I gaped at the gleaming black town car and stoic driver idling in front of me, the engine’s low purr echoing into the distance. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Is there something amiss?” Cordova asked, cocking his head to one side, appearing genuinely confused.
“I’m not taking that. I’ll just get a rental or something.”
“I do not understand the problem. Your vehicle was damaged while you were here to meet with me.”
“I don’t want to be beholden to you beyond the scope of our existing agreement. I’m not going to be toted around town like some pampered pet. I’d sooner sport a collar than be mistaken for one of your flunkies.”
“That could easily be arranged,” he said, the smoky quality of his voice making me shudder.
“Ah... think I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Very well,” he said with a sigh. “Choose something that is more suitable.”
“That one,” I said, pointing to the brilliant red Ferrari.
“Not on your life,” Cordova replied, baring his teeth in a smile that looked anything but happy while Chuckles smirked behind him.
Huffing a stray curl out of my eye I muttered, “Spoil sport.”
Turning back to the array of vehicles I surveyed the collection of sports cars and sedans.
“Fine, I’ll take that one,” pointing to a big, black SUV. It was about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but anything was better than being chauffeured around by one of Cordova’s minions.
CHAPTER SIX
RELUCTANT TO HAUL my tired and aching ass up the mountain only to make the trip back down the next day, I decided to call the one other person that I knew in Denver besides Holbrook. She just happened to be his ex-girlfriend. And a succubus.
Digging my cell phone out of my pocket, I pulled up Alyssa’s number and then waited as it rang. And rang. I was beginning to think I was going to have to suck it up and make the two hour drive home when Alyssa finally picked up, her voice almost lost in the cacophony of many voices and thumping music.
“Hello?”
“Alyssa? Are you busy?”
“Hold on. I can barely hear you,” she shouted into the phone, fighting to be heard over the surrounding noise. A moment later the background noise cut off suddenly, and for an instant I thought we’d been disconnected. “Okay. That’s better. What’s up?”
“Where are you?” I asked, half expecting to see her come strolling out of Asylum.
“Oh, just some dance club downtown. What’s up? Is everything okay?”
“I’m... fine,” I answered, having to think about it for far too long. I’d been working for Cordova for less than six hours and I’d already had my Jeep trashed and a couple of whackos try to beat on me like a drum. That really wasn’t even remotely close to fine, but I didn’t have the energy to explain everything that had transpired in the last few hours.
I could feel Alyssa’s disbelief radiating through the phone, her silence conveying more than words ever could. The succubus was getting to know me all too well.
“Really, I’m fine. Can I crash at your place tonight?” I asked before she could delve too deeply into my problems though I had no doubt she’d do just that as soon as she got the chance.
“Ooh! A slumber party!”
Cringing, I rubbed a hand across the creases in my brow. I was getting the distinct feeling that I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed that morning. “Sounds great.”
I think I deserve a do-over.
“Where are you? I’ll be right there.”
* * *
I heard Alyssa’s shiny new Audi long before it came into view, the throaty purr of the engine reverberating off the surrounding buildings. She’d bitched up a storm when she found out that Holbrook had demolished her previous car by using it to run over my ex. Unsurprisingly, most of her complaints had stopped after the FBI agreed to replace her totaled car, and somehow she’d managed to convince them to pony up the cash for an upgrade.
Barely slowing to take the turn into the parking lot, she skidded to a halt, grinning wide all the while. The woman was a serious speed demon and a bit of a gear head, and was happy to rave about her new ride whenever she was given half a chance. She got out of the car smelling like cotton candy and looking like a sexy cowgirl, making her the best thing I’d seen all day. Part of it was the seductive aura she gave off wherever she went, but mostly it was because she was just
that
beautiful.
“Did you want to ride, or are you following me? Where’s your Jeep?” she asked in a rush. Her flushed cheeks and dilated pupils left no doubt in my mind that she’d fed recently and was still riding the high. Whether it was by hanging out in a club feeding off the sexual energy permeating the air, or through more physical and intimate means, I didn’t know and didn’t want to ask.
“It’s in the shop. I’ve got a loaner for a few days,” I replied, gesturing to the Escalade lurking behind me.
“Sweet Lilith, what the hell is that?” she asked, appraising the massive SUV as she walked a wide circle around it.
“A car?”
“I can see that,” she said, frowning at me across the hood. “Where did you get it? Did you steal it?”
“No, I didn’t steal it,” I snapped, tempted to stick my tongue out at her. “Like I said, it’s a loaner.”
Her eyes narrowing further, she cast a suspicious glance at the ancient church looming over the parking lot like a silent sentinel. “From who?”
Not wanting to admit that I’d gotten myself mixed up with the Shepherd of the City, I mumbled his name as quietly as I could.
“Who?”
Sighing, I dug my hands in my pockets and stared down at the scuffed toe of my boot. “Cordova.”
“The Shepherd of the City? Well, I... I don’t know what to say.”
“Yeah, me either. Can we just get out of here? I’m beat.”
As if seeing me for the first time, Alyssa cocked her head to one side and looked me over from head to toe. Feeling a fresh wave of weariness wash over me, I wondered if I looked as much like a steaming pile of crap as I felt.
“Sure, you can just follow me. I’m not far from here.”
* * *
Alyssa’s house was one half of a converted mid-century home that someone had chosen to slap a coat of grey paint on, covering the original brick. It would have looked drab if not for the brightly colored stained glass transom windows above the doors, each of which depicted a cluster of lilac blossoms. A light was still on in the unit next door, and I caught the sound of a TV as I followed Alyssa up the steps to her front door.
“Your neighbor’s up late,” I said, stifling a yawn.
“Oh, she’s a dryad. She keeps some odds hours, but for the most part she’s quiet, and she does a great job maintaining the gardens. Something about the purity of the moonlight and the spirits of the plants. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention. I’ve never had the skill for plants.”
Too tired to say anything else, I just trudged along behind her, focusing all of my remaining energy on putting one foot in front of the other. As soon as the door opened we were greeted by a deafening high-pitched screech as a winged creature came swooping towards us from god knows where.
“What the hell?” I cried out, curling my arms protectively over my head as I ducked the approaching beast of doom.
“Settle down, Marvin. It’s just my friend Riley,” Alyssa admonished, holding up an arm for the terrifying creature to land on.
Cautiously lowering my arms, I peered through the gloom of the hallway. Alyssa stood before me, cooing and smiling at a monstrous bird balanced on her arm. The bird would have been beautiful with its shimmering red and gold feathers and intelligent obsidian eyes if not for its bald, wrinkled head and sharp hooked beak reminiscent of a vulture. The fact that it was looking at me with one large black orb as though it were trying to decide it if wanted to eat me or not, wasn’t helping to put me at ease.
“Is that a... phoenix?” I asked, my voice soft and full of awe. I’d seen one once during a school field trip to the Denver Zoo when I was in the seventh grade, but they were incredibly rare, and surprisingly little was known about their origins.
Beaming at me like a proud mama, Alyssa smoothed the feathers on the massive bird’s chest. “This is Marvin. He’s been with my family for centuries. He’s a little shy of strangers, but he’s a good boy. Aren’t you?” she cooed, leaning in to place a kiss on the tip of his beak.
I cringed as I watched the exchange, sure that at any moment the bird would snap and try to eat her face. Instead he closed his eyes and leaned in to receive her affectionate touch, a low rumbling trill emanating from his throat. It took me a moment to realize what the sound was. The damn bird, which looked like it could carry off a small child and devour it in three bites, was
purring
.
Crap on a cracker.
“Ah... hi, Marvin.”
“Say hello, Marvin.”
“Hello, Marvin!” the bird squawked, somehow managing to look smug.
Frowning at him, Alyssa tsked but didn’t stop stroking his shimmering feathers. “Come on in.”
Leading the way and turning on lights as she went, my host led me into a cozy kitchen at the back of the house. Pausing beside a large perch long enough for her companion to shuffle over and settle himself in a great ruffling and preening of feathers, Alyssa walked over the sink to fill a kettle.
“I don’t know about you, but I could do with a cup of cocoa.”
“That would be perfect,” I said, easing myself down into a chair at the simple round wooden table that took up one half of the kitchen.
It wasn’t a big room, but was laid out in such a way that everything looked easily accessible. The pale yellow paint on the walls made the room appear warm and airy, and combined with the off-white cabinets made me feel as though I had stepped into the kitchen of a quaint country cottage. A large window beside the table, and another smaller one over the sink, looked out over the dark backyard, a free standing garage at the end of the yard barely visible behind a cluster of winter bare trees that I imagined come spring would be laden with sweet smelling apple blossoms. A flicker of movement caught my eye in the darkness, and with a jolt of surprise I realized it was a nude woman.
“There’s a er... naked woman in your yard.”
Looking up from where she was dumping heaping spoonfuls of cocoa into two mugs, Alyssa gazed out of the window above the sink. “Oh, that’s just my neighbor, Sandra. She’d mentioned she was going to work on re-laying the wards this week.”
“I see,” I drawled, doing my best to avoid looking at the stark-naked woman meandering around the yard with her arms raised to the heavens, pausing occasionally to execute a pirouette before continuing on her path.
Several uncomfortable moments passed during which I turned my attention to picking at a stubborn hangnail on my thumb, anything to keep myself from looking at the nude weirdo in the backyard. Alyssa had accused me of being a prude when she accompanied me on a shopping trip just before Christmas. She had insisted that my hesitancy to model sexy lingerie for her and a gaggle of sales clerks at Victoria’s Secret meant I was uptight. At the time I had outright denied being anything even closely resembling uptight, but as I sat in her cozy kitchen doing my damnedest to think about anything other than the naked dryad prancing around the yard, I was forced to rethink the possibility that I might be a bit prudish after all.
Interrupting my thoughts, Alyssa set a mug of hot cocoa in front of me, complete with a handful of mini marshmallows and sprinkling of chocolate shavings. Sitting across from me, she tucked an errant lock of brilliant red hair behind her ear before curling delicate fingers around her own mug.
“So... the Shepherd of the City, huh?”
My shoulders slumped at her question. I’d known she was going to ask, but I’d hoped she would wait a little longer before grilling me about what I’d gotten myself mixed up in. I wasn’t even sure that I fully understood it myself.
“Yep,” I replied, taking a sip of my hot cocoa as an excuse not to elaborate. It burned my tongue, and all the way down my throat, but it was delicious, and I relished the warmth spreading through my chest.
The exasperated look Alyssa shot at me across the table let me know she could see right through my stalling tactics and that her patience was a lot longer than mine. With a sigh I set my mug down, but didn’t raise my gaze from the melting marshmallows.
“He’s asked me to look into some vamp murders. He thinks it’s a were.”
“I’d heard about the murders, but this is the first I’ve heard about them being connected to weres.”
“Me, too.”
It was no secret that vamps and weres didn’t get along, but there had been a strained peace between them for years. Although I thought Cordova was an egotistical undead prick, even I had to admit that he’d done a good job of getting everyone to play nice since he had taken over as Shepherd. Colorado was at an all-time low for supe-related crimes, and he’d made sizeable contributions to several supernatural charities in the area. He was an all-around pillar of the non-human community. And I didn’t trust his fanged smile any further than I could throw him.