Murder in Vein (2010) (17 page)

Lilith took a final puff and stubbed out her cigarette. She
looked at Colin. "Your lady's quite perceptive."

Colin was about to say something when his cell phone rang.
He looked at the display, then said, "I have to take this. I'll be
right back." Before leaving the table, he gave Madison a look that
ordered her to behave herself.

"How did you and Colin meet?" Lilith asked as soon as the
two women were alone.

"Mutual friends introduced us."

"He's never talked about himself, except to say he's originally
from England and his mother was Indian." Lilith gave off another
throaty chuckle. "Of course, when we were together, we didn't
talk much."

Madison ignored the innuendo. "Colin is a very private person. Another reason we get along so well."

"Definitely an enigma." Lilith squinted in the dim light at
Madison. "Did Colin give you that black eye-the one you're
trying to hide under all that foundation?"

Madison's hand shot up to gently touch the bruise just below
her right eye. "No, he didn't."
"

"I knew he liked it rough." Lilith smiled a private smile. "But I
thought he was more into biting than hitting."

I assure you, Lilith, Colin did not give me this shiner."

Lilith pulled another cigarette from the pack, but when she
started for the matches to light it herself, Madison reached for
them first. "Here, allow me," she told Lilith.

Madison lit the match, holding it with her right hand. Putting
down the matchbook, she leaned forward to light Lilith's cigarette, cupping it with her left palm. As Lilith put the cigarette end
to the flame, Madison was sure she saw Lilith's eyes go wide when
they caught on the bloodline.

Lilith took a big drag off the cigarette, holding it in her
lungs for several beats. When she finally expelled it, she aimed it
directly at Madison.

hen they got to their next destination, Madison was surprised. "I thought after what we learned from Lilith, you'd
want to head toward Hollywood and to Bloodlust. We're
almost in downtown LA."

Colin shook his head. "Too late tonight, at least for a Tuesday
night. I want to save Bloodlust for tomorrow night and make it
our only stop. Bernard told me after I took that call that a lot
of Fang Me's members go there on Wednesday night. Apparently they offer some sort of special. We'll fit in better if we know
people."

"You mean if you know people."

"Exactly."

They were parked on a small, dingy side street where most of
the businesses were boarded up. The others had metal grates protecting their storefronts. A few doors down, a yellow light showed
off a sign for a place called Bat Beauty. A few people were gathered in front of the place, smoking.

"At least here," Madison observed, "they follow the nosmoking law." She started off toward the light, but Colin stopped
her.

"By the way, that call was from Samuel. He's calling another
meeting." When Madison groaned, Colin added, "It's for tomorrow night. Actually, that would be tonight, since it's already past
midnight. Around eight at the Dedhams' again. We'll head out to
Bloodlust right after the meeting."

Madison was curious. "Why another meeting? He expecting a
report already?"

"He said Notchey might have found something, but he needs
to check his sources before telling us. He should have the information confirmed by tonight."

"Well, I have a by-the-way thing for you, too."

Colin looked at her, waiting.

"While you were taking the call," Madison told him, "I made
sure Lilith saw my bloodline. When she did, her eyes nearly
popped out of her head."

Colin put a firm hand on each of Madison's upper arms. "You
sure about that?"

She nodded. "Pretty sure. I lit her next cigarette. Just about
put my palm into her face. It definitely got a reaction."

Colin didn't seem pleased by the news.

Madison studied his face. "You had a thing with her."

He looked away in thought. "Not a thing, no.

"But you had sex with her, didn't you?"

Colin looked directly back at Madison, his nostrils slightly
flared. "Yes, Lilith and I had sex. Once." He paused. "Maybe
twice."

"And she has no idea that you're a real vampire?"

No.

"Are you sure? Because she mentioned something about you
liking to bite while doing the deed."

Colin didn't look happy at the information Lilith had disclosed, but he also didn't seem embarrassed. "A lot of coven
members bite during intercourse," he explained. "It's quite common in vampirism. And I didn't use my fangs."

((Okay," Madison said, accepting his response. ((But here's
another issue worth exploring. I've never seen a vampire naked,
so I don't know this for sure, but I'm assuming you guys have all
the same equipment as when you were alive."

Colin's eyes bore into her. "Get to your point."

((Well, even if all the parts worked the same, wouldn't a live
woman notice how cold your body is?" Madison put a hand on
one leather-covered hip. ((I mean, you're like walking, talking
blocks of ice. Or does your internal heat rise during passion?"

"Maybe Lilith didn't notice because I had gotten her internal
heat so high." He shot a cocky grin at Madison.

((Maybe," Madison conceded in a businesslike manner. ((But
then there's the sweating. Vampires don't sweat, do they? Every
living man sweats during sex. Even Eskimos sweat during sex."

"And how many Eskimos have you slept with, Madison?"

"I'm just saying, it's possible she has an inkling. Or maybe she
thought you just had bad circulation."

Without another word, Colin started for Bat Beauty.

The inside of Bat Beauty was very much like the inside of
Fang Me. The walls were painted black, the lighting subdued, the
tables and chairs the same. But instead of being a long, narrow
room, Bat Beauty was a square venue. The bar was at the far back,
with the dance floor and DJ area situated halfway down the right side. Another difference was that this place was fairly busy-not
full, but it hummed with moderate activity. A DJ played while
a handful of people gyrated to the ear-splitting music. Most of
the clientele were dressed in the goth style. The rest wore mostly
jeans and dark tee shirts, with some of the women in short black
skirts and fishnet stockings. Madison said a silent word of thanks
that Colin hadn't provided her with fishnets.

As Colin and Madison worked their way around the dance
floor, several people nodded a welcome to Colin. Once they
reached the bar, he asked the bartender, a tall, husky black
woman with exploding cleavage, a question Madison couldn't
hear over the music. The bartender nodded and, with a jerk of
her head, directed Colin to the far side of the bar. Taking Madison's hand, Colin headed off in that direction.

As they approached a thick curtain of black beads, a large
man stopped them. Colin said a few words to him, and the man
disappeared through a door behind the beads. A few seconds
later, he returned and let them enter. They found themselves in
a room a little better lit than the main room. Sofas and several
chairs in the Victorian style, with red velvet upholstery, were
grouped around the room in conversational settings. Sconces on
the walls supported tall lit candles. Occasional tables and other
furnishings were heavy and dark.

A man approached them, holding out his arms in warm
greeting to Colin. He was of slim build, with silver hair that hung
to his shoulders. His face was handsome, his large, dark eyes
lined in black. He moved with a dancer's grace. Colin dropped
Madison's hand and entered the man's embrace.

When they stepped back, the man noticed Madison. "And
who is this charming creature?"

"Wilhelm, I would like to present my friend Madison." Colin
turned to Madison. "This is Lord Wilhelm, Madison, high priest
of the Bat Beauty coven."

Wilhelm smiled and held out his right hand to Madison.
With some hesitation, she placed her own right hand into his.
After a courtly bow, Wilhelm raised her hand to his black painted
lips and lightly kissed it. Madison reflected that she'd never had
her hand kissed in her life, and today it had happened twice.

"You are quite welcome here, Madison. Colin is a very special
friend to the coven."

"Thank you," she said softly. As she studied Wilhelm more
closely, Madison saw that he had fangs. At first she thought he
might be a vampire, but his hand had been warm.

Wilhelm walked over to a sofa and indicated for them to follow. "Come, join us."

Two young men rose from the sofa and gave their seats to
Madison and Colin. As soon as Wilhelm sat down, one of the
young men, attired in a loose buccaneer-type shirt and tight
black pants, sat at his feet, a look of genuine adoration stamped
upon his smooth face. The other went to join a group of men
and women clustered and chatting in low voices in another area
of the room. Colin motioned for Madison to sit between him
and Wilhelm.

As Madison sat down, her eye caught on a coffin positioned
at an angle in a corner of the room. Its lid was up, the inside
lined with what looked like quilted red satin. Next to it was a tall
wrought-iron candle holder on which stood a lit red pillar candle. She wanted to look inside the coffin but took her place on
the sofa instead.

"It has been a long time, Colin," Wilhelm said, leaning against
the back of the ornate sofa in a relaxed and regal manner.

"I've been traveling a lot this year," Colin answered.

Wilhelm caught the eye of a young woman dressed in a
scooped-neck, long black gown. She was leaning against the wall
staring at Colin with cow eyes. "Miriam, refreshments for our
friends, perhaps a glass of wine." He looked at Colin, a memory
crossing his pale face. "Oh, I'm sorry. As I recall, you don't drink
spirits. That still correct?"

"Excellent memory, Wilhelm. Madison does not drink them
either."

"A pair of teetotalers. Whatever are we to do with you?" He
turned back to Miriam, who waited patiently for her orders, still
eyeing Colin with expectation. "Miriam, bring them a pot of my
special tea. Tea for the teetotalers." He laughed at his own joke.
With a smile to Colin and a slight bow to Wilhelm, Miriam went
off to fetch the tea.

"Looks like business is good," Colin said, also relaxing on the
sofa. Between them, Madison sat almost rigid, her hands resting
in her lap, left palm upward.

"Can't complain," Wilhelm responded. "Well, I could, but
who'd listen? Right?" He laughed again. "Actually, it's been down
a bit, but that's to be expected in this economy."

"We just paid a visit to Fang Me," Colin told him. "It's dead
over there. No more than six to eight people at the most. I've
heard several of their coven members have left."

"No big surprise there, the way Lilith runs things." Wilhelm
waved a hand in disgust. "The only reason she can keep her doors
open is because the boys and girls in the valley are too lazy to
travel to other clubs on the weekends."

"She said that new place, Bloodlust, has been attracting both
customers and coven members."

Wilhelm gave the comment some thought. "It probably has
something to do with it, but a loyal coven stays loyal if they're
treated correctly." He smiled at the young man at his feet.

Colin leaned forward. "So you haven't lost anyone to
Bloodlust?"

Wilhelm dismissed the idea. "We've only lost one member
that I know of to Bloodlust. We've lost some of our weekend
business, too, but we're not concerned. Once the shininess wears
off, they'll be back."

"Lilith felt that way, too." Colin paused. "What about their
leader, Ethan Young? What do you know about him?"

A wide smile crossed Wilhelm's face just as the tea was served.
Miriam poured tea for Madison and Colin, serving them in
delicate china cups with matching saucers. When she presented
Madison with her cup of tea, Madison held out her left hand,
palm up, to take it. Glancing at Wilhelm to her left, she didn't
notice any reaction, if he noticed her hand at all. What Madison
did notice was how much lower Miriam's dress bodice had gotten. As she leaned over to present Colin with his tea, her breasts
nearly spilled into his cup. To Madison's side, Wilhelm noticed
and chuckled.