by Jet Lupin
“Stop if you start to feel sick. You don’t have to finish it. You have nothing to prove.”
Phil sighed at his lover. It wasn’t often Shige was more worried than he was. For once, there was no anxiety chewing at him. There was no worry in his mind. Either he’d like it, or he wouldn’t. He’d consider what either answer meant after.
All eyes on him, he threw back the shot. It coated his tongue, the scent filled his nose. He could taste the liquor, the blood adding a strange mineral component to it. Copper, something earthy. Strangely appealing.
Phil licked his lips. He didn’t hate it. He didn’t love it either. He did feel slightly less hungry afterwards. That was more than he expected.
“How was it?” Shige hovered like a mother hen.
Phil shrugged. “Not bad, but I don’t think I’ll be switching off food any time soon.”
Abby sat forward in her chair. Phil got the sense he was being studied.
“How does your mind feel? Any effects?” How weird that she would ask that. Now that Phil was paying attention, there was a change.
“My headache’s gone.” It was like whatever had been giving him pain was shut off. He was at peace in a way he’d only known in a drug induced sleep.
Abby said nothing, just watched, no doubt making notes in her mind.
Eager to get the attention off him, Phil turned the tables, he cleared his throat, trying to center himself once more. “What about those guys from last night? Did you find out anything?”
“We’ve been working on them for hours, but haven’t learned anything useful.” Shige said. “Sebastian is with them now.” He stood reluctantly. “I should go relieve him. I was always the better motivator.”
Phil started to get up with him, remembered he was barely dressed, and stayed put. “Take me with you. You might actually get some answers.” He could test his abilities, and he could test Shige as well. The two of them were in this together. He could see if there was any truth to it or if they were just words.
“Do you think you can get them to talk?” Shige said, waiting. Phil was ready for a debate on why he should be allowed to go, or a look of disapproval. What did he do when things went his way?
“We might not need them to. When I connected with them earlier, I got a little bit of information. One of their names is Hotaka, but everyone just calls him Tak.”
Shige stroked his chin. “We can use that to shake them up a bit. I’ll rouse Jonquil. We’ll need some muscle, and Junpei’s out of commission for the time being.”
“Then I’ll leave you two to it.” Abby got up, phone in hand. “Now that we have a course of action set, I’m going to sleep.”
Shige should sleep as well, but if he insisted on conducting the interrogation now, there was little for Phil to do but help things go quickly.
He threw back the blanket and set his feet on the floor. He wasn’t going to do anything until he put some clothes on.
Chapter 13
PHIL
This room didn’t suit the goings on. Cheery bright wallpaper looked on, surely with disdain.
The sole table in the room was pushed against a wall to make space. Crisp flowers sat in a vase atop it, unbothered.
Phil’s stomach growled as he stood here. Shige had insisted he wait until they were finished to eat. He understood why now.
The three men were tied to chairs, hands bound behind their backs in the center of the room. Though they kept their heads hanging towards the floor, Phil could make out cuts and purple bruises rising from their faces.
Jonquil stayed by the door behind them, his arms folded across his chest, looming large and imposing. The time for roughing them up had passed, though, they didn’t know that yet.
Phil sat in the chair he’d brought in. Shige stood next to him. He surveyed the men first with his eyes and then with his mind.
“The one in the middle,” he whispered into Shige’s ear. With deliberate steps, Shige circled the trio. He stopped right in front of the one Phil pointed out who was pretending to sleep. The sound of Shige’s footsteps made Tak flinch and conjured up the image of the toe of an expensive shoe flying towards his face. Phil would have felt bad for him if he hadn’t been shooting at them twelve hours ago.
“Hotaka? Tak?”
The man’s head snapped up. As Phil suspected, he was a mess with a bloody nose and swollen fat lip. He glanced at his compatriots on either side of him. The man on his left was unconscious. The one on the right merely pretending.
None of them were sensitive, so Phil didn’t have to expend energy guarding himself. Thoughts flowed freely. All he had to do was let them in. “You don’t want be here as much as we don’t want you here,” Shige continued. “Tell us who sent you, what they told you, and all this ends.”
A picture of someone blinked in Tak’s mind, too fast for Phil to latch onto it.
“Ask him again.” Phil narrowed his focus onto Tak alone. He was afraid, and currently weighing the pros and cons of cooperating. He didn’t realize they were dead either way. And Phil would help that come to pass.
Death and Phil had been acquainted long before Shige entered his life. He’d had relatives pass away, pets who’d died abruptly. And then he chose a career where he confronted death every day. He’d stared death head on when Pampa had pulled him into his feud with Shige. He’d wanted Pampa dead for what he’d done to him, but hadn’t lifted a finger to make it happen. He never imagined he would intentionally contribute to someone’s death.
He expected it to bother him, to say he couldn’t and back down. The reality was, if they were allowed to go free, they’d give up Bas’ home and the fact that they were onto them. The safety of Shige, Chiyo and himself came before anything else.
“Who sent you after us?” Shige said again, his voice eerily calm.
Tak shifted in his chair. “Why should I tell you anything?”
Again, an image bobbed at the surface of Tak’s mind. Phil was faster this time and seized it. A man’s face, brooding, dark, familiar… From the party! Tak also unknowingly gave up a name.
“Akihiro?” Phil sounded it out, wanting to get it right. “That mean anything to you?”
Tak, one of his companions, as well as Shige’s gaze bored into Phil. Guess it did.
“What’s he saying?” Tak’s now alert accomplice’s gaze darted to the man at his side.
“We’re fucked.” Tak sneered at him.
The third one was coming around and projecting all kinds of images. Phil was getting lost in the output.
Tak was a drinker and an asshole and so was his pregnant girlfriend. They partied and fought and smoked nearly every night, neither concerned about the effect this could have on their unborn child. He didn’t think much about his girlfriend when he regularly cheated on her. He thought on both of them now, his mind supplying picture after picture.
Shinsuke and Ryouta, on either side of him, were no better, both of them having abandoned elderly parents in the countryside. They hadn’t thought of their families in years, but panic stirred up thoughts of them now.
“Are you sure that was the name?” Shige put his hands on Phil’s shoulders, drawing him back to his own head.
“I’m sure. And I saw his face. Akihiro. He’s the guy who sat next to me at the party.”
“What about the woman? Did you see her?”
“No, but I’ll try again.”
Ryouta, the copper haired member of the trio who’d just woken up, understood some English, but only enough to be more alarmed and confused. “That foreigner’s doing something to us.”
Tak rocked the chair, lurching forward towards Phil. He jumped at the sound, the sudden movement so unexpected. “Leave us alone, fucker!”
“I told you foreigners were trouble!” Shinsuke wailed. “We never should have taken this job.”
Phil focused on Tak again. Of the three, his mind gave Phil the most to work with, consumed with all the missteps he’d taken over the last two months racing through
his head. He was fighting, trying not to think of the woman, but she kept floating up to the surface of his consciousness. Bits and pieces of phone calls, dead drops of cash, spanning weeks, and that first meeting filtered through.
Her hair was a warm honey blonde then, not pink. A smile, like a slash, cut across her face. She didn’t tell them her name; in fact, she said very little to them. But this one time, Akihiro slipped and said it, calling out to her in front of them. Tak didn’t recognize it as any name he’d ever heard so he’d ignored it. He couldn’t have revealed it if he’d wanted.
“Rosa… Rosamund?”
Wait, Phil knew that name! Shige always spoke of her in past tense, like she was dead, or hadn’t been in Shige’s life for years. But according to this man, she was alive? Someone else could have been using the name, but Shige’s response killed that idea quickly.
“That must be wrong.”
“How can it be? I took it right from his head. Here, let me see if I can…” Phil recalled the scene the way it had been given to him. Parts of it didn’t feel right. Like Shige was seeing it through his eyes instead of Tak’s. Her hair was pink, both she and Akihiro were dressed as they’d been at the party.
He pushed the scene, imperfections and all, to Shige, similar to how he and Chiyo communicated. All the information was there. He’d get the main idea.
Shige’s mind constricted into a dark jumble. “No…” he swayed, dazed. He grabbed the back of his chair, trying to focus. “Those two should be dead.”
SHIGE
Shige and Abby disappeared into Bas’ bedroom and emerged with a snapping, barely clothed Bas. It took three full minutes before he resembled something close to human. He’d always been a drama queen.
They took up in a sitting room, another cheery, well lit space. It had the same homey feel as the rest of the house. None of it fit with the detached, lofty image Bas put forth. Unlike Shige’s home, most of Bas’ rooms were above ground. Under different circumstances, he would have asked Bas how he could stand it.
Bas stretched out on a couch with a bag of blood at his elbow, leaving Shige and Phil to squeeze together on a loveseat. Abby returned to bed herself once Bas was capable of speech.
“What’s this news that’s so important that you couldn’t let me sleep?” He clutched a blanket over his head and shoulders like a cloak, the shadows it cast deepening the circles under his eyes. “It had better be earth shattering, momentous—”
“Quiet down, you fool!” Shige shouted at him in Japanese, but he was still understood. “Rosamund and Akihiro are alive.”
Bas sat up straighter, Shige’s words sobering him. “What did you say?”
“Akihiro and Rosamund. They sent those men.”
“How do you know this?” Bas scoffed, though it sounded more nervous than arrogant. “They’ve been dead for years. The only reason we’re both where we are today is because they died. Maybe someone’s using their names to get to us.”
Shige didn’t blame him for trying to explain it all away. This defied sense! But their very existence was cause enough to question everything they knew to be true. “Rosamund’s was well known, but Akihiro? No one but you, myself, and my children know he existed. He never made it out into the world.”
“But where did you get this information? Those men weren’t offering anything up no matter how I threatened them.”
“They didn’t give it voluntarily.” Shige’s gaze slid to Phil. He’d done well keeping his secret until now, but the deeper this whole went, the harder it was going to be to not rope others in on it.
We have to tell him about you, unless you have another way. Expecting Bas to accept this news at face value was asking too much of him. Of anyone. He’d need proof, and this was all they had, albeit in an indirect fashion. Shige wouldn’t ask this of Phil unless he had to.
He’d sworn he’d keep Phil safe, and that included keeping his powers a closely guarded secret, and ideally, Shige would have liked to keep it that way. But Bas was older than Shige and far more shrewd.
“I told him.” Phil lifted his chin. We’ll deal with that if it happens, he sent back. Right now we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. “I searched their minds for the information, I’m… a sensitive.”
Bas’ whole body shook with laughter. After several seconds, he wiped tears from his eyes. “I needed the laugh. But we’ve got a serious case on our hands, and you two are making jokes? Don’t you find that in poor taste, brother? Unless this is all some sort of prank.”
Phil looked back at Shige, confused. “Why would I play around about something like that?”
“If it’s not a joke, you’re a liar, because, my dear boy, sensitives aren’t real. They’re wild stories made up by very old, very bored immortals with too much free time. Psychics. Really?” He snorted. “It defies all sense.”
“Says the centuries old vampire.” The words came out so quick, Phil likely hadn’t meant to say it aloud. His hand jerked up, as if to cover his mouth, but he let it fall back to the chair next to him.
“True enough, but you should watch how you talk. Not every vampire you meet is going to be blood tied or afraid to engage Shige over his mouthy human. Some might take it upon themselves to discipline you for him.”
Phil’s Adam’s apple bobbed in the corner of Shige’s vision. Phil needed to hear that. He hadn’t liked how Shige had been when he was trying to push him away, but it was better than the alternative. The humans he’d witness in the corteges of other vampires were treated like pets, given no rights and little leeway. And that’s how Bas saw him now, as an over indulged pet. It was the reality of this new world he found himself in, but Shige didn’t like the way Bas said it.
“He’s said nothing wrong. Our very existence defies sense. Before you were turned, did you believe vampires were real? Truly?”
Bas would never concede a point to Shige before, he’d made strides in the field of civility. Humility, however, had been left by the wayside. “At any rate, where’s your proof? Should I believe any of this because you said so? That’s not going to happen.”
“I can show you,” Phil said, his composure recovered. “If you’ll allow it, of course.”
Bas blew out a breath so hard it ruffled his already disheveled hair. “Alright. Come on, then. Is this where I think of a number between one and ten?”
Phil smirked, rolling with Bas’ shit attitude. That confidence looked so good on him. “Think of something private. Something you’ve never shared with Shige so you can’t accuse me of cheating.”
With a roll of his shoulders, Bas shut his eyes. Phil wasted no time in rifling through his mind. A hush fell over the room. Unlike during the interrogation, Phil’s eyes remained open, staring straight ahead, unblinking, like he as tracking something no one else could see. It was unsettling to witness. It was fascinating to be close to.
“Your mother… her name was Vanda. She died very young, but she loved you very much. Your father, Fernâo, on the other hand… was a piece of work. I can sympathize.”
“That’s enough.” Bas’ eyes flew open as Phil started talking. He crammed himself into a corner of the couch as if trying to escape this mouthy human.
“You also had a dog named Chuchu.”
“I get the point,” Bas snapped. “So you say you found the information from those men?”
“I took it,” Phil corrected him.
“Whatever. You could have misread or misheard. They could have said anything? Met with anyone.”
“I can show you.”
Bas grimaced as Phil did just as he promised. Shige found a mean spirited pleasure in his brother’s discomfort. That was often the best kind.
A trembling hand went to Bas’ mouth, a sickly ochre cast to his face. “That was… But we saw them. We saw their ship smashed to pieces on the rocks. We saw it go down.”
“I know,” Shige said. “But we need to move on from how this is happening and figure out where we go from here. So they survived after all
those years. Why come after me? I didn’t sink the damn ship.”
“You always were her favorite with that obstinance. Years of fun for her. But I imagine she’ll come for me soon.” Bas threw off his blanket and stood, resembling the man he’d been last night, if more unkempt. “Having the info we do now, I’m not sure my plan will matter. I was going to offer myself up to fill the vacancy in your retinue, with some caveats, of course. I think we can cross off the idea that she’s after your lands. She’s so powerful, she could simply challenge anyone for the land she wanted. Why here? She wasn’t particularly fond of it when we were trapped here. And why go after it in this way? It’s because this is your area. It’s about you, not the land. But to anyone looking from the outside, this is a turf war.”
“No, that’s actually a good idea. I think I need you in that position. It’ll keep any upstarts from getting any ideas. I’d rather have you there than some grubby social climber.” Bas was many things, but ambitious wasn’t one of them. He’d carved out a niche for himself, and there he’d stayed for centuries. Rosamund would be confused by that too. “I don’t know why she’s surfaced now, but I think she’s counting on us being divided. Our display last night laid the groundwork. This will seal the deal.”
“I’m glad we’re agreed. There’s just the matter of what you’d have me do…”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t entrust my business to you. All you have to do is what you do best—stand around and pretend you’re doing something important. Require every vampire entering the territory to meet with you like I do back in America. Kick out anyone who doesn’t comply.”
“And what’ll that do?”
“Help us appear united. That we aren’t to be trifled with.” That seemed obvious.
Bas ran his hands briskly over his arms, letting his gaze fall on Phil. “Don’t you get a chill when he’s being all diabolical like that?”
Phil’s deep frown said he did not.
Bas caught sight of himself in the breakfront across from where he sat and attempted to smooth his hair into submission. “You know, waving an iron dick or whatever this is won’t earn you a ton of friends. There are those who run their lands the same way, but the nomads won’t care for it.”