Demon Lord 3: Blue Star Priestess (23 page)

I held still, looking at her.  “I kind of thought the Old Man would pull crap like this.   Good thing I planned ahead.”

Izumi strolled up and took a firm grip on the yoke.  At her touch, the wood became fragile with cold—much like my neck.  Fortunately, she snapped off the yoke without killing me.  She dropped the pieces to the floor.  “So we’re on?”

“Soon as I change, Operation Doppelganger can begin.”  I went into the bedroom, shed the armor, and dressed in more nondescript clothing: pants, steel-toed boots, a black tee, Kevlar vest, and hoodie.  After stowing assorted weapons on my person, I returned to the living room.  Osamu had already swept up the broken yoke.  He stood by Izumi, holding out the bundle Zero-T had left for me.  The masks.  Anything I might need would be in the limo.

Izumi shimmered.  Her pale skin darkened.  Her face grew stubble.  Her white hair went dark.  Her eyes went brown, holding an expression of contempt for the world at large.  She’d turned into me, and appeared to be wearing the same outfit I had own.  Even her scent had changed, acquiring elements of human and dragon.  If I wasn’t me, I wouldn’t know us apart. 

She kissed me—which was hella weird—and opened a magic portal of silver-blue light.    She said, “Tell Gloria ‘hi’ for me.”

“Sure.” I smiled at myself, and shifted my gaze to Osamu.  “They won’t stop you from leaving.  Drive the limo to Gloria’s place.  After I touch base with her, I have some dragons I need to look up.  They should be able to help me find Julia.”

“Yes, Caine-sama.”

Holding the package under an arm, I stepped into the shining disk and let it carry me away.

TWENTY-THREE

“Spare the Taser, spoil the child.”

                                        —Caine Deathwalker

I stepped out of Izumi’s portal, into Gloria’s bar.  The disk of silvery-blue light that brought me dwindled away.  A couple of the seated patrons shot me a quick glances, then turned their attention elsewhere.  Among preternaturals, too long a glace can be construed as a challenge.  I didn’t see Gloria anywhere, and figured she was handling business in her office. 
Gray held down his usual stool, nursing a mug of beer. 

There was a Goth shifter bartending.  She had raccoon eyes, ears, whiskers, and a fluffy tail, but was otherwise human.  A new girl.  Probably Sarah’s replacement.  I crossed the room
, took a stool near her, and caught her eye.  “Dewar Highlander Honey,” I said.

She looked at the many bottles on the shelves like they were the mysteries of the universe, and turned back to me.  “Are sure you don’t want a beer?  I know how to draw a beer.  There’re cold.”

I wanted what I wanted: a flavored whisky filtered through oak chips. This particular brand had a sweet, intense aftertaste, honey with a hint of peaches.  I smiled at her.  “Would you like me to get it for myself?  You could restock the beer nuts.”

“I could use a drink,” Gray said,
“though I fancy myself more of a beer aficionado than a beer nut.”

She moved off to get him the drink, collecting his mug, forgetting my order entirely.

Somehow, I don’t think she’ll be working here long.

The front door slammed open.  Gloria’s son Adrian stomped in, his red-eyed glare
flashing the room for anyone stupid enough to meet his vampire eyes. 

After the first curious glance, I faced forward again, ignoring him.  Vampires hate that, posers all.  Soon, I felt the pressure of his presence behind me.  “Caine,” he gritted out my name like he was chewing glass.  “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for a drink that I probably won’t get.”

Silence.

He said, “Where’s Gloria?”

“I’m not your mother’s keeper.” 
Unfortunately.  She’d look pretty, naked, in a gilded cage in my treasure room.  Not that it would ever happen.

More silence.

He said, “You two aren’t, uh…”

“Bodysurfing?  Doing the dirty?  Hitting the boneyard?  Gazzercising?  Bushwhacking cougar country—?”

“Stop, before I kill you.”

Thank Zeus!  I was running
low on metaphor.

Gloria appeared in a white, lacy dress that rode low on her shoulders.  She wore a black lace choker with a purple garnet glinting mid-throat.  She moved inside the bar, and took Raccoon-girl by the arm.  “Desiree, go clear a few tables and don’t hurry.”

“Yes, Mistress.”  Desiree’s voice trembled in lust or fear, maybe both.  Gloria’s vampire pheromones had that kind of effect.  I think she liked my company because I couldn’t be chemically bent to her will.  Something about being part dragon gave me immunity. 

Gloria scolded her employee.  “Now, I’ve told you not to call me that—in public.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Desiree hurried off to obey.

Gloria stopped across the bar from me.  Her crimson eyes stared past my shoulder, but not at her son.  Her focus was on a further point.  “Caine,” she smiled in a scary way, “why is your slayer whore swilling ginger ale in my bar?”

“Slayer?”  The word exploded from Adrian.  “Where?

I ignored the questions, hoping they’d go away.  “I’d like some
Dewar Highlander Honey, if you’ve got it in stock.”

“Honey,” Gloria leaned forward against the bar, peering deep into my eyes, “I’ve got everything in stock.”

I stared at her bodice.  “Yeah, I can see that.  About my drink…”

“Coming up, but answer my question first.”

“Even a pure blood needs backup for some things.  I hope that’s what Adrian’s here for.  You can’t go up alone against the Spartan Six.”

“Mother!”  Adrian sounded like a kid who just walked in on his mom and dad playing bondage games with melting candles and nipple clamps.

“I was going to tell you about them,” she said.  “Eventually.”

“What do they want with you?” he demanded.

I saw Gloria was reluctant to discuss this with her son, so I decided to help out—out of the goodness of my heart.  And because I still hadn’t got my drink.  “Their leader, Titus, wants to make your mom his bitch.”

Silence.

More silence.

Adrian said, “Really?”  The way he said it indicated that someone was going to die.  Soon.  He came up beside me, taking the stool next to me.  His stare bored into my profile.  “I can protect my mother.  We don’t need your half-vamp slut.”

Impressed, I raised my eyebrows.  “You can tell she’s dhampyr from across the bar?”

“Tell her to go,” Gloria said.  “She’s scaring some of the regulars, and that’s hard to do.”

“She’s not a slayer anymore,” I said.  “She just likes to dress that way.  They kicked her out because her human half is tainted.  She’s doing this for me to earn money.”

“Slayer or not,” Gloria said, “I don’t need help.”

“I’ll make her go,” Adrian said.

“She’s good.  She’ll kill you.  And if she doesn’t, her father will,”
I promised. 

“Do you want to explain that?” Gloria asked.

“Can I get my damned drink?”

“No,” they both said.

I sighed.  “Her father’s a master vamp who gives all new meaning to being homicidally overprotective.”

“Who is he?” Gloria asked.

“Roman.”

“That ankle-biting son of a bitch!”
Gloria’s eyes flamed brighter in rage.

“You know him?”  I wanted to
hear about
this
.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”  She forced a smile and went closer to Adrian.  She laid a hand over one of his.  “If you didn’t know about
my, uh, problems, why are you here?  It’s been a while.”

“My blood banks have been hit.  Most of my donors are dead.
  This war is going to leave my investments in serious trouble.  I thought, if you have a few hundred grand you’d like to invest…”

“Hitting your mom up for cash,” I piled on the mock-sympathy.  “That must be quite embarrassing.”

He growled at me.  If this wasn’t a neutral territory where violence was forbidden, he’d have gone for my throat.  He said, “It’s not good to fight on low rations.  Vampires need a lot of control not to drain humans when the scarlet thirst awakens.”

True.  Human
bystanders
were
liable to have Slurpee straws stuck in their necks, getting drained dry.  And the distracted vampires would be a lot easier for the enemies to kill.  “Your people are still drinking that synth-crap?” He wanted to prove to that synthetic blood could work as an alternative.  With a way to feed that wouldn’t alienate humans, Adrian hoped vampires might one day come out of the shadows and be accepted openly.  I thought he still had a long way to go.

“
I have little faith in such a product,” Gloria said.  “Real blood is so much tastier.”

“So, they hit your operations?” I asked.

“Virtually wiped us out, along with numerous human and vampire test subjects.  Only half of the scientists survived at the main lab in Culver.  The smaller labs had no survivors, and there’s worse news,” Adrian said.

“What’s worse than losing all your supply?” Gloria
asked.

“The cleanup crew got attacked and killed.  The second team called in didn’t get there in time to wipe every mind.  My people are tracking them down as we speak, but some are bound to get away and tell tales.  And if that
’s not bad enough, the clean-up crews are asking for combat pay,” Adrian said.

I jumped over the bar
, landing on the other side.  “Terrible, what a man has to do to get a drink in this place.”  I grabbed a bottle and came back, standing close beside Gloria just to piss Adrian off.  I poured myself a shot, threw it back, and refilled my glass.  A thought came to mind.  “Adrian, do you know how much stock was lost?”

“Most of it.”  His face was pale.  He’d calmed enough so his eyes lost their red glow, returning to ice blue. 

“Gloria you have some blood put away right?” I said.

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“About a year’s supply for one person, not counting the donations you’ve given me.  I keep those for private parties.”

I studied at Gloria.  People pay in blood to use her place for backroom deals.  I hadn’t known she had put so much away.  “Give some to Adrian and his people before they drop dead, or goes on a feeding rampage.  If they wipe out the clean-up crews, we’ll be exposed, and in deep shit with human society.”

Gloria reached over and grabbed Adrian’s face.  She peered at him closely.  He hid it well, but the cravings were tearing him up inside.  Gloria frowned, grabbed Adrian by the ear, and shook his head.  “You wait for it to get this bad before coming to your own mother?”  Still holding on to the ear, she led him along—the bar between them—until they reached the bar’s
end and stopped.  Gloria pulled something out of a bin of ice.  A bag of blood.  “Here, drink!”

Adrian bit through the plastic and slurped noisily.  Soon, color returned to his cheeks.  Once finished, he looked at me.  “This is your blood?  Damn, what a rush.”

“Better,” Gloria asked.

“Thanks, Mom.”

I caught Gloria’s gaze.  “Let the Old Man know about this so he can arrange a regular supply for domus, and, uh, don’t mention you’ve seen me.”

That caught her attention.  She came back to where I stood.  “Why not?”

I shrugged.  “He’s spooked and doesn’t want me out taking chances, but I have important business coming up.”

Gloria’s face went grave with concern.   “I heard about Julia.  I’ve put word
out.  If I hear anything…”

“Thanks,” I said.

Adrian came up behind his mom, and turned her away from me.  If he could have dragged her from my proximity, he would have.  One thing I don’t understand,” he said.  “I know the locations of all the blood labs and only two of them are lures for humans looking to donate.  The rest of the sites are covert with armed guards.  How did these hit teams learn where to strike?”

“Can’t rule out magic,” I said.

He said, “I’m worried about something else.”

Gloria sounded surprised.  “You’re saying we might have a leak?  A traitor?”

“Not sure yet,” Adrian said, “but if there is, they’d have to be high in my organization, or a well-placed member in one of the courts coordinating the defense of the city.”

I felt my phone vibrate in my pants pocket.  I pulled it out and read a text.  Osamu: WE NEED TO LEAVE FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT
SOON, CAINE-SAMA.

That’s right, the dragons.  My mother’s people.  Hopefully, they’re over trying to kill me with every stray assassin that comes along.  Hmmm.  The storm fey?  They might have been hired by my disapproving family.  There’s a cheery thought.