The Honda Del Sol isn’t a big car, which meant I had to stick the Count in the trunk. Problem was, he was standing up straight, so his legs, at least from the knees on down, were left sticking out the back of the trunk. That meant I had to drive with the trunk lid open.
“We should’ve taken your truck,” I said as we pulled out of the parking lot.
“Speaking of which, can you drop me off before you, ah, dispose of the Count.”
“My place is only a couple of blocks from the beach, so I’ll just head back there and walk the rest of the way.”
“He won’t thaw out?”
“Not as long as I’m around to keep him frozen.”
“You sure you have to kill him? There must be another way to get Claire back.”
“I’m open to suggestions.” Elrod didn’t say anything, not that I expected him to. His best idea, his only idea, was to use his power to make the Count human and that failed. “I was hired to protect Titus and I failed. Not only did I fail, I dragged Gladrielle into this and she’s now a dark elf. The least I can do is save her. But we both know that she won’t go back to being her old self as long as the Count is around.”
“I hope you succeed,” Elrod said. “But in all my years, I’ve never seen a dark elf turn back into a regular elf.”
“Then Gladrielle will be the first.”
“You’re very determined.”
“I was hired to save somebody and I’m damn well going save somebody. I don’t care if it’s the last thing I do. Nor do I care if she wants to be saved. Speaking of which, how long will those vines hold Gladrielle?”
“An hour, maybe two. Their roots aren’t embedded in the soil so they won’t live very long.”
“Does that bother you? The fact that those plants won’t live very long.”
“They’ll leave seeds behind. Eventually those seeds will get swept outside, take root, and spring up elsewhere.”
“You’re more worried about my killing the Count.”
“He’s a sentient being. Plants aren’t.”
“He’s evil. He brought twelve vamps with him, vamps that he probably created. You know what he did with them?”
“What?”
“He killed them, ate them for dinner to be precise. Well, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“At least he doesn’t kill humans.”
“Only because the humans will come after him if he does. So he sidesteps the law that forbids supernaturals from killing humans by turning them into vampires and then killing them.”
“It’s not against the law to turn a human into a vampire?”
“Not as long as it’s done with their consent.”
“Why would someone want to become a vampire?”
“They like the idea of living forever.” I glanced at Elrod. “If anybody can understand that it should be you.”
“Being immortal only works if the people you love are immortal. I suspect having to watch the people you care about grow old and die isn’t all that pleasant.”
“What those people that want to become vamps don’t understand is there’s a ridged hierarchy in the vampire world. Older vamps are more powerful than younger vamps and have the power to compel them to do things they might not want to do.”