Page 43 of A Shade Too Far
All that remained was a blessed silence. But had I actually killed it, or had it simply vanished? There hadn’t been any sign of it imploding and winking out like normal, but nothing about it adhered to my previous experience.
I collapsed to my knees, my forehead almost resting on the ground, and my magic spent, praying the dybbuk didn’t reappear. Finally, I willed myself to move and make sure the other men who’d been here were unharmed. I swallowed a gasp of pain and clutched my ribs with both hands. Every part of me throbbed, but I staggered to my feet.
A large group of Ohrists on their way to the club stood on the lawn in a semicircle, held back by a cadre of vampires. My weary sigh released them from their stupor and the people broke into worried murmurs. Someone took a photo of the corpse and promptly had their phone broken by a vampire. He looked ready to break more than that, but the crowd parted, revealing Zev. The master vamp briefly touched his minion’s shoulder.
I bit the inside of my cheek to dispel any lustful thoughts, because Zev wore loose black workout pants and no shirt, displaying a body far more muscular than his suits hinted at. The sheen of sweat on his ripped abs gleamed in the moonlight and his short mahogany hair was tousled from exercising.
An alarm wailed inside my head. Zev didn’t look like a god, far worse. He looked like a devastatingly handsome human. Was this another calculated disguise design to have us lower our collective guard and forget his true nature?
If so, gold star, Zev, because the entire crowd stared at him.
Their perfume and club sweat scents weren’t enough to chase the spilled blood and death from my nostrils and their whispered conversations grated against my skin like the dybbuk’s buzzing had, making my poor body ache that much worse.
“I guarantee that unless a guest breaks the rules, they will leave Blood Alley alive.” Zev addressed the gathering calmly.
I almost snorted. Notice you didn’t say “unharmed,” buddy.
“But one man’s transgression should not dull everyone else’s enjoyment.” The vampire waved his hand with a flourish. “Join us in Rome and we shall provide drinks on the house for everyone.”
The crowd cheered, his underlings barely having to do anything to herd the people into the club.
I crouched down by the deceased and closed his lids, waiting for the coast to clear before speaking. “He was innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“I’m well aware of the situation, Ms. Feldman,” Zev said.
I jumped, not having seen the vampire move to come stand next to me. His shoes were thin-soled, made of flexible material with ankle protection like boxer’s boots. That was part of his stealth, but I bet the vamp could sneak up on me in tap shoes.
“Someone has made a liar of me,” he said, “and we can’t have that getting out.”
Well, wasn’t this a pleasant development in our relationship? For once, I wasn’t being blamed, nor had Zev unearthed a napkin, rubbed his hands in glee, and exclaimed that he liked his meat raw and extra bloody before tearing into me for causing a disturbance or some other protocol violation in his territory. That was a huge win.
Good thing too because my patience was in shreds. I hadn’t almost been torched and beheaded by Santiago’s booby traps, harassed by Naveen, and attacked by the rogue dybbuk to lose my shot at getting my house warded up.
I stood up, wincing at the sharp burn that bounced inside my battered self like a pinball, and wrenched my eyes from the divots in the vampire’s hipbones, because seriously, a woman could drink champagne out of those. “Allow me to offer my services and find the person behind this egregious breach.”
Zev narrowed his eyes as if trying to determine whether I was being sarcastic, but I was deadly serious, and he nodded. “Very well. Considering they came after you.”
“Are you sure about that?” I said.
Another vampire arrived, scooped up the corpse, and sped off. I didn’t ask what he intended to do with it.
“Meaning?” Zev motioned for me to accompany him.
His legs were longer than mine, and I was tired, sore, and rocking rubbery limbs. Zev must have noticed how hard it was for me to keep up, but he didn’t adjust his pace to mine.
“You’re not the only one who wants the Torquemada Gloves,” I said. A thrum of unease snaked under my skin because if I hadn’t killed that dybbuk, and I didn’t think I had, it would be back.
“Of course I’m not.” Zev veered left toward the outermost lane. “But I’m the one who has them and possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
I shivered, my ears still ringing from the dybbuk. “Could we not use a possession metaphor right now?”
He chuckled.
“How did it even get through? Is Blood Alley really not warded?”
“Wards imply that the person behind them has reason to fear. Do you think that applies to me?” A fly buzzed too close to his face and the vampire grabbed one of its transparent wings and flicked the insect away.
I rolled my eyes—making sure he couldn’t see me. Okay, Big Bad. But also, fair enough. “No,” I grumbled. “Do you have any idea why that dybbuk didn’t behave like the rest I’ve faced? I fought it for ages and the thing wouldn’t die. It was like it had strategy.”
