by Judith Post
"I'm not little. I'm eleven." Angel scowled. "On my TV show, Vikings aren't nice. They kill lots of people and do sacrifices."
Ulrich thought about that. "No one was nice back then. Life was harder. Vikings have a sense of honor most don't understand. Ours was a harsh world. Our religion and beliefs reflected that."
"Do you still worship the old gods?" Lucinda narrowed her eyes, waiting for his answer.
A smile played on his lips. "I still respect the old gods and their ways, but I work with the angel now. Times have changed. I'm a different person."
"Do you still rape and pillage?"
He laughed. "Vampires are promiscuous. Women throw themselves at us. I have to fight them off. And I only plunder rogues. They deserve to die."
Angel leaned forward and whispered to Enoch. "You like him?"
"He's one of my closest friends."
She gave Ulrich one, long, hard look, then nodded. "If Enoch likes you, you must be okay."
"Whew!" Ulrich mopped pretend sweat from his brow, then grew serious. "I like you, little one. You have spunk."
"So what do we do first?" Lucinda asked. "How do you train us?"
"We start by satisfying your appetites." When she gave him a withering look, he said, "Your blood lust."
"Oh." She nodded.
"Bart's generals mostly drink from animals. In cities, we keep down the rat and stray populations."
Crystal put a hand over her mouth in disgust.
"It's better than sipping from mortals," Ulrich pointed out. "We're allowed to drain the worst of humans in other places—rapists and murderers—but no vampire can harm a human here."
"Caleb's promise," Scarlet finished for him.
Ulrich finished his ale and gave her a solemn nod. "It was given for good reason. Enoch's home and friends deserve protection."
Scarlet's brows rose in surprise. "That's why Caleb made the vow?"
Not exactly, but Enoch sidestepped the question. "Caleb and I needed to call a truce with each other. The world's safer when we're not at odds."
Lucinda shook her head. "Angels must not get along any better than vampires do."
"We don't always agree." His gaze went to Voronika. She didn't like to talk about Caleb. When she yawned, he said, "It's been a big day. You got up at noon. Care for a nap?"
"Wake me at sunset." She started for her bedroom. The other vampires joined her, dragging their bags along with them. Angel came to sit close to Enoch.
"You're not tired?" he asked.
"I’m not a vampire, and I'm not old like Scarlet."
Enoch laughed. "Don't let her hear you say that." But it made him wonder. Enough vampire venom could keep a mortal ageless. How old was Scarlet?
Angel looked at him. "What are we going to do now?"
He glanced at Ulrich for an answer.
"I'm going to drink more beer." Ulrich carried his empty glass to the kitchen. "Want one?"
Enoch answered before Angel could. "That's a no. And we're going to hook up your Xbox and laptop and learn how to use them while Ulrich and I catch up with each other."
She sighed. "That's what doctors do. They say we're going to get a shot, and then I get one. You're telling me to get lost."
"I'm telling you there's no point in having all sorts of diversions if you don't use them."
She pouted for a moment. "What if I can't figure out how to hook them up by myself?"
"Then you're not as smart as I think you are."
She glared. "I know most of them. But not all of them. If I can't figure them out, will you help me later?"
He hesitated, then caved. "Sure, that's fair."
When she went to play with her new toys, Ulrich returned with his beer. He gave Enoch a pitying look. "You, old friend, have signed on for life."
"No, this is temporary. Once we get her sister settled, we can figure out what to do with her."
"Is that so?" Ulrich went from one couch to the next, testing them for softness. "All the bedrooms are taken. Unless Lucinda and Scarlet invite me to sleep with them, I'm guessing I get a couch."
Enoch shrugged. "Sorry about that. I should have kept the house I bought for our battle. It had plenty of room."
"And make me miss sleeping on satin? It helps my complexion."
"That's not satin. It's brocade."
"What the hell is that?" Ulrich ran his hand over the shiny surface.
"Doesn't matter. If you want to sleep on it, that's fine with me."
Ulrich sank onto the lush cushions and sighed. "She's a neat kid."
"I fight vampires. Voronika is a vampire. We're not ideal parents for a mortal."
"Neither are some humans. She's seen our world. Her life's changed."
"A kid is a long time commitment." Enoch sat across from him. He leaned forward, with his elbows on his knees. "I don't see you making any commitments."
Ulrich leaned back against the plush cushions and rested his feet on the antique coffee table. "I haven't found the right woman. Look how long it took you to find Voronika."
Enoch's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're really looking? You're ready?"
"I fight hard and party harder, but the partying's starting to feel like more work than killing rogues."
Enoch smiled. "It's only taken a few centuries, but you might be ready to be a grown up."
"We both have jobs to do, jobs we care about. It would be nice to have someone to come home to." Ulrich lowered his feet to the floor and set his beer aside, suddenly serious. "I have worries, my friend. I checked around, asking about this Feral. She's left a trail of dead mortals from one club she owns to the next."
"So why hasn't Bart or one of his generals stopped her?"
"Everything she does is legal, at least, by our rules. She moves into a city, has bad humans—rapists, murderers, whatever—flown in and lets vampires drain them as sport at her club. Hell, in some countries, she just empties an entire prison, buying all the cell mates. She can't do that here, but she'll come up with something else instead. And she holds grudges. If someone makes an enemy of her, she always gets even. "
Enoch thought of Crystal. "She blames Crystal for her pet's death." He explained about Desya.
Ulrich let out a long breath. "The girl won't survive long. Feral will find some way to destroy her."
"Feral has to follow Caleb's promise here."
"Crystal's a vampire, not a mortal. Caleb doesn't interfere in vampire politics."
"But Crystal didn't ask to be changed. She should have some extra consideration."
"She does. You. You're protecting her, or she'd already be dead, and nobody would take notice."
"That's not fair."
Ulrich grimaced. "Really? From you? When has anything ever been fair? Feral didn't change the girl. Desya did. She killed Desya. Debt paid."
Enoch shook his head, aggravated. "Feral's a bother. There has to be some way I can close down her club."
"She follows Caleb's rules. She's learned to manipulate them to her advantage. She hires beautiful, young mortals to provide her vamp customers with blood and sex. She lets mortals rub elbows with vamps in the bar and they get hooked on venom. Then, when too many humans end up dead or changed, she moves to the next city and starts up again."
Enoch exhaled a weary sigh. "Feral can make being a vampire look glamorous. Humans don't think it through enough."
"In the last city she opened in, she let vampires pay to seduce mortals and be the ones who changed them."
"That can't follow Caleb's rules."
"The mortals wanted to be changed. No rules against that."
Enoch frowned. "If a vampire changes a mortal, he has to sire her."
"It's not a law," Ulrich said. "But no vampire wants to create a blood-crazed offspring that a general has to hunt down and kill. We don't appreciate that, and we make it known. But if Feral offers to buy the offspring and chain them somewhere to be used as quick treats, no one cares, as long as the victim begged to be changed. After
that, he or she's too crazed with bloodlust to complain. Feral doesn't offer that up too often, so the bidding goes really high. Supply and demand."
Enoch stared. "Do you think that's what happened to Lucinda?"
"No, some vampire pervert changed her against her will. She could have pressed charges, but she didn't know any better."
"You're telling me that the rules aren't going to help us much this time."
Ulrich shook his head. "The truth is, Caleb has a lot more laws to protect humans than he has to protect vampires. New, young converts are at the mercy of their sires."
"The joys of free will." Enoch believed that choices determined a person's life, but damn, you'd think more people would make better ones. "What's the point of anything if people don't determine their own destinies?"
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Ulrich asked.
"I'm thinking too much." Enoch reached for his glass of ale.
Footsteps hurried to them. Angel stopped in front of Enoch, bouncing from one foot to the other. "I don't know the wifi setting you use."
"I'll have to look it up."
"But everything's ready to go!"
Enoch pushed from his chair. He heard the urgency in her voice. She was going to burst with excitement. He looked at Ulrich. "I'll be back in a minute."
"No hurry. I can use a break. It's been a long day." Ulrich kicked off his boots and stretched out on the sofa. "I'll just close my eyes for a minute." The snoring started as soon as he closed his eyes.
Well, that was that. Enoch went with Angel to get all of her new gadgets ready to go, but he couldn't shake his worries that Feral was going to give him more grief than most rogues he hunted. He'd have to be careful to keep Crystal safe. Feral bent the rules. He didn't want to be caught off guard.
Chapter 13
Angel watched Enoch type in the passkey and user ID before he handed her laptop back to her. "I'm hungry," she said.
"Didn't you eat lunch?" He assumed they'd get food at the mall, but maybe they only bought snacks. He'd been keeping Voronika's hours for so long, he ate on her schedule—when she was awake at night.
"I got a soft pretzel," Angel said.
Not much lasting power. "What do you usually do for lunch?"
"I eat at school."
Enoch thought about the school lunches he'd seen on TV. Lots of chicken nuggets and pizza. Was that what kids ate these days?
"What do you do in the summer, when you don't go to school?"
"Peanut butter sandwiches."
Did he have peanut butter? He wasn't sure. He pulled out his wallet and handed her a twenty dollar bill. "Run across the street to the restaurant and order something you like."
She stared. "I've never eaten in a restaurant."
He stared. "Never?"
"Mom buys us McDonald's when she gets Dad's support money."
Enoch had never eaten at a McDonald's, had no clue what they served. Had no idea where the nearest one was.
"What's for supper?" she asked.
"Lamb chops and couscous." He stopped to consider. "I usually make supper after Voronika's been awake for a while, before the sun comes up." Angel would be asleep then.
"You keep bloodsucker hours."
Enoch laughed. "What movie did you hear that on?"
"True Blood."
"The TV show? You're too young to watch that." There was sex and nudity…and lots of violence.
Angel gave him a look. "You just don't get it, do you? As long as I didn't bother Mom, I could do whatever I wanted to."
He tried not to cringe. He'd look like an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy. "So, what did you usually eat for suppers?"
"Cans of soup, frozen popcorn chicken, ramen noodles…."
He was in trouble. "Tell you what. You tell me where you want to go to get something eat, and I'll take you there."
"Can I go to Wendy's? Mom always said it cost too much."
"Have you ever eaten real food? Chicken? Steaks? Mashed potatoes?"
She brightened. "My grandma always made ham for holidays."
"Has a vegetable crossed your lips?"
"Are poppers vegetables?" She gave an evil smile. "I eat green beans and corn at school."
Okay, maybe cafeteria food had its merits. Angel sure wasn't getting fruits and vegetables at home.
He made a quick decision. "First, we'll go to the grocery store. Then, we'll stop at Wendy's."
She almost jumped up and down, barely caught herself in time. "Okay."
He went to get her jacket, helped her into it, and then shrugged into his light, wool coat. "Let's get this done. When we get home, you eat, I put away groceries, and then you can watch a little TV before you go to bed. There's school in the morning."
She frowned.
"Don't even start with me. You go to school and live a happy life, or you skip and deal with me."
She didn't look scared. It didn't matter. That girl was going to school if he had to fling her over his shoulder and drag her there. She saw the expression on his face and nodded. "Deal."
Chapter 14
When Angel went to bed, Ulrich woke. Enoch glanced up from his computer as his friend wandered to the kitchen island and frowned at the packages of Pop Tarts and the bowl of fresh fruit on the dining room table.
"Ah, being a responsible parent. Let me know how that goes."
Enoch scowled. "Angel doesn't eat anything healthy."
"Good for her. Blood's the best food group."
"She's a kid, not a vamp."
"Her loss." Ulrich grabbed his glass and filled it. "I'm thinking our pretty ladies aren't going to wake for a while. Too much shopping. I'd like to see this club Feral runs, take the full tour. Bet you didn't do that."
"Nope, only a room or two. I was waiting for you."
Ulrich grinned. "There's a reason I love you, old friend."
They shrugged into their jackets and Ulrich helped Enoch lower and lock the grids before following him to his Jaguar.
"Nice ride." Ulrich glanced at the car's dashboard and ran a hand over the plush, leather seats.
Enoch nodded and turned onto Spy Run. "My job comes with perks."
"Not enough." Ulrich frowned at the stone wall that followed the river. "Let me guess. Her club is on the fringes of town, a bit isolated."
"An old warehouse district," Enoch said. "Nothing going on there after dark."
"Smart girl."
In a short while, Enoch pulled in the parking lot behind the club. Cars filled the first four rows. "The lot was almost empty the last time I was here. More humans are frequenting the place."
"That's her pattern." Ulrich tossed his leather jacket in the back seat and started toward the front door. "Time to turn on the charm."
Enoch rolled his eyes. "Didn't know you had any." He only said that to rile Ulrich. His friend had a way of standing out in a crowd. Enoch left his jacket in the car, too. For a week night, the club was booming.
Classical music greeted them. Soft lighting filtered the opulence of their surroundings. Ulrich glanced down at his leather pants. "I should have brought a tuxedo."
Incisor scowled at them as they entered.
"Do you want to check my I.D.?" Ulrich pulled out his wallet.
Incisor ignored him, turned to Enoch, and barked, "Who's your friend?"
"Ulrich, one of Bart's generals. He's in town to visit me." Enoch knew the news wouldn't make Incisor happy, but what could the bouncer do about it?
Incisor gave Ulrich a sour look. "I don't want any trouble tonight."
"My friend here said I didn't have to worry about that. He said this place followed the rules." Ulrich looked at the humans crowding the bar. He wrinkled his nose. "I usually don't drink with mortals, though."
"They're legal. Check your handbook." Incisor turned away to meet the next arrival.
Ulrich smiled at Enoch. "Friendly guy. Makes you feel welcome."
Enoch laughed and searched for an empty table. As far as he could tel
l, there wasn't one. For a Monday night, the bar was packed. Vampires crowded every table and stood in groups on the dance floor, talking. Others went up and down the stairs, looking for more entertainment.
Ulrich took his arm and nudged him toward the far end of the room. "We want to stand at the bar and mingle. That's how you learn things."
"All the stools are taken."
Ulrich shook his head. "You don't get out enough. There are ways to encourage people to give you their seats."
Oh, Lord. What was he in for now? Ulrich loved to bend the rules. Sometimes, it made Enoch uncomfortable. "You're not going to get us tossed out of here, are you?"
"Me? Give me credit for a little finesse."
Now, Enoch was worried. Ulrich was going to do something obnoxious, he was sure.
Ulrich led Enoch to the bar and stood so close to two vampires, balanced on stools in front of them, that he practically touched them. Their heads were bent close together to hear each other over the noise. Ulrich turned to Enoch and raised his voice. "Caleb lets me have a lot of flexibility, but you don't have to follow any rules, do you? Can't you just use your Light and turn a couple of these losers to dust, so that we can take their seats?"
One of the vampires turned to look at them. He frowned at Ulrich's white tunic and brown, leather pants, laced in the front. "Do you know Caleb?" He looked young and newly turned with smaller fangs than older vamps. His friend's glance went from Ulrich to Enoch, and he frowned.
"What is this—a Norseman and a model for Gentleman's Quarterly? What's the deal?" He smiled, showing his incisors, longer than the young vamp's.
Ulrich waved his hand in a small flourish. "I, dear boys, work as one of Caleb's generals. And this is Enoch, the angel of vampires' deaths. We'd love to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."
The younger vamp frowned. "Does Feral know you're here?"
"Didn't you listen, boy? I'm a general. He's an angel. We don't have to have her permission."
The older vampire stood and motioned for his buddy to follow him. "Sorry, but we came here to meet friends, and they just arrived." They hurried away, and Ulrich grinned. He and Enoch took their places.
Enoch looked at Ulrich and raised an eyebrow. "Pretty clever."