Chris went still ahead of him and Nick froze automatically, sharpening his hearing. Vampires breathed because people did, like they weren't just animated bodies. Like they were something living inside the human body, still powering it, except the whole body went to liquid goo if they were sprayed with holy water, like the Wicked Witch of the West. Nick didn't think that qualified for any kind of residual humanity.

  But they breathed, and when they breathed, they could be heard.

  Chris skittered a look back at Nick, who heard his neck bones creak when he gave a fractional nod in return. It wasn't a vampire.

  It was vampires.

  They didn't usually hide together. The one that had come after his dad when Nick was eight had been unusual for being one of a pair. Normally they were solitary, hiding at the edges of society where people wouldn't notice somebody going missing.

  Chris lifted his chin, indicating he would press forward. Nick loosened his shoulders and followed one slow step at a time, keeping to the outside edges of the stairs to avoid squeaking. Chris paused again, listening. There were two of them, which made Nick feel both better and worse. At least their dad hadn't died fighting one stupid vampire. On the other hand, Chris really never would forgive himself for letting the old man go out alone, and it would never matter that even Dad hadn't known he was hunting a vamp until it was too late. As far as Nick's big brother was concerned, keeping other people safe was his reason for existing. Regardless of how much or little he knew about the situation beforehand, if anything went wrong, it was somehow his own fault.

  So it was obviously Chris's fault when two vampires turned out to be seven.

  They swarmed from below, the first couple grabbing Chris's legs and yanking them out from under him. Chris went down with a yell, his head bouncing on every step as the vampires hauled him toward them. Nick could only see two, then, and two was enough. He threw himself forward into the darkness, tackling them to give Chris time to regain his feet.

  Which would have worked just fine, if there hadn't been five more in the shadows. Their hands were everywhere, pinning Nick down, teeth gleaming in the dim light. He wrestled a hand loose and smashed a vial against one's face. It screamed, rearing back to claw at the wetness while the others howled rage and flung their weight against Nick, trying harder to pin him down. A flash above his eyes warned him that one of them had cut its wrist open to drip blood in his mouth. Nick clamped his lips together and twisted to the side, feeling thick warmth fall against his cheekbone.

  Something bludgeoned the one trying to feed him, and it collapsed on top of him. Rage passed through the others like a virus, and two of them were stupid enough to release him. Nick shoved the bleeding one off himself and grabbed the floor for purchase, then roared and ripped his other arm free of the vamps holding him down. For an instant shock was visible in their pale faces. He shook another vial of holy water into his hand and slammed it into an open mouth, palm-thrusted the mouth shut around the vial, and didn't take time to grimace as the thing died horribly all over him.

  A hand came out of the dark, seized his, and pulled him to his feet. A heartbeat later he and Chris were back to back and there were only three vampires left, all of them gaping at each other and at the brothers. Then one bolted for the stairs.

  Chris's knife caught it between the shoulder blades and it fell without a sound, and without turning to goo. He'd used that knife before, then. Its blessing had saved another vamp's soul, but couldn't do this one any good. Not great, but better than either letting a vampire loose in the town, or—worse—letting a vampire turn one of them.

  The remaining two exchanged a glance, like they were weighing their odds. Nick's knife remained unbloodied, but he'd taken two out with holy water and had a third vial in his hand already. Chris gave a low cackle and drew another knife. Nick couldn't see it, but he knew Chris had crooked his fingers, a "c'mere, let's you and me fight," gesture that everybody recognized.

  And for some dumb-ass reason, the two vamps who were left decided to take him up on the offer.

  They came at them together, smart enough not to let the brothers pick them off one at a time, but not smart enough to run. Nick kept his knife out as the vamp rushed him, making sure it kept its attention on the blade. It wasn't afraid of it—vampires weren't—and all it needed to do was avoid a killing blow before it took Nick out.

  All it really needed to do was stay out of arm's reach, but it was so busy trying to get past the knife it forgot about the holy water in his other hand. He caught it by the throat, crushing the flimsy glass vial there, and the thing went down with a gurgling scream.

  By the time he turned around, the final vampire was dead, too. Chris, grinning and panting, said, "That was freaking awesome, man!"

  Nick threw his knife down. "That was the end of it." He went up the stairs, stepping over the one body they'd left whole, and paused to pour a vial of holy water over it. It dissolved, bubbling, and he continued up the stairs. Vamps were a lot easier to clean up after than freaks. Holy water didn't do anything to the more human monsters that were out there.

  "Wait, what the—wait up, Nick! Nicky! Nick!" Chris followed him upstairs, muttering as he stepped in goo, then catching Nick's arm when he got to the kitchen. The sun had almost set, leaving the room dimmer and grungier than before. "What the hell, man?"

  "We did it," Nick said. "We got the thing that got Dad. It's over."

  "But we were awesome! Come on, don't tell me you didn't miss this!"

  "Driving for miles to sneak into an abandoned house and kill things most people don't even believe exist? No, Chris, I didn't. I miss you." Admitting that much nearly silenced Nick, but he plowed ahead. "I even miss Dad, and that's…man, that sucks, because I can't fix that. But I don't miss this. I don't miss…"

  "Working together? Having my back? Doing something to help people?" The anger in Chris's voice covered the hurt, but not well. "So that's it? You're just gonna go back to your soft Cali life with your babe girlfriend and forget about me again?"

  "I never forgot about you, Chris." Nick's shoulders sagged. "But yeah. I'm gonna go back. This isn't home anymore. I'm gonna go home and get my medical degree and I'm going to help people that way. That hasn't changed."

  "But Dad's dead. You're just gonna leave me out here on my own?"

  "Chris." Nick pulled a hand over his face, then dropped it, sighing. "You don't have to do this, you know? This isn't your only choice in life."

  "It's the only thing I'm good at."

  "Man, it's what I was good at too, before I tried something else."

  "I don't want to try something else."

  "You're afraid to try so—"

  Fury flashed across Chris's face. "I'm not afraid. I'm good at this, and so are you. How long is it since we fought together? And it was just like old times."

  "Yeah, except there were seven freaking vampires, Chris, that's not normal. That's not cool. And it's not like old times, when there'd be two at most."

  "And don't you want to know why?" Chris demanded.

  "No!" Nick drew a deep breath, trying to modulate his volume. "No. I want to go get Stephanie and go home. I want a normal life."

  "Yeah, the girl and the dog and the white picket fence and two point three kids you're never gonna see because you'll be too busy trying to save the world at the hospital instead of on the ground. That'll be great."

  "How is that any worse than the two kids Dad never saw?" Nick demanded. "It's not what I'm planning to do, but even if it is, at least I'll be bringing in a steady paycheck so they don't wonder if they're gonna have dinner tonight! And how's it any better than what I guess you're doing, hooking up with a new girl every time you hit a new city, and never putting down any roots? You're gonna be just like Dad, living in that armpit of a trailer when you're not off trying to get yourself killed by some monster or freak or asshole bounty!"

  "I wouldn't have to worry about that if you'd keep hunting with me! But you're too good for this life, aren't you? Nicky, the smart one, high-tailing it out of Dodge as soon as he could—"

  Nick, very quietly, said, "You encouraged me to go to college, Chris. I wouldn't have had the nerve without you."

  Chris's mouth curled. "Yeah, well, I'm not the smart one, am I. Maybe I figured you wouldn't go. Maybe I figured you'd come back once you realized what you were missing. This is the life, man, seeing the whole country, making your own hours, hunting down bad guys…"

  "You knew I was never coming back."

  "No." Chris's voice went flat. "No, I didn't. I didn't know you and Dad would stop talking completely. I didn't know you'd only send a text at Christmas."

  "Like you do any better! When was the last time you called?"

  "I can read the room, can't I? You obviously didn't want any part of us anymore, so why would I call?" Chris's jaw worked, strain in the cords of his throat. "I didn't think you'd come home for Dad's goddamn funeral, Nicky. I didn't think—"

  "So you texted me in the worst possible way to make sure I probably wouldn't! You texted me to tell us our dad was dead, Chris! And said I probably didn't care! What the hell did you think I was gonna do, with that?" Nick spun around, looking for something to take his frustration out on. A wall, or the counter, or the papered-over windows, maybe. Not that it would do any good. He forced his hands out of fists and dropped his head, sighing. "I miss him, Chris. I missed him before he died and now I'm never gonna get to tell him. I miss you. But I can't stay. This isn't the life I want." He stood there a minute, listening to Chris's frustrated breathing, and sighed again. "You're right, though," he said in a much lower voice. "The whole…hive…of vampires thing, that's not cool. That's…"

  "You help me figure that out," Chris said swiftly. "You help me figure out what's going on there, and then, fine, you go home. But help me with that, Nicky. Because one or two, that's one thing, but no wonder they got to Dad, with seven of them. Or more, because I don't know if he took any out before they got him."

  Nick's shoulders dropped farther, gaze locked on the faded linoleum floor before he shuffled to the table and sat. The chairs were as rickety as they'd looked, and a plastic-y table cloth, faded from red to an unhealthy orange, had yellowed polka dots and old food stains on it. At least, he chose to believe they were food stains, and not something else. "Fine. All right. You said Dad thought it was just a bounty, right? Not a freak?"

  "And definitely not a vamp, never mind a whole pile of them." Chris pulled another chair out, turned it around, and sat on it backward, his arms folded over the back.

  "Tell me what happened."

  "He came out here to pick up the bounty and next thing I knew somebody was calling me because he'd sent up an SOS on friggin' Bhuntr."

  Nick scowled. "You said he didn't use that."

  "I didn't even know he had an account. I'm not sure he did before then. But I was in Dodge, there was no way I could get to him if he called, so I guess he used what he could. Anyway, by the time they got here, he was…" Chris's voice went tight. "He was already dead. They hadn't tried to turn him or anything."

  A thin smile pulled Nick's mouth. "Takes too long. He'd have killed them all before they got enough blood into him."

  Chris chuckled, just as thinly. "Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, he didn't say anything on Bhuntr except he needed help, and the guy who brought him back said there were vamps. That's all I got. So here we are."

  "Wait. If the guy knew about vamps, Dad must have posted in the Beowulf board. We should talk to the guy who picked him up and see what else he might know."

  Chris lifted his head, staring at Nick. "How'd you know about that?"

  A shred of guilt sizzled through Nick. "I told you. Just because I left doesn't mean I don't know about Bhuntr."

  "Yeah, but knowing Bhuntr and knowing about the Beowulf board—"

  "The thing is, Chris, if Dad posted there, he knew about it too. Maybe he's got more of an account than you know about."

  "Maybe you do!"

  "This isn't about me."

  Chris bared his teeth and pointed at Nick, warning him that he wouldn't let it go, but for the moment, he did. "I've got his phone. I guess we can check, if we can figure out his pass code. I already tried our birthdays."

  "Did you try Mom's?"

  A twitch of anger crossed Chris's face. Nick nodded. "We'll try that, but I guess we can call the provider and see what you do if somebody's dead and you need to get into their phone, too. There must be something." He turned his head toward the stairs, like he could see what was left of the vampires in the basement. "Do you think a freak could have been controlling them somehow?"

  The anger faded from Chris's expression as his eyebrows drew down. "Hadn't thought of that. Maybe. Can they do that?"

  Nick shrugged. "Have you ever come across two freaks who could do the same thing?"

  "I mean, yeah, there are a bunch of them that are just freakishly strong or kind of bullet proof, but…yeah, I guess not. There's all the others."

  "Psychics," Nick said. "Teleporters. Sorcerers. Maybe one of them just vibes with vamps."

  "I'd freak too," Chris admitted.

  "Yeah, me too." Nick didn't know why some people had powers. He did know most of them went crazy, which was more than half of why they were called freaks. The rest of it was they were just…freaks, as in, highly unusual and abnormal, since people didn't normally have talents that looked supernatural or superheroic. He'd wanted to call them grendels ever since he found out about the Beowulf board, but changing a whole subculture's terminology wasn't easy even if he was actively part of it. Which he wasn't.

  Or he hadn't been, not for a long time, not until today. "You still got his number? The guy who called you about Dad?"

  "Yeah, you want me to just call and ask?"

  Nick lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "Got a better plan?" His own phone buzzed like he'd caught its attention. He took it out to find a worried message from Stephanie, said, "Give him a call," and got up to walk a few steps away before calling her back.

  "Nick?" Relief rushed her voice as she picked up. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah." Nick closed his eyes, chin ducked to his chest. "Yeah, Chris and I are just…we're dealing with some…there's a lot to do when somebody dies."

  "I know, but…I could help, Nick. You don't have to do it all on your own."

  He breathed out, almost a laugh. "I know. If there's anything you can help with, I'll let you, okay? This stuff, it's just…Chris and I have to work it out."

  Stephanie's voice lowered. "How much of this is about official paperwork and how much is about you and your brother's relationship? Because you don't owe him anything, Nick. Ty and I saw how he treated you." Her voice sharpened. "How he treated us."

  Nick closed his mouth on defending his brother. "Yeah, he was kind of an ass to you, and I'm sorry. And I haven't been much better."

  "Well, your dad just died." Steph went silent for a heartbeat, then sounded wry. "Which is the same slack I should cut him, I guess, but…"

  "But you know me, and you don't know him, and…" And what she did know about Chris from Nick wasn't particularly flattering. Calling out the rough spots had always been easier than acknowledging what had gone right. "I think I'll be back late tonight. You want me to come find you or wait until morning?"

  "Text if you'll be later than midnight?"

  "Okay. I love you."

  "Yeah." Her voice warmed. "I love you too."

  Nick hung up to find Chris already off his own phone and staring at him. A flush crawled along Nick's jaw and he felt himself setting it defensively. Chris said, "Seriously? You really love her?"

  "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

  Chris rolled his own jaw and glanced away. "Good for you, man. Wes says he doesn't know anything about a whole pile of vamps. Dad was dead when he got here and there was goo everywhere."

  Nick looked around. "Here? This place is dingy, but it doesn't have vamp goo all over everything."

  "This is where…" Chris trailed off as he stood, lines appearing between his eyebrows as he frowned. "This is where Dad's GPS said he was. But you're right. The upstairs was clean too. And we weren't wading through week-old goo downstairs."

  "So you're saying somebody, what, came back and cleaned up afterward? Who would do that? Why?"

  Chris muttered, "Who, what, why. All you need is how, and you'll be a swell little investigator, Nicky."

  "Screw you, man."

  "There is a long list of reasons why that'll never happen."

  "Ew!"

  Chris cackled, but it drained away into thoughtfulness again. "Why would you come back and clean up after a bunch of vamps?"

  "'Cause you were gonna sell the house."

  "Well, that's the most boring explanation I've ever heard."

  "Makes the most sense, though."

  "Except for the seven vampires in the basement would have eaten you if you just came in to clean."

  "Maybe there was only one vampire in the basement before they came in to clean!"

  Chris's gaze rolled toward the ceiling, his lips pursed before his eyebrows shrugged a concession. "Yeah, okay, legit. Guess we better call the local cleaning companies and see if anybody's missing. Is that all it is?" He sounded disappointed. "Just…Dad got unlucky and a vampire made lunch of the people who came to clean up afterward? That's it? It's solved, you go home now?"

  "Probably." Nick spread his hands as Chris scowled faintly at him. "Seriously, dude, it's more likely than a whole pile of vampires sat around waiting for him in the first place."

  "Sometimes I hate this job." Chris turned away as he spoke, the word so quiet Nick didn't think he'd been meant to hear them.

  He had, though, and took an awkward step toward his big brother. Older brother. Chris being smaller than him kind of didn't make sense, but a lot of things didn't make sense, and he had to live with that anyway. "You don't have to do this job, Chris. Why don't...why don't you come back to California with me? We could get a place and figure some things out."