Vigilante Vampire (Bo Blackman Book 5)

by Helen Harper

  She absorbs this request. ‘Okay.’

  I pick at a hangnail. ‘Maria, are you ready to talk about what happened to you?’ She flinches. I hold up my palms. ‘I won’t make you. Don’t worry.’

  ‘I not worried.’

  Maybe she should be. ‘What are your plans?’

  With an effort, she uncurls herself and stands up. ‘You want me to go.’ It’s not a question.

  ‘No.’ I sigh. ‘Sit down. You’re welcome here for as long as you want.’ At least, she is now that X has dropped his demands for her to leave. I look at her directly in the eyes and hope I’m telling the truth. ‘It’s safe here.’

  She glances around, her gaze falling on Kimchi again.

  ‘He’s safe too. Honest.’ I cross my heart. ‘But maybe you want to contact your parents? You’re still just a kid. What about school? Or…?’

  She folds her arms and sits down, this time on the edge of the sofa as if she’s ready to bolt at any moment. ‘I do not want this talk.’

  ‘Okay. What do you want?’

  She considers this. ‘I want to do same as you.’

  I give her a careful look. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Hurt people. I want to hurt bad people.’

  ‘That’s not exactly what I…’ I falter at her expression. ‘It’s dangerous,’ I say weakly.

  ‘I don’t care.’

  I study her. I can understand how she feels. Hell, it’s how I feel. I nibble on my bottom lip. I’m probably going to regret this. ‘Okay then.’ I take out my phone and find X’s number. He answers on the first ring.

  ‘Bo,’ he purrs, ‘missing me already?’

  ‘I need an assignment,’ I tell him, all business. ‘Do you have anything?’

  He chuckles. ‘What about the missing girl? Or Medici?’ His voice drops. ‘If you’re bored, you can always call Michael again. Maybe this time you can return the favour and suck on his…’

  ‘Lisa Johnson is in hand,’ I interrupt. ‘Medici is up to something but I don’t know what and I’m not hanging around his place all night.’ I don’t mention Michael. ‘Give me a crime to stop. Preferably something non-violent.’

  There’s a pause. ‘Very well. I have the perfect thing. I do believe there’s a break-in in progress. One daemon and he’s a half-breed so you should have no problems.’

  ‘Perfect. Where’s it taking place?’

  I can hear the smile in his voice. ‘Magix.’

  I clench my teeth. Just great. ‘Isn’t there anything else?’

  ‘Of course. There are plenty of nasty criminal elements out and about. But you wouldn’t want to confront anyone who might hurt little Maria, would you?’

  I stiffen. He’s not meant to be able to read minds from a distance. I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it suspiciously.

  X laughs. ‘Relax. We’ve been through this. I’m just not stupid, that’s all.’

  I’m still not entirely mollified. I’m also not prepared to challenge him further. ‘There’s definitely nothing else?’

  ‘There’s a heist taking place on the other side of the city. But considering how long you have until dawn…’

  ‘Fine,’ I snap. ‘Is there anything I need to know?’

  ‘Not right now.’ His lingering amusement makes me wary but I don’t think he’ll put his pet in any danger. And if he wanted to hurt Maria, he’d have done so at the restaurant.

  ‘Thank you,’ I tell him, more out of habit than any genuine desire to show gratitude.

  ‘Oh, little Bo,’ X says, ‘your grandfather taught you so well.’

  I ignore his last comment and hang up. ‘By the way,’ I mutter at the phone, ‘your expensive heirloom table has been half-eaten.’

  I stand up and look at Maria. ‘We have something. Let’s go.’

  ‘And dog?’

  I look at Kimchi just as he cocks his leg against the table. Oh well. ‘He’s coming too.’ I jerk my pinkie at her. ‘You two need to learn to get along.’

  ***

  The three of us stand across the road from Magix’s flagship store. I’ve been here many times in the past and I know that I’m not welcome inside. The last time I ventured in, I wore a disguise. This time, not only did I not bring so much a hat to hide my hair, I’m not in the mood to hide my identity. Not from them and not when I’m here ostensibly helping them.

  If it weren’t for Maria, I’d let the damn robbery go ahead. Magix don’t need saving from a burglar, they need saving from themselves. Even with their less than salubrious CEO long gone thanks to yours truly, they’re still a vast conglomerate with fingers in many dodgy pies. All the same, I’m here now.

  ‘I do not understand,’ Maria says, puzzled. ‘They are open. Time is late.’

  I give her a distracted nod. ‘Twenty-four hour shopping for all your magic needs,’ I say, just as a shifty-looking black witch emerges. I bank down the temptation to jump him. ‘Come on,’ I tell her. ‘We should probably head round the back. That’ll be where the robbery is taking place.’

  She frowns. ‘How do you know?’

  I point at the nearby traffic lights. ‘Delivery van.’ And not just any delivery van: it has darkened windows and the aura of magic around it. Whatever it contains, I’m betting it’s dangerous. If it’s dangerous, it’s desirable.

  We jog after it, rounding the corner and heading down the shadowy side street towards the back entrance of the store. With Maria in tow, I have to go more slowly than I normally would but it’s no big deal. I’m not going to shed any tears if we don’t stop the robbery in time.

  By the time we get there, the van’s doors are open and two tired-looking men are taking out boxes and depositing them by the back door. A stern woman, who is far too perfectly coiffed for this time of night, is ticking off each one on a clipboard. Her lips are tightly pressed together and she’s not uttering a word to the poor delivery workers. The least she could do is offer them a drink of water.

  I scan the street carefully in every direction. Kimchi helpfully does the same, his nose twitching; in fact, his whole body is quivering. I can’t see a damn thing but something has set him off. I sniff the air but my nose isn’t as well-developed as his.

  ‘What is it, boy?’ I ask, as if he can answer me. ‘What can you smell?’

  He jerks against his lead. Even with my vampiric strength, I can barely keep hold of him. He opens his mouth to bark but I nudge him with my knee in an urgent bid to keep him quiet. For once he obeys.

  ‘Daemon,’ Maria says, eyeing Kimchi with distaste. ‘He smells daemon.’

  Oh good. I look impressed and a tiny smile tugs at her mouth, suggesting that she’s more pleased by my admiration than she wants to let on. ‘How do you know?’

  She rolls her eyes, immediately reverting to type. ‘Is obvious.’ She points at the woman. ‘She is daemon.’

  I squint. Despite the dark sky, the light from Magix fully illuminates her. Everything about her screams human. I purse my lips. ‘But…’

  ‘Look.’

  I try again, struggling to see what Maria does. Perfect hair, perfect skin. Human eyes. And she’s not saying a word. Realisation dawns: she’s not staying silent because of a pair of sleepy delivery guys. She’s staying silent because she can’t speak.

  ‘Glamour,’ I breathe. Whatever spell she’s woven is good enough to mask her appearance but not to cover her voice at the same time.

  Maria nods. ‘Is good spell.’ She shrugs. ‘Not good enough.’

  I grin. On the face of things, it’s a pretty smart move. Magic yourself up to look like a bored Magix exec accepting a routine delivery. The delivery men will happily hand over whatever they’re carrying and not think twice about it. Meanwhile, the real woman is probably tied up somewhere inside. Or worse.

  I eye the woman up and down. Should I kill her or leave her for the police? I do have some sympathy for her situation; I’d be tempted to rip off the magic store too. The majority of daemons do little more than dabble in
magic. The witches, whether black or white, tend to be far better at it. With a few helpful items, there’s no telling what a daemon could do. I’ll decide what to do with the glamorous thief once I find out exactly what she’s trying to steal.

  Kimchi’s excitement is unabated. Deciding that the sensible thing would be to keep him out of the impending fight, I loop his lead round a nearby post. Maria smiles.

  ‘It’s for his own good,’ I tell her with a frown.

  Her smile grows. ‘Of course.’ I tut. ‘So what is plan?’ she asks.

  ‘I’m going to get closer,’ I say. ‘You stay here until I tell you to move.’

  Her lip curls. ‘With dog?’

  ‘Yes. With dog.’ Before she can protest I cross the road, making sure my movements are low and swift so that I’m not noticed. Then I press myself against the wall and sidle along. I stop when I’m a few metres away and I can hear the puffed breaths of the two deliverymen. One of them is in dire need of a shower but, as that’s not a good enough reason to put either of them in danger, I draw back into the shadows. The sensible thing to do is to wait until they leave.

  ‘Don’t you want us to bring these inside?’ the burlier one asks.

  From this angle, I can’t see what the glamourised daemon is doing but I guess she shakes her head.

  The men exchange glances then shrug. ‘Suit yourself.’ They remove the last of the boxes, close the van doors and get back in, ready to drive off.

  The engine starts. I take a chance and sneak a glance. The woman is standing stock still but there’s a definite smile playing around her mouth. She thinks she’s almost home free. No such luck, darling. It’s just not going to be your night.

  The moment the van disappears, I make my move and spring out from round the corner. The woman’s mouth drops into a perfect circle. She holds up her hands while I launch at her, grabbing her by the throat and smashing her into the door.

  I raise her up, glaring into her face. ‘Not having so much fun now, are you?’

  She chokes. Beneath my fingers, her skin is heating up; she’s removing the glamour. Her straight nose starts to melt, reshaping itself, and her smooth blonde hair starts to loosen. She croaks, trying to speak.

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ I grunt. ‘You’re not really human. If you think I feel any kindred triber spirit, think again. I’m the Red Angel and I don’t care who or what you are. If you’re breaking the law then I’m going to hurt you.’ I lick my lips and show her my fangs. ‘I might even grab a bite to eat, whether your blood is daemon or not.’

  There’s an inarticulate yell from behind and the sound of pounding feet. Maria. Bloody hell. Why couldn’t she just stay put? Kimchi also starts barking wildly, the sound filling the empty street.

  Before I can say anything, Maria appears by my side, yanking the woman’s fringe forward and then slamming it back so that her head cracks against the steel door. Her eyes flare in pain and she slumps; only my hand round her throat prevents her from collapsing completely. I loosen my hold and let her drop into a crumpled heap. Then I whirl round.

  ‘What the fuck was that? I told you to stay on the other side of the road!’

  ‘He is criminal,’ Maria says simply.

  So much for thinking the daemon is female. Changing gender as well as form is a particularly nifty feat. Right now, I’m more concerned with Maria’s foolhardy attack. ‘And,’ I say through gritted teeth, ‘thanks to your efforts, he’s unconscious so I can’t ask him any questions.’

  She cocks her head, obviously puzzled. ‘Why ask questions? He is stealing. We stop him.’

  ‘We don’t know what he’s stealing or why. If he’s unconscious, we can’t find out if he’s working for someone else,’ I explain, beyond irritated. ‘He might just be a foot soldier.’

  Maria glares at me, stomps over to one of the boxes, flips it open and rummages around inside. ‘Look,’ she says shortly, pulling out a familiar looking silver weapon. ‘This is not good thing to take.’

  I reach for it but, the second I get close, pain surges through me and I draw back with a hiss. Maria blinks curiously.

  ‘Tasers,’ I say through gritted teeth. ‘Specially adapted to work against vampires.’

  Her face clears. ‘Cool.’

  I throw her an annoyed glance. ‘This is why I need him awake. I need to know why he’s stealing these. If he’s making a move against the vampires then he won’t be doing it alone. He’ll…’

  There’s another loud bark from Kimchi. I look up just in time to see his lead fall loose. He barrels past me and leaps onto the fallen daemon. I lunge forward and grab his collar, yanking him back.

  ‘For goodness’ sake!’ I yell. ‘Why won’t any of you do as you’re told?’

  Kimchi whines desperately. He’s not interested in me or Maria, his focus is on the crumpled body at our feet. I turn round, confused. What’s the big deal? It’s just a damned daemon. Then I see what the problem is. Oh shit.

  Whatever glamour the daemon had in place has completely vanished. No wonder X was so amused at sending me off to this crime. I should have known. What’s left in front of me is the pale face of a very familiar triber: O’Shea. Goddamnit.

  Chapter Fourteen: Declaration of Truth

  It’s not easy lugging O’Shea’s inert body back to my apartment. Maria refuses to help and Kimchi seems determined to take every opportunity to leap up and lick the daemon as furiously as possible, as if canine saliva will bring him back to the land of the living. To add insult to injury, less than thirty seconds after I toss him down on my sofa, his eyelids flutter open.

  I put my hands on my hips. ‘You couldn’t have done that twenty minutes ago?’ I ask. ‘Before I had to half-kill myself dragging your sorry arse up here?’

  A weak smile flickers across face. ‘Hi gorgeous,’ he says. ‘If you wanted me to make my own way here, you really shouldn’t have knocked me out.’

  My mouth twists. ‘I didn’t knock you out,’ I say shortly. ‘A fifteen-year-old human girl did.’

  I point at Maria. He struggles up and gazes at her. She gives him a scowl then turns and walks into her bedroom, slamming the door shut.

  ‘She’s friendly,’ he grunts.

  ‘Can you blame her? We just caught you ripping off Magix.’

  ‘Like you would care.’

  I roll my eyes and pass him a glass of water. He sips at it delicately then gingerly touches the back of his head. ‘That was a hell of a blow,’ he complains.

  I stare at him. He looks almost the same as he always did. Slightly more gaunt, perhaps, but he’s still Devlin O’Shea, dodgy quarter-daemon. The one thing that’s definitely changed is the hardness in his eyes. O’Shea always had a light, playful spirit which he managed to maintain even when his life was threatened. It’s not there now. Admittedly, I’ve not seen him since before Connor died.

  I sit down heavily next to him and run a hand through my hair. I’m not prepared for this meeting. To be honest, I’d not been sure that I’d ever see O’Shea again.

  ‘You’ve been avoiding me,’ he says.

  ‘No. I just haven’t been in your part of your town.’

  ‘You’ve been avoiding New Order as well.’

  ‘I left New Order.’

  ‘Can you really tell me you’ve not been avoiding the hospital and your grandfather?’

  I sigh, tugging at my ponytail. I knew bringing him back here was going to be a mistake.

  ‘You didn’t even come to Connor’s funeral.’

  I snap my head back towards him but he’s not looking at me. He’s staring directly ahead, unseeing.

  ‘I couldn’t,’ I say finally. ‘I just … couldn’t.’

  O’Shea takes a deep breath. ‘I needed you,’ he says quietly. ‘And you weren’t there.’

  I drop my head. I don’t have an answer for that. I twist my fingers in my lap. ‘It’s my fault.’ I swallow hard. ‘It’s my fault he’s dead.’

  ‘Did you kill him?’ O’Shea demands. ‘Did y
our fingers reach round and break his neck?’

  My eyes narrow. ‘No.’

  He seems to regret his sudden surge of anger and sags back into the sofa. ‘Then it wasn’t your fault.’

  I don’t say anything. I know better.

  ‘What the hell are you doing, Bo? You’re running around the city like you’re Batman. Is Foxworthy playing the role of Commissioner Gordon? Is that kid you’ve got in there Robin?’

  ‘We’re not in a comic book.’

  ‘No, we’re not. Don’t you know that Michael has been going out of his mind? He almost charged over to Medici on a suicide mission because he thought it might bring you back.’

  ‘I’ve seen Michael. He’s fine.’

  O’Shea snorts. ‘He’s far from fine. He’s just like you ‒ too damn stubborn to let the rest of the world see that you’re hurting. Grief isn’t a weakness, Bo. It’s human.’

  ‘I’m not human. I’m vampire.’

  ‘You know what I mean. Humans and vampires are the same thing.’

  ‘No,’ I tell him flatly. ‘They’re not.’

  O’Shea’s spooky orange eyes stare at me unblinkingly. I try to meet his gaze but, after a second or two, I give up. ‘You can take my room,’ I say. ‘I’ll sleep out here on the couch.’ I walk over to a cupboard to get out some spare bed linen.

  ‘I wasn’t nicking those tasers for me,’ O’Shea half shouts. ‘Michael asked me to get them. He thinks the humans have something planned. It doesn’t make sense that all those protestors who were so loud and annoying have just dropped off the face of the earth.’

  I think of Lisa and her delicate golden tree necklace. ‘No. It doesn’t.’

  ***

  My sleep is restless. It doesn’t help that Kimchi can’t seem to make up his mind about where he’d rather be. He spends the day flitting from my room and O’Shea to the living room and me. That would be fine except that every time he comes back to me he launches himself, invariably landing on my stomach.

  I don’t sleep as well during the day as I used to. When I first turned, it was like I was dead; it’s much more of a struggle now when I have a fat lump slamming all the air out of me every thirty minutes or so. Before the last of the sun goes down, I give in and get up. I take a glass of cold blood out of the fridge and drain it down. It’s still fresh enough that it doesn’t taste too bad and the act of drinking makes me feel better.