Souljacker

by Yasmine Galenorn

  “Believe it or not, I think I need some breakfast.”

  As Archer dressed, he nodded. “Me too. Just nothing greasy and nothing fried. Toast and jam would be good if you have it.”

  “I’ve always got bread, but I’m not so sure about the jam. Let’s go find out. But first, I’m going to drop in on Dani and see how she’s doing. Do you remember if Nate stayed the night?”

  “Yeah, I recall seeing him passed out on the living room sofa before heading upstairs. You do realize that you performed a striptease for the two of us last night? But he was too drunk to notice. I’m not sure where Marsh took off to; he had vanished by the time we managed to make it to the living room.”

  Mortified—the last thing I wanted to do was make Nate uncomfortable—I opened the door to the guest room and peeked inside. Dani was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed, her face ashen white. She moaned and rubbed her forehead.

  “What the hell did you give me? I feel like somebody took a sledgehammer to my head.”

  “I gave you Beladonacia. That’s the only side effect unless you take too much. How are you feeling otherwise?” I sat down beside her and took her hands in mine. “I know last night was a horrible shock. I’m so sorry.”

  Dani raised her eyes to meet mine. “There’s nothing to forgive. I woke up about half an hour ago, and I’ve just been sitting here trying to sort things through. It’s not your fault that Greg’s popped up again in my life.”

  My spirit took a nosedive as the pain in her voice filtered through. “For what it’s worth, he loved you, Dani. You were the golden couple. He died loving you. And you’re right—the creature wearing his body? That’s not Greg. Please, don’t ever start thinking it is.”

  She gave a half-hearted shrug. “I won’t. I can’t let myself.”

  “What are you going to do today?”

  “Go to my shop. Clean up some more. Figure out how much damage has been done. See if the cops know anything. And get some bars put on the windows and door. I’ve avoided that route—I hate feeling like I have to make my shop a jail, but damn it, I can’t afford this sort of crap. I don’t make that much to begin with. At least I shouldn’t lose customers. Weres hate magic as it is, so they aren’t in my client base. Generally, they buy their wards through an intermediary, and I know they won’t skimp on protection just to spite me. So, what are you doing today?”

  I thought about asking her if she wanted to poke around the Underground with me during the day but squashed the idea the moment it flashed through my mind. Veek was down there, and that would be rubbing salt in her wounds.

  “I’m going down to Archer’s office and get all signed up. Then…I guess we start work on trying to pinpoint the Souljacker. It occurred to me last night that, given he escaped from Greg, it means that he’s out there on his own. If he goes back to his father, Terrance would probably lock him up for his own safety and Charles doesn’t want that. He wants to get his art back. Tonight, we’re going to go talk to Ray Bender—remember him?”

  Dani squinted, then recognition filled her face. “Right, I do. You think he might know something?”

  “We can hope.” I groaned. “Oh, my aching head. Come on, let’s get downstairs and find some breakfast.” I took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet. “At least you don’t have a hangover like the rest of us. We decided on some stress release, and apparently peppermint schnapps fit the bill just perfectly. I seem to remember we polished off an entire bottle between the three of us.”

  Dani laughed. “So I assume you have the hangover from hell?”

  “Well, apparently there was karaoke, and I did a striptease. The window in my bedroom was open this morning, and it was freezing.” Before she could say a word, I held up my hand. “Archer said that Nate was passed out by the time I decided to take it all off, thank gods.”

  As we headed down the stairs, the smell of toast and eggs wafted up and my stomach rumbled. Whether it was the hunger or the queasiness talking, I wasn’t sure. All I knew is that I needed some food, and I needed it quick.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Over breakfast, Nate was looking decidedly worse for wear. Archer had managed to find the eggs and bread, and he was cooking. Nate was staring at the table, mumbling something under his breath. Mr. Whiskers was marching around looking decidedly put out, and I realized his breakfast was overdue. As I pulled out the cans of cat food and the dry kibble, Marsh appeared in the room.

  “I see you all went on a bender,” he said. “Get it out of your system, then?”

  I let out a grunt as I filled the cat bowls with food. “More or less.”

  Nate snorted and slid the peppermint schnapps bottle—now empty—onto the table. He added another, a half-empty cinnamon schnapps bottle. “Apparently, we decided to have ourselves quite a little party.”

  My cheeks flaming, I decided to come right out and ask. “Do you remember me doing a striptease?”

  Nate arched his eyebrows. “I wish. But the last thing I remember is…we were having an impromptu karaoke party. Archer was singing ‘Got That Girl.’ Then you and I tried to sing a duet. I seem to remember it was ‘Ride Me Like Magic,’ but I wouldn’t testify to it. After that everything is a blur, until sometime earlier this morning when I woke up in the bathroom with my head over the toilet.”

  Archer slid the platter of scrambled eggs and toast on the table. He added a pot of coffee, and a teapot that was steaming with the fragrance of rose. I started out of my seat to get plates and silverware, but Dani motioned for me to sit back down.

  “I may still be a little drowsy from the sedative, but I’m not hung over. Let me do that.”

  As she passed out the plates and tableware, she let out a long sigh. “I got a message from the cops. The urine is Were, they can tell that much, but that’s all they have to go on. I just contacted a window company to come replace the windows and put up bars. So much for goodwill in the neighborhood.”

  “I’m sorry. Tygur’s death is hitting us all, it seems. I’ll pay for your windows if you like—it’s essentially because of me that Tricia’s posse went after you.”

  “No, that’s all right. I’ve got insurance. But damn it, I’d like to slap that girl upside the head.” Dani held out her plate as Archer scooped scrambled eggs onto it.

  I stared at my dish, my stomach unsure of what it wanted to do, but finally, I attacked the food, which tasted surprisingly delicious. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days.

  Archer nodded. “I put in a call to a friend who runs a shop in the Underground. He’s agreed to meet us there tomorrow. That’s the earliest he can be available. He’ll play tour guide, and he knows a lot of about the Underground that few others do. Today, first thing, Lily—you and I should go down to the office and get everything set up, since you’ll be working for me.”

  I was about to answer when the chime on my phone sounded. I glanced at the text. Tricia had answered. “Excuse me, I need to take this in private.” I hurried into the living room.

  meet me at white tower center, back entrance. i’ll be waiting right inside level two. be there at four or don’t come at all.

  I stared at the message, debating whether or not to go. But I’d been the one to ask for the meeting, and I felt like I had to try something. Maybe I could reach her. And if not? I’d be no worse off than I already was. I texted back, four. see you then.

  That done, I headed back to the kitchen.

  “I’m confused,” Marsh was saying. “If the Deadfather is so dangerous, why do the authorities let him live? He’s a vampire, and according to what you said, they don’t have rights. If they took him out, it wouldn’t be like assassinating a foreign country’s ambassador or king, would it?”

  “Oh, it would be worse. Given the number of vampires in the world, we’d be up against a legion out for revenge.” I shook my head. “While in theory it would be nice to be rid of him, unless there’s a crackdown on vampires and what they can get away with, it would only make things wors
e.”

  Dani cleared the table for us. She wiped her hands on the dishtowel. “Consider him the king of vampires. In fact, a good 80 percent of vampires claim they happily support him. The Deadfather is tremendously wealthy and until recently he remained in the shadows like all the other vampires. But as they grew more bold, so did the Deadfather.”

  “More than that,” Archer added, “the Deadfather has been around for thousands of years. He’s probably the oldest vampire alive at this point. Or one of them. I’ve been doing some research into him, although superficially until now. Do you know that the oldest vampires refer to themselves as the elder gods? That’s how they see themselves—immortal, almost invulnerable. And truthfully, unless you find one in his lair during the day, fighting and killing one that old is almost impossible except for the strongest and most cunning of hunters.”

  And with that sobering thought, we prepared to start the day.

  Nate promised to call me if he found anything. He was going to delve into whatever he could find about the Weres and what they might be planning. “The rumor mills will be active, given how popular Tygur was. I’ll see what I can find out about Tricia’s plans. Maybe I can help out Dani, too.”

  “Stay here while you work—it’s safer than your place.”

  “The vamps are asleep during the day, remember?” But he shrugged. “I’ll keep Whisky company, sure.”

  Dani also promised to call us before the day was out, to let us know how things were going at her shop. “I don’t intend to open today at all. It’s just going to be cleaning up and making an inventory of what’s missing.” She paused at the bottom of the back porch. “By the way, I’d love to examine your wards, if you don’t mind. The chance to look at Katarina’s work is like…like what viewing a Picasso is for an art student. She’s brilliant. I can feel the energy zinging around your yard like a ping-pong ball. At least we can trust your place to be a safe haven from the Souljacker, along with any other vampires that might take it into their heads to come after us.”

  I knew she was talking about Greg, but said nothing.

  After Dani left, Archer and I headed out for his office. Now my office too, when I thought about it. For almost seventy-five years now I had played the part of lover and mistress. Today would be different.

  I took my car rather than ride with Archer, because I would need it later on. As I passed through the Blood Night District, I found myself looking at the city in a new light. I had grown so used to my surroundings, they had become a backdrop—but today something seemed different. I felt more like an outsider. For decades I had belonged to the city and been content with my role. One thing I knew for sure: working for Archer would be a whole new experience. And if I was honest with myself, it felt like a breath of fresh air had blown into my life in the shape of a chaos demon.

  My phone rang as I sped past White Tower Center. I instructed the car to answer.

  “Lily? It’s Jolene. Do you have a few moments?”

  “Anything for you, doll.” Then I paused, thinking about why she had called the last time and I suddenly grew sober. “Has there been another murder?”

  “I wish I could say no.”

  “I know it can’t have been Dani or Nate, because they were both at my house last night. Who, then?”

  As I waited for her to pronounce death sentence on another one of the Souljacker’s clients, the weariness of the past couple days hit me full force.

  “This is someone I don’t think you knew. His name was Peter Trent. Does that name ring a bell?”

  I thought for a moment, going over everybody that I could remember meeting in the past few years. “Not really,” I finally said. “If I did meet him, I don’t remember. He wasn’t part of the India Ink Club, which tells us that the Souljacker is after all of his old clients. Where did you find him?”

  “Down in Pioneer Square, near the Underground. Sprawled on a park bench, no less. Drained dry as a bone, and half his skin missing. The Souljacker had tattooed over half of his body, and every tattoo was missing except for one. We verified with his sister that the remaining tat had been his first, inked by a different artist. It seems Charles isn’t interested in any artwork but his own.”

  I wanted to tell her what we had learned about Greg freeing the Souljacker, but it wouldn’t do any good. Greg was a vampire too, therefore they wouldn’t touch the case. If he had been human—if Terrance had gone there himself to let Charles out—he might have been arrested as accessory to murder.

  You’re kidding yourself, a voice inside me said. Terrance Schafer’s home free because of his connections to the Deadfather.

  “Jolene, do you have any clue as to where the Souljacker is hiding?”

  She paused, then cleared her throat. “Sorry, Lily. We aren’t even looking. Vampire execution, remember? Not on our radar. We’re putting out warnings throughout the city that if you were tattooed by him, to beef up your wards, but in terms of actual investigations, our hands are tied.”

  And there was another beef we had always gotten into. I had a headache and my filters weren’t working so well. “Seriously, you still sit there and say that? Not you, personally, but your department? What if the vamps start killing people in waves? What then? Are you still going to turn a blind eye? Or maybe, just maybe, can you get your men on the street with stakes and go hunting? There’s a lot of rumbling about this, Jolene. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of a badge if you guys continue to let this happen.”

  “We do what we can to make the city as safe as we can.” She sounded put out now, and I recognized the code for We really don’t want to upset the powers that be.

  Feeling huffy, I decided I might as well get off my soapbox. It wasn’t going to do any good. “Were there any witnesses?”

  The irritation in her voice died down a little. “Actually, that’s where we come into a bit of luck. There were two witnesses who saw the Souljacker attack Peter. When they realized it was a vampire, they took off and called the cops. By the time we were able to get there, he was gone, along with a sizable layer of Peter’s skin. But they said they saw him come out of the Underground. One moment they saw him across the street, the next he was standing by Peter. He moved so fast there was no time for Peter to react.”

  “What was Peter doing in Pioneer Square?”

  “According to the witnesses, he was just sitting on the bench, high as a kite on Uthanol. You know we have a simple finger-prick test for the drug now. From what I could gather, Peter’s been strung out on Uthanol for two years now. I hate to sound this way, but if the Souljacker hadn’t gotten to him, the man would have died within five months from the side effects.”

  I stared at the road, thinking. “Was Peter terminal? Uthanol is most often used by terminal patients.”

  “No, he wasn’t sick at all. At least not physically. Apparently he started using the drug when his mother was on it for pain control. She had an incurable blood disease. It helped her avoid most of the pain. Peter started stealing her pills. She died seven months ago, and by that point, he was hooked. He drowned his sorrows by falling into the drug. He was a hard-core user.” Jolene sounded so sad that I wish I could reach through the phone and give her a hug.

  “That’s rough. Thanks for letting me know, and if you have any clue where we can find Charles, call me. I’m checking on a few things myself, and once I find out whatever there is to find out, I’ll let you know.”

  “I hate to bring this up,” Jolene said, “but I’ve heard through the grapevine that Tricia Jones has put a hit out on your business and that some Were tore up Dani’s shop. You guys okay?”

  I let out a sigh. Maybe Jolene could help after all.

  “Tricia and I got into it the day before yesterday. Let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. Then her BFF left me banged up yesterday. But you heard right. Most of my clients have canceled and I put away my shingle for now. I imagine you think that’s a good thing.”

  I paused, realizing how bitchy that sounded. “So
rry, this whole mess has just fucked up my life in so many ways. I have to change professions. No matter what happens now, Tricia’s made certain I’ll have a bad reputation for safety. Since most of my clients were Weres, there’s no use in fighting back.”

  “What about Dani?”

  “Tricia’s got it in for my friends, too, according to Wynter. Is there anything we can do on a legal level to stop her?”

  Jolene paused, then said, “A restraining order, but between you and me, those are about as good as a wet tissue. You have to understand, we Weres are an insular community and a lot like a hive mind. Oh, not literally, but when one branch of the tree takes a hit, we tend to rally around the wounded party.”

  My filters slipped again. “Are you defending her?”

  “Not at all. This is ridiculous, and she doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on. But…I’ll ask around, see if I can figure out a way to help diffuse the situation. I’ll call you later if I find anything out.”

  That didn’t sound all to promising. I let out a long sigh. “Thanks. Anything you could do would be appreciated.”

  “Okay, well, I have to get back to work.” She sounded reluctant to hang up. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

  “Not right now, but I’ll talk to you soon. And Jolene—thanks for hooking me up with Archer. He’s been extremely helpful.” And with that, I ended the call.

  As I pulled into the parking garage beneath Archer’s office, it occurred to me that I’d be coming here every day. I decided to insist on parking as part of my perks. The cost was astronomical, and I had no intention of using the Overpass Train to get to work.

  Archer was waiting for me as I entered the waiting room. He locked the door and then motioned for me to follow him into his office. As I took a seat, I wondered where I was supposed to do my work, given there were only two rooms.