Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock 02)

"Yeah," I said, carefully. "Blue and black sequins" was a way that power signatures might be described if one didn't know what they were. "Bliss would see things differently because she can see through magical glamours. She has what the Irish might call 'the sight.' "

 

Bliss stood abruptly, so fast her chair rocked and spun halfway around. Silent, her blue-black hair swinging, she left the room. Tia's mouth opened and tears gathered in her eyes. "She's mad. But the sight sounds like a good thing." She looked at Najla and Christie, pleading. "It's a good thing, right?"

 

Christie looked at me, her eyes cold. "Not if you want to keep it secret, it isn't."

 

Tia looked from Christie to me, tears dropping over her lids and spilling down her cheeks. "Bliss?" she called, and trailed her friend out of the room. Najla gave me a look that could have cured meat and followed them. I could hear their footsteps as they raced the stairs to their rooms on the second story.

 

"Real smooth, Yellowrock," Christie said. "How you gonna tell her she's witch-blooded when she don't want to know?"

 

"You knew?" I asked.

 

"Pretty sure. She's got the sight, like you said. But she doesn't want to talk about her parents or her life before here. Katie said to give her room to deal with it in her own way."

 

Which would have been nice to know. "You've all seen five glamoured women a few times?" When she nodded, it was stiffly, as if she wanted to lie and say no, but couldn't see how to pull it off. "Where? And it was always the same women?" I asked because I had seen something like that once before but couldn't quite bring it to mind.

 

"In the Quarter a couple times. In the Warehouse District once. Bliss has a regular, a vamp client who sends a car for her and brings her to an upscale apartment in the district, so she's there pretty often. Tia has a regular on Royal Street she sees twice a week. Don't know about it being the same women, but it was the same glamour each time. Middle aged, dowdy, a little plump. Why?"

 

"Not sure. But would you pass the word? Next time someone sees them, call me? I'd like to get a look."

 

Christie rolled her eyes. "Sure. Whatever." She slid a punk-pink cell phone across to me. "It isn't working yet, but you can input your number. Then get outta here. I need my beauty sleep."

 

I parked Bitsa in public parking near the front door of the NOPD on South Broad Street. The power was back on here, traffic lights working, air conditioners humming, marked units whizzing out to answer calls. I wasn't armed, but I did have my cell phone, change for vending machines if I got hungry, a spiral notebook, and a camera. And here, the cell towers were up and running. Sweet.

 

I was hoping to find info and evidence about witches and vamps and the problems between them, as well as info on vamp history that might lead me to the young-rogue maker. It wasn't kosher to bring a camera into NOPD, but unless they searched me, I wasn't going to mention it. I wanted evidence, and if I was left alone with it, I was going to take copious photos and e-mail them to myself. I could take pics with the cell, but I didn't know its memory capacity, and I might need a lot. I tucked the camera and cell phone into my boot.

 

Inside, it was a madhouse; a couple dozen manacled malcontents reeking of vodka, beer, malt liquor, wine, cheep perfume, and reefer were waiting to be processed. Officers were darting here and there--okay, were meandering here and there--and computer keys were clacking, radios, phones both cellular and landline, were ringing, PCs were beeping, printers were clattering, and the law enforcement 911 radios were chattering. It was oddly cozy, yet I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of wolves.

 

Beast perked up and paid attention to the organized confusion. Her claws were doing that milking thing they did to my psyche when she was interested in something, claws out, a sharp dig into my mind, claws retracted. It wasn't comfortable, but it did keep me alert.

 

Breathing just a bit too fast, starting a nervous sweat, I signed in and waited for the armed guard to look over my credentials and make a phone call. While waiting, I checked my cell phone and saw I still had bars. Cool. Now, if the bars extended further into the walls of NOPD, and if I could get the camera and cell inside, I'd be set to go.