Hex and the Single Witch (Vehicle City Vampires)

by Roxanne Rhoads

  “Damn, that’s what I was afraid of. Oh, well. I have the recorder, let’s get the whole vision on file and don’t leave anything out, not one moan, or orgasm should be deleted, okay?” He looked at me so intensely I shivered, feeling naked under his gaze. He acted like I was going to tell him about my own sexual encounter. Perv. I sighed and agreed to go through it all over again.

  Malone turned the recorder on and I closed my eyes, unable to look at him while reliving the vision. He shifted in his seat and made a few of those coughing, throat clearing sounds people make when uncomfortable.

  By the time I finished telling the tale my body sizzled in lusty heat, ready to pounce on the first man I laid eyes on. The recorder clicked off.

  I opened my eyes to Mike Malone. His face flushed. He’d loosened his tie and his jacket had disappeared. I bet he was pitching a tent under his desk. My curiosity really wanted to look and find out. I stood up.

  “Well, I better go.” Damn, his jacket lay across his lap. I really needed to get out of that stifling room filled with the scent of him. Why did the jerk have to smell so good?

  “Wait, there’s something I haven’t told you yet.” He hesitated a moment, as if pulling himself together, then continued, “I didn’t want it to interfere with the vision before we had a chance to record it. We found out a bit of intel. The victim’s name was Carrie Stevens. Looks like she had been at the VAMP last night with her friend and roommate, Shelley. When she didn’t come home afterwards, Shelley called to report her missing.”

  “We already knew she was at VAMP, we found her right behind it,” I said hurriedly, really wanting to get out of there. The room overheated, so hot.

  “No, we assumed she had been at VAMP, but no one really confirmed it. There are a couple other bars and clubs downtown she could have come out of.”

  “Right, so now we have confirmation that a murderous vampire was hanging out at a vampire club. Damn, it’s not looking good for the vamps in town.” I squirmed and tugged at my collar as I moved toward the door. “He’s one of them, not just hanging out in shadows on the fringe anymore. He’s in their faces, in their clubs. One of them has to know who he is.”

  “Yeah, that’s why we need you to go talk to Satinka Tala, the owner of VAMP.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face Malone. “You’ve got to be kidding me! She’s the Other big shot in the city, the top fang. I don’t know…I….” I couldn’t believe my fumbling. Why? I shouldn’t be scared of Satinka Tala…something about her was different, yet familiar. Couldn’t put my finger on why, maybe because she wasn’t just a vampire; rumor has it she’s a shifter, too. Not a Were either, but a flat out shifter, no moon needed.

  It probably wasn’t Satinka Tala making me hesitant, no something else…like, Galen might be there. The guy…uh…vampire I totally crushed on. He made me tremble and shake without ever touching me—and it had nothing to do with him being a vampire and everything to do with my attraction to him. We had hung out a few times after a mutual friend introduced us at a party, just casual stuff like having coffee and walking in the park. Yeah, witches and vampires did normal things like that, and yes vamps could drink things other than…blood

  Before meeting Galen I always thought vamps had to stay out of the sun but it seems that was just a myth. Which was great because hanging out with Galen during the day had been nice—and walking in a Flint park after dark could prove to be hazardous to one’s health—even if they are Other.

  I knew Galen hung out at VAMP, even worked there for Satinka sometimes. I knew this because…I knew things. I was that type of witch. Plus I, well…kinda made it my business to find out as much about Galen as I could, which wasn’t a whole hell of a lot, other than he hung out at VAMP and worked for Satinka Tala. Not sure about Galen and Satinka’s connection, but I knew he was part of her entourage… part of her inner circle, possibly one of the Guardians. I just prayed they didn’t have a more intimate connection, considering my big time crush… cough… obsession with him.

  Damn, I really wanted to see him, even more so now that I was so…aroused; also, the main reason why I shouldn’t see him right now. I acted like an idiot around him and he barely seemed to know I existed. He always treated me polite, yet distant. Maybe he just wasn’t that into me; maybe we had the whole “just friends” thing going on. Wouldn’t that just bite? Pun totally intended.

  Hmm…it would probably be for the better if he wasn’t interested, my grandmother would totally have a goat if she found out I dated a vampire.

  No really, when Grams got super upset goats appeared. The whole have-a-cow thing…Bart Simpson didn’t get that going first. Nope, my great aunt Bessie’s magickal mis-firings got the “have a cow” saying started.

  That’s a long story for another time. A sound pulled me out of thoughts. Malone had taken off his tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt. Taught, tanned skin peeked out. Wow, I licked my lips nervously.

  My grandmother would totally approve of me dating a man like Malone. So would my mother. If she noticed.

  I bet my dating a vampire would rouse Mom out of her coma-like trance. She usually ran so spaced-out she didn’t know what decade we were in. After my dad was killed she just checked out of reality. But she hated vampires, I knew it. That was ingrained into my upbringing.

  Malone interrupted my inner musings. Again.

  His chair scraped across the floor as he stood, towering over me. I looked up to meet his gaze.

  “Look, Anwyn, we need you to do your job and liaz with the vamps.” For some reason Malone did not look pleased. “And while you’re there please see what else you can find out about Satinka Tala’s Guardians. There’s one specifically that keeps showing up at crime scenes before we even get there, Troy. Try to find out about him if you can and the rest in general. They seem to be stepping on police toes more frequently as of late.”

  “Sure, Detective. I’ll head over there right now.” I thankfully rushed out of the office and into the fresh air outside, glad to be away from Malone with his rough personality, rugged good looks, and annoyingly delightful scent.

  Chapter 5

  I left the station, crossed Saginaw Street and made it to VAMP without incident. So far so good, no sign of Galen. Of course, at just past noon most vamps were tucked away in their coffins at this time of day. Weren’t they?

  If they actually slept in coffins. Did they? Even though I was an Other my interaction with vampires had been very limited over my lifetime. I never made any vampire friends. Because of my father’s death Grams had kept me away from vampires as much as possible.

  Plus, I was still human and young, only in my mid-twenties. Vampires didn’t exactly start out as kids and grow up like witches and werewolves did. At least I didn’t think so. I heard rumors about born vamps but thought it was all legend, and only pertained to half-breeds.

  Pausing in front of VAMP, I took a deep breath and tried to steady my shaking hands. I pulled open the heavy door and walked into the dimly lit club. Satinka Tala stood alone behind the bar wiping glasses. The place shined. I was surprised to see such a powerful vampire doing such a menial task. Energy radiated from her.

  Satinka Tala looked like a small and fragile woman but her power…her personal energy filled the room. Small and dark, she appeared no older than me, mid-twenties, but knew her to be centuries old. An Ojibwa Indian, oh sorry, Indian is not politically correct anymore. She was a Native American, who had lived in Flint long before it established a name by the white man. She lived here before white men ever arrived in North America, if you believed what the history books said about it anyway.

  I hated having to interview her. Probably not going to be easy getting any useful information out of her, at least not something I could give Malone. Sure I worked for him and the other humans but my main job as a Liaison meant keeping lines of communication open and helping the police with preternatural crimes. Some things humans couldn’t deal with and were better left
to the Others; a reason it was good Satinka’s Guardians showed up to deal with some of the preternatural crimes. Not that I would try to explain that to Malone.

  What worried me at the moment was Satinka Tala’s reaction. She wouldn’t be happy knowing the killer and victim had been right under her nose last night. She really liked to keep things under control in the area, especially in her own domain. Unfortunately, it was getting harder and harder to do these days.

  I knew she and her Guardians were trying to find the rogue vampire and keep the city free of other evils, but the economic spiral had people fleeing Flint in droves. Those who didn’t leave suffered from all sorts of problems. The whole situation left a lot of despair hanging in the area that drew evil entities our way. It literally hung in the air like an invisible fog, clinging to everything, catching spirits and emotions in a net of negativity.

  I could feel the chaos energy building in Flint and the surrounding areas but had no idea what to do about it. The humans had nothing. I needed to find out what Satinka planned, and how I could help.

  While I stood there thinking and looking around the dimly lit bar a man walked in. He went right up to Satinka and she looked none too happy about it. He was obviously unexpected but not unknown to Satinka. Not bad looking, handsome in that “I know I am good looking, but I am such an ass” way some guys had. Very arrogant. His persona reeked of vampire. I let them chat and decided to wait until he left before approaching Satinka.

  So I slid into a booth in a secluded corner of the club, close enough to the bar I could see and hear Satinka Tala and the cocky stranger.

  “So, Devlin, what brings you to the states?” Satinka’s displeasure came across in her voice.

  “Well now, luv, you know it is you,” the stranger replied with a cockney British accent as he sidled onto a barstool.

  “Playing errand boy for the council again?”

  “Ah, luv, you are causing a stir again. The council is concerned. We do our best to stay out of human affairs but here you are playing Guardian Angel to this damned city. Why do you care so much about these people, this land?”

  “Why are we having this conversation again, Devlin? You know how I feel. This is my land. My people have lived here for thousands of years long before white people came here, long before it was Michigan or Flint. Long ago I was sworn to protect this land and the people on it.”

  Devlin laughed sarcastically and rolled his eyes while tapping his long tapered fingers on the bar. “Ah luv I have heard your little speech before.”

  Satinka’s steely gaze locked on Devlin ignoring his comment. “I was the first Winema of my tribe, the first female chief and that put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I could not stop the destruction. My power was not enough. After most of my people died, destroyed by the white man, I gave up and left, but now I am back. This is still my land and these people need me. Lonato, Flint, has been destroyed, ravaged by economic crisis and crime. I have to make it better, or at least try.”

  Devlin made a dismissive sound. “This is not your fault, and it is certainly not your responsibility. You are a vampire, not a savior. Why do you not just let this place crumble? And why Sati, luv, are you coddling your food?”

  “If all people are food to you then look at it this way, I am a farmer making the best out of my farm, my land, and my livestock so it produces the best, the strongest, and the healthiest food it can.” Satinka stood tall but her eyes reflected sadness as if knowing she was getting nowhere with Devlin.

  “But we do not need strong and healthy; we can feed from the weak, the poor, the pathetic.” Devlin shrugged uncaringly and waved away Satinka’s words as if they meant nothing.

  “You are what you eat, Devlin. Weak and downtrodden people weaken the vampire bloodlines. Plus if they die, we have no food.”

  “Humans are not dying, they reproduce constantly. Not only that, we have our synthetic blood supplies now. You are not raising these people like cattle to slaughter. You love them and care for them like pets or even worse, like equals. You make friends with them, sleep with them...” He stood up slamming his fist on the bar. “You are the disgrace Satinka, not I. I am true to my vampire nature while you pretend to still be one of them. You love them thinking they will love you back.”

  “It is not about that, Devlin. We cannot survive off of synthetic blood for long periods of time. You know that, blood with no life can lead to insanity. Synthetic blood is meant for emergencies and in between feedings so we do not have to feed from living blood as often, but it has not replaced human blood. You obviously know that very well from the smell of you. You stink of human blood.” Satinka’s eyes glowed with green fire, her fists sat tightly clenched on the bar. Her soft tinkling voice had become hard, cold and cutting. The room vibrated with an angry intensity that spilled from her. “Do not act all high and mighty with me, you of all people, are no purist. In fact, you are more of a sadist,” she spat out.

  Disturbance filled the air with a painful vibration. I had never seen Satinka Tala lose her composure before. She was stalwart, never out of line, always so calm, but this man affected her in a very negative way.

  “So what? I have sex with the humans while feeding from them. It is purely predatory. I use them and throw them away. Like toys…pure entertainment. It is bad enough the laws forbid me from killing them anymore. It was better when they did not know about us, now the government and law enforcement agencies keep an eye on us all and the Council… they are always so worried about what the humans think.”

  “That is why we should make ourselves look better in the eyes of humanity so they do not fear us and wish to destroy us. We were given this power, these gifts to do more than kill and hide in the dark.”

  Devlin threw his hands in the air with triumph. “Yes, finally something we agree on. We should be worshipped like Gods!”

  Satinka’s lip curled up into a snarl, obviously not enjoying the interaction with Devlin. “We are not agreeing on anything. I do not want to sit around and be worshipped, Devlin. That sounds very boring. I want to do something that makes a difference in this world. We have eternity; we should do something meaningful with it.”

  Devlin’s tone was scathing, “Sati, luv, one person cannot change the world. Not even a powerful vampire like yourself.”

  “No, Devlin, but perhaps many powerful beings could.”

  He sat down speechless for a moment as if pondering the things she said. “Is that why you have created your group, your little assortment of crime fighters? Your supernatural guardians, shape shifters, vampires, witches, and who knows what else, to do what the human police cannot?”

  “Yes, the humans are bound by laws that do not apply to us. It does no good to put one of us in their little cells, we escape. 'Other beings' are not so kind and they will kill to stay out of human hands, then there are humans worse than any monster that walks in the night. We go into the gray areas and take care of the bad things.” Satinka paced back and forth behind the bar apparently trying to calm herself.

  “What about all the other annoying do-gooder stuff you do? You have opened up so many businesses around here; this nightclub VAMP, the café and art gallery, and you bought all those historic houses, hotels and buildings and donated them to the university. Then there are all the scholarships you have created so local kids could go to college. It is a little too much. Some of us think you are attracting too much attention to yourself. You are in the news constantly—Flint’s Savior, Flint's Own Guardian Angel. I heard them talking about making you mayor. The council is not happy with the publicity.”

  “It is good PR. We need it now more than ever. A rogue vampire has turned into a serial killer and making headlines here.”

  Devlin stood up again his lip curling into a half sneer. “Yes, a bit too long for a killer to run free in your streets is it not? Seems you should have had that all wrapped up by now with your Guardians hard at work on the case. Or are the humans getting in your way. I hear they have hire
d a local Preternatural Liaison. Is she getting in your way?”

  “No, she is a friend.” Satinka glanced quickly to my dark little corner then turned back to Devlin. I should have known that I had not gone unnoticed. “She is old blood, a Celtic witch.”

  “Yes, I have heard. I hear Galen has his eyes on her. Is that safe, do you think?” he sneered.

  “Leave Galen out of this, Devlin. You two need to just stay the hell away from each other,” Satinka shot angrily.

  “Come now, we know Galen is not exactly balanced or stable when it comes to intimate relationships. Perhaps his past is catching up with him.” Devlin smiled widely now. He looked almost triumphant. I wondered what he had against Galen.

  “I see you are aware most of the women that have been killed recently were once Galen’s donors, but he did not do this. The Liaison will keep the police away from him while we find the real killer.”

  I gasped lightly when I heard about Galen. Damn, my own personal fantasy man used to snack on the women who had been killed. Shit! That made him a suspect. Oh Goddess, no. He couldn’t be the killer, he just couldn’t. I freaked out inside, my emotions and thoughts tumbling wildly.

  In the midst of my panic attack a cool calming breeze swept through me and suddenly I knew, in my way, the way of She Who Knows, that Galen was not the killer. I sighed with relief even as lingering doubt floated through the back of my mind.

  “Surely you are not blinded by your loyalty to him? Six months and you have not found a vampire rogue in your own back yard? I think your team is not very good or maybe you are protecting someone.” Devlin half glanced over his shoulder. “Perhaps you are protecting Galen. He has been your little pet for quite some time now has he not? We all know you helped him get rid of Ro…” he hesitated and looked around. I lowered my head as he continued, “his sire. Rumor has it Galen’s also the one who beheaded the former council leader. Quite a few of us were upset about that debacle. You would not have had anything to do with that, would you, Sati dear?”