The Becoming

During all this, I'm shifting from one foot to the other, swallowing back my impatience and fighting down a wave of anger. When he's finally completed the cigar ritual, he raises indifferent eyes to mine.

David is a mortal.

He sounds suspiciously like Avery. And what's your point?

We don't get involved in mortal affairs. Not when it involves the possibility that our identities could be revealed in the course of an investigation.

Our identities? Just whose identity are you worried about?

He makes himself comfortable on a deck chair and leans back, the hand with the cigar resting on the arm. He acts like this is a social visit.

Not at all, he replies. I know how serious this is to you. I just don't know what I can do to help.

Well, let me tell you. You can act like a cop. You can help me file a report, put out an APB on David, act like you give a damn that my best friend and partner is missing. Those things would be a good start.

Williams's eyes turn hard. My getting involved would be a mistake.

Why?

Because it's very possible your friend was taken in retaliation for your escaping the Revengers the other night. If that's the case, opening an investigation won't help. It will only call attention to the fact that you have influence in the police department. Not a good thing.

I stare at him a moment. But it was a cop who stopped me. One of yours.

Not one of mine, I assure you.

Williams climbs to his feet, flicks ash over the balcony railing, and turns to me. Not a city cop. The Revengers are state patrolmen.

He's right—a distinction I hadn't made until now.

Believe me, William's continues, I do my best to discover their identities and weed them out.

Weed them out? There's no mistaking what he's saying . How do you manage that?

He shrugs. Accident, hot call goes bad. Fortunately, we haven't had to deal with it much lately. Donaldson's activity is what triggered this new rash of vampire hunting. It would have helped if you'd gotten a badge or car number.

Well, forgive me for not thinking too clearly. I'd only been a vampire for a day or two, I wasn't expecting to be kidnapped. And if what you say is true, and the Revenger's took David, why haven't they contacted me? What would they want?

Their intention may simply be to persuade you to move on. It's not often they stumble on a vampire with close friends or family members to use as leverage. Most vampires are too old to have living relatives. In your case, though, there's David, your parents. I think Avery mentioned a boyfriend, too.

At that, what little patience I have left melts like ice cream under the heat of mounting hostility towards Chief Williams. “Are you saying they'll go after my parents next? Or my boyfriend? And there's nothing you can do about it?"

Williams holds up a hand. “What I'm saying is that there may not be anything I can do about it. You got the better of them, not something that happens very often. But look what's happened since. You've lost your home, your partner is missing. It's very possible if you leave San Diego, relocate somewhere else, David might be released."

" Might be released. You don't know that for sure."

He puffs calmly on the cigar, ignoring the rising tide of my anger. No. I don't know anything for sure, including if they even have David. But what alternative do you have? I know this isn't easy, but sometimes the best thing a vampire can do is move on. We've all had to do it. Word will get around that Donaldson is gone and things will quiet down. It's even possible that you might be able to return to San Diego in a year or two.

And what do I tell my parents in the meantime?

Tell them the truth. Your home has been destroyed. What do you really have to tie you here? I understand from Dr. Avery that relations between you and your family are strained.

How does he know that? Then I remember. Avery was probably reading my thoughts at the hospital from the moment I came in.

But that doesn't explain why he would share them with Williams.

Williams shrugs. He thought I should know. It might help me to persuade you to do the right thing.

And that's to leave San Diego.

For the time being. Let things cool down.

And this is really what Avery wants?

At that, Williams turns away from me, shielding his eyes and his thoughts from my scrutiny. Finally, he says softly, “Avery has developed a soft spot for you. He isn't thinking too clearly right now. He needs a cooler head to prevail, which is why he had you contact me. He knew I could be impersonal about this situation where he ca

"So, he doesn't want me to leave?"

Williams doesn't answer.

It rankles, but I don't see that I have any option except to go along with him, at least for now. “Do you have any way to get a message to the Revengers?"

Williams looks at me, eyebrow raised. “Why?"

"Because I'm willing to do as you request, but only after David is released unharmed."

His eyes narrow. “Do you mean that?"

"Does that mean you can get a message to them?"

"If I answer that, in a court of law, it would be an admission that I know who they are. I'm not saying that I do."

Spoken like a damned lawyer. I snap, “How badly do you want me gone?"

Williams shifts away from the balcony, crossing into the living room. At the door, he pauses. He doesn't look around, but his voice floats back across the quiet room. “I'll see what I can do. I'll call you at Avery's tonight."

I wait until the door is closed behind him to let my mind open. I don't trust him. And my instincts tell me that as crazy as it sounds, he not only knows about the Revengers, he may very well be one of them. Which makes me wonder why Avery trusts him so much.

If he does.

But Avery is the one who suggested I contact Chief Williams.

My stomach churns with impatience. It doesn't make sense. Why would Avery do that? He doesn't act like he wants me gone, either, which is what Williams implied. And if the Revengers have David, why not just contact me and offer to make the switch—

my life for David's?

What in hell is going on?

Chapter Twenty-Six

I have no intention of sitting idly by, whiling away the hours until Williams gets back to me. But what to do? My first impulse is to call Avery, tell him everything that happened and see how he reacts.

But he is a doctor and there are patients who depend on him.

Reluctantly, I decide to drive out to Mission Beach and see what progress has been made on the investigation into the arson. I say reluctantly because I'm not sure I'm up to facing the devastation again. But it beats sitting alone at the condo or at Avery's wallowing in my fear. It's not much, but it gets me moving.

There's yellow police tape all around the property. There is a notice posted against the gate advising that this is a crime scene and to keep out. And yet, there are two teenage boys poking around the debris. I literally have to take a deep breath, no easy trick for a vampire, to calm myself before I approach them.

"Mind telling me what you guys are doing?"

The taller of the two turns to face me. He has a silver frame in his hands, what's left of a picture of my grandmother. “What's it to you?” he demands, puffing his chest like a preening pigeon.

I snatch the frame out of his hand and quick as lightning, back him into the fence. His face flashes a warning, but I'm quicker. I grab the fist he's aimed at my head and force it back to his side, squeezing his fingers together until he yelps in pain.