"There are good studios in Austin. Bring them all here. Set them up in a hotel or rent a couple of houses. But I need to be in my own place. Separate from the, uh, mortals. Because of my weird hours and stuff." Ray jumped when his cell phone rang. He picked it up from the coffee table. "It's Dad. I'm going to tell him to fly out here. I'm not sure how I'm going to tell him about this, but it's got to be done."
"Jeez, Ray, this will kill him."
Ray just waved his hand as he answered the phone. The conversation was short and basically involved telling his father to catch the next plane to Austin. I was used as a convenient excuse. Jerry frowned when he heard that, but since he'd seen me with Ray, he knew it really was all just an act. Ray had barely hung up the phone when it rang again.
"My mother this time. You know, I think she's got some kind of telepathy or a wire tap. If I talk to Dad, she always calls a few minutes later." Ray answered the phone. This conversation was held in a foreign language. I looked at Nathan with a question in my eyes.
"Hebrew. His mom's strictly Orthodox Jew. So's his step-dad. Ever notice that Ray doesn't do concerts on Saturday nights? That's to respect his mother's beliefs. Ray's too, I guess. Ray's dad is more easygoing. I swear it's a miracle Ray's as balanced as he is considering the way his parents play tug-of-war with him. Rosh Hashanah with Mom, Hanukkah with Dad every year."
"He's a little old to be playing by their rules, isn't he?" We were whispering, but Ray had gone into the hall to talk anyway. Of course I already knew a lot of this from the tabloids and that unauthorized biography. Now Ray came back in.
"Okay, Nathan, been griping about my folks again?"
"Sure. Your no Saturday concert deal has cost both of us a ton of money over the years."
"Well if you had to listen to my mother complain about lapsed Jews, you'd make the same choice, so cool it, buddy. Besides, who flew forty-eight hours from Bangkok to sit down to Christmas dinner at his mother's table?"
"Yeah, yeah, but you've tasted her turkey and dressing." Nathan sat down hard. "Oh, man, the things you'll miss."
"I can't dwell on that stuff or I'll fall on a stake myself." Ray took a steadying breath. "I say we concentrate on the cool new stuff I can do." Ray winked at Flo and I thought she'd swoon. "Shape-shifting? Can I turn into anything I want? How does it work?"
"It's good defense, Caine, not a game we play." Richard, as usual, was Mr. Serious, but his hand was still firmly anchored around Flo's waist.
"Oh, come on, Richard. Didn't you and a group of other vampires do the bat thing over to Devil's Hole last month? A race. And who won?" Flo grinned because obviously this was a side of Richard he didn't usually advertise.
"You were in on that race? Damian told me there were a dozen vampires involved. He said some serious money changed hands and that the winning time was impressive. You set a new record." Jerry got up. "What's to drink in there, Gloriana? I don't like that Bloodthirsty you're so hooked on. I don't feel like it's doing it for me."
"There's some Fangtastic left." I didn't tell him that Will had sent me that Bloodthirsty. Jerry would just start in on a gripe about how Will needed to be saving his money to pay his debts. I frowned down at my Bloodthirsty. Not doing it? Maybe it wasn't giving me a real energy rush, but it was so delicious. It was fairly expensive, but I kept getting e-mails with money-saving coupons. I was definitely ordering more.
"You really turn into bats? Like they do in those horror movies we used to watch all the time?" Nate was practically jumping up and down. "Teach Ray to do that. I'd pay money to see that."
"I don't want to be a bat." Ray grinned at Valdez. "I want to be a black cat. A huge black cat. So big I'll scare the shit out of this bad boy."
"Good luck with that. You'll have to be too big to fit into this apartment." Valdez sat and scratched behind his ear. "And I could still whip your ass."
"Wanna bet?" Ray grinned.
Flo clapped. "I have a hundred dollars that says Ray can make Valdez run out of the room first." Oh, did I want to get in on this. But I'd already bet on one thing recently. I'd won a pair of sandals from Flo and still felt guilty. Was I on a slippery slope to getting hooked on gambling again? I started to open my mouth, then shut it. Jerry was backing Valdez. Richard and Nathan had decided the two were probably about evenly matched, but wanted to see the form Ray would take, if he could do it at all.
"Okay, Ray, since Flo doesn't think I can do it, let me try to teach you to shape-shift. As Richard said and even Jerry has told me a few hundred times, it's good defense." I smiled at my lover.
"She actually listened to me."
"Of course. I always listen when it's not issued as an order. Now, Ray, if a vampire hunter-" I saw Nathan's eyes widen. "Yes, Nathan, there are people out there who know about us and are determined to drive us into extinction." I sighed. "Anyway, if one of those hunters comes after you with a wooden stake, you'll want to escape. So you can shift into another form that flies or is small enough for you to hide quickly.""Cool." Ray looked down at his sweater. "Do I need to undress or stay like this?"
"Get naked, of course." Flo grinned at Richard.
"No, Ray, you can stay dressed." I poked Flo. "It's weird, but you can shift, fly to Devil's Hole, shift back, and you'll still be wearing whatever you had on when you left, right down to your Gucci loafers."
"That is weird, especially if you start out in Nikes." Ray grinned at Flo. "Nice try, Florence. Better luck next time. Okay, what's first?"
"First get a clear picture in your mind of what you want to be. See it in your mind. I mean, really see it. Feel it in your body. If you want to be a giant black cat, feel the fur, your claws, stretch out your legs and arch your back." I stepped back and so did every other vampire in the room. I'd made a mistake by not having Ray move to an empty spot to start this. Of course in my small living room, an empty spot was about two feet by two feet.
We all gawked at what took shape in front of us. The chairs flipped over backward and even Valdez moved out of the way. Obviously Ray had changed his mind about what to become. Nathan ran to the kitchen, peeking around the doorway at his best friend. Jerry and Richard lounged next to the door, their admiring gazes making it clear that they'd never expected a novice to pull off such a stunning shift. Flo clapped her hands and danced around, moving some of our breakables out of the way, including the Israel Caine crystal egg on stand with the likeness of his face etched on the side that we'd ordered from the Franklin Mint. I pulled back the couch and shoved the coffee table to the wall.
"Ray, is this what you wanted to be?"
Twenty
Ray's answer was a roar that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Claws at least four inches long reached out to lift strands of my blond hair. I forced myself to stand for it, but it wasn't easy. Brown fur drifted down to settle on the carpet.
"You're shedding all over everything. Somehow I have a feeling you and Nathan are Star Wars fans." I turned in time to see Valdez creep toward the hall doorway. "Where are you going, pup? This is one of the good guys."
"You sure?"
Just then there was another roar and Ray beat his chest and stomped his way toward Valdez, playing up his character. Since obviously Ray wasn't attacking me, my dog apparently felt like he could leave the scene and did with all speed.
"You sniveling coward! Don't you know-what's his name, Glory?" Jerry paid Flo with a hundred-dollar bill.
"Chewbacca."
"Right. Chewbacca. I say you could have taken him."
I grinned. "I think Valdez was just surprised. Now, Ray, here comes the fun part. You're going to have to shift back to yourself." I really hated this part but didn't say it out loud. Other vampires shifted all the time without my hang-ups. Nathan still stood in the kitchen doorway, armed with a knife and fork. I wanted to make a joke, something along the lines of did he plan to chew on Chewbacca, but pity won. Poor Nathan. I'm sure he felt like he'd fallen down the rabbit hole. Maybe it would be kinder to whammy him and make him forget he'd ever seen any of this. I'd have to ask Ray about that later. Ray obviously wasn't ready to change back. He'd followed Valdez down the hall and was making threatening gestures in my bedroom. Valdez had taken refuge behind the long skirts in my closet.
"Enough. You get that brown fur all over my velvet skirts and I'll send you the dry cleaning bill." I whacked Ray with a book, and he decided Nathan needed to see him up close and personal. He chased his friend from the kitchen, still making those unique sounds Chewbacca makes, more a loud moan than a roar, I guess. Finally Nathan locked himself in the bathroom.
"Ray, get a grip. Come here. You've got to imagine yourself back in your own body. Just like you always are. Israel Caine, rock star. Got it?"
And Ray was there again. With the magic of shape-shifting, Israel Caine was in my living room, the only remnants of Chewbacca a drift of brown fur on my area rug, couch and my dress, damn it.
Valdez emerged from the closet, hanging his head. "Okay, I'm ashamed. I just didn't expect that. Once I'm out of this dog deal, I'm definitely expanding my repertoire."
Jerry shook his head. "You should be ashamed. You'd better not cut and run like that when Glory is in real danger."
"No fair, Jerry, you know Valdez has taken arrows meant for me. He knew we were just playing." I patted his head. "But you really should have kept him away from my velvets, Valdez. That fur!"
"I know, Glory. Bad dog!" Valdez shook himself. "That stuff itches too."
"Not from where I was standing. That was totally cool. Maybe not everything vampire is going to be horrible." Ray looked around.