Six-Spot (Afterlife Book 7) Read online

  "And you think a little thing like you is going to stop us?" the bouncer asked. He laughed. So did the bartender. Then, at once, they both transformed into vampires and came at her. Their eyes were a pitch black and their fangs gleamed. Chloe waited till they were close and then levitated above them. She kicked the bouncer in the face.

  "You little shit!" he said.

  "Don't like it when someone can fight back, do you?" Chloe asked.

  She dropped back to the ground and rolled away as one of the vampires lunged at her. She grabbed her purse as she went and retrieved a stake from it. Both of them hissed at her.

  "You really think you can take us both on?"

  "Yes," Chloe replied.

  She threw herself at one of vampires, and he grabbed hold of her. He was strong, just as she'd expected, but he hadn't counted on the pepper spray she carried. She dug it out of her pocket with her free hand and aimed it at his eyes.

  He screamed and dropped her. She whipped around and drove the stake into his chest. He disappeared in a puff of ash. The second vampire circled around her, keeping a distance from the can of pepper spray. She dropped it and held up her hands, stake in one.

  "You want me?" she asked. "Come and get me."

  He darted forward, exceptionally fast, but she was faster and dashed around him. She kicked him in the back. It was like kicking stone, but it had the desired effect of making him turn around. The moment he did, she staked him as well.

  She took a few moments to catch her breath. Afterward, she went behind the bar, opened the cash register, and took all of the money. She shoved it into her purse along with her stake and pepper spray. Then she poured herself another shot of vodka, downed it, and left.

  Clarissa was waiting outside. Apparently she'd been watching from one of the dirty, smudged windows because her face was paler than before, and she looked ready to hurl. "What were those things? Why'd they turn to ash?"

  "They were vampires," Chloe said.

  "Vampires aren't real."

  "Oh, they're real, alright," Chloe said. "And they're more common than you think. Look, lady, I don't know you and I don't particularly like you, especially after you spit on me, but my advice? Get away from this bar and pretend you saw nothing tonight. Or they'll come after you, and trust me, that's not pretty."

  Clarissa nodded and stumbled away, wiping her face frantically as she did.

  Chloe made her way back to the grimy hotel she was staying at. She had paid in cash, and her room key would still work for another night. She let herself in, flopped down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. There was no television, but she hadn't been in the mood for it anyway.

  "Thirty-four," she said.

  In front of her eyes, they had all flashed like photographs from an album. There had been the woman in Los Angeles, the couple in Reno, the old man in Tucson...

  Each one was now a pile of ash, left to be blown away by the wind.

  "Thirty-four," she'd repeated with relish. Then she had closed her eyes, and fallen asleep.

  FOUR

  "Ah, it feels good to be back," Conner said, stretching out in a chair in the back room of Afterlife. It had finally been reopened and they celebrated by going over their newest case in what Chloe had once called their bat cave.

  Brittney kicked her feet up on the table and Alec shot her a glare. Conner grinned, glad everything was back to normal. Chloe had done the shopping, with plenty of complaints, Alec had moved into his apartment, Sarah shadowboxed off in a corner, and Harper was drinking ginger ale.

  "What I don't understand is why the guy is complaining," Brittney said. "I mean, winning every week seems like something you'd be happy about, not something to be concerned over."

  "Maybe he's afraid people will think he's cheating somehow," Conner suggested. He thought of Brian; the man was clearly not rich, though he didn't come across as dirt poor either. "He said he's been playing for forty years. He probably doesn't want to lose out on coming back."

  "Well, he thinks someone's cursed him," Harper said. "Why is that? What kind of demon curses someone to win at keno?"

  She looked over at Alec for insight; since he was the oldest of them, he'd had more experience with the supernatural than the others. He shrugged a shoulder though. "I have no idea. It could be a bad luck curse gone wrong."

  "A bad luck curse?" Chloe said curiously. "That sounds like something a member of the fey would do. Karma, you know? I've never heard of one going wrong, though."

  "I have," Alec said. "We should find out how things are going in the rest of his life. If he's suffering misfortune elsewhere, it could hint at the curse. Sarah, Chloe, I want you to talk to him again. Conner, I want you to go and hit up your contacts. See if anyone's heard of any vengeful fey on the loose."

  "And me?" Harper and Brittney asked at the same time.

  "Go down to the police station," Alec said. "See if anything remotely related has been reported lately."

  Brittney scoffed. "What? You think that someone is going to go to the police and tell them that they've been winning at gambling and they'd like to report it?"

  Conner grinned at her. He'd been thinking the exact same thing.

  "No, I want to know if people have been reporting anything resembling a streak of bad luck," Alec said. "Car crashes, house fires, that sort of thing. He might not be the only one targeted. We need a list of names just in case it is some kind of bad-luck karma thing. We can talk to the people."

  Harper nodded. "Sounds good. We can use Detective Moore. He owes us after Trinity. I'm sure he'll give us whatever information we need."

  "And what will you be doing?" Chloe asked Alec. "Lazy bones. Trying to dish out all the work and do none of it yourself."

  "I once worked at the casino he gambles at," Alec said. "Before Afterlife was started. I'm going to go there and see if any of my old contacts are still around. I can speak with them, make sure they're not going to cause trouble for Brian. Especially if there's a chance they think he might be cheating."

  "Alright," everyone agreed.

  Conner turned to Harper. "Don't forget our date tonight. Lots of making out, remember?"

  He'd meant it as a joke, but he saw the way her eyes flashed over to Alec. He resisted the urge to sigh. Conner was happy with Harper. She was the first human immune to his charms -- a big plus all on it's own -- and she was funny, and she was powerful. But part of him knew he'd always be competing with Alec. His boss. His best friend.

  "Right," Harper said. "I'll see if I can squeeze that in."

  "You better," he said. "Or I might leave you. I'm thinking of Chloe."

  "Back off," Brittney teased. "That's my woman you're talking about."

  "Oh-ho," Conner said dryly. "Your woman. I see how it is." He turned to Chloe. "How does it feel to be an owned woman?"

  "Wonderful," Chloe said, grinning.

  "Okay," Alec said, interrupting the playful banter. "Everyone knows their jobs. Let's get to it."

  Conner was first out the door. He headed down toward one of the casinos located off the strip. It was called the San Fransisco, and it was exquisitely decorated, on the inside that is. The exterior portrayed the building as nothing more than an office building. There was only one main entrance into the casino, guarded by some strong men.

  It was extremely expensive; there were no penny slots in this casino, and blackjack hand minimum bets were high. He'd never stayed there himself; he had no need for fancy lodgings. He was more than comfortable in his home and when he needed somewhere else to stay, he preferred more modest places.

  However, it wasn't the expensiveness that drew him to the hotel. It was the people inside. The San Fransisco was long known for it's inhabitants; the demons and undead preferred it to other places. It was a great place to gather information if you knew how to fit in.

  Luckily, Conner knew exactly how to fit in. As soon as he passed the reception desk, he transformed into his Incubus form. He popped his neck one way, then the other, then loo
ked around. The place was crawling with all kinds of bad guys. There were zurochs, harpies, incubi and succubi, vampires, and dozens of other supernatural things.

  He walked up to an ATM and withdrew a few thousand dollars. Then he went to blackjack table where a succubus was dealing cards. He put a thousand down on the table and she quickly exchanged it for chips. He put some down on the table and waited for her to deal.

  "You're cute," a woman next to him said. He turned and grinned at the demon. She was a harpy. He could easily use his powers on her, but it was forbidden in the San Fransisco. If you were caught using magic or attacking someone, you were killed. It was a place for information, that was all.

  "You are too," he said. "What's your name? I'm Conner."

  "Conner," she repeated, her raspy voice attempting a purr. It grated on his ears, but he pretended not to notice. "I'm Rebecca."

  "Well, Rebecca, how are you doing at blackjack tonight?"

  "I'm losing," Rebecca admitted. She laughed and put another handful of chips on the table, and the succubus dealer began flipping out cards. "So what brings you here?"

  "A fey," Conner said.

  "Oh? Pesky little things," Rebecca said, hissing. "I like to eat them for dinner. Perhaps we could go hunting sometime together."

  "Maybe if you win," he said with a wink. His hand was a hard sixteen. The dealer was showing a five, so he stood.

  "Then it's a good thing I have twenty," Rebecca said. "Now, why are you looking for a fey?"

  Conner glanced at the dealer. She flipped over a ten. "Come on," he said. "Show us another ten."

  The succubus flipped over a nine. "Bust," she sang out.

  "Close enough," Conner said, collecting his winnings. He turned back to Rebecca. "Looks like we'll be hunting together after all. Right now, though, I'm looking for a fey who might be out on a vengeance kick. Some of my colleagues have been having extraordinary bad luck. I'm thinking they cast a karma spell."

  Rebecca arched her brows. "A karma spell," she said. "Interesting. No, I haven't heard anything of the sort, and I keep my ears to the ground. The only thing I've heard of lately is a group of gypsies who've been using their Sight to swindle people out of money. I'd love to recruit them. Imagine having members of our little community with the Sight. It would be all too perfect."

  "It would be," Conner said, feeling his heart sink. He played a few more hands of cards, chatted with Rebecca some more, left her with a fake number, collected his winnings, and headed back to Afterlife. He didn't want to have to be the one to tell Harper about the gypsies, but he supposed someone was going to have to do it.

  When he returned to Afterlife, though, nobody was in the back room. He wasn't surprised; everyone was out doing their assigned jobs. The club was already starting to fill up, though, and he wandered around for a bit, listening in on conversations and trying to hear more about the gypsies.

  He didn't hear anything more about them, but he did see the shape-shifter Samuel Frisk lurking around the bar, sipping on a brandy. He was dressed in a casual outfit, and looked as though he hadn't shaved in a few days. Conner raised his eyebrows and went over to talk to him.

  "Hey, Sam."

  Samuel turned to him. "Conner, hello."

  "What are you doing here?"

  "What do you think?" Samuel asked. "I came here to see Sarah. She's always busy, though."

  Conner eyed him curiously. "How long have you been in town?"

  "Since Afterlife reopened," Samuel said.

  "And Sarah's been busy the entire time?" Conner asked.

  Samuel shrugged. "She said you guys have had a lot of jobs to do."

  Conner didn't let his surprise show on his face. The case with Brian Moser was the first case they'd had since the zurochs, and they'd only started working on it that night. He wasn't about to tell Samuel that though; if Sarah was lying to him, she had a reason.

  "We've been busy," Conner said vaguely. "She's on a job right now. Questioning someone for us. Very important. Has to be tonight."

  Samuel sighed and took another sip of his brandy. "Can I be honest with you, Conner?"

  "Sure."

  "I think she's avoiding me," Samuel said.

  Conner shook his head. "No, really, she's on a job right now. I swear."

  "And you swear she's been on jobs this entire week?"

  Conner said nothing. He wasn't going to betray Sarah, but he wasn't going to lie to Samuel either. They'd become friends since Phoenix. He partially blamed him for the vampire army that had formed, but the man had earned a lot of respect from him as well.

  "That's what I thought," Samuel said and sighed. "She's a hard woman to get to know, you know?"

  Conner shrugged. "Sarah's like a sister to me. She has been since I met her. But she's private, you know? She has her walls, and she has her reasons. Maybe someday she'll explain them to you, if you stick around."

  Samuel nodded. "I'm sticking around. I don't want to lose her, but I don't know how to get through to her that I don't want to take over her life; I just want to be a part of it."

  "Look," Conner said. "I'm not the guy you want to take love advice from, Sam."

  "Why not? I thought you and Harper were doing well."

  Conner turned to the bar. "Can I get a brandy too?" The bartender nodded, fixed him a drink, and slid it over. Conner wasn't usually a brandy man, but he enjoyed drinking what his friends were having. He let the ice clink around in the glass for a moment before shrugging. "We are. I guess."

  "You guess?"

  "I guess," Conner repeated. "I mean, I think things are going well. We get a long well. I make her laugh. She makes me think about what I want from life. That's good, and all. But there's something that's never going to measure up."

  "Measure up against what?" Samuel asked.

  "Oh, Sam," Conner said. He'd forgotten that Samuel was from Phoenix for a moment; he didn't know all about everyone and their drama. "Harper and Alec... well, they have a history."

  "They were together?"

  "No," Conner said. "But they would have been, if Alec wasn't a vampire, or if he'd been willing to change Harper into one. Not that I would have let him, of course, but if it had been a possibility, then yeah, they'd be together."

  Samuel sighed. "That sucks, man."

  "Yeah," Conner agreed. "It's all because of her grandmother, see? Great-grandmother, whatever. She knew Alec back when he was first changed. They were lovers. So Alec sees Ileana in Harper, and Harper, I dunno, she channels her grandmother, and because of that, she's all gooey-eyed over him."

  Samuel downed the rest of his brandy. "Well, sucks to be us, doesn't it?"

  Conner shook his head and clapped Samuel on the shoulder. "No, Sam, it doesn't. Look, my girl, she might love someone else, and your girl might have commitment issues, but at least we have them. It could be worse. They could ignore us completely. We still have a fighting chance."

  "You think so?" Samuel asked.

  "Yeah," Conner said. He chugged the rest of his brandy; he was already tipsy from drinking in the San Fransisco, so he figured he might as well make the most of the evening. "Hey, I have an idea."

  "What's that?"

  "You and me, Sam," Conner said. "Let's work a project together."

  "What kind of project?"

  "There's a group of gypsies," Conner said. "They're stealing from people, and a few of the bad guys here want to recruit them and use their Sight. Let's find them and stop them."

  "Just you and me? Don't you work as a team?"

  Conner shrugged. "My team is busy figuring out why a guy keeps winning at keno. I think we can handle this without them, and they can handle that without us. What do you say? Better than sitting here and dwelling, right? I could use a shape-shifter by my side. Bears are pretty badass."

  "Don't forget, I can change into other humans too," Samuel said. "Remember Phoenix?"

  "That could come in handy," Conner said. "Come on, let's do it. You and me, Sam. We got this."


  FIVE

  Brittney and Harper changed into their agent clothing, grabbed their badges, and headed to the police station. They took Brittney's SUV, and she drove carefully. Her car was still under her parents' names and they'd told her if she got one more speeding ticket, they'd take away her car.

  Brittney looked over to Harper. "We still haven't had dinner at my parents' house. You're going to come, right? Chloe wants you there. Back up and all."

  Brittney's parents were wealthy conservatives who were still trying to accept that their only daughter had decided to date a woman instead of settling down with a nice young businessman and running a home. Of course, they also thought she was nothing more than a bartender. She grinned, thinking of how they'd act if they knew she was officially vouched for by the FBI, and unofficially a demon ass-kicker.

  "We'll do it soon," Harper promised. "It'll be fine though, really. Your mom is really trying, and Peter will be there. He'll make sure that neither of your parents gets too out of line."

  "True," Brittney agreed. "What about your parents, though? Are you going to take Conner home to meet them?"

  Brittney glanced over at her best friend and immediately regretted asking this question. She could tell that Harper hadn't given it much thought yet; much like she hadn't given the relationship much thought at all, in Brittney's expert opinion.

  Harper shifted in her seat. "Not yet. I want to make sure it's going to stick first."

  "Are you having second thoughts?" Brittney asked.

  She knew it wasn't her place to judge Harper's decisions on who she wanted to date, but she couldn't help but feel like Harper was making a mistake in not taking a chance with Alec. She saw how they looked at each other when they thought nobody else was watching. Sure, Harper clearly had feelings for Conner, but she didn't look at him the same way.

  Harper shook her head. "No. I made my decision, Brittney."

  "I know."

  "Then be happy for me," Harper said. "I really do like Conner. He's smart, he's funny, he's handsome..."

  "Is he good in bed?"

  Harper laughed. "Is Chloe?"