The woman in red ignored everyone but Nosh, turning to face him. “We can play this game all night, but you know you cannot beat me. And I would like to remind everyone that the rules of the house state that other bidders cannot bid more than they are actually willing to spend. Otherwise we are devaluing our funds and enacting a charade of Monopoly money. Which would bring dishonor and harm upon our families.” She took a healthy sip of her blood and then smiled deeply. “I always prefer to bring my own hooch to events like this. You never know what bottom-shelf libations the bar is serving.” She licked her lips, the implication plain to Nosh.
She was heavily hinting that she was drinking his parents’ blood.
Nosh’s lips thinned and he nodded stiffly. “So be it. I’m man enough to admit when I’m defeated.”
“Good boy,” she purred. “What was the amount?” she asked absently, turning to the auctioneer. “I’ll set up the wire transfer so we can end this farce.”
“Fourteen million,” he said, dabbing at his brow with a handkerchief. “Going once…”
No one spoke.
“Twice…” he said, looking as if he was praying that no one would challenge the woman.
They didn’t. Nosh shifted in his seat, staring at the journal longingly.
“Sold for fourteen million!” the auctioneer crowed, hammering his gavel onto the podium to announce that the bidding was finally concluded. He let out a deep breath as four beefy men armed with long, metal weapons of some kind approached the journal with a small wooden chest. The auctioneer picked it up with his white-gloved hands and carefully set it within.
The guards left the stage, heading down a hallway I hadn’t noticed—one that was closed-off from the guests.
The woman laughed lightly, shooting us one last look. “It was a pleasure, I’m sure. Oh, and my condolences on your loss, Mr. Griffin,” she said with a fraudulent frown. “I hope they find the savage who so brutally murdered your parents. It’s always those closest to us who stab us in the back,” she said, her eyes flicking my way.
I frowned, suddenly alarmed. Condolences…
Had she already killed his parents? And why had she looked at me?
She had already turned on a heel and was leaving the way she had come in, her trio of vampires staring at us with smug smirks. They even licked their lips as if they were going to openly attack us before obediently turning to follow their mistress. Nosh stiffly climbed to his feet, his hands shaking. I gripped his shoulder to steady him as I turned him in the direction of the exit. His shoulders were quivering ever so faintly, and I feared that whatever he was about to do should not be done in front of the other guests.
“Let’s go, Nosh,” I hissed into his ear, guiding him towards the exit. He was staring down at his phone, typing furiously.
18
As we reached the bar area, Nosh began speaking into his phone in low, furious tones. I kept my eyes on the crowd, assuming he was trying to find some truth to the woman’s claim. If I’d had my way, I would have simply chased her down and ripped off an appendage or two until she remembered that what she truly desired to do was give me the answers I sought.
Except I was certain that the rules of the auction prohibited such acts between guests—like a truce. Attacking her in front of everyone could very well start a war with every faction in town.
But if she had killed Nosh’s parents…
I would find her the moment her foot stepped off the property and introduce her to the worst night of her life. I kept my eyes on the guests, taking note of who was watching us. Many of them were anxiously staring at their phones with sickened looks on their faces. Strangely, several of them glanced our way, their faces pale and furious as they studied me.
The Sisters of Mercy looked grim and confused, ducking their heads close together in a private, fervent conversation. Victoria’s face looked so cold and emotionless that I almost took a step back. What in the world was going on here? Other members of the auction were bidding on one of the jewelry collections. Some distant part of me wondered what kind of price it would fetch, trying to get a grasp on how much inflation had changed in my slumber.
It was a strange feeling to stand in a room full of monsters and monster hunters and not know what to do or how best to respond to the woman’s parting comments. To not be immediately recognized and feared by every person in attendance.
No one would have ever spoken to me like that in my day. Ever. Even before I had become a vampire, I had lived on the streets, having to fight every single day to stay alive. To stay on top. To use fear as a preventative measure. To destroy my enemies so utterly and horrifically that future threats were few and far between.
Reputation had been one of my greatest weapons.
Yet…I no longer had a reputation. No one even knew my name. I was starting over from the beginning in a world that had new rules.
Recalling Nosh’s flippant wit, I felt a small flush of pride. Maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe the rules hadn’t changed. Maybe the scenery had just changed.
I studied the guests with a thoughtful look. Many of them seemed to have forgotten the taste of true fear. Like monarchs with more advanced weapons than their enemies, they had grown complacent, forgetting what it was like to get their hands dirty. They were no longer hungry.
In that regard, I had an advantage.
Because the Devil was always hungry. Maybe that was what Nosh truly needed from me—a force of nature from the old days. One of the monsters of legend who hadn’t bothered reading the present-day rule books. A monster who lived by his own rules.
These people had forgotten what it felt like to starve. They had forgotten how to be savage. They hadn’t forgotten cruelty or violence, but their passions were hollow and lazy.
They didn’t have the drive, the feral hunger I had used to dominate my world so long ago.
My instincts were a strength, a unique perspective. My endless appetite would be a virtue.
I felt my shoulders suddenly grow lighter as I made my decision. In that moment, I decided to proceed as I would have long ago, and to let Nosh nudge me in the right direction if he thought I was wandering off course in a manner that would cause us more problems.
Because I was beginning to realize just how much this strange new world had inhibited me. The advancements, the technology, the politics. I’d been so concerned with stepping out of bounds that I’d been tying my own hands behind my back.
The best military generals in history were not necessarily the best swordsmen or archers or cavalry or infantry. They were the best coordinators. Oftentimes, the general knew next to nothing about the particulars of a master archer or how to specifically turn a horse into a flanking maneuver. But he knew what each unit was fully capable of and how best to apply their skills.
When to apply their skills.
He didn’t need to know how to hold a bow when it was cold and raining, how to shoe a horse, or how to use a sword against a man with a shield.
He needed to know how to use other men who already had those strengths.
So, Nosh would be my commander of the modern age while I would be the general of this war against Dracula. Otherwise, I was just a vampire on retainer. What he truly needed was the Devil.
Nosh slowly turned to stare at me, his face ashen and murderous. He gestured for me to join him, and that it was time for us to leave. Immediately. As I approached, I ignored the looks from Victoria and the Sisters of Mercy, but they weren’t the only eyes seeming to focus on me. Had my identity finally been unmasked? I doubted it, since Nosh was the only one who truly knew.
According to him, no one knew there had even been a vampire before Dracula, so it was highly unlikely that anyone would let slip the true story. It would only reduce Dracula’s credibility.
Once the auction had commenced, they had closed the doors leading back to the entrance. Nosh opened them, storming forward rather than waiting for me. I slipped through, hot on his heels, only to bump into him aft
er two steps.
The double doors closed behind us with barely a click. The woman in the red dress and her cohorts were fanned out before us, blocking the entrance. The security guards from earlier watched us with menacing looks. No. Not us.
Me.
The woman studied me up and down, smirking as she drank her glass of blood. “And who do we have here?” she asked, studying me curiously. “You seem familiar to me. Have we met?”
I shook my head calmly, wondering what game she was playing. “Much to my disappointment, we have not.”
“Disappointment?” she asked, sounding flattered.
I nodded. “If we had, I would have already had the pleasure of watching your slick body writhe beneath mine, squirming and crying out to god…as I allowed you to bleed out.” I paused, licking my lips. “On the other hand, I now have something to look forward to, so there is a silver lining to my disappointment.”
She stiffened, her smug smile evaporating in an instant. “Like you did to his parents?” she finally asked, glancing back over her shoulder at the guards. “It seems he has condemned himself with his own words. The article on the New York Times website was tragically correct.”
The guards nodded grimly.
I turned to Nosh, frowning. “What is she talking about?” Out of all the animosity currently aimed my way, Nosh was the only one who wasn’t looking at me like I was a wild beast. He had reserved all his ire for the woman before us.
He answered me in a crisp, clipped tone, never breaking eye contact with the woman. “It seems my parents were found murdered in their penthouse, and that a journalist somehow acquired a security feed image of the murderer entering the lobby of the Aristocrat just prior to the crime.” He glanced at me briefly. “You are now the prime suspect.” His rasping tone was the only sign that emotions were raging through him, because his face was as expressive as a stone.
The woman nodded with faux sadness. “So much blood,” she said primly, lifting her nose. “It was truly…inspiring.” For the span of a single moment, her eyes twinkled delightedly.
I stared at Nosh, ignoring her. “I haven’t left your side. I haven’t even met your parents.”
Nosh nodded stiffly. “I know. But to everyone else in the city, the evidence makes it look like you just murdered a very high-profile couple. Biggest story of the decade.”
“What evidence?” I demanded. “Walking into the lobby? That really narrows down the suspects,” I sneered.
The woman smiled. “As long as the police don’t find evidence of you inside the apartment, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Maybe everyone will forget.”
I felt my hands balling into fists, remembering that I had showered there. I’d left clothes behind—the same clothes I had been wearing when I’d first walked into the hotel—the very clothes from the security feed—whatever that was. But she’d said image, so I was assuming some kind of light-painting, although I hadn’t posed for anyone to take my likeness.
“We left the apartment together and your parents were not there. Security can verify that, right?” I asked Nosh.
He shrugged, staring at the woman unblinkingly. “I didn’t see any employees when we got off the elevator,” he said woodenly. I stared at him for a moment. He…was right.
“It was a set up,” I whispered, suddenly thinking about Redford. Had he deceived us?
“It doesn’t matter,” Nosh said. “She would have doctored up some other evidence if necessary. All that matters is the appearance.”
She laughed excitedly. “Alas, their dinner reservation was canceled and they returned to their rooms just prior to this man’s arrival. Strangely, security footage doesn’t show you two together. Just him entering the elevator a few minutes after your parents.”
Nosh nodded. “As soon as I saw that they’d been taken, I knew I would never see them again. I know how your kind operates. But slowly ripping the fangs from your mouth will be almost as good as a final goodbye,” he said, his voice rough and dry. His hands were beginning to throb with white light. The guards and other vampires definitely noticed that, even though the woman seemed entirely unconcerned.
The woman smirked at his obvious magic. “A Shaman,” she purred. “That should make this slightly more entertaining. It’s a pity that this man murdered you after killing your parents. I can almost see the headlines now.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You own the papers,” I snarled. “You’re rigging the story.”
She shrugged. “It is one of the best ways to control what the sheeple think. My Master taught me well. No direct weapon is needed to conquer a country. Own the media, own the police, and own the judges. I could murder you in the middle of the street and skip away without concern. I would have a few loose ends to tie up, but nothing that couldn’t be handled within an hour. I am Mina Harker, after all.”
Knowing she had an exceedingly high opinion of herself, I kept my face blank. “Who?”
She clenched her jaw, and her glass of wine shook in her hand. “Mina. Harker.”
Nosh had tensed very minutely upon hearing her name, but his pulse hadn’t changed in the slightest. Also, Mina had been glaring at me so hadn’t noticed his recognition. Picking up on my tactic, he turned to glance at me. “Never heard of her. Just another whore in Dracula’s stable, I guess. They all ride the same.” Then he very calmly turned back to Mina. “They all die the same.”
I blatantly eyed her up and down as if I was eyeing a horse for purchase, enjoying the fury in her eyes. “Putting an expensive saddle on a mule doesn’t make it a horse.” I told Nosh, pointing at Mina’s dress. “But for a penny a ride, I’m willing to see if I’m wrong.”
Her face turned as red as her dress—which was quite difficult for a vampire. Her fellow vampires looked torn between disbelief and fear of her reaction, but she was too furious to take notice of them.
“Insolent fools!” she snarled. Then she took a calming breath, unclenching her fist as she shot Nosh a venomous sneer. “It’s unfortunate that you will not survive the next few minutes. I would have loved to see your face when you learned that your parents changed their will to require that only a blood relative could inherit their company.”
Nosh grew unnaturally still, and Mina sniffed triumphantly.
“I don’t know what that has to do with anything, but I’m still waiting for my ride,” I said, sensing that Nosh’s pulse had somehow slowed even further as he sunk into an even deeper, colder calm. That was either very good or very bad.
Mina turned to me with a frown. “He was adopted, you fool. Not only has he lost his parents, he’s lost his parents’ company.”
I studied her, frowning at a new thought. “You already have the journal. Why all this effort to destroy Nosh? Or me, for that matter.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “We didn’t want the Griffins to use their wealth to draw attention to the doctor’s claims about a stolen journal. We intended to frame Dr. Smith for their murder to discredit him. You were just a happy coincidence. A scapegoat. You looked so sinister walking into the Aristocrat that I couldn’t help myself.”
That made sense. And it also told me that they had no idea Dr. Smith was dead, or that he was really Deganawida. I wasn’t sure how important it was, but she also hadn’t mentioned the tomahawks we had hidden. Which meant Redford might not be involved.
19
Mina cocked her head as she studied me. “What are you trying to hide from me?” she asked, frowning. Too late, I realized I hadn’t been focusing as much on my concealment spell, and that Mina had noticed a slight change in my aura. I felt a brief surge in her power and then she suddenly froze, blinking at me in surprise. “Wait. You’re a vampire?” she blurted, somehow managing to pierce the veil I had been holding around myself—which meant she was more powerful than I had given her credit for. “How do you not serve Dracula—”
In a single heartbeat, I moved.
I used all my dwindling power—which was alarmingly depleted after concealing my
aura all night—and time seemed to slow. I saw tomahawks of light slowly crackling to life in Nosh’s fists, but I was too focused on Mina Harker. I closed the distance between us and gripped her by the throat, sinking my claws into the soft skin beneath her jaw. Almost immediately, her skin hardened beneath my grip, preventing me from sinking my claws any deeper. It felt like I held plaster rather than flesh—still breakable, but not without effort. Which meant she was surprisingly strong. Time sped back up and I was suddenly in a battle of wills.
I managed to maintain my grip and fight her off, but that only seemed to alarm her more. That I had somehow slipped close enough to grab her by the throat, and that her hardening skin hadn’t intimidated me or made me back off.
“Perhaps I wasn’t clear,” I snarled, extending my fangs. “You were never going to leave this building alive. You should have been long gone if you had any hope of living to see tomorrow, Mina Harker.”
Her eyes bulged as she stared at me. I felt waves of power battering against my own will, and she slammed her glass of wine down onto my face, slicing into my cheek. I gritted my teeth as I stared deep into her eyes, drawing every pathetic drop of power at my disposal to withstand her physical and mental power. She was easily as strong as any vampire I had ever met. Stronger than Dracula had been when I handed him the keys to my kingdom. She had to be hundreds of years old.
I somehow managed to fight off her attempts to physically outmuscle me, and she gagged and choked as I lifted her a foot off the ground. Remembering the others in the room, I flung out my free hand, sending the guards slamming into the wall. Their heads struck the wall with sickening thuds before they crumpled to the ground, dazed but not dead.
Stars exploded across my vision, warning me that I was running dangerously close to my limits. I held on tight, knowing she was strong enough to kill everyone in the building if I let her go.
Her cadre of vampires stared at me, fearing to do anything that might hasten Mina’s fate. Nosh lunged forward with a leonine roar, his blazing tomahawks a blur that left trails of light in their wake. Then they both sunk into the chest of the lead vampire and he simply exploded into crimson dust, his body instantly vaporized by whatever Nosh’s blades were made of.
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