Vampire Dead-tective (Dead-tective #1)

by Mac Flynn

  Chapter 5

  My face fell and my hands shook. I balled them together in my lap, but I couldn't ball my emotions together. They were all over the place. There was fear, sadness, fear, confusion, fear, curiosity, and did I mention fear?

  "Come again?" I asked him.

  "You have fallen into the world of vampires, ghosts, goblins, and the like," he rephrased.

  "Uh-huh, and how do I get out of this world?" I wondered.

  Bat leaned over the desk and the lamp cast shadows on the creases of his ancient face. "I'm afraid there's no escaping this world. Once you've dived into the rabbit hole the only way to go is forward and hope nothing snatches you from the shadows."

  I leaned back and cringed. "Have you taken your medication lately?"

  His eyebrows shot up and he sat back. "Now that you mention it, no." He opened a top drawer, pulled out a plastic container of pills, and popped a few into his mouth. "There. All better."

  "So there's a way I can get out of this mess?"

  "Oh no, there's no way in hell you can escape this mess. Or rather, you are in hell and there's no way out."

  I numbly stood and my shaky legs tried to collapse, but I grasped the back of my chair. "I-I think I need to get back to my apartment. I have some-um, some pants to fold."

  Bat smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be a wise idea. You may as well accept that your old life has vanished."

  I glared at him. "Um, no? I'm not going to throw aside twenty-well, a lot of years of living because of a one-night stand with Count Creepy here." I gestured to Vincent, who was amused by my title for him.

  "You mistake my meaning, Miss Stokes. You are very much mistaken in my intentions toward you. I only want the best for you and that ring you wear." He nodded at the metal band around my finger. "After all, both of you are the only possessions we have of Tim, and I'm sure he'd want his friends and-" he frowned and glanced at Vincent. "-acquaintances to care for them."

  "First off, I'm nobody's possession. Second, I think this is all some horrible dream and if I ran into a wall I'd probably wake up," I countered.

  Bat smiled and waved his hand at the far wall to my right. "Go right ahead, Miss Stokes, but be careful not to hit too hard. We wouldn't want you to receive a concussion for nothing."

  I looked at the wall and decided maybe this wasn't a dream. "Or maybe I just need a really long nap and I can decide what to do after that," I suggested.

  "I have a comfortable couch somewhere in this mess," Bat offered.

  "My bed would work better, and I wouldn't want to trouble you guys." I backed up toward the entrance. "I mean, I've been enough trouble and-" My back hit something hard, and I didn't need to look around to know it was Vincent's body. My face fell and I tilted my head back to find myself staring into his dark eyes. "You're not going to let me leave, are you?"

  "We can't, Miss Stokes," Bat insisted as he walked around the desk. "It's in all of our best interests that you stay here, at least for tonight."

  I glared at the old man. "You think I'm so important with this ring then why don't you have this stupid thing?" I raised my ring hand, grasped the ring and gave it a hard pull. It didn't budge, and the only reward for my effort was a sore finger. I pulled again, but with the same painful result. "Anybody have a can of grease or oil?" I asked them.

  Bat chuckled and walked up to me. He pointed at the ring. "That's stuck to you until you can learn to get it off."

  "Learn to get it off? I'm pretty sure rings are supposed to just slip off," I shot back.

  "Not this one. This one is a very unique ring."

  I rolled my eyes and dropped my arms to my side. "I know, I know, forged with blood and some voodoo magic to bind us."

  Bat raised an eyebrow and glanced at Vincent. "So this bag of hydrated dust has told you some things?" he guessed.

  "Only that I'm stuck with him, but not for how long and how I'm supposed to get out of this mess," I replied.

  Bat chuckled. "I can possibly give you answers to both those questions, but I'm afraid you're not going to like them," he told me.

  I shrugged. "You just told me I'm stuck in this weird place with two weirdos after being chased by some crazy guys with a werewolf. How can this night possibly get worse?"

  "It can get worse because you are going to have quite a few more nights with such, shall we call it, fun?" he answered.

  My jaw jutted out and I glared at him. "Come again?"

  Bat smiled and walked over to my chair. He turned it toward me and gestured to the seat. "If you would care to sit down again I will tell you what I can about that ring, our mutual friend Tim, and that ring that is stuck on your finger."

  I frowned, but walked over and sat down in the chair. I folded my arms across my chest, crossed my legs, and tapped a finger on my arm. "I'm listening."

  Bat walked in the space between my chair and the desk. "First off, your partner here is someone whom you shouldn't trust," he told me. Vincent frowned, but remained silent. "Secondly, that ring is the only item keeping him from killing us both."

  "Then this thing's not doing a very good job because he's already tried that twice," I quipped.

  Bat raised an eyebrow. "Really? Was the bond awakened?"

  "As soon as you tell me what exactly this bond is I can answer that." I jerked my thumb at the silent undead. For the first time I wished he'd speak up. "He told me I was stuck with him and he'd protect me. He also said this ring would give me some sort of vampire powers."

  "For once he's told the truth," Bat mused. "The ring does give you abilities beyond those of a normal human being, but only so long as you wear it."

  "Right now that's not a problem."

  Bat frowned and seated himself on the end of his desk. "Perhaps I am going about this the wrong way. Let me start at the beginning with Tim. He inherited the ring a few centuries ago from the original owner, the human who's blood is encased in that ring."

  I blinked. "Centuries? You mean years, don't you?" I asked him.

  Bat smiled and shook his head. "No, I mean centuries. The ring granted Tim a sort of immortality. So long as he wore the ring and this fool protected him, he wouldn't die."

  My mouth slowly fell open and images of our lovemaking flashed through my mind. I shuddered. "Okay, that's just creepy. He didn't look a day over thirty."

  "The ring froze his appearance, though I wish his mind had aged a little further," Bat mused with a playful grin on his face. He shook himself from his thoughts and pointed at the ring on my finger. "It has done the same to your appearance, though you don't know it yet, and so long as there isn't another lapse in protection then you will live a very long and eventful life."

  "What if I don't want to live forever?" I countered.

  "I'm afraid that is not an option. Once the bond is created only death can break it."

  I stood so quickly I knocked my chair over. "So what the hell am I supposed to do for eternity? Pick up Social Security until I drain it dry?" I angrily asked them.

  Bat slid off the desk and walked around the desk to his chair. "I recommend a hobby or an occupation." He paused in front of his chair and tapped a long nail against his chin. His eyes lit up with mischief. "Yes, that may work."

  "What now?" I asked him, perfectly expecting more wonderful news.

  "With Tim no longer with us his business will need a new owner. I think you would suit the role perfectly."

  "Um, no?" I replied. Everything else I'd been dragged into that evening had been trouble.

  Vincent had of the same opinion. "She isn't competent enough to manage the business," he spoke up.

  Bat shrugged. "Perhaps not, but you can teach her."

  Both Vincent and I jerked back in surprise. "No!" we shouted in unison.

  The old man sat down in his chair and grinned at us over his entwined hands. "See? You two are getting along famously already. This should make your
partnership much easier," he commented.

  "Are you listening to either of us?" I asked him. "I don't know what this business was, but if it had anything to do with Tim's death I don't think I want to work in it."

  "I believe it was exactly why Tim was killed, or shall we say murdered," Bat replied. I flinched. That's how the cop had phrased it. "I see I hit the hammer on the nail. What can you tell us about his death?"

  I cringed and hesitantly shrugged. "Only that the cops think he was murdered."

  Bat leaned back in his chair and nearly fell over. "How interesting that the police would be involved. Tim's dealings were outside their capacity as enforcers of human laws."

  I'd had enough with this talk of humans, vampires and werewolves. I nervously smiled and backed up away from the desk. "You probably have a lot to think about with Tim-well, with Tim not being around." I felt a lump in my throat at that thought. "So I'll leave you two guys alone to deal with this and just be on my way." I spun around and found myself staring into Vincent's coat. I jumped back and threw up my arms. "Come on! I have no idea what you guys are talking about or what you want from me, okay? I'm just a stupid office girl who had a strange roommate. That's it! Nothing special about normal old me!"

  "Tim evidently thought you were special enough to room with," Bat countered.

  I spun around and glared at Bat. "Tim's dead!" I shot back. I cringed at my own words and at the hurt expression on the old man's face, but I wouldn't give up my chance to leave Crazy-ville. I sighed and my shoulders drooped. "Please just let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone about this place, or Vincent, or anything I saw tonight."

  I expected some suave words to try to coax me back, but Bat sighed and gave a nod. "Very well. We will let you return to your normal life," he agreed.

  I narrowed my eyes and leaned my head toward him. "You're not fooling me, are you?"

  "Fooling you?" he repeated.

  "Yeah, tricking me. Making me think I can get out of here and then WHAM! You drag me back kicking and screaming and convince me to stay."

  Bat chuckled. "No. You are free to go, and we won't stop you from returning to your old life."

  I backed up away from the desk and my eyes flickered between the pair. "All right, then. I guess I'll be going."

  "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Stokes," Bat bid me farewell.

  "The pleasure was all yours," I mumbled. I knocked my back into one of the research tables, and sheepishly grinned at him. "Um, be seeing you."

  I swung around and sprinted toward the front door. There were no hurried footsteps behind me, no shouts to stop. I hit the door, flung it open, and burst out into the cool, clean night air. I took a deep breath of the city air and choked on some exhaust. Yep, I was free.