Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) (18 page)

Eve
shook her head.

“It
would be good to see Zack, but I want to wait a few days, or even weeks, before
doing anything like that. It might be for the best if I never do. After all,
they didn’t hurt anything, and it was as close to a show as I had the entire
time.” Then she realized that she was still hugging Barb, who didn’t even seem
to be acting like it was out of place yet. “So, tell me, how have things really
been going without me?”

The
other Vampire squirmed a bit, but then shook her head.

“Not…
Great. Brian, from the club? The bouncer? He… died. He was murdered. Someone
beat him to death. We don’t have any proof who it was, but it almost had to be
one of us. He was ripped apart, nearly. That, or he pissed off an insane ape.
I, um, asked the Mages for help. They’re looking into it.”

Eve
nodded.

“I see.
We’ll find who did this, and…” She was about to suggest that they’d wind up in
a ditch, but shook her head. There had to be at least the
appearance
of
rules, even if it was all fake in the end. “And
then
we’ll see to
punishing them as much as the law allows.”

Eve
had kind of thought that she’d be either thrown back into her day to day life
or eased back in, slowly. That didn’t seem to be the Bey plan at all.

No,
he was acting like Eve wasn’t going home at all. That wasn’t her idea of a good
time though, since she really wanted a shower. It probably sounded like a minor
thing, but she felt gross. Like her skin was crawling all the time. It hadn’t
been bad in the box, but now that she was moving around it was like her outer
being was trying to fall away, and not really making it.

“Let’s
go, and see about finding some new clothes?” She waved at her own body, which
looked the same as it always did, she thought. It wasn’t like Vampires changed
all that much. Not if they had enough energy.

That
got Bey to look annoyed.

“Is
that needed? You look fine. At least for traveling. We should find you some
other clothing for meetings. I’d suggest a dress, but that isn’t conducive to
the work that might be required from you now. Perhaps something more
intimidating? Leather, or an outfit that seems more military?”

He
looked at her like those were options that she’d find in her own closet. It
wasn’t though. She
used
to have a really neat leather jacket that had
made her seem totally badass, but it had gotten burned. By Lars the Manthori,
actually. He’d been mind controlled into it, but the coat was still gone, or at
least made so ugly that she wasn’t going to put it on anymore.

Thinking
of mind control, she felt a slight flare of anger, then shook her head.

“I
need to chat with Keels. Really, I kind of want a shower. I know, I shouldn’t
reek or anything, but that isn’t the point. I feel gross. I know that we need
to leave soon, if we’re going to make it across the country before it gets too
bright out, but…” She shook her head. Going
east
it would get bright
sooner, rather than later. They’d be running
into
the sun.

That
sounded like great fun. She sighed and then shook her head.

“Can
we go do that now? If we run… Let me shower and change, then leave
immediately…”

Bey
changed from seeming a bit annoyed with her to happy suddenly, and clapped his
hands.

“Yes.
We shall go and see to that instantly. Barbara, can we trust you to investigate
the death of your man? We will come and aid you in seeking justice for it, if
that is needed. I doubt it will be, since you are a most capable being, but if
this turns out to be larger than it seems, we stand ready. I shall speak with
Lenore, so that she knows this project is to be yours?” It was a weird way of
setting things up, but Barb seemed shocked by it, as if that just didn’t make
sense.

That
was off though, since she was smart enough and had been around for something
like fifty years. She looked young, but then again, they all did. Most people
that bothered with eternal life wanted to do it when they were young enough for
it to leave them being good looking. Bey was a bit goofy in appearance, she
guessed, but there had probably been different standards of beauty back in the
day.

Barb
nodded, but didn’t really seem all that chatty suddenly. Dumbfounded, came to
mind, as a name for the response.

Bey
didn’t wait long, just smiling, moving forward to pat the other Vampire gently,
and waved to Eve, silently. Then, without warning he started to move at great
speeds. She followed, and it hurt again, even as she tried to hold the pain
away from her thoughts. It was all she could do to keep up, to be honest.

When
they got to Edom’s house, the man winked at her, let her shower and dress,
urging her to do it quickly, without ever speaking, and then had them out on
the road, heading toward Maine. She thought that was the destination at any
rate.

Her…
she didn’t know what to call him really. Was Bey her boss now? Her friend?
Mentor maybe? It didn’t really matter, except that she would have liked to have
an understanding of where she stood in things. Regardless, the bald man,
wearing a rather worn black suit, having changed clothing himself, spoke to her
as they traveled through the dark. How he could speak, through the pain, she
didn’t know.

“No.
Do not simply stomp along! You have great power, but you need skill as well. We
shall strive to make our way without noise, other than such instruction as I
need to give you. Place your feet below you, don’t dash them down. Use the
whole foot, not the heel!” there was demonstration to go with it, and she
focused her thoughts trying to match what he was doing.

She
would have thought that it was boring, but she knew the real meaning of the
word now, so it seemed a lot less so, than it might have even half a year
before. She’d grown harder it seemed, in her little glass coffin.

So
she was able to mainly keep up, with Bey urging her not to slow down, as well
as moving without making a racket. The trip seemed to take forever, since they
traveled through the world without stopping. Nothing seemed to move or shift
around them in particular. Some of the cars on the freeway, which they passed
and pushed off of, did move a tiny bit, but it was pretty much like the world
was just hanging still. A picture, painted in three dimensions, but not
dynamic.

It
was pretty awesome, when she thought about it. Of course that meant getting
lazy, and making noise, which had Bey glaring at her. The tiny being smiled
when she got it right though, as a reward.

It
seemed to take forever, but when they got into the city, which was Washington
D.C. not Maine at all, it was still dark out. There were cars on the roads, but
not enough to really indicate that it was approaching dawn. She could feel it
coming though.

The
burning orb was just over the edge of the Earth, ready to burn them, as it
poked its head up. It probably meant it was…

She
nearly thought that it would be about seven in the morning, but that wasn’t
right. It would be closer to six, or less than that, since it had to be April
now. They kept moving at speed down the dingy streets, which seemed to have a
covering of grit for some reason. It was all over the entire area, which
surprised her a little. If asked about it, Eve would have thought that the
national capital would have been pristine all the time. There were buildings
off in the distance that were familiar, being white and big.

They
didn’t go there, heading to a set of buildings off to the side by a good way.
It was a nice enough area, compared to the surroundings. Bey went directly in,
past a guard that stood outside the door. Then through the metal detectors and
other guards inside.

Finally
they ended up outside a locked door, which had the words, Rep. Swerlin, on it.
Her Vampire buddy, since she wasn’t certain what else to call him, narrowed his
eyes and stopped suddenly, trying the door in normal time.

“Locked,
which is
most
rude, don’t you think? He knows we are coming, and should
have made arrangements for our arrival. I do not, perhaps, expect parades and
dancing ladies, but an unlocked door would be nice.”

There
was no one inside, so Eve could see that, but she smiled when Bey was about to
simply force the door open, breaking it. The thing was almost certainly
government property, and that would mean their tax dollars would have to go
toward fixing it. If, of course, she paid taxes. She used to, so there was
that, right?

“Wait?
I think I can do this one.” Not that she was certain, but it was a single
deadbolt and a regular lock. They were meant to keep people out, but not
Vampires, or even real thieves. The building had security after all.
Congressional office or not though, it wasn’t made to keep
them
out.
Walking through security, without being noticed,
kind
of showed that.

Bey
stood back, as if curious as to what she had planned. It was, well,
easy
wasn’t the right word, but she could move small objects. It was hard and she
needed to move close to the door, actually touching it with her right hand.
That made turning the locks a lot easier though. They clicked after a moment,
which got Bey to nod at her, seriously.

They
didn’t speak until they got in and closed the plain looking wooden door behind
them.

“That
is an interesting skill. Not one I possess. You discovered it while entombed?”

She
nodded.

“It
isn’t very useful, but I can do things like this, or move little things.
Pebbles and small stones. Call it a pound or two? The closer it is to my body
the easier it is, but for most things it’s just going to be easier to use my
hands.”

That
got a nod, but also a pat on the shoulder.

“Very
well. Now we shall wait?”

He
went totally still, and didn’t even look at her. Eve didn’t particularly want
to do that, having had her fill for the time being, but she could do it. She
made sure her links were tight, then made all sense of anger and hunger go
away. It still felt like it took forever, before the door opened, after a lot
of scrambling with keys. She’d left the door unlocked, meaning the Vampire that
worked it locked himself out first, then had to try again.

It
was Richard Swerlin, and he was old enough to be worried when he came in, which
got worse when he saw who was standing there.

“Bey!
I… Hadn’t thought that you’d be in so early. I would have come, I assure you,
if I’d known. Did The Line Walker bring you?”

Eve
wondered why he’d think that, but Bey shook his head.

“No,
young Eve and I traveled from the other Washington, on foot, this very night.
You requested her presence, so she has come, directly from her incarceration,
just to serve your will. I trust that time won’t be wasted?”

It
was a bit attacking, if in a polite way, but it put Swerlin on the defensive.
It occurred to her that Bey really didn’t care for the man, for some reason. He
was generally very nice, to everyone. This was the way he acted toward people
he was about to kill.

Well,
if that was the case, Eve was up for it. She normally would have worried about
what Keels would think about it, since Rich was her boy, but at the moment she
kind of suspected that her friend had sort of screwed her over. True, possibly
into greater powers, but it hadn’t been
fun
. Not that she was going to
waste her time on grudges. Life was too short for that bullshit.

The
politician hemmed a bit, and then looked embarrassed.

“I
really don’t have anything specifically planned out for today. Press wise, I
mean. I thought that it would be some months before Miss Benson could join us,
to be honest. I… How did you survive?” The question was nearly blurted out, and
the Vampire went very still, a panic response, if not one that showed great
anger.

There
was probably no reason to assume that however. The man was decent looking, in a
slightly broad faced way, and not normally an a-hole. Outing all Vampire kind
aside.

Eve
shrugged.

“It
took some focus, and I can’t recommend it as a relaxing vacation, but it was doable.
Now, can we set something up for the day? Otherwise… I guess that Bey and I can
just sit here. Watching you. Always.”

That
got the other man to seem a lot more worried for some reason, which finally got
her mentor to smile. That was good to see, but she hadn’t meant it as a threat.

“Ah…
Let me see if anything can be set up? I’m sure that a lot of media will want to
speak with you. I… Here.” He hurried into the other room, which was his real
office, no doubt.

Without
waiting for even a moment, or considering that running away from them might be
a bit rude, she heard a phone pick up. Then, moments later, Swerlin was being
yelled at for calling that early. It
was
before six, so who could blame
the poor Human on the other side?

Eve
didn’t listen though, since she wasn’t the sort of person to do that without a
good reason. She did notice when her name was spoken, and heard then the low
growl of a woman on the phone.

“Who
gives a fuck? Some killer gets out of prison after six months? Even better, a
killer
cop
, or whatever the story is this week? Why call and bother me
with this? If you want me to play ball, you need to do better than that. Now,
I’m going back to sleep. If you want my help on anything, I suggest you don’t
bother me this early, ever again!” The phone was slammed down on the cradle,
making a slap that had to show the lady was more than a little pissed off.

Eve
listened then, as six other calls went about the same way. Oh, most of them
were more polite, but no one was really all that interested in her. That was
both a bit insulting, and she realized, after a bit, a
good
thing. She
wasn’t supposed to be a big media personality anyway. After a while she
shrugged, having heard herself called a bitch, a cunt, and a killer, at least
four times in about twenty minutes.

“And
here I thought I was popular or something.”

Bey
nodded.

“Indeed,
you
do
tend to play well in the press. More often on the talking radio?
We should have called ahead, perhaps, rather than run all this way.” He looked
ready to be upset, but his attention went to her, rather than being focused on
the other room. For her part, Eve just shook her head, making him tense a bit.