Page 29 of Blood from the Marrow
“But Sayah,” Zuri agreed, thoughts moving too fast to catch. A single bullet laced with a toxic potion nearly killed Elena. For all they knew, it could have been crafted by a single witch. One witch could have taken out one of the oldest vampires moving around. And how many of Elena’s boys had been killed? At least three, right?
“Let me in.” Marisol reached for her hand. “Please.”
“Why would someone willing to play as dirty as Sayah kill witches capable of making vampire-ending potions?” The suspicion solidified as she spoke. “She invited Elena into her home to ambush her. Why would she give up an asset like that?” Zuri shook her head. “She’d take every single advantage she could get.”
Marisol searched Zuri’s face like that might help her understand more quickly. “You think the witches were working with Sayah all along? But Narine didn’t seem to know Sayah was aware of her movements, much less plotting her own attack.”
Zuri nodded. “Maybe Sayah won the witches over to her side?” She leaned back to consider the angles. “She was obviously keeping tabs on what Narine was doing with Baylor or whatever the hell his name was. Doesn’t seem impossible that she would know what witch or witches or coven made that shit. That they’d be working for her now.”
“Are there rules about using the craft for things like this?”
“It sure as fuck isn’t normal for witches to get so deeply involved with a vampire like that. They couldn’t know that Narine would be successful. That they wouldn’t paint targets on themselves if Narine failed.” She shook her head. “I don’t think there’s enough money in the world to get me to take that kind of risk. And I don’t know any witches who would spend the time it would take to tailor something for vampires…”
“You’re involved with a vampire like that,” Marisol said with a raised brow.
Zuri sighed. “Yeah, well. I’m a moron.” She stood.
“Where are you going?” Fear Zuri never wanted to see again darkened Marisol’s expression.
“To start somewhere I understand, Bambi,” she said with her hand on Marisol’s cheek because thinking in terms of vampire wars was incomprehensible. “If Sayah thinks she’s got this secret witch weapon, I’m going to form my coven and take them out,” she decided, as if she had any idea how she was going to do it. Having something to do felt as solid as the hammer in her hand had been. Felt like movement and progress and not waiting to die.
“I’m going to call Clara,” Marisol said like she’d decided in that very moment.
“No,” Zuri said reflexively. “Not without me.”
Marisol’s eyes crinkled when a faint smile crept up one corner of her mouth. “I don’t need you to protect me?—”
“It’s not about protecting you,” she lied. “We don’t know who the hell she is. What she wants. It could be a trap?—”
“If she wanted to snatch me off the street, she could have done it already,” Marisol shot back, irritatingly rational.
“Fine, so wait until I get back from?—”
“From what?” Bambi crossed her arms in way she probably thought was so fucking cute. “You don’t know how long it’s going to take you to start a coven. Don’t you need a relic?—”
“We’ll call your bio mom first then. See what she wants and then?—”
Marisol wrapped her arms around Zuri’s shoulders. “You know we don’t have time to lose,” she said gently, forehead pressed to Zuri’s. “You must have considered the same thing that’s keeping me up at night. The thing that makes it impossible to eat or drink or breathe.”
Zuri closed her eyes and hugged Marisol so tight that not a speck of space was left between them. “That Sayah can show up at any time. That she could blow up this whole building to get to Elena.”
Giving life to the crippling fear made Zuri want to puke. She held Bambi tighter, wishing she could just get her and Elena the fuck out of here. Wishing there was anywhere they could run where Sayah wouldn’t follow.
“She’s probably toying with us,” Marisol guessed. “But that’s not going to last forever.”
“At some point the cat is going to get tired of playing with her food.”
Marisol straightened, her determined gaze fixed on Zuri. “And I’m nobody’s fucking mouse.”
Pride hit Zuri like a shot of pure adrenaline. Like lightning striking a tree and setting it ablaze from the inside out. It rushed through her bloodstream, making her fingers tingle and her chest expand.
“The f-bomb, Bambi?” Zuri couldn’t stop her smile. “Have I corrupted you this much?”
Marisol gave her a lopsided grin. Standing there, Zuri knew that they didn’t have the luxury of doing one thing at a time.They needed everything all at once and it still probably wouldn’t be enough.
“Imagine if I can get a bunch of healers like me,” Marisol said with her fingers at the base of Zuri’s neck. “There’s no way Sayah would be ready for that. Maybe she’ll even decide it’s not worth the fight. Things can just go back to normal without any more violence.”
Zuri sighed. She had no hope that the fighting was over, but she had to agree that the more tools in their fucked up toolbox, the better their odds. She relented. “If you’re going to see that woman, promise me you’ll take Lib with you.”
