“So what are you going to do?” she asked, clearly seeing my decision to ignore her.
“First I’m going to borrow a satchel off you, because this book will be cumbersome. After that, I’m going to collect a bunch of spells for a helluva magical battle. I’ve got a mark to capture and then use to barter for the money I’m owed. There is no way a vampire is going to dupe me out of a mark a second time. No way in hell.”
Chapter Seventeen
Armed with a very bad attitude and a handful of spells Margaret had given me, I walked down the street while pulling up the ride-share app. My phone was charged up, thanks to the stay at Darius’s house, but my bank account was nearly dry. I planned to rectify that.
After the big, bearded driver picked me up and brought me to my first destination, I made him wait while I thumped on Darius’s front door. The poor guy had commented favorably on my sword, but he’d gone white at the sight of my gun. It must’ve dawned on him that those items weren’t for show. He was probably afraid to refuse service, since I’d already gotten in the car.
I thumped on Darius’s door again. Out of patience, I stepped back with the intent to kick it in. The lock flipped.
“About time,” I said, straightening out.
A handsome man stood in the doorway. Six two, shirtless, and sporting lots of defined muscle, he was human.
Confused for a moment, I backed up and checked the house. Yep, it was the right one.
I shooed him out of the door. “I need to see William.”
“William is busy at the moment,” the man said in a raspy voice. I noticed three small gashes spread across his torso, in the stages of bionic healing from vampire saliva.
“What were you, the appetizer or the main course?” I pushed him out of the way.
“Hey!” he said, staggering back.
“Where’s William? Or another rich vamp. I need money.”
“They don’t just give us money, you know that.”
Not allowing myself to flinch as I stalked across a cream-colored rug in my grimy shoes, I took the stairs. “You should work out a better deal,” I told the guy, who was now following me.
I peeked into the dining room and found a couple humans hunched over sandwiches. Clearly Darius hadn’t been in charge of organizing this dinner.
“Where is William?” I asked the built guy again.
“He’s in the east wing.”
I rolled my eyes. “This place is a big square. There are no wings. Lead me to him.”
Frowning at me, he did as he was told, bringing me up a floor and into a plush room with plenty of places to lounge. William was sitting beside another vampire, a different gorgeous woman than Marie, both in a state of sublime relaxation.
“It’s almost as if you didn’t know a crazy, powerful mage was running your benefactor ragged,” I said. They looked at me lazily, like two people might after a Thanksgiving dinner. They didn’t speak.
I stuck out my hand. “I need money.”
“Where is Darius?” William asked, making a halfhearted attempt to sit up.
“Were you giving blood, or taking it? I’m confused why you’re this slow.” I reached down and patted his pocket. Nothing there. “Money. Where is it?”
“We do not give out money, human,” the woman said around a mouthful of fangs.
“Ew. Put those things away,” I said.
“I am off duty and pleasantly relaxed.” William draped his arm over the arm of the sofa.
“Off duty? Looks like Darius made sure to keep you informed.” That was sarcasm. They didn’t seem to notice. “Whatever. Give me money.”
“William, get rid of this annoying pest, would you? Her smell is making me nauseated.” The woman waved her hand in front of her face.
“Stop breathing. Easy solution.” I reached down to William’s exposed chest, grabbed hair, and pulled. “Up we get.”
His eyes cleared before sparking with anger. An instant later, he was standing in front of me, arms flared at his sides, ready to battle. “You are protected now. You won’t be protected forever.”
I laughed and motioned him on. “Same goes for you. Let’s go. The sooner you give me what I want, the sooner you can go back to being useless while I protect the future of your species. No, no. Don’t thank me. It’s all in a day’s work.”
His glower didn’t stop him from moving out of the room and toward the stairs. We ended up in a large room with a tussled bed, thankfully empty. He opened a ceramic pot with a lid—either a poorly designed vase or an urn—and extracted a wad of money. Before he could leaf off a few bills, all twenties, I snatched it out of his hand.
“Thanks,” I said, already walking.
“Darius will be hearing of this.” William trailed me. “Your days as his honored guest are numbered.”
“You were so nice yesterday. What happened?” I jogged down the stairs, passing the buff human who’d disappeared from behind me somewhere along the way, and headed out the front door. “Have a lovely evening.” I closed the door in William’s face, not an easy feat from the outside. Timing was on my side.
Surprisingly, the driver was still there.
“Boy are you getting a big tip,” I said as I climbed in.
“Just remember to review,” he said sheepishly, waiting for me to input the next destination.
“Five stars, all the way. There you go, the destination is loaded.”
He checked the new route, and away we went.
I tapped my fingers against my knees as silence descended. I thought back to that woman vamp who’d said I smelled bad. From what little I’d seen of her, I couldn’t guess at her age, but I wondered if younger vamps were repulsed by my smell, while the older ones were attracted to it. It seemed to fit, but I had never heard of that happening. There were a few magical creatures that vampires couldn’t get enough of, but none that I knew of had a dual effect.
I shrugged to myself and glanced around as the driver slowly crawled through the French Quarter. Even so late and with a light haze of rain finally deciding to fall, people wandered around with their drinks, talking and guffawing, staggering or standing in doorways.