Mob rules uc-1

by Cameron Haley

  "It is, but I can do it here, too. And use glamour. But I don't cast spells like you do, because I'm a piskie."

  "Oh."

  "So come on, it'll feel really good."

  That's what I was afraid of. The whole Honey situation was pretty hard to figure out. I had no objections to a little harmless fun between girls. There'd been a few times with girls from the Men's Room, and I'd never regretted it. So how was I supposed to feel about a pretty, young naked woman who wanted to take a shower with me? What if she was eight inches tall? It was kinky, but more like a foot fetish. Not like bestiality or necrophilia kinky. And besides, it was just a shower.

  Then I thought about Adan and what he would think of me showering with Honey. Well, he was a guy, so he'd probably be all for it as long as he could watch. But I knew I wouldn't like the idea of him taking a shower with some girl, no matter how short she was.

  "Look, Honey, I just can't take a shower with you." Then I had a moment of real inspiration. "You're a very beautiful woman, you're very sexy, and I'm just not comfortable with that level of intimacy. We're roommates and I value our friendship."

  "You think I'm sexy?" Honey beamed.

  "Of course. You're hot. And I can't say the idea of some kung-fu scrubbing isn't tempting. But that's why I can't take a shower with you."

  Honey sighed. "Okay, I'm first then." She flew off again. "You can come in if you change your mind," she called from the bathroom.

  I dropped onto the couch and let out a deep breath. I felt like I'd either dodged a bullet or missed out on something so weird even the men's magazines wouldn't know what to do with it.

  My preference for searching Adan's apartment was to do it when he wasn't there. I called him a little after ten and suggested we meet somewhere. My plan was to pick a place far enough away that I could break in after he left, search the loft and then make up for lost time with the traffic spell.

  It was a good plan, but Adan invited me over instead. It was about ten-thirty when I got to his loft. He'd already had dinner, so we settled on coffee and shared a slice of take-out Washington. We finished the pizza and he let me smoke after I agreed to use my housecleaning spell to kill the odor.

  "Tell me about Fred," I said, tilting my head away from him and blowing a line of smoke into open air.

  "You picking a fight, Domino? You just got here."

  "I'm not, but I work for your father and it's my job to look after his interests."

  "And protecting little old me is part of that job?"

  "I'm not trying to protect you, Adan. I know you can take care of yourself." It was the exact opposite of how I really felt, but I couldn't very well tell him that.

  Adan nodded. "He's German, but I think he's older than the country. He says it wasn't really unified when he was alive. He says he was a noble or a prince or something."

  "They always are. You never seem to run across a vampire who came up a peasant."

  Adan laughed. "Well, I told you I met him at the club."

  "Yeah. I figure he hunts there."

  "I think so. Actually, he owns the place. Anyway, we became friends before I knew what he was, and I've never been with him when he…did that. But I've seen him leave with women."

  "And they don't come back."

  "No, sometimes they don't."

  I sank back on the sofa, smoked and thought about my next move. This was tricky. It was possible Adan could help me find the vampire, saving me the trouble of having to search his place. But if I asked the kind of questions I'd have to ask, he'd know what I was planning. Would he help me kill Fred? Or would he throw me out of his apartment?

  My gut was telling me that his friendship with Fred didn't run too deep. He'd found out about him after they'd become friends. His father had him juiced-up with protective magic and spell talismans, but he was probably still a little intimidated by the vampire. Maybe he was worried Fred would come after him if he told him to get lost. Maybe I was right, and the spirit had even manipulated him into the friendship.

  I just didn't know him well enough to make a read. Some people will remain loyal to a friend or family member no matter what they do. Even if he wasn't thrilled with Fred, that didn't mean he'd be okay with me taking him out. He might tell me to get lost. What I was most worried about, even though I didn't want to admit it, was that he wanted something from the vampire. Adan didn't have the juice to be a sorcerer, and he felt trapped between two worlds as a result. Maybe he saw vampirism as a solution to his identity crisis and he wanted Fred to turn him.

  I didn't believe that, but I couldn't be sure. And again, I had to figure the spirit into this, whether it was responsible for the Adan-Fred connection or not. I didn't know all the details of how this thing worked, but it was a fair bet the spirit knew everything Adan did, even when it wasn't actively possessing him. It'd have to. I didn't like it, and I didn't blame him for it, but there was no way I could completely trust Adan, even if he would line up with me against Fred.

  I couldn't read his mind, either, as I had with Honey. Even without his father's wards protecting him, I'd like to think I wouldn't have done it. Maybe it was even true.

  "Are you going to kill him, Domino?" Adan asked. "Don't lie to me."

  "No," I lied, "not unless you want me to. You had it right last night-I'm not really in a position to judge him."

  He nodded, but I couldn't tell if he was relieved or disappointed. "I don't like what he does. It disgusts me. But he says he's a different species, that it's natural for his kind to prey on humans just like it's natural for us to eat cattle."

  "Do you buy that?"

  "No. I understand why he sees it that way, but I don't think it's the same thing."

  "It's not," I said. "He's a monster. There's nothing natural about him."

  Adan smiled an uneasy smile. "I told him the exact same thing once."

  "What did he say?"

  "He said cattle would have the same opinion of butchers."

  I grunted. It was chilling, but it wasn't a big stretch for me to look at the world the way the vampire did. Maybe when I wasn't paying attention I did look at it the same way. I was a hell of a lot closer to human than Fred was, but I had to admit I usually didn't think of myself as one. Maybe it was the gangster thing, or the power magic gave me, but the same rules just didn't seem to apply. I was an outsider, and we made our own rules.

  My attention turned from halfhearted moral angst to how I was going to search Adan's apartment without him noticing. He might make a move on me, and I was pretty sure I wanted him to. If I could get him in bed, there might be a shower later or he might fall asleep, and that would give me my chance.

  I wasn't real comfortable with that approach. I've done much worse things, but the idea of trying to seduce Adan for any other reason than the honest one didn't sit right. I also had a feeling sex might bring the spirit back out to play, and I wasn't ready to risk my skin just to get laid.

  It occurred to me that I might be more clever if I didn't always rely on magic to do anything remotely complicated. I finally gave up and decided I'd have to leave. Once he was safely tucked in bed, I could break in, find what I was looking for and get out with him none the wiser. It would have been a lot easier without having to break in, but I was sure I had the spells I'd need to do it without waking him up.

  I stayed for another hour so it wouldn't look suspicious. We went into the living room and turned on the TV, cuddling up on one corner of his large sectional. Maybe I'd get lucky and he'd fall asleep, but he didn't really seem to be in the mood for channel surfing. The cuddling led to kissing, things started warming up and I had to keep my eyes open to see if Adan's went black.

  The first real break in the action, I checked my watch and sighed. "I have to go to work, Adan."

  "Now? It's after midnight."

  "Gangster," I said and shrugged.

  "Oh, yeah." He laughed. "Okay, that's cool, if you really have to go." We got up and he wrapped his arms around my waist.
/>   "Yeah, I really do. Sorry. I mean, really sorry."

  He smiled down at me and kissed the tip of my nose. "Thanks for coming over. This was nice."

  "Yeah, it was," I said, kissing him again, and then I gently disengaged. He walked me to the door and a long kiss good-night bought my way to freedom.

  I sat in my car until the lights went out, first in the living room and then in his bedroom about twenty minutes later. I waited another hour just to be sure. Then I spun my wallflower and nightvision spells, got out of the car and walked back down the street to his building.

  "Security is mostly a superstition," I said, and my B amp;E spell took down the alarm system and unlocked the door. I went in, shut the door behind me and climbed the stairs.

  I stood outside his door for a few minutes and used a little juice to amplify my hearing. The open ductwork in the loft thrummed softly, and I remembered how silent it had been in the machineless world of the Between. I heard Adan in his bedroom loft, his breathing deep and even. I spun the B amp;E again, opened the door and slipped inside. As in the Between, Rashan's wards recognized me and let me pass.

  I started on my left and systematically searched the large, open loft. I checked the pockets of the jackets hanging on the tree by the front door. I searched under the sectional and between the cushions. I rummaged through the DVDs in the rack under the flat-screen TV, and I searched every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen. Nothing.

  I made my way over to the stairs leading up to the loft. I didn't like the idea of going up there with Adan sleeping, but not because I was afraid of being caught. I was pretty sure the wallflower would hold. It was too passive for Adan's wards to pick it up. I also knew his father hadn't given him a true seeing charm, or he'd have been able to see the ocean spirits on the beach. No, I didn't like the idea of going up to his bedroom loft because I felt like a fucking stalker.

  I climbed the stairs slowly, treading as lightly as I could. The wallflower spell doesn't suppress sound, it just makes it easy to ignore, and I could hear the stairs groan and creak beneath my weight.

  I found Adan snuggled in his queen-size bed, lying on his side with the flannel sheets drawn up to his chin like a little boy. He was sleeping deeply, peacefully, and his breathing was the only sound or movement.

  I walked toward the bathroom, thinking to begin my search there, and then changed my mind. Even if he wouldn't know I was there, I didn't want to be in the bathroom if Adan woke up and decided to use it. That would push the creepy stalker vibe beyond tolerable limits, and I decided to stay out of there unless I had no other choice.

  I crept back across the loft to the desk on the other side of Adan's bed. In the last drawer I checked, at the very back, I found the Vampire Fred's personal card. It proclaimed him Manfred von Hauptman, Proprietor, The Cannibal Club.

  I used my witch sight to look at the card and found it dripping with the vampire's black juice. The scent should be strong enough for Moon Dog.

  When I turned around, Adan was standing behind me wearing black boxer-briefs. His eyes were black and he was holding an expensive, titanium kitchen knife at his side.

  I jumped back, banging into the desk, and fumbled the forty-five out of its holster. Adan just stood there, a flat smile doing ugly things to his face.

  "Have you come to give me your skin, lover?" he asked in the same graveyard voice I'd heard the day before.

  I brought the heavy gun up and sighted between those empty black, shark eyes. I willed juice and resolve into my arm to hold it steady. The eyes fixed on the stainless-steel barrel, and the motherfucker took a step back.

  "Get the fuck out, or your host gets a lobotomy." I was bluffing, of course. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull the trigger on Adan, but I was sure the hollow-points wouldn't make it past his father's wards. I was just hoping the spirit wouldn't know that.

  The eyes bore into me. I thumbed the hammer on the forty-five and stared back.

  The eyes dropped to the gun again, and the creature took another step back. "Come to me in the spirit world, lover," he said. "I'll be waiting for you." Then the eyes cleared and the knife dropped to the floor point-first. It thunked into the hardwood and wobbled.

  I stood perfectly still, holding my breath. Adan looked right through me, then turned and looked around. He saw the knife and jumped back. He backed into a corner near the bed, panic draining the color from his face, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

  "What the fuck?" he whispered, his terrified eyes darting around the room. "Is somebody there? What's going on?" He moved forward, bent down and tore the knife out of the floor. Gripping it tightly in one hand, he checked the bathroom and the closet. I didn't move.

  Finally, he crept downstairs. I heard him moving around the apartment, turning on every light in the place. He walked over to the front door, and I cursed myself for leaving it unlocked. I heard him lock the door and draw the chain, and then I heard him breathing heavily again.

  Adan didn't come back upstairs. After a few minutes, he stopped searching the loft, and I heard him settle onto the sofa. I waited another fifteen minutes or so, and then crept to the edge of the loft and looked down. He was sitting on the couch, holding the knife at his side. I watched him like that for more than an hour before he finally fell asleep.

  Moving as slowly and quietly as I could, every nerve on edge, I reached out with the juice and covered the nick left by the knife in the hardwood. My housecleaning spell wouldn't fix it, and I just had to hope the cosmetic job would hold up to scrutiny. I went downstairs and got the hell out of there, reversing the B amp;E spell to lock up behind me.

  I was shaking as I drove out to Santa Monica. I could have used a little juice to make it all go away, but I just tightened my jaw and choked it down. Nine I found Moon Dog on the pier and we retreated to a low cinderblock building on the carnival side that was presently serving as his home. The building might have once been a concession stand or souvenir shop, but now it was just an unused storeroom. The security guys let Moonie crash there and even threw him a few bucks to watch the place. I guess he was cheaper than keeping a Doberman.

  I handed Moon Dog the vampire's personal card. He sniffed at it, rubbed it against his nose, dabbed it against his tongue. Finally he nodded and handed the card back to me.

  "Yeah, I think this will work. When I track, it's mostly the smell of the juice I'm following, and this has plenty on it. Probably gets his dinner all hot and bothered. I'll have to shift to track him, though."

  "How's this going to work? You need me to drive you around, or can you track him on your own?"

  Moonie shrugged. "I can probably pick up the scent anywhere in L.A. But if he's a ways off and you want me to find him before dawn, I'll need a lift. I move faster doggie-style than I do in the chair, but it'll still take a while if I have to hump it across town."

  "How will I know?"

  "Well, if I run off you know I don't need a ride."

  "Okay, and how will I know where to go if I have to drive you?"

  "Just drive, babe. One bark means next right, two means next left, three means turn around. If I lick my balls, that means stop."

  "Jesus, Moonie."

  "I'm just fucking with you, Domino. If I growl, that means stop."

  I nodded.

  "I can, though, lick my balls."

  "Too much information, Moonie."

  "Okay, babe, time to unleash the beast within."

  I nodded and went outside for a smoke. I'd seen Moon Dog shift before, and it didn't bother me, much, but he would have to ditch his clothes. It turns out a naked sixty-year-old double-amputee bum is a far more horrific sight than the shapeshifting process.

  Inside the building, clothes were discarded, the wheelchair creaked, skin stretched, bones popped and hair sprouted faster than Honey's cannabis plants. It took a couple minutes.

  Moon Dog nosed open the steel door of the building and padded outside. In the movies, werewolves are always pony-size monsters with six-inch f
angs and hell in their eyes. Moonie looked like a wolf. He was large for a wolf-probably a buck-twenty, buck-thirty-but he was still a wolf. He'd have been a popular attraction at the zoo, but he wouldn't have sent people away screaming. He was black, with a silver ruff and muzzle, and his eyes were a shining lupine-yellow.

  He looked up at me and his tongue lolled out one side of his mouth. I crouched and offered him the card, and he sniffed at it. Then he raised his head and sniffed at the air. He turned in circles a couple times and then sank down on his belly, looking at me, and whined.

  "Okay, you need a ride I guess," I said.

  Moonie chuffed.

  I got my car and brought it around. Moon Dog loped over and vaulted into the car. Just a girl and her wolf out for an early-morning drive.

  I headed east on Santa Monica Boulevard. Moon Dog sat in the passenger seat, head out facing into the wind, tongue flapping like a wet flag. There wasn't much traffic at this time of the night, and we made good time. After about fifteen minutes, Moonie barked twice and I pulled into the left lane and stopped at the light. A young woman on a crotch-rocket wearing bright blue leathers pulled up beside us. She raised the visor on her full-face helmet.

  "Nice dog," she said.

  "Thanks," I said. Moon Dog chuffed at her.

  "What's his name?"

  "Moon Dog."

  "That's cute," she said and smiled. Moonie whined. "What kind of dog is he?"

  "Mutt."

  Moon Dog swiveled his head around and looked at me. He growled.

  The woman laughed. "He doesn't like that."

  "He thinks he's a wolf."

  "Aw, is she mean to you, puppy?" the woman crooned. Moon Dog whined and lowered his head.

  "Don't feel sorry for him," I said. "He can lick his own balls."

  The woman glared at me. "Bitch," she said. She smiled at Moonie, the light changed and she sped off, riding a wheelie down to the next light.

  Moon Dog glowered at me and bared his teeth.

  I shrugged. "See? Women just aren't that impressed with the ball-licking."

  We got on the Harbor Freeway and drove into Watts. We exited at East Century and took a right on Compton and a left on East 108th. We drove past the graffiti-clad security doors of storefronts locked down for the night. We drove past rusted-out cars on blocks and brothers drinking forties around trashcan bonfires. I wasn't surprised we were heading deep into Papa Danwe's territory. It was late, and while the Haitian's juice was still raising hell in the streets, most of the civilians had retreated to their homes and barred the doors to wait for morning.