Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) (26 page)

He
nodded, “that and all the work around here. I swear, I never realized how much
magic the embassy people had to do all the time. If I’m not doing up wards for
widows, I’m volunteering at the hostel and working as a healer. That’s
your
fault though. Lyn Hartley keeps showing up to give me lessons. She’s good, I
have to give her that. I saw her reattach a kid’s
leg
last month. Thirty
minutes of pure work, and it was as good as new. Car accident.” There was a
rather humble shrug then. “So, did you mean it about going out? I don’t really
like you that much, but even just going to a movie with a girl that I don’t
have to pay would help my image. Not that I pay for sex. I
don’t
. That
means I haven’t been getting much.”

She
nearly laughed, since there were at least five succubae in the building at that
moment. He had to know that though, so she didn’t point it out. If he wasn’t
using one, or more, of them, then he had a reason for it.

She
reached out and touched his hand, which got him to tense just a tiny bit. At
first she thought it might be the coolness of her skin, which could be shocking
if you weren’t ready for it. She tended to be around room temperature, after
all. When you expected a warm body and got that it seemed cold.

“We
can go and do that. I haven’t been to a movie in ages. Next week, maybe? If I
don’t get called off to Russia. I hear there’s something going on there.” She
didn’t elaborate, but took her hand back, trying not to seem like a major slut
with the guy. He might not love her all that much, but the feeling really was
mutual. He was a bit of a whining bitch most of the time as far as she could
tell.

She
managed to get out of the room rather calmly, Eve thought.

The
thing was, when she first made skin on skin contact with him, for just the
briefest of moments, Eve was nearly certain that she felt the same kind of
tingle that she had with Darla, and Zack. Then it had stopped, sooner than it
had with either of them, but that almost made the whole thing worse.

Because
Mark, her prior fatbeard, the one that she’d considered killing a dozen times,
and nearly
had
, was almost certainly not a Mage at all.

No,
he was a Greater Demon.

What
that meant, or which one he was, she didn’t know.

It
was a good thing to find out, however.

She
did
like that she was allowed to leave the room, and that she didn’t
just die on the spot. That either meant she’d managed to fool the being, or,
and this was
far
more likely, that it didn’t actually want her dead yet.

Eve
responded to the new idea, that Marcus was, and probably always had been, a
Greater Demon, by doing the only sensible thing she could.

Keeping
Cormack awake, and making treats. Experimental ones that were, if not exactly
stunning her with a brilliance that would astound herself if she could eat, at
least different.

She
started with things that would work with coconut, but also managed to use all
of that up, and then work her way into an avocado base.

It
meant keeping Cormack running, literally and figuratively, taking the
Trollienkeine a constant stream of things as she made them, insisting that the
groggy fellow take notes about what the giant beings said on the matter. They
had really good noses, which meant they were pretty good tasters. The problem
was that they needed to eat so much that they’d never learned to be picky about
it like an American would be. They were given fat, sugar and fluff, and to them
it meant they were eating a
good
thing. If she tried to serve them
peanut butter and pickle flavored frozen yogurt they would have acted much the
same way, she knew.

That
meant she needed to get Zack in on things, and, realizing that she was being a
bit of a dork, not calling Mark on his Greater Demon bullshit, she took a tray
of things over to him, too.

He
took one look at it, then shook his head. It didn’t even take him a half second
to move from seeing the tray to getting the overall idea. That was really the
thing that Greater Demons were all about, Eve knew. They might be powerful and
impossible to kill for a regular Vampire like her, but they were all so smart
that you really couldn’t outthink them either. It probably wasn’t even worth
trying.

Marcus
gave her a grin that she thought might be what people would consider rueful.

“I’m
not sure if I should be sad that it took you this long to realize what I was,
or if I should be happy that I managed it that well, given your background. You
have
had a bit more exposure to my kind than most. Oh, well… Here, I
know, how about this? If you can guess who I am, then I’ll give you thirty
thousand dollars. If on the other hand you fail, you have to put out with some
naughty sexy times. What do you say?” He waited, his still round face too avid,
clearly expecting her to say it was a deal.

Like
she was
that
mentally handicapped? Even compared to one of the Greater
Demons, who were all super geniuses, no matter what they acted like, Eve wasn’t
a moron. She was, if nothing else, smart enough not to fall into a trap that
easily.

Plus,
there were only so many Greater Demons that she knew, and while it could be one
of the others, most of them wouldn’t have tried to trick her like this. There
were only three he could be anyway, and Eve would have probably gotten Keels
right off, since they knew each other well enough. So it was most likely either
Finias, who wouldn’t have needed to hide like that or the only other one of
that kind she really knew. Well, him, or Ann, The Rotted. If it was her though,
the raw crazy would have shown through already.

“Fram,
The Bold. Good to see you. Again, I guess? So, did you kill Marcus, or is this
a long term game plan of yours, designed just to mess with me?” She waved at
him, and got a snort in return. For a second she thought he was going to try
and claim it
wasn’t
him, but there was just a head shake.

“Damn.
You always
were
smarter than you looked. Fine, I’ll have the funds
transferred into your account. To answer your question though, I made up Marky
Dork here about five years ago, and worked him into place around this area, so
I could spy on Zack.
He
doesn’t know who I am, I don’t think. Then, I
was on my guard about hiding from him,
and
my sexy little cuddle buddy,
Darla. Not that I think I could fool her for all that long, if she were around
me too much. She knows me far too well, and Zack is definitely special needs
for one of us. Lyn… that’s been way harder to manage, and I think she got it
already. On the nice side,
she’s
not a snitch.” Then the man in brown
stared at her for a bit, and
tried
to give her a firm look.

It
was pretty good, but just didn’t match the face that well, which caused it to
be ineffective on her. He got that one it seemed, and heaved a giant sigh.

“So,
what do
you
plan to do with this information? Blackmail? Extort me for
sex?” The man ran a single hand down his still ample enough front, clearly
joking, but not, at the very same time. It was… Kind of hot, really. Then,
Greater Demons didn’t play by the same rules that everyone else did, so there
was skill involved in it, even if she wasn’t able to understand how it worked.

She
nearly said
nothing
, not wanting to be caught in the middle of whatever
the Greater Demons had planned. Fram was probably not in the loop, as far as
the real plan went, but he’d know more than
she
did. From what both
Darla and Keeley had told her, most of the Greater Demons thought of him as a
bit of a joke.

He
wasn’t a
bad
Demon, either in what he generally did, or in his ability
to see reality, but he had a real blind spot, which Eve actually knew about.
For some unknown reason he thought that doing well in Demon society was a big
deal. It caused him to push and try to make himself important, with a bunch of
beings that actually couldn’t care at all about that kind of thing. As far as
Eve knew there was only one Greater Demon in all of reality that did care about
that kind of thing, and he was standing in front of her, pretending to work for
the Mages.

Keeley
was certain that if he ever learned to fix that, he’d be a real force to reckon
with. Then, being insane, for one of them, meant he couldn’t see reality for
what it really was all the time.

That
didn’t mean he was retarded though, as far as she went. To the others of his
own kind he might be a joke, but even
they
couldn’t afford to push him
too far.
Less
so than someone like Darla, at a guess. She might fight,
if it made sense, but Fram might even if it
didn’t
. On the good side, he
was still more sensible than a Vampire would have been in the same position.
He’d do what made the most sense, in the end.

No
matter what that was.

She
tried to smile then. Even if being reasonable took work for her kind, there was
no harm in using that idea, in the moment, was there? Her faking being
reasonable was no worse than forcing a smile that she didn’t mean, was it?

“How
about this; we share information. With the understanding that you have a lot
more than I do, and that it probably won’t be all that fair to you, getting the
dribs and drabs that I come across? Then, odds are any little thing you learn
from me will be a lot more useful to
you
than the other way around, so
it might even out that way?” She watched him closely, but remembered to breathe
and blink, so she wouldn’t be a statue glaring at him, as he stood behind the
glass topped counter.

After
a few seconds, he nodded.

“So,
you won’t tell on me, as long as I share all my secrets with you?”

That
wasn’t what she’d said, which wasn’t lost on her. It was a trap then, wasn’t
it?

“No,
I
won’t tell on you, as long as you aren’t a threat to my other friends
here. Or anywhere, but you get the idea that way. I mean a
real
threat,
too, not just an annoyance. We’re all adults, and can handle our own business
that way. This arrangement would be separate, but like I said. We share info
and data. I have a similar one with Finias, so that might sweeten things,
unless you two are sharing all the time too? Speaking of which I haven’t seen
him in… Half a year. I should get in touch with him. Probably after I look up
Becky Hoader. I have a lot of catching up to do. It’s amazing how out of touch
being locked in a box can make you. On the good side you and I can pal around,
and have a reason to, now that you aren’t a raping creepo that uses mind
control on innocent women, I mean.”

That
got a laugh, one that was a bit too loud, “I am
too
! Don’t ever say
that, Eve, or I won’t invite you to the best orgies. I’m, well, you actually
know
that one. Greater Demon, yadda-yadda, can’t trust me, don’t make a
bargain or deal, all that cheese and chess playing stuff. To answer your
question then, as long as you
aren’t
planning to blackmail me like an
annoying cunt, then sure. I’ll play ball with you. We can date. You like anal,
right? Vampires are the best at that, they hardly cry at all.”

She
snorted at him. He might be able to do anything he wanted to her, but she could
choose to be afraid or not. It wouldn’t really help her out though, unless she
was going to simply avoid him. That, at this current point, would mean running
away.

“Anal?
I
suppose
I could get a strap-on for you. Jumbo size?”

That
got the man to wink.

“That
could be fun. I always did like that about you, Eve.
So
broken that you
don’t even put up a fight when it comes to kinky sex. Will you respect me in
the morning though, if I let you take my anal virginity like that? In
this
form, I mean. Poor Mark hasn’t had more than his own palm for
far
too
long. I really pulled out the stops making him a bit of an outcast. Plus, the
other things in the way.”

She
thought about that for a while, and had to nod, getting the basic premise,
eventually. “Because the girls at the book shop would all catch on if you
didn’t put out life energy, and Greater Demons always drink that in, right?
Zack said something about that to me a couple of times.”

“Unless
we’re going to get a Human or Mage woman pregnant. Then we can put out enough
energy to kindle life. The men can anyway. So, I might be able to fake it, for
a while, but it wouldn’t be worth it just to get my rocks off a few times.
Good, you can do that for me now. I’ve made a few passes at Lisa, but that
thing with Warren actually impacted her a lot. Worse than Bob, even, and
he’s
straight. She’s sort of sensitive that way. Plus a lesbian. Not that I’m
judging. I mean,
I’ve
done the all girl diet
too
. Still, she
can
shut off her emotions on the matter if it bugs her that much. What she’s doing
isn’t really helping, and there are spells for that. I probably should have sat
on Warren a little more closely in that regard, but it seemed harmless enough
at the time. If it wasn’t for you meddling kids, Lisa and Bob wouldn’t even
know about it now, so no one would have gotten hurt.”

She
nodded, deciding not to ask for particulars yet. Eve understood that he was
saying he was behind the whole Warren thing, which meant that there was a lot
more going on that she would have guessed at, otherwise.

“Fine
then. So, as long as you aren’t a threat to my friends,
anywhere
…” She
stopped and then took a deep breath. “
Except
… the Greater Demon ones.
I’m not getting in the middle there, but you know, if you
can’t
get
along with Darla and the gang, you need to change what you’re doing. I mean
that, too. But I won’t get involved. Do that though, and I won’t run my mouth
about you. That will change if everyone figures it out, but that’s just common
sense. Of course, Lenore knows now, so Zack will soon, I bet.” She glanced
across the mall, and made eye contact with Lenore, who looked a bit stiff.
Scared, rather than angry.

Mark,
who was really the Greater Demon Fram, known as The Bold, under all the
trappings, smiled and waved to her from across the red brick expanse. Then he
spoke to the Vampire woman directly, smiling the whole time.

“Fine,
let’s not tell him
directly
though? Even as his girlfriend it isn’t
your
job to rat me out. I’ll be good though. I’m not here to hurt anyone, just make
sure that…” He stopped and looked around. “Well, I won’t say that
here
.
Too many people know about me now anyway. Thanks for the snacks though. I
suppose I have to pay for them all?”

Eve
thought about it and then shrugged.

“We’ll
let you trade for them? I need someone to taste test for me. We can meet in a
few days and share info? I wasn’t kidding about possibly being called off to
Russia. I’m the new lackey of the Council, I think. Gene is trying to kill me,
but other than that it seems like an actual promotion.” She didn’t know that,
but was still surprised when that got a tiny chuckle. At the same time Mark
took one of the treats and started in on it.

He
pointed with his red, long handled, plastic spoon, after five bites.

“This
is
good
. You should try coconut marmalade. Not that it would
sell
,
Americans being anti-marmalade bigots like they are, but it would be a good
combination. So, we can do that. Meet up that is. Not fix the great hatred of
marmalade. Here’s the first tidbit then. I can’t give you a direct name,
because I don’t want a war right now, but Gene of the Vampire Council is
working with a Greater Demon. Not one
you
know, but some of your friends
do. Really though, I think his stiffy for you is just based on fear. You
are
a totally bad ass Vampire bitch, now. I
have
heard of others that were
as strong out of the gate, but most of them were killed off pretty quick for
it, so I can see why he might be considering the same for you.” He looked
around and then leaned in. “Think he’d pay me, if I did it for him? Just bumped
you off, and then demand some cash?”