Tuesday
I spent the whole night walking around the area: Kensington, Notting Hill,
Not that we had weeks: the doctor was coming home in a little over one. But that would just make my life a whole lot easier, since we knew where he lived and worked. Stalking one or two certain areas was much easier than running all over
Morning was dawning again when I got back to the hotel, sunny, warm and bright. I hissed at the evil daystar and crawled into bed after hanging the DO NOT DISTURB –sign on the door. I was excited to go to Heidi and Claudia –the thought of her, and Kielo, still made me blush, and gave me some damn interesting dreams- and report on my findings, but that would have to wait until the evening, until the sun would not be shining so damn brightly.
I slept fitfully, waking every time someone opened a door to the nearby rooms, or during especially loud traffic. The day seemed to drag on for ever, and I finally gave up on sleeping in the wee hours of the afternoon. I was too restless, too eager to get out and to the pub. To get back on the vampire’s tail. But the sun was still too high, and too bright in a cloudless sky. I knew that the weather in the area could turn completely within minutes, but no matter how I peeked through the curtains, the sun was persistent once it had claimed the sky.
So I took a long, hot shower which soon turned cold as I found myself imagining what treasures Claudia hid underneath her clothes.
I admit: more than once I’ve wooed away another woman’s man, or man’s woman, for a night or two of passion and fun. But, I think I might have mentioned it before: I don’t like doing that to friends, and I considered Heidi one of those. Claudia was something I’ve never had, and that, with her cute face and lovely personality, was becoming quite an obsession to me. And I know myself. I know how I obsess about things such as this. I know that this might mean trouble, no matter whether I want it or not.
Damn it, I might as well be a man, following the will of his cock!
I ended up leaving the hotel as soon as the sun had disappeared behind the buildings across the street. It created enough of a shadow for me to get to the nearest tube entrance, and once I was underground, the sun didn’t matter. I decided to stay away from the pub, for my own sanity’s sake, and instead went straight to the music store. Heidi was just talking shop with a few customers, so I bided my time by going over the LP-shelves. I picked up a few titles, and once she was free, I bought them and asked for Heidi to keep them behind the counter for me. She agreed, and asked what had brought me here. She didn’t buy my excuse of loving the music.
“The way you’re beaming and bouncing on your heels, there’s gotta be something more to this visit. Not that I mind, mind you.” She said and leaned over the counter, lowering her tone. “So what is it?”
“Well, you’ll be glad to know that sucking those dentures paid off. I felt our vamp last night.”
“Really?” she straightened up, a look of new respect in her eyes as she stared at me. “So who is it? Did you see him?”
”No, I’ve no idea who it is.” I admitted. Her face fell, and I hurried to assure her that since I’d felt the vampire once, he would not get away, couldn’t hide from me.
“Well, that’s good. You planning to go looking tonight as well?” she asked, still looking a little disappointed. I nodded. “D’you think you could come to the apartment at round ten or eleven tonight?” she then went to ask me, looking around to make sure no-one was listening. I looked as well, to find the shop empty, and her pothead of a fellow employee singing to himself in the back.
“Sure, no problem. Something going on?”
“Kind of, yeah. I’ve got a vampire coming over. Some guy, I don’t know. Wants to talk business. Would you… I mean, this is all so new to me, and I’d kinda feel safer if you were around?” she looked very sheepish, so I gave her a friendly smile.
“No problem.” I repeated. Then a thought hit me. “You don’t think it’s our guy?”
“It might be. He said he needs a new identity and everything, but it might be just a cover.” She said quietly, tugging at her curly hair. “That’s kinda why I want someone there who knows what they’re doing with these bastards around. You obviously came to mind.”
I laughed a little and nodded. “Sure, I’ll be there. I’ll go and wander around the place anyway, I’m too fidgety to stay still. But I’ll be there by ten.” I didn’t think I would find a true vampire anywhere outside that early in the night, not when the evenings were so long and full of light, but I couldn’t imagine sitting still all night, either. And besides. All I had to do was find the vampire again, now that I knew I could. I could afford the night off.
Playing bodyguard.
Again.
I spent an hour or two in a nearby pub –there really seems to be one just across the street, no matter where you are- until the sun was low enough not to give me much trouble. Most shops were still open, so I amused myself by walking in them, buying small snacks or trinkets here and there, and a pocket book or two, heading out to the streets only when the sun was properly down.
That didn’t stop the people, though; despite it being Tuesday evening, the streets were still packed. But I started to sense a vampire here and there as they climbed out of their hiding places, looking for the night’s meal, or perhaps just enjoying a nice evening in the city full of life.
I didn’t want to head out too far from the area, not if I had to be back here by ten, so I walked the relatively short distance to the banks of the
One of the vampire myths is that they can’t cross moving water, at least on their own power. That’s… really not true. I’ve been chased over enough streams and rivers to know. It does weaken them momentarily, maybe slow ‘em down, but that’s pretty much it. I don’t know where people come up with some of these things… maybe they’re just used as plot elements in stories, and then suddenly, hey presto, they’re a part of a myth.
Still, I can imagine that for a vampire, crossing something like the Atlantic Ocean would be a bit of a bitch. I know I always get a little queasy, but that’s mostly because of being in a small, cramped space with lots of people. High in the air, in a lump of flying metal, or in the middle of the ocean, in a lump of floating metal. But crossing a bridge to the south of London: not a problem. Not for me, not for any normal vampire.
Night came on eventually, and as the streets quieted some, I headed back towards
“She’s here now,” Claudia argued, pointing at me, ”so there’s no danger, right?”
So she stayed, glued to the TV for the time being. I didn’t recognise the program, but I guess it was one of those hospital dramas, with how many people were screaming for a doctor.
Heidi was more nervous than anything. Not because of the vampire, though, but because of what he’d need from her.
“There’s so much paperwork, I don’t know if I’ll ever get the hang of it.” She was moaning, leafing through a pile of papers for my new life.
“Don’t forget you’ll get paid for it. A lot of money.” I reminded her, my attention spread over the neighbourhood. I wanted to get a feel of the vampire before he’d get here, to know whether it was our man or someone else.
“I know. That’s about the only reason I’m even trying to figure this out. That, and I don’t want to disappoint Frank.” Her last words were quiet, and her nervous hands stilled. Claudia, who had been sitting beside me on the sofa, staring intently at the television, slipped onto the floor and kissed the curly-haired one on the cheek.
“I’m sure he’s proud of you, no matter what. You’re such a good person. Now, let me see those… I end up doing half of the paperwork at the bar, maybe I can make something out of it.”
Heidi gave me a small smile when the bothersome papers were almost forcibly removed from her hands, making me wonder how much of her helplessness had been an act.
That question would have to wait, though. “I think he’s coming.”
There was still the very real threat that it might be the vampire we were looking for. But when the vampire got closer, and the feel of him sharper, I could tell it wasn’t the one I’d come across last night. I informed the others of this, and Heidi calmed down immediately. For ten seconds, before she picked up all her papers again and started to leaf through them. Claudia took them from her again, scooting away. I hardly noticed.
It wasn’t the vampire who had killed Frank, of that I was sure. But it was… the feel of him… it was familiar. I couldn’t place it, but I was sure it was someone I’d met before. Not too unlikely, since I have met my fair share of vampires, no matter whether I ended up killing them or not.
But…
The doorbell rang, followed by a sharp, quick knock on the door. We all glanced at each other, and Heidi got up. “Here we go…” she muttered as she walked past us to the door. Claudia and I stood up as well, and she gasped a little as she saw the gun in my hand. Hugging the papers, she backed away towards the kitchen table.
I had turned towards the door, and could hear Heidi talking with a man. His voice sounded familiar, so it was not just the feel of him. But I couldn’t place him, not until Heidi came back into the living-room, followed by a tall, thin man, who—
He looked into my eyes and—
“Hello, Dhampiresa.”
They were all staring at me, I could feel it without looking away from him. I couldn’t look away. I was frozen to my place, my heart beating faster than any drum I had ever heard. I felt like such a fool! He had been on my mind for days now, and I had recognized the feel of him, his voice, but it took seeing his face to realise it was him.
“Would someone mind telling me what’s going on?” Heidi asked eventually. I don’t know how long we had been standing around like idiots for, but her words broke the spell. I dropped my gun, opened my mouth, and jumped him, screaming his name.
“Iggy!”
“Okay then.” Heidi chuckled and moved out of the way as Iggy almost lost his balance with me hanging around his neck. She retreated to Claudia’s side as he hugged me back, and eventually put me down on the floor. He gave me a nervous grin and straightened his glasses.
“I guess that means you’re happy to see me?”
Claudia laughed.
“Yeah, you could say that.” I said, ignoring the chuckling from behind. “I’ve been trying to find you, but Frank must have set you up good.”
“That he did.” Iggy said and bowed his head at Heidi a little. ”I was very sorry to hear of his passing. My condolences.”
Heidi nodded back and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. “How about some introductions then?”
I made the round of introductions, and we all settled down, nervousness and tension gone. Iggy sat beside me on the sofa, looking more like a computer geek than a vampire of more than half a century.
His dark brown hair was shortish and messy, what seems to be fashionable these days. Black-rimmed glasses had slipped down his nose, and he was peering around the room over them. He hadn’t needed glasses after he became a vampire, but he still preferred to use them. A disguise of sorts, he had explained. His clothes seemed to be very used and scruffy, but clean and in one piece.
“So…” Heidi eventually said, after Iggy and I had stared at each other for a good five minutes, no doubt both checking the other one out to note all the changes of the last few decades. We both snapped into attention and turned to her, making Claudia giggle a little again. Heidi smirked and continued. “Before you two head down memory lane, do you want to get to business?” she nodded at Iggy, who turned his attention from Claudia to her. Looking a little embarrassed at being caught staring, he shook his hands in the air.
“Oh! No. That was just an excuse to come here and try to find some way to find her.” He pointed at me and grinned widely, showing off sharp, tea-stained teeth. “Turns out it was easier than I had though, I had not imagined she would be here with you. But I couldn’t say that on the dog and collar, it would have been suspicious.”
“Dog and bone.” I automatically corrected. He was always very keen to blend in, but he’d never gotten the hang of the rhyming slang. I remember finding it cute at first, when we were first dating and then living together, but annoying later on, when he just wouldn’t get it. “Some things never change…” slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Iggy opened his mouth to speak, but ended up just looking slightly hurt. I patted him on the shoulder and smiled, trying to signal that I meant no harm with it. He apparently accepted. Well, at least he closed his mouth and offered a slight smile. “Sorry.”
Both our younger Londoners were giggling by now.
“Never mind,” I muttered, and then had an idea. Here I had a vampire! “Have you heard anything about what happened to Frank?”
That quieted the girls down. Heidi leaned towards us from the kitchen table as Iggy nodded.
“Not much. I know that everyone’s pretty angry about it, since he did such good work.”
I nodded, having gathered as much, and motioned for him to go on.
“None of the old ones would have done it, and by old ones I mean my age and older. But by the time the word got out of his death, there was no traces left to follow. So I tried the old-fashioned way and went asking questions, at Frank’s pub and around his friends, but only heard about you,” he pointed at Heidi, “and you, I guess, knew even less. Some time later I went back to the pub and heard that a little black-haired girl had been there asking of Frank as well, and thought that it meant you.” Now he pointed at me, looking smug. “And I was right!”
“Bingo.” I said, grinning back. But it soon turned to a frown. “So basically, you… don’t know anything more than we do.”
“Sorry.” Iggy shrugged. ”There are rumours, of course, but they’re just that. No one would openly admit to doing such a thing. But you are the vampire hunter here, have you figured anything?”
Heidi pointed at me. “She found the vampire last night.”
“Sensed him.” I corrected as Iggy turned to stare at me in amazement. “You see, there was a trace to follow, but Heidi beat you all to it. I didn’t get close enough to see him, though, but at least we know he can be found.”
“And we got another lead as well, but he’s in the States right now.” Heidi said, also a little smug over her detective work.
“That’s great!” Iggy said, grinning again. “So, what are we going to do once we find him?”
That silenced all of us. Looking at each other, my eyes eventually landed on Heidi.
“You’re the client here. Kind of. What you say, goes.” I said. “We can turn him over to the vampires, they would believe at least you. Or I can kill him.”
Vampires have their own society, laws and such, not so different from the humans. Killing a human by drinking their blood is very much frowned upon, but Frank was no mere human. He was a werewolf, and a very important member of the creatures of the night.
“Basically, it’s just a question of who kills him, then.” I muttered. “I will do it swiftly, the vampires will without a doubt take their time and pleasure.”
Heidi’s mouth was hanging open a little. She must have never realised what would be the murderer’s fate. Claudia looked uncomfortable with the thought as well.
“You mean…” Heidi started, but stopped to lick her lips, “they’d torture him and stuff?”
“Torture will be just the warm up round.” Iggy said with a solemn nod.
Heidi stared at us for a moment longer before her soft, dark lips spread into a wide, feral grin. “Excellent. I hope he takes weeks to die.”
“Heidi!” Claudia’s tone was as surprised as I felt. Frank’s granddaughter just shrugged.
“It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it, he killed Frank, and most likely that dentist as well. Who knows how many else! And d’you really think, if he knew we’re on his trail, that he’d give us any mercy?” she reasoned, and I found myself nodding to her words after the initial shock. Iggy was very quiet beside me, and eventually Claudia nodded as well.
“Guess you’re right, then. I’m glad I’m just on the paperwork side of this business…”
Heidi snickered. “Fifty-fifty?”
“At least forty-sixty, if I’m doing all the paperwork.” Claudia smirked.
“But it’s my family business. Forty-five and fifty-five?”
“Oh, don’t get cheap with me, or you can keep all of it. Including the paperwork.”
I turned to Iggy who was watching the women, obviously unsure on whether they were serious. “Maybe we should leave, before they move on from flirting.”
Heidi laughed and Claudia blushed. So did Iggy, who stood up and stuttered something about the time.
“The whole night’s still ahead of us,” I said and stood as well, looking up to Iggy, “I might as well go back to searching. If you have nothing else, maybe you could join me in a long walk around
“Yes, that would be fun.” He said with a smile and a nod.
“We’ll be off then. See you tomorrow afternoon, or so?”
Both Heidi and Claudia nodded, and soon enough Iggy and I were out in the cool early summer evening. The sky above was clear and dark, the numerous street lights and passing cars took care of the illumination.
“So… which way?” Iggy asked, somewhat nervous now that we were alone.
”Towards Kensington.” I nodded to the right, and off we went.
The streets were still quite packed once we got to Piccadilly. Tourists, mostly, I supposed. We walked in silence, making our way through the busy area as fast as we could. Only when we were getting near to
It had been great to see Iggy again, for sure, I had missed him over the years, and worried about him for the last few days, after Alby and Kielo used him in their plot. And then he just goes and drops into my life again. Great! Really, great, no sarcasm here. No, really. But now that we were alone, walking along a quiet street, in the dark, the decades between us seemed so long. Not to mention all the people. It was kind of hard to think of anything to say. And I knew Iggy well enough to guess that his thoughts were traveling along the same lines.
“So…” he eventually ventured. I grinned, but couldn’t come up with much else than a “So…” as well.
“Nice night for it.” He said with a grin, and I laughed a little.
“How have you been? Where are you living? And what’s your name, anyway?” I asked, to make at least some small talk.
“I’ve been fine. Living in Euston these days, I’ve been Rufus Smith for the past five years now. Almost six.”
“Smith.” I laughed again, and he gave me a questioning look. ”Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith. I’m Dorothy Jones.” Now he laughed as well. ”Well, I will be, once those girls get my papers done.”
“You’ve known those… girls for long?”
“Since last Friday. I came here to see Frank, maybe find you, and then I find that Frank’s dead.”
“Can they be trusted? I mean, Heidi is Frank’s grandchild, I guess she understands the importance of keeping what we are a secret. But that blonde…” he left the end of his sentence hanging in the air, and I couldn’t help the lecherous grin. He must have realised what Claudia was faster than I had.
“She’s very cute, isn’t she? I think she’s pretty good with secrets. And Heidi trusts her. Why Mr. Smith, is that a blush I see?”
“I don’t blush!” Iggy objected, covering his red cheeks with long-fingered hands. “Anyway, how have you been? And where?”
“All right as well.” I answered curtly, not wanting to go into the last few weeks too much. “I was living in
“That’s nice. I mean, that you are staying a while. I think I’ve missed you.” Iggy said thoughtfully, nodding to himself a little.
“I’ve missed you too, idiot.” I said with a smile he didn’t see, and gently punched him in the arm.
“That’s nice too. Not an hour we’ve been together again, and already you’re hitting
“You always were such a wuss!”
“You have very sharp, tiny fists. They hurt!”
Once we reached the corner of Hyde Park, we headed south-west to
“This is the area where I felt him last night.” I explained, looking around. Iggy nodded firmly and followed suit. The road was almost clear now, but a new batch of cars was waiting at the traffic lights.
“How about tonight?”
“Nothing. Yet, anyway.”
“What’s your range?”
“Not too much. I don’t have a strong… scent on him. Maybe a hundred meters or so. Tops.”
“That is not much, Dhampiresa.”
“In a city this big? No, it isn’t.”
I had always liked it when he called me that, even if it was only when we were alone. Or maybe because he only called me that when we were alone. It meant female dhampir, simple as that. But his accent, which he still apparently hadn’t managed to shake off completely, made it sound so adorable. It still made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But not in love.
“Iggy?”
“Yes?”
“I just want to make this clear. Just so that there are no misunderstandings. I still love you, as a friend. But I’m not in love with you.”
I didn’t dare to look at him, but it was comforting to hear the soft chuckle. “Thank you, Dhampiresa. We’re on the same book, then.”
“You mean same page, right?”
Iggy shrugged. “More or less, yes. Who do you do love, then?”
“Someone I shouldn’t. Let’s get a move on, ok?”
He agreed with a nod and followed me as we headed deeper into Kensington. I was considerably shorter, but the way I marched on forced him to almost jog to keep up. It had just been a simple question, but the answer for it…
As soon as he had asked it, do you know whose face it was that I immediately saw? Yeah. Kielo. Answer like that does one cranky dhampir make.
”So, this not being in love thing...” Iggy ventured after he had caught up with me at the next traffic lights, “does it mean we can’t make love anymore?”
Question like that does one amused dhampir make. “Of course it doesn’t!”
“Well then, I’m glad.”
“Here I was thinking you’d have a girlfriend.”
“I never claimed such a thing.”
“Boyfriend then?”
“No, I gave that up in the seventies.”
“That’s funny, I gave up smoking in the seventies.”
“About time. It was like kissing an ashtray, kissing you when you smoked.”
“I don’t remember you complaining back then.”
“Well, I was very young then, and foolish.”
From Earl’s Court we turned north towards Notting Hill, all nervousness between us finally gone. Iggy certainly wasn’t afraid to complain that the endless walking was making his feet hurt. Still, he soldiered on, even when I told him he could go home if he wanted to. Frank’s pub wasn’t too far off our ‘route’, and we were just pondering going in for a pint and a rest when I felt him. Iggy stopped in the middle of a sentence when he saw me go all rigid.
“Ah, ze hunter, she senses her prey.” He muttered and followed without complaint as I started to run after a few inquiring steps. The few people in the streets gave us odd looks, probably thinking Iggy was chasing after me, so I slowed down until he caught up, and we continued somewhat slower until we reached a larger street again. More people here, again. The tug was so much stronger, increased by every step I took. The vampire wasn’t moving. I told Iggy as much, and he nodded, looking all around the place over my head.
We walked past open restaurants and pubs, people going in or coming out, and colourful store fronts with their lights still on, even when they had closed hours ago. The feeling got stronger and stronger, and I hurried faster and faster, until it felt like I must have been standing on him. I stopped, and looked up to see the front of a very expensive restaurant.
“This the place?” Iggy asked, and I nodded. I tried to look through the darkened windows, but couldn’t say whether our man was one of the patrons I could just about make out.
There was a man on the door, and he was giving us a politely questioning look. You know, one of those that would be dirty if one’s salary would have allowed it. “Can I help you?” he asked, and before either of us could manage to say anything, he informed us that the place was fully booked for the evening. The look on his face added many things which made me think we’d better move on.
“No thanks, we’re fine.” I said with a smile as sunny as possible for someone who’d most likely burn in the sun, and ushered Iggy on. He tried to protest, but my sharp, tiny fist below his ribs silenced him. I dragged him to the other side of the road, and into a small café almost across the street from the restaurant. “We’ll wait here. It’ll look less suspicious.”
Iggy, still sour from the punch, nodded and went to order a pint for both of us. I trained my eyes on the restaurant, and settled in for a possibly long wait. The feel of the vampire was so strong that I was sure I couldn’t miss him when he came out. Not anymore.
A pint turned into another, and a third, and by the time Iggy had explained all about his favourite science fiction show, I was ready to call it a night. The café was about to close its doors, but by the looks of it, so was the restaurant. So I perked up, shook my head to clear it a little, and dragged babbly-drunk Iggy out. We watched the people come out of the restaurant on the other side of the street, and tried to look as harmless as possible. The doorman seemed to recognise us, and was giving us a rather dirty look now, every time he wasn’t opening the door or bowing down.
“Are you sure he hasn’t come out yet?” Iggy asked, shivering a little with the cool night air. It felt all the cooler after sitting in that warm café, but compared to
“Yes. He’s still in there.” I had scanned everyone leaving the place, and hadn’t found the vampire yet. But just as the café behind us locked up, I felt that tugging get stronger again. I straightened myself and took a few steps forward to get a good look at the small group that was coming out, huddling around a fancy car that had arrived to separate us from them.
There was half a dozen people there, from the look of it three couples. Rich, judging by their clothes and what I could hear of their words. Drunk, as well. They were followed by a big, strong man in a suit whose appearance screamed bodyguard to me.
My eyes were immediately nailed to a blonde woman in the middle of the group. She was somewhat shorter than the rest, almost lost between them. And she was no human.
She was also very familiar. Extremely familiar, even to someone like myself, who still prefers LP’s over CD’s.
“Isn’t that…” Iggy muttered and moved closer, when she suddenly turned her head towards us. Our eyes met, and she held mine in an iron grip for five seconds. She knew I was here, and what I was, as clearly as I knew about her. And the look in her eyes was telling me to back off, and stay away. She was old, and powerful. I even stopped breathing and just watched her enter the car with her friends. More than one human walking past them stopped to stare at her and whisper.
The fancy car soon drove off. I let them go. I now knew the identity of our killer, and, unfortunately, it would be no problem to find her again. When someone’s as famous as her, all one has to do is read the damn tabloids to find out where to go.
Which would make talking to her, or better yet, killing her, all that more difficult.
1 comment:
Good to see you back. Haven't checked the site in while. Good to see time hasn't detracted from your writing. Keep up the updates! Glad to see them!
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