“Have you heard anything else?” I asked.
She shook her head as we walked through the grand gateway into the darkness of the Quarter.
I tried not to contemplate my dream about the blackness and the danger—about Rasputin. Nightmares didn’t mean anything; it was just a bad dream.
I followed Grace, and tried not to look around too much or draw a lot of attention to myself—although part of me was relieved to see other vampires out wandering about.
Vampire’s eyes still threw me off: they were all iris and no pupil, in deep swirling colors that pulled you in and made it hard to look away. Boude’s eyes were a startling emerald green, and Grace’s were the dripping, rich color of honey amber, just like those of her maker, Andreas. Well, at least Grace’s remaining eye was. That was another thing about Rasputin: his eyes were not a lovely enchanting color, they were simply black, empty, and evil.
Lost in my own thoughts, I was brought back to myself when Grace stopped to knock on Andreas’s door. The delicate blonde vamp opened the door gingerly, and then held it open for us. He and Grace exchanged casual hellos, and then he turned to me and gave a smile.
“Hi, Helena. I haven’t seen you since Boude and Grace told you they were bed buddies,” Andreas grinned, trying to get a reaction out of me. He was pretty decent guy overall, but he did like to stir the proverbial pot.
I remembered all too well the last time that I had been here. They had just returned from their mission to rescue Rasputin. I was upset and in shock at what had happened to Grace’s face, and was already angry at Boude for not watching out for her. Then Andreas encouraged them to go ahead and tell me everything, like the fact that they had been sleeping together. It hadn’t bothered me because Boude and I were casual lovers, it bothered me that I felt like Boude was taking advantage of Grace’s naivety. I was past that now—well, mostly.
I grinned back at Andreas with a look in my eye that told him I knew exactly what he was trying to do. “It seems I’m always seeing you under less than ideal circumstances.”
Grace chimed in, “Still nothing?”
Andreas turned to her and shook his shoulder length golden locks. “Nothing at all.”
“Do you have any idea what could be going on? Have you heard of any other vampires going missing?” I asked him.
“Not that I’m aware of. I mean Rasputin always acts a little shady, but he never tells me what he’s up to.” Andreas leaned back against the counter in his kitchen and crossed his arms and ankles. He always looked like he was posing for an upscale men’s magazine. He was lovely to look at, whether you were a man or a woman, though he preferred it when the men were the ones looking.
“I know he’s at the center of this. He has to be.” I bit my lip and hoped there was a way to figure all of this out. “Does Rasputin work?”
Andreas laughed; it was a light, but haughty sound—an “are you serious?” kind of sound.
“Most vampires do not work. I only do because I enjoy the clothes at the boutique. Because we keep to ourselves and have the freedom to go to the above world, we have no use for jobs other than as hobbies. A vampire like Rasputin would never demean himself to something so low as a job.”
“I figured as much,” I nodded.
“Well, should we get started?” This from Grace, who was standing ready to go with her hand on the door.
My stomach filled with dread. I did not want to make myself known to more vampires, and I did not want to see Rasputin. But for my friend, I would.
Andreas uncrossed his limbs and straightened himself out. He looked more conservatively dressed than I was used to seeing him. He loved bell-bottoms, but today they were denim in place of a flashier material, and his shirt was a sable colored suede that looked lovely with his eyes and hair.
I followed Grace out the door, and the three of us combed the street together.
“Businesses first,” I said. “That way if Rasputin tells us something different than we’ve already heard, we’ll know he’s lying. I don’t feel comfortable going door to door of vampire’s homes.”
Andreas chuckled, and we looked at him. “Hi, we’re the new Jehovah’s Witnesses of the underworld,” he said in his best schoolboy tone.
I tried not to laugh, but once Grace started, I couldn’t help myself.
“What kind of business do vampires need anyway?” I asked.
“We tend to have unique, refined tastes and interests, in the old things and old ways.” Andreas waved his hand in the air as he spoke.
“So you like old shiny things, and think you’re better than most people,” I summarized.
Grace tried to hide her smile, and Andreas rolled his eyes and shrugged.
We turned down one of the dark streets, and the black brick under our feet seemed a little shinier and better kept. There were different colored lights advertising different goods in the windows.
A few red lights shone over the eaves of doors.
“Are they…?” I started to ask as I pointed at the glowing red bulbs.
“Quite fun,” Andreas commented before I could complete my thought.
“So it’s men and women?” I asked.
“Well of course.” He looked at me like I was absolutely dumb.
“But there’s no money here…” Truthfully, I was feeling kind of dumb. Did they just have sex with people because they wanted to? “Are they all vampires? Do they do humans too?”
Andreas stopped walking and put a hand on his hip while he gazed at me. “My my, aren’t you full of questions? Maybe you should visit one and ask,” he winked.
“I just don’t see the appeal of being a prostitute and not getting paid.”
“Sex. Sex itself is the payoff. They don’t have to fuck anyone they don’t want to, and we vampires sometimes barter for things we can bring back from the upper world. Besides, it’s nearly impossible for a vampire to maintain any type of romantic relationship for an indefinite amount of time. It gets lonely,” Andreas stated casually as he resumed walking down the street.
I looked over to see Grace’s face a little downturned, in consideration of Andreas’s statements. I knew she was wondering how far her relationship with Boude would go.
“Let’s start here.” I pointed at the door to one of the shops. Grace and Andreas walked over and we went inside together.
Had I gone into a normal store that was so dark and shadowed, I would have thought the last person there forgot to lock the door before closing. One or two small lights were on above a jewelry case to show off the pieces, but the rest of the store was gloomy. Black clothes hung on racks; there didn’t seem to be any order or separation of styles. None of it inspired me to do any shopping.
I caught a glimpse of a pale figure sitting nearly mannequin-still behind a corner of the counter. His long black hair hung down in front of his face and over his shoulders. The length and sheen of his hair reminded me of Raphael for a moment, but the vampire himself did not. His head was down, reading a book that was in his lap.
Without breathing or moving anything else, he raised his eyes to us when we approached him. His eyes were white with flecks of black throughout them. I knew I didn’t hide my surprise well, and I took a moment to wonder just how many eye variations there were for vampires.
“Can I help you?” he asked. His voice was neither deep nor refined. It rather sounded like a scratchy record or screeching microphone.
Grace and Andreas looked to me to ask the questions. I still hadn’t figured out how I had been elected to handle this.
I cleared my throat and stepped closer to the counter, hoping the least they could do was watch my back. “Yes, we’re looking for a friend of ours that’s been missing for a while. Do you know Boudewijn?” It was only after I asked the question that I realized that if Boude had a last name, I didn’t know what it was.
“I know him.” The vampire’s skin was so pale it looked almost blue in the dim light. He looked back down at his book as if his words had been sup
remely helpful.
“Have you seen or heard from him in the last couple of days?” Grace couldn’t help jumping in; I didn’t mind.
“Nope,” he said without raising his eyes.
I saw Grace’s jaw tighten with anger, and she started to come across the counter at the inconsiderate vamp. Andreas held her back with a graceful hand on her shoulder.
He stepped forward, and brushed his full hair back as he gazed at the other vampire, giving him a dazzling smile, fangs and all. All of the warm golden tones Andreas held in his skin, hair, and eyes were even more dazzling against the cold white and blackness of the store and the other vampire in it. It was like looking up at the sun from down in a dark cave.
The other vampire might not have been impressed by Grace or me but, he was impressed by Andreas. He looked up at him, and couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away. Andreas was eating it up.
“My friends here seem to have forgotten their manners. It’s a lovely store you run here. It is your store, right?” Andreas leaned on the counter, closer to the young vamp.
The other vampire was caught a little off guard. “Yes, it’s mine.” His words were slow and thoughtful.
“I have my own boutique as well, out in town. Maybe we can get together and compare notes sometime.” Andreas gave him a playful wink and held out his hand. “I’m Andreas.”
“Jeremy,” the other vampire replied, and smiled back at Andreas as he started to warm up to him. “Yes, I’d like that.”
Andreas kept his flirtatious body language going as he moved on to more important questions. “Boude is a good friend of ours, and we’re getting a little concerned that he hasn’t been around in a while. I know you said you haven’t seen him, but have you noticed anything strange going on in the Quarter that might give us some direction?”
Jeremy looked thoughtful. “The last time I saw Boude he was in here with Rasputin. That’s all I know.”
The three of us exchanged a subtle glance.
“Rasputin, yes... Can you remember what he bought?” Andreas asked.
“He didn’t buy anything. He asked me if I would be interested in a different job, one in town. He kept saying how it would be more powerful than having my own business, and that I could work towards the cause,” Jeremy shrugged. “I don’t know what cause he was talking about, but I just told him I wasn’t interested.”
“What was Boude doing while you talked to Rasputin?” Grace asked.
Jeremy answered her, but was still staring into Andreas’s eyes. “He was just looking around the shop. I’m not sure he even heard the conversation.”
Andreas gently touched the back of Jeremy’s hand. “You’ve been very helpful, Jeremy. If you remember anything else, come by my shop in town and see me.”
Jeremy swallowed hard, and tried to give Andreas his best sexy nod.
With another hair flip and smile from Andreas, we were out the door.
“What are you going to do when he comes by the shop and expects more than a pretty smile from you?” I asked Andreas.
“He’s fuckable, and little innocent. I bet he’s never been with a man before. We’ll have fun.” Andreas sounded downright excited to corrupt that poor, young… vampire?
I couldn’t even think of a decent way to respond to that train of thought, so I didn’t try.
The next few shops we stopped in went a little more smoothly: as in, Andreas didn’t have to flirt for information. Unfortunately no one else was very helpful, either. No one had seen Boude, and no one was talking about whatever Rasputin had up his sleeve.
Jeremy saying Rasputin wanted him to work in town and serve the “cause” was definite reason for concern, but it wasn’t enough to go on—yet.
“I think it’s time to see Rasputin,” I gulped, and didn’t like the flip-floppy way my stomach was feeling. I glanced at my watch and realized it would have to be a short visit anyway, or Soren would be looking for me. A short visit was fine by me. “Where does he live?” I asked.
“At the far end of the Quarter,” Andreas said, and took the lead, walking ahead of us.
Grace and I followed silently. None of us were looking forward to this visit, and I was so ready to see Soren and get back to my boring brown fields full of dead people waiting to be dug up.
The black brick road was a little more worn where we were walking, and the landscape was little more wild. It looked like a place out of a horror movie: the small patches of grass and gangly, bare tree limbs looked as though they should be cardboard silhouettes instead of real things.
I knew we had reached the house where he lived before Andreas even stopped in front of it.
Most of the other vampires in the Quarter lived in what I considered to be townhouses or apartments. But out here, on the outskirts, there were a few houses. Leave it to Rasputin to live in one of the largest, creepiest places I had ever seen.
“How did he manage to get such a big place?” I asked. There was no money in the underworld; everyone was honestly pretty equal. So I was having trouble figuring out how one vampire could have a mansion, while everyone else was living a little smaller.
“Vampires don’t follow the same rules as the humans. A long time ago we had our own government and system of trades in the Quarter. This house belonged to the “king,” if you will. Once the king died and the system failed, the house was empty. Rasputin simply decided to open it back up, and no one challenged him,” Andreas said.
I gazed at the towering black house, with it’s dirty broken windows, pitiful crumbling stairs, and ragged landing. The mansion was still impressive in size, and no detail of architecture had been missed in the building of anything in the Quarter. Yet, the lack of care made the place less regal, and more… haunting. Andreas’s story hit me hard, and I couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen what was now so very obvious.
I looked at him. “You didn’t think Rasputin moving into the home of the last vampire king was anything significant enough to mention?”
“Look at this place.” He made a face of near-disgust. “It’s nothing to be impressed by.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “It was the home of a king: the home of a vampire that held immense power over a group of already powerful creatures. You don’t think he wouldn’t jump at the chance to restore this house and the honor that went with living in it?”
The superior look Andreas had on his face melted into realization. “The bigger cause,” he whispered.
I nodded and looked at Grace, who was staring at the house, stone faced and silent.
“That vampire at the shop said Rasputin was trying to get him to take an important job in town. We need to know what that job was, and why Rasputin wants a vampire to have it,” I said.
“How is this helping us find Boude?” Grace asked.
“I don’t know yet,” I said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I can’t figure out why, but I just have this feeling that this is all connected…”
Andreas took in an audible breath, an act that had to be intentional for a vampire. “Let’s do this.”
As scared as I was of walking up and knocking on that door, I was more angry. I knew Rasputin was dangerous—downright evil. Hell, he had attacked me twice, and nearly killed my best friend. But I was so mad at whatever vile plot he was trying to set in motion—at whatever he had done with Boude. Mostly I was pissed that he had done something, and I was now dragged into this. I had enough shit going on in my own area, in my own head. I wasn’t a vampire and didn’t want to be.
I remembered all the warnings Soren had given me about staying away from vampires and the trouble they would get me into. He wasn’t wrong, but I looked at Grace and sighed. I loved her; I couldn’t regret my choices.
A thought occurred to me: “If he attacks me, will the two of you be able to pull him off?” I asked.
They both looked at each other, more hesitant to answer me than I appreciated. Then they nodded at each other, and then at me.
It didn’t feel very reassu
ring, but it was as good as I was going to get.
I had my fist ready to knock at the door when I saw the small silver doorbell button. I pressed it expecting to hear a bell not unlike the one on The Addams Family TV show. However the sound was a light tinkling chime, and would have sounded lovely at any other home. Here, at this creepy house, it felt… foreboding.
Grace took my hand in hers as we waited for the door to open.
Instead of an opening door, we heard a heavily accented voice call, “You may enter.”
I pushed the door open, and was surprised at how much light was coming from inside the house. Everywhere we had been was so dark for so long that the white tiles on the floor were practically blinding, to say nothing of the bright overhead chandeliers. I had to blink for several seconds before I saw Rasputin standing on the grand staircase watching us walk into his home.
As we rubbed our eyes and tried to clear our sight, he spoke.
“I saw the three of you standing out front for a long while. I wondered if you would ever come inside. It’s quite rude to lurk, you know.”
“Rasputin,” Andreas said, “the outside of your home doesn’t do the inside justice.” He looked around at all of the shiny marble and nice furniture.
“Yes, I like when people underestimate me and what I have.” Those few words were heavy with deeper meaning. “So what brings the three of you all the way across the Quarter to my home?”
Grace began to speak, and I squeezed her hand tightly as a reminder to be as friendly as possible, so we could get the most information, and hopefully leave here in one piece.
She glanced at me to let me know the message was received, and went on with her questioning. “Boude still hasn’t returned, and I’m very worried for him. We were hoping you could help us.” Grace used her sweetest, most damsel-in-distress-like voice.
I admired her greatly for her ability to suck up to the creature that had disfigured her face and obliterated her eye. I wanted to stake him just for breathing (figuratively breathing, anyway).
“Ah, new little vampire. How’s your hunting with that one lovely eye of yours?” Rasputin grinned but didn’t show fangs. The smile was forced and sinister, waiting for Grace to get emotional.
Digging Up the Dead (The Gravedigger Series Book 2) Page 4