Page 38 of Livewire Witch

I find myself nodding. Seems like I’d agree to a lot of things this witch asked of me. Perhaps it’s about time I awoke from my overly long slumber and rejoined the living.

11

Silver

“This has been a weird day,” Fabian mutters. “A really fucking weird day, so I’m going to need you to explain again how we ended up here, and why Roscoe’s not wearing a shirt.”

“We need to find the vamp that cursed Fabian. I’m pretty sure we all agree on that,” Roscoe says. “I figured, since Dante here was so instrumental in us finding a way to lift Fabian’s curse, it was only fair to give him a heads up that the Archarcans are looking into a bunch of the vamps in the city right now. And since our own investigation hit a dead-end pretty quickly and Dante knows more than anyone we know about the vampires in this city, I think we should combine the two things and work together.”

Ro’s said this same thing at least three times now and I’m pretty sure he’s surprised Dante isn’t leaping at his idea. Then again, I’m not sure Roscoe is too experienced with people not liking him. They either like him or they fear him and there’s nothing in between.

“And the shirt?” Fabian asks.

“Nevermind that, why do you think I want to get involved in any of this?” Dante interrupts.

The tension in the room is thick enough to taste right now. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea turning up in Dante’s private space, since he’s not a fan of the mages. We probably shouldhave chosen neutral territory. But when Roscoe’s enthusiastic about something, he’sreallyenthusiastic, and it was difficult not to just go along with him. Especially with how crappy I was feeling. I had no chance of fighting him on it. Plus, I hate to admit it, but breaking in here was the firstfunI’ve had in ages.

It’s been a weird afternoon, and it’s now heading into the evening. I feel much better than I have in a long time. There’s usually at least some lingering exhaustion or aches and pains from the jobs I do, which I struggle to shake. But right now, I feel like I’m practically radiating energy.

All thanks to Dante and his blood.

I’ve never drunk vamp blood before, never even considered it. I know a ton of people seek it out because they love the buzz.

Now I can see why.

It wasdelicious,not at all like you’d expect. He tasted like mulled wine, all spicy and rich. Such a weird thing to admit, but true enough. The entire experience was also hot as hell and I was two seconds away from rubbing myself up against him like a cat.

I wonder what his reaction would have been if I had.

Dante’s eyes meet mine for a fleeting moment, and it’s like the two of us are still connected in some way. I’m blushing, heat traveling from my cheeks, down, down to settle between my legs.

Dante clears his throat. “It seems to me you’re looking for a tame vampire to join your little crew. Can’t say I’m interested in that as a plan.”

He has no qualms about showing how much he doesn’t like these three mages. I can’t exactly remember what he said about why he has such a problem with them. Something about them owning the club he manages? I guess it must sting to be on Nexus land and have to pay them tithes or a bunch of the profits or whatever.

I’m pretty sure he explained it to me a few months ago but I don’t really have the brain space to parse through vampire and mage politics and their feuding.

“Roscoe’s not wrong,” I say. “We need to find the guy that cursed Fabian. He’sdangerous.Dante and I both know what the monster Fabian could have turned into looks like, and it’s not something we need roaming the streets of Arcanum.”

That earns me a reluctant grunt of agreement from the vampire.

I’m not wrong, though. There was a reason Dante was willing to help us remove Fabian’s curse, even though there’s no love lost between him and these mages.

“The way I see it, we’d be kind of doing you a favor,” Roscoe says. He’s oblivious to the way Dante’s shoulders stiffen at his words, but I’m not.

“And why would that be?” Dante’s voice is dead calm, but somehow I can just tell he’s seething inside.

“Well, your name’s on the list of vampires the Archarcans are considering as their liaison. I guess it depends if you want to move to new pastures and all that. If you want the job, we could put a good word in, or if you don’t, we can fix it so you don’t stand out.”

“Right. So, I’d be doing myself a favor then,” Dante replies drily.

“I guess.” Roscoe shrugs. “How about you look at that list and see what you think of the other candidates? You can decide which you might want in a position of power in this city.”

I can see the moment Dante wavers. He’s trying hard to stand strong and reject any involvement with the mages, which is understandable since he hates their guts. But Roscoe’s not wrong that it’s a unique opportunity for Dante to be able to influence the liaison that’ll have the ear of the Archarcans.

I have to say I’m pretty ignorant about the inner workings of city politics, but I get the impression that most of the vampires in this city don’t have a huge amount of influence. They’re not on the Archarcan council, other than the single liaison. And they’re not a hugely visible part of the city. Dante’s the first vampire I’ve ever had a conversation with, and I wonder if that’s because the vamps want things to be that way, or if there’s something more going on.

Ugh. Politics. I’ve never had time for it before. Too busy just scrambling to survive. But if this helps us to find the guy that cursed Fabian, it’ll be worth dipping my toes in.

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