The Flame Game (Magical Romantic Comedies #12) - R.J. Blain Page 0,66
and you’re on speaker phone.”
“I had heard you acquired a treasure. A good day to you, Mrs. Chief Quinn.”
“I thought vampires slept during the day.”
“I am old, and the sun no longer bothers me as it once did. Has she been bitten yet to check her resistance, Samuel?”
My husband muttered curses. “Not yet, but if you were to bring the gorgon lady in your care to my residence, I’d permit you to see how Bailey reacts to vampires, but not until after the birth of our twins.”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering what my husband was up to.
“I see congratulations are in store. Excellent. However, I had not mentioned my lady to you. How did you learn of her?”
“We are investigating the production of gorgon dust and the utilization of rabies as a weapon. We stumbled upon her son, and the NYPD records stated his mother had disappeared. I inquired with a gorgon, who directed me to you, mentioning your lady is cloistered. As my wife cannot be infected with gorgon dust, she can do no harm to me, and our children should inherit the same abilities as my wife and I, it might be prudent to arrange visitations so she can socialize. Her children would likewise be welcome.”
“I have tried to suggest she mingle with the established hives, but she is frightened. She thinks they will blame her for another’s sins.”
“Well, I’m hoping to make that problem disappear completely. I’m tired of fetching my wife out of dumpsters to rescue rabid animals. It costs me a fortune in treatments. Add in that two of our children, who are gorgon whelps that we adopted, lost their entire hive to this mess…”
Silence fell, save for the steady clicking of a pen. Ernesto sighed. “I loathe when the machinations of men make the young suffer.”
“As do I.”
I kept quiet, wondering what other secrets I might learn about the vampire with more compassion than many men.
“You want information from Michella.”
“I want to hang Morrison from the rafters,” my husband growled. “After cutting him open and allowing crows to feast on his entrails.”
Ew. “That is gross, Sam.”
“Warranted, however,” the vampire said. “Let’s barter, Samuel.”
“I’ll bite,” my husband announced. “Remember that NY mafia group annoying you?”
“With unfortunate clarity.”
“Task force reassignments happen at the end of January, and I will leave a note for my wife informing her they deal in human trafficking and the illegal, unwilling sex trade. A pregnant, cranky cindercorn in charge of said task force will give you the results you want in a rather short period of time. If anyone can ferret the bastards out, it’s her. In exchange, you will help us eradicate the dust producers and find the source of the rabies outbreak. Be careful with your gorgon, Saven. They’ve been infecting feeder mice.”
“Feeder mice? Interesting. We do not feed her snakes feeder mice. She has milk snakes. They prefer worms, so we just go above at night and dig for her if our supply is low. In a pinch, we will go to a bait store, but that is rare.”
“She has no venom? How is she with petrification?” Quinn asked, his tone sharpening.
“Her ability to petrify is practically non-existent, but she is highly contagious. If you have someone who wishes to become a gorgon, you go to her. But she lacks the defenses of other gorgons. Even her bile is impotent.”
“Damn it. How does she infect someone if her defenses are nil?”
“Blood transfer, like lycanthropy, or extreme contact to her bile. It takes a lot of bile to pass on the contagion, however. Her snakes can infect her victim as well, so she’s not precisely without all defenses. When her snakes bite, it takes several hours for the infection to take hold, after which petrification occurs. In a week, the new gorgon will reverse to flesh. None of those she has infected are contagious.”
“How many has she infected?”
“There is a hive of twenty members who have undergone the process. They were all willing.”
“Snake species?”
“Kingsnakes except for the male. He has Oenpelli pythons.”
“Never heard of them.”
“They are endangered and may go extinct. They are found in Australia. They’re constrictors. His snakes are gray, but sometimes they change colors somewhat.”
“How are his petrification abilities?”
“The hive is aware of its weaknesses and hide. I will have them tested for rabies and treated as necessary. They do use feeder mice and rats. I helped them get supplied from local pet stores.”
“Good. If they are not infected, get them vaccinated.”