Immortally Embraced by angie fox

out.” Despite the fact that I was no warrior, and certainly no James Bond, we had to know what was going on in that other camp. If Dr. Keller had discovered a weapon of some kind, I could bring back photos and information. Maybe Colonel Kosta would know what to do about it. Then I really would be a spy.
    Seven hells.
    I stood, nudging Rodger out of my way as I tossed the penlight into my bag. Couldn’t hurt, right?
    “Can I borrow your camera?” I asked. I hadn’t bothered to bring one down here. But Rodger took pictures to send to his kids.
    “Don’t break it,” he said, as if that was our biggest problem.
    As dusk fell, I zipped up my dark blue New Orleans Zephyrs jacket. It was the best camouflage I was going to get.
    Rodger stood behind me. “I still think—” He stopped himself. “Never mind.”
    I patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks, buddy.”
    The footlocker behind him rattled and we both jumped, our nerves getting the better of us.
    Marius shoved open the lid and flipped his longish blond hair out of his eyes. It fell in stylish layers that framed his face.
    My stomach crumpled.
    “Stay right there, missy,” he said, his limbs stiff and awkward as he climbed out of the cramped space.
    Yikes. “I’d assumed you were in your lair.” And not listening in.
    “I’m having new mirrors installed,” he said, brushing imaginary lint from his black silk smoking jacket. Marius squinted against the lingering orange rays in the sky.
    Worry stabbed at me. “I’m going whether you approve or not.” I just hoped he wouldn’t tell. I had to think that even if he wouldn’t outright lie for me, he wouldn’t turn me in.
    “What you do with your short life is none of my business,” he said, “but going out there without a weapon is patently ludicrous.”
    “Thanks for the insight,” Rodger remarked.
    Marius ignored him.
    He turned his back on us both and began working an ornate, blood-red chest from under his cot.
    “I’ve never seen that before,” Rodger said.
    “Me neither.” Despite Marius’s claims, we didn’t really bother his stuff. Unless it was already out. And at that point, he was just asking for it.
    Marius lifted the lid. Inside was an assortment of weapons the likes of which I’d never seen. He had curved swords and jewel-handled daggers, gleaming Chinese throwing stars and what looked to be a Regency-era dueling set.
    Rodger whistled. “What are you doing with all that?”
    The vampire stiffened. “I used to display them in my home. I find them quite stimulating. Here, they’re just going to waste.”
    He had a point. Nothing could improve this dump.
    Marius reached for the pistol set and I thought he was going to give me one of them. Granted, they only had one shot each—not very useful against a pack of imps—but it was something.
    Instead, he reached for a velvet sack underneath and produced a strange-looking silver-and-bronze pistol, with a snubbed nose and rounded handle. There was a knob on the side in an exotic spiderweb design, as if the gun could be cranked up or down. It almost looked like a toy, or a weapon carried around by a crazed Victorian inventor.
    “Keep this in your pocket,” Marius instructed, handing it to me.
    It was … interesting. “How do I load it?” I asked, turning it to the side, inspecting the scrollwork, trying to find where the bullets would even go.
    “It doesn’t take ammunition,” he said, “it acts as an energy disruptor. I’d give you a demonstration, but you seem to have a soft spot for Rodger, as well as the swamp creatures out back. Besides, it’s extremely bright when it goes off. Take your sunglasses.”
    I didn’t know if I should be glad or worried. “Thanks,” I said, touching the knob.
    Marius hovered at my side like an overprotective mother. “Keep that on the lowest setting.”
    “No kidding? Why?” I asked. It really was a gorgeous weapon.
    “Or else I’m not responsible for your scrawny hide,” Marius said.