lost.
"You cannot risk yourself so foolishly!" Gray Wolf erupted. Jean-Marie and Caleb, both normally relaxed, came to their feet yelling. Luis cursed Don Rafael in a steady stream of
Galego
, their mother tongue.
Their master allowed them to vent for a minute before putting his foot down. "
¡Silencio
!" he roared at the top of his lungs.
The sound shook Ethan to the bone, taking him back to when he'd been a slave, prostrating himself in justifiable terror before the big Spaniard's wrath. Being forced to learn discipline and respect. He flinched—and reminded himself he was fighting for Don Rafael's safety.
Ethan's shoulders hunched. But he growled softly and bared his teeth—slightly—like a man, when his master looked him in the eyes.
"You will obey me in this," Don Rafael ordered, spitting out every word. "I gave my word to the mayor that I would light the fireworks and so I will."
Jean-Marie snarled deep in his throat. Don Rafael's eyes flashed to him but his heraldo spoke nothing in words.
"Your duty is to secure the area—by whatever means necessary. Do you understand?"
Don Rafael's will slammed into Ethan and bowled him over, as overwhelming as a tornado. He could no longer argue but he didn't approve.
"
St
, Don Rafael." Was he agreeing to help his master commit suicide? "We can pull vampiros and compañeros from the commanderies to form a perimeter around San Leandro that weekend."
But, dear God, how that would leave gaps in their defenses.
"Which will leave the borders very thinly protected, if bandolerismo try to sneak into Texas," Gray Wolf pointed out, his fangs showing in a rare display.
Don Rafael nodded emphatically. "We'll take the risk. What else?"
Ethan closed his eyes for an instant, then began planning how to redeploy his men. Thank God, they had Peter and his compañía in Houston, guarding the eastern frontier against Madame Celeste's forces. Even her most subtle moves couldn't easily dodge the former buffalo soldier with a grizzly's lightning reflexes.
Gray Wolf inclined his head in acknowledgment and began to tick off points on his fingers. "Roving patrols of all likely vampiro hunting grounds. Parks, nightclubs, hotels…"
"And honey pots, of course. Using entrapment to pull 'em in, not just guns," Caleb added.
Don Rafael shot him a quick glance, listening hard.
"And thin out the nightclubs in Austin and San Antonio along the River Walk, to make it harder for vampiros to feed close by," Luis put in. "We can yank their ABC licenses and get half of them closed down within a week or two."
"Before the Fourth, kill every foreign vampiro who's entered Texas without a passport," Jean-Marie suggested.
Now
that
would head off a lot of problems. But they could do more. And the faster the better, to protect Steve and other Texas ladies.
"I want to eliminate the criminal element, too, especially the prosaicos who'd help Devol for money. Those bastards have enough guns to be dangerous, even if they're not vampiros." Kill every prosaico who might be a threat—and forget about waiting for Steve's idolized judicial system to take action, if it ever did.
There was a murmur of agreement.
Ethan smiled, fangs pricking his lip in anticipation.
TEXAS STATE CAPITOL, AUSTIN, JUNE 10
Steve jerked her arms out from behind her back, refusing to assume parade rest, even though her lieutenant was pacing across the tiny room, made even smaller by ancient metal desks and filing cabinets. He'd told her to relax and she'd tried to obey.
Yeah, right.
She tapped her toe inside her boot, stopped that, and stretched her shoulders.
She'd have been happier if Posada had called her back to company headquarters in San Antonio—two hours south—for a chat, rather than the state capitol building. Dodging bureaucrats was more nerve racking than facing armed robbers, especially when she didn't know what was coming. Surely even the worst message could have been delivered on home turf.
But heck, almost
"You cannot risk yourself so foolishly!" Gray Wolf erupted. Jean-Marie and Caleb, both normally relaxed, came to their feet yelling. Luis cursed Don Rafael in a steady stream of
Galego
, their mother tongue.
Their master allowed them to vent for a minute before putting his foot down. "
¡Silencio
!" he roared at the top of his lungs.
The sound shook Ethan to the bone, taking him back to when he'd been a slave, prostrating himself in justifiable terror before the big Spaniard's wrath. Being forced to learn discipline and respect. He flinched—and reminded himself he was fighting for Don Rafael's safety.
Ethan's shoulders hunched. But he growled softly and bared his teeth—slightly—like a man, when his master looked him in the eyes.
"You will obey me in this," Don Rafael ordered, spitting out every word. "I gave my word to the mayor that I would light the fireworks and so I will."
Jean-Marie snarled deep in his throat. Don Rafael's eyes flashed to him but his heraldo spoke nothing in words.
"Your duty is to secure the area—by whatever means necessary. Do you understand?"
Don Rafael's will slammed into Ethan and bowled him over, as overwhelming as a tornado. He could no longer argue but he didn't approve.
"
St
, Don Rafael." Was he agreeing to help his master commit suicide? "We can pull vampiros and compañeros from the commanderies to form a perimeter around San Leandro that weekend."
But, dear God, how that would leave gaps in their defenses.
"Which will leave the borders very thinly protected, if bandolerismo try to sneak into Texas," Gray Wolf pointed out, his fangs showing in a rare display.
Don Rafael nodded emphatically. "We'll take the risk. What else?"
Ethan closed his eyes for an instant, then began planning how to redeploy his men. Thank God, they had Peter and his compañía in Houston, guarding the eastern frontier against Madame Celeste's forces. Even her most subtle moves couldn't easily dodge the former buffalo soldier with a grizzly's lightning reflexes.
Gray Wolf inclined his head in acknowledgment and began to tick off points on his fingers. "Roving patrols of all likely vampiro hunting grounds. Parks, nightclubs, hotels…"
"And honey pots, of course. Using entrapment to pull 'em in, not just guns," Caleb added.
Don Rafael shot him a quick glance, listening hard.
"And thin out the nightclubs in Austin and San Antonio along the River Walk, to make it harder for vampiros to feed close by," Luis put in. "We can yank their ABC licenses and get half of them closed down within a week or two."
"Before the Fourth, kill every foreign vampiro who's entered Texas without a passport," Jean-Marie suggested.
Now
that
would head off a lot of problems. But they could do more. And the faster the better, to protect Steve and other Texas ladies.
"I want to eliminate the criminal element, too, especially the prosaicos who'd help Devol for money. Those bastards have enough guns to be dangerous, even if they're not vampiros." Kill every prosaico who might be a threat—and forget about waiting for Steve's idolized judicial system to take action, if it ever did.
There was a murmur of agreement.
Ethan smiled, fangs pricking his lip in anticipation.
TEXAS STATE CAPITOL, AUSTIN, JUNE 10
Steve jerked her arms out from behind her back, refusing to assume parade rest, even though her lieutenant was pacing across the tiny room, made even smaller by ancient metal desks and filing cabinets. He'd told her to relax and she'd tried to obey.
Yeah, right.
She tapped her toe inside her boot, stopped that, and stretched her shoulders.
She'd have been happier if Posada had called her back to company headquarters in San Antonio—two hours south—for a chat, rather than the state capitol building. Dodging bureaucrats was more nerve racking than facing armed robbers, especially when she didn't know what was coming. Surely even the worst message could have been delivered on home turf.
But heck, almost
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