Kate Daniels 01 - Magic Bites

side, his head supported by the arm bent at his elbow. “Laugh, Kate. It’s the last opportunity you’ll have.”
    I shrugged. In the yard the squirrel hunter took a swipe at a smaller, hideous thing that darted to nip at the tuff of fur in his hand. The smaller creature yelped, readied for another pass, and froze, its short, nearly translucent tail quivering, gripped by an invisible hand. It stood stiff, thick legs far apart. The quivering spread up its spine, until its neck trembled. The phantom hand squeezed hard one last time and released it. The creature jerked and collapsed. Shaking, it gained its feet and stumbled away, whining softly, its tail between its legs.
    “Children misbehave sometimes,” Bono said. “They need to be punished. If you’re wondering, I can do it to my women, too.”
    He stared at the big creature and it walked toward us. “Let’s get the introductions out of the way,” the upir said. “This is my eldest son at the moment. I call him Arag. Arag, this is a future dinner. Future dinner, this is Arag.”
    Arag’s human eyes, sunken deep into his deformed skull, teared up.
    “What the hell did you . . .”
    “Baboon.” The upir shook his head. “Strong, cruel, aggressive. Unfortunately, he got a little more from me than from his mother. He can speak. Say something for Kate, Arag.”
    The monster looked down at his hands. He shifted from foot to foot, unsure, and emitted a long distorted screech, like nails scraping against chalkboard. “Bloood,” he shrieked.
    “Sad, isn’t it?” Bono smiled. “He walks the Earth, a pitiful, wretched creature, uttering words at random, longing for something—he himself doesn’t know what—and hating everyone and everything. I tried ripping out his vocal cords, but the damn things just grow back.”
    “Blooood.” Arag sighed.
    The upir waved him away. “Go on.”
    Arag returned to his post in the yard. The upir sighed. “I’m thinking of killing him when we’re done here. You think I should?”
    I swallowed more wine.
    “It won’t help,” Bono said.
    I shrugged and drank some more. “Why make an alliance with Olathe?”
    “Why not? It was a good plan. Sooner or later the half-breeds and the necromancers would’ve warred, and Olathe would take over the vampire stables. I’d have enough vampire meat to gorge myself sick. Vampire flesh is the best, Kate. It’s aged and flavorful, like a fine wine.”
    “You ate shapechangers, too.”
    “Their magic strengthens me.” Bono grimaced. “But they taste like shit.”
    His fingers touched my hair. He picked up a strand and raised it to his nostrils.
    “I bet the original plan was to put a bun in Olathe’s oven.”
    He bared his teeth. “The bitch was barren—can you believe that?” He twisted my hair around his fingers and looked through it at the moon. I pulled away and he let the strands slip from his hand with a chuckle. “But then I stumbled onto you. And you’re not barren, Kate.”
    “Why me?”
    He leaned close, his breath hot on my cheek. “I know what you are. I’ve climbed the hill and sniffed the grave of that rotting sack of bones you called Father. I smelled his stink and I know his blood isn’t in your veins. And I know whose is. All of that power crammed into a tight, sweet little package. Did you know your real father hunted my kind thousands of years ago? Your puny little mind can’t comprehend the extent of my hate for him. You will give me a son, Kate. And all of the magic of your bloodline will belong to me.”
    He laughed softly and I had to swallow a scream. “Why did you kill Greg?”
    “He was getting too close to me. Olathe’s little subterfuge failed to fool him. I knew I would have to kill him sooner or later. The trick was to do it so you’d leave your precious warded house and come after the killer.”
    “You wanted me to confront Olathe. You wanted to know if my blood was stronger than hers.”
    “Yes. It took you so long to figure it out. I practically drew a map for you. I hand-fed you every crumb. All you had to do was to follow the trail but you meandered and backtracked. An ape could’ve gotten it faster. But then, you and an ape are only a small step apart.”
    He licked my cheek. “The magic is thick tonight and I grow hungry. There is a fresh corpse waiting for me at my place. And more will be coming. There are many necromancers among the People who would rather serve me than that fool on his gilded throne. Let’s end