“Pretty good, yeah,” Brody said.
I followed the pair, stiffening when my slayer abilities kicked in and I felt the wispy presence of a vamp. “Vampire,” I called, keeping my voice soft.
“Aww, now that takes all the fun out of sneaking up on you,” Considine said, his voice coming from directly behind me.
I swung around, pulling a dagger from my belt while simultaneously backing up towards Grove and Brody.
Considine cocked his head, and I briefly saw a bright flash of teeth as he smiled, everything but his lips and chin shadowed by the spell woven into his hooded jacket. “What, no greeting? I’m hurt.”
There’s no harm in being polite to him. Vampire elders are usually sticklers for that kind of thing.
“Good evening, Ruin,” I said.
“There we go—good evening, Slayer.” Considine rolled his shoulders back. “Out on patrol with the dog and the poisonous fae, I see?”
“Yes,” I said. “If you’ll excuse us, we should keep moving—so we can maintain our schedule.”
“No worries,” Considine said—he sounded weirdly modern for a vampire who had been turned in BC times. “I’ll just come along!”
“Uhhh,” I said, my brain scrambling to process what he said—because there’s no way he’d actually just said what I heard.
Ruin, unbothered, strolled past me and paused next to Grove and Brody. “You two—to the back.”
“Blood always brings up the rear,” Brody said.
“How lucky for you, but not tonight. Go.” Considine pointed back behind me.
Grove shrugged and marched down the boardwalk, circling behind me.
“Grove,” I called, my awkwardness falling away as I switched into work mode. “He’s not with the department—you don’t follow his orders!”
“You don’t have to,” Grove said. “But I do. My self-preservation is way too good to take on a vamp of his caliber.”
“We don’t even know what caliber he is,” I protested.
“I know he’s enough to make you nervous, which means Brody and I should probably be squealing like dryads who’ve seen a chainsaw,” Grove said.
Giving up on Grove, I took a few big steps forward so I stood shoulder to shoulder with Brody, shoring him up. “You’re not coming on our patrol—it would be a conflict of interest, and incredibly unprofessional.”
“Fine.” Considine shrugged. “How about a quick five-minute fight as a consolation prize?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Considine said. “Is it because you don’t think you have the advantage? I’ll refrain from using my right hand during the fight—at least until I need to. How about that?”
“Good evening, Ruin.” I nudged Brody, steering him away from the boardwalk and back towards the businesses that lined the lakeshore. Grove followed so closely he stepped on Brody’s heels, and the silence of the lakefront was ruined only by the muffled laughter of humans on Main Street and the lap of water brushing the lakeshore.
“Come on—I won’t hurt you. Much,” Considine complained as he strolled along behind us. “I’ve said it before—you’re too much fun to risk killing. And I’ll have you know I am feeling more than a little peeved that I put myself out for you to kill that stupid serpent, and you still are wary of me.”
He’s Considine Maledictus, I reminded myself. No matter how casual and charming he acts, he’s a vampire who is over two thousand years old. I can’t doubt these facts or he’s going to pull me into his speed.
Ruin/Considine’s friendliness was probably the best weapon he had. He was an elder vampire: he could use his pheromones to daze Brody or Grove, but instead he cajoled me and spouted witty remarks.
“I have thanked you several times for helping with the snake.” As we entered an artistically decorated alleyway covered with wooden trellises dotted with dying vines, I adjusted my hold on my dagger and considered pulling out my radio, until I saw Grove was reaching for his.
Bless Grove. He might one day kill me with his poisons, but he’s always on top of using his radio.
“But you treat me like I have the plague,” Considine complained—he was still following us.
We exited the alleyway, popping out on Main Street, as I heard a firetruck—which was far enough away that I mostly heard echoes of its siren. “We treat you with the degree of concern you deserve,” I said.
Considine tapped his vampire speed, zooming around us so he stood in front of me. “See, that sounds like a compliment, but you treat me so coldly that it’s hurtful.” He reached for me, and I raised my dagger.
Considine made a show of keeping one hand up in the air and then patted me on the shoulder with his other, before he took a few steps backwards.
I warily watched him as the siren of another firetruck faintly registered on my senses.
Elder vampires don’t hang out on streets like this. He’s got to have some angle—I just can’t figure out what it is.
A honk echoed through the quiet city, and I heard another wail of sirens.
I stiffened. “That’s the third firetruck we’ve heard in the last few minutes. Something is wrong.”
Brody stiffened, tilting his head from side to side.
“Do you smell anything?” Grove asked.
“No—wherever those fire trucks are going, it’s not in the downtown area,” Brody said.
Keeping an eye on Considine—I didn’t want him attacking me just for kicks when he thought my guard was lowered—I pulled out my radio.
“This is Team Blood. We’ve heard three firetrucks in the last couple of minutes heading away from downtown,” I said.
Grove yanked out his own radio and added, “Also, we’ve got Ruin hanging around making eyes at Blood.”
I paused, then realized my error—Grove was right, we should report Considine’s presence. I nodded but with my hood up and mask hooked into place, I think it might have looked more like I was bobbing my head.
“Checking in with homebase,” Sarge announced over the radio.
Considine clasped his hands behind his back, all too casual.
Just as I was considering whether I should swap my dagger for my gun, I heard the wail of a fourth firetruck.
“Should we tell Sarge?” Brody asked.
I hesitated, and then our radios crackled when Sarge shouted over the line. “There’s a fire at the public library—Team Blood and Team Yellow, head over there, immediately!”
I sheathed my dagger and hooked my radio on my belt. “Let’s go!” I kicked into a run.
“Please tell me we’re going to pick up the car!” Grove moaned as he followed.
“Yes, but we’re running to the car!” I shouted.
When I risked looking back, Grove and Brody were following and Considine had seemingly given up.
He waved to me, then turned around and strolled up the street, uninterested in the news that the library was on fire.
It’s a good thing, I told myself. He’s a massive liability. Fighting together once doesn’t make him safe.
“Brody, you’re driving—you have the keys,” I shouted as we reached the car.