The woman glanced in our direction, then paused. “There you are!” At least I think that’s what she said—it was too loud to know for sure.
She ducked out from behind the bar and approached us, slapping her hands on the black apron she wore.
It took me a moment to place her large eyes and nice smile as the human that Brody, Tetiana, and I had saved from a couple of unsavory vampires back in September when they’d used their pheromones to dazzle her. (The vampires gave us the slip, but Considine had gotten to them and beaten them unconscious.)
“Hello, thanks for coming so fast,” she said, flashing us a smile.
“Of course.” Tetiana glanced at Brody but he was still rubbing his ears, so Tetiana pasted on a smile and took over. “Were you the one who called the Curia Cloisters?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, then glanced over her shoulder.
“He’s still here?” Tetiana asked.
The bartender nodded. “Seated at the end of the bar, in the suit. He’s standing with two women—my regulars.”
Tetiana and Brody had to be discreet in looking at the vamp, but I—with my mask hiding my face—had plenty of time to study him.
The suit would have made me assume he was a Drake vampire—most vampires don’t care much for modern clothing, and the Drakes were famous for their dark suits and modern aesthetic. Except the suitcoat was a little baggy—not perfectly tailored like the Drakes wore—and draped across his shoulders instead of a tailored fit.
He was handsome with chiseled features, a fresh crewcut, and a smile that flashed a set of pronounced canines.
But even as I memorized and assessed his looks, my senses were quiet.
Is there a magic that can erase his presence like this? I don’t think so. Considine was able to sneak around Magiford, and I only realized he was there when he was practically on top of me, but Considine was older than a lot of empires and the likelihood of a second old powerful elder vampire running around in a suit that wasn’t of high quality was pretty much nil.
I adjusted my gloves, making certain all my skin was covered—just in case. “What did he do?” I asked.
The bartender nervously wrung her hands. “Um, I might have called you a little prematurely. He isn’t doing anything illegal. He’s just acting like a bit of a slimeball and pestering a few of our female customers. He hasn’t escalated to the point where one of us staff members would tell him to back off just yet, but…” she trailed off and shrugged.
Brody recovered enough that he could put on a smile that showed too much of his teeth. “If there’s a problem with a supernatural it’s better to call us than to risk trying to handle the matter yourself, even if it seems like it’s not a big deal.”
“And there are rules for vampires, put in place to protect… everyone,” Tetiana said, her bright tone covering up the caginess of her words.
There were a lot of rules and regulations that outlined the legal ways vampires could obtain blood and feed, and this was almost certainly breaking a handful of them. (We let the humans know there were guidelines, but we kept the existence of the actual laws quiet because we didn’t want humans knowing the laws were even necessary. It would damage the supernaturals are harmless vibe we were striving for as a society.)
“Yeah, I just…I don’t want any of my customers getting…whatever it was that happened to me.” The way the woman glanced at me confirmed she remembered who I was. “I figured I’d call you guys, and you’d decide if we needed to be worried or not. I trust your judgement.”
“It’s our honor to help,” Tetiana said. “And don’t worry, if the vampire has done anything wrong, he’ll faint at the sight of our vampire slayer.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, pointing to me.
So, I’m the bogey man this round? Got it.
I shifted so Brody’s bulk blocked most of me, just in case the vampire happened to look over at us.
Surprise was going to be my best tool in this situation.
The bartender relaxed. “Great. Thank you—for today and that time.”
“Of course.” Although Brody was smiling, his eyes were on the vampire, who was swirling a glass of amber colored alcohol. “We’ll handle this as delicately as possible, but if things get messy, please move your regulars.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll get them to move when you talk to him.”
“Fantastic,” Tetiana said.
Brody, his eyes still on the vamp, crowded her. “Let’s move.”
“Okay, then. Good luck.” The bartender waved to us, before she headed for the bar, ducking under the outstretched arm of her fellow bartender, who was passing a basket of seasoned waffle fries over to a customer.
“So, how are we handling this, Blood?” Brody asked.
I’d been watching the vamp, and I startled at the use of my slightly hurtful nickname. “Me?”
“Yeah, what’s the plan?” Tetiana gave me a little salute before she settled in next to Brody.
“I… I thought you were taking point on this?” My voice might have squeaked a little at the end—I didn’t like being smacked down into leadership positions.
“This is your thing, though,” Brody said.
“Yeah, except I’m still not picking up on any vampire presence besides Tetiana,” I said.
Tetiana tapped her chin. “Do you think he could be faking it?”
“He wouldn’t be the first,” Brody said. “Loads of humans pretend to be supernaturals—for the clout. And ‘cause they’re stupid.”
I studied our would-be-vamp again. “He’s got visible fangs, but his clothes and style are all wrong.”
Tetiana tightened the ponytail her long blonde hair was pulled back into. “Like he’s a store brand version of a Drake vampire, yes.”
We fell silent—although it was barely noticeable as the music amped up and with all the patrons laughing and shouting at one another in order to be heard.
I guess they were serious about me taking the lead.
I glanced at the store brand vampire, a plan formulating.
“First order, then, should be ascertaining whether or not he really is a vampire. When we approach, you two should go on either side of him, cutting him off from the regulars,” I said, my words coming easier since I’d switched to work mode. “I’ll stand to the side. Be prepared to block him if he tries to run. Question him why he’s here, and why he’s risking breaking supernatural law.”
“To give you time to figure out if he’s a supernatural or not?” Brody asked.
I nodded.
“Understood, Blood!” Tetiana mock saluted me again, then plowed into the crowd.
Between Tetiana’s natural charisma—with her gorgeous appearance and air of sophistication, she was hard not to notice—and Brody’s general size and muscle mass—in the low lighting you couldn’t see the wolf hair his Packmates had left on his legs—the bar patrons edged out of the way.
A couple of them eyed us as they made their way back to their tables or spots at the bar, but Tetiana and Brody ignored them, narrowing in on the maybe-vampire.