"It was dirty, the floor that gas station. I didn't get my dress all dirty just so we could chase this guy to death." She held out her pale little arms, spreading the folds of her pretty little blue and white dress to show off the damage.
"Calm down." Raven's one visible eye looked jaded. "It's still five votes to one. It doesn't matter."
"It does to me!" Morgead's emerald green eyes were flashing, gemlike. "I want you to understand, Jez. This vermin-this human-doesn't deserve any mercy-not even the mercy of a quick death."
"Relatively quick," drawled Pierce, and there was laughter, which Morgead stopped with a look. He turned back to Jez again.
"Look," he said, "we go after the bottom feeders, right?"
There was a murmur of assent.
"We go after the vermin that ought to have been taken care of by their own kind. The vermin who get off in court on a technicality or who go around committing violent crimes over and over, or the vermin who are just too smart to even get caught by the police. Right?"
Another murmur, somewhat louder as the vampires warmed to Morgead's fire.
"Well, we're never going to find one more suitable than this one. This guy doesn't deserve mercy. The things he's done-if you want, I'll take you back to that stinking apartment and I'll show you what he records himself doing . . . over and over."
"We can all go," Thistle said, with just a shade too much enthusiasm for Jez's taste. "But I said it already: I didn't get all mussed and dirty just to chase tonight, Jez."
"Oh, shut up, Thistle," Raven said amiably.
Jez said, looking only at Morgead, "You convinced me a long time ago that this guy doesn't deserve mercy," she said. And, turning toward Thistle, but with her eyes on Morgead. "And I never said anything about chasing him. There's no point. He's in no shape to run."
"Then what do you want us to do with him?" Morgead looked exasperated. "Take him to the nearest hospital? Maybe donate a few pints for him?"
Jez didn't flinch. "No. I want to kill him-quick. Snap his neck."
"Well, what you want doesn't matter," Thistle said, huffing her scorn. "It's a 5-1 vote, and besides the leader is with us. You know the leader is the only person who could veto the vote, and you know Morgead won't."
"Hell, no, Morgead won't," Morgead said. "But I want Jez to understand so she agrees. I want you with me, not standing on the sidelines," he added to Jez, and this time his green eyes were so hurt that Jez was surprised, and she felt the strong tug of his convictions.
She had determined that she wasn't going to explain her position, no matter what, but now she felt a surge of anger of her own. She wanted Morgead to understand, damn it! And yet she didn't want to have to say it in front of the whole group.
"C'mere." She jerked her head to one side in a gesture that hadn't changed much since she had been leader. And when Morgead followed her, she lowered her voice.
"I know exactly what that vermin deserves," she said. "I had to blot it out while I was drinking his blood. And I did that by taking him back in his mind to his childhood-to where his drunken father beat him and his drunken mother forgot to feed him, and his druggie uncle molested him-over and over."
Morgead's green eyes were opening wide, horrified. The rising moon was reflected in their pupils.
"Jez-going soft?" he said, at least keeping his voice down. "Please tell me you're not going to tell me he deserves any mercy because once he had it rough."
the night world three
Start from the beginning
