“Dragons are running the world,” Zack said incredulously.
“Have you ever heard that the most fantastical feat the Devil ever accomplished was convincing humanity not to believe in him?”
“Something close to that. But, I mean, the conspiracies it would take to keep them a secret?—”
Takashi wiped a hand down his face and stood. “Says the trained vampire hunter now turned vampire who waltzed with a fey lady at a donor house that routinely engages in murder and yet has never been suspected of a crime.”
“Wait, Candide allows murder at the Chateau?”
Takashi headed for the bedroom, and he wasn’t surprised that Zack came with him. “Accidental deaths, at the very least. Vampires drink and play out their fantasies there. Not everyone walks away from that.”
“Yeah. Duh. I … I haven’t been able to stop myself from killing. Clearly not the only vampire that would ever have that issue, and some vamps don’t care,” Zack muttered. Then he cleared his throat and asked, “Wait, that massive dragon statue in Taliville, is that really a statue?”
“It’s a petrified dragon.” Takashi kicked off his shoes and headed for the bathroom. Some of Katie’s blood had dried to his cheek, and his own wrist was covered in saliva and blood. “That would be Trisoldelf. One of the local witches had stolen her egg. She came to level the town, and the witches petrified her instead.”
“Where was Nell in all this?” Zack asked.
Takashi soaked a washcloth and then began to clean up. “With me in Nashville. She was teaching Eulolia how to be a vampire, and I was teaching Yukio.”
Zack took the washcloth from him, wet it again, put some soap onto it, and then wiped at the mess on Takashi’s face. He pursed his lips for a long moment before releasing a long breath. “Who’s Yukio?”
“My first sireling. I turned her in 1919.”
“Partner?”
“Mortal niece.”
Zack’s eyebrows shot up.
Takashi smirked. “You’ve never thought about whether I might have relatives.”
“I … no.” Zack turned his attention to Takashi’s wrist. “I guess I assumed every vampire lost contact with their mortal family.”
“Far from it.” Takashi took the cloth from him and finished cleaning his wrist. Instead of watching Zack, he kept his gaze on the sink. If Zack wasn’t going to broach the subject, then he should. Waiting for him to do so was murdering his nerves. “Go on. Ask.”
“About the girl tonight?” Zack crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “I imagine a mage girl from an academy might have a family. A big, wealthy, probably capable of hurling fireballs at us family. What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Anton lured the girls into a trap by pretending to be me,” Takashi said.
“That’s not an ‘I decided to make a vampire’ explanation,” Zack replied.
Takashi turned around so he could hold on to the edge of the sink. The press of it against his palms grounded him. “Anton was set to kill them. If you hadn’t come home, then the other two would be dead.”
“Again, that’s?—”
“I made a bargain,” Takashi said. He finally met Zack’s gaze. “Anton is lonely. He asked me to make a vampire that he could raise, and I made him promise to give me a new phone.”
“You traded a girl’s life for aphone?” Zack demanded hotly.
“You may have not noticed, but we are stuck.” Takashi pushed away from the counter and stepped into Zack’s space. “The phone won’t be tapped. We’ll be able to reach out beyond these walls.”
“If the phone is on their plan, they’ll be able to see the numbers,” Zack replied.
“We can work around that,” Takashi said. “Besides, the phone will have another asset. I’ll be able to take pictures of what I’ve been finding in the mansion and analyze them in greater detail.”
“You thought a girl’s life was worth some information and a few unmonitored phone calls?”
“She was dead anyway, and this way, we will be able to seek support. And we’ll have another ally in this household,” Takashi replied shortly.
