"I can only tell you what I've heard. But you know Byron?"
Raj nodded.
"Yeah, well, his partner Serge disappeared a few weeks back. At first I thought he'd just moved on, what with Krystof the way he is. But Serge wouldn't have gone without Nina—that's his longtime squeeze. She's a f**king ghost since he's been gone, and Byron's not saying nothin'. That's who you should be talking to."
Raj frowned. “They still have that video store in the city?"
"Yeah, but you're just as likely to catch them at home. I hear Byron's not really paying attention to business these days."
Raj and Emelie stood up, followed by Mick. “All right,” Raj said. “Thanks, Mick. Good job here, by the way."
Mick put a hand over his heart and bowed again. “Thank you, my lord."
"Yeah,” Raj said. “Okay. We're out of here, Em."
Em followed Raj's quick steps across the grass and back to the BMW. “Keys,” he snapped. She handed them over with a sigh.
"I knew it couldn't last,” she muttered.
Raj barely heard her. “You or any of the guys hear anything like that in the other blood houses?"
"No, my lord. Not a whisper. Just that the houses are overcrowded, and like I told you before, no one so much as blinked at our unknown faces, although I did tell the guys to tamp down the power levels, make it seem like they were fresher than any of them really are."
Raj frowned. Old vamps. He had to find out who was missing besides Serge. If the missing vamps were strong enough to pose a challenge, it could be someone eliminating the competition before making a play, but if not . . . He didn't know Byron and Serge that well, but Serge had never struck him as the type to strike out on his own and Byron was weak.
He dropped into the driver's seat and started the car. “Byron and Serge live in the city close by the store, maybe even the same lot. See if—” But Em already had the address and was entering it into his dashboard GPS, her Blackberry in hand. “Nice,” he said.
"I live to serve, my lord."
"Right,” Raj snorted.
The video store was dark when they arrived, which was consistent with what Mick had told him, but still surprised Raj. Byron and Serge had always stayed open late, since their fellow vampires were some of their best customers, especially the old ones who were slow to accept the newer technologies. He circled around the block to the modest house which sat right behind the store. This was an older part of town, from when a lot of merchants lived in the same building as their businesses. With the rise in inner city crime, most of the stores had relocated long ago, but two vampires had no need to worry about crime. A single demonstration of the consequences, and the local hoods pretty much left the store alone.
He and Em crossed to the small, neat house. “Think anyone's home?"
"Everything's closed up pretty tight, but there's at least one human inside,” Em said, concentrating. “And a vamp too."
"Byron and Nina, if Mick's right. Okay, let's ring the doorbell like the unwanted guests we are."
They made no effort to be quiet, letting their boots thud on the wooden porch and hitting the pretty, little doorbell hard and long. Raj waited one minute and rang again. If Byron had the brains God gave a hamster, he'd know that not only were there two vamps on his doorstep, but that either one of them could rip the door open without the courtesy of ringing the f**king doorbell.
A slice of dim light split the doorframe as the door cracked open and Byron's pale face came into view. He stared at Raj for a long time, glanced at Emelie and back at Raj, then pulled the door wider and pushed open the screen door. “Come on in,” he said listlessly.
Emelie pushed past Raj to go in first—she was becoming a regular pain in the ass when it came to his security. He caught a brief flash of movement in the back hallway—Nina, he assumed. Byron made a soft sound of distress, and Raj turned to find the other vampire watching him fearfully.
"I won't hurt her, By. You should know that."
Byron's shoulders slumped. “I don't know anything anymore, Raj. Not a f**king thing.” He looked around as if not knowing where to sit, as if it wasn't his own house they were standing in. Finally, he gestured toward what was obviously the living room and led them in that direction, flipping a switch as he walked into the room. A standing lamp came on in the corner, highlighting a big comfortable chair and an old table filled with books. Flanking it was a long overstuffed couch, with one of those handmade blanket things thrown over the back. The light was bright enough to read by, but soft enough for a vampire's eyes.
"Have a seat,” Byron said. He headed for the big chair, but paused, and with a glance at Raj, settled on the couch instead, scooting down to make room for Em, careful to leave enough space between them that they wouldn't have to touch.
"Thanks,” Raj said. He sat on the big chair, but didn't settle back into it. He felt like an intruder in this house, in this room. “Sorry to bother you, By."
"It's no bother. I guess I knew you'd get here eventually."
"Why was that?"
Byron studied Raj's face carefully before answering. “Because something's going on.” His voice trembled with an anger that grew with every word. “And someone told you about Serge, or you wouldn't be here. So don't play f**king games with me, okay?"