The Accidental Vampire (4 page)

"Dear God, this must be some kind of fire hazard," she muttered.

"That's what the fire chief said when I showed his family to their table," Mabel said with amusement. "He warned me the next time we think we'll have such a large turnout, we have to put tables on the sidewalk or something."

Elvi nodded absently, not surprised Mike Knight hadn't insisted they shut down now. The party was in honor of his son. Mike was the head of the small fire department for the town and the sort of man always happy to lend a hand to friends and neighbors. He was a popular fellow, as was his charming wife, Karen. Their son, Owen, took after them. The number of teenagers present along with the adults attested to that. It looked to Elvi as if nearly half the town was there.

"I know the upper floor isn't done, but maybe we should open it up to make it a little less crowded," Elvi murmured, ignoring the hunger that was rising inside her as her gaze slid over the mass of humanity. Crowded as the dining area and bar was, the air conditioner couldn't keep up with the heat generated. It was hot, people were sweating, and their scent was a wave rolling over her and making her teeth ache. That half-glass of blood hadn't been enough. She should have finished it off, she realized with worry.

"I already did." Mabel leaned closer to gesture up to the balcony running around the upper floor where nearly as many people were milling about.

Elvi stared at them, but her senses were completely attuned to Mabel and she found herself inhaling slowly and savoring the scent. Mabel was a type-II diabetic, her blood always just that tad sweeter than others despite the medication she took, and sweeter blood was yummy blood as Elvi had learned the few times she'd fed from her friend when she'd first turned and had no other recourse. She allowed herself to enjoy the aroma until she felt her teeth shift, then moved quickly away from Mabel with a moan.

"You're hungry." Mabel eyed her with concern. After five years, she recognized the signs. "I should have let you finish the glass of blood I brought you. Should I get you another glass now to tide you over until the cake is ready?"

Elvi considered it, but shook her head. She found biting others somewhat distressing, it made her feel like an animal, but the hungrier she was, the less distressing it was. She could wait and said so.

Mabel nodded, but her gaze moved to the workers in the kitchen, Pedro and Rosita, who did the cooking, and the waitstaff who were bustling back and forth and in and out of the room.

Clapping her hands to get their attention, Mabel said, "Anyone who isn't needed in here, stay out. I want only Elvi, myself, and of course Pedro and Rosita in here." She smiled briefly at the Mexican couple who did the cooking, then added, "I'll put the finished orders on the table in the hall as they come up and you can place the new orders there for me to collect."

Elvi felt herself relax as the waitstaff emptied out and sent a grateful smile Mabel's way. It wasn't the first time she'd ordered everyone but Pedro out of the kitchen. It was a precaution she took on those rare occasions when Elvi was hungry. The gesture was appreciated.

"I'd better get moving on that cake," Elvi murmured, stepping away from the beads and turning to head back into the kitchen. "Maybe I should make two tonight. I don't think one will do for that crowd."

"I was going to suggest it myself," Mabel admitted.

Nodding, Elvi set to work.

"Who is it?" DJ rose up in the booth, craning his head around in an effort to see who had entered the restaurant. He wasn't having any success.

"No one we know," Victor assured him. On the outside of the booth, he merely had to lean to the side to see the tall, thin young man standing by the restaurant entrance.

The boy was glowering at the crowd now eyeing him as curiously as they'd eyed Victor and DJ moments ago. He couldn't have been more than twenty by Victor's guess and was dressed in the Goth fashion with baggy black pants, a billowing black shirt, and studs around his neck and wrists. His hair was long and pure black, obviously dyed. He was also unnaturally pale.

Makeup, Victor thought, noting the black lips and piercings everywhere.

"Is he one of us?" DJ asked as he gave up trying to see and sank back in the booth.

"A wannabe," Victor grunted. Dismissing the youth Brunswick was talking to, he settled back in his own seat. "A Goth costume, makeup and a bad attitude."

"Not surprised," DJ murmured. When Victor raised an eyebrow, he added, "Well, none of our kind is likely to answer a newspaper ad for singles."

"Hmm," Victor murmured noncommittally. It was his opinion that one never knew what others might do. He'd seen stranger things in his life.

"If she really is one of us, she'll spot him for a wannabe right away," DJ said with unconcern. "Of course, she—"

Victor glanced at DJ curiously when the man cut himself off abruptly. Spotting the startled look on his face, he asked, "What is it?"

"I think that iguana just moved," DJ said with a frown.

Following his gaze, Victor peered at the bright green statue of the family of iguanas. Closer now, he could see that it was actually two adult iguanas with two smaller ones riding on their backs. All of them were stiff and still and Victor shook his head at the other man's moment of whimsy. "Don't be ridiculous, it's a statue."

"No, I'm sure I saw—"

"You can sit here with these two men."

Victor glanced up to see that Brunswick apparently hadn't picked up on the fact the boy wasn't for real and had ushered him to the booth.

"Vlad, this is Victor Argeneau and DJ Benoit," the officer introduced as the younger man slid into the booth. "Gentlemen, this is Vladimir Drake."

"Vladimir Drake?" DJ echoed with a wince, and Victor knew exactly what he was thinking. Being a wannabe was bad enough, but some things just showed poor taste.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" the kid asked defensively, then challenged, "Besides, what kind of name is DJ for a vampire?"

"It's short for Dieudonne Jules," DJ said mildly. "It's usually easier for people to use DJ."

"Dieudonne?As in 'God-given'?" Vlad sneered, obviously knowledgeable of some French, but then this was Canada. "And Benoit is short for Benedictine, isn't it? That means blessed." His mouth twisted. "A vampire with the names '
given by God'
and '
blessed'
! Yeah right."

DJ glanced to Victor and commented, "I'd think he was a name aficionado and smarter than he looks, but I read his mind."

Victor smiled faintly. He too had read the boy's mind and discovered that while Vlad knew the translation for Dieudonne from years of French in school, and his real name was Benedict. He had looked it up years ago and found the meaning as well as read the diminutives, including Benoit. He'd made everyone call him that for weeks afterward until some other trend had caught his eye.

"Yeah, sure you've read my mind," Vlad said with obvious disbelief. "I bet you two aren't even real vampires."

Victor ignored the challenge, his eyes sliding to Brunswick who still stood to the side of the booth, watching this interaction with interest.

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine," DJ said mildly.

"Show my what?" Vlad asked with a laugh. "You want to see my dick? You're not vampires, you're
gay
!"

Victor reached out to place a hand on DJ's arm as he sensed him stiffening, and then turned slowly to face the boy. He stared at him long and hard until the boy began to squirm on the opposite bench seat, then Victor opened his mouth and let his teeth slide out. He let them stay there briefly, long and sharp and pearly white, then slowly retracted them and closed his mouth.

"Holy shit!" Vlad gasped. He'd gone pale beneath the makeup and was now trembling in his seat. Apparently, for all his posturing, he hadn't been at all prepared to meet a real vampire this night. By Victor's estimation, the boy was seconds away from relieving himself right there in his pants.

"Run along home, little boy," he growled, losing patience. "This is the big league and you're missing more than the balls needed to play here."

Vlad hesitated for barely a heartbeat, then scrambled out of the booth and hurried toward the exit at nothing short of a run. Victor leaned out to watch him. The minute the wannabe reached the door, he slipped into his thoughts and made him pause while he wiped his mind, replacing his true memories with more mundane ones of a disappointing meeting with an overweight, old wannabe named Elvi.

Satisfied that Vlad wouldn't be running around Toronto screaming about vampires loose in the streets of Port Henry, he mentally urged him out the door and sat back in his seat.

"At least there's one less bed to find," Brunswick commented as he watched the door close behind Vlad. Then he slid into the opposite seat and peered curiously at Victor, "Could you really read his mind?"

Victor raised an eyebrow at the question. If Elvi was truly one of their kind she should have the skill as well, and Brunswick, who claimed to be her friend, should know it. Then again, it could make mortals uncomfortable to know they could be read and controlled. Such knowledge might put a strain on a friendship and she might have kept it to herself.

Before he could decide whether it would cause problems or not to admit he could, another lull hit the conversations in the room and Brunswick glanced toward the door. "Another one. We'll talk later."

Victor watched him slip out of the booth and then leaned to the side again to get a look at the latest arrival. He cursed on spotting the tall, fair-haired man who'd just entered and was now surveying the restaurant.

"Who is it?" DJ shifted in the booth, half raising from his seat again to see, despite it not having worked last time.

"Harpernus Stoyan," Victor answered, his gaze locked on the tall, blond German dressed in cords and a casual shirt.

"Harper?" DJ asked with surprise. "Here? How did he—?"

"The same way we did, I imagine," Victor muttered, settling back in his seat when Brunswick began to lead the man to their table.

"You think he actually answered the ad?" The younger man sounded so amazed that Victor had to roll his eyes. This was another sign of DJ's youth… if not in age, then at least in thinking. He himself had long ago learned that once an immortal reached a certain stage, there was little he wouldn't do to find his lifemate. Victor himself wasn't far from that stage. Unfortunately, he'd already found, loved, and lost his lifemate, and didn't hold out much hope that there was another out there for him.

"This is—" Brunswick began as he reached the table. It was as far as he got since Harper had spotted the occupants and recognized them at once.

"Victor! DJ!" he exclaimed. His surprise quickly turned to chagrin and he shook his head. "Fancy meeting the two of you here. It looks like I'll have some competition."

Brunswick's eyebrows rose. "The three of you know each other?"

"We're old friends," Victor admitted as he slid out of the booth to shake hands with Harper.

"Well, I didn't expect that," Brunswick admitted, then glanced past them toward the door and sighed once more. "Number four of six."

Harper and Victor turned to peer at the latest arrival, both of them scowling when they saw who it was.

"Edward Kenric," DJ muttered, spotting the man as he too got to his feet beside the booth. Unlike the rest of them, Edward had apparently thought a Mexican restaurant meant black tie. He was dressed to impress in a tux, his light hair slicked back from his patrician features.

Brunswick's eyebrows rose at the distaste in DJ's voice. "I take it this is someone else you know?"

"Oh, yes, we know him," DJ admitted, then added under his breath, "the pompous prick."

Brunswick smiled faintly, but merely asked, "Is he one of you?"

Victor almost said no in hopes the police captain would invite the other immortal to leave. It would be one less complication in this case. However, just as he opened his mouth to answer, he thought to check Brunswick's thoughts first and found that he'd nearly made a very large mistake. The officer had already guessed from their reactions that Edward was one of them; the question wasn't to see if he was, but to see if Victor would answer honestly or take advantage and try to eliminate what Brunswick thought was competition for the hand of the unknown Elvi.

"Yes, he's one of us," Victor answered and then pointed out, "the booth is starting to get a bit crowded. Maybe you should sit him somewhere else."

"Preferably far away," Harper concurred.

"Seating him in the parking lot would be good," DJ suggested.

"The parking lot is full at the moment," Brunswick said with amusement. "I think I'll just sit him here with the three of you. After that we'll have to maybe move to a table, though. That is, if the others are for real as well."

Before anyone could comment, he turned and headed off to greet Edward.

"You should have lied and said Edward wasn't one of us," DJ muttered as they watched Brunswick go. "Now we're going to be stuck with the bastard."

"No, he shouldn't have." Harper settled himself on the far bench seat of the booth as Victor and DJ returned to their side. "It was a test. Brunswick had already guessed Edward is one of us. If Victor had said he wasn't,
he
would have been the one to go," Harper announced, proving he too had read the man's thoughts. He then glanced toward the door, his eyebrows rising. "Isn't that… what's his name?" Harper frowned. "Damn… Alessandro something."

"Cipriano," Victor muttered, having leaned to the side to see that yet another immortal had entered the restaurant and now joined the conversation between Edward and Brunswick. Like the rest of them, Alessandro had dressed more casually for this meeting. While he wore a billowing white shirt, it was tucked into tight blue jeans.

"Cipriano's all right," DJ commented. "Only one more to go, then. Maybe once he's here, we can finally meet this Elvi."

"There are six of us altogether, then?" Harper asked with interest.

"Five. I'm just Victor's driver on this trip," DJ corrected, then added, "although there was a sixth, but he was just a wannabe and skedaddled pretty quick when Victor showed his fangs."