Circus of the Damned - Laurell K. Hamilton [32]
I hugged my knees to my chest, hands clasped tightly together. The tiger would have taken my hand off, and yet there was that small part of me that regretted not reaching through the bars. I watched Jean-Claude’s face, felt his laughter like velvet running down my spine. Would part of me always wonder what it would have been like if I had just said yes? Probably. But I could live with it.
He was staring at me, the laughter dying from his eyes like the last bit of light seeping from the sky. “What are you thinking, ma petite?”
“Can’t you read my mind?” I asked.
“You know I cannot.”
“I don’t know anything about you, Jean-Claude, not a bloody thing.”
“You know more about me than anyone else in the city.”
“Yasmeen included?”
He lowered his eyes, almost embarrassed. “We are very old friends.”
“How old?”
He met my eyes, but his face was empty, blank. “Old enough.”
“That’s not an answer,” I said.
“No,” he said, “it is an evasion.”
So he wasn’t going to answer my question; what else was new? “Are there any other master vampires in town besides you, Malcolm, and Yasmeen?”
He shook his head. “Not to my knowledge.”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“You’re the Master of the City. Aren’t you supposed to know?”
“Things are a little unsettled, ma petite.”
“Explain that.”
He shrugged, and even in the bloodstained shirt it looked graceful. “Normally, as Master of the City, all other lesser master vampires would need my permission to stay in the city, but”—he shrugged again—“there are those who think I am not strong enough to hold the city.”
“You’ve been challenged?”
“Let us just say I am expecting to be challenged.”
“Why?” I asked.
“The other masters were afraid of Nikolaos,” he said.
“And they’re not afraid of you.” It wasn’t a question.
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Why not?”
“They are not as easily impressed as you are, ma petite.”
I started to say I wasn’t impressed, but it wasn’t true. Jean-Claude could smell it when I lied, so why bother?
“So there could be another master in the city without your knowledge.”
“Yes.”
“Wouldn’t you sort of sense each other?”
“Perhaps, perhaps not.”
“Thanks for clearing that up.”
He rubbed fingertips across his forehead as if he had a headache. Did vampires get headaches? “I cannot tell you what I do not know.”
“Would the . . .” I groped for a word, and couldn’t find one—“more mundane vampires be able to kill someone without your permission?”
“Mundane?”
“Just answer the damn question.”
“Yes, they could.”
“Would five vampires hunt in a pack without a master vampire to referee?”
He nodded. “Very nice choice of word, ma petite, and the answer is no. We are solitary hunters, given a choice.”
I nodded. “So either you, Malcolm, Yasmeen, or some mysterious master is behind it.”
“Not Yasmeen. She is not strong enough.”
“Okay, then you, Malcolm, or a mysterious master.”
“Do you really think I have gone rogue?” He was smiling at me, but his eyes held something more serious. Did it matter to him what I thought of him? I hoped not.
“I don’t know.”
“You would confront me, thinking I might be insane? How indiscreet of you.”
“If you don’t like the answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question,” I said.
“Very true.”
The office door opened. Dolph came out, notebook in hand. “You can go home, Anita. I’ll check the statements with you tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Heh, I know where you live.” He smiled.
I smiled back. “Thanks, Dolph.” I stood up.
Jean-Claude stood in one smooth motion like he was a puppet pulled up by invisible strings. Richard stood slower, using the wall to stand, as if he were stiff. Standing, Richard was taller than Jean-Claude by at least three inches. Which made Richard six-one. Almost too tall for my taste, but no one was asking me.
“And could we talk to you some more, Jean-Claude?” Dolph said.
Jean-Claude said, “Of course, detective.” He walked down the hall. There was a stiffness in the way he moved. Did vampires bruise? Had he been hurt in the fight? Did it matter? No, no, it didn’t.