"Yeah," she grimaced. "It was Sam's idea, obviously. Zac's an annoying prat, but it beats the smelly motel."
"Oh," Alex fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.
Aya, as if sensing his discomfort, stood up and said, "I'll leave you to it, Alex. I've got stuff to do.”
Alex watched her disappear across the street. She seemed happier than when he'd first met her. Something had changed to make her that way. Maybe it was just making some friends, he knew from experience that could do wonders for a person. The more he thought about it the more he couldn't help but wonder if she had an agenda, like the girls were talking about. She'd never really told him what she was doing in town and what exactly her job was. The obvious FBI and CIA scenarios ran through his mind, but he snorted at the ridiculousness of it. Like she'd be a spook.
But, he couldn't shake what he'd overheard. If Aya really did have an agenda, then what the hell would it be?
When Zac walked into Max's bar that night, he was surprised to see Liz sitting at a table on her own with a glass and bottle of Jack. Something was bothering her big time. Sauntering up behind her, he grabbed the bottle and took a mouthful.
"What's up, beautiful," he said, sitting down across from her.
Groaning, she snatched the bottle back from him.
"What?" He raised his hands, grinning, waiting for a response.
"Ass," she hissed.
"Yeah, so what?" Zac laughed, tapping the table top.
"You act like you're not even worried about anything," she shook her head.
"And you are?"
"Of course I am, Zac!" she kept her voice low, growling at him. "Aren't you afraid of being killed?"
"We've all done it before," he shrugged.
"But the next time, you won't come back," she scolded.
"Afraid you'll miss me?" he sneered.
Liz sighed heavily, pouring herself a glass of Jack, pushing the bottle towards Zac, "Is everything a joke to you?"
He frowned, the smug smile fading away as he took a long draught straight from the bottle. He played with the idea of telling her what he could hardly admit himself, that he had some semblance of feelings for her. He thought about his brother and that welded his big mouth shut.
"No," he said, staring into her eyes.
Uncomfortable, she sighed heavily, looking away, "I think Alex overheard Gabby and I talking about Aya today."
"You think, or you know?" he asked, the most truthful moment he'd had in the past month broken.
"I think," she said, glaring. "I don't trust her yet. This whole thing scares the hell out of me."
Zac looked at her for a moment, realizing that he hadn't though of her safety once in the past two weeks. He had been selfish and impulsive - his best two traits. "You'll always be safe if I have anything to do with it," he grabbed her hand under the table.
"I know," she whispered, pulling back awkwardly.
"Liz, I..." he began, but fell short when he caught the unmistakable reek of a werewolf that had just entered the bar.
She looked at him, her expression confused, but turned when she too caught the sent. The man that walked towards them was heavy set, the rough stubble of a new beard covering his chin and he looked pissed off. His rough appearance and plaid shirt made him look like a lumberjack. Except it wasn't the frontier, they were in the middle of a humid, smelly swamp.
"I want to know what happened to my brothers, vamper," the werewolf spat, pushing Zac roughly as he stood.
He hardly remembered it, even though it was only about two weeks ago. A lot had happened since then. Psycho witches and ancient witch hunting vampires trumped five mutilated werewolves. Only in a vampires world.
"What are you implying, dog?" Zac snarled, putting himself in front of Liz.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about you blood sucking piece of shit."
Liz panicked a little, not wanting a fight in front of all these people. It was the last possible thing they could afford right now. Zac was unpredictable at the best of times. Then she caught sight of Aya walking across the bar, who wasn't even trying to hide the smile on her face. Liz looked from her to Zac and the werewolf hoping she might do something to help, but the black haired vampire was already making a beeline for them. Liz sighed a little in relief.
Aya laughed to herself. She had certainly guessed correctly about Zac, he was always getting himself into trouble. Perhaps this town wouldn't be so boring after all. It was time to send everyone a little message. She'd won this town from the wolves and they needed to keep their hands off for good.
She stopped beside them, placing her hand on the werewolves shoulder, turning him about. "Now, now," she crooned. "A handsome man like you shouldn't be so angry. I bet you'd rather have a drink with me." She looked him up and down and smiled wickedly, biting her lip. "That idiot isn't even worth it."
Without looking back, she could tell they were stunned as she led the wolf by the hand to the bar. He didn't seem to care what he had been threatening Zac about or even sense she was also a vampire, he was more engrossed in her looks to bother. That, and a little prodding by the way of compulsion. She ordered him the strongest drink she could to curb his bloodlust.
"What's a handsome man like you doing in a shithole like this?" she said breathlessly. "What's your name?"
The werewolf could hardly contain his elation at having scored a beautiful woman. The vampire would keep. "Ralph."
"Well, Ralph, it sure is a pleasure meeting you," she ran a finger down the buttons of his plaid shirt. "We're going to have some fun. I hope you're up for it." Ralph leant over her shoulder, picking up his drink and inhaled her scent. By the look on his face, she could tell he was in her thrall. He downed the drink in two gulps and slammed the glass down on the bar.
"That's an alluring cologne you're wearing," she flirted, leaning closer to breathe in his ugly wolf stink. She caught Zac's eye and winked as she stood and led her catch into the bathrooms at the back of the bar.
Checking to see if all the stalls were empty, she locked the bathroom door and turned, looking Ralph up and down, biting her lip. He stepped forward, clutching her around the waist and went to kiss her, but she grabbed the side of his head and smashed it into the basin, the force cracking the porcelain. The wolf fell to the floor, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead, grunting in surprise, "What the fuck! You bitch!"
"Listen to me," Aya soothed, crouching on the floor, turning him over so he could see her face. "The next time you come into this town and threaten any one of those vampires, I will tear you to shreds and send back the pieces to your pathetic little pack. This town is mine and I do not appreciate the peace being broken by a dog." She grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. She let her eyes cloud over into two ethereal white pools and licked her fangs. Ralph cried out in horror and put his hands in front of his face. Dropping him back on the tiles she stood over him menacingly.
"I got it! I got it! Fucking hell!" he whimpered. "What the fuck are you?"
"I'm your worst nightmare," Aya looked up into the mirror, fluffed her hair up and smiled down at him. "You have a nice night now, you hear?" The bathroom door shut heavily behind her.
Zac raised his eyebrows as she approached. "What the hell did you do to him?"
Aya looked at him nonchalantly and took a sip of his drink, "He won't bother you anymore."
Suddenly, the bathroom door crashed open and the werewolf stumbled into the walkway. Catching Aya's eye, he visibly stiffened. The gash she had given him had healed, and he'd washed most of the blood off, the hair at his temple wet and stringy. She raised her glass and he looked away, panic stricken and made a dash for the exit.
Aya laughed and Liz looked warily at her, "What exactly did you do to him, Aya?"
She stood and grabbed her leather jacket from the back of her chair and their bottle of Jack. Winking at Liz, she left the bar, not really bothered whether she explained herself or not.
CHAPTER TWELVE
"Fuck!" Zac exclaimed.
The last thing he expected to find first thing in the morning was a corpse in the front yard. A vampire corpse. And he knew that there was only one person who would have put it there. Scowling, he took out his cell and called Sam. Before he could say hello he said, "Have you seen Aya?"
"No," Sam sighed. "Did she take the cell I gave her?"
"No, it's still in her room," he couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"Zac, she hasn't been awake for long. Perhaps she doesn't see the usefulness of it yet."
"Do you know where she is?"
"No, I haven't seen her today."
"Well, if you see her, tell her I'm looking for her. I want to talk to her about the corpse in the front yard."
"What the hell?" came the reply from the other end.
"A desiccated vampire is sitting in the yard like a fucking scarecrow. And only one person we know could have done that," he hung up abruptly.
Getting in his car, he cursed her all the way into town. When he caught up with her, he'd give her a piece of his mind. How stupid could she be? Leaving a corpse in the front yard for anyone to come along and see. He knew it was too good to be true, their shaky alliance was a joke. Two thousand year old idiot.
Parking the car at an awkward angle by the main square, he stalked down the street, catching sight of Alex in the distance pruning some box hedges.
"Have you seen Aya?" he said, coming up behind him. He didn't bother saying hello.
Alex turned and scowled when he saw it was Zac, "Depends why you’re asking."
"C'mon," Zac rolled his eyes. "Have you seen her or not?"
"She went to the bookstore," Alex pointed across the street.
"Thanks, buddy. That wasn't so hard was it?" he lent forward, thumping him on the shoulder.
"Just don't be an asshole, Zac."
"Me? Never." He sauntered across the street through a break in traffic and looked through the front windows into the store. There were lines of shelving and displays along one side and CDs and magazines in the centre. There was a gift section by the registers and a cafe tucked away at the rear, lots of little corners she could be hiding in. Quickly surveying, he couldn't see her, so he walked inside and looked down each aisle before spotting her amongst the magazines reading a copy of National Geographic.
He came up behind her, ready to give her a piece of his mind, but she said, "This is such a wonderful magazine." She hadn't made any gesture that suggested she knew he was there and it irritated him further.
"We need to talk," he said through his teeth.
"I'd never heard much of this Solar System business. I knew it was all there, but the names humans give things is intriguing. And this Amazon rainforest. I'd like to go there, it sounds wild and dangerous. Have you been?"
"No," he said impatiently, shuffling from foot to foot.
"Well, I'd like to go before it disappears. Some things aren't as immortal as others. Before I was asleep, the civilized world told us that it was a land of savages. But that's so not true."
"As much as I'm enjoying the history lesson, I want to talk to you about something else," he hissed into her ear.
Aya placed the magazine back on the shelf. "And what do you want to discuss?"
"I want to discuss the corpse that you left in the front yard," he hissed again, looking around to see if anyone was listening.
"Oh, that," she said.
"Yes, that." He took her arm and forcefully guided her from the shop, smiling at the attendant at the counter who was eyeing them suspiciously. He took her across the street to the square where he was sure no one was close enough to hear them. Turning her to face him he scowled as she laughed. "What the hell is so funny?"
"You. Getting all worked up."
"It's not funny, Aya. You left a desiccated corpse in the front yard for everyone to see."
"Not true. No one knows that the house is lived in. No one comes to visit, the gates are meant to be locked because it is a site of historical significance. No one is going to see the corpse. I left Dean there to serve as a warning to his buddy who has camped out in the town somewhere."
"Oh," Zac said, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "So, the corpse has a name?"
"Yes," she said as if it were the most normal thing to be talking about. "When his friend stops by tonight, he'll try something else and I will be waiting for him to expose himself."
"You can't just do things, Aya, and not tell us! I nearly fucking died when I went outside!"
She laughed again, "Well, I really wish I had of been there to see that."
"Then why is it there and not someplace else?" he crossed his arms, glowering at her.
"Well, you wanted my help. This is me helping. Dean was already in the house while you were sleeping, princess. If I hadn't of been there it was curtains for the Degaud brothers."
He sighed, "And how do you know his name was Dean?
She shrugged, "I asked him."
"You asked him?"
"Yes, right before he told me about his friend. Then I killed him. You should have been there. I was brilliant."
"Geesus," he ran his hand through his hair in frustration.
"I met a Jesus once," she said. "He was alright."
Zac stared at her dumbfounded. The things that came out of her mouth. Enduring her mood swings was like having a bucket of icy water dumped on his head. "Just get rid of the corpse before anyone sees it."
"Aye aye Captain," she said, mock saluting him. "I will deny Dean his proper burial so his soul will wander for eternity."
"Just as long as it doesn't wander anywhere near the house," Zac glared and strode off.
Aya began the walk back to the manor in a huff. She couldn't wait until she came to the forest so she could run. Those boys had no sense of humor at all. Typical men, always thinking they're right.
Glaring to herself she brightened slightly when she saw Alex by the path ahead. He was pruning the hedge that bordered the sidewalk. Hacking, would be a better description. He was annoyed, too.
"Hello," she said as she came level with him.
He looked up at her and went back to his work, giving a grunt in acknowledgement.
"Are you okay, Alex?" she asked, concerned.
Alex shrugged, "Yeah." He didn't really convince her, but she didn't press the subject.
"Do you want to get a drink later?" she asked. "Tonight, I mean." There was no reason she couldn't go out and have a bit of fun. The more she was out, the more she could learn about the town and notice who was lurking about. Especially that other vampire, he'd probably hang about the town once the sun went down. She knew she would.
Alex seemed unsure as he said, "I dunno."
"I have to go to the manor and take care of something, but I'll come and meet you after, okay?" she raised her eyebrows to force a response from him.
"Yeah," he shrugged, accepting.
Something was still up with him, and she planned to get it out of him one way or another. But for now she had to go deal with Dean, the corpse in the front yard. She smiled and began walking, leaving Alex to finish hacking the hedge.
There was a prickling feeling at the back of her neck as she walked. It felt like someone was watching her, but looking about, no one was paying her the least bit of attention. She continued warily, it better to assume one of Katrin's cronies were around by default. There was no doubt in her mind that all of them were being watched. And she guessed it was Dean's mate. They wouldn't try anything in such a public place, but she better be on her guard nonetheless. She continued through the park, her mind, eyes and ears all out watching for something amiss.
Alex strode down the dark street, his mind wandering. It had been a long afternoon alone with his thoughts. Ugh, why had he agreed to meet Aya tonight?
Ever since he overheard Liz and Gabby he couldn't stop thinking about what they had implied about Aya. The more he thought about it, the weirder it sounded. He was completely ignorant and
they were shutting him out. They'd never kept him out of anything before and he was hurt. He couldn't shake the feeling at all.
He felt weird about meeting Aya. She'd never really told him what she was doing in town. As a matter of fact, she hadn't really told him anything about herself. Perhaps he should confront her. That might be the only way he would get any answers. Liz had acted like nothing was amiss, but maybe Aya wouldn't.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts he started as someone bashed into his shoulder, hard. "Hey, watch it buddy," he scowled.
The young man who had bumped into him, turned and put his hand on his shoulder, "Hey, I know you." He was built like a football player, wide shoulders and thick arms. Blonde hair cut into a severe crew. The kind of guy that used to beat him up in high school.
"No, I don't think so," Alex shrugged the guy’s hand away and turned to keep walking.
"I'm positive," he began to follow Alex down the path into the square. "I know you."
"Look, buddy. I don't know you, okay?" If he didn't try and look the guy in the eyes, hopefully he'd leave him alone.
Where before it had been spotted with people, the square had become quiet and empty. Alex began to panic a little. If this guy wanted to beat him up or mug him, he now had the perfect opportunity and he was not a good fighter. High school bullies had only taught him to run. Before he could do anything else, the man grabbed him from behind, turning him around. All Alex saw was the guy’s fist hurtling towards his face. There was a smack as he was punched square in the eye.
"Fucking hell!" Alex yelled, falling to the ground, clutching his face. "Just take whatever you want. Take my wallet, I don't want a fight."
"I don't want your wallet," he snarled. "I want you as bait."
"What the fuck?" Alex tried to scramble backwards, but the man grabbed his leg and began pulling him across the garden into the woodland area of the park.
He was pushed roughly against a tree, his head cracking against the trunk. Dazed, he blinked hard, his hand clutching the egg shaped lump that was beginning to rise. "Oww! You fucking asshole!" He was punched again, this time his lip splitting against his teeth. The cut was bleeding, the coppery taste of his blood filling his mouth.