Blood Red

“Aren’t you coming in?” she asked him.

He shook his head. “Stacey knows you’re here. Look, she’s got the door open already.”

“You have to work?”

He looked away. “I have an autopsy to attend,” he said wearily.

“The second girl who was found in the Mississippi?” she asked.

He paused for a moment, then handed her a newspaper from the back seat. She saw the headline as he spoke.

“Third victim,” he said briefly.

“It’s like…one a night,” she murmured.

Sean shrugged. “Actually, it could be worse. Stephan Delansky is apparently keeping his minions in check and killing just enough to make sure that law officials up and down the Mississippi wind up chasing their tails.”

“He has to be stopped,” Lauren said.

“Yes, he does. But not by you, especially not now. Go get some sleep,” he told her.

She started to exit the car, then paused. “Mark?”

“Mark will be all right. Go on in.”

She obeyed at last. Stacey was waiting for her at the door, and w2hen Lauren entered, Stacey stepped outside, waved to Sean, then looked around—upward. Seemingly satisfied that no one was there, she followed Lauren inside and closed the door.

“Coffee’s on,” she told Lauren. “Except maybe you don’t want coffee. It would just keep you up. But I made waffles, and they’re delicious. Eat, grab a shower, curl up and get some sleep.”

“What about Heidi?” Lauren asked her.

“Heidi’s doing well. I gave her a sedatives, enough to keep her out for a while. She won’t be doing any communicating until she’s had some time to get rid of the…infection.”

Lauren looked around warily. “How do you know that, er…evil can’t get in?”

Stacey laughed. “Take a good look around. See the planters? We water them very carefully—with holy water. And if you if you take a good look at the way the windows are constructed, you’ll see that the beams are crosses. There’s also garlic powder worked into some of the molding. Trust me, we have any number of protective devices here. Of course, you still have to be careful.”

Stacey led the way to the kitchen, reached into the microwave and produced a plate for Lauren. “Sit down. Eat.”

Lauren discovered that she was famished, and the waffles were as delicious as Stacey had promised. “Are we safe by day?”

“Safer,” Stacey said. “Vampires—good and evil—are at their greatest strength at night. And I sincerely doubt Stephan will attack by day. He’s not some idiotic young vampire, out to feed his way through the city. Not that many would be that stupid—this being the home of the Alliance.”

“What?” Lauren said.

“The Alliance.”

Lauren frowned, shaking her head. “So Jonas was telling the truth.”

“That there is an alliance of…shall we say…other worldly beings who make their home here? Yes. Unfortunately, Stephan knew right when to hit this area. Almost everyone’s away. I just hope they’ll return in time.”

“You hope?”

“Don’t be afraid. Mark clearly knows his enemy. And Sean and Maggie—well, no one knows more than they do. It’s really too bad that Jessica’s partner, isn’t here. Guardians are…are ancient and because of that, they’re powerful. Very few…people have survived since the middle ages. Look, it’s all right. Sean’s officers are more than capable of handling vampires. I mean, he doesn’t give classes on fighting vampires, 101, or anything like that. There are just some guys on his squad who naturally…know. It’s not so difficult, really. If you have believe in a higher power, you believe in good. If you believe in good, you have to believe in evil. I’m sorry. I’m getting very complicated here, and you probably just want to get some sleep. Would you like more waffles?”

“What?” Lauren realized she’d been drowsing and had barely heard whatever Stacey was saying.

“Waffles. Would you like more waffles? You’ve cleaned your plate.”

“Oh, no, thank you. They were delicious. I guess…I guess I’ll just peek in on Heidi and then get some sleep myself, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.”

They went upstairs, where Stacey opened one of the bedroom doors. Heidi was soundly sleeping, cradling a stuffed Teddy bear.

“Bobby won it at the fair,” Stacey explained.

“Nice. Thank you,” Lauren told her.

“No prob. Call me if you need me,” Stacey said, heading back downstairs.

First things first. In her own room, Lauren took a long, hot shower after realizing just how…grimy she was. The thought that the specks of soot on to her flesh and in her hair were the remnants of evil beings was not a pleasant one. She scrubbed herself vigorously, then repeated the process.