by brett hicks
However tempting raising this young shifter would be a violation of her kind. Shifters need to be able to phase to properly maintain emotional balance and stability. Revenants made of shifters slowly go mad from their inability to connect to nature, or to the animal soul that shares their metaphysical body. Some inhuman scholars believe shifters have a soul that is divided, part human, and part animal. Their aspect is half of who they are and as such, raising a shifter without animal aspect is leaving them with only half a soul. In my opinion, anything with only half a soul would go mad quickly!
“That’s coming out of your pay Detective!”
The sharply toned Captain snapped at me. I eyed him and I tried to keep my expression neutral.
Dame him! Fuck! Calm yourself Thea; you knew this type of bull shit was coming!
Even my inner monologue seemed unconvinced, and my frustrations were mounting.
Four:
“Tell me how the perp entered the apartment, if not via magic?”
Captain Tomlin asked me in a less than friendly tone—AKA the only tone he seemed to possess while addressing the filthy blood-whore. His anger was so palpable that I could taste it rolling off, in fact, if I had not waved him to step back, I might have missed the equally bigoted scents so very nearly like his own underneath the fresh scent.
While the masculine smell and even the lingering trace scent of latex were readily detectable, I nearly missed the male emotions. I could not make much of the scent information, but it was a strange mix of anger, hatred, and arousal. That should make sense, considering the rape, but my mind was reeling with the fading, but still a present strength of the rage just beneath everything else.
The victim was coated in fear and violation so bone-deep that I might not have detected this. The tangled mess of pheromones and energies traced from the living room, into the kitchen, and finally out to the locked balcony. I frowned deeply and I pulled the window open and discovered that while the lock was intact, the wood around it had been pried open.
I could smell the perp’s scent all over the small ledge. Sinister intentions spiced the air, but they were fading faster with the rushing winds of the fifteen stories elevation and the whipping chilly winds of late fall.
“He came in from here.”
I heard myself proclaim coolly and I stepped forward and followed my nose. Humans wouldn’t have thought to look up for answers, not when there are easier ways to break into a woman’s apartment. Being an inhuman creature, my first instinct was to check the higher ground. My pupils widened and my gaze enhanced the rails above my head. I looked at the one directly above, but I saw no hint of anything suspicious. The white paint on the metal was undisturbed. I repeated the process with the next two and found similar results.
Finally, I scanned the nineteenth story ledge directly above and I spotted some noticeable blackening, like from rope-burn. The paint was worn into a rope-shaped groove. I did not think about my next action, I just acted on my hunting instincts.
I jumped and trusted my powerful muscles would carry me the full four-and-a-half-story jump. I shot through the air as if I had been fired from a cannon. My gloved hands grabbed onto the ledge and my right foot found perch on the edge of the balcony’s flooring. I pulled myself up the rest of the slight climb and I swung my left leg over the ledge without a second thought. This was not nearly the first time I had found myself dangling high off the ground.
I heard several barks of fuming cops, demanding to know what the hell the blood-whore was doing! I was a bit too distracted following the scent, it was stronger here. The killer had come in from this ledge and he had climbed back up the same way, thus the robe-burns on the white paint.
I pulled my buzzing angry phone out of my pocket and I knew who it was, my boss. I thumbed the talk button.
“Sir, please come up here. I found trace evidence of someone rappelling down via rope. This was the point of entry.”
I heard him beginning to bark orders to the men and women around him. He was gathering techs. This is the reason I admired Inspector Johnson. He was a stand-up guy and a damn fine example of what a seasoned cop should be. He lets his people play to their individual strengths and he does not sneer and constantly question everything I tell him I perceive. Besides, while in the academy, I had been thoroughly tested on my acute senses, so that the federal government could legally document the veracity of inhuman claims to “smell something wrong.”
Humans now legally had to investigate if an inhuman claim to smell blood nearby in unsafe quantities. And, as a detective, my heightened senses are perfectly valid and useful tools for at my disposal. I was basically a highly intelligent bloodhound with a killer Latin curvy body!
A middle-aged woman peeked out at me and went wide-eyed. I pointed to my shiny new golden shield on my left-hand side. She nodded dumbly, letting me into her apartment via window entrance.
“I’m sorry for startling you, ma’am. I am Detective Salvo with the NYPD and I was just following a trail of evidence and it led me here. Our team is going to be up momentarily to check for any trace evidence left. Her belief that a person of interest broke into your room sometime today, were you here all day ma’am?”
She swallowed several audible times and she seemed shaky. I didn’t try to reach out and touch her. Not just because I’m a vampire, but also because it’s not polite to crowd potential victim’s personal bubble.
“Ma’am, would you like to have a seat?”
I managed to keep my tone soft, but not in a manner that might make me sound like a damn kindergarten teacher. I barely had the shell-shocked woman, who had still not managed to introduce herself, seated before the knocks started. I gave her one last look to ensure she was fine for the moment. I walked up and peeked out, opening the door for my Inspector and a motley crew of CSU techs and several plainclothes detectives. I noted the lack of a certain Captain, not that I was already missing the muttered curses he peppered me with.
I led Inspector Johnson into the living room, which was the same layout as the apartment four stories below. He was a big burly man, but his deep masculine tone was softer than silk and twice as smooth. I could see that man leaving many a maiden love-struck in his day! Hell, I doubt he would have trouble with maidens today, considering women tended to find older men attractive—to a point.
He softly re-explained everything I had and then some that I had not thought to mention out the gate. I might have perfect recall, but handling witnesses and emotions did not come with an exact handbook. Sure, we took many grief counseling courses for my degree program in school, but the real world was far from fool-proof. What works on paper could trigger someone in real life.
Where I had fumbled, Inspector Johnson had charmed with his smooth operating charisma.
“I sometimes think I’m adopted when I watch him handle a woman like that”
I looked to my right and Skylar, Officer Johnson, was standing beside me. I had not paid any attention to my surrounding, but I was accustomed to Liam sneaking up on me, so no limbs were lost in this approach. Liam claims his sneakiness is all to better prepare me for the harshness of the world around me. I am a princess, something that seemed to still not sink in properly. I was also the rightful ruler of all of Harlem, all of Northern Manhattan in the inhuman domain on this island. Seri ruled the rest of Manhattan, but I had been the one to kill the Winter Queen. By right, I could have claimed all of the property, but I decided to keep half and split the rest, so Seri’s people could have a place to call home since the new Sky Lord had conquered Brooklyn while we were busy with two other battles.
In short, when I became a Necrovamp the world shifted drastically. Lines that had not changed for well over three-hundred-years were now divided into new parts. While Arius had not wished us ill, once he learned that his father and sister were victims of the Necrovamp Dean Sylvester’s machinations, he had signed a new formal peace treaty. He retained the conquered Brooklyn, citing to us that it was our recompense for faili
ng to help Libby.
In all honesty, I believe this was just an excuse to establish his new kingdom on the shores of the Eastern US, far, far from the seat of the maddening King of Earth—Seri’s own father. Besides, Arius knew that Dean Sylvester would return one day and I suspect he wants his own pound of Dean’s flesh.
I smiled and my mind snapped back to Skylar.
“Do you mind if I call you Skylar? Things would be rather confusing if I had to call you and the Inspector both Johnson all the time.”
His smile widened and he nodded vigorously.
“That would be much appreciated, but when the brass is around, we still have to be rigid and prickly.”
I bit my lip and smiled and cut him a mischievous amber glint.
“So, sticks firmly in asses for the brass?”
Skylar nodded sagely and a sincerely.
“Yep, lest you want to end up with a rip.”
(Rip is cop speak for being written up for a conduct violation of pretty much any variety.)
“Noted, and highlighted,” I said it sassy and playful, but I quickly cleared my throat and began to walk towards the kitchen window. I spotted the Inspector moving to stand behind us as we came to a stop by the window. Skylar might be wholly human, but he took the quick shut-up cue with ease. I guess he had to be perceptive, considering his father.
“Salvo, this is where you followed the trail? I am going to ask because it is my cop nature, so take no offense. Are you absolutely certain the scent or emotional imprints are the same exact ones from the apartment below?”
His tone was all business and no bullshit, so I didn’t take a single iota of offense at the question. I shook my head emphatically.
“I’m absolutely sure, sir. Most inhuman species have a scent memory like wolves, or like werewolves in our case.”
I bit my lip as he mulled that over. He seemed to find some merit in my comment and my surety.
“We will see if the perp slipped up in here and left a trace behind. The owner was out until after we arrived on the scene. She passed one of the uniforms on the way in, so he remembers her. From the timeline so far, your theory is very probable, granted this is not the easiest avenue of approach for a perp if he is just looking to kill a girl.”
I nodded and I mulled over everything I had learned so far.
“Sir, he was as angry as he was horny. I believe this was as much an act of hate as it was about getting off, but that is just how the smells and emotions feel to me. I recommend bringing in a second opinion on this, assuming we have one.”
Inspector Johnson gave me a broad smile.
“Oh, he’s on his way now. We already had a fairy detective on the force. He was with Manhattan South Homicide until your little coming out party.”
I gulped, not all of the Winter Queen’s people had been killed and I had given amnesty to those who were willing to swear fealty and abide by the laws peacefully. That did not mean that I was comfortable with her former subjects most of the time. Besides, most had sworn oaths to Seri directly, and by proxy agreed to abide by my laws in Upper Manhattan.
The Inspector narrowed his eyes a fraction, he knew the whole story. Part of his conditions for joining the NYPD was full transparency between us. He had agreed to keep more than a few of my secrets, like me confessing that I murdered the Winter Queen and many of her nobles. Granted CCTV had captured the march of the red caps, elves, and Sidhe in the streets. Inspector Johnson had been impressed with my unorthodox tactics, mainly my luring her army into four buildings and then blowing them up with the red caps still stuck behind wards inside.
“Is that going to cause a problem?”
I shook my head “no” quickly in response.
“No sir, I trust you would never bring anyone on who is going to be a risk to peace, or to the public.”
Well, he had recruited me, despite my pyrotechnics, so I couldn’t definitively claim what I just said to be true. Hell, some people had been looking to have me arrested for a long time, but nothing ever proved I had anything to do with the four buildings collapsing. Magic was a whole new realm of reality to humans, thankfully!
“Well, let’s get to work Detective, I do hope to find some time for takeout before I crash tonight.”
With that said we put our metaphorical noses to the floor and began to sniff out clues.
Five:
My body ached by the time I came trampling into the new Manhattan Cold Coffin nightclub. This version featured four levels of dance floors soundproofed to provide different music and ambiance in each level.
The main dance floor on the first level still had the crimson, black and the coffins and a lot more late-eighties and forward punk, grunge, and alternative rock memorabilia. Band shirts lined one whole wall, all from shows Seri, Liam, Bix, or any number of our people had been at over the years.
The throbbing of Nine Inch Nails as I walked in was a welcome embrace from the bone weariness of my night. I had not managed to meet the other inhuman detective, because he was detained at another scene, also in the Midtown area.
Skylar had exchanged phone numbers with me. I was greatly relieved when I confirmed he knew I was gay. I did not want to start a new friendship out on such an awkward note. That happens all the time. Some gay women believe they have to hate men to truly be gay, but I am fine with men, as long as their parts do not try to cross into my borders. Skylar had laughed richly, stating, “Do you really think that anyone in New York doesn’t know your dating preferences?”
The sassy little punk did have a point—damn news hounds!
I found my way to the fourth floor, AKA, the inhumans only section of the new and improved Cold Coffin. This was where Seri held court, of a sort. This was also connected to the two apartment buildings that housed some of the Manhattan inhumans. Being her kin, Seri had rooms for me on the top floor of this club building.
With the press eating up everything the beautiful co-ed age looking vampire says and does, business was booming. Cold Coffin had a line literally wrapping around the building any given night. There have been a lot of curious rubber-necking humans looking to catch a few glimpses of a vampire or a fairy in a safe setting. Others just liked the scene Seri created. Seri and I share a deep affinity for all things alt rock, punk rock, hard rock, and metal.
“Ello to ye lass. What’ll it be fer ye?”
I felt the huge goofy grin forming on my lips at the sound of Liam’s thick Scottish accent. He often spoke in an American English accent to the customers, but he dropped the persona while speaking to any inhuman.
I turned and I nipped at my lip as I tried to think of what to order.
“A Real Bloody Mary, double the Mary.”
Liam’s lip twitched in amusement and his light eyes danced in levity.
“Aye, would ye like her virginal and all while yer at it lass?”
His tone was playful and light-hearted. I nodded and pointed a finger at him and leveled him with a mock-serious look.
“I’ll know if she’s been corrupted barkeep.”
Someone to my right left burst out laughing at our little exchange. Patty was sitting on a stool nursing her amber liquid. I waved a limp hand in greeting to her.
“Night Patty, how are things?”
Patty smiled wide and shrugged nonchalantly.
“Some minor disagreements, nothing that I would need aid with Thea. How was your graduation night? I heard through the grapevine that you were called to your first case right out of the door.”
Hat grapevine?! Damn immortal gossip queens!
Patty seemed to read my line of thought and she snorted.
“You’re a Princess of the Earth Throne Thea! People will talk about you, just because you crossed the damn street near enough for them to see you.”
I huffed and I slumped forward. Liam returned with a very bloody, Bloody Mary. I eyed the delicious spicy concoction and took a deep sip and moaned into my rich thick blood with just a dash of Russian vodka.
“Damn Mary, you and are going to have a damn good time tonight.”
Liam snorted and he leaned against the bar casually. His large handsome roguish charm was switched to eleven right now.
“I can’t be certain that is altogether proper lass. We wouldn’t want the press to get their paws on your particular fetishes.”
I rolled my eyes and nodded to him while I sucked down more of my blood like the starving vampire that I was.
“Says the guy with a real spanking paddle and a full bondage kit.”
Liam shrugged one shoulder and looked at me unapologetically.
“Forever is a long time lass, sometimes a man needs a paddle to the ass!”
Patty snorted and hummed in agreement.
“I’ll be sure to pass that news along to my husband.”
We both laughed uproariously and Liam quickly poured Patty a refill on her Scotch.
“So, what did happen out there tonight Thea?”
I sighed and I began to tell Liam and Patty everything I saw, smelled and suspected. Patty looked worried and Liam was doing his whole, still-as-the-grave routine. I knew he would have to repeat this verbatim to my kin, Seri was intrinsically linked to her second. They had even had sex once three-hundred-years ago, mostly due to her father holding them at sword-point.
Liam is a clairvoyant, meaning he sees possibilities and probable futures. He has always kept his lips tightly sealed about his visions, but he let some things slip to Seri and me last year when The Dawning went down. Liam is not only Seri’s strongest vampire—besides me—but he is also her oldest and dearest friend.
“Ye know I will have to tell yer kin, yeah?”