“Well,” Saturn said. “I can see one big stumbling block. Most of the vampires—most of the Underground, actually—already believe that he’s out to destroy us. How can I suddenly turn around and say, “He’s fine, let him move in” without giving them the facts? I’m going to look like I’m selling out my people.” Saturn’s voice was so smooth that he could give the orders for my death and sound like he was welcoming guests to a party.
“I don’t have an answer for that. Not yet,” I said. “Do you have a couple of friends who carry cachet in the vamp community? Ones you can safely confide in? Who won’t spill the beans? If they backed you up?—”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “Except…I do have two compatriots who wield immense influence in the community. If they back me up, others might listen. But I don’t think they’ll be amenable to listening to you. To someone who’s half demon. Do you trust me to tell them?”
I glanced at Dante. He gave me a single nod. “I suppose we have to. I don’t want to see anyone else killed because of a misunderstanding. But you have to move cautiously. My father’s concerned about this information getting out because it could lead to the entire downfall of their operations.”
“I realize that,” Saturn said, his forehead wrinkled.
“The thing is… If the Elder Gallara manage to come through the portals, we’re all dead.” As much as I didn’t like revealing my father’s plans, this seemed to be the only way. “Can you at least tell us who you are going to contact?”
Saturn nodded. “I suppose that won’t hurt. The first is an old vampire mobster named Severin. He’s extremely good at keeping secrets, and he owes me several favors. The second would be Madame Veruka. She runs a chain of brothels for blood whores. She’s known for keeping her list of clientele completely anonymous. Nobody knows how she does it but she never leaves any tracks, and her customers on both sides are always satisfied.” Saturn leaned forward, his hands folded on his desk. “Will that satisfy you?”
“I suppose it has to. And it sounds like they’re both discrete. Here’s my private number. You can always call me if something goes wrong. Even though I’m connected to my father, I want you to know that—at the first sign that he’s lying—I’ll be on him like white on rice.”
“Thanks. And you truly believe him about Brim Fire?” Saturn asked.
I hesitated, but then said, “Yeah. He’s right. I’m afraid that we’re facing an invasion by a group of Demonkin who won’t spare anybody or anything. At least my father is civilized in his demonic nature.” I stood, reaching out to shake his hand.
Saturn also stood, and took my hand in his. He was cold as ice, and I still wasn’t used to touching the vampires. Even though I had occasionally held Lazenti’s hand, the chill startled me every time.
“Thank you for caring enough to reach out. There are plenty of people—Supe community or not—who would just let them wipe us out. I won’t forget the kindness.”
As we made our way out of the underground, I turned to Dante. “We’ve done everything we can. At least we know Lazenti is safe, and here’s hoping that we paved the way for a number of other vampires to survive.”
“I know what you mean,” Dante said. “I think we can trust Saturn, and I hope that he find some amenable compromise with your father. Where to next?”
As we headed back to the car, I said, “It’s time to go visit Benny and talk to his friend Dan-Dan. After this morning, I’m kind of dreading what we’re about to find out.”
We settled back into Dante’s car, and I fastened my seatbelt, hoping that Saturn would manage to knock some sense in the other vampires. Because I knew that my father wouldn’t let any pushback from them stand in his way. Dante put the car into gear and we headed out, towards the side of town where nobody walked in the streets alone at night, unless they were heavily armed.
Benny’s neighborhood made New Orleans, Memphis, and all the other murder capitals of this country look tame. The southern tip of Seattle housed numerous slumlords, flop houses, drug dealers, gang members, and lowlife scum. In fact, Benny’s street and the surrounding blocks were known as Dead Man’s Row, there were so many gang fights and murders. Seattle, as a whole, wasn’t extraordinarily high in crime, but certain areas had earned the warning, enter at your own risk.
Luckily, Dante and I were pretty intimidating ourselves, and Dante’s car had an alarm system from hell. The shrieks that the alarm emitted when someone tried to pry open the door were piercing. In fact, they did what they were supposed to and chasing people away.
We managed to find a parking spot right in front of the house that Benny rented. Several times, I had tried to encourage the goblin to move to a better neighborhood, but this was all he could afford. And quite frankly, there was so much prejudice that I doubted he’d ever find a place to rent that was halfway nice. Nobody wanted to rent to goblins, and I understood, given the nature of most of the sub-Fae.
I texted Benny that we were at the door, and then knocked. Otherwise chances were he wouldn’t answer.
The door creaked open and Benny peered out, saw me, and flipped the locks on the screen door so that we could enter.
“Hey Benny, how’s it hanging?” I asked, pushing past him as we entered the house. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. Since I’d last been here, he had actually cleaned up and the smell was under control. The furniture was ragged, and the smell of pot filled the room, but for a goblin’s home, everything was relatively tidy.
Benny stood there in ripped jeans and a Metallica T-shirt, looking like a cross between Yoda and Dobby. He pointed toward the Formica table that looks straight out of the 50s. “Have a seat, and I’ll get Dan-Dan. He’s skittish, so be careful when you question him.” As he turned away, he paused to add, “Thanks, Legs. I appreciate you coming to my house instead of making me try to drag him to the office.”
Dante and I sat down at the table which had a plate of chocolate chip cookies on it. The bag the cookies came in sat on the counter that opened into the kitchen. A moment later, Benny returned, with a short guy who was hunched over. Dan-Dan had the look a dog gets when it’s been kicked around one too many times by an abusive owner. He had shifty eyes, but he didn’t look sneaky—just afraid to look us in the face.
“Sit here,” Benny said directing him to a chair at the table. Benny’s voice was surprisingly gentle, and I realized he really did care about Dan-Dan. “You can trust these two. They’ve always done me a solid. This is Kyann. She owns the company I told you about. And this is Dante, he’s a wolf shifter. He’s her partner in the business.”
Listening to Benny try to calm the frightened man made me realize just how scared Dan-Dan was. The man pointed to the plate of cookies.
“Is it okay if I have one?” he asked, sounding a lot like a child.
“Of course, would you like some milk to go with it?” Benny asked.
“Yes, please.” Dan-Dan flashed Benny such a grateful look that it made me want to cry. There was something vulnerable about him, something that seemed incredibly fragile. Dante must have noticed it too, because he pushed the plate of cookies toward Dan-Dan.
Dan-Dan took one of them, biting into it. “Thank you,” he said.
