Hex and the Single Witch (Vehicle City Vampires) (5 page)

“I see you are
aware most of the women that have been killed recently were once Galen’s
donors, but he did not do this. The Liaison will keep the police away from him
while we find the real killer.”

I gasped lightly
when I heard about Galen. Damn, my own personal fantasy man used to snack on
the women who had been killed. Shit! That made him a suspect. Oh Goddess, no.
He couldn’t be the killer, he just couldn’t. I freaked out inside, my emotions
and thoughts tumbling wildly.

In the midst of
my panic attack a cool calming breeze swept through me and suddenly I knew, in
my way, the way of She Who Knows, that Galen was not the killer. I sighed with
relief even as lingering doubt floated through the back of my mind.

 “Surely you are
not blinded by your loyalty to him? Six months and you have not found a vampire
rogue in your own back yard? I think your team is not very good or maybe you
are protecting someone.” Devlin half glanced over his shoulder. “Perhaps you
are protecting Galen. He has been your little pet for quite some time now has
he not? We all know you helped him get rid of Ro…” he hesitated and looked
around. I lowered my head as he continued, “his sire. Rumor has it Galen’s also
the one who beheaded the former council leader. Quite a few of us were upset
about that debacle. You would not have had anything to do with that, would you,
Sati dear?”

 “I know you
have issues with Galen’s sire and the way the Vampire Council leader was
dispatched, combined with your previous dislike of Galen, it has all made you
hate him even more, even though he should have your respect. You know better
than anyone those council bastards broke all the vampire rules and had to be
destroyed. I think you should be thankful you were not with them when their
time came,” Satinka hissed the last words through clenched teeth.

She paused, took
a deep breath a vampire had no need of, and then continued, “I am sorry they
had sympathizers but do not dare try to put the blame on Galen or point fingers
at anyone. I protect no one that does not deserve it. I know Galen is innocent.
This rogue has to be a very old vampire with a great deal of power. He is able
to conceal his identity and hide amongst us. It is bad. Very bad magick is
being used.”

 Devlin laughed.
“Do not get your knickers in a bunch Sati, dear. I know how you feel about the
old council leader and Galen’s sire. No need to get all worked up about things
that cannot be changed. I am more worried about the things that are going on
now and what you are going to do about it. I heard a rumor that last night’s
dead girl met her killer right here at VAMP. Surely you should have noticed a
killer in your midst. The council wants a full report on what is going on here
in Vehicle City with your vamps and precious little humans. Having the
spotlight on a rogue vampire turned serial killer is making them all a bit
twitchy. It is a bit too much vampire publicity of the wrong kind. We are still
coming out of the coffin, Sati dear; we have to be careful.”

 “I know. One
reason why I am little miss do-gooder is to give us a better reputation. Did
you know the Weres are getting treated even worse than we are? At least we are
seen as semi-human. Once a human witnesses one of them shift or sees them in
animal form, that becomes all they are...an animal, a monster. That is why I
have to do good and create good publicity for all of us. We are not monsters;
at least most of us are not.”

 Devlin snorted,
he didn’t seem to agree. “So you are saying it is up to us to get rid of the
ones that are monsters?”

 “If not us,
who? The humans cannot. They do not understand and do not have the power. We
would be wiped out, seen as nothing more than horrors to be disposed of. Humans
do not see us as human beings. We have to prove we are worthy, that there are
good and bad, we are not all monsters. It is up to us.”

 “Sounds like
too much work to me.”

 “Of course it
is too much work for you, Devlin. You have never been much for getting your
hands dirty unless it was for your own personal satisfaction.”

 “You are
absolutely right, Sati. I was born to wealth and privilege and have lived my
whole life that way.” He laughed and started to walk away. “Do not worry, Sati.
I will contact the council and let them know everything is on the up and up and
that you have it all under control.”

 “Thank you,
Devlin.” She hissed at his back as he sauntered out of the club. Then she
turned and looked at me. I stood up and walked slowly over to her. She looked
small and innocent behind the bar yet had an underlying wickedness I couldn’t
miss. She exuded danger. Her entire persona reeked of power and control.

I hesitantly
introduced myself to her, “Ms. Tala, my name is Anwyn Rose, I am the—”

She interrupted
me with a tinkling laugh shattering all feelings of danger and unease in the
air. “I know who you are Wynnie dear. I worked with your father during the
Hysteria. I was his friend…his partner… and your mother’s best friend…when
she…before she…” Sadness took control of her features for a brief moment and
she looked down at the floor to regain her composure.

I was shocked,
my dad’s partner and my mother’s friend? My mother hated vampires with a
passion—to have had one as a friend… “I’m sorry Ms. Tala, I was not aware of
your connections to my family. With my father gone and my mother lost most of
the time, anything before my father’s death is pretty much a blank. Grams won’t
tell me anything, I think it pains her too much to talk about it, she just
takes care of my mom.” I sighed. So much for me being She Who Knows.

Her sad but
tinkling laugh filled the room again. “It is a burden having your destiny set
out for you, is it not? Forgive me for laughing, Wynnie, but I understand. I
was destined to be Lonato’s Guardian and it has been a bitch all these years.
And please stop calling me Ms. Tala. There is no need to be so formal. You used
to call me Auntie Sati. I can still see you in pigtails wanting me to fly you
around your parent’s backyard.” She walked out from behind the bar and led me
over to a table and motioned for me to sit.

I was still
dumbfounded by what she said as I sat down at the table. “Auntie Sati? Fly?” I
mumbled, totally at a loss for words. How could I have forgotten such a major
part of my history? I had a past with this woman, this vampire. Why was it lost
to me? “So you know me well then, Ms…I mean Satink...er Sati.”

She sat down
across from me. “Of course, you are the daughter of my partner and one of my
dearest friends. I knew your mother before she met your dad. We were so close
once. Then during the Hysteria your father and I,” she paused as pain etched
across her features, “became partners on the Preternatural Task Force when the
humans needed supernatural help taking down the rogues. Your dad and I worked
side by side; we had each other’s backs…until that night,” her voice trailed
off.

I couldn’t
believe what I was hearing. She had been there the night my father died. She
knew what really happened. Her sigh seemed to carry the weight of the world in
it. “I have never forgiven myself, Wyn, your mother never forgave me either.
She has not spoken to me since that night. She…she’s…”

I interrupted, “She’s
never been the same. I know. I lost both my mother and father.” Familiar
bitterness crept into my belly, but I chose to ignore it, like usual. “Look I
don’t know what really happened, but I am sure it wasn’t your fault. I heard my
dad’s partner had taken several bullets and a stake close to the heart. Sounds
like you were in pretty bad shape yourself. It wasn’t your fault.”

“That does not
matter. I was supposed to protect him. I was stronger, faster, immortal. Your
dad, he was just a man, a powerful man and warrior…but still just a man,
mortal. I still don’t know what happened. Your mother’s spells and wards always
kept us safe but the last night…something went terribly wrong. All of our
protection was gone.” Blood-tinged tears filled her eyes. After all these years
her emotion, her pain…it was still so raw.

I blinked and
all signs of tears and emotion disappeared, sucked inside. I guess when a
master vampire got their emotions under control, all else disappeared.

“So, Anwyn, tell
me why you are here on official business.”

So much for a
trip down memory lane.

“The police want
to know about last night’s murder and they’re interested in the rumors about
your vigilante group. It doesn’t settle well there are crime fighting creatures
roaming the streets hunting one of their own. The woman killed, apparently she
met her killer right here in your club last night.”

“Somehow this
vampire has slipped by me, I’m not pleased about it at all. This bastard, the
killer, is using old magick, like he walks around in an invisible cloak. No one
senses anything unless he wants them to. I can’t help you with him. I have
nothing.” She looked really upset about the fact she had nothing to offer me. I
thought about what she had said to Devlin about Galen. I was about to ask when
she sighed and then asked me, “You know there are more than just vampires in
the Guardians, right?”

“I know, Sati.
Look that’s not my biggest concern. I just need something to give the police.
Something bad is coming or is already here. The energy fills the nights. This
city feels so dead sometimes. Other times it is so alive with magick it’s
downright oppressive. Makes the air hard to breath. Even the non-sensitive
humans are reacting and not in positive ways. Then there’s this damn killer,
this evil, freakin’ invisible vampire… What the hell is going on, Sati?”

“I’d like to be
completely honest with you, Anwyn, but you are going to have to sort through
what I give you and decide on what is best to share with the humans.”

She gave me a
knowing wink and patted my hand in a very motherly way. I knew she was a
centuries old woman…vampire who had been a woman, a mother, grandmother, great
grandmother, and numerous greats on down the line, yet her appearance was a
young woman no older than me, perhaps even younger than me. So the matronly
gesture seemed odd to me. Yet, strangely comforting and familiar.

Suddenly an
image appeared in my mind, I was climbing on her back then she flew us around
the yard while I squealed with delight, “Faster, Auntie Sati, faster.” I
giggled with joy as she flew us around. I couldn’t believe it, she had been
telling the truth. Her touch brought back a piece of my lost memory. I wondered
what other memories she could give back to me.

I smiled at her.
“My job as Liaison is to keep the peace between the Others and the humans. I
would never give the humans more than they could handle.”

She winked at
me. “That is my girl. You are your father’s daughter indeed. Now here is the
deal, my Guardians are not vigilantes, of course you know that. We respect
human laws as much as we can, but there are Others who do not care about
humanity, especially the bad ones who utterly disregard humans and kill without
remorse. So we cannot always abide by human law. Human laws cannot stop the
evil consuming the area. More and more humans are being sucked into the
darkness. Evil is drawn to despair and we have so much despair here. Every day
it grows, every day it draws more darkness. Some creatures feed off of it;
others are just drawn to the darkness. The economic crisis, the depression, the
crime… It is tearing this city apart and creating a beacon for all the baddies
to head our way.”

“So you’re
trying to stop the unease, the crime…your way.”

“Not my way, our
way. The way of the Others. We have to fight magick with magick, power with
power; human weapons cannot even touch half of us. Human law will not do a damn
thing to stop or deter Others. All human law will do is get a lot of good cops
killed. They would not have a chance against a demon…or something worse.”

Satinka spoke in
earnest and passion. I heard it in her voice, more than that I could feel it; I
knew it to be true. She was The Guardian of Flint. Rumors said Satinka’s
mother, a powerful shaman from an outside tribe, had prophesized Satinka’s
destiny during her spirit quest. Now Satinka took her role seriously. She was
determined to save Flint from despair, disaster, and destruction.

“Is there
something coming, Sati? Something other than the ghosts and demons preying on
despair here? Something more than thrilled to turn Flint into a literal ghost
town, a big bad preternatural playground? I get the feeling something big has
its sights set on Flint.”

Her expression
turned grim. “There is a lot coming. With empty houses on every street and
abandoned buildings everywhere there are plenty of places for demons, ghosts
and ghouls to live in comfort and darkness. No more tombs or dark and nasty
sewers. Creatures of the night can live in luxury once reserved for humanity.
But it is not the ghosts and ghouls creating the dark oppressive feeling. They
just want a comfortable place to live. We have nothing to worry about from
them. It is the something else we have to worry about. I too, get the feeling
something big is coming. Possibly already here, at least part of it. Problem is
I do not know what it is, Anwyn. I sense old magick, ancient evil. A really Big
Bad Something. And on top of everything else I think someone has tossed a Hex
into the mix. I get the feeling the hex is really riling up the humans right
now.”