Greywalker - Kat Richardson [85]
“You know about his problems with Edward?”
“Of course.”
“I think he was hoping you could offer some kind of entrée.”
She chuckled and I felt a pain in my stomach. “How delicious,” she said, twisting my meaning. Her teeth showed a little. They seemed very wet and very sharp. “Just how well do you know Cameron?”
“Why? Are you not in the habit of dining on the friends of friends?” I shot back. “Cameron is my client and I know a vampire when I see one.” I glared at her and refused to drop my eyes, even though her gaze razored my spine. I wanted to throw up, or scream, or anything that would make her stop looking at me, but I clenched my teeth and sat still.
She played with her cigarette. “What an interesting proposition you are, Ms. Blaine. I wonder if you appreciate it.”
“Probably, considering I believe you could snap my spine before I could see you move,” I replied. “But Cameron knows where I am and how to find me just as well as you do. So, do you want to break my neck or do you want to help us?”
She hummed a cloud of smoke at me and propped her pointed chin in her hand. “Oh, I want to help, believe me. Cameron’s a . . . sweet boy.” She smirked and sat back in her chair, sipping at her glass of . . . something. “What does he think I can do for you?”
“Cameron has been having problems . . . adjusting. He’s hired me to help make some kind of reconciliation with Edward and work out a way to receive the mentoring he didn’t get. He suggested that you might be sympathetic to his position.”
“Sympathy is expensive. What are you offering in exchange for my help?”
“That depends on what you bring to the table. If you can give information or make a suggestion that helps me out, I may be able to help you. So . . . ?”
“Kill him.”
“Edward?”
“Of course.”
“Is that your suggestion or just what you want?”
“Both.” She leaned forward, trying to snare me with her stare. “Edward’s been in charge long enough, and he’s getting long in the tooth, making mistakes. Just look at Cameron. And he doesn’t even know about you. And what kind of leader is that, who can’t even protect us from one little boy and his”—she looked me over again, licking smoke from her lips—“very interesting friend.”
I felt like something nasty was sliding over me as I looked back into her eyes.
She continued, grinning very slightly. “I think it’s time we had someone a little younger in charge. Someone more capable of sympathizing with a young man in a hard spot. Someone with sharper teeth.” Her lips closed slowly over the knife-edge gleam of her canines.
I felt myself leaning forward, breathing shallow, numb breaths. “You hate him.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Hate? Oh, yes.” She hissed voluptuous delight. “With every drop of borrowed blood. It would be so easy for you to attack in daylight when he’s weakest. You don’t even have to kill him, just show his weakness.”
“I’m not getting it.”
“Let me tell you the way it is with us. We’re like wolves, and the toughest wolf gets to lead the pack. But if he shows weakness, instability, insanity, the pack will shred him. He must be strong and his actions must be in our best interest. Attack him, show his weakness, and they will kill him for you.”
“I see.”
“Yes,” she hissed. “You do. Once Edward is truly dead and I am in charge, I will, of course, be very, very grateful.”
Something crawled over my skin. Twitching my gaze aside, I caught a red thread of movement in the Grey and pulled back from it, taking a deep breath and shaking my head. The red thing slid away, dissolving onto the air. I blinked rapidly, shedding a sudden sleepiness, but unable to get the ringing of Alice’s voice entirely out of my head.
“What’s to stop him from killing me first?”
She laughed, and I tried not to cringe. “You don’t look like a threat. Who regards the twitching of insects? Once the mud is stirred up, it’ll be too late and killing you