The Vampire's Lineage (Fatal Allure Book 13)

by Martha Woods

“Yeah,” I said, taking my seat and exhaling slowly, “According to Claire the two spies are more like informants, they’ve been paid a lot of money which probably means that they are going to be blowing it soon, if our suspicions are correct.”

  “Excuse me,” She said, holding up her hand, “Who exactly is Claire?”

  “Oh. Well… she’s Damon’s sister, who he thought was dead for the longest time but it turns out she was just turned into a werewolf, and her death was used as a source of manipulation by the leader of the clan that we’re fighting against in order to turn Damon into a directionless hunter for a good part of his life.” Taking a breath, I paused to laugh, “Sorry, I guess there’s going to be a lot of explaining to do once people are introduced to her.”

  “Oh,” She said, staring blankly at me for a moment and running a hand through her hair, “No, I suppose that won’t take too long to get used to. Compared to everything else that has happened these last months a mystery sister is pretty low on the list. Anyway, what was she saying about these spies?”

  “They are both hunters that belong to our alliance, but they haven’t been here since the beginning. They were good enough to get the drop on me without anyone else noticing, but the fact that they’re hunters kind of means that we may have a good chance of catching them.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I hadn’t really thought of it too much before Claire brought it up, but have you ever met a hunter that wasn’t constantly drinking and horny?”

  She stifled a laugh, covering it up by pouring us both drinks and sliding a glass over to me. “Fair enough, I suppose that does give us a bit of an edge doesn’t it?”

  “And given that you’re the owner of the most prestigious club in town, with the most openly friendly staff towards members of the paranormal underground… its pretty likely that here is where they are going to be making their appearance with all their loose change, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose it is,” She sighed, taking a sip of her drink and turning to look out the two way mirror overlooking the floor, “I always seem to be dragged into these things don’t I? Regardless of whether or not I’m actually prepared for it.”

  “I’m sorry Alex, if it was up to me…”

  “Oh don’t worry, I’m not upset with you, rather I’m glad that I’m the one that you decided to go to. It makes me feel valued when I know the trouble is coming, rather than having it come as a surprise, its like we’re actually becoming real friends after everything we’ve been through.”

  “Pfft,” I blew through my lips, taking a gulp and gritting my teeth at the burn in my throat, “Don’t say it so lightly like that, you might actually say something nice for a change.”

  “I was serious about the offer to join in the business before, if you want a change of pace after this whole war business is finished I wouldn’t mind showing you the ropes. It would give me someone to actually talk to on the slower days when there are no problem customers, you’d be doing me a favor.”

  Truthfully I’d never thought about being part of a strip club, aside from the idle thoughts of being able to pay my way through college. The administrative team… that was definitely not an area that I’d ever thought of being a part of before. “I’ll have to think about it Alex, I’ve kind of got too many things on my plate right now as it is. I’m not sure that I want to add making orders for coconut oil and plastic seat covers to that list right now.”

  “Fair enough, just figured that you might want to have something light to think of before we got back to discussing business.” Placing her glass down, it was like something shifted in her eyes, arms crossing in front of her and her posture straightening, staring at me with an intensity burning so hot it almost bowled me over. “These two spies, what is it that you want done with them once we find them? Do you want them taken care of right then and there or would you prefer to question them first? I don’t mind either way, I would just like to be prepared to lay down the plastic on the carpet first depending.”

  “No need for plastic, at least not yet. I want to know if they’re involved with anyone else and what else they let slip, I’m not sure that giving me up was the only thing that they were paid for, and I don’t want to take any chances on believing otherwise.” I hummed, leaning forward with my chin in my palm, “I think I’m seeing a bit of that old crime boss in you, I guess you learned a lot more from him that I thought.”

  “Please, I haven’t left anyone to rot in a dumpster just yet.”

  “No, but I’m sure that you haven’t exactly taken a vow of pacifism either.” She didn’t answer, merely smirking and shrugging. “I thought so, let’s just say that I’m glad that you’re on our side through all of this, anyone who thinks that you’re just a pretty face is going to get a very rude awakening.”

  “Oh trust me Amy, they won’t get an awakening at all, not if I can help it.” Standing up and walking over to the window, she observed the simple way that her girls weaved through customers, delivering drinks and a wink with a promise of more to come, so easily that it was like they were simply breathing. “I’ll tell everyone to keep an eye out for any suspicious hunters come through our doors. They won’t be harmed, but if one of them decides to get rough with one of my girls then I won’t be responsible for how many pieces he ends up in, just remember that.”

  “No complaints there, just make sure that at least one of them can speak, after that… well, we’ll cross the bridge on what we should do with them once we come to it, I don’t want to make any decisions before I know the full details.” Picking up my coat, I finished my drink and slid the glass back to her side of the desk, nodding my thanks and making my way back towards the door. “Is there anything more that you need? You’ve got the whole alliance available to you after all, we’re here to help you just as much as you’re here to help us, you can reach out to us.”

  “Hmm…” She brushed her fingers along her chin. “You know Joseph’s two friends? The two vampires that can’t look at you without looking like they want to eat you in just about every sense of the word?”

  “Yeah, I’m pretty familiar, I was going to visit them now actually.”

  “Would you mind asking them if they would be interested in working a few nights here? I’ve been thinking about expanding our roster, we’re a little witch centric here as it is right now, somewhat of a relic from our separated days, I think that they would be quite the attraction.” She shrugged. “If they’re not interested or if Joseph is too jealous then don’t worry about it, I would just like to extend the offer.”

  “Understood,” I said, saluting with two fingers off my forehead, “I have a hard time believing that any of them will have an objection, you’ll probably only get more vampires in here as a result.”

  “Oh dear, more business, how terrible.” She smirked, nodding her farewells. “Take care of yourself Amy, I’ll contact you if we have any ideas on if we have found these spies of yours, I’ll be sure to keep them in more or less one piece.”

  I didn’t fully believe her, they were likely to be missing at least a finger, maybe more depending on if they tried to defend themselves. For their sake, I hope that they didn’t.

  “Ah, she appears at last!” Joseph was a sight as ever, reclined on his seat thumbing his way through a book that looked to be older than my grandparents. “Please, come take a seat! I have a feeling that you’ve come here with very bad news, I can’t wait to hear it.”

  “I’m that easy to read am I?” It wasn’t a surprise, he did have a few centuries of life on top of me, I suppose you got good at detecting how someone was feeling in that time. He could probably listen to my heartbeat as well, which I considered cheating but I wasn’t in a hurry to bring that up, it would just make him use it more.

  “Don’t take offense to it my dear, I just want to make sure that your needs can be met fully while you are here, I wouldn’t be a good host if I didn’t.” Clearing a space on the couch next to him, he gestured at the alrea
dy full glass on the table in front of him and waited expectantly. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of pouring you a drink.”

  “You always take the liberty of pouring me a drink, and annoyingly it’s always the one that I was feeling that day.” I picked up the glass, taking a sip and sighing in annoyance, “You see? Exactly the one I was hoping for.”

  “I know how to please women Amy, you should know that by now.”

  “And unfortunately for you, this is the only way you’ll get to please me.” I did so enjoy these little sparring sessions of ours, neither of us really expecting it to ever go any further, it was… nice, for both of us. I got to have someone who I could flirt endlessly with and never have to worry about my loyalty to the men who I already loved in my life, and he got the chance to have fun with someone who was immune to his charms, for the first time he got to have a genuine friend who wouldn’t turn into a lover, something which I imagine had been quite rare for someone so genuinely charming and attractive.

  The strange places that our lives take us.

  “Well, enough with the flirtations,” He laughed, so much more human when he let his head hang back and his mouth open with a grin, “Come, tell me what horrible news it is that is going to affect all of us. Have you summoned a demon? Let a djinn trick you into a bargain? Have you perhaps found the end of a rainbow and discovered that there are only monsters there to feast upon you with the false promises of riches?”

  “I… what? No,” I said, “nothing like that, is that real?”

  “Oh yes, quite. I think, I’m not quite sure.” He waved his hand. “Who can be?”

  “Well we don’t have to worry about anything like that, I’ve just got the confirmation that we’ve got two spies among us, two hunters that got tempted away with money and their own hatred, I’ve got Alexis waiting for them to blow their money in a show to impress one of her girls.”

  Joseph scoffed, “Of course they’ll do that, horny little beasts. I wouldn’t feel so bad about so many of my people being killed by hunters if some of the ones who were responsible for it would show at least a little dignity in their private lives.”

  “You sound like you’re struggling with some things yourself Joseph.”

  “Of course I am,” He said plainly, “I doubt that there is a single person in this alliance who isn’t dealing with at least some awkwardness at having to break bread with the very people that they had been so interested in killing before. But I’ve been alive for a few centuries now, as such that affords me the right to actually act my age and show some hint of maturity about this whole situation, just because I might be slightly uncomfortable in the presence of hunters doesn’t mean that I’m willing to throw away potentially the most important relationship that any of us will ever build.”

  “You raise a good point,” I said, taking my seat next to him and feeling myself deflate, “God, the last few days have been a chore.”

  “I can imagine, how wonderful to find out that you have a sister in law, and how bitter for her to be the one delivering you to a hostage exchange.”

  “She’s not my sister in law! I mean… yet, anyway.” I blushed, rubbing at my cheeks to wash it away. “I don’t want to think about that right now, that’s too big of a commitment!”

  “Yes, I suppose the middle of war isn’t really the best place to be thinking about marriage.” He pushed his finger into my side, standing up and moving away before I could swat at him. “Or perhaps it’s the perfect time! Love and war are not necessarily opposites after all, Ares and Aphrodite were lovers for a reason.”

  “Do vampires even get married? You three have been together for decades now, have you actually formalized that?”

  “Of course we can get married, we just choose not to sometimes, much like humans do. It’s all part of… what was it that you used to say? We’re not bred for monogamy?” He grinned, and I will admit that if I was a less taken woman the sight of his fang glinting in the light would have done something to me. “We’re not so different, some of us seek to find a life with someone forever, others wish to find as much pleasure as they possibly can in the time they have on this planet, it all depends on what it is that someone wants out of life.”

  “I suppose that makes sense,” I said, “I suppose I should have put the pieces together when I noticed that not every vampire is as endlessly hedonistic as you are.”

  “Precisely, how someone as smart as you didn’t connect those dots right away I will never know.” He took his seat again, curling his legs underneath himself and turning to me. “Now, why did you come here Amy? Did you just want to fill me in on the spy situation? Or did you come here seeking an answer for something?”

  “I… wanted an answer,” I said, wrapping my hands together and stopping their shaking, “I wanted to ask you for your help with Damon.”

  “The strong armed brand of help where I tell him if he does anything to you then I’ll tear him limb from limb? Or the more personal kind?”

  “The personal kind. He’s… well, you’ve seen how he’s been dealing with being turned, it’s a big deal for anyone to go through, I can’t imagine going through it myself, and Vincent really is trying but… well, it’s hard to be there for someone twenty-four seven when we’ve already got so much on our plates. I just… I wanted to ask you if you could talk to him when you get the chance.”

  “Me?” He asked, genuinely surprised at the request, “Why me?”

  “Because in spite of what you might think of yourself, you’re one of the best men that I know. You’ve been a vampire for so long and you’ve managed to carve out immense respect for yourself from just about everyone, even before we formed the alliance, you seem to be genuinely at peace with everything in your life. I just think that it would be good for him to speak to someone who’s been through the same things that he’s going through, who felt the same loss that he had.”

  “I… would be flattered Amy,” He said, one of those bright smiles lighting his face once more, completely devoid of any sense of smugness or predatory glee. He was just… genuinely excited to be treated as my friend. “Once this is all over I’ll extend an invitation to him, to come and have a personal drink and to just talk about things. You would be surprised at what we keep to ourselves out of fear of hurting those that we love.”

  “Actually,” I said, taking up my drink again and clinking it against his, “I don’t think I would.”

  Chapter 7

  When I got home next it was to the surprising sound of Vincent’s laughter, far louder and far more lively than I can remember hearing it in months, maybe ever. The door was still open, though thankfully the neighbors were out, otherwise I’m certain there would have been a few noise complaints coming our way. I don’t really know what could be so funny as to get that strong of a reaction out of him, but whatever it is I definitely wanted to see it.

  “What is going on in here?” I asked, stepping through the door and looking around. From the sound it was obvious that they were in the living room, but a simple glance around the corner was all I needed to know exactly what had driven him over the edge.

  “Amy, can you please help me?” Damon asked, struggling on the couch with his arms trapped at his sides, “I tried to get out of these but my arms got stuck.”

  “W-why?” I asked, voice quavering as I tried not to join in on the laughter, “Can’t you just… rip your way out of them?”

  “You bought these clothes Amy, I don’t want to just rip them up like they’re nothing. Besides, I like this coat when I’m not wearing three underneath it.” Looking up at Vincent, narrowing his eyes when he realized he was still laughing, he turned back to me and said, “And he’s not helping me at all, so you’re the last hope that I’ve got.”

  “Fine, fine,” I said, pushing past Vincent and allowing myself a small smile, “I hope you haven’t been stuck here too long.”

  “He’s been laughing at me for an hour now, so yeah I’ve kind of been stuck here with no
help for a while.” Damon shifted, letting me pull the rest of the coat from under him and begin to pull his arms free. “How’d your meetings go? Are we good to go ahead with everything or should I hold everyone back?”

  “Alexis is on board, she’s just waiting for me to fill her in whenever we get a tip off. She seemed… really eager to help us get the spies, I guess she really doesn’t like traitors.”

  “Most sane people don’t,” He grunted, sighing in relief once his arms were free and he collapsed back into the couch, “If someone who rides with you is willing to call themselves your friend one day and then sell you out the next, that’s even more of an insult than someone just trying to kill you from the beginning. At least they’re being honest about it.”

  “I take it this happened once or twice to you?”

  “Yeah, once or twice. It was always Tristian who handled it, and he handled it the way that Tristian handled just about every problem that came up, didn’t exactly feel sorry to see it happen.” He glanced down at my hand, before wrapping his fingers around mine. “I’m guessing we can’t do that here?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, beckoning Vincent closer now that he’d calmed down from his laughing fit, “I don’t think anyone would feel bad for them, you’d probably have no shortage of people showing up and volunteering to do it themselves. But I’m not sure that’s the kind of thing I want to be handing out so easily, I’ll defend whoever comes by needing help, but I don’t want to be the one deciding who dies through all of this.”

  “Someone has to,” Vincent said, matter of factly but not unkindly, “It is always a choice that needs to be made in times of war, I’ve seen my share of war through the ages and it’s never been solved just through words. Never really solved much at all really.”

  “I know,” I sighed, “God I wish Joseph was in charge again, I know what he’s doing is important but… God I’m just so tired. Does that make me selfish?”