Jade

by Rose Montague

  What to wear, yet again my issue, I thought, and again Sarah volunteered to help. I think she was taking a vicarious joy in helping me in this way. I would have to do something nice for her along these lines.

  Newer vamps preferred Goth, older ones stuck to what they liked before they were turned, for a party like this with a mix of old and new, I could probably not go wrong as long as I kept it classy, even if I went Goth style. Sarah called the same guy that had done such a great job getting my gown at a moment’s notice for my meeting with the Summer Queen. They were on a first name basis. I think I had become his favorite customer in a matter of hours. He would be bringing over a few selections to my place this evening, he had my sizes and would make any needed adjustments on the fly. He had provided clothing and jewelry for these kinds of get-togethers before and said he had some very high-end, one-of-a-kind pieces in mind. Sarah had told him a blend of both old and new would be best with my look. I was already starting to think in vamp mode, sensing some small changes taking place in my body. He was not surprised at where I lived. After my purchase that morning, he knew he was looking at some deep pockets somewhere. Sarah told him to bring only the best of what he had.

  Rolfe didn’t seem terribly put out that I had a “date” of sorts. I would try to change that. Luca would be arriving at eleven p.m., vamp parties didn’t really get going until around midnight. I had a feeling Luca would be dressed to the nines. I wanted Rolfe to take notice of both of us. Rolfe was the reason I had come here. I felt our friendship was growing but was not getting a feeling from him as being interested in any more than that.

  Mister Jones, my new clothing guru, arrived about nine p.m.. He had brought his daughter with him; she helped him with the business. They really had selected some nice clothes, as well as some beautiful jewelry to match. There were three main outfits and four sets of good jewelry, as well as some shoes, purses, belts, and scarves. They had come in fully loaded down; one of the security guys had to help them bring it all up.

  I fell in love with the jewelry and picked my outfit to match. A beautiful black obsidian choker with a heart-shaped, blood-red spinel gemstone, matching earrings with black posts and spinel spheres. Two obsidian bracelets completed the set. I selected a black skirt, good quality material, with a black chain mail belt. A dark red, sleeveless blouse cut to the navel completed my outfit.

  “It’s a shame you don’t have any tattoos,” the daughter said. She had approved of my outfit, saying it was both Gothic and stylish in appearance. You could tell it was not cheap.

  I had some ideas about that as well. Vamps change tattoos quite often, they tend to fade fast as they heal up after a day or so, resulting in a lot of repeat business for tattoo artists, who were flourishing as it had become a major business. I had been deliberately encouraging my vamp side, thinking of blood, listening to pulses, eyeing some veins in various necks. I had felt my ears changing back to normal, losing the fae pointedness from earlier in the day. Sarah had mentioned as I was changing that my eyes had changed from that jade color to a solid red. She did my makeup in black as well, lipstick, as well as mascara. My eyelashes had grown a bit and my hair had taken on a reflective shine, so dark now you could see the silky shimmer in it. If anything, it had grown another inch at least. I would be tripping over it before too long at the rate I was going. My fangs had been inching out anyway and Sarah asked that I release them from their confinement, it showed the level of trust we had developed in just a couple of days. She colored the tips of them blood red, I had to admit, it was a great touch. I wore my hair down, it was luxurious.

  I was going to try something for my tattoo and I asked Sarah to watch as I concentrated. I closed my eyes and really focused on the picture I was looking for, trying to initiate a change just below the skin of my bare upper arm. For a solid minute nothing happened although I could feel some part of me applying pressure, then a sudden release, making me feel a bit flushed, almost faint.

  Sara exclaimed, “Oh how beautiful!”

  “Wow!” Mister Jones’ daughter said. She liked tattoos, she had a dozen showing in visible locations. I knew they had worked with vamp clients before but they had never seen anything like that before.

  I held my arm up to get a better look. Only an inch in size, a beautiful black flying dragon spewing red flames adorned my upper arm.

  “I am ready now,” I said, with a hint of that hissing sound again; my fangs were fully extended.

  I gave Mister Jones a bonus, telling him we would do business again in the future.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Something was not quite right about my appearance, I thought, as I looked at myself in the full-length mirror. My outfit, makeup, and jewelry were perfect. I looked like a vamp but looking at myself, even with fangs and red eyes, I looked like I was trying to look like a vamp, not that I was. My skin just had too much of that healthy, outdoors, and active look. Most vamps were pretty pale, the sun being their enemy. I had sent Sarah back out to the living room, they had ordered up some pizza that Hans had delivered and were having dinner. I didn’t want Rolfe to see me until I was heading out the door.

  As I sat on the edge of the bed, drinking from a bottle of red wine I had opened, and resolved to change my skin color. This was much harder than the little tattoo I had made. I really concentrated, eyes closed, seeing myself as pale, peeking at myself in the mirror every few minutes. Luca was running late, it was already after eleven p.m. and he was not here yet. It gave me a chance to continue my efforts.

  When the knock at the door came, about fifteen minutes late, just as I thought all my efforts had been for naught, it happened. It was almost as if my body had been waiting for that signal, that this change was going to happen whether I had tried for it or not. It almost knocked me out. I lay back on the bed in exhaustion. Sarah came in to let me know Luca had arrived. I took me a minute to rise and even then, she had to help me to my feet. I resolved to trust myself more next time. My body would make the necessary adjustments, if they were called for. I was learning. Sarah was very quiet. Although she had trusted me earlier, I had really not looked the part. I now not only looked like a vamp, I was a vamp. Some other subtle change, not only the color of my skin, had taken place. Sarah’s instincts were screaming at her to run, to get very far away.

  She followed me to the living room, seemingly not wanting me at her back. Luca was standing next to a full-blooded fae, just inside my door, a bouquet of black dahlias in his hand. Rolfe had instinctively jerked back as I had come into the room, the big bad bear was a scaredy cat. I chuckled out loud. Luca looked good enough to drink, the perfect blend of danger and attraction, with the attraction winning over. He was well aware of the effect he had on women. Dressed as if he had just come from the movie set of Gone With The Wind, he looked positively yummy delicious. I had little doubt that his attire was the real deal, perfect retro southern gentleman and I am going to jump your bones.

  Sarah stumbled forward to take the flowers stammering something about finding a vase for them. Chris was going to let her have it after we left. I chuckled again, this time sounding positively evil. I was infused with energy and anticipation. Luca made a nice bow and offered me his arm. I gave him a slight bow in return and took it.

  The fae with us was the one the FBI had flown in to deal with our vamps, she had already proven herself as valuable to the effort to get this case solved. Luca introduced her as Randi Nero; she said she had heard a lot about me. I expected people were going to hear even more after this. She had been assigned to check out people entering the building looking for signs of fae glamour. The police presence downstairs was pretty obvious, they were no longer trying to be discreet. If somebody was going to attack us, they would have a lot to handle.

  Outside, the FBI presence was equally obvious, a few agents with their badges in plain sight milling about, a couple of FBI-issue vehicles parked directly across the street in a no parking area. A couple of police cruisers were parked along our side of
the road. A stretch Limo awaited us just outside the front doors, a converted Hummer, and I could sense it was armor plated and equipped with thick, bulletproof glass. It looked like a classy tank. Luca opened the Limo door for me, waving away the human servant acting as his driver and guard tonight.

  Vamps did not, as a general rule, carry weapons of any kind and I had left mine behind. The more affluent vamps were expected to have armed human servants as their bodyguards. A vamp’s fangs, speed, and strength were the only protection they carried personally.

  Luca and I chatted as we drove to the party; he was flirting mercilessly, and I was lapping it up. He loved my new look, I could tell he was more than a little attracted. I was very pleased with his attentions. He gave me the rundown on London Jane’s entourage, telling me who to look out for and the best way to get an interview with her. They were rivals and she was the stronger master, any request from him would probably be ignored. I would need to tackle this problem on my own. Vamp protocol, I thought to myself, more politics and power. It was becoming a theme with this case.

  * * * *

  As we pulled up to the large circular drive in front of her mansion, I could see a fleet of Limos had already arrived. Attendants were busy parking the Limos and waving for the next one, we were about fourth in line. As a looked up, the at huge steps leading to the front doors, I realized that this time, I really was ready for this. I was pretty sure I was going to have a blast.

  All the action was in the ballroom, and after we entered we were led there to meet London Jane. Vamps, human servants, and UP members all dressed in a variety of styles from modern to Gothic to formal to casual.

  It’s somewhat confusing and clashing, I thought as we approached the vamp mistress. A tall, slender, yet strong-looking redhead, covered with freckles, mid-length straight hair, dressed in jeans, a cutoff T-shirt, and raggedy tennis shoes watched us approach. She was sitting in a corner on an old lazy-boy leather recliner, rocking slowly with the music. Vamps were dancing all around us and we had to weave in and out of the dancers to make our way to talk to her. They were playing Glen Miller’s Moonlight Serenade, couples were slow dancing all over the floor, there were not many people just standing around chatting, most all were dancing as couples. There were no tables set up for food and drink, I noticed. I guess if you were a vamp, that moved on two legs.

  “Luca!” she exclaimed. “My great enemy, friend, and rival. Who have you brought to see me?” She sounded pleased and she looked very approachable, nothing like what I had heard about her at all. I was a bit stunned, not understanding as my preconceptions were completely dashed.

  “This is Jade Smith,” he responded, gently pulling me forward.

  “Ah, umm, pleasure to meet you,” I said. The reason I had come tonight was completely lost in my mind.

  She held out her hand to shake and I clasped it. She turned my hand over, pulling me slightly closer and kissed the back of my hand, watching the veins beneath my skin, savoring the thought of blood lying beneath.

  “We will dance,” she said, standing up. Looking at the band conductor, an old timey vamp in a tux, she ordered, “Play that song I like.”

  Lady In Red started playing. Of course, I thought, what else could it be? I felt like I had just unlocked a door to another dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. I felt as if I was moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. Yeah, that place. It was surreal. She led, I followed, she maintained a constant chatter. She explained to me in no uncertain terms that she was not involved, she had given no direction to the third vamp that was sitting in jail, there was no profit or gain to be had in such a thing. Much like Luca, the recent killings and kidnappings of humans was not good for her position in the community. Like Luca, I believed her. As the song ended she nodded towards the conductor and the song repeated. I got a glance of Luca as she was twirling me around. He looked perplexed, he was scratching his head. Jane kept talking, complimenting me on my outfit, asking me if Luca was a good kisser. On the third playing of Lady In Red I was saved by my cell phone going off.

  “Please excuse me, “ I said to Jane, the number indicated it was Rolfe. I knew it must be important for him to call. “It’s my partner. I need to take this.”

  We had stopped in the middle of the dance floor, the music stopped as we stopped, couples in mid dip, so to speak. It was like time had frozen for a moment, there was not a sound in the room but my side of the conversation.

  “Not exactly the best timing,” I said. I’m sure he could hear my irritation.

  “I got word they are raiding your party,” he replied. “They are going to arrest London Jane and every one of her vamps. The Captain said the DA has decided he has enough evidence to prosecute. Looking like you do, they will arrest you as well.”

  “What evidence?” I asked, knowing that what we had was nothing more than a lead.

  “Beats me,” he replied. “Something is going on behind the scenes.”

  I remembered again what he had said before, it was a case involving power and politics. We were not even close to solving this case and my gut was telling me Jane was being honest. “Thanks for the heads up,” I said, and ended the call.

  I leaned forward and whispered into Jane’s ear, telling her what was about to happen. Rolfe had said a whole team of cops, SWAT, and FBI agents were just minutes away.

  “This party is done,” she announced to the crowd. “Go back to your best hiding places until you get word from me.” Nothing like giving an order and seeing an immediate response: the room cleared out almost instantaneously, leaving me, Jane, and Luca left standing in the ballroom.

  “Go home,” I told Luca. “They are only interested in her and her vamps, you should be okay if you leave now.” The power of command must have rubbed off on me because he left swiftly, leaving in a blur of speed.

  “Where can you go?” I asked Jane.

  “With you,” she replied.

  I’m really off the grid this time, I thought. Helping Jane escape. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing I had done in my very brief and about-to-end, police career.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jade, and Jane, ran with the wind. Cutting through yards, vaulting fences, keeping off the roads, we stopped in a group of trees just as a large contingent of cops, SWAT, and FBI vehicles passed us heading towards Jane’s mansion. TV trucks were just minutes behind; somebody had tipped them off almost immediately. We watched from the darkness, avoiding the light, blending with the shadows naturally, as vamps are known to do. We whispered to each other, our shoulders touching. Jane said our first goal should be to find a safe base of operations, without being spotted, until we gathered enough information to determine how to proceed.

  It would not be long until they knew I was helping Jane and her phone was probably already being monitored. I knew how the cops operated. I didn’t want to take a chance that my phone was being traced either. I had an idea, my shifter nature might come in handy on this one and I explained my plan to Jane. It wasn’t perfect, but would have to do for now. We headed further out, away from Jane’s place; she lived in a really high class area of large older homes with five plus acre lots. A million dollars wouldn’t cover the price of the lot on most of these places. People around Jane’s place were already out of their homes, trying to see what was going on. They had the place blocked off from traffic and surrounded, they had already set up a perimeter, and the media, including some national media, were already filming from the outskirts. This had happened in a matter of minutes. Jane said it was planned, an orchestrated media fest of a raid. Somebody had wanted her filmed as she was cuffed and led out of her home.

  Perp walk central, I thought, as we moved further away from the action.

  We were almost a mile out before I sensed the right home, one that my nose indicated had been vacant at least for a few days. Hopefully the owners were out of town and would not be returning at one am. This was in a newer area of expensive h
omes, a gated community surrounding a private golf course. Small only in comparison to Jane’s mansion, they were probably just a paltry five-thousand square feet of home on one or two acre lots. I had considered buying one of these when I had searched for a place myself and decided I didn’t like the security, a few guards driving around occasionally and a gate wasn’t much, it certainly didn’t stop us. A simple witch spell turned off the alarm system and I exerted a slow pressure on the rear french doors leading to a really nice swimming pool, surrounded by a privacy fence, safe from the wandering eyes of the golfers, from over the fence you could see the seventh green.

  Rolfe made this look easy when he did it, I thought, as I had to really strain. We didn’t want to make a lot of noise. The wood holding the lock finally gave out with a minor crack. I doubt the neighbors would have heard it.

  We didn’t turn on any lights, neither of us needed much light to see and there were a few night lights here and there throughout the house. We found a TV in the daughter’s room. She had both blinds and curtains up, as well as a light already turned on next to her bed. Jane turned the TV to one of the cable news shows. She had made the national news. She had the sound almost as low as it got, we could still hear it just fine. Then they showed a picture of me and Jane dancing at her mansion. “Wanted in connection to the murder and kidnapping of over a hundred humans,” it said, and gave several 800 numbers to call, a tip line already in place.

  “Nobody takes pictures at my parties,” she said. “It is not allowed. When I find out who did this I will drain them.”

  “We make a nice couple,” I said, looking at the picture. They had it in a little box now on the side of the screen as the news dude droned on about the big break in the case. It sure looked like I was enjoying myself. Jane had a big smile on her face, and it looked like I had my face buried in her neck. We were closer than close, almost tightly wound together.