Chapter 9
I sat on the edge of my bed wincing.
I was never ever, ever, ever going to live this down. Though I really should have been distracted by what I’d learned from Benson, the only thing I could think of is how I’d stared open-mouthed at his perfect body.
“Oh God, you are a hopeless case,” I chided myself as I hissed through bared teeth, balled my hands up into fists, and struck the edge of my bed repeatedly. The crappy old mattress practically twanged under the onslaught.
Though I could have set myself on beating it and slowly eking out my frustration for the rest of the day, I couldn’t really, could I?
Because I’d killed a glass demon. Sure, Benson had tried to hide how impressed he’d been at that. But as repulsive as it sounded, I was starting to get to know the guy. And it had been damn obvious how taken aback he’d been at the prospect that me – little mouse, Lizzie Luck – had destroyed one of the hardest creatures to kill in all of Hope City.
It was that thought and that thought alone that finally stopped me from beating the mattress. Instead, I sat on the edge of my bed, nervously clutching my hands into tight fists. I was now so far into this stupid mess that I’d stopped thinking I could wake up from this nightmare.
The only thing I could do was find out what on earth I was. But in doing that, I would have to face the terrifying prospect that maybe I wasn’t from Earth, but I was from underneath it.
I brought my shaking hands up once more and swallowed hard at the memory of that demon shrieking. The memory of that pulsing, unstoppable, violent light tearing out of me and ripping through the creature’s glass body.
Before I could completely give in to my fear, crumple into a ball, and cry myself to sleep, my phone rang. I jolted as I clutched it from my pocket with shaking hands. I expected it to be him. Of course I did. Because he’d outright told me he was now intending to keep such a close eye on me, I wouldn’t be able to cough without him knowing it.
It wasn’t Benson, though. It was Sarah.
The prospect of Sarah’s happy smile and outrageous sense of humor were the only things that could bring a small smile to my lips as I plucked the phone up and pressed it to my ear. “You have no idea how good it is to hear from you,” I began.
“Honey, you have to come over. Another vampire’s come to see you,” Sarah spluttered without as much as a hello. Sarah was not the kind of girl who ever got to the point quickly. You’d go through half an hour of random conversation with her until she bothered to blurt that your boss had called for an urgent appointment. But now Sarah was getting straight to that point, and that was a truly terrifying prospect.
Not as terrifying, however, as the thought of which vampire it could be.
I stiffened so badly I heard my muscles creak. I pressed toward the edge of my bed. “Sarah, you have to listen to me very carefully. If that’s Theodore van Edgerton, you need to find some way to get him out of the house. I’ll call for help—”
“Van Edgerton? You mean that socialite playboy who owns most of the gambling halls and casinos in the city? It’s not him. God, if it was him, you think I’d be calling you? I know we’re friends, and all, but if the city’s number one eligible bachelor and playboy vampire appeared on my doorstep, sweetie, I’d have other plans.”
Though I wanted to launch into an immediate tirade about Theodore Van Edgerton being an evil bastard, I stopped. Because while it wasn’t him, there was still a vampire in my ex-roommate’s house.”
I tensed. “It’s not Benson, is it?”
Sarah spluttered. “Firstly, if it was Benson, I’d tell you. Sure, the guy’s hot, but you clearly have history, and I haven’t easily forgotten the last time he came over. It’s not Benson.”
“Then who the hell is it?” I demanded in a loud gulp.
It wasn’t impossible that I’d attracted the attention of more evil vampires other than Theodore. Hey, they were probably right now passing around a photo of me in whatever clubs and establishments of ill repute they met up in. I’d be the flavor of the month. Literally.
I shivered as I clutched a hand to my neck.
Sarah gave an odd, awkward pause that made me so frigging alarmed I sprung to my feet. “Sarah, who the hell is there?”
“She won’t give her name. Keeps saying that it could get her killed. She’s in a bad way, Lizzie – I’ve never seen a vampire this scared before.”
My nose crumpled as my legs fell out from underneath me and I sat with a bang on the bed. “It’s a woman?”
“Yes, and she’s goddamn terrified. She keeps asking to see you, says she has to warn you about something. I thought maybe she was playing at first, and this was just some sick joke of Benson’s. But it’s not. So, Liz, you’ve got to come over. Now.”
I had no option, did I? I had to get over to Sarah’s and find out what the hell that vampire wanted. Not only could I not leave my ex flatmate alone with her, but I had to find out what the heck was going on.
I knew full well that it was a bad idea to leave the shop. Not only had Benson warned me to be careful for the rest of the day until he got in contact with me again, but, seriously, Theodore was probably waiting behind the trashcan outside the shop, one of those bank sacks in hand, ready to chuck it over my head and shut me in the back of his car.
While I could have called Benson and begged for a lift, I wasn’t that stupid. Nor was I that desperate. Plus, from what Sarah had told me over the phone, the vampire in our apartment sounded terrified. Terrified someone would find her and kill her. For all I knew, that was Benson.
I wasn’t a brave girl. Sure, the past several days had been taxing and had taught me that I had a heck of a lot more courage than I’d once suspected. Still, I surprised myself as I ran around the shop, gathering whatever magical supplies I could. Though Mr. Marvelous had been quite strict in telling me that we were a private detective agency and not a private army, he still had weapons. After all, we weren’t exactly dealing with the nicest clientele. Not only were we in a particularly seedy, nasty section of town, but, hello, this business was a dangerous one. This was my first case, and I’d already been stalked and kidnapped.
So it didn’t take long to find the case of weapons. It took a little longer, however, to figure out what the hell they were.
Though some were obviously daggers of the particularly magical and pointy variety, there were one or two I couldn’t even guess the uses of.
One in particular looked to be nothing more than a charm bracelet. And yet, it couldn’t be a bloody charm bracelet, because not only was Mr. Marvelous one of the most blokey blokes I’d ever seen, but, hello, it was in the armory box.
On closer inspection, I realized the exact charms looped around the gold bracelet weren’t exactly the ordinary figures you’d see on a child’s toy. They were downright nasty. One looked like a bulging eye. Another looked like a cracked skull. And one looked like some kind of sinister monster dragging a guy into the drains.
Not only were they marvelously detailed, they were exquisitely hideous. I made a face, shivered, but nonetheless crammed the bracelet on my wrist.
When I was done collecting my weapons, I shoved a pair of magical binoculars into my bag for good measure, grabbed a legal pad too in case I had to take any notes, then paused by the door, locking a sweaty hand on the handle.
“Come on, girl, you can do this. Because you don’t have any other bloody option.” With that awful thought, I opened the door and made it out onto the street.
I won’t lie to you. My head practically exploded from the effort of scanning and re-scanning the street for any sign of threat.
From the old trees groaning in the wind marching down the street, to the dustbins, to the birds, I analyzed everything like some kind of sophisticated targeting system.
When it became apparent that vampires weren’t about to chuck themselves out of the bushes and hunt me down, I relaxed.
A little.
Not willing to take any chance
s with public transport, I took the beast.
Before I knew it, I made it across town and arrived at my old apartment.
I didn’t have time to be proud of myself that I’d staved off an attack by Theodore’s cronies. As soon as I walked in the door, Sarah pretty much jumped on me.
I’d never seen her looking more pressured.
She instantly shrugged backward, indicating the woman practically crumpled on the couch.
She was obviously a vampire, just as she was obviously stunning. Six-foot, slender, buxom, and with dark ebony hair and white porcelain skin, she looked like a doll. A doll ready to break.
She had a thumb rammed in her mouth, and was chewing it so hard, her skin was ragged and raw.
Sarah pressed up close, motioning me toward the kitchen with a quick flick of her hand. “She’s been here for about an hour now, won’t say a word to me, keeps repeating that she has to see you. Lizzie, honey, I have no idea what this is about.”
I gave my flatmate a worried smile. “It’s okay, I got this,” I said.
And Sarah, Sarah looked suitably impressed. She’d known me long enough to realize I never had anything, apart from a serious case of nerves. Except now here I was, smiling warily at the vampire as I carefully sat down beside her on the couch.
The woman shot me a suspicious look, but didn’t snap at me with her fangs and hiss at me to get back.
Before I really knew what I was doing, I shoved a hand at her. “Lizzie Luck, private investigator.”
I saw Sarah flash me a seriously impressed look from the kitchen as she bustled around making cups of tea.
The vampire stared at my hand for a wary second before she grabbed it and shook it. Though the woman’s fingers were slender and delicate, her grip was just as strong as a vice.
I barely made a face as it felt like she crushed my hand to dust.
“You wanted to see me?” I questioned.
The vampire swiveled her gaze to Sarah. “Get the human out of the room.”
Sarah bristled at her tone.
A couple of days ago, I would have bristled, too, but I’d seen and heard worse. Vampires were spiky on the best of occasions.
I brought up a hand and waved Sarah off. “Do you think you can go into my old room and pack up a couple of my things?” I asked lightly.
Sarah stiffened and shot me a worried look, swiveling that same worried glance obviously between me and the vampire on the couch. “You sure?”
I nodded.
Reluctantly Sarah moved away, shooting the vampire a hard, warning stare.
I was more than surprised when the vampire barely noticed.
In fact, as soon as Sarah was out of the room, the woman practically jumped on me. She shifted forward until our knees touched, and her eyes widened to the point of popping. “You have to save me. You have to protect me from him.”
“Save you? Protect you from whom?” I said, shocked at her sudden violent outburst.
“Theodore,” the woman hissed.
Cold pressure swarmed through my belly and plunged deep into my heart. For a fraction of a second, my thoughts became hazy as this morning’s terrifying ordeal struck me like a blow to my skull.
“I heard what you did. News spreads. You killed his favorite pet. You’re some kind of great sorceress. And I need your help. You have to help me. Keep me safe. I’ll give you what you want.”
“What… what I want?” My voice shook.
The vampire leaned back, arching her long elegant neck. “You’re investigating Susan Smith’s death. I can tell you who killed her. If,” the vampire locked a hand on the couch right next to my knees, “If you help me,” she spat around each word. “You have to agree to keep me safe from Theodore. Sign a contract.” The vampire reached a hand into her elegant jacket and pulled out a small rolled up piece of parchment.
I was so taken aback I made a strange whining noise. What the hell was it with vampires and contracts? They never let you get away with a verbal agreement. Hell, they probably contracted you into going down the shops and getting them a cup of coffee.
Then again, I really doubted there was that much trust in the vampire world. They probably learned the hard way that it was best to get someone to write it down than trust them. But I balked at the site of the contract as she unfurled it and practically slammed it down into my lap. She grabbed a pen out from somewhere and shoved it into my hand.
I had no idea what to do. On the one hand, the woman was promising to solve the Smith case for me. On the other hand, who was I kidding? I could hardly keep her safe from Theodore – I couldn’t keep myself safe from the man. And as for killing his pet, it had been an accident. And even if it hadn’t been an accident – I doubted I’d be able to replicate the results.
All that new found courage that had seen me make it across town to my apartment fluttered away in a moment of panic.
The vampire lurched forward, locked my hand around the pen, and squeezed my fingers against it so hard I was sure she was going to break my bones. “You’ve got to help me,” she hissed. “Theodore doesn’t abide by traitors. He’s going to get me killed.”
… There was no denying the fear pulsing through her gaze.
What’s more, there was no denying how human it felt. That’s right, human. As I stared at the scared vampire, I kind of forgot about the fact she was a vampire. Instead, all I saw was the terror pulsing through her clear blue eyes and shaking down her pretty shoulders.
Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed the pen and signed the contract.
… I signed the frigging contract. A contract I couldn’t uphold.
Once the moment of pure insanity was over, I couldn’t even begin to believe what I’d just done.
The vampire pretty much collapsed in relief.
She let out the faintest chuckle as she brought a sweaty hand up and crammed it over her lips. The move was so hard that her fingers caught her lipstick and smeared a little onto her chin. Finally, she swiveled her direct gaze back to me. She straightened up. “I’m a woman of my word, Elizabeth Luck, and I’ll show you who killed Susan Smith. But first—”
“First?” I whispered.
“First you have to deal with Theodore Van Edgerton.”
Slam. Bam. That was it. The consequences of being an idiot and signing a contract I couldn’t uphold suddenly powered into me with the force of a rocket.
My mouth kind of shuddered open. “What do you mean deal with Theodore?”
“Kill him,” the woman shifted her lips around the word kill with such smooth viciousness, it was clear she’d forgotten her fear from before. Because hey, she was under the deluded belief that I could click my fingers and kill the most powerful vampire in the city.
My heartbeat tripled as my mouth filled with the tang of iron. “S-s– sorry,” I stuttered. “Kill him? But he’s one of the most powerful vampires in the city.”
“And you’re one of the most powerful sorceresses. It’ll be easy. You killed his favorite pet.” As the woman spoke, she now languidly folded herself into the couch. She hooked one leg over the other and began to look under her nails as if all of her fear from before had drifted away completely.
A couple of minutes ago, I’d felt supremely sorry for her. Stunned at the fact a vampire could show such humanlike fear. Now I realized how much of an absolute goddamn idiot I’d been.
She suddenly stood and stretched, her shoulders clicking beneath her silk blouse.
She looked pointedly from me to the door. Her intention was clear. She obviously wanted to know why I wasn’t jumping to it, hopping the nearest bus, and getting ready to kill an ancient vampire.
I stared at her in stunned amazement. “I can’t kill him—”
“You signed a contract to dispose of Theodore Van Edgerton,” her lips took on a not entirely pleasant curl. “My magic will bind you to that contract. And even if it isn’t strong enough, one would hope your conscience will be.” For a fraction of a second, the vampire’s fe
ar was back. The outright terror played in her gaze, and that lost, supremely fragile look smoothed her brow. She pressed forward on the couch, the fabric groaning under has slight weight. “Please, sorceress,” she hissed, “Please help me. I haven’t lied to you. I know who killed Susan Smith. I’ll show you. But first, you have to kill Theodore Van Edgerton.”
I sat there, sinking into my couch as reality sank around me.
Oh, God. Oh, God. If this morning hadn’t been bad enough, now I was contracted to kill a vampire.