Amy and I walked to the table and pulled up chairs. “Good to see you again, Jackson.” I said. “What’s going on that you needed us early?”
“We’ve found out that the two vampires who Becca’s staying with are planning to skip town.” Jackson said. “Apparently, someone took out a vampire last night. One of Ishmael’s deputies pulled an execution job in the middle of the night, and a lot of the vampires are freaking.”
I mentally winced, and tried not to let it show. “Wow, really? Okay, so, we go in fast then, I guess?” I asked. “What’s the plan?”
“The plan is simple. Tyler, Robby, and I will go in, with you two bringing up the rear. We’ll make a show of force, and hopefully they’ll just chicken out and let us take Becca home.”
“Is she being held there against her will?” Amy asked.
“Practically.” Tyler’s voice bubbled in a low growl. “They’ve got her hooked on Bliss. She can’t even make a conscious decision anymore.”
“It’s an aggressive intervention.” Jackson said. “As her brother, Tyler more than has the right to do this.”
“Seriously?” I turned to Amy.
She nodded. “Indeed. Pack laws state that, if Becca is an unmated female, she is under the protection of her male relatives. Even vampires must respect that. Or, rather, they should.”
“All right,” I nodded.”Well, let’s get this all taken care of. Lead the way, guys.”I said.
All three weres stood. Robby seemed a head shorter than either Tyler or Jackson, but he still was a big guy, more wide than tall. They all cut impressive figures, I would admit that much.
We walked out of the restaurant, into the more residential areas of the Covens. We stopped in front of a building several stories tall, with a new age shop in the bottom floor. Jackson bypassed the stairs up to the apartments above, walking straight to the shop’s owner.
“Hey there, kid.” He said to the employee behind the counter, a lanky guy in his early twenties with bleached dreads. The difference between the two was extreme, almost. Where Jackson was tall, muscular, and professional, the kid behind the counter wasn’t.
The blond kid nodded. “Uh, hi.” He fidgeted with his hands. “How can I help you?”
Jackson reached into his jacket, withdrawing a picture. “I’m looking for this girl. Name of Becca Young. She would have been here with two vampires.”
“Uh, yea,” The kid nodded. “She’s been staying with them for the past few days. What’s going on?”
Jackson flashed his teeth. Maybe it was some subtle change on his part, or Jackson was just really good about hiding it, but his canines were fangs. Unlike a vampire’s needle-sharp fangs, they were thick, like an animal’s. “It’s none of your business, vanilla.” He growled. “Which room?”
“Listen, I don’t want to be the cause of any trouble.” The store clerk said. “I don’t-“
Jackson didn’t wait for an answer. He grabbed the kid by his shirt and pulled him over the counter. “Tell me, you miserable little punk, or you’re taking a trip through the counter.”
That was my breaking point. I didn’t want some innocent kid to get his face smashed in. I took a step forward, approaching Jackson and the kid. “Listen, just tell him what he wants to know.” I said. “We’ll be on our way, and that’ll be the end of it. All right?”
The kid nodded. “Right. They’re on the third floor, first door on the left.”
“Thank you.” Jackson said and dropped him. The kid sprawled over the counter, whispering to whatever deity he believed in. “Come on, guys.” He stormed off through the door back towards the stairs.
The other two weres, Amy, and I followed him up the stairs. Amy and I brought up the rear. “Eric,” Amy whispered.”Thank you for doing that. The last thing we needed was assault charges.”
“I didn’t think about that.” I said. “I was just thinking about that kid. He didn’t need to get his face smashed in over this.”
Robby, the were we had just met, said. “If he hadn’t talked? Yea, he did. This is how the pack works.”
“And when the cops come? What then?” I asked.
“There are answers to that.”
I started wondering, suddenly, whether I had just signed on with the mafia. Was this what this was? Some induction ceremony? I was starting to wonder what I was getting myself into.
We reached the third floor. The apartments were certainly not pristine. Even the hallway had seen better days. The walls had once been eggshell-white, but had browned with years and stains. There was a general stench of bodily fluids, with burnt cooking and some other funky smells mixed in.
We headed to the first door on the left, and Jackson slammed his fist into the door so hard it sounded like he was about to break the door off its hinges.
“Jeez, is this how weres knock?” I deadpanned
“When we’re on business, yea.” Tyler murmured. “Let us do the talking now, all right?”
The door opened up, and a small-willowy woman answered. She was pale, the ivory I’d come to associate with vampires who hailed from European stock. She had messy black hair, cut short. “Can I help you?” She asked.
“I want to talk to Becca.” Jackson said, without any pretense.
“Becca?” She smiled, innocently. “Why, I don’t think there’s anyone here by that name.”
His nostrils flared, sniffing. “I can smell her, you know.”
“Well, she certainly doesn’t want to see you.” She turned back inside. “Becca, say if you want to see whoever this is.” She paused a moment, for dramatics’ sake. “Why, she doesn’t want to see you.”
Jackson bared his fangs. “You should be really careful, vampire. We aren’t bound by your need for an invitation to enter your home.” He took a step towards the door. “Let us in.”
“Hey, baby,” A male voice with a Hispanic accent spoke from the apartment. “Let the puppies in. What’s the harm?”
“Rico,” The female hissed. “You can obviously see the harm in-“
The door opened, with a tall Latino’s hand on it. He was stacked, and he had some tattoos I was pretty sure were gang-related. “Come on in,” We all filed in.
The apartment was small, littered with clothes and dirty dishes. There was some rap music playing on a radio in the kitchen, and the windows were open. The main thing I noticed, though, was the smell of Bliss. Back a few years ago, Terry had made all of the bartenders attend a class about the supernatural drug, and the scent had been one of the most distinctive traits of the narcotic. It had a sweet, almost floral smell to it, and it tended to stick with you.
“So, where's Becca?” I asked Rico. “Can we see her?”
“Becca's sleeping.” He flashed a smile. “Don't worry, we've taken care of her.”
“Turned her into an addict, perhaps.” Amy said, with malice in her tone. “But you have taken care of her.”
“Where did you dig her up?” The female vampire casted a disapproving look towards Amy.
“An alley near State.” I deadpanned. “Can we see Becca?”
“Insistent, isn't he?” She remarked.
Rico chuckled. “Yea, he is, Julia.”
Julia sighed. “She's in the bedroom, but asleep. I don't wish to wake her.”
“You'll show us to her.” Tyler said. “Now.”
Rico took a step forward. “Hey, what's the big deal?”
“It's Becca's brother.” Julia said. “You know how the pups get over their brood.”
“Call me a pup again, and I'll show you your insides, vampire.”
The three weres had a primal, aggressive sort of aura around them. Each one of them looked ready to attack, either with a weapon or their bare fists. The vampires, however, were more subtle. The changes in their body language weren't as notable, but they were crouching just slightly, coiling their muscles.
I didn't want this to get messy. I'd seen how vampires could fight last night. Teresa had been fast and tough. I didn't want to see
what two cornered vampires, who knew what was coming, could do in this situation.
“Hey,” I said, taking a step forward in between the two groups. “Rico, Julia, we just want to see her, and take her home. You really want this to get nasty? It can get nasty. You're outnumbered five to two, and we all mean business. Cut your losses, and let us take Becca home.”
Julia was about to protest, but Rico stopped her. “Easy. Fine, we'll play it like that.” He said. “Take the girl. She's in the bedroom.” He gestured to a door on the far side of the living room.
Jackson nodded to me. “Eric, take Amy and go get her. We'll stay out here with these two.” He had his eyes locked on Rico, a predator's glare. I looked back to Amy, and nodded. The two of us walked to the bedroom door, and I opened it up.
Becca, or who I could only assume was Becca, was lying on the bed. She was a pretty girl, a very pretty one. She had dark hair, just with enough curls for it to be wavy in an alluring way. Even sleeping, she had a grace to her, feminine and powerful. She wore a silk robe, loosely tied, leaving her neck and breasts exposed. There were marks on them, bites like the one I had on my neck.
I walked to the side of the bed and crouched over it. “Becca? Rebbecca Young?”
The woman stirred. “That's my name...” She murmured, rolling a little on the bed. Her voice was a soft purr, almost luxurious in its pleasure.
“Becca, I'm Eric, and this is Amy.” I gestured to my guardian, standing at the foot of the bed.”
“We are here to take you home.” Amy said. “Do you know where you are?”
Becca shook her head. “All I remember are the two vampires, and feeling really good.” A little sloppy grin crossed her features.
“It is the Bliss.” Amy looked up to me. “Come on, you grab her right arm, I will grab her left.” We both moved to pick her up, but a crash came from outside the bedroom. “Eric, go check it out. I'll take care of Becca.”
I ran out of the door, only to find that the tension had broken. The melee was just beginning, but already Robby was on the ground, holding a bloody face. Rico and Jackson were in a grapple, and Julia and Tyler were taking swipes at each other. “Oh, Jesus Christ.” I rolled my eyes.
There was no safe way to get Becca out of here now. I certainly didn't want to fight my way out right now, especially with a loopy werewolf in tow. But at the moment, there seemed to be little choice in the matter.
I drew the pistol, chambered a round, and fired it into the kitchen. “Everyone, stop!” I yelled. I think the gun must have made their decision to shut up and stop. I don't believe I'm that scary. “I don't care if you're undead, a werewolf, werebear, or freaking Tinkerbell. I'll shoot the next one of you who punches someone else.”
They all looked at me, almost in disbelief. “Shit,” Jackson growled, and he reached down to help Robby up.
“Who hit first?” I asked.
“They did,” Tyler said almost immediately.
“Only because they went for our supply.” Julia hissed. “You just wanted the girl. Didn't know you were here on official gang business to raid our place.”
Maybe I had misjudged Jackson. Here I thought he was just doing this out of the kindness of his heart. But he saw the Bliss, and he made a move on it. A little voice in my head told me this was what I got for dealing with criminals.
“Jackson, you're not touching the drugs. I don't care, really, but you said we were just here for Becca. If I find out you lied to me, I'll hex you.” I had no idea if I could hex someone, or to what extent that could work. It sounded like a good threat, though, and Jackson flinched just for a moment.
Amy came out of the bedroom, helping Becca along. The female were had an arm over Amy's shoulders, and my guardian had a look of displeasure on her face. “The things I do..” She murmured.
“All right, everyone. We're leaving now. I am not going to-”
I was cut off by the growl of a dog. No, not a dog, a wolf. Robby was no longer on the floor. Instead, on top of a pile of clothes, there was a big, gray wolf. It had its fangs bared, and was already looking to pounce.
“Where's Robby?” I whispered.
“That is Robby.” Amy's voice was quiet, fearful. “No, no..” The large wolf pounced, lunging at Rico. Chaos broke out. In a matter of seconds, the wolf had taken a hunk of flesh from Rico's side, and Julia was on the wolf, pulling it away from the male vampire. They went crashing into the kitchen, sending things flying everywhere. One of them, a water bottle, came flying straight at me.
I didn't have time to duck. Instead, I got hit in the face by the liquid it had in it. It was flora, sweet. I didn't realize until it was too late I'd gotten hit by Bliss.
My senses went into overload, and my vision went black. The first thing I remembered was that everything seemed just more acute. The growls of Robby's wolf, the sounds of the fight. Amy was shaking me, but it seemed to be like an earthquake. “Eric, Eric, snap out of it. Snap out of it. I need your help, Eric.”
Slowly, though, my senses started to fade. Eventually, I was left in just a wonderful, hazy state. Nothing seemed to matter. Not the fight going on outside my head, not that we needed to get out of there. The only thing that mattered was just how peaceful I felt, and that I didn't want it to end.
Chapter 19
I couldn't tell how long I was out of it. The next thing I honestly remembered, I was in a bed. I was in a bedroom, with the lights on. The bed was a large one, obviously made for a couple. I certainly didn't recognize the decor, though. It was homely, the type of bed where someone puts way too many pillows on it. I never understood that.
My vision was hazy at first, but slowly started to clear up. There was only one other person in the room, and they looked to be sitting on the bed.
“You smell funny, Mister.” It was a kid, a girl. I studied her for a moment. She was a cute kid, maybe about four or five, with auburn hair hanging messily around her shoulders. Her green eyes were alive with energy. She looked back towards the door and yelled. “Daaaad, he's awake!”
I forced myself to sit up. The ringing in my head didn't agree with it, but I forced that particular sensation away from the front. “Dad? Who's your dad, kid?”
“That'd be me.” Jackson stood in the door way, leaning on the frame. “Hey, Eric. I see you're at least awake. That's surprising, with how much Bliss you got hit by.”
“Uh, how much?” I asked him.
The little girl hopped off the bed, hustling to her father's side. He scooped her up with one hand. “Give me a moment. I don't want to discuss business in front of the kid.” He left the room.
I rubbed at my forehead with a hand, trying to ease the ache. I started to wonder where Amy was. The reasonable part of me guessed that someone had been hurt in the fight, and she was attending to them. All that, hopefully, happened to me was I got a hit of a drug. It had looked like a real brawl was starting when I had passed out.
Jackson was back in a moment. He wasn't wearing the leather and jeans any more. Instead, he was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, with an unbuttoned flannel shirt covering that. “Your friend Amy really proved herself. She got both you and Becca out of the apartment. How, I have no clue. But once you were both out, Tyler carried you out to the street before the cops showed up. Cops don't usually go to the Covens, but we couldn't take the chance.”
“How much Bliss?” I murmured.
“You know how a cotton swab is supposed to be enough to get you high and give you the wildest night of your life?” He asked. I nodded, remembering that Saturday morning class vaguely. “You got hit with enough to start an orgy.”
“How the heck am I not dead?”
“Amy explained it as your metabolism.” He said. “I mean, you should have been out for a day, but it's only been a few hours. Lucky you.”
“Yea, lucky me.” I murmured. “You've got a cute kid there.” I said.
“Yea, Abby's a grace. She's got my nose, and she's been asking about what you are ever since I brought you
here.”
I furrowed my brow. “You didn't tell her?”
“No, man.” He said. “I considered what would happen if it got out that you were a witch. I'm not a bad guy here, Eric. The last thing I'd want to put on a man is a witch hunt.”
“Thanks, I guess.” I said, and slowly started to pick myself up off the bed. “So where's Amy?”
“She's in the living room. She's been looking after Becca. She says she's going to have a bad case of withdrawal from the Bliss, but that's about it.”
“What about Tyler and Robby?”
“Robby, for that little shift, is going to get a very severe...talking to. We don't shift like that in public. Robby pulled something equivalent to waving around an assault rifle in the middle of a street.”
“Great,” I deadpanned. “Glad to know that's at least turning out well.” I stood up on the floor. My boots were next to the bed, and I tugged them on.
“Yea, thanks to you guys.” Jackson said. “Seriously, I owe you one.”
I paused a moment, wondering if I should say it. It needed to be said, however, at least to me. I walked right up to Jackson, and found myself looking up just a little to him. “Jackson, the Bliss. Were you expecting to find it there?”
“We knew they were dealers. It would logically follow they had some in their lair.”
“And you went for it. You said it was just for Becca, and you made me look like a liar when you guys went for the Bliss after I said we just wanted her.” I looked right into his eyes. “Were you there to get the Bliss too?”
He didn't flinch, or pause. “It was considered a secondary objective.”
That was what I needed to know. As nice as Jackson might seem, he was a dangerous man. Were politics were not something I wanted to get involved with. I had to be careful about how I called in my favor with Jackson.
“Lie to me like that again,” I whispered. “And you'll find that I'm not as good a friend. And I am a guy you want to keep as a friend.”
“I'll keep that in mind, Eric.” He said. Jackson didn't bat an eye. I guessed that was a gift of his, or maybe weres in general.
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