Bitten to Death

world Vayl and I would never stop at one kiss. The brush of a hand would lead to a night full of caresses. Yeah, I pretty much wanted to spend the next nine hours in Fantasyland.

Dave wouldn’t allow it. As he worked over my back he whispered, “Tarasios may know a way to get Vayl out of this mess.”

I looked over at him from where I sat the wrong way around in a library chair. He’d passed out on the floor right next to the pool of blood. “The guy has the IQ of a cornstalk,” I said. “I doubt he knows why Disa goes night- night when the sun rises, much less how to break the binding.”

“He may have seen something though,” Dave insisted. “They were getting along fine last time I saw him. And now he’s turned lush.” He paused, came around the chair to confront me. “Tell me I was never in as bad a shape as him.”

I took some more time to look over Disa’s reject. “I don’t know. What kind of condition were you in when you punched those officers?” I gazed up at Dave, working to keep an expression of mild inquiry on my face.

His face went blank. Pale. For a second I wondered if he’d had a stroke. Then his nose scrunched, followed closely by his top lip. Anybody who’d followed his sports career through high school and college would’ve recognized that snarl. It had won more football games, wrestling matches, and track meets than any other expression in his arsenal. “I’m done being that guy,” he growled.

“Good,” I said. “Because I don’t think he’d be nearly as successful at weaseling info out of Tarasios as you.”

Dave nodded so sharply it reminded me of a salute. “As soon as he wakes up I’m going to become his very good buddy. See what I can find out. In the meantime, you and Vayl should check out Hamon’s room. Remember he said he had some idea how to get in? We’ve got to find out who this Octavia bimbo is and why Disa thinks she needs to be fed.”

“What about the mutt?” I asked. Ziel had finally calmed beneath Vayl’s gentle hands and soft murmurs and, after giving him a couple of final sniffs, trotted off to check out the blood and the unconscious guy next to it.

“I’ll watch him,” Dave said. “We’ve still got that steak we stole from the kitchen when we brought him in, so maybe I’ll give him some of that. He looks like he could use a snack.”

That took care of my excuses. Which made me wonder why I kept looking for more. Did Hamon’s secrets worry me that much?

Or was it the idea of being alone with a vampire I had no clue how to befriend?

“What do you say, Vayl?” I asked. “Wanna do some breaking and entering?”

The dimple in his cheek told me I might’ve just made a good start.

Hamon Eryx’s room stood at the end of a wide hall lined with six glass cases, each of which held a single item.

“What are these?” I asked Vayl as we passed a black glove, a brown leather shoe, a tan fedora, a dangly pearl earring, a pair of round-lensed sunglasses, and a white lace corset.

“Artifacts from former Deyrars.”

“Whatever happened to presidential portraits?”

Vayl’s eyebrows rose just enough to let me know he saw the humor. He glanced at the cameras that covered the area. The slight narrowing of his eyes told me what he wanted. I reached for my gun.

Overkill, he mouthed.

Party pooper, I replied in the same manner. Instead I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. Bergman had programmed the Monises to obey simple commands sent from them, including those that would shut down cameras within a twenty-foot radius. You never know when you’re not going to want an audience. But in the CIA, you’re always pretty sure the time will come.

I could’ve done the same job directly from the Monise as well. But this way, whoever was monitoring us would think I was just pulling a typical American stunt that involved my cell. Especially when I provided audio to go along with it.

“Cole’s been sending me text messages,” I said as I activated the code. “This hat reminded me of one I just got.” I held the phone up for Vayl to see and he nodded with interest as we both watched the screen until it blinked the words we were waiting for: Video Feed Deactivated.

I returned the phone to my pocket as Vayl swept his hand across one of the artifact containers. “Can you feel their power?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“As I suspected, the glass is as much for containment as it is for protection.” He looked the boxes over. “No discernible locks.” He slammed his fist into the glass. It shivered, but didn’t break.

“Wow, vamp-proof. I’m impressed,” I said.

The corners of Vayl’s mouth turned up even farther. “Wait until you see this.”

He positioned his hands on either side of the box and raised his power so swiftly that even I shivered in the rush of its increase. Clouds appeared inside the glass. Which turned into sparkles of ice. And then suddenly the bottom popped out of the case. I lunged forward to catch it, barely snagging it before it hit the floor.

“Geez! You could’ve warned me!”

He shrugged. “I thought the top would come off.” I picked up the glove. “Put it on,” he said. “It obviously belonged to a woman.”

I didn’t want to. With its powers unmasked, the glove felt like a beating heart to me, something alive that had no business being anywhere near my skin. But my boss had given me an order, so I obeyed, sliding the black silk over my tingling palm. It was too long, its tips hanging nearly an inch from where my fingers stopped.

He pulled the same stunt with the other five boxes. By the time we were finished, he wore the shoe, sunglasses, and fedora, which made him resemble a muscular Johnny Depp cast as a gangster for his next big film.