When I had my teeth retracted, I wiped my palms on my thighs and shifted back to face Seere. The knowing expression on his face helped me tamp down the arousal even further.
“I’d forgotten how easily I can excite you.”
“I’d forgotten how obnoxious you can be.” I bared my fangs at him and this time it had nothing to do with sexual heat.
The bastard gave me a smug look, but then a demon prince wasn’t going to be frightened of any vampire, not even an enforcer. “Redheads and their tempers,” he said with mock sadness.
That comment pushed my anger level higher and it took all my will power to keep my talons from extending along with my teeth. With one last glare, I brushed past Seere and went to check out the body.
I recognized him, and although he was a member of my clan, I felt no remorse. Herb Cropper had been an arrogant little twit who’d never accomplished anything of import. Not that his ego let him believe that. If it wasn’t illegal for one vampire to kill another, he would have been dead long ago. And if he had ever broken the canon, there would have been a dozen enforcers campaigning to be the one to eliminate him – including me.
* * *
Dispassionately, I examined him. There wasn’t a mark on him, but he was twisted up into an unnatural position – the result of his body contorting and convulsing as it tried to fight the poison of demon blood. “Did you see the others who were killed?” I asked Seere when he came up beside me.
“I’ve been part of the search for the rogue since the beginning.”
“Vampires are careful to avoid drinking from demons. How is he gaining our confidence to such a degree?”
“If I were to guess, I’d say the demon didn’t convince his victims that it was OK to take his blood. It’s more likely that he created a cloak to make himself appear human.”
I didn’t know they could do that, but instead of commenting on it, I said, “And they wouldn’t know differently until it was too late.”
“Yes.” He paused, then added, “The demons don’t want war, Iso. We survive for the same reason your people do – most humans don’t believe we exist – but there’s no way to hide a conflict and once they know we’re here . . . ”
“Fanatics will hunt us down and kill us.”
Seere nodded. “And then there will be the others, the ones who want to become vampires or demons. It’ll be hell on Earth,” he said with a smirk.
This time I smiled with him. “At least the demons can disappear into their alternate world.”
“For brief periods.” Before I could question him about that, Seere said, “If the one committing the murders follows his usual routine, he’ll seek out two more vampires tonight. Where would be the best place for him to find victims?”
I shrugged. The possibilities were nearly endless. There were vampires from my clan spread all over the world, but Los Angeles had a disproportionately high number because our ruler called this city home right now. If this were San Francisco, or some other place without a clan lord in residence, it would be easy to pinpoint a location or two. The sheer numbers here meant there were dozens of options.
“You must have some ideas,” he pressed. “Where do you hang out?”
“It might be more productive to come up with somewhere that the victims routinely visited.” And I wasn’t about to tell him that aside from when I needed to feed or had an assignment, I spent most of my time on the clan lord’s estate either training or learning from the elders. If Seere wanted to believe I was out every night, I wasn’t about to dissuade him.
“That’s why you’re here – to add your knowledge of vampires to mine on demons.”
Yeah, I knew that. The problem was that I hadn’t been part of the investigation into the murders until tonight and the only one of the dead I’d had a passing acquaintance with was Herb. Since I did everything I could to avoid him, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to come up with any of his hangouts.
“Give me a few minutes to think.” After Seere nodded, I wandered from the body and found a crate that had enough wood left that it might support me. Gingerly, I lowered myself to seated and, once I was assured it would hold, I settled back.
The first thing I did was scrounge my brain for all the places I’d heard mentioned as favourite haunts. This wasn’t easy. I wasn’t quite an outcast among my people, but because I’d had a relationship with a demon, I remained suspect and countless conversations came to a halt when I neared.
It didn’t help me concentrate when the demon in question sat beside me. The crate swayed and my muscles tensed, preparing themselves in case I needed to leap to my feet, but the dilapidated wood remained intact. As soon as I relaxed, my thigh pressed into Seere’s and a flash fire roared through every cell in my body. Somehow, I managed to stop the full extension of my teeth and talons, but I was pretty sure my eyes had changed, that the irises had become bluish-white outlined with black.
Unable to prevent it, I looked at Seere and realized I wasn’t the only one who felt something. The red glow in his eyes revealed his own arousal.
For an instant, I couldn’t breathe. He still wanted me. Until this moment, I hadn’t been sure of that. Demons were highly emotional and Seere hadn’t seemed to react much to my presence, but he couldn’t conceal his desire now. Of course, I wasn’t hiding my ardour either. Hope was replaced by disappointment when he cooled the heat and stared at me stonily.
Shifting to give myself a few inches of space, I worked on banking my need and returned to my task. I came up with nine possible locations and began to narrow them down.
While Herb had earned the scorn of many members from our clan, it was the females who particularly disliked him. That allowed me to eliminate a few places. His snobbery had me crossing off some of the higher-end clubs from my list – not only wouldn’t he fit in there, he wouldn’t make an effort to try. That left me with three other possibilities.
One was a neighbourhood pub in a working-class part of the city, but it wasn’t somewhere a vampire looking to feed would go. It was too small, too quiet, and for those same reasons, a demon on the hunt would likely rule it out as well.
“Any ideas yet?” Seere prompted.
“I’m trying to decide between a dance club called the Tiki-A-Go-Go and a goth club named House of the Damned.”
“Which one would you go to?”
“Neither of them appeal to me, but I’m not Herb.” I used my chin to indicate the dead vampire. “We’re pretty much polar opposites.”
“Then perhaps the question is which of them would you be least likely to go to?”
“House of the Damned,” I said without hesitation.
“We’ll start there.”
Seere wasn’t surprised by Isobel’s sports car – 200 years ago it had been a fancy piece of horseflesh. When it came to transportation, the woman liked fast and flashy. The Aston Martin might not have the quickness of a Lamborghini or a Ferrari, but it had other things going for it and she looked good behind the wheel. Something she no doubt was aware of.
Music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake filled the car with lilting melodies, but didn’t calm him. The first thing he’d done after getting in was to buckle up, but it took all his control not to clutch the door handle as she drove from the warehouse to the club. His edginess had more to do with Isobel than with her driving, but her hunger for speed unnerved him at the best of times and today was far from that.
Until his sexy little vampire walked in the warehouse tonight, he thought he’d gotten over her and he’d been happy in the delusion. Damn his father for insisting that Seere be the one to act as liaison on these murders. One glance was all it had taken to revive his old feelings for her.
He shifted slightly to get a better view of her face. His vision was as sharp at night as it was in daylight and he was able to see her clearly. Iso was even more beautiful than in his memories. Her dark red hair cascaded past her breasts – shorter than it had been – and her skin was porcelain smooth. Flawless.
/> Seere clenched his hands into fists to keep from touching her. Everything brought back memories. Her elfin chin reminded him of how she’d lift it when she was angry. Her emerald green eyes had often been smoky with arousal or blazing with passion before morphing to bluish-white. And her mouth . . . His body responded to the memory of her full lips open beneath his, and the way she’d used them to tease him.
Reaching out, he tilted one of the car’s vents so the cool air was blowing directly onto him. If it was only lust, it would be easy, but what he felt for Isobel went far beyond that and into dangerous territory. Very dangerous territory.
She’d walked away from him once without a backwards glance and he’d have to be a complete masochist to invite her to trash his heart again. Seere just wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself, not when he already struggled with his emotions. Why did she have this power over him? Why couldn’t he leave the past behind the way she had when she’d left?
The car and the woman hummed with impatience when they were forced to stop for a traffic light. She’d always had a problem with waiting. Iso was quick to anger, quick to forgive, and quick to laugh. And her passionate nature had been one of the things he’d missed most.
She was dressed completely in black – a long-sleeved, V-neck shirt, black jeans and saucy ankle boots with four buckles across the front. Immediately, an image came into his mind of her wearing nothing except those boots. Seere fought to banish the idea before his body betrayed him. “You’re dressed for a goth club,” he said, hoping conversation would help him control his thoughts.
“Not quite, but I wanted to be able to blend into the night in case our meeting was a set-up.”
“A demon doesn’t have to see you in order to track you,” he reminded Isobel. And now he was worrying about her. Great.
“I know.”
Her half-smile made him wonder what had her amused, but Seere left it alone. “Can you run in those heels? Fight?”
“Yes, I’ve done it before.”
He didn’t ask about that either, but he wanted to. The idea of Isobel being at risk bothered him. Seere knew she was an enforcer for her clan – she’d held that position the last time he’d been with her – but he didn’t like it any better now than he had back then. The fact that she regularly hunted down humans who targeted vampires, as well as rogues who violated the laws of her people, wasn’t his concern. Not any more.
And he was lying to himself. Seere nearly growled in frustration. Fortunately he spotted the club and that allowed him to pull back from his roiling emotions. The front of the building was painted black and the only colour was a red neon sign above the door that proclaimed HOUSE OF THE DAMNED.
There was no valet parking, but that didn’t bother Iso. She found a lot nearby and zipped the DBS into one of the spots. “Are you going to use some magic to change your clothes?” she asked as she turned off the engine.
“No.” Seere opened the door and got out of the car. When they met at the rear, he added, “The demon we’re after is powerful and I might need all my energy to defeat him.”
She nodded. “You have me, too. Don’t forget that.” Isobel walked off, leaving him where he stood.
Seere caught up with her in a few strides. “I want you to stay out of this.”
“Doesn’t work that way, partner. We’re in it together.” She took a couple of steps, stopped, and grabbed his arm. “Can you cloak what you are? Not just from vampires, but from the demon we’re after as well? If he senses you in the club, he’ll guess that you’re looking for him.”
“He won’t realize I’m there until it’s too late,” Seere said, and before he could stop himself, he pushed her hair off her face and behind her shoulder. He watched a flush spread over her cheeks, but he couldn’t enjoy her reaction, not when such a simple touch left him burning, too. Iso had always had this effect on him and even their past history couldn’t seem to cool his desire. He pulled back and was careful not to touch her again as they walked to the club’s entrance.
Isobel tried to pay their cover charge, but he was faster than her. Seere wanted to be irritated by that – he was looking for excuses to keep her at arm’s length – but he couldn’t maintain the emotion, not after they got asked for ID. Who else could he share his amusement with except her?
Leaving the vestibule, they entered the bar proper. It was jammed with people, but he’d expected that on a Friday night. What did surprise him was the music – 80s techno-rock. This was what the goth set listened to?
Shaking that off, Seere looked around to get the lie of the land. The walls were painted a bright pink shade that made him think of bubble gum, the ceiling was black, and coloured strobes shot light around the shadowy interior of the club. A DJ was positioned on a dais overlooking the dance floor. Along the sides of the large room there were tables filled with patrons. His scan showed about twenty per cent of the crowd was vampires, but he didn’t pick up any other demon.
If the murderer were here though, he’d be cloaked the same way Seere was. Vampires had senses nearly as acute as demons.
They’d chosen the right place, Seere felt certain of that. The dead vamps he’d seen had all been dressed similarly to the humans here, not in the kind of clothes they’d wear for somewhere called Tiki-A-Go-Go.
Of course, there were no guarantees that the vampires didn’t hang out in more than one goth club or that the demon hadn’t hunted in multiple locations, but he was betting against the second. His kind tended to be creatures of habit. As long as things had gone well in this club, the killer would keep coming back.
Iso went on her toes to holler near his ear. “Anything?”
“No,” he shouted back then asked, “Is this the only goth club on your list of night spots?”
“Yeah, most prefer the higher-end places with a quieter atmosphere.” She grinned up at him. “You know how the old folks feel about kids and their music today.”
His lips quirked. Many of the vampires would have grown up listening to traditional folk songs, opera, or symphony and it was logical that this type of club wouldn’t appeal to a large number of them.
“Let’s make a circuit of the room.” When she nodded, Seere took her hand. He had no other choice, not unless he was willing to risk them becoming separated. And he wasn’t. No matter what, Isobel would remain safe tonight. He’d make sure of that.
Because of the crush, they had to move slowly, threading their way through the sea of people. Occasionally, another vampire would stare at them oddly, but they never acknowledged Isobel and she didn’t give them a nod or smile either. It left him curious since there was no way any of them could know he was a demon. Maybe their reticence had to do with her being an enforcer. And it made Seere wonder if she was lonely. If her own people were leery of her, who did she have for friends?
When they finished their trek around the perimeter, Iso looked at him expectantly. Seere shook his head, then raised his eyebrows, asking her wordlessly if she’d picked up anything. With a grimace, she shook her head, too.
I must have chosen the wrong venue.
Seere started when he heard Isobel in his head. She hadn’t been powerful enough to communicate like that 200 years ago. He studied her, wondering what else she could do now that she hadn’t been able to do previously.
“Seere, I’m sorry. I chose the wrong –”
I heard you, he sent in reply, wincing as a human female elbowed him in the back as she walked by. It’s early yet. The demon might still show up. He has a timetable for his murders and if he pushes the second one to the last minute tonight, we could have another hour before he arrives. Unable to stop himself, Seere asked, When did you learn to use telepathy?
Before she could answer, someone knocked into her hard enough to send her stumbling. Seere caught her, wrapping his arms around her to keep her steady. Hell. He was going under and he wasn’t sure he gave a damn, not as long as he was holding her. His only hope was if she stepped back, away from him. But she didn’
t. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him.
I was about 400 years old when you knew me, still a fledgling. I came into more abilities when I grew older.
He nodded, but didn’t comment. This was a difference between demons and vampires of which he’d been unaware. He’d had his full powers from the time he’d been twenty and it had never occurred to him that she wouldn’t have all of hers as well. And Seere realized something else – by using this skill with him, she was indicating that she trusted him.
She had every reason to believe he felt nothing for her, he’d made sure of it, but she had enough faith in him to share something about herself that he didn’t know. If he wanted to, he could use it against her, but he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
More people pushed past, bumping into them. It was then that Seere realized they were directly in the path for the bar. He shifted Isobel out of the way, but he didn’t let go of her.
Why don’t we dance? she invited with a small smile. It will put us nearly in the middle of the room, making it easier to scan the entire club. We’ll blend in better. We’ve been attracting a few curious glances.
Seere looked around and noticed she was right. They didn’t belong here, not really. Iso was wearing black, the colour of choice, but she didn’t have any tattoos or facial piercings. The only thing he had on that sort of made him fit in was his long, dark coat. If the killer walked in and noticed the humans casting odd looks in their direction, he might question their presence. And if he scanned closely enough, there was a good chance he’d detect Isobel’s power, or depending on how strong he was, he might be able to penetrate the cloak Seere was using.
You know I can’t dance worth a damn, but I guess it doesn’t matter here.
All he had to do was gyrate, not like those intricate dances from way back when. He eased Isobel away and offered her his elbow before he realized how formal the gesture was. She didn’t comment, simply looped her arm through his and let him lead her to the floor.
It wasn’t long before he decided the old dances were easier. At least he knew there was a set of steps to follow even if he couldn’t manage them with any finesse. Now? It was all free-form. Seere felt stiff, uncomfortable.
Love Bites UK (Mammoth Book Of Vampire Romance2) Page 23