Damian's Oracle

"You hungry?" Traci asked both of them. "I was just making a midnight snack. I can't stop eating."

"You're eating for three," Ving reminded her.

"I know, I know," Traci grated. "As long as I don't look it!"

"No, thanks," Sofia said. Traci disappeared around the corner to the kitchen. Sofia waited, staring blankly at the football game on TV. Ving sat beside her, and she resisted the urge to bolt for the door.

"Hey, Sofi! Linda says you make a killer grilled chicken," Traci called from the kitchen. "I got the chicken if you got the recipe!"

"Yeah, sure." It was all Sofia could do to keep from springing out of her seat. She felt Ving's gaze on her as she crossed the living room and disappeared into the kitchen. There was no backdoor in the kitchen, but Traci had wedged the window over the sink open. She waved Sofia over frantically before climbing on top of the sink and wriggling through the window. Sofia followed and dropped into the grass beside Traci.

"And now we run like hell," Traci said.

They circled the hacienda to Sofia's car and dove into it just as the front door wrenched open. Sofia started the car with shaking hands and tore away from the curb, heart pounding as she watched Ving's furious form grow smaller in the rearview mirror.

"I'm in so much trouble right now," Traci said. "Rainy's gonna be pissed."

"Me, too, I'm sure. Where are we going?"

"One of their safe houses was hit earlier. Rainy called to say he'd be there for a while cleaning up the mess. I've been there twice to check for signs of vamp surveillance."

"That doesn't sound good," Sofia murmured. Her phone rang. Jule's number flashed. Suspecting Ving had made a couple of hurried phone calls, she let the call go to voicemail.

"This feels weird," Traci said. "I'm used to one of them following me around like a puppy."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too. It feels good to get out, though."

She drove fast with Traci's directions guiding her. As dawn broke, they reached the turn off to the safe house. The destruction was visible long before they reached the low adobe structure hidden between the foothills of the Tucson Mountains. Dead vamps lined the driveway. Several cars were on fire, and black smoke spiraled toward the sky. Deep holes in the ground, rimmed with black, pockmarked the shallow valley. A dozen vehicles were parked near the structure, itself the size of a small warehouse. At least one of Damian's Guardians lay slain among the scores of vamps.

The adobe structure was guarded by several more Guardians, none of whom looked like Damian from the distance. She stopped the car before reaching them. The death around her disturbed her, and danger hung in the air. She closed her eyes, seeking the familiar home videos. Instead, a faint memory began to play. She saw glimpses of the early morning battle. Opening her eyes, she hesitated and moved away from the car in the direction of the source of the memories.