CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
When the next night began, my travel work kit was already sitting in the living room, dropped off by the human staff who also delivered the blood. Alexius made sure we both had blood, then watched me set up everything in the office.
“Are you going to be using it now?” he asked, sounding curious.
“This exact moment, no, but you know, it’s better to have it set up so I can sit down and get to work immediately once I have the information I need.
Plus, I think it would be strange to walk out only ten minutes after sunset to harass Wren for information.
I think an hour into the night would seem less suspicious in a way. ”
“Giving yourself a normal time before leaving the house, and no one has a reason to think anything is wrong. And you’re using the time effectively.”
“Exactly.” I looked up from my laptop. “Thank you for getting this here so quickly.”
“We’ll have to send a thank-you gift to Maria.
She pulled some strings and used her position to make it happen, though this is in some ways a threat to her security as a member of the Tribunal.
A missing vampire is wandering around her city, claiming to be a member of her nest. She needs answers just as much as you do. ”
“And she won’t try to beat me to the truth?”
“She’s glad you rooted out another problem and will only step in if we need her. She’s got a lot of moving parts in her life, and she’s more active right now than Isaiah, so there’s a lot of Tribunal stuff ending up with her while he’s trying to ignore the world.”
“Yeah, she’s also dealing with decisions about other supernaturals, huh…
That must be stressful. Every time it crosses my mind, it makes me wonder how any of the Tribunal members have any time to sleep.
Like Callahan, dealing with this giant werewolf pack and the Tribunal.
And his wife, also a Tribunal member and Alpha of her own pack, right?
” Alexius nodded, so I continued. “That just seems really stressful.”
“I’m certain it is.”
I looked at the time, my laptop ready for me when I needed it now.
“Okay, well…” I stood up, facing Alexius fully now. “I’m going to head out. It’s a little bit of a drive to Court of Coffee.”
“Also, Maria sent out a memo tonight to her close circle of advisors and assistants that you’re now on the same case as me. The information will spread. By the end of the night, everyone will think your vacation is done, and you’re helping me now.”
“Thank you.” I reached out and grabbed his shirt.
He looked at my hand, his gaze sleepy and warm when his eyes met mine once again.
“Do you plan on taking that off me?” he asked, stepping closer. “It would ruin your plans for the night.”
“No.” I went to my tiptoes and still couldn’t reach, but I tugged, and he bent down to me, meeting me for a kiss.
He was very into the kiss, pulling me fully into his body, letting me know how much he wanted to go further.
When the kiss broke, I backed off, letting him go, and he didn’t fight me, his hand on my lower back dropping away.
“I wanted that. Because… I just wanted it.”
“Well, I do like to give you what you want,” he murmured. “You should go before I’m tempted to go further.”
“Stay safe tonight. Good luck with your work.”
“You as well.”
I walked around him, knowing he wasn’t going to move because the kiss had done a number on him. I looked over my shoulder to see him lean over, a hand on the desk. It made me feel a little powerful, knowing a kiss was enough to get him riled up.
I was still smiling when I parked in the same spot to go to Court of Coffee. I closed my eyes after I cut the engine and took a breath, focusing on why I was there. Henry had been lying to me, and it was time to start the hunt for answers.
I shouldn’t have trusted him so easily.
I didn’t even think I had trusted him so easily until after everything was said and done.
I had been cautious. I had been wary. But I had assumed honesty in his answers, and that was the mistake.
With how much had been going on, it had been easy to overlook the idea that he was lying instead of just making up with me after so long.
I walked into Court of Coffee, glad to see no vampires there yet. All the faces were unfamiliar except the employees and Wren, who was behind the counter today instead of sitting up front by the windows.
“Miss Abbott,” Wren greeted, smiling. “Welcome back! I was wondering if you would grace my presence again.”
“I’m here on business today,” I said, walking right up to the counter in front of him. “And I just fed, so no order for me.”
“Okay. That type of business. Come with me.” He still sounded casual, as if this wasn’t anything new to him. He lifted the barrier and let me into the back, straight to his office.
“I’m glad to be the person you go to here in Los Angeles now,” he said, sitting down at his desk. “So, how can I help you?”
“The last time I was here, another vampire and I recognized each other. You probably saw us right out the window, yeah?”
“I might remember that,” he said, smiling knowingly. “I’m a busy man, running a business.”
“Certainly. The thing I need from you is that vampire’s name,” I said, realizing there was another chair at his desk and sitting down in it finally.
“Oh? You don’t know his name?” Wren chuckled. “That’s impressive because you seemed pretty surprised to see him. Like you knew him, so certainly you know his name.”
“That’s the problem, Wren. I know his real name. I want to know the name he’s going by now,” I said, crossing my legs as Wren’s eyes narrowed.
“You know his real name.” It sounded as though that was a bad thing. Wren’s smile faded into a more serious expression.
“I do. I’ve known him for a long time, actually. Would you like it? We can trade.”
“You have no idea what sort of magic you accidentally bypassed with that little bit of information,” Wren said softly.
“No, you would have needed more, but it seems you bypassed it, nonetheless. You see, that vampire spent a lot of money on some very good fae magic a long time ago. I’ll trade name for name, but information on the magic will cost you. ”
“Alexius will check the charge later, but I’ll explain to him what I learned.” I put the black card on the table.
“It’s not his opinion on the worth of this that I care about,” Wren said, taking the card. He wrote down a price on a sticky note and slid the pad over to me. I nodded at the amount, not finding any issue with it.
“Then we have a deal,” Wren said, looking up. “We shall trade the names of this vampire.” Wren snapped his fingers, and a magical image of Henry showed up. “And then for the price noted, I shall reveal the fae magic he paid for over ten years ago. Fifteen to be precise.”
“Could you tell me how you know about the magic? Did you do the service?”
“I didn’t do the service, but I am all too familiar with it and recognized the magic on him when he walked in. Fae magic and all. It’s a very particular thing. Do you agree to the terms?”
“I agree.”
We shook on it.
“The name he uses is James Henry Bishop,” Wren said immediately.
“His real name is Henry James Abbott,” I explained.
Wren’s eyes went wide, like saucers, as he realized he could have charged me much more than he did.
“Oh…” Wren leaned back in his seat, taking in that information. “Henry Abbott was being looked for a little while back.”
“Alexius was trying to find him for me since I hadn’t seen him since I was twelve. Never knew where he went.” I shrugged. “And imagine my surprise when I find him here… when not even Alexius or Isaiah could find him.”
“In Maria’s nest of all places…” Wren said, nodding. “Well… his fake name and the magic he’s had done explain it.”
“Tell me.” I needed to know. James Henry Bishop was a good fake name. He didn’t need to change his call name or anything. He could keep being called Henry, and no one would ever know.
“He approached a fae for a specific and powerful magic that requires a high payment. He gave up everything from his previous life for a new identity that those who did not know him well would never see through or look into. It’s…
a very complicated version of a spell we do on cars, right?
To not look too closely at speeding vehicles, keeping the human law enforcement away from us.
But for an entire person, who is trying to give up and leave an identity. ”
“Oh…” I leaned back, somewhat surprised Henry could even afford something like that.
“The payment is extreme. Every cent that person has, no matter where it came from or when. Everything on their person. There’s a reason people don’t want this spell done often.
They have to start over from nothing, and if they were well known, it can fail.
But for a small-time person who is escaping a handful of people or an area, it works really well.
Disappear into a new place and never be known again.
New paperwork, unquestioned. Anything you say about your fake identity, taken as truth, so long as the people you’re lying to don’t know you well or intimately.
Family normally gets around it, so that person should hope that family never finds them. ” He gestured at me.
“It’s like insane witness protection,” I said, shaking my head in dismay at how far Henry went to get away from whatever happened when my father died. He’d been exiled for it, whatever it was, and that would have ruined his life among vampires, from the way Alexius put it.
“Somewhat but without any support,” Wren said. “Once the spell is done, it’s up to the person who wanted it to maintain its protections. Keep away from those who might identify them from their previous life, and the like. A small-time vampire? He probably only needed to hide from you.”
“And we met right outside this very café.”
“If I remember correctly, you walked right by him. He said something. From my perspective, he recognized you first and blew his own cover, didn’t he?”