The hot rush on his tongue never ceased to make his own heart beat faster, a warmth that flooded his limbs. He forced himself not to suck at the vein, or to take too much, but to just let the blood flow.
Garnet cried out and sat up, hand tight in Casimir's hair. His dark eyes were wide, and he was drawing sharp breaths.
Casimir hastily drew back, pressing a finger against the wound. "Do you want me to stop?"
Wordlessly, Garnet nodded.
"I'm just going to clean this up and close it." He ground his teeth at the feeling of hunger that still burned in his veins but pushed it down, holding it in check as he licked away a few fat drops of blood to close the wound.
After inhaling a slow, shaky breath, Garnet said, "… I'm sorry."
"It's all right." What the hell was Adeline thinking, sending a vampire attack victim to service a vampire? How could the outcome have possibly been pleasant to either of them?
Regaining his composure, Garnet slipped off of the bed and picked up his robe from the floor. "Would you like me to ask Miss Adeline to send you someone else?" he asked, the professionalism in his voice undercut by a tremor.
"I'll talk to her myself," Casimir said, getting to his feet. He touched Garnet on the shoulder, making him flinch again. "Don't worry. I'm not angry, and I'm not planning on getting you into trouble with your mistress."
"Thank you," Garnet murmured.
Casimir licked away every hint of coppery taste from his mouth while Garnet turned and left, his body still aching with emptiness. It could wait until he spoke to Adeline. Closing the door behind himself, he made his way down to the lobby. And stopped still.
A statuesque woman was lounging on one of the plush chairs, absently running her fingers through her short, blonde hair. She finally glanced Casimir's way, and both of her eyebrows went up.
Casimir exhaled through his nose, then cleared his throat. "Hello, Lilin."
Lilin rose from her chair, crossing her arms. "I heard you were in town. What the hell do you think you're doing here?" she asked, fangs bared.
"How did you find me?"
"I followed you, moron. You're not exactly sneaking around. Now, answer my question."
"I don't owe you an explanation." Casimir checked the urge to bare his own fangs back at her. The last thing he needed to do was to get into a brawl with her right in the lobby of the Jewel Box—mostly because she would destroy him. If she didn't smear him across the gilt wallpaper, and he instead managed to crawl away, he would lose access to blood from consenting donors and would have to hunt for victims.
She took a few slow steps towards him, a lioness considering her prey. "Jared isn't happy that you're here," she said, a smirk appearing on her sharply pretty face. "You didn't even have the good manners to announce yourself."
"I didn't need to, did I? You clearly know I'm here. And I'm only passing through." It was proper etiquette to announce oneself when entering another vampire's territory, and usually Casimir did. He preferred to stick to customs that made it less likely to wake up with his bed on fire. But he couldn't make himself care about what would and wouldn't make Jared happy.
"Come with me and talk to Jared. Maybe he'll be less offended if you do," Lilin said.
"Maybe," Casimir said, letting his hands drop to his side so he could feel the reassuring outline of his gun against his palm. It wouldn't kill her—not unless he was lucky enough to blow out enough of her brains—but it might stun her long enough for him to escape. He edged closer to the door. "You have a great day, Lilin. Give my regards to your mate."
Lilin lunged at him before he could take another step. Casimir went for the stake instead of the gun because of the close quarters, gripping it like a knife and thrusting it at her ribs, but she skittered out of the way, her lips pulling back in a wordless snarl.
"You think you can kill me, you fucking little boy?" she growled.
Instead of responding, he dropped the stake and bolted for the door. As he closed his hand on the knob, he felt her slam into his back, her fists pummeling his back with a force that would have shattered his spine like glass if he were human.
By the time he got his hand around his gun, he could feel his ribs breaking with a sickening crack. Hissing in pain, he aimed the pistol back behind himself and fired blindly. Lilin screamed and staggered back; Casimir wrenched the door open and tumbled out onto the porch.
His chest hit the wood floor, fiery pain licking up his side, and he crawled off the porch, down to the ground. Casimir planted his elbow into the dirt and rolled over, lifting his gun in time to see Lilin jumping at him. He fired again; the shot went wide, but it did make her drop and duck.
The human woman ran inside, yelling for Adeline, while the fox demon watched the scene, amused. Casimir got up to his knees, clutching his aching ribs. He'd be less accurate firing with one hand, but it hurt to just be upright, and firing on his back would be useless.
Lilin was back on her feet. Her half-shirt displayed her flat stomach and the hole in the left side of it from the gunshot, blood freely dripping down to stain her jeans. When Casimir fired again, she gained a new hole in her shoulder, but it didn't stop her from falling on top of him.
He threw his arms up to protect his face and throat, barely in time to stop her first punch. Her fist connected with his wrist, and Casimir felt it shatter. He grabbed for her shoulder with his good hand and dug his thumb into the wound.
Hissing in pain, Lilin grabbed for his throat. She probably would have crushed his windpipe if a crash of glass and a bright flash of fire hadn't distracted them both. She sprang off of him, scrambling away from the blaze.
Casimir rolled his head to see Mikki standing with a rag-stuffed bottle in one hand, a cheap plastic lighter in the other. "The next one breaks across your face," he said, lighting the end of the rag.
"I'll find you again," Lilin said, moving slowly away and into the darkness beyond the Jewel Box.
Mikki pulled the rag out of the bottle, tossing into the already-burning spot. "Do you actively look for shit that's trying to kill you, or do you just attract it?"
"Usually the latter," Casimir wheezed, struggling to get to his feet. "Thanks for saving me. How did you know what was going on?"
"I heard the gunshots," Mikki said.
"Thank you for taking care of that," Adeline said as she appeared in the doorway. She was cradling a shotgun. "I thought the first shot was a light bulb exploding until Opal came to get me."
"Everyone all right?" Mikki asked.
"Other than him, yes," Adeline replied, nodding to Casimir. "It seems she was here looking for him. Now, I don't know what the story is between you two, but I can't have you putting my boys and girls in danger. I'm sure you understand."
"I do." Even so, Casimir was cursing silently as he picked up his gun. He would need to find another way to get blood.
The fox demon rose from her lounge, apparently bored now that the show was over. As she disappeared into the dark night, a small white ball rolled out behind her. It stopped only inches away from Casimir's hand.
Groaning in pain, he forced himself to reach for it, rolling it closer with his fingertips to grab it. It was about the size of a chicken's egg, plain except for a pearlescent glow. Maybe it was worth something. It couldn't hurt to try and pawn it.
"Can you walk?" Mikki asked.
"Yeah," Casimir said, slowly climbing to his feet. The way his ribs moved when he got to his feet made him want to scream. "… Maybe," he amended, airless.
Mikki made a face but said, "I'll walk with you. If you collapse, those fleshballs are going to eat you."
"You're a prince." His steps were slow, the throb from both his wrist and ribs pounding in time with his racing heart. He hadn't fed enough and felt the same sickness a human would from going too long without food.
"What the hell is that?" Mikki gestured to the ball.
Casimir handed it over. "I'm not sure. It's pretty."
"I guess." Mikki grabbed it, turned it in his hand, looking it over critically, then shrugged and gave it back. "Looks kind of like a pearl."
"That's what I thought." Casimir pocketed the ball.
"So why was that other vampire kicking your ass?" Mikki asked, trying to sound casual.
"We have history." Casimir changed the subject before he could ask more about it. "I met your brother tonight."
Mikki's expression closed; it made him look very much like Garnet. "So?"
"Did you know he got attacked by a vampire before?" Talking and walking at the same time was not making his ribs feel any better. He breathed shallowly.
"Yeah." Casimir had expected Mikki to fall silent, but Mikki surprised him by adding, "He thinks I should've been there help him. But I couldn't."
"Where were you?"
"Having surgery."
Casimir gave Mikki a questioning look. "How's that your fault?"
Mikki shrugged and stopped walking. They were at the door to the inn; the bight neon signs all around the building cast a riot of colors over his face. "Later," he said, turning around and walking away.
Casimir couldn't help but smile through the pain. He'd gotten a goodbye out of Mikki, at least. Holding his broken wrist tightly against his chest, he pushed the door open with his shoulder. The centaur was still gone, bell still at the desk.
Gripping the railing, he pulled himself along up the stairs, ribs burning. It felt like he was going to collapse before he reached the top. Casimir bit his lower lip, the pain of his fangs piercing it giving him something else to focus on. Licking away the coppery taste of his own blood, he finally made it to his room.
He dropped his gun onto the bedside table and slowly, carefully lowered himself to the mattress, lying on his back. The broken bones would be better tomorrow, but for now, he was in agony. Casimir pulled the blanket over himself and was just about to fall asleep when he noticed a pair of glowing eyes looking at him from the floor.
Casimir sat bolt upright and immediately regretted it when fresh pain ripped up his side. He fumbled for his gun, but he could already feel something landing on his bed. He looked towards the glowing eyes; the glaring neon didn't shine in on this side of the building, so he could barely see what it was, even with his superior night vision, but it seemed about the size of a large cat. Or a small dog.
"How did you get in?" he asked it, not sure if it could even talk.
Your window wasn't locked.
The reply wasn't so much spoken as thought into Casimir's mind. The creature moved over the blankets, stepping over his legs to sit on his knee. Now that it was closer, he could see the pointed ears and white-tipped tails.
"You followed me home from the Jewel Box?" This had to be the same fox demon he'd seen there; the chances of running into two were too great.
No. I had to find out where you were staying.
Her glowing eyes disappeared briefly when she blinked.
You have something of mine.
"What are you talking about?" He didn't think that she'd hurt him, but he kept his hand close to the gun, just in case.
My ball. I dropped my ball. I need it back.
Gritting his teeth, Casimir dug into his pocket and pulled out the white ball he'd found earlier. "This?"
All three of her tails swished, and she pounced onto his legs.
Yes! That's it! Give it to me! I have to have it back!
He looked at the ball, then back at her. "It's that important?" It didn't look like anything special to him, except for being pretty.
Yes! I'll do anything if you give it back to me!
That made him pause. Normally he would have given it right back, but he had enough trouble handling Lilin by herself. If she had backup… "The vampires in this town aren't fond of me. I could really use someone to watch my back," he said, wincing at the idea of blackmailing her.
She canted her head.
What do you mean, exactly?
"Well… Look, I'll be honest. I might end up causing some trouble here, and it'd be nice to not have to do it alone."
So I would get my ball back
and
get to cause trouble?
"Well, yes."
She bounced up and down again, her paws surprisingly light on his legs.
Yes! Yes! That would be fun!
Chuckling, he extended his hand, but then froze when her mouth closed around his arm. She wasn't biting—just mouthing—before taking the ball. An odd noise emerged from her throat—a high-pitched chittering, almost like a laugh. He guessed it was a happy sound.
"How will I find you when I need you?" he asked.
There is a lake just outside of town; it has a laurel tree hanging over it. My den is near the tree. Bring me something to eat when you come. My name is Inaho, by the way.
"I'm Casimir. I saw the lake on my way in." He wasn't sure what foxes ate, but he suddenly remembered that the Japanese fox demons, kitsune, supposedly loved tofu. Considering she carried a ball, something the Chinese and Korean ones didn't, and had given her name, he guessed that was what she was.
He frowned. The snow maiden was Japanese, too. Two Japanese monsters this far from home was unusual. "So, how did you get here?"
She lay down on the bed next to him, her ball resting between her front paws.
I stowed away on a ship that left from Japan a few weeks ago. They were taking a yuki-onna somewhere.
Her pink tongue lolled out.
The vampires that bought her are going to have a very cold death.
"The vampires here bought her?" He couldn't imagine why; it was impossible to feed off of her, and her frigid body wouldn't be any good for sex.
Inaho scratched her ear before she replied.
That's what the sailors were saying. I can't imagine why. They're pretty. Maybe they just wanted one around to look at, like you'd keep a tank of tropical fish. By the way, I like fish. You can bring me some to eat.
Watching her made his own head itch, and he thought while he scratched. If he could somehow find her and get her free, he was sure that she would be all too happy to help him, at least as long as it allowed her to return home. The more people on his side, the better for him.