With every ounce of focus I could muster, I pointed the gun back over my left shoulder and gently squeezed the trigger. The vampire screamed, letting go long enough for me to suck in oxygen. A second shot, and it was off me, rolling around on the floor clutching at its face. I smelled the stench of scorched flesh. It turned my stomach, but the Darkness laughed with excitement. It liked the smell. Which only made me feel sick.
Rolling to the side, I pointed the UV gun and pulled the trigger over and over. Blast after blast of UV light hit the vamp in the chest until, between one moment and the next, it went up in flames and then exploded into dust.
The sprinklers overhead suddenly burst into action, turning me into a drowned rat. But at least it washed away the blood, both mine and the vamp's. Staggering to my feet, I tucked the gun into the waistband of my jeans and staggered toward the nearest flight of stairs. I wanted to push the Darkness back where it belonged, but I kept it with me. I needed it to overcome the pain and fatigue. It was the only way I was going to get the hell out of Dodge before I got caught.
I heard the faint sound of voices and the fall of booted feet coming my way. Hurry, the Darkness whispered. I ran.
Chapter Five
The minute I got to the top of the stairs, I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, willing the Darkness back into its hole. It didn't want to go. It snapped and snarled, but slowly slunk away to that place inside me where it lived. I couldn't help the small sigh of relief. One of these days I may lose control for good, but today was not that day.
My phone had two bars, so I sent Eddie and Kabita a text: Got him. A couple of workmen passed me in the hall and gave me some strange looks but didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if the looks were because I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be or because I was a hot mess.
I stared down at myself. Hot mess. For sure. I was covered from neck to toe in vamp blood. Fortunately, because vampires were technically dead, their blood was more blackish brown than red, so it looked like I'd taken a bath in motor oil. Actually, from the smell, some if it probably was motor oil.
I needed to get out of sight as quickly as possible, so I hurried toward the storage room Eddie had commandeered as his command post. The door was locked—obviously Eddie and Kabita weren't back yet—but the lock was easy enough to pick. Less than a minute, and I was inside.
I shrugged out of my stained jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair, wrinkling my nose at both the smell and the mess. I repressed a shiver. It may be hotter than the inside of a sauna above decks, but below decks, the air conditioner was cranked to North Pole levels.
There was blood splatter on my shirt, too, so I unbuttoned it and tossed it onto my jacket, leaving me in my tank top. Fortunately, that was clean. Unfortunately my boots and jeans were still filthy and I couldn't exactly run around barefoot in my underwear. At least the dark colors hid the worst of the stains. I could get back to the stateroom to clean up, put on a change of clothes. Except I hadn't brought a change of clothes.
The door swung open, and Eddie scurried in, Kabita hot on his heels. "Dear God," he said reeling back. "What is that stench?"
"Vampire blood with a light dusting of motor oil. It's very "in" this season."
Eddie frowned at my jacket and shirt draped over the chair. "Good thing you have a penchant for black. Some of those stains are never coming out. You really should change. People might notice."
"Possibly, but I don't have any other clothes."
"You got him?" Kabita asked, ignoring the byplay.
"Yeah."
"Were you able to question him?"
"He wasn't feeling very talkative." I gave them both a quick run-down on the vamp, including the fact that it was a soul vamp.
"I don't like this," Eddie said with a shake of his head. "Something feels very not right."
"You're telling me." I gathered my filthy clothes. "I'm going to take a quick shower." It would get the worst of the gunk off my skin and out of my hair.
"I will have the concierge arrange for rush laundry service," Eddie said.
"Um, great." It would be better than putting bloody clothes back on. "Then I'll put in a call to Trevor. He needs to know about this."
Eddie nodded in agreement. "That's an excellent idea. Clearly there is a reason someone set that vampire loose on this ship, and I can't imagine it was a good one."
I nodded and started to exit the room, but Eddie's voice stopped me.
"By the way, you should both get ready for the ball."
I stared first at him, then at Kabita. She shrugged. I turned back to Eddie. "What ball?"
"Why, the Grande Steampunk Ball, of course. It's the biggest event of the season, and it starts in"—he glanced at his pocket watch—"three hours. We have just enough time to eat and get ready."