by B N Miles
“Mind running it up to the Underlord?” Jared leaned against the counter. “Just throw the name out there and see if she’ll meet with me.”
Sam arched an eyebrow. “I could do that,” he said.
“I’d owe you.”
“Owe me, huh? Not a bad thing to have, a favor from a Magi.”
“And a Meta Marshal.” Jared pulled out his badge.
Sam got stiff and his eyes went wide. “Ah fuck,” he said. “Look man, uh—”
“Relax, Sam. I’m not DEA. I don’t give a shit what you do. I’m just looking for Arman.”
He softened a little. “I’m not sure I feel comfortable putting in a good word for a Marshal, or whatever you are, man.”
“What about for me?” Cassie asked, giving him a look.
He laughed. “Tempting.”
“Please?” Jessalene said. “We’d appreciate it. We’d all owe you.”
Sam grinned at them, showing his fangs. “All right, fine. I don’t know what you’ve been up to Jared, but I have to say, I’m interested. And like I said, you were always a good customer.”
“Thanks, Sam. I’ll owe you. And like I said, I don’t care what you get up to behind the scenes, so don’t worry about it. I only care about finding Arman.”
“Works for me.” He crossed his arms. “Anything else I can do for you folks? Looking for some product? Need to do some laundry? I’ll throw in some soap on the house.”
Jared laughed and shook his head. “No, thanks. Just get in touch when you hear from your Lord.” He handed Sam a card. “My new number.”
“Real official,” Sam said, slipping the card into his pocket. “You folks have a good night now, okay?”
“You too!” Cassie said, grinning.
Jessalene waved to him and the three of them left the laundromat. They made it half a block before Jessa grabbed Jared’s hand.
“Customer?” she asked.
He glanced at her. “Told you before. The two things that work to keep the Need at bay are drugs and sex.”
“And we just met your dealer.” She smiled, but there was a tension in her eyes. “What’s his deal, anyway? The Hawaiian shirt? Those shorts and hair? He looked like a hippie.”
“Seriously,” Cassie said. “I kind of liked him, actually. For a drug dealing Vampire, at least.”
“Sam’s full name is Samo Slavitsa Andonov, and I’m pretty sure he’s at least four-hundred-years-old, maybe more. That guy could’ve ripped us to pieces if he wanted.”
Cassie stared at him. “Really?”
“Sure. He’s probably fed on tens of thousands of different humans at this point.”
“How does an old, strong Vampire become a drug dealer?” Jessalene asked.
Jared stepped off the sidewalk toward their car. He paused at the door and shrugged. “Same way anyone else does, I guess. Vampires like money as much as humans do.”
They climbed into the car and Jared started the engine.
“Think his Lord or whatever will help us?” Jessalene asked.
“I don’t know,” Jared said. “If I were still just a Magi, probably. But since I’m with the MetaDept now…” He shrugged. “Vampires have their own system of control, which helps them stay within the Accords. But they don’t like the MetaDept, never have.”
“Let’s hope she can look past that,” Jessa said.
“Let’s hope. I could bring it to Wyatt and they could pressure her to give up what she knows, but that might backfire.” Jared let out a breath. “Nothing more annoying than Vampire politics.”
“I thought all politics were annoying,” Jessalene said. “You should try coming to a Dryad clan council meeting sometime. So much complaining.”
“You two would like my world, then,” Cassie said. “My family rules the Were world with an iron fist and slaughters all those that oppose us.”
Jared stared at her for a long moment until she burst out laughing. He glanced back at Jessalene and she had the same horrified look on her face, but it turned into a smile as she shook her head.
“You two swallowed that one a little too easy,” Cassie said. “Seriously, what do you think I am?”
“Scary,” Jared said, and pulled the car out into traffic.
19
Jared spent the rest of that night in bed with the girls and in the morning, he figured he’d get into the office early and start on that paperwork. Instead, there was a voicemail on his phone, left just before sunrise.
“Jared, old pal, seems like you’ve got a friend up there. I put out some feelers after you left, and turns out my Underlord is interested in meeting. I’ll text you the details. Good luck, and a word of warning: she’s really hot and really, really old.”
He checked his texts and sure enough, there was a time and a location. Since the meeting wasn’t until the middle of the night, he could still head into work. He made coffee and breakfast for the girls, and left them a note before heading out to the office.
All morning he wrestled with what he should do about Wyatt. On the one hand, his investigation was proceeding fairly well, and he didn’t want to get Wyatt involved if it wasn’t necessary. It was obvious that his Captain was getting pressure from above about all this, and it was better for him if he didn’t know what Jared was up to.
But then again, going to meet with a Vampire Lord, even just a local Underlord, was a pretty big deal. He didn’t know anyone that had ever met a Vampire in a position of power before. He’d heard rumors about them, old Vampires that had fed on millions of humans and were absurdly powerful, but mentally twisted from being alive for so long. Jared imagined they’d lived and forgotten so many lifetimes they didn’t quite know who they were at any given time.
That was just a guess, though. Truth was, Sam was the oldest Vampire he knew, and Sam seemed pretty with it, even if he was a weird hippie drug dealer.
Halfway through the afternoon, Jared decided to update Wyatt. He figured if he was going in an official capacity, the MetaDept should know he would be there in case he screwed something up. The politics of the situation weren’t lost on him, and in the end he couldn’t risk meeting someone so important without letting Wyatt know.
Wyatt looked up from his desk as Jared knocked at the door. “You again,” he said with a sigh.
“Sorry, sir.” Jared stepped into his office and shut the door.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Arman the Vampire,” Jared said. “I’ve been looking for him. Checked in with an old contact of mine.”
“Contact?” Wyatt raised an eyebrow.
“From before the Marshals,” Jared said and left it at that. “He didn’t know Arman, but made introductions to the local Underlord. I’m meeting with her tonight.”
Wyatt’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you joking?”
“Not at all, sir. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you because of all the pressure you’re under, but—”
“Jared, sit your ass down.” He stared for a long moment then laughed, shaking his head. “You’re going to meet with a Vampire Underlord. In the middle of the night. Do you know how stupid that is?”
Jared sat and shrugged. “I know she’ll be old and powerful.”
“That’s an understatement. Her bodyguards will be old and powerful. She’s… something else.” He typed at his computer then turned the monitor toward him.
Jared stared. The screen showed a pretty woman who looked no older than eighteen, smiling at the camera with her head tilted to one side. She was blonde, had blue eyes, wide lips, and could easily have been some sort of model. Her bone structure suggested Eastern European, but it was hard to say from the picture. “Is that her?” he asked.
“Yep,” Wyatt said, pulling the screen back to him. “Not a whole lot in here. She’s a few hundred years old, maybe a thousand at the most, but she was turned when she was young so she looks like a college kid. Her name’s Nikita.”
“Any last name?”
“Not that we know of.” He
let out a breath. “You know how Vampires are. They hate the MetaDept and the Magi more than any other Meta race. If they can keep something from us, they do, mostly out of spite.”
“What should I know about this meeting?”
“Well, if she wants to kill you, she will. Doesn’t matter how strong you are. So I’d consider leaving the girls at home.”
Jared frowned. “I doubt they’ll let me.”
“Well, consider it, anyway.” He shrugged. “Otherwise, don’t make any promises and don’t make any requests. You’re going as a representative of the Marshal Service, and any requests or promises will be considered official.”
“I can do that,” Jared said.
“She’ll hold you to any agreements you make, so be careful. And she might ask to feed from you.”
Jared sat back. “What, really? I thought that was illegal.”
“Technically, it’s illegal to feed on any human without their consent, and it’s also illegal to tell a human about being a Vampire. But you already know, and if she gets your consent…” He trailed off and shrugged. “She’ll ask. Apparently it’s something they do.”
“So then no feeding.” Jared laughed. “I wouldn’t go down that road anyway. Pretty sure Vampires and Magi don’t mix that way for a reason.” He decided not to elaborate, and Wyatt didn’t indicate that he knew what Jared meant.
“Right, you don’t want that.” Wyatt sighed, rubbed his eyes. “What sort of shit are you in right now, Jared?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But if anyone can find Arman, it’s this Underlord.”
“Right. Well, that’s all I know about her. Like I said, they hide everything they can from us. I don’t even know where her base of operations is or how many Vampires owe her fealty. In a city this size, I’d guess it’s in the thousands, but that’s just a guess.”
“Got it.” Jared took a deep breath. “Sir, have you heard anything else about Lumi Medlar?”
Wyatt looked surprised. “Why are you asking?”
“You said she got punished for putting out a warrant on Wen Bet. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “And if you were smart, you wouldn’t ask again.”
Jared tilted his head. “That bad, huh?”
Wyatt said nothing, just frowned.
“All right,” Jared said and stood. “Thanks for the help.”
“Good luck. Who knows, maybe she’ll like you since you’re a Magi. Or maybe the girls can charm her.”
“I’m hoping the latter,” Jared said, heading to the door. “Gods know I’m not going to.”
Wyatt laughed as Jared left his office. He headed back to his desk, sat down, ignored Harold, and stared at his computer screen.
He’d been worrying about Lumi a lot lately. He wasn’t sure why. She was the enemy, a member of the Medlar family, the very family that he was working against. But she’d helped them back with Ferric, and she’d helped him again in the hospital.
He owed her. Maybe she didn’t think so, but she was getting punished because of a favor he asked for. He knew Magi punishments weren’t small things, and he could only imagine what they were doing to her.
He forced himself to lean forward and focus on his paperwork. It was going to be a long night, and he’d be dead exhausted tomorrow, so he needed to get some work done today.
20
“Okay, so this is totally going to be in some leather night club, right?” Cassie asked as Jared drove slowly down the block.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“You didn’t scout this place out?” Jessalene asked.
“Nope,” he said. “I didn’t want to get caught by her people and start things off on the wrong foot.”
“I would’ve done it,” she mumbled.
“I don’t think you guys get what we’re dealing with,” he said. “This woman is old and powerful. Stronger than anything we’ve come up against. One of the few beings on this planet strong enough to tear apart even the most powerful Magi. I bet it would take a full Fist to bring her down.”
“So what?” Cassie asked. “She invited us to her place. I bet she’s nice.”
Jared laughed. “I’m not sure you become a Vampire Underlord by being nice.”
“Still should’ve scouted,” Jessalene grumbled.
The GPS in Jared’s phone navigated them down a few more blocks. They were in South Philly again, this time on the west side, closer to the river. The streets were a little wider, but still densely packed with brick row homes and small businesses. He took another turn and the GPS said they were in the right place, so he pulled into the first open spot he found and killed the engine.
“This is it?” Cassie asked, frowning.
They were parked on a mixed residential and business street. There was no thumping club music, no long line of people dressed in leather down the block. It was quiet, and most of the stores looked closed.
“This is it,” he confirmed, frowning. “Come on. I’m not sure which place we’re going to.” He got out and held up his phone, reading off the number. The girls followed as he headed down the sidewalk. He checked signs, passed a laundromat, a book store, a bar, and stopped in front of a small 24/7 diner right on the corner of the block.
He turned back to the girls and gestured. Cassie looked disappointed. “No leather,” she said with a sigh.
“No leather,” he confirmed. “You two ready?”
“Ready,” Jessalene said.
“Remember, I can’t make any requests or promises. But Wyatt didn’t say anything about either of you.”
Cassie laughed. “So devious, Jared.”
“I know. What can I say?” He took her hand and kissed her cheek, then leaned over and kissed Jessalene. “Let’s go in.”
He went in first, followed by Cassie, then Jessa. The diner was quiet, just a single older woman behind the counter and a few tables and booths taken up by groups of young people. It was after midnight, and the clientele in the middle of the night was mostly drunk kids. The color scheme was white and teal, and the floor looked like worn linoleum, but it was kept clean. The chrome along the counters and the stools were polished, and the booths looked clean, the seats overstuffed and kept in good shape. It was a dive, but it was a well-maintained and clean dive, and the smell of fried food put a smile on Jared’s face.
“Take a seat anywhere,” the woman behind the counter said. She had teased out brown hair, bags under her eyes, and looked to be in her mid-fifties. Her makeup was on the heavy side, but she was slim and fit, and the uniform flattered her full breasts and hips. “I’ll be over in a second.”
Jared walked over to the counter and sat down on a stool. The waitress tried to ignore him, but he leaned closer and grabbed her attention. “I’m looking for Nikita,” he said.
The woman froze. She turned and narrowed her eyes. “Bechtel?”
“That’s me.”
She nodded and gestured. “Booth in the back corner. Go ahead and take a seat. She’ll be out shortly.”
“Thank you.”
The waitress shrugged and went back to making more coffee. Jared got up and moved over to the booth. He slipped into one side, the bouncy seat comfortable and inviting. Cassie sat across from him, and Jessalene sat next to him.
“This is nice,” Cassie said, looking around. “Think I can order pancakes?”
“Probably not,” Jared said. “I don’t think we’re staying long enough to eat.”
“Where are her bodyguards?” Jessalene asked, frowning around the place. “I mean, this is supposed to be some big, bad Vampire Lord or whatever, right?”
Jared nodded. He’d noticed the same thing. There was a table of three girls dressed like they were clubbing, in low-cut tops and short skirts. They were eating fries and looking at their phones together, laughing and sharing whatever they were staring at. There was another booth of two couples, white people in their mid-sixties at Jared’s guess, also dressed like the
y were out for a night of drinking. They were talking loudly and eating sandwiches. Otherwise, the place was empty.
“Maybe she doesn’t need them,” Cassie said. “I mean, she’s some ancient badass Vampire, right?”
“That’s what everyone says,” Jared agreed.
“Could be more intimidating for her not to have bodyguards.” Cassie shrugged and picked up the saltshaker. She moved it around in front of her, absently toying with the thing.
Jared wasn’t so sure. He looked around the diner and it just felt off. Everything seemed so well put together, the lighting just so, the metal polished to a shine. Even the coffee machine looked like it had been cleaned recently. He frowned as he looked closer at the girls on their phones, but was interrupted when someone came walking over from behind the counter.
She had long blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun. Her wide blue eyes and full lips were smiling, and she really was as beautiful as she looked in that picture, even more so in person. Her cheekbones were high and her small, oval ears surprised Jared with their delicacy. She wore a long, flowing skirt and a tight, low-cut top that showed off her gorgeous figure and her ample breasts.
“Hello,” she said as she came over. She had a very slight accent that Jared couldn’t quite place. “I’m Nikita. Lovely of you to show up, Mr. Bechtel.”
“Jared, please.” He half stood awkwardly in the booth and bowed slightly. He knew she was going to look young, but seeing her in person knocked him off his game a little bit. She was dressed like she was going to Coachella, not like the highest-ranking Vampire in the city. “Thank you for meeting with us, Underlord Nikita. This is Cassie Grim and Jessalene Dorvahn.”
Nikita raised an eyebrow at Jessalene. “Of the Dorvahn Dryad clan?”
Jessa nodded. “That’s right. Do you know my clan?”
“I’m familiar with most Meta groups in the region,” she said, smiling. “I like your people in particular. Very aggressive. Very strong. You Dryads sure do love to protect your borders.” She laughed, and it was light and girlish.
Jared was having a hard time thinking of her as the dangerous, badass Vampire that Wyatt warned him about, but that was probably the effect she went for.