Flesh And Blood: House of Comarre: Book Two (House of Comarre 2) (19 page)

‘Why do you look like you’re going to kill someone?’

Doc shrugged. ‘Don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘I’m talking about whatever happened between you and Dominic just now.’

‘With all due respect, what went down isn’t your business. Understand?’ Doc threw back the last of his drink and stood. ‘I’ll be in the car.’

If not for Chrysabelle and Dominic returning at the same time, Mal would have gone after him.

She smiled weakly. ‘We should probably go as well. Dominic needs to get to the club and we should—’

‘We should go check on Nyssa like Mortalis asked us to,’ he finished for her. It was a complete lie, but she clearly wanted to go. Had she not had any success with Dominic either?

‘Yes, we should.’ She nodded, eyes brightening at the out he’d given her.

Dominic paused beside her. ‘Perhaps after that, you could investigate this street Maddoc told me about near the club. Supposedly there are piles of fringe ashes there.’ He sighed. ‘I can’t have someone killing off my customers, especially near the club. It’s bad for business.’ He set his empty wineglass down. ‘This city doesn’t need a fringe uprising either.’

‘We can take a look.’ Mal had planned to check that out anyway after dropping Chrysabelle off. If someone was killing vampires, it seemed like something he should know about.

Chrysabelle frowned. ‘Won’t you need your car back if you’re going to the club?’

Dominic laughed. ‘I have more than one,
cara mia
. Now off you go. You have much to discuss with your patron, no?’ He gave Mal a very serious look. ‘You will do as she says. Understood? I will not have the child of my beloved harmed in any way. This thing she proposes to do, it is not easy. The outcome could change everything. And not just for you.’

Mal shot back an equally serious look. ‘If you think I would ever let harm come to her, you don’t know me very well.’ And suddenly Mal wondered how well he knew himself. Was he willing to put Chrysabelle in harm’s way in order to remove his curse? She’d been visibly shaken when she’d entered the room. He caught her gaze. ‘What exactly does this visit to the Aurelian entail?’

She cleared her throat before answering, lifting her chin slightly. ‘Blood sacrifice.’

‘Whose?’

Her face steeled with determination like she was preparing for a fight. ‘Mine.’

Tatiana entered Seven as easily as if she actually worked there, her guise of the bartender Mia firmly in place. So far, all the information she and Nasir had tortured out of the shifter was accurate. The employee entrance was exactly where Mia had said it would be. Tatiana punched in the code Mia had supplied: 55-21-16. The door clicked open. The little beastie had told the truth. Tatiana smiled. Amazing how powerful the sight and stench of a single Nothos could be.

She paused inside the door and smoothed her hands over the new body she wore. The cheap purple velvet bustier and black pleather pants were an affront to the beauty of her usual haute couture, but Tatiana willingly made the sacrifice. If the night
went well, she would find the comarré whore, capture her, and torture her until the twit gave up the ring. Then, so long as her ex-husband, Mal, kept his distance, Tatiana would never have to return to New Florida again.

Seven’s back corridors were also as Mia had mapped out. Tatiana tried to walk with the nonchalant confidence of someone familiar with her surroundings. She shivered at the thought of having to hold down such a menial job, of relying on such work to live. In her human life, she’d made her way as a thief, a fortune-teller, and sometimes a whore. That, in combination with being Roma, had led her to the gallows. Then to Malkolm and the role of wife and mother, and ultimately to the transformation into the powerful creature she was now and the life she felt she’d always been meant for.

A male and female pair of fae walked toward her. With their dark eyes, dark hair, and scantily clad bodies covered in henna patterns, they looked like twins. Mia hadn’t mentioned anyone fitting their description, so she gave them a brief nod as they approached.

The pair slowed and the female nodded back, eyes bright. ‘Hello, Mia. How are you this evening?’

Bloody hell. ‘Just great, thanks. Gotta run. Don’t want to be late.’

The male laughed as the pair came to a halt, effectively blocking her path. ‘No, we don’t want that, do we?’

‘No.’ She was starting to wonder if she should kill them and move on, but hiding the bodies would take time and could arouse suspicion.

The female leaned in, nostrils flaring. Her long-lashed lids fluttered as she inhaled. ‘You smell delicious this evening. Is that a new perfume?’

‘Yes,’ Tatiana answered. ‘I just got it. Now if you’ll excuse me, can’t keep the boss waiting.’

The female wrapped her arm around the male’s waist. ‘So you’ve heard?’

‘Heard?’ She scanned her brain for a forgotten bit of info. What was she supposed to know?

The female lifted her face from where she nuzzled the male’s neck. ‘Dominic’s back and he’s questioning all the employees.’

Dominic. Dominic. What did she know about him? He was the dead comarré’s lover. Anathema. House of St. Germain, same as Nasir. He might know where the daughter of his former screw lived. Time to find out a little more. ‘What’s he questioning them – us – about?’

The fae pair shrugged simultaneously, but only the male spoke. ‘We can’t say, as our turn hasn’t come yet, but it might have something to do with that fight the other night.’ They laughed conspiratorially. Clearly there was something she wasn’t getting.

‘Okay, well, gotta run. See you later.’ She squeezed past, brushing against the male. He inhaled sharply, as if she’d hurt him. She rolled her eyes. Stupid, sensitive fae. She didn’t have time to go back and apologize, regardless of what Mia would have done.

She was around the corner when he called out for her to wait. Ignoring him, she found the employee access for Vanity and slipped inside.

She took her place behind the bar, a monstrosity of crystal bits and glass tiles that was actually shaped like a peacock. She gave a little half smile to the bartender she must be relieving. He was fringe, tall and not unattractive. Mia had insisted she had no amorous relations with any of the other employees, but based on
how this one looked at her, Tatiana had to wonder. She wiggled her fingers at him. It seemed the kind of puerile gesture Mia might make. ‘Hi, there.’

‘You’re late.’ He winked. ‘But in that outfit, I forgive you.’ He tossed a small white towel onto the shelf beneath the bar and came toward her. ‘Everyone’s taken care of at the moment.’ He pointed toward the sink in front of her. ‘There are a few glasses I haven’t washed yet.’

‘I’ll do those. Don’t worry about it.’ She picked one up and looked for a rag.

His eyes widened. ‘Aren’t you going to spray gloves on?’

‘No, I’m fine.’ Why should she bother with gloves? This wasn’t her skin anyway.

He tipped his head and lifted a shoulder. ‘Alrighty, then. Well, I doubt you’ll be too busy. It’s been slow. I think people are a little freaked out about all the missing fringe.’

More nonsense she didn’t understand or care to. She just wanted him gone so she could tend to her own business. She scooped up a rag and waved it at him. ‘Well, you have a good night. Better get home before the sun comes up.’

He gave her a mock salute, gathered his things, and left through the door she’d come in. As soon as he was gone, she tossed the rag down and surveyed the rest of the lounge. What she saw stunned her. Some kind of cheap imitation comarré. They didn’t glow. She inhaled. Didn’t have that same sweet blood scent. No, these were clearly kine masquerading as comarré. Was this some sort of parlor trick?

All around the room, idiot fringe indulged themselves with the counterfeits. Didn’t they know any better? Or was this their way of mimicking their noble betters? Anger at such posturing churned in her gut. What fools.

The sound of glass shattering tore her attention away from the scene. She glanced down. Her hand was clenched and the tumbler she’d been holding in her right hand lay in pieces on the metal countertop. Bright platinum peeked out where the glass shards had gouged the false flesh she wore. She adjusted her illusion to mend the wounds and swept the pieces aside.

‘What kind of beer do you have on tap?’

She tucked her hand behind her and looked up into the face of a remnant. Disgusting mud-blooded hybrid. She’d had enough of this part of the charade. Waiting on these half-wits was getting her nowhere. Time to find someone who could lead her to the girl. ‘Taps are dry. Go home and drink there, freak.’

Finding some small joy in the remnant’s shocked expression, she flipped up the service bar and headed out into the rest of the club. If tonight proved fruitless and she had to return to this dump, she was going to reward herself by killing a few of the patrons.

She deserved that much, didn’t she?

C
hrysabelle extended her stride to keep up with Mal’s long legs. They’d dropped Doc off at the freighter, then parked in Dominic’s private garage near the club. She’d pushed for driving to the streets Doc had told them about, but Mal had insisted that driving might scare off anyone lingering nearby. Which was exactly why she wanted to do it. Any opportunity to get Creek out of their path. Well, Mal’s path. She wouldn’t mind another chance to talk to Creek, find out exactly what he was up to without Mal freaking the guy out. Creek might be human, but his speed and weapons said there was more to him than that. What human killed vampires with so little fear?

Which led her to wonder what was going on with the dead fringe if Creek
wasn’t
killing them. The deaths could be the result of a turf war. The fringe were getting more territorial lately and definitely bolder. The way she’d been tracked was proof of that.

Maybe she’d run into her friends Frankie and Ruby. She wondered what they’d think of Mal. Probably that she never traveled without dangerous male company. She laughed softly.

‘What’s so funny?’ Mal asked.

‘Hmm? Oh, nothing.’ No point in telling him. He’d just get all bothered that she’d been in danger, which might have been touching once, but now that she knew it was just his way of guarding his own freedom, it lost some of its appeal. Also, telling that story might lead to Creek and she wasn’t up for that conversation with Mal.

‘Laughing at nothing is one of the first signs of mental illness, I believe.’

She stared at him. ‘Did you just make a joke?’

He clutched at his dead heart. ‘I can be funny.’

‘I … I’m sure you can.’ Not that she’d ever seen that side of him before. What a change from the man who’d been on the verge of losing control just a few hours ago at her home. Had he forgiven her for sending blood to Dominic? Or was it the possibility of his curse being removed that had him in such a good mood? Whatever the reason, she liked him this way. He seemed almost … human. Like Creek. Not that she could ever mistake Mal for anything but vampire.

Dawn was less than two hours away and the streets were deserted. She glanced at Mal. Most vamps would be thinking about shelter as the first tendrils of daysleep crept into their systems. He showed no signs of slowing.

‘Dawn’s coming,’ she said, still watching him and knowing that he was probably watching her as well with his exceptional peripheral vision.

Scanning the streets ahead of them, he answered, ‘We’ve got time.’

She knew what he meant. Not just time to check out what Doc had reported, but time for her to explain everything she’d learned talking to Dominic, which she hadn’t wanted to do with Doc in
the car. And she wanted to let it settle into her own head before she had to explain it to Mal. She still hadn’t processed the news that she had a brother.

‘I will explain soon. I promise.’ The ritual for getting to the Aurelian was not going to be easy. It could kill her. Or push Mal over the edge. What were the chances she could keep him away while she carried it out? The streets of downtown Paradise City just didn’t seem the right place to explain how dangerous a thing she was about to do. Or get into another argument.

‘I don’t like
soon
. I like now.’

‘You know what I’d like? To kill Tatiana.’ That should change the subject nicely.