If you’ve never pimp-slapped a vampire withan empty Glock, well, I can’t say I recommend it. It might breaktheir nose—I heard Roderick’s crunch as I slugged him with the gunas hard as I could. But that doesn’t help when they heal almostimmediately—it only pisses them off.
“Little bitch!” he hissed, coming for meagain. “You’ll regret that—for a thousand years you’ll regretit.”
“Roderick!” Corbin called from behindhim.
Looking over the angry vampire’s shoulder, Isaw Corbin pulling something out of his inside suit jacket.Something long and sharp and lethal looking—a black metal stake. Myeyes had a brief instant to notice that the stake was carved allover with intricate silver curlicues and markings, almost likerunes—and then Corbin plunged it into Roderick’s back.
The vampire Inquisitor gasped, stiffened,and dropped to his knees. Such was the force of Corbin’s blow thatthe black and silver stake protruded a full three inches from thefront of his chest.
Finally! I thought with a surge ofrelief. Something that affects him—something to take the bastarddown!
And he was down—down but stillmoving, which disturbed me. A stake through the heart—especiallyone with any kind of silver—was usually the end of a vamp, nomatter how powerful they were. But Roderick was still hanging on.His eyes opened and closed and his mouth moved like a fish tryingto breathe air instead of water.
I frowned—he should have been completelydead. I could tell by the placement that Corbin had skewered hisheart like a piece of steak on a shish kabob. The silver rune-likemarkings were covered in blood—blood so black it looked like tar.As I watched, they began to move—writhing like centipedes along theblack shaft protruding from Roderick’s chest.
And then the unthinkable happened—Roderickgrasped the stake and pulled it free. He rose to his feet, thejagged wound in his chest sealing itself as I watched. What thehell? Could nothing kill this son of a bitch?
Turning to Corbin, he began to laugh. Atfirst it was a breathless sound but then, presumably as his lungshealed themselves, it was more full throated.
“A silver-worked stake,” he cried. “Is thatall you could think of? You thought you could kill me with this?”And he threw it point first at Corbin, like an athlete tossing ajavelin.
Corbin caught it in mid-flight and flippedit, turning the point toward himself. It made me nervous to seethat wicked silver tip hovering so near his heart.
“I know I can,” he said coldly.
And then he drove the stake into hischest.
Chapter Nineteen
“Corbin! Oh my God, Corbin, what did youdo?” I gasped as he sank to his knees. There was red blood on thestake now—Corbin’s blood and, as before, the silver rune snakeswere writhing and curling along the black shaft that protruded fromhis chest.
“Addison,” he whispered, his voicestrained.
“No!” I rushed to him, heedless of Roderickor any danger he might still represent. “No! Oh, no, no,no.”
Horrified tears filled my eyes. Emotionswere flooding me—regret for all the harsh words that had passedbetween us, overwhelming sorrow at the idea of losing Corbin, angerat myself for my own stupidity in pushing him away…
“No,” I cried again. “No, I won’t lose youlike this—I can’t!”
I reached for the stake, prepared to pull itout but Corbin knocked my hands away.
“Stop,” he muttered. “Must give…enough timeto feed. A life for…a life.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded,blinking away tears. “What has to feed? These things?” I touchedone of the writhing silver runes and pulled my hand backimmediately. “Ow! The damn thing bit me! Corbin, what thehell is going on?”
“Did…what was…necessary.” He shook his head.“Don’t worry…I’ll…be fine.”
“You’re kidding—you just drove a stakethrough your own chest! How the hell are you going to be fine afterthat?” I demanded.
“Fine,” he insisted and even had the nerveto smile at me.
“What—?” I began but then a strangled moanfrom Roderick tore my eyes away. I nearly choked when I saw whatwas happening to the vampire Inquisitor.
Roderick had sunk to his knees again andthis time he didn’t look like he was going to get back up. Hisface, formerly white, had turned a dirty gray and veins werestanding out all over his body like worms crawling just under thesurface of his skin. As I watched, his eyes turned from red toblack and then they simply dried up and caved in, leaving emptysockets staring back at me. His skin dried up too—wrinkling andsagging before pulling tight to his skull until he looked likesomething out of a horror movie about mummies.
As I watched, his whole body seemed tocrumble in on itself, putrefying and shriveling up almost instantlylike a fast motion film about the process of decay. When he finallyfell all the way over, there was nothing but a desiccated husklying on the floor with a shock of gray-brown hair sticking out ofits dried up scalp.
I stared at the weird thing in awe andhorror until a low sound from Corbin pulled me back to thepresent.
“Corbin?” I looked down to see that he waspulling the stake out of his chest, just as Roderick had done. Whatwas going on? Didn’t this thing kill anyone? Or did it have a wayof killing I didn’t understand? I stared at him, disbelieving, as Isaw the black and silver stake come out smoothly. Corbin laid it toone side. The silver runes were completely red now but they hadstopped writhing, reminding me ominously of snakes who have becomesluggish after having their fill.
As I watched, the hole in Corbin’s chestfilled in, just as the one in Roderick’s had. And then he was upoff the floor and smiling at me as though nothing had happened. Asthough he hadn’t appeared to commit suicide right in front of menot a minute ago.
“There, you see, darling?” he asked.“Fine—I’m completely fine.”
I sniffed and shook my head. “But…how? Idon’t understand.”
Corbin winked at me. “And you don’t need to.Roderick is finished—that is all that matters.”
“No, that is not all that matters.” Iclimbed to my feet, ignoring the hand he held out to help meup.
“Addison,” he began in a placating tone butI held up a hand to cut him off. Earlier
