Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“We’ve got a car,” Conroy says casually. “This will be useful.”
“That was the coolest thing I have ever seen,” Kita enthuses. “That was incredible! You’re so good at killing!”
I am glad we are alive, and possibly even more glad that there’s some way out of here. Conroy would have us live in the dirt if he could. He is thrilled now, naked, bloody, and grinning broadly, but also aware that this stretch of land contains the sort of people who drive around shooting things and is therefore obviously completely unsuitable to raise pups.
Kita runs toward him and throws her arms around him. He picks her up and kisses her and twirls her around the open top vehicle and for a moment they look like the perfect feral couple.
For one shining moment, I am convinced everything is going to be okay.
CHAPTER 10
Tailor
Everything is not going to be okay.
Finally everybody has agreed to go and get the insurance and find somewhere safe to live. But doing those things is not as easy as it seems.
The insurance is buried fifty or so miles from the old port site. Far enough away to be accessed without drawing too much attention—in theory, at least—but close enough that we are all tempted to go look at the damage. It was our home, our stronghold, the seat of our power for many years.
I drive, because I am the only one who knows where the insurance is. Damon is beside me, and Conroy and Kita are in the back seat doing god knows what, but the occasional sound of giggling makes me suspect it is absolutely filthy.
The sun is on our faces, the vampire threat is null and void, and we have well and truly escaped the stronghold of human bigots. But we all smell the acrid air of the burned port many miles before we get close to it. There’s a haze hanging in the breeze, as if parts are still on fire.
I feel angry. Angrier than I was before. I have been distracted by the many subsequent disasters, but now that I smell the port I remember how much we lost to the attack. I very nearly lost my life, and I feel as though I lost part of myself. I am not the same as I was before Alexander got his hands on me.
The memory of the vampire’s cruelty will not abate any time soon. I feel a cold shiver running down my spine, along with a flare of rage. I have been temperate about all these events, but I have not forgotten what he did. Kita’s acting out, Conroy’s rage, those tend to take center stage. Damon’s fury and my desire for vengeance are less obvious, but no less powerful.
“Should we go?” Conroy leans over to me.
He wants to go to the port site. It’s a crazy idea. It’s an absolute nonsense notion. We are here to collect funds to start a new life, not to dig around in the ashes of the old one.
“Why?” I ask.
“For old time’s sake?”
“Old time was last week,” I remind him. “It could be dangerous. The vampire may have left lookouts. They have human thralls. We could be making ourselves a target by returning. We’re here to get money, not to get into trouble.”
“Our lives are always dangerous. I think we should check it out. We could rebuild.”
I try not to roll my eyes. I fail.
“Nobody is coming back to a secret port that was firebombed. Not worth the risk.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to raise pups in a smuggler’s port.”
“She’s not even pregnant yet. We should go back. See if there’s anything worth salvaging. See if we can open the safe. Remember the safe? The insurance could probably do with some supplementation.”
I turn the car toward the port, outwardly reluctant, but inwardly actually very keen. This is not a good idea, but technically it is Conroy’s idea.
The old route to the port, which used to be guarded and hidden, is now wide open owing to all the fire. As we crunch over the road at low speed, it is obvious that our old world lies in ruins. It was burned to a crisp. Every building has been reduced to ash and cinders. It is very hard not to be consumed with rage.
I stop the car and we all get out. The sound of the ocean is soothing. It’s the only thing that is in any way calming. We are surrounded by the skeletal remains of what used to be a bustling underground port.
I am very much aware of all we have lost. Our lives. All we worked for. All we valued.
“The safe’s still here!” Conroy calls from over in the remnants of the office.
I remain at a distance as he and Damon go over to open it up. There are some gold reserves inside, which will certainly come in handy. I look around, mentally tallying up the likely costs of rebuilding. The costs will be in the millions. Even if we open the port in a diminished capacity, the berths have been burned. There’d be wood to cart, and a lot of carpentry work to re-do.