Logan blinked. “Wait. You picked who’d be first?”
“Well, I told him I’d declare myself his ally when he put the first shifter on a Council seat.” I fluffed my hair, using the mirror over my dresser. “Thorandryll asked if I had a preference, and since I only know three shifter leaders, I picked the Rex.”
“Why him?” Logan stood. He didn’t seem upset, just curious.
“Nick’s dad is a pompous ass. Terra’s still settling into being Queen. You told me the Rex was tough, but fair.” I shrugged, checking my teeth for lipstick. There weren’t any smudges. “And I like him, so I picked him.”
“Good decision.”
I smiled in the dresser mirror. “Thank you.”
“We’re going to be late.”
“Ooh.” I dashed back into the closet, and came out with a purple gift bag. “Almost forgot.”
Logan raised his eyebrows. “Who is that for?”
“Tase. Look,” I showed him the bag’s contents. “What do you think?”
“I bet he’ll love them.”
Logan drove to the Barrows, and we walked to Derrick’s. Once there, a liveried attendant guided us from the front door to the end of the great hall. There, tall glass doors stood open, allowing us to hear the soft strains of some instrumental piece. He paused at the door, gesturing for us to step through. “Lady Discordia Jones and Mr. Logan Sayer, Protector of the White Queen.”
The announcement of our arrival swiveled heads. I whispered, “Ain’t we fancy?”
Logan chuckled, patting my hand, which was tucked over his forearm. We walked down three steps, and I looked around the room. It was an indoor garden, with one large seating group in the center, and smaller ones scattered about, among nooks surrounded by trees and other plants. Conservatory? I thought that might be the correct term.
Aside from not being vampires, we fit in. The women wore simple cocktail dresses, and most of the men were in suits. A few wore dressy shirts and breeches tucked into heavily polished boots.
Derrick met us within a few feet of the steps. “I’m pleased you were able to come. Here.” He collected a couple glasses of champagne from a hovering servant, and handed them to us. “Come, let me introduce you around.”
“Thank you.” I noticed there were a few humans circulating, dressed in black pants and sleeveless, snug-fitting maroon vests. The one closest to us had fresh fang marks on her forearm. She was smiling, and seemed cheerful, so I kept my mouth shut.
Our host followed my line of sight and smiled. “Willing volunteers, I assure you. I don’t coerce my donors into serving my guests.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“And I appreciate your restraint.”
The next hour was spent meeting the few dozen vamps in between cooing over rare plants. Logan impressed me with his ability to carry on a conversation about rare plants such as Lignum vitae and Guaiacum santum, or Tree of Life and Holywood.
All of the vamps behaved like nice, normal people, if I discounted the tendency for odd turns of phrase, some weird slang, and the somewhat stilted formality. Probably because we were there, those who partook of the living refreshments did so discreetly.
It did become slightly uncomfortable once we sat, and along with Stone, were served a small array of finger foods. The other guests gathered around and watched. They weren’t exactly staring, just...paying definite attention while continuing their conversations.
Derrick quietly tut-tutted, and that appeared to embarrass those who were more obvious about watching us eat. “Being unable to enjoy solid food has resulted in a certain fascination with watching others enjoy it.”
“Oh.” For a few seconds, I toyed with the idea of putting on a show for them. Making a big production of nibbling, and maybe do a bit of moaning. Throw in a faux O face or two.
My thoughts of mischief must’ve been all over my face, because Logan pressed his leg to mine. His tiny smile creases were showing at the corners of his eyes. “Whatever you’re planning, please don’t.”
“Darn.” Thwarted, I smiled and reached for another caviar-laden cracker. Our host certainly hadn’t stinted on the quality goodies for the three of us. I noticed the volunteer donors had gone, and wondered if they were being fed elsewhere.
Was there a point to this party? I could ask, but the congenial atmosphere made it more fun to speculate. It could be Derrick’s idea of desensitization, but whether it was intended for his friends or me, I had no clue. Maybe he just wanted all of us to meet.
Around nine o’clock, the soirée began breaking up. I’d had three glasses of champagne, far too much caviar, and was feeling pretty darn warm and fuzzy inside. I even remembered a few names without prompting, as some of the guests took their leave before we did.
Derrick walked us to the front door. “I do hope you enjoyed yourselves this evening. It was a pleasure to have you both here.”
“I never thought I’d have fun hanging out with vampires. But it was fun. Thank you.” I let Logan help me into my tiger coat. “I’ve thought about asking you for dinner, but the menu planning sort of stumped me.”
“I’d provide my own nourishment. Bottled, of course.”
A giggle escaped me when he winked, and I gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll let you know.”
“Wonderful.”
We made our good-byes and outside, I hugged Logan’s arm. “That was way more fun than Thorandryll’s ball.”
“It was.” He kissed the tip of my nose when I tilted my head back. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Not doing whatever it was that had you grinning earlier, when you were thinking about doing it. Which was what?”
I laughed. “Have you seen When Harry Met Sally?”
“Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t do that. They’d have lined up to try and steal you away.” He grinned. “But it would’ve been hilarious.”
Tase was on the lookout for us, sitting between the front legs of one of the gate’s parrot-beaked guards. Upon spotting us, he launched himself airborne with a gleeful squeal, but politely landed on my forearm when I held it up. “Hi! I hoped you’d come to see me tonight.”
“And here we are. Hello.” I showed him the gift bag. “We brought you a present.”
There I went with the cutesy couple thing again. Logan didn’t seem to mind.
“You did?” Tase’s spade-tipped tail flicked straight out behind him, and quivered.
“Yup. You can open it once we sit down.” It took a couple minutes to walk to the table and benches. Tase spread his tiny wings for balance, stroking my coat sleeve and remarking upon its softness.
I felt pleased as heck when the tiny fella dove into the bag, and dragged his gifts out with exclamations of delight. There were two: a soft, floppy, foot-tall brown teddy bear, and a much smaller, green one.
“One to snuggle, one to be snuggled by.”
Sitting on the bigger teddy, Tase hugged the green one. It was the smallest teddy bear I could find, about two inches tall. “Thank you. I will take good care of them.”
A click turned our attention to Logan, who lowered his phone. “Sorry. The cuteness overwhelmed me. I’ll send you the pic.”
“What’s a pic?” Tase was excited as Logan showed him the picture. “That’s me!”
There was nothing for it then, we had to do an impromptu photo shoot. Logan obliged, snapping away, as the baby gargoyle and I posed, made funny faces at each other, and enjoyed acting silly together.
Eventually, we settled down. Tase clutched the green bear, using the bigger one as a couch, and gravely informed me that his lessons were going well. “I made my first charm.”
“You did? That’s great.” I ignored the click from the other side of the table. Logan was obviously stuck in photographer mode. “What’s it for?”
“Good luck.” Tase lowered his head, and shyly peeked up at me. “I made it for you. I’ll go get it.”
“Okay.” I watched him fly off, and Logan leaned acro
ss the table.
“I think he may have a crush on you.”
“It’s mutual. He’s just about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.”
He fluffed the bigger teddy bear’s middle. “He is.”
I looked at the sky, and realized there was a full moon. “The moon here doesn’t affect you?”
“No, only the true moon does. Which reminds me, I’ll be busy on the night of the 22nd.”
“Does that mean that pocket realms are kind of like holograms?”
“The skies basically are, if they’re not set to Earth normal like ours is.”
Tase reappeared, carrying a bright green, small cloth square. “Here it is.”
I took the material, and saw that it was actually a bag. The contents felt a bit lumpy, and it was sewn shut, so I couldn’t peek at them. “May I ask what’s in it?”
He sat up, folding his bitty paws together, and began to recite the ingredients. “There’s a tiger’s eye, ginseng, vetivert, a bayberry leaf, and dried bluebell.”
“You missed one,” Logan told him, and the gargoyle wrinkled up his face. “Catnip.”
“Oh.” Tase nodded. “And catnip.”
A good luck charm that was on the cat-centric side. “Well, thank you. I’ll keep it with me all the time.”
“What else have you learned?” Logan asked him.
Tase moved until he could see both of us, holding his folded paw pose. “Mama’s teaching me about all the different things that can be used in charms, potions, and spells. Blood is the most powerful, tears are second, while hair and skin are third. Mama says other bodily fluids don’t work very well.”
I made a note to start asking for ingredients before I drank any more potions or remedies. “Why is that?”
“They don’t work well because they’re tainted by food and drink ingestion. Or because of the contamination,” he carefully sounded that word out. “In the air. She says that’s why no one has to worry about mucus, vomit, or their potty.”
“What about nail clippings?”
He rubbed his nose. “Those can be used, like skin.”
I nodded, but had to ask, “Wouldn’t tears be contaminated or tainted as well?”
Tase shook his head, his tiny mane fluttering. “Tears are different. They’re liquid emotion.”
My new thing learned for the day. “What can they be used for?”
“Good or ill. Mama says if you put happy tears in a tonic, it will lift the spirits of the one who drinks it.”
I wondered how often tears were used, because how easy was it to collect them? What did you do, walk up to someone who was bawling, hold a jar under their eyes, and ask them what they were feeling? “That’s fascinating. You’re learning a lot.”
Tase puffed out his chest, wrinkling his wee snout into a grin. “I am a sponge.”
“You certainly are.” I bent and kissed the top of his head.
TWENTY-THREE
“The dreaded end of the date is looming.” Logan tapped the horn at the driver in front of us, who was weaving a bit. “Or is it?”
“I don’t know. This hand,” I held up my left hand and pretended it was a puppet. “Says we should keep going. But this one,” I lifted my right. “Says we’ve been getting to bed late a lot, and should get some sleep.”
“What do they say to an offer of snuggling, and being, or having, an overnight guest?”
“Hm.” I turned both hands to face me, pretended they were talking. “Well, Lefty reminded me that our pack is at your house. Righty just keeps repeating one word: bed.”
Logan was grinning. “What if I drop you and your hands off at your house, go pick up the dogs and an overnight bag?”
“What do you say, guys?” I made my hands nod. “They say yes.”
“Great.”
I turned Lefty to look at him, and tried to mimic my dad’s voice. “No hanky panky, Mr. Sayer.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Lefty.”
I dropped my hands. “That’s okay, right?”
Logan smiled. “Of course it is.”
“I don’t want you to think,” I halted, unable to find the right words.
“I don’t think anything except you’re tired. Righty said so.”
“Okay.” The new relationship factor was in full effect. I wanted to spend every possible second with him, but I had done that with my first two boyfriends. Both times had ended with me as a sleep-deprived, over-emotional, rattle-brained mess.
We already spent a lot of time together, and it was far too early to consider asking him to move in. Whoa, did I just think that? I really was a goner.
“You’re smiling.”
“I am.” Because I was happy, in love, beginning to live up to my responsibilities, and had finally taken charge of my life.
And it was going way better than I’d ever hoped it might.
Unfortunately, an early bed time and falling asleep quickly didn’t make for a restful night. My dreams were chaotic and dark. Then my psychometry visions of the crimes came back to haunt me in full color, holding me frozen as a witness to Mr. Pettigrew’s horrible death.
I woke up screaming and crying, disturbing Logan’s sleep. He calmed and cuddled me, purring softly, until I fell back to sleep. Another nightmare filled in the time between then and morning. I had to find a gold ball. People were trying to kill me to keep me from being successful. I had to fight and kill them first, because it was important that I find the ball before they did.
I didn’t find the damn ball before I woke, and felt snappish and sullen until I’d downed a couple cups of coffee. Logan let me be, taking the dogs out for their morning constitutional, and feeding them breakfast.
He poured himself a cup of coffee once they were crunching away. “Feeling any better yet?”
“Yeah. Sorry for waking you up and being so bitchy this morning.” I felt like crap, and had the feeling I looked like it too.
“You didn’t sleep well. I can be a huge grump when I don’t sleep well, too.” Logan went to the fridge. “Doesn’t look like I’ll be getting another cooking lesson here this morning. Pretty bare in there.”
Not feeling up to a grocery shopping trip, I suggested we go out for breakfast. Leglin, sensing my unsettled mood, volunteered to take his pack members to doggy daycare, and I agreed. “That would be a big help. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He wagged his tail when I hugged him. I hugged all of them before the hound gathered them together and poofed away.
As we were headed out the door, Logan asked, “Do you want to drive today?”
“Yeah, I do.” I hadn’t gotten my beloved chariot out in a few days. Between the doggy hugs, his understanding, and being behind the wheel, my mood rose.
Damian called as we finished breakfast. “There was another break-in last night. A bank, and they didn’t follow their usual modus operandi.”
“How so?” I pushed Logan’s debit card back to him, and put mine with the bill, mouthing “my treat.” He nodded, and traded the card for a five, placing it under my card.
“They killed a rent-a-cop, and broke into the vault, but it doesn’t appear telekinesis was used for the vault’s door.”
I smiled at our waitress as she took the payment. “Are you sure?”
“It was opened, but not damaged.”
“You know, I can pick simple locks with my TK.”
Damian sighed. “I really wish you wouldn’t share that kind of thing. I am with the police, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah. What I’m saying is, if I can do that, surely someone with a few hundred years or whatever of experience can manage to break into a bank vault.”
“Right, but why bother? Why change what was working?”
“Don’t know. But I do want to know why didn’t you call us last night?” I accepted my card and signed the receipt.
“Because,” he drew the word out, “we’ve reached the limit of how much help you can give us. The perps don’t touch anything. That only leaves the remai
ns or personal effects of the victims for you to touch, and so far, that hasn’t resulted in images of the perpetrators. Oh, and you tend to bleed, blister, and occasionally, fly into walls when you touch those things. If that’s not unsettling enough, the screaming is.”
“Sorry.” I sighed. “Want us to come in?”
“Go ahead. You can look at the photos. Maybe you or Logan will see something we haven’t.”
“Okay, we’re on our way.” I ended the call, dropped my phone into my coat pocket, and put my card away. A flash of bright green inside my purse caught my eye. I pulled out the good luck charm Tase had given me, and transferred it to the pocket of my jeans.
Logan watched and asked, “Think that’ll help?”
“Don’t know, but it certainly can’t hurt.” We left the restaurant hand in hand.
“See?” Damian spread out the photos of the vault’s door. “Not a scratch on it. Do you really think one of them was able to use TK to unlock it?”
I studied the photos, and shrugged. “Looks kind of complicated to me. I couldn’t pick it open.”
“One of them could be a master thief,” Dane suggested. He’d met us in the parking lot, having driven Logan’s truck. He was feeling mopey, but I didn’t blame him. At least he was making the effort to take his mind off his breakup.
“Sure, what else do vamps spend their time doing?” Dodson snorted.
I frowned at the photos. “They didn’t have electronic locks back in the day. Have there been a lot of night-time bank robberies? He’d have to practice.”
“Jones, we haven’t had a bank robbery in Santo Trueno since Prohibition.” Schumacher wagged his finger at us. “And no, I wasn’t on the force then.”
I’d had to practice for months before my ability to unlock doors and padlocks had gained any kind of reliability. I still couldn’t manage combination locks. A frown took hold, and I looked the photos over again. Something began to wiggle in my brain, practically begging me to pay attention to it.
“The Thieves’ Stick,” I said, my thoughts a confused jumble. One rose to the top, something Sal had recently said: What appears obvious isn’t always the truth.
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