by Megan Hawke
"You didn't offer her anything? Are you suicidal?"
"Sable wouldn't hurt me."
"Get us dinner for two." I think his anger was my fault, but then again vampires were known for their tempers. "The good stuff, none of that damn chicken blood someone bought."
I noticed Vicki's eyes dropped to the floor and she moved off quietly. Watching her go, I made a mental note to never to buy chicken blood. I had so much to learn.
"Don't be mad at Desiree. It’s my fault."
He gave me a hard, calculating look.
"Did Yuri send you over?"
He was afraid. I could smell it. Maybe more afraid than Desiree had been.
"I escaped." Most of his hookers were still in the room, watching and listening. "Should we be discussing this in public?"
Boney's brows knitted together as he looked at the hookers. Most of them immediately decided they should be someplace else, though a few attempted to hang around. He shooed them away. When the blood arrived, he made me drink my fill first thing. Each glass was about half a pint. I was full after the third, but he insisted I take another full glass to sip as I told my sorry story.
Boney listened quietly until it was over. Afterwards, he asked a few questions and was relieved to learn Yuri knew nothing of him.
"Why are you afraid of Yuri?"
"He's bad people. Very bad. But he's doing the job they wanted him to do."
"Job? Someone hired him? For what?"
That was incredible. What sort of madman would hire Yuri to do anything?
"Clive Honeywell brought Yuri and family to Dallas," Boney said. He frowned and shook his head. "It won't be too long before Mr. Honeywell is running the whole city."
Clive and his undead family arrived in Dallas even before Yuri’s murderous family. My little group of vampire slayers were warned by our contact within the police, but then Clive’s family seemed to vanish. Yuri’s arrival took up pretty much everyone’s attention after that.
"Don't be absurd. The people of Dallas will not allow him to be mayor, or even control the mayor."
"Really? What they don't know, Sable. What they don't know."
I didn’t like the sound of that. I couldn't imagine vampires controlling Dallas. It would be an unnatural disaster on scale with Philadelphia in ’78, when that fifteen hundred year old Italian vampire spent six months Changing people into vampires, and had them create even more vampires. They created a small but powerful army of undead warriors, and took over the city.
They terrorized Philly for eight months in 1978, killing over seventeen thousand men, women, and children. The President had to call in the Army, and eight thousand soldiers died in the battles that ensued. Three quarters of the city was leveled by Air Force fire bombings. Napalm killed vampires good. Reduced them to ashes. Some estimated as many as three thousand vampires were created, and of those only eighteen hundred were confirmed killed. Fortunately, the one who started it all, Camillo Dragonetti, was killed and his body, heart, and head were separated and all exposed to direct sunlight. He wouldn't be coming back.
"I thought Clive and his band of vampires had left the Dallas/Fort Worth area," I said. "I haven't heard anything about them since that one body dump was found in Fort Worth, which could be either Clive or Yuri. Or even another vampire."
"That is what Yuri was brought in for. He is a distraction, to get and keep everyone's attention while Clive and his henchmen take over. I'm afraid he's pretty much accomplished it, too."
"But the mayor, the city council…"
"Belong to Clive or one of his minions now." Boney sighed and shook his head. "Besides, the mayor and city council don’t actually run the city. They make policy, but the City Manager controls the city. He's the real power in Dallas, and Clive’s already gotten to him. He’s been Changed."
"What?" A chill slivered down my spine. "When did Clive Change him?"
"Last weekend. Tainted his blood Friday night, by Monday night he was Clive's vampire. Mr. Rodriquez has no choice but to obey Clive's commands to the letter."
"But the police?"
"The chief and most of his top leadership are vampires now."
I was on my feet and pacing. I didn’t even recall getting up. "Are they crazy? Didn't they learn anything from Philly?"
"Apparently not," he said. Boney looked as grim as I felt. "Well, yes, they did. Truth is, very few outside of the vampire underground know about this. To the mortals, business will simply go on as usual. They are taking over as quietly as possible. No bloodbaths."
"Oh my God. This is terrible. We have to do something."
"What? Charge into City Hall with machine guns spitting silver bullets? That would get a lot of innocent civilians killed, and change absolutely nothing."
"We could call the media – newspapers, TV stations. What about the Feds?"
"Feds? What’s their number? Do they have an ‘I've got a vampire problem’ hotline? The media in the Metroplex is already controlled by vampires, and has been since the early sixties. To a lesser extent, the police have been controlled by vampires for almost as long, even before the department's leadership was Changed. Vampires as a people are a lot more pervasive than you know."
"No, that's impossible."
"Really? How much help are the police with vampire slayers?"
That hit home. Officially, they had nothing to do with us. Occasionally, they leaked information about rogue vampires to informants known to help vampire slayers. We were lucky that the only cop in Dallas PD assigned to monitor vampire activity was a friend of Dane’s from college, and had actually hunted vampires with him. He fed us what little information he could.
"Well, they kinda treat us like bounty hunters. Barely legal and kinda unsavory."
I liked Boney, but didn’t trust him enough to tell him vampire slayers had contacts within the police.
"Exactly, and when's the last time you heard of any police raid on vampires? At least not spurred by a killing spree?"
"No, no, no, I don’t like the sound of this at all," I said. "Vampires are taking over? How is this possible?"
"Money. The vampire leaders are all very old, and very rich. Like billionaire rich." He gave me a grim look. "Money talks. The more money you have the louder your voice."
"But Clive is new to Dallas and Fort Worth. Isn’t he English or something? How can a foreigner take over?"
"He's the catalyst. I don't know whose idea it was, his or a local vamp, but shortly after he arrived some of us more astute vampires noticed a trend, strange coincidences and such," he said. “What they were up to wasn’t hard to figure out.”
We stared off into space a few minutes, lost in our own visions of Hell to come. What could we do? What could I do? Who could I tell that would listen?
"What's in the duffle?" Boney pulled me out of my dark reverie. Thankfully. "A present for me?"
I shook my head. How did he change directions, and moods, so fast? Dwelling in depressing darkness didn't appeal to me, either. I was ready to move on to happier conversations. For now.
"Present?" I wagged my brows at him. "I’m here. That’s all the present you need. Be more grateful."
"Ouch, kitten has claws."
"Don't forget that." I opened up the duffle and let him have a peek inside. "Nice, huh?"
"How much money is it?"
"I don't know. Mostly hundreds, and about six inches of twenties on top."
"Thousands of dollars, at least. Maybe tens of thousands of dollars." He looked at the duffle. I could see him mentally calculating. "Maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars."
I could curl up inside it, with room to spare, but still. "That much?"
"Oh yeah."
"Damn. That’s a lot of Casedei and Christian Louboutin shoes." Despite my cavalier words I felt vulnerable. It couldn't be safe to tote that much cash around, not even for a vampire. I might be hard to kill, but it wasn’t impossible. "I need to stash this somewhere, or put it in my bank account."
"No!" He sta
rtled me. "Not unless you have an account with one of the vampire-owned offshore banks."
I knew all about them, but had momentarily forgotten. Those banks don't cooperate with the police or Feds, making it very hard for them to track vampires’ transactions.
"I’d heard about them, but I didn't know they were vampire-owned and operated." Vampires were much more business savvy than I ever gave them credit for. "How do I start an account or deposit cash?"
"I'll help you set up an account." He glanced at the clock. "There's time enough to get the ball rolling before sunrise. If you want, I can have one of my girls deposit the cash into your new account during the day."
"They’re open during the day?"
"Of course, they’re legitimate banks."
"These banks are open during the night as well?"
"They are, but the night branches are well-hidden. It’s easier to create an account over the internet, or on the phone, and then have a mortal you can trust deposit the money. They are a bit wary of new clients until they have some history with you, since these are technically illegal transactions."
Trafficking with the undead was illegal in most nations, including the United States. In some countries you could be sentenced to death for business dealings with vampires.
"I don't even know how much money I have. How would I know if they cheated me?"
"Do you want to take the time to sit down and count out all of that cash?"
"That would take all night. How trustworthy are these banks?"
"Don't worry about the vampire bankers, they're as honest as any banker. It's unlikely they'll cheat you. Their business is dependent on a good word of mouth reputation," he said. "But, that said, there will be a stiff fee to open an account, and the monthly fees are higher too. You're paying for secrecy and security."
"Well, no time like the present," I said, patting the duffle.
Boney made a call. In no time we had a checking and savings account created in my name with an off-shore bank. All over the phone, with documents sent to Boney's e-mail that I had to print out, sign and fax back to them. We arranged a meeting for Desiree to drop off my deposit. The start-up fee was a thousand dollars for each account. Then there was another fifteen hundred dollars each for Visa and MasterCard accounts, tied to the checking account. Desiree would pick up my cards when she made the deposit later that day.
"It's getting late." He wagged his eyebrows at me. "I assume you want to stay here today?"
I slanted an amused look his way. He looked way too pleased. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Butterflies erupted deep in my belly.
"If it isn't too inconvenient."
The look he gave me took my breath away.
"It works for me," he said. I could smell his arousal as he looked over my black latex-sheathed body, both of us spewing pheromones into the air. Vampires were even more aroused by the scent of each other’s arousal than mortals were. "We should retire early."
In two seconds flat I was just as ready for sex as Boney. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck. He hugged me tight, and I groaned with the pleasure of it. We shared a deep, lingering kiss full of wicked promises.
"Oh, is my ‘how to be a vampire’ class over?"
"No. New subject. It's called The Joy of Undead Sex 101."
A thrill slithered up my spine, sending a tremor through my body. It was getting harder to breathe. He grabbed two big handfuls of my butt and squeezed.
I laughed. "You're a dog."
"Actually, I'm a wolf," he said, wagging his brows at me. Then his eyes widened. "Did Yuri teach you how to morph?"
"What? I don't know what you're talking about, so I guess that’s a big fat no."
Yuri didn't do much teaching, except in the art of kinky sex. I was well-versed in that subject. Of course, I wasn't about to turn down Boney's offer to teach me further. Oh hell no.
"So you don't know how to morph into a wolf or a bat yet?
"Oh! I forgot vampires could do that." I'd never actually seen a vampire transform into a wolf or bat before, but I knew they could. Usually, they don't have enough time to even think about morphing before we drive a stake through their black hearts. "I mean, I should be able to do that. No one's showed me and I never thought of it."
"Then let's go downstairs and get naked."
Boney stuffed a shopping bag full of twenties, and I added Desiree’s bag of Hershey Kisses. Mine now. Then he picked up all my stolen clothes.
"Naked? Why?"
"Clothes restrict your ability to morph. Well, tight clothes like you're wearing do anyway." He called for Desiree. She came running, an eager look on her face. "Desiree, I need you to take this duffle to the bank at the Stemmons' address at ten o'clock this morning. Deposit it in Sable’s new accounts. They're expecting it."
He handed her the duffle and a sheet of paper with all my account information.
"That's all money? Wow."
He caught her eyes, transfixing her with his hypnotic gaze. "You will not open that duffle. You will defend it with your life. No one can have any of the money inside, and you will not mention it to anyone."
"Yes," she said.
"Good girl," he said as Desiree picked up the duffle and left. He turned to me with a wicked grin. "Let's go get naked, Sable. After the morphing lessons, I'm going to bone you until I own you. Shouldn't take long."
"Ooh, a sweet-talker. A real romantic, too. Momma like."
Downstairs, Boney quickly started undressing. My clothes didn't come off as quickly. Rubber took almost as much time to come off as it did to go on. Boney helped me undress.
"Ready to start your lesson?"
"If that's what you really want to do." I graced him with my most wanton, my most lecherous look. "I'm ready to do anything you want."
Boney cupped my breasts as we stood toe to toe. I think he regretted mentioning the whole transforming aspect of our existence. His hard-on looked painful. The man needed relief, and I wasn't much better off. My body knew that sex was imminent, and was responding accordingly.
"Close your eyes, babe." He turned me around to face away from him. He moved up close, pressing his body against my back. That hard-on pressed against my lower back was hard to ignore. "Try to clear your mind. Think of absolute darkness."
Very hard to do when your libido was on fire. Maybe we should've postponed that lesson until the next night. Or at least knocked out a quickie or five to cool us down first.
"Concentrate, Sable. Stop thinking about sex."
"You can read my mind?"
"No, but I can smell your need and desire. You reek of it. Clear your mind. These lessons will go fast once we get started. Morphing is like riding a bicycle. Once you learn how, it seems so easy afterwards."
I tried, but I couldn't clear my mind. We were naked. His hands were cupping my breasts, squeezing, and caressing them sweetly. How could any girl ignore that? I couldn't have gone cold fish when I was alive with him touching me like that.
"Calm down, Sable."
"Stop fondling me."
"Think of your mother."
"Bastard!" That did it. Killed my libido dead. Drove a stake right through the heart of my horny.
"Good girl. Now, picture a wolf. Let that wolf become your world." He moved his hands up to my temples. "Think wolf. Yes. You are the wolf. Be the wolf."
Could I? A wolf. All furry and ferocious. Fearsome predator. Yes, I could be a wolf. I liked the idea. I wanted it. Boney guided me, softly whispering in my ear, then suddenly absolute cold infused my body and I went all dizzy for a brief instant.
"Yes! You did it!"
He wasn't touching me anymore. Why was I on all fours? I looked back, to see his legs, and saw my tail. A real tail, long and bushy. Only canine noises came out when I tried to speak, kinda like a gurgling growl.
I was the very picture of wolfiness. I thought I'd be bigger, but oddly pleased to see I was a black wolf.
"Picture yourself as human again."
What? Human? That was easy enough done.
"Excellent! Lord, girl, you are good at this. You're a natural-born vampire if I ever saw one. It took me an hour to do my first transformation."
"Really? Seems easy." I changed into a wolf again. Back to human, and back to wolf. "Wow, this is so sweet!"
I grinned roguishly at him, and transformed into a bat.
"Yes! You got it, girl."
Wow, what a rush. I could fly! Ok, I couldn't fly very well.
"Ouch. Bet that hurt." Boney laughed as I bounced off the wall three times in the first ten seconds. Talk about making my head spin. I couldn't tell up from down. "Watch out for the… oh." I hit his coffin, and then the ceiling. I transformed into a woman right after bouncing off Boney's chest.
And promptly fell on my butt before him.
Boney's laughter was infectious. "We'll work on the flying part outside, tomorrow night."
"Why? I thought it went well."
"Yeah. We'll work on it." He fished the pair of shiny black ankle boots out of my stolen clothes, the ones with the five inch stiletto heels. I called them granny boots, since they laced up the front. Did I ever mention all vampires are kinky perverts? "Put these on. Then we’ll start your lessons in undead lovemaking."
"I’m a very eager student." I started to work the boots onto my feet. "Rumor has it I'm a quick study."
Chapter 12
Boney took me out to the backyard after breakfast. Naked. I proved much better at flying outside and it wasn’t long before I was master of the skies. It was a heady feeling. I always envied birds their ability to fly and there I was up there with the best of them.
Once I got the flying part out of my system, we both morphed into wolves and went off running around the neighborhood, terrifying all of the dogs and cats. That was fun.
After our return from the run, I put on the black jeans and tank top. Boney and Desiree sat down with me at the dining room table and I received my new checkbook, Visa, and MasterCard.
"Wow!" What Desiree had entered as my initial deposit in the checking account stunned me. "Sixty thousand?"
Desiree handed me the savings account book. "You have another two hundred thirty-three thousand in your savings account, and some change."