Bite Me

she said, and she pointed at the next building.
    Tommy knew if he thought about it, he’d never do it, so he just started climbing up the corner of the building as fast as he could. He’d done this before. He didn’t remember it, but his body did. Climbing the wall like a cat. Jody was right behind him. As he reached the top of the wall he stopped and looked back. “Sunglasses,” he whispered so faintly that only someone with vampire hearing would hear.
    He wedged his right hand between the bricks, then reached into his shirt pocket, flung open the sunglasses, and put them on. He couldn’t climb with the laser in hishand. He’d have to clear the top, then grab the weapon out of his pants pocket.
    Jody had her glasses on, too. She nodded for him to go.
    He coiled, and sprang to catapult himself over the edge of the wall, but in midair a bright light went off in his head and he felt himself spinning, then a bone-crushing impact on the ground. Something had hit him, probably the rifle butt. He rolled over and looked up the wall.
    Jody was still clinging there, six feet below the edge, too far to be hit with the rifle. The blond vampire, his face charred, was turning the rifle, working the bolt. He was going to shoot her in the face.
    “Jody!”
    He saw her let go with one hand, reach for the small of her back, then there was another blinding light. He’d lost his sunglasses during the fall. Something splatted beside him on the pavement. He could smell burned flesh, and blood.
    “You okay?” she said.
    He felt a hand on his face. “I’m kinda blind. And I think I have a couple of broken ribs.” He blinked the blood tears out of his eyes, then saw something dark, circular on the pavement.
    “What’s that?”
    “That’s the top of his skull,” Jody said.
    Footsteps, then Abby was there. “That was awesome. Gruesome, but awesome. You were amazing, Countess.”
    “Not feeling all that amazing.”
    “You probably should drink some blood, Tommy. You’re kind of fucked up.”
    He took the plastic blood pack from her and bit into it, draining almost the whole pint in seconds, feeling his bones and skin knitting together. Then Abby snatched it away from him and started drinking herself.
    “I feel like death on toast. I probably shouldn’t have eaten that pigeon.”
    MARVIN
    Marvin ruffed three times fast, “Biscuit, biscuit, biscuit.” Then, as he pulled Cavuto around the corner and smelled the fourth dead one he ruffed again. “Another biscuit.” Then, mission accomplished. He sat.
    “Marvin!” Abby said. She dropped the empty blood bag and scratched between his ears, then fed him a Gummi bear.
    Rivera came around the corner with his Glock drawn. Jody stood, reached past the gun, and snagged the battery out of the cop’s inside pocket. Abby did the same to Cavuto, who leveled a long orange Super Soaker at her.
    “Really, Ass Bear?” she said. “Really?” She snatched the squirt gun out of his hand and backhanded it a full block down the street where it shattered.
    “I have a gun on you, Missy,” said Rivera.
    “Biscuit,” Marvin ruffed. Clearly there are three dead people here and part of a fourth, and biscuits are in order.
    Jody snatched Rivera’s Glock out of his hand so quickly he was still in aiming position when she popped the clip out of it. Cavuto started to draw the big Desert Eagle and Abby caught his arm and leaned in close. “Ninja, please, unless you’re going to use that to take your own life out of humiliation for the squirt gun, just let it go.” She turned and looked at Tommy, who was sitting splayed-legged on the sidewalk, holding his ribs. “This fucking vampy power rocks my deepest dark.” Then back to Cavuto. “I’d slap you around a little, but I’m feeling kinda nauseous.”
    “Yeah,” said Cavuto. “I get that. That’s how I know you’re around.”
    “So you three are, all, uh, them, ” said Rivera.
    “Not exactly them, ” Tommy said. “Jody just took the top off the head of one of them .” He pointed at the charred brainpan.
    “He was about to take you out with a sniper rifle,” Abby said. “That’s why I called. Thanks for just doing what I said and not being an assbag, by the way.”
    “You’ll find the rest of him along with the rifle on the roof,” Jody said.
    “That’s who called in the vampire cat attack?” Cavuto said.
    Tommy nodded. “There are at least three of them. Maybe two, now. Very old. They came in that black yacht