Dead Certain (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 3) (38 page)

Barb didn’t seem properly scared.

“Yay! Something I did is popular.
Now, what’s all this? Cones?”

Eve showed her how to make the
batter, and went over a few of the things that had seemed to work.

“They aren’t menu items yet, so
we’ve just been giving them away. Let’s go over a batch or two? Then I can go
and change. Oh, some Greater Demons might call or come in… I’ll leave a message
for them.” She said it like it was a joke, then hurried through the making of
the new potential products, and actually rushed home, in order to get changed,
and put some makeup on. Her hair needed to go up, she decided, which took
several attempts, since she didn’t like the way the first three tries looked.

The last one, which was just a
twist that left her neck exposed, and made her look a bit taller, did the trick
though. She felt sexy. That was a bit of a shock, really. Then she had to get
into her clothing, very carefully, so that nothing would get on it. The battle
outfit for the night was a slinky black dress, and while she wore panties, she
left the bra off.

The things she wore under her
clothing barely covered enough to be entertaining, but Ben would just have to
suffer, since the black lace set of things were what matched. The stockings
covered to about four inches above her knees, and she risked wearing heels.
More to the point, she put on black stockings that hit mid-thigh, and slipped
running shoes on, for the trip back. Then used her knapsack to carry both a
change of clothing, and a nice pair of black shoes that had three inch stilts
on the back.

If the whole thing didn’t scream
fuck me now, she didn’t know what did. Well, other than actually grabbing a guy
and saying that. It normally worked, or had in the past, so she knew to keep
that in mind. Just in case things got awkward or boring.

On the way back Eve made a detour
to a pharmacy, and got some baby oil. The non-scented kind. After all, as a
Vampire she wasn’t going to catch, or give, any diseases to a Human, but
lubrication could be a problem. It wouldn’t hurt her to do things without, but
the guy could chafe a bit. Then she ran back, moving with a level of speed that
she hadn’t been certain she could in a skirt. It didn’t really slow her down at
all, since the super speed part of her powers wasn’t really that at all. It was
some kind of time or space manipulation thing. It had to be, given how walking
was as quick as running really.

So at seven-fifteen, she was
back. Dressed to get some, or at least make her Human guy friend think about
that kind of thing. That was really down to old habit though, wasn’t it? For
all she knew Ben wouldn’t even be interested in that kind of thing on a first
date. Did they even have anything in common? She’d kind of known him for about
a year now, sure, but in that time they’d met, what, six or seven times? It
felt like more than that, but it wasn’t really.

For some reason, Troy popped into
her head then.

Another person that she hadn’t
been around a lot lately. They were pals, and had sex on occasion, even now, so
there was a bit of a bond there. Even that had been based on physical things,
really. He was a good guy, but for most of the time she’d known him he’d been
kind of a player. That had calmed down over the last few years. Now he was a
lot more career driven, so that was good. She didn’t know what he wanted in
life though, did she?

A family? To become a Vampire?
That had been hinted at, a lot, and he was getting old enough that it was about
time for him to consider it, if he was going to really do it. Looking like a
fit thirty year old forever wouldn’t be too bad, but going much older than that
would be less than optimal. Unless he wanted to be President some day, or that
kind of thing. He’d never mentioned it, really.

The big thing there, she knew,
was that he was a Greater Demon’s slave, and the being might not want to let
him go. It was an easier fix though, if Troy wanted to be a Vampire, than it
was with Maggie. Death broke the link. So when he died, and became new again,
that would be gone.

It was what she was thinking,
when she walked back into work, to see a good looking Dan Carmichael, one of
Finias’ forms, sitting the third booth back from the front, delicately eating a
waffle cone. He had a nice blue suit on, and didn’t seem homeless at all. In
fact, this time, he looked about forty, fit, and ready to walk into a GQ ad.
They didn’t take guys that old, she didn’t think, but that was their problem.
Their loss, too.

Eve slid into the booth with him,
on the other side, and gestured at the cone.

“Do you like it? It’s new.”

There was a nod, and a gentle
seeming smile.

“It’s rather nice.” He took a
lick, looking at her the whole time. “I hear that you’ve had a busy few days? In
fact, I understand that I might owe you some small recompense, for getting me
free from the distraction Tarsus had for me? It was a wonderful hedge maze. I
would have been days getting out of the thing if he hadn’t ended it early.
What, if I may ask, do you want for this? I’m prepared to offer two pounds of
fine cut diamonds.”

She nodded, since they
were
a girl’s best friend, she’d heard.

“Troy Lopez.”

There was no shocked look, just a
grin.

“I see. As a boyfriend, or…”

“If he wants to be free of being
your slave, we can make him a Vampire.
If
he can pass the training for
it. If he doesn’t want to do that, I can see if Darla will help me kill him and
bring him back. I can maybe do it myself, but I don’t want to accidently mess
it up. He’s a friend.”

There was a look then, that ended
up being followed by a head tilt, and a touch on the hand, that tingled for a
lot longer than any of the others had ever bothered with. Finally he took his
hand back and laughed.

“Agreed then, White Death. His
usefulness is about done for me anyway. It would be good to see him graduate to
a good position in life. I’ve always liked the boy. That’s why I picked him in
the first place. Now, that leaves the other part of this. You mentioned to
Tarsus that you planned to execute Fram tomorrow? I really
would
like to
see that, even if the fool is going to be brought back. Do you think you can
get me in?”

It would take him being willing
not to try and trick Fram or anything, but she could try, which he knew
instantly. After all, he was a telepath on a level that very few could match.

He stood then, and patted her
right arm, this time without any buzzing or tingling at all. She stared at his
hand.

“What’s with
that
?”

“Eh? Oh, I just didn’t need to
read you twice, so I shut down that response for a bit. It isn’t hard to do.
Why?” He asked it like he didn’t know the real answer already. That was
probably a thing that a telepath had to learn to do, really. Otherwise they’d
be a constant pain in the ass. Never letting you speak your own thoughts, and
all that kind of thing.

“Well, it’s how I’ve been telling
if a Greater Demon
is
one or not. If they can control it, then it won’t
work all the time, will it?”

“I suppose not. Very few things
work in every case. Even we have to pay attention, and look for mistakes and
discontinuities in the world, to see what’s going on all the time. It would be
a good habit for you to develop, Eve. As it is, I think we need to get you a
mentor soon.”

The Demon wasn’t smiling about
it, just staring directly into her eyes.

She grinned.

“Well, I have Bey. True I
should
do a bit more with him. I have no excuse, except that I’ve gotten a bit busy,
lately. Plus Edom and Lenore, so I think I’m set that way.” She was really.
More than almost anyone that had ever become a Vampire, probably. They were all
good people, too, so how rare was that one?

Finias, looking kind of sweet and
thoughtful, in a hunky way, shook his head slowly.

“No, I meant a Greater Demon
mentor, Eve. Before you panic,
no
you aren’t one of us. You have
potential however, that is closer to that state than I’ve ever even heard of
for one that wasn’t born of our kind. If trained properly I believe you might
become something very different indeed. Who can we get though? Tarsus would be
a fine choice, but it would be better if you didn’t go there, for now. I don’t
think he’d hold a grudge, but finding someone that will care if you live would
be nice. It will need to be someone sane, so that takes Zack right out. Plus
he’s too young. So is Keeley. Darla, well she’d be a good person for the job,
but has to watch Zack for the time being. Let me think about it? I’m sure we
can find someone with both the needed skills, and flexibility to make this
work.”

Eve shook her head, “like it
isn’t hard enough to just be me?”

That got a laugh, and the man
stood up, touched her shoulder in a decently friendly manner.

“Don’t worry, you can take it.
Get with Fram and clear that meeting for me tomorrow? When is it planned for?”

“Seven, right now. That can
change.”

“Right. Keep me updated? This
will be fun. Do you have a meeting spot for it?”

She had been thinking there, in
the store, but killing someone in the back suddenly seemed crude, if she didn’t
have to do it. People ate just feet away, after all.

“To be announced? I’m thinking of
renting someplace for it. The Grange hall?” That was a thing that the local
role playing group did during the winter. It wasn’t nice, but it was only about
sixty dollars for the evening.

Finias seemed fine with it,
“you’ll work it out. I wouldn’t bother doing anything too nice this time, if it
were me. This place really would be fine, though if there might be a mess, I
think you could dump it on Zack, and not make anyone upset.”

She pointed at him. “Good idea.
I’ll ask about it. That will let us have a tiny bit of control over the whole
thing, too, so that when the attack comes, or the trap, we have some little
chance of avoiding it. Some of you will anyway. I’ll probably end up blown up,
by whatever kind of bomb Fram shoves up his behind tonight, to make my life
more fun. Not that I blame him. Then, this is only about having a conversation
to set that up, not the event itself. I need to be prepared, since waiting
isn’t going to help a lot, is it?” She felt worried, if only a little, but the
hot Greater Demon guy just reached down and took her hand.

“I wouldn’t let it bother you
that much. Fram is… Less than my favorite, perhaps. He isn’t a true cretin
however, despite what I label him as, most of the time. It serves his best
interest right now to go along with you, and if he works this whole thing
correctly, it will continue to be. He
might
even end up not being
Keeley’s slave again, if he puts his fate in your hands. No, you can deal with
him, and not worry about things skewing too far from your control. The one to
consider is Tarsus. I’d say I couldn’t believe that he’d set this up, going
after Keeley, but it nearly had to happen, eventually. Even if he can guard
himself from her directly, which he can, none of us could survive an army of
our fellows, throwing their true might against us. Trusting in a young girl not
to use her powers to their full conclusion is hard, for many of us.”

“So the thought of killing her
crossed your mind, too?”

“Yes. I’m certain that it has
with all of us, more than once. Even Zack. I know that Lyn was suggesting it to
him, a few years ago. She’s far more even handed than most of us, too.” He
stopped, and suddenly smiled. “Ah! There we go. I’ll get Lyn to work with you.
It won’t hurt to suggest it anyway. She’s looking for an excuse to be around
here more often, so she can spy on The Line Walker, without just doing it.
Helping you has to be a good enough excuse for that. I’ll bring it up. Is she
going to be there with you tomorrow?”

Again, it was a thing that he
knew, so she rolled her eyes.

“Not that I know of?”

“Maybe you should invite her?
That would work best. She’s a very sweet person, for one of us. Not as much as
say, Zack, but much like Keeley, though more seasoned. Yes, you should get on
that now, before you have your date. I’ll get out of your hair. That looks
lovely, by the way. Your hair? Everything about you does. This Ben of yours is
a very lucky fellow.” There was a strange lilt to his voice on the words, and
he walked away, humming a bit. It was so different that it stood out.

Sighing, Eve walked down to
Zack’s bookstore. She didn’t have a number for Lyn Hartley, or even a name or
title, other than Lyn. It was what she’d told her to call her the night before.
Zack had been raised as her grandson, for all the woman didn’t look past thirty
or so now. She did seem Japanese, but it worked for her, as a look.

Zack was in, so she waved to him,
as he stood behind the front counter, actually helping an older lady that
seemed to be purchasing books to read. That wasn’t always the reason people got
things there. Most of the time it was as a cover, to explain why they were at a
book store, since telling their wives, and hubbies, that it was all about the
poon-tang wasn’t going to go over well around the dinner table.

The Greater Demon rang the lady up
first, before speaking to Eve. That would let the lady get out of earshot if
nothing else. No innocent person should have to be subjected to their
conversations. Just hearing some of the things she had to say anymore could end
up being a risk.