locate the cause of the bodies on the ground. Our machine guns crackling in the dark had two advantages. They kept the guards’ attention on us while Spade and Bones slaughtered, and we took out several targets more at the same time. Dave had two primary goals in the melee of violence around him—keep Domino from getting killed, or getting away.
Juan grinned wolfishly and chanted unknown taunts in Spanish as we breached the perimeter. Cooper was cooler, methodical even as he sighted down his marks with admirable accuracy. He had a slight curl to his lips. For him, that was the equivalent of cackling glee.
Once close enough, I threw the gun away in favor of my knives, which were my favorite weapon. Almost as fast as I’d fired the bullets, I threw off silver blades at the remaining two dozen fighters. The humans were easy to drop, clawing at chests as the knives sank home.
Someone jumped me from behind, knocking me down. I wrestled him, holding his snapping fangs at bay. The vampire had a look of disbelief, then his features began to shrivel as I jammed a dagger through his heart. Chucking him off, I whirled to face the next one.
It was a human about to fire point-blank in my direction. I spun in a midair cartwheel to avoid the bullets, savagely amused by the dumbfounded expression he wore as none of them hit me. I wrenched the gun out of the man’s hands and turned it on him. A few short bursts later and he was dead on the ground.
The next three vampires were all of lesser ages and powers. I dispatched them with my knives as Juan and Cooper unloaded round after round into the remaining forces that had lost their formation. Domino’s menwere firing at anything, including one another, as our attack continued. Inside the warehouse I heard more sounds of death being dealt. Choked curses and fruitless scrambling to get away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dave, Domino trapped underneath him, a silver blade near the vampire’s heart.
For a moment, his disbelieving green gaze met mine before it widened in comprehension, and Domino began to struggle harder.
Dave cracked his head against the pavement hard enough to fracture his skull. It wouldn’t kill him. It would just take him time to heal it.
Everything began to get quiet soon after. Intermittent shouts were cut off before they could be completed. A glance around showed minimal resistance now, as those who were left alive began to surrender. Strapped to my leg, along with the myriad of weapons, was a cell phone. I dialed Don and let him know to hold off any police that would have been alerted by the explosions. Several members of my team were ten miles away, waiting for this call. They would keep the Canadian authorities at bay while we finished up here.
There was a sudden whoosh of air above me. The knives I’d been ready to fling stayed in my hand as Bones dropped from the sky. He looked me over, assuring himself that I wasn’t hurt, no doubt, and then swung his gaze around to the vampire Dave was restraining.
“Why hallo, Domino. Do you know who I am?”
Bones gestured for Dave to let Domino up. Spade appeared, red stains splattering him, and held Domino with an unyielding grip. Juan and Dave rounded up the few remaining survivors.
Domino glared at Bones. “No. What’s the meaning of this?”
It was an outright lie. Domino did know. His eyes kept flicking to me.
Bones smiled. “Oh, grand. Going to make me beat the truth out of you? My favorite way to work.”
Even I blinked at the suddenness of his movement. One moment Domino’s legs were kicking, the next they were ripped off and in Bones’s hands. Ew.
New body parts hurt when they grew back. So I’d been told, anyway. Domino screamed like that was true.
“Still don’t know me, mate? Come on, lie to me again, see what it gets you.”
“Stop,” Domino shouted. “I know you, but I didn’t know what the missile was for. I swear to Cain I didn’t know!”
A dark brow arched. “Max
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
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Brenda Sinclair
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