Bitter Blood (The Morganville Vampires #13)(18)
Of course he did. Especially now that he’d married Eve, against the wishes of both sides. They both had everything to lose.
Michael eased the car down, following the curve of the ramp as it led below Founder’s Square. The vampires had excellent parking, all covered. When he’d pulled to a stop and turned off the engine, he finally said, “It’s going to get bad, Claire. I know it. I feel it. We’ve got to do everything we can to stop it.”
“I know,” she said, and held out her hand. He took it and held it lightly—a good thing, because he could have easily shattered bones. “Glass House gang forever.”
“Forever,” he said. “If we’re going to be a gang, we need a good sign to flash. Something intimidating.”
They tried a few silly, strange attempts at flashing signs, but the efforts looked awkward. “We,” Claire said, “are the worst gang ever.”
“Bad idea,” Michael agreed, straight-faced. “Shane’s the only one of us with real street cred anyway.”
They got out of the car, and Claire was watchful of the shadows; so was Michael, but he must not have spotted anything out of the ordinary, because he nodded and escorted her to the elevator. While they waited for it to descend, Claire kept looking behind them, just to ensure that nobody had decided to stalk them.
Nobody did.
Someone had decided the elevator music had needed a change, so this time up, Claire was treated to an orchestral version of “Thriller,” an oddly appropriate choice. Even vampires had a sense of humor, though it was mostly atrophied. Either Michael didn’t think it was funny, or he was too focused to notice—probably the latter, because he seemed very self-contained just now. He must have been gearing up for whatever would be waiting for them.
The doors opened on a dead-white vampire, bald as a cue ball and dressed in formal black. Claire didn’t know if he was security or just a very intimidating greeter, but she took a step back, and Michael tensed beside her.
The man looked them both over in silence, then abruptly turned his back on them and walked away. As he did, one hand snapped up to give them a follow-me gesture.
“Do you know him?” Claire asked as they trailed their black-suited guide into the paneled hallways. Vampires seemed to deliberately design all their buildings to confuse people, but the two of them didn’t really need a personal escort; they’d spent a lot of time here, over the past couple of years. “And is he always this friendly?”
“Yes, and yes.” Michael put his finger to his lips, asking her for silence, and she complied. They were passing closed, unmarked doors and watchful portraits of people she recognized as still walking the streets of Morganville, even though they’d been painted in ancient styles of clothes. Their escort moved fast, and Claire realized that even though it was tough for her to keep up, it was probably just standard vampire walking speed. It was oddly telling that the vamps no longer felt they needed to slow down to accommodate mere mortals.
She saved her breath and hurried, while Michael strode along beside her, matching her speed but not pushing her. He was watching the doorways, she realized. She’d never seen him quite this alert before, at least not here, in what should have been a safe place for them both.
It all became clear when a vampire slid out of the shadows ahead, lowered his chin, and bared his teeth. Claire knew him slightly, but he’d never looked quite so…inhuman. He was bone white, and his eyes were flaring crimson, and he gave off waves of menace that made her slow down and look at Michael in alarm.
Because that menace wasn’t (for a change) aimed at her.
It was directed purely at her friend.
“You’re not welcome here,” the vampire said in a low, silky voice that was somehow worse than a growl. “Those who consort with humans use the servants’ entrance.”
“Ignore him,” Michael said to her, and kept going. “Henrik’s not going to hurt you.”
“What’s this one? Another little wife-pet you’re planning to marry when you tire of the one you have?” Henrik’s grin was full of cruel amusement. “Or won’t you bother with the church’s blessing next time? It’s perfectly fine to eat them, you know. You don’t need to sanctify them first. They still taste delicious.”
Michael’s eyes fixed on the other vampire, and his own eyes started turning red. Claire saw his hands flexing, trying to knot into fists. “Shut up,” he said. “Claire, keep walking. He’ll move.”
This time there was something like a growl, or a rattling hiss, and Henrik’s eyes turned even darker red. “Will I? Not for you, boy. Certainly not for your pet.”
Claire kept walking, but she also reached into her pocket and pulled out a small glass vial. It had an easy-open pop-top, and she flicked it with her thumbnail, never taking her eyes off Henrik. “I’m not a pet,” she said. “And I bite.” She held up the vial. “Silver nitrate. Unless you want to spend a couple of hours nursing your burns, back off. We’re here to see Amelie, not you.”
His eyes fixed on her for the first time, and she felt a shock of fear; there was something really violent inside him, something she could only barely understand. It was a blind, unreasoning instinct to hurt—to kill.
But his teeth folded up into his mouth, like a snake’s, and his smile took on more human proportions…though it remained intimidating. Serial-killer intimidating. “By all means,” he said. “Pass. I’m sure we’ll meet again, flower.”