“But I have to find them.” Tricks went up on her toes. “You know what they’re like.”

  Elron nodded. “And if I can tell you they are in the parking lot, they know where you are. You need to stay here.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt anything if I checked in with them.” Tricks shifted her weight, ready to make a quick escape.

  “No.” I held up the phone. “You’re a witness. You stay here.”

  She opened her mouth to protest.

  “Michelle!” Jerry, flanked by ten officers, jogged into the festival entrance. “Where’s the vampire?”

  I stepped in front of Elron and Tricks. “Here.”

  Jerry kept to a steady jog. Four officers separated themselves from the group and darted over. They took up positions around the vampire inside the shield. The rest of the group caught up and fanned out. One officer broke away and got on the radio.

  Enor and Erwin rushed after them, but the other police kept them away. Tricks started giggling and hid behind Elron and me so her parents couldn’t see her.

  Jerry did a slow lap around the staked vampire. “Well. What happened?”

  “The usual. Holiday party, killer, spirits of the dead,” I said.

  He snorted. “I’m going to need more details.”

  “Thought you might.” I went through the first part and then showed him the video of the rest.

  We’d finished the video when Rodriguez showed up. While Jerry talked to his captain, I went through it all again with Rodriguez. By the time I finished telling him everything, more officers had shown up. They were interviewing everyone, including Elron, Tricks, and the medieval vampire. The phone went into evidence.

  I ended up standing between Jerry and Rodriguez, looking down at the poor vampire. “Is it worth transporting him?”

  “No,” Rodriguez said.

  Jerry shrugged. “Until I get an execution order, it’s all we can do.”

  “I’m not letting him out of that containment shield unless he’s in a secure facility.” He’d killed and terrorized enough people. I wouldn’t give him a chance to escape.

  “Then we move him,” Jerry said.

  “I’m tapped out. I can’t levitate him.” Upright for the rest of the evening. That was my goal for the night.

  Henry, a vampire and local officer, glided over. “Is the shield solid?”

  I nodded. “Not even a demon could get through.”

  Henry nodded and glided back over to the group. The four of them lifted the shield out of the ground, a chunk of earth and the crazy vampire inside.

  That was one way to move him.

  Jerry motioned for me to follow. “We’ll transport him like this.”

  “And when he’s secure, I’ll take off the shield. Great.” I followed them up to a van.

  As we left, Elron and Tricks were reuniting with their parents. Escorting the crazy vampire was less dangerous than talking to them.

  The four vampires had to work to fit themselves and the shield in the van. Jerry, Rodriguez, and I ended up in Jerry’s car. We stayed right behind the van the entire drive. The guys passed the time talking about the evidence they needed. Fingerprints and an ID for the vampire were high on the list.

  They could have their fingerprints. I was going over the spirits’ statements. Now that I understood the turnips were the ward against evil, that part made sense. So did the hell cat, though in the stories they were more effective. What didn’t fit was the second spirit’s comments.

  Her bite you desired?

  Staked through her heart?

  None knew of you?

  Had he asked to be turned? But then who staked the vampire who turned him, and why? And why didn’t anyone know of him? Vampires tried to be organized about such things. They didn’t turn many people, but those they did were turned at a nest. Movies occasionally made nests sound exotic and thrilling. They were more like a witch’s clan house. Guaranteed shelter, safety, a warm meal, and such. Turning new vampires at the nest ensured someone would be there when they awakened and could guide them into their new life.

  If a vampire awoke alone, well, that was tricky. Some were fine. Others were more monstrous.

  “Almost there,” Jerry said. “Do you need anything to remove the spell?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I didn’t ask if you could do it alone.” Jerry’s voice sharpened. “I asked if you needed help.”

  I huffed out a breath. “Help would be nice.”

  Rodriguez twisted around in his seat to look at me. “The three of us can link, give you the power to undo the spell.”

  “Thank you.”

  We paused at the gate for the guard to check the car and then entered the jail. This jail wasn’t like most. It was specifically designed to hold high-risk people, usually just long enough to get an execution order. The squat, concrete building lacked any charm, unless a fifteen-foot-high fence with guards counted as charming.

  Jerry guided the car down a ramp. A gate closed behind us, sealing us in the building. Gray concrete walls interspersed with yellow sconces did nothing for the atmosphere.

  We parked near the loading bay and went in through a side door. Two armed guards, one dark elf and one vampire, stood watch over the back of the van. It opened, and the four officers picked up the globe holding the vampire and carried him into the hall.

  I trailed along behind.

  The atmosphere hadn’t improved, though there was more light. All that meant was I could see exactly how much concrete surrounded me. Not a place I’d like to have as my last memory. The quicker I could leave, the better. This was as far out of my area of expertise as it got.

  We turned right into an identical-looking hallway and ended up in a two-part room. The inner room had been outfitted to hold vampires. Silver ran through the walls, ceiling, and under a thin sheet of cloth stretched across the floor. The outer chamber had the same amount of silver, but nothing shielding the floor.

  In theory, the silver wouldn’t bother the vampires unless they touched it with bare skin. In practice, I doubted the cloth was truly a sufficient barrier.

  The four vampires set the shield down in the center of the cell and stood in the doorway between the inner and outer chamber. “We are ready.”

  “Give me a minute.” I summoned my wand.

  Jerry and Rodriguez took up position behind me, each resting a hand on my shoulder. They directed power into me.

  It was more than enough to clear my mind and make removing the shield effortless. I even had enough to release the poor vampire from the earth. Then I tried to push the power back to them. They closed their shields, leaving me with more magic than I’d had before.

  I blinked the room into focus. Four vampires held the crazy vampire mostly still. He twisted and thrashed, trying to pull an arm free or get close enough to bite one of them. Henry held his hand steady and quickly pressed his fingers to a screen. The devise beeped, and Henry moved to the other hand. It beeped again.

  The vampires released the crazy vampire and were out of the room with the door locked before he could react. Not even a second after they secured the door, he rushed it. Moving too fast for my eye to follow, he lapped the cell.

  Henry held the fingerprint scanner out to Jerry and Rodriguez. “He’s a missing person.”

  Rodriguez swore. “I’ll get Montoya on the phone.” He walked into the hall, dialing a number.

  “Thanks.” Jerry took the scanner.

  I peered over his shoulder, reading the screen.

  “Kaden Scott, 19, human,” Jerry said.

  “Not anymore,” I said. At this moment, vampire Kaden was still running laps around his cell.

  Jerry kept reading. “Last seen on the 25th. Presumed to be with Courtney Barnes.” Jerry clicked on the case file number attached to Courtney’s name. “True death estimated at two in the morning on the 26th. Manner of death is accidental. Cause is impaled by lumber.”

  “Narzel,” I swore.

  Jerry cocked his head to the side. “What?”

  “I looked at Courtney’s car. Not officially, my name isn’t in the report, but Montoya wanted to make sure magic wasn’t a factor. It wasn’t.” I hadn’t been paying attention to what else Montoya said. I’d been too worried about the murders and trying to get Montoya to stop flinching every time we were in the same room.

  Rodriguez came back. “Montoya is picking up Kaden’s parents so they can see their son. He worked both cases, and I got some more information. Only a few of Kaden’s friends knew he was dating Courtney. No one knew they were together that night, but their phones last pinged off the same cell tower. Kaden never came home that night, and Courtney died. Courtney’s phone was never recovered.”

  “Did she have permission to turn him?” I asked.

  “Montoya said the nest didn’t even know she was seeing anyone, only that she’d been secretive. She’d only been a vampire three years and couldn’t have gotten permission to turn anyone, never mind her young boyfriend.” Rodriguez gave the cell a pointed look.

  Kaden had finally stopped running and now stared through the re-enforced glass with soulless eyes.

  I only had to meet the gaze of any of the vampires in this room to see a vibrant person. Right now all of them were serious, focused on the work, but I’d joked with Henry over flying chihuahuas. I’d seen him help tipsy coworkers home after a New Year’s party. He was a person, not a mindless killing machine.

  “He rose without aid.” Henry shook his head. “It is no wonder what he has become. Confused, unbearably thirsty, answering only to instinct. Then to face a hell cat and an ancient ward? He’d not yet regained his mind before it shattered.”

  Henry wasn’t wrong. The problem was we couldn’t fix him. The damage was done. He was too dangerous to keep alive. By morning, they’d have an execution order, and he’d be staked for his crimes.

  “Courtney killed five, but she’s already dead,” I said.

  “Every time,” a vampire muttered.

  Jerry and Rodriguez looked as confused as I felt.

  “This happens, once a decade or so.” Henry sighed. “We must impress upon the young that the rules about who, how, when, and where to turn a person are there for a reason.”

  “And the rest of us get to hear and repeat the lecture.” The vampire swore again. “Every few years for thousands.”

  I had a flash into my future with Elron, a thousand years from now, annoyed by something for the literal thousandth time. Near immortality had its downsides.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I escaped before Montoya and Kaden’s parents arrived. That part was none of my business, and truthfully, not a scene I wished to witness.

  Plus, I’d promised Tricks a birthday party before we kicked off Samhain, and I didn’t want to disappoint. Mom and Dad would be there too. Once we switched to Samhain, all the lodge guests and permanent residents had been invited. It would be a night Tricks could remember for years.

  An officer gave me a ride back, dropping me off in the parking lot. A few police and investigators were clustered by the maze with civilians who I assumed were school officials. The parking lot was mostly empty, with a few cars scattered here and there. A certain elf leaned against mine, head tipped back, watching the stars.

  I stopped to watch his silver hair gleam in the moonlight. He hadn’t hesitated today. He never hesitated to put himself in harm’s way to keep others safe. Yet he trusted me to take care of myself. If I faltered, he’d be there to take up the slack, be it fighting a vampire or fighting for our wedding. In between, he’d plan and cook romantic dinners. Thank the earth he could cook. I’d over-boiled an empty pot of water last week.

  Somehow, after everything, he’d chosen me as surely as I’d chosen him.

  “See anything good?” I closed the distance between us.

  He pushed away from the car and caught me in his arms. “Yes.”

  My hands slid into his hair, ruining the delicate braids, as I melted into his kiss.

  He pulled back. “Is it done?”

  My heels sank back to the ground, and my hands drifted to his shoulders. The moment was gone. Not lost, but put aside. “My part is done. It’s a bitter tale.”

  “You can tell me tomorrow, when the spirits do not listen so closely.” He turned me in his arms and pointed at the sky. “Mars is bright tonight.”

  “So it is.” I relaxed into him. I didn’t fear the spirits. They’d had their say. “They’ll stake him by morning.” Little by little the story came out.

  Elron never let go. “The demons weren’t the only evil in the world.”

  “He didn’t choose to be evil. His actions were evil, but he didn’t set out to be a monster.” We’d never know if he’d wanted to be a vampire. Courtney’s nest had nothing but good things to say about her. From what Montoya had relayed through Rodriguez, they’d seen her as a young but responsible vampire. We might never know why she turned Kaden, but from the reports of the two of them, I couldn't believe this was their plan.

  Elron simply held me.

  “I don’t want to go home and fight again.” Not tonight.

  “They promised to be on their best behavior.” Elron squeezed gently. “I believe they were shaken. They had it in their minds that you sat in an office, throwing orders at others, never in any danger yourself. In their minds, previous reports of your magic were greatly exaggerated. Their minds have been opened.”

  “And you stayed behind to tell me?”

  “I had to stay, for the police and university.”

  Right. Work.

  “And you.” He released me, cold air rushing into the space left behind, and came around to look me in the eye. “I will always be here for you.”

  “As unrelenting as the ocean?” I suppressed a smile.

  “Tougher than dragon hide.” He grinned.

  “I love you.” I went up on my toes to kiss him. Long seconds later, when my bones were part jelly, he broke away.

  Elron cupped his hands around my face, the heat of his skin sinking into my cheeks. “I love you too.”

  Meow.

  I looked at the car. A cat-shaped shadow sat on the trunk.

  Meow!

  “Wunho,” I said. A soft orb of light appeared above the trunk.

  The black cat stared at us with bright orange eyes. Meow.

  “If you’re the hell cat, you can turn into a human shape to talk.” My voice had an edge. Nothing like a private moment being watched and interrupted. “I’m not guessing what you want to say. That’s beneath both of us.”

  The cat’s tail lashed back and forth.

  “We should return home. They are waiting on us before starting Tricks’s party.” Elron held out his hand. “I will drive.”

  I handed over the keys without a complaint and then gave the cat a pointed look. “You won’t want to be there when we leave.”

  The cat didn’t move.

  “Typical.” I muttered.

  Elron unlocked the car and held the door open for me.

  “Thank you.” I got one foot in the car before the cat leapt onto the seat behind me. I retreated.

  The cat sat, tail curled around its paws, head forward.

  “That’s my seat.”

  The cat didn’t move.

  “You can ride in the back.” I pointed.

  It flicked a single ear.

  Elron leaned around me. “Move.”

  The cat turned to look at us.

  One way or another, I was riding home in the front seat. “It’s my car. Get in the back or get out.”

  The cat flicked its tail. A moment later, moving as slowly as possible, it stretched, sauntered across the seat, over the center console, and to the back seat.

  I sat before it could reclaim its spot. “Thank you.”

  Elron thanked the cat, who had settled in the seat behind me, and we were off. The ride home was quiet. There wasn’t much to say. Elron’s fantastic efforts to create a Halloween we’d never forget would be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

  For me, there was little victory in catching the killer. Sure, he wouldn’t kill again. But his victims were still dead. Nothing could change that. And to me there was a difference between Kaden, the boy who’d wanted to become a vampire, and the creature we’d captured.

  Five dead because one vampire didn’t follow the rules.

  Elron turned on to the gravel road, slowing to a crawl behind the car in front of us. We had to pull off to the side three times to let cars out.

  “A little late for trick-or-treating,” I said.

  The corner of Elron’s mouth quirked up. “Word must’ve gotten out.”

  “Word of what? Landa didn’t invite half the town to Samhain, did she?” If so, I’d never hear the end of it from Enor and Erwin. One more thing to add to the list of why they hated me.

  “Nothing like that.” Elron’s smile was anything but reassuring.

  “Great.”

  In a moment, we rounded the last turn. Actually, it was great. Landa was handing out candy with Ty next to her. While Landa had dressed up as a Godmother, Ty had been more adventurous. Since he didn’t have thumbs, someone had helped him design and don a T-rex-sized, neon-pink unicorn horn and tiny, purple pegasus wings. The neon-pink horn matched the stripes that started along his spine and faded into the purple of his body by his belly. He was the biggest, happiest pegacorn I’d ever seen.

  A little girl dressed as a superhero ran over to Ty. He lowered his head, and she wrapped her arms around his nose. Ty’s horn came within inches of whacking her mother in the head.

  Elron parked. I got out and opened the door for the cat. Without so much as a glance, the cat ran off into the darkness. I thought about warning her to avoid the cars but decided she could take care of herself.

  Over the top of the car, I could see kid after kid hurl themselves at Ty or timidly walk up to give him a single pat. Every one of them, even the kids who weren’t so sure a full-sized T. rex was a friend, left with a smile. The parents smiled too. Between taking pictures of their kids with him, they got a few pictures for themselves.