Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2)

  Eve Benson: Vampire, Book Two

  Dead and Everything

  P.S. Power

  Orange Cat Publishing

  Copyright 2015

  Chapter one

  The nighttime was her favorite time. It wasn’t even all that odd. Not for Eve.

  Being a Vampire meant that at night she was lively, energetic, and her normal, fairly awesome self. True there were a few differences, compared to how she’d been as a Human, but not all that many. She was hungry all the time, for one. The desire to munch on anyone with the right kind of internal energy was strong enough to be annoying, almost all the time. Even drinking blood, which was what she craved, instead of ice cream or pizza, didn’t actually do a lot for her. It was part of being a predator, she guessed. Like a shark, she always wanted to feed, even if she was actually fine that way, in reality.

  That wasn’t too different for her though, since she’d practiced being hungry, starving herself for days at a time, for years, before becoming what she was at the moment. It was a different feeling, but close enough that she didn’t have to give in all the time, because she’d already mastered that part of herself, long ago.

  There was also the anger, of course. She felt that too, just like all the others of her kind, but to a lot of people it probably seemed like it wasn’t there for her. That was down to the fact that she’d always been that filled with rage. Ever since she could remember, even as a tiny child. It had been down to being a person tied to pure hate, or giving into fear and self-loathing. She’d picked rage as her go-to response, early on. Being a rape victim so very many times could do that to a person. That or break them down, and force them to be constantly afraid of everything.

  Except that she wasn’t that. She hadn’t been for a long time.

  Oh, she’d been raped. A lot in her life. That was a thing outside of her control and power, or had been. Eve Benson wasn’t a victim though. Not inside. No matter what people did to her body, or what names they called her, she was a being to be reckoned with.

  Inside. Where it counted.

  Tonight though she was working behind the counter of a frozen yogurt shop, all alone, for the first time. At least the first one that was planned. It was a sign, of course. Both her maker, Edom, and her work boss, Lenore, had felt that she was ready to take on some real responsibility.

  Given that she’d only become a Vampire a few weeks before, that was a huge thing. Most of her kind weren’t allowed to be alone at all for the first few years. Not without being locked away, to protect the rest of the world from their awesome rage filled hissy fits. Eve had managed not to do that, for the most part, so was being rewarded. With work.

  She grinned, trying not to seem like a bitch to the woman that walked in. She didn’t know her at all, but that didn’t mean the woman wasn’t just as worthy of respect as anyone else.

  “Good evening, what can I do for you tonight?” She said it with a chipper and polite voice, one that fit her look. She seemed like an ex-high school cheerleader, complete with her short and sporty black hair and trim waistline. All the starving to get ready for being dead had been handy that way. Now she pretty much wouldn’t change in appearance for a long time, she didn’t think.

  So she was going to be kind of hot, until the styles changed on her. They would eventually, as long as she survived long enough. Someday being kind of plump would be trendy, and she’d look poor and like she had health issues. Until then, she was the bomb though.

  The other woman was a Vampire. It wasn’t hard to tell, since she came in with fangs out, and eyes pure blood red, with no black or whites to be seen. It was a solid thing, and a really cool effect. It also meant the woman was about to attack someone, more likely than not. Eve got ready for it, and wasn’t too shocked when a fist banged against the counter. Hard enough to leave a crack in the stone surface. That got her to wince, since she’d be the one to have to fix it, no doubt. If not pay for it out of pocket. She hoped that one wasn’t the case, since short of violence, there had been no real way to stop it from happening. Vampires were quick, as a rule, and she’d been ready to block a punch, not protect the furnishings.

  “I… Need… Blood!” The woman, who was kind of short, and very white, had warm looking gloves on, and a nice coat that looked warm enough for the late November weather. It was less than a week before Thanksgiving, and if this lady hadn’t been freaking out, she would have looked right to be in a grocery store, getting a turkey.

  Instead she was there, ready to break things and probably kill someone, in order to get at what she wanted.

  Eve nodded, not letting herself show any other expression. It wasn’t that hard, since being dead had turned not moving at all into her default condition. It took skill, and a lot of practice, to seem like a real Human. Only the oldest, and best, could really pull the move off.

  “Human or animal? We have both.”

  She expected to be growled at, and told to get the good stuff, but the lady just shook, in rage and hunger.

  “Difference?”

  It was an odd thing for her to be asking, really. Eve smiled then, trying not to seem bitchy, and moved to the little silver fridge where both kinds were kept, and pulled a four ounce bottle of the new stuff. It was cow blood, and the energy gotten from it, the links set up to the still living animals wasn’t as smooth as the Human kind. It had more of them though, and cows would last a lot longer against a harder drain than people would. They were simply larger. It was a trade off though. The fine quality of the energy against the raw amount.

  “Here. Try it.”

  The woman didn’t wait, or ask for it to be warmed to body temperature, just throwing the whole thing back in two or three big swallows. Then she stood there, holding the clear glass bottle, which was slightly stained red inside, and took a deep breath.

  That way, she could talk. When her eyes opened she looked much better, and managed to smile.

  “Oh… That’s not too bad. A good number of links. How much for it? I know that the going rate for Human is one-forty right now, this has more links in it…”

  Also, they were to cows. It made a difference, which the woman wasn’t mentioning, probably to be polite. Eve winked.

  “Well, that one was a free sample. Normally it will run about five dollars per serving like that. Maybe ten. We’re still working on getting things set up. There will be other flavors though. That was vanilla, but there’s going to be a chocolate and cinnamon as well. Maybe pumpkin spice, for the holidays?” She tried to seem professional, since this woman hadn’t thrown the bottle of it back in her face, or complained that it was animal blood. Some had. Not so much the physical attack portion yet, but the complaints were pretty common.

  Funnily enough, the older the Vampire was, the less they whined about things like that. It probably meant that this lady wasn’t the newest kid on the block.

  “Really? Well, that’s competitive. I should probably buy in now, before it hits the market and everyone is trying to do it. Would you know who to contact about that kind of thing?” It was a sudden change, but nice enough to hear. Not everyone had the same interests though, so Eve had to wonder what her real plan was.

  Trust no one. It had been one of the first things anyone had taught her as a Vampire.

  “Marissa, from the Council? I have a number for her, if you’re interested? There are also jobs involved, if you’re available? Mainly setting up distribution points, and advertising things. That kind of stuff.” She didn’t want to be rude, but they needed good people. Of course if this woman went into a rage every time she got a little peckish, it wasn’t a good fit, but that didn’t seem too likely. />
  “That would be good. Thank you. I’m Linda, by the way. Are you new here? I thought I knew all the personnel working at the embassy. I make it my business to stay informed. Are you, perhaps, part of the… Thing that fool Rich Swerlin is pulling?” Her eyes started to glaze over with red again, but she fought that back, and no fangs came out.

  Eve tilted her head, just a tiny bit, trying to look concerned.

  “I’m new, yes. Edom is my maker? I haven’t heard about Mr. Swerlin doing anything in particular, is it… No, I have nothing. Is it all right for me to know?” It might not be. Vampires could be closed lipped about things, but if this lady was running that close to rage over it, the thing might not be too secret.

  “You haven’t heard? Well, you know that he’s out, right? Told the world that he’s one of us?” She looked pale, even with the blood and energy inside of her.

  “Sure, everyone knows that.” She’d known about it from her friend Keeley, who was kind of Richard Swerlin’s buddy too.

  The woman in front of her, who looked too cute and feisty to be an undead killer, nodded.

  “We all do, but the Humans don’t believe it. Or didn’t. The fool went on national television earlier and demonstrated all of it for the cameras! There were medical tests, and feats of strength and power. On a national news program. Now, instead of laughing at him like they should be, the major channels are showing the results back to back. This could bring the Human world down upon us all!”

  Eve could kind of see that. Humans were kind of dickheads that way. Some of them at least. She took a breath and tried to act calm.

  “Or, well, it isn’t most of them we need to worry about. Most people won’t give a flying fuck if we’re dead or not. Not unless they know one of us. Just the religious people, and the ones that want to play Vampire hunter, for real. We’re going to need rules about dealing with them, or a lot of morons are going to end up dead. Probably Rich, too. That fool.” She smiled and then shrugged. “Well, fuck? We’ll deal with it though. My bet is that most of the people won’t remember it by next week anyway.”

  That was how Humans were. Even the ones that were smart and open minded kind of had a tendency to forget about anything supernatural. She’d been like that when she was alive, and the fact was that Eve had been soaking in that kind of thing for years first. Ma and Pa Kettle in the heartland weren’t that likely to be able to take it all in.

  Not unless the news people kept going on about it, and didn’t stop. Then some of them might well be able to remember it all, eventually. It would become normal for them, and people weren’t stupid, they just had a block in place about things that were too different from what they expected.

  Nodding, she got out a small pot of warm water, and started getting some of the animal blood going. Linda looked at her funny, right until the first ten other Vamps got there. There were several kinds, too, but most of them didn’t need to be placated by feeding. A few did, and they got free samples. It was her product line after all.

  One of them, a tall and skinny Manthori Vampire stared at her pretty hard. It was enough that Linda moved back, fearing a fight was about to take place. The guy was red eyed, but not freaking out, she didn’t think. Manthori were like that all the time. Their teeth didn’t retract either, and all they had were fangs. So Eve smiled, looking up at him. She recognized him after all. He’d helped to kidnap her once. It was one of the first things that she’d seen, and smelled, as a Vampire. This time his hands weren’t burning though, so it probably wasn’t about a fight.

  “Hey Lars. Come to help calm the masses down? I’d say we should all call Richard Swerlin and ask him what the fuck he was thinking, but I’m pretty sure we can guess. It looks like we’re all coming out, doesn’t it? So, stay calm and remember that the new animal blood is way cheaper than the other kind. Here, if you need to eat, try some. It’s free right now. Later you’ll pay, but less than ten bucks a bottle. The goal is to get it in for five. It will be a few months before we’re in major production, but the people here won’t have any issues that way. Not even if I have to get a farm and bleed the cows myself, so stay calm. It isn’t illegal to be a Vampire. It won’t be either. We’re all so nice, and friendly, after all.”

  That line got a dry chuckle, but people came up for some free food, and she started to make a few treats as well. At first no one else got it, but a slow, yet steady, stream of people started by. This was, potentially, a lot bigger of a deal than just being about the Vampires after all. If the Humans turned on them, then a lot of other groups could be sucked into the fighting, too.

  The Shifters came in first, represented by their second in command, Calley Hale. She was a Bat, and they all had a specific look to them. Twitchy, pug nosed and with thick glasses. Also rust red short hair. It was a thing that marked their kind as different and left them looking a bit like skinny versions of those old troll dolls from the eighties. At least she hadn’t seen anything different so far. They were all tiny too. A lot of shifters were, depending on their animal form. Rabbits and Bats were small at least, and Fox people weren’t huge. The rest varied more.

  Bats needed to eat a lot though, and could run to low blood sugar if not fed, so she passed over a caramel swirl without being asked, which had the woman looking relieved.

  “Ah. Met with treats and a smile. So this is planned? A heads up would have been good, just for future reference.” She gestured around the room with a red plastic spoon, indicating the impromptu meeting.

  “Sure it is. Just not by us, here. I’m sure the Council knows all about it. Not that I can just call them up, but… Here, wait a minute.”

  Eve, after all, had contacts. After a fashion. The first one she called was Keeley though. They were close enough, even after school had ended, and the girl was a Greater Demon. Those people knew stuff, and had their hands in thousands of pies at once. That it couldn’t be done physically wouldn’t stop them either. It was one of the reasons everyone feared and hated them. Except that she didn’t. It was insane, but half of her friends were that sort of being.

  The phone was answered on the first ring, since Keels would have her cell on her.

  “Hello?” There was a slightly dubious tone to her words, which was a bit unusual for her. Even if it was fake, the girl, a woman now, exuded confidence in the main. It was what Eve decided to go for in the moment too, not knowing any better. She kind of did, but seeming worried wouldn’t help anyone and if it came to a fight, every single being there was older than she was. Maybe not tougher, one on one, but it might be a problem if she had to take on all of them on at once.

  “Hey buddy! So, Richard Swerlin is pretty much your bitch, right? Is this you, or did he just decide that being undead wasn’t good enough anymore? Going for the real deal, maybe?” She waited then, since people were looking at her funny.

  Listening.

  “This one wasn’t my idea. He snuck it right past me. We haven’t talked in weeks, but… I need to get with him. Tonight. Someone else is clearly behind this. Can you check on Darla, Finias, Ann and Zack for me? Make sure they’re not doing it? I don’t want to ruin anything if one of them has a plan. I’ll go and roust Rich. My bet is that he’s in hiding. If he has half a brain left.” There was conversation in the background, and from the rate of speed it was happening at, and the agitated tone, Eve was willing to bet it was a Vampire. One that she hadn’t met, most likely. No one else would be that panicked over this yet.

  Keeley had lots of slaves, and friends, after all. She wasn’t called The Mistress of Souls because of her plucky jazz horn playing, after all. No, if she wanted a person, she could just take them as a slave. Pretty much anyone, at any time. Even over the phone.

  That meant a lot of people just did what she said, without even asking why. Eve wasn’t like that though. They were real friends. As much as one could be with an amoral being that could turn her emotions on and off at will.

  Eve grinned, knowing that Keeley would understand what she was thinkin
g, most likely.

  “I’ll make some calls. You should make sure he gets with the Council, too. It will probably end in his death, but maybe not? What do I know about things like that? Maybe he’s too high profile now? That could be the point, I guess…”

  There was a half second pause, “that might well be. If so, he should have contacted me first. I have my part in this, now. Try to keep everyone there calm? We don’t need people freaking out. We can save that for later, if it’s really needed.”

  Eve could see that. It really might not be, even if people realized they were real.

  “’Kay. Talk to you later.”

  The rest of the room had heard the whole thing, but that didn’t mean they understood it all, did it? She looked out at them and shrugged, then decided to simply explain.

  “The Mistress of Souls is going to go and check on her boy, Richard. She claims that it wasn’t her that put him up to this, but she wants me to check with some of the others of her kind. The Line Walker, of course, who should be down in his store. Lars, could you go get him? We may need to get his help in this, later. Linda, you’re up to suck him off as part of the payment, right?” She was joking, but they were all Vampires there. They knew that you had to do whatever was needed, at times. So the tiny and rather attractively presented, curly haired woman, nodded.

  “I’ll do my portion. I take it that you’re up for that, too? I haven’t heard of him doing men, but he does seem to enjoy sex.”

  Eve shrugged.

  “Honestly, I bet we can trade other things, but if it comes up, it’s good to know we have some people on tap. I already have a bargain with him for things like that though, so it probably wouldn’t count for me. Lars?” She waited for him to protest, but the white being just turned and started to walk out into the mall, looking like his true self. She almost protested, but then shook her head a bit, and smiled.

  “In for a penny?”

  Linda, the only one not covertly going for the door, nodded to her, agreeing, it seemed.