I settled in, had a few sips of coffee. The sunlight coming in through the windows proved to be too tempting to Stone’s cat, Lola, who despised me but enjoyed basking in the sun. She sauntered in and stretched out on the wood floor next to my desk.
“Well, you look like you’re going to be a big help today,” I muttered to her, and she gave me one of those superior cat looks and turned away from me. Fine.
After my little demonstration of power that night, so much had changed. One of them was that I’d become some kind of hero to many supernaturals who had been harassed and bullied by Astaroth and his minions for so long. I’d earned, thanks to my previous reputation as a finder of lost girls, plus what I’d done that night, a reputation for being the one who’d stand up to any foe.
They’d started coming to me, first, one or two per day, knocking timidly on the door downstairs, asking to see The Angel. And I saw them, because turning them away never even entered my mind. I took care of them, solved their problems, and more came, and now I was the one they all came to for help. And I was the one everyone feared the most. Those I helped always promised their help in return. The core of my team was small, without Nain, Veronica, and George. But our network of supernaturals allied with us was growing all the time. Nain had been more of an isolationist than I was, I guess.
After I’d taken a few sips of coffee, Brennan made his appearance
“Your first appointment is here. Esmeralda. Leader of the coven over in the Brightmoor neighborhood.”
I nodded. “What’s her deal?”
“She claims that the weres in the neighborhood are harassing her women, especially the younger ones. She claims two of the weres tried to abduct her newest initiate, and she wants it dealt with.”
I nodded. “Okay. Let her in.”
I leaned back in the chair, folded my hands in my lap. I watched as Brennan led the witch into my office. She was stately, with snow white hair, skin like parchment. A simple black dress. A pentacle on a silver chain around her neck was her only adornment. She didn’t need anything else.
“Angel,” she said, bowing her head slightly, meeting my eyes. She was taken aback by them. Those meeting me for the first time usually were. It wasn’t uncommon knowledge, but seeing them usually freaked people out a little. She was a little nervous, but not afraid. Calm. I appreciated that.
“Esmeralda,” I said. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” she said, settling into the chair opposite me. “I know you are a busy woman.”
“Brennan tells me you’re having werewolf problems.”
She filled me in on what had happened. Brennan stood by the door, ever watchful. My imps, Bashiok and Dahael, flanked me, arms crossed. Deadly little protectors. I’d seen them fight, really fight, during that final battle against Astaroth. I would not want to piss my imps off. If anything, they’d become even more devoted to me since.
She finished. “So it sounds like it is one or two young weres, not the whole pack that is causing the problem,” I said.
“Yes, but their leader is allowing it to happen. You know how it is; as leader, you don’t just let things like this happen. And if he doesn’t know what his pack is doing, maybe he shouldn’t be leader any more.”
“You’re getting into two separate things, now,” I said, leaning forward and meeting her eyes. “Do you want the young men who assaulted your initiate dealt with, or do you want the packmaster removed?”
“I would like the two problem weres dealt with. And maybe a discussion with the packmaster? If he hears from you, maybe he’ll start to pay more attention to what his pack is doing.”
I nodded. “Brennan, add a meeting with the Brightmoor packmaster to the list, please.” He nodded, pulled out his iPhone, and started typing it in.
“It will be dealt with,” I said.
I felt relief from Esmeralda. “Thank you so much, Angel,” she said.
I nodded.
She stood up. “I am sorry for your loss, by the way. I didn’t know the Nain Rouge well, but he was well-respected in our community.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded, and Brennan showed her out, then came back in a minute later. “Who do you want on this?”
“Do you mind taking care of the two troublemakers? Take Stone later, if you want. Set up a meeting as soon as you can between me and the packmaster.”
“Sure. You ready for your next one?”
I nodded.
“Vampire from midtown. Max Reynes. He’s complaining that he feels threatened by his shifter neighbors.”
“Is he?”
Brennan smirked. “He doesn’t like that they won’t let him eat all of the other people in the apartment building. I talked to two guys I know who live there, and they swear he is a slimeball. I have the feeling you’ll agree with them.”
“Okay. Let him in.”
I folded my hands in my lap again, watched as the vampire entered my office. He was tall, good looking, as most vampires seemed to be. This one was obviously a daywalker, which was rare and made him more dangerous than his more common brethren.
I could sense him. Superior, annoyed. Active hate for Brennan. Disdain for me.
I didn’t like him much, either.
“Reynes,” I said in greeting.
“Angel. Thank you for making the time to see me,” he said, though it sounded just as fake as he meant it.
“Pleasure,” I said, just as genuinely. “What can I do for you?”
He spun a long yarn about how the shifters in his building were harassing him, how he felt unsafe in his home because he was outnumbered, and he knew they didn’t like him. That all he was trying to do was live a quiet life, feed when he needed to, but he was constantly having to watch his back.
It was easy for me to pick up a lie. Emotions never lied. You had to be really clueless or really confident to come to me and try to bullshit. And this bloodsucker was giving Detroit’s crooked politicians a run for their money. He didn’t have much of a mental shield, either, likely never bothered to train properly. I could see girl after girl from his neighborhood, his building, drained to the point of death, and left to die. Too many.
I felt my rage rising the longer he talked. I would have loved to have ended him right then and there, but I didn’t want the mess in my office. Later. When I could enjoy it.
I rested my elbow on the arm of my chair, rested my chin in my hand as he finished talking. I let the silence stretch out for a few minutes. Watched him. The longer we sat, the more nervous he became. He started talking again, complaints about the shifters.
I pictured how I would kill him. Fire would be fast and easy, but I would not use it. Knives were always fun. I did enjoy their fear the longer the fight went on and they felt themselves losing. Stake through the heart was the traditional way, if I could find him when he was sleeping. But not as fulfilling. So many options.
He stopped talking again, and I let the silence stretch out longer.
He was on the verge of panic. I had to keep myself from smirking at him. “Thank you for coming. Your complaints have been duly noted.”
“Are you going to take care of this?”
“Oh, I definitely am,” I said. “I will deal with it personally.”
He stood up, nodded, and left without another word. Brennan escorted him out, and I heard Ada resetting the wards after he was gone.
Brennan came back in. “Who’s on this?”
“I am.”
“Molly…”
“I’ve got this one. That piece of shit was lying through his fangs.”
He snorted. “Ready for the next one?”
Chapter Two
I saw a steady stream of supernaturals. A few more witches, a shifter, a sprite. Most of them were simple enough. Someone treading on someone else’s territory, an insult given, a favor asked. I kept working throughout the day. After the sprite left, Brennan came back into my office with another cup of coffee.
“
That was the last one. Shanti is here now.”
He seemed uncomfortable.
“What?”
“I figured out what she is.”
I raised my eyebrow, waiting.
“I had to pull her off of Stone. She was trying to eat him.”
“Vamp?”
He nodded.
“Oh, crap. Poor kid.” I rubbed my face. “Is Stone all right?”
“Of course. He was worried about hurting her.”
I nodded. “Okay. Let her in, and then close the door, all right?”
“Shouldn’t I stay? I mean…she’s hungry, Molly.”
“Do you really think I’m incapable of handling myself against a vampire?”
“Of course not, but–”
“Just bring her in, Bren.”
He gave a terse nod. Irritated. A few seconds later, Shanti was walking into my office, and the door closed behind her. Brennan was standing just outside the door, ready. I tried not to be annoyed with him. He was doing what shifter males do best: protecting the pack. And for better or worse, we were it.
I watched Shanti. The last time I’d seen her was over a year ago. The same night, I’d met Nain, I remembered, feeling a familiar stab somewhere in the vicinity of my heart. She’d been fifteen, a thin athletic girl who was able to smile despite the hell she’d just been through. She’d been kidnapped, and was nearly sold to one of the Puppeteer’s puppets, destined to make somebody a whole lot of money. I’d rescued her before any major damage had taken place.
I inspected her now. Her coffee and cream complexion was paler. She looked stronger. She was gorgeous, her natural beauty only enhanced by becoming a vampire, and, now, frozen in time. I sensed for her. She was nervous, afraid, ashamed. She hated herself. She was desperate, and hungry.
Her thoughts were wide open, too. A constant stream, thinking about how she’d almost bitten that man, and how hot that guy is, and wow this is a nice house, holy shit what happened to her eyes?
I smiled. “Shanti. It’s nice to see you again, kiddo.”
I felt her relax a little. She gave me a small smile. “Thank you for seeing me, Angel. I wasn’t sure you would remember me.”
“Of course I do. Have a seat.” She sat, and I thought of something. “Brennan?”
He opened the door. “Yeah?”
I waved him over and he bent so I could speak directly into his ear. “I remember Ada mentioning that Nain always kept bagged blood around for any vampires who happened to visit. Any left?”
“I’ll check and warm it up if there’s any. I forgot about that.”
I nodded, and he left. I turned back to Shanti, who was gazing longingly after Brennan. I almost laughed. Poor kid.
“So. How did you get into this condition, young lady? Whose ass do I need to kick?” I leaned back in my chair.
“From what I hear, you already did. He lived in Indian Village. Tall, white, had an accent.”
Another stab to the heart as my mind went back to that night. Memories that threatened to drown me.
“Angel?” Shanti said, concerned, after I was silent for a few minutes. I took a deep breath, forcing my mind away from the trail it was heading down.
“Yes. I know who you mean. I take it you didn’t want to be turned?”
She shook her head. “He caught me in the alley behind my work when I was taking the garbage out. I thought he was going to kill me, but when I came to, I was this,” she said, waving at herself in disgust. Then she became afraid, ashamed again. “I’ve killed people, Angel. Innocent people, because I can’t control it. I attacked your friend…”
I held out my hand. “I know. It’s okay. You’ll learn to control it. I’ll help you.”
“I was kind of hoping you’d kill me.”
We sat in silence. She looked anywhere but at me. Finally, I said, “Do you really want to die, Shanti?”
“Vampires are evil. I don’t want to be evil,” she said. Tears flooded her eyes, tinged pink. Vampire tears.
“Do you know what I am?” I asked softly.
“Rumor is, you’re a demon, but I don’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head emphatically.
“Believe it. I’m a demon. I am many things. But I try not to be evil, if I can at all help it.”
She stared at me.
I went on. “We decide who we are. Being a vampire, or a demon, or a witch…you can fall on either side. There are decent vampires in this city, just as there are shithead ones. And a vampire who’s also a decent person can do a lot of good.”
“I’m afraid of hurting people.”
“We’ll teach you to deal with it. You can live here if you want. We have room.”
“You’d let me live here?” she said in disbelief.
“Sure. There are rules. Expectations. And if you ever put my friends in danger, I will definitely kill you, painfully. But I can’t imagine that you’d do anything like that.”
She swallowed. “I ran away from home. I was afraid of hurting my aunts. I almost drank from one of them.”
“That kind of danger we can handle. Double crossing us or betraying us….that is the kind of thing that will bring my wrath down on you.”
Brennan knocked on the door then, walked in holding a large cup. He glanced at me, and set it on the desk in front of Shanti. “Drink up,” he said. Then he headed back toward the door.
“Oh, my god, thank you,” she said, her voice lispy as her fangs lengthened in her mouth. She picked up the cup and slugged it back. I sensed relief, gratitude from her.
I sat and waited as she drained the cup. I could feel her becoming less tense, less on edge, as she drank. I remembered feeling that way, whenever I’d been starving and then been fed–
I had to stop this.
She put the cup down, wiped at her mouth.
“Better?” I asked.
“Much. Thank you so much,” she said. I nodded. “So, I can really stay?”
“Yes. You’ll have to allow Ada to put a spell on you that will prevent you from inviting anyone in here, as well as one that will let us know if you give secret information to anyone.”
She nodded.
“And you’ll have to learn how to shield your thoughts. Any telepath can pick up what you’re thinking.”
She stared at me. “Uh…you don’t have any telepaths here, do you?”
I raised my hand, wiggling my fingers slightly, gave her a small smile. She paled. and I sensed total embarrassment flood her.
“Oh, god.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m the only one, and I’m not all that easy to offend, really.”
She shook her head. We were quiet for a minute. “I, um. I heard that you lost a friend a while back. I'm sorry,” she said, fiddling with the edge of her skirt.
“He was my husband,” I said softly.
Surprise filled her. “Oh, Jesus. I am so sorry.”
“He was also a demon.”
“Two good demons, eh? There is hope for me, then,” she said.
“Of course.”
“What was his name?”
“Nain,” I said, his name still honey on my lips. I turned the frame around, and she picked the photo up, studied it.
She smiled. “He looks like as much of a badass as you are.”
I nodded. “He was THE badass. I met him the night I rescued you, actually. Remember that truck that was following us?”
She nodded. “That was him? Really?”
“Yeah. My life changed that night.” I bit my lip.
Do not cry in front of the confused teenage girl who is depending on you to be a badass, I told myself. Not now.
“Do you have anything you need to move in?” I asked, changing the subject.
She shook her head. “Just what’s in this bag. Clothes and books.”
“Okay. Want to get settled in, then?”
She nodded, and followed me out of the office, up the stairs to the room that had been Veronica’s. Ada had gone through both this roo
m and George’s old one, donated clothing and other items to charity. All that remained was the furniture, a television and a radio.
“Here we go. There are bed linens in the closet, there. This room shares a small bathroom with the room on the other side, but that room’s empty right now.”
“This is amazing. I’ve been sleeping in parks and bus stops.” She looked around, and I could feel the gratitude flowing from her.
“All right. No eating your housemates. We have some bagged blood in the fridge. I’ll get a hold of more.”
“I didn’t even know something like that existed,” she said.
“Neither did I. But, like I said, there are good vamps in the city, too. The bagged blood is synthetic. Was it close enough?”
She nodded. “I feel much better. It will work.”
“Okay. So if you get hungry, it’s in the fridge downstairs. You can heat it up for a minute or so in the microwave if you want to. I’ve heard it tastes better that way.”
She nodded again.
“All right. I have some things I need to go do. Get settled, and when you’re ready later we’ll introduce you to everyone.”
“Thanks so much, Angel,” she said, grabbing me for a huge hug.
I hugged her back. “My friends call me Molly,” I said, patting her on the back and stepping away. “Make yourself at home.”
I made sure Shanti was settled, then I headed back downstairs. Brennan was waiting in the dining room for me, along with Ada and Stone.
“Well, we seem to have adopted a girl,” I said, walking up to them. “Can you get a hold of more bagged blood? We’ll need a steady supply.”
Brennan nodded, pulled out his phone again.
“I can’t just turn her out. Are you all okay with this?”
“Of course,” Ada said. “That is just what Nain would have done.”
“She’s got little baby fangs. Fine with me,” Stone said, winking at me. “Not even scary yet.”
“It’s fine with me. I’m glad you didn’t turn her out,” Brennan said, still looking at his phone.
Broken: Hidden Book Two Page 2
