Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) (3 page)

Darla
giggled, even if she didn’t mean it, not really.

“A loss
to the world. Today’s youth can’t really do anything without a computer, can
they? All things change, however. Now, I’m busy for Thanksgiving, but I do want
to make sure you’re coming to Christmas? I think we’re supposed to go to my
father’s? We were speaking of it the other day. I believe he’s most interested
in meeting with you?” There was no weight to the words.

That
probably meant it was a trap, didn’t it? Fishy, without a doubt. No one
suggested going off to a Greater Demons for fun, did they? Not even others of
that kind would be that silly.

“Good?
We can get together and talk about that in person, before that happens? Right
now… Actually, I need to get with Finias, actually. Zack is taking Ann, so it
seemed like a fair division of labor.” Not really, since the man was Zack’s
family, but Eve got the idea. She hadn’t called her own dad or stepmother since
her change, had she?

Sometimes
being family wasn’t enough.

She liked
her dad well enough, now, but he hadn’t been there for her as a child, when she
needed the help, had he? Worse, he was the Police Chief of her home town, and
had managed to ignore her well enough that he’d never known about all the
sexual abuse she’d undergone. No, he’d been a drunk back then, but had managed
to move up in the force with no real trouble even given that. There had just
been no room for her in his life. He’d been all about nailing chicks, and
probably having kids that he didn’t even know about. That he’d been married to
her mother once was the only reason that Eve knew he existed. She had his last
name. Not that he’d hidden from her really, but she hadn’t known him when she
was little. Finias was Zack’s grandfather, but the same kind of thing applied
really. A lot of evil shit had happened to him, and The Mind Taker hadn’t
stepped in to help him, until it was too late.

Darla
took a breath, a thing that Eve wouldn’t have heard as a Human. Super powers
were so cool.

“I’ll
let you get to that, then. Remember, don’t accept any deals or bargains. He
isn’t
Keels
, but he’s also not a slouch that way. I’ll get with you in
the next day or two? Tell Zack I said that he was being a coward.”

She
would, but later, when they were alone.

“Love
you. Talk later.” Then Eve hung up first. There were too many people listening,
and all of them were too worked up for her to keep giving Darla a chance to
mess her up by saying the wrong thing.

Everyone
was staring at her already.

Probably
because she’d just told a Greater Demon she loved her.

She
grinned as she hung up the phone.

“It’s
just a turn of phrase. Freaking homophobes.”

For some
reason no one laughed.

She loaded
Zack down with treats in a cardboard carrier, since he needed to eat a lot, and
then made up some for Calley and her Shifter buddies. Then she looked up at
Lars, who was still walking around looking like he normally did. White and
chalky, with an impressive double row of fangs. His hair was a bit darker than
most Manthori’s, which probably meant something.

Like
he’d been black before his change, hundreds of years before?

Normally
he used compulsion to pass though, looking like a rather tall, white, gamer
geek. The role playing kind that met up with other people in the park to
pretend to be things they weren’t. Lot of different types of beings did that in
their area. Mainly because it let them pretend to be something other than they
were. Human. That was probably going to end now. It was kind of obvious, wasn’t
it?

Then
again, they could just say fuck it and go on, couldn’t they? One guy, even a
politician, showing that he was different, or even had powers, wasn’t going to
make everyone suddenly believe.

She
smiled a lot for the rest of the night, tried to call Finias, The Mind Stealer,
and left a message, since he was both busy, and savvy enough to use voice mail,
no matter how ancient he really was.

The
lights inside the shop stayed the same, too bright, for the entire time, and
neither Edom or Lenore came in. It wasn’t like they were asleep, so it probably
meant they either hadn’t heard about the news, or they realized that fretting
over it in the middle of the night wasn’t going to make any difference at all.
Bey and Zack left, and while she ended up doing a lot of cleaning around
people, most of the others eventually realized that they just didn’t know
enough, and that at present there was no vast plan to hunker down and get ready
to fight.

Finally,
they all left, a few more asking to be placed on the watch map, just in case.

Eve
marked things out carefully, but that was all. It honestly wasn’t going to come
up, she didn’t think. Even if things happened, it would take time and going
after the undead was a bigger risk than anyone would want to really take.

So, when
morning came, Linda the well dressed, curly haired, and tiny Vampire came back,
just about the time that Lenore came in. They both seemed pleased enough to see
each other, or were at least willing to fake being nice to keep the peace.
Either thing was going to work out well enough, as far as Eve was concerned.

Lenore
seemed baffled though.

“To what
do we owe the pleasure?” Her face held a polite expression, which got a
slightly baffled one in return from the other Vampire.

Eve
interrupted, having been there all night.

“Two
things. The first is that Linda wants to get in on the animal blood production.
We need to kick that up a bunch of notches now. Second… You heard about Richard
Swerlin?”

That got
a look that came with a glare. It was clear she hadn’t, but on the other hand,
she was also well aware enough of the politician’s antics to know it wasn’t
going to be a good thing. Luckily she was just now coming in through the door.
That way Eve wasn’t reporting way too late.

There
was a hint of red to her eyes, but no fangs yet, as she glared at her worker.

“No. I
haven’t heard anything. What did you do? Is he dead? It’s been coming for some
time, so I can hardly blame you, but he’s rather well connected in the Human
world, and may be missed.”

Eve
grinned and shook her head.

“Not
that I know of. Yet. He went on a major news channel and submitted to a bunch
of tests to prove his claim of being one of us. I haven’t seen it, but I guess
it’s all over the news now. We had people in all night about it.”

Before
she could react with more than a scowl, Linda nodded, almost primly. Her face
looked younger than her clothing choices, Eve noticed. Almost like a child
pretending to be an adult. The woman no matter how old she really was, could
have passed for a teenager, with the right outfit on.

“This is
true. I went home to see to my daughter, Bethany, and all the major news
outlets seem to be running clips. Constantly, like they did during the
terrorist attacks. This isn’t being taken as a joke either. The Bey, and Miss
Benson, put together a watch for the more youthful Vampires in our area, so
they may sleep and not be killed by the angry torch wielding villagers. There
probably isn’t a lot of danger, since most are careful these days, but I’ve
come to take the first rotation.” She waved to the map, which Eve passed over.
There were only six places marked out on it, so it wouldn’t take that long.

About an
hour if the woman was going to drive, which was fine, most likely. Running
would be trickier, if people were actually going to be looking for people with
powers now.

Lenore
glared at Eve, but didn’t snap at her openly. It was, she knew about not
getting a call about it all. Eve smiled at her however, not meaning it, knowing
that she might well be in for a beating if she wasn’t careful. The woman had
done it before, just to make a point.

Trust no
one.

She got
it, and really didn’t trust Lenore now. It was probably why
she’d
done
it instead of Edom doing it, Eve realized. So that she could still trust her
maker, without constantly worrying that he was going to betray her. The thing
was, eventually, he would. Everything in her life had told her that one.
Everyone turned on you, eventually. You just had to be willing to use them
carefully, and forgive the stupid things, so that you could go on.

She
waved a bit toward Lenore.

“You
told me to handle things, and only get in touch with you if something came up
that I couldn’t manage. I’ve been checking the situation out. Bey is going to
the Council, and Keeley is finding Richard, if she hasn’t already. Zack claims
that he isn’t behind this either, and so do the rest of the Greater Demons so
far. Not that they’d just fess up, if it really was their plan. We need to keep
that in mind. I haven’t heard back from The Mind Taker yet. That probably
doesn’t mean anything, however. He barely knows who I am. So, for now, what’s
being done is about what can be. There was no reason to ruin your night, in
particular. We don’t even really know what this is going to end up being, do
we? I keep expecting all the regular people to just drop it, and forget it was
even a thing.”

She
still expected to be slapped down for it, because people loved to be kept in
the loop, which she should have remembered, but she was either doing the job
there, or she wasn’t. Did she need her hand held for everything, or not? If so,
then Lenore was going to need to be there every day for a long time. If, on the
other hand, Eve could be trusted not to be a complete moron, then she might
even be allowed a day or two off.

It
wasn’t lost on the older Vampire, it seemed, since she softened after a moment,
her eyes returning to normal.

“We have
a list of places to watch? Very good. Thank you Linda. I know that civic duty
has not been your… Main focus for the last decades. It’s important for us to
all stand together however, in these troubled times.”

That got
a snort, which was fairly credible, and a gloved hand, which was a very fine
gray colored thing that fit perfectly, set on the counter, aimed at the cracks
in the stone there.

“The Bey
wanted me to let you know that I’ll pay for the damage. I was worked up and
rather lashed out. Miss Benson handled the situation
very
well. Out of
any fifty Vampires I could name, an aggressive act like that right in front of
them would set off forty-nine. She didn’t even
flash
at me. Is she to be
your replacement?” It was a very strange thing to say, but the woman didn’t
take it back, or even smile.

Lenore
shook her head, but did manage a real seeming smile.

“No.
Most likely she’ll be put in as the second in a different location, if the need
comes up. She’s still very young, regardless of how well she’s doing. Though
Bey has suggested that she act as
his
assistant. He hasn’t had one in
that position in five hundred years. Not in an official capacity.” She looked
at the other woman blankly, as if passing a message about something.

It went
right past Eve, though Linda nodded.

“I see.
So, for one so young, that’s meaningful, isn’t it? Some special skill, or
ability?”

Lenore
looked around then let her chin come up.

“The
power of The Bey line. Speed beyond what others enjoy. Her willingness to use
it is greater than most. It’s an honor, of course, to be noticed so young, but
also a fearsome thing. She is very much like our Bey.”

She
was
?
That was news to her.

Eve
could see it though, since the tiny man was adorable and sweeter than most of
the other Vampires by far. More so than she was, but her willingness not to act
like a moody brat might be making people think she was all gentle like that
too? That, or Lenore was saying that she was a dangerous killer that even other
Vampires needed to be afraid of. That
was
one of her goals in life,
true, but it probably wasn’t true yet. Even with the shoes that Darla had given
her to help her become faster, she needed more to be like Bey.

So for
the time being she was going with the idea that Lenore was impressed with her
sweet smile. She used it, but didn’t go too far over the top.

“So, I get
the second shift, you the third, and Edom the fourth? Bey thinks we should wake
him up for the day. Ed, that is. He can take it, but we might want to let him
know tonight, not after he’s gone to bed today.” He was probably still up, but
Lenore nodded anyway.

“That
seems a good division of labor. Perhaps we should close down for the day?”

That
would get them out of a lot of cleaning, but Eve shrugged. She could do that
and the rest of it too. Lenore would be busy, but pulling a double there wasn’t
that hard. Besides it would make her seem valuable and like she was worth
keeping around.

“If you
want? Or I can run the store front. Either way. I doubt we need to go into
hiding yet.”

That got
a smile, and Lenore vanished to the back, getting Linda to leave through the
front, to do her part. Eve… Largely stood there. After about five minutes,
hearing that her boss was on the phone, she started making calls of her own
from the front.
She
had people to check in with too, after all.

Edom
first, because he’d need an update anyway.

For his
part though, he already knew it all and had been watching the news all night,
at the club. T2LA would have closed hours before, but Troy, the manager there,
knew that Vampires were real, and Ed had been there to check in the night
before.

His
voice was deep and resonant on the phone, touching places inside of her that
once would have tingled to hear it. Now, there was nothing, since part of being
her kind of Vamp meant losing interest in sex. She could still do it, but as
far as she knew it would be a bit like shaking hands. Pleasant, perhaps, but
nothing special. Not that she’d tried it, since she’d changed. That was
probably a sign right there that she wasn’t the same that way anymore, wasn’t
it? There was a time when it would have been the first thing she would have
tried out. Making sure all the girl parts worked right. It had even been her
plan, before she’d died. Now… It really just didn’t seem all that important.

“Eve?
Have you heard about the little debacle that’s forming?” There was no
particular concern to the words, as far as she could tell. Almost like he was
talking about the weather.

“You
mean the Swerlin stuff?”

“Yes.
The others coming forward as well. Several in our local community have come out,
and are submitting to tests. Allowing themselves to be observed as they die for
the day, for instance. That’s fairly compelling. It isn’t just here, it’s
everywhere. All over the country. Confined to the U.S. for now.”

She had
not known that, of course.

“I see.
That sounds… A bit like what we had going on here, last week, doesn’t it?
Someone is compelling people to do it? Otherwise we’re looking at a bunch of
Vampires that want to die. The Council won’t be happy about this, I’m willing
to bet. Unless they’re actually behind it. Any sense of the public reaction
yet?” They didn’t have a television there. Lenore didn’t really believe in
them, being old and kind of curmudgeonly that way. Just like Eve had never seen
her in a pair of blue jeans. Only skirts, and dresses.

There
was a long pause from the other end of the line, and finally her maker sighed.

“Mixed.
About half the people still don’t seem to believe it at all. The remainder is
largely amazed, I think, rather than scared. On the good side Richard and the
others have all been pointing out, very consistently, that we need the people
and animals to be
alive
in order for things to work. That seems to be
keeping the worst of things to a low roar. The religious people haven’t
responded yet, but we know what they’re going to say. Demons, devils, and that
a good burning is in order for anyone different.” He sounded like he was pretty
certain of that. Not that Eve doubted it.