by Kat Cotton
“Clem Starr, the knots in your leg are insane. This is why you need to train more.”
Whatever. He could just keep rubbing it like he did. He had the magic touch, even if it tickled enough to make me squirm.
Later that day, Nic had made the deal with Yamaguchi. He couldn’t tell me what the thing was, but it was ours in exchange for the dragon tooth.
“You sure he has something that works?” I asked. “Also, how is he going to post it? The mail services in this city are abysmal at the best of times.”
“He’s got someone on it. You just need to go to that memorial, steal the dragon tooth, and we’re set.”
“Sweet. Who’s going with me? Kisho can’t. Not at the moment. Andre will try to hit on Portia. Is Shelley free?”
“I’ll go with you,” Nic said, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
“No freakin’ way. You hated McConchie. He tried to kill you, remember?”
“I’m a forgiving man. And we have too much riding on this. I can pretend I liked him.”
I went to Kisho’s room that night, but he wasn’t there. I sat on the bed, thinking he’d be feeding and would return soon. I’d just wait for him. Except I ended up falling asleep.
I woke up the next morning still in Kisho’s bed, but still no Kisho. I didn’t want to question that, but it did make me feel empty inside.
I dressed in a Nic-approved outfit, and he did my hair.
“You look quite pretty when you make an effort,” he said.
“No, I look quite pretty when you make an effort. But don’t get too used to it.”
Nic would dress me up like a little doll, complete with make-up and hair, every day if I let him, but I dressed for action, not pretty. Nic’s idea of dress usually involved something totally impractical for fighting. Also, letting Nic have his own way too often wasn’t good for him.
Before we got out of the driveway, I questioned Nic’s driving.
“Let me drive,” I said.
“No. I’m a good driver.”
“You are the exact opposite of a good driver. You’ll get us killed.”
“Don’t be silly. We’re fine.”
I clenched my fists. We wouldn’t be fine. I wasn’t sure if Nic even had a license. Getting killed on the way to a funeral — talk about ironic.
We did get to McConchie’s office in one piece, but that was mainly because there was no other traffic on the roads.
“You distract people while I get the dragon tooth,” I said. “You’re good at that talking-to-people thing.”
Nic nodded.
McConchie’s office was the complete opposite of mine, all polished wood and shiny metal, in what used to be a good part of town. A nice reception area with awesome sofas, opening into a massive office. We walked through to the office.
There weren’t many people at this memorial. Portia and Professor Henty. The mayor. A few people I didn’t know. I guessed most people had left town, but it still seemed sad that so few people had turned up.
A woman was standing in the corner, crying and wailing. She gave me a dirty look, as though she thought I might’ve had something going on with McConchie. That made me feel dirty. Then Nic walked in, and she relaxed.
Portia hugged me. I was not a hugging person.
“So sad. He was so young. And so brave.”
I wasn’t sure how she’d gotten the “so brave” from the details I’d told her.
Flowers covered McConchie’s desk. Why the hell anyone ever bothered sending flowers to a funeral was beyond me. Someone would just have to deal with getting rid of them. The food on the sideboard made a lot more sense.
The dragon tooth should be in the display case behind the desk. Yep, there it was, right next to the empty spaces he’d saved in case he ever won a Demon Fighters Award. He never would, now. But then, there’d been little chance of that ever happening when he was alive. He might get it this year, in that way people do after they die. He could have his sympathy award.
I pretended to be interested in the flowers so I could get near the dragon tooth. I’d worn a coat with big pockets so I could slip it in there without any issue. I just needed to get the thing off the shelf without anyone seeing.
Nic chatted with Portia and the academic. The woman kept wailing. A few other people checked out the food. Perfect timing. I’d get the tooth.
I reached up to the shelf. This was too easy.
“Clementine. Good to see you here.”
Damn the mayor. I snapped around and smiled at him. Why wasn’t Nic distracting him? I had to get the mayor away from here. I couldn’t stand around chatting. I glanced over at Nic, but he was still busy with Portia.
“It’s sad about McConchie,” I said. “I don’t really understand why he turned up at the apartment building in the first place. We had things under control. I think someone tipped him off. If only he’d stayed at home and left it to us, he’d be alive today.”
The mayor looked a little flustered. “Oh, I have to talk to someone...”
That got rid of him. As I’d suspected, the mayor had been behind McConchie being there in the first place. Now, to appropriate the dragon tooth. But, hell, those little cakes on the sideboard looked good. They’d be all gone if I didn’t get to them soon. Still, the dragon’s tooth was more important. Nic’s distraction skills were severely lacking, but I had a clear shot. I reached up again.
Portia clapped her hands.
Shit.
“Gather around, people. The mayor wants to say a few words to honor our late friend.”
Good. I’d grab the dragon tooth while the mayor jabbered on. He’d have everyone’s attention.
Except Portia grabbed me by the arm.
“Don’t hide away over there, Clem. I’m sure you have a few things to say about Harry, too.”
She dragged me to the other side of the room. I’d rather do just about anything than say a few words, but she’d never take no for an answer.
I glanced at Nic. He could try grabbing the dragon tooth while I stirred everyone with my touching words.
Nic didn’t respond.
“Thanks for coming out today to remember our departed friend, Harry,” the mayor said. “These are dark times, and it’s sad to have to say goodbye to a valued member of our community.”
The mayor could say what he liked. So much of this was his fault, but he’d never take responsibility.
I didn’t want to make it obvious that Nic should go for the dragon tooth, but surely he could work it out for himself. With so few people here, it’d be hard for him to move unnoticed, but screw it, he was a vampire. Surely that stealthy moving was second nature to him.
Nic wouldn’t meet my eyes. Bastard.
“Now, Clementine would like to say a few words.”
Shit. What would I say? It was tough, springing something like this on a person unannounced.
Portia pushed me forward.
“There’s not much I can say that the mayor hasn’t already said.” I hadn’t actually listened to much of the mayor’s speech, but I figured that was a safe thing to say. “I think we’ll always remember Harry as the second-best demon fighter around. He died in the line of duty, which is how I think he’d liked to have gone.”
Was that enough to say? I had no idea about these things. I didn’t want to say a bunch of lies, but I couldn't really think of much that was positive that I could say about Harry. He was a wanker? Couldn’t say that. He’d have been better off staying out of other people’s business? Nope, not good.
I settled for, “I hope everyone leaves here today with good memories of Harry. He’ll be sorely missed.”
Nic hadn’t moved. Damn. After all this talking finished, it’d be even harder to get the dragon tooth. I’d have to take one for the team, even if it went against all my principles.
“I’m sure he’d have liked everyone to help themselves to cakes. Please eat freely from the spread provided. Thank you.”
Most peopl
e moved to the cakes. There’d be none of those delicious-looking cakes left when I got to them. Tears pricked at my eyes. Not for McConchie, but for those lost cakes.
I edged around the shelf again. I’d get the tooth this time or die trying. I couldn’t leave without it.
Portia had Nic cornered again, and the mayor was moving to the buffet. This was my chance.
I walked back around the desk. Before I went for it, I glared at Nic. He had to make sure I wasn’t seen.
“Just a moment, people,” he said. “I’ve got a few things to say.”
Yes. I reached up and grabbed the dragon tooth. No one interrupted me. I slipped it into my pocket with my pulse racing. I expected someone to grab me by the shoulder or stop me. But nope. Nothing.
Now the deed was done, I sauntered over to the cakes. One left.
“I didn’t know McConchie very well. In fact, the first time I met him, he tried to kill me. But the guy seemed to try hard. Luckily, not too hard in the case of trying to kill me.” Nic smiled, that flashy smile that charmed everyone.
He looked at me, and I nodded.
“Let’s all try to remember him in the best possible light,” he said.
I reached for the last cake, but that damn grieving woman snatched it out of my hand. Surely her extreme grief should make her unable to eat. But, nope. Instead, she used it as a distraction for cake-stealing.
Nic came over to me. “Clem and I have to go now. Thanks for inviting us.”
We were about to walk out when the academic came over to us.
“You took something off the shelf,” he said in a loud voice. Loud enough for the whole room to hear.
“No, I didn’t.”
“I saw you. You took that dragon tooth.”
My hands went clammy. That was why Nic had wanted me to do the stealing, so he wouldn’t end up accused. I had to think of something.
“Oh, that old thing,” I said. “Yeah, McConchie said I could have it when he died. It’s just a little trinket. We both bid it on it at an auction, and he won. He knew I really liked it, so he told me if the worst happened, it was mine.”
Everyone stared at me. I didn’t lie well. The auction bit wasn’t a lie, at least, but my red face and sweat mustache didn’t exactly help in making me look innocent.
Damn crusty old fool.
I froze. Surely they couldn’t make me put the tooth back. I thought of the cakes I’d missed out on, and tears came to my eyes again.
“We really have to go,” Nic said. “Clem is way too upset.”
He put his arm around me and whisked me out.
“No one believed me,” I said.
“Who cares? We have the dragon tooth, and they can’t do a thing about it. By midnight, it’ll be on the way to Yamaguchi.”
Chapter 25: Grown Up
I got downstairs and had made my morning coffee before I noticed the stranger sitting on the sofa. Was he a long-lost pack member no one had bothered mentioning before? He seemed pretty damn comfortable sitting there, and there was something vaguely familiar about him. Hot, too. I could only see him in profile, but he had broad shoulders and nice arms. Surely if I’d met him before, I’d remember him.
How should I handle this? Should I sneak back to my room without acknowledging him or pretend I remembered who he was?
He had to be a member of the pack. He’d come into the house without waking anyone.
This whole situation weirded me out. I stayed in the kitchen doorway, sneaking peeks at him. I’d definitely met him before — he seemed way too familiar — but there was no way Nic would’ve let one of the members out of his sight for this long. And there was no way no one would mention a missing pack member.
In the end, I snuck to Nic’s room, then barged in. This was urgent.
“Nic,” I hissed. “There’s someone here. I have no idea who it is. Were you expecting someone?”
He sat up. “No. Are you sure you’re not seeing things? Maybe you had a bad dream. No one can get into the house without my say-so.”
“There’s most definitely someone here, and he looks familiar.”
“What does he look like?”
“Male, white skin, black hair. Around twenty years old. Hot body.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
But he got up and put a robe on. Not a regular, ratty old robe, either, but some pretentious velvet thing. Typical Nic.
I followed him to the living room. I had to know what was going on. It was way too mysterious.
Nic stopped dead at the living room door, and I nearly knocked into him. He stared at the stranger.
Then he ran across the room.
“Vlad! You’re back.”
No way. That could not be Vlad. Vlad was a little kid, and vampires didn’t age. That just never happened. It was impossible. They remained frozen in time; that was one of the most basic rules of vampires. But the vamp stood up, and, yeah, he looked an awful lot like an older Vlad.
Ewww, I’d been checking him out. Wrong, totally wrong.
Nic hugged the kid. He didn’t seem to notice or care that the kid was no longer a kid.
“That’s not Vlad,” I said. “He’s grown up.”
Nic stepped back and gave Vlad the once-over. “You’re grown up! How did that happen?”
“I’ve been away,” Vlad said. “Things are different there.”
Wow, he was way more articulate, too.
Nic didn’t even question things. He just kept hugging Vlad.
“So, where did you go?” I asked him. I hated people being all cryptic and mysterious.
“It’s hard to explain,” he said.
That really cleared up the crypticness. I had trust issues, and those trust issues were ringing alarm bells over this.
Nic finally stopped hugging him. “Vlad, I’m so happy you’re back.”
Personally, I wasn’t so sure. This growing-up thing was against nature. Maybe he wasn’t even Vlad. Maybe he was an impersonator sent to infiltrate the pack.
“How are the gymnastics going?” I asked him. If this guy wasn’t some kind of gymnastics genius, then he was most definitely an impersonator. If anything would prove this was Vlad, the gymnastics would. That kid had been mind-blowing.
He didn’t answer. He just did a series of flips across the floor.
Okay, maybe he was the real thing. Damn, that kid was so not a kid any longer. He wasn’t much taller than he had been, but he most definitely had a man’s body.
Andre and Kisho came into the room.
“Vlad!” Kisho said.
God, we’d have two vampires in a crazy blood frenzy now. That’d be more than we needed to deal with. Also, how come none of the vampires seemed surprised that the kid had grown up? They just seemed to accept it, or not notice.
“Kisho,” the kid said, and gave Kisho a big grin.
Kisho went into the kitchen, and I followed him
“Don’t you think this is weird?” I said. “There’s something going on here. That kid just turns up, and suddenly he’s aged like seven years.”
“I think he knows the pack is in trouble and turned up to help. That’s not so weird. He was part of our pack.”
Kisho turned on the coffee machine. He’d been so totally obsessed with feeding, he hadn’t made a coffee in ages.
“Not really,” I said. “Nic is going to get all crazy again, and I just don’t like that kid.”
“You did try to kill him.”
I sat up on the counter. “Because Nic paid me to. It’s not like he hates Nic.”
“I think you should just relax, Clem.” He handed me my coffee.
“Thanks. Really, Kisho, thanks. Sometimes I take your niceness for granted. But I really do appreciate it.”
He smiled at me. That smile had changed. Not quite so shy now. But still, it was my Kisho’s smile. I jumped down and stood behind him as he made the rest of the coffees. I threw my arms around his waist, leaning my chin on his shoulder. Well, almost on his shoulder
, since he was a lot taller than me.
“I can’t make coffee like this,” he said, but he laughed.
“I can stop.”
“No. I like having you close. Just a moment.” He shuffled over to the fridge, taking me with him.
“It’s not very convenient.” I laughed. I liked being close to him too.
Nic came into the kitchen. “Eww, gross.”
“Shut up, Nic.” I reached for him and held both of them close to me. Nic softened against my side for a moment, then moved away. Neither of us was much for the touchy-feely stuff. We did distance, or we did sex.
“I have to get back to Vlad,” he said.
“You love that kid more than me,” I said, teasing him.
“Yeah, I do. He’s exceptionally cute, and part unicorn.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I helped Kisho finish making the coffee, then went back to the living room.
“Now that the pack’s complete, we need to seriously plan for this attack,” Nic said.
“We weren’t doing that before?” I asked.
“It’s going to be much easier with Vlad here.”
Even with Vlad being more articulate, Nic hadn’t asked his real name. I had a feeling that even if Nic knew, he’d always call him Vlad. He was right about it being much easier with Vlad, though. Vlad couldn’t be controlled by the Vampire King, and he couldn’t be killed. Those were some major plus points.
I put my mistrust to the side. For the first time since this war had started, I felt a little relief. The Vampire King had wanted to use the kid as a weapon. Now, we could use Vlad as a weapon against him.
“I have to go downstairs and move those girls,” Nic said to Vlad. “You do want your old room back? Or you can have one of the other rooms. I don’t mind.”
With Vlad here, Nic would definitely need to find more groupies. The girls were already complaining about keeping up with Kisho’s demand. Since the first time Kisho had fed, he’d never asked me again, and I hadn’t liked to bring it up with him.
“I’m happy sleeping anywhere. Don’t move them,” Vlad said.
“So, why are you here?” I asked the kid.
“I’m here to help Kisho,” the kid said.