My heart sank a little. Aahz sounded determined to exact a bit of vengeance out of this hunt, and I wasn't at all sure he would restrict himself to Vic when it came time to express his ire. I think Tananda noticed my concern.
'Ease up a little, Aahz,' she said casually. 'I don't mind helping you out of a tight spot, but count me out when it comes to excessive force for the sake of vengeance. It lacks class.'
'Since when did you worry about excessive violence?' Aahz growled, then shrugged his acceptance. 'Okay. But maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe he'll resist arrest.'
I was still worried, but realized that that was about the most restraint I would get out of my partner.
.'Now that that's settled,' I said, producing Luanna's scarf, 'Pepe, take a whiff of this.'
'Enchanting,' he smiled, nuzzling the piece of cloth. 'A young lady, no? Eef ze body is as good as ze aroma, I will follow her to the end of ze world whether you accompany me or not.'
I resisted an impulse to wrap the scarf around his neck and pull.
'All right, everybody,' I said, retrieving the scarf and tucking it back into my tunic in what I hoped was a casual manner. 'Let's go catch us a renegade vampire.'
Chapter Seventeen
'The trail's got to be 'round here somewhere!'
IT was only a few hours short of sunset as we set out on our quest, a nagging reminder of exactly how long our efforts at physical disguise had taken. We had agreed to avoid following Pepe as a group so as not to attract attention. Instead, we moved singly or in groups of two, using both sides of the street and deliberately walking at different paces. The faster walkers averaged their progress with the slower by occasionally stopping to look into shop windows, thereby keeping our group together without actually appearing to. Tananda pointed out that not only would this procedure lessen our chances of being noticed, but also that it would maximize our chances for at least some of the group's escape if one of us should be discovered… a truly comforting thought.
Even though Luanna had claimed to have been watching for us at the Dispatcher's, it had been so long ago I fully expected her scent would have long since dissipated or at least been masked by the passage of numerous others. As such, I was moderately surprised when the werewolf signaled almost immediately that he had found the trail and headed off with a determined air. Either her scent was stronger than I had thought, or I bad grossly underestimated Pepe's tracking ability.
The trail wound up and down the cobblestoned streets, and we followed as quickly as we could without abandoning our pretense of being casual strollers who did not know each other. For a while, our group made up the majority of the beings visible, causing me to doubt the effectiveness of our ruse, but soon the vampires began to emerge to indulge their taste for the nightlife and we became much less obvious.
I was paired up with Chumley, but the troll was strangely quiet as we made our way along. At first I thought he was simply concentrating on keeping the werewolf in sight, but as time wore on, I found the silence somehow unnerving. I had always respected Chumley as being one of the saner, leveler heads among our motley assemblage, and I was starting to have an uneasy impression that he was not wholeheartedly behind this venture.
'Is there something bothering you, Chumley?' I asked at last.
'Hmmm? Oh. Not really, Skeeve. I was just thinking.'
'About that?'
The troll let out a small sigh.
'I was just contemplating our adversary, this Vic fellow. You know, from what's been said, he's quite resourceful in a devious sort of way.'
That took me a little aback. So far I had considered our vampire foe to be everything from an annoyance to a nemesis. The idea of studying his methods had never entered my mind.
'What leads you to that conclusion?'
The troll pursed his lips as he organized his thoughts.
'Consider what he's accomplished so far. The entire time we've known of him, he's been on the run… first from the Deveels, and then from Aahz, who's no slouch 'Stalling people once he sets his mind to it. Now, assuming for the moment that Vic is actually the brains of the group, he was quick enough to take advantage of being left alone in your waiting room to escape out the back door. He couldn't have planned that in advance, even knowing about the door. He probably had some other plan in mind, and formulated this new course of action on the spot.'
We paused for a moment to let a small group of vampires cross the intersection in front of us.
'Now, that would have sufficed for an escape in most instances, but they happened to pick an exit route that left you and Aahz responsible, which set your partner on their trail,' Chumley continued. 'With nothing to go on but your reputations. Vic not only correctly deduced that he would be followed, but he also managed to spot Aahz's weakness and exploit it to frame him and make it stick… again, not the easiest task, particularly realizing it involved convincing and coaching his two accomplices in their roles.'
All of this was doing nothing for my peace of mind. I was having enough difficulty forcing myself to believe that we were really hunting a vampire, the sort of creature I normally avoid at all costs, without having to deal with the possibility that he was shrewd and resourceful as well. Still, I had learned that ignoring unpleasant elements of a caper was perhaps the worst way to prepare for them.
'Keep going,' I urged.
'Well,' the troll sighed, 'when you stumbled on his hiding place at the Woof Writers, he didn't panic. He waited to hear as much of your plans as possible, all the while taking advantage of the opportunity to assess you first-hand, then timed his escape so as to catch you all flat-footed.'
I digested this distasteful addition to the rapidly growing data file. 'Do you really think he was sizing me up?'
'There's no doubt in my mind. Not only was he gauging your skills and determination, he was successful enough at second-guessing you, based on the results of his studies, to be waiting to sound the alarm when you busted Aahz out of jail… a particularly bold move when one realizes that he was running the risk of being recognized, which would have blown his frame-up of your partner.'
'Bold or desperate,' I said thoughtfully. 'That's probably why he waited until we had actually sprung Aahz and were on the way down before he blew the whistle. If we had gotten away unscathed, then the frame would be useless, so at that point he really wasn't risking anything.'
'Have it your way,' the troll shrugged. 'The final analysis remains that we have one tough nut to crack. One can only wonder what he will do when we catch up with him this time.'
'If he's performing up to par, it could be rough on us.'
Chumley shot me a sidelong glance.
'Actually, I was thinking it could be rough on your lady fair… if he has managed to observe the feelings you have for her.'
I started to protest, then the impact of his theory hit me and my embarrassment gave way to concern.
'Is it really that apparent? Do you think he could spot it? If so, he might already have done something to Luanna for having contacted us.'
'It stands out all over you to anyone who knows you,' Chumley said, shaking his head. 'As for someone watching you for the first time… I just don't know. He'd be more likely to deduce it from the information you had… such as his name. That kind of data had to come from somewhere, though there's an outside chance that with your current reputation he'll assume that you gleaned it by some magical source.'
I barely heard him. My mind was focused on the possibility that Luanna might be hurt, and that I might indirectly have been the cause. A black well of guilt was rising up to swallow me, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
