Page 13 of Desperately Seeking Vampire
FOUR
“Omigod, omigod, omigod.” I scurried behind a line of trucks and vans that were used to carry the equipment for the stage, my heart beating so loudly I could feel it throb in my ears. I paused at the end of one of the big trucks and glanced around, but there was no one nearby, so with a muttered oath at the light rain that had hit the area that morning, I crawled under the truck and tried to hide myself behind one of its big tires.
To: Jason Amiri
What the hell? What the ever-living hell, Jason? You stole a spell? While we were in Paris, you stole a spell? Was it when you were in that antique shop? It was, wasn’t it? Dammit! It’s not bad enough you tried to embezzle the festival funds, you also stole a spell? Two massive thief takers are after me because of you. And when I say massive, I mean muscles upon muscles upon muscles sort of massive. The massive that can break you without even trying. WHY DID YOU STEAL A SPELL AND TELL PEOPLE I KNOW WHERE IT IS?
Fortunately for my mental state, it wasn’t long before Jason replied to my text.
From: Jason Amiri
For fuck’s sake, why do you think I told you to come here? We could have straightened this all out if you’d just done what I’d told you to do, but no. You had to be a bitch about it all.
To: Jason Amiri
You, sir, are an asshat.
To: Jason Amiri
The hattiest of all asses.
To: Jason Amiri
And for the record, I am not now, nor am I ever, going to see you again.
To: Jason Amiri
Unless it’s in court, and you’re being charged. Then I’ll happily testify like the wind against you.
From: Jason Amiri
Stop texting me! The guard told me I could keep my phone if I didn’t use it to contact anyone. I can only delete your messages so fast. They’ll catch me if you keep at it. I’m turning off my phone now. Don’t bother me again unless it’s to tell me when you’re coming in to see me. Otherwise, have fun with the thief takers, ha.
“Asshat,” I said aloud, grinding my teeth a little at the man for whom I’d worked only a week. “Seven days too long. Hrmph.”
I lay on the cold, damp ground for a few minutes more, listening for sounds of the burly twins, but heard no one speaking in their deep tones. By the time I emerged from my hiding place, I was cold, my entire front side was damp and muddy, and I was hungry again because the Scary Twins just had to mention burgers and sausages.
“I have to distract myself,” I said softly as I glanced toward the big stage. The next band due to perform was already in place, doing a brief sound check as people started filling the area in front of them. Guilt drove me to a spot behind the stage, where a woman with bloodred hair was ordering everyone around. “I’m just checking in to make sure everything is running all right,” I said when she spun around to glare at me.
“Oh, it’s you. Has your partner returned the money you stole?” she asked with a toss of her head. “Dominic and Milos are not happy!”
“I didn’t steal anything, and the police have the money, yes, which in fact Dominic knows because I told him so myself.”
“Tch,” the woman—whose name I thought was Tanya—said with another dramatic flare of her nostrils. “Police will never give up money. It is their way.”
“I just figured I’d make sure everything was running smoothly,” I said a bit lamely, not wanting to stay around the area if the thief takers were going to be nosing around. I hadn’t introduced myself to too many people—most of them simply thought I was Jason’s secretary—but I didn’t want to take any chances. Not where thief takers were concerned.
What spell had Jason stolen? It had to be worth a whole lot of money if the Big Twins had been sent after him.
“It is organized, yes, although I am not doing this again,” Tanya answered, biting off each word. “Next year, someone else will handle the festival. No, you are not on now. I have told you five times already! You go on after the Germans!”
I backed away as she rounded on a group of tall, skinny young men all dressed in black. It appeared to me that Tanya had everything well in hand, so I could leave the festival with a clear conscience.
And go back to my hotel room.
Did Ivo find my note? Would he show up? Was there a reason I had sensed his past was so important to his present? And why did I keep remembering a time in my distant past, when I’d stumbled across a vampire that was almost dead? I tried to remember what the man had looked like, but he was so wounded, I had little impression other than that of an impossible amount of blood. No mortal being could have survived it.
And so I’d fed him, hoping that my donation of blood might help him get over the worst of his injuries.
