Page 36 of Vampire so Virtuous
Now, who can see what I can see?
Several streets overlooked the building Antoine had been using. He shook his head at his own carelessness.How have I grown so predictable?If his foolishness somehow let Minh find the woman first, her death would be on his hands. But there was no time to dwell on that now.
He jumped across to another building, one offering a view of the nearbystreets. From this vantage, it was easy to identify the limited spots from which his usual perch could be observed, and it didn’t take long to locate the first thrall.
A beggar, slumped against a wall, a threadbare blanket draped across his knees. Yet there was no sign asking for help, no battered paper cup beside him to collect meager donations. If he’d been a real beggar, he’d have known there was no charity to be found in this neighborhood. Now Antoine knew what to look for, it was obvious.
Antoine swooped down and seized the man by the throat, pinning him helplessly as he leaped back to the rooftop, dragging the thrall with him. His victim choked out a garbled noise, but Antoine’s grip ensured the sound barely carried.
“Do you know who I am?” Antoine asked, his fangs flashing with sadistic humor he didn’t truly feel.
The thrall’s wide-eyed stare was answer enough, the acrid stench of urine providing an exclamation point to his silent reply. Antoine had the right man.
“Where’s the woman?”
The thrall’s expression shifted—confusion, pure and simple. He didn’t know. Maybe he wasn’t even aware of her existence.
Antoine snapped his neck and let the body tumble from the rooftop. Such an unfortunate suicide. But life as a beggar was hard.
One down.How many thralls did you send, Minh?
In quick succession, Antoine found and dispatched two more. All were disguised as beggars, as if Minh believed they were a common sight in Antoine’s territory. If Minh had been cleverer, it could’ve been taken as a calculated insult.
But the thralls were a distraction, and he knew that too. He had to find the woman before Minh did. These thralls had been sent after him, which meant others were hunting for the woman. Minh wasn’t likely doing it himself—it wasn’t his style. He’d only show up at the end, once her location was certain.
Antoine had to act faster. Four nights of searching had turned up nothing, not even a hint. Worse, he’d been forced to feed again. The craving was sharper, the blood he took less satisfying. Because it wasn’thers?
How could that be? It made no sense!
In desperation, he tried a new strategy, picking a chattel at random—a young man walking alone. It didn’t matter there were others out on the street, not for this.
Throwing an arm around the man’s shoulder like an old friend, Antoine fed a little power into his voice. “Come and talk to me.”
The man stopped, the command not unreasonable enough to provoke resistance.
“Yes,” said the man, unblinkingly. Antoine curled his lip in distaste. He was manipulating random chattel. How far had he fallen?
“Have you seen a woman around here? Blonde, slender, about 5’8, very beautiful?”
“Yes,” came the monotone reply.
A flutter of hope. “Where?”
“At the gas station.”
The hope swelled, tight and urgent. That wasn’t far. Maybe he could check their surveillance footage.
But the man kept talking. “Walking a dog in the park. At the mini-mart.” A faint smile. “Angela, at my office.”
Antoine released him in disgust. Of course. What had he expected? He had no specifics to guide him, no leads to follow.
The man stumbled forward a few steps, dazed, half-falling into the road. Antoine turned away, fists clenched. She wouldn’t have been so clumsy, even if he’d used his power on her. She was sharp, observant. If he’d been human, her kick would’ve left a mark.
Antoine froze, realization dawning. How could he have been so blind?
“Wait,” he called, stopping the man before he wandered off. “Tell me, is there a martial arts center nearby?”
Eleven – Cally
