But now, I was a real force of nature. And when I finished the number, I’d never heard so many cheers.
And then I noticed the phones. People were livestreaming my show.
Shit…
What if someone from the Order saw it? What if Devin saw it?
I shook my head as I absorbed the cheers from the crowd. I was worrying too much. I mean, what were the chances anyone from that church would frequent livestreams from Leotards and Lace?
I was being unnecessarily paranoid.
Until I noticed another familiar, shadowy figure lurking around the back of the room.
Wolfgang…
But this time he wasn’t stalking anyone. He wasn’t looking for a meal. He wanted me to see him, and I did.
But I’d be damned if I allowed him to spoil my show a second time.
My second number: “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé. I’d never shaken my ass so much in such a short span of time. But hell, when you’ve got the assets, you owe it to yourself to put them to work!
Sure, my songs were all a bit dated. But they don’t make diva numbers like they used to. Not the kind that do my voice justice. Of course, I wrapped up my slate with my signature song. And hardly a soul in the building wasn’t wrapped in another’s embrace by the end.
Except for me.
But this time I wasn’t envious of those who’d already found love in the crowd. My time would come. I believed it. I knew it.
I’d never felt more alive…
I mean, performing was always a thrill. I was more myself on stage than anywhere else. But tonight was different. I mean, before I’d felt like myself on stage, but it was almost like I was a stranger in my own body.
Tonight I was myself, and I knew who I was… I felt it. Donnie was right: I was probably still swooning, irrationally, over Devin.
Hell, we hadn’t even kissed. We’d barely flirted. But there were sparks… I felt it. And I’m pretty sure he did, too.
But I still had to deal with that vampire.
I suppose I could have just said forget it. But Wolfgang had said he had skills I’d need to take Alice down. Abilities. Not sure what they were, but I wasn’t going to underestimate what Alice might be capable of. Not after she’d successfully evaded capture the first time I found her.
I stepped down from the stage. Hands were all over me. It wasn’t too awkward… nothing any more untoward than a butt grab or two. And I’d gotten used to that. It was par for the course at Leotards and Lace. I could have gotten the bouncers involved, but all in all, it didn’t bother me that much. So long as it ended there.
And it wasn’t the first time. Though, due to my particularly enthusiastic performance, the boys in the crowd were a bit more handsy than usual.
I pressed through it until I met Wolfgang in the back of the room. He was seated at the bar and, as luck would have it, a stool was open next to him.
I cleared my dress beneath my butt and sat on the stool next to the vampire.
“How’d it go with the Order?” Wolfgang asked, not even turning his head to look at me.
“Any clue what ritual they do with the staked vamps?” I asked. “They assigned me to a young hunter—he was supposed to be something of a mentor. And he said they were to deliver the bodies staked. We couldn’t cut out the hearts ourselves.”
Wolfgang nodded. “This is no surprise. Such practices have happened, intermittently, throughout the Order of the Morning Dawn’s history.”
“So if I get a chance to hunt Alice, how in the world—”
“You go along with it,” Wolfgang said. “I imagine if you’re to the point where you’re given a contract for Alice, you’ll be on the edge of acceptance into the organization’s inner circle. And if you stake her, they’ll invite you without question.”
I raised my eyebrow. “Despite the fact that they barely know me?”
“The Order of the Morning Dawn is not a social club,” Wolfgang explained. “Results are all that matters to them.”
“And you can’t say what they do with the bodies in their rituals?”
Wolfgang shook his head. “All I know is I’ve yet to hear of a vampire who was staked by the Order who wasn’t either converted into a nightwalker or disappeared entirely.”
“You said they did this intermittently?”
Wolfgang nodded. “There have been times in the Order’s history when they were more or less motivated by their religion. At times, religion was but an excuse they used to justify their disdain for our kind. But when religion has been forefront in the Order’s mind, rites such as these have become more standard.”
“They said it has to do with saving the souls of those who had once been human.”
Wolfgang shrugged. “I can’t say much about that, other than that salvation comes in many forms, I suppose. They told me, when I was a nightwalker, that I’d redeem myself from hell by delivering more of my own kind to them.”
“And you went along with this?”
Wolfgang shrugged. “I didn’t have any real affinity for other vampires. I didn’t owe them any loyalty. No more than one human owes another anything simply because they both happen to be humans.”
“Can I get you two something?” Joey the bartender asked. It was a bit of an interruption, but not an altogether unwelcome one.
“Get the lady whatever she likes, and I’ll have the same,” Wolfgang said.
“Two Bloody Marys,” I immediately said.
Joey nodded. “Amazing performance tonight, Nicky.”
“Thanks.” I smiled.
I didn’t drink a lot. I mean, when your blood is mostly water it doesn’t take much in the way of booze for me to feel the effects. And vampires, so far as I knew, weren’t major drinkers, either. I didn’t know how alcohol affected them, if at all, but I doubted Wolfgang would be as susceptible to intoxication as I was. Hell, one drink for me was the equivalent to three for a human.
It was enough to make me a little silly. Two drinks would certainly have me wobbling on my heels. And three… well, the clothes might start coming off.
I had a personal policy not to indulge in more than one drink on any given night. Not unless I had a reason to celebrate. And even then, I never really understood the appeal of drinking on enjoyable occasions. I have a tendency to forget a lot of what happens under the influence. And I’d rather remember the good times. But to each her own, I suppose.
“Ironic choice of beverage.” Wolfgang smirked.
I smiled. “I suppose I meant it to be ironic.”
“I can appreciate the humor in it.”
Joey was fast. For many of the reasons I’d already indicated, I was never much of a bar person, so perhaps my sample size of observations was limited, but I’d never see anyone who could make drinks so fast. If I didn’t know better, and if he didn’t smell so nice, I’d wonder if he was a vampire. It wasn’t just Joey’s speed that was impressive—it was his precision.
Never seen him spill a drop, either. And the mixtures were always spot-on.
With a few bottle twirls, Joey doing a twirl or two of his own, and the “pop” of him opening a can of tomato juice, our drinks were ready almost before I could blink.
As he set the drinks down, Wolfgang reached out and grabbed Joey’s hand. He locked eyes with him. It was a bit awkward. Did these two have a history or something?
I cocked my head.
“These drinks are on the house,” Wolfgang said.
“Of course they are,” Joey said, nodding.
I furrowed my brow. “You just told him that they were free, and they were?”
Wolfgang laughed. “You’d be surprised what people will agree to if you’re firm and direct. If you tell them how it is rather than phrase it as a question.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I suppose. But that was… different. Joey doesn’t make a habit of giving away free drinks.”
Wolfgang shrugged. “Perhaps since I was buying them for the star of the show, he was more inclined to agree
.”
I bit my lip. I only knew one other vampire who had the ability to persuade—more like compel—others. And when I knew her, Mercy had lost the ability. Stolen by a demon-possessed vampire which, to hear her tell it, was quite the story.
But it wasn’t unheard of, at least. And if Wolfgang had that ability, well… it would explain a lot. It would certainly clarify why the Order was more inclined to cooperate with him, to offer him a deal in exchange for immunity, than to eliminate him. The way I saw it, an ability like that was among the most dangerous a vampire might acquire. Not that vamps, generally speaking, picked their abilities. It was often a matter of luck—a taste of the magic infused in a particular human’s soul, amplified once consumed by the vamp.
I imagine whichever human Wolfgang had acquired this ability from, they were probably a good salesperson. Salespeople were naturally good persuaders. The person probably hadn’t taken it so far as to be able to compel people against their will, but when humans have an innate magical quality, it usually manifests as a shadow of its potential.
I thought better of confronting Wolfgang about it. An ability like that… it’s dangerous. But if he didn’t want me to suspect he had the ability, he wouldn’t have demonstrated it in front of me.
Fear… that was his tactic.
He wanted me to have enough fear of him that I’d second-guess double-crossing him.
So I changed the subject. I wasn’t afraid of him. But seeing how it had worked with Joey, I was resolved to avoid eye contact with Wolfgang. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t looked directly at me since we’d started speaking. “I wish there was a way to know whether the Order had enough intelligence on Alice to eventually send me after her.”
Wolfgang grinned as he took a sip of his drink. “Don’t worry about that. If you prove to be one of their best, which I’m sure you will, it is an inevitability.”
I cocked my head. “Sounds like they’ve sent a lot of their best hunters after her.”
Wolfgang nodded. “You have to play it carefully. They’ll want to get their most out of you first.”
I huffed. “Because I imagine not a lot of hunters who go after Alice ever come back.”
Wolfgang nodded. “Not a lot is too generous. So far as I’m aware, no human has hunted Alice and lived to tell the tale.”
I shook my head. “I mean, a good hunter is hard to find. If they know it’s likely they’ll die, why do they keep sending hunters after her? Why not send a whole army of them?”
Wolfgang huffed. “I half-suspect that if you get a contract on Alice, it’s something of a crossroads. They either know something about you that they feel needs to be judged, or they believe you will redeem yourself by succeeding.”
I cocked my head. “Is that why you chose me?”
Wolfgang shook his head. “I came to you because I knew you had motive. And experience. But I also knew that, eventually, if the Order suspected you weren’t… How should I put this…”
“Cis?” I asked. “Their standard of what’s supposedly ‘natural?’”
Wolfgang nodded. “The Order isn’t exactly LGBT-friendly.”
I chuckled. “You think? They’re affiliated with that God Hates church.”
Wolfgang nodded. “Sort of ridiculous, isn’t it?”
I shook my head. “That’s one word you could use. I’d call it tragic. There are real people, good people, hurt by their bigotry. And they imagine it’s justified because they think they’re condemning sin.”
Wolfgang nodded. “I understand. I used to think like that, myself. But living a few centuries as a vampire has a way of altering one’s perspective on the sort of absolutes, the black-and-white, the good-and-evil binaries they operate with.”
“No room for shades of gray.”
“And certainly not fifty of them.”
I smiled. “I enjoyed those books.”
“I suspected you did,” Wolfgang said. “My point is this: there is very little in the world that is purely good or evil. The problem with the worldview of those in the Order of the Morning Dawn is that they assume any action must be oriented toward either good or evil. That any condition is either holy and righteous or devilish and damnable.”
“Doesn’t accord with my brief experience with humans,” I said. “I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s mostly bad but doesn’t have a little goodness in them. And I haven’t met anyone so good that they didn’t have a dark side.”
Wolfgang nodded. “And the longer you live… Don’t get me wrong, I know you’re technically at least as old as I am.”
“Probably older,” I said. “But my memories don’t go back so far in my prior existence. It’s all a blur.”
“Precisely my point,” Wolfgang said. “When it comes to understanding humans, you’re still an amateur. But you’re on the right path. I think you’ll find, in the end, that no one is pure of motive. All humans have mixed intentions.”
I took a sip of my drink. “Only humans?”
“Vampires, too,” Wolfgang said. “Despite opinions to the contrary, there’s more that motivates us than a craving for blood. We are looking for love and meaning as much as any other species.”
I shook my head. “I wish I could say I hate you for your hypocrisies. But I can relate more than I care to admit.”
“But you still hunt us,” Wolfgang said. “Is it, perhaps, self-loathing more than your desire for revenge that motivates Nyx?”
I took a giant gulp from my Bloody Mary and left my glass half-empty on the bar as I stood up and straightened my dress. “You’d have to ask Nyx about that. Tonight, I’m Nicky.”
“We’ll be speaking soon,” Wolfgang said.
I paused a moment and turned. “And I presume you’ll find me again when it’s time?”
Wolfgang nodded. “I know where to find you. Always.”
I rolled my eyes. It would be one thing if he’d said he knew where I worked. But “always” was mildly disconcerting. Likely by design.
I intended to spend an hour or so fraternizing with my fans, but I needed to freshen up. People don’t realize how exhausting performing can be. I mean, it didn’t take much for me to sweat since I was water. And while my body odor wasn’t nearly as repulsive as a human’s, and certainly nowhere near as rank as a vampire’s, it still affected my appearance.
All the performers at Leotards and Lace had their own vanity stations. Mine was next to Gina’s. She was applying mascara in her mirror. Once she was in full drag, you couldn’t even recognize Geraldo. He was dormant. Gina had emerged and she was about to rock the stage.
“Good to see you’re doing better,” I said.
“Better?” Gina asked. “What are you talking about?”
“After the other night,” I said. “The attack…”
“Ho, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had a fantastic time the other night.”
I cocked my head. “Gina, I came and saw you at your apartment. You were still in drag, hours later. You were crying.”
“Bitch, you’re tripping!” Gina said. “Why would I be upset? The night I had with that man…”
“That man?”
“Wolfie!” Gina said. “I’ll have to introduce you. But don’t you go trying to make use of my sloppy seconds, ho.”
I laughed halfheartedly. “I’d never consider it.”
Gina leaned over and gave me a friendly kiss on the cheek before heading toward the stage. “Wish them luck!”
“Them?”
“Because this bitch is about to knock ‘em dead!”
I chuckled. “I can already hear them screaming for you. Do your thing, Gina!”
As she left, I stared at myself in the mirror. Did she really not remember? Why did she think she’d had some kind of romantic, passionate affair with Wolfgang? What had he done to her? I mean, he didn’t just make her forget. He’d replaced her memory with a concocted one of his own.
He didn’t just compel people. What he could do, the abilities he had…
And could I be sure he hadn’t done it to me? Would it work on me at all? Were there any limits to his abilities? Probably, but I didn’t know what they were. I mean, there must be, otherwise he’d never allow me to suspect he had these abilities to begin with. He’d dropped the hints. He’d compelled the bartender right in front of me. He’d manipulated Gina’s mind, and he had to realize there was a better-than-average chance she and I would talk about it.
If anything, he was toying with me. And what was even more frightening… if he couldn’t get Alice on his own, despite how powerful he was, how powerful had she become since I last encountered her? And why did Wolfgang seem to think I had a better chance of staking her than he did?
My phone buzzed from inside my drawer. I had it on vibrate and could feel it through the surface of my vanity. I didn’t want my phone ringing and annoying the queens while I was performing, and I didn’t want to take it on stage with me.
One thing my get-up lacked was pockets. And it wasn’t like I could stick it in my bra inconspicuously. Not like I had much up top to show off. I mean, since implants weren’t a viable option for me, I had to work with what I had, which wasn’t much. But I had my tricks.
Needless to say, I didn’t need my phone on stage, anyway.
I pulled out my phone. Multiple texts. All from Devin. Apparently he was a little antsy that I hadn’t replied yet.
The handler—aka Mina—had another hit for us.
And they needed me to meet them at the church at dawn.
18
I’D BARELY HAD a chance to clean off my makeup after the night I’d had at Leotards and Lace. Since sleep was more of a luxury than a necessity for me, I opted to enjoy the rest of the night before I’d have to undergo the inevitable transition back to “Nick” in the morning.
A lot of flirtation.
While I was flattered by it, I didn’t reciprocate it much. I don’t know why I was so fixated on Devin. He wasn’t that impressive as a hunter. He’d mostly followed my lead. And he came with baggage. More, frankly, than I had the patience to deal with. And besides, did I want to be the one that forced the issue with his family? Especially if it was “Nick” he was into anyway—and technically speaking, Nick didn’t exist.
Gates of Eden: Starter Library Page 104
