ABVH 01 - Guilty Pleasures

by Laurell K. Hamilton

“Punished?”

  “Surely, Phillip has told you about our methods?”

  I nodded. “A cross-wrapped coffin.”

  She smiled, brilliant, cheery. The shadows leeched it into a leer. “Willie was very afraid that I would leave him in there for months, or even years.”

  “Vampires can’t starve to death. I understand the principle.” I added silently in my head: You bitch. I can only be terrified so long before I get angry. Anger feels better.

  “You smell of fresh blood. Let me taste you, and I will see your zombie safe.”

  “Does taste mean bite?” I asked.

  She laughed, sweet, heartrending. Bitch. “Yes, human, it means bite.” She was suddenly beside me. I jerked back without thinking. She laughed again. “It seems Phillip has beaten me to it.”

  For a minute I couldn’t think what she meant; then my hand went to the bite mark on my neck. I felt suddenly uneasy, like she’d caught me naked.

  The laugh floated on the summer air. It was really beginning to get on my nerves.

  “No tasting,” I said.

  “Then let me enter your mind again. That’s a type of feeding.”

  I shook my head, too rapid, too many times. I’d die before I’d let her in my mind again. If I had the choice.

  A scream sounded in the not so far distance. Estelle was finding her voice. I winced like I’d been slapped.

  “Let me taste your blood, animator. No teeth.” She flashed fang as she said the last. “You stand and make no move to stop me. I will taste the fresh wound on your neck. I won’t feed on you.”

  “It’s not bleeding anymore. It’s clotted.”

  She smiled, oh so sweetly. “I’ll lick it clean.”

  I swallowed hard. I didn’t know if I could do it. Another scream sounded, high and lost. God.

  Willie said, “Anita . . .”

  “Silence, or risk my anger.” Her voice growled low and dark.

  Willie seemed to shrink in upon himself. His face was a white triangle under his black hair.

  “It’s all right, Willie. Don’t get hurt on my account,” I said.

  He stared at me across the distance, a few yards; it might as well have been miles. Only the lost look on his face helped. Poor Willie. Poor me.

  “What good is it going to do you if you’re not feeding off me?” I asked.

  “No good at all.” She reached a small, pale hand towards me. “Of course, fear is a kind of substance.” Cool fingers slid around my wrist. I flinched but didn’t pull back. I was going to let her do this, wasn’t I?

  “Call it shadow feeding, human. Blood and fear are always precious, no matter how one obtains them.” She stepped up to me. She exhaled against my skin, and I backed away. Only her hand on my wrist kept me close.

  “Wait. I want the zombie freed now, first.”

  She just stared at me, then nodded slowly. “Very well.” She stared past me, pale eyes seeing things that weren’t there or that I couldn’t see. I felt a tension through her hand, almost a jerk of electricity. “Theresa will chase them off and have the animator lay the zombie to rest.”

  “You did all that, just then?”

  “Theresa is mine to command; didn’t you know that?”

  “Yeah, I guessed that.” I had not known that any vampire could do telepathy. Of course, before last night I hadn’t thought they could fly either. Oh, I was just learning all sorts of new things.

  “How do I know you’re not just telling me that?” I asked.

  “You will just have to trust me.”

  Now that was almost funny. If she had a sense of humor, maybe we could work something out. Naw.

  She pulled my wrist closer to her body and me with it. Her hand was like fleshy steel. I couldn’t pry her hand off, not with anything short of a blowtorch. And I was all out of blowtorches.

  The top of her head fitted under my chin. She had to rise on tiptoe to breathe on my neck. It should have ruined the menace. It didn’t. Soft lips touched my neck. I jerked. She laughed against my skin, face pressed against me. I shivered and couldn’t stop.

  “I promise to be gentle.” She laughed again, and I fought an urge to shove her away. I would have given almost anything to hit her, just once, hard. But I didn’t want to die tonight. Besides, I’d made a deal.

  “Poor darling, you’re shaking.” She laid a hand on my shoulder to steady herself. She brushed lips along the hollow of my neck. “Are you cold?”

  “Cut the crap. Just do it!”

  She stiffened against me. “Don’t you want me to touch you?”

  “No,” I said. Was she crazy? Rhetorical question.

  Her voice was very still. “Where is the scar on my face?”

  I answered without thinking. “Near your mouth.”

  “And how,” she hissed, “did you know that?”

  My heart leaped into my throat. Oops. I had let her know her mind tricks weren’t working, and they should have been.

  Her hand dug into my shoulder. I made a small sound, but I didn’t cry out. “What have you been doing, animator?”

  I didn’t have the faintest idea. Somehow, I doubted she’d believe that.

  “Leave her alone!” Phillip came half-running through the trees. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt her tonight.”

  Nikolaos didn’t even turn around. “Willie.” Just his name, but like all good servants he knew what was wanted.

  He stepped in front of Phillip, one arm straight out from his body. He was going to stiff-arm him. Phillip sidestepped the arm, brushing past.

  Willie never had been much of a fighter. Strength wasn’t enough if you had shit for balance.

  Nikolaos touched my chin and turned my face back to hers. “Do not force me to hold your attention, animator. You wouldn’t like the methods I would choose.”

  I swallowed audibly. She was probably right. “You have my full attention, honest.” My voice came out as a hoarse whisper, fear squeezing it down. If I coughed to clear it, I’d cough in her face. Not a good idea.

  I heard the rush of feet swishing through the grass. I fought the urge to look up and away from the vampire.

  Nikolaos spun from me to face the footsteps. I saw her move, but it was still blurring speed. She was just suddenly facing the other way. Phillip was standing in front of her. Willie caught up to him and grabbed an arm, but didn’t seem to know what to do with it.

  Would it occur to Willie that he could just crush the man’s arm? I doubted it.

  It had occurred to Nikolaos. “Release him. If he wants to keep coming, let him.” Her voice promised a great deal of pain.

  Willie stepped back. Phillip just stood there, staring past her at me. “Are you all right, Anita?”

  “Go back inside, Phillip. I appreciate the concern, but I made a bargain. She isn’t going to bite me.”

  He shook his head. “You promised she wouldn’t be harmed. You promised.” He was talking to Nikolaos again, carefully not looking directly at her.

  “And so she shall not be harmed. I keep my word, Phillip, most of the time.”

  “I’m all right, Phillip. Don’t get hurt because of me,” I said.

  His face crumbled with confusion. He didn’t seem to know what to do. His courage seemed to have spilled out on the grass. But he didn’t back off. Big point for him. I would have backed off, maybe. Probably. Oh, hell, Phillip was being brave, and I didn’t want to see him die because of it.

  “Just go back, Phillip, please!”

  “No,” Nikolaos said. “If the little man is feeling brave, let him try.”

  Phillip’s hands flexed, as if trying to grab on to something.

  Nikolaos was suddenly beside him. I hadn’t seen her move. Phillip still hadn’t. He was staring where she had been. She kicked his legs out from under him. He fell to the grass, blinking up at her like she’d just appeared.

  “Don’t hurt him!” I said.

  A pale little hand shot out, the barest touch. His whole body jerked backwards. He
rolled on one side, blood staining his face.

  “Nikolaos, please!” I said. I had actually taken two steps towards her. Voluntarily. I could always try for my gun. It wouldn’t kill her, but it might give Phillip time to run away. If he would run.

  Screams sounded from the direction of the house. A man’s voice yelled, “Perverts!”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Nikolaos answered, “The Church of Eternal Life has sent its congregation.” She sounded mildly amused. “I must leave this little get-together.” She whirled to me, leaving Phillip dazed on the grass. “How did you see my scar?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Little liar. We will finish this later.” And she was gone, running like a pale shadow under the trees. At least she hadn’t flown away. I didn’t think my wits could handle that tonight.

  I knelt by Phillip. He was bleeding where she had hit him. “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes.” He managed to sit up. “We have to get out of here. The churchgoers are always armed.”

  I helped him to stand. “Do they invade the freak parties often?”

  “Whenever they can,” he said.

  He seemed steady on his feet. Good, I could never have carried him far.

  Willie said, “I know I don’t have a right to ask, but I’ll help you get to your car.” He wiped his hands down his pants. “Can I catch a ride?”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Can’t you just disappear like the rest of them?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t know how yet.”

  “Oh, Willie.” I sighed. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  He grinned at me. Being able to look him in the eyes made him seem almost human. Phillip didn’t object to the vampire joining us. Why had I thought he would?

  There were screams from the house. “Somebody’s gonna call the cops,” Willie said.

  He was right. I’d never be able to explain it. I grabbed Phillip’s hand and steadied myself while I put the high heels back on. “If I’d known we’d be running from crazed fanatics tonight, I’d have worn lower heels,” I said.

  I kept a grip on Phillip’s arm to steady myself through the mine-field of acorns. This was not the time to twist an ankle.

  We were almost to the gravel drive when three figures spilled out of the house. One held a club. The others were vampires. They didn’t need a weapon. I opened my purse and got my gun out, held down at my side, hidden against my skirt. I gave Phillip the car keys. “Start the car; I’ll cover our backs.”

  “I don’t know how to drive,” he said.

  I had forgotten. “Shit!”

  “I’ll do it.” Willie took the keys, and I let him.

  One of the vampires rushed us, arms wide, hissing. Maybe he meant to scare us; maybe he meant to do us harm. I’d had enough for one night. I clicked off the safety, chambered a round and fired into the ground at his feet.

  He hesitated, almost stumbled. “Bullets can’t hurt me, human.”

  There was more movement under the trees. I didn’t know if it was friend or foe, or if it made a hell of a lot of difference. The vampire kept coming. It was a residential neighborhood. Bullets can travel a great distance before they hit something. I couldn’t take the chance.

  I raised my arm, aimed, and fired. The bullet took him in the stomach. He jerked and sort of crumpled over the wound. His face held astonishment.

  “Silver-plated bullets, fang-face.”

  Willie went for the car. Phillip hesitated between helping me and going.

  “Go, Phillip, now.”

  The second vampire was trying to circle around. “Stop right where you are,” I said. The vampire froze. “Anybody makes a threatening gesture, I’m going to put a bullet in their brain.”

  “It won’t kill us,” the second vampire said.

  “No, but it won’t do you a hell of a lot of good, either.”

  The human with the club inched forward. “Don’t,” I told him.

  The car started. I didn’t dare glance back at it. I stepped backwards, hoping I wouldn’t trip in the damn high heels. If I fell, they’d rush me. If they rushed me, somebody was going to die.

  “Come on, Anita, get in.” It was Phillip, leaning out of the passenger side door.

  “Scoot over.” He did, and I slid into the seat. The human rushed us. “Drive, now!”

  Willie spun gravel, and I slammed the door shut. I really didn’t want to kill anyone tonight. The human was shielding his face from the gravel as we rushed down the driveway.

  The car bounced wildly, nearly colliding with a tree. “Slow down; we’re safe,” I said.

  Willie eased back on the gas. He grinned at me. “We made it.”

  “Yeah.” I smiled back at him, but I wasn’t so sure.

  Blood was dripping down Phillip’s face in a nice steady flow. He voiced my thoughts. “Safe, but for how long?” He sounded as tired as I felt.

  I patted his arm. “Everything will be all right, Phillip.”

  He looked at me. His face seemed older than it had, tired. “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”

  What could I say? He was right.

  30

  I CLICKED ON the safety of my gun and struggled into a seat belt. Phillip slumped down into the seat, long legs spreadeagled on either side of the floorboard hump. His eyes were closed.

  “Where to?” Willie asked.

  Good question. I wanted to go home and go to sleep, but . . . “Phillip’s face needs patching up.”

  “You wanna take him to a hospital?”

  “I’m all right,” Phillip said. His voice was low and strange.

  “You aren’t all right,” I said.

  He opened his eyes and turned to look at me. The blood had run down his neck, a dark, glistening stream that shone in the flashes of the streetlights. “You were hurt a lot worse last night,” he said.

  I looked away from him, out the window. I didn’t know what to say. “I’m all right now.”

  “I’ll be all right, too.”

  I looked back at him. He was staring at me. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, and wanted to. “What are you thinking, Phillip?”

  He turned his head to stare straight ahead. His face was all silhouette and shadows. “That I stood up to the master. I did it. I did it!” His voice held a fierce warmth with the last. Fierce pride.

  “You were very brave,” I said.

  “I was, wasn’t I?”

  I smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

  “I hate ta interrupt you two, but I need ta know where to drive this thing,” Willie said.

  “Drop me back at Guilty Pleasures,” Phillip said.

  “You should see a doc.”

  “They’ll take care of me at the club.”

  “Ya sure?”

  He nodded, then winced and turned to me. “You wanted to know who was giving me orders. It was Nikolaos. You were right. That first day. She wanted me to seduce you.” He smiled. It didn’t look right with the blood. “Guess I wasn’t up to the job.”

  “Phillip . . .” I said.

  “No, it’s all right. You were right about me. I’m sick. No wonder you didn’t want me.”

  I glanced over at Willie. He was concentrating on his driving as if his life depended on it. Damn, he was smarter dead than alive.

  I took a deep breath and tried to decide what to say. “Phillip . . . The kiss before you . . . bit me.” God, how did I say this? “It was nice.”

  He glanced at me, quick, then away. “You mean that?”

  “Yes.”

  An awkward silence stretched through the car. No sound but the rush of pavement under the wheels. The night flashes of lights, and the isolating darkness.

  “Standing up to Nikolaos tonight was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen anybody do. Also one of the stupidest,” I said.

  He laughed, abrupt and surprised.

  “Don’t ever do it again. I don’t want your death on my hands.”
/>   “It was my choice,” he said.

  “No more heroics, okay?”

  He glanced at me. “Would you be sorry if I died?”

  “Yes.”

  “I guess that’s something.”

  What did he want me to say? To confess undying love, or something silly like that? How about undying lust? Either one would be a lie. What did he want from me? I almost asked him, but I didn’t. I wasn’t that brave.

  31

  IT WAS NEARLY three by the time I walked up the stairs to my apartment. All the bruises were aching. My knees, feet, and lower back were a nearly burning grind of pain from the high heels. I wanted a long, hot shower and bed. Maybe if I were lucky I could actually get eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. Of course, I wouldn’t bet on it.

  I got my keys in one hand and gun in the other. I held the gun at my side, just in case a neighbor should open his or her door unexpectedly. Nothing to fear, folks, just your friendly neighborhood animator. Right.

  For the first time in far too long my door was just the way I left it: locked. Thank you, God. I was not in the mood to play cops and robbers this very early morning.

  I kicked off my shoes just inside the door, then stumbled to the bedroom. The message light was blinking on my answering machine. I laid my gun on the bed, hit the play button, and started undressing.

  “Hi, Anita, this is Ronnie. I got a meeting set up for tomorrow with the guy from HAV. My office, eleven o’clock. If the time is bad, leave a message on my machine, and I’ll get back to you. Be careful.”

  Click, whirr, and Edward’s voice came out of the machine. “The clock is ticking, Anita.” Click.

  Damn. “You like your little games, don’t you, you son of a bitch?” I was getting grumpy, and I didn’t know what I was going to do about Edward. Or Nikolaos, or Zachary, or Valentine, or Aubrey. I did know I wanted a shower. I could start there. Maybe I’d have a brilliant idea while I was scrubbing goat blood off my skin.

  I locked the door to the bathroom and laid my gun on the top of the toilet. I was beginning to get a little paranoid. Or maybe realistic was a better word.

  I turned the water on until it steamed, then stepped into it. I was no closer to solving the vampire murders now than I had been twenty-four hours ago.