Free The Mourning Woods - 03 by Rick Gualtieri Page A

eye color. Any other questions?”
     
    I smiled back, half amazed. Though I had met only a small subset of it, my dealings with the vampire world had led me to believe it was mostly populated with self-absorbed, humor-deficient assholes. Thus, to meet a vampire, one who obviously had some rank behind him (the Draculas were rumored to be very picky about who they hung out with) yet wasn’t immediately oozing with douche bag vibes was a pleasant surprise. I reached out my hand and shook his.
     
    “I’m Bill. Pleased to meet you, Alex.”
     
    “Likewise, Freewill,” he said, indicating my status as a vampire freak. He nodded to me and then turned back toward Sally. “And I presume you are Sally,” he said. “I was told you were quite stunning, but I dare say the reports did not do you justice.”
     
    To my surprise, Sally actually blushed (quite the feat for someone lacking a pulse). Damn, Alex was a playa.
     
    He gave Sally an appraising look. “I hope you did not go through a lot of trouble to make yourself so presentable just for my arrival.”
     
    Sally replied, “Oh this? I just threw on something real quick,” as if she hadn’t spent the greater part of the week under Alfonzo’s care. Now it was my turn to eye-roll.
     
    I had to admit that Alex was one smooth character. No wonder the Draculas employed his services as a diplomat. He had disarmed both Sally and me within seconds, the former accomplishment being something I had yet to master.
     
    “We all have a lot to discuss, so we should get started right away...as soon as I make use of the facilities, if I may.”
     
    “Sure,” I replied. “Make yourself at home.”
     
    I pointed him toward the bathroom. He stopped at the doorway, no doubt noticing the numerous dents in the door and newly splintered wood in the frame. He turned back and gave us a questioning look.
     
    “Oh, don’t mind that,” I said. “I was combing my hair earlier and Sally had a burrito for lunch. When you gotta go...”
     
    He gave a sheepish smile in reply and then entered.
     
    As the door clicked shut, I yelled back, “There’s some air freshener in the cabinet if you need...OUCH!” Damn, Sally can hit hard when she wants to.
     
    * * *
     
    Alex returned to find us sitting on the couch waiting for him, me still rubbing my arm. The phrase “hits like a girl” definitely did not apply to the saucy little blonde in the room.
     
    Ignoring whatever had occurred during his brief foray into the restroom, Alex sat in a chair opposite us and opened his bag. He pulled out a ruggedized laptop and proceeded to boot it up. Apparently, ancient scrolls written on parchment made from human flesh was passé these days. Nobody believes in setting the proper mood anymore. *sigh*
     
    “Care for a glass of blood before we get started?” I asked, trying to be cordial. My thoughts on the Draculas aside, if this guy held favor with them, then that probably meant he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken. The older the vampire, the stronger. No need to get on this guy’s bad side and discover just how badly he could kick my ass.
     
    “No thank you,” he said, typing on the keyboard. “I had a light snack on the way over.”
     
    I didn’t ask him to elaborate. Knowing vampires, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to read about some missing cabbie in the morning paper. Friendly or not, I needed to remind myself that Alex was probably a top notch killer. It was probably best not to get too enamored of him, especially since his primary job was to prep me on how to be the Draculas’ fall guy.
     
    Seeing that the small talk was rapidly fizzling out, I proceeded to just sit there and wait. Sally too was unusually quiet. Our normal banter aside, it was starting to sink in just how serious this was...or more precisely just how deep the shit we were both standing in was.
     
    After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, Alex pulled his eyes away from the screen. “Before we