by Alicia Ryan
“Straight dark hair, tall, thin...” Willie’s voice trailed off, and Luc tried to keep his expression blank.
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Luc promised, realizing this probably wasn’t the best time to tell them he wouldn’t be needing their services for a while.
“So what’s going on tonight?” he asked, changing the subject. “Is it worth 20 bucks to follow my little tidbit in or should I just pick one who is already on her way out?”
Willie grinned. “Well, the tournaments are starting up,” he said, “but I’d save your money. The good matches don’t start until tomorrow.” Willie glanced at his still scowling friend. “I’m trying to talk Derek here into entering.”
“What kind of tournament?” Luc asked, though, if Derek was a potential contestant, he could well enough guess.
“Combat,” Willie whispered. “Good, old fashioned, full fanged battle. Aleksander’s had a giant ring built on the bottom floor. Should be a hell of a show, right Derek?”
“I’m not entering, Willie. That’s not my job,” Derek said, stone-faced.
“Come on, man,” Willie entreated. “Tell him, Luc. No one would have a chance against him. Not even the new guy.”
“New guy?” Luc asked.
Willie shook his head. “You don’t want this one, Luc, trust me. Too old. None of us really even knows what he’s doing here, but he’s been kicking ass in the ring, so Aleksander’s letting him stay.”
Oh well. “Maybe I’ll come by tomorrow then,” Luc said, “and take a look for myself.”
He spied another bevy of beauties coming out of the side exit door.
“You two have a nice night,” Luc called out, already turning toward the departing flesh. One of them had caught his eye.
He looked back briefly before he rounded the corner.
Derek was still scowling.
Luc picked up his pace and crossed the street. He retrieved his bike from its spot, spun it around, and headed back the way he had come.
At the group of girls, he slowed the bike and rested his booted foot on the pavement. The black-dyed snakeskin shone under the street lights as the girls turned to check him out.
He knew which one he wanted, so he let his blue gaze bore into her. “Need a ride?” he asked, wondering briefly why women never rejected that line.
The girl smiled nervously, looking at her friends. “Sure,” she said finally, coming over to him. “We were going to another club downtown. You can drop me there.”
Luc smiled. “Sure thing, sweetheart. I’m headed that way myself.” Luc helped the girl onto the bike in front of him. Her skirt was impossibly short. “Hang on,” he whispered, putting his hands over hers on the handle bars.
He gunned the engine, drowning out the titters and warnings from her friends.
They needn’t have worried. Luc delivered her to the club as promised, just a few pints lighter than she was before. The girl stared dazedly up at him as he helped her off the bike.
“You aren’t coming in?” she asked, looking hurt.
Luc shook his head. “Not this time, sweetheart.” He spied her friends getting out of a cab not far up the street. “Look, your friends are already here.”
The girl turned, waved to her friends, and started up the sidewalk toward them as fast as her ridiculously high heels would carry her.
Spirits considerably lifted, Luc turned the bike around and headed for home.
CHAPTER 47
Being a vampire is really starting to suck, James thought, too scared even to notice his own pun. When Memnon had dropped him off at a downtown club, he’d immediately been given an audience with Aleksander, the apparent patriarch of the place. Aleksander wasn’t a particularly impressive vampire, not very old or strong or beautiful. Quite the contrary, in fact; one side of his face was hideously scarred, as if at some point he’d been too close to a serious explosion.
Aleksander told him how precious his blood was, because he’d been made by the oldest known vampire. He took a small knife to his own wrist and invited a young female vampire to drink from him.
Suitably weakened, he motioned for the vampire who’d been holding James to bring him forward. Derek, with the chest as wide as an oil drum, did as he was told, and Aleksander refilled his drained body with James’ blood. As soon as he could speak, Aleksander licked his lips and told Derek to put James to work.
After that, Aleksander had taken no notice of him, nor had anyone else except Derek, his seemingly self-appointed guardian, and James was relegated to mopping the dance floor night after night. He had looked for a means of escape, but the club was too well guarded.
And now James found himself bare-chested in a boxing ring, staring down a tattoo-covered freak. At least he isn’t huge, James thought. And he didn’t seem to be old.
A voice from behind James announced his name and the name of his opponent, Ringo, to the smattering of vampires who stood, mostly disinterested, around the room. A few cheers went up for Ringo, and he stepped into the middle of the ring, making a show of trying to egg James on. He hopped about for a few minutes, looking to James rather foolish.
“Out of your corner, James,” Willie’s voice teased from behind the microphone. “We’ve only got until sun-up.”
Maybe not, James thought, moving slightly forward, but so far he’d managed to get his ass kicked by almost every vampire he’d met.
He saw a flash as the other vampire took a swing at him, the silver rings on his fingers reflecting the arena’s dangling overhead lights. James ducked and aimed a blow of his own at the guy’s midsection.
His fist landed in soft flesh, sending the boy flying backward into the stone post that demarcated one of the corners of the ring.
James wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised.
The other vampire got unsteadily to his feet and dusted off his black tee shirt.
“Lucky shot,” he mumbled, beginning another advance.
James didn’t wait for him this time. He took two quick steps forward and landed several blows on Ringo’s head and chest.
Ringo staggered again, but didn’t fall. He raised his head and showed his fangs in a spit-drenched snarl. This time his fist went plowing into the side of James’ face.
James took the punch and fell backwards, but got to his feet quickly enough to block the next blow and waited for the moment when his opponent would let his guard down.
It didn’t take long. They were amateurs after all, but James was far stronger. He supposed he had Ash’s blood to thank for that.
He landed two more solid blows to Ringo’s head, knocking him unconscious long enough for Willie to declare James the winner.
There wasn’t exactly an uproar from the crowd, but James stood there smiling nonetheless. He’d never won a fight before, vampire or otherwise, and was more than a little pleased with himself.
“Nice moves, hot shot,” Willie said, covering the mic. “You just won yourself a place in tomorrow’s death match.”
James felt the blood drain from his face. No doubt about it, being a vampire was definitely starting to suck.
CHAPTER 48
Ash tightened his grip on the cell phone. “I’ll kill him,” he said, turning to pace the floor of his study. “And you,” he exclaimed, piercing the air in front of him as if Toria could see him through the receiver. “What were you thinking?”
He’d caught Ariana’s scent the moment he’d opened his front door. Too strong to have been weeks old, he’d known right away that she’d come here. But then he’d detected Toria’s scent too, so he’d called her to get an explanation, never guessing that she would have given Ariana to another vampire.
“Why would you do such a thing?” he asked her now, genuinely puzzled. “How could you? When you know how long I’ve searched for her?”
“What do you care?” Toria said finally. “The Ash I knew swore to kill that woman in the most painful way possible. He wanted revenge on her, not to trail after her like
a lovesick fool.”
Ash stopped pacing. “Plans change, Toria,” he barked, clenching his free hand at his side. “People change.”
She scoffed. “We’re not people, Ash. We’re killers, and you were supposed to kill her.”
He could picture her on the other end, eyes narrowed, hand on her hip. But he still couldn’t figure out why she’d taken Ariana from him. “Why, Toria?” he asked.
“Because you don’t belong with her!” she shouted, forcing him to jerk the phone away from his ear. “You swore to kill her, and now you’re concerned that her mattress might not be soft enough.” She lowered her voice slightly, and he replaced the ear piece. “That woman has bewitched you a second time, Ash. I don’t know how, but you have to snap out of it.”
“This is not a goddamn joke, Toria,” he said. “If Lucas harms her...”
“Don’t worry,” she interrupted. “I told him not to kill her—or turn her.”
Ash’s eyes grew hard. “That’s it?” he asked, grinding his teeth. He took an unneeded breath and tried to steady his voice. “I need you to tell me where she is.”
For a long moment she said nothing, and he began to think she would acquiesce. “All those years we were together,” Toria began finally, as if the words were being dragged from her, “you never stopped loving her, did you?”
It was the last thing he’d expected her to say, and he stared open-mouthed at the phone for several seconds, seeing for the first time all the way to the rotten core of Toria’s actions. Some of his anger dissipated. She had been a friend to him, and it wasn’t entirely her fault. “Toria,” he began.
“Don’t,” she said, cutting him off. “Don’t you dare pity me. The only thing sadder than me carrying a torch for you all these years is you carrying one for her.”
“Toria,” Ash tried again.
“She doesn’t love you, you know.”
Before Ash could form a response, dead air told him that Toria thought their conversation was over. Ash flipped his phone shut and headed for the door. He wasn’t nearly through with her.
CHAPTER 49
Luc flipped the light switch, relieving the room of the solitary blue glow from Ariana’s computer screen. “Honey, I’m home,” Luc said lightly.
Ariana chuckled in spite of herself. “How was work?” she asked, playing along.
“Bloody,” Luc replied.
Ariana looked up, unable to hide her disgust. “Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.” Luc set two bags down on the kitchen counter. “I brought dinner,” he said.
“Don’t you want to wash up?”
Luc got a beer out of the fridge and took a long gulp. “Sure.” He started unbuttoning his shirt on the way to the shower.
When he returned, he was wearing a pair of old jeans and a gray shirt that looked like he’d stolen it from a plumber. He went back into the kitchen and picked up his beer.
Ariana got up and came closer. The smell of French fries made her stomach rumble. “McDonalds,” she said with glee. “I love McDonalds.”
“Yeah?” Luc asked. “Me, too. I didn’t figure you’d go for it, though. It’s not very high brow.”
“Which one’s mine?” she said, looking at the bags. “Wait a minute.” She looked up at him quizzically. “Since when do vampires eat burgers?”
“They don’t,” Luc said with a laugh. “It’s just a fluke. I drank from a kid once in the fifties who was carrying a bag of this stuff.” He grabbed a bag from the counter and headed to the couch. “I took a bite out of curiosity and have been hooked ever since.”
Luc sat down and plopped his bag on the floor between his feet. He fished around for the burger, unwrapped it halfway from the paper, and took a huge bite. Ariana watched as his eyes closed and he gave a satisfied groan.
Looking away, she scooted up onto one of the chairs at the kitchen counter and shifted her attention to her dinner. At least he’d brought her a soda.
“So what have you found out?” Luc said after two more tremendous bites.
Ariana swallowed a French fry. “Quite a bit, actually,” she said. “Looks like there’s a particular vampire James was focused on. Does the name Keller mean anything to you?”
Luc nodded. “Yeah, he’s a prick,” he said, his mouth once more full of hamburger. “Thinks he’s some kind of mystic. He took one look at me the day I showed up at Council House and started yammering on about the end of time.”
“What?” Ariana halted her hamburger halfway to her mouth.
“You know,” Luc said, looking up at her, “frogs, locusts, the four horsemen. I’m telling you, he’s off his rocker. And his little tent revival didn’t help my social standing any.” Luc turned his attention back to his burger. “Nothing like being a sign of the apocalypse to put a damper on your social life,” he muttered.
Ariana didn’t really care about Luc’s social life. “And you don’t know why James was looking into him?” she asked.
“I didn’t even know James was looking into him,” Luc said.
“Well, I think I might.” Ariana took her Coke over to the computer and resumed the same pose she’d held for the last few hours.
She clicked open the file and hit print. “This list of passwords that we found came from Keller’s computer. It looks like James found a way to hack into the account management functions of the Council’s network. The accounts of many of the missing had been accessed by the same user—Keller.” She looked up to make sure Luc was following. “James got Keller’s password, and when he accessed Keller’s account, he found this file and downloaded it to here.”
Ariana grabbed the pages from the printer and turned to face Luc. “I think this is a hit list, and this Keller person is behind it somehow,” she said.
Luc took the pages from her hand.
“Look at the last page,” Ariana instructed.
Luc flipped back and Ariana saw the surprise she’d expected. “What does this mean?” he asked. “Why am I on this list?”
Ariana shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe someone intended to get you, but grabbed James by mistake?”
Luc thought it over. “Maybe,” he said, “but Keller knows us. If you’re right, then he’s not doing the actual taking, which means someone else is involved.”
Ariana looked at him. “I think I’ve done all I can here. Can you talk to this Keller person? It seems like he may have answers to a lot of our questions, including what’s happened to James.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Luc replied, already heading for the door.
CHAPTER 50
Luc parked his bike around the corner from Council House and was standing on the sidewalk contemplating his next move when a black sedan pulled past him and slowed to a stop.
When Ash Samson stepped out of the car, Luc felt his jaw drop. He put up his hands, and began moving in the other direction. “I... I didn’t hurt her,” he stammered.
Ash advanced slowly toward him, the light breeze fanning his dark gray overcoat and making him look for once like the powerful vampire he was. Luc retreated another step.
“I’m glad to see you, Lucas,” Ash responded. “This will save me an unpleasant confrontation with Toria—for the time being.” He took another step. “Now, tell me where Ariana is and what you are doing here.”
Luc’s brow furrowed. “Ariana’s at my apartment, safe and sound.” He tried a tentative smile. “Like I said, I didn’t hurt her.”
Ash’s eyes narrowed. “Your apartment? You’ve been keeping her prisoner in your apartment?”
“Umm, no, not exactly.” Luc hesitated, searching for the kernel of truth that would save his skin. “Once I figured out who she was and she figured out that I knew James, we decided to work together to figure out what had happened to him. That’s the reason I’m here. Ariana came up with a lead.”
“Lead? What are you talking about?” Ash demanded. “What’s happened to James?” He took a half step forward then froze. “Wait,” he said
. Luc saw his face fall. “Ariana knows about James?”
Luc nodded. “I’m not sure how she found out, but, yeah, she knows you turned him into a vampire, and now he’s missing.”
“Shit,” Ash exclaimed, glaring. Luc thought he wanted to say more, but held back. Instead he ran a hand through his hair and turned to look up at the dark mansion rising behind the stone wall next to which they stood. “Well, maybe Keller will be able to shed some light on that, too,” he said finally. He turned and started toward the mansion.
“You’re here to see Keller?” Luc called out. “Wait,” he said, running to catch up, “so am I.”
Ash turned back to him. “Why?”
“James found some stuff on Keller’s computer—passwords, addresses—that belonged to a lot of the ones who’ve gone missing.”
“I... really?” Ash asked, his brow furrowing noticeably. “And now James has disappeared, too?”
“Yeah,” Luc said. “He was on his way to tell Toria, but never showed.”
Ash frowned again, and Luc held his breath.
“Come on, then,” Ash said.
Luc felt relief wash over him as he fell in step.
The Council House mansion was set back from the street, its ornate barriers enough to deter the idly curious. Ordinarily, the place was quiet, but tonight it was ablaze with light.
“It’s First Feast Day,” Ash said as they approached.
Luc looked at him questioningly.
“You know, vampire Thanksgiving.”
“The Donner Party?” Luc had been told of it shortly after his arrival at Council House. Even then, the anticipation had begun among the residents. Luc’s eyes widened at the prospect of seeing it firsthand.
Ash’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Is that what they’re calling it now?” He looked sternly at Luc. “We are here for one reason. If you go off feeding, I won’t be responsible for you.”
Both Luc’s pale brows shot up. “What the hell makes you think I need you to be responsible for me?”
