City of Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper (book club recommendations TXT) 📕

was moaning in an obsequious, fawning manner. I had to admit she certainly didn’t look like she was being forced into this situation.

The final vampire patron was continuing to suck from the wrist of a young man. Monroe grabbed the back of the man’s head and, with more force than was necessary, lifted it up and looked into his eyes. The man smiled dreamily. ‘Don’t stop,’ he murmured. ‘I like this.’

‘See?’ Blondie said. ‘They’re here of their own volition. They like it.’ He leered at me. ‘Want to try?’

Monroe snarled softly, fur popping out across his cheekbones.

‘Oooooh. I don’t think the wolf likes that very much. What do you think, Carter? Have we offended your delicate sensibilities, Lord Monroe?’

I reckoned it was the ‘Lord’ that did it. Monroe drew himself up, revealing every arrogant inch of the werewolf alpha he used to be. The other wolves in the bar cowered.

‘Get out,’ he said, so quietly that his words were barely audible.

The five wolves collided with each other in their haste to do Monroe’s bidding. It was comical to watch them squeezing out of the door to escape, though the barman didn’t find it funny. He glared. ‘They still have tabs open. You’d better hope they come back to pay up or I’ll be billing you.’

Monroe ignored him. ‘You are here in this community under my sufferance. If you can’t follow the laws, then you have no place here.’

‘We were all vetted when we entered,’ Blondie said. ‘And we are breaking no laws. No one is in any danger here. No one is in pain.’ He gave Monroe a pointed look. ‘Apart from you, that is. Your agony screams from your pores. I don’t normally enjoy lupine blood but I can be persuaded to drink from you to ease your hurt.’ He smiled slowly. ‘I can offer oblivion.’

Okay-dokey. Time to step in. ‘Funnily enough,’ I said, ‘we are here for that very reason. One of your kind has imposed oblivion on a human by killing them. We are trying to find the person responsible.’

Blondie shrugged, suggesting that he couldn’t care less, but the expression in his eyes told a different story. He was putting on a good show but he was discomfited by my news. ‘Accidents happen,’ he said. ‘Some people have weak hearts and underlying medical conditions.’ He pointed at the bartender. ‘Carter?’

Carter nodded and reached under the bar. Monroe stiffened as if half-expecting him to pull out a shotgun but I didn’t feel any threat. I moved to my right, brushing against Monroe to offer brief reassurance. Carter produced a clipboard and waved it in our direction.

‘Waivers,’ he grunted. ‘All legal and above board. We ran them by Julian when we first got here. He agreed them.’

If Monroe was surprised by this, he didn’t react. He took the clipboard and started to read. I scanned it over his shoulder. All feedings are undertaken with an element of risk. While all vampires will undertake to protect their meals and to limit their blood intake, they are not liable for any deaths caused by underlying health conditions. Blah blah blah. Each waiver was signed at the bottom.

Blondie’s human smiled at me. ‘That’s my one. We all know what we’re getting into.’

‘Then why get into it?’ I asked. ‘Why risk yourself like this?’

She sighed happily. ‘The euphoria,’ she whispered. ‘It’s like nothing else you’ve ever imagined. It’s better than the most potent drug.’

Blondie leaned forward, looking serious. ‘We don’t harm our meals,’ he said. ‘Not deliberately. It wouldn’t make any sense.’ He stroked the woman’s head. ‘We want them to return. Warm bodies with a pulse are the gift that keeps on giving. Dead bodies are worthless. You should be happy that we’re not using up your other food supplies. Whatever happened to your human, it was either an accident or it wasn’t a vampire. Heart attack. Betcha.’

My stomach turned. He certainly didn’t mince his words. ‘It wasn’t a heart attack,’ I said. ‘She was drained dry.’

He whitened. ‘That’s not possible.’

‘Apparently it is,’ Monroe growled. ‘I should never have allowed Julian to persuade me to let the vampires join us here. It was a mistake from the start.’

Carter took a step backwards. ‘The death happened here? In the north?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘At the Travotel.’

Blondie looked surprised. ‘Under the faery’s nose?’ He exchanged looks with the others.

His human ‘meal’ raised her head. ‘Wait. Wasn’t Philip going there last night?’

Blondie’s teeth clenched and he nodded. ‘He was.’ He looked at Monroe and me. ‘But he wouldn’t have done this. He couldn’t have. Philip is a sensitive sort. He only drinks the minimum, even when his meals ask him to take more. He’s the kind of guy who writes poetry and walks around with his head in the clouds. He wouldn’t kill anyone. And he doesn’t spend a lot of time with the other vampires. He lives on his own, away from the rest of us.’

‘Where?’ I asked urgently. We were getting somewhere. We didn’t have a motive but it certainly seemed like we had opportunity. A loner? Philip sounded like he could be our man.

Carter glared. ‘He wouldn’t have done this. He’s an annoying guy but he’s not the type to hurt someone. Even by accident.’

‘We have to find him,’ I said. ‘Valerie, the woman who was killed, put up a fight. If he attacked her, there will be evidence – if we can find it before it heals.’ I registered the growing panic in the vampires’ eyes. ‘This isn’t a witch hunt. We’re not looking to blame the nearest vampire, we’re looking to find the person who did this. It’ll be better for all of us if we can eliminate Philip – or identify him as the perpetrator. You lot don’t want this to become a lengthy investigation.’

Blondie met my eyes. ‘You already seem to think we’re evil bastards. What difference is it going to make?’

Monroe glared. Carter’s shoulders dropped and he grabbed a pen, scribbling down an address on a scrap of