Mixed Blessing (Mixed Blessing Mystery, Book 1)

by Nicola Claire

  Score one for a vampire being the top suspect. They'd never waste blood if they could help it. I had no idea if the Fey were interested in such things. I'd have to find a way to educate myself further with what rocked their boat. The Fey had only been back in our realm for a couple of months. Finding a fountain of knowledge on them was going to be hard.

  The murderer's scent led away from the scene, just like it did last night. I already knew what I was going to find, but I needed to be sure. I needed to confirm my suspicions. Bushes along the northern side of the property, away from Khyber Pass Road, hid the spot. Just like last night the scent simply disappeared in a small shadowed clearing bordered by several small leafy trees. They weren't high enough to hide a standing grown man, but he could have knelt, crouched down and been hidden completely from view. I looked around to see if there were any vantage points to oversee the site, we were still within a few feet of the carpark. I could make out two windows on the upper most floor of SubZero's building that would have given a clear view of the scene. I doubted anyone would have been in them at the time the murderer made his escape, but maybe they housed video cameras. You never knew, I could get lucky.

  Getting the cameras would prove a challenge, one I didn't have an answer for right now.

  I let myself drift into a preternatural calm, no blinking, no heartbeat, just allowed myself to scent the air for any smells that I had missed. No matter what I did, the scent of peaches, apple and cinnamon had definitely just disappeared, but there was something else. Something I hadn't picked up at the other scene, or over in the carpark just now. Or here at the vanishing spot when I first arrived. I should have scented it, it was quite strong. Almost as though the origin of the smell was still in the vicinity. But it couldn't be, I was alone.

  I couldn't hear movement. I couldn't hear a heartbeat. And I couldn't sense a vampire nearby. The part of me that is Nosferatin would have sensed a vamp in the vicinity. The only thing I could sense was that new smell. An alluring, yet unusual mix of caramel and ginger. I had never come across that combination before and I had spent the first few months of my new life cataloguing every emotional scent I could manage. This was not an emotion, this was someone's base scent.

  And it was nice. Comforting even. Welcome. I inhaled deeply but quietly and savoured the smell. It could be a coincidence. The gardener who maintains the plants on SubZero's property having been near here earlier today and the wind just carried his scent to me now. But it was strong. Too strong for a faded scent. The bearer of this heady smell was here. Now.

  I wrapped the shadows around me further and went deathly still. Calling on every ounce of the vampire-within. The Dark Shadow inside me purred with contentment. I rarely allowed her such free rein. To give in to that part of me that is Nosferatu, is to move away from the Light. But even worse than that, it is to make the need for my next feed stronger. I'd still be able to wait three days from my last taste of blood, but no longer. Not now. Not now the Dark Shadow had arisen within.

  I mentally cursed what I was.

  Out of the shadows walked a tall, regal looking figure. His features were striking, almost as though they were the combination of some artist's interpretation of what a woman would want. High cheek bones, chiselled jaw, strong forehead, leading onto a body to die for. He was dressed in a long black cloak, black trousers and a black shirt beneath. The shirt looked old fashioned, but the cloak and trousers could have come from any era. And could have made suitable attire for a vampire. Vampires like black. But he wasn't a vampire. He was Fey.

  I don't know how I knew this, but I could tell this as easily as I can sense a vampire, as easily as I can smell the blood beneath a Norm's skin. It wasn't the long, long silver hair. A colour you would not see in our world naturally. Nor was it the vivid green eyes that sparkled in the dim ambient light of the space we were both now in as though they possessed magical qualities. Nor was it the fact that he looked like a god. Somehow, I just have the ability to tell a fairy when I see one.

  My heart beat one single thud in utter surprise before I could stop it and his flashing green eyes rose directly to look at mine.

  I held his gaze, sure he couldn't see me in the shadows still wrapped protectively around my body like a shroud and waited. He cocked his head to the side in a curiously inhuman movement. Then slowly smiled.

  "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he said in a sing-song voice, the sound of softly chiming bells in the background.

  I held my ground, even when my body wanted to comply. I was at a decided disadvantage here. Lucinda and Samson had both given me a crash course in Nosferatu/Nosferatin abilities, but - due to my own less than willing desire to be near either of them - they had not had a chance to divulge the secrets of the Fey.

  I forced my heart not to beat again in fear.

  My inherent wish to not trust anyone seemed to magnify under the searching - and too knowing - gaze of the fairy before me. Which was he? Light or Dark - that much I did know. Two types of fairies. But which was he and what did that mean?

  Just what would this fairy do to me if I revealed myself now? Being Nosferatu did not exempt me from their desires, I was sure. But I did have abilities that could offer up a defence. A defence Norms did not have.

  I flashed away through the shadows towards the carpark and the fence by the Rimu Tree to escape. I'd made it as far as the tree when he simply walked out of space before me and I slammed, preternaturally fast, against his solid wall of a chest. My head banging down unmercifully against his shoulder blade, a pounding immediately starting up between my ears. His arms wrapped around me, his caramel and ginger scent invaded my nostrils and his hot breath washed over the skin on my cheek.

  "Now, now, little sparrow. Why fly away in such a hurry? I only want to see who you are."

  My shadows, my safe harbour, the one thing I can call on when danger is so near, abandoned me. Stripped away from my body like wrapping paper carelessly torn from a birthday present, the gift inside laid bare. His green, green eyes brushed over me from head to foot and back, and I hoped I wasn't a gift he had been pining after tonight.

  "Interesting," he said, still in that sing-song voice that made me want to stay secured in his arms for eternity. His face lowered and he inhaled deeply near the pocket of my jacket, just above my last silver stake. His eyes shot up and flashed apple green and he frowned. He still looked damn sexy.

  "Why do you wear Lucinda's scent, little vampire? You are not one of hers."

  His eyes moved from apple green to chartreuse and his arms tightened around me in a crushing and rigid trap. The chiming I had heard earlier began to get louder.

  "What have you done to the Princess of Ljósálfar?" he said in a slow, deep, musical growl.

  Ah, fuck. A fairy who knows Lucinda. Just the worst sort of luck.

  Chapter 7

  Suspicion

  "She is a friend," I managed to reply with a steady voice. It had felt a little forced, as though the Dark Shadow within was rebelling and the fairy had overruled all conscious thought.

  "You lie," he whispered, tightening his grip further until I heard bones crack in my ribs. My Sanguis Vitam rose to combat the pain and start the healing, but could gain no further purchase on the fairy before me. He was exempt from my vampiric power.

  "I'm not," I pleaded, suddenly realising just how strong a fairy could be. I was sure if he wanted to, he could simply rip my head clean off my shoulders before I even saw him move.

  "I have not seen you at her house. Nor have I seen her with you. You lie. You are no friend, then are you foe?"

  The fact that a fairy was so close to Lucinda that he was aware of who visited her house and who she hung out with was a little alarming. I wondered if this was normal, something the Nosferatin would be happy to hear. Or whether this guy was a stalker and Lucinda had no idea she was being watched so closely at all. That connection I seemed to have with her flared alive. It woke up with a vengeance and made my fangs descend and a low gr
owl come from the back of my throat. I had to let Lucinda know. I had to warn her.

  He watched my fangs descend with mild interest, cocking his head at that odd angle he used.

  "Defensive, little sparrow? Are you scared? Do you want to fly away?"

  "What is your interest in Lucinda?" I replied, unbelievably relieved I could still talk at all. "Are you a threat?"

  He smiled, making the greens in his eyes swirl in an hypnotic dance. "It is not I she need fear. But you... I am still unsure."

  "I'm no threat to her," I said, at a loss on how to make him believe me. "Although I do intend on chewing her ear off when I see her next." I still hadn't got over her surprise departure and the fact that she hadn't bothered to let me know. For that, she'd get an ear full and it would just be my luck that the fairy could pick up on some sort of untruth in my statement of being no threat, so I'd tagged that little bit on the end.

  He laughed a delightful chuckle. "I have no doubt, vampire. You carry a lot of anger within. But," he added, surprisingly releasing me from his hold and stepping back a foot to take me all in, "I do not sense you will harm her. So, how is it you carry her scent?"

  "I'm not sure that's any of your business," I countered. He didn't deserve an explanation. I had no idea who he was and what he meant to Lucinda. He may have decided I was no threat, but I hadn't ruled him out from being one yet.

  He nodded briefly, cocked his head to the side and watched me closely. It was a little unnerving to say the least. I'd seen fairies around, but they didn't venture into the bar where I worked. And I had never come face to face with one like tonight. Just close enough to hone my skills, recognise them, single out their scents. But standing here, right now, with a powerful and otherworldly fairy before my eyes, I was curious. The fear I had felt before, when he held me so unforgivingly in his arms, was gone. Replaced with a morbid fascination. No doubt the emphasis would be on morbid.

  "Why are you here?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

  "I should hazard a guess, for the same reason you are," he replied without preamble.

  OK. I was here to solve a crime and get my best friend's cousin out of jail and off a murder charge. Somehow I didn't think his reason would align perfectly with mine, but I'd give him a chance.

  "What did you discover?" I asked, shifting my weight onto to my right foot and starting to tap my left impatiently. My arms had crossed my chest, my left hand close to the hilt of my silver dagger.

  His eyes drifted to where my hand rested and then flicked back up to me and he smiled.

  "A scent, from both murder scenes."

  Well, he was more up on what was happening than I had guessed.

  "Do you recognise it?" I asked, trying to appear only slightly interested in the reply. His smile widened further.

  "No, do you?"

  I shook my head just once in a negative motion. He cocked his head again to the left and studied me.

  "So, what now?" I asked, still tapping my foot.

  He glanced towards the building - and in particular where I presumed Alison Danvers had an office - contemplatively.

  "How do you feel about breaking and entering, little sparrow?"

  What? A minute ago this guy didn't even trust me to not harm Lucinda and now he wants to commit a crime with me as his back-up?

  Nuh-ah. No way was I going to set myself up to be the fall guy. Did he think I was born yesterday? Turned maybe, but not born.

  Dream on, dipshit.

  "Sorry, no can do. Places to be, people to see and all that. But good luck."

  I went to turn around and jump the fence and he said quietly, "Would you chance that I will not disturb evidence, not tamper with the scents to throw you off should you return to investigate later?" He had me there. I was going to find a way to enter and look for any recriminating scents. But if he got there first, how could I be certain they weren't false. I was sure tampering with evidence was right up there with fairy mischief making, for both the Dark and Light Fairy Courts.

  "I propose a temporary alliance, vampire. You clearly are on the same hunt as me and possess remarkable talents I could use. You could use my talents too."

  I wasn't so sure about that. I don't think joining forces with a fairy was exactly what I had in mind, when considering ways to solve this murder and get Stu out of jail. But, I wasn't getting anywhere on my own. This was all such new territory for me and although warning bells were ringing in my head, I kept reminding myself I am a vampire. Well half of me is. And that half could take a fairy on if need be.

  I kept reminding myself of that, but there was something altogether frightening about this fairy, despite his alluring scent. Maybe it was just the unknown. Facing off against an enemy you did not understand was not reassuring, but all I had to do was think of Stu and my resolve was formed.

  "What talents do you possess, fairy?" I asked in a steady voice. If I was going to consider this, I needed to know what I was up against.

  "The Dökkálfa have many talents," he said with a small smirk at the tips of his lips. At least I now knew what type of fairy he was - Dökkálfa had to mean Dark. Just not what that actually meant.

  "You're being coy," I shot back, going for an offensive approach. Hoping it would be enough to hold my ground against him.

  He smiled. It was knowing. My Dark Shadow growled low inside.

  "You have not met one of us before." It was a statement, but felt like it should have been a question. I didn't give an answer away. "Perhaps you are not as close to the Princess as I had thought," he mused aloud, no doubt thinking Lucinda would have schooled me by now if I was. He didn't know what sort of relationship the Nosferatin and I had. I preferred to keep it that way.

  But I was determined to find out why he kept referring to Lucinda as Princess, and from the title he had used, I was surmising she was a princess of the Light Fey. He was Dark. What did that mean?

  For once in my new Dark life I regretted not arming myself with as much knowledge as Lucinda could give.

  "We possess magic, vampire," the fairy said, obviously wanting to put me out of my misery. I wondered why. "I can handle the security systems. I can keep us cloaked from detection. This is only part of what I can do, but for now all you need to know."

  I willed no reaction to show, but inside my mind was reeling. Most prevalent of thoughts; with the fairy's assistance, I could forgo the other niggling suggestion my subconscious had been throwing at me ever since I decided I wanted inside that building. Samson. He was fantastic with computers and security systems. He was who I had been thinking I would have to turn to for help.

  That thought was enough to consider the fairy in front of me.

  So, he could magic us in undetected - even shadows would have trouble hiding me from door alarms - and although he was able to recognise scents, I wondered whether his skill would rival mine. I was guessing it wouldn't. And I was uncomfortably aware that he thought the same thing. Which meant, how much of my talent did he know about? How much had he ascertained in the short time we had been conversing right here?

  "I don't even know your name, fairy," I said, still trying to decide which devil was better right now. The one I know, Samson? Or this one in front of me smelling of caramel and ginger that hastened my breath and made me want to lick my lips to get a taste.

  He bowed low, arms thrust wide on either side and said, "Forgive me." Then raised himself upright again, a small amount of apple green glinting in his eyes. "I am Aliath, Prince of Dökkálfa. Herra of the Grey Lords. And you are?"

  His titles meant little, other than what they inferred. Prince of Dökkálfa, not just one of the plebs then, but royalty. That couldn't be good. But as far as Herra of the Grey Lords went, I was stumped. Just a gut feeling that said this fairy was more than I had bargained for. My Dark Shadow prowled restlessly inside. Part of her anxious, part of her curious as to what this fairy could offer us both. Vampires take what they can to succeed. See an opportunity, grab it, if it means you rise
above the rest. My vampire-within saw an opportunity right now, but was wise enough to temper her eagerness to use it, with the fact we still knew so little about this man who stood before us right now.

  I sighed. Choices, choices, choices. I blame my deep seated and unmovable anger at Samson for what I did next.

  "Georgia Deverell. Vampire."

  He smiled. That gorgeous light-up-the-world-with-a-sunbeam smile. "You forgot Hundr. Hound. You are capable of following a scent and deciphering its meaning, are you not?"

  Yeah, he knew more than he was letting on, but I didn't have to confirm it. I shrugged and looked toward the darkened building. I was already going to be late for work. This little encounter had gone on way longer than I had anticipated. No point backing out now. What would be the point of getting hauled over the coals by either Doug or Jett, when I turned up eventually. I might as well make it worth my while.

  The breaking part was actually less technical than I had envisaged. Aliath simply held his hand above the door handle to one of the back access ways into the building and I heard a click. Then the door swung open towards him and he simply stepped through without a backwards glance. I watched his retreating back, waiting for the tell-tail signs of a silent alarm in the form of a blinking red light on the external walls of the building, but nothing came. In the end, I was forced to complete the entering part of this whole crazy B & E experience, or run the risk of losing sight of my temporary side-kick.

  Not that I would lose him completely. That caramel and ginger scent kept calling to me, even if I didn't really want to acknowledge it at all. As I followed his retreating form down a utilitarian hallway, I felt the prickles of some form of magic wash over me and heard the soft chiming of bells, as though they were a long way away. I was guessing fairies chimed when using their magic. I shuddered as I listened to that sound that didn't seem to want to stop.

  Aliath paused at the door to the stairway and glanced back at me. His green eyes shone, luminous in the dimly lit hall we were in.