AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The vampire brought his gaze back to Zaq. “Spider know you’re coming?”
“He’ll see me.”
“Arms out.”
Zaq obeyed and nodded at me to do the same. Two vampires stepped out of the darkness and patted us down for weapons.
“They’re clean,” they told George, and he waved a hand for us to precede him down the track. I felt him staring at my ass the whole time, but like Zaq had predicted, at least he wasn’t paying attention to my face.
We came to a Y in the track. “Take the right turn,” George said.
We did and kept walking. The darkness grew thicker until I could only see a few feet in front of me.
Abruptly, a torch on the wall burst into flames. The sudden light seared my eyeballs. I screwed them shut and threw up a hand in front of my face.
When I opened my eyes again, two new vampires—a male and a female—waited a few yards away in a large, surprisingly homey cavern lit by kerosene torches.
“Spider.” Zaq strode forward and shook the male’s hand. “It’s good to see you.”
The underworld lord was thin and darkly gorgeous with an Afro the size of a basketball and long, spiderlike fingers that I surmised were the reason behind his nickname.
The female stood at attention a few feet behind him, her thick black braid falling forward over one shoulder. She had the face of a South Asian goddess, a Barbie doll body and a pair of silver daggers strapped over her short red skirt.
Spider clapped Zaq on the shoulder and eyed his sharkskin suit. “Upped your style game, I see.”
Zaq barked a laugh. “The flashier you are, the less they see.”
“Truth. So what brings you here?”
“That’s for your ears only.”
Spider jerked his head at George. “Wait at the end of the tunnel. And keep everyone else out.”
George nodded and headed back the way he’d come.
Spider eyed me. “Who’s this?”
Zaq shrugged. “No one important.”
“Hmm.” Spider’s appraisal was 180 degrees from George’s. His eyes were hard and all-knowing, and he focused on my face like he was trying to memorize my features—or figure out where he’d seen me before.
Beside me, Zaq tensed. I dulled my dhampir-shine even further—we’d agreed it was better if the underworld vampires believed I was human—and gazed at Spider’s shoulder.
A full thirty seconds ticked past before Spider indicated a couch at the rear of the cavern. “Wait there, beautiful.”
I’d passed inspection. I released a soundless breath of relief and minced past Spider and the Barbie doll.
The cavern was basically an underground apartment, and we were in the kitchen/living room. I sat on the couch and ran a hand over the soft red fabric. The couch had been dressed up with orange-and-bronze throw pillows, as had the armchairs set at angles on either side of the couch. The walls were draped with red curtains bordered in orange, and on the slate floor was a colorful braided rug.
The cavern also held a large barbecue grill and a long wooden table with a dozen chairs. To my right was a walk-in pantry stocked with food, blood-wine and other staples, and in a smaller cave to the left I glimpsed a big bed.
Compared to the Lachaise vampires, Spider and his people lived in a palace.
Zaq and Spider moved to the side of the room and conducted a heated discussion in subvocal tones. The Barbie doll remained where she was, her eyes trained on the two men, clearly straining to hear what was said.
I slouched against the couch’s arm like the blood addict I was supposed to be and strained my own ears, but all I caught were a few words here and there.
“Father…”
