dark stain on the pavement. Soon, even that would have faded to the point where passersby would be able to fool themselves into thinking it was just oil, and not a woman’s life blood.
Call me a pessimist, but I doubted that the NYPD would have much luck in catching Kim’s killer. Logically, it had to be the same entity as the one that had killed McCreary, if not the same killer. Mortal justice wouldn’t be coming for this murderer. That meant it was up to me.
Rob and Madison were sitting quietly in the bullpen when I walked into the office. There was a grave silence in the air, suggesting that neither of them had said a word in quite some time. Madison’s mascara was smeared from crying and Rob stared stoically, silently, ahead.
I went into the round table room and sat down. Slowly, the rest of the team joined me.
This was a battered unit. Rob, Earl, and I were the last three combat-ready knights for a hundred miles. Under normal circumstances, that should have been more than enough. But these weren’t normal circumstances. The war had come to New York. Most of the Table’s forces were on the other side of the world, on the front lines. The fighting had been concentrated along the borders of sanctioned vampire territory—South America and Eastern Europe, mostly. The fact that vampires were in motion this far from their borders suggested that they had a plan. And when the vampires had a plan the Table had a problem. I knew that Rob and Earl, at least, weren’t going to like my decision, but I had no choice.
“We need help,” I said. “I’m gonna call the Nomads.”
As I expected, the two other knights reacted poorly. Earl’s eyes snapped to attention and he glowered, but he didn’t say anything. Rob, though, looked at me for a long moment and said, “Are you sure that’s necessary, boss?”
The entirety of my first stint with the Table had been in the nomadic division. The Nomads weren’t attached to any one location. We were the Table’s traveling shock troops, and I knew how little the rank-and-file liked it when we were brought into their territory. Our presence was seen as unnecessary at best. At worst we were glory-hogging, adventure-seeking hot heads horning in on other people’s turf. It stung the pride of a lot of knights, but there was a reason that captains kept calling for our assistance.
And now it was my turn.
“It’s necessary,” I said. “Normally there’re about a hundred knights stationed in North America. Right now, with the war, there’s about a fifth of that—twenty knights. On the whole continent. What do you think happens if the elders establish a foothold on this side of the Atlantic?”
“Nothing good,” Rob admitted.
“The Table’s biggest weakness is that we can’t move large numbers very quickly. We can move a dozen or two at a time, really quickly, but that’s it. When we get where we’re going, we’re beasts, but it takes a lot of time and effort to get that coordinated. If the vamps slip into New York we’re in trouble. We’re the last line of defense, folks. Once the vampires take New York, they’ll be able to spread throughout the rest of the country. They’d create millions of new vampires. London’s not ready for that many enemy combatants. If we don’t stop them here, that’s it for the Table. We’ll lose the war.”
Rob nodded finally. “You’re the boss.”
I gave him a half-hearted wave of acknowledgement. “Okay, so I need a place where I can make a phone call.”
It turned out I had a private office. Madison led me up the stairs, down a short hallway, and into a room at the end. She opened the door and said, “We’ll be downstairs if you need anything, Captain.” Something in her eyes, in her tone, told me that Madison Coburn was afraid.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I said before she could make it back to the stairs.
“I hope so,” she said, “but I’m not sure.”
“Were you close with McCreary and Kim?” I
Call me a pessimist, but I doubted that the NYPD would have much luck in catching Kim’s killer. Logically, it had to be the same entity as the one that had killed McCreary, if not the same killer. Mortal justice wouldn’t be coming for this murderer. That meant it was up to me.
Rob and Madison were sitting quietly in the bullpen when I walked into the office. There was a grave silence in the air, suggesting that neither of them had said a word in quite some time. Madison’s mascara was smeared from crying and Rob stared stoically, silently, ahead.
I went into the round table room and sat down. Slowly, the rest of the team joined me.
This was a battered unit. Rob, Earl, and I were the last three combat-ready knights for a hundred miles. Under normal circumstances, that should have been more than enough. But these weren’t normal circumstances. The war had come to New York. Most of the Table’s forces were on the other side of the world, on the front lines. The fighting had been concentrated along the borders of sanctioned vampire territory—South America and Eastern Europe, mostly. The fact that vampires were in motion this far from their borders suggested that they had a plan. And when the vampires had a plan the Table had a problem. I knew that Rob and Earl, at least, weren’t going to like my decision, but I had no choice.
“We need help,” I said. “I’m gonna call the Nomads.”
As I expected, the two other knights reacted poorly. Earl’s eyes snapped to attention and he glowered, but he didn’t say anything. Rob, though, looked at me for a long moment and said, “Are you sure that’s necessary, boss?”
The entirety of my first stint with the Table had been in the nomadic division. The Nomads weren’t attached to any one location. We were the Table’s traveling shock troops, and I knew how little the rank-and-file liked it when we were brought into their territory. Our presence was seen as unnecessary at best. At worst we were glory-hogging, adventure-seeking hot heads horning in on other people’s turf. It stung the pride of a lot of knights, but there was a reason that captains kept calling for our assistance.
And now it was my turn.
“It’s necessary,” I said. “Normally there’re about a hundred knights stationed in North America. Right now, with the war, there’s about a fifth of that—twenty knights. On the whole continent. What do you think happens if the elders establish a foothold on this side of the Atlantic?”
“Nothing good,” Rob admitted.
“The Table’s biggest weakness is that we can’t move large numbers very quickly. We can move a dozen or two at a time, really quickly, but that’s it. When we get where we’re going, we’re beasts, but it takes a lot of time and effort to get that coordinated. If the vamps slip into New York we’re in trouble. We’re the last line of defense, folks. Once the vampires take New York, they’ll be able to spread throughout the rest of the country. They’d create millions of new vampires. London’s not ready for that many enemy combatants. If we don’t stop them here, that’s it for the Table. We’ll lose the war.”
Rob nodded finally. “You’re the boss.”
I gave him a half-hearted wave of acknowledgement. “Okay, so I need a place where I can make a phone call.”
It turned out I had a private office. Madison led me up the stairs, down a short hallway, and into a room at the end. She opened the door and said, “We’ll be downstairs if you need anything, Captain.” Something in her eyes, in her tone, told me that Madison Coburn was afraid.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I said before she could make it back to the stairs.
“I hope so,” she said, “but I’m not sure.”
“Were you close with McCreary and Kim?” I
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