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Past tense. Wince. Not that I could blame him after I’d eaten all the sushi and awoken the ancient vampire who would probably have some kind of showdown with the Scholar after he got back from our date. Date? Did it count as a date if I was only here for information? Could I get information out of him if we did have a personal thing, like boyfriend/girlfriend, or other awkward positions in relation to each other? Maybe that would be worth pursuing, but how vile would that make me, using a personal relationship for my own gain?
“Right. So, do you want the dress back after this is over?”
He looked down at the dress, then back up at me. “No. I am certain that it suits you much better than me. You really did look like you had angel’s blood when you walked in this evening.”
“Is that flirting, like the weird star comment?”
“You could consider it flirting, yes.” He nodded slightly.
“It isn’t that I haven’t heard my share of lines, it’s just that no one ever bribed me into eating sushi with them before. Maybe after I hunt down the demon, I’ll make a point of trying dating and doing research on it so I know what’s expected.”
“Or you could date me now and gather data points without putting it off for the future.”
I stared at him, bewildered. “You are offering to continue dating me even after this was so terrible?”
“Was it terrible for you? I apologize. What did you dislike? The food was to your taste, wasn’t it? You dislike water, or is it the height?”
I tugged on a curl that was so beautifully bouncy that I couldn’t give it a good yank like I wanted. “I’m speaking for you, because I’m oblivious and I awakened the old vamp who is going to cause you problems and I keep subtly mentioning how much I hate vampires, of which you are one, and?—”
He put the last sushi roll into my mouth. “Don’t speak for me, Miss Morell. I find you as charming as ever. Actually, hearing that you are a musician of Song, fearlessly doing your work for the greater good in spite of the danger, makes you seem quite brave and selfless. Your inexperience as far as dating, is also nothing negative. I have had personal relationships, but not for a very, very long time, so I am out of practice, particularly with the modern customs that change so rapidly. I would like to take you out again, or if you’d rather take me out, I would accept the invitation willingly.”
“But, I hate vampires.”
“Which is why the first person you were ever seriously interested in was a vampire. Yes, you hate us with a fascination and attraction that is much closer to obsession than hatred, but you have experienced the worst of my kind, so naturally that would translate into caution and fear.”
I frowned at him while my thoughts spun. I hated vampires because I was attracted to them? Impossible. “Would you mind if I sold the dress?”
“You want to sell the dress? Why?”
“Just think how much sushi it would pay for.”
He smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Sell the dress, Miss Morell. Eat your sushi and think of me.”
Which meant that I’d never be able to sell it, or eat sushi without thinking of him, and what was more dangerous and despicable than that?
Chapter
Eleven
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and Jazharad by any other name would be as devious and terrifying as the monster I read about. I did a search spell in the stacks of mysteries, and found tome after tome with stories of demons who made deals with ambitious, cunning, ruthless men, who ended up destroying more than anyone could have imagined. Jazharad didn’t come out of the shadows often, preferring to work behind his puppets, but when he did, as he did during the great war, when he and his demon band went up against angels, large-scale devastation followed.
I closed the last book I’d been reading and stared into space, my notes forgotten as I drowned in hopelessness. If I did manage to summon him here, Singsong would perish along with almost everyone in it. Even if he didn’t get loose, his influence would rot my heart and soul, feeding on my rage until I was his tool. That’s how it always worked, which I knew, but I hadn’t been prepared when I’d first gotten the name from the Scholar. I also hadn’t known that the mark referred to one of those great demons whose influence on humanity was strong and terrifying enough to give you enemies to last a lifetime without touching on the source.
I reshelved the books and went back to the main desk because I had work to do, and my mind and feelings were still roiling around. I had a name, which was more than I’d ever had before, enough to take this as far as I wanted to go, but I also had the Scholar’s offer to get to know one another better, and that consumed me almost as much, and was equally as depressing.
I bounced between despairing that I’d never defeat the demon who had killed my father, and puzzling over the logistics of dating the undead. Was I actually obsessed with vampires? I did find the Scholar attractive, objectively, and when I thought about him, my fingers still ached, but how would a real physical relationship work when he couldn’t even kiss me without his fangs getting in the way? No, I didn’t mind being bitten. I could admit that much to myself, but I wasn’t giving up kissing, holding hands, and being comfortable together, the way that Rynne’s parents were. He did the sushi, and she did the tables and the piano bar.
It was true that the Scholar worked at the lab while I worked at the library, and they really were literally on top of each other, but where would we live? Maybe he meant something else when he said personal relationship, maybe a vampire edition that didn’t require actually spending time together, but vampires did have a sex drive, second only to their lust for blood. My blood was sweet enough and lethal enough to have saved me from the second drive, but if he wasn’t interested in my blood, was it my body he wanted? Or was he really attracted to my mind because I loved dead languages? Impossible. And confusing. Maybe he was toying with me.
Everything was impossible, including nodding at the replacement for Bert, who wandered around looking suspicious while I tried to think and plan through a haze of bewildered overwhelm. Cross would be the perfect person to bounce ideas off while planning to hunt a new dangerous monster, but he was also very strict about controlling collateral damage and wouldn’t ever condone summoning a demon just to kill it.
Why had my family been targeted? Maybe I should start there, although having angel blood was probably enough of a motive when some of the angels and demons had been fighting and hating each other for as long as they could remember, far longer than humans had history.
I was leaning on the main counter, doodling different kinds of flames on a sheet of paper when Katrina, the young vampire who lacked self-control, approached very slowly, walking so her shoes clicked loudly on the marble.
“The Scholar has asked me to inform the Librarian that the experiment is ready for observers.”
Horace? I looked around, and didn’t see anyone looking at me, other than the suspicious guard, so I went with her, looping my bag with notes over my shoulder. That’s what I’d agreed to trade for being at his first interview.
