* * *
"We've got problems," Edward informed Sergio as he watched the evening news. The anchor was describing a young man from a local community who had posted an unusual account on MySpace.
"We're trying to contact the young man for an interview," the anchor was smiling, refusing to take the whole thing seriously. "The teen claims he watched a female vampire bite someone else before chasing after him. He says the vampire didn't kill the man, she just took blood from him." The anchor and his female counterpart were both laughing. "That's all for tonight, and fangs for watching," the anchor said.
"Fuck!" Sergio shouted. "Where the hell is Harry? Isn't he supposed to be out looking for her?"
"We have no idea when that teen saw her, if he did see her," Edward was calming himself. "You know those young ones that do what they call Goth? Who knows what kinds of tales they are capable of spinning? I suggest you get Harry to track down this young man. A little compulsion will tell us right away if he's being honest or not."
"Fine," Sergio snapped angrily, pulling out his cell phone.
Harry had gotten information from the Del City Police Department after they located the Cadillac. It had been abandoned in a cemetery near the center of town and he'd employed a little compulsion of his own to examine the vehicle while it was impounded. It definitely had the smell of a vampire about it. He was just about to call Edward with the news when his cell rang.
"Harry, here," he said after checking the ID.
"Harry, we have another assignment for you; a human that may have spotted our quarry," Edward informed him.
Harry blinked at Edward's news. "I was just about to call you, the police found the Cadillac abandoned in Del City and it has the scent all over it."
"Where was the car?" Edward asked.
"In a cemetery," Harry replied.
"Meet us at the house," Edward instructed. "And bring your laptop. We have information on someone who may have seen her."
Harry was in his car within seconds and on his way to the house that Edward and Sergio had been forced to rent. There were three safe houses in the area but those generally required checking in with the Council. Edward and Sergio wanted to avoid that at all costs.
* * *
"Sir?" Charles stood in the doorway to Wlodek's study, a sheaf of papers in his hands.
"What do you have, Charles?" Wlodek, Head of the Vampire Council, looked up at his personal assistant. For nearly three hundred years Charles had been his private secretary, but times and labels had changed. Charles didn't seem to care one way or the other what he was called. Anywhere else, Charles would be considered the biggest snoop anyone had ever seen. He was also discretion itself and often provided Wlodek with information and insights that he might not have gotten otherwise.
"These papers are for you to sign," Charles handed the pages he was holding over to Wlodek after walking up to Wlodek's huge, antique desk. "And there's something else you should know."
"And that is?" Wlodek quirked an eyebrow at his assistant.
"You know about MySpace?"
"Your space?"
"No, Honored One, MySpace. It's a networking website where anyone can post just about anything. I keep a lookout on all those websites and blogs, sir, in case anything pops up that we should be interested in."
"I'm assuming you found something?" Wlodek's eyes were nearly black, they were so dark, and only his hair was darker in color. He was more than twenty-six hundred years old and his origins were Greek. His name, however, had been something other than Wlodek in the beginning. After Poland became a country, he'd settled there for a time and changed his name. He'd been known as Wlodek ever since.
"Yes, Honored One," Charles continued. "A human teen claims to have seen a female vampire drinking from a man." Charles was holding back a smile, but amusement danced in his hazel eyes anyway. Wlodek wasn't particularly fond of merriment in such close quarters. He cleared his throat to bring Charles back to the issue at hand. "Did he say if the man still lives?" Wlodek asked, his face betraying no emotion.
"That's what he said. Of course, we have no way of knowing whether this might be true or not." Charles nearly bounced on his toes. A female vampire. What news!
"If he saw a female, then it likely isn't true," Wlodek sighed. "We have so few females." Charles nearly deflated at Wlodek's statement.
"I wonder why they're so hard to turn?" Charles mused aloud. He knew very well that a female hadn't been successfully turned in more than seven hundred years. Wlodek would know that better than anyone, so Charles kept the information to himself, schooling his features. He'd allowed himself a bit of excitement. Now it was time to deal with reality.
"A question I have often asked myself," Wlodek answered. "Find out as much as you can about this rumor, young Charles, and keep me posted. If I feel this merits investigation, I will send an Enforcer."
"Of course, Honored One." A bit of Charles' former excitement returned and he smiled to himself as he left Wlodek's office. Wlodek leafed through the papers Charles left with him before picking up a pen and signing his name.
* * *
I had to be swift and cautious. The mansion that bordered Winkler's was having a party and some of the guests had gone outside to smoke pot at the back fence. Scaling the eight-foot wall in two blinks, I silently dropped down on the other side, three feet away from the two twenty-somethings who were lighting a joint. I ordered one to look away while I helped myself at the throat of the other. He enjoyed it more than I did, sighing lustily when I licked his throat and pulled away. I was over the wall again in another blink as the other young man turned to his companion and offered him a hit.
"We're going out," Davis announced, calling me in on his walkie-talkie a few minutes later. He'd given me a little time earlier to go and retrieve my suitcase from the motel room and check out.
"Where are we going?" I asked. "I warn you, I only brought jeans with me."
"That'll be good enough for tonight, Winkler just wants a beer," Davis said. "I'm driving, you sit in the back." A Mercedes waited on the circular drive when Winkler walked out of the house dressed in a designer shirt and jeans, wearing loafers that probably cost more than I used to earn in a month. He moved with a casual grace, sliding his wide-shouldered frame into the front passenger seat. Winkler wasn't hard to look at, so I reminded myself that it wasn't polite to stare. Dutifully I loaded into the back of the car. I'd never ridden in a Mercedes before and wanted to explore the vehicle a little. I figured that would be rude so I folded my hands politely in my lap and listened while Winkler told Davis where he wanted to go.