Origins (A Demonkin Novel) (23 page)

"Excuse me?"

"Cicero has offered a bounty for, and I quote, the child vampire agent of the FBI."

"Do you intend to try to collect this bounty?" I felt a lump develop in my throat. I had felt the ocean of his power and if it came down to a fight, I don't know if I could best him raw power against experience.

"James, you have to keep this creature alive. She is way too precious to lose, besides I should like to see her grow into her power," he told Thompson. I let out a breath of relief at his statement. "No child, Cicero is the Master of Chicago because I have no interest in vampire politics. I am over fifteen-hundred years old and have never once sired an offspring. I observe those around me, but have no interest in ruling them. The answer to your question is no; I have no interest in collecting the madman's monies."

"Ashlyn, trust Marc. I should have introduced you to him sooner, but I didn't know how he would react. Many times in the past he has helped when there have been problems in this city, even though it is the responsibility of the Master of the City to police the actions of those around him."

I nodded my understanding even though I didn't. If he had so much power, why wasn't he the Master of Chicago? Something just didn't add up in the equation, but I didn't voice my concerns. I wasn't the Master of Chicago, nor did I have any inclination to be, not even when I grew up.

"If you say so, Thompson," I smiled at the man who had saved my noodles a few times over the past day or two.

"You're growing up little girl, yesterday you would have told me what I could do with my own advice and smiled when you said it."

"I don't respect anybody who doesn't deserve it; trust me, you earned it."

"I assume you are here looking for Cicero?" We both nodded.

"Yeah, we are in a roundabout sort of way. Mostly we're looking for the vampire who killed Matt and several cops. Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"Is there any evidence pointing to a specific individual?"

"Ashlyn," Thompson made my name a question. I smiled at him in gratitude for not spilling the beans about my abilities. He might trust Marcel or Marc, but I didn't yet.

"I can only describe his scent; if I get near him, I could smell him," I answered vaguely.

"There are several hundred vampires living in the City of Chicago, are you going to just go around smelling everyone?”

I hadn't thought about it, but subconsciously that had been my idea. I didn't realize so many vampires lived in the city. I couldn't believe the "ecosystem" could handle the "food" needs of such a large parasitic population. "I hadn't planned on it," I lied. "I used bait to try to flush the killer out and it ended up getting Matt killed, and for his death I am deeply sorry," I told him. It would probably be better to be honest.

My answer seemed to appease the enigmatic vampire, for he nodded at me acceptingly. "I wish I could help you find Cicero, but I swore an oath not to hunt or kill the Master of the City. It's the reason I am allowed to stay here in Chicago without being bothered by all the vampire politics, but I can tell you this. The little man out there doesn't work for me."

I processed the ramifications of his statement and looked to Thompson for his input. Apparently he didn't want to discuss the revelation in front of Marcel and drag him in any deeper than he already put himself in. "Thanks Marc, I owe you again," he told the vampire behind the desk.

"Just keep this little treasure safe. I can't explain it, but I think she has quite the destiny before her, and I would like to see it play out to its fullest. As for you little one," he turned and offered his hand to me, "once this is all over and should you ever feel the need to explore your potential, please don't hesitate to seek me out."

I placed my hand in his and expected him to shake it, but instead he brought my hand up to his lips and gently kissed the back of my fingers. I gave a little gasp at the intimacy of the gesture and felt a charge surge through my body start at my fingertips and ended up someplace I'd rather not mention. "Thank you, Marcel," I told him.

He nodded again and we left the office and the club. We passed Tony on his way into Marcel's office after we left and he didn't look too happy. At least we have a place to start, I thought. I just wondered how long it would be until Tony left the Vamporium.

* * *

Two hours until dawn we hit pay dirt. I saw the squinty little vampire leave the club through the front entrance and I nudged Thompson in the ribs. We had been sitting in the Suburban parked in the street for a better part of four hours. We had the engine off, but the windows open and it seemed to be getting a bit frosty in the cab of the vehicle. Neither Thompson nor I had noticed.

I don't know what Thompson had thought about to pass the time, but my thoughts had been wandering toward a handsome club owning vampire. More than once I had to shift my position in my seat. I kept thinking of his offer right before we left and I thought I might take him up on it. It would be purely for helping me understand the limitations of my power. I think I might have even convinced myself of my intentions in the four hours we sat watching the entrance of the club for Tony.

He started walking down the street and I thought he might be headed for a parking garage nearby, but he just kept going. Instead of firing up the engine of the SUV and following him with it, we opened the doors and followed on foot. I thought it was a bad plan and kind of stupid. If the vampire got into a vehicle at any time, we would be hard pressed to follow. I could keep up, but I doubted Thompson could. Lycanthropes could be really fast, but not vampire fast. Well as far as I knew they weren't.

As it turned out, we didn't have to worry about keeping up with a car, just a vampire. Tony must have heard us following him, because as soon as he rounded a corner, he ran for it. Fuck.

Again, I paid no heed to my partner and took off running after the nimble little vampire. I heard a roar behind me and decided to let Thompson worry about it. Tony began weaving around buildings and running down alleys and I thanked the gods I had worn sensible shoes. I splashed through puddles and stepped on things I didn't want to know about and still I couldn't catch up to the vampire ahead of me. I thought about repeating the maneuver I used to catch Matt the other night, but I wasn't close enough. I didn't know what to do. At that moment, I heard Thompson behind me.

Ordinarily Thompson smelled of sage, but coming from the beast I heard behind me, the smell threatened to overpower me. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to let him pass me because I knew he would be faster if he had already caught up to me, but the narrow alleyway prevented his bulk from passing. Then I had a thought.

"Jump," I yelled and did the same, but instead of jumping high, I jumped low, almost parallel to the ground. I didn't want to land in the muck coating the disgusting alley, so I put my hands out in front of me to keep my clothes from being smeared. I felt the presence of Thompson soaring over my head and I looked up as I slid to a stop. I saw the form of a giant half black lion, half man soaring through the air and strike the back of the escaping vampire forcing him to the ground.

I pushed against the ground and landed on my feet. I had no need to rush because the giant werelion had the vampire's neck locked securely in his jaws. I closed the distance between us at a leisurely pace. I didn't know how in control Thompson remained while in his wereform and I didn't want to take a chance of having those powerful claws and teeth turned on me.

"Thompson?"

He gave a growl and shifted his head ever so slightly up and down one time to acknowledge he lived inside the monster and remained in control. When I drew close enough I could tell he wasn't moving, trying hard not to rip the head off the vampire we wanted to question. They became so uncooperative when their heads weren't attached. Vampires can be so conceited.

I knelt down by Tony's head carefully to avoid dipping my skirt in the muck. I wasn't wearing stockings or pantyhose, so all I would have to do is shower when I got home. I lowered my face until I could see Thompson's eyes. I saw intelligence there and I gave him a little smile. It felt a little unsettling to see a seven hundred pound lion wink at you. I ignored him and concentrated on the extremely uncomfortable looking vampire.

"Hi Tony, are you going to cooperate now?" I saw him nod in response. I guess it would be pretty hard to talk with six inch fangs piercing your throat. "Good, Thompson would you please let him up now?"

Thompson opened his maw and released Tony's neck. I stifled a giggle when Thompson gave him a lick across the neck. He probably did it for the blood, but it gave Tony the impression he appeared tasty to the werelion. I watched as he laid there and gave his wounds a chance to close and to give Thompson a chance to fully get off him.

"What do you want? I didn't do anything!"

I looked at Thompson to see if he might shift back to his human form for questioning; but he just sat on his haunches to watch the show. "You know who we're looking for, Tony. Why don't you help us?"

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"I think you do, Tony. Where is Cicero?" I was getting impatient.

"Who's Cicero?" He was getting predictable.

"Thompson, you eat tonight?" The werelion growled a response.

"Ha ha, he ain’t gonna eat me, I ain’t done nothin’. You can't use scare tactics to make me talk about stuff I don't know shit about. It's a fact, so cut the crap. If you let me go now, I won't press charges for the assault. Can I go now?"

Ooh, this little shit was really starting to piss me off. I considered eating him myself, but I figured he'd taste like shit. "Fine, you wouldn't mind posing for a few newspaper photos would you?" I pulled out my cell phone.

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been getting in a lot of trouble lately for mishandling vampire suspects. I even made the paper a couple of times. If I'm going to let you go, I want someone here to prove I didn't hurt you. Don't worry, Tony, I'll be sure to let the reporter know how helpful you've been in our investigation," I said. I started to enjoy this way too much, and I think Thompson did too, but hearing a lion laughing seemed a little creepy.

"You can't do that!"

"Why, Tony? Why can't I do it?" I tried to sound concerned.

"He'll kill me!"

"Who Tony, who'll kill you," I continued in the same false tone.

"Cicero, he'll fucking rip my goddamn head off!" He realized his mistake. I knelt down to be at the same level as him, no more stupid threats and questions.

"Where is he, Tony? If I get him before he gets you, you won't have to worry about him anymore."

"Fuck you!"

I slapped him. I slapped him hard. I heard the vertebrae in his neck snap as his head spun way farther than it should have. He fell backward against the pavement and for a moment I worried I had killed him. I saw his head turn as the muscles in his neck worked to hold his head still as the bones re-knit themselves together. The process took only a few minutes and he didn't say anything the whole time, but if looks could kill, I'd be re-knitting a few bones myself.

I figured I'd make use of Tony's down time. He lay on the pavement with his face in the air while he healed. I knew I had worn a skirt, but right then I didn't give a shit about decorum. I had worn some pretty modest panties so I didn't care who I flashed. I stepped over Tony's prone form and sat down on his chest with a little "thump". I placed my hands down on the cool wet pavement and since they had already gotten dirty from breaking my fall earlier I didn't care what I put them in now. I had one on each side of his head and I used them to lower my face until it stopped a mere inch away from his. I looked down at his eyes and locked mine to his brown orbs.

I could see his surprise when he saw my slit pupils and then panic as he realized I planned on doing something to him, but he didn't know what. I looked into his eyes and found the place where my ocean met his lake. He wasn't a Master Vampire, but he had strength from his sheer age. The alleyway and Thompson faded away until only Tony and I remained. It felt strange being so close to another vampire in the impenetrable darkness. Our illuminations melded together and seemed brighter, probably due to the close proximity of our physical bodies. I looked down at him and sent a tendril of thought at the sad little vampire.

"Where is Cicero, Tony?"

I saw the panic in his eyes magnify ten-fold. Now he knew what I had planned and he fought me with every ounce of power he had. He couldn't struggle from underneath me with his physical body because we weren't in the real world anymore. He realized the futility and tried to fight me with his mind. He understood the rift between his power and mine, so he shifted tactics. He tried to think of other things. I saw it all play out in my mind like I sat watching a home movie of Tony's life. I saw the woman vampire who made Tony nearly a hundred years ago, right here in Chicago. I saw him start doing some enforcer work for a magnificent vampire during the roaring twenties. I recognized Cicero at once. His thoughts went from his life as a human teen trying to survive life on the streets all the way to some of the dirty deeds he had done in the name of Cicero throughout the eighty odd years he had worked for him. I saw Cicero command him to keep an eye on Marcel, the only vampire in Chicago who could pose a threat to him, and then I found what I sought.

As soon as Tony formed the thought in his mind, he realized his mistake, and tried to concentrate on something else. I grabbed at the thought with my mind and forced him to finish it. Cicero had his most trusted people running his businesses because he had become a wanted man (or vampire). He had holed himself up while he waged this war against the human authority figures. The vampires living in this century should be running things, not suffering against the laws they should be above. Tony agreed with him and thought him a sort of god for not lying down and acting like sheep when vampires should be the wolves.

I tried to force Tony to think of the place where Cicero had holed himself up, but he didn't know. He did know who did though. Vincent Marazzo. He ran the flagship of Cicero's businesses, "Capone's Vault". I had heard of it, a restaurant and theater on Lakeshore Drive that catered to humans. Vampires ran the establishment, but it had become a Mecca for humans who wanted to experience the prohibition era Chicago. Tommy guns and gangster paraphernalia littered the walls as a tribute to an era long gone, but not forgotten. If we wanted to find a way to Cicero, it would be there. Hot Damn!