“Tag it,” he said, his voice laced with guilt. “Put Ms. Morgan as a positive ID.”

The woman looked almost frightened as she nodded and turned away.

“Hey,” I protested again, and Edden kept me from following her.

“Sorry, Rachel. It’s evidence.” He ran a quick look over the surrounding officers before whispering, “But thanks for leaving it where we could find it. Glenn couldn’t have downed those living vamps without it.”

“But …” I stammered, seeing the woman disappear upstairs with my splat gun. The dust was worse here, and I swallowed hard so I wouldn’t cough and make myself pass out.

“Let’s go,” Edden said, sounding tired as he tried to pull me forward. “I hate to do this, but I should get a statement from you before Piscary wakes up and presses charges.”

“Presses charges? For what?” I jerked out of his grip, refusing to move. What in hell was going on? I had just tagged the witch hunter, and I was the one being arrested?

The nearby officers were carefully listening, and Edden’s round face went even more guilty. “For assault and battery, slander, trespassing, illegal entry, malicious destruction of private property, and whatever else his pre-Turn lawyer can come up with. What did you think you were doing, coming down here and trying to kill him?”

I struggled to speak, affronted. “I didn’t kill him, though he by God deserves it. He raped Ivy to get me to come here so he could kill me because I found out he was the witch hunter!” I reached up with my good hand as if it could sooth the raw ache of my throat from the outside. “And I have a witness willing to testify that Piscary contracted it to kill the victims. Is that enough for you?”

Edden’s brow rose. “It?” He turned to look at Piscary, surrounded by nervous FIB officers until the I.S. ambulance got there. “Which it would that be?”

“You don’t want to know.” I closed my eyes. I was going to be a demon’s familiar. But I was alive. I hadn’t lost my soul. Focus on the positive.

“Can I go?” I asked as I saw the first of the stairs past the hole in the wall. I had no idea how I was going to make it up all of them. Maybe if I let Edden arrest me, they would carry me up. Not waiting for his permission, I pulled away and held my arm close as I limped to the ragged hole in the wall. I had just tagged Cincinnati’s most powerful vampire as a serial murderer, and all I wanted to do was throw up.

Edden took a step to catch up, still not having answered me. “Can I at least have my boots?” I asked as I saw Gwen taking pictures of them, carefully making her way through the room, her video camera recording everything.

The FIB captain started, looking down at my feet. “You always tag master vampires in your bare feet?”