2 Sean Hayden (23 page)

"You ready, kid?"

"Ready whenever you are, big guy."

Thompson nodded and opened the double doors, one in each hand. I stepped through, keeping the governor behind me. I gave one quick glance around at everyone seated at round tables. Nobody flashed a weapon or looked like they were about to attack, so I stepped to the right, letting Greer step into view. Everyone stood at once and I gave a false start, but they brought their hands together in a half-hearted attempt at applause. I fought hard not to raise my hand and say, "Thank you." I don't think anyone would have appreciated my humor, especially the governor.

Amid the applause, the governor smiled, waved, and made his way to the large podium that had been set up for him to make his speech. I half expected him to pull out prewritten cue cards, but it looked like he'd either taken the time to memorize it, or he was just shooting from the hip.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for coming. We've entered into a new era in the world, where humans trust vampires enough to elect them as officials! I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am to be the culmination of your trust." He paused after his introduction to a round of applause that seemed a little more genuine than from before.

He could play a crowd, I'd give him that.

"Too long has the vampire been painted as some sort of monster, incapable of common interaction with humans. Too long have humans feared what was once unknown. Many vampires in the world today will still disagree with me for saying this, but the time for truth is now. To further vampire and human relations, not only will I meet with human scholars, I will answer any and all questions they might have about the vampire race. We differ in ability as much as we differ in personality and it's time to set the record straight."

I quickly glanced around the room and saw hope in the expressions of every human there. Hope of overcoming prejudices that ran bone deep, for a better tomorrow, and for everything every politician had ever promised anyone before. I didn't buy it for a minute. I looked around at the vampires seated at scattered tables amid human diners, and saw something else. Fury filled their eyes like fire in a lantern. They wanted blood, but not for consumption. They wanted Greer's blood.

"The great state of California," Greer continued, "has been riddled with problems since the day it joined the union. I know because I was there." A few people actually realized Greer made a joke and gave the appropriate chuckle. "The greatest quality this state has to offer is to know how to overcome these problems. One problem we've never had is acceptance of new ideas. Californians embrace change and new ideas like people embrace lost friends newly found. We're eager for them! Well, change is coming, and I can only hope that the great citizens of California are ready for them!"

On cue, the lights dimmed and a faint waltz started softly in the background, but as the Greer made his way from the podium, the volume increased. Greer flashed me a look from across the room and walked toward me. I tensed, expecting him to tell me he'd seen something dangerous, but relaxed when he got closer and I could see his smile. I tensed again for different reasons. I pictured the snake smirking at the mouse before he ate it. A shudder ran down the length of my spine when I realized I was the mouse.

"Agent Ashlyn, would you do me the honor of a dance?"

"Governor Greer, I can hardly keep you safe trapped in your embrace," I retorted. I felt quite proud of myself for my quick thinking.

"Don't be silly, we are completely surrounded by an army of your fellow agents. We couldn't be safer dancing in a vault at Fort Knox. Please, don't embarrass me in front of my guests." He held out his hand and I couldn't say no. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I reached out and placed my hand in his and he led me through the shocked guests to the hardwood floor.

Without releasing my hand, he held it up and out and encircled my waist with his free hand, pulling me closer than I imagined or desired. Without so much as asking me if I wanted to lead, he took a step to the left and pushed me. Greer had taken lessons. He twirled and spun us around the floor like professional ballroom dancers. Hell, for all I knew, he could have invented the waltz or whatever it was we were doing. Gods know he had been around long enough.

I avoided talking to him and looking at him, concentrating at the guests staring at the homely girl dancing with the elegant governor. Nobody joined us on the floor, and my silent pleas for anybody to start dancing so we wouldn't be the only people out here went unanswered. I finally saw Thompson, still at his post by the door. I held my breath, waiting for a look of disproval and he didn't disappoint me. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head before rolling his eyes and focusing his attention elsewhere.

"Are you not having fun, agent?"

"I'm just keeping an eye on things, sir."

"I promise you nothing will happen during our dance. You can relax."

"I'll try. I've never danced at a ball, sir. I hope I'm not embarrassing you."

He gave a deep throaty chuckle and spun me from his chest, out to arms length, and pulled me back. "You can relax, you're a natural. Being a vampire gives us a distinct edge over the humans. I've seen people who have been dancing for years who weren't half as good as you are."

I heated a little at the compliment. I didn't like blushing, at all. I pushed down the embarrassment and focused instead on the crowd around us. About halfway through the dance, adventurous couples began making their way out to the floor to join us in dancing hell. "Could they play something a little more modern," I muttered under my breath, forgetting the company I kept. The governor had no trouble hearing my muttered wish.

"Be careful, young one. This piece used to be modern when I was young. I remember the first time I, or anyone else, heard it."

I laughed, thinking he was joking, but he stiffened and I realized my error. "I thought you were joking, sir."

"No, young one, I wasn't. As I said, I have been around a very long time. I have seen famine, flood, and plague. I have seen miraculous inventions. I have seen the humans of this world create wonders that give them ways to kill vampires and other immortals, which they should not have. Ashlyn, the world is changing again, and I fear it won't be in a good way. It is because of those changes, I chose to lead the people of this state. I like things the way they are right now. I intend to make California a Mecca of stability."

"Good luck with that, Governor. Change is inevitable."

"Not if you fight hard enough, agent. Not if you fight hard enough."

Chapter 23

"Governor, your guest is here," one of Greer's aids said to him as we walked off the hardwood floor after our dance.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Michael. Tell her I'll be right there. If you would excuse me, Ashlyn, one of my people is here from San Francisco. I'll be back in a few moments."

"I'm going to have to insist on coming with you, sir."

"I'm going to have to insist you stay here and keep my guests safe, Ashlyn. I'll be fine. I'm going right across the hall to see one of the people I have trusted for the better part of two centuries. In my absence, she has been ruling San Francisco's vampires. She is here to make her report and join the ball. If you would like, call your friend Victoria and have her join us. No reason for you to be alone at such a festive occasion."

Before I could argue, Greer turned and led his aid through the ballroom and disappeared through the doors behind Thompson who gave me a classic "what the fuck" look. I shrugged and went back to keeping an eye out on the rest of the room. I wandered around staring at everything and everyone. I thought about following Greer's advice and calling Vic. Then I thought about what Thompson would do to me if I did. I had a purpose for being here, and it didn't include dancing with my hot girlfriend.

I almost stumbled when the girlfriend thought crossed my mind. I did stop walking and stared at nothing in particular as I rolled the word around on my tongue. It didn't hurt, it didn't taste bad, and it didn't make me feel guilty, like I thought it would. Either she was growing on me, or I was getting a little more mature about the whole thing. Either way, things were looking up. It was nice of Greer to offer up an invitation for her to come. It was really nice to…

I'd never had an epiphany in my short life, and this one caught me off guard. Immediately, my mind started piecing things together that had no correlation until that moment. Greer just offered an invitation by name to someone he'd never met, nor had I talked about her to him. Greer was the master of San Francisco. Victoria had been sent as a gift to the master of Sacramento from her abusive previous master. Vic was from San Francisco. Greer had every master of every major city in California gathered neatly in one spot. Greer had just left. Oh, fuck.

When I had been attending the FBI academy in Quantico, one of my instructors read me the riot act for showing off my vampire skills in front of humans. Humans as it turned out, feel comfortable around supernatural beings, but only when they aren't doing supernatural things. When that happened, they were often reminded of being surrounded by dangerous predators. It was all very true. They just didn't like being reminded of their vulnerability. Right at that moment, I didn't give a shit. I took off at full speed and burst through the door Greer had exited through, ran across the hall where he was supposed to be meeting with his vampire lieutenant, and came to a screeching halt when the room sat empty. "Son of a bitch," I swore as I heard Thompson run into the room behind me.

"What the hell's the matter?"

"It's Greer."

"What's Greer?"

"He's behind it all, and now he's gone. Radio everyone and have them close in. We need to get everyone out of here now. Thompson, it's about to get real ugly in here."

I expected him to argue and ask for a further explanation, but he nodded and put his finger to his right ear and started talking to every FBI agent stationed around the mansion. "Everyone, converge on ballroom location double-time. Move it people."

I nodded and turned to head back to the ballroom. He fell in step behind me. The first of the agents rushed in through the doors at the far end of the hall and made their way to us. I didn't wait for them, I just ran back into the ballroom. I knew I needed to get everyone out of the massive room, I just didn't know how to do it without causing a panic and getting everyone hurt or dead. Waving my gun in the air and screaming at the top of my lungs probably wouldn't be the best idea either. I looked around the room and saw the massive podium Greer had used to deliver his double-edged speech and inspiration struck.

Without drawing untoward attention to myself, I wound through the multitude of guests and around the cherry wood pulpit. Greer stood taller than I did, so I lowered the microphone to a more acceptable level. I could see over the edge, but just barely. To get everyone's attention I poked the microphone with my talon three times. The audible
thump, thump, thump
did the trick. The music stopped playing, the couples stopped dancing, and the people sitting at their round dinner tables stopped talking. Everyone turned and faced the podium expecting more words of wisdom from the governor. A few turned back to their conversations after seeing me, ignoring the words of wisdom I was about to impart.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for the governor, but a situation has come to light that needs his attention. He regrets the unfortunate, unforeseeable incident, but I'm afraid the Governor's Ball has been officially cancelled. If you would make your way to the exits, it would be greatly appreciated. I and the governor apologize for the inconvenience." My voice didn't crack once during my announcement and I smiled. Public speaking wasn't one of my greatest talents. I ate monsters with the best of them, but put me in front of a crowd and I usually sounded like an idiot.

The human guests started gathering their personal things looking quite indignant. The vampires started looking around nervously. I think they might have understood the truth behind my little speech, the shit was about to hit the fan. Esperanza Garcia Ramirez waved her thanks and took off toward the open door at full vampiric speed. A flash of light and a resounding boom threw her back into the middle of the room. I spun and expected to see some sort of incendiary explosive had been used, but the door and the entire surrounding area remained untouched. A human couple had witnessed the entire thing and became frightened instead of indignant. The woman started screaming and her husband took off running, dragging her behind him toward the other exit. Again a flash of light and a loud boom threw them back into the room just like Esperanza. There was one major difference though. Vampires are damn near indestructible, but humans aren't. The couple who had hit the trap lay there in a bloody, broken heap. Judging from the angle of his neck, he was quite dead. She wasn't moving, but the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest told me she hadn't bought the farm.

"Everybody, stay where you are," I shouted. One of the other vampires had stopped at the door and held out a tentative hand to the exit. Before I could say anything, he touched the figurative threshold of the door. Because he hadn't hit the door at a full run, he didn't get thrown back into the room, but whatever kept everyone from crossing the exit knocked him on his butt with smaller pyrotechnics and a sizzle. We were trapped.

I walked over to the vampire and offered him a hand. He accepted it and I hauled him to his feet. "Are you okay?" He nodded, looking a little embarrassed. I pursed my lips and turned to the door. I didn't want to touch it, but I couldn't help myself. I raised my hand and put my palm out toward the door, slowly inching it forward to feel what was there. When my arm was halfway out the door I raised my eyebrow and strode forward. Nothing happened. I stood in the middle of the hallway and turned. The vampire who had been knocked on his ass, stood there looking at me curiously as Thompson came to a stop next to him.