Club Dead

quietly. “Can you hear me?”
    I nodded just a trifle.
    “Good. Listen, I am going to get you a car. I’ll leave the keys up here by the bed when I get back. In the morning, you need to drive out of here and back to Alcide’s. Do you understand?”
    I nodded again. “Bye,” I said, trying to make my voice drowsy. “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure,” he said, and I heard the edge in his voice. With an effort, I kept my face straight.
    It’s hard to credit, but I actually fell asleep after they left. Bubba had evidently obeyed, and gone over the fence to arrange shelter for the day. The mansion became very quiet as the night’s revelries drew to a close. I supposed the werewolves were off having their last howl somewhere. As I was drifting off, I wondered how the other shape-shifters had fared. What did they do with their clothes? Tonight’s drama at Club Dead had been a fluke; I was sure they had a normal procedure. I wondered where Alcide was. Maybe he had caught that son of a bitch Newlin.
    I woke up when I heard the chink of keys.
    “I’m back,” Eric said. His voice was very quiet, and I had to open my eyes a little to make sure he was actually there. “It’s a white Lincoln. I parked out by the garage; there wasn’t room inside, which is a real pity. They wouldn’t let me get any closer to confirm what Bubba said. Are you hearing me?”
    I nodded.
    “Good luck.” Eric hesitated. “If I can disentangle myself, I’ll meet you in the parking garage at first dark tonight. If you aren’t there, I’ll go back to Shreveport.”
    I opened my eyes. The room was dark, still; I could see Eric’s skin glowing. Mine was, too. That scared the tar out of me. I had just stopped glowing from taking Bill’s blood (in an emergency situation), when here came another crisis, and now I was shining like a disco ball. Life around vampires was just one continuous emergency, I decided.
    “We’ll talk later,” Eric said ominously.
    “Thanks for the car,” I said.
    Eric looked down at me. He seemed to have a hickey on his neck. I opened my mouth, and then shut it again. Better not to comment.
    “I don’t like having feelings,” Eric said coldly, and he left.
    That was a tough exit line to top.

Chapter Eleven
    T HERE WAS A line of light in the sky when I crept out of the mansion of the king of Mississippi. It was a little warmer this morning, and the sky was dark with not just night, but rain. I had a little roll of my belongings under my arm. Somehow my purse and my black velvet shawl had made it here to the mansion from the nightclub, and I had rolled my high heels in the shawl. The purse did have the key to Alcide’s apartment in it, the one he’d loaned me, so I felt reassured that I could find shelter there if need be. I had the blanket from the bed folded neatly under my other arm. I’d made the bed up, so its loss would not be obvious for a little while.
    What Bernard had not loaned me was a jacket. When I’d snuck out, I’d snagged a dark blue quilted jacket that had been hanging on the banister. I felt very guilty. I’d never stolen anything before. Now I had taken the blanket and the jacket. My conscience was protesting vigorously.
    When I considered what I might have to do to get out of this compound, taking a jacket and a blanket seemed pretty mild. I told my conscience to shut up.
    As I crept through the cavernous kitchen and opened the back door, my feet were sliding around in the elastic-sided slippers Bernard had included in the bundle of clothes he’d brought to my room. The socks and slippers were better than teetering in the heels, by a long shot.
    I hadn’t seen anyone so far. I seemed to have hit the magic time. Almost all the vampires were securely in their coffins, or beds, or in the ground, or whatever the heck they did during the day. Almost all the Were creatures, of whatever persuasion, were not back from their last night’s binge or were already sleeping it off. But I was vibrating with tension, because at any moment this luck might run out.
    Behind the mansion, there was indeed a smallish swimming pool, covered for the winter by a huge black tarp. It had weighted edges that extended far beyond the actual perimeter of the pool. The tiny pool house was completely dark. I moved silently down a pathway created with uneven flagstones, and after I passed through a gap in a dense hedge, I found myself in a paved area. With my enhanced vision, I was able to see instantly that I