Bloody Acquisitions (Fred Book 3) (21 page)

“The honesty is appreciated,” Petre replied. “However, we did not call this meeting to request your accounting services. Rather, I requested it to get to know you on a more informal level. There are very few vampires in the area; Quinn, the traitor, made it quite inhospitable for any that tried to make a home here. I was surprised to learn that he’d tolerated the presence of another. Tell me, was he kept at bay by the need for your services?”

“No.” The word came out with an edge I was only mildly aware of, prickling my tongue as it fell away. “No, it’s safe to say Quinn did anything but leave me alone. But I already told you that my sire abandoned me.”

Now
that
got a reaction. Petre’s lip twitched for the barest of moments, a snarl he forcibly kept from forming. “I wish I could say I was surprised that even he would do such a thing, but the truth is that among Quinn’s crimes, such an action is hardly notable. It is still awful, though, and I’m sorry you had to endure it. Trust me when I say there is no love lost between the House of Turva and Quinn, the traitor.”

“Nor do I hold any affection for my sire.” That part required no fudging whatsoever. Quinn had tried to kill me, along with my friends. I never considered myself a hateful person, but I wished all the ill the world could muster on the man who turned me.

“Quinn is a real dick,” Lillian chimed in. “And I don’t think anyone is sad that he’s gone into hiding. But tell us, Fredrick, how did you survive? You mentioned he threatened to kill you, and Quinn had a reputation for making good on such promises.”

“I was lucky,” I told her, no shame in my voice at the admittance. “Before he could get to me, Quinn picked a fight with someone else. An agent. That went about the way you’d expect it to, and as far as I know, he’s been running ever since.”

Petre made a noise halfway between a harrumph and snort. “
Agents
. They do have their uses, I suppose. Quinn was always more ambitious than smart. I can’t say I’m shocked that his brashness finally caught up with him.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say that would close the topic without inviting further questions, so instead, I picked up my silver fork and scooped out a piece of the crab cake cooling before me. Like everything Charlotte made, it was scrumptious. It took me three more bites before I noticed that Lillian and Petre were watching me eat.

“Did you need a lemon sauce?” I asked.

“We do not partake in the food of humans.” Petre didn’t even try to mask the disdain in his voice. Lillian nodded in agreement, though I noticed her eyes lingering on the crab cake in front of her. “Blood is the only delicacy a vampire need taste. It is the perfect, the ultimate, the unequivocal joy. Everything else is but ash in the mouth by comparison.”

Carefully considering his point, I waited a few moments more, then took another bite. Nope, definitely not ash. “Blood is quite delicious, but I’ve yet to lose my taste for the more familiar dishes of life. Maybe it’s something that comes with time.”

Petre kept looking at me as I scooped up another few morsels before finally responding. “Perhaps so. It is not entirely your fault for not knowing such truths, either. As an Abandoned, there was no one to teach you the proper ways of our kind.”

“All things considered, I think I got off lucky being abandoned, if my other option was being taught by Quinn,” I pointed out.

“Did you really call this damn meeting just for small talk?” Richard, who had been busying himself tucking away his own crab cake with enormous bites, dropped his fork to the empty plate below with a loud clatter. “I’ve got better things to do than listen to the vampires in town get to know some guy who does my taxes. Petre, if you pulled me into a useless meeting as an attempted show of power, I should warn you now that I won’t take it well.”

The whole room seemed to grow still at Richard’s words. What he’d said was no idle threat. Power and authority were so important they verged on holy in the parahuman world, even more so with therians. A man in Richard’s position couldn’t afford to let himself be made an errand boy by some new vampires in town. Asking for a favor was one thing. Asking for a pointless favor to show they could make him do it was something different altogether. Depending on Petre’s answer, they might soon have much more serious matters to deal with than some lowly accountant in their town.

“Our apologies, Mr. Alderson,” Lillian said at last. Her subdued tone was a pleasant contrast to Petre’s haughty nature; it was no wonder he kept her around. “Petre merely wished to get to know Fredrick before broaching our true business. Such is the traditional method to show respect and build a relationship. By all means, please feel free to leave if you like. We will certainly take no offense. Your gesture has been fulfilled merely by making the introduction.”

Fear boiled in my stomach, tossing the crab cake to-and-fro. I knew Richard wouldn’t want to leave me, but what if he couldn’t think of a way to stay nearby without betraying that he saw me as more than a contracted employee? Giving away our friendship meant handing these people a bit of information, and I already knew that the less we gave them, the better.

“Much as I would like to, the fact remains that you asked me to make this meeting happen,” Richard replied. “The accountant was barely ever in my service, but I did
have
to use him. It wouldn’t look very well if I introduced you to one of my employees and then you went off and killed him. I have a reputation to uphold.”

A bit hurtful, but it was hard to argue with the route Richard had taken. Making it about him and his reputation gave him adequate cause to stay nearby as a witness, without letting on that we were friends. If anything, Richard sounded like he detested me, which, I suppose, did fit the usual vampire-therian dynamic. Dealing with Petre and Lillian, I was beginning to think that perhaps I really had gotten a blessing in disguise by not knowing my sire for long. It had allowed me to shape my own relationships with other parahumans, rather than having them dictated to me.

“Very well, then. In respect to Mr. Alderson, we will move past the customary small talk, assuming that is all right with you, Mr. Fletcher,” Petre said. I nodded my agreement, and he immediately continued.

“I called this meeting because I wished to know more about the vampire who survived in the same town that Quinn, the traitor, oversaw. The House of Turva needed to assess if you managed such a feat by wit or might. Now, I see that you had no hand in it. You were simply one of Quinn’s experiments. What he intended for you, we may never know, but it seems you’ve made something of your life regardless. Since I do not deem you to be a threat, my clan has authorized me to make a gesture of friendship.”

“That’s appreciated, but unnecessary,” I said, doing my best to head off this line of talk. One thing I’d learned from watching Richard, these sorts of gestures never came without strings. Whatever they offered, it would make me indebted to them, and that was the last place I wanted to be.

“Mr. Fletcher, as an Abandoned, I understand you might not know this, but to refuse a gesture of friendship is akin to declaring us your enemy.” Petre didn’t make it sound like a threat, which was exactly what told me how serious it was. When people moved past the bluster, it meant they weren’t worried about your reaction. Things just were what they were.

“Oh? Then I do ask that you please forgive me. As you said, I have not been properly educated.” I’d been backed into a corner; my only hope was that it would be something small and easily repaid.

“It is to be expected from an Abandoned,” Petre replied. “As I was saying, the House of Turva wishes to make a gesture of friendship. After some inquiring, we heard that you were looking for a helper to swell the ranks of your growing company. Thus, it is my pleasure to present to you the newest employee of Fletcher Accounting Services.”

He gracefully opened his hand, gesturing to Lillian, who gave me a small wave paired with a wide smile.

“Looks like you’re my new boss, Fredrick.”

3.

“I don’t like her.” Krystal didn’t bother keeping her voice low; Charlotte could block the sound between walls so well that not even vampire ears managed to hear through them. My girlfriend was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed and a scowl etched into her face. “A little too nice, a little too charming. And what’s with that ‘Fredrick’ shit? Getting pretty familiar pretty fast, if you ask me.”

“Well, that
is
my actual name,” I tried to point out, but the glare I received shut me down quickly.

“Missing the point, Freddy.”

Dinner had wrapped up not long after Petre dropped the bomb named Lillian on me; he’d excused himself and drove off, leaving his fellow vampire behind. Under the pretense of handling some private business regarding his books, Richard and I had left Lillian in the dining room to have a quick consultation with Krystal. I’d hoped she could shed some insight on how to deal with the situation, but her ideas were . . . less than productive.

“I’m just saying, accidents happen all the time, and it’s not like Freddy doesn’t have a reputation for ending up in trouble. Maybe he goes on a call that runs a little long, and she gets stuck out in the sunlight while he barely survives.”

“I know you’re kidding, but just that joke made my blood pressure go up,” Richard told her. “Petre is the number two in that clan, and he showed up to personally deliver Lillian as a token of friendship. If anything happens to her that smells even remotely suspicious, I’m going to have a ton of trouble on my hands.”

“Think the Turva clan will get violent?” I asked.

“Worse. They’ll drag me through meeting after meeting in diplomatic hearings.” Richard shuddered, which made the chair he was seated on wobble violently. “I can handle a brawl or two, and my people vastly outnumber theirs. But when they invoke the treaties and pull me into that mind-numbing diplomatic bullshit, that’s the real torture.”

Krystal snorted, then looked up to the ceiling. “Charlotte, is she doing anything weird? Anything we could use as grounds for her being here under malicious intent?”

“She is sitting quietly at the dinner table, eating the cold crab cake left in front of her.” Charlotte appeared between me and the doorway, wearing her usual antique dress. While Krystal and Richard seemed disappointed by the news, I found it a bit intriguing. It seemed Lillian didn’t entirely agree with the Turvas’ stance on blood being the only acceptable food for vampires to touch. Maybe there were other things they didn’t see eye-to-eye on, as well.

“Charlotte, please book a room for Lillian,” I instructed.

“Excuse me?” Krystal whipped her head around so fast that the fake glasses ended up cockeyed on her head.

“Like it or not, we’re stuck with her for now,” I explained. “Petre drove off in the car they came in, so I get the feeling she’s not heading home anytime soon. I don’t want to bring her to my apartment, so getting a room here is the best place to house her. Plus, if she
does
do anything suspicious, Charlotte will know about it and give us warning. We just have to make sure to tell Arch before he gets back from whatever assignment he’s on; I doubt it would do well for her to realize she’s bunking with agents.”

“I can send a message to him,” Krystal said. “And while I’m not crazy about sharing a house with that girl, I like it a lot better than having her try to crash with you. Not that I don’t trust you, Freddy, but it would probably get awkward. This situation has “honeypot” written all over it.”

Despite what you may expect, that term did not go over my head. I had taken in more than enough cinema about spies and subterfuge to know that a honeypot was when a covert operative attempted to seduce a target in order to gain information or trust. Unfortunately, knowing what Krystal meant just made it all the more awkward, as I considered that possibility for why Lillian was being handed to me as an assistant. It was a small mercy that vampires couldn’t blush; I suspect I would have ended up on the receiving end of Krystal’s wrath if my cheeks had suddenly gone red.

“Her plans are irrelevant. I intend to keep this relationship as detached and professional as I can manage.” Krystal still looked a bit wary, though my words seemed to somewhat mollify her. “If anything, this might be a blessing in disguise. We all agree that she’s most likely here as a spy, but knowing that means that we can control what she sees. After a week or so of working on accounts and doing filings, she’ll realize that I truly am nothing more than an accountant, and can report her findings up the chain of command. I’ll bore the House of Turva out of any interest in me.”

Richard, Krystal, and Charlotte all exchanged a look. It was a brief one, but volumes seemed to pass between them in the span of that glance. After a moment, Richard rose from his chair to address me. “I’m not saying that’s a bad idea, because it’s not. But . . . come on, Fred. You have to know as well as we do that dealing with parahumans means a certain element of the unexpected. It wasn’t even a couple of weeks ago you were trapped inside a pocket dimension with a pair of mages.”

“Those . . .
incidents
, while unavoidable, happen few and far between,” I replied. “How long do we really expect Lillian to hang in with me doing accounting work? A week, maybe two or three, at the most? Even if we do hit a chaotic incident, at most she’ll see that the services come with a certain amount of risk, but that doesn’t make me into a threat.”