Vampire A Go-Go

“We should get in touch with Father Paul,” Pe

“No!” Sudden heat in Amy’s voice. “I need to get in touch with the Society. There are things happening, and we need to know. Come with me to the pay phone.”

“To hell with that,” Allen said.

“Then I’ll go make the call myself,” Amy said.

“If you do, I’ll run out of here as fast as I can. As soon as you’re out of sight, I’m gone,” Allen warned. “Unless you promise not to tell them where we are.”

She opened her mouth to object.

Allen cut her off. “Just tell them we’re fine. Find out what’s going on if you want to, but just give us some time to rest. Please.”

Amy went a little pink in the face, clearly frustrated.

Too bad, Allen thought. I’m tired of getting shoved around.

“Okay,” Amy said. “But you’ve got to promise to wait here until I get back. I could spell you, compel you to stay, but I don’t want to do that.”

Allen rolled his eyes. “Yes, fine. I promise. Please don’t spell me.”

“Okay. I’ll be back.”

She left. They listened to her footfalls fade down the outside stairs. The silence stretched a full minute.

“She’s very attractive, Allen,” Pe

“Oh, just… we’re not… I barely even know her and… what do you care, anyway?”

“Me?” Pe

Allen sighed, then sank into the chair. “Don’t be that way.”

“What way?”

“That way.”

“Okay, okay,” Pe

Pe

It was almost as if she was… jealous? She’d said she felt a little proprietary about him, but she’d meant like a sister. Right?

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He couldn’t think about this right now.

“My head is swimming,” Allen said. “If I don’t sleep soon, I’ll drop dead.”

Pe

He smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

“I’ll hit the market. You’ll want something to eat sooner or later.”

Allen pushed himself out of the chair and headed for Pe

“Allen?”

He paused in the doorway to her bedroom and looked back at her. “Yes?”

She smiled, warm, all earlier irritation gone from her face. “Never mind. I’ll be back soon.”

Allen crawled into Pe

Father Paul and Fi

Fi

“They left in a hurry.” Father Paul’s sharp eyes took in the small room quickly. “Just like in those chambers below Zizkov.” He nudged a damp towel on the floor with his boot. “They showered and changed.”

The big priest raised an eyebrow. “They?”

Father Paul pointed at the floor. “Two towels.” Then he pointed at the pink wad in the corner. “Women’s clothes. I saw her wearing them when we stormed the Society safe house. I think we fouled up, Fi

“We’ll set him straight, sir.”

“We’ve been doing this all wrong,” Father Paul said. “Instead of chasing after him, we need to get ahead, wait for him someplace down the line.”

“Where?”

Father Paul stuck a cigarette into his mouth without lighting it. “What’s the word on Evergreen’s apartment?”

“About a block from here. We’ve got somebody watching,” Fi

Father Paul lit the cigarette, puffed. “Let’s find out where.”

Allen opened his eyes and looked at his watch. He’d slept three hours. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, felt fuzzy-headed. He shuffled into the tiny bathroom, splashed water in his face. The dim light over the sink buzzed. The face that looked back at him in the mirror had dark circles under the eyes.

Back in the sitting room, he spotted Amy on the couch, shoes off, breathing lightly. He tiptoed past her into the kitchen. Pe

Allen,

There’s food in the refrigerator. I’m going to let you and your Friend sleep. I can tell you’ve both had a tough time. I’ll be back soon. Please wait for me.

Pe

Allen built himself a salami sandwich on dark bread with some soft kind of orange cheese. A bottle of water. He sat at the small kitchen table, chewing and considering his situation.

Had Amy kept her promise to keep her Society friends at bay? He finished the sandwich, put the plate in the sink. And where had Pe

So why did Allen feel like a rabbit with hounds on his heels?

He leaned against the doorframe between the kitchen and the sitting room, looked again at Amy curled on the couch. It could be a lot worse. He could be stuck with Clover. If he’d been on the run with the punk rock girl, he’d probably have been hog-tied with tape over his mouth, stashed in some closet.

Allen had to admit his time with Amy had not been entirely unpleasant. Perhaps that was why he’d felt slightly defensive with Pe

And yet… Pe

Okay, this was ridiculous. The completely gorgeous girl on the couch in front of him had been part of a plot to kidnap him. His close friend Pe

Allen turned away from the sleeping girl and walked softly across the kitchen. He’d promised to wait until she returned. Well, she’d returned. Yeah, he was splitting hairs, but the fact was Allen had to figure things out, and Pe

Allen needed answers. He walked quietly down the steps and headed toward the tram stop. The man who seemed to be at the core of this shit-storm would have those answers, Allen hoped.

Allen hopped the next tram headed toward Letna and Professor Evergreen’s apartment.