by Megan Hawke
I followed my link with Dane to the Town East exit, turned away from the mall and into an older neighborhood. Before long I was rolling slowly towards a brick house in a nice, established neighborhood. Nice trees, anyway.
As I turned the last corner, I spotted Heidi's SUV backing out of the drive. Dane was inside, driving. He was alone. I stopped, and waited for him to come my way. I'd rather speak to Dane and Heidi separately anyway. But he surprised me by going the other way.
"Oh, decisions," I said, wanting to speak to Dane the most, but seeing an opportunity to hash it out with Heidi. Heidi won. "I can track him down afterwards."
Killing the engine before I reached her house, I coasted past the driveway and parked on the street. Even Heidi would've noticed if I rode up into their driveway.
Heidi seemed calm inside, so she didn't know I was there. Good. I wanted to surprise her. Keep her off balance, and maybe talk some reason into her bleach blonde head.
I had little hope of success, but it was worth a try.
I heard her moving around inside, humming contentedly. They had hardwood floors, because I could hear her heals clacking as she moved about. I walked up the sidewalk, looked around, and knocked on the door.
"Coming!" she sang out.
I frowned. Who did she think she was? The world's happiest housewife? Heidi had the biggest, brightest smile you could imagine when she opened the door.
It vanished immediately.
"You!"
"Me," I said. She tried to slam the door in my face, but I pushed it back open and walked past her. I paused to breathe deeply of Dane's scent. Gave me goose bumps. "You should be more careful about opening your door at night." I looked around. She had great furniture. Looked expensive. "We need to talk, Heidi."
Fear erupted deep inside her, but she didn't shrink away from me. Why should she? As she said before, and we both knew to be true, Dane would never forgive me if I hurt her. She had most of the cards, but I had a trump card or two myself.
"No, we don't. I warned you, Sable. Stay away from us. Stay away from Dane," she said.
She was Dane's age, at twenty-eight, but looked twenty when she did her makeup just right. At five foot nine, she was an inch shorter than me, but her five inch stilettos put her eye to eye with me. She also wore designer clothes and Chanel No. 5. Very irritating.
Heidi looked like she was ready for a date, in a white off the shoulder sweater, soft pink above the knee skirt, and matching shoes and belt. The diamond necklace and tennis bracelet looked expensive. But considering Dane's strong preference for early dinners, I suspected they just got back from eating out.
"You know I can't stay away. I still love him."
"He doesn't love you," she said, but I think I rattled her a tiny bit. "Can't you take a hint?"
"Yeah, but only if it is in line with what I plan to do anyway," I said, smirking. She growled in frustration, blue eyes fierce. Then she turned on a heel and stomped across the room and picked up her purse. It looked like an expensive purse. Of course it matched her belt and shoes. "I don't want to fight you, Heidi. I just think we need to clear the air. We both want Dane, and may the best – Oh."
Heidi pulled the Coeur de Sade from her purse and dangled it before me. I felt the frigid magic engulf my body, and I froze. Trapped and entranced. I couldn't take my eyes off that ruby.
"Do not move, bitch," Heidi sneered. "I know what this is. It's magical, and you have to do what I tell you to do. Don't you?"
"Yes."
"Tell me you are an ugly whore."
"I'm an ugly whore."
"What's the surest, easiest way to kill you right now?"
"Cut off my head."
"Eeww! All that blood," she said, and actually squirmed. "Yuck. Is there any way to kill you without all that blood?"
"No. Killing is messy."
"I'll think of something. Later," Heidi said, stepping up close and lifting my chin with a perfectly manicured finger. "Dane has gone to work. He won't be back for a long time. That means you and me are going to have a lot of fun."
She walked around me twice, her hand running across my breasts, through my hair, and finally across my belly.
"Fancy yourself some kind of vampire dominatrix, I see," she said.
"No."
"Really? Not what I see," Heidi said. "Kneel."
I knelt.
"Lay on your belly before me," she commanded. I obeyed. She moved her foot to within inches of my face. "Kiss my shoe." I obeyed, leaving a very nice burgundy lip print behind. "Good girl."
Heidi ordered me to all fours and then made me follow her around the living room like that, barking like a dog. It seemed to amuse her. Then she ordered me to kneel and rise up on my knees. I obeyed.
"You have the most incredible, glossy black hair I've ever seen. So soft and silky. Dane has commented on it a couple of times," Heidi said. She went into the kitchen, rummaged through the drawers a moment then returned with a wicked looking butcher knife. She smiled cruelly, gathered my hair up in a thick ponytail, and then cut it off. "Ha! Not so pretty now, are you? I'll keep this as a souvenir. Is that a problem?"
She was so smug and pleased with herself, dangling my hair before my face. I knelt there emotionless. So far, nothing she'd done or made me do was particularly noteworthy to my mind. I just obeyed. Nothing more. Nothing less. But she asked a question, forcing me to think and consider an answer.
“No problem for me,” I said, hoping that answered her question adequately.
“What?” Heidi said, looking concerned. “What does that mean? Why isn't it a problem for you that I cut off your hair?”
“It'll grow back.”
“Waist length hair doesn't just grow back. It takes years to grow hair that long,” she said.
“I've been growing it for ten years,” I said.
“Yes! So this is a problem.”
“No, I'm a vampire now,” I said. Didn't she know anything about vampires? “I can grow hair back at about an inch an hour if I want.”
“Bitch,” she snarled. She kicked me in the face. It only hurt a little bit, and only for a second. “Time to put that foul tongue to a better use. Start licking the floor clean.”
I tilted my head, not completely sure what she was commanding me to do. I looked down at the hardwood floor I was kneeling upon. They had lots of floor, no rugs. It wasn't dirty in any way or form. So if it was already clean, I didn't need to lick it clean.
“Why are you disobeying me?” she said, looking alarmed.
“The floor is already clean.”
“Then just lick it. Lick ever square inch of it,” Heidi said.
That was clear enough. I lowered my face and gave the floor a long, firm lick. The floor boards were smoother, warmer than I thought they'd be. My tongue barely discerned the wood grain patterns, but I felt the little round indentations left by high heels. There was a wonderful, piney scent to the floor, too. I rather liked it.
"That's right, bitch. Lick it," Heidi said. Really, it was more of a contemptuous sneer.
I obeyed. I gave the floor another lick. And another. Each lick just a bit over from the last, trying to cover every square inch as commanded. Slowly, but surely, I licked my way toward the wall. It didn't go fast, but she didn't specify how quickly she wanted it. So until she said otherwise, I had my pace and stuck to it.
By the time I reached the wall I understood I needed a plan. So I crawled over to the nearest corner, and began licking my way along the wall. I licked and crawled the length of that room, licking a swath of about two feet wide. Reaching the far wall I moved over and headed back the other way.
That is how it went for the next couple of hours. I finished the living room. Heidi was kind enough to move furniture for me, so I didn't miss a single square inch of floor. A friend indeed.
I was halfway through the kitchen when Dane pulled into the driveway. His arrival didn't bother me. I had a job to do, and a whole lot of floor to go. But Heidi danced around l
ike she was about to have a stroke.
“In the closet! Quick, get in the damned closet!” Heidi cried, swinging the talisman in my face. “Hurry.”
I hurried. She led me into an empty closet in a guest bedroom.
“Kneel. Don't say a word. Don't make a sound or leave the closet while Dane is here,” Heidi said in an intense whisper. “Don't do anything to let Dane know you are in here.”
She paused, frowned, and then closed the door. Was she expecting me to say something? She didn't ask me anything. But it didn't matter. My command was to remain perfectly quiet as long as Dane was in the house. I idly wondered how long I would have to kneel there before he left.
Didn't matter.
With my vampiric hearing I heard their every word.
“Whose motorcycle is that out front?” Dane said. “Doesn't Sable have a black Ninja?”
I heard Heidi's heels on that freshly licked hardwood flooring. She walked over to the front window and I felt her blood pressure rise. Heidi wasn't pleased. I guess she forgot that even vampires needed reliable transportation.
“I don't know what she drives,” Heidi said. “But I saw some kid park there right after you left. I think he went to the house across the street.”
I was impressed. Heidi was a good liar. There was hardly any change in her blood pressure or stress level as she boldly lied to Dane. Vampires could tell when mortals lied. Some mortals were better at fooling us than others. Heidi was good.
“Are you ready?” Dane said.
Heidi's stress spiked.
“Oh! Yes,” she said. She felt confused and frustrated. “I forgot.”
“Obviously,” he said, chuckling. Dane was amused. “I'll get your gym bag. I can give you the personal, one-on-one training you've been asking for.”
“Great,” Heidi said, sounding excited, but she wasn't.
I listened as they left. They got in the SUV and left. Heidi was driving. Yeah, my vampiric senses were good enough to tell that.
Now what? I thought.
My last command from Heidi was to stay in the closet and be quiet while Dane was there. I did. Dane was gone. I had fulfilled my commands.
“That bitch,” I snarled, eyes narrowing as I rose up and opened the door. I went through that house, looking for Heidi's purse. She took it. So she still had the Coeur de Sade. “You're playing a dangerous game, Heidi.”
My fists clenched and I strode out of the house. Going to my motorcycle, I started it up and considered my next move. I could just tell the council Heidi had the talisman, and they would take care of her in short order. Unfortunately, Dane would go down with her.
Not an option.
I had to deal with Heidi myself. No one else. And if anything happened to her, Dane would hate me.
Chapter 21
"She did what?" Desiree cried. She looked at my short, hacked off hair and seethed. "That bitch!"
“She's a woman in love,” I said. Noticing her attention made me run my fingers through those shorn locks. Gave me a chill. I felt kinda naked without hair. While under the talisman's power, having my beloved hair hacked off hadn't bothered me. I could grow it all back in two, three days tops. But that would require I concentrate on it. Rather more intently than I could at the time. “A spiteful woman, but still...”
“You're defending her?” Desiree said.
Desiree didn't understand my predicament. I wasn't defending Heidi. I was protecting my precarious relationship with Dane. If push came to shove, I didn't have confidence he'd pick me over Heidi. I mean, she was still alive.
“There is no defending what she did,” Brandon said. We were in Brandon's living room. “She wasn't trying to kill you because you are a vampire, as a slayer, but trying to murder you over a man. She's a jealous woman willing to commit murder, Sable.”
That made me think. I knew he was right, but I had a hard time seeing girlie-girl Heidi as a ruthless killer. True, I never really liked or trusted her, but that was because I always suspected she wanted to steal Dane away from me. And then she confirmed my hunch once while I had her mesmerized. Well, Heidi had him and intended on keeping him.
“I can't accuse her,” I said. “Not to Dane. He wouldn't believe me.”
“Bull. Call him,” Desiree said. “Tell him what Heidi did.”
“I can't prove it.”
“The proof is in her purse,” Desiree said. “Have him check her purse, and it will be settled.”
“Ha! You have a more idealized vision of Dane than I do,” I said, grinning. “Dane would love to get his hands on that talisman. What slayer wouldn't? No, I have to get the talisman away from Heidi without Dane knowing she has it.”
“I don't understand why she hasn't given it to him,” Brandon said. “That could only endear her to him.”
“Because Heidi is thinking about what Heidi wants,” Desiree said. “She wants the talisman just to deal with Sable.”
The front window exploded. I ducked as glass showered us and an unknown person surged through it. I couldn't feel him, so he was a vampire. A second later countless bats flooded through that shattered window.
“Bat Man!” I cried. I reached for my pistol. He stood before us in his black pants and trailduster. “Run!”
“You people are driving me crazy!” Bat Man said. He locked eyes with Desiree, and she was mesmerized. “Where is this Heidi with the Coeur de Sade?”
“I don't know,” Desiree said.
That surprised me. Then I remembered: I told her everything but where Dane and Heidi were going. That alone might save Dane's life.
“No!” I cried. I shot Bat Man dead center in the chest. Then I shot him in the head, but neither shot fazed him. How old was he? “Leave her alone!”
“Where does she live?” Bat Man demanded.
“Mesquite,” Desiree said.
I was horrified as she was forced to give Heidi's address. I resolved to never tell her anything again. Dane would walk into an ambush. Bat Man was crazy and would gladly kill them both to retrieve the talisman for Antoinette.
“Bastard!” I cried, pumping one bullet after another into him as I charged him. Bat Man laughed, turned, and jumped out the window. He vanished within that mass of bats that swirled around him. “No!”
In less than a minute all of the bats flew out the window and were gone. I just stood there a moment and stared out into the darkness. He couldn't morph into a bat with all of that blessed silver I shot into him, but his pet bats carried him away.
“How does he do that?” Brandon said, awestruck.
I pulled out my cell and dialed Dane's cell. He had to be warned that Bat Man was after him. How would I do that without betraying the fact Heidi had the talisman?
“I don't know. He has some strange power over bats,” I said. Dane's phone was off, and it went straight to voice mail. I cursed and hung up without leaving a message. I fought the urge to crush my own phone. Why did people buy cell phones, and then turn them off? “I've never heard of anything like that before.”
“Not that,” Brandon said. “I've heard of the animal thing before.”
He had? I didn't recall a single reference to such a thing in anything I ever read about vampires.
“Clothes,” Desiree said, nodding. “How does he morph his clothes?”
I didn't know Dane's home number, or Heidi's cell number. Yeah, I would call Heidi to warn her. I don't know why, other than a natural aversion to allowing people to be killed by vampires. And to maybe save Dane in the process.
“Yeah,” Brandon said. I glanced at him. Annoyed. Why were they yammering away about clothes? Didn't they understand Dane was in grave danger? He continued, “I've heard some vampires can do that, but I've never seen it.”
“Antoinette can do it,” Desiree said. “And so can Yuan Kwang.”
She had my attention now. What could Antoinette do? And who was that other guy she mentioned?
“Yuan Kwang?” I said, the name seemed vaguely familiar.
“
The Chinese council member,” Desiree said. “He's almost as old as Antoinette.”
“I heard Vanessa Mancera could also,” Brandon said.
“Never met her,” Desiree said.
"What are y'all talking about?" I said.
"Bat Man can morph his clothes, so can turn into bat and not lose the clothes he is wearing," Desiree said. "Didn't you notice?"
"I noticed how the bats all carried him away," I said. "No vampire can morph with silver bullets inside his body."
"When he arrived, he came through the window as a bat and then changed to human," Brandon said. "It was awesome."
It was, but I didn't have the time or inclination to consider it. Dane was in danger. And equally frightening to me, Antoinette was on the brink of getting her greedy paws on the Coeur de Sade. We were all in a lot of trouble if that happened. Truth was, after experiencing the talisman's power I was afraid for anyone to possess it.
"Get dressed Desiree," I said. "We're leaving. Now."
"Why?"
"It's not safe for you here," I said. "Bat Man knows you are my friend. If he doesn't find Heidi and the talisman fast enough, he may come back for you. Get dressed. Fast."
It didn't take long. She was wearing gray sweat pants and a red sweat shirt with the collar cut out. The pants were snug, but the shirt was kinda oversized. She still looked amazing in them. All she needed to do was slip on a pair of running shoes and she was ready.
Outside we had a brief discussion about whether to take her car or my motorcycle. In the end it was decided that having both vehicles available would be best. So Desiree followed me off into the night.
I made a beeline straight to the gym. It was still early enough Dane should be teaching Heidi. I had to get to her before Bat Man.
The parking lot was three-quarters full. We found two parking places, on opposite sides of the building. Just in case. Desiree's idea. Made me wonder what all she'd been through in her short life. I was more rattled by the events going down than she was, and she was pretty easy to kill in comparison.
"Bat," Desiree whispered, looking around wild-eyed. I realized she was right, and unnatural number of bats were flying around the parking lot. "He followed us."