Page 85 of What Fools These Immortals Be
“We’re not going to hurt you, little vampire.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.” It is, but only a little. “I’m looking for a friend.”
The two androgynous fae titter. The woman rolls her eyes at them and waves them off. They don’t leave, but they turn their attention away.
“Who is it you’re looking for, doll?”
“Reijo.”
Something flickers through her eyes, almost too fast for me to catch.
“You know him?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says. “I heard he went to ground.”
“Why?”
“According to rumour, he was corned by a member of the Hunt and his pet vampire.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “Sound familiar?”
“We didn’t—” I shake my head. “We scared him, but we didn’t mean to. We weren’t going to hurt him.”
“And how would he know that?” She picks up the martini glass in front of her and drains the rest of her drink. “How would I?”
How am I supposed to convince her that I don’t want to hurt Reijo? I really don’t. I just think he’ll know how to contact Vlad.
“Please,” I say. “I don’t even need toseehim. I just need his help with something.”
She shakes her head and gets to her feet. “I’m sorry.”
I watch her walk out of the pub, leaving me alone with the other two selkies, who now watch me curiously. There’s no doubt they heard the conversation, so they know what I want but don’t seem inclined to help, either.
Fuck.
I’m out of my chair and after her before I can really think it through. It feels suddenly urgent. The high fae is making moves, and I don’t want him to go after Maurice—if Maurice is even in London. Maybe he’s back in Scotland. That doesn’t mean he’s safe.
The selkie isn’t far away when I leave the pub. She’s standing on the corner, texting on her phone, and I make sure I’m loud in my approach.
She rolls her eyes when she sees me coming. “Really?”
“If you have his number, you could call him for me,” I say, aware that I sound desperate but not really caring. “You can listen in on the whole conversation. I really just need to know something.”
“What is it you need to know?”
I swallow. Should I trust her? I suppose it doesn’t matter. If she listens in on the conversation, then she’ll hear what I’m after.
“Where to find the Wild Hunt.”
She nods and sends her message, then slips her phone into the pocket of her fur coat. “You’ve got far too tangled up with them, haven’t you, crai?”
“What? I—”
I hear footsteps behind me far too late, and then the other two selkies are there on either side of me, taking hold of my arms. They’re stronger than I expected and hold me still as the woman comes closer.
“He wanted one of you,” she says, “so we figured the new crai would be easiest. And you are a naïve little thing, aren’t you?”
“I—What—”
“Shh now,” she says, and I fight a yawn as a wave of drowsiness washes over me. The last thing I hear her say is, “You’ll find out all about it when you wake up.”
