Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) Read online

  “No… I was… Do you want to go with me? I don’t normally do things like that. I... Don’t have a car. It makes dating oh so fun, you know?”

  She could see that, but shrugged.

  “Cool. I’m not allowed to ride in a car right now anyway. Part of my training, I guess. I have to hoof it everywhere. I probably will for a long time. You should ask someone else to go with you though.”

  The man made a face, and looked away, even as they walked arm in arm down the red brick main hallway of the mall. His voice sounded a bit miserable.

  “Yeah, I get it. No problem.”

  She rolled her eyes and pulled him closer for a bit. Too close, actually, which got him pushed away.

  “It isn’t any kind of stuck up girl bullshit, Benny. I’m just new to being a Vampire, and you’re pretty much made of food, so… You get the idea? Besides, I work at T2LA. One of my four jobs. Just light security and cleaning. Mainly the restrooms, because people can be disgusting when they’re drunk. So, I can get in to the club whenever I want. If you invite one of the others we can all hang, that’s all. Plus, if you bring a girl in, you can probably get laid, which is half the point of places like that, unless you want to score some drugs? I can’t recommend that one, personally.” Drugs were a good way to wake up with someone having done things to your ass. Literally, in a lot of cases.

  Even for Ben it would be a risk, though Eve doubted he knew that about life yet.

  Her new pal nodded at her though.

  “I could ask Tara? She’s nice. I know that she told you that she and Lars are kind of together, but… I don’t think that’s true. Maybe she just likes him? It was really weird that she would have said that. If she liked anyone there I would have thought it was Mark…”

  Then he stopped, his face going shrewd.

  “Because she’s a Vampire, and was protecting Lars from you? Like he’s her familiar or… something?”

  Eve knew the term, but had never heard any Vampires actually using it. It was more of an East coast thing, she thought. She shook her head.

  “Ask them? It isn’t my business. Still, I agree, she seemed pretty nice. Maggie would be good too. Oh, also, it turns out that Marcus was kind of… Um, innocent is wrong, since he did it, but he was kind of controlled into it, by a third party? So, you may not need to kick his butt anymore.”

  That got her glared at a bit, but Ben kept walking, and didn’t stop until they got to the bookstore.

  “Wow, okay, this is my new favorite place.” He leaned forward with mock wide eyes, but a genuine smile on his face. “Do we just go in, or wait to be seated? This place is… Sweet. It looks like a huge selection too, for a mall store. I’m underdressed, aren’t I?” He was playing, since his button up shirt and dark slacks with a belt practically marked him as royalty in a place like that.

  She walked in, taking him by the hand. He stiffened a bit, probably from how cold she was, but hey, she was dead, what did he want?

  Zack was near the front, straightening books, but smiled when he saw them. He walked over sedately, even though he was prone to very fast movements when he wanted to do it.

  “Eve! Ben! Hey guys. Can I help you with anything?” He said it like they wanted books. It was cute.

  Clapping her new friend on the arm, she nodded. It was a warm and happy thing.

  “Ben wants a job here. He’s up on the idea that there are other things in the world, but I’ve told him nothing. Nothing, I say! He was going to go around and try some Scooby style spying, but I didn’t really want to find him in a dumpster in the morning, so I thought of you, and the fact that you need some help that can um… Consistently help?” She didn’t want to insult him, but if Ben was good for more than two turns of sex with the ladies that worked there each day, then Eve was badly maligning him in her head. Really, if he did that on his own time, it would pretty much just be incentive to work hard and a reason not to quit.

  Zack got that, and nodded, then promptly started a tour, as if he were trying to entice Ben, not grudgingly accept him as a new corporate slave.

  “We have problems, and benefits here. This is actually a cover operation. This is a real node complex, and this bookstore is the cover for the node transport operation, which is actually through that door. We can go over now… I don’t have an appointment for a while unless a walk-in comes. Here…” He moved pretty well suddenly, and they were through the nicely carved owl door about fifteen seconds later. A light was hit, and the whole empty space, with its nice stone floor, shone a bit.

  “The node itself is inside the circle. We do most of the transportation for most of the world. Actually, it’s something like fifty worlds, to be more exact, but you won’t be going to most of them, since I actually need someone on books. So this place is a bit of a drawback for you, since you’ll need to be ready to field people looking to find me in here, even while working the floor. It usually isn’t that hard. They’ll look pretty funny. Just ask about books first. Even if they came to travel you can make sales that way sometimes. We have a café too, if they’re hungry.” He swung around and patted Ben on the back, giving him a gentle push toward the door they came in.

  Once out into the store itself he waved at someone, who turned out to be Roberta. She looked… Well, if Eve was currently an eight or nine, at least when made up, she was a twelve. Zack made her feel a bit better though by waving a bit at the woman as she walked up.

  “This is part of the other main problem of working here. Succubae. Alede, actually. You’ve read up on them?”

  “Succubae and Incubae… They can switch genders at will, and feed off of sex energy? Um… They tend to be really good looking, and pretty non-violent?” He looked ready to keep going, but Roberta moved in alongside of him, even though Eve was still holding his hand on the other side, and pressed her left breast against his arm. She was large that way, and perfect in all the rest, so he noticed.

  Eve shrugged.

  “Yeah, so, you know, get in early, on your own time and bust a nut with one of the girls quick, so they can have a snack. Then work like a slave all day, and if you can, take another turn after you clock out? You like books, though?” She looked at him, and was shocked not at all when he nodded. “Good. So, you know, there’s a discount for that, right? You have to read them off the clock, too.”

  She smiled, since she was being bossy, and barely worked there at all. She was actually just trying to set her buddy up, and Zack, it seemed, had decided that meant he was going to learn about everything, all at once. At least as it related to the store.

  To that end the Greater Demon waved the Alede vixen away, which got her to look slightly sad, even if her life was practically a constant orgy at the place they were in. Zack walked directly back to the café.

  “This is run by Carla. She’s a Hsreth. Probably one of the top twenty chefs of any type on the planet. She isn’t really in your department, but making nice with her won’t hurt anything at all. She loves alcohol, and can’t get drunk really, so if you’re looking for presents for her, that one is pretty easy.”

  Then he stopped and gestured to the right side of the store, facing the front.

  “Reading rooms. Which if you notice, are mainly closed off and used for sex. They need to be kept clean. The girls try, but they can get a bit lazy that way. I mean, they like the smell of sex and don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. It can get a bit cloying though, so, you know, make the rounds with a can of air freshener every now and then, if you notice anything?”

  Then because he was himself, Zack took them both up to the main desk.

  “All this can be yours, and you’ll make over twice what you do now. This isn’t a real bookstore, so we aren’t paying you what you’d earn in a place like that. You have to do more, and it will be interesting. So, what do you say? Say yes and I’ll even tell you about Maggie’s new job…”

  Ben looked at him sharply then, “is she working here too? I… She’s nice and cute, I suppose, but not like these
others… So, is she on books, too?”

  There was a head shake then.

  “No, but a little bird told me that her name is on the Vampire Council’s short list for spokes people.”

  Ben let his mouth hang open in a way that would have gotten him in trouble in prison, she bet. Nudging him, she whispered.

  “Anyone can figure that one out. Remember though, much like me, she’s still totally awesome, even if she is a bit cooler than you thought before. I wonder who else they have on their list? Did the little bird chirp about that too?”

  Zack smiled.

  “Yes. Yvette, from the Paris node complex? She’d be a good choice, but so far no one has been pointing out too strongly that there obviously are going to be Vampires all over the place. That means someone from the states will probably get the job. Also Rebekah.”

  Ben interrupted him, his head turning.

  “Wait, the Vampire Band, Rebekah? With all the teeth and white… The red eyes?”

  Eve gestured at her front, pretending to grab herself. Bekah was smaller than she was that way, but tight, and she used what she had pretty well, being very trim through the waist.

  “Don’t forget the other parts. Yeah, she’d be good. Exotic, which might be too much, but just showing up would remind people what they were dealing with. Any of them would probably do well. If she gets the job I’ll have to try and meet Yvette.” Because meeting people and making friends was a big part of her life now.

  Really, it was why she was setting Ben up, wasn’t it? To groom him to be her new minion? She hadn’t even realized she was doing it, but it was a great plan, now that she thought of it.

  Zack went on then, his face a bit more serious.

  “You didn’t make the cut, of course, Eve. You got to the second to last round, but Bey put his foot down, since you’re his protégé. He really doesn’t want you to be in the news that regularly. Especially if he has to be now, as one of the ruling Council.”

  That sounded a bit more official than had been said out loud before around her. What that probably meant was the Bey expected her to prove herself, for a few decades or more, before offering the position to her, if it was serious.

  Zack wasn’t really to be trusted that way totally, so she’d need to check it all out for herself, too. That reminded her, so she patted Ben on the arm.

  “Oh, right. Zack’s a Greater Demon, so don’t make any deals or bargains with him. So far he hasn’t taken any souls that I know of, but ending up his slave until you die would put a crimp in my plans to turn you into my personal lackey. Speaking of which, we need to get you a car. Do you have a license?”

  It turned out that he did, since his parents had insisted when he turned sixteen, but hadn’t come forward with a car, since the modern economy had been around for a while.

  That worked for her. Not that she could just give him a vehicle, but with his improved money making activities, she could coach him to get his own. It didn’t have to be nice, just good enough to pass the emissions testing.

  She snapped her fingers.

  “I know, we can extort one from Mark. He has like three of the things.”

  Zack nodded, not leaving any secrets for later, being less fun than Eve thought he might have been about the whole thing.

  “Mage. Eve has him working down at their embassy. Their old number three and some of his Mage buddies used magic to take over some people’s minds. Then Warren used his power to rape the people that worked down there. Bob and Lisa.” He shrugged, his eyes going hard suddenly, and locking with the slightly shorter man. “Eve too, back when she was Human. She killed them all. They were in your group?”

  They had to list the names, but Ben got who they all were. His eyes went wide, but he didn’t seem to be freaking out about Mages being real, or even that Zack was a Greater Demon. No, if there were Vampires then those both probably just seemed like they fit, more or less to his mind.

  It was the deaths that did it. He didn’t act like a pussy though, or claim there could have been a different way to handle things. Instead he looked around the store, and nodded.

  “You really can’t keep Mages locked up. Not for long.”

  That, it seemed, had made it into the books. She really needed to read all of those things, she knew.

  Zack didn’t let Ben go, but at a little past six, she had to, since showering was in order, even if she didn’t really smell yet. She was going to be working with the public and that meant seeming as nice as she could manage.

  It actually took less time to get to Ed’s house than it had before. Since all her practice, as boring and painful as it had been, seemed to be paying off. That meant she had time for a long hot shower, and to get into her nice clothing, without hurrying. There was even time to put a bit of makeup on, so she wouldn’t look quite so deathly pale.

  It was, it turned out a good thing.

  If the day before had been pretty run of the mill, that night was going to be a pain in the ass.

  There were anti-Vampire protestors out front, locking arms and trying to keep anyone from coming in. The only good thing there was that, for some reason, the club patrons all seemed to think that that was a punk thing to do, and were actively booing and heckling the people in their regular clothing and oversized crosses all over the place.

  Eve walked up to their line, raised her fist high… and grinned.

  “Down with Vampires?” She didn’t yell and let her words sound a little mousy. It was enough for the line of people to move and let her in, which got her over to where Kevin was standing, with Barb and Troy.

  None of them looked all that enthused really. She could get that, because just standing there and not letting anyone in, while illegal harassment, and trespassing, would probably have to be sucked up. They couldn’t afford to alienate people yet, could they?

  It was a little tempting, but what were they really supposed to do? Call the cops and let them handle it? How did anyone even know that there was a Vampire in the area? As far as Eve knew Jonas hadn’t been calling people up and telling them to come and hate on them at that address. It was pretty clear that someone had been though. She really had to wonder who that would be.

  Their enemy, probably. If they even existed.

  The creeper that was behind getting Richard Swerlin to think that putting them all on the spot was a good idea.

  Whoever that was.

  Eve nearly froze up, then didn’t have to, since a handy group of yahoos drove up in three pickup trucks. The problem there was that the men and women in the vehicles, packed into the back like farm workers, but dressed in a variety of styles, were all Vampires.

  “Well,” Barb said, her voice a bit fiercer than normal. “Fuck.”

  Eve grinned.

  “That would be the word for it. Yep. So… I wonder what their plan is? I’m hoping they have cupcakes. Come on cupcakes.”

  Kevin, who was big enough not to really fear most people, looked a bit apprehensive anyway. The people were mainly smaller than he was, but there were twelve of them, and they all looked pissed.

  Waving at them, she forced a sigh, then spoke.

  “Vampires. We know nothing else about them at all at this point. Except that they aren’t carrying trays of treats, so that one is right out. Not that I can eat that crap anyway. They look upset though, and I don’t recognize them, so I’m guessing they’re young? I don’t know for sure. We need to call in some help, and try to get our people out of here.” She meant their patrons and wait staff, but the lead Vampire, who was an angry man, much larger than the others, screamed their intention to the world. It was instructive if nothing else.

  “We, are the masters of this world! We do not bow down to you, and your Christian oppression. You bow down to us! Kill them all!” The man was big, bald and looked ready to actually do that. His people leaped out of the vehicles, smoothly going over the sides, but didn’t rush the now scared line of protestors.

  One of the protesting women wet herself. I
t was kind of pitiful.

  Eve sighed, and shook her head.

  “Barb, would you, um, call everyone? I’ll go, and ask these nice people not to kill anyone today, and to consider peace and love? That’s the Vampire way, after all.” The other Vampire went inside to use the phone, calling out as she sprinted away. Physically running, even as she tried to use her full speed. It was kind of slow, Eve noticed. Almost like a regular person, compared to what she could have been doing.

  Walking away from the building, she patted Kevin on the shoulder.

  “Get inside. I’ll try to…” She stopped and took a deep breath, then realized what was really going to have to happen. It wasn’t a good thing, but she didn’t have a lot of choice did she? “Actually, I’m going to execute these Vampires, if they don’t leave right now. I speak for the Council in this. We will not allow any of our kind to harm innocent people. This is an illegal action, by every law. Stand down now, or die.”

  There was an inarticulate howl as the enemy leader started toward the line of protestors.

  Eve screamed herself, moving so fast she couldn’t help it, still having air in her lungs.

  Then, without hesitating, she killed all the other Vampires, except one. The leader.

  She didn’t kill him. He just wished she did.

  Chapter seven

  The thing that Eve knew, that no one else watching got, was that she wasn’t out of control when she committed the deranged seeming actions. Vampires straight up died, true. It was pure murder, and she didn’t actually know that it was strictly legal, given everything. Worse, she’d claimed that she spoke for the Council, which was going to cause problems later, she didn’t doubt. She managed to make their heads vaporize pretty nicely, however, so it seemed pretty official. Not as well as say, Zack or Bey could manage, but the Vamps were dead, by the time they got most of the way to the line of scared and screaming regular people.

  The sick part, and it was gross, was what she’d done to the big bald guy that was in charge. Eve had kicked and punched his arms and legs. They were still attached, but useless now. It was enough damage that the being screamed as he laid on the ground, the asphalt under him sticky with black and red blood. Not a lot of it, since her kind didn’t bleed like Humans did, but enough to make a mess.