He pushes my hair back, deft fingers sweeping over my skin, making me shiver. He looks at the wound and lets his hand fall down my neck and over my collarbone. I really want him to break some vows with me right now.
Dust falls from the roof, and Jacques and Hasan jump, gliding down. They, too, look more human than before, with their skin being more of its natural color, and shortened claws.
“Ace,” Jacques says, and his eyes meet mine. He’s looking at me the same way he did in the dream, when I was someone named Braeya. I step back, finding him too close for comfort.
“Good morning,” I say awkwardly. “I brought food. It’s inside.”
“I like this one,” Thomas whisper-talks to his brother. “She has her priorities in order.”
I roll my eyes and motion to the door. “Then get your asses inside before the food gets cold.” They step aside, letting me in first. “I got Mexican food today, though I skipped the margaritas. I’m not much of a drinker, though the last twenty-four hours have been almost enough to turn me into an alcoholic.”
I turn and am greeted with blank stares from all four gargoyles. To be fair, not a lot of people get my sense of humor to begin with.
“Do you even feel hungry?” I ask, going into the living room.
“Yes,” Thomas tells me, cracking that smirk again. I think he knows he looks damn good when he does it. “And I’m feeling other things I think you can help with.”
Jacques narrows his eyes ever so slightly in Thomas’s direction, causing Gilbert to snicker at his brother getting scolded.
“Use your upstairs brain,” I retort, and open a Styrofoam box full of tacos. “And eat, because we have work to do.”
“Work?” Hasan curiously pokes at a taco.
“The vampires. I need to find them and I need to kill them. I have a theory on how they’re picking their victims, albeit a rough, not-based-on-any-proof theory that I’m going to look into. Though I’m still not sure how to kill them. You didn’t give me a straight answer yesterday. Do I need to cut their heads off? What about sunlight? Having them burn into a pile of ash would be too easy, right? I’ve never dumped a body before.”
I can feel the collective incredulous stare. “What?” Turning my head up, I look at each gargoyle.
“They almost killed you yesterday.” Jacques, who’s standing next to the chair I’m sitting in, turns, large wings brushing against the wall, and moves my hair back. “You’re still hurt.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” I shrug off his touch, hating and loving how familiar it feels at the same time. It was just a dream, but it’s like he really had his head buried between my legs an hour ago.
“Going after the vampires is what you want to do?” Gilbert questions, and I know they are all wondering the same thing.
“Look,” I start. “I know there are a lot of questions, with the biggest one still beingwhat the fuck,but people’s lives are at stake here. I have to find the vampire nest and get to the sire. I don’t want to be forced to lie to another mother about why her son has gone missing.”
Hasan’s stance changes and he looks at me with what I can only describe as respect. “What is your theory?”
“There’s a bar in town called Delirium. It’s vampire-themed, and, until yesterday, I thought it was just a hangout for people with an undead fetish.”
One of Hasan’s eyebrows goes up and I sigh.
“A bar is a place people go to drink alcohol and a fetish is sexually enjoying something kind of weird.”
“People enjoy sex with vampires?” Thomas asks, reaching over the table for another taco. He and Gilbert are the only ones who sat down. Hasan and Jacques seem on guard.
“Not with real vampires. After seeing—and smelling—those baby vamps, I don’t think they’d go for the real deal. Vampires have been romanticized a lot and some people are into being bitten. There are some pretty realistic fake fangs you can wear nowadays, too.”
Thomas parts his lips, showing off his fangs. “Do you like being bitten?”
Blood rushes through me, but I’ll be damned before I let him know he’s throwing me off guard. “I prefer to do the biting.” I twist the cap off my water bottle and look back up at Hasan. “I was able to identify one of the vampires. I think he went to the bar the night he disappeared. It’s obvious, I know, but what’s better than hiding in plain sight? Especially when the world doesn’t believe you exist.” I lower my eyes. “You guys did. You spent years on the house and no one blinked an eye over it.”
“Your theory has merit,” Jacques says, finally picking up a taco.
“Thanks,” I tell him, and notice a long, thin scar on his hip, just like the one in the dream. I noticed it yesterday. I had to. “I didn’t get good enough looks at the other vampires to properly ID them, but I did bring a stack of missing persons files for you to look through. If I can get names for the other vampires, I can see if they were at the bar, too.”
“And if they were?”
I look into Jacques’s deep, chocolate eyes, knowing all four of them will object. “Then I’ll go.”
