Oh, was that all?
I was starting to think Connie would be an even worse boss than Mr. Fluffikins.
Less than forty-eight hours to go. I’d be counting down each one now…
10
I kept quiet to avoid any further arguments with Connie, counting down the minutes until this assignment would be over. Not only would I avoid staying a vampire forever, but I’d also find out the big secret Fluffikins wanted so desperately to hide from me. And I’d get another chance with Parker, which—logically—was something I knew I wanted, even though I couldn’t bring myself to care in my current state.
What strange creatures vampires were. No wonder people feared them. If they only knew…
“We’re here,” Connie said, reaching out to clasp my wrist with her freshly manicured hand. We stood outside a storefront that had been bare ever since I arrived in town and likely a long time before that. When I saw it a week ago, it had been covered with cobwebs and layers of filth. Now the interior was decked out in bright, rich reds, yellows, and purples. Fantastic beaded mini chandeliers hung over each table, and a polished metal serving station stood at the back of the space.
“Is this a restaurant?” I asked in disbelief. “I thought vam—“
Connie shot me a look of warning.
“I mean, I thought people like you didn’t have to eat.” I glanced away from Connie and spotted the sleek sign that now hung above the shopfront:BOLLYWEIRD.
Connie saw it, too, and snorted.“We don’t have to eat, but we can. Normally our heightened sense of taste makes the task more tedious than pleasurable. I suspect this get-up is for normie customers, though. Terrible name for a restaurant.”
“I guess they’re planning on serving Indian food. Not that it matters, if we’re here to send them packing.”
Connie tightened her hold on my wrist and waited for me to look her in the eyes.“Let’s go. Don’t forget your place.”
Yes, I was the backup. There for no other purpose than to add to Connie’s numbers.
I nodded, and she let go of my wrist. When I pulled the door open, she stepped in ahead of me.
A young woman stepped into the main dining area while drying her hands with a dish towel. She looked like she could hardly be more than twenty, but I knew very well that she could be centuries old, thanks to her vampire immortality.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a business-like smile. Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of Connie, however.
Connie nodded in the direction from which the other woman had just come and quirked an eyebrow.
“Yes, we’re alone,” she said, crossing her arms and letting the dish towel dangle. “Now what do you want?”
This was obviously our good friend Vanessa Vane, and she also clearly knew who Connie was and why we’d come.
“As you can see, this town already has a coven in residence, so we’d like to ask you to leave and find another place to set up shop.” Connie spoke in a chilling monotone, taking no efforts to hide her contempt.
“One vampire does not a coven make,” Vanessa answered with an impatient cluck of her tongue.
“I’m a vampire, too!” I squeaked.
Both women shot daggers at me, and I nervously took a step back.
“What? Did you turn this one on your way over?” Vanessa asked with a cruel laugh. “Doesn’t even have fangs yet.”
“I’ve been in this town for a long time,” Connie continued without answering Vanessa’s question. “It’s not big enough for the both of us, and you know that.”
Suddenly, it felt very much like we were in an old western. I imagined the two vampires squaring off with cowboy hats and pistols. Never mind that we were currently standing in Bollyweird. This moment was all spaghetti western.
“I won’t bother you, if you don’t bother me,” Vanessa supplied with a challenging glare. “Grand opening is tonight, and I refuse to miss my own event.”
“We both know that’s not true. It’s not the way of our kind.”
Vanessa sighed.“Hmm.Then maybe it should be.”
I couldn’t say I disagreed with her. Both Fluffikins and Connie had pressed the importance of getting Vanessa to leave town, but neither had told me why. What if Vanessa simply wanted to share her passion for south Asian cuisine with the rest of the world? Wasn’t that a possibility? And if it was, did that mean we were the bad guys here?
I hung my head, wishing I’d asked more questions or at least been given more answers before marching in here to threaten a stranger.
“This is your last chance,” Connie warned the other vampire through gritted teeth. “Leave.”
Vanessa smirked.“Or what? You gonna make me?”
They continued to stare each other down, neither budging. Tension rippled through the room, growing thicker and thicker as the two vampires sized each other up.
I hung back, wondering what would happen next. Would we fight now, or…?
Connie let out an animalistic roar and spun toward the door. If this was the first battle, then we’d just lost. And that did not bode well for whatever happened next.
Connie swept back toward the door, grabbing my arm in the process.“C’mon, Tawny. We have a war to prepare for!”
Vanessa’s amused laughter followed us to the streets. She wasn’t afraid. In fact, she clearly wanted this confrontation to escalate.
Which meant she was far better prepared than either me or Connie.
Which meant we had a pretty good chance of losing.
Crud.
11
I chased Connie through the streets of downtown. We both powerwalked quickly enough to draw concerned glances from some of the other pedestrians, but I knew better than to mention it to Connie.
I waited until we were safely ensconced in the forest to unleash my long list of questions.“Why can’t both you and Vanessa live here? Why is she refusing to go? Do we really need to declare a war?”
“Such pointless questions!” Connie hissed without slowing to discuss things with me.
“Tell me,” I demanded. These were perfectly reasonable questions to ask in light of the situation and how very quickly it had escalated. “Why did—?”
Connie spun on me suddenly, and I nearly crashed into her. Luckily, I managed to catch myself just in time to avoid an embarrassing collision.
“When we first met…” the vampire said with a clenched jaw. Her muscles twitched as if she were trying very hard to hold herself back. “You were afraid of me. Why?”
Honestly, I was still afraid of her, but that was beside the point.“I thought you’d suck my blood,” I answered meekly.
Connie eased up a little, straightening to her full height and looking down at me over her nose.“And what did I tell you?”
“That vampires don’t do that anymore. They feed on wealth now.” That was easy. Normally my memory wasn’t the best, but when it came to the paranormal world, I now made sure that nothing I learned was forgotten. Even the smallest little factoid could mean the difference between seeing a job to completion or messing up so badly I lost my life in the process. I’d learned that the hard way when I’d forgotten what the various colors meant on the flashing crystal ball Fluffikins had saddled me with for my last assignment.
Connie’s brows scrunched together as she regarded me. “That’s not strictly true.”
I gasped and stumbled back a step.“You still drink blood?” As a newly christened vampire, did that mean I, too, would soon be drinking blood? I shuddered at the thought.
Connie hung her head and eyed the leaves scattered across the forest floor as she spoke.“I don’t, but I would if I have no other choice.”
I chanced a step closer.“What would take away that choice?”