Shadow: Bloody Fairies Part 12

"Hunting vamps."

"Huh. You don't have to tell me, I'm not your father." Tony leaned forward. "What's your real name?"

"Hippy."

"Figures. Well Hippy, I've got a problem. I've been looking for my friends all day, the ones Praeconius kicked out of the car. Now they're big blokes who can look after themselves, see? And they know what to do if they get separated from the team. But they haven't checked in and I can't find them anywhere. I didn't really think Praeconius was the vicious type, she's just after money, see? But I got nothing else. So you tell me where my men are."

Hippy felt a finger of cold seep into her chest. So that's where Rustam Badora had started. What had he done, followed their trail as soon as the sun went down? Followed them underground somehow? Had Tony's friends strayed into a cave, or crossed his path after dark?

"I don't like the way you're looking at me," Tony said.

"Vamps," Hippy said.

"What do you mean, vamps?"

Hippy twisted her fingers together. She didn't know how to explain it to him.

Pierus had said humans knew nothing of Shadow. It had taken a long time for Poppy to believe them. How was she supposed to convince Tony? "There's a very bad man," she said, hoping Tony would be happy with a half-explanation. "Pierus and I are trying to stop him, but he followed us here. Your friends may have met him."

"Sweetheart, I'm a very bad man." Tony smirked at her. "My friends are very bad men. What's this geezer going to do?"

"Drink their blood."

Tony screwed his face up. But he didn't laugh, as she'd feared he would. "You're serious?"

Hippy nodded. "I'm trying to find him," she said. "Before he can kill too many people."

"You? What're you going to do? You're nothing more than a little piece of jail bait."

"I don't know what jail bait is, but I've killed hundreds of his kind."

"Well then you're the youngest psycho I ever met." Tony ran his hand over his bald head. "Fine, I'm game. How do we find him?"

Hippy stared. "You want to help me hunt Rustam Badora?"

"Sure, why not?"

Hippy drew her legs up under her and thought hard. Tony's friends had had hours to be killed, wake up and come back. If Rustam stayed with them they could be anywhere. If not, they might not know what had happened. "Where were they supposed to go?"

"We got a rendezvous point," Tony said. "But I checked in twice already. They weren't there."

"Try it again," Hippy said.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

"This is your rendezvous?" Hippy walked on her toes around a busted table to avoid treading on anything nasty with her bare feet. Two long fluorescent lights flickered and blinked overhead, picking out jagged shadows and not much else in a really, really big room full of broken furniture and bits of gla.s.s.

"Well it ain't exactly a romantic dinner for two, but something tells me you're not that kind of girl," Tony said.

Hippy shrugged. "I just like nice wide open s.p.a.ces better."

"Hippy."

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just calling you a hippy."

Hippy screwed up her nose at him. These humans didn't make a whole lot of sense.

"This way." Tony headed for a big steel door and pushed it open. "You first sweetie."

Hippy brushed past him and entered the next room. She stopped short. This one was lit by gas lamps hanging from the walls, just like the muses used back home. And sometimes the vamps. Tony came in behind her and closed the door.

Hippy looked over her shoulder. "Why'd you close the door?"

Tony chuckled and curled his hand over the back of her neck. His fingers were cold.

Icy cold.

Hippy said a bad word she'd heard Poppy use earlier. Now he was so close she could see a mark on his neck that had been concealed by his collar.

"They told me you were dumb, sweetie, but I had no idea just how dumb. What happened, you get dropped on your head as a kid?"

Hippy balled a fist, twisted around and punched him in the nose. "You're a vamp!"

"Ow!" Tony stumbled back, clutching his nose.

A low laugh rumbled through the room. Footsteps paced toward her from the shadows in the far corners. "Close," a voice said. "He's close. I'll give him the gift of blood soon enough, but for now I need someone who can pa.s.s for human."

Hippy bolted for the door. There was a rush of wind at her back. Rustam Badora slammed into her, pinning her to the cold metal. His fingers were so cold they burned her skin. He leaned close and inhaled near her neck.

"Ah, fresh fairy. You make me homesick."

Hippy reached for her belt.

Badora's free hand closed around her wrist and pinned that to the door too. "Tut, tut, tut. You keep that spider safely locked away or I'll squash it."

Hippy scowled. "Let me go."

Badora leaned in close and breathed on her neck again. "Oh, I will, my dear. I have humans enough and more to satisfy me here. But I do intend to kill you the moment we both set foot in Shadow again. I'm saving you for last. I'm antic.i.p.ating the bouquet of your blood with every breath." He made a growling noise in her ear and then licked the side of her face.

"Eeeeewwwww!" Hippy wriggled out of his grip and broke away. She madly scrubbed at her face, stumbled backwards and almost fell over Tony, whose nose was bleeding. She lashed out in revulsion and punched him in the side of the head, which sent him crashing into the wall. "Ew ew ew! That was disgusting!"

Badora lounged against the door. His mouth crooked up. "You must make the muse king a very amusing pet."

Hippy stopped jumping around and scrubbing her face. "I'm not a pet."

"Of course you are. What else would he want with you?"

"I'm helping him find-" Hippy clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Find what?" Badora pushed himself off the door and paced toward her, hands behind his back. "Find what, Fairy?"

"His, um, shoes." Hippy backed away as fast as he approached.

"Find Pandora's Box, perhaps?" Badora's red eyes looked her up and down hungrily. "Tell me, what does he want with that?"

Hippy had reached Tony's position again. He was curled up against the wall, still clutching his nose. Blood seeped through his fingers. Ew. She felt sick. Her head started to spin, but there was no time for that. She clenched her teeth hard and kicked him in the ribs. "You told him about Pandora's Box?"

"Would you stop hitting me?" Tony yelled through his hands. "Boss make her stop!"

Badora didn't even spare him a glance. He just kept moving closer. "I know a legend about Pandora's Box," he said. "It's not a pretty story."

"You're not that pretty either, but do I go on about it?" Hippy kept moving, even though now they were just circling the room.

The vamp king's fangs made shallow indents in his lower lip. His white skin looked almost blue in the gaslight. "Vampire legend says we came from Pandora. But it was Pierus himself who made us what we are, when he stole something she guarded."

"That's the biggest load of bearfly droppings I ever heard." Hippy dodged around a table. "Is that why you brought me here, to tell me vamp bedtime stories?"

"Ask the muse king," Badora said. "He'll tell you. Or maybe he'll tell you a lie instead, to keep you from leaving."

Then he disappeared. Hippy flattened her back to the wall and was preparing to run for the door again when he reappeared in a blur of speed in front of her. One long, curved, manicured nail traced the length of her face. "Pandora was madder than a bearfly at full moon, you know. I don't care about her box."

Hippy thought he probably should, but she decided not to say anything.

"I have a message for Pierus." Badora leaned in closer.

She screwed up her nose and inched away. "I hope it's that you've found yourself a cure for bad breath, because you really need it."

The vamp's shoulders dropped. "Well really, if you're not going to take any of this seriously I don't see how we're going to get along."

Hippy rolled her eyes. "Don't get all twitchy. What's the message?"

"I'm proposing a truce. Obviously Pierus can open a door between the worlds. Tell him if he opens a door to allow my army into Dream, the b.l.o.o.d.y Fairies will be left alone. We won't bother anyone in Shadow again."

Hippy edged along the wall away from him. "I don't think he'll go for it."

"He'd better." Badora stalked her every step. "Because if he doesn't I'll raise an army here and return to Shadow and crush muses and fairies alike. It's really very simple. All we want is our own land, with a ready food source. It's his choice whether that's going to be on Dream or Shadow." He reached out and curled his fingers around her arm. "If I were you, Fairy, I'd convince him to let us have Dream. Purely in your own interests. You're quite safe until the day I set foot back in Shadow."

Hippy glared. "One day I'm going to make you sparkle."

"Your threats are pointless. I am Rustam Badora." The vamp released her arm. "Get out of here."

Hippy ran for the door. When she got to it, she stopped short and said a bad word.

"What is it?" Badora stalked her.

"I don't even know where we are," Hippy said. "I don't know how to get home."

He chuckled. "Tony can take you back. He knows the way, he's been following the three of you most of the day." He whirled around, strode to where Tony was still curled against the wall and hauled him to his feet.

A few drops of blood from Tony's nose got onto Badora's fingers. He licked them.

Hippy hid her eyes and shuddered.

When both men approached, Badora's smile was thin and Tony was bleeding less. "Don't worry," he said. "I told him to take you straight home."

Hippy backed through the door. "I thought you were going to vamp him. What if he runs off?"

"Oh, I am. He'll return to me. He can't help himself. Of course if he doesn't return to me" Vamp fingers fastened around Hippy's throat. "I'll be very upset."

Hippy nodded emphatically.

He released her. "I will expect an answer from Pierus tomorrow night. We will find you both." He turned to go back into the room.

"Wait!" Hippy steadied Tony, who was swaying next to her. "Where are Tony's friends?"

Badora licked his lips. "Where do you think?" He closed the door behind them.

Hippy sat in the back seat of the car, as far away from Tony as she could get. She'd never seen anyone in the early stages of vamp before and had no idea when he'd start wanting blood. Of course she should just set Fluffy Ducky on him, but then Rustam would be cross. She buried her face in her hands. What kind of a fairy was she? She'd gone there to kill him and ended up his messenger fairy. Maybe she should just go back and turn him into a blood fountain that would make Ishtar proud.

"Hey, don't you go pa.s.sing out in my car," Tony said.

Hippy took her hands away from her face. "Huh?"

"Boss said you had too much to drink and to take you home," Tony said. "Don't you pa.s.s out. I'm not carrying you."

Hippy scowled. "You even touch me, vamp, and I'll break your nose again."

Tony snickered. "A little thing like you? Break my nose? I'd like to see you try. Alright girly, here's your hotel."

Hippy looked out of the window at the hotel she'd jumped from several hours earlier. She breathed a sigh of relief, but that was quickly chased away by nerves. Pierus was probably going to be a little bit upset. "I don't want to go in."

"Boss said I was to walk you to the door," Tony said.

"No!"

"Come on. Let's go." Tony grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her with him out of the car, across the footpath and through the front door.

Hippy said several bad words and kicked him in the ankle. They stopped in front of the elevator and waited for the light to reach the ground floor.

"Where'd you learn language like that?" Tony hustled her inside as soon as the door slid open.