in the middle. A TV ran in the background. No one, except Ari, appeared to see anything wrong with this set up. Andreas made introductions to a silent audience, then left to get home before dawn.
Now Ari was on her own.
When the determined silence continued, she finally asked, “Interested in knowing why I’m here?” Not the most original beginning, but she had to start somewhere.
“Not particularly. Already figured it out. The vampires don’t trust us.” The speaker was Lilith, a werelion with short black hair, a pair of size D breasts, and deep angry lines creasing her face. She wore two semi-automatic handguns, one at the waist and the other in a shoulder holster.
“Any reason for them to lose trust in you?”
“No, not really.” Uncertainty flickered across Lilith’s face. “Well, maybe the attack on the prince. Which wasn’t our fault,” she muttered.
“Just let her tell us, Lil,” the werelion next to her said.
“Why else would she be here, Russell?” Lilith spat. “We aren’t so overworked we need another team member. And they put her in charge.” Lilith snorted in disgust.
“I only want to talk about this once, so pay attention,” Ari said, crossing the room and switching off the television. “Vamps don’t trust anyone. Except maybe other vamps. And never completely even then. Not you, not me. They’re suspicious and paranoid by nature. But if they thought you were a serious threat to the prince, do you really think you’d still be alive?”
She hoped a little plain talking would stop the bitching over their grievances and get them refocused on the job. Quickly.
“Frederick’s death is what brought me here. The vampires are facing an enemy that kills during daylight, and the next target could be the compound itself.” She let that sink in. “I’m here, on a temporary basis, because I’m the Guardian for this district and a practicing fire witch. I bring new skills to the group. Now you can get all bent out of shape if you want to, but somebody has to be in charge. For now, it’s me. If you have an issue with that, deal with it. I’ll be gone when this is over. In the meantime, our job is to make sure the bad guys don’t win. And to do that, we have to work together.”
Seconds ticked by, then Russell asked, “Do you play poker?” The cards made a soft slapping sound as he shuffled the deck.
Ari gave him a faint smile. “I know the difference between a straight and a flush.”
So her first day on the job started with poker. It broke the ice. Not that they became instant buddies, but the tension eased. Ari tried not to disgrace herself by stupid card play while sizing up her companions. They talked freely, except for the wolf, and by the time the game ended, Ari had a pretty good idea of the team’s individual strengths.
Russell was on the small side for a werelion but all muscle, even in human form. His movements were quick and smooth, very catlike. Not bad looking. Blondish-brown hair and somber, chestnut eyes. He was married to Lilith and her big guns. He admitted he knew some jujitsu, which drew laughter from his wife, who explained he held top status in four styles of martial arts.
The third werelion was Benny, a fair-haired, doe-eyed pretty boy with delicate features and a deadly stiletto. He was an outrageous flirt who Ari suspected didn’t discriminate between sexes or species. He had been friends with the werelion couple for twelve years.
Ari didn’t know what to make of Mike, a big, burly man, six foot three or a little more. Probably played college football. He was a werewolf, and his soft accent hinted of prior years in the Lone Star State. He didn’t have much to say, and after the second poker hand he wandered off into the other room and signed on the computer. Ari couldn’t ask about him while he was in hearing distance, so she filed a mental memo to ask Andreas.
The last guard intrigued her the most. She had never met a halfling demon before, but Maleban would never be mistaken for human. He was skeleton thin with a body always in motion. Brittle laugh, reddish complexion, spiky orange hair. Despite his exotic appearance, he was polite and painfully shy. Ari thought they’d get along. His bashful manner was oddly appealing. And he could breathe demon fire—a nice ace in the hole during a fight.