As confidently as I can, I walk over to the bar where a young woman with a long red ponytail is stacking away glasses. “Hi.”
She looks up with a tired smile. “Hi. Just in time. I just called last drinks.”
“Oh, no. I’m not drinking. Actually I was hoping you could help me. I’m looking for my boyfriend. I think he might have come here, and I hope he didn’t get into any trouble.”
The bartender’s eyes go wide, and she seems to look more carefully at me. “The zombie?” The expression on her face suggests that trouble most definitely found him.
“Oh god. What happened?”
“The SEO were here. Snatched him and threw him in their van. That was about two hours ago.”
“Shit.” I turn to go.
She stops me. “They were looking for him when they came in. I think someone tipped them off. If you’re going to go look for him, I’d make sure you get some legal advice first. You don’t mess with the SEO.”
I gape at her. “What even is the SEO?”
“Supernatural Enforcement Office. They’re hard core. Look, I wouldn’t normally get involved, but your boyfriend didn’t do anything wrong. The SEO just have it out for the undead. Always have.”
Meredith scowls down at her phone. “I’ve got the number for the local branch right here. I’m going to call and ask if they’re holding him.”
“You won’t get anywhere like that.” The cool voice behind us makes me jump and turn to face the pale gentleman from the back of the bar.
“What do you mean?”
Meredith hits call and lifts the phone to her ear anyway, giving him the side-eye.
“Wait and see,” he simply says.
There’s a pause, and we all wait, watching to see what happens on the other end of the call. Meredith puts it on speaker.
A moment later a gruff female voice answers. “London SEO. Officer Granth speaking.”
“Yes, hello,” Meredith goes instantly into business mode. Her voice is polite yet clipped and professional. “I believe you might be holding my client without cause, and I’d like to arrange to have him released.”
Officer Granth scoffs. “I’m afraid we can’t help you with that. We’re not holding anyone without cause here.”
“Then you don’t have a zombie in your cells? Goes by the name of Adam Garrett?”
“Lady, if we do have a zombie here, you might as well give up now. He’s got no name now. Maybe he used to be Adam Garrett, but he’s dead now, innit? Nothing but a meatbag now.”
There’s a click, and the line goes dead.
My mouth drops open in horror.
“They have no respect for the undead,” says the guy from the booth. And then I catch another look at his glass full of a rich red liquid—blood.
I blink. “You’re—?”
“A vampire? Correct. I’ve been dealing with this bullshit for the last ten years, ever since the rest of these lunatics decided itwould be a good idea to ‘come out’” He lifts one hand to make quotation marks above his head to punctuate the words with a scoff. “We were not in favor, but the shifters always howl the loudest.”
“What do you mean us?”
“My coven. We’ve been in London since the Romans were here, and we’ve never experienced persecution on levels like this. The SEO are just a trumped up bunch of humans who need to be taken down a peg.”
I shift awkwardly. “Ah, yeah. But what can we do?”
“What law allows them to hold undead without the right to counsel or a trial?” Meredith cuts in, straight to the point. I knew there were benefits to having a lawyer as a sister.
