by Lisa Olsen
“Mason… I’m sure she’s mad about part of it, but she has a right to be. Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess so. But do you think she’ll get over it, or…”
Part of me wanted to reassure him, but the rest of me didn’t want to give him any false hope. “I wish I could say yes, but I really don’t know. If it helps, I told her about me too, so she knows it doesn’t make you evil.”
“You did?” I managed to stun him into silence for a good twenty seconds. “Thanks, Anja, you didn’t have to do that.”
“No, I did. She had a right to know. Listen, she won’t tell anyone about any of it, I took care of that, but I’d give her some space right now if I were you. She’ll come and talk to you when she’s ready. You know Hanna, she’s not shy when it comes to giving you a piece of her mind.”
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. Thanks, Anja. I owe you one for tonight.”
“I’ll remember that.” Hopefully, I’d never need to call in that favor.
Chapter Nine
Half afraid of where Jakob might show up next, I decided to call him the next night with details on the opening for Nightshade, Jarrod and Leander’s new club. For the first time I got his voicemail, and left him a message while I went to take Ellie out hunting. I was almost tempted to go back to that tavern and see if Chad was in the neighborhood, but decided it probably wasn’t a good idea.
We’d just gotten back to the apartment when my phone rang. “Hey, Jakob. Did you get my message?”
“I did indeed.”
“Will you come with me to the club opening? No one has to know who you are if you don’t want them to, and it might be nice for you to hang out with people like us for a change.” Maybe if he met some of the local vamps it might encourage him to come out of hiding sooner than later.
“I can’t, petal.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Are you ever going to tell me why you really don’t want to be seen?”
“When the time is right.”
“How come you’re here then, if you’re so worried about being recognized? How come you’re not in Kansas or something?”
“Because this is where you are,” he replied simply.
“Why did you take off so suddenly last night?”
“You made it perfectly clear how unhappy you were with my offering to your family.”
“Since when has that ever stopped you from sticking around?” I snorted.
“I thought it simpler to absent myself before your sister brought her beau around.”
So it was because of Mason’s ties to the Order. “I thought you weren’t afraid of them?”
“It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with timing.”
For someone who claimed to have an open book policy, he sure talked in circles sometimes. “Okay, well I’d better go. I’ll see you soon.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. You know where to find me if you get desperate to see me tonight.” There, let him stew over that for now, I thought to myself.
Ellie materialized at my elbow the instant I was off the phone. “Are we going to the party then?”
“Sure, I don’t see why not. As long as you can behave yourself.” I assumed my invite was good for my entire household.
“Why, you think I’ll make a holy show of m’self?”
“I’m not sure what that means, but maybe, yes.”
“Please.” An overly dramatic roll of the eyes was given. “How badly do I have to mind my p’s and q’s in the company of vampires? I thought it was the humans I had to watch m’self around.”
“You still have to keep to a certain standard though. You can’t go around eating anyone’s date or acting all vampy, even if it is a vampire club. It’s still a public place and you never know who could be in there besides our kind.”
Her face scrunched up in distaste. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“I’m serious, Ellie. You have to behave like a normal person while in public.”
“And if I promise to do all that, can I go then, Mum?” She fluttered her eyelashes at me, hands clutched together under her chin until I couldn’t keep from laughing.
“Yes, you can. I’ll see if Maggie wants to go too and we can all go together. How are you settling in here. Do you like San Francisco so far?”
“What I’ve seen of it, yeah.”
“Well, maybe you’ll meet some people tonight and make new friends?”
*
I admit, I sort of hoped Jakob would change his mind and come to the party after all, but the night came and I didn’t hear a peep from him. We ladies got all gussied up in our finest. I wore the elaborate beaded gown Bishop bought me in England and Jakob’s diamond choker around my neck, figuring if there was ever a time to dress to impress, this was it.
Maggie looked very much the lady beside me, in a demure dress of pale rose satin with a lacy overlay that covered every inch of exposed skin. I guess I could understand why she didn’t want to bare all after being forced to parade around on Jasper’s arm in the most revealing outfits, especially around a group of vampires.
Ellie wore a crazy get up, borrowing my red leather skirt and pairing it with two pairs of tights, the black ones tattered to reveal the silver ones beneath. Despite the fact that I counted at least three different strappy tank tops on her, most of her upper body was bare and covered with sparkly body glitter. Her auburn hair was pulled up into two buns, each bisected with a pair of chopsticks, miniature Chinese cats dangling from the ends. Her eyes were deeply smudged with a sooty red that matched the skirt, completely changing the look of her face from imp to temptress. I knew I was going to have my hands full with her.
Gunnar and Isak wore matching suits of course. So far I hadn’t seen them in anything outside of that work uniform and I resolved to take them shopping for less conspicuous clothes.
The club was nearly invisible from the street, reminding me of a speakeasy during prohibition. There was a door set below street level with a single sign set above it with the name Nightshade painted in elegant white script, completely unlit. The common passerby on the street would probably pass right by without giving it a second look, but a vampire’s sharp eyes could pick it up no problem.
The moment we stepped inside it was clear the club was far more upscale than the Bleeding Hart. A uniformed girl took our coats and wraps, and I “signed” for them by swiping my identity chip over a portable reader clipped to her belt. There were no overhead lights in the club itself. Instead, it was lit by strategically placed uplights next to the deep, blue (almost violet) velvet curtains surrounding the room, and from the flickering candles on the round tables giving it an intimate glow. There were footlights on the small stage where a live band played soft jazz, the muted trumpet leading the combo through a lazy rendition of Scarborough Fair.
Our party was shown to one of the bigger corner tables, plenty of room for all of us to sit, but Isak remained standing at the edge of the table, his eyes sweeping the room for what… I have no idea. Gunnar seemed comfortable sitting though, largely ignoring his brother to chat with Ellie about whether or not they’d find sweeties on the menu.
“Isak,” I whispered, once we’d all settled into the booth. “You’re making me nervous standing around like that.
“I’m doing my job, miss.”
“I understand that, but don’t you think you could do it sitting down? Gunnar, help me out here, will you?”
Gunnar said something in rapid fire Danish, and Isak slid stiffly into the booth, one leg out as if he expected to bolt back up to his feet at any second.
“Thanks,” I smiled encouragingly. “I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about though, this is an invitation only party. Do you think you could at least try to relax? You’re making me nervous as anything, constantly surveying the room like a terminator.”
Isak stared at me blankly, clearly not getting the reference. Gunnar said something again in Danish, and he nodded, relaxing.
I understood about a third of the words spoken thanks to my smattering of German, but I pretended like I understood it all.
The band picked up tempo for the next song and Ellie’s face lit up. “I know this one!” she cried out in delight. “I’m for the dance floor, any takers?” Already squeezing past Gunnar, she was on her feet before I could voice a reply.
“I’ll go with,” Maggie volunteered, waiting patiently for Gunnar to move out of the way before she followed suit. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for her,” she leaned close to say, before letting herself be dragged away by a bouncy Ellie.
“Who’ll watch out for you?” I wondered aloud to a nearly empty table as Isak and Gunnar’s attention followed the girls.
Jarrod (or was it Leander?), appeared at the end of the table, dressed in a dove gray tuxedo, complete with tails. “Now you’re here, the evening can start properly,” he beamed, bowing formally over my hand. “You look especially lovely tonight, Anja, if I may say so.”
“You may,” I winked back at him, feeling particularly festive myself. “And you look fiendishly handsome yourself.” I deliberately didn’t name him, sensing he’d be crushed if I guessed wrong. “Where’s your brother at? I thought he’d be right by your side.”
“Leander’s around here somewhere, pressing the flesh. He’ll be jealous he didn’t get to greet you first.”
Ha, I was right, it was Jarrod I was speaking to! “You’re sweet,” I smiled. “I have to say, this place looks fabulous. You really did a fantastic job. It reminds me of something from another era.”
“Ta muchly,” he beamed. “It did turn out rather well, didn’t it? It’s modeled after a place we owned back home in the land down under. Ah… I miss the good old days.” He gave a long, drawn out sigh.
Leander bounded up to his brother’s side, full of enthusiasm. “Hullo, Anja, you look right spiffy tonight. Have you asked her yet?”
“I was nearly about to when you so rudely interrupted.”
“Ask me what?” I hoped like anything they didn’t want me to say a few words. Speaking in public tied my stomach in as many knots as performing did.
Jarrod bent at the waist, almost genuflecting as he spoke. “Rumor has it, you’ve a voice to charm the angels down from the heavens.”
I wondered who they’d been talking to for that impression, but I had sung in front of an entire room of people in England. I supposed the word could have gotten around. “Well, I don’t know about that…”
“We were hoping you’d favor us with a song or two tonight,” Leander added, mimicking his brother’s subservient stance.
Wode tìan. How the heck was I supposed to bow out of that gracefully? “I really hadn’t planned on anything like that tonight.”
“You can sing anything you like. Our band is top notch. I’m sure they can pick it up, even if they’ve never heard of it before.”
“I haven’t performed regularly in a long time.”
“She’s being modest now,” Leander grinned, elbowing his brother in the side. “Go on, give us one song.”
“It’s just that I don’t have anything prepared…” I hated letting them down, but something like that I had to psyche myself up for. The last thing I wanted to risk was getting sick backstage right before going on – not the best way to instill confidence in my position. “Perhaps another night,” I said more firmly.
They looked like they might have said more, but my boys flanked me, arms crossing over their chests. I could have kissed them! “It’s just as well, the polly’s chomping at the bit to give her a go.” Leander gave an easy come, easy go shrug.
“Who’s Polly?”
“He means politician,” Jarrod replied. “That’s him over there, Terry Byrne, the magistrate.”
My head swiveled around to see who he pointed at, catching sight of the man standing at the edge of the stage, whispering furiously to a member of the band. He was thick through the middle, barrel chested, on the shorter side, the wispy, brown hair on the top of his head starting to thin when he’d been turned. His sharkskin suit seemed to glow under the footlights, revealing a mauve tone under the slate blue when he moved. As we watched, he took to the stage, commandeering one of the microphones and adjusting it lower to match his lack of height.
“I wonder what he’s doing up here anyway?” Jarrod frowned, open scorn in his voice. “I’d have thought he’d be down south, sucking up to the new Elder.”
My head swung back around fast enough to make my neck crack. “There’s a new Elder already?”
“I dunno, is there?” Jarrod blinked back. “What have you heard?”
I shook my head, waving him away, I wanted to hear what the man had to say.
“Ladies and gents, if I could have your attention,” he cleared his throat, giving a pointed look to the members of the band who were still playing. “I’ll just be a quick minute before I turn you back to the great band. In fact, let’s have a round of applause for these guys, can they jam or what?” The applause was hardly what I’d call robust, but I think that had less to do with people’s reception of the music than of the man interrupting it.
“Great, great,” he smiled nervously, removing the microphone from the stand to hold it as he shuffled to the edge of the stage. “It’s no secret that we’re living in tumultuous times these days. I think we all mourn the loss of our Elder, Thomas Lyons, may he rest in peace.”
There was a low murmur of agreement, and I raised my glass (though it only held water). “To Tommy Lyons, he was good people,” I called out, recalling his earnest efforts to make me feel comfortable in the short time I’d known him. The ripple of assent grew louder and many more glasses were raised in tribute. Of course, I’d also managed to catch the magistrate’s attention with my remark, and he peered into the room until his eyes lit upon me. They were dark, and steady, even though the rest of him never stopped moving, like a shark.
“That’s right, Thomas was a stand up guy, and he’ll be missed. The important thing I wanted to convey tonight, if there is a message we can take from the way he died, is to remember that none of us is truly immortal. I think we all forget that from time to time, am I right?” He paused to smile at the crowd, but they’d all gone still in the way that only vampires can. You could have heard a pin drop in the back of the room. Well, okay, so most of us could have heard something like that anyway with our super-hearing, but you get my point.
Byrne plunged again, his smile dimming, replaced with an expression of grim determination. “All of us have played a little loose and fancy-free with the laws from time to time, and I understand the temptation to run amok in times of transition like this. Now, I can assure you, your leaders are doing everything we can to appoint the next Elder, whoever that may be. But in the meantime, I urge you to remember the laws. Now is not the time for chaos. The laws are there for our own protection.”
“Yeah right,” I snorted under my breath, surprised when half a dozen heads turned in my direction. I sat on my hands to keep from covering my face in embarrassment, and he continued.
“As I was saying, now is not the time for chaos. Now, I know it’s popular to hold some resentment towards the Order – and hey, I get it – nobody likes the cops. But if we can all remember the reasons behind why the Order was established, I think we can all agree they serve a very important function in our society. Without them, either the humans would hunt us like vermin or the city would be overrun with our progeny, completely out of control.”
Why did he have to make it sound like an all or nothing thing? Like without the Order to police the population we’d be up to our eyeballs in vampires by the end of the year. “Oh come on, there has to be some middle ground,” I grumbled, unable to keep the thought inside. This time nearly everyone went still again, pinning me with their eyes.
“Is there a comment? Something you want to address?” Byrne stopped, offering me a clipped smile.
Chapter Ten
Jeez Louise, when was I going to learn to co
ntrol my big fat mouth? My experiences, both in town and England, had sure filled my head with plenty of opinions of the subject, and they were itching to get out. Still, I wasn’t the type to speak up in a public forum like that. I swallowed, the backs of my knees feeling moist, when I caught sight of Leander’s hopeful face. I was the Jarl of the Northwest – were they counting on me to speak up against the magistrate? I swallowed again, nails digging half-moons into my palms as I forced myself not to back down with a mumbled apology.
“It’s just that I think a lot of us wouldn’t put too much faith in the laws solely existing for our own protection. I mean, how many of us know people, good people, who’ve fallen to the Order in the name of the law?”
There was a light smattering of applause, and I drew in a shaky breath, forging on. “I think we need to remember that the laws are only as strong as the power we give them. Some are good, but some are discriminatory, and if they’re no longer working for us, something needs to be done about it.”
The magistrate looked pale and clammy up on the stage, his brows drawn together into a single bushy line. “I don’t think you’re qualified to judge…”
He was missing the point. “All I’m saying is, we have the right to speak out against oppression and I’m here to say – if something is unfair, we have the right to change it.” This time there was a louder rumble of approval from the crowd, even a few shouts of support.
Byrne looked like I’d shoved a red hot poker up his behind. Sweat stood out on his brow, and his face was twisted in a rictus of pain as he brought he microphone back up to his mouth. “You can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. These laws were set by our forefathers…”
“Actually, they were set by the Ellri,” I interrupted him, willing to bet I knew more about the origin of the Order than he did. “The Order was formed for population control, pure and simple, in a time when humans had far too many hints of our existence. Things have changed since then. We’re not living in crypts and caverns anymore. Most of us know how to move adeptly through society with humans none the wiser. No one is talking about repealing the laws restricting progeny willy nilly. No one is talking about vampires taking over the city, or any of that power hungry crap that belongs in B movies. I’m talking about common sense.”
