The Sharpest Kiss by Elizabeth Myles (the false prince .txt) 📕

did the math in her head. Chronologically, Kiefer was around forty-one years old, but he looked the same age as Nathan, close to thirty. That made sense, since he’d started to age normally again, from the age of eighteen, only a decade ago.

“Do we know of any other places Celia has attacked this time, other than at the Red Palm and the Holmwood Hotel?” Dara asked Kiefer, steering the conversation back on track.

“Yeah, actually,” he said. “I’ve got some laptops at home. I’m linked into every hospital in the Houston metro—so I can keep an eye on admissions and check for anything wonky. I ran a quick search before coming over here. Within the past few days there’ve been a few people who came in with wounds on their necks. I cross-referenced with recent police reports and found a couple places where these people said they’d been ‘attacked.’ No one mentioned fangs or anything, so it’s possible, of course, that they were just mugged or something, but it’s also possible at least some of ’em were vampire vics, and the details were just omitted.”

“Should we just go to some of these places?” Jessica asked. “Watch and see what’s going on? See if any vampires show up?”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Kiefer said, “but there’s something else I think we might want to try first, and that’s figuring out who dug up Celia in the first place.”

Nathan looked at his friend with interest. “You have a lead?”

Kiefer’s eyes glinted. “I might. See, when those Snacks were kicking the crap out of me, I managed to slip a token into one of their jacket pockets.”

Now Nathan looked excited, standing up straighter next to the kitchen counter.

“What’s a token?” Jessica asked.

“Just a little circle of metal,” Kiefer said, “but it’s enchanted. If I cast a certain spell, whoever’s got the disc on them will be compelled to come straight back to me. They’ll have no choice about it. No passing Go, and no collecting two hundred dollars. Not unless someone else takes the coin off them and breaks the spell.”

“We can restrain this person when he arrives,” Nathan added, “ask him if he and his companion were the ones who went to Celia’s grave and, if so, question him about who sent them there and why. Whoever ordered her release may very well have the master vampire with them now.”

Jessica looked at Kiefer. “You can do that?” she gasped, sounding impressed.

“I can do all sorts of things,” Kiefer told her, flashing his dimple. “But Nathan here’s not a big fan of magic.”

“Particularly the sort that involves compulsion,” Nathan admitted. “But in this case, I concede that it may be necessary.”

“Wait,” Lucy held up her hands. “The, uh, Snack would come here? To my apartment? He’s not going to trash the place like he did Kiefer’s office, is he?” Again, she thought about her rent deposit.

“We wouldn’t let him do that, ma’am,” Kiefer assured her.

“Maybe not,” Aaron hooked his arm over the back of Lucy’s chair, “but then he’ll know where Lucy lives. Which means he’ll be able to come back here and hurt her later if he wants. That is, assuming you’re not going to kill this thug once you’re done interrogating him-?”

“Absolutely not,” Nathan said. “This minion may be in thrall to a vampire, but he is still human. We do not kill people.”

“We could erase the guy’s memory after we’re done,” Kiefer said to Lucy. “Make sure he doesn’t remember where you live. Although Nathan doesn’t like that spell, either.” He cast a glance at his vampire friend. “He gets twitchy about anything that involves messing around with people’s minds. Which, unfortunately, is just about every form of magic I know.”

“I don’t like it, either,” Jason said. He was sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed. “The plan to bring this guy here, I mean. Aaron’s right that it’s too dangerous for a thug like that to know where Lucy lives. What if the mind-erasing spell doesn’t work, and he does come back for her later?” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t let you summon him to my apartment, I can tell you that much.”

Lucy looked at Jason in surprise. He didn’t know her at all, and yet he sounded deeply concerned about her safety. He looked worried, too, his brows gathered darkly over his eyes. And it wasn’t only him, she noticed. Dara, Jessica, Nathan, and of course Aaron, who’d brought up the issue in the first place, were also all nodding in agreement. Lucy couldn’t help but feel touched by their collective concern. It made her feel better—safer and more confident—to know everyone here had her best interests at heart.

Kiefer looked at Jason. “My spells always work,” he said, but without acrimony. “But I understand your misgivings. Maybe we should all just go somewhere else to do this magic, then?”

“How about the donut shop?” Dara suggested. “These people already know where that is, anyway.”

“True,” Nathan said, “but there is another place I think might be safer.” He and Kiefer exchanged a glance, and Kiefer flinched.

“I’m not sure, man,” he said. “No offense to your new friends here, but…the safehouse? We’ve never let anyone know where that is. That’s what makes it, you know, safe.”

Lucy watched the former vampire with interest. Obviously, he didn’t share her trust in the group, but she could understand why. He’d seen and experienced a lot more weirdness in his life than any of the rest of them, with the possible exception of Nathan. It wasn’t surprising he’d be wary of a group of strangers, no matter who they were.

“You shouldn’t feel pressured to show us anything you don’t want to, Kiefer,” she told him. “I vote for the donut shop, too.”

“Yeah,” Jason said, “I agree. After all, we’re just a bunch of random ladies and two strange vampires you just met. I probably wouldn’t trust us either. Let’s go to this donut shop.” He glanced at Dara. “Although, why a donut place