Page 4 of Kiss of Light

Denny had come to New York as a refugee. A trained medic and engineer, the only job he could find in the city was flipping burgers. Until Tala had come along.

She’d rescued him from a beating by a bunch of racists, who were now reassessing their opinion of blondes after having their arms and legs broken.

Of course, it helped that she wasn’t an ordinary blonde.

Denny had found out pretty quickly she wasn’t human and weirdly, that made their friendship stronger. Now he was her right hand man and one of the very few mortals Tala trusted.

“What does it mean for the hunt?” he asked.

“It means I’m going to have to rethink my strategy. The bloodsuckers aren’t in this for the money. They’ll work together. And unlike the rest of us, they know exactly what he looks like.” She glanced at him. “You’re absolutely sure your intel is accurate?”

“Have I ever let you down?” His dark face wrinkled reproachfully. “He’s definitely in New Orleans. That’s where his mistress is.Oneof his mistresses.”

“He plays the field, huh?”

“The women I talked to were all very, um,enthusiastic, about his prowess. But he left for New Orleans two days ago and as far as I know, no-one else is aware of that.”

She settled back in her seat, satisfied.

“So the other hunters will be running round New York while we scoop him up down south. Sweet.”

“What about the vamps? If it comes to a straight fight, you’re going to need more than your blades.”

He was right. It was hard to dispatch a Vetali.

A few things worked. Decapitation. Daylight. Silver to the heart. But vamps were strong and fast, and even a shaitun would struggle against them. Maybe she could take one or two out, but a whole crew? Forget it.

“I’m going to need some extra firepower.”

“Conventional?”

“Magical.”

“Does that mean…?”

“Yeah. Let’s make a pitstop on the way.”

“Okay,” Denny said reluctantly. “But just so you know, Mama Xiaoling gives me the creeps.”

“You and me both, D. You and me both.”

Mama Xiaoling’s herbal medicine shop was in a narrow side street in Chinatown. It had an all-you-can-eat diner on one side and a liquor store on the other. Faded posters in the window advertised cures for obesity, hair loss and erectile dysfunction.

Tala was pretty sure she stocked illegal items like tiger bone and pangolin scales, which made her sick to the stomach. But that wasn’t why she was here.

She threw a glance at Denny. He had parked the car and refused to get out. She couldn’t blame him. Mama Xiaoling was strange.

She pushed her way through the door into the moodily-lit interior, a bell tinkling to announce her arrival.

As always, she was unprepared for the blast of warm, spicy odours that assailed her nostrils. They weren’t unpleasant, just intense.

One wall was taken up by shelves crammed with jars labelled in Chinese. A glass-topped counter ran the length of the shop, displaying more expensive remedies in ornately carved bottles. Perched at one end, an ornamental cat waved its paw back and forth with a mechanical whirr.

But of the owner, there was no sign. Tala wandered to the waving cat and gently tapped on its head for luck. Then she cleared her throat.

“Mama Xiaoling? Are you here?”

“Hello, shaitun.”

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