Damian and Blade had obviously declared a truce in the interest of vamp unity. Derek told me that Damian was renting the house to Blade, one of Damian's many properties in the city.
The vast living room was sparsely furnished but a fire blazed in the stone fireplace. Mara seemed to have taken on the role of hostess, directing some of the male vampires to bring in chairs from the dining room. This time there were almost thirty vamps present. A coven? A herd? A flock? I was still plenty freaked out about Margie. Valdez, our furry sentinel, settled near the front door.
Kenny sat in an armchair and received condolences. This seemed more like a wake than a meeting. If someone broke into
"Amazing Grace," I was going to lose it, big time.
I had a killer headache. I had vowed never to be in the same room with Damian without blocking him and was sticking with it. I stood with Derek and Freddy and waited for someone to start things. I didn't have long to wait.
"People." Blade held up his hand and the room got eerily silent except for the crackling of the wood fire. "We have another danger in our midst. Do any of you know who could be staking vampires with a wooden cross?" There was a murmur of speculation. Flo stepped forward.
"I know you think Ricardo did this, but he would not."
"Who's Ricardo?" This was said by a vamp I hadn't met. Short, stocky, probably a weight lifter in his former life.
"Richard Mainwaring." Blade looked at me. "He seems to hate vampires, some of them anyway. I tried to find him, to question him, but no luck so far."
"Why would Richard kill my Margie? We knew him in Paris, but…" Kenny stood and looked around. "You should be looking for mortal hunters instead. We don't kill our own. We don't."
"But we can." Damian walked over to Kenny and gave him a sympathetic look. "We can't kill ourselves, but we can kill our own kind. Anyone who can wield a stake can. The wooden cross suggests our killer thinks he's got some kind of holy mission. Mainwaring's been seen attending church services."
"I go to church." Another man spoke up.
"So do I." A woman this time. One I hadn't met yet. "And I sure wouldn't go out looking for other vampires to stake. It doesn't make sense."
"Ricardo is troubled. He thinks maybe we are demons from hell." Flo had her chin up, but it wobbled a little. I walked up to put an arm around her.
There were angry murmurs around the room. Obviously some vampires are evil, but this group seemed civilized, more likely to form a book club, than a posse. We all were civilized and into blending. We condemn the kind of risky behavior rogue vamps revel in. Of course rogue vamps don't attend meetings either. Richard Mainwaring sure hadn't shown.
"People." Blade held up his hand again. "Just watch out for Mainwaring. He's about Damian's size with white hair. Easy to spot. But we've had no luck tracking him down. Approach him cautiously and never alone."
"I still don't think—" Flo sighed. "We shouldn't be hasty. We have no proof that it's Ricardo."
"No, we don't." Mara had planted herself by Blade's side. "And, frankly, while I'm sorry for Kenneth's loss, I doubt the cross killer is as well organized or as well equipped as Westwood. Stay in pairs and I doubt this religious fanatic will approach you." Mara's eyes blazed and even I had to give her credit for being bloody beautiful in her hatred. "Westwood is stalking us. Treating us like trophy animals. He has…" she swallowed, "He has Mac's fangs around his neck. We must stop him."
"You're right, Mara. So what are we doing about him?" I stepped forward, pulling Diana with me. "Diana, Flo and I were ambushed outside a mall the other night. We know it was Westwood because Diana took an arrow in the arm." I looked over at Valdez who had raised his head and was studying the crowd. "My guard dog saved us." Valdez sat up as everyone turned to look at him. " I've got his scent. He ain't gettin' close to Blondie again."
"What scent?" The new woman again.
We'd skipped all the niceties this time and no one had bothered to introduce us. There had been crystal glasses of Bloody Merry set out on the dining room table, but clearly this was a business meeting.
Diana pulled the pieces of arrow out of her purse. She'd washed them but the wood still had a distinct odor that our enhanced sense of smell would be able to pick up easily.
"This is it, folks. Olive wood. It's Westwood's arrow of choice. Take a whiff. If you smell this, do a shift and get the hell out of there." Diana looked at Blade. "The cross that killed Margie wasn't olive wood, was it?"
"No. It's still being analyzed, but it didn't have this odor."
Everyone crowded around Diana and she passed the pieces around. While the sniffing and exclaiming were going on, Damian appeared beside me.
"Gloriana."
"I'm not speaking to you. Remember?" I turned my back. God, but my head was killing me."You're blocking me. Don't you trust me?" His voice was soft in my ear.
"Hell, no. And I won't look at you either." I kept my back to him. "That was a mean trick, Damian."
"But fun." He touched my neck, just a tickle. Trying to get me to turn around? Not in this lifetime.
"You have a warped sense of fun." I heard a noise. A grunt. I turned around. Blade had pulled Damian up by his shirt and was in his face. "Leave her alone, Sabatini. Try your tricks on some other unsuspecting female."
"Jerry, I was handling it." I smiled. "But if you want to beat the hell out of him, go ahead." I turned my back again.
"Is this meeting going to degenerate into a brawl?" Mara. "Blade, tell the group what we found out about Westwood." That got everyone quiet. I turned in time to see Blade throw Damian across the room. Of course Damian landed on his feet and kept grinning. I had a really strong feeling that Flo's brother never would have bothered with me if he hadn't seen me with Blade. Competitive bastard.
"Westwood has a vulnerability." Blade took the center of the room and looked around. "He hires men who will do anything for money. So if we want someone inside, we can buy him."
"To do what? Spy?" Flo looked around the room. "Would anyone object if we arranged for a little something to be added to his dinner?"
"Poison the bastard." A man.
"I like it." A woman.
"Too quick though. I'd like to see him suffer." Mara, of course.
"And while you're waiting for your chance at a ringside seat, some of our own are in real danger." Freddy had his arm around Derek. "I say the sooner the better."
"Bottom line is we all have to be careful." Blade was definitely the leader here. "Use your sense of smell, then be a moving target. No one can hit a vamp at warp speed." More murmurs. Nods all around.
"What about paying off one of the goons?" The body builder. "Not all of us can afford to pony up what it might take."
"Don't worry about that." Freddy looked at Derek. "I'll pay whatever is necessary."
"We'll decide who pays later. I'll move ahead as I can." Blade turned to Kenneth. "Now I think we should adjourn this meeting. Anything you'd like to say, Kenneth?"
A eulogy. Oh, God, I didn't think I could take it. But Kenny just shook his head.
"I'll say something." Flo stepped up to Kenneth. "Marguerite was a woman who loved life, never wasted a moment of it and spent it with a lover who adored her. May we all be so blessed." She raised her glass. We all did the same. As a eulogy, it was enough. One thing was becoming crystal clear in my aching brain. I had to get with the power lessons ASAP. No way was I going to be anyone's sitting duck.
"Flo." Another Sunday night. My roommate was flipping through channels looking for something to watch. We'd talked about going out, but were still a little too freaked out for that. No church. I had a feeling Blade and Kenneth would be hanging around the Moonlight Church of Eternal Life and Joy looking for Mainwaring. I couldn't forget the hate Richard had aimed at me. He'd certainly looked capable of killing another vampire.
Flo and I'd been moping around for over a week. I'd wanted to start power lessons sooner, but between my work and Flo's always active social life, I hadn't even had a chance to mention it to my roomie.
Another reason I'd delayed, Damian had stopped by twice. I'd retreated to my bedroom and left him with Flo. He hadn't stayed long. And I was glad for that. Even with a door between us, I'd blocked him. Too bad a vampire can't take Excedrin. Flo figured I was still mad about him biting me without permission. That worked for me. Blade had also come by, to question Flo, to give us progress reports. Which had added up to he knew nothing and the bribery scheme with one of Westwood's guards was a delicate operation that would take time.
My Kevlar had arrived. Unfortunately it only came in a weird brownish gray. I'd already found a seamstress thanks to Miranda and been measured for my bra. And wasn't that fun? Let's just say the numbers were, uh, impressive. It's a good thing I'd ordered plenty of fabric. The bra would be ready in a few days. Diana and Flo were waiting to see how mine turned out. Flo wouldn't wear anything ugly, but I was already thinking that if we could dye it black and add some lace…
I put down the book I'd been reading— How to Get What You Want and Keep What You Need. Easy to see why it was a best seller.
"Flo, listen to me, I've had an epiphany."
"And you sold it?" Flo put down the remote. "Tell me it wasn't one of those cute little bracelets. Just once I'd like a lover who buys me good jewelry."
Valdez winked. I swear he did.
"No, not Tiffany, Flo. An epiphany. A revelation. I figured something out about myself. This is big,"
"So what did you figure out?" Flo pulled out polish remover and attacked her nails. "I hate brown polish. What was I thinking?