A Girls Guide to Vampires

by Katie MacAlister

  He sighed and waited for me to finish putting things away, then took my hand and steered me toward the long lawn. "Yes, something's wrong, something is very wrong, but unfortunately, I find myself in a position—"

  I had a sudden premonition of what he was going to say.

  "—of needing to ask you for help."

  "Yes," I said immediately, squeezing his hand and all but jumping up and down with the warm glow of pleasure that filled me. He needed me! He wanted my help! He finally acknowledged the fact that I was the one who was put on this earth to aid him in his greatest hour of need.

  "You don't even know what I want you to do," he answered, pulling me to a halt behind the aura photography booth. His lovely eyes were grim.

  "I don't care, I'll do it."

  "It's dangerous—" He ran a hand through his curls, then shook his head. "Hell, what am I doing? It's too dangerous for you, I can't ask you to put yourself in that sort of a situation."

  "Yes, you can. Raphael, I trust you. I know you'll keep me safe no matter what I have to do."

  He stared at me for a moment, then took my face in his hands. "Baby, I wish there were another way, but—"

  "I'll do it, I'm happy to, honest."

  "There's no time to come up with another plan—"

  "I'll do it, Raphael, I'll do it! Do you hear me? I'LL DO IT!"

  "—and Bartos feels that you are the key… I know he's right, but still—"

  "I'll make a very good key," I promised. "I'll be the best damned key there ever was. Let me help you, please!"

  He looked me straight in the eyes, indecision mingling with regret and love in his face. He kissed me, hard and fast, his mouth gone before I could respond. "I need you to help trap Tanya's murderer."

  My legs went a bit weak at his words. "Anything, Bob, I'll do anything you need me to do. Um… this wouldn't involve guns, would it? Because I don't like guns, and I don't know how to shoot one."

  He turned us toward the long lawn, where the main stage was set up. "No guns. You have to do everything I say, exactly as I tell you."

  I saluted him. "Aye-aye, mon capitaine."

  "I'm serious, Joy. If you do anything, anything that I don't instruct you to do, I'll pull you out. Do you understand?"

  "I'm your woman," I reassured him. "I won't even breathe without your express permission."

  He sighed again and nodded to Bartos as we passed him. "I don't like it, but… hell. Paal and Christian's men will stay with you until it's time to bring you to the caves."

  Excitement rippled through me at the thought. Here I was, madly in love with a dashing spy and he needed my help to catch a killer. Could life get any better?

  It could, as a matter of fact. Raphael stopped at one side of the stage, his thumb rubbing gently on my wrist. I smiled secretly to myself. Now he would tell me everything, now he would bare his soul and take me wholly and completely into his confidence, proving without a doubt that he trusted me with his life.

  "Paal will bring you to me after the magic show," Raphael said before turning to speak a few words with Henri. Then he left—he just left, walked off without even a glance back at me.

  So much for trust.

  By the time I stopped glaring at Raphael's disappearing figure, the crowd was gathering to sit on the ground before the stage. It was a low wooden structure about two feet off the ground, ringed with large black speakers used later by the bands, and backed by an area of draperies hung on a metal frame. Roxy had told me how much she enjoyed Dominic's magic act, saying it was surprisingly professional, much better than the phony vampire act he put on. Since I couldn't shake the two watchdogs who stuck to me like glue, and because I wanted to tell Roxy the latest news, I searched the crowd until I spotted her, following her to the spot near the stage she had staked out earlier.

  I whispered the plan to her, then spent several long minutes rehashing my feelings for Raphael until Roxy finally had enough.

  "Be quiet. Dominic is going to do this really cool disappearing trick. He goes into a glass box, it fills with smoke, and when it clears, he's gone. Then they do the smoke thing again, and voilà! He reappears. It's really great. I can't figure out how he does it, since the box is made of glass and they twirl it around on stage so you can see all the sides."

  "Hrmph." I sat with my arms crossed and pouted slightly. I'd much rather talk about Raphael than watch some silly magic act.

  "I wonder if he's going to do what he did last night?"

  "What's that?" I asked, toying with the brooch Christian had lent me.

  "Dominic went into the box, and Milos came out of it. I didn't know Milos was a magician, but he did some pretty amazing things after that. You should see what he does with three eggs—"

  Onstage a couple of the fair workers wheeled out a large glass cube that rested on a dolly. Dominic did a little patter about the powers gained from his time studying the black arts.

  I turned to Roxy, puzzled by what she said. "What do you mean, Milos is a magician? He was on the stage with Dominic? That can't be! Raphael said Tanya was killed right before he found her—her body was still warm. I know, I touched her."

  "I don't follow you," Roxy said, her attention still on Dominic as he explained the illusion to come.

  "Try this: If Milos was on stage doing a magic trick, he couldn't have killed Tanya."

  Slowly her head turned to look at me. "If he didn't, who did?"

  A wave of gooseflesh ripped down my arms and back as I looked back at the stage. "It couldn't be…"

  "Oh my God," she breathed, her eyes huge.

  I watched as Dominic strutted across the stage, tall and elegant in stark black with a red ruffled shirt. He flashed his fangs, playing up his vampirism to the crowd. He was working them like a veteran of the stage, teasing and playing with them until they yelled out their excitement.

  "Dear Lord, it must be him. I always thought he was joking when he insisted he was a vampire. I mean, it was just all too ludicrous, what with those fake teeth and all. But what if he believes it? What if he really, really believes he's a vampire?"

  Another wave of chill hit me. I gathered up my skirt and stood as the crowd yelled at something Dominic said. "I have to go tell Raphael. He thinks the murderer is Milos. I'm willing to bet you he doesn't know that Milos finished the magic show last night!"

  Roxy tugged at my skirt, trying to pull me back down. "Joy—"

  "The perfect volunteer!" Dominic bellowed from the stage, leaping into the crowd and heading straight for me, his hand held out. "Mon ange, if you will assist me?"

  "What?"

  "He was asking for volunteers, you fool. Too late—he's got you now," Roxy muttered.

  "What? What?" I stared stupidly at the hand Dominic held out for me. I didn't want to touch him—he was a murderer! The crowd started cheering.

  "Come, mon ange," Dominic said with a full-fanged smile. "Assist me. It will be over quickly, I assure you."

  I wondered if he had said the same thing to Tanya. Dominic grabbed my hand and started hauling me back through the crowd. I debated accusing him there on the spot of Tanya's murder, of screaming for help, or of kicking him until he let me go so I could run to Raphael. In the end, I decided that it was better to not make him suspicious, so I made no complaint when he jerked me onto the stage and dragged me over to the glass box.

  He kept a hold on my hand while he helped me into the box, doing a spiel about his powers and how I would be sent to the underworld to await his command to return. It was a bit creepy, considering Tanya. As he turned to close the lid on the box, he hissed, "Do not fear, mon ange. As soon as the smoke fills the outer layer, the trap will open and you will escape. Crawl under the stage to the rear. Antonio will be waiting for you there."

  "Crawl? I'm supposed to crawl?" I asked as he closed the lid, getting a little panicky at the thought of being shut into a box with a bunch of smoke. I crouched in the box, my head pressed up against the top of it, the lights and the crowd blurri
ng a little through the thick glass. Dominic waved his arm dramatically, and the box began to fill with smoke, obscuring my vision.

  That was when I realized what he was talking about. The part I was sitting in was insulated, a box within a box, made of double-paned glass. The smoke filled a thin space between the two layers of glass, no doubt making it look as if I were sitting in the middle of the smoke, when in fact I wasn't. As soon as my vision outside the box was completely obscured, the floor beneath my knees gave, and I dropped down to a small space under the stage. The skirting around the edges of the stage kept me from seeing anyone, but I could hear the crowd. They roared with laughter at something Dominic was doing, no doubt misdirecting their attention so they wouldn't notice the box wobble as I dropped. I wadded up my skirt and crawled forward on my belly when I saw a bit of light flashing at the rear, muttering to myself about ruining my lovely skirt just so Dominic could impress his audience.

  Antonio, Dominic's assistant, helped me out from under the stage through another trap in the curtained-off area. Antonio pulled on a gruesome rubber mask, saying, "Stay here until you hear Dominic announce that he's brought back a demon from the underworld instead of you. Then you can go out into the crowd." Then he dived under the stage and headed for the box.

  "like hell I will," I muttered, and peered out of the curtained area. My watchdogs must have been waiting patiently up front for me to return, because there was no one around the back. I slipped out and started hunting for Raphael, keeping well away from the audience around the stage.

  I spotted Henri on the far side of the grounds, zipping up his pants as he emerged from a portable toilet.

  "Henri, where's Raphael?" I asked as I raced up to him.

  He frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be at the magic show? I thought Raphael said you were there. It's not over yet, is it?"

  I almost danced with impatience. "Forget the magic show. I have to find Raphael. It's very important. Where is he?"

  "He won't like knowing you're not at the magic show," Henri pointed out.

  "He will when he hears what I have to tell him. Where can I find him?"

  "He said you were going to stay with Paal. Raphael's not going to be happy that you left without him."

  Friendly puppy or no friendly puppy, I wanted to throttle him. "Henri," I said with a smile that would do a shark proud. "Do you remember what I did to Christian in the west garden?"

  His hand moved protectively to his groin as he nodded vehemently.

  "Good. I don't want to have to do this, but if you don't tell me where Raphael is, I'll do the same to you."

  His eyes opened wide. "He's down in the cave," he answered quickly, his voice thick.

  "The cave? Already? Thanks, Henri. Wish me luck."

  I took off like a hound after a hare, dodging around people, heading away from the festival along the graveled path that curled around the bottom of the abyss, ending at the entrance to the cave. Since the caves were only going to be open for a couple of hours around midnight, there weren't many people on the path, and those were mostly made up of couples lip wrestling.

  I raced down the path toward the cool, dark entrance of the cave, large pools of yellow from the sodium lights strung overhead eating at the blackness within. There was no one at the entrance, but I could hear voices from inside. I listened for a moment, but other than guessing one of the voices was Raphael, couldn't determine whom he was talking to, or where they were in the cave. Noises tended to carry a long distance in there. I plunged in, trotting down the path, ignoring the scenic views and signs describing the various sights.

  "Thank God I was here before," I said to myself as I paused at a junction in the path. The public tour continued around a bend to the left that led to the boat dock. To the right was a dirt path that according to the sign led to a maintenance area. I held my breath and listened. The low rumble of Raphael's voice echoed from the right. I started down the path, pausing for a moment, then sprinting down the path when a woman's voice answered him.

  The path was badly lit, with lights distant and far between. I stumbled over debris and rocks a couple of times, but managed to keep from falling. As I rounded a bend in the path, I almost slammed into Raphael.

  "What the hell?" I yelled, staring in appalled horror at him.

  He stood close to a woman, his mouth almost in her hair as his rotten, stinking, cheating hands moved under the back of her sweater.

  "You bastard!" I bellowed, my words echoing down the walls of the cave. Their heads snapped around at the sound, identical expressions of surprise on their faces. The woman was about six inches shorter than me, had a slight figure, and a pretty heart-shaped face with long, curly hair that I wanted to tear off and stomp all over.

  Raphael had the nerve to look annoyed. "Joy! What are you doing here?"

  "OH!" I screamed, fury battling with the pain of his betrayal. I doubled up my fist and punched him right in the tattoo. He grunted and let go of the hussy he was holding to grab his stomach. "You cheating, lying bastard! No wonder you didn't want me down here until later! I never want to see you again. NEVER!"

  I spun on my heel and raced back the way I came, stumbling and tripping over rocks because I couldn't see through the tears. Suddenly the tears dried up as fury took the upper hand. How dare Raphael put his hands all over another woman? He was mine, dammit, and I wasn't going to let him get away with that. It was time he understood one or two things. I turned around to go back and slammed right into him.

  "Dammit, woman, will you stop and let me explain?" I would have fallen but for the strong hands grabbing my arms.

  "Don't you dare yell at me, you beastly man! You complete and utter rotter! You can't touch anyone else, do you hear me?" I struggled against Raphael, but knew it would do no good. He pushed me against the smooth limestone wall of the cave, his body pressed against me as I fought him. He pinned my lower half back with his legs, his hands clamping down on my head, holding me in place.

  "She's a policewoman," he said, breathing heavily. "Christ, baby, did you have to hit me?"

  "You're despicable," I gasped. "Using your position to corrupt an innocent woman. You should be hung by your toes. And your balls. Both. At the same time!"

  "Listen to me, Joy," he said, his breath fanning around my face. God help me, I was in love with a two-timing bastard, and even when I caught him with his hands all over another woman, he could still melt me with his touch. I sobbed anew at my own body's fickleness. "Kyra is a policewoman. She's one of Bartos's people. She's here to do a job for me, that's all."

  I didn't want to hear him, didn't want to listen to any of his outrageous lies. "I don't believe you," I said.

  "What have I ever done to make you think I'd be interested in another woman?" he said, more calmly this time, his eyes hot with desire and love.

  "I…" I didn't have an answer. Behind him the woman appeared, pulling her sweater down. She asked Raphael in German what was going on. Just the sight of her renewed my fury. "She's a policewoman, huh? You had your hands all over her. Under her sweater. Exactly what sort of a job is she doing for you?"

  "Kyra, show Joy your back."

  "I don't want to see her back! I am not into threesomes!" I said indignantly, wondering how I could have been so wrong about him.

  He rolled his eyes and repeated his order. The woman shot me a sour look and turned around, pulling up her sweater as she did. Snaked across her back was a flesh-colored cord, leading down to a thin black box about the size of a credit card. The cord and box were taped on with white surgical tape.

  "She's a policewoman," Raphael repeated. "I was wiring her so we can record anything said to her. I was not fondling her. She's our backup in case our suspect doesn't take the bait—namely, you."

  He took his hands from my head and stepped aside as Kyra murmured that she would be checking with Inspector Bartos before taking her position outside the cave. Raphael said he'd be out shortly, then looked back at me, speculation in his eyes.
/>
  "Somehow I always had the idea that if you ever caught me straying, you'd do more than just hit me in the belly."

  "I didn't happen to have a castrating knife handy." I glared at him. "But I can assure you that if I did, you'd be singing soprano now. Policewoman, Raphael? Why do you need a backup policewoman? And why aren't you wiring me? Just what exactly are you doing?"

  "Trying to catch a murderer. You know that. I was going to wire you before we sent you out," he replied, stepping closer to me, an odd smile toying with his lips. "You're jealous."

  "Well, of course I'm jealous," I frowned, poking him in the chest. "You're mine, and you're not allowed to put your hands on any other woman's back. Those are the rules, and I expect you to follow them."

  "Aw, baby," he growled in that low, sexy voice that never failed to melt my bones. It did now, too. Raphael grabbed me as my legs started to give way, pressing me up against the wall again, his hands next to my head, holding me prisoner. "I'm flattered that you're jealous, but you should know by now that no other woman could begin to compare with you. You're all I want." His teeth teased my ear, his breath steaming my skin, starting the familiar inferno of desire deep inside me.

  I slid my hands under his leather jacket and sweater, stroking my fingers across the muscles of his back, taking his groan into my mouth, mating it with my own moan of pleasure as he ruthlessly plundered my mouth.

  "You make me so hot," he said as he kissed a wet, steaming path down my neck. "How can you think anyone else can do this to me?"

  He ground his hips against me. He was aroused, very aroused. I slid my hands down to investigate, smiling to myself as he groaned again, this time louder, his groan repeating itself in an endless echo of pleasure. My fingers worked quickly to free him, so I could feel his heat, feel his need and know it was all for me. I pushed his underwear aside and sighed when I found him, hot and hard, velvet over steel. I bit his tongue and whimpered against his mouth as his hands slid into my bra, wanting to feel him deep inside me where our heartbeats would merge to one wild tempo of passion.