Biting Cold: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES SERIES)

at the map he’d transmitted. “It’s about one mile from the House.”
    “That looks like it’s in the middle of a neighborhood,” Ethan said.
    “It was going to be, until the developers lost funding. Now it’s empty lots and empty buildings.”
    “If they didn’t finish the subdivision, how does a future park do us any good?” Luc asked.
    “They didn’t finish the houses ,” Jeff said. “But they finished the park. They decided the best way to sell the lots was to create the park first. They had a priest bless it. They were pretty optimistic they’d sell the lots quickly. Fortunately for us, they didn’t, and the park is sitting there, all blessed and whatnot, but completely empty.”
    “Good find,” Ethan said.
    “Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “It’s pretty awesome. Like finding the Higgs boson.”
    Silence.
    “Aw, no physics fans here? Learn things you must,” Jeff said in his best Yoda voice.
    I rolled my eyes. “So we have a place,” I said. “What’s next?”
    “Goods,” Seth said, putting a canvas tote bag on the table.
    “Helen was very helpful in gathering the materials,” Paige said. “There are a few extras she’s looking for now, although it might take a little more time to find them.”
    “Which we don’t have a lot of,” Ethan said. “Mallory?”
    “Gabriel gave me permission,” she said, “as did Baumgartner. Not that he had a lot of choice.”
    “Oh?” Ethan asked.
    “Gabriel made it clear the problem was ours to solve. And if we didn’t solve it, Gabriel would solve it for us. In a much messier fashion.”
    Ethan grinned slyly. That was the kind of bravado he appreciated.
    “Do you know what to do?” Catcher asked.
    “Yes. I’ve finagled a bit of the familiar spell and tweaked the recipe. This will be a much less minor intrusion. I also wrote down some counterspells for Catcher, just in case something goes wrong. Which it won’t. But I only have a ten-minute window. That’s how much time Gabriel’s giving me to use magic again.”
    “Is that enough?” Catcher asked.
    “It will be enough,” Mallory said. “I will make it enough.”
    Ethan looked at me. “Are you ready?”
    “As I will ever be.” I looked at Seth. “Does he have any particular weaknesses? Things I can exploit?”
    “His wings are vulnerable. They’re sensitive to pain, and they’re a major source of his balance. But an injury there will likely make him even testier, and possibly harder to predict. Otherwise, his anatomy is similar to yours.”
    I nodded, katas running through my head, when the door burst open. Malik rushed in.
    Ethan stood up. “What’s wrong?”
    “The radio is reporting that Dominic is terrorizing a building on the South Side. He’s set it on fire, and there are still people inside. Cops and fire squads are on their way, but they won’t be able to do much against him.”
    I stood up, too, my heart pounding. “Why that building?”
    “It’s a way station for crack in the area.”
    “He’s playing avenger again,” Ethan said.
    “Avenger without conscience,” Seth said. “And if he thinks the responders are hindering his progress, he’ll cut them down, too.”
    “How do they know it’s Dominic?” I wondered.
    “I am quoting here: ‘He has giant bat wings.’”
    “That does narrow it down.” I looked at Ethan. “There’s no time for practice. If we can move quickly enough, we can get him away from the building and let the CPD calm things down.”
    He nodded his agreement. “Luc, assemble the guards and have them circle the House. If this goes bad, I don’t want it rebounding back on Cadogan. Malik, you’re in charge, although I suppose that doesn’t really need to be said since you are still Master.”
    Malik and Luc nodded.
    “We don’t have all the supplies we need,” Paige interjected, “not enough to guarantee accuracy.”
    “We don’t have the luxury of a guarantee,” Ethan said. “Figure out a way to make do with what you have.”
    She looked up at Seth, who nodded. “We’ll make it work. Summon, nullify, eradicate. That’s our plan.”
    But when did such plans ever go smoothly?
    We got dressed quietly. I pulled on my entire suit of leather—pants, bandeau top, jacket. It would help a bit against the night’s chill, but more important, it would also protect me against errant sword slices better than jeans or cotton could.
    I pulled my hair into a ponytail and made sure the bit of worry wood was still in my pocket. It