“You—you don’t want me?” Tiffany’s shoulders slumped.
Phineas sighed. “All right. You can come, too.”
She perked up and grinned. “I know the perfect place. Come with me.”
She ushered them out of the studio and down the hall to an unmarked door. “This is a storage room for old costumes. I have secret rendezvous here all the time.”
Phineas followed her inside, flipped on the lights, and shut the door. “It’s not exactly a secret if you meet all the guys here.”
Freemont snorted, then strode down an aisle lined with crowded clothes racks on each side. He was pissed, Phineas could tell, but Phineas would deal with him later.
“Okay, Tiffany.” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Listen to me good.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, Dr. Phang?”
He dragged her hands off his shoulders. “You’re not having sex with me.”
“I’m not? Then . . . ?” Her gaze flitted toward Freemont, who turned left at the end of the aisle and disappeared behind a rack of clothes.
“No, not with him, either,” Phineas said. “Tiffany, look at me. You have a contract for three more Blardonnay commercials and a Vampos commercial. You don’t need to sleep around anymore.”
She stared at him blankly. “But it’s worked well—”
“Tiffany, you made it. Put your old life behind you, and let you talent shine through. You’re a success now, and you deserve it.”
She blinked and whispered, “I . . . deserve it?”
“Yes, you do.”
Her eyes glistened with tears. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever told me.”
Phineas gave her a wry smile. “I learned the hard way how easy it is to screw up your life when you don’t respect yourself.”
She nodded slowly. “Thank you, Dr. Phang.”
“Now off you go. I need to talk to my brother.”
“Okay.” With a shy smile, she headed toward the door.
Phineas turned and couldn’t spot his brother. “Freemont, where are you?”
A hand waved in the back corner, so Phineas tunneled between some dresses on a rack and found himself in a second aisle. He dove through another rack of clothes and discovered a wall lined with shelves. Shoes, handbags, and hats decorated the shelves, and toward the back wall, Freemont was examining a pair of cowboy boots.
Phineas heard the click of the door, signaling Tiffany’s departure. “Okay, we can talk now.”
Freemont grimaced as he stuffed the boots back on the shelf. “You told me you were a good vampire.”
“I am.”
“Then what was all that—”
“I’m working undercover.”
“Yeah, I heard what you said! You’re a stinkin’ double agent, working for the nasty vampires that kill people!”
“No, I’m a good guy,” Phineas insisted, then lowered his voice. “Freemont, you gotta trust me. I still work for MacKay S and I. The interview was a setup.”
“Huh?”
“Did you see a video on the Internet a few weeks ago that claimed vampires were true? It showed a swordfight, and a guy in a kilt decapitated another guy who turned to dust.”
“Yeah.” Freemont nodded. “I thought it was a movie trailer. Lamont and I wanted to see the movie, but we could never find the name of it. It just disappeared.”
“The government removed it. Because it was real.”
“Huh?”
“It was a real battle. I was there.”
Freemont’s eyes widened. “You fought in a real battle? With a sword?”
“Yes. I’ve been in several battles, and I’ve killed a few Malcontents. The guy whose head was cut off was Casimir, the leader of the Malcontents.”
“So the bad guys were defeated?”
“Yes, but there are still a few Malcontents out there. Casimir had a girlfriend, Corky Courrant, who does a TV show called
“Huh?”
“She recorded the video of Casimir’s execution, then posted it on YouTube. That means she broke the secret of vampire existence. That’s about the biggest crime you can commit in our world.”
“Her name is
“Yes! Stay with me, Freemont. After she posted the video, she came back here to DVN and continued doing her show as if she’d done nothing wrong. She claims she’s heir to the Malcontent throne and vampires all over the world should follow her and call her Queen Corky.”
“Oh God, I hate her!” Tiffany hissed from across the room.
Phineas jerked around, but couldn’t see her. “Tiffany! You were supposed to leave the room.”
“It’s okay.” She emerged through a rack of hanging clothes. “I won’t breathe a word. I hate Corky as much as anybody.”
“So this Corky is really bad?” Freemont asked.
“She’s evil,” Tiffany hissed.
“Evil queen bitch,” Phineas clarified. “She’s been badmouthing us good Vamps on her show, calling us a bunch of thugs and murderers. She even bragged about how she started the Vampire Apocalypse. Roman summoned her to Coven Court three times, but she ignored him.”
“Roman?” Freemont asked.
“Roman Draganesti, Coven Master for the East Coast,” Phineas explained. “And he’s owner of Romatech Industries where they make synthetic blood and where I’m head of security.”
“Okay.” Freemont nodded.
“Corky’s been mocking Roman and the good Vamps, claiming she’s above our system of law and justice,” Phineas continued. “Roman had no choice but to issue a warrant for her arrest, but then she went into hiding and now she records her show somewhere in secret. We haven’t been able to locate her.”
“Oh my gosh,” Tiffany whispered. “That’s why you acted like a Malcontent sympathizer during the interview. You want to convince Corky you’re on her side, so you can flush her out.”
Phineas regarded Tiffany with surprise. She wasn’t as stupid as she pretended to be. “You’re right.”
She grinned. “This is awesome! You really are working undercover.”
Freemont’s eyes lit up. “Hot damn! We’re undercover brothers!”
“Don’t get too excited.” Phineas gave his brother a stern look. “I want you to stay out of trouble.”
“No way! I’ve got your back, bro.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t want you—”
“Don’t tell me to stay out of this,” Freemont interrupted with a scowl. “You involved me when you invited me here.”
Phineas sighed. “I needed to convince everyone that I’d left MacKay S and I, and that I’m hanging with a new crowd. I suggested going to you, and Angus agreed. We always have a shortage of day guards, since not many mortals know about us, so Angus is interested in hiring you. He said they could work around your college schedule.”
“Really?” Freemont’s eyes widened. “I could work with you?”
“Yeah. I told him you might be interested.” Phineas winced inwardly. He had jumped at the chance to include his brother, but now he wondered if his decision had been selfish.
For the past few years, he’d felt like there was a ticking bomb over his head. Sooner or later, and probably sooner, it would explode the instant that his family realized he wasn’t aging. When that happened, he would be left with only two options. One: Tell his family the truth and deal with the consequences. Two: Disappear. He could fake his death, leave them to mourn, and never see them again. Or he could spare their grief by erasing himself from their memories. As if he had never existed.
