Finally Dead (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 1) (13 page)

She was
lying, and way overselling the idea, but it was better than having the man
curse her. Mages could do that, and that would work on Vampires too. Not
lethally, but having your car break down three times a week would be too much
of a pain to bother with.

“I don’t
know. I… Really, this all went so wrong. I thought the others in the group… I
mean, most of them are just people. Regular, you know? We play games, and… I
didn’t even know she wasn’t Human at first. I asked her out, but… Well, that
didn’t work. It’s not fair. I can’t help the way I look.”

Eve had
to snort then.

“Diet,
exercise, um… Freaking magic? You can do a lot that way. More than most people.
Screw it though. Come in right now. We’ll…” She didn’t know.

Not at
first, after a moment, she realized there was something to do that wouldn’t
even remove her from the mall. Two things, honestly.

“Bring
exercise clothes and something else to change into.”

“What?”

“If you
want to fix this, then get in here. By the way, don’t threaten me, or anyone,
ever again. You
suck
at it. You’re going to rape
me
? That
wouldn’t be the way that one went. Trust me. No, from now on, you’re just going
to do what I tell you to, and like it. Hopefully that will be enough. It might
not, so be on good behavior.” She was pissed, and
kind
of felt like
having him gang raped in prison, but he sounded so pitiful. Eve was a soft
touch that way.

Of
course, if he didn’t toe the line he was going to find out that things were
likely to go very poorly for him indeed. After all, there was one way to stop
magic that worked pretty much every time.

Kill the
Mage.

Nothing
else happened for a while, except for some people coming in, just to get
treats. Regular people. A couple with their three kids. The children were
little monsters, or at least two of them were,
and
fat. The oldest girl
was normal in size and didn’t act out like the younger ones did, so it might
not have been that the parents were horrible.

Even
though loud, they were all happy enough though, and
that
was good to
see. These parents might not have been perfect, but they weren’t selling their
kids for extra cash on the side, either.

Once
they left, Eve just set to cleaning, since it was important to keep on top of
things like that. Lenore would be upset if she came back to find her embassy a
mess.

The
whole time she tried, and mainly failed, to push hunger away, as well as feel
calm. The idea that Keels had taught her something like Demon magic was a bit
freaky, but it
wasn’t
that really, was it? No, if that was the case it
would have worked better. Still, it was enough to be worth trying.

She did
want to be special, didn’t she?

Honestly,
it was the whole reason she was there.

Eve
didn’t know what to expect from the evening after that, but it wasn’t going to
plan, she could tell. That made itself clear at about seven-fifteen, when a
young looking woman walked into the place. She had a haircut that made her face
look pretty oval, and a button nose. Gold wire rimmed glasses, that held simple
glass in them, not corrective lenses added to a slightly dorky sense to her.
She was thin enough, and really short. Maybe four feet and eleven inches, if
she stood up straight. That was with the leather boots she had on too, which
boosted her upward by at least two inches.

There
was nothing about her that said she was into sex, or on the prowl, but she
still managed to be cute enough about it.
Adorkable
, Eve had heard the
look called. If she was a six on a ten scale though, it was only because her
smile was bright enough to be disarming.

The
woman, a Vampire who seemed well fed and old enough to have simple Human
mannerisms down, moved over to the counter smoothly. A bit too much so. She
flowed into place, rather than moving quickly.

Looking
at Eve frankly, her mouth screwed over to one side. It was adorable.

“Hi? I’m
Maggie Sims, I need to fill out some paperwork? There was an… Issue yesterday,
and the Mages got involved. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do, but I
got a call from them? The Mages?”

Eve
walked around the counter, and held her hand out to shake. It was a thing that
Vampires did, at times. Like grownups and everything. The older Vampire
returned the move smoothly, as if it were expected and she really
wasn’t
the nineteen year old she looked like.

“Eve
Benson. I didn’t know you were coming in, but it’s good timing. I should warn
you though, Marcus Aralias is coming in, too. He’s supposed to at least. He
called up to threaten me, and I told him that if he got his butt over here I
might
be able to help him survive. Is that a problem? The Mages are good with us
killing him, if you don’t think he’s worth the trouble. We won’t put up with BS
like this. Not now. We’re making a big push, and telling our people they can’t
mind fuck into donating the blood they need to survive. That means we’re not
putting up with
this
kind of thing either. It’s your call though.” Not that
Eve knew that for certain.

The
woman sighed, and let her shoulders fall a bit.

“I’m
pissed, but Mark isn’t an asshole,
most
of the time. I don’t know what
the heck he was thinking though. Did he say? I
thought
we were friends.
Not that close, maybe, but… This doesn’t make sense, does it? Why would he try
to enslave me like that?”

Eve
blinked, several times.

“Um… Because
he wanted to hit that and figured that you’d tell him to get lost if he just
walked up and asked, or suggested a date?” Why else would he try that kind of
thing? It wasn’t just about having power over the woman, or he would have tried
to be more subtle.

“What? That’s
insane! I mean, he’s not exactly great to look at, but he’s nice… I thought he
was. How shallow does he think I am, anyway? Like looks are the only thing that
would… Argh.” She looked away, and spoke through gritted teeth, then shook her
head.

“I guess
he doesn’t need to die. I kicked his butt for him pretty well last night. He
was making me suck his cock, which was fine. I mean I really felt into it at
the time, until those Mage women came in and broke the spell. I still… You
know, it wasn’t like I wouldn’t have done it, if he’d asked? I have a
boyfriend, but it’s an open thing. Poly? Anyway, I don’t let people strip my
will, but… I don’t want him dead either.”

Eve
nodded, trying to think about it all. That made some sense.

This was
a woman that was so old that the idea of sucking this idiot off wasn’t a big
thing to her. That was just Tuesday in her world, or something. So the real
issue was being forced to lose her will. She was willing to call it good
though, after just a bit of an ass kicking? That was
hardly
her being a
bitch about things, was it?

“All
right. Well, I’ll put a word in for him that way. He still has to be punished
for it, but if you don’t want him killed, or hurt too much, we can probably
work something out. It will be up to him then, as to what he wants to do. If he
won’t cooperate, then I doubt he’ll make it very long. Let me see if I can get
the right forms? If you change your mind, please let me know first, so we can
move him someplace else for the death. I don’t want to make a mess in here, if
I can help it. My boss will be back in a few hours. You know how it is. I’m
new, so I want to make a good impression.” She meant new as a Vampire, but that
didn’t mean Eve didn’t know where the correct forms were kept.

After
about ten minutes Bob, the Ambassador for the Mages, came across from his
store, a decently chubby fatbeard following along behind him. Eve hated to be
mean that way, but the redheaded guy actually
had
a neck beard and
everything, as well as a stupid golf style hat and a bit of a waddle to his
walk. His shoes were regular running ones though, and he had on tan slacks and
a blue button up shirt. He also carried a bag with him, that looked like it
might just hold a few changes of clothing.

That or
a bunch of magical weapons. If so, he needed to lead with those, since Eve
really doubted he was going to be able to get to them by being sneaky. The man
looked clumsy. That could be a trick, but she didn’t really think so. That
would make it a lot more effective though, if he was.

She
raised a hand to Bob, who actually smiled at her. It wasn’t a totally happy
thing, but he was nice that way. Polite and always willing to try and work with
people first.

“Maggie?
This gentleman is Robert Millhouse. The Ambassador for the Mages here at Westfield.
Bob, this is Maggie Sims. Ms. Sims was just telling me that she doesn’t want
Marcus here killed for what he did. What’s the Mage community stance on this?”

The fatbeard
blanched at least, and started to whine something, which she didn’t care about
at all. Her hand came out as if to cover his slightly blubbering lips.

“Silence.
You were caught in the act, and this
isn’t
your trial. Bob and I are
hashing out your sentencing here. Maggie will get to say her piece about it,
too. You don’t need to speak at all, and trust me, doing that will work against
you.” She didn’t growl at all, but did look over as Bey walked into the frozen yogurt
shop.

The
ancient Vampire didn’t speak, freezing for a second while looking at Maggie, then
simply moving back toward the counter and bowing to everyone there. Except
Marcus, who he glared at. Angrily. Like the younger man was about to die for
his sins.

Eve
could see that.

“Please,
everyone have a seat. Bob, do you or… Mark here, need anything to eat or
drink?” She waited, since they were the guests, really. Then she looked at Bey.
“Sir?” She wasn’t giving his name on purpose, since it was very possible that
Maggie would freak out if she knew. Not in a good, there’s a rock star in the
room way either. Even though she should have.

The
older men both shook their head, and surprisingly Marcus asked if he could have
some water.

Politely.

She got
it for him, along with a straw and a lid, then settled in next to Maggie, to
show solidarity. Bey held his position by the counter, ready to kill someone,
if it became needed.

Bob had
part of a plan, at least.

“Marcus
here is to be placed under a binding, so that he can’t use a compulsion spell
again for several years. If he tries to do so, he’ll be subjected to horrible
pain. Normally that would be the only real punishment for something like this.
Most people under such magical persuasion don’t tend to view it as rape. Also,
he’s been… Corrected already.” There was a gesture toward the chubby face,
which was nicely black and blue in places.

It had
clearly been done carefully though. He was able to walk and didn’t have any
broken bones at all.

Eve
glanced at Maggie, who was nodding along with what Bob said.

“Are you
satisfied with that for your part? You said he was your friend, and that you
didn’t want him harmed too much. I think, if you’re happy with that, then we
can let that part go, as long as that magic is done, and demonstrated to Maggie
to her satisfaction? Also, Mark, understand this here,
I
was planning to
kill you when you came in. Maggie, the woman whose will you thought wasn’t
important enough to leave her, used that very same will to
save
you.
People don’t get to mess that kind of thing up too many times in life. Correct
that. I’m not going to threaten you over it, since Ms. Sims says this part is
done. Feel
bad
though. Understood?” She wanted to hit him a few times,
and maybe leave him crippled, but he already kind of was.

The big
guy nodded though, and wisely didn’t speak.

Bob
nodded too, and a moment later, so did Maggie.

Eve
clapped, happily. She pretended to at least.

“Excellent.
Now we just have to handle the fact that you, and you alone, declared war on
the local Vampire population. We don’t really love the idea of being made
slaves as a group. I take it you were acting alone in that? Bob? This wasn’t
sanctioned, was it? Some kind of thing to test the waters and see how we’d all
respond? If so, it was a dumb move. I doubt that though. The Mage Council is
decently bright, as far as I’ve seen. You too. So…” She grinned at him, then
nudged fatbeard under the table with her foot. Gently. “That means you need to
admit that you were acting alone
now
, Marcus. You could turn this into a
war, but other people dying because your low self-esteem and lack of good
habits makes it hard to get some pussy is a bit much to ask, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.”
The man looked miserable then, as if he knew what was coming. Eve was nearly
certain he didn’t really have a clue though. It wouldn’t be as simple or easy
as what he wanted. “It wasn’t about war, I… I didn’t mean to hurt you… I just
wanted you to love me back.”

Maggie,
clearly
being a better person than Eve was, softened then.

“That
wasn’t the way to do it though. I can’t protect you from this part of things.
Why? Why do that to me? You never even asked first.”

There
was a huge shrug then.

“Because
you would have said no? All women do. I tried to ask you out and you said you
were busy. I’m not incapable of learning, you know. It isn’t fair.”

There
was a flare of energy, and she was about to punch the man in the head, when Bob
waved his right hand, directly in the face of the other man.

“Calm
down, Marcus. It wasn’t fair to strip someone else of their will, either. The
answer though, is that we
don’t
allow our people to use their powers to
control others against their will, and you know it. Now we need to see what
sort of reparations the Vampires will accept in exchange for your life.”

Now Eve
grinned, her fangs showing. That got the dumpy fellow to stare at her. Part of
it was fear, but she was also good looking. If he liked Maggie, then she was
practically a cover model, no doubt. It was enough to get his attention. The
man didn’t look very old, though she tried not to presume anything.

After
all, Bob looked like a tired thirty-something and was probably pushing ninety.
Bey looked older and was in the range of at least a few thousand. Marcus could
be older too. Probably not, because all the healing mages she’d seen that
looked young were also in great shape. The discipline to do one thing
translated into other kinds pretty well.

“What
kind of work do you do, Mark?” It sounded nearly like she was changing the
topic, but she really just wanted to know how much of his time she could take
up without hurting others. If he was a doctor or something, it might not be
that much.

“What?
I’m independently wealthy. I won the Powerball a few years ago, so I don’t have
to work. Why?”

She
rolled her eyes.

“Fine.
Bob, can you put him in as a clerk in the mornings? I’ll be over to keep an eye
on him, and that will free Warren up to do his actual job. There will be a
training program, and working at different places here at Westfield, until such
time that we’re sure you aren’t a danger to yourself or others. Right now, if
everyone is fine with this, we’re sending you off to the Trollienkeine, for a
workout. I wasn’t
joking
about
training
. If you run out of things
to do, just come find me, or whoever is working here. We’ll have things for you
to do. At night you can go home, but there will be no social gatherings or…
This club you both belong to?” That was addressed to Maggie.

She
nodded a little.

“That’s
only one night per week. I don’t know what else he does.”

Eve
faked a shrug, and waved at Mark.

“Now? He
works and works out. Maybe practices healing magic. Bob, will you set up
training for that? Healing Mages are almost never the ones making problems.
That takes empathy and junk, right?”