Finally Dead (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 1) (20 page)

Saying
all of that got Eve to remember something. She’d never met the Police Chief
there in person, but she’d heard from Zack that she was a Vampire before. That
it had taken so long to come back… Well, that was probably because it had only
been mentioned one time and that had been a weird experience for her. She’d
gone to a different land, and helped Zack convince a police detective that
bigfoot was real. It was the kind of thing that had a dream like quality to it,
even though she knew for a fact that it had happened. A lot of her life was
like that. The stuff from the last years at least. Now those things were trying
to become clearer to her, she thought.

Humans
had a real problem, understanding that the supernatural was real. Even the ones
that
knew
it was, and who were around it all the time kind of didn’t
think it was true. No matter what they saw. After a while things simply became
hazy, like they were dreamed and then forgotten. That sense was why most
otherwise intelligent people could hear things,
see
things, themselves,
and then claim that nothing had happened the next day. They weren’t lying, they
just couldn’t hold the idea of the fantastic in their minds clearly enough.

Eve had
always believed that there were things bigger than she was. Not in
God
,
maybe, since if that bastard existed he’d let her be raped over and over again
as a small child, but
other
things. Ghosts, and demons. She even knew
some. Hell, she’d
kissed
some. Even for her though, it was hard to hold
that they were actually not just people in her head all the time. It had been.
Now, for some reason it was simpler.

The
geeky looking Vampire regarded her with a cute smile.

“All
right then. I’ll get with Althea on that and send her to you. Can you assure
her safety in this?”

Eve
nearly just said yes, because it was Zack, but then squinted a bit, trying to
show she was trying to think.

“If she
comes at it with good intent? Then yes. At least I can be there, and stand
between them if something starts to happen. If she tries to use it to attack?
No. I wouldn’t even try to do that. It isn’t perfect safety, but I really think
we can do this without it being a big problem. There’s no reason not to.
Regardless, Thanksgiving? You can bring a dish.”

The
woman smiled at her, seeming friendly about the whole thing.

“All
right. I’ll bring the pie. Pumpkin, pecan and apple?”

“Sounds
good. I’ll handle the Vampire stuff. Even if no one else comes we can take
turns trying to fatten Warren up. I swear that man is half scarecrow.”

On that
note, Maggie left, seeming a bit disturbed. That was probably because she
couldn’t remember how to bake a pie. After a few hundred years, there was
probably no reason for her to know things like that, was there?

When she
left, Lenore turned to her, and Eve was nearly certain she was about to get an
earful, that or a backhand. So, she wasn’t
really
surprised when that
second one came, taking her all the way over the counter, and landing her almost
at the central booth along the far wall.

It hurt,
but that started to fade almost instantly, so she stood up. She wasn’t going to
win a fight with someone as old as Lenore, or a foot race. Even though her
heart burned with rage, she held it in. After all, that was a thing she’d
master long before. Not acting on anger or even rage. It had been a lesson
she’d needed to learn in order to survive.

“For not
inviting you first? I really was just thinking that you’d have to go to
Darla’s. I should have mentioned that…”

The
other woman seemed as calm as she did, and shook her head slowly.

“No,
dear. I’m not that petty, even if you’d been snubbing me openly. This is for
offering to put yourself between someone you barely know and a Greater Demon
like that. It was
foolish
. Do not do that again. Understood?” She was
ready to fight, her feet apart and hands held loose, but there was something
about her that let Eve know that she
expected
to be attacked.

“I can
see that. It’s hard to remember that Zack isn’t just some guy I know. Keeley
and Darla, too. I mean, Keels was the first girl I ever kissed. Darla gave me a
home
when my own mother was still plotting to find ways to sell me for
drug money. Half of what I can do, how I’m coping now, is because of them. Oh,
I had to
earn
it. Starve myself and practice meditation like crazy, but
they knew the right things to try. So they just seem like… You know, my
friends?” She stood there for a breath, and looked away. “I also know that
you’re right. They’ve all told me that, too. That I should never trust a demon.
Not even one of
them
. Of course, they’ve said the same about everyone
else too, including you and Edom.”

There
was utter silence in the shop for a bit, the sound of the single blow still
ringing in Eve’s mind. Finally, the smaller woman brushed at her hair, which
was light red and past her shoulders, if not truly long.

“They
were right, Eve. In this one thing you should believe them completely. Trust no
one. Ever.”

Then the
woman came around the counter and began to beat Eve until she was nearly
certain she’d die.

She
got
the point then though. The one intended.

Trust no
one. Not even your friends.

In the
end everyone would betray you, if you survived long enough.

Rolling,
Eve decided, was the best she was going to manage for a while. She wasn’t
actively being beaten anymore, but trying to stand up too close to the other
Vampire wasn’t going to work very well. She’d just kick her in the head. She
knew that from her one failed attempt to do so already, which had sent her
flying backward toward the sitting area.

So, she
kept moving that way. Not that it would offer escape from the pain of the
attack. Everything that Lenore was doing came in far too fast for that. Eve had
tried to block already, and had managed it,
one
time out of the twenty
or so hits that had come in.

She
didn’t groan though, not bothering to breathe. It was probably inevitable that
something like this would happen. It made her angry, but it was also a thing
that she’d planned for. After a fashion. She’d been ready for attacks like this
to come, in order to train her, but there had been no mention of such lessons
being attached to philosophical concepts in particular. This one was confusing
too.

Not the
basic message of trust no one. Everyone kind of knew that one, on some level.
If they didn’t, then Eve had to kind of envy them. To be that innocent must be
nice, while it lasted. If she’d ever been that way, it had been so long before
that she didn’t remember it.

So, that
part was clear enough. Even the fact that she was going to be hit until she
figured out how to get the other woman to stop. After which she’d probably
start hitting again. Just to drive the first lesson of not trusting people
home. It was practically something out of a movie, right?

The
trouble was the deeper level of things.

“Trust
no one, but we still have to, don’t we? Work together and have faith in people
to do the right thing, or at least serve their own best interests…” She said
this as she got up, ready to try and block again.

Eve
had
to get faster, didn’t she? Focusing she tried to pay as much attention to
Lenore as she could, only to find the woman standing there, relaxed, ready, and
blank faced. That was so she wouldn’t goad Eve to rage, by mocking her with a
smile?

When she
spoke there was an almost dull tone to her words, they were so flat.

“Indeed.
Our Culture, like many others, thrives on cooperation. The difference there is
that we also have a strong tradition of betrayal. You must have contacts,
friends, and those that will stand by you, but you must also not come to count
on them to act or react as you think they should. Today I’m hitting you.
Tomorrow it may be a close embrace and gentle kisses. The same is true with the
other beings you know, to greater or lesser degrees. Zack is a wonderful soul,
but also a Greater Demon. There are forces acting on him at all times that you
and I can’t know. Today he might sacrifice anything to save you from harm, but
tomorrow he may have to take your life, or even your soul from you. If you
can’t keep this in mind, you
will
suffer for it.” There was a hand
stretched out to her, as if offering to help her stand.

Eve
wasn’t buying it, since her martial arts classes had covered how unlikely that one
was. Shaking her head a bit, not trusting the gesture, she stood on her own.
Bones knitting, and bruises fading away already. It would take a while for it
to happen completely, but not that long. The healing hurt a bit, but it was
more of a dull ache than running full speed had been.

Running
fast, she amended mentally. She really hadn’t moved full speed yet.

“So
lesson number one comes with a beating? Trust no one, but make them think you
do?”

The
woman smiled, a bit sadly, “beating number
one
? For you, only. This is
more like lesson fifty-six, and should be beating six hundred, or so. Probably
delivered after ten to twenty years of unlife. You’ve been handily skipping the
others so far. Even the second one that I was about to give you for foolishly
attacking me when you can’t hope to win right now. Yet, there you stand, in
complete control of yourself.”

That got
a fake smile back, though with closed lips. They weren’t swollen, but they felt
a little torn on the left hand side.

“Control?
I feel angry, all the time. I’m just not acting on it. Hungry, too.” It was
probably a sign of weakness admitting that, but Lenore nodded to her slowly,
moving back a step, into the doorway that would lead to the front section of
the shop.

“I know.
We all feel that way. All the time. Control means only that your actions are
precise, and planned. That you think first and act as you wish to, not as your
feelings dictate. Very well. I think we can call this lesson done for now?”

Eve gave
her a skeptical look. After all, she wasn’t a moron, was she?

“Until I
let my guard down, and you come across with a right hook when I’m not looking?”

There
was a slow and gentle clap then, her hands brought together once, almost
happily.

“Or
until I send someone
else
you don’t even know after you for the same
thing. Exactly right. Very good then. You be ready for that, at all times, and
I’ll go and get the shop ready for shift change over. I stayed late, so that
Edom could see to some of our other business concerns in the section. I hear
that you’re working at the club as well? Industrious of you. You have some time
before you need to present yourself there. Perhaps you should consider finding
new clothing, and cleaning yourself? You look a bit disheveled.”

Like
that was her fault? Still, it made sense, and it was dark out, if still not so
late that she had to feel bad about it. The club would really start hopping at
about nine, and not even really then, being Sunday night. Her job was all about
being there though, and making sure the trash and vomit got cleaned up. No one
had said that she needed to be entertained by a large crowd the whole time, had
they?

Just
before she was about to leave, the phone rang, and Lenore answered it, very
professionally. She was an ambassador, after all. Before Eve could take more
than six steps, trying to sneak out while she was distracted, a hand came up,
stopping her.

“Ah! You
just caught her, Richard. She was about to escape for the evening. Let me put
her on the phone?” That took careful negotiation and a wary Eve being ready to
try and block again, if something came at her. That was silly though, since she
was ready for it right then. The trick would be to go after her as soon as she
started talking, her attention diverted.

She’d
heard the voice, so got who it was on the line.

“Representative
Swerlin?” She kept her mind open and her body relaxed, but ready to move.

“Ms.
Benson! I just got the samples you sent Jonas and I. I have to say, it was much
better than I’d expected! Do you really think you can bring this in for the
price we discussed?”

She
didn’t really know, not being a business person, but she let her head move from
side to side a little, as if she were thinking. It was contrived, but
everything had to be now, didn’t it?

Even her
friendships with others, it seemed. That would have been a lot more
disappointing, but really, hadn’t that always been the case for her?

“So far
it’s looking good. There are a hundred factors that could cause that to go up,
but the goal isn’t to clean people out of money. It has to pay for itself, and
our financial backers will need a return on their investment, but that’s all.
Hopefully the others will like it too. I should probably call and check with
Marissa, but I don’t know if she’s had hers yet. We have a meeting set up
soon.” Eve nearly panicked, not certain she hadn’t missed that already, but
counting she thought it would actually be in two days still. On Tuesday of the
following week.

The
whole thing where she wasn’t sleeping was throwing her off a lot.

She
moved back, jumping, as a very slow, and almost clumsy looking, haymaker was
aimed for the side of her face by Lenore. There was no follow up, and she
didn’t acknowledge the move, except with a frown. She was
trying
to do
business, which was important.

To her.
It was just possible that the lady didn’t give a good goddamn about that,
however. A House of Representatives member sounded like a pretty important
person to Eve, but Lenore outranked him in the Vampire world, didn’t she? As
far as that kind of thing went, Rich might as well be a waiter at a Denny’s. Maybe
the manager, but his Human world job was more of a problem than a power as far
as their kind was really concerned. That someone as important as an ambassador
might just not care all that much about his concerns probably wasn’t all that
shocking.

They
chatted for a bit anyway, but he was a busy man, so needed to go sooner rather
than later. It was mainly about him realizing that she wasn’t full of it, as
far as the product went. He needed to make sure that she understood he was
going to support her actions. Even though he didn’t really know her at all.

As she
hung up, and lightly tossed the phone back to Lenore, Eve nodded.

“Like
you said? He doesn’t really trust me, and never will, but he’s smart enough to
try and make it seem like he does, in order to let us work together. He’s
acting like a friend, making contact and all that, in order to…”

The
phone was snagged from the air in slow motion, showing how quickly Eve had been
talking. The entire time, which meant Rich had been matching her that way. Relaxing
she tried to slow that down. Lenore moved around the counter, bustling a bit,
her long skirt making soft swishing noises around her legs.

“I
believe so. Richard Swerlin is a pain in the rear, but
not
a dullard or
fool. He’s known for his hard political dealing however, so be aware of that.
If he can use you, he will. The trick is to make certain you gain from the
effort at the same time. Ideally in equal measure. I trust that I don’t need to
hit you again to impress the importance of that on you?”

Eve
nearly growled a flip comment about the last one being sufficient, but it
actually
was
, so she faked clearing her throat and tried for a charming
wink. It probably came off seeming dated though. It was a thing that Keeley did
a lot. Mainly to make other people think she was a lot older than she was, in
order to throw them off. That wouldn’t hurt for her to do either, would it?

“I’m
good, thank you. I’m also out of here, unless the phone is going to ring
again?” She looked at it, sitting back in its little cradle, but nothing
happened. She started toward the door, trying to move at regular speeds, only
to find an adorable little man standing directly in her path.

Bey.

She
stopped, and looked at him closely. He was, no doubt, one of those people she
wasn’t supposed to really trust. To that end she moved to the side, to let him
get into the room. He did, but his hand came out, stopping her from leaving.

“Miss
Benson? I have some news, as to the disposition of the question I have come
here for? Regarding those that took you?”

She
stopped, and gestured toward one of the booths.

“Can I
get you something to drink? We have blood…”

The tiny
fellow, who looked almost like a cartoon character come to life, his great ears
sticking out the way they did, gave a slight bow. It made his suit jacket move
just a bit, since he was so slender underneath it.

“Perhaps
a mug of warm water?”

She let
him get settled, while she ran to get that. They had a constant supply of the
stuff, used mainly for cleaning, but it was filtered and clean tasting. At
least it smelled that way. She got it back to him quickly, as Lenore puttered
around, acting like she
wasn’t
there to listen in.

He took
a small sip, probably to be polite, as she got into the yellow seat across from
him. It was clean, since she’d gone over all of them a dozen times that day
herself.

“I fear
that I do not have too much, as of yet. I found their scent trail, however.
Three of them. By running a search of the entire city, I was able to find a
place that they met, several days ago, in a park space. There were many Human
scents there, and enough blood that I believe some of our kind have been going
to that location to feed. That, or the Humans fought, but in this civilized
time, that is less likely than in the past. I will endeavor to watch that
location, in case they come again.”

Eve
might not have been ready for the spelling bee, but she knew that what he was
describing sounded a bit familiar. Lenore did too, her face going slightly
blank.

Eve
spoke though, since it was her conversation.

“Was
this in Central Park? Maggie Sims mentioned that was where her club of role
playing friends meets up, or has been. She also mentioned that it was a good
cover for feeding. Lots of bodies, and people pretending to be Vampires, and
other things, already.” She stopped there, not really wanting the nerd girl
Vampire to be an evil kidnapper. If she was it might ruin Thanksgiving.

Bey went
very still too, probably for a similar reason.