by Judith Post
“I’m allowed to kill you, you know.” Enoch’s stomach clenched at the sight of Vlad. He could taste his own hatred. "You deserve it after sending your goons for that girl and rookie cop."
"They misunderstood," Vlad said. "They were supposed to bring back your detective friend."
"That's not allowed either, and you know it."
"Claudia made that point. She killed all of them." Vlad put a hand over his nonbeating heart. "My creations, my children."
"Give it a rest. I should blast you."
"When I come in peace?" He held up the flag. "I'm offering a deal. Can we call a truce, just long enough to talk?”
“You don’t have anything to offer me.”
"But I brought you a token to show I'm sincere." He walked to a parked car and reached behind it. He bent and lifted a severed head off the ground. "Remember him?"
Enoch grimaced. "I followed him here. How did you do that? How did you keep the head? Vamps turn to dust when they die."
"Not if they die with a mouthful of my blood. I strangled him while he gorged on it. Who knew?" Vlad tossed the head toward Enoch. "Now we're even for Alessandro." It rolled across the cement and the rogue's lips drooped open. Blood spilled from its mouth. When the last drop was gone, the head dissolved into ashes.
"You killed the rogue who rushed to tell you about Voronika. I'm not impressed."
Vlad's crooked smile tilted wider. “Maybe this will interest you. The old man’s going soft. He’s come up with all kinds of rules for Three Rivers.”
“That’s because he doesn’t want a war. Even you can appreciate that.”
“A good war clears the air every now and then, gets rid of anything that’s dispensable.”
“Like the new recruits you sent here? Did they know they were only fodder to provoke us?”
“They were never very well behaved. Is it my fault they don't listen?” Vlad looked at the highest apartment in the building, the penthouse where Voronika waited. “There are only a choice number of people who can’t be replaced. You must know that by now.”
“For me, every person has a right to live and love, to fulfill his destiny.”
“Destiny.” Vlad rolled the word around on his tongue. “Exactly. Some people are just put here as filler, for body count. Like rabbits were created to feed predators. They’re the bottom of the food chain. Like you said, fodder.”
“I don’t agree.”
“You always were too idealistic.” Vlad raised a dark eyebrow. “No wonder Caleb thinks of you as a friend, a brother, nothing more. You’re like an old auntie. But surely, even you're getting tired of the old fossil by now. Wouldn’t your life be easier if he was gone?”
“Caleb’s immortal. You can’t get rid of him.”
“There’s the Pit. He can join his good buddies down there. It would only take a nudge before the Creator opened the ground and swallowed him. You should know. You saved him from that.”
“Because he’s my friend.”
“Is he? Still? What’s he done for you lately? You wouldn’t be stuck here if it weren’t for him.”
“And you wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for him. He made you, and you enjoy what you are. You owe him some sense of gratitude.”
“So I’ll send him a Father’s Day card once a year. Do you really think he’d favor me so much if he didn’t enjoy me more than the others? Caleb’s as selfish as I am.”
“I doubt that.”
Vlad laughed. “And why do you have such a soft spot for him? What were you two up to before he made me?”
“You wouldn’t understand. You don't have any true friends.”
“Maybe not, but at least I don’t let sentimentality muddle my reason. Caleb’s only working with you so that you don't get all righteous and mess in his business. He’s not doing you any favors. He doesn’t do anyone favors. And he’ll do everything he can to trick you."
"And you're different?"
"If you give me Voronika, I’ll make vamp laws that really help you. I’ll make vampires so afraid, they'll all follow Bart’s rules.”
“I’m supposed to trust you when you’d betray Caleb?”
“Our deal wouldn’t be personal, just business. It would benefit both of us, and I’d give you real leverage, not just lip service.”
“What about Caleb? Where would that leave him?”
“With no power. He’d be a figure head, nothing more. Who knows? He might even get so bored that he'd want to go Home with you.”
Enoch shook his head. “You don’t know Caleb as well as you think you do. You’re underestimating him, and you’ve underestimated me. I don’t make trades with peoples’ lives. Voronika stays with me.”
Vlad narrowed his eyes and studied Enoch. “You’ve fallen for her too, haven’t you? I can’t blame you. I still crave her.”
“If you come near her, I’ll kill you.”
“We can’t deal then. You’re hooked. I guess we’ll just have to duke it out and let the best man win.”
“If you take her, you’ve made an enemy for the rest of your undead life.”
Vlad thought about that. He sniffed the air and half-smiled. “I can smell her. I've never forgotten her scent."
"It's the last thing you'll smell if you take her. I'll hunt you wherever you go."
"I know you mean it, and I won’t like it, but I have to have her, even if you find me and kill me in the end.”
“I will.”
Vlad actually looked serious for a moment. “The thing is, man, she’s worth dying for.”
“You’d better mean that.”
“I do.” Vlad gave Enoch a nod and started to walk away. He hesitated and turned back for a second. “Do you think if you’d been the one who bit me, I’d be different? Would I be more like you?”
"I don't bite people. I give blood, not take it."
"But if you did? If you were my creator, would it make a difference?"
“What were you like before?”
Vlad grinned. “That pretty much answers my question. Even a bite can’t work miracles, can it?” Then he melted into the darkness and only his stench remained.
Enoch tried to shake off his revulsion on the ride up to his apartment. When he entered the penthouse, he found Voronika standing at the balcony doors, looking down into the parking lot. “Did you see him?”
She nodded, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
“He tried to make a deal.”
She hissed, staring at where he'd stood.
“He’d take power from Caleb and make every vampire obey Bart’s rules.”
She showed her fangs, too shaken to talk.
“That wouldn’t last long," Enoch said, as much to himself as to her. "Vlad loves anarchy, breaking the rules, getting things riled up.”
She turned away and walked to the far side of the living room, as far away from Vlad as possible. As far away from him too?
Enoch's voice hardened. “He thinks Caleb’s weak. He’s wrong.”
“Caleb’s a fool," she spat. "He's already forgiven him once for trying to overthrow him.”
Enoch looked at her, surprised. “Was it a serious attempt?”
She paced, trying to calm herself. “Vlad and fifty other vampires. They rushed Caleb and meant to seal him in a cavern."
Like that would work! "What happened?"
"Caleb just tossed them off, ripped some of them to shreds or crushed their heads. He tied the rest to stakes and left them outside for sunrise—all but Vlad.”
“He didn't punish him at all?”
"His precious? He grounded him for five years, made him stay in the fortress."
That's what Caleb offered to do when they struck their deal. Was that his typical punishment for Vlad?
Voronika's lips curled in disdain. "If you ask me, they both enjoyed that. To keep Vlad from sulking, Caleb gave him extra favors.”
"Such as?"
"Lots of women, lots of parties." She came to lay a hand on
Enoch’s arm. "You’re fooling yourself if you think Caleb would choose you over Vlad, if it ever comes to that.”
“I know, but he can’t break a promise. And he gave me one.”
She walked to the kitchen and poured them each a glass of red wine. Her hands trembled. "Why didn't you kill him? He was right there. Why didn't you snap his neck?”
“It was part of my deal with Caleb. I said that I'd only kill Vlad to defend you.”
"Then you're a fool. You should never make deals with the devil."
Her words stung. Her yellow eyes gleamed in the dim light. She looked feline, stealthy and deadly. He turned away from her. He didn't want to talk to her right now. He'd wanted to kill Vlad. Why hadn't he? Because he'd told Caleb that he wouldn't, not unless he had to. But did Caleb or Vlad respect that? He doubted it. Did he anymore? Where had it gotten him? And… Vlad had created Voronika. If he killed Vlad, he'd destroy her too.
She crossed the room and pressed herself against his back. “That was mean. I'm sorry. You and I are both stuck with compromises we don't like." She slid around his body to face him. "Don't change, angel. Both of us have clung to what we believe in. We can't let Caleb or Vlad chip away at that."
"They already have." Lately, he was racked with doubts. He doubted himself and questioned the One.
"No one said it would be easy." She finished her wine and set the glass on the bar. She straightened her shoulders and reached for his hand. "If we're taking big risks, they have to be worth it. Come on, angel. Show me the perks of this deal.”
He frowned, unable to keep up with her change of moods. "Perks?"
She yanked him toward the hallway. “Immediate benefits.” Catlike, she rubbed against him, setting his senses on edge. "I like everything about you." Her hand cupped his crotch. "Everything."
"Aah, those benefits." His erection pressed against her. His doubts fled like storm clouds chased away by high winds. Life had so many good things, noble things, that he couldn't focus on the bad. He lifted her in his arms and headed to the bedroom. She knew exactly what fringe blessings he could use right now.
Chapter 53
Danny called Enoch first thing in the morning. The phone rang and rang and no one picked up. No voice told him to leave a message. He was just about to give up when Enoch's voice whispered, "Just a minute."
Danny stared at his phone. Enoch whispering? What was the deal? A minute later, Danny heard a smack and Voronika mumble, “Have a good day.” Curiouser and curiouser. A door shut and Enoch said, "I'm on my way to the kitchen. Hang on." Finally, he said, "Okay, I can talk now."
"What was the smack?" Danny asked.
"You heard that? Voronika slapped my ass on my way out of the room."
“Were you naughty?” Danny grumped.
"I was in bed."
"But you don’t…" There was a pause. "Oh, sorry."
"No problem, I was just watching her sleep."
"You're a sick puppy. If you can pull yourself away and meander down here any time today, I have a tape we can watch together.”
“A tape?” Enoch sounded confused. “Like a movie?”
“Like from a surveillance camera,” Danny said. “Our busy little robbers hit the hardware store you saw in your vision. Knocked a guy over the head who stumbled onto them—gave him a concussion. They cut the wire like always, but they didn’t spot my little hidden number. Want to drop by and see them?”
“I can make it there before I go to Jenny’s shop. Will that work?”
“I’m at the station now. Whenever you can get here, Sleeping Beauty.”
“I’m on my way.”
When Enoch walked into the station, he was bearing two bags of donuts, one big, one small, and a thermos of coffee. He put the big bag by the coffee maker for everyone to share. The small one, he brought to Danny's desk.
"Why your own coffee?" Danny asked, digging for a chocolate covered, cream-filled Long John.
"I've tasted yours." Enoch reached into his coat pocket and dug out a mug.
Danny shook his head. "Picky, picky, picky." He looked out the window. The sun was coming up, not that it made much difference. "Another gray day."
He and Enoch shared breakfast while they watched the tape. The robbers wore ski masks, dark clothes, and gloves like before, but one of the guys had a tattoo at the base of his neck that showed when his mask rode up. A tiny dragon’s body in greens and blues spat a puff of smoke across the top of his back.
“We can use that,” Danny said. “We’ll go to every tattoo parlor and ask about it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone local did it for him.”
Enoch glanced at the clock. “I need to be at Jenny’s shop at eight.”
“I’ll send some men around during the day. If they strike out, you and I can pound the pavement when Jenny's husband gets there.”
“I’ll let Voronika know, so she doesn't worry.”
“Good. If you don’t hear that we found something, we can meet here when you leave the flower shop.”
Danny waited until late afternoon to call Maggie. She'd told him that mornings were usually her busiest times at the hospital, and he didn't want to bother her. When she didn't pick up, he left a message. "Enoch and I might work a little later than usual tonight, but I'll be there to pick you up at seven."
She called back in half an hour. "Don't worry about me. I'm going out with a few friends from work. None of us have shifts tomorrow. We always exchange small Christmas presents and go to a nice restaurant. It's our girls' night out. Marcia will drop me off when we're done."
"Are we talking early in the morning?"
Maggie laughed. "After a twelve hour shift? I'll be home before midnight."
"Have fun." He didn't know what Maggie did before she met him, but he suspected she wasn't doing it now, and he was happy she was going to enjoy a night out.
Enoch showed up close to five thirty. “Nothing yet?” he asked Danny.
“With the losers I work with? It’s up to us to show these guys how to get things done.”
A few of the men within hearing distance sniggered.
“You keep telling yourself that,” Rob said.
Laughter followed Danny and Enoch out of the room. “Punks,” Danny said. “They should respect the master.” He smiled as more laughter followed them down the hallway. He was in a good mood on their drive to Broadway. "Derek worked the parlors in the Wells Street area and downtown," he told Enoch. "He came up empty. We’ll start here and move south.”
They found the right parlor and the right artist on their third try.
“This was a custom job,” the artist said. “Probably did it five or six months ago. I’ll look it up.” He flipped through his files and pointed to the name Noah Miser. “Lived on Wells Street then, but it’s been a while. He might have moved.”
When Danny punched in Noah Miser on his car's computer, the same address came up, along with a long list of prior arrests. He had a good feeling about this. They were getting somewhere. On their drive to Wells Street, Danny drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I smell a break coming, E. He lives in the right area.”
Noah’s house was a few blocks past Spring Street. Lights were on in the back windows, so Danny went to the front door and knocked. He had his badge out and held high so that Noah could see it when he came to meet them. He studied Noah carefully. He was in his late teens or early twenties with long, stringy brown hair and heavy-lidded eyes. His thick lips curled down when he saw Danny’s badge. “What do ya want?”
Danny showed him a print of the men robbing the store. Then he pointed to the picture of the tattoo on the back of one of their necks. “That’s you. The tat’s a custom job.”
Noah looked bored. “Someone must have copied it. I was home when the hardware store was robbed.”
Danny raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t tell you it was a hardware store, and I didn’t tell you when it was robbed.”
“Look at the picture, man. It’s the inside of the plac
e on State Street. I shop there, and it made headlines in the morning paper. I was home all night. Ask my old lady.”
“I’d rather ask you a few questions.”
“Too busy, man. Don’t have time. My favorite TV show is on.”
“You can answer my questions here or at the station,” Danny said.
“Guess it’ll be the station then. I don’t invite cops inside, but I need to call my lawyer first.”
“You have a lawyer?”
“Don’t you?” The kid reached for a phone and dialed a number. “The cops are here. They’re taking me in for questioning. I need you there.”
They drove Noah to the station and while they waited for his lawyer to arrive, Danny did another background check on him. “He’s been in trouble since he could walk," he told Enoch. "Lots of breaking and entering. No wonder he has a lawyer.”
“How can he afford one?”
Danny pointed to the screen. “Mommy and Daddy always bail him out. This isn’t going to be easy.”
Enoch frowned, concentrating. “Maybe there’s another way.”
“Truth serum?”
“Claudia.”
“The vampire? I haven't seen her since she took out the rogues who killed Pierce, not even a hint that she’s around.”
“Believe me, she’s there unless I’m with you. Another general, Jason, is watching over Maggie, so when you two are together, he covers you both."
Vampires and mortals were becoming so entwined, Danny didn't know what to make of it. "What has this got to do with Noah?"
"Just maybe, if you rattle him enough, he’ll run to his friends when he leaves here. Claudia could follow him. You've never seen her. He won't either.”
Danny grinned. “You’re awfully devious for an angel. I like it. Is she the type you can ask for a favor?”
“She’s the best. She hates sleaze.”
“I’ll go start the interview, then, and you find Claudia.”
Ten minutes after Danny began questioning Noah, Enoch walked to the window of the interrogation room and nodded. Danny saw him and pushed Noah harder. But Noah and his lawyer were used to it all. When the door opened, Noah had a cocky smile on his lips and walked out of the station. Even the damned lawyer looked smug. Let them! Danny had seen overconfidence trip up many a crook. “She said yes?”