Free Ghost Soldiers by Keith Melton Page B

night of the fire, when Karl had come to save her from Delgado.
    She swept her vampire senses across the cemetery again. She sensed no one else, although her powers were diminished by the blue-white flare of consecrated ground. And the Order of the Thorn had their own tricks, didn’t they? She glanced at Xiesha. “She alone?”
    â€œYes.” Xiesha’s skin and eyes shimmered in the starlight. She kept the shotgun barrel pointed toward the ground, but she didn’t put it away.
    Lady MacKenzie stopped when she came within twenty feet. She looked at the headstone. “Paying your respects?”
    â€œHow’d you know I was here?”
    Lady MacKenzie shrugged. “This grave is watched.”
    Maria only stared at her, unable to find the words. After everything the Thorn had done to her, now they’d decided to shove themselves into the one private place where she could be close to her father.
    â€œI gave the order.” Lady MacKenzie looked from Maria to Xiesha. “You and this kyveryn disappeared, and I wanted to keep tabs.” She held her hands out with her empty palms up. “Now I just want to talk. May I approach you?”
    Again Maria didn’t answer, but MacKenzie seemed to take silence as assent and approached. Xiesha circled to the side for a clear field of fire, but MacKenzie only nodded to her.
    Maria waited until MacKenzie came to a stop opposite her, with her father’s grave between them. “Where’s Karl?”
    â€œEastern Europe. Romania, by now.” She shook her head. “I don’t know his exact location.”
    â€œYou got some balls showing your face to me alone.”
    Lady MacKenzie arched an eyebrow. “I’m afraid I have no balls at all.”
    Maria sneered. “Guts then. You’d think you’d be worried I might strew those guts all over the ground.”
    â€œI’m not worried.” And she wasn’t. Maria could smell no scent of fear on her, despite being outnumbered and outgunned.
    â€œSo what the fuck do you want?”
    â€œI came to see how you were doing.”
    â€œYou took Karl away from me. How the fuck do you think I’m doing?”
    â€œI’m not your enemy, Maria.”
    â€œYou sure as hell could’ve fooled me. Is there anything else? You want to tag us with tracking collars or something?”
    Lady MacKenzie shook her head. “I wanted to tell you, Karl doesn’t contact you because he’s in a blackout situation.” She glanced at Xiesha, but spoke to Maria. “If you scry for him, you won’t find him.”
    â€œWhy would you want to tell me that? Why would you care?”
    â€œBecause you love him, and it must eat at you. Also, he loves you. I may not like him, but I respect him. And maybe I owe him too.”
    â€œThat’s bullshit. You wanted to check up on me. Make sure I wasn’t killing the wrong people, since Xiesha and I are off your leash.”
    â€œWe know who you’ve been killing.”
    Well, that was a little disconcerting. True, she hadn’t been hiding the bodies—she’d been too busy eliminating enemies who wanted her dead—but still, she found the thought of the Thorn paying attention very unnerving.
    â€œWhen will you let Karl come home?”
    â€œWhen he’s completed his end of our agreement. We had a deal.”
    â€œSome fucking deal. You threatened the people he cares about so he’d do your wet work. I want to know why. Who do you need him to kill?”
    For a long time MacKenzie didn’t answer. Maria was about to ask again when MacKenzie finally replied. “I don’t have control of Karl Vance anymore. I handed off jurisdiction when he left New England. Lord Sokoll has responsibility for him now.”
    â€œThat doesn’t tell me jack shit.”
    â€œI can’t reveal specifics. He’s been sent to deal with a threat to the