Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Collection 6-10

by Laurell Hamilton

  Niley nodded, small head bobbing on his wide shoulders. “Exactly, Ms. Blake, exactly.”

  I sat down. Richard slid into the chair beside me.

  Niley’s eyes moved from me to Richard. “Well, Mr. Zeeman, we meet at last.”

  Richard stared at him from behind dark glasses. “Why did you kill her?”

  The abruptness of it made even me wince.

  I must have made some movement, because Richard said, “I didn’t come here to play games.”

  “Nor did I,” Niley said. “If you will accompany me to the men’s room, I will check you for listening devices. Milo will check your bodyguard.”

  “Shang-Da,” Richard said. “His name’s Shang-Da.”

  Niley smiled even more broadly. If his smile kept getting wider, soon his face would just split open.

  “Of course.”

  “Who gets to search me?” I said. “Howard?”

  Niley shook his head. “My other associate is running a little late today.” He stood and there was nothing in his lap. Paranoia. “Shall we, Mr. Zeeman? May I call you Richard?”

  “No,” Richard said, voice deep and low, as if he wanted to say more.

  I touched his arm as he moved past me. I looked up into his face, trying to tell him with a look not to do anything stupid.

  Niley took Richard’s other arm, slipping it through his like you’d walk arm and arm with your lover. He patted Richard’s arm. “My, aren’t you a handsome fellow.”

  Richard gave me a look as Niley led him away. I’d have given a great deal to see his eyes at that moment. Usually the bad guys make moves on me.

  Shang-Da moved back so Milo could come out from behind the table. They moved off together, not touching, the tension between them thick enough to swing on.

  I was left with Howard and my back to the door. I changed chairs, sitting where Milo had been, so I could see the entrance. It put me closer to Howard, and he didn’t like that much. I smelled a weak link.

  “How good are you?” I asked.

  “Good enough to be scared of you,” he said.

  I frowned at him. “I’m not one of the bad guys, Howard.”

  “I can see your aura,” he said in a voice that I could barely hear above the murmur of voices and silverware.

  The waitress came with glasses of water and menus. I assured her the others were coming back to the table, but I wasn’t sure if all of us were ordering. She left with a smile.

  I turned back to Howard. “So you can see my aura. So what?”

  “I know how powerful you are, Anita. I can feel it.”

  “I can’t see your aura, Howard. I can feel a little of your power, but not much. Dazzle me. Show me what you can do.”

  “Why?”

  “Maybe I’m bored.”

  He licked his lips. “Give me something benign. No weapons, nothing magic.”

  That sort of cut down on my options. I finally took the cross around my neck off and handed it to him. I pooled the chain into his hand. “Don’t touch my skin with your hand,” he said.

  I let the last of the chain spill into his hand and was careful not to touch him. He closed his hand over the cross. He didn’t close his eyes, but he wasn’t seeing the restaurant. He looked past it all, and I felt his power ripple over me like a tiny electric current.

  “I see a woman, older, your grandmother.” He blinked and looked at me. “She gave you this when you graduated high school.”

  I nodded. “Impressive.” I’d started wearing this particuliar cross just recently. I valued it, and I’d had a lot of crosses taken from me over the years. But lately, I’d felt the need of something special. Grandmother Blake had given it to me with a note that said, “May your faith be as strong as this chain and as pure as this silver.” Lately, I needed all the purity I could get.

  Howard’s eyes went past me, staring at something at the end of the room. His breathing had stopped for just a second, like an inaudible gasp.

  I turned to see what had captured his attention so thoroughly. The man was close to seven feet tall and had to weigh over five hundred pounds. His face was totally hairless, not just clean shaven. He had no eyelashes, nothing; smooth and unreal. His eyes were a nearly colorless grey too small for his large face. He wore a black shirt untucked over black slacks, black shoes. The skin of his arms and face were unbelievably white as if the sun never touched him.

  The man didn’t make my skin creep with power. In fact, he was too empty, walking towards us, as if he were shielding himself.

  I stood up. Partly it was his size. Partly it was the lack of anything from him, like he wasn’t there. I didn’t like it when someone worked that hard to shield themselves. It usually meant they had something to hide. If this was the sorcerer that had killed Betty, I knew exactly what he was hiding.

  The man stopped in front of us. Howard hugged himself and made introductions. “Linus, this is Anita Blake. Anita, this is Linus Beck.” Howard’s voice was higher than it should have been, like he was scared. He seemed to be afraid of a lot of people.

  Linus Beck smiled down at me. His voice, when it came, was shocking, a delicate soprano of a voice. “So happy to meet you, Anita. So seldom do I meet a fellow practitioner of the arts.”

  “We don’t practice the same brand, Linus.”

  “Are you so sure?” he asked.

  “Positive.” Even standing, I had to crane my neck upward to see his face. “Why does Niley need a first-rate clairvoyant and a sorcerer?”

  Linus Beck smiled, and it looked genuine. “You know the correct term. I am pleased.”

  “Glad to hear it. Now, answer the question.”

  “When I have checked you for wires, then all will be answered.”

  I looked at those large, white hands and didn’t want him to touch me. There was almost no hair, even on his arms. It was like a golden down, like the arm of small child. Something clicked in my head, and I stared up at him. Maybe it showed on my face. Maybe he read my mind, though I don’t think so.

  “My manhood was sacrificed many years ago so I could better serve my master.”

  I blinked at him. “You’re a eunuch.”

  He gave a small nod.

  I wanted to ask why but didn’t. There was no answer that would make sense, so why bother? “What flavor are you, so-ciopth, psychopath, or schizophrenic?”

  He blinked small eyes, the smile fading. “Misguided people have told me I was crazy, Anita. But I did hear voices, my master’s voice.”

  “Yeah, but were the first voices your master or just bad brain chemistry?”

  His frown deepened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  I sighed. He probably didn’t. Sorcerers were people who got their magic through demonic—or worse—power. They bargained for what they got and bartered their souls for money, comfort, lust, power. But some were a version of possession. People weakened by some flaw: mental illness or even a flaw of character. The right kind of flaws can attract evil.

  Niley led the other men back around the corner. He and Richard were not holding hands anymore. Richard’s face was tight and angry. Shang-Da and Milo’s faces gave nothing away as if nothing had happened. Niley looked happy, pleased with himself. He clapped Linus Beck on the back, and the eunuch raised the other man’s hand to his mouth and kissed it.

  Maybe I didn’t know as much about eunuchs as I thought I did. I thought it meant sexless. Maybe I was wrong.

  “Linus will search you for wires, then we can talk.”

  “I don’t want him touching me. Nothing personal, Linus.”

  “You fear my master,” he said.

  I nodded. “You bet.”

  “I must insist it be Linus, in case you have some magic or other about your person that would disturb us.”

  I frowned at him. “Like what? The holy hand grenade?”

  Niley waved the comment away. “Linus must search you, but if you like, you can have one of your men accompany you.”

  I didn’t lik
e it, but it was probably the best offer we were going to get. The waitress came to take our order, and I realized I was hungry. You learn to be able to eat in the midst of disaster and gore, or you get another line of work. They served breakfast all day. I ordered pancakes and maple-cured bacon.

  Richard looked shocked. “How can you eat?”

  “You either learn to eat in the middle of disaster and gore, or you get another day job, Richard.”

  “Very practical, Ms. Blake,” Niley said.

  I looked at him and felt a small, unpleasant smile curve my lips. “Just of late, Mr. Niley, I’ve become very, very practical.”

  “Good,” he said, “very good. Then we understand each other.”

  I shook my head. “No, Mr. Niley, I don’t understand you. I know what you are, and what you’ll do, but I don’t understand why.”

  “And what am I, Ms. Blake?”

  The smile grew. “A bad guy, Mr. Niley; you’re a bad guy.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I am, Ms. Blake. I am a very, very bad guy.”

  “Guess that makes us the good guys,” I said.

  Niley smiled. “I know what I am, Ms. Blake, and I am content with it. Are you content?”

  We looked at each other for a long moment. “My state of mind isn’t really any of your business.”

  “Answer enough,” he said.

  “Let’s order,” I said.

  Everyone ordered, finally even Richard. When the waitress walked away, Linus, Richard, and I headed for the rest room so he could search me for listening devices and magical booby traps.

  I only had one question. “Which bathroom are we going to use?”

  35

  WE USED THE men’s room. Linus’s hands felt strangely soft as if there were no muscles under his skin, just bones and flesh. Maybe he’d given up other things to serve his master. He was creepy, but he was thorough. He even ran his fingers through my hair, which most people forget to do. He behaved himself, even when his hands were on delicate areas. He didn’t give Richard any reason to grump at him. Me, either.

  We all trooped back out to the table. The food hadn’t arrived yet, but my coffee had. Everything goes down better with coffee.

  We were again in the chairs with our backs to the door. If we’d gotten there first, they’d have had these chairs, so it was hard to bitch. Linus sat on Niley’s right. I realized why we weren’t in a booth. Linus wouldn’t have fit.

  “You wanted to talk, Niley. Talk.” I sipped coffee. It was bitter and had been on the burner too long, but there’s no such thing as undrinkable coffee. I did hope the food was better.

  “I want you to leave town, Anita.”

  “Wilkes and his men already covered that. We told them we were leaving by sundown,” I said.

  “I know what you told the good sheriff,” Niley said. He wasn’t smiling now. His eyes were cool, the humor dying from his face like the sun sinking away, leaving the world to darkness.

  “I don’t think he believes we’re leaving, Richard,” I said.

  “I don’t care what he believes,” Richard said.

  I glanced at Richard. He was sitting with his arms crossed, staring at Niley. It would have been more unnerving without the manatee T-shirt, but he got the point across. So much for Richard playing clever repartee with me. I left him to his quiet anger and plowed ahead alone.

  “Why is it so important that we get out of town, Niley?”

  “I told you. The spirits say to come against you is death.”

  I shook my head. “What spirits?”

  “Howard uses the Ouija board as well as his other gifts. The spirits warned of a Lady Death. A woman that would be my undoing. We were warned of this in connection to this purchase. When I heard your name mentioned, I suddenly knew who Lady Death was. The spirits say that if I come against you directly, you will slay me.”

  “So you sent Wilkes and his bully boys around to scare me off.”

  “Yes, and I hired two locals to kill you. Are they dead?”

  I smiled. “I didn’t search you guys for wires, now did I?”

  He seemed to find that amusing. “I suppose not. But I assume the two men will not be coming back for the second half of their payment.”

  “You can assume that,” I said.

  The waitress came with our food. We were all utterly quiet as she set the plates down. She put syrup in front of me and asked if we wanted anything else. We all shook our heads, and off she went.

  I stared down at my pancakes and bacon and wished I hadn’t ordered them. I wasn’t in the mood to spar anymore. I just wanted this over.

  “If you’re not supposed to confront me directly, then why the change of plans? Why this meeting?”

  He smiled and cut a piece of his country omelet. “Anita, do not be coy. I think we both know that Wilkes does not have the stomach for this work. He may work himself up to shooting you, but he is not up to truly scaring you away. His threat, shall we say, lacks a certain fright factor.” He took his bite of omelet and chewed.

  “Is the threat next?” I said, pouring syrup on my pancakes.

  He smiled, dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, and shook his head. “Let us save that for last. Now, ask your questions.”

  “Why do you want this piece of land?”

  Richard shifted in his chair, leaning forward. He’d been wondering about that particular question longer than I had.

  “There is a relic on that land somewhere. I need to own the land so I can tear it up and search for the relic.”

  “What relic?” I asked.

  He smiled. “The lance that pierced Christ’s side.”

  I stared at him. I stared at him longer. He didn’t seem to be kidding. “That is a myth, Niley.”

  “You don’t believe in Christ?”

  “Of course I do, but a Roman lance doesn’t last for thousands of years. It was lost long ago.”

  “Do you believe in the Grail?” he asked.

  “The Grail is a historical fact. It’s been found and lost twice in recorded history. The spear has never been authenticated. It’s passed around like the bones of some saint, but it’s just bait for the gullible.”

  “Do I look gullible, Anita?”

  “No,” I said. “How did it get to the mountains of Tennessee?”

  “The spear was given as a private gift to President James Madison.”

  I frowned at him. “I don’t remember that from history class.”

  “It is listed among the gifts from a certain Mideastern principality. One spear, Roman. Unfortunately, it was one of the items that went missing after the British burned and sacked Washington, D.C., in 1815.”

  “I remember reading about the burning of the White House during the War of 1812. Valuables went missing. So, say you’re right. How did it end up here?” I asked.

  “Howard has chased it here through his psychic gifts. The spirits have led us to this place. We hired a diviner, and he traced off the boundaries of our search area. That area lies within Greene’s land.”

  “Search the land,” Richard said. “You don’t have to buy it to do that. You don’t have to disturb the trolls to search for a spear.”

  “It could be buried anywhere on the land, Richard. I don’t think Greene would appreciate us tearing up his property unless we owned it.”

  “I’m amazed that Greene is still alive,” I said.

  “We looked into his father’s will. Did you know that if the man’s son dies, the land becomes an animal preserve? He was enamored of your trolls, Mr. Zeeman, was the late Farmer Greene.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Richard said.

  “Why should you? John Greene, the man’s son, is trying to sell to us. He told us all the provisions of his father’s estate. He was complaining about them, but it saved his life. So we must buy the land, and the trolls must be gone for that—unless you will simply stop fighting the sale in court.” Niley smiled at Richard. “Would you do that for me, Richard? Would you just let us buy the land? I p
romise we will disturb your trolls as little as possible.”

  Richard leaned over to me and whispered, “Are you running your foot up and down my leg?”

  I looked at him. “No.”

  Richard scooted his chair back with a loud scrape. He moved closer to me, one arm going around the back of my chair. “Once you own the land, Niley, you can bulldoze it, and we can’t stop you. The only thing we can do is stop your purchase.”

  “Richard, you disappoint me. After our little tête-à-tête in the bathroom, I thought we were friends.”

  Richard blushed almost purple from his neck to the roots of his hair. “Why did you kill Betty?”

  “Why, to frame the trolls for the death of a person. I thought you would have figured that out by now.”

  “Why Betty?”

  Linus answered in his high, musical voice. “She was a liar, a traitoress, and a wanton thing. She opened herself to evil.”

  Power breathed off of Richard from the arm against my back. An almost visible aura of heat rose around him. It clicked with something deep inside of me. I put a hand on his thigh. He jumped until he realized it was me, then settled back. I thought soothing thoughts at him. But what he was thinking of was Betty, and the thought was strong enough that he made me flash on her body. I had one quick visual of her torn breasts, and he stood so abruptly his chair fell to the floor. His hands were on the table, and he swayed softly. I thought he might faint.

  I started to touch him, but was afraid to, afraid he’d see more. Shang-Da came to take his arm.

  The voices around us had quieted, hushed. Everyone was looking. “Please, Richard, sit down,” I whispered.

  Shang-Da helped him sit. We all waited quietly, watching each other until the voices around us rose and everyone went back to eating. Howard whispered, “Your auras converged for a moment. They became one piece and flared. What are you to each other?”

  Richard’s voice squeezed out, “Betty wasn’t perfect, but she didn’t deserve to die like that.” He leaned his face down toward the table, and I realized he was crying.

  I touched his back, tentatively, rubbing it in small circles. “Your plan to blame her death on the trolls is a bust. Now what?”