“Oh, please. I’m saying what you’re too much of a weakling to say, even though I feel you thinking it.”
Jekyll blushed to a deep, dark red, but he did look relieved when the group started moving for the door. “Report back to us if anyone hears anything new,” he said, his tone weak. “Thank you for coming.”
Natalie rolled her eyes as she stepped into the hall. Immediately Kai booked it for the elevator, but Natalie hung back until Alec came out of the apartment.
“Waiting for me?” he asked with a laugh. “How sweet.”
She ignored his baiting. “I’ve got to go to work, but Alec, I need you to do something.”
“Anything.”
She glanced at him. Fuck, he looked serious when he said that. She cleared her throat.
“Um, Kai . . . follow her. See if you can turn up anything about Rehu.”
Alec looked at her sharply. “You think she was hiding something about him, too?”
Natalie blinked. Were they really on the same page? “Yeah, I do. She was really . . . twitchy when his name was brought up.”
“And twitchy is not our little Kai,” Alec agreed. “Seems like denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.”
She stared. “How long have you been waiting to use that line?”
He shrugged. “Um, forever.”
“I . . . just . . .” She shook her head. There was no response to it. “Well, now that it’s out of your system, I think the mummy is as good a lead as anything we might think about the Van Helsings. I don’t want to drop it just to make Kai happy and then be sorry if someone else gets killed in some horrible way.”
“I agree.” He met her eyes evenly. “Hey, Natalie, you were great in there. Really calm, but firm when you were talking. A leader, even. It’s nice to see you coming out of your shell and getting a bit more . . . monstrous.”
Natalie smiled. Normally she didn’t like being called monstrous, but this wasn’t an insult, it was a compliment. And Alec meant it, which sort of made her all warm inside.
“Um, yeah, so I’m going to work. Text me later, okay?” she said, then turned on her heel and hurried for the stairwell. Somehow she didn’t think riding down in an elevator with the werewolf was such a good idea.
Not since what she really wanted to do right now was kiss his scruffy face off.
Natalie stood staring up at the brownstone and shivered. If Jekyll and Hyde’s place was a modern mausoleum, this place was a traditional mansion. Bought with old money. And she couldn’t help but keep thinking about the fact that their “old money” had been earned when the mercenary Van Helsings got villagers to pay them to eliminate their “monsters”—whether said village even had a supernatural being present or not.
Which somehow never made it into books or movies.
Drake was suddenly at her elbow and Natalie jumped in surprise as she spun to face him.
“Right now is not the time to freak me out, Vampire!” she snapped.
He glared at her. “Don’t threaten me, Natalie. I’m not a child you can menace.”
Natalie flinched. “Goddamn it, I’d never menace a child, that’s just a—” She stopped as she looked around. Where had he come from anyway? Her heart sank. “Please tell me you didn’t just fly here as a bat and transform right on the street.”
He shrugged. “There’s no one around.”
She rubbed her eyes with one hand. “Drake, you know that isn’t the point. Kai keeps telling you—”
“Kai is not my leader,” Drake said in a cold, clipped tone that revealed all his Eastern European royal roots. “No one is.”
Natalie slowly counted to ten so she didn’t further offend Count Divalicious.
“Okay, so you won’t stop because someone tells you to. But will you stop if I ask you? Pretty please, Your Highness Count Dracula, will you stop taking these risks? I know you don’t think getting found out is a big deal, but some of us do.”
“You are so afraid of them,” Drake said with a tilt of his head. “Even though you’re strong.”
She thought about that for a long moment. “There are a lot more of them than me. I just want to be . . . invisible to them. That’s all.”
Drake sighed. “Very well, Natalie. I will try to be more discreet. And you will try to be less terrified.”
She rolled her eyes. “Now you sound like Blob.”
Drake tensed and they both thought of their former circle leader.
He shook his head. “I was surprised you could join me for this meeting tonight.”
Natalie pursed her lips. She didn’t like the implication behind his tone.
“Is that why you made these arrangements just a few hours after we agreed to come here? In the hopes I couldn’t get out of work?”
“Of course not.” He shook his head, but she could see she’d struck on at least part of the truth. Still, he gave her no chance to question his motives further. “The Van Helsings have never been known to take their time when it comes to us. As soon as I sent word that we wanted a meeting, this time and place were arranged.”
Natalie pursed her lips. “I’m not sure I believe you, Drake. But arguing with you has never gotten anyone anywhere.”
He smiled a fraction. “No. That is true.”
She shook her head. “Okay, I guess let’s just go in and see this guy.”
Drake led the way up the stairs and knocked. After a moment, the door swung open to reveal a butler. Natalie blinked. An actual butler, dressed up in a uniform and everything, just like they were actually in a Stoker novel. And the guy was impressive. He looked to be about eight million years old, or at least like he’d come through the last period when the Van Helsings were at war with the monsters.
He sniffed with disdain as he looked down at them. “Good evening. He is expecting you.”
Without any other words, the butler stepped back and motioned them into the foyer. He shut the door behind them, locked it with an ominous clang, and then walked down a long hallway.
Tapestries hung on every wall, and they were not pleasant. They depicted the taking of heads, the letting of blood, the killing of monsters. In fact, Natalie was sure she recognized a friend here and there on their finely woven surfaces. But despite the finery in the hangings, the rest of the home was dusty, hardly used. As they passed by rooms on their slow walk toward . . . wherever, Natalie couldn’t help but notice furniture covered by sheets.
The place was musty, like a freshly opened tomb. And Natalie knew tombs.
She leaned over to Drake. “Shit, this is just like a movie.”
“Some things they do get right, my dear,” Drake said with a shrug.
They reached a shut door and the butler opened it and stepped inside. Natalie couldn’t see around him as he said, “Sir, your . . . guests are here.”
If the person inside answered, Natalie didn’t hear him. But the butler stepped back and motioned them into the room. Natalie stopped just inside the door and looked around in wonder at the study.
The ceilings were ridiculously high and lined with bookshelves from the floor all the way up to where a skylight let in a little light during the day. It was night now, so there was just the faintest hint of city lights through the portal.
She leaned closer and flinched. The books on the very first shelf were various editions of Dracula and Frankenstein. She couldn’t help but think that was on purpose.
She turned away from the disturbing literature choices and looked toward the desk all the way in the back of the room. In front of it was a man. A very old man. A very old man in a wheelchair.
“Van Helsing,” Drake said, his voice thick with a mixture of disdain and grudging respect.
Natalie’s eyes widened. She had seen the minions of the Van Helsings over the years, even caught a glimpse of one of the family members about a century ago, but she hadn’t had the displeasure of their company for decades upon decades.
This man was not what she had expected. He was in no way a threat to a four-hundred-pound blob man. A
nd she doubted he could incite a mob to riot. He was small and wrinkled and looked like everyone’s grandpa. Well, everyone’s but hers, since she had never had one.
“Drakule,” the man responded, his voice thick with a German accent. His gaze, as sharp and bright as a hawk, despite his age, swung over to her. “And this must be the Frankenstein.”
Natalie shook her head. She would not be cowed by a man in a wheelchair. She straightened her spine and said, “Frankenstein was the scientist, not the monster. Shouldn’t you know that? I mean, no one ever gets it right, but isn’t that your deal, to know about monsters? I’m Natalie Gray.”
She held out her hand, but Van Helsing didn’t move to take it and she pulled it back to her side with a shrug.
He turned his full attention back to Drake. “I was surprised to hear from you after all these years, Vampire. I thought we’d made our arrangement very clear. No contact. No war.”
Drake didn’t respond for a moment, but slowly settled himself into a dusty velvet chair. Natalie stared at him. This was his element, it seemed. No longer did he look like a confused monster out of place in modern society. He looked like the lead of a horror novel. Calm. Cool. Collected.
“If there is no more war between us, why are my people being murdered?” Drake asked in a low and calm tone that barely carried in the huge library.
Natalie swiveled her gaze to Van Helsing. She hadn’t exactly thought Drake would be so blunt, but she wanted to see the other man’s reaction. There was none beyond a brief burst of pleasure in his eyes that was gone as soon as it appeared.
“Why would I know anything about that?” Van Helsing asked.
He folded his thin, wrinkled fingers in his lap and tilted his head like he truly didn’t think there was a reason to involve a monster killer in an investigation of the deaths of monsters. Natalie forced herself to keep her mouth shut and let Drake handle this issue. He was doing pretty well and she didn’t want to intrude.
“You’re Van Helsing. You need no other reason,” Drake said in a tone that could have made ice, it was so cold.
Van Helsing’s thin smile vanished, replaced with anger. “The ones who started these wars were your kind, not my family.”
Drake leaned forward. “You mean when you took money to break into my home and stake me in the heart while I slept peacefully, that was justified?”
“Absolutely.”
Natalie’s wide eyes went even wider. The two men kept leaning closer and closer, their tones dropping lower and into more of a warning zone. This was going to turn into an old-man fight of epic proportions. And while that might be a little bit entertaining and get a ton of hits on YouTube if she recorded it with her cell, she doubted it would get any of them anywhere. Certainly not any closer to finding out what was the motive behind the murders of Ellis and Blob. So she had to exercise a little control, since the two of them were apparently incapable of it.
“Look, Mr. Van Helsing,” she interjected, trying to get into the line of sight of both men so they’d remember she was actually there. “Two of our people have been killed in terrible ways. And someone was following others. We’re just trying to determine why.”
“And so you came here?” Van Helsing drawled with increasing disdain that made Natalie’s blood boil.
She folded her arms. “Let’s not pretend that you and your family don’t have a history with us. You’ve certainly been the cause of the death of our kind before and been proud of it, as the tapestries in your hallway prove. Drake and I came to you with the thought that you might have information that could be helpful in determining the specifics of our current situation.”
Van Helsing returned his stare to Drake for a long moment, then looked up at Natalie. “Drake. And you go by Natalie. You know, you may pretend to be human, but you are not. You never will be. You never could be. You are a nameless abomination, child, no matter how you hide your scars with makeup or play at being people.”
Natalie’s nostrils flared. Earlier in the day, Alec had said she was a little more monstrous. Now she felt a lot more monstrous. And not in a good way. She wanted to rip this man’s arms off.
Which would only prove his point.
Instead, she leaned closer to him and growled, “Do you know who might be behind these attacks, Mr. Van Helsing?”
He stared at her evenly for so long that Natalie began to think he might have died and no one had noticed. But finally, he cleared his throat.
“Describe this person who is supposedly following you,” he ordered, his tone dripping with condescension.
Natalie counted to ten in her head as she quickly described the person outside of Jekyll and Hyde’s apartment.
“How narrow a description,” Van Helsing sneered. “Yes, I’m sure we can pick this person out of a lineup.”
She bit her lip. “He was wearing a medallion, as well. Square, large, possibly with a jewel in the center.”
Van Helsing’s stare jerked to her face briefly, but then he shook his head. “I can assure you, my family has nothing to do with this. Now leave.”
“But—” Natalie began.
“No. And if you monsters use this fancy of yours to interfere with the Van Helsings, know that our war will rekindle. I’ll make certain the world knows what kind of disgusting mistakes you all are.” He straightened up in his chair and Natalie could see a glimpse of what he’d been before disease and age had wizened him. “We have more money than ever, Ms. Gray, and with modern technology, your lives could be hell on earth. I will destroy you in every way. If there is war this time, it will not end until you are ended.”
Drake got to his feet and turned. “Understood, hunter. But also know that if your family is behind this . . . the war will come from our side as well.”
Then he caught Natalie’s arm and all but dragged her from the room and away from the one human they knew for sure was aware of and hated them in every way.
12
Drake strode down the street at such a clip that Natalie had to hustle to catch up with him. She had questions and he was going to give her some answers, one way or another.
“Hey, what was that all about?” she demanded.
He skidded to a stop and turned toward her. His face was pale (even more so than usual) and Natalie leaned forward in anticipation of some real answers. But before he could give them, Kai stepped from an alleyway beside them.
“How did it go?” she asked, all chipper and like hiding in an alley was totally normal.
Natalie stared at her. Was this for real?
“Kai?” she sputtered. “Wh-what the hell? What are you doing here?”
She shrugged, but there was high tension on her face and in the way she held her body. “Just wanted to know what was happening.”
Drake stared at the Egyptian girl, too. “But how did you know where we were? I didn’t tell anyone the details of the address except for Natalie.”
He glared at Natalie and she lifted her hands. “I didn’t tell anyone anything!”
Kai waved her hand as if to dismiss that question. “So what happened?”
Natalie pursed her lips, but she couldn’t exactly hide the truth from Kai, even though her suspicions about the mummy and her boyfriend were now running rampant. Kai wanted them to believe Rehu was innocent, and heaping all the blame on the Van Helsings was the best way to make sure that happened.
“Well?” Kai encouraged.
Natalie rolled her eyes and quickly recounted their entire meeting at the brownstone.
“Then this Van Helsing is a viable suspect,” Kai said with a grin that certainly didn’t fit the gravity of their situation.
“I wouldn’t rule the family out of our troubles, that’s for sure. We all know they are more than capable of this kind of violence.” Natalie shook her head. “But that man didn’t kill anyone. I’m almost sure of it.”
Kai wrinkled her brow. “Come on! Just because he’s old doesn’t mean he couldn’t have done it.”
Natalie bli
nked. “Um, he’s confined to a wheelchair, Kai.”
Kai hesitated for a moment, then her eyes lit up again. “Okay, well, what if he’s faking?”
Natalie drew back. “Faking?”
“Being in the wheelchair,” Kai said with a nod. “He could be totally whole and fine and just using a ‘disability’ to lull us into a state of calm.”
Natalie stared at Kai. There was one thing the Mummy Girl usually was, and that was reasonable. Unlike the other monsters, who often went to crazy lengths to defend their behavior or steep themselves in paranoia, Kai stayed on the straight and narrow path. She didn’t believe in ghost stories. She didn’t freak out.
Except now she was flipping out to Linda proportions. And there was only one reason why she would do that. Rehu. He had always been her Achilles’ heel. Her personal form of madness. Natalie was seeing that in Kai again for the first time since he had been kicked out of their group a year before.
Kai was desperate to protect him. Desperate enough to spin wild stories that put the blame on anyone else in the world. And if she was this desperate to protect him . . .
Well, it only made Natalie more suspicious that Kai knew something she wasn’t telling the rest of the group.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Kai,” Drake interrupted with a sigh of frustration. “Of course Van Helsing is truly in the wheelchair.”
Kai shook her head. “I know the family has been your foe longer and so you have some respect for them, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t resort to lying for sympathy or tolerance or even to trick us.”
Drake folded his arms. “I know he’s in the wheelchair. I put him in it.”
Natalie blinked. So often she forgot that up until the last few decades, Drake had still been Dracula. And he had lived accordingly.
“You put him in it?” she repeated in quiet shock. “How? When?”
Drake’s gaze got distant. “It was during World War II. I fought for the Allies and, even though Van Helsing was German, he turned on his countrymen and fought for our side, too.”
Even Kai seemed caught up now. “Because of what the Germans were doing to the Jews?”
Club Monstrosity Page 12
