The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

us.'

'I thought only Portia was banned?' Sarah asked.

'Technically, she was, but I am her champion, and thus represent her. The ban extends to me, as well.'

'Assuming Hope was killed outside of the Court, there has to be someone out here who we could ask.' I looked at Theo. 'This is all new to me, so I'm less than helpful when it comes to naming names. Is there someone outside the Court you can think of who we can talk to?'

His eyes lightened, taking on a wary cast.

'What?' I asked him.

'There is a potential source of information,' he said slowly.

'Oh? Who?'

'It's not someone you're going to want to see again.'

I thought back over the people I'd met in the last few days, and shook my head. 'Oh, no. I will not go to hell and see Bael again.'

'Not Bael,' Theo said, his fingers stroking mine.

'The demon then, what's his name—Nefere. He's almost as bad as Bael.'

Theo shook his head. 'Not Nefere.'

A cold, sick feel crept out of my belly and slipped into my veins. 'Sweet mother of reason, you don't mean… you can't mean…please tell me you don't mean them, Theo.'

'I'm sorry, sweetling. The Hashmallim are the only ones who we can approach.'

'No.'

'They are more or less the security force of the Court, which gives them the power to come and go as they please. All we have to do is convince one to speak with us outside of the Court.'

'Absolutely not.'

'They seldom come to the mortal world, but if we can—'

'No!'

He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. 'I won't leave you alone with them this time.'

'I know you're not, because I'm not going to be anywhere near them.'

'The Hashmallim? Those creepy guys that Portia said are made up of silhouettes?' Sarah's eyes widened, a look of delight brightening her face. 'Oh, I can't wait to meet them! I have so many questions! Like, why were they chasing us that day we met?'

Theo cleared his throat and studied his hands for a moment. 'They weren't actually…er…chasing you.'

'They weren't?' I asked.

'Er…no.'

'But, you said at the time—'

His hands brushed off my question. 'Yes, yes, I said that they were, but I couldn't think of any other way to convince the two of you to come with me.'

'So they weren't even there?' I asked, hands on my hips.

'We weren't in any danger?' Sarah asked at the same time.

'They were there. Even unused to the ways of the Court, you two must have felt their arrival. They were following Hope.'

'That's right,' I said slowly. 'She mentioned someone was chasing her. I thought later it was you.'

'It was me…but the Hashmallim were also trying to find her.'

Sarah clasped her hands together. 'What'd she do? Something horrible?'

'It's some minor point of Court politics that she avoided mentioning to the proper authorities. The Hashmallim were sent to interview her regarding it.'

'Well, I don't care about that. I just want to talk to one of the big scary guys. When can we?' Sarah asked.

'Never!' I said, squeezing Theo's hand back, and not with reassurance, either.

Sweetling, I wouldn't put you through this unless it was the only way.

Theo, I know you've been around a long time, but you have no idea how horrible those guys are up close. They're indescribably awful! It made me physically ill to be near them!

The smile he gave me was sad. I'm well aware of the Hashmallim, my love. Who do you think was responsible for throwing me out of the Court the only other time I was there?

'You guys are doing that mind-talking thing again, aren't you?' Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes at us.

'I'm simply trying to convince Portia that the Hashmallim are our only hope of getting some answers,' Theo said. You do believe me, don't you?

I believe that you believe what you are saying, I answered, well aware I was sounding unreasonably stubborn. The memory of my experience with the Hashmallim was too fresh in my mind, however.

'Don't mind her, she's as stubborn as the day is long,' Sarah said, tucking away her notepad. 'There's just one thing I'm curious about.'

'Just one?' I asked.

Sarah gave me a look that said she didn't appreciate the sarcasm in my voice, turning a sunny smile on Theo when he politely asked what was her question. 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but these Hashmallim guys are the same ones that you said were dangerous when we first met, right?'

Theo nodded.

'You said you were saving our lives by getting us out of their way.'

'Hashmallim are more or less the police force for the Court of Divine Blood, but their job encompasses more than just policing citizens of the Court. They are also used by the sovereign to exact retribution on mortals for sins committed against members of the Court.'

'We didn't do anything to anyone, let alone a Court member,' I pointed out. 'We were just standing around on the hilltop when Hope appeared, and she left under her own power.'

'I didn't know that at the time,' Theo said with a slight twist of his lips. 'As soon as you said you were mortal, and yet were clearly a virtue, I reckoned something was not right. When I felt the Hashmallim on their way, I knew it wasn't anything good, so I tried to get you away from them.'

'That's so romantic,' Sarah said, sighing happily.

'It is?'

'Yes, it is. Don't you see? These Hashmallim people are the police in the Court of Divine Blood, and by going against them, he was risking his own reputation, if not life.'

I was shaking my head even before she finished. 'Theo isn't a member of the Court.'

'Not yet. But when he does become one, won't that sort of thing be frowned on?'

We both looked at Theo.

'Assuming the Hashmallim know I helped you escape earlier, and that's a pretty fair assumption given their scope of knowledge, yes, it will be one of the issues we will have to overcome in order to get the exculpation granted,' he said calmly. I decided if it wasn't something he was worried over, I didn't need to worry about it yet either.

'All right, then. How do we find the Hashmallim?' Sarah asked him.

'They can be summoned.'

'What makes you think that even if you get one to be summoned, he will talk to you?' I asked.

Theo frowned. I wanted badly to forget all the woes of the world and kiss the frown right off his face. 'There is no reason for them not to. So long as the questions are phrased properly, we should get the answers we seek.'

'Great! Let's get to summoning,' Sarah said, grabbing her purse as she rose. 'I'll take care of our lunch bill. You guys get your coats.'

'I believe she's the only person I've met who is actually looking forward to meeting with the Hashmallim,' Theo said thoughtfully, watching Sarah as she toddled over to the pub counter and handed over her credit card.

'She's not normal. She was dropped on her head several times as a baby. It left her mentally deranged. We all just pretend she's sane.'