by R. E. Carr
“And this is why I love you,” Javier sighed. “However, there may be some use in talking to the locals, mi amor. It’s about time I introduced you to more of our kind. The key is to find someone rather full of themselves, because they simply love to talk.”
“Like you?” she offered.
Javier ignored her and led her toward a strip club. Gail took one look at the neon sign of a dancer in cowboy boots and shook her head. “I am not going in there,” she said, balking at the stench of liquor and bodily fluids.
“Then stay outside and entertain better offers,” Javier said.
She rolled her eyes, but followed. The rather imposing gentleman just inside the door raised a brow at the petite princess in a high-necked dress and sensible shoes. Javier smiled and flashed his ID.
“You’re Enrique Iglesias?” the bouncer asked. Javier passed the man some bills. He stepped aside without any further questions.
“Enrique?” Gail hissed as they stepped into a dimly lit den of glitter and cheap beer.
“Strangely enough, the most ridiculous of forgeries is usually the one that is least questioned,” Javier explained, pausing briefly to appreciate an only slightly saggy stripper taking to the pole. “I mean, I do not look like the kind of man with the cojones to pull off such a brazen feat.”
“You keep eyeing that stripper, and you won’t have any cojones at all, Javier.”
“Oh, I like it when you are jealous . . .” He trailed off, as he saw a pale gentleman leaning in one of the booths, a lady on each arm. This skinny, balding stranger brazenly pressed a wrist to his lips. The owner of said wrist merely moaned and let her obvious pink wig flop over her face. “And I think I know a guy. Shall we, mi amor?”
The stranger smiled broadly before Gail and Javier even reached the booth. Javier gave a little bow. “Rahul, how long has it been?” Javier asked.
“Not long enough to forget that you owe me a hundred bucks, Javier, you old fox,” Rahul replied.
Javier clutched his chest in mock disdain. “Come now, the old fox was mi padre!” he exclaimed. Still, he slipped some bills out of his pocket, and tossed five twenties on the table. Javier then motioned to Gail. “Gail, meet Rahul; Rahul, Gail.”
“Pleasure,” Gail said quickly. Rahul dismissed his snacks and motioned for the other vampires to sit.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think,” Rahul apologized. “Did you need something to eat?”
“Oh, no, we picked up lunch at O’Leary’s up the street,” Javier said, smiling. “Actually, I was wondering if the jefa was free?”
Rahul smiled, showing off tiny, nicotine-stained fangs. As if on cue, the music changed to something particularly thumpy, and a very tall, broad-shouldered stripper stomped onto the stage in thigh-high bitch-boots and little else. She flung her wrap to a group of older men near the stage’s edge, and flipped her magnificent weave of maroon hair with expert flourish. Gail found herself entranced by freckles on light coffee-colored skin and legs that seemed to go on for days. She blushed.
“Bella just has to get the regulars fired up,” Rahul explained. Unlike for the prior acts, the patrons in the establishment began swarming the stage, and soon this Bella’s G-string overflowed with green. Multiple fans blew across the stage and into the crowd, and the men’s eyes glazed over as the dancer twisted around the pole. Gail blushed as the breeze reached their booth.
“You feel it, don’t you, mi amor?” Javier asked. “That is the power of miasma, a power that you will control soon enough.”
Gail still gawked at Bella shaking her money maker. While this Bella was not nearly as artificially endowed as her predecessors, Gail remained transfixed by the dancer’s lovely caboose. It was only as the song faded, that Gail realized she had snatched the cash off the table and had wandered to the lip of the stage. Bella leaned down just enough that sweet little Gail could tuck a twenty between speckled tits. Bella smiled, and Gail gulped.
Bella blew Gail a kiss. She then turned on a five-inch heel and strutted back to the curtains, showers of glitter filling the air. Gail blinked a few times as a mix of confetti cascaded over her like fabulous snow. She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Impressed yet?” Javier whispered in her ear.
“That is not the first word I would use,” Gail muttered, following him back to their little corner of the club. She nervously fumbled for her purse. “I owe you—” she stammered.
Rahul waved dismissively. “It all goes to the boss anyway. You just made it more entertaining.”
“What just happened?” Gail asked, confused.
“Each of our kind has different strengths and weaknesses, mi amor,” Javier explained.
“Some of us are fighters, but I prefer to be a lover,” a new voice said from the shadows. Gail gasped as Bella drifted into the light, now in a very flattering fuchsia cocktail dress and with long wavy locks. Gail shifted in her seat. Her face reddened further as Bella slid into the booth right across from Gail.
“Bella, huh?” Javier asked.
“Oh, it’s what they want nowadays,” she replied. “Lots of glitter, lots of ass, and not much else. You know, I preferred it when I actually had to tease the money out of them- and, of course, I could play up the whole exotic half-breed angle. Now I just roll out the Rammstein and loop around the pole. Boom, rent is paid.”
“Well, I still remember you as Beulah . . . and all the fun we had in that bordello in Tombstone,” Javier said with a salute.
Bella laughed wistfully. She motioned over a waiter who quickly produced four nondescript green bottles. “Oh, those were the days, amigo. But, I must ask, where is your usual partner in crime? Not that I mind this far lovelier creature you have brought round to visit,” Bella said, slightly misty-eyed.
“How many of the rumors have gotten here?” Javier asked.
Bella’s eyes darkened. “Enough for me to think that my sources were thoroughly bamboozled, or just really bad at making jokes,” she said. She shook her head. “No, you are not telling me that all that nonsense about the king being back from the dead is true, Javier.”
“It’s totally true, amiga. I was there.”
Bella motioned for a bottle of whiskey to go with the blood. She then proceeded to pour shots into her and Rahul’s drinks before daring to continue. As Bella turned her attention to Gail again, the poor girl nearly swooned. Bella sniffed the air and then glared at Javier.
“How old is she?” Bella asked, her voice dangerously low.
“Twenty-nine,” Gail offered. Javier squeezed her hand.
“I mean your real age, baby,” Bella said, softening a little. “You can’t be more than a few weeks changed, can you? I can still smell that lingering freshness on your skin, and you are way too taken with me to be anything more than an infant.”
“It’s, um, not been that long,” Gail confessed. “I’m still learning the ropes, but I have Javier with me.”
Gail leaned against Javier and gave her sweetest smile. Bella’s eyes darkened again, this time almost to black. She began a tirade in Spanish that Javier quickly countered. Soon Gail’s head was swimming as the argument escalated. Electricity crackled along the edge of the table while both elder vampires seethed.
“Excuse me!” Gail snapped, pushing to her feet. “I think I’ll get some tequila instead.”
She hurried to the bar, not giving anyone else at the table a chance to respond. It was only as she was into her second shot of Cuervo that she heard someone clear their throat near her. Bella eased into the seat next to Gail.
“I’m sorry if that escalated quickly,” Bella apologized.
“I have a long road ahead of me, but I plan on picking up Spanish as soon as possible,” Gail muttered. “I’m sorry I upset you. Were you two . . . a thing in the Wild West or something?”
Bella choked with laughter. “Me and Javier?” she asked, dumbstruck. “Oh no, you misunderstand completely. Javier is more like a big brother to me. He and Lorcan . . .
they helped me escape from someplace really bad, and I’ll never forget it. It’s just that Javier always pretended like he was different from all the other noble vamps, and that he’d never play their games, and here I see him waltzing into my joint with a child bride. I just lost it.”
“Child bride?” Gail asked. She smacked her palm to her forehead. “You mean, you were upset for me?”
“Just tell me, has he mistreated you? Forced you to do anything that you don’t want to do?” Bella asked, genuine concern on her face.
“No . . . no,” Gail said, looking the other vamp straight in the eyes. “I love him, really. We kinda had a thing before I was turned into a vampire. My . . . mom, for lack of a better word, abandoned me to die and he saved me. I swear.”
“That’s exactly what he said,” Bella sighed. She motioned to the bartender. “Your drinks are on the house. Come on back and talk with us, OK. I’ll keep it in English, I swear, so we are all on the same page.”
Gail hesitated. “Is it really that weird? I mean, what Javier and I have?” she asked.
“Well, to some people, yes,” Bella explained. “Vampires like us, you know, the normal ones, we like to wait until both parties are adults - in a manner of speaking - before we get to the blood-swapping and chemical-bonding parts of our relationship. We leave that kinky shit to the inbred elite if you know what I mean.”
“Oh,” Gail muttered. “I didn’t know.”
“Your outside shell might be almost thirty, but to us, you’re an infant, so—”
“Oh,” Gail said, suddenly a little queasy.
“The Pendragon started it. Lorcan sucked off an infant too. I accused Javier of imitating his idol a little too much – in case you were wondering about a translation. He called me a few choice names in return,” Bella continued. “Now I didn’t mean to upset you so much, sugar. Come on back and let’s talk like civilized folk.”
Gail finally followed Bella back to the boys. Javier wrapped his arm protectively around her. Gail flinched. Javier began gnawing on his lip awkwardly.
“I have always had a knack for making things weird, haven’t I?” Bella confessed. “Still, don’t you think she should know? This is the twenty-first century after all.”
“Um, is there anything else we can discuss?” Gail asked quickly.
“Well, you are abandoned, and now you’re what, an Azarola?” Bella asked.
“House Harker, actually. Lady Mina took me in. She said she wanted to look out for me,” Gail said softly.
“Yes, Mina has her own house and Gail is under her protection, even from a monster like me,” Javier said, rolling his eyes. “Do you get it now? I want Gail to have the best chance possible, and Dama Harker will make sure that I treat my bride with respect. Comprende?”
“Mina got her own house?” Bella asked. She let out a long, low whistle. “Damn, things really have gotten interesting.”
“That is why I am here, amiga,” Javier said. “I need information—”
“As always,” Bella interrupted.
“And I’m here to warn you that it is about to get really bad, really soon,” Javier said, no trace of his usual sarcasm in his voice. “I think you know something is wrong.”
“Of course, something is wrong!” Bella snapped. “Dead kings are rising from the grave and carpetbaggers are once more ruining the south. I’m up to my fangs in Yankee assholes, and what do I get? The sheriff pulls her deputy out of town and I’m left high and dry. It’s just like Vegas in the eighties.”
“Deputy?” Gail asked.
“The sheriff’s eyes and ears. After all, she cannot be everywhere at once,” Javier explained. “She has already pulled him out?”
“He blew out of town two weeks ago – said he had urgent matters in Chicago. Normally I’d ask the Pendragons to help, but—” Bella said.
“But,” Javier sighed. “Yeah, I don’t think that family is going to be as protective as it was, amiga. How bad has it gotten in two weeks?”
“This isn’t about the last two weeks, Javier. Deputy Denton was ineffectual at best. We used to have to pay tribute to Silas. He was an ass, and a racist ass to boot, but he took bribes and he kept the area clean. Have you heard the rumors going around? They say that the old enemy is back—”
“What do you mean?” Gail asked, leaning in.
Bella looked right and left. She then whispered, “You know, real monsters.”
“You mean lob hombres?” Javier asked. Bella immediately shushed him.
“Don’t say their name!” she hissed. “I mean, I thought they were supposed to be extinct, but if they aren’t then saying their name will summon them, right?”
“Werewol—” Bella shushed Gail, before the word could fully leave her lips.
“I’m not taking any chances,” Bella growled. “And you’re in my place, respect that.”
Gail and Javier exchanged a look, but they both sat quietly. “Um, the things,” Gail said. “The things are real and they are back. I’ve seen them.”
“But you’re alive,” Bella said, confused. “Relatively speaking.”
“It’s true though. Listen to me - I saw the lob . . . the creatures before, and I saw them again in Texas. They are very real,” Javier said. “Lorcan kept them alive right under our very noses.”
“Oh god, then it’s possible,” Bella said, blanching. She folded her hands as if in prayer, then looked at Javier earnestly. “A pack of assholes came running into town from the west. They said it wasn’t safe and that the things were after them. I thought they were just fearmongering to muscle in on my turf, but they might just be scared kids. Still, they are the least of my worries now. The carpetbaggers are sloppy and wasteful. They keep dumping the half-turned into the Nashville Cemetery area, and I’m pretty sure the animals have nested up.”
Gail gave them both a confused look. This time Javier explained. “Not every vampire turns successfully. Something goes wrong and the mind snaps. They become simply bloodthirsty killers - the monsters you see in the movies. The vampire who created them should take care of his or her mistake—”
Bella snorted with laughter. “Oh yeah, like that happens. You see, baby Gail, if you leave a few animals lying around, it’s real easy to blame them . . . for anything. These carpetbaggers aren’t all just common thugs, either. Some of them have worked their way up the ranks. One even has a writ from the Jaeger house - sellout noble pendejo!” Bella snapped.
“Jaeger?” Gail asked, trying not to sound too curious.
“Yeah, I’m sure he ate out that Teutonic twat enough, and did a few favors around Washington,” Bella spat. “The worst thing is, I’m pretty sure he’s the messy one, but he ain’t going to be the one that answers for all these murders and missing persons, is he, Javier? It’s never the rich boys that take the fall.”
“Just give me a name,” Javier said.
“What?” Bella asked, raising a brow.
“Tell me who is causing the trouble. After all, it is a rich boy problem, no?”
“His name is Blaine.”
“Blaine?” Both Javier and Gail asked incredulously.
“Wow, I’m not sure I can take a threat named Blaine seriously,” Gail said. “Blaine Jaeger sounds like a villain on a soap opera, not a vampire.”
Bella stifled a small laugh at that statement. She continued, “Blaine and his buddies are working Downtown. They are ripping up tourists mostly, but it’s spilling into the rest of the city. I never thought there would be anyone that would make me long for Silas, but damn, it happened.”
“Look, I’ll see what I can do to teach this Blaine some manners, amiga. In the meantime, por favor, get out of town. Tell anyone that you like to get out of Nashville. It’s going to get ugly,” Javier warned.
“Javier, there are people here who depend on us,” Bella said. “We have businesses, and jobs. Not all of us have ancient treasure troves and superpowers to get by on. Most of us have to work for a living.”
Javier levelled
his gaze at Bella and Rahul. “I know that it is difficult, but save whoever you can and get out of town,” he warned. “Sí, there is about to be a lot of trouble, and, sí, we are going to make it much, much worse.”
“We are?” Gail asked.
“I’m very good at making any situation worse, mi amor. Trust me.”
“And where will we go?” Bella asked. “Everything is in chaos.”
“Head north to Detroit. Dama Harker is still keeping it as a free city, and say what you will about the rest of us old, noble bastards—”
“Mina is one of the good ones,” Bella acquiesced. “Should I take the baby with me, or are you acting out one of those horrible action movies where the hero runs around with an infant just to show how badass he is?”
Javier laughed. “Gail stays with me. She’s tougher than you think.”
“Fine. Well, thank you for the warning and . . . everything. Rahul, give our two guests anything you can on those assholes in tourist land. We have a few weapons if you’re really going after the animals too.”
Javier took Bella’s hand. Gail tried not to growl as he kissed it. She paused, as she realized she still blushed every time Bella looked at her.
“Who knows, a woman of your age and talents could probably strike up a deal with Dama Harker. When next we meet, you could be a noblewoman yourself, Beulah,” Javier said with a wink.
“When pigs fly, Javier. When pigs fly,” Bella sighed. “And remember it’s Bella now, not Beulah.”
17
“Um, is there anything else you’re not telling me, Javier?” Gail asked, staring in horror at a crimson spatter across a brick wall. Said spatter emanated from a now-headless body, the head about ten feet away and still rolling. An aluminum bat trembled in Gail’s manicured hands.
“Jesucristo, mi amor!” Javier exclaimed. He paused to grab a snarling, shambling creature by the throat. It gurgled once as Javier squeezed, but collapsed with a thud after the elder vampire drove a tomato stake into the creature’s chest.
Gail saw a shuffle in the shadows. She swung again, and even though her form wasn’t quite MLB material, the red-eyed monster went flying into a rack of rakes and shovels. Gail snatched a dislodged hoe and drove the head through the creature’s abdomen. As the wooden handle went into its center mass, the creature screeched and shuddered. More blood spurted onto Gail’s already scarlet top.
