Dead Certain (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 3)

by P. S. Power

  Because as far as that went, she’d kind of kicked butt, hadn’t she?

  Ginger though was quietly freaking out, as she scrubbed the whole place again, even though whatever Zack had done to it really had made it not smell any more. The Vampire girl’s pale hands went into a bucket of water that was so hot it steamed, the blue plastic looking softer than normal from the heat. It spilled in places, due to that and the speed with which Ginger worked. Her face was totally blank, but her body was stiff. She kept looking over her own shoulder too, like she expected the Greater Demon to come back at any moment.

  Without waiting to explain, she glanced at Eve and shook her head.

  “He could have killed us all. What do we do? Why would he do that? I stabbed him with his own knife… What if that made him mad?” She was conflicted and confused, which probably had to do with the fact that it had really seemed like they’d sort of won, even though it was against a Greater Demon. That pretty much had to be a trick.

  Eve smiled.

  “Welcome to the world of confusing mental dilemmas. Really, for us, we don’t have to worry about it too much, I don’t think. Not that that kind won’t kill us if they feel like it, but my guess is, whoever that was, doesn’t actually want us dead, or even hurt. Like I told Zack, spraying me like that, while really gross, and annoying, is basically a prank, not an attack. It could have been fire, or acid, or a stream of energy that would have ripped my head off, but instead it was a river of rotting goop?”

  Ginger stopped her scrubbing, looked troubled, and then gave a slow nod.

  “He said he was The Vile, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, sure, but think about it Ginger, when was the last time you were in a fight, and you yelled out your own name like that? No one does that, outside of movies, do they? No, my guess is that someone is setting The Vile there up, trying to get us to hunt him down, or at least blame him for the things going on around here. It could be him. Hell, this is Greater Demon bullshit, so it could be that it really was him, and the whole thing is about casting doubt on that, by tricking me into thinking that it probably wasn’t. We can’t know. I wouldn’t let it bother you too much though. Whoever it was, whatever their plan, they didn’t fight to the death. This is about something else. It probably means that they like us too. On the really good side, it also means that we don’t really have to have an investigation into you killing the patrons. See how well that worked out for you? Plus, whatever the reason, please note that you totally kicked a Greater Demon’s butt. Oh, they might not have been trying that hard, but it’s still great for the street cred.”

  It was all silly to say, most likely, but Ginger used her arm, her hands being wet and soapy still, to brush her shoulder length sandy blonde hair out of her blue eyes. She looked young, but less like she was about to soil herself then, as she gave a week grin.

  “So it’s all okay, because I’d be dead, if they wanted me that way?”

  Eve nearly growled at that one, since it was really an annoying way of restating what she’d said, leaving out all the funny portions, but managed to shrug.

  “That really is about the size of it. What I want to know, really, is why they’re coming here? It probably had to do with Zack, so wouldn’t getting in closer to the bookstore be better? If they can pull off doing that kind of thing. I don’t know that all of them are equal in all skills. Actually, I think that some of them aren’t, really. What could be gained by doing this though?” She waved around the store, and then, glancing at Edom, who was behind the counter, cleaning the machines and restocking for the day with fresh supplies, she moved to grab a rag and start scrubbing things herself.

  It wasn’t like being too clean was going to be a real problem, was it?

  Ed finally cleared his throat.

  “So, who’s working the front today? Ginger did the night shift, but Eve had to fight a Greater Demon…”

  Like either of those things should get them out of doing their jobs? It wasn’t like they slept, or got tired, besides the day was half over. It was almost noon, already.

  Eve got that she was being asked though, as a courtesy, in case she was scared, or angry and couldn’t work with the public. It was really nice, actually. Like she was being treated like a real Vampire, and not just a baby to be ordered around. In fact, Ed didn’t do that to her most of the time, did he? It got her to smile, and then shrug.

  “I need to find Felicia, and let her know that we aren’t all about to die here. Ginger is pretty much up to speed, and other than some fighting lessons, doesn’t need me for anything now.” Eve paused and looked at the girl, then winked. “Other than my awesome, and of course, very valuable friendship. I mean, everyone sane needs that. But you have this stuff down. You could use some sharpening on your treat making, and store handling stuff, but really, for that… We should send you into the Iowa Node, so you can help Cormack. For now, if you can hold here while I get Felicia? Then I’ll cover the rest of the day, while you go and do something fun. I kind of have a date tomorrow night, at nine? So, if I can get some time off for that?”

  Edom smiled, his face looking like she’d told him they’d won a lotto drawing. That was one of the great things about him, and why she’d picked him as her maker. Unlike almost everyone else in the world, he actually cared about what happened to her. When something good was going on, he always seemed happy about it. It was strange for her, since she’d kind of assumed that she’d spend half of her time face down on a bed, being fucked in whatever hole he felt like at the time.

  This Vampire had never even suggested they hug more often. She totally would, of course, but it was nice that he didn’t act like her real value to him was her body.

  “Who with? That boy you mentioned last night? Ben?”

  “Yep. I asked him out. It’s a thing now, women doing that part. I think it means I’m supposed to pay too, but you know, if you want the honey, you gots to have the money. I do, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Oh, can I ride in a car for that part? It’s just to a movie, and I know that I need to keep working on my speed, so doing that all the time isn’t in the cards, but…”

  Giving her a solid look, her master nodded.

  “Just this once. You should make up for it by doing a long distance speed run though. I don’t want you to get soft, like me. Riding in cars with boys… The next thing you know you’ll come back holding his hand, and telling me that you’re both in trouble… Though, in the Vampire world that will just mean wanting to turn him into one of us.” He gave her a hard look though and squinted. “Just so you know, the tradition is that your maker would then kill the other person, and lock you in a box until you learned not to be so sentimental. That goes for you too Ginger. We’re not going to have any unplanned makings out of either of you.” He wagged a brown finger, the pale blue shirt rubbing a bit.

  Then, as the cufflinks, which were gold and black, twinkled in the light, he winked at them both.

  “Not that you two would be a problem that way. Not running the Human conversion training like you are. How is that going, anyway? We should probably work up a report for the Council on it. Not that they’ll care yet, until it works or fails in the first batch. Keeping them up on things won’t hurt though.”

  Ginger, still scrubbing like she was afraid the smell would come back, spoke about it for a while, going over everything.

  “The punch-line is that we’re having the first real meeting next week, where they’ll get their first tasks, hints and a lecture. We need someplace a bit better than a booth or two here for that, I think. Can we rent someplace?”

  Eve didn’t know, but Edom had an idea, which wasn’t too bad, really.

  “Do it at the club? We have chairs and tables, and you can be alone while it takes place. As long as you do it early in the day, and don’t trash the room too much, it shouldn’t be a problem. Do the first meeting here, so you can hand out a map to the next one?”

  That settled, Eve waved and walked out, ready to go to Felicia’s hote
l, or even to Sparks, to get her, if she’d taken off. She was, however, busily running laps around the outer sidewalk of Westfield. Under the cloudy sky, but the sun was still burning her as she did it. There she was though, not giving in. Largely on her own, too. If she could have cried, tears would have been streaming down her pale cheeks as she grinned about it.

  Smiling instead, Eve jogged up alongside of her.

  “Hello! Ginger, Zack and Edom cleaned the place up, and I scrubbed myself for a long time, so I should be fine. Not too stinky to be around, I hope. I’m going to trash these poor socks though.” She hadn’t remembered that she was barefoot, until then. It didn’t hurt, and her feet felt fine enough. The other Vampire glanced down and winced.

  “I hate this stuff. I was working away, minding my own business, and even running an entire city. I’m not that old, so it was kind of a big deal, you know? Sparks isn’t New York maybe, but we followed the rules and no one really had too many problems. Then one day this girl moves in, and the next thing I know, she’s taken over the whole thing.” There was no letting up in the running, though she did spare a glance for the socks. They really weren’t going to last long. She had another pair of shoes, back home, and her white ones in the supply closet there at the shop.

  Well, Ed had suggested she do a long fast trip, hadn’t he? No better way than using magic shoes that wouldn’t let her slow down. Really, she probably should have been doing that all along. It was a bit wimpy of her to not use them, wasn’t it? Darla had made them for her, as a special present, and they probably were worth more than anyone could have paid for.

  Felicia needed to talk though, it was clear, so Eve listened, and just kept going.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it isn’t one of the really bad Greater Demons. I mean, so far Keeley has been almost nice. Hard, sometimes, and unforgiving, but she doesn’t eat people for fun, or because it’s handy, and has only tortured a few people into doing what she wants. I kind of wish I was back running the place for the Vampires myself though. Don’t tell her I said that. Not that she doesn’t know. I just don’t want to start a fight.”

  They padded along for a while more, and finally Eve slapped the other undead woman on the arm just hard enough for her to notice.

  “You’re good doing this. Good thinking by the way. Keeping yourself moving is a big part of getting this done. You’re going to make it. In two weeks you’ll be up and around all day, every day, and that part, resisting going down, won’t even be an issue anymore.”

  Felicia smiled at that, her face a bit darker somehow than the look should have allowed. It was a subtle use of the eyes, Eve thought. Hooding the lids just enough to make the smile fierce, if only a little.

  “I know. Then I’ll be a real master Vampire, won’t I? Because The Mistress of Souls decided I should be. I guess I shouldn’t complain. She could have insisted I do donkey shows, or killed babies for her amusement. This is a funny place here though, isn’t it? You have what, five of them, right here? Master Vamps, I mean. I only ever met four of them myself, before I came here. In seventy years. Doing this will make me something special. Even if you train a hundred more like this, it still will. I guess I’m lucky that I know someone that can get me in early. How did… I mean, if it’s all right to ask, how did you and Keeley meet? Or is that… Is that how you got your power to do this?” She gestured, as if the ability she was talking about was allowing her to walk in the daylight and live, instead of facing the small death.

  “Nothing like that. I’m not a slave, or anything. There was no bargain or deal for it. Though, in a way, Keels did have a lot to do with how things turned out. She helped me learn to meditate, and really worked on that with me for several years. I think just because she likes me though. We went to high school together. We were kind of in the same clique, I guess. Her sister, Darla, The Technician? Anyway, she was the head cheerleader, and got me into that, then about a year later, Keeley came to school with us. So, I guess we met in a normal enough way. If anything like that can be called regular. I mean, I know, who goes to school with Greater Demons? We had four of them though. Speaking of which, I need to go, and make some calls about that, just to make sure I don’t mess up killing one of them in a few days.”

  That got a laugh, like it was a joke. She was pretty certain Felicia would know enough to get that it wasn’t. The other Vampire kept running, and Eve headed inside, like she’d promised.

  After grabbing a clean apron and getting behind the counter, she waved at Ginger to go and do whatever it was she wanted.

  “I have this here. Go. Go. Do whatever it is that makes you happy. Sit in the park and seduce boys, or whatever.”

  “That’s a plan, I suppose. I wish I had some money. I could use some new clothes. I haven’t been shopping in about three years. Lenore took me.” She didn’t seem down about it, just a bit wistful.

  Eve thought for a second, then pulled her bank card out.

  “The PIN is three-three-six-two. Get what you want. I need my card back later though, so make sure you don’t lose it?”

  Ginger froze, and then shook her head.

  “I didn’t mean that you had to get things for me. I’d feel bad. I don’t want to spend it all.”

  Eve was about to explain the whole thing to her, when Edom came out from the back, holding an envelope. It was white and thick enough to be interesting.

  “Here you go. Your pay, so far. That way you won’t accidently enrage Eve by losing her valuable card. You should get an account, too, someplace. We can make time for that later though. Right now, why not get that shopping done? You’ll need things to wear in Iowa.”

  Ginger might have looked very young, but she understood what was being said. She was going to be sent off, in a few days most likely, in order to sharpen her yogurt making skills. Because that was pretty high on the Vampire skill set, wasn’t it? Then, supporting an embassy, doing it because she could stay up all day, kind of was a big deal. Normally that job was only given to the oldest Vampire willing to do the work.

  She snagged the envelope, and opened it, her eyes going wide, then tucked it away, as if fearing theft. She didn’t even go to the back, handing her apron directly to Eve, along with her bank card, and then, at the door, actually ran so fast she flickered a little through the glass.

  Ed winked at her.

  “Normally she wouldn’t get paid this early, but she really should have some new clothing. You too, by the way. Nothing wrong with what you’re wearing, if you’re manning the counter here, or even doing janitorial at the club, but you might want to pick up some nicer things, as well. For business meetings, press work, and of course, for when you go to kill people for the Council. You need to make a statement, when it comes time for that.” He smoothed his pant leg, which got her to realize that he almost always wore nice things. She looked like a college girl, compared to him.

  A poor one with no fashion sense.

  Which, to be honest, she didn’t really have. Thinking back, she remembered high school, where she hadn’t had money for clothing at all, and had relied on Darla to lend her things, and even buy them, on occasion. Now she had a sense of style. A really high level and refined one.

  After Ed went into the back, almost on a whim, Eve picked up the cream colored handset, which needed to be scrubbed down, having some finger prints on it, and dialed Darla’s number by memory. It picked up on the third ring, and a rather older sounding woman spoke, her voice firm, but not nasty.

  “This is Gibson. Go.”

  It took about half a second for her to process that information. Mrs. Gibson was technically Darla’s Grandmother. Played by Darla, if the situation wasn’t the other way around. The point was that they were both the same person. Except that if Mrs. Gibson answered like that, and didn’t use her name, it meant…

  Eve didn’t really know, did she?

  It was probably that there was someone listening in, or possibly with Mrs. Gibson, that didn’t know all about Greater Demons,
and shouldn’t. A Human business partner, or employee, maybe?

  “Mrs. Gibson? This is Eve Benson? I’m a friend of Darla’s. You know, the one that shamed you all by becoming a Vampire? I was wondering if she was around? I’m putting together a shopping trip, and realized that I left all my taste in clothing with her. An oversight on my part, but you know, you get busy, and one thing leads to another… Things get left in the sofa cushions…”

  There was a pause and a wet Human sounding intake of breath.

  “Benson… You’re related to Chief Benson? The girl with the catering job? I think we’ve met a few times. I’m afraid I don’t know where Darla is. She mentioned not being back for a few weeks, but didn’t tell me what she was doing, exactly. I’m at work at the moment, but could we meet this evening? Perhaps you can help me work out where she might have gotten to? Call it eight or nine? At her house. You know where that is?”

  She had to check to make sure it was the old one, and not something new, because Eve really wasn’t certain Darla hadn’t moved to a better place by now, or possibly had a second house, but made arrangements to come in at eight. It was a very weird way to set up a meeting, but if Darla felt that observed, then it might be important not to give it all away.

  There was no need for her to really worry though, even if it felt off. Darla wasn’t just a big girl, she was a Greater Demon. A few things might give her problems, but if Mrs. Gibson was there, it probably came down to some kind of trick she was pulling. That, or just not wanting to change back right then. It took her some time to do that, after all. Half a day, or so.

  Going clothes shopping with the older version was probably out though, and not just because it would look like she was hanging with her grandmother. That part might actually have been cool, for all she knew. She’d never done that before. If she had grandparents on either side of the family, no one had ever mentioned it.