Amelie's fury jumped into the other vampires, and one by one, they shot to their feet, hissing. One threw a crystal glass of blood at Eve, but got Claire instead, splattering her white dress.
She looked down at the mess with a startled gasp, and thought, Damn, Miranda was right. Again.
"Ahh . . . maybe we should be going," Shane said. "Ditch the shoes, Eve. We'll be running now."
"I love these shoes!"
"More than your circulatory system?"
Eve silently kicked off the stilettos and backed up. Shane and Claire got Michael moving, weakly at least, and headed for the door. Eve acted as rearguard, not that she had anything to fight with other than the shoes she'd grabbed up.
The vampire in the red velvet coat headed for her, fangs out. She got the stiletto heel up, ready to strike, but something grabbed him in midleap and slammed him up, straight into the chandelier. Crystal shattered, and the disco ball spun wildly, throwing drunken sparkles over the room.
At the far end of the room, the fleeing dj hit a button on her system, and thundering techno music started up, shivering the air and thumping beats into Claire's body like kicks. Way too loud.
Myrnin, who'd intercepted the attacking vamp, turned and looked at them.
At Claire.
His lips shaped words, but Claire couldn't hear them. He made a shooing motion and smiled at her, one of those fragile and half-crazy things, and her heart just broke all over again.
She shook her head, and Eve slammed the ballroom door, cutting off the rush of vampires heading their way. She jammed a chair under the handle.
They ran for the elevator. Shane punched the button about sixteen times before the doors opened, and he dragged Michael inside as Claire held it for Eve. "They're breaking out!" Eve gasped. "That chair's not going to hold!"
"Close close close!" Shane yelled at the buttons, punching the one for the garage. Claire heard wood splintering, and then a crash as the ballroom door shattered off its hinges.
One vampire appeared in front of the elevator - a vampire with shoulder-length dark hair and ridiculously long tails on his black brocade coat.
Myrnin, again.
"I'm sorry," he said, and turned to face a horde of oncoming attackers. "I'll buy you time. Oh, nice party, by the way!"
The doors closed before Claire could thank him, and the elevator lurched and started inching its way slowly down.
"Michael?" Shane shook him, still holding him upright with an arm under his shoulders. "Hey, man, you with us?"
Michael nodded. He looked better. Not good, but not as statue-pale now. His eyes were fading back to blue again, slowly. "You had my back." He sounded surprised.
"Always," Shane said. "Thought you knew that."
Eve put her arms around his neck and kissed him, on the lips. Shane did a funny little wiggle, trying to squirm away while not dumping Michael on his ass, but she kept it brief. "Sorry, but I had to do that," she said. "You rock."
"Yeah, well, you don't have to brand me with lipstick," Shane said, and wiped it off. "My girl's standing right there."
"Your girl doesn't mind," Claire said. She was still scared, but somehow also elated. Free. Reborn. "I'd kiss you, too, if I was closer."
"I wouldn't," Michael said. "I don't love you that way."
"That's not what you said last time."
"Ass." Michael almost smiled, but it faded as the movement of the cabin stopped with a jerk. "We're here. Stay alert; we're not clear yet."
Claire got out, watching the angles, but the garage seemed deserted. She gestured for the others to hustle after her, which they did, quickly. Shane had the keys to the hearse, which he tossed to her, and Claire quickly unlocked the back. They loaded Michael and Eve inside, in the vampire-shaded area, and got in the front. "Lock it," Shane said. Claire nodded and hit the control, just as a white-faced vampire popped up at her window and tried the door. She shrieked and jumped, but got control and jammed the hearse into gear. Too fast, too fast . . . the thing was like a luxury liner, and she had to make several fast back-and-forth moves to rock it free of obstructions. The vampire jumped on top, and punched fingernails through the roof.
"Go go go!" Shane yelled, and Claire finally had a clear lane. She jammed the gas down, and the hearse roared up the ramp, around the curve, and out into full sun.
The vampire on top hung on for a moment, and then the claws disappeared. She heard him tumbling across the length of the roof, and saw him drop off, land on his feet, and dash for the shade as he left a trail of greasy smoke behind. Claire whooped and pumped her fist, and Shane bumped knuckles with her.
"Combat-driving merit badge," he said. "With bonus vampire clusters. Now all you have to do is get us home."
"No." Eve slid back the divider between the front and the rear, and leaned in. "Michael and I decided. Take us to the church."
"What?" Claire and Shane blurted it out at the same time, in perfect chorus.
"They'll stop us if they can. We have to do this now if we're going to do it," Eve said. "We're getting married. Right now."
Claire almost drove off the road. "But - wait, now? Like, right now?"
"You're not serious," Shane said. "You can't do it now."
"Why not?"
"You're wearing red," Shane said.
"I have blood on my dress," Claire put in.
"You, Shaggy, shut up," Eve said, giving Shane a scornful look. "Claire, cold water in the bathroom. There. Fixed." She slammed the portal shut.
Claire drove on in silence for a moment, and then said, "So."
"So," Shane repeated. "Yeah."
She took the right turn, toward the church.
Nobody was in the church. Nobody. Not Father Joe, not a parishioner, not a cleaning crew. It was deserted, and Claire knocked on the office door and found it empty, too. Nobody in the vesting chamber. She walked out into the main chapel and held up her hands in helpless surrender, as Eve put on her high heels, balancing on first one foot, then the other.
"You're kidding," Eve said. "He's gone?"
"He was at the party," Shane put in. He was sitting with Michael on a pew. "I'm not so sure this is a good idea right now, Eve. Oliver said - "
"I know what Oliver said. Damn if I am taking another order from another vampire in this town, ever!" Eve finished strapping on the heels and stood there looking tall and strong. "We'll wait."
Shane looked at Michael doubtfully. "I don't know, man - "
"We wait," Michael said. "She's right. Look, if you want to take Claire home - "
"No," Shane said. "I'm not leaving you two here alone. We stick together."
"I'm still not kissing you," Michael said.
"Tease."
Michael started to retort, but the hollow boom of the church door cut him off. He and Shane both came to their feet - Michael faster - and Claire looked around for something antivampire she could improvise, but none of it was necessary, because striding into the chapel was Father Joe, red hair blazing in the multicolored light from the rose window overhead. He slowed when he saw them, then sighed and came forward toward where they were waiting.
Eve opened her mouth to say something, but he held up his hand. "No," he said. "I have a good idea why you're here. And the answer is no."
"What? You can't just say no!" Eve said. "Why would you say that?"
Father Joe stopped and turned as he reached the steps to the altar, and instead of being a harried young man, he seemed to change into a grave, composed person with no doubts about what he was about to do. He held up both hands for calm, and Eve subsided, not very willingly.
"You don't have the Founder's permission," he said. "Without the Founder's signature on the marriage license, no marriages conducted inside this church are legal in the eyes of the town. You won't accomplish what you're trying to do, and from what I saw back in that ballroom, you will never get her permission. You'll be lucky to escape a jail sentence, Eve."
"She could change her mind," Claire said.
"She won't. You shamed her, you publicly defied her, and Eve slapped her. As Amelie, she might forgive, and she might quietly shift her opinions. You called her out as the Founder of Morganville, and the Founder can't let it pass, whatever her personal feelings might be. Whatever you do here, it doesn't matter beyond that door. Not to the Founder."