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jump from a sitting position without using my hands.
 I ll  My throat dried up and I swallowed before starting again.  I ll just have to move fast. Put my
hands down and 
 Clay! Nick s loud whisper cut through the construction yard.  There you  He stopped at Clay s
shoulder.  Holy shit.
A quick confused glance at Clay, as if to say  Why are you just standing there? then Nick leapt
forward. Clay s hand slammed into the middle of his chest, stopping him.
 Spook them and they ll attack.
 What s  Zoe began as she came up behind Nick. She saw me.  Good lord. Don t move. They must
be rabid 
 It s something else, Clay said.  Some disease from the portal. Elena? I m going to jump in there.
When they go for me, get out.
I shifted my gaze to the pacing rats. The biggest one was perched on the edge, as if calculating the
distance to my belly, snapping at the others as they jostled him.
 Elena? Clay said.  I ll be okay. I can handle rats. Better me than you right now.
I hesitated, then nodded. Clay slowly lowered himself to a half-crouch, ready to jump. Then something
hit his shoulder. Zoe, knocking him out of the way. Before anyone could react, she raced toward me.
 Run! she said.
The king rat jumped, the others flying behind him in a stream of brown fur. One hit my side. Another my
head, claws catching in my hair as it scrambled for a hold. I was already up, barreling forward. Hands
clamped around my arm. Clay yanked me out and passed me to Nick, then dove past me.
I turned to see Zoe covered in rats, at least six of them, hanging off her arms and clothes as she swung
wildly, trying to get them free. More attacked from the ground, lunging at her legs. Clay kicked the
nearest one, bones crunching as his foot made contact. He grabbed one off Zoe and whipped it into the
brick pile.
Nick steered me out of the way, then ran back to help. By then, the rats were already dispersing, hissing
and squeaking as they ran for cover. Nick snatched the last one off Zoe s back. The rat twisted around
to bite him, but Clay s fist knocked it out of Nick s grip, and it hit the ground, convulsing as it died.
I hurried over to them. Zoe was shivering, eyes wide and wild, as she looked herself over.
 They they re gone, right? she said, teeth chattering.  Oh, God. That was  She rubbed her hands
over her arms as the bites healed.
 Thank you, I said.
A weak smile.  Not much of a sacrifice. Give me a couple of minutes, and I ll be good as new. Wounds
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heal and, whatever they carry, I can t catch. These clothes are garbage now, though.
 Doesn t look like they ripped anything, Nick said.
 That s okay. They re still going in the trash. She wrapped her arms around herself and gave a hard
shudder, then shook it off.  Well, now that I ve revealed myself to be a total wimp&  She waved off our
protests.  I can talk the talk, but as a predator, I m a washout.
She looked at Clay.  Thanks. I know you were just getting them out of the way before they went after
Elena, but thanks. I was about ten seconds away from doing my Jamie Lee Curtis impression and
screaming like a total sissy-girl.
 I was about five seconds away from it myself, I said.  Psycho killer rats. That s a new one for me.
Whatever disease they re carrying must be making them  I stopped, my head jerking up.  Clay?
Nick? Did you get bit 
Clay put up his hand to stop me as I sprinted over, ready to check him myself.  They only got Zoe. He
glanced at Nick, frowning.  You didn t 
 You didn t leave any for me, remember? Deprived again.
 Left you one.
 Whichyou killed.
 Are you sure everyone s okay? Zoe said.  I smell blood.
Clay lifted his arm to check the bandage. It was soaked with blood.
 Shit, he said.  That must be what the rats smelled.
 Here, I said.  Let me 
He waved me off.  Got a few more strips on this shirt. You work on picking up a trail. I m guessing if
Nick circled back, he lost the zombie, right?
Nick nodded.  We both did, so we came to grab Elena to see if she can pick up the trail. There s
roofing tar over there, and I can t smell a damned thing except that. Where s 
 Lost him too, I muttered.  So much for our bird in the hand. Come on.
We made it just to the other side of the trailer when Clay s head jerked up, gaze going north, following
something. A second later, running footsteps thundered through the construction yard. A young man in a
security uniform raced around the corner, a sandwich in hand. The absentee guard, returning to his post,
he hoped, before anyone noticed he d been gone.
Clay swore. Zoe stepped closer to Nick and motioned for us to head toward the road. The guard saw
us, lips parting as if to call out. Zoe waved with one hand and gripped Nick s arm with the other, then
she motioned to the far road. Just two couples taking a shortcut through an empty construction site. The
guard nodded and waved us on. We d have to pick up the trail off the site.
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Logically, there had to be a trail. Three, in fact Rose s, the bowler-hatted man s and Hull s but we
couldn t find them.
Twice I caught that whiff of rot that told me one of the zombies had been by, but after following them for
a few feet other scents got in the way. Hull was even tougher, lacking that special zombie odor. His story
might be complete fiction, but if hedid come through that portal, that was why we hadn t picked his trail
up at the site.
After twenty minutes, the blood seeping from Clay s arm had soaked through a third bandage. We
decided or I insisted and Nick backed me up to take Clay back to the hotel so Jeremy could have a
look.
Not wanting to walk down the road trailing blood, we stopped in an alley to apply a fourth bandage
while I called Jeremy and told him not to expect that Cabbagetown delivery, but to return to the hotel for
Clay.
 There goes another shirt, Clay said as he handed me the remains of his T-shirt.
 Here, Nick said.  Use mine.
 No, mine s garbage already.
As I tore a strip for the bandage, I couldn t help noticing Zoe& hovering. All three of us turned to look
at her, perched on a trash bin, leaning toward Clay, gaze fixed on his bloodied arm.
 The answer is no, Clay said.  Yeah, it s going to waste, but it s not teatime, so stop drooling.
 Ha-ha. I was just considering whether I should offer to help.
 By sucking up the rest of it?
 No, by drooling. You must be used to that, Professor, students drooling over you. She hopped off the
trash can.  In this case, though, it might be more welcome than I suspect it usually is. I could stop the
bleeding.
 How? I said.
 Vampire saliva stops blood flow. Keeps our dinner from bleeding out once we re done feeding. I can
do that here.
 Do I wanna askhow ? Clay said.
 Normally, I d lick the affected area, which I know neither of us wants, so may I suggest some discreet
expectoration onto that bandage?
I looked at Clay. He nodded, grunted a thanks and I handed Zoe the bandage.
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Zoe s saliva did the trick. Ten minutes later, as we walked down Bay Street, Clay s bandage was still
white. But while that meant he wasn t strolling downtown wearing a bloodied bandage, he was still
half-naked. With each honk or whistle, Clay s hands jammed deeper into his pockets and he stepped a
little farther into the shadow of store awnings.
We d been searching for a taxi since leaving the museum but, like everyone else, they seemed to have [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]