Page 10 of The Satyr's Guilt
Denim followed Thorn’s gestures with thearm. “Damn shame. The guy was probably looking for a little fun,not causing much mischief. When did you find him?”
“I got buzzed a half-hour ago. Was told anincubus had called in a panic, being attacked near this portal byhumans. Here he is. Doornail dead.”
Rod threw his two cents into theconversation. “In Nawlins, especially during Mardi Gras season, wesaylaissez les bon temps rouler,but this is too muchbon tempsroulering. Not only is the Aeternal dead,but he’s carved up worse than a Thanksgiving turkey. Your young’unsusually cross over for the parades, wild sex, all-night binges, andhijinks. Now we have a murder to investigate. Not good. Luckysomeone else didn’t find him?”
The Creole with the thick accent was anAlliance agent like Denim, but he side-jobbed as a Big Easy cop.Hence, he was in a position to plug holes in the levee if a bigAeternal problem cropped up. A dead Aeternal unmasked in a policemorgue would count as a big problem.
The two teams stared at what was left ofWarner’s body. Thorn checked out his cowboy boots, probably lookingfor bloodstains. “After I got the call, Rod and I hit the roadrunning. He made sure no calls got through to NOPD. A pile of shitwould rain down on our heads if we’d been exposed. We’d haveFirebrands, lawgivers, the Temple of Justice, the board ofdirectors at the Alliance all imbedding a foot in our collectiveasses.”
“Yeah,” added Rod. “No reports reachedhomicide. In the day of smartphones, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,Snapchat, YouTube, U-fuck, and Instabitch, that’s real lucky. Ihope ourgris grislasts. An ME would find shit in one ofyour guys which shouldn’t be in a human.”
Galena combed her fingers through herstraight shoulder-length black hair, rising to her full height ofsix feet. “Was he coming or going?”
Thorn kicked a pebble with the toe of hisboot. “I got the feeling he was heading home.”
Nodding while she moved away from the body,Denim slid her phone out of her back pocket to answer a call. Withit pressed to her ear, she walked to the alley entrance where shecould see out into the busy street. She glanced one way and thenthe other. “Got ’em. Thanks.”
An Aeternal-Alliance team who had theirhands full with a few randy young satyrs called with a heads-up onsome partiers they couldn’t get to. Disconnecting, she returned toher partner. “Hotshots up the street. Let’s book, Galena.” Shegrinned at Rod. “The body, such as it is, is yours,cher.You found it. You keep it.”
Rod scratched his nose with his middlefinger.
The women exited the alley, passed PatO’Brien’s on St. Peter’s, and hurried toward Bourbon Street wherethey spied their targets turning a corner.
Though it was night, streetlights lit up thesurroundings like hundreds of tiny suns. Overhead, drunkencarousers celebrated the festivities by crowding onto iron-scrolledbalconies while they chugged beer or fancy drinks. Beneath theclassic New Orleans structures, revelers spilled onto the streets,shouting, gyrating to the rhythms of sidewalk bands or musicblasting from raucous bars. Lots of color, masks, feathers, andwigs.
Hustling toward their objective, theyelbowed their way through the merrymakers. Out of place in jeans,dark T-shirts, and combat boots, they trailed four young vampireswho were migrating toward a famous local nightclub.
“Young guys all looking to score. God spareme.” Denim’s chestnut-colored ponytail swished back and forth withher hurried steps. Truth be told, she was having a great time. Theexcitement of Mardi Gras season was infectious. It whisked her awayfrom her own problems. She complained about the job to her partner,but aside from the dead body, she enjoyed the noise, the music, thecrowds, the rush of chasing errant juvenile Aeternals.
No one ever said I was sane.
Galena nodded. “No argument here. Same storyevery year. A bunch of horny youths steal their parents’ jumpers,open a portal, cross through the Whorl to Earth, and play spin thehuman. In the early morning, they run home with a collection ofbeads along with great stories.” When a drunken partier stumbledinto her path, she grabbed his shoulders to clear him out of herway.
“Hey, beautiful. Let’s dance.” The manslurred his words, trying to latch onto her arm but missing.
Pushing the same Bo Jangles wannabe out ofthe way, Denim shouted over the noise at Galena. “I’m glad we weresuch good girls when we were younger.”
Galena chuckled. “My Mardi Gras storieswould curl these kids’ toes.”
“You have to share, girl.”
When they neared the young males, one washitting on a long-haired blonde, his gaze raking up her shapelylegs on the way to her mini-skirt. His head whipped around as if hesensed their approach. Showing the tips of his fangs, he jabbed hisbuddy’s arm. “Firebrand.”
He must have recognized the Phoenix brand onGalena’s upper left arm. The young Aeternals did a cut-and-run.
Denim picked up the pace. “Excuse me. Excuseme.” She pushed fun-loving dipsomaniacs to the side.
“Hey.” A petite chesty brunette, whosestrapless top was dangerously close to malfunctioning, flirted withtwo guys. “Watch it.”
Denim ignored her to sprint forward, losingsight of the males briefly in the crowded street. Fortunately,Galena possessed the aura-spidey senses, which worked even fromthis distance. Not only could she tag a person as an Aeternal, butshe could ID their breed.Handy. As a human, Denim lackedthe skill.
Over the blaring karaoke sounds pouring outof The World Famous Cat’s Meow, Denim’s partner shouted, “Overthere.” She pointed at the juveniles while they disappeared intothe popular French Quarter booze joint.
As the Alliance agent and the ScionFirebrand entered the bar, a guy in a cobalt-blue wig belted out asong on stage. Denim scanned the room. She signaled Galena when shespotted the four vampires already chatting up two ladies whowobbled on their five-inch spiked heels, liquid splashing over therims of their glasses. For the moment, the males seemed moreconcerned with scoring than running.
Hormones on two legs.
“Hey, handsome.” Galena sidled up to one ofthe males, locking her arm through the crook of his elbow.
