Except, of course, if you were a vampire like me.
Chapter Two
“The night is almost as beautiful as you are, Rue.”
I just managed to keep my eyes from rolling. Not that I didn’t agree I was cute. My appearance had nothing whatsoever to do with me. When I looked into the mirror, I liked the face that stared back at me. At first the changes jarred me, but eventually I came to accept myself. As each day passed, I became more used to standing out because of my looks, not to mention the otherworldly draw that was a part of my makeup.
Silvano, one of my fellow vampires, and a slightly older yet distinguished man, probably wasn’t affected by the draw so much as the physical appearance.
“Thank you, Silvano, but you sound like a lover. I thought this wasn’t going to be a date but you giving me pointers for my growth.”
He frowned. “Can’t it be an enjoyable time between friends?”
“Friends aren’t in the habit of flirting with each other.” I lied because my friend Nathan asked me out and flirted every time I saw him. Part of Nathan’s charm was his unwillingness to give up and how he had proven he would always look out for me. I liked him a lot, but I wasn’t sure I should admit it to him.
“Your mind is elsewhere, Rue.” Silvano sounded petulant, and I hid a smile. I had learned he could speak into my mind and maybe read it, but he had assured me he wouldn’t. Since spending time with him, I knew when someone was in my head even if I couldn’t stop them. So far, Silvano kept to his promise. He must have noticed the distracted look on my face.
“Yes, sorry, you were saying?”
He studied my face as we walked. Silvano had been making subtle suggestions over the past couple of weeks that I should join his coven. So far, I had resisted. Before I knew what I was getting myself into, I wanted to learn all I could. Not just about vampires but all nonhumans and about the world I lived in, the one hidden from me all the years I was human.
A breeze stirred my hair, and I raised a hand to brush it from my face. I sensed a change in Silvano as he watched. On the other side of the road, another man appeared and was gone just as quickly. He hadn’t moved off, although I couldn’t detect him by any stretch of my senses. Instincts told me so, but I was sure Silvano did feel the man. He was no doubt one of Silvano’s group.
“Have you learned to take wine yet?” Silvano asked.
I hated him knowing my secret, that I still couldn’t stomach anything other than blood, but he had assured me most new vampires had this problem. I would “grow out of it,” he said, but I hadn’t yet.
“No.”
“How about we visit a restaurant anyway?” he suggested. “There’s a place on Saint Louis Street. This time of night there may be fewer guests, and you can open your mind to accept their thoughts.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Accept? You make it sound like they’re offering them.”
“Humans offer a lot more than they realize just by their nature.” He spoke the words as if he were relaying the time.
“It’s not their fault.”
“Do you defend them?”
I shrugged. “I don’t need to defend their existence. They are what they are, just as we’re something else.”
“I agree. Humans serve their purpose.”
“I don’t remember saying that.”
Before he responded, a police siren cut through the air, and we both stopped walking. Soon a squad car turned the corner. The line of traffic ahead of it parted to get out of the way. Rather than continue on, the car rolled to a stop and double-parked alongside us. By then I already knew Violet drove the vehicle.
She cut the siren and climbed out of the car dressed in her usual uniform. Her gaze sought mine and then slid to Silvano, and her jaw tightened. I sensed an increase in her ire just at the sight of him. “I need to speak to you, Rue.”
“Sure.” I waited for the werewolf cop to reach me. “Is there a problem?”
Violet ignored me and scowled at Silvano. “Why are you with him?”
My eyebrows rose. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
Silvano stood with his hands linked behind his back in an obvious effort to appear calm. He was anything but. From the moment Violet appeared, he’d gone tense, and the dislike between the two could have illuminated a whole city with its energy.
“Are you insinuating I’m not good company to keep?” Silvano asked Violet.
“Not good period,” Violet shot back. “It’s just a matter of time before we catch you on the crimes you’re committing.”
“And then what?” Silvano didn’t appear worried. “Will you haul me before a judge to convict me? A human judge and jury?”
“You still have to abide by the laws!”
Silvano laughed, a cold sound that echoed on the night, and he raked Violet from head to foot. “Laws made by humans don’t interest me. Just because you choose to rub shoulders with them, pretending to be a policeman is no concern of mine.”
“Pretending!” She growled low in her throat and stepped closer to him. “We’ll see who’s pretending when you’re behind bars.”
He gazed at her shaking his head. “You actually believe that. They cannot govern us. Can’t you see?”
“They far outnumber us,” she shot back, “and you’d be better off realizing all your stupid activities won’t stay under cover of darkness for long. I’m going to see to that, and tell me. Which one of us can survive in the day?”
Silvano ground his teeth. “They have one use, and even you can’t deny that.”
I bristled because I knew what he meant. Humans were for food, and while the werewolves didn’t eat humans during a full moon, it wasn’t impossible either. Or so I had heard. Silvano’s sentiments, though true in a way, offended me. I accepted the fact that all nonhumans didn’t see the world as I did, but this was still one more reason I hesitated to join Silvano’s coven.
Violet scoffed. “This isn’t about them having what you need to survive, and you know it.”
“You’re a hypocrite, officer,” Silvano bit out. “You throw aside your laws whenever it suits you.”
“To keep our secret. I’ve never deliberately broken the law like you.”
Silvano shrugged. “Whatever lets you sleep at night.”
Violet swore. I glanced around to see that we were gathering a small crowd. So far, Silvano and Violet’s conversation was too low for humans to hear, but her anger increased the more she argued with Silvano. The contest of wills had to end.
“You two need to stop this,” I said. “We’re gathering attention. Was there a reason you found us, Violet, or did you just want to take this opportunity to bully Silvano?”
Both of them objected to my choice of words, which I found amusing, but they backed off from each other. Violet turned to me. “I need to talk to you, Rue—alone. Come with me.”
I wouldn’t hold my breath if I had any for a “please” at this point, so I agreed. “Silvano, can we pick our conversation up some other time? I’m sorry. This sounds serious.”
“Of course. I’m always at your service. All you have to do is call me, and I’ll be there for you.” The sweet words came across as sour after what he had said earlier, but I did my best not to condemn him. After all, I had done some things I wasn’t particularly proud of, and I was sure there were many more in my future. My actions aside, I wondered what Silvano was involved in that the police couldn’t pin on him. Well, it was not my business, and I didn’t want to police nonhumans. Someone else could have the job, thank you very much.
Violet led the way to her squad car, and I hesitated before climbing into the passenger side. Since becoming a vampire, I preferred my travel to be perpetuated with my own feet. Not that I feared cars now. They just felt so confining.
Violet flipped the switch on the siren and peeled out into traffic. I winced and covered my ears, groaning, “Why?”
“It’s less likely Silvano will hear us,” she said as she sped down the street.
; “I doubt he will care one way or another.” My head spun. The sound from inside the car was a million times worse than being outside it. How could she bear it? “As long as what you tell me has nothing to do with vampires or his business, Silvano will ignore what you say.”
Violet flipped the siren off, and I collapsed against the back of the seat. The ringing in my ears subsided and with it the pain. I glanced at her and noted how she gripped the steering wheel and her tight mouth. I had the feeling it wasn’t the noise that bothered her.
“Doesn’t the noise hurt you?” I asked.
She glanced at me and then focused on the road again. “I’m used to it. Plus I wear ear plugs.”
I peered into her ear and spotted the flesh colored bud. “All the time?”
“On duty, yes.” She hesitated. “When I first started, it took everything in me not to howl.”
I snorted, and she blushed. “Truly? Wait, that’s right. Dogs howl when they hear the fire truck sirens. I remember it from when I was a girl.”
Violet sneered at me. “You speak like an older woman sometimes.”
There was no love lost between us any more than her and Silvano. “I’m older than I look.”
“No, you’re not. I can tell you’re new.”
I shrugged. I had no need to tell her this body I was in wasn’t my original body. I might look twenty-eight and not yet a year old in vampire years, but I had been on the earth longer. Besides, my way of speaking was the product of being a southern girl from North Carolina, which I was proud of. I didn’t need to defend myself to this werewolf.
Now I’m beginning to sound like Silvano.
“Where’s your partner tonight, Violet?”
She glared at me, probably recalling the last time I had seen the woman. At that time, Violet had allowed me to drink her partner’s blood to save me. She would have preferred to let me rot.
“None of your business. Look, it doesn’t matter. There’s been a murder.”
I stiffened. In that moment, the only reason I could think the police would seek me out to tell me about a murder was if they thought I was responsible. Violet showed no signs of arresting me. Then another thought occurred to me. She might have come to tell me someone I knew had been killed. If my blood were not already cold, it would have run that way now.
“N-not Nathan?” I whispered.
Violet eyed me in silence.
“Tell me now,” I demanded.
Her hands squeaked on the steering wheel. “Nathan isn’t dead, but he is in trouble.”
“How so?”
“Do you know Dalton?”
“Yes, his roommate. I met him once or twice when I stopped by their apartment.” Dalton seemed to live for women, and even I being one of the undead wasn’t out of his scope. When Nathan introduced us, the werewolf had turned on the charm so strong, I found myself drowning in it. I supposed there were women who would melt if they were the focus of his attention. After all, Dalton was similar to Nathan, very tall, muscular, and having an inner beast under tight control added a sense of danger. Unlike Nathan, who was sweetly helpless to his darker nature, Dalton knew what he was and used it to full advantage. The result turned me off more than it attracted me, so I had rebuffed him to Nathan’s great relief and amusement.
“You seem pretty close to Nathan,” Violet said.
“Is that the issue here?”
She took a corner at too sharp an angle. I thought we might have risen onto two wheels, and for some reason I had a flashback to another time when I had been in an accident with a friend. Someone had tried to run us off the road. Back then I was helpless. Now I was not.
Violet regained control of the car and herself. “Sorry. I’m just worried. Really, worried.”
“Why?”
“Because Nathan is accused of murdering Dalton, and I might not be able to help him.”
“That’s ridiculous! Nathan would never kill anyone.”
Violet made a noise of disgust. “Guess you aren’t as close to him as you think you are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I knew what it sounded like to me. Nathan had killed someone in his past. Therefore, it was entirely possible he could do so again. When I met Nathan, I had first read his advertisement to be a tracker. The ad claimed he had never eaten anyone. Later, he had said as much to me. When Violet didn’t respond right away, I asked, “Do you believe Nathan killed Dalton?”
She sighed. “Honestly? I don’t know. Right now he’s in a rage, and we can’t get him to calm down.”
“Where is he?”
“In a holding cell.”
I glared at her. “You arrested Nathan? Do you have evidence against him? I thought you were his friend.”
“Calm down, vampire!”
“I am calm.” Narrowing my eyes at her, I curled my fingers into my palms. Recently, when I poised for attack, without my intention, my fingernails grew long and pointed. When it first happened, it freaked me out. I had touched the tip of one in curiosity and sliced straight through my flesh. Bill, who had been training me in fighting at the time, had informed me my fingernails were as sharp as knives and as hard as a steel blade. I wasn’t sure I believed it or wanted to. Right now, in Violet’s squad car, it happened again. I was ready to fight on Nathan’s behalf.
“I am his friend,” Violet said. “But I’m a cop first, and if he’s broken the law, he will pay. I want to help him, but my hands are tied. He was found on the scene with Dalton’s blood on him and in possession of a short sword.”
“A sword
Violet nodded. “Silver. I’m sure you know what that means.”
I did know, having learned it in the last month. Wanting to know my natural weaknesses, I had asked Bill, and thinking of my crazy friend, I had asked about werewolves, too. Funny enough, silver weakened both vampires and werewolves. Too much of it, and both could be killed.
I rubbed my forehead, trying to work out why Nathan would even risk handling a silver sword. None of it made sense to me, and from watching Nathan and Dalton together, I had believed they were like brothers. Why would Nathan hurt him? I refused to accept it. “So the police think Nathan stabbed Dalton with this sword?”
“Chopped off his head.”
I gagged. “W-what?”
“An act that violent is hate, revenge, or…a werewolf’s rage.”
I knew in an instant it wasn’t looking good for Nathan. Violet drew into the police station’s parking lot. There were few cars around us, but the lights blazed inside the building. I peered out the window and spotted something crouching on the roof. When I jerked the car door open to climb out and get a better view, the thing was gone.
“Forget it,” Violet said.
I looked at her. “What?”
“It was a demon.”
I frowned at her back as she started toward the building and then followed. “Why don’t you go after it? That’s your job, isn’t it?”
She stopped walking and spun to face me. “No, it’s not. Listen, there are demons everywhere. They’re like an infestation, not usually visible, but sometimes they appear in the physical realm. You get a glimpse and nothing else. What I’m talking about is the lower level one. They’re primary purpose of existence seems to be to screw with humans. My job, as you seem eager to define it, is to protect humans from other humans. Sometimes I might have to protect them from nonhumans.”
“The demons, right.”
“No, the lower demons can influence humans, but it’s still up to the humans to give in to it. Therefore, the humans are punished for their crimes.” Violet pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “This is the place where the humans come who won’t resist. Needless to say, the demons that messed with their heads join them, hoping to continue their fun. So you’ll see a demon on the roof, an imp in a cell, whatever. It’s normal.”
I rubbed imagined goose bumps on my arms. “That’s gross.”
“Yeah, but it’s life. The humans don’t see them a fraction as much
as we do, but thank goodness, it’s not all the time.”
“You chose this field.”
“That’s right.” She rested her hand on the gun at her hip. “And I love it. I won’t risk it for Nathan.”
I shrugged. “That’s the difference between you and me, Violet. I would risk everything for those I care for.”
I won no points in friendship with that piece of heroism, and she spun away again. We entered the police station, and I followed her to the stairs leading to the homicide division. A large room with various desks presented itself, all flat surfaces cluttered with papers, folders, and most containing computers. A few spots were occupied with policemen, most on the phone. One leaned back in his chair, feet on the desk, eyes closed. Violet approached this man and shoved his feet on the floor. He jerked awake.
“Violet, what did you do that for?”
Baby blues met mine for an instant and then slid to Violet. His heartbeat quickened. Human and attracted to Violet. I looked at her. She seemed not to care or didn’t know.
“Give me the keys. I’m going to the back.”
“To visit that guy again?” The man scrubbed a hand over a jawline with a five o’clock shadow. “No use. You’re not going to get anything out of him.”
She pounded a heavy hand on his desk and leaned toward him. “Let me be the judge of that.”
He grinned. “Have I told you how beautiful you are when you’re angry, Violet?”
She grumbled.
“Anyway, he’s been moved.”
“What? Who moved him? Where?”
The man named a facility I hadn’t heard of. “He’ll get a psych eval, but probably not until some time next week. They’re backed up, but with they way he was found and being out of control, they’ll probably get permission to keep him a while.”
My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What is ‘a while’? Where is this facility?”
The man looked at me. “Who’s your cute friend, Violet?”
“Never mind. Come on, Rue. We’re leaving.”
Wolf Ties (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 2) Page 2
