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Oh, the bathroom s over there, I said loudly. We walked right past it. I ll be back in a minute.
I took one last hit of chocolate milk, giving the zombie time to get out of sight.
The bathrooms were down a service hall. As I walked, I tracked the distant pad of footsteps behind me,
ready to turn if they got too close before Clay arrived.
I reached the end, only to realize the hall dog-legged. At least this would give Clay a chance to attack
the zombie out of sight of anyone passing in the main thoroughfare.
As I rounded the corner, I looked around for security cameras. None. Good. The footsteps behind me
sped up& and Clay s joined them. I smiled. Easy as
A shadow leapt from a recessed doorway. I wheeled, but too slow, and a body hit my shoulder,
knocking me into the far wall. I kicked. As my foot went up, I mentally slapped myself. Again, the
sudden move threw me off balance. As I stumbled, the figure rushed me, hands out, going for my throat.
I swung and caught my attacker in the jaw. He flew back with a shriek& a very unmasculine shriek.
I leapt onto the falling figure. A face turned to mine a woman s face, pocked and red. Rose.
Thought you were done with Rose, didn t you? she cackled.
My surprise threw me off. She lunged at me, fingers hooked into claws, aiming for my eyes. An uppercut
stopped her hands before they got within a foot of my face. As she fell back, I grabbed her by the throat
and slammed her into the wall. Her face twisted, then went slack, and when I let her go, her body slid to
the floor and started to crumble.
Easy to kill, I muttered. Problem is keeping them that way.
At a noise from the corner, I whirled, hands going up. Clay raced around.
I heard
Got her, I said. Again. It was Rose. I could have sworn it was a man
It was. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward the main hall. The same guy I killed at the
truck stop.
Did you ?
Started to, he said, now moving at a jog and pulling me along. Then I heard you and mine got away.
Jeremy went after him.
Let s go, I said, and we started off.
The bowler-hatted man had taken the first exit. We crested the top of the escalator just as Jeremy was
stepping onto the down side. He backed off it and led us outside before speaking.
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He crossed the road and I lost the scent in traffic, he said. Are you both all right?
Just another encounter with not-so-sweet-smelling Rose, I said.
Jeremy tensed. Rose?
The zombie we
Yes, I know. You didn t Did you touch her?
Sure, I said. I had to. She attacked me. But if you re worried about the syphilis, I swear I didn t have
sex with her.
Jeremy didn t smile. Did you touch her lips or any of the sores near her mouth?
I don t think so, but
His fingers clamped around my elbow. There s a coffee shop across the road. You need to go into the
bathroom and scrub your hands and arms.
He didn t even wait for the light to change, just led me across between cars.
Jer? Clay said, jogging up beside us. I thought you said syphilis was easily treated.
It is. But it s particularly dangerous to pregnant mothers.
He caught my look and slowed, grip relaxing on my arm. You ll be fine. A small smile. I m
overreacting, as usual. The only danger is if you came in contact with the sores around her mouth and
ingest the bacterium or transfer it through broken skin. A thorough scrubbing will do the trick. I should
have mentioned something last night but&
Rose was already dead, or so we thought. So what s happening
First, scrub up, he said, stopping outside the coffee shop doors. Then we can discuss it.
I scrubbed my hands and arms until my skin was red, then washed my face and neck, cleaning off every
bit of exposed skin, even parts I knew hadn t touched Rose.
When I went outside, we returned to the escalator leading down to the PATH walkways, and I found
the bowler-hatted man s scent there, but lost it at the street. Between the exhaust fumes and the smog
and the stink of a thousand daily passersby, our target s scent had disappeared.
I watched the steady stream of traffic going by. If we wait a few hours and I Change, it would probably
be safe.
Jeremy shook his head. It s not worth the risk. Killing them doesn t seem to help.
Either we have an army of zombie clones, or the undead aren t staying dead. Remember yesterday,
when Robert was talking about the difference between controlled zombies raised by a necromancer and
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those created by a sorcerer s portal? He said both kinds are tough to kill. Necromancer ones just won t
die, but dimensional ones& I frowned. Did he say what happened with them?
No, Jeremy said. Because that shouldn t have been relevant. This portal was created over a hundred
years ago, meaning any controller should be dead.
Should be, Clay muttered. But there s always a catch.
Jeremy nodded. Time to talk to Jaime and Robert again. And let s see if we can contact that vampire
thief tonight. I ll go back to the hotel to make the calls while you two track down Zoe Takano.
Clay opened his mouth, but Jeremy cut him off. Yes, I know you don t like that idea, but it s the best
use of our limited resources. Even if that zombie did circle back and find me, presuming I d know where
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