Vampire - Deep Midnight Part 51

Roberto pulled out his badge. "Polizia!" he said firmly, and this time, he took Jordan's hand, dragging her along.

They hopped on to the next water taxi that came along. Roberto spoke to the driver.

They sped over the open water, then slowed as they followed the taxi ahead through various narrow ca.n.a.ls.

"Where is she going?" Jordan murmured.

"I know this place . . . it's near the trattoria. She's going to the church," Roberto said.

She glanced at him, and suddenly something stirred in her mind.

Mistrust!

The water taxi came to the dock. While Roberto spoke with the driver in Italian, Jordan made a run for it. Skirting one piazza, she raced down a narrow alley, studying the buildings around her. She saw an arrow directing a left turn with the words Campo di Fratelli. Campo ... it meant a square with a church. She followed the sign and sighed with relief when she saw a notice board in front, listing the times for Ma.s.s. She started for it, pa.s.sing an outdoor cafe where a few people were sharing drinks.

There was a wine decanter on a table right by the street. She deftly swept it from the table, and poured out the wine as she raced for the church, praying that no one had seen her.

She ran into the church. There were a number of people in it, their heads bowed in prayer. One or two looked up.

She looked around for an urn of holy water, found it, and filled her carafe. As she was doing so, she saw that a frowning priest was walking toward her. She flipped out her cross as she filled the carafe. "Catholic, father. Honestly. I swear to you!"

With her carafe half full, she started to run out of the church-and ran straight into a man. As she started to apologize, she gave a nervous laugh instead.

She had crashed straight into Raphael.

"Jordan!" he said with pleasure. "I had heard that you left Italy. I heard that your cousin is sick as well, I'm so sorry-"

"It's all right. But you have to help me. Cindy is in danger."

She grabbed his arm. "Raphael, there are vampires, and I'm not crazy. The contessa is part of an awful group of-of-bloodsuckers, and I'm afraid that even the cops may be in on it. Come on!"

"Come on?" He tugged back a little as she dragged him. "Where?"

"The deconsecrated church. Please, help me!"

He let out a deep sigh, but allowed her to drag him along.

"This street is shorter," he told her.

"No ... I need .. . first. . ."

"What? What?"

She saw a small trash can just outside the door to an office building. It would do. "I need water, ca.n.a.l water."

"Jordan, please. Let me buy you a drink-"

"I need ca.n.a.l water. Hold this!" She handed him the holy water, dumped the trash, and filled the can with water from the ca.n.a.l.

It wasn't as easy to run with the trash can, but Jordan moved as quickly as she could.

Raphael followed.

When they reached the church, she hesitated at the door. Shadows seemed to be all around the church. She felt a strange, very cold, breeze. She closed her eyes, and imagined the sounds of whispers ...

Wings in the night.

Cindy was in there; she was certain.

She went up the steps, Raphael behind her.

There were no candles lit within the church. There was no light.

Suddenly, light flashed from behind her, illuminating the aisle. "You carry buckets of icy cold water. I am the one really prepared, with something useful- like a flashlight,"

Raphael said.

"Good, shine it up ahead."

He did so.

Jordan started for the coffin that stood in front of the altar. She reached it, knelt down, and looked.

Cindy was within it.

She was afraid. She would touch Cindy and see that her head was no longer attached ...

"She's breathing."

"We've got to get her out of here."

But before either of them could move, there was a voice from the entry.

"There you are!" Roberto Capo. And he sounded angry.

Jordan s.n.a.t.c.hed the holy water from Raphael. As Roberto came striding toward her, she tossed a portion of the water at him.

It splashed against his face. He stopped, stunned, and wiped his face. He swore in Italian, something that ended with, "Americana!"

"Roberto, I'm so sorry! I thought that-"

She broke off, suddenly chilled to the bone. Someone .. . something else was here. She turned slowly to look at Raphael. He was staring at her.

She tossed some of the water at him.

"Jordan!" he said indignantly, wiping his face as well.

"This is crazy, and must-stop!" Roberto said firmly. He reached into his pocket; for a moment, Jordan thought he was going for a gun.

He pulled out a cell phone.

"I am calling headquarters. You are all-"

"Look, will you? Cindy is in a coffin!" Jordan said.

"I am calling headquarters," Roberto repeated, flipping the phone open.

But before he could dial, they were all startled by a sudden flurry of wings, a cacophony of sound that grew louder and louder. Shadows seemed to loom over them, even in the darkness.

"Bats!" Roberto murmured, looking at the phone again.

A shadow descended.

The phone seemed to fly from his hand.

He spun around, facing the entry.

Nari Contessa della Trieste was walking down the aisle toward them, wearing a black Carnevale cape, her hair flowing free behind her, a smile of pure amus.e.m.e.nt on her face.

She stopped several feet in front of them.

"Silly, silly, man! As if you can call the police against me!" When she reached Roberto, she swatted him, as if he were a fly.

That simple touch was enough to send him flying far across the church and smashing into one of the pillars.

"You, you, you ..." Raphael sputtered.

"Cat got your tongue? Or just your tongue in English?" Nari teased.

Raphael looked petrified. He reached toward Jordan, wanting the holy water. She let him have it. He was so nervous that the carafe fell.

And spilled against the floor.

Again, the contessa laughed.

"How kind of you!" she said, and another step brought her to Raphael. With the barest effort, she flicked him aside.

He crashed to the floor, hard. Jordan watched as he tried to lift his head, groaned, and fell back to the floor again.

"And dear, dear, Jordan! Here we are at last! A day of reckoning after all this time."

"What a b.i.t.c.h you are! "Jordan said. She still had her final weapon-the can of seawater. Nari shrugged. "I am Diana, G.o.ddess of the hunt!" she said. "And you, dear girl, are the hunted."

She lifted her arms, stretching them to the rafters.

The flurry of wings began again.

Then a dozen shadows descended. They came to the floor and slowly took shape, encircling Jordan.

The figures wore masks and capes. Carnevale masks. Some, the expressionless theater faces of Venice. Some, creations that were more like Halloween masks ... wolves, aliens, monsters, among them.

As Jordan spun around, looking at them all, the circle tightened.

They came closer .. .

She waited, then picked up the trash can with its seawater. She tossed it out.

To her amazement, the monster-faced creature she hit started to scream. It stopped, swirling around in horror.

It began to fall, to melt . . . with a sizzling sound.

She stared.

They all stared as the creature kept melting, and melting, spilling out over the ground in a black ooze.

The eyes of the monsters, and the contessa, moved from the black ooze to Jordan's face. She saw the amazement in them, and then the anger.

"Take her," the contessa said softly.

The group hesitated.

"Take her!" the contessa screamed.

Jordan began tossing the water again, but there wasn't enough. The creatures screamed and beat at themselves where the water touched them, but they came on.

As they moved in on her, they pulled off their masks.

They were people. Old, young, male, female. No. Not people. They were smiling at her now, smiling angrily, snarling ... growling, moving in.

She threw the last of the water. Another creature went down.

But the rest were upon her.

She screamed as rough hands reached for her. She waited to feel the pain as the gleaming fangs sank in.

But none of them broke her skin. She was lifted, struggling frantically, and thrown upon the altar. She kept screaming, kicking, shouting, flailing, as she found herself tied down.

Then, to her amazement, the creatures moved away.

She was to be the contessa's supper! she thought.

But Nari merely came near the altar, standing in front of the coffin where Cindy lay in her deep, deep sleep, oblivious to it all.

Then, twisting her head, Jordan saw him.

The dottare.

The man who had appeared all around Venice. The man she had followed.