A Girls Guide to Vampires

by Katie MacAlister

  She glanced at her watch. "Four, maybe five hours."

  "Good. That gives us time to catch a little sleep. The festival won't be starting until nine or so, so we should have a good three hours to find Christian and have him scan Milos's mind."

  "We?"

  "I assumed you were going to help me."

  She sighed and dunked my bread in her soup. "I suppose I'll have to keep you in line if I want to see you and Raphael settled happily. I just wish I knew why you didn't trust him to take care of himself."

  "Of course I trust him, the man's a spy. He's perfectly able to take care of himself physically."

  "He's what?" Roxy shrieked.

  I glanced around the nearly empty room, smiling wildly at the elderly couple who were giving us frowns. "Shhh! You want everyone to hear?"

  She goggled for a moment, then grabbed my wrist, leaning forward to hiss at me. "What do you mean he's a spy? Raphael?"

  "Yes, Raphael, a spy. Or a government agent of some sort. Honestly, Rox, I thought you would have figured it out by now."

  "Did he tell you that?"

  I gave her one of the many patient looks I save just for her. "No, of course he didn't, that would qualify as secret-telling. It's obvious, though. Raphael is clearly not in the least bit concerned about the police other than seeing Milos brought to justice. He carries a gun, and who knows what else he has locked away in that metal chest. Probably his spy papers or something. And that cock-and-bull story about him raping a woman and killing her is just too ridiculous for words. It's just the sort of thing those spy places would make up. Thus, he must be working undercover to figure out who the murderer is. Let go of my arm, it's starting to hurt."

  "Damn, girl, you take the cake," she answered, releasing my wrist. "I just hate it when you outguess me. So now you know his secret, right? Are you going to tell him?"

  "And puncture his ego? No way. Behind every good man stands an exceptional woman, and I am that woman. I'll just make sure that Inspector Bartos doesn't nab Raphael by mistake, and never tell him I helped."

  "Why would Inspector Bartos want to nab Raphael if he's a spy?"

  I rolled my eyes as I picked up my spoon. "He's undercover, silly. If he reveals himself to Bartos, word could get back to Milos and then the whole case will be blown. You need to read more spy books."

  We spent the next half hour detailing our plans for the evening. I was heading upstairs to take a much-needed nap when Roxy—on her way to the bar to ogle the natives—stopped me with a question. "You do realize what Raphael did, don't you?"

  "When?"

  "Earlier. He took the sixth step to Joining by asking for your help. Now all that's left is for you two to complete a blood exchange."

  I made a face as I continued up the stairs. "That, I can assure you, is not going to happen."

  A few hours of nap time, and I was feeling much more optimistic that the plan we'd agreed on would actually work. I pulled out the long blue and green peasant skirt I'd bought in Brno, and added a frilly silk blouse and an oversized paisley scarf that doubled as a shawl.

  "Going with the gypsy look?" Roxy asked, poking her head into my room.

  "Yup. You remember everything you're supposed to do?"

  "Keep an eye on Arielle, warn you whenever I see Raphael, and act as courier whenever you need a message sent to Christian."

  "Right." I pulled on my underwear and the ruffled petticoat I'd bought with the skirt.

  "I have a question."

  "Shoot."

  "Why do I have to act as courier for you when you can just call Christian up on the mind-phone?"

  I shivered. "I told you earlier, I don't want to do that. It's a very intimate thing, and the less intimacy I have with Christian, the happier I am. Besides, he's not answering me."

  "You make him sound so dangerous."

  "He is dangerous. Very dangerous. You have no idea of the torment he's in, what he's capable of, but I am."

  "He'd never hurt you."

  I tucked the blouse into the skirt and draped the scarf around my waist, a la gypsy, then turned to look at her. "It's not me I'm worried about him hurting."

  She pursed her lips in a silent whistle and admitted I might have a point.

  By the time we left the hotel, the sun was just sinking down behind the indigo mountains.

  "You are going to be done in time for the magic show, aren't you?" Roxy asked as we settled back into the ancient Peugeot taxi. "Believe it or not, Dominic is really great at it. Even Christian was impressed with some of the illusions he did."

  "I should be done with the readings by then. Tell me again when you and Christian parted ways last night."

  "He left right after the magic show. Said he'd heard all he could take of the bands, and since you were nowhere to be found, he said he'd see us tonight, before the festival."

  "Hmm."

  "Why? What are you thinking?"

  "I'm not sure. I just can't help wondering why he disappeared, and didn't try to seduce me. I can't shake the feeling that something is going on with him, that something isn't right."

  She didn't say anything to that, but cast me occasional worried glances. I looked out into the darkening night and wondered what Raphael was doing, and if he was thinking about me even half as much as I was thinking about him.

  "Boy, do I have it bad," I muttered to myself.

  "That's the understatement of the year," Roxy grinned. She gave my hand a little squeeze. "However, I have to admit I don't really blame you. Raphael's kind of cute, in an immense, overpowering sort of way."

  There was nothing that could be said in response that she wouldn't interpret as the smutty imaginings of my mind, so I just looked out into the night and tried to construct convincing arguments for Christian to help nail Milos.

  * * *

  Chapter Eighteen

  « ^ »

  "Found him! Come on. He's in the west garden."

  I looked up from the stones scattered in front of me on the casting cloth I'd bought earlier and frowned at Roxy. "The line of people standing here might have escaped your notice, but I am busy right now, Rox."

  Although we had arrived a couple of hours before the festival itself was due to begin, Dominic had arranged for the more popular attractions of the fair to be open early on the grounds of Drahanská, including the tarot, rune stone, and aura photography booths, as well as a stage set up for Dominic's magic show, and later a lineup of European Goth bands. I had been reading runes nonstop since we arrived a short while earlier.

  "You told me to find Christian. I found him."

  "Damn." I smiled reassuringly at the woman sitting in front of me before turning back to Roxy. "Do me a favor and go find Renee. She said she'd spell me if I needed a break." Roxy sped off to find Arielle's friend while I hurried through as many readings as I could before she returned.

  "I'm not very good at this," Renee told me in breathless French as she maneuvered her very pregnant self into the chair I vacated for her. "But I will try."

  "I won't be long," I promised her. "I know you're helping Arielle with the tarot readings."

  I gave her the hematite stones Arielle had been using and reiterated that I'd be back shortly, then headed off to speak with Christian. On the way, I ran into Raphael and Inspector Bartos. They were deep in discussion and didn't notice me when I made my way to them.

  "—forensic report must confirm that," Raphael was saying.

  "Unfortunately, the forensic examination has not yet been completed," Inspector Bartos replied, his eyes on the crowd. I had noticed several of his people mingling with the festival-goers, as well as an unusually high number of uniformed police. I gathered they were there to not only keep the peace, but to nab Milos if he turned rabid again. That is, if they weren't there to grab Raphael. "This is not Lyon, Mr. St. John. We do not have such resources at the tips of our fingers. As for your suggestion regarding—ah, Miss Randall."

  Both Inspector Bartos and Raphael turned to look
at me. Neither looked particularly happy with what they saw. I gave the inspector a toothy grin and latched on to Raphael's arm, a suspicion growing in my mind. "Evening, Inspector. Pardon me for interrupting what sounds like a fascinating conversation. I don't suppose you care to continue it?"

  Both men just looked at me.

  "No? What a shame. Raphael, if I might have a word with you?"

  I pulled on his arm, but he stood firm, his eyes wary. "What about?"

  "Christian," I hissed, still smiling at Inspector Bartos. His mustache looked unhappy with me. "He's in the west garden."

  "I know where he is."

  I stopped tugging on his arm. "How do you know?"

  The corners of Raphael's lips quirked. "Baby, I told you I wasn't going to allow you to go ahead with your plan to play detective."

  "You odiously arrogant man!" I immediately understood exactly what he was saying. "You're having Christian followed? Who else, Raphael? Milos, I hope, but what about Dominic? Why stop there? Why not have Arielle, Roxy, and me followed as well? Sheesh!"

  A familiar exasperated expression began to form on his face. "Joy, I've explained this all before, but I'll do it one more time on the chance that this time you'll heed me and do as I ask. You are not going to poke around trying to find out who murdered Tanya."

  "I have no need to poke around. I know who murdered Tanya. It's Milos," I told Inspector Bartos, just in case Raphael hadn't. He pulled out his notebook and made a note.

  "You are not going to convince me that Christian Dante is a vampire."

  "A Dark One," I explained to Inspector Bartos. "They're kind of benign vampires, but I expect you know all about them, having lived here."

  He licked the end of his pencil and made another note.

  "And furthermore," Raphael said, "you are going to do everything I ask you to do this evening, starting with staying put at your rune table."

  "You really do think you're the cat's pajamas, don't you?" I asked Raphael, annoyed with his arrogance. He might be everything I ever wanted in a man, but that didn't mean I was going to let him do something stupid when I could prevent disaster.

  "Cat's…" Inspector Bartos asked, his pencil poised above his notepad.

  "Pajamas. It's an expression that means Raphael thinks I'm helpless against his masculine charms, which is just ridiculous, because I'm trying to save his sorry hide. That reminds me—I want to have a little talk with you later about some misconceptions you might have about him."

  "Joy." Raphael's voice sounded like that of a particularly hard-pressed saint. "Go back to your table."

  "No. If you won't come with me to see Christian and let him knock off some of those blinkers you're wearing, I'll go by myself."

  "You will not."

  "Oh, really? And just how are you going to stop me, have me arrested?"

  "If I have to."

  I looked at Inspector Bartos. He smiled. I gaped at him. "You wouldn't dare!"

  His moustache smiled, too.

  "Ha ha ha, you guys are so funny." I started to edge away, picking up speed quickly until I called the last few words over my shoulder. "Well, I think I'll be taking a little walk now. See you both later."

  I dashed off, Raphael's sexy chuckle caressing my ears. I didn't for one moment believe Inspector Bartos would arrest me on Raphael's say-so, not even if my growing suspicion about the two of them was true, but I really didn't want to leave Renee at the rune table long.

  I passed Arielle's table and paused for a moment to see how she was doing, and to tell her that I'd be sending Renee back to help her as soon as I could.

  "I am fine, thank you," she said with a watery smile. Her eyes still looked red and swollen, but all in all, she was holding up remarkably well. I spun around and dashed through the line of people waiting to have their cards read, almost mowing down Henri in the process.

  "Sorry, Henri. I'm in a bit of a hurry." He muttered an apology and stepped back as I threw myself back into the crowds. I headed toward the west garden, but suddenly made a detour when I saw Dominic slobbering over the hand of an extremely buxom woman dressed in fishnet stockings, PVC, and fake blood running out of an equally fake wound on her neck. Considering Tanya's death, it gave me a bit of the heebie-jeebies, but I swallowed my revulsion and waved to catch Dominic's eye.

  "Mon ange," he said, looking a bit embarrassed about being caught fawning over another woman's hand. "I thought you were reading the runes now?"

  "Just taking a little break. Renee's covering for me. I just wanted to let you know that I'll read them until nine, and then I'm calling it quits."

  He smiled and reached for my hand. I snatched it back and turned around, running smack dab into Henri again.

  "Sorry, Henri. Guess I'm two for two with you, huh? Did I hurt your toes? No? Great. See you later!"

  Off I went again at a fast trot, or as fast a trot as I could manage in the huge horde of people that had descended upon the well-groomed grounds of Christian's castle. I veered around a maze, realized I was going in the wrong direction, turned around, and raced around the corner to head to the west.

  "Damn!" I rubbed my nose where it had smacked into Henri as he barreled around the corner toward me. I blinked back the stars, and glared at him. "Oh! Henri, are you following me?"

  Henri, a nice guy with warm brown eyes and a rather shy smile, looked horrified. He stammered out a feeble excuse, which I trampled over brutally. "Tell Raphael I don't need a nursemaid." I zipped past him, heading in the right direction for the west gardens. "And stop following me!"

  He followed me anyway. When I stopped to face him, my hands on my hips, he told me he didn't dare ignore Raphael's orders. "He was very adamant that I should remain with you if you left the rune table."

  Henri was about my size, but he had a friendly puppy air about him that kept me from laying into him. Besides, it wasn't really him I was angry with—that delight was reserved for Raphael.

  "OK," I told him. "You can come with me, but you have to stay out of my way. And no snitching to Raphael what I'm doing."

  "Snitching?"

  "You can come with me, but you can't report back to him where I've been or whom I've spoken with. OK?"

  "OK," he nodded, obviously relieved.

  Christian was overseeing the tapping of several oversized kegs of beer arranged in sort of an informal beer garden. Long trestle tables and benches had been placed within the walled garden. Due to its distance from the main stage, the garden was relatively quiet… for the moment. As soon as the beer garden opened its doors, I had no doubt it would be just as mad as the rest of the festival.

  "Christian!" I bellowed across the garden and waved to get his notice. One of his servants, a big beefy guy with a wicked scar down one side of his face, stood blocking the entrance and wouldn't let me in. Christian turned and motioned for him to let me pass. I told Henri to wait for me, smiled at and scooted around the behemoth at the gate, trotting down a line of tables to where Christian stood directing the placement of kegs. He'd had torches set along the perimeter of the garden, the flickering light of which cast a medieval feel to the whole setting.

  "Christian!"

  He turned to face me, his face as pleasant as ever. I examined him closely for a minute, looking for signs that he'd suffered some sort of difficulty, but his eyes were warm, and the ever-present smile lurked just behind his lips. "Are you all right? I've been worried sick about you! Where have you been?"

  Both his eyebrows went up in mock surprise. "Such passion. I have been here, readying the estate for the festival."

  "You know full well what I'm talking about!" I smacked him on the shoulder, then grabbed his hand and pulled him over to an unoccupied corner. "Where were you last night? I was worried about you after… after Tanya's body was discovered. You heard about that, didn't you?"

  He reversed my grip so he was holding my hand, raising it to his lips, his eyes holding mine as he kissed the back of my fingers. Say what you will about women's lib
, I had to admit there was something about having my hand kissed that made me go all girly inside.

  "You look lovely tonight, my Beloved. However, I must presume to inform you that I do not care for you to be sharing your charms with every man present." He reached to the front of my ruffled blouse. I looked down. The top button, a small faux pearl, was missing, leaving my blouse gaping open, exposing my breasts down to the edge of my very low-cut bra.

  I grabbed at the material and clutched it closed. "Damn. Must have happened when I crashed into Henri."

  He smiled and flashed his hand. In it was a very old-looking gold brooch of a griffin clutching a large red stone in its beak. "Allow me," he said, brushing aside my hands, pinning the brooch so it closed my blouse.

  "It's lovely, Christian, thank you. I'll take very good care of it."

  "Consider it a gift from one who admires you."

  I didn't want to accept it since it looked valuable, but I figured I'd return it after the festival when I could explain my feelings without insulting him.

  "Thank you, but that still doesn't explain why you didn't answer me last night." I peered into his unfathomable eyes.

  "My housekeeper said you called," he answered, not batting an eyelash at his obvious evasion. "Alas, I was not at home at that time."

  I squinted my eyes at him. "Christian Johann Dante, you know full well what I meant, so don't try to pull that Mr. Innocent crap on me." I put my hand on his wrist and gave it a little squeeze. "I know you heard me; I could feel you out there. Why didn't you answer me?"

  He didn't move a muscle, but I felt him withdraw. "I was under the impression you found such form of communication distasteful. Further, I believed from the activities that followed that you preferred your privacy to my company."

  I stared at him, my mouth hanging open for a second before I realized what I was doing. "You rotter!"

  I bellowed the words so loud, all his staff turned to look.

  "You did it on purpose! You wanted me to be worried about you! You wanted me to think you were lying sick or injured somewhere. You great big… POOP!"