over here?” Another nod. “And they didn’t freak out, threaten you with death, any of that stuff?”
“No. They were quite cordial, actually. This one vampire my master talked to -Colin, I think his name was - he didn’t seem to like you very much.”
Motherfucker! I put my face into my hands while I absorbed all of this.
“Really?” Tom asked. “I would’ve thought the vampires wouldn’t be too big on you guys.”
“My people aren’t at war with the vampires, just...”
“Me,” I finished.
“Pretty much,” she confirmed. “Besides, we reached out to them diplomatically. There are protocols around these types of things.”
“Jesus Christ, does everyone know these protocols except me?”
“Yeah, it does seem you’re always the last to find out about these things,” Tom said, echoing my sentiment. “Maybe you should get Sally to keep you in the loop a bit more.”
I shrugged in return and took an extra long pull on my beer. The way this was going, I might need a chaser of significantly higher proof.
While I did so, Tom said to Christy, “Cool. I guess we get to take a vacation together on the supernatural world’s dime.”
“It’s not really a vacation, Tom,” she chided. “We’re going to be in different parties and we’ll be traveling there separately. Technically speaking, we shouldn’t even fraternize during it.”
“Not at all?” Tom asked, a mock-frown on his face.
“Well, I guess we could sneak away for a little...”
“I don’t need the details,” I interrupted.
“Oh, yeah, speaking of details,” Tom asked, “Did the vamps tell you where this was all going down?”
“No,” she replied. “That’s still being worked out. We should know in a week. They said once that’s decided they’re flying in a special envoy to work with Bill.”
“They are?” I asked, looking up.
“Let me guess,” Tom surmised. “They didn’t tell you that part either.”
Hell’s Hair Salon
By Wednesday, I couldn’t take it any more. I couldn’t get anyone in Boston to return my calls. James was apparently busy and Colin was being a prick. I hadn’t heard anything from Sally either. Between that, the stress of not knowing, and the added agitation of being certain that the love of my life had left for parts unknown, I was getting absolutely nothing done at work. Fortunately, my boss was too busy trying to figure out his own paperwork to bug me much. Gotta love downtime.
After the sun had set, I decided to head over to the coven. Maybe someone there could fill me in a bit more about this ancient war with Bigfoot. At the very least, the women of the coven were distracting eye candy. A little T&A wasn’t exactly a bad way to kill a few hours. Hey, I never claimed I wasn’t shallow.
I made my way first to the loft. It was located right in the middle of SoHo. Back when I was alive, you couldn’t have paid me to hang out there. There’s only so much vacuous smarm I can take without retching. However, as luck would have it, I just so happened to be in charge of a group of vampires who are headquartered there. Yeah, life sometimes has a funny way of telling you to go fuck yourself. Anyway, the loft was where it all started for me, it being the place where I was turned. It just so happened to also be one of the coven’s more popular hangouts. Sally in particular had a fondness for it, often using it as her home when not at the office. If she was lying low, there was a good chance it would be at the loft.
Alas, no such luck. I found a few coven members milling about a dead body, a not uncommon sight. However, seeing no sign of Sally, and not really wanting to know much more about the circumstances around their kill (I lost enough sleep as it was), I decided to try the office instead.
Much to my surprise, Starlight, still in her conscripted role as secretary, told me that
“No. They were quite cordial, actually. This one vampire my master talked to -Colin, I think his name was - he didn’t seem to like you very much.”
Motherfucker! I put my face into my hands while I absorbed all of this.
“Really?” Tom asked. “I would’ve thought the vampires wouldn’t be too big on you guys.”
“My people aren’t at war with the vampires, just...”
“Me,” I finished.
“Pretty much,” she confirmed. “Besides, we reached out to them diplomatically. There are protocols around these types of things.”
“Jesus Christ, does everyone know these protocols except me?”
“Yeah, it does seem you’re always the last to find out about these things,” Tom said, echoing my sentiment. “Maybe you should get Sally to keep you in the loop a bit more.”
I shrugged in return and took an extra long pull on my beer. The way this was going, I might need a chaser of significantly higher proof.
While I did so, Tom said to Christy, “Cool. I guess we get to take a vacation together on the supernatural world’s dime.”
“It’s not really a vacation, Tom,” she chided. “We’re going to be in different parties and we’ll be traveling there separately. Technically speaking, we shouldn’t even fraternize during it.”
“Not at all?” Tom asked, a mock-frown on his face.
“Well, I guess we could sneak away for a little...”
“I don’t need the details,” I interrupted.
“Oh, yeah, speaking of details,” Tom asked, “Did the vamps tell you where this was all going down?”
“No,” she replied. “That’s still being worked out. We should know in a week. They said once that’s decided they’re flying in a special envoy to work with Bill.”
“They are?” I asked, looking up.
“Let me guess,” Tom surmised. “They didn’t tell you that part either.”
Hell’s Hair Salon
By Wednesday, I couldn’t take it any more. I couldn’t get anyone in Boston to return my calls. James was apparently busy and Colin was being a prick. I hadn’t heard anything from Sally either. Between that, the stress of not knowing, and the added agitation of being certain that the love of my life had left for parts unknown, I was getting absolutely nothing done at work. Fortunately, my boss was too busy trying to figure out his own paperwork to bug me much. Gotta love downtime.
After the sun had set, I decided to head over to the coven. Maybe someone there could fill me in a bit more about this ancient war with Bigfoot. At the very least, the women of the coven were distracting eye candy. A little T&A wasn’t exactly a bad way to kill a few hours. Hey, I never claimed I wasn’t shallow.
I made my way first to the loft. It was located right in the middle of SoHo. Back when I was alive, you couldn’t have paid me to hang out there. There’s only so much vacuous smarm I can take without retching. However, as luck would have it, I just so happened to be in charge of a group of vampires who are headquartered there. Yeah, life sometimes has a funny way of telling you to go fuck yourself. Anyway, the loft was where it all started for me, it being the place where I was turned. It just so happened to also be one of the coven’s more popular hangouts. Sally in particular had a fondness for it, often using it as her home when not at the office. If she was lying low, there was a good chance it would be at the loft.
Alas, no such luck. I found a few coven members milling about a dead body, a not uncommon sight. However, seeing no sign of Sally, and not really wanting to know much more about the circumstances around their kill (I lost enough sleep as it was), I decided to try the office instead.
Much to my surprise, Starlight, still in her conscripted role as secretary, told me that
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