Night Fever (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 3) (7 page)

“I get it!”

Several staff members glanced our way, and she blew out a breath to calm down. I watched as she walked away but then stopped at the door. She turned back toward me, hesitating.

“Rue…thank you.”

My mouth fell open. “For what?”

She smirked. “Even if you are one cold-blooded woman, you try to look out for people. That’s what counts, and I wanted to thank you for that.”

Oh if I could only blush. “Don’t start going soft on me, Vie. I won’t know what to do with myself.”

She gave a dry chuckle and entered the room. I was left on my own to ponder way too much.

Chapter Nine

While I believed Violet and I had made progress the other night in our relationship, what she said about me being cold-blooded still echoed in my ears. Violet believed I couldn’t fully understand the feelings she experienced losing her friend. Maybe I couldn’t. After all, I just saw it as my duty to put Carl out his misery despite his sister’s broken heart. I might wish my reactions weren’t so, but they were what they were. Plus, not until someone pointed them out did I even notice anything wrong. So it wasn’t like I could pretend all day long every day. Besides, I felt plenty for those I truly called my friends.

With all this in mind, I phoned Georgia. Perhaps I could shake loose the lingering doubts about my lack of humanity and my acceptance of who and what I was by hanging out with her. You see, Georgia, the happy go lucky human woman, who insisted on clinging to me at every opportunity, was never affected by my attitude. No matter what I said or did, she wore a smile and treated me just the same—as if she and I were bosom bows. I kind of liked that, but don’t tell her.

I waited outside Georgia’s apartment for her to join me, and she opened the door wide with a screech of happiness. “Rue, when you phoned, I was so excited, I called out of work.”

“I’m sorry, Georgia. I didn’t realize I was interfering with your schedule.”

She waved a hand, and her curls bounced about her head. I thought of her being at the salon when it was attacked, but she appeared healthy. There were plenty of salons in New Orleans and it was unlikely that the one where Georgia had been would be targeted. Besides, here she was in the flesh, looking animated as usual.

“Don’t worry about my job. What’s important is you and me having a little fun.” She stepped back. “Why don’t you come inside? I never revoked my invitation. You can visit me anytime.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t speak so lightly about inviting me in.”

“Pshaw! You’re my friend.” She smacked the side of her neck. “If you need a little nibble, come right ahead.”

I groaned and dragged her hand down. “Stop, will you? Come out. I love the night air, and I can’t get enough of being in it.”

“Of course you do, my dear.” She almost leaped from the house after grabbing her purse and linked her arm with mine. Halfway down the street, she stopped walking and extended my arm to study it. “Look at that pale skin. It needs decorating.”

“Don’t start that again, Georgia. I got tattoos with you not long ago, and it was…I can’t say it was fun, but it was something. Scars fade on me, so it won’t last.”

“That’s why we need to go every week.”

I shook my head, amused. “If you go every week I don’t know what you’ll look like before long. You already have challenges with keeping a job. What will happen if you have that much art?”

She winked. “I’ll put it in secret places.”

“Secret?”

The peals of laughter echoed over the night, and we continued on. When a certain scent intersected us, I asked Georgia if she minded a short run to check something out. Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands.

“Is it a case? I love intrigue. Who done it?”

“No one
done
it,” I assured her. “I’m just checking out a hunch.”

“Just as good.”

I hesitated to take her with me, but since I didn’t have anything solid to go on, why not? If we ran into trouble, I would get her to safety and handle it.

“Shall we take my car? I got an old clunker not too long ago, and it drives great. A little noisy, but still good. It gets you where you want to go.”

“No, thank you, but if you think you’ll be too tired, maybe I’ll meet you somewhere else in an hour?”

Her hold on my arm tightened. “No way. I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

While I had whisked Shift along at my usual travel speed, I resisted doing the same with Georgia. For one thing it seemed weird to hold her so close to my side, and two, she might act like a young girl, but who knew her real condition. I didn’t care to risk Georgia’s life by scaring her or cutting off her breath.

Soon we arrived at the goal destination. In New Orleans, the graveyards had become known as cities of the dead because of the ordinance for burying people above ground. The dark expanse before us was row upon row of crypts in various sizes.

From my vantage at the entrance, I caught sight of several spirits, even a man hanging out at the top of a large crypt. He whistled and swung his legs while leaning his head back as if he basked in the sunlight. The fact that it was after ten at night seemed to make him no never mind. What you also might not know is that many of these ghosts weren’t dead people at all. Rather, quite a few were familiar spirits and demons. I saw the difference, and I didn’t always antagonize demons for my own amusement. Certainly not when one doesn’t know how many are at the cemetery and if they might take offense and attack en masse.

Georgia and I chose a random lane and strolled slowly along it. I sniffed the air and cringed. Being able to smell
everything
had its disadvantages, especially here. Not to mention it creeped a woman out.

“Should we be here?” Georgia asked, but her gaze roved the cemetery, wide, taking in everything. She even leaned forward, craning her neck to be sure she didn’t miss anything. I moved along at her side wondering what there was for a human to see.

“Can you see the, uh, others, Georgia?” Maybe I was wrong in assuming.

“Others? What others?” Her head swiveled this way and that. “Wait, are there ghosts here? What am I thinking? Of course there are. Point them out, Rue.”

I pulled my arm from hers. “If I point one out, it will make no difference since you can’t see them. Haven’t you been to a cemetery before? There are countless tours to guide you through, during the day and after dark. Not to mention just losing a family member or friend.”

She said nothing, and then rattled off about ghosts, atmosphere, and mood. “You know what would be fun, Rue? You could glamour me right here and make me see them. How spooky!”

I stopped walking and faced her. “Is that all I am to you, someone to use?”

She began to blink rapidly and waved her hands. “No, honey, of course not. You’re my friend. Remember, I said we’re sisters.”

“You say it, but then you keep asking me to glamour you every time we meet.” My irritation rose, and I moved farther along the lane at a sharper clip, leaving her to jog behind me. After a few moments, I stopped again to face her. “I meet two kinds of people every day, Georgia, those who want to use me and those who hate my existence. There aren’t that many people who just want to get to know me.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, Rue. You know I love you, dear.” She tried to hug me, but I pushed her back. Half focusing on Georgia, I noted the man atop the crypt had stood on it and was now looking down at us. Evil intent wasn’t radiating off him, but one never knew.

“Maybe we—and when I say we I mean you—should stop pretending.” I spun away from Georgia, deliberating putting my back to both her and the man. Opening my senses, I waited, but without meaning to, I entered Georgia’s mind. The cry startled me.

“Please, Rue, don’t leave me.”

I blinked and froze.

“I don’t have anybody if I don’t have you. No husband, no family. I’m sorry I’m weak.”
Right after these rapid-fire thoughts, she gave a cheery peel of laughter and said, “Stop kidding, Rue. You almost got me. Was this part of your joke, to scare little old Georgia in the graveyard? I admit I nearly fell for it.”

She threw herself against my side and held onto me tight, but when I looked into her face, there was no worry, no fear, and no sadness. I didn’t even sense it coming from her. Was the plea my imagination? I didn’t think so. Trying again, I listened to her thoughts.

“Let her believe me.”

I rolled my head around a few times and rubbed my neck. A quick look showed the man had jumped down from the crypt and took his time approaching us.

“A tiny glamour wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

I almost laughed at this thought. Georgia was Georgia. Yes, she wanted me to glamour her all the time, but it didn’t mean she didn’t long to be my friend. When I thought about it, my friends were all alone in their own ways. Violet felt ostracized by the other wolves. Nathan too hadn’t been a part of a pack, although he was trying to change that. His best friend had been murdered. Bill had been alone, cut off from the other Death Dealers until I brought Lily to him.

For a few moments, thinking of the grim reapers having a party amused me, but then the man from the crypt stood before us. I started to push Georgia behind me, but she bubbled with her usual enthusiasm.

“Oh, hello, you’re out for an evening stroll, too?” When the man didn’t speak right away but stared at me, Georgia laid a hand over her chest. “Wait, you’re not the caretaker, are you? We’re sorry for breaking in.”

Now I knew he had been invisible to Georgia when we first arrived, and he let her see him because he thought it would frighten her. I sensed a bit of nervousness from her, but I put it to her thinking we were about to be arrested for trespassing.

“I’m looking for someone,” I said. “Rather some
things
. You’ve heard about the ghoul attacks?”

He shrugged and pushed his hands into his pockets. I studied him, dark slacks, simple collared shirt, open at the throat, and air of casualty about him. All of it was a lie. He wasn’t relaxed at all. “I’ve heard about it. Spotted one over that way the other night. Was by itself.”

I didn’t take my eyes off him when he pointed with his head. He didn’t remove his gaze from me either. “What was it doing?”

The man grinned. “You know what. Should I tell you in detail to scare your human?”

“H-human?” Georgia whispered. “Rue, is this a ghost?”

“No, sweetheart.” The man’s glamour fell away, and he bared sharp teeth before leaping at Georgia. I zipped in front of her and punched to send him flying backward head over heel. The horns he had sprouted scraped a groove in the grass and dirt on one of the rotations. “He’s a demon.”

The problem was, this one wasn’t an imp. He gained his feet and hunkered low, curling his fingers as claws formed. For the most part, he still appeared human. Behind me, Georgia screamed. From the sounds she made, it seemed she smacked her hands against her face repeatedly.

“I don’t want to see him, Rue! Make him go away.”

“Working on it.” I swung again when he came at me, but he sidestepped the blow and landed one that cracked a rib. I grunted in pain. “Do you know where the other ghouls are hiding?”

He tried to shoulder rush me. I brought my clasped hands down on his head and drove him to the ground. He raised his head and spat out dirt. “No, I don’t. It doesn’t have anything to do with demons, and we don’t care if they eat the humans as long as they leave some for us.”

For that comment, I kicked him. He careened across the ground and smashed into one of the crypts. The stone where he impacted crumbled. “Crap, I hope they don’t notice that in the morning.”

This time, Georgia jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “You get him, Rue. This is the best night ever!”

I rolled my eyes. “Glad to be of entertainment. You, demon, give me something to go on before I send you back.”

He struggled to his feet and staggered. “I underestimated you. I thought you were a noob I could have some fun with. You’re cute, and I can tell you’re young.”

I, being semi-f of myself, struck a sassy pose, head tilted, finger at the side of my chin. Yet, I was sure the demon saw the dangerous glint in my eyes. “I know I am. What you are is a different story.”

He underestimated me, and as I fought him, I realized I had done the same. Somewhere along the line of my training and my experiences, I had grown stronger. The thought thrilled me. Taking my time, I approached the demon. Now, he wasn’t making any attempt to attack. In fact, as I advanced on him, he staggered backward.

“Tell me something,” I insisted.

He glanced over his shoulder, and for a second I worried he expected backup. Yet, the creatures that had been in the area before we started fighting were gone. I didn’t pick up a hint of other demons. Then again, they could materialize out of the blue right in front of me. I stayed on alert.

“There’s someone manipulating them,” the demon said. “That’s just a guess. A good guess probably. This person—demon, ghoul, or whatever he is—could be using magic to block discovering where they are.”

I thought about it. He might be right. The magic could work as long as I didn’t come into contact with it. So if this person blocked scent and sounds and whatever for discovering the ghouls, as long as I didn’t enter the hiding spot, they were fine.

The demon turned to run, but I moved faster and caught him about the back of his neck. “Tell me about the ghouls. You really think someone is controlling them?”

He chuckled. “You
are
a noob. I didn’t say the ghouls were being controlled. Besides, isn’t that your job…vampire?”

Just like that, he disappeared, leaving me grasping air. I swung to grab Georgia and drag her toward the exit. “Let’s go, Georgia. We don’t know if he’s gathering more demons, and we don’t want to get caught here.”