaps my wording—but I knew her response carried more weight than my vampire audience or the score of surrendered ghouls. She also spoke for the highest ruling body over vampires.

At last, Veritas shrugged. “That does make you the world’s freakiest bloodsucker, but there’s no law against a vampire feeding from other vampires.” And then she turned away.

I let out a laugh that died in my throat as movement at the back of the gate caught my eye.

Marie Laveau walked slowly into the cemetery.





Chapter Thirty--seven

I didn’t blink as I stared at Marie. To anyone who didn’t know better, the sight of one lone ghoul strolling up shouldn’t have looked frightening at all. But I knew that Marie could summon a wall of Remnants to fight for her before I could even whisper, “Oh shit.” Could I raise my own army of them fast enough to counter such an attack from her? Or should I focus my energy on trying to control the ones she raised, if it came to that? I’d assumed Marie gave me her power so that, in a roundabout way, she could help me defeat Apollyon, but had she been on his side all along? Had everything I thought about her been wrong?

“Why have you come here?” Veritas hissed at her.

I held up my hand, ignoring the incredulous look the Law Guardian gave me as I shushed her.

“Majestic, so nice of you to come by,” I said, sounding a lot calmer than I felt. “I hope you found the place because of your ghost friends telling you about what was going down. Not because you’re just showing up late to the hate rally.”

Her deep brown eyes met mine, face absolutely expressionless. She walked forward, gaze flitting around the cemetery to look at the fallen bodies of the ghouls around her. Those still living who’d crouched back in fear minutes before now began to edge toward her.

“Apollyon is dead?” Marie asked, no hint of what she was thinking in her buttery smooth voice.

“Very,” I replied before Veritas could speak. “Most of his top lieutenants are dead, too.”