by Randi Darren
“Yeah! You’re in deep shit,” Marin said.
“Right. Why?” Sam asked. It felt like he was talking to some of the low spirits in a few bottom planes he knew of. They tended to be lacking in intelligence and high on emotion.
“Because once they find out I’m missing, they’re going to come looking for me,” Marin said.
“Uh huh. And how would they even find you? We didn’t leave much in the way of a trail, and we’re unknowns,” Sam said, trying to bait her a little.
“Bah, shows how little you know. Every group leader has to give a vial of blood for tracking purposes,” Marin said. “They’ll know right where I am by tomorrow.”
Oh? Interesting.
“Magical tracking or Vampire blood magery?” Sam asked.
“Huh? Blood magic, of course. It’s how it’s always been,” Marin said.
“Always been, why? I’m not seeing a reason not to kill you so far,” Sam said.
“Always been because that’s how the Anthony coven is,” Marin said simply. “All group leaders have to send the Anthony coven their blood. They’ve ruled here for so long it isn’t even known how long they’ve been here.”
“Uh huh,” Sam said. “How much of that is due to the fact that there’s a telepath working for them? A mind reader.
“Is it a vampire?”
“How do you know about that!?” Marin asked. Then she scoffed, as if her brain caught up to her. “Stacia. The traitorous bitch.”
“And?” Sam prompted.
“And what?” Marin asked, her voice sounding extremely confused.
“The telepath. Tell me about her,” Sam said.
“No. Not talking anymore,” Marin said. To Sam, it sounded like she was pouting.
Rolling his eyes, Sam reached over and pulled the bag over Marin’s head. He was done and just wanted to glamour her into the floor now.
He’d already decided on killing her, so letting her see his face was irrelevant.
Unfortunately, Sam was slightly unprepared for what awaited him.
Marin was freakishly pretty. Pretty to the point that even with messed-up makeup and a scowl, he found her absolutely beautiful.
Beauty beyond even Jes.
“The fuck?” she asked, glaring up at him. “I don’t know you.”
“No, you don’t,” Sam said, and then he trapped her with his eyes. The second he had her glamoured, he smashed her with as strong a blow as he could manage. After Tiffany, he wasn’t about to pull any punches. “Now tell me about the telepath.”
“Her name’s Irene Sabrina. I think she’s a human. She’s who I report to. She reports to the coven leader,” Marin said, her eyes glazing over and were trying to roll back into her skull from the heavy mental attack Sam had launched on her.
“You think, or you know?” Sam asked.
“Think. Not sure. I’ve seen people try to kill her. She got shot in the heart. She didn’t die,” Marin said. “Someone else stabbed her a few times. Didn’t die. Didn’t scar.”
Mm. Human guise and something else underneath, or she’s a cursed human of some sort.
“Does she know about Alison?” Sam asked.
“Yes. She was mad at me because I sent a hitman to kill Alison. Now she said she wants to kill the hitman, Alison, and maybe me to cover it all up,” Marin said. “I don’t know, though. She’s smarter than I am.”
“I think a frog could be smarter than you,” Sam muttered. “Okay… what do you think she’ll do if the hitman doesn’t kill Alison?”
“Hire another hitman,” Marin said. “The Fed showed up because I was feeding on teenagers. Alison is the only connection left.
“The hitman I hired only has a day left on the contract, though. Then she’ll die too.”
“Uh… did you hire more than one hitman, or just Wren?” Sam asked. He wanted to be sure. He’d never considered the possibility of what he’d do if Marin had hired more than one.
“Just Wren. She’s expensive,” Marin said.
“Ah, that’s right, money. Do you have any hidden caches or hideouts, by the way? Anywhere you keep your money, loot, or weapons that isn’t a bank or anything?” Sam asked. Jes had wanted him to check on that, just in case she had something stashed away.
“Hideout I keep hidden from Irene,” Marin said. “But I’m not sure if it’s hidden or not. How do you hide things from a telepath?”
“You don’t. Which means she knows about it. Anything there worth getting?” Sam asked.
“Money. Guns. Blood. Nothing else,” Marin said. “It’s a floor above my apartment. Number eighty-four.”
Alright. So, we’ll have Hillary and Jes go. Have one of them look like Marin here and go rob the place. Have Jes stuff everything through the planes back here once they’re done, including themselves.
“Any idea where Irene is? Where she stays? Where she lives?” Sam asked.
“No,” Marin said, then blinked slowly.
“Right. You said you’ve been killing teenagers?” Sam asked, done with his main questions.
“Yes. They taste better,” Marin said. “Usually three or four a week.”
Sam wrinkled his nose in distaste. A Vampire could easily survive on one human for weeks. Marin was a glutton.
“Stacia?” Sam called out.
“Mmm?” came back the muffled reply.
Stacia and Tiffany had ended up collapsed practically atop one another in the bed once they’d finally finished up.
“Wanna come drink Marin to the point of being dry? Should be a sufficient power-up,” Sam called, still not breaking eye contact with Marin.
“What? Wait, hold on,” Stacia called back.
Sitting there, Sam waited, admiring Marin to a degree. It was a shame she was evil.
She was gorgeous.
“Okay, what now?” Stacia asked, padding into the bathroom. “Oh, uh… wait… what’s wrong with her?”
“Nothing. I just have her glamoured,” Sam said. “This was you at one point. I spared you.
“Now… do you want to drink her till she’s dry? Should be a good power increase for you.”
“Power… increase?” Stacia mumbled.
“What, Vamps don’t kill one another for power gains anymore? Did the civilized world get to you too?” Sam asked with a chuckle. “And decide quickly. She’s not exactly a mental giant, but this does get tiring.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stacia said. “But if you explain it, I’ll do it.”
“I don’t know how; I’m not a vamp,” Sam said with a sigh. “I think they did it through blood magic. Care to try?”
“I mean… she’s not going to do anything… right?” Stacia asked.
“Nope. Would you feel better if I put her to sleep?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, actually, I would,” Stacia said, coming over to get down in front of the bathtub. She was wearing only a button-down shirt that looked suspiciously like one of his he’d had Hillary bring over.
“Sleep, and do not wake,” Sam said, staring into Marin’s eyes. “Sleep the sleep of the dead. Wake for nothing.”
Marin closed her eyes and slumped into the bathtub.
“You’re… you’re really strong, aren’t you?” Stacia glanced back at him as she leaned in over Marin’s neck.
“Indeed. And is that my shirt? I swear if you get blood on it, you’re going to regret it,” Sam said, his tone quite cold.
“Ah… yeah,” Stacia said, unbuttoning the shirt. She shimmied it down to her elbows but didn’t take it off. As she bit down into Marin’s throat, she looked lost in thought.
Must be using magic.
“Good luck with that. Drain her till she’s empty then let me know. We’ll have to dump her corpse,” Sam said, getting up out of the chair.
Leaving the bathroom, he went looking for Jes. There was a raid to plan, and a telepath to find.
I wonder if I could bug Miles?
Or… Reixhitz?
Let’s call Irma af
ter we talk to Jes.
***
Walking through the open portal, Sam looked around briefly. It was Abigail’s apartment. He could have appeared in Irma’s or his own but, by general agreement, everyone could meet here easier.
That and Abigail didn’t mind at all. Irma had already introduced Abigail to Melody at some point as well.
Sam was confused, though. It was clearly Abigail’s apartment, but it didn’t look the same.
A considerable amount of her furniture had been replaced. Everything was looking better, newer.
Amusing what a little bit of money can do.
I wonder how she’s—
Sam was surprised when Abigail appeared from the corner of his vision and wrapped him up in a tight hug.
“It’s good to see you,” she said, then kissed him.
Pulling away after several seconds, she leaned back and looked at him.
“You’re looking healthier, Sam,” she said.
“Thanks. Picked up some more girls for the feed harem,” Sam said, looking Abigail over from head to toe. She was dressed better, wearing clothes that flattered her and enhanced her body. “And you look great yourself. You gave up on that stupid diet, right?”
Abigail rolled her eyes and patted his shoulder. “Yes, I gave up on my ‘stupid’ diet. I didn’t think there was a point, considering my new job is mostly remote. No one to impress anymore but you, and you… well… you said you liked this.”
“I do, and I want to dine on you right now. This moment,” Sam said honestly, leaning in to sniff lightly at her hair. “Do we have time?”
“No. I’m afraid not. I actually just saw Irma pull up moments before you walked through. Saw her through the window,” Abigail said, her voice sounding a bit breathy. “You’re… that hungry?”
“Hungry? No. I guess that’s a good point. I just want to have sex with you,” Sam said, leaning down to smell at her throat.
For whatever reason, she smelled lovely right now. He couldn’t place the scent, but it tickled him in a strange way.
“Ah… maybe after,” Abigail said, then gently pushed away from him. “I’m going to go get the door.”
Almost at the same time as she said it, there was a rapid-fire knock on the door.
“Abby! Open the doooooooooor,” called a voice from the other side.
“Stop it, Auntie,” said the unmistakable voice of Irma.
“You stop it,” said the first voice, which Sam assumed to be Melody.
Opening the door, Abigail stepped to one side. “Come on in. Sam just got here, so your timing is perfect.”
“Sammy!” Irma said, skipping across the distance and smashing into him with as tight a hug as she could manage.
“Hey,” Sam said, grinning. He hugged her back, holding her close.
A bright, warm spot inside his chest flared up, and it felt like it would overwhelm him.
Turning his head, he caught Irma’s lips with his own and started to kiss her.
Seconds ticked by and he kept at it, pulling more and more at her, as if he wanted to shove her into his own body.
“Okay, uhm, time out,” said Melody. “If you’re going to go at it right here, I kinda wanna leave. Not really into watching my niece get it on with a Incubus.”
Irma pulled her head back from Sam’s and took in a gasping breath, then kissed him again.
Tipping backward, Sam ended up in the couch with Irma squirming around in his lap, kissing him even harder than he’d been kissing her.
“Okay, yeah, awkward, uhm,” Melody said. “I’m just gonna… go summon my Contract. Yeah.”
Sam only barely heard it. Turning sideways, he got Irma down into the couch on her back and leaned over her. Her legs instantly spread and wrapped around his hips, her ankles tightening around him.
There was a light pop on Sam’s rear end. It felt decidedly like he’d been spanked.
Though it did break his mind free from where he was going.
Coming up from Irma, Sam panted as he stared down at his First Imp.
“Sammy baby, I missed you, too,” Irma said, grinning up at him. “I had no idea you felt like that.”
“Okay, knock it off—not on my couch,” Abigail said. “Get up. Both of you. Or I’ll just turn the hose on you or something.”
Irma laughed softly, one hand lightly caressing Sam’s cheek.
“Sorry, Abby. Sorry, sorry. We’re done. He just missed me,” Irma said, gazing up at Sam.
For his part, Sam was lost in his own thoughts. Mildly terrifying thoughts.
Because she was right. He’d missed her.
He’d missed Abigail too, but not as much as he had Irma. The moment his lips had touched her, he’d wanted to have sex with her immediately.
Not even to feed from her, just to have sex.
“I love you,” Sam blurted out, staring down into her face.
Irma grinned, her shoulders rolling up slightly and her face taking on the color of a ripe tomato. “Love you too. Get up. We need to do this. Then we can go home for a quick minute after you finish ripping Abby apart.”
The two of them levered themselves up from the couch and found Melody had almost finished the summoning circle.
“Rix, got a new crossword puzzle book for you,” Melody said. “Wanted to see if you could give me an address as well. If you can, I’ll throw in this sudoku book. I think you’ll like it.”
“Oh?” asked Rix from inside his plane. “An address? For who?”
“From what I suspect is a cursed human,” Sam said. “And hello Rix. How are you?”
“Sam?” Rix asked, immediately stepping out of the portal. “Hello Sam. This is for you?”
“It is. Melody was kind enough to offer you some contract items for the info; however, I’d be willing to provide an equal favor at a later time in repayment as well,” Sam said.
“Mm, alright. I agree and understand,” Rix said, leaning over his staff. “Name?”
“Irene Sabrina. She’s in the city of Saint Anthony, works for a Vampire. She looks human, but doesn’t sound like it,” Sam said.
At the same time, Irma set down a series of thick, heavy books in front of the older planar lord.
Reixhitz had his own abilities and contracts he could make. Where Sam tended toward immortality and youth, wanting life and emotions from others, Reixhitz trended toward information accumulation. Trading, buying, selling—he had almost all of it at his fingertips and readily available.
For a price.
Getting an address or a phone number out of a phone book or white pages was more of a directional information acquisition.
The price for such a thing would be minimal.
Trying to solve something far more complicated through Reixhitz, like a murder or a robbery, would cost significantly more.
“Oh, done,” Reixhitz said, tapping one of the books with a finger.
The book flew open and landed on a page somewhere near the back.
“I. Sabrina, 42 Deep-Thought Way,” Melody said.
“And there we are,” Sam said, grabbing the pad of paper on the coffee table in front of him. He wrote down the address quickly. “Thanks, Rix.”
“Not a problem, not a problem. I unfortunately still owe you a few favors anyways,” Reixhitz murmured, leaning on his cane again. “I thought for sure I was going to be doomed to waste away to nothing at all.”
“Here ya go, Rix,” Melody said, holding out the two books to him. “I made sure they were master level for you. Can’t have you not at least having a tiny bit of a challenge.”
“Ha. Thank you, Melody, thank you,” Reixhitz said with a smile, holding the books. “It’s interesting how far the world has come since I last saw it. I plan on venturing over into the abyssal plane in six or so months. Care to join me, Sameerixis?”
“Maybe. Melody has a birthday around then too that I was invited to. I imagine you’ll be there as well. Beyond that, depends on my contracts and what I’ve got going on here,”
Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ve already… broken into two apartments, got a pack of gun-running Weres arrested or killed, blackmailed two women into joining my feed harem, kidnapped a Vampire, robbed and murdered a Vampire, and then had the Vampire I kidnapped murdered.”
“That’s right! My birthday!” Melody said more to herself than anyone with a soft laugh.
Shaking his head, Sam folded the paper on itself and slipped it into his pocket.
“I’ve done all for the sake of one woman who just wanted to keep the house she grew up in,” Sam said and then sighed. Turning to Abigail, he pointed a finger at her. “Doesn’t matter how sexy and beautiful you are, Abby—if you send me to another child of Alisa I have to go through this much hoop-jumping for, you’ll be paying for them instead. Hourly. Every minute in fact. Till your hips give out.”
Abigail smirked at him and gestured to herself.
“It’d be worth it, wouldn’t it?” she asked in a tone he’d never heard from her.
Frowning, Sam studied her, trying to figure out what’d changed in her since he’d seen her last.
Now that he thought about it, even her greeting had been different.
“It’d be worth it… yes,” Sam said guardedly. “Alright. I want to get this all finished up so I can come home. Alison is a nice client, as far as clients go, but she’s not even going to feed me when this is done.”
Stupid, stupid Sam.
Getting conned on this one.
Conned horribly.
Twenty-One - Test -
“We could break in. That seems to go pretty well,” Jes said, leaning to one side and putting her elbow on the arm of Stacia’s couch.
“Maybe. It’s certainly an option,” Sam said, sliding an arm around Jes’s shoulders. “With any luck, we can surprise her just like we did Tiffany and Wren.”
“I was very surprised,” Wren said from her seat on the ground. She was breaking down her rifle and cleaning it. Apparently, one of the vampires she’d shot had exploded from the impact of the rounds. Her rifle had been doused in vampire blood. “Don’t regret it so far, though. It’ll be nice to get paid regularly, regardless of jobs, while still doing what I do best.”
“Yeah,” Tiffany said, sitting next to Stacia on the love seat. “Was definitely surprising. Okay… let’s assume we can’t, though. Then what?”