Dead Matter

Nicholas looked mock offended. “What? We can’t drink or eat for flavor?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I guess we’ve spent so much time in the Department figuring out how to fight you guys. Not really up on your culinary habits-other than the blood drinking.”

Nicholas nodded. “Besides, not everyone who works here is of the fanged persuasion.”

“Ah,” I said. I turned to Jane. Her brow was furrowed with concern. “Jane…?”

She held up her finger to shush me and I fell silent. “Do you hear that?” she asked.

I listened for a few seconds and shook my head. “No, I don’t. Sorry.”

“Exactly,” she said. “It’s far too quiet. Mr. Vanbrugh, is the building all right?”

Nicholas listened for a minute, and then headed for one of the few still-operational consoles in the room.

“No, it’s not,” he said, after a moment at the keyboard. “A lot of the systems are down, including the security systems.”

He keystroked in a few commands, then entered them again and again before the security doors to the room finally opened. A stream of workers poured in, all of them looking around at the chaos with amazement. A few of them, I noticed, weren’t shy about getting a look at Jane wearing nothing more than my coat.

We left Nicholas and his men to assess the damage to the Gibson-Case Center. I put my arm around Jane’s waist and headed us toward the door, carefully helping her step over all the shards of broken discs covering the floor. One crisis down, seventy-three to go. I didn’t know what I was going to do next on that list, other than find some clothes for my recently returned girlfriend. Something more substantial than just a necklace, anyway.

On our way from the control room down to the castle, we had to go through part of the shopping district of the Gibson-Case Center, but no one dared stop us. They all just stared. When Jane and I entered the forest and she saw the castle for the first time, Jane looked like she was dazed. When we finally went into the castle and came to Brandon’s chamber door, the blond vampire from his council, Gerard, let us in. Council seemed to be in session, and with them were Aidan, Beatriz, and Co

“Jane!” Co

“Oh,” she said, a pained look on her face. “Hello.”

Co

I took her back from him and put a comforting arm around her. “She’s a little shaken, I think. From the whole Gibson-Case-Center-eating-her business. That’ll do it to a lady.”

“Gotcha,” Co

“This is Brandon, the man we have to thank for getting someone to help rescue you. If he hadn’t set his best man to the task, I don’t know where you’d be right now.”

Brandon looked at Jane, who was simply staring at him with a big blank smile on her face.

He nodded to her politely. “Nice to finally meet you in person. I’ve heard much about you.”

“You have?” Jane said, sounding a little too bubbly for talking to the lord of the vampires.

“Jesus,” I heard Aidan whisper to his Co

I shot him a dirty look to let him know I had heard him. He looked at me and bulged his eyes. What? they said.

“She’s just disoriented,” I said. “It’ll pass. I think.”

Brandon turned to Gerard. “Find her some clothes, if you would.” Gerard nodded and blurred off toward the door.

“I was just discussing with the council what our options were for a course of action…”

“And?”

Brandon sighed. “We hadn’t even figured out when to best discuss it,” he said.

Co

I looked over at my partner. “It would appear our people have more in common with the vampires than we thought. That’s promising.”

Brandon looked at me, his brow nice and furrowed with frustration. “Do you have anything better in mind?”

“Actually,” I said, “I do. Your saboteur has toyed around enough with trying to keep your prophecy from coming true. Without knowing who exactly to get rid of, they tried to stop us all-first Co

The council erupted in an uproar of protest, but Brandon shut them down with a look. “Agreed,” he said, gesturing toward me and Jane, “but first, pants.”

I smiled, feeling a little optimistic for once. My girl was at my side, albeit pantless, and I had a plan that felt like it stood a chance of actually working.

26

Just before sunrise the next morning, Jane, Co

In the café, no one gave us a second glance, and we kept on going, heading past the coffee counter toward the black curtain at the back. I pulled it aside and the four of us continued down the main aisle of the movie theater, where Co

The offices were already busy with morning activity. Jane and I were the first to step through the door leading into the Department of Extraordinary Affairs, but Aidan remained firmly in place on the other side of it, making it impossible for Co

“What?” I said. “He can walk into the Lovecraft Café and back through the theater, but not into here?”

Co

I looked at Aidan, hoping for an answer.

“Don’t ask me,” he said, shrugging. “I’m still the new vamp on the block.”

“Fine,” I said. “You’re invited in.”

Aidan stepped forward. The second he walked through the doorway to the main office area, he stumbled and reached for the wall to steady himself. Co

“You okay?” Co

The vampire looked a bit weak in the knees. Even his customary fake breathing became labored. The skin on his face and hands looked a little more drawn-out than usual, like a plastic bag that had been overstuffed. He looked up at his brother with bloodshot eyes.

“Crossing the threshold, it was like walking through a windstorm,” he said. “I feel… fu

“Even with my invitation?” I said.

Aidan nodded, then closed his eyes as he stood there trying to pull himself together.

Co

Aidan looked like he could use a nap. Jane looked worried.