I blew the dust off of it—how long had it been under there?—and the embossed lettering came clear. It read, Robert Cannon, PhD, MPH, Program Director, Cabal Pharmaceuticals.
"That's the industry contact who's missing," Lawrence murmured in my ear. His warm breath stirred my hair and made me shiver in a good way.
"Do you know who this is?" I asked Ashley.
She took the card between her left thumb and forefinger. "Oh, yes, he was a regular until about six months ago. Why?"
"I can't say," I told her. "Do you know where he is now?"
"No."
"Can you tell us anything about where he may be?" Lawrence persisted.
"No, and please don't ask again."
She knew something but wasn't telling. I wished I could truth-spell her, but I lacked that ability. "How much is the information worth?" A vampire couldn't resist a good deal.
"More than my life, Princess. Well, enjoy the club. Your party's drinks are on us." She forced a rictus-like smile. "Our bartender Adam makes a great Old-Fashioned, as you've already found."
"Thank you for letting me know," I said. "And please do let me or Doctor Gordon know if you think of anything." We said our goodbyes, and I again preceded Lawrence down the stairs. When we reached the landing, a gentleman stepped aside. He looked familiar, like…
Like the main in the airport! I turned to ask him, but he put his finger to his lips and shook his head, then darted up the stairs.
"What was that all about?" Lawrence asked.
"We can talk later," I told him. "Those like her have good ears, even if they're not pointed."
"Right, I understand that the point somehow enhances your hearing. Would you be willing to do some tests so I can test that hypothesis?"
I gave him my best pissed-off-Fae look and said, "No."
He didn't seem offended. He merely shrugged, said, "Ah, well," and then, "Look, there's Ted!"
17
In my days living among the humans, I'd learned that while it helped to grow with the times, some things never changed—those with power, prowess at physical acts, great beauty, and money drew the attention of others. I'll admit to some confusion at the new brand of celebrity, of those who were famous without doing much, but those had always been around, too. They tended to fade from awareness and memory more quickly than the others.
Theodore Steele resembled his more-famous brother Jared. Not surprising since they were twins. Indeed, he received his share of double-takes and murmurs as he walked in, and he pushed his hand though his dark hair, his eyes bright and smile brighter. The male vampire in all white bowed to him and brought him to our table, which had miraculously remained empty in spite of the club having filled.
A server brought drinks before we asked for them—red wine for me again, another mixed drink for Lawrence, and something fruity looking and smelling for Ted. He and Lawrence greeted each other like old friends with the half-hug back-pat gesture of men. Then Lawrence directed Ted to me, and Ted's smile grew brighter.
His energy was…interesting. If his brother was a rarity—a weather wizard, so I'd heard—Theodore was an oddity. Not rare, but strange in that he must be some sort of wizard, but I couldn't tell what kind. Whatever it was, it came with a good measure of charm, and his handshake warmed my skin.
"Ted, this is Reine, a friend," Lawrence told him. "Reine, Ted."
"Oh, a friend, huh?" Ted winked at me. "Don't let Rocky here fool you. He'll commit eventually. And then get his heart broken. Happens every time."
"That's a lot of assumptions, Sir," I replied, allowing ice into my tone. Dammit, now I was Elsa-ing myself.
His grin didn't dim. "I call them like I see them, Ma'am. There's no reason to deny what will happen eventually."
His words echoed through my brain, and I caught it—he was a fortune-teller. An interesting occupation for a newsman. But then, prognostication came with its fair share of error.
"I'd stick with talking about what's already happened rather than trying to say what will," I warned. "The future is too unstable for complete accuracy, even for a future-telling witch."
He laughed. "She figured it out in less than five minutes, Lawrence. You owe me twenty."
"Hey, that's not fair!" Lawrence smacked him on the arm. "You gave her a hint as wide as a barn."
"Wait," I looked between the two of them. "You had a bet going?" Oh, right, Lawrence had mentioned a wager.
"Yes," Ted said. "To see how fast it would take you to figure out what kind of wizard I am. I bet less than five minutes within meeting me. Lawrence said at least seven since my 'energy'"—he made air quotes—"is so murky."
I didn't know whether to be angry or amused. Lawrence made a note in his phone, so I went with angry.
"How dare you?" I asked, pitching my voice so I didn't yell, but the words cut through the noise just the same. "I'm not an experiment, you putrid pile of rock."
"Putrid pile of rock," Ted said. "I'll have to remember that. She's clever, Lawrence."
"Don't try to charm me, Madame Fortune," I told him. "You aided and abetted that experiment." I stood. "I need some air."
They protested, but I pushed through the crowd, which closed behind me.
"Let the lady have some space," I heard a voice—the vampire?—say behind me. The door man opened the glass door for me, and I walked into the chilly night.
Sir Raleigh purred against my neck, around which he wrapped his tail, and he nudged my cheek with his head. I laid my right hand against the side of the building. The composite material covered in paint didn't give me any solace, so I walked along the sidewalk until I found a tree that seemed big enough for me to lean against without danger of breaking it. I'd somehow found a quiet side street, and I didn't sense anyone near me.
No, someone was coming. I stiffened, not sure if I should prepare for an argument, a physical fight, or an apology. I went for the second one since the energy coming from the intruder on my private moment didn't feel like gargoyle or wizard. It was wilder, darker… Sir Raleigh quieted, allowing me to listen with all my senses, physical and mystical. The creature approaching wasn't the soul-eater, and as far as I could tell, didn't intend harm. But I knew strong and powerful beings could easily maim without meaning to. Running would be foolish. Fighting… I could possibly win, but only after great harm to myself. So, I took the wisest course. I quieted all I could—mind, breathing, even heartbeat as much as possible—and went still. Many beings wouldn't notice me even though visually I stood out from the dark surroundings like a white and light blue beacon.
The intruder stepped into the fullness of the streetlight, revealing it wore a long coat and fedora-style hat. I could barely see his face, but what I could make out resolved into familiar lines. He smiled, his eyes the only warm part of him—a shade of blue that looked familiar but which I couldn't place even at this, our third meeting.
The strangest part wasn't him. It was Sir Raleigh. The cat emanated…excitement and eagerness?
"Having fun with your tree hugging?" the man from the airport asked.
"I needed some air." And alone time. But now, faced with his amusement, I heated with shame. My excuse sounded flimsy, especially considering the soul-eater that could be lurking about.
"Is the air out here so different from the air in there?" Now his tone held slight mockery.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is." I stepped away from the tree and held the cat close to me. He'd been leaning so far forward I didn't want him to fall.
"Ah, so you have your cat again. Good. That way you won't be distracted by pining away for him. May I?" He held out his hands.
I didn't want to let go of Sir Raleigh—what if the man took off with him, and worse, what if Sir Raleigh went willingly—but I reluctantly handed him over. The strange man had an air of authority I'd only encountered in my mother, grandmother, and grandmother's consort.
He gently took the cat from me and held him in one large hand while he stroked him and turned him, see
mingly examining him.
"Tsk, where did that white paw come from, Grimalkin?" he asked. Sir Raleigh chirped and purred at his touch. Little traitor.
"What did you call him?" I asked.
"Nothing." He handed Sir Raleigh back to me. "He's a lovely little cat. Do keep him close."
"I plan to. Sir, who are you?" I asked, the desire to know tugging the question from the middle of my chest. He had a certain magnetism. Not sexual—surprising, since that's how I tended to approach men—but caring, oddly, although he'd not done anything to indicate he would or did beyond his vague advice.
"I'm no one, Reine," he said, and sadness edged his voice. Then anger. "No one you should know, anyway."
"But I want to," I said, again surprising myself. "Please, Sir, are you Fae?"
He barked a laugh. "Not that any you know would claim as part of their court." He lifted a hand, his fingers slightly bent, and I imagined someone's face being cradled in his palm. He dropped his arm. "Forget you saw me," he said. "I shouldn't be speaking to you, interfering…" He shook his head. "Remember what I told you—stay alert. Stay aware. And no matter how badly you think you want something, very few things are worth your future."
I noticed he didn't say life, but future. All right, he must be Fae. Those were classic vague Fae instructions. Before I could ask anything further, he stepped into the shadows and disappeared. The air moved around me as it filled in the space he left, and I shivered. Not only was he Fae, he likely belonged to the dark Fae. That would explain why he had business with vampires.
"What is he, Raleigh?" I asked and placed the cat back on my shoulder. "And more importantly, what is he to me?"
I wasn't used to the emotions the stranger brought up, of caring and tenderness. And worry for my well-being. But why would a dark Fae care what happened to a princess in the court of his mortal enemy?
It appeared I had my own mystery.
A whiff of decay alerted me to the presence of the soul-eater just before the cat dug his claws into my wrap, bowed up, and hissed. His vocalization turned into a low growl.
That got me moving. I ran as quickly as I could in my heels to the club, and I darted inside. I caught the arm of the white vampire and said, "Quick, get a message to your mistress that a very dangerous dark creature is about."
He shook himself free from my grip, demonstrating how strong he was. "She's aware of him."
"No, not that one. Not the one who came to meet her. Another one." I leaned close to him. "A soul-eater."
White eyebrows rose and disappeared under his ridiculous bangs. "Are you certain?"
"Yes."
He nodded and vanished into the crowd. I found Lawrence and Ted at our table. Again, I didn't know what to feel—didn't they worry? But they had respected my need for time alone. And they both rose when I approached.
"I owe you an apology," Lawrence said.
"Yes, you do, but it will have to wait. The soul-eater is around. It's outside."
"Are you all right?" He ran his hands over my arms, leaving warm tingles in their wake. I must have gotten colder than I realized for that reaction to happen.
"Yes, I'm fine. I've told the manager." I looked around. The young, beautiful people around me lounged, drank, and danced without any idea of the danger in their midst. What should we do? Evacuate the club? Try to draw the creature away? What did it want?
"Whatever it is, Ashlee will take care of it," Ted said. "She doesn't allow other dark creatures to interfere with her business."
"Maybe it didn't follow me in, then." I tried to open my senses to sniff for it, but the sights, sounds, and smells of the club assaulted me, and I had to slam everything shut to human levels.
The vampire manager appeared—could he teleport? I'd heard some vampires could—and said, "Mistress would like a word."
In a few minutes, Lawrence, Ted, and I stood in Ashlee's office. The large windows behind her showed the scene below, a blue, white, black, and multicolored spotted tapestry.
"What evil have you brought?" she asked me, her arms folded and her light eyes glowing faintly. Hades, she must have been pissed.
"I didn't bring anything," I said. "It's been following me."
"Why? And who unleashed it?"
"That's what I'd like to find out," I told her, an idea forming in my mind. "I suspect it's connected to our earlier questions."
She snorted. "About Robert Cannon? What could he possibly have to do with a soul-eater?"
"Perhaps if you were to help me ask him, we'd find out."
She tapped her bottom lip with one claw-like nail.
"I admit I am intrigued. Very well, I will help you find him. But you must promise me that you'll share any information you find out from him about this…thing."
"Definitely. I'm as interested in binding it as you appear to be."
"That would be an interesting experiment, Princess. How do you trap an invisible creature? But I would like a new pet since your grimalkin isn't up for grabs."
Sir Raleigh hissed, but softly.
"Never," I said. "What can you tell me?"
She grabbed Robert's card from a nearby table and wrote a telephone number on the back of it. "This is his private number. Tell him Ashlee sent you. I cannot promise he will cooperate, but it's the best I can do."
I nodded. "Fair enough. Can you keep us safe in order to get out of here?"
"Yes." She snapped her fingers and the manager appeared again, this time from the top of the staircase. I was pretty sure he didn't materialize from thin air—he just had a flair for sneaky entrances. She gave him rapid-fire instructions in a language I didn't understand—interesting, since I had a good ear for most tongues.
"Rae will take care of everything," she said. "Stay here for an hour, and then you will be safe to go."
I wanted to trust her, but I kept my senses open for signs she deceived me. The fact a vampire club existed told me that the old rules didn't apply anymore, so I needed to be extra careful.
After the allotted hour had passed, we walked out of the club into the cool night and a scene from a horror movie. A dead bouncer lay sprawled on the sidewalk. Behind him, something had scrawled three words on the wall with his blood—"I'll get you."
18
My two companions drew their phones out faster than gunslingers in western movies. Lawrence had his to his ear faster, and Ted snapped pictures.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Collecting evidence."
I arched an eyebrow, wrapping myself in haughty Fae attitude so I wouldn't scream, cry, throw up, or otherwise show any sign of weakness. How had I managed to keep a low profile for almost three hundred years and now be the target of a dark Fae predator?
"All right," Ted admitted. "Getting pictures for a story."
Rae walked out, and his reaction surprised me. He looked at the dead bouncer with wide eyes behind his lightly tinted lenses, and his mouth made enough of an o that I saw his fangs for the first time.
"You have an interesting way of taking care of things," I said.
Rae shook his head and knelt by the man, who when standing must have been almost seven feet tall. "He was supposed to take care of it." Rae felt for a pulse. He shook his head. "This creature you've attracted… It's very bad."
Strange words coming from a vampire, but I declined to comment.
"What does it want with you?" Rae asked. He stood, his white clothes miraculously unstained, and wiped his hands on a white—of course—handkerchief.
"I wish I knew." Then, when his eyebrows rose above his glasses, and he tilted his chin forward, I added. "Truly, I don't know. To 'get me,' whatever that means."
Rae shrugged.
"Better you than me. But be careful.” And, before I could thank him for his concern, he added, "If that thing comes anywhere near her, I'll come find and kill you, princess or no." Then he turned around and stalked inside.
I wanted to curl in on myself like a boiled shrimp, have a good cry, and not
deal with anyone for at least a week. I thought I'd left with a new ally, but as it turned out, I'd made an enemy, or at least potentially made one.
Red and blue flashing lights alerted me to the fact that we were about to be caught at a crime scene. Lawrence, Ted, and I left. Before we did, I sent a little zap to the surveillance camera so it would seem to have shorted out when we walked outside and therefore would have no record of us. I had no desire to deal with the human authorities. I suspected the supernatural ones would be bothering us soon enough.
The valets had either cleared out when the soul-eater energy appeared, or maybe Rae had sent them home. I couldn't picture him doing something so caring, but I also hadn't expected him to threaten me, so obviously I'd underestimated the vamp. Perhaps by design—who would take a vampire dressed like a washed-out version of the angel in Good Omens seriously?
We found our cars, which had the keys inside them, and Ted wished us a good night. Rather than getting into his car, he unlocked the back seat and pulled out a makeup case. "Got a cameraman on the way," he explained. "We'll report from the scene."
"Don't tell anyone we were there, okay?" Lawrence asked.
"No worries," Ted replied. "Your secret is safe with me. Just…be safe, okay? I don't know what that thing is, but it's nasty, from the looks of it."
We bade him farewell, and Lawrence shook his head when he slid into the driver's seat and pushed the button for the roof to close. "He's either the dumbest or bravest guy I know."
Sir Raleigh had crawled into my lap and had started to purr. I stroked him, grateful for the comfort.
"He should be fine. I don't sense the soul-eater anywhere around, although sometimes I don't know it’s there until it’s too late. This one, though," Raleigh blinked at me and yawned.
"Has he done anything else interesting?" Lawrence asked. I told him about Raleigh attacking the soul-eater earlier, and he nodded.
"Sometimes dark Fae creatures can see others of that ilk where the rest of us can't. It's sounding more and more like he was sent to be a guardian to you."
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