Finally Dead (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 1) (6 page)

Barb
made a face, but it seemed considering.

“I doubt
they’ll buy it, but you sort of
did
. Next time I’ll let you go down on
him, too. Now
that’s
a test. I bit the first ten or so guys I did that
with. The trick is keeping the fangs back.”

She
clicked her teeth back and forth, with her mouth open to demonstrate. It was a
bit awkward, and she was making funny faces, but Eve finally managed to do the
same thing, copying the older woman.

Barb
nodded, “just like that. I was kidding though, don’t let yourself get that
close to anyone yet. Figure on it being a few years before you can really do
that safely. Maybe less, for you, if you can keep all this up. Still, we’re
totally
lying to them and claiming it was a test, like you said. You’re in on that one
aren’t you?”

Eve
agreed. After all, she needed to make friends, didn’t she?

“Yep.
It’s all about you and me against the… Um. World is wrong. Against the man? Not
that they’re bad guys. I mean, I’d cuddle Bey
so
hard, you know?”

That got
her stared at, as if she were insane. The guy was adorable though. How Barb
missed that, Eve couldn’t tell. Oh, she got the part where he was the killer of
the ruling council, and that where he went Vampires tended to die, but it
wasn’t like they were breaking the rules and he didn’t just go around
destroying people for no reason.

Plus, he
was really sweet. All the time.

Except
when he had to kill some fools.

That
wasn’t a real problem however, since Eve and all the others there were actually
kind of goody-two-shoes, weren’t they? Most Vampires were darker and a bit
closer to the side of evil than the embassy people were. Lenore and Edom were
practically Vampire saints, as far as getting along with others went. Not just
their own kind or Humans either. They went out of their way to be pretty cool
with everyone. Weres, Trollienkeine, and Djin all thought of those two as
friends.

Even
Greater and Lesser Demons did. That was a really rare thing, Eve knew. Most Lesser
Demons didn’t really want to be anyone’s friend, when you got right down to it.

Most of
the trip happened in silence. Eve noticed that she’d forgotten to breathe
again, so made herself practice that. The Vampire next to her did that too,
either out of habit, or having noticed her making the effort. She also had to
blink, but that was easier for her to manage for some reason. Maybe blinking
was her super power as a Vampire? It was coming almost without effort, and that
could be hard for a lot of people.

At the
mall, Westfield, they just walked in, like normal people, through the door on
the North side. The upper parking lot. It was nearly empty, being the least
popular place to put your car. The few people she saw all looked like they were
real people, having good steady heart beats and nice healthy pink energy glows
to them. She didn’t let herself stare or anything, because there was a fine
line between noticing who was around you, and eye fucking them.

She
smiled, and then got to practice putting her fangs away before anyone noticed.
She was still screwing her lips up, pulling them back hard when she did it.
Barb was better at it, her face barely moving when she got her teeth out of the
way. They felt a little funny, since they retracted back, into her mouth. It
didn’t make her sound too funny though, so she could live with it.

They
kind of
folded
back into place though, and were always there. Each one
was about an inch long and as sharp as a hospital needle. Working her tongue
back she managed to get it caught on the tip of the right one, and had to stick
her finger between her lips to get it free. Barb seemed to be fighting a laugh,
which was understandable. Plus, she was trying to
fight
the derision,
not make her feel bad for being inept. That should count in her favor.

Eve
actually felt a little embarrassed about it, but not angry. There would be
mistakes like that for a while, as she got used to things.

The
inside of the mall was the same as it had been the week before, except that the
whole place thrummed with life. Noises, such as walking, heartbeats, and the
air conditioning system all came at once. It was like a rock concert, without
the pot. That, and the nudity. Not unless she wanted to take her shirt off.
There had been a time when she would have, but now she just walked, smelling a
thousand things that collided with her at once. Mainly garlic, from the food
court. Vampires weren’t allergic to it, or driven away by the scent, but it hit
her nose as if a thousand times stronger than almost anything else. For a
moment it nearly hurt, until she focused on the scent of frozen yogurt. It was
a milder thing, and a lot less offensive than the other stuff. Without
thinking, Eve followed the line of scent, trying not to think about what else
she might perceive. It worked really well to block the other stuff out.

The
store was bright and shiny. Polished and clean. Even as she came into the
place, Lenore was wiping the counter down. She might have been the ambassador,
but the woman was also a fanatic about cleanliness. Her other job, too.

Making
treats for people.

The blue
eyed woman, who was white, pale, and the owner of a slightly big nose, as well
as light red hair, stared at her. It was nearly a challenge, to tell the truth.
Eve didn’t let it get to her, since Lenore simply wouldn’t have bothered with
that kind of thing. She was hundreds of years old, and there was no way the
woman would be bugged by a newb like her. So, instead of growling or trying to
whip her dick out to be measured, Eve smiled at her, keeping her lips closed so
her fangs wouldn’t pop out.

“Hi!
I’ve successfully come back. I know, that makes me special and wonderful, but
hold the applause for the end of the show.” She put a hand out, to exaggerate
the whole thing.

It was
funny enough that Lenore let her eyes go wide.

“Eve!
I’d heard you were coming in. Ready to put in some time cleaning?” It was, no
doubt, a joke.

Not
because she didn’t know the job, but because both Edom and Bey would be waiting
for her in the back.

Honestly,
it was more of a test than anything, she was willing to bet. The Vampire in
front of her was trying to see how easy it would be to piss her off. It wasn’t
working though, because she was
prepared
to work. For years, if not
decades, to come. It was in the deal that she’d made. Implied at any rate.

“I can
do that. I need to get with Bey first, but after that, if he or Edom don’t have
anything for me to do, I’m totally in. Barb already did the first check on me
to make sure I’m fit to be around real people. I passed! I mean, I know it’s
not enough, but…”

That got
Barb, the dark haired woman behind her, stared at. Lenore seemed skeptical, for
some reason.

“You
did? May I ask how you achieved such a feat?”

Barbara
took a slow breath and glanced at Eve, knowing that the men in the back would
hear her perfectly.

“I was
in bed with my boyfriend, Troy, and he agreed to let me knick his skin a bit,
so that we could see what Eve would do. I had a stick, hidden under the covers,
just in case, but she was perfect. Even in the same room, with no warning. I’d
thought she might have that down, given last night. I…” She walked over to Eve
and put a hand on her back. It was probably protective. That, or claiming
ownership of her, because she was so awesome. “I wouldn’t have believed it, if
I wasn’t there. Not even two days old and she’s doing better than I was at ten
years. I
know
she was training up for it, but… Seriously, I’m still
jealous. We should test her some more later. She didn’t eat either.”

Those
words got Bey to come out, and instead of bowing, he smiled at Eve and walked
over to her, his hands spread for a hug. That was different enough that she was
taken a bit off guard. Still, she did it, his tiny form solid under her
embrace.

His ears
were big and goofy, and he was as bald as an egg, but his warm brown eyes
crinkled at the corners, happily.

“Miss
Benson. So kind of you to join us, after your trauma of the last evening. I
hear that you plan to be useful already? What an amazing thing. Most of the
newest try to take over in the first days, and have to be schooled closely for
a time, to prevent them from running amok.” There was no doubt in his words
though,
or
accusation.

She
smiled, the tiny Vampire, who was nearly four inches shorter than she was,
being just over five-one to her five-five, still in her arms. He did move back
then, but slowly, as she let go.

“Oh,
I
have some plans, too. Nothing all that big, and it could take a while to get
into place, but I was thinking that I’d get a handle on the packaged animal
blood market? Keeley taught me how to make the anti-coagulant she uses, and I
worked out how to give it all a faint vanilla flavor. I might have to rework
that now. Everything is a lot more powerful than I thought it would be that
way.” No one spoke, but Edom nodded at her, since he’d heard the idea before.
“The thing is, I think we can sell the animal product for about ten dollars a
meal, compared to what the Human goes for. It will take some large ranching
concerns, but that way people that aren’t quite as flush, but want to live in a
city or large town don’t have to keep livestock in their basements.”

It made
sense to her, at least.

No one
spoke for a bit, but Barb finally did, letting Eve know what was on their
minds.

“What
did you have to trade with her, for that information?”

Eve
blinked, then smiled, since it had been a true reflex.

“Six
months wages. I’ve worked with her and Rebekah for years on the other blood
packaging, and helped set up a whole bunch of the processing centers. She
didn’t even try to bargain very hard, since she figures that it will help the
Vampires. Not everyone has a lot of money, right? So it isn’t even real
competition for the other set up. It’s like they sell fine wine, and I’m
suggesting bottled Kool-Aid. Still, I have to do something, when I’m not
cleaning the floor around here or the club, right?”

It was a
lot different than she’d expected, but Lenore came around the counter, and
instead of backhanding her into a wall for her insolence, patted her arm,
gently.

“What a
marvelous plan, Eve. You’ll be wanting partners for that, won’t you? I don’t
mean to doubt your skills, but you are rather new and untried as of yet.
Perhaps some older Vampires could be arranged to help you in this?” There was
real concern in her eyes, for some reason. Probably because everyone kind of
expected her to lose control at any moment. So far she couldn’t really tell
them that it was an incorrect thought.

Most
Vampires really had a lot of problems that way, and she could get that. She was
flaring between different emotions so fast that she really might be caught off
guard, eventually. So, it was time to be reasonable and think ahead. She didn’t
need to make a lot of money, or even collect power directly from this
particular business. She just needed a good start down that road, for later.

Eve
nodded.

“That
sounds about right. Even if other people get the credit, it should be done. Do
you have anyone in mind?”

There
was a considering look then, and Lenore Hawthorn didn’t even suggest herself,
or Edom, for the task. Instead she looked at Bey, directly.

“I was
thinking that Marissa might be interested in such a venture?”

The
little man frowned, but didn’t shake his head no.

“Perhaps.
We can see about that later? Now, not to be that one that pushes in at the
wrong time, but we should start tracking down those that would kidnap our
youngsters, and try to corrupt them without warning. It is forbidden to kill
Humans to feed, and while one on her first day might be given leeway, if a
mistake of that nature were made, those that set it in motion would receive
less that way.” He turned to Eve and looked happy then. “The young Human woman
you rescued is doing well, however. She has only minor wounds, and her family
has already taken her back to their home. We have a force watching her, day and
night, to prevent further annoyance.”

Eve
could see that. It was just possible that whoever took her might come back. It
didn’t seem likely, but what she knew about the situation could fill a very
tiny thimble.

“Thanks.
So, I’m new to this kind of thing, where do we start?”

That, it
seemed, wasn’t going to be too hard for her. Bey just asked her to tell him the
story of what happened to her, which she did as carefully as she could. At the
end of it Lenore walked over with a small ceramic mug of blood, set to room
temperature. It was slid, carefully in front of her. It smelled
heavenly
.

Everything
in her entire being really wanted her to take it. To drink in the energy within
it, and form the new links to even more people. The thing there was that she
could only hold eight, or so at a time. She had seven, so it would be a waste
of all but one of them.