“So sorry,” he said, widening his eyes to match his new, overly dramatic tone. “I don’t mind being pawed at a little, but there’s a line, you know?”
I tightened my lips to keep from smiling at his flawless American accent, not to mention his nasally, sulky manner. He was owning his blond bombshell disguise with this act.
The vampire cocked her head. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-two,” Vlad replied in that haughty, sorry-not-sorry way that made me wonder if he were channeling Gretchen for motivation.
“In combined years?” the vampire all but purred.
Vlad huffed in a manner that would’ve done Gretchen proud. “Noooo, I’m twenty-five in combined years, but that’s, like, not the same, is it?”
If the situation weren’t so serious, I could’ve grabbed some popcorn and watched this act all night. Instead, I was trying not to show how I was tensing as I discreetly sized the woman up. Old vampire. Sounded like she was a manager or supervisor here. Creamy, golden-brown skin. It was possible that she was the Egyptian vampire sorceress that Mencheres had known before. Anyone could dye their hair blond, after all.
Then again, she could just be a vampire who happened to work here and who had nothing to do with Mircea or the necromancers. Either way, we had to find out.
“Whose line do you belong to?” the vampire asked, narrowing those deeply colored eyes at us.
“Why, are we in trouble?” Vlad asked, actually managing to make his voice quaver this time.
“We’d rather not say,” I interjected, glancing around as if worried about being overheard. “We don’t want our sire to know. See, we met some guys earlier who told us about this place, and they said there were special ways a vampire could party here.”
“Did they?” the woman drew out.
Vlad bobbed a nod. He was killing it. “Yeah, like, in magical ways?” he said, saying the last two words in an isn’t-it-obvious manner.
Now her burnished umber gaze really narrowed. “Come with me,” she said crisply.
We followed after her brisk strides, Vlad and I exchanging a glance that required no words. I drew in my electricity until no hints of it emitted from me. Now, in addition to being undetectable, it would also be more concentrated if I had to unleash it to strike. Either we were about to be shown a magical version of club drugs, or we were about to be interrogated so that management could find out who had been loose-lipped enough to tell a couple of strange vampires about this place.
Either way, we would find out who the higher-ups were, and if our suspicions were correct, at least one of them should turn out to be part of the necromancer group we were here for.
I expected to be ushered to a back room on the same floor. Instead, we were brought upstairs into a room where large glass panels overlooked the main dance floor. Must be a two-way mirror. From our old vantage point on the dance floor, this had been a black glass wall that dimly reflected all the glowing lights the people had absorbed, increasing the ethereal effect of the club’s ambiance.
The room was empty, which was a disappointment, but Vlad made sure to brush his hand against the vampire when she curtly directed us to sit in one of the several chairs that faced the glass. We sat, and I pretended to twist my fingers in nervousness when in actuality, I was loosening my gloves.
“This place is only meant for humans, not vampires,” she began without preamble. “If either of you want to see the sun rise again, you will tell me who told you about it.”
“Why? We’ve done nothing wrong,” Vlad said at once.
He’d touched her, so he could burn her now if he wanted to. He must be stalling so the female vampire would call for reinforcements to help with her interrogation.
“Yeah, this is bullshit,” I chimed in to move that along. “You’re a vampire and you’re here, so why can’t we be?”
She began to hum something as she rubbed her fingers together. At first, I thought she was mocking my complaint by doing a mime of the world’s smallest violin. Then, as light began to form between her fingers, I realized she wasn’t mocking me. She was forming a spell.
“I can make you talk,” she all but purred at us. “But you will not like what happens if I do.”
“There you are!” a feminine squeal suddenly said as the door opened and Mencheres bustled inside the room.
The vampire swung around so fast, her intricately braided hair lifted off her back to snap around like a thick whip. “Get out unless you want to be in as much trouble as they are!”
I was surprised when Mencheres stopped in mid-step, his whole body freezing as he stared at the vampire. Despite wearing the face and body of a young girl, his ancient nature seemed to pour through the gaze he lasered onto the vampire’s back.
“What an unusual tattoo you have. If I’m not mistaken, that is an Egyptian cartouche, yes?”
I stiffened. Mencheres wouldn’t be mistaken. Not when one of the three most famous pyramids in Egypt was his. This was a message meant for us. Vlad met my gaze, and that single look said that the fight was about to begin. I pulled off my gloves.
The female vampire flipped her hair into place again, covering the series of shapes and images within two parallel lines that were inked onto the right side of her back.
“You’re another vampire. Are you here with them?”
She suddenly sounded unnerved instead of angry. I didn’t know the significance of the tattoo, but she obviously hadn’t expected to reveal it, let alone have anyone comment on it.