Free Halfway Bitten by Terry Maggert Page A

But you already know that, don’t you? So why are you trying to convince me that you’re one of the good ones? I have a blood-smeared note telling me that there are people in danger right this second. Do you propose to help me free them?”
    “I don’t even know where these supposed prisoners are,” he protested.
    I tapped a finger against my temple. “Then think. You’re a vampire who has come to my town for some purpose that you still haven’t revealed. So how about if you answer that, because vamps run together, like worgs or ghouls. You’re never solo.”
    “I am.” He stood, arms crossed.
    I conceded his point for the moment. “Yes, but you’re meeting someone, aren’t you? Why?” My fingers twitched. I wanted to send a ray of sun into this guy, and soon, unless he gave up the whole mystery-man routine. I hate chit chat, unless it’s at the diner.
    “I thought I was. I’m here to plead for the right to move freely. I was told that clan leaders would pass through here, and if I wished to press my case, I could do so. Here. On your lands. So, yes. I lost control and scared the girl, but I am a transient. I will not stay. You have my word,” Philip said.
    “Who are the leaders?” I asked. I had my suspicions.
    “There are two. I have met neither, but they are only recently come to power. They’ve killed every mobile vampire on the eastern seaboard of the country and into Canada.”
    At that, my brows shot up. That was a serious power grab.
    He nodded at my reaction. “Exactly. The only vampires who are still in power are in major cities, where their soldiers protect them. But as you know, my kind are restless. We move about, and that is why so many undead are missing, leaving great chaos behind them. I know you may find this distasteful, but a steady hand, even if it is undead, will control crime in an area. You see the problem with such a vacuum.” Philip shrugged in hopes that I did see the nature of power. When local crime lords were removed, there was a flurry of violence to fill their position. If the control had been in the hands of a vampire, it meant the ensuing struggle would be even more horrific. Vampires can kill far more people than simple thugs. They’re built for it.
    I considered Philip for a moment, then pointed south. “You’ll hunt elsewhere. And allow me to offer you a compromise for your moment of weakness.”
    He looked warily into my eyes. Good. He should be worried, no matter how many years he’d been preying on humans. The McEwans aren’t sheep, and we don’t brook the presence of wolves. I considered my words before speaking, lest there be any wiggle room. Vamps can be crafty; sort of like lawyers with fangs, although vamps don’t charge three hundred bucks an hour. On second thought, maybe vamps weren’t totally bad. I shook my head and focused on the bloodsucker in front of me, leaving thoughts of law firms behind.
    “Find the identity of the new clan leaders. You have two days,” I said, my voice casual.
    He ran his tongue over the points of his fangs, and I saw him reconsider attacking me. “If I cannot discover these people, what happens?”
    I smiled, then looked off into the east. A delicate bloom was rising in the thin clouds that hung in the twilight sky. “My Gran says I have a rather sunny disposition. Don’t make me show you.” Pointing a finger at him, I discharged an invisible gun. At his grave nod, I cut my eyes, indicating he was free to go, but in truth, neither of us were certain of victory if it came to a fight then and there.
    He knew my thoughts, but chose the better part of valor. With a bow, he turned and walked away, his feet leaving a deep green trail across the silvered dew of the lawn. And for what felt like the first time in memory, I exhaled.

Chapter Fourteen: Cat Herding

     
    I went straight to work, feeling a bit bedraggled but determined. Over the next two hours, I let the coffee pot be my spirit animal, and when breakfast