“Yeah, and they got jumped when they left,” I said.
“So I heard.”
I told him about the brawl in the alley, then about the confrontation I had with the two Knights on my way to work.
“Sam, things have been too quiet. I actually expected more violence.”
“So did I,” he said. “I expected more of a challenge to the Knights. But if they continue attacking the vamps and weres, they’re going to get more action than they want.” He cocked his head. “Why do you think they’ve decided to pick on you?”
“One of their big bosses thinks I’m a Hunter. I probably sort of confirmed that when I stabbed him through his shield.”
“I keep telling you that being mean to people will get you noticed. And I’m sure hanging out with McGregor isn’t helping you maintain a low profile.”
“I wasn’t hanging out with him. He just happened along, and I’m glad he did.”
“Have you heard from Gabriel Laurent?” Sam asked.
“No, why?”
“I spoke with him this afternoon. Said he wanted to talk with you.”
“He’ll probably send David Cunningham around. I don’t always answer Laurent’s calls. Depends on my mood.”
Sam chuckled.
Sure enough, David came in for dinner with two other dhampir. David had been banned from Rosie’s for actions he took on Laurent’s behalf, but we relented once he left Laurent and joined the Gallagher family. But Laurent still used him as a messenger boy, since a vampire needed someone who could withstand sunlight, and David needed a job.
The three dhampir sat at a table, then after placing their orders with a waitress, David came over to the bar.
“Hey, Erin,” he said.
“Hi, David. How’s it going?”
“Pretty well. I understand you plan to enroll at the university in the fall.”
“Already accepted,” I said.
“That’s great. I’m going to enroll, too. Michaela and Gabriel are splitting the cost.”
That was probably a good idea. I wasn’t sure if David was simply ignorant, or dumb as a rock, but he definitely needed more education. He had been trained as a vampire’s thrall, which didn’t require much beyond basic reading and writing.
“What are you majoring in?” I asked, praying that we wouldn’t be in classes together.
“Business. Michaela says I need to study something useful.”
I tried to hide my relief. “Well, maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah. Uh, Gabriel wants you to drop by and see him. And Michaela said to tell you that she thinks it’s a good idea.”
“Oh? Okay. Tell her I said hi.”
I waited until I had my break, then called Michaela. She picked up on the second ring.
“What’s with this request by Laurent?” I asked her.
“Are you feeling rich?”
“Huh? Hell, no, of course not. Why?”
“Gabriel needs advice. Consulting. About people who run around cutting vampires’ heads off. Charge him.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. When it comes to money, I’m always serious,” she said. “He’s worried about the Knights, and so are Eileen and I. Charge us a hundred an hour for your time.”
“I couldn’t charge you. You’re my friend.”
She laughed. “Sucker. I’ll have a consulting contract drawn up and sent to you. Just make copies of it and change the name for Gabriel and Eileen.”
“I don’t have a computer.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. “You have an email address, don’t you? I mean, you could print them on Sam’s printer.”
“No, I don’t.”
More silence. Then, “Come out to the office Monday morning. Ask for Trevor.”
“Okay. Are you going to be around?”
“I’ll be here. See Trevor first, and we’ll go to lunch.” Then she hung up.
Chapter 14
“The hand doing any better?” I asked Trevor when I saw him in his office at Westport Waste Disposal on Monday morning.
“Yeah. I’m getting used to it. It does fine in normal mode, but when I enhance it, I can even type.” Trevor was an electrokinetic mage, and his new hand was the latest electro-mechanical prosthesis. “Michaela said you need a computer.”
He showed me a laptop on a table with a huge monitor and a tiny printer.
“I have it loaded with all the standard software, plus the architectural software you’ll be using at the university.”
“Trevor, this is very nice, but I can’t afford it.”
“Don’t talk to me, talk to the boss lady. She said to set you up, so I did.”
The laptop was very small, but… “Am I supposed to cart that monitor to class?”
He laughed. “No, leave that at home. But you’ll need it when you start doing architectural drawings. How much do you know about computers?”
I shrugged. “I do okay, as long as I don’t have to program them. I usually go to the library when I need to use one.”
“Great. Now, I’ve given you a secure email account on our corporate network. You’ll use a VPN to access it, so you don’t have to worry about the government or any other outside organization hacking you.”
I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. The Illuminati had trained me to use computers, but I didn’t know anything about setting them up or how their network functioned. Trevor spent two hours showing me how to use it and explaining all the stuff I didn’t understand.
When we finished, he said, “I’ll help you carry it all out to your car, and then you can give me a ride. Lizzy told me about the cars Oriel builds, and I want to see it.”
We took a ride up into the foothills and back, and he seemed impressed. I dropped him back at his office and went looking for Michaela. I found her in her corner office on the third floor. The view of the mountains out her window was incredible.
“Ready for lunch?” she asked. “Trevor get you all squared away?”
“I think so. Michaela, I’m not sure I can afford all that equipment and software.”
“You’ll work it off. Come on, and I’ll explain everything.”
We took her sports car to a fancy restaurant overlooking the harbor where I had first seen her. The hostess showed us to the table by the window that Michaela always reserved.
“So,” she said after the waitress took our orders, “I’m sure you’ve heard that the Knights Magica are engaged in a campaign to eradicate the vampires and shifters.”
I nodded.
“Gabriel is getting ready to strike back. He’s looking for advice on how best to do that. Eileen is simply looking for ways to protect her nightclub. I’m concerned about the Knights going after my business as well.”
“I’m not sure what I can do,” I said. “I don’t have much experience in fighting against other mages.”
“But you have been trained in that type of warfare, right?”
I reluctantly nodded.
“Look, Erin, the different factions of paranormals and supernaturals don’t have much to do with each other. But everyone knows you and feels comfortable with you. We need your help to recruit mages and witches to work with us. To be the intermediary. Neither the vampires nor the shifters can stand against the kind of magic the Knights are able to wield. And no one feels safe after that club downtown was torched.”
“I think the person you need is Sam.”
She chuckled. “And Sam recommended you for the job. He said he would help you, but he has his business and the Council on his plate and doesn’t have the time to devote to what we need.”
Michaela handed me a piece of paper with names and phone numbers. “These are the people who are looking to hire.” In addition to her and the vamps, the list included the owner of a shifter bar and the alphas of the local packs.
She drove me back to her office after lunch, and I took my new computer equipment home. When I got there, I found Oriel parked
in front of my building. I hadn’t seen him in a week.
“Hi, stranger,” I greeted him. “I thought you’d forgotten about me.”
He looked tired. “Not a chance, just been busy.”
We hauled my new equipment up to my apartment, and I set it all up the way Trevor had shown me. Computer, monitor, printer, wireless hub. Eleanor provided wi-fi as part of the rent, but I had never needed it before. After I got it all working and was able to access the internet and my email, I poured us each a glass of wine.
“Busy with what?” I asked, relaxing in his arms on my couch.
“I’ve been in Portland,” he said, “scouting out the archbishop’s setup there and figuring out what the Knights are doing.”
“And how did you do that?”
Oriel chuckled. “A bit of glamour. There are so many priests running around the archdiocese’s offices that they don’t notice one more.”
I told him about my meeting with Michaela. “I’m supposed to meet with Gabriel Laurent tonight, and then with Eileen Montgomery later.”
“I can come along, if you like. But if we’re going to be up all night, maybe we should go to bed now.”
That sounded like a great idea, even if I didn’t think we’d get much sleep. But we did catch a bit of a nap.
Laurent had commissioned a new house on the land owned by Guy Carleton, the previous Master of the City. Lord Carleton had fallen to a Hunter shortly before I came to Westport, triggering a war of succession among Carleton’s children. Laurent coming to town had ended that, and he assumed control of Carleton’s property. But Carleton’s Georgian mansion burned down during the fighting. Although the site of the old house had been cleared, the new construction hadn’t begun because Oregon winters were a soggy mess.
So, Laurent had taken possession of Harold Gallagher’s penthouse in the middle of downtown.
On our drive, I gave Oriel a brief rundown on my history with Laurent. We parked in the underground parking garage and took the private elevator to the top.
“I’m surprised you haven’t killed him,” Oriel said when I finished.
“He has imposed order. We don’t need another vampire war in Westport. The last one came too close to revealing the shadow world to humans here,” I answered.
“And the Knights are probably going to do that anyway, so you might as well kill him.”
The idea was tempting, but a lot of people would be mad at me, and I’d rather have them be mad at the Knights.
When the elevator doors opened, five vampires and Laurent’s pet dhampir, Constance Gardner, greeted us.
I grinned at her. “Hello, Constance. Long time, no see.”
The toothy smile she gave me wasn’t friendly. “Miss McLane. We expected you would come alone.”
“Ah. Let me introduce my friend. Oriel, this is Constance. She’s the resident gargoyle.”
Gardner snarled at me.
“Yes,” Oriel said, without cracking a smile, “I believe I’ve seen her likeness on some of the old cathedrals in Europe.”
“Oriel came along to keep me from getting too excited when I meet with Gabriel,” I said. “You know how I can hardly restrain myself in the presence of such a beguiling gentleman.”
Constance didn’t look happy, but she and our escort took us to Laurent, whose startled reaction to Oriel pleased me more than I thought it would.
“I heard you had a new paramour,” Laurent said in French, the language we always conversed in.
“Good evening, Monsieur Laurent,” I returned in the same language. “I’m working on improving intercultural relations. May I introduce my friend, Oriel.”
Oriel dipped his head. “I’ve heard a lot about you also, Monsieur,” he said in French that was better accented than mine.
Laurent gestured for us to sit. The small parlor had two chairs and a loveseat separated by a low table holding a decanter of red wine, a small pitcher of blood, and three glasses. Laurent sat on the loveseat on one side of the table, while Oriel and I took the chairs. Gardner stepped forward and poured the wine and the blood, then took her position behind Laurent where she could stare at me with the hope I might wither and die under her glare. I decided that medusa was a better description than gargoyle.
I lifted my glass to my host and smiled at Gardner over the rim as I took a sip. Settling back in the comfortable chair, I waited for Laurent to speak.
“Michaela said she spoke to you.”
I nodded.
“These Knights are decimating my people. I need some help in dealing with them.”
“You were in Vienna,” I replied. “I’m sure you have encountered the Knights before.”
He took a sip from his own glass. “Yes, but never have I seen them so brazen. They don’t seem to care about leaving corpses for the humans to find.”
“They have always wanted to come out in the open,” I said. “What better way to do it than by drawing attention to the threat of vampires in our midst?”
Laurent’s mouth puckered, as though his drink had turned bitter. He set down his glass.
“That is what I’m afraid of. You know about the unpleasantness in Dallas?”
I assumed he meant the ongoing war between vampires and shifters, so I nodded.
“My sources suspect that the Knights instigated that mess,” he said. “I had thought that Hunters sent the Masters in Dallas and Atlanta to their final graves, but recent information suggests otherwise. You do know that those murders, along with that of Lord Carleton here in Westport, happened shortly after the disaster that destroyed the Illuminati.”
“I wasn’t aware of that. I hadn’t connected the events.”
“It’s true, and I know that Rudolf Heine thought the Knights destroyed the Illuminati as well.”
I allowed myself a bit of a smile. One of Heine’s men had told me that shortly before I killed him. “Such matters are far beyond me,” I said. “I’m just a bartender. I don’t get involved in who runs the world.”
Laurent studied me, then said, “It would be to no one’s advantage if the Knights embark on a more public genocide against supernaturals.”
“On that, we both agree.”
“I need help. I know magic wielders have no love of my kind, but I doubt your people wish to see the kind of witch hunt that the Knights are conducting.”
“For proper compensation, I can investigate what kind of protections can be created. Charms, wards, that sort of thing. Those who might be willing to help would, of course, expect to be rewarded for their efforts.”
“Of course.” Laurent turned his attention to Oriel. “And your people? Are they also willing to help? I can’t imagine the Fae approve of what the Knights are doing.”
“The Fae neither approve nor disapprove,” Oriel said. “We could care less what happens to your kind. However, we suspect the Knights of disrupting the ley lines, and that we do care about. For that reason alone, we oppose the Knights. If we fight a common enemy, then we can be allies for a time.”
“So be it,” Laurent said. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Oriel dipped his head. “Or at least an ally.”
I presented Laurent with the contract Michaela prepared, and Laurent signed it with minimal grumbling. I told him I would start searching for witches and mages to augment the shifters he already had on his payroll.
Shortly thereafter, Gardner escorted us back to the elevator.
I had an appointment with Eileen at her club, but since she would be awake all night, I wasn’t in a hurry. I called Jolene and got lucky. She was at home and told me to come over.
Jo was a member of her mother’s coven, and a very strong and knowledgeable witch. She made charms and potions for sale, and had been training me in witchcraft. Although I was half mage and had no previous training in witchcraft, we had discovered I could perform most of the spells she taught me.
She welcomed Oriel and me into her home, opened a bottle of wine, and set out a plate of crackers and c
heese. I started to introduce Oriel, but she waved her hand and cut me off.
“Oriel and I know each other. So, what’s up?” she asked. There was a slight edge to her voice that made me think they weren’t exactly friends, and Oriel appeared to be a little uncomfortable.
I told her about my discussions with Michaela and Laurent.
“Hmm, charms to protect a vampire from a mage? Interesting idea. Far easier to cast wards to protect a building.”
“Yeah, but the wards would have to exclude magic users while allowing vampires or shifters to pass through,” I said. “Remember, the vamps wouldn’t be able to raise and lower the wards the way we do.”
“I’ll have to do some research,” she said. “You know, there are potions that could protect a building from fire. You’ll have to brew a tanker-load for a large building, but that’s something to think about.”
“Do you know any witches or mages that might be interested in providing security for Laurent? Or Westport Waste, or Necropolis?”
“Dangerous work.”
“Could be well paying.”
Jolene’s father was a mage, her mother a witch. She sort of stared off in the distance for a minute, then said, “I’ll ask around. You know, of course, that sort of work might put someone on the wrong side of the Knights.”
I shrugged. “As far as I can tell, the Knights think everyone who doesn’t kowtow to them is an enemy. I’m not sure sitting on the sidelines is a safe long-term strategy.”
“I guarantee it’s not a winning strategy,” Oriel said. “At some point, people are going to have to declare an allegiance.”
That surprised me. “It seems to me that the Fae have already decided to sit this one out,” I said.
The look he turned on me chilled me to the bone, and the menace in his voice was unmistakable. “The Fae won’t allow the Knights to take control of the human world. When the Fae decide it’s time to act, no one will want to be on their wrong side.”
I wondered if I turned as pale as Jolene did.
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