“Thanks for coming,” John said.
Even though it had been five years since they last saw each other, John looked the same, except for a few more wrinkles around his grey eyes. He was in great shape for a man in his fifties.
“What’s going on?” Lucien asked.
John opened a door and said, “Come with me.”
As they walked down a sterile hallway, John explained, “Around five this morning, my men picked up this guy who was walking in the middle of the street. He was confused and disoriented. When they tried to talk to him, he became belligerent and combative. They arrested him, thinking he was hopped up on drugs or something. They wanted to give him a chance to sober up safely in a jail cell.”
He stopped in front of a metal door.
“We threw him in there”—John motioned his head toward a closed door—“with one other man brought in for driving drunk. After about an hour, we heard a bunch of screaming. My men got there as quickly as possible, but it was too late. He’d been killed.”
“How?”
John paused. “The man bit his neck. On the video it looks like he was sucking the blood right out of him.”
“I’m going to need this video.”
“It’s back in my office.”
“Has anyone else watched it?”
“No. I’ve been trying to keep this as discreet as possible.”
“Good.” Lucien moved to open the door. “Are the cameras off?”
“Yes, but Lucien, wait. After this happened, two of my men opened the cell and tried to restrain him, but this guy snapped both their necks before they could even try. A third officer fired shots directly in his chest and it didn’t even slow him down. Luckily, I was there and had just enough time to lock the door before he could get out. I don’t dare send anyone else back in there.”
“I can take care of it. Make sure no one comes in.”
John nodded and turned around.
“Wait!” Lucien said. “Can I have the key?”
John hesitated, but finally reached into his pocket and gave it to him. “Don’t let him escape.”
Lucien opened the door. Inside the holding area, a long row of bars divided the room. Behind the bars stood a vampire whose eyes never left Lucien’s as he walked down the concrete floor to stand across from him.
The vampire had straight black hair to his chin and brown eyes that were just slits on his face. He was smaller than Lucien, but just barely. Behind him on a bench, the vampire had arranged all three dead bodies to make it appear as if the men were asleep.
“So, brother,” the vampire said, “have you come to help me?” He scratched at his chin.
“What’s your name?” Lucien asked.
The vampire stared at him thoughtfully, his sharp nails running the length of his arm. “Bill,” he finally said.
“You’re not Bill. I’ve met him.”
“No way. I’m Bill. I chose the name first.” He twisted the hair on his eyebrow.
Bill’s constant picking and scratching reminded Lucien of a meth head.
“Fine, I’ll call you Bill. I take it you and the other Bill know each other?”
“Something like that. How would you know him?”
It was a strangely worded question. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m a vampire. I make it my business to know who comes in and out of Seattle.”
Bill tsked him. “Not you, Lucien. You forget that I have superb hearing just like you. I heard every word between you and that cop out there. You’re not like us—you’re a wannabe human, and you came here to kill me. But ghosts can’t kill.”
“What?”
“The Dark Prince is going to reward me greatly when he finds out you’re still alive.” He scratched his chin again.
Lucien gripped the bars tight, thinking back to when he had been left to die. “It was him that tried to kill me? How does he even know me?”
“The Dark Prince knows everything.”
Lucien let go of the bars and pulled out the key. “Not everything. If he did, he wouldn’t call himself such a ridiculous name.”
He pushed the key into the lock and opened the iron-barred door. “Don’t try to get by me. I’ll kill you before you can take one step.”
“I wouldn’t dream of leaving.” He grinned and wiped at his nose.
Lucien moved toward him. “How is it possible that a couple of fat cops caught you?”
Bill’s face reddened. “Copy-cat Bill didn’t like my plan. He wanted to do his own thing, and when I told him I wouldn’t let him, he shot me.”
“With what?”
“Some funky looking gun. I don’t even know where he got it. It shot out electricity or something that made me go all screwy in the head. I couldn’t even see straight for hours.” He picked at his teeth.
“What plan was it that ‘Bill’ didn’t like?”
“Oh, it was a great plan. Maybe you could help, and I’ll cut you in, fifty-fifty.”
“What is it?” Lucien pressed.
Bill looked around as if they were conspirators. “You see, there’s this woman—”
Lucien froze.
“The Dark Prince wants her real bad, says he’ll pay us whatever we want and make whoever brings her in alive his right-hand man.”
“Why does he want her?” Lucien asked, keeping his voice calm.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
“How many of you are there?”
“Too many in my opinion. She’s just a stupid girl, after all. I’ll bring her to him, but before I do …” He sighed in pleasure. “She’s the prettiest little thing. I can’t wait to press my tongue—”
From within Lucien’s jacket sleeve, a long wooden dagger flew out. It pierced Bill before he could utter another word. It took all the restraint he had not to shove the stake entirely through Bill’s heart, killing him instantly, but if he did that, it would only make things more difficult for John to explain to others. Instead, he pierced the heart just enough to render Bill unconscious.
Bill’s body fell limp to the ground. Lucien tore his shirt at the site of the wound. Very carefully, he grabbed the base of the stake next to Bill’s skin, and with the other hand he snapped off the part sticking out, leaving only half an inch of the wood protruding above his chest.
He then moved to the dead bum whose skin was as white as the walls and proceeded to take off his jacket. After putting it on Bill and zipping it up, concealing all signs of the stake, he walked back out of the jail cell and opened the door to the hallway.
John stood at the end speaking to another officer. He quickly dismissed him when he saw Lucien. Lucien held the door open for John as he passed by into the jail cell.
“Is he dead?” John asked. He stood above Bill, brow furrowed.
“Just paralyzed. I only pushed the stake in enough to knock him out. You’ll have at least six hours, but not more than twelve, to finish the job before his body will force the stake out and repair itself. You’ll need to make sure nobody inspects him.”
“That can be arranged,” John said. He bent down and looked at his face. “Did you know him?”
“No.”
“Did you find out why he’s here?”
“He’s after a woman by the name of Eve Andrews.”
John straightened. “The woman you asked Scott about a few months ago?”
“He told you?"
"We work together a lot, sometimes your name comes up. What would this monster want with her?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
“Do you need any help?”
Lucien shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I’ll call you if I do.”
They stood there in silence, starring down at Bill.
“What are you going to do with the body?” Lucien asked.
“I’ll insist that I take the body to the morgue myself, and somewhere along the way, I’ll finish the job you started.”
“But won’t people become suspicious when a body do
esn’t turn up?”
“I’ll take care of all the paperwork. No one will think to follow up with the morgue. People will want to forget this guy. We lost two good officers today.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Lucien said.
“It was my fault. I should’ve called you the moment I saw the footage of him killing the drunk, but I just couldn’t believe it. I convinced myself that he’d killed the man some other way.”
Lucien glanced down at his watch. He still had time before he had to be back at the Deific. “Listen, why don’t you let me take the body? I’ve got a little time and it would be less suspicious if I take him than if you did. I can pretend to be a criminal pathologist or something”
John looked down at the body then back at Lucien. “Okay. I’ll come up with a story to tell the guys. You wait here. I’ll have a gurney brought up in a minute.”
Twenty minutes later, a skinny officer wheeled in a gurney. He stopped in front of Lucien. “So how’d this guy die?”
“I’m not sure.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You are the pathologist, right?”
Lucien raised his eyebrows. “Right. That’s me. I won’t be able to tell how he died until I run some tests, but it looks like an overdose of some kind.”
The officer nodded his head. “I heard he was shot three times and was still a fighting machine.”
“Nope, no bullet wounds. They must’ve missed him. You want to help me out?”
Lucien bent over and picked up the top half of Bill’s body. The officer picked up the bottom half and together they heaved it onto the table. The officer unfolded a white sheet and draped it over the body.
“What about them?” the officer asked, nodding his head toward the two officers and the white drunk.
“John said something about examining the crime scene,” Lucien quickly lied.
He pushed the gurney out the doors and into the main hall of the police station. Several officers watched as he passed by; one officer spit on the white sheet. When Lucien walked by John, John nodded his head, his eyes full of gratitude.
Outside, Lucien appeared natural, as if it was a normal procedure, wheeling a dead body through a parking lot. Luckily, there were few bystanders to question him. He pushed the gurney to his car and, after opening the back of his Hummer, folded the legs of the narrow table and pushed it in.
He drove a few blocks before turning behind a department store. After scanning the area, he slid the body from the back. It hit the pavement with a loud thud. He quickly stepped on Bill’s chest, forcing the stake deep into his heart. Bill imploded into dust.
Lucien stepped over the decayed ashes and back into his car. He had thirty minutes to change and get back to the Deific to tell Eve what he had learned. At least they knew who wanted her now, but the biggest question still remained.
Why?
22
“You’re looking good,” Julie said to him when Lucien exited the elevator at the Deific.
He glanced down at his black suit. “Too much?”
“Depends on if we’re in my bedroom or not.” She smiled and winked. “You must be here for Eve.”
Lucien glanced around the office. Only a few people were still working. “Yeah. Is she in back?”
“You just missed her.” She chewed on a pen, eyeing him up and down.
“She left?” He tried to keep his voice from rising.
“A couple of minutes ago. She said to tell you she’d meet you at the Mayor’s Ball. If you give me about ten minutes, I can go with you.” The pen twisted in her mouth.
“No, thanks.”
He left the building as quickly as possible. Without being too obvious, he strode through the crowds of people, weaving his way in and out of the masses. The crowd scurried about like rats stuck in a maze. Lucien was always amazed at how busy humans seemed. Maybe it was better that way. If people stopped to see the truth around them, they might be terrified by what they discovered.
Several teenagers, dressed up as the seven dwarfs, shoved each other in front of him. Lucien moved around the rowdy boys. He didn’t care for holidays and never celebrated them. As far as he was concerned, holidays were created as one more distraction to keep humans in the dark from the truth. Somehow, having an event to celebrate made people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
After several blocks, Lucien finally picked up her scent. She was close. He stepped into an alley. With human eyes no longer on him, he raced through to the other side and up behind the buildings. He should be able to cut her off in a matter of seconds.
Coming around to another alley, Lucien stopped abruptly when an angel gowned in all white with white butterfly-like wings passed by the opening. The image startled at him and, for a brief moment, he wondered if it was in fact a real angel. But then he smelled lilacs.
Lucien fell in step behind Eve, taken in by her appearance.
She wore a long, white, strapless satin gown with folds of silk all around her. Her hair was completely straight and fell to the middle of her back, and a diamond crown graced the top of her head. He couldn’t bring himself to go forward to be with her, afraid he would tarnish her perfect image. Instead, he walked a safe distance behind, never taking his eyes off her.
At the doors to the hotel, she turned around and looked out. Lucien didn’t hide. He stood opposite the street, hands at his side.
“Lucien,” she whispered. The wind carried his name to be heard only by him.
He nodded once in acknowledgment and crossed the road. He kept his eyes locked with hers, unable to look away.
Before he could say anything, she said, “I’m sorry I left. I wasn’t sure if you’d be back.”
“I will always come back.”
“Forgive me?” She batted her eyes at him angelically.
He reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. “How did you become so beautiful?”
He didn’t realize he’d said the words aloud until he saw her lips spread into a smile. “I take it I’m forgiven?”
He remained silent, unable to think of anything else but Eve. It was a peaceful moment for him, standing opposite her—an angel fallen from heaven. Letting his barrier down, he took her small hand in his and traced the veins in her wrist.
“Lucien,” she said, her voice quiet. “Will you escort me in?”
He inhaled deeply, his gaze meeting hers. “I’m not really wearing a costume.”
“I hardly see how that’s a problem. You are a vampire, after all.” She reached up her free hand and brushed his lips with her thumb, as if remembering the fangs.
When he didn’t answer, she said, “I want you with me.”
If that is what she wanted, he would give it to her. He escorted her into the elegant hotel. Several heads turned in their direction, staring with mouths open. They must’ve made a fantastic-looking couple. Him dressed all in black, and she in white. The Devil and the Angel.
“People can’t stop staring at you,” she said. “But I’m not surprised. You look, dare I say, hot in that suit of yours.”
“I’ve never been called that before.”
“Then I’ll say it more often.”
Lucien led her toward the ballroom, weaving her through the crowded foyer. It made him nervous that so many people were wearing masks.
“So who called you?” Eve asked.
“John.” Lucien froze, remembering the last few hours. The sight of Eve had distracted him.
“Who?”
Lucien pulled her to the side of the room, away from the crowd. “I need to speak with you and Charlie right away. Can you call him and have him meet us out here?”
“Of course. He’s probably already here.” She removed a cell phone from a small, white feather purse and dialed Charlie’s number.
A few minutes later, Charlie walked out of the ballroom and into the foyer where they were standing. He was dressed in green tights with a loose fitting, short sleeve shirt and a thick black belt wrapped aro
und his waist. A small green hat with a feather sticking out the top sat upon his head. Lucien tried really hard not to say anything. Really hard.
When Charlie saw Eve, his mouth dropped. “Eve, you look incredible!”
He took both her hands and kissed her on the cheek.
She smiled warmly at him. “You look great, too.”
Charlie glanced at Lucien. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”
Lucien resisted the urge to punch him. “No. Two hours ago I was in the police station killing a vampire.”
Charlie jerked like a plucked guitar string. “How did a vampire get put in jail?”
“He said he was shot with some kind of a strange weapon that blasted electricity into him. It made him confused and disoriented. The cops thought he was a human on drugs.”
Both Charlie and Eve looked at each other.
“You know what weapon I’m talking about, don’t you?” Lucien asked.
Charlie sighed. From behind his back, he withdrew a long pistol-like looking gun and handed to Lucien. “A few years ago, our Australian office invented this. It’s a lot like a taser but shoots out a higher voltage of electricity. They found that a high amount of electricity messes up the make-up of vampires. However, the same blast of electricity will kill a human.”
He paused, a growing look of concern spreading across his face. “As far as I know, none of my men were out last night.”
“It wasn’t a human who shot him, it was another vampire.”
Charlie shook his head. “That’s not possible. We keep a tight inventory on all these guns. We’d know if one was missing.”
“Then you’d better check again, because there’s a vampire out there who has one.”
“I’ll make a few calls now.” Charlie turned to leave.
“Wait! What would happen if Eve was shot with one of these weapons?”
“Lucien?” Eve asked.
Charlie looked at her. “What does Eve have to do with this?”
“Are you serious? This is all about Eve! This wasn’t a random act of vampire on vampire violence. They are here for her, and they’re going to keep coming until they have her. She needs to leave town.”
They were all silent. From inside the ballroom, an orchestra played a hauntingly beautiful tune.
The Devil's Angel (Devil Series Book 2) Page 14
