Blood Wyne by Yasmine Galenorn

snow with my boot. “I think he was religious in life. Or he’s superstitious. He’s not remorseful—he doesn’t leave the bodies in a dignified manner. But he drew a cross on her forehead. I saw it, though it’s probably dried by now.”
    Chase frowned, pursing his lip. “Vampires wouldn’t do that, would they?”
    “Not most of the ones I know. But I can smell the scent of the undead on her. I know a vampire did this.” The scent was all over her, dank and fresh as the grave.
    “Do you think he may be working with humans? Someone who might have decided to draw the cross afterward?” He tapped his notebook with his pen and glanced at me, waiting.
    My turn to frown. Would a vampire work with humans? “I suppose it’s possible, though not likely. But he might have his stable with him, if he has one, or people under his glamour. Regardless of how deadly, or even how grotesque, all vampires have an innate charm. Whatever footprints were here are covered up by now. The snow . . . it’s falling hard.”
    “The weather’s been getting pretty freaky the past few years. Must be global warming.” Chase pushed back his sleeve to look at his watch. “It’s near to four in the morning. What were you doing out here?”
    I shrugged. “Got a lead on our serial killer.” I laid out what Roman had told me about the area. “I wanted to look around before putting anybody else in danger. It’s not safe in this area of the city for people. Or vampires. Except our murderer, apparently.”
    Chase glanced around at the tree-shrouded park. “We do get a lot of reports of injuries from this district, and there have been several unexplained deaths over the years around here. I can believe it’s haunted. There were a lot of fights here in the old days. A lot of skirmishes between different factions—some racial, others political.”
    “Any of those unexplained deaths happen to be murders like our girls?”
    He shook his head. “No. Unexplained as in the victims shouldn’t be dead and the causes were never explained. I can believe this part of the city teems with ghosts. I never come out here unless I can’t help it.”
    A distant expression washed over him, one I’d seen on Camille’s face when she was listening into the energy, and after a moment, he startled out of it. “There are entities here—ugly, old things. I don’t know if they’re spirits or what . . . but they aren’t friendly.”
    “Chase, how long have you been able to suss energy like that?”
    With a shrug, he flipped his notebook shut and stuck it in his pocket. “You know how long—ever since I woke up in the hospital. It’s been two months and I feel like I’m walking in Never-Neverland. Everything seems so different. I don’t know how you girls do it—walking in two worlds at once. It’s driving me nuts.”
    “Talk to Sharah, she’ll help you.” I hesitantly reached out, then patted him on the arm. “Dude, you have to learn to live with this because it’s yours. For a long, long, long time to come. I know what it’s like. Look at me, Chase. Look at what happened to me, and I didn’t just get stabbed by a demon. I went through hell . . . I remember what happened to me. Every nuance, every cut of the blade, every touch of him on me and inside me.”
    Chase dipped his head, blushing. “Yeah, and I know I sound like a baby next to you. I’m sorry. I forget sometimes, just what happened to you. I shouldn’t complain about my own problems. They’re a drop in the bucket.”
    “You know that’s not what I meant. I’m just saying, I understand what it’s like to have your life suddenly changed on you, to have everything you ever expected stripped away and replaced with something different.”
    “Thanks.” Laughing then, he motioned toward the walk. “Let’s go.”
    “What about her?” I jerked my head toward the body, not wanting to leave until they got her out of here.
    “They’ll bring her when they finish with the crime