Stormrage by Skye Knizley

girl's cheeks, Raven pulled away and covered her wrist with her sweater sleeve. It would heal on its own in just a few seconds.
    "Honey? You're my familiar now," Raven whispered. "I promise I will not call on you, ever. Just get better."
    She held the girl in her lap, trying to keep her warm. A moment later Levac returned with Paco in tow.
    "Your partner delivered your message, mamacita," Paco said. "How far gone is she?"
    "She's going to make it," Raven replied, looking Paco straight in the eye. "Get her to safety and don't screw around. She's under my protection now and I will know if she isn't cared for."
    "You got it, Detective," Paco replied, his accent and tough guy demeanor gone. "I know the Deacon at St. Jude's. I'll make sure she gets the care she needs."
    Paco knelt and picked the girl up in his arms as if she were weightless. He then nodded at Levac and headed into the darkness.
    "Will she really make it?" Levac asked.
    Raven nodded, ignoring that her partner had seen and stepped on the bloody snow. She turned and looked toward the lit building. "Now let's see if anyone over there wants to help us with our inquiries."
    She walked across the lot past all the junkies waiting for their next fix and straight to the bouncer at the door. He was a pale man with brown hair cut in a Duck's Ass, dark eyes and a smartass look on his face.
    "Oi, wai t your turn, lady!" he said in a voice he probably thought made him sound tough.
    "D id you know there was a teenage girl dying out there in the cold because of this shit you're peddling?" Raven's voice was as cold as the grave.
    The bouncer shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. "No one made her take a hit. She wasn't my problem. She's just another junkie, like all of these miserable little shits."
    Raven nodded and looked away for a moment. When she looked back her eyes were the angry feral slits of a Master vampire.
    "That girl just became your problem!" she growled.
    She kicked the man in the knee, shattering the joint , slammed him hard enough into the wall for his face to leave a dent in the ancient oak and then pinned him in place with one arm twisted painfully behind his back.
    "How many of your bosses are inside?" she asked, her voice still cold and emotionless.
    The man struggled against Raven's grip and groaned , "I'm the boss!"
    "I doubt that, sir," Levac said, leaning against the railing. "The boss doesn't usually stand outside in the cold with a police detective trying to push his head through the wall of a building. I suggest you answer my partner's question while you still have a face. Do you think you could help us out, sir?"
    The man struggled a bit more in Raven's grip and she pulled harder on his arm, not stopping until a sickening wet pop was heard. The bouncer whimpered softly and nodded. "Okay, okay, just let me down!"
    Raven let go and watched him fall, her eyes still glowing with fury.
    "She's inside," he moaned. "The boss is inside with her guards."
    " Those Black Widows we've heard of?" Levac asked.
    The bouncer nodded and cradled his ruined arm. "They're all inside."
    "Who makes the stuff? Your boss and her crew or do you have people inside?" Raven inquired.
    "Staff… staff of six homeless people they took from the streets," the bouncer replied, his eyes sagging.
    Raven grabbed him by t he throat and lifted him to eye level. "Don't you even think about passing out yet, scumbag! You're using homeless people to make Thirst? Tell me why I don't tear your throat out and watch you bleed to death at my feet!"
    "Because you're a goo d cop, Ray," Levac said in a gentle voice.
    Raven blinked and looked over her shoulder at Levac. He smiled and held out his cuffs with one finger. "Cuff this bastard and let’s go get some answers."
    Raven took a breath and slowly let the bouncer down. She cuffed his unbroken arm to the railing and then opened the door to the plant.
    Inside was quiet. The making of Thirst didn't require much in the way of machinery, just