Dead Certain (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 3) (10 page)

Without waiting, she moved to the
back office, having left Nikki standing out in the sun. Screaming.

As soon as she could speak again,
she picked up the phone, and called in that she was back. It was Marissa on the
other end of the line, since she was the one person on the Council that would
probably have a good reason to make sure the rest of them knew not to attack,
in a timely fashion. That out of the way, she waved to Lenore.

“We were set up.” She tried to
sound like it was a joke, if not a very good one, and got a concerned
expression for her trouble.

Well, a laugh would be out of
place.

“With Bohdan Constantine?” It was
painfully obvious that Lenore was getting ready to try and fight her way out of
the office, even as Eve nodded.

Her small pale hand had curled
into a fist, and her eyes started to tinge streaks of blood red.

So Eve shrugged.

“Yeah. Fram I think. He had to
know, well, way more than the rest of us did. How much of it he caused I don’t
know. I mean, you get the part where
we’re
supposed to be fighting now,
that’s clear. So to you it seems like you purposefully let me walk into a
situation where Nikki would be confronted with a man she loved, that I, or at
least Bey, was supposed to execute. Only, what were the real odds of things
lining up like that, without it being a set up? I keep going over it, and it’s
not really possible. There’s more, too. Like Marissa not simply setting up an
animal blood service over there when they asked. There’s no real reason for it.
Especially not to think that I wouldn’t share the formula so that they could
get things done. Something, or someone, had to steer her to think that way.
How, I don’t know, since
I’m
pretty darned nifty, which is a thing that
should be clear to her by now. But at each turn we were guided to take certain
actions. For all I know, I’m
still
walking right into it all. I don’t
think so though.” She waited, letting the other woman think for a bit.

Lenore actually gasped, in
surprise.

“I… Think I can see it. Why
though? It has to be about more than what you and I do.”

“Does it?
We
aren’t
important, directly, but if we fought, you’d probably kill me. Or, who knows,
maybe I get smart, or lucky and do you first… Then Zack would kill me for it.
If you took me out, then what are the odds that no one else might not come to
see why it happened, and accidently kill you? Keeley or Darla, for instance? Maybe
even Zack, though I kind of doubt that one. Or… Hell, maybe even
Fram
?
He and I have a thing set up, and that could be used as an excuse, if he wanted
to goad the others. Not that it would have to be that, but it
could
happen.” She shrugged. “So, when Nikki gets here, apologize, and
mean
it. So that I don’t have to decide that you both need to be spanked. That
probably won’t end well, for any of us. That means we need to take the high
road, right?”

It felt like she was probably
wrong in a thousand places, but the other Vampire just raised an eyebrow.

“
Well
. I gather we should
then. Is she here now?”

“Outside. Screaming at the sun,
when I left her.” Except that she was actually at the front of the shop, by the
sound of it.

Lenore didn’t make either of them
wait, going out to the front of the brightly colored shop, and giving her
sister a small hug, and an apology that sounded nearly real. It wasn’t. Eve
might not have had siblings that she could use as a personal example, but she
really doubted that two hundred plus years of bad blood was going to be washed
away with a couple of forced handshakes. It wouldn’t have worked for her, she
didn’t think, and compared to a lot of Vampires Eve knew she was practically
sweetness and light.

Nikki took the gesture for what
it was worth, and managed to do it graciously enough that no one started
throwing punches. That was, hopefully, good enough. Then the pierced lady
stretched, like she was tired and smiled over at Eve.

“Well, I think I’ll be off then?
Maybe catch a nap?”

Snorting loudly, Eve grinned.

“Don’t you freaking
dare
.
Go catch a shower and get back here. For that matter, where are the others?
Dave…” She looked at Lenore, who shook her head sadly.

“I fear he didn’t make it. Not so
far. Barb and Cormack however seem to have defeated the small dying, so that is
all well. They are both handling their own concerns during the day for now,
since I haven’t needed time off in several days. Don’t tell him yet, but I
believe that a certain Vampire is slated to take over the Iowa Node complex in
the next days. In fact, I know it. The news just came in, about an hour ago.”
Lenore seemed pleased enough about it that her smile seemed nearly real.

Eve bit her lip, so that she
wouldn’t scream, and pumped her right fist.

“Right, friggen, on! That’s
incredible. I should get him a present or something. Maybe a house?” It sounded
ridiculous to her, at first, but she actually had the money in her account for
it. Not that she knew how to buy something like that, personally. “You can help
with that? I can put up the cash, if we don’t go too expensive, but the rest of
it is kind of beyond me.”

That, it seemed, was a mistake to
admit to, since Lenore gave her a look that seemed very nearly insane,
suddenly.

“Oh? I suppose you wouldn’t have
done things like that before, would you? Very well, I can walk you through it.
You’ll need to travel to the area, to view the houses. It wouldn’t do to give
him an inferior gift, after all.”

Eve nodded. She’d just walked
from another continent and back. Slowly. She could go to the heartland in a few
hours, if she hurried.

“After I get a shower? I’ve been
walking around with blood splatters all over me for days. It’s gross.” She
waved at her shirt, which wasn’t that bad, really. Not considering what she’d been
doing. There were stains though, and it was going to be work to save it for
anything in particular. Plus, if she was going to be looking up real estate,
she would want the internet. That meant taking a trip home first, then invading
Troy’s. It would work well enough, since he’d be asleep by then, she didn’t
doubt.

Lenore smiled about it all,
especially when she mentioned that she’d be back, for the night shift. After
all, it was Cormack’s night, and he’d just gotten a promotion, so might want to
celebrate or something silly like that.

She hurried through getting
cleaned up, running the nearly twenty miles to Edom’s house as fast as she
could. He wasn’t there, being up north for the early part of the day, watching
over some of their business concerns. It was a bit strange, but Eve kind of
missed seeing him. It wasn’t like they were attached at the hip, but she really
wanted his attention, for some strange reason. It was probably some kind of
daddy issue thing, which, honestly, she had going on in
spades
.

That wasn’t a new thing though,
was it?

Really, she needed to call her
other dad. Roy. She hadn’t since becoming a Vampire. It wasn’t that odd, since
she’d only been in touch a few times a year, since moving to Washington, but he
might be worried about her by now. Or not. Eve had always been aware that her
father felt obligated to watch out for her, or had eventually, but didn’t feel
anything in particular toward her otherwise. It took a special kind of neglect
to let your little daughter live in a drug den for sixteen years, didn’t it?
Especially if you were a Police Chief.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t known
about that part of things. Her mother had been arrested too many times for him
to have missed that part. Sure, he might not have known that Eve had been pimped
out as a child sex slave, but she’d never actually had that talk with him, had
she? It wasn’t in the cards either, since knowing that he actually had would
probably mean she’d kill him. It always had.

Hence her putting off getting in
touch with him now.

She pushed even harder than
before on the way to Troy’s, barely able to see it hurt so much, and wasn’t
surprised to find her buddy asleep for the day already. The eleven year old
girl in the living room was a
bit
strange, however.

She was white, thin to the point
of being scrawny, and had heavy glasses on. Her chin nearly pointed at the
bottom, and she had plain, very straight, brown hair. The eyes were the same
color, which was normal enough. In all, other than the fact that she was
wearing a skirt that was cut above her knees, and blue tights under that, along
with a blue blouse that had a brown vest over it, the kid seemed pretty normal.

Except that Troy, while being a
bit of a player, drew the line at an age that was at least six or seven years
older than this one.

The girl looked up at her, and
smiled, her face almost serene. She was at the desk that held the computer, but
was writing on a piece of plain paper. What it said Eve couldn’t tell, since it
looked like chicken scratches to her. Ancient Sumerian probably, rather than
shorthand.

She might not be the smartest
cookie on the plate, but she’d worked at the Mage embassy for years, and they
used that, and Latin, a lot. That would mean that the girl wasn’t just another
pretty face. Not that she wasn’t cute. Like a puppy might be. So, that meant
what?

Eve shrugged, and put two and two
together, got five, and realized what that had to mean.

“Hello! Um… I can’t tell which
one you are for certain. Not trying to be rude. Greater Demon, but…” That was
probably enough to make problems, if the being wanted them, but if that was
going to happen, it would anyway.

The girl smiled up at her and
stood.

“The Rotted. Ann.” She moved
forward, walking across the hard wood floor in about seven steps. Then she
touched her hand, as if it were a greeting, and not drinking in all the
information that made Eve up.

The girl grinned at her then, as
the tingling stopped, understanding more than Eve did, probably.

“Hey! How are things going? Did
you come to give Troy a little girl tugjob?”

Eve watched the other being,
knowing that if she had come for that, Troy wouldn’t have had a choice in the
matter, but there was a firm head shake.

“Not at all. I just have the day
off of school. The whole week, so I thought to come and stay with my friend.
There are some interesting things going on in this area. Really, there are
several pockets over the United States, right now. That moron, Fram, is
involved, but he’s not the only one, as you know already. I don’t think that
you should blame
him
for the problems of the last days however. Like I
just said, he isn’t bright. Well, that isn’t fair, truly, but he can be
tricked, using his weaknesses. In this case my bet is that he’s being set up,
by one of us. To face off against you, in particular. That’s flattering isn’t
it? Someone thinks that you’re smart enough to work this out, or at least
enough of it to make a difference.”

Eve knew she was missing part of
it, but didn’t bother asking the meaning of it all. She didn’t have any kind of
arrangement with The Rotted, and the woman was
so
freaking old and
insane that even trying would probably be dangerous.

Before she could mention why she
was there, the girl turned and tapped on the computer for a few minutes, then
waved at the screen.

“There you go. Three houses
within walking distance of the Des Moines Node. I like the second one for your
friend, but I put the others in to steer you toward it. Six rooms, and while it
will set you back about a million, after closing, it has the best location.
Here, take a look.” Sliding out of the cushioned chair without making the
wheels move at all, Ann waved again, this time for her to sit.

It really was nice. The others
weren’t bad, and one was larger, in square footage, but not, she was assured,
going to be as well constructed.

“Vampires need to buy for the
long haul. You should call the agent handling it and see if she’ll be able to
meet you there today. Not that you can buy for a while. These things take a
ridiculous amount of time, for the modern age. Title searches in particular.
You’ll want to get the home inspections as well. It costs extra, but not doing
that, knowing as little as you do, would be asking for trouble.” Ann didn’t
grab the phone for her, not being that pushy. Not that day anyway.

So she set that up herself, and
looked up the map she needed. If she ran on the freeway for most of it, she
probably wouldn’t get lost, she decided. Still, she printed the directions off,
since Troy had a nice machine for that right there, and moved to leave.

At the door, a tiny hand stopped
her. The face behind it was serious however. Enough that the idea of this being
a real child fell away totally.

“When you get back you need to
get with some of the others, about what’s been going on, and to refine what you
have planned. Killing Fram… It’s a good idea. He’ll push for you to kill his
Vampire slave, but the risks of failure are higher there. The Technician can
assure his life however. You’ll need something to trade with her for that. For
that…” There was an actual pause and the little girl looked away, then started
to nod. “For that, I think you’ll want to get in touch with The Cleric. Gregor.
He has something that might be of value, and Darla won’t think to go to him
directly for it.”