Fang Me (4 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Before we could go hunt fangbangers, the doorbell rang—Josh and Andrew, no doubt. When Alejandro didn't move from the thronelike chair behind his desk, I said,"Uh, are your people gonna be cool with having the two demons here who hurt—"

Before I could finish, he was up and out of his chair, and down the hall with his lightning-fast speed. I hoofed it after him, glad to see that most of the bloodsuckers had left. Only the three lieutenants and a few others remained in the great room, cleaning up the mess. Luis had his hand on the door handle but Alejandro stopped him with a word. They whispered for a little bit, then Alejandro opened the ancient-looking wooden door.

Sure enough, Josh and Andrew stood there, looking more than a little apprehensive. Ludwig, the massive water demon, loomed behind them. Since Ludwig had saved the mansion when the redheaded fire demon tried to burn it down, and was humongous enough to make anyone think twice about attacking him, he was a good choice to escort them. Good—Micah had been thinking.

Alejandro stared sternly at the two.

Andrew looked sullen, but Josh had turned white under his wavy blond hair. I feared he'd phase out right there, but Ludwig had a firm grip on him so he couldn't.

Luis, of course, wore a sneer, though whatever his boss had told him must have him in check.

"Has it been explained what we require of you?" Alejandro asked the demons.

They nodded.

"Good. You will be under Luis's direction. Tonight, you will accompany him and Ms. Shapiro to assess the vulnerability of the blood banks. You must do exactly as he says, do you understand?"

They both jumped as if they'd received an electric shock and stared at Luis as if he were evil incarnate. What was that all about?

Fang chuckled. LUIS JUST ENTHRALLED THEM AND SHOWED THEM WHAT HE COULD DO IF THEY SCREWED UP.

I hid a grin. Luis had his uses. But I wasn't thrilled about going hunting with him and two newbies. I'd have to watch out for them as well as myself.

Ludwig frowned and glanced between the demons and the vamps, not letting go of Josh. He didn't have a hell hound explaining what was going on, so he must be confused.

"I'll take care of them," I told him.

Apparently reassured, the man mountain nodded and left.

Andrew stuck his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders."Now what?"

Luis's lips spread into a smile . . . and it wasn't a pleasant one. With his dark goatee, long hair clubbed back into a ponytail, and slashing eyebrows, he appeared really sinister."Now you do exactly as you are told." He gestured toward the string of dark luxury automobiles Alejandro kept lined up on the long driveway."We shall take one of the cars."

We followed him to the last one."Whoa, what's this?" Andrew asked, running his hand over the gleaming black finish. Apparently, he liked shiny things.

"A Lincoln town car," Luis said with pride."Top of the line, of course." He opened the door and the two miscreants piled in the back seat as I got in the front.

Fang jumped up to curl in my lap. I'M GONNA TAKE A NAP. WAKE ME WHEN WE GET THERE.

The warm weight of him was nice, comforting. As the guys talked cars, I zoned out and stroked Fang's wiry fur. The hellhound pretended to be gruff and macho, but he enjoyed the petting as much as I did. He just wouldn't admit it.

Fang opened one eye. CAN YOU STOP THINKING SO LOUD? I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE.

Then stop listening.

He pointedly put a paw over his ear. Okay, I got the message. Unfortunately, being left alone with my own thoughts meant returning to the one thing that had been spinning through my brain ever since I'd learned what losing my virginity would really mean.

It wasn't an easy decision. I mean, sure, it was a huge deal for anyone, but in my case, doing the deed meant the Slayer would no longer have the ability to slay. My reflexes would slow and so would my speed and healing.

All my life, I had longed to be normal like my half-sister Jen . . . not to have to worry about accidentally turning men on by getting too close, not to be treated like a freak by the full human side of my family. But now that I faced being normal, I still kind of wanted that, but I kind of didn't, too. It was part of me, what I'd always known.

Things had changed. The Demon Underground proved there were others like me, others who understood what I was going through or at least valued me for my abilities. Plus, those same abilities gave me respect from the humans in the Special Crimes Unit. My demon side made me special . . . maybe I wasn't as big a freak as I thought after all.

But how special would I be if I all I could do was make men lust over me, once I lost the slaying ability that had defined me for so long? Women all over the world could make men lust—not like it was that hard. And how about when the vamps learned I was no longer as powerful? Would they come after me? Would I have to leave San Antonio, the city I loved?

It was a depressing thought, but the alternative wasn't much better. To keep my slaying ability, I had to keep my virginity. That hadn't been an issue so far, but with Shade letting Lola feed on him whenever she needed it, I was afraid it would only be a matter of time before something irreversible happened. Especially since Shade was so totally hot.

Sure, he had a dark side. Shadow demons acted as conduits between our world and other dimensions. If Shade got too angry or lost control of his demon side, all hell could break loose. Literally. Demons on the other side could seize control and pour through into our world.

But Shade was such a white hat he'd rather kill himself than let that happen. Luckily, I seemed to be able to keep his demon under control while he kept Lola happy. It's as if we were meant for each other.

Cue sappy music here.

Yeah, it was pretty inevitable that we'd hook up eventually, but I wanted to be able to choose
when. While I
still worked for Alejandro, not such a good idea. And if I lost my powers, I'd have to find a new job, too. I wouldn't be much use to the Special Crimes Unit then. I'd still be able to enthrall men, but I'd never really liked using my succubus powers. And if I let Lola have her way too much, she might take over completely.

If I did lose my strength, what would life be like? Though Micah was an incubus, he got along fine without the extras, but being a guy, he'd lost his cherry way early and never knew what powers he'd lost along with his virginity.

Also, if I did the deed, would it be worth it? Would Shade even stick around? Look what had happened with Dan and me. Would it all be for nothing?

Lots of questions. No answers. Not good ones, anyway.

I sighed. For now, it would be best to stay away from Shade as much as I could. Fighting vamps seemed to satisfy my demon's lust. With any luck, we'd find some to whale on tonight.

We arrived at the old brick hotel that had been converted into a blood bank, and Luis parked in the back. I'd been here before, but not through the back way. Luis got us in easily past the security cameras and fancy intrusion detection system and headed for the elevator.

"Why are we going upstairs?" I asked. The bad guys would be downstairs or outside.

He pressed the elevator button."To give these pups some way of defending themselves," he said, raking them with a look that said he considered them pond scum. Or worse—a greasy layer below pond scum.

He used a key card to take us to the fourth floor, to the penthouse executive suite. I'd never thought about it before, but I wondered what was on the second and third floors. Probably where the other members of the Movement slept during the day, since they obviously didn't all stay at the mansion.

Made sense. No wonder most of the blood banks were converted hotels.

FOCUS, VAL, FOCUS, Fang reminded me.

Yeah, I needed to do that. But when Luis led us into the"living room," it was hard to focus on anything but the décor. It wasn't something I'd ever choose. Brilliant white contrasted with dead black. Add splashes of blood red and hard angles, and the room screamed modern design.

Strange—it was so different from Alejandro's warm, comfortable home. This was where the vamp leader had brought me the first time we met, so I gathered it was how he chose to show his public face. What message was he trying to portray? It was as if he'd taken the Hollywood vamp stereotype and aggressively brought it into the twenty-first century.

I felt uneasy here—which could be the point—but Josh and Andrew seemed impressed by it all. Or maybe they were wowed by the state-of-the-art electronics everywhere. Luis seemed really comfortable here, which was strange. It didn't appear to be the kind of place a Spanish aristocrat would like. At least, that's what I'd always assumed he'd been when he was alive. He sure had the attitude.

IT SUITS HIS PERSONALITY, Fang muttered. COLD AND LIFELESS.

"Stay here," Luis ordered."I'll be right back."

He returned quickly, carrying a couple of crossbows and some stakes.

"Whoa, dude," I exclaimed."What are you doing with vampire-slaying equipment?"

His lips stretched in a thin smile."We took them off some would-be slayers who couldn't tell the difference between the people of the Movement and the filth who prey on the weak."

Josh and Andrew seemed impressed by his passion, so I didn't ask him how long he'd been one of the filth before he joined Alejandro.

Luis added,"Lately, it has become necessary to arm our volunteers and customers occasionally when the dregs come calling."

That seemed dangerous, but I guess he could compel them not to use those weapons on his own undead body.

TOO BAD, Fang muttered.

Yeah, Luis didn't exactly endear himself to anyone. Except maybe Alejandro.

Luis led us to an area in the back that resembled a gym or training room, with padded blue mats lining the walls and floors. He showed the guys how to use the crossbows and let them practice a few times. They did surprisingly well. I gave them a few pointers on how to use the stakes and avoid a fanging, but they were nowhere near ready to go mano-a-mano with angry fangbangers.

Luis knew it, too."These are a last resort only," he told them."If a rogue vampire or gang attacks the blood bank tonight, you are to observe only. Use these weapons only to protect humans. Do you understand?"

Josh and Andrew nodded soberly, but I didn't trust the gleam in their eyes.

"Use it only if one of them attacks you first," I added. Didn't want them going off half -cocked and shooting one of the good guys."Oh, and one more thing. Micah still wants to keep the Underground secret, so don't even think about using your powers in public or you'll have a whole boatload of pissed -off demons to deal with. Got it?"

Andrew scowled, but I didn't relax my glare until they both nodded.

"So what do we do now?" Josh asked."Patrol?"

Luis shook his head."Too obvious. We don't want to scare them away. We want them to feel safe enough to strike, so we can try to reason with them." But from the way he hefted the stake in his hand, I wasn't sure he thought mere talking would be enough.

"You expect them here tonight?" I asked.

Luis nodded."It fits their pattern. We have warned most of our regular customers away, but will need someone to lure them in. Many of them know the Slayer, so . . ." He turned a speculative gaze on Josh and Andrew.

"You want to use us as bait?" Andrew asked in disbelief.

"One of you," Luis said."Him." He pointed at Josh.

It made a lot of sense. If Josh knew they were coming, he could phase out before they grabbed him. And he was slighter, looking less likely to fight back than the stocky redheaded fire demon.

Josh gulped visibly."But what if one of them grabs me before I can phase? I can't phase when someone is holding onto me." He sounded on the edge of panic.

"Don't worry," I assured him."We'll be watching you and won't let you get hurt."

NOT MUCH, ANYWAY.

When Josh paled even more, I realized Fang must have shared his thought with the demon. I glared at the hellhound who acted as if he had nothing on his innocent little mind except for scratching his ear.
You're not helping.
Aloud, I added to Josh,"You know better than anyone that if one tries to bite you, they'll regret it. Remember, vamp drink demon blood, vamp go crazy." That's what had gotten Josh into trouble in the first place.

"That's settled then," Luis said, though Josh didn't look as though he thought it was settled at all."Their normal method of operation is to have two or three band together to attack someone alone on the street outside, then drain them almost completely and dump them at the door before anyone can raise an alarm." He shook his head."We've been able to get some of the victims to the hospital in time or replenished their blood with our own supply, but it's not enough."

From the grit in his tone, I figured he wasn't happy that the unaffiliated ones thumbed their noses at the Movement in this way.

Luis glared at Josh and Andrew."And thanks to you, our supplies are way down."

Andrew backed off, holding his hands up."Whoa, not me, dude. All I did was try to burn your house down."

Stupid to remind us. Luis's eyes narrowed, but before he could ream the fire demon a new one, I said,"So what's the plan? Throw Josh out as bait and watch in the shadows to see if we can reel in some bottom feeders?"

"Indeed," Luis agreed."Though they will suspect something if they sense anyone else on the street. We shall wait in the lobby."

Josh's brow furrowed."Then how will you know if I'm in trouble?"

"I shall enthrall you lightly and remain in your mind the whole time," Luis said.

"Huh? No way, dude." Josh backed off, holding his hands out as if to ward off the vampire.

"Then what do you suggest?" Luis bit out."Would you rather the succubus enslave you?"

Whoa—I so didn't want to go there. I stepped in."How about if Fang keeps tabs on you, Josh? He's read you before and can alert me right away if you're in danger. Fang, you can do that, right?"

YOU KNOW I CAN.

Yeah, but I want you to reassure Josh.