Kiss of the Vampire

by Cynthia Garner

  Dante leaned one hip against the desk and, pen poised over paper, asked, “What was that name again?” He’d already talked to the guy tinkering with the telescope, and for the last few minutes he’d been interviewing an intern who looked about twelve. This kid made him feel old, and he wasn’t even forty yet.

  “Finn…something. I don’t think he ever gave his last name.” The young man leaned his forearms on the desk and absently tapped a finger on the edge of the keyboard. “What I do know is that he was one big, intimidating dude.”

  Dante frowned. “Did he threaten you?”

  “No, nothing like that. Not overtly. He just sorta…” He waved his hands around. “Loomed. He was a loomer.”

  “A loomer?” For a moment Dante reflected on the difference in conducting interviews with humans and EDs. While right now he took a normal stance to make sure his sidearm was on the side angled away from the citizen he was questioning, with EDs he went a little further and usually had his hand fairly close to his weapon, just in case. He had yet, however, to hear anyone refer to a possible ED as a “loomer.”

  “I said he was big.” The guy stood up. The top of his head came to Dante’s chin. “You kinda loom, too, you know.” There was a hint of accusation in his tone as he looked up into Dante’s eyes. He put his hands on his hips, maybe in an unconscious move to appear bigger.

  Dante let that one slide. “Anyone else hanging around looking for Ms. Novellus?”

  The kid pursed his lips. After a few seconds he shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

  Dante pulled out a business card and handed it to the other man. “If you think of anything, call me, all right?”

  “Yeah, sure.” The young man sat back down and slipped the card into the pocket of his shirt. He resumed typing on the keyboard and within seconds Dante could tell he’d been dismissed. Or forgotten. It was hard to be sure which.

  Dante tucked his notebook into his pocket and looked around for Nix and Tobias. He saw them waiting at the door and had to fight back a grin when he saw the look on Tobias’s face. The vampire seemed a little bemused and a lot befuddled as he gazed down at Nix. Dante knew he’d worn that look before, as had just about every man on the planet. As he walked over to them he heard Nix say, “I’m telling you, he’s bad news.”

  “Who’s bad news?” Dante asked.

  “Finn Evnissyen.” A muscle twitched in Nix’s jaw. “He’s a demon. A bastard.”

  “A bastard demon, huh? Well, apparently he’s also a loomer,” Dante said. At the identical blank looks from his colleagues, he muttered, “Never mind. It was something the kid said.” He cleared his throat. “He mentioned a Finn but didn’t know his last name. You think it’s the same guy?” Nix and Tobias shared a look. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?”

  Nix’s full lips pressed together a moment before her tongue swept out, leaving them moist and inviting. Tobias found himself staring at her mouth as she continued to speak. “Our lady didn’t give a last name either, but if she’s talking about who I think she’s talking about, it’s Finn Evnissyen. He’s the only Finn around here that I know of. He’s a demon, don’t know which clan. It’s rumored he’s one of Lucifer’s sons, but it’s never been proved.” She spread her hands. “He’s very mysterious.”

  “Lucifer’s son? As in Lucifer Demonicus? The king of demons?” MacMillan paused. “Well, let’s hope this Finn knows something, because no one I talked to here seems to know anything.”

  That tongue came out and slicked across her lips again. “I have no idea why he would want to see Amarinda—he’s a loner, much more so than most demons.” She stared at Tobias, her slender brows knit in a frown. “But it can’t be coincidence that he came looking for Amarinda and then she ended up dead.”

  Tobias stared at her mouth a second longer, remembering what those lips felt like against his skin, sliding down his abdomen to… He dragged his gaze up to her dark eyes. “Whether or not he killed her, when you’re talking about murder there’s no such thing as coincidence.” He shoved open the door and blinked in the strong sunlight. Yanking his sunglasses out of his pocket, he slipped them on. “Let’s put together our next plan of action on the way down the mountain.”

  Before Nix could get to the SUV, Dante opened the back door and jumped inside, grinning like a Cheshire cat when she scowled at him.

  “Is there a problem?” Tobias asked as he opened his own door. He stared at her from over the roof of the vehicle.

  “No, other than with a certain underhanded detective,” she said, and yanked open the passenger door. She got in and fastened her seat belt. As Tobias started the Porsche, she rolled the window down and leaned her head against the headrest. It smelled fresh and clean up here, the air crisp and cold. As Tobias started driving down the mountain, the air whipped into the car.

  “Hey, you trying to freeze us?” Dante rapped the back of her headrest. “Roll up the window, please.”

  “Wuss.” She reached down and pressed the window button, enjoying the whirring sound of the window sliding up. Even that sounded expensive.

  “It’s gotta only be about forty degrees out there.”

  She glanced over her shoulder to see him hunched down in his seat. “In about half an hour or so we’ll be back down in the valley where it’s seventy.”

  “Yeah, well, then in about half an hour or so you can roll the window back down. Besides, I hit a couple of cold spots in the observatory.” He looked from her to Tobias and back again. “Not everyone in this car is a hot-blooded demon or a cold-as-ice vampire, you know.”

  “Well, not everyone’s perfect.” Tobias looked in the rearview mirror then put his eyes back on the road. Nix was astonished to see the hint of a crease in his cheek.

  She leaned her elbow on the middle armrest and murmured, “You’re going to ruin that tall, dark, and scary impression you keep trying to give off by grinning, you know.”

  His face sobered, though the look he shot her held lingering humor.

  “Hey, you think we could stop somewhere and get something to eat?” Dante leaned forward in his seat. “I’m starving.”

  “After that huge breakfast you had?” Nix twisted around to look at him. He just shrugged and grinned.

  “I’ll run through a drive-through for you,” Tobias said. “Just holler when you see something you like.” He slowed to navigate a curve, then accelerated as the road straightened. “Nix, you and I will handle the rest of the interviews with prets, including Finn. Dante, I’d like you to conduct the remaining interviews with any humans who still need talking to.” He glanced over his shoulder at the detective. “And seeing how violent these murders have been, I think it would be a good idea for you to take someone with you.”

  Dante nodded and sat back. “No problem. There are a couple of people in the Phoenix area I need to talk to. Nix, once we do get back to Scottsdale, how ’bout some dinner?”

  “You’re going to eat lunch and then turn around and eat dinner again in a couple of hours?” She was hungry now, too, but she didn’t want to eat lunch and then have dinner as soon as they got back home.

  “Well, yeah, I’m sure I could eat again.” He flashed a quick grin. “But I meant having dinner at the dinner hour. Around six or so.”

  She caught the scowl on Tobias’s face and wondered at it. Why would he be surly that they were talking about food? It wasn’t their fault he couldn’t eat. “Sure.” She decided to ignore the bad-tempered vampire behind the wheel. “Anywhere in particular?”

  “Devil’s Domain.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re just a glutton for punishment, aren’t you? I told you, it can get pretty rough. Besides, I thought you said dinner. Not drinks.”

  “They have appetizers, don’t they?” He grinned. “Come on. What can happen?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, you could get a troll on a rampage—that happened several years ago. We ended up with twenty dead prets and eleven dead humans,” Tobias mused.

  “I re
member that.” Nix shifted in her seat and faced forward again. The incident had happened right before she and Tobias had started seeing each other. She’d been at the bar that night and had been detained for questioning. Even at her worst behavior, though, she’d never been stupid enough to mess with a troll. She smiled at the memory. Catching Tobias’s heated gaze, she looked away.

  “Yeah, well, nothing’s happened recently that I’ve heard of,” Dante said. “If you’re so worried, chief, why don’t you come along?”

  “I don’t eat, remember?”

  “You drink, don’t you?” Dante looked at Nix with raised brows. “I’m sure I’ve seen vamps drink. And not just blood,” he added with a slight frown.

  When Tobias didn’t respond, Nix said, “They drink, but I’m sure Tobias has other plans.” She did not want him tagging along.

  “Not really,” Tobias said.

  Nix gritted her teeth.

  “Great!” Dante rested one arm along the back of the seat. “It’ll be nice to talk over food and drinks instead of over a dead body.”

  Nix wanted to discourage Tobias from joining them, but she didn’t want to appear churlish. “Yeah, sure.” Her tone was definitely not enthusiastic. In a cheerful voice she added, “You should come.” That was even worse. She pressed her lips together and looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

  Tobias shot her a glance. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. We can meet up there and compare notes. I just need to get home at some point so I can…” He paused. “I’ll just need to go home first.”

  Get home and feed was what he’d been about to say. She couldn’t help but wonder if someone would be waiting for him, ready to bare her throat.

  What he does is none of my business. He could have a harem of willing donors for all she cared. She tried to ignore the pain that knifed through her at the thought of him biting someone else. Maybe even having sex with someone else, because sometimes being a vampire was as much about sex as it was blood.

  She drew in a breath and promised herself another round of tai chi just as soon as she could manage it. “Devil’s Domain it is.”

  “After we stop at Mickey D’s,” Dante said, tapping on the back of Tobias’s headrest. “Don’t forget.”

  “I won’t.” He glanced at Nix, a slight smile tilting one side of his mouth.

  It made her want to kiss him. She turned and stared out the window. If she stayed focused on the job, she could make it through this.

  Chapter Seven

  After they dropped Dante off at his truck, Nix and Tobias went on to find Finn. The demon wasn’t at home nor was he at the next half-dozen places they tried, mostly dives and strip clubs. As they walked up to yet another nudie bar with cigarette butts littering the sidewalk in front of the door, Nix took a deep breath. She was getting tired and was way past frustrated. Her gut had started to burn after the fourth stop but she’d managed to keep all evidence of the demon at bay. They needed to find Finn sooner rather than later, because she wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to last without intervention of some sort.

  Tobias was losing patience, too, if the ramp-up in pheromones was anything to go by. She was learning to cope with them, though she suspected they were beginning to affect her mood. Legwork was a part of the job and she usually had no trouble with it. Certainly she hadn’t felt this edgy in a long time. She pulled open the door and entered the dingy club, pausing while her eyes adjusted to the dim interior. A variety of scents wafted her way—werewolves, vamps, a pixie or two and humans, stale beer, and even staler cigarette smoke.

  Tobias stood just behind her, a comforting and safe presence at her back. She was completely capable of taking care of herself, but there was something about a tall, dark, and dangerous vamp standing at your elbow that put most people on their best behavior.

  Nix took in the entertainment in the center of the room where a large raised stage with a central stripper pole was the main attraction. Tiny white lights clung to the top of the square canopy and four wooden pillars provided support at each corner. It reminded Nix of a large four-poster bed. The exotic dancer swayed and gyrated in thigh-high red latex boots, a skimpy black bra and matching thong, and nothing else. Knowing that pole dancing wasn’t easy and feeling like the woman deserved some appreciation above the sexual kind she got from her customers, Nix took a moment to admire the woman’s technique, then she moved farther inside the building, eyes scanning for their target.

  A werewolf nursing a drink at the bar reached over and pinched her ass as she walked by. “Hey, baby,” he growled.

  Nix stopped and looked at him. “Do I look like the kind of woman who wants drunken dogs putting their paws on her?”

  He just grinned.

  She shook her head and started to move on. Before she got two steps away, he reached out a long arm and hauled her backward between his spread legs. The hard ridge behind the fly of his jeans prodded her backside. The arm around her middle shifted and his large palm settled over her left breast. Enraged, she spun and grabbed his arm, wrenching it up between his shoulder blades as she bent him forward onto the bar. “You need to keep your hands and your johnson to yourself.” She ground her teeth against the fire churning in her belly. Her eyes burned as well and she knew her demon was showing.

  “Aw, come on, sweetheart. There ain’t nothin’ in the world like werewolf meat. You know you want it.” He grunted when she twisted his arm higher. “I thought demons like you were always…hungry.”

  She ignored that. “It’s been a long day. I’m tired. And you’re right. I am hungry. But not for you.” She put her full weight onto him. “Keep. Your hands. To. Yourself.”

  “All right, all right.” The werewolf laughed, though it held more pain than any real humor. He was running on pure machismo. He probably had his best buds hanging around close by and didn’t want to lose face with them. He turned his head and gazed at her over his shoulder. “Jeez, honey. How long’s it been since you got laid?” He gave her a once-over, as much as he could with his arm still twisted in the middle of his back. “You need to lighten up.”

  “I’ll lighten you up,” she croaked, her throat raw, voice hoarse with building rage. Since when did being pretty and having boobs give men permission to touch without asking? Her horn buds burst from beneath her skin. Her vision became awash with yellow. She put one hand at the small of her back, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of her silver dagger. “Werewolves can recover from a lot of wounds, but I bet you can’t grow back a hand. Unless you’re part lizard. Let’s see, shall we?”

  “Nix.” Tobias’s voice was low. “That’s enough. Let him go.”

  She held on for another few seconds, just to make her point, then let go of the werewolf’s arm and walked away. The werewolf’s muffled “Bitch” almost made her turn back around but she forced her feet to keep moving away from him.

  Tobias caught up with her at the end of the bar. “What the hell was that about?” he asked, his voice as hard as the hand he wrapped around her upper arm.

  She jerked her arm away and faced him. “What do you mean, what was it about? He put his mangy paws on me.”

  “It’s not the first time you’ve had unwelcome attention from a drunk, Nix.” His mouth thinned. “It’s just like before,” he murmured as if to himself. “We’re together and you’re losing control.”

  “I am not losing control,” she said even as her eyes burned hotter and her head felt like it was going to explode. She hadn’t felt this close to the edge in a long time. “This has nothing to do with you.” She wasn’t so sure of that anymore, but it helped saying it out loud. Sort of. She drew in a breath and held it for a ten count. It didn’t help much. She needed to push the demon back, and fast. “See if Finn is here. I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for his response, she sprinted to the ladies’ room.

  The smell of urine in the hallway was abominably strong. The worn carpet wore stains like badges of honor. Stains she was quite sure were more than ju
st urine. Nix grimaced and pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, giving a sigh of relief to find it vacant. Locking the door, she leaned against it, eyes closed. She drew in a slow breath through her nose, held it for a few seconds and then exhaled through her mouth. Repeat. And again.

  There wasn’t time to do much of anything, especially not standing in a less-than-sanitary ladies’ room in the back of a strip joint. But she had to do something. Adjusting her purse strap so that it rode across her chest, she lifted her arms above her head and then brought them down in front of her on another long exhale. A slow sideways lunge while waving her hands in the classic cloud movement focused her thoughts. She repeated it to the other side, keeping her attention on her breathing and the technical aspects of tai chi. After a couple of minutes she felt much more in control. Her horn buds receded, her eyes and stomach no longer churned with fire.

  She walked to the sink and peered at her image in the water-splashed mirror. Everything was back to normal. Now to go back out and face Tobias and his pheromones.

  Was he right? Was it his presence that eroded her emotions, allowing the demon to peek out? Could it be that simple, that heartbreaking?

  No! She wouldn’t believe it. But even if it were true, he’d at least owed it to her to talk about it instead of just disappearing the way he had. “It’s not working out,” he’d said, and then nothing. For five years.

  And he wondered why she got all stirred up around him.

  “Knock it off,” she demanded. She’d just restored her control, the last thing she wanted to do was let the past damage that calm.

  She pulled open the door and rejoined Tobias who was still at the end of the bar. “What did you find out?” she asked him.