Page 143 of Hoofin’ It

“You did.”

“The Babylonians?”

“Ah, yes. They are the reason Ernesto’s children still live. They accepted their deaths so Ernesto’s children would not have to die. They’ll rise on their own. The survivors take their fallen to their crypts to await the sunrise of the fourth day. Abil Ili lived, although he will miss his left arm for a while. It’ll grow back eventually. None of the kirin, the shedu, or the others fell. Given an hour, there will be no sign of what has happened here.”

“What others?”

Bai Bao Chen grinned at me. “Some things you are not ready to know. They are one of them. One day, when you are old and I am still young, I will introduce you.”

I wondered if she meant for her words to sound like a threat. Probably. “The cops?”

“We have the word of an angel they had fallen, turned by Ricci last night, from what we understand.”

I remembered Stripes, and I flinched. “The second one I killed. I knew him.”

“His death hurts you. For that, I am sorry. This will not bring you peace, but perhaps a little comfort. Their disgrace will be covered up. A disgusting, pretty story will be invented to explain away their deaths, those who turned their back on the sun in their pursuit of evil.”

I glanced at Ernesto, who was crouched near my snarling parents, talking to them in his calm, mellow voice. “Yet you’re friends with Ernesto.”

The vampire turned at the sound of his name and flashed me a toothy grin. “Of course she is. She was but a wobbly filly when I was already old. Cute as a button, all fluff and stubborn pride, prone to tumbles until she could make all four of her hooves cooperate, which took her many years.”

Bai Bao Chen snapped her teeth. “I will eat you, vampire.”

“No, you won’t. You would miss your papa.”

The kirin stomped her hoof. “Ernesto!”

“Maybe she will tell you the story, some day, of the qilin parents who could not accept their deformed, wobbly kirin filly. They had abandoned her as a living sacrifice to what they believed was a fire god. Of course, phoenixes do tend to believe themselves gods, but who am I to judge? And so the little filly came to be in my care—and in Abil Ili’s care, beginning many long and happy years of partnership between our three races. In a way, you can thank Bai Bao Chen for Abil Ili’s skills in the arts of healing. Before the kirin, the Babylonians had no need for or interest in the art of restoring broken bodies. Ah, do see Abil Ili before you run off, my dear boy. You need to ask him to soothe your collarbone and return it to its proper place, although I think he should leave your nose broken as a reminder of why you should be more careful in the future.”

“Ernesto,” Bai Bao Chen complained.

“Bai Bao Chen,” he replied, his voice a perfect match for her tone. “Don’t forget I will spank you as I would any of my other children. The only shame would be in hiding the difficulties you have long overcome, difficulties that were no fault of yours.”

I lifted my shaking hand and patted Bai Bao Chen’s leg. “He won’t stop if you argue with him.”

“Papa,” Bai Bao Chen spat.

“I know what you want to ask me. If you want to see the world, who am I to argue with you? You were an adult long ago. You need not haunt my doorstep and lurk beneath the streets of Chicago. You have always been free to come and go as you wish. Of course, I’ll feel better if you and your stallion keep an eye on the more delicate of my children. I’m sure they will keep things interesting for you.”

Stretching out her neck, Bai Bao Chen snapped her teeth at the vampire. “Insufferable!”

“This is what you have to look forward to, my dear boy—long years of your children talking back to you. The better you raise them, the mouthier they’ll be.”

That caught my parents’ attention; they dropped Ricci’s body and turned to face us.

“We have raised the best of sons, if that’s the criteria,” Dad muttered, spitting out a chunk of vampire. “Your kind tastes rather unpleasant, Ernesto.”

“And yours tastes rather delicious.”

While Dad took a swipe at the ancient vampire, his claws ruffled Ernesto’s suit rather than tearing him to shreds. “Do I need to take you to the hospital, pup?”

I waved my father off. “I’ll just sit here. That’s fine. If anyone bothers me, Bai Bao Chen can eat them. Right?”

The kirin chuckled. “It would be my pleasure to eat any annoyances.”

Ernesto heaved one of his long-suffering sighs. “No, it’s better he doesn’t go to a hospital. We’ll have problems explaining the violence tonight. The blood loss will heal, and once Abil Ili has a few moments, he can numb the pain and fuse his collarbone. The rest is best left to nature. Your blood won’t do him much good at this point. There’s too much vampiric magic at play. I’ve shielded him from the worst of it, but it’s best for him if he fights this battle on his own. Some rest, some peace, and some quiet will do the most good.”

“Very well. Let’s get off this roof before the uncorrupted police arrive. We should make ourselves scarce.”