"Find a paranormal to take back to IPCA and protect those of us doing no harm. This is your job. " Her slate eyes bored into mine, softening around the edges. "Please-our children, the little trollbaerns. We have so very few and they are more precious than any life we have built here. Help us. "
How could I say no? I stood. "Alrighty. Let's go bag a vamp. "
Thirty minutes later I was wandering the evening streets with Hulking Teeth Gnasher by my side. Birgitta had told me about the vampire stalking them. Trolls only have children once or twice a century, and the trollbaerns don't learn how to use invisibility glamours for several decades, leaving them vulnerable. Already two had been killed and another seriously hurt.
The whole thing made me sick to my stomach. These were the vamps I knew. This was why IPCA still needed to be in the world, no matter what Lend thought.
The trolls had set a trap for the vamp, which I unwittingly triggered by following the little troll girl bait. Now it was my job to freeze my butt off and find their sleazy stalker. I didn't know how I'd find anyone under these circumstances, though. Gnasher's breathing was so loud I could barely hear my own footsteps. It was cramping my style.
"I think I'll have more luck by myself. " I smiled so he wouldn't take it the wrong way.
He frowned, his brow almost covering his close-set eyes. "Not safe. "
"Trust me, I've been around the block a few times. I can handle a vampire. "
"Invisible. " He gestured to himself. I shook my head. A vampire would still smell him, which was no doubt why they hadn't had any luck trapping it.
Glaring dubiously, he hesitated, then turned around and went back the direction we had come. I let out a relieved breath. The trolls in this town might be innocuous, but that didn't make them any less intimidating.
Hands jammed into my pockets and thighs already chafing from too much time walking in damp jeans, I wandered the streets, picking directions at random. There was a lot to think about. The strange liquid sensation that kept drifting over me, for one. The way the breeze seemed to follow me like a little lost puppy. The English test I was going to be way, way too tired for in the morning. What I was going to say to Lend to make everything better. How I was going to find a ride home with no communicator. How hard I was going to hit Jack for abandoning me.
That last one warmed me up a bit.
I kept thinking I heard footsteps shadowing mine, but no matter how many times I whipped around, no one was there. When I'd gotten myself completely lost, a soft voice with a hint of an accent drifted from a dark stoop next to me. "I think you're in the wrong part of town. " I could hear the smile through the dark.
I stopped, facing him. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm in the right part. "
He stepped forward into the light, white eyes gleaming dully beneath his glamour and fangs bared in a pleasant smile. Yup, exactly where I needed to be. Bring it on, dead guy.
Chapter Twenty
Like A Bad Movie
Still smiling, the vampire shook his head. "You should be careful where you go in this city, Liebchen. Monsters walk with human faces. "
I snorted. "You don't say. " This was the first time since I was eight that I had faced a vampire without either backup or Tasey. Still, I wasn't going to back down. I could so take a solitary vamp.
His hair was dark and curly, longer than most vamps wore it, giving him an almost artistic air. Well, minus the corpse he was rocking underneath the glamour. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "There are things in this world you're better off not knowing. Go home and leave the night its mysteries. "
"Wow, melodramatic much? You vampires always take yourselves so seriously. " His eyes bugged out in surprise. "Yeah, I know you're a creature of the night. Bringer of death, sucker of blood, needer of tans, so on and so forth. And oddly enough, I'm still unimpressed. "
He narrowed his eyes. "How do you know what I am, child?"
What is it with paranormals and calling me "child?" I'd be seventeen in December. How about a nice "ma'am" or something? "I know because it's my job. It's also my job to tell you this whole troll-stalking thing you've been doing is over. "
He threw back his head and laughed. I felt like I'd walked into some cheesy vampire movie. Finally done with his little show of sinister confidence, he focused on my eyes. "You will take me back to the trolls. "
Vampire mind tricks are dependent on their glamour, and with my nice view straight to his white corpse eyes, he just looked silly. I let my face go blank and nodded slowly. "Yes. The trolls. Back. With me. Cannot form. Complete sentences. " I shook my head. "Yeah, so not happening. "
He considered me, annoyed and at a loss for what to do next. "I don't kill humans. "
"Me neither! See, common ground already. "
"Then I suppose we should both be on our way. "
I put my hands on my hips. "No, we shouldn't. I'm not going to let you murder any more troll kids. "
He sighed. "Then I'm afraid we'll have to lose our common ground. " Flashing his fangs, he lunged forward. I drew my arm back and punched him full in the face.