Real Vampires Live Large (23 page)

“The EVs are the reason I came to Austin in the first place. Their unique ability is that they can convert power into other things. Drugs. In the right hands, this could be a good thing, a way to perform miracles.” Richard let go of me and jumped to his feet again. The way he said miracles reminded me about the whole former priest thing.

“But they're the wrong hands?”

Richard's fists opened and closed against his strong thighs. Righteous warrior, former crusader, you didn't want to mess with him. I could easily picture him crushing the life out of some bad actor.

“They couldn't be more wrong. The EVs have taken this ability and perverted it. They take advantage of an immortal's boredom, his”—he glanced at me—“or
her
desire for excitement, something different.”

“Like being immortal and vampire isn't enough. There has to be more than the same old, same old.” I got it. But I didn't see a drug as the answer. There were always new places to go, people to meet. Of course all the drifting got old too. I could vouch for that. Since settling in Austin I felt like I'd finally found a home. I'd hate like hell to leave here.

“I followed the EVs here from Buenos Aires. I want to put them out of business permanently.” He had a fierce look. I didn't doubt that if anyone could bring the EVs down it was Richard.

“I don't see how you could do that alone.”

“I wasn't alone there. I had allies. And here I was waiting until I knew more about their current setup before involving the locals.” Richard glanced at me again and shook his head. “Not you, Glory. Some of the older, stronger vampires.”

“But it's me they want, Richard.” I bit back a snarky comment. Of course he hadn't considered me in forming his vampire militia. What could a clothes-obsessed vamp with a shifting phobia do for him?

“I'd never use you as bait, Glory. But it will be difficult to get to them. The EVs in Argentina were well guarded. I'm sure they will be here too. I've been searching for their stronghold, but haven't found it yet. Apparently the power supply in Argentina was running low. And then there was a coup, I guess you'd call it. They have a new leader and he decided to change location.”

“A coup? Damian said they were like a cult. I assumed they had some kind of charismatic leader.” It never failed to amaze me what I didn't know. I'd sure had enough years to learn just about everything. But then the EVs were apparently a secret society. A well-kept secret.

“The EVs' secrets are held by what they call the Demoness, Honoria, the spirit of a Roman princess who was married to Attila the Hun. She's the source of their power and speaks to the current leader. If a leader doesn't keep his followers in line or please her, Honoria devours him, literally.”

I shuddered. Devouring female demons. Of course any woman married to Attila the Hun might actually enjoy snacking on hapless men. And Flo was involved with these creeps? “Makes you wonder what the old leader did, doesn't it?”

“There have been rumors . . .” Richard shook his head, like he'd exhausted his knowledge or didn't want to waste any more time on the subject with me. “But I wasn't surprised that the group moved to Texas. Even down there, we heard that Austin is a paranormal playground.”

“Yeah. They even print up T-shirts that say ‘Keep Austin Weird.' ” Okay, so I had one. Pink and very cute, though a little tight since I'd dried it on hot. “I don't think the chamber of commerce realizes just how weird Austin really is though.”

“The EVs know. They have spies like Greg Kaplan, fools who will work for their drugs, finding power sources for them.” Richard stalked to the kitchen, pulled out a Fangtastic and twisted off the top. He took two deep gulps and his face turned pink. I was so not noticing how cute he looked with that slight flush, not to mention the late night beard, as pale as his hair, that hugged his strong jaw.

“Give me one. You know you still haven't told me how they do their power thing.” I was obviously having a sinking spell if I could forget what I'd just had with Blade and have lustful thoughts about Richard. He drained his bottle, then grabbed two more from the fridge. Hey, that stuff wasn't cheap, but one look at his set face and I wasn't going to bring up my budget concerns.

I took the bottle and opened it. The flavor of the month was O positive. On sale and always the cheapest vintage. Remember that budget? I wrinkled my nose, then took a swallow.

“You're stalling, Richard. How do the EVs get power from a vampire?”

“They suck your belly, Glory.”

Fifteen

I spewed about two dollars worth of Fangtastic all over the coffee table. “What did you say?” I set the bottle down before I dropped it.

“Your belly, your navel, like where you were attached to your mother. That's where they get your power.” Richard headed for the kitchen and came back with a handful of paper towels. He efficiently cleaned off the coffee table, then I heard the thunk of wet towels hitting the bottom of the trash can.

“That is beyond gross.” I pressed a hand to my oh-so-generous power base. No wonder the EVs wanted me, especially now that I had the added attraction of the Cheetos bulge.

“It's what they do.” Richard sat down beside me.

“How do they convert it, though? And is there a vein there? Do they use blood or . . . something else?” I had visions of lying drained and helpless atop some kind of altar with a straw in my belly button. South America. Maybe they'd also called in Incas or Mayans or, oh, hell, the Devil, for ideas on how to convert power. And Honoria had been married to Attila the Hun. I bet he'd been so busy conquering countries she'd been deprived sexually. Was that why she'd helped the EVs come up with the Vamp Viagra?

“They have a council of twelve. All born vampires. Their secret abilities come from an ancient book that Honoria controls. Only the chosen twelve have access to it.”

“An EV manual. How creepy is that? It figures they're born vampires. Born vamps think they're superior to us made types. And they
can
eat.” If Mara ever dared eat a bag of Cheetos in front of me . . . Well, let's just see how she'd like wearing a Cheetos bag thong.

Richard was deep in thought. Obviously eating wasn't on his radar. “I'd like to know how they even knew about you, Glory.” Richard plucked my hand off my stomach.

“Greg said someone mentioned my name and he remembered me and my shift aversion. What do you bet my roomie Flo was the one with the loose lips?” I made a face. “I'm sure she didn't intend . . . Oh, hell, Richard, do you think they're sucking Flo's power?” Richard's flush had faded until he was ghostly white.

“I hope to hell not. If they don't kill her,” he said, and I saw him swallow, “she can recover some of it. But it leaves a vampire weak and vulnerable. Just about powerless.” He looked down at my hand. “Damn it, we need to find her.”

The door crashed open. “Find who?” Flo swayed into the room, clearly high on something.

Or was that low? She didn't look right, like she was dreaming, or fading. Or . . . oh, shit. I jumped up and grabbed her when she stumbled. Richard was on her other side and shot me a concerned look over her head.

“We've been worried about you, Flo. Where've you been?” I sent Richard a mental message and we guided Flo down the hall and into her bedroom. Her hair was wild, her face pale sans lipstick and, scariest of all, she'd lost her shoes somewhere. Flo never went anywhere without top of the line footgear.

“Simon and I were together.” She reached up and patted Richard's cheek. “Sorry,
caro
, but I move on.”

I had to give Richard credit for not dropping Flo right on her cute little butt. Instead he helped me lay Flo gently on her bed, a decadent number complete with gilt cherub headboard. Her red satin comforter slid to the floor and he kicked it aside. I didn't say anything, just adjusted a pillow under Flo's head. Her eyes closed.

“Don't you dare go to sleep.” I tapped her cheek lightly and her eyes flew open.

“Did you just hit me?” She sat up, eyes shooting sparks.

“Glory didn't hit you, Florence, but if you don't calm down, I might.” Richard fisted his hands and I believed he had a slap or two in him.

Flo's anger dissolved into tears and she clasped me to her bosom. Mood swings. “I'm sorry, Glory. You're my best friend in the world. You must come with me to meet Simon. He will love you as much as I do.”

I inhaled and almost choked on the scent of sex, blood and something sickly sweet. I looked at Richard. Vamp Viagra? He nodded. I patted Flo's slim back. Hmm. She'd lost her bra somewhere, but with perky twentysomething breasts, this wasn't a tragedy.

“Flo, tell us about Simon. Is he an EV?”

Flo collapsed back on the pillows. “Not just an EV. The leader. The king of the EVs. I think I'll change my name again. Simon calls me Fantasia. Like the Idol. Isn't that sweet?” She sighed and cuddled the pillow to her.

“Idol?” Richard looked mystified.

“
American Idol
. Third season. Flo and I . . . Never mind.” I touched Flo's shoulder. “Wake up, Flo. Tell us about Simon.”

She smiled into her pillow. “He promises to make me his queen. But he wants to meet you first, Glory. To get your approval. Isn't that sweet?”

“Seems to me, he should need Damian's approval, not mine.” Like I didn't know what Simon really wanted with me. Would he hang me upside down and drain me? Oh, with a siphon at my navel, of course.

“He knows my brother doesn't give me permission for what I do. But you, Glory, my roomie, he knows I care what you think. Simon's so considerate.”

“Considerate? Like hell.” Richard jerked the pillow from Flo's grasp. “What are you playing at, Florence? Do you want to get Gloriana killed?”

“No, I love her.” Flo's lips trembled. “I do, I love you, Glory. I've never had such a good woman friend before.” Her eyes closed and a tear streaked down her cheek.

“I love you too, Flo.”

I couldn't help it, I pulled up her shirt. Her navel, above her low rise jeans, was bracketed by two angry welts. Damn them, the EVs hadn't even bothered to heal her. I shuddered. Obviously Flo had been giving power. Had the Vamp Viagra been her reward? I checked out Richard's reaction. I'd never seen him more furious. I pulled up a sheet to cover her.

Maybe I should undress her, but we still had an hour before dawn and I wanted to learn more. If not from her, then from Richard. I heard a soft snore. Okay, Richard would have to fill me in. I threw the coverlet over her too, turned off the light and gestured for Richard to follow me back to the living room.

“This is bad, Richard, really bad. What do you think?”

“I think Florence is in way deeper than we realized if she's involved with Simon.” Richard paced the worn hardwoods around the area rug, a nice fake Oriental I'd found in a Dumpster out back. The things people throw away . . .

I dragged myself away from the edge of meltdown. I didn't give a damn about the rug. I was terrified. For Flo and, gulp, myself. I looked down at my rounded tummy, which I'd suddenly discovered I loved with a passion and wasn't about to give up. Not to an EV anyway. Now if liposuction worked . . . Never mind. Obviously my thoughts were all over the place.

Right now my stomach was covered by three layers, blouse, skirt and my skimpy excuse for panties. Maybe if I wore one of my vintage panty girdles . . . Those things were like iron. Trust me, you can't even bend in one. Of course a vampire, even an ordinary one, could make quick work of it. I'd had a lover bite one off me once. Of course that had been consensual and not the least bit threatening. But if an EV came at me, fangs drawn . . . Oh, God.

“Glory.” Richard spoke next to my ear. “Quit freaking out.”

“Why? Obviously Simon, king of the EVs, is trying to use Flo to get to me.” A role that normally would've turned my roomie into a shrieking harridan. Flo-slash-Fantasia used men, not vice versa. “Do you think he could really make her his queen?”

“Honoria wouldn't stand for it. She's the only female in charge of that group. If Simon thinks he could use Flo to get to you, he's going to be disappointed. He'll have to go through me and two very angry dogs to get to you.” Richard grabbed my arm. “Let's go downstairs and get the beasts. And we need to warn Derek. No powerful vampire is safe with the EVs on the prowl.”

Bang. Bang. Bang. Loud noises from Flo's bedroom. We both rushed down the hall and I threw open the door. Flo was standing on the bed, a gold Manolo sandal in her hand.

“Flo, what are you doing?”

“Hanging this picture of Simon.” She gave the tack another whack with the stiletto heel. “Isn't he handsome?”

“Uh, Flo.”

The shoe heel snapped and Flo tossed it aside without so much as a glance. She dropped back on the bed.

“That's
Simon
?” Richard and I both gaped at the computer generated photo she'd tacked to the wall. “I don't think—”

“So handsome.” Flo had a dreamy look on her face. “He should be in movies.”

“Uh, he
is
in movies.” I glanced at Richard and he shook his head. What? I wasn't supposed to tell Flo that she'd just ruined a very expensive shoe hanging up a picture of Brad Pitt? I looked down at her still unfocused eyes and loopy smile. “I mean, yeah, he's movie star handsome.”

“And he's all mine.” Flo threw out her arms then was out like a light again. Richard gestured and we stepped back into the hall. He closed the door.