It wasn’t limited to the supernatural world either. Humans were being slaughtered in their beds. Police were horrified at the grisly remains but helpless to figure out who—or what—was doing it.
The only common thread in all this was that nobody knew anything about what was doing it. Not species, gender, or name. Nothing.
I lifted one shoulder. “If a few more disappear, it might give them incentive to work together.”
Miriam propped her chin on one hand. “You’re so young.”
I mentally snorted. I hadn’t felt young for a long time. Not since I’d come back from war. And not since my entire world view had been readjusted to include things that went bump in the night.
That was rich coming from her. She didn’t look any older than I did.
“How old are you?” Miriam asked.
What could it hurt to humor the client?
“Twenty eight.”
“And how long have you been a vampire?”
I pretended to think about it. It was mostly for show. I knew exactly how long it had been.
“About two years.”
Miriam turned back to her game. “Once you’ve been part of our world a little longer, you’ll see things never really change. The different species will never successfully work together. Too much bad blood between us.”
Right. I didn’t agree, but it also wasn’t my place to argue with a client.
Miriam waved a hand, dismissing me. “Ask Angela for your payment.”
Guess my job here was done.
Before turning to go, I paused. “If you move the black nine to the red ten, you can clear a spot and move a king there.”
I was through the curtain moments later, stopping only long enough to collect my payment from the Goth girl, Angela.
Back on the street, I was pleased to see my bike was right where I left it. Missing a seat of course, but that was easily fixed.
Seat reattached, I pushed off and headed home. It was just after midnight and the package had been my last job for the night. There’d been fewer deliveries to make than normal, and I had hours of free time stretching before me. I’d miss the cash, but it was nice to have a rare evening to myself.
Being a vampire had its advantages. Long life and near miraculous healing being among them. The hours? Not so much. Only being able to go out at night severely limited my free time. I’d always loved summer but had wished the past few months would fly by. Having less than eight hours of dark to move around had been challenging both personally and professionally.
It’s one of the reasons I worked at Hermes. The owner might be a complete troll but at least he understood my special needs. More than I could say for most potential employers.
With fall firmly upon us, it meant lengthening nights and more time to work and play.
Now that I had a rare night off, I planned to take advantage.
Hm.
What should I do first? Most stores were closed, so that was out. It was a weeknight so my old friends would be firmly asleep. Same with my family. I could go for a bike ride. But I did that most nights, all night. I wanted to do something different. Something I never had time for.
Who was I kidding? There was nothing to do at this time of night. It was kind of sad really. A rare chance down the drain.
Might as well head to the grocery store for my shopping before heading home. Maybe I could watch a few episodes of Firefly on Netflix before dawn.
Yeah. Vampirism was really paying off for me.
*
