Chapter Five

Klaus was waiting for me when I got home, and he didn't look happy.

Then again, he wasn't the only one. Aaliyah wasn't happy either because of how I tricked her. Geoffrey wasn't happy because I went out without Klaus looking over my shoulder. Klaus wasn't happy because he got left out of all the fun, and Miles wasn't happy because his date wouldn't let him touch her.

But no matter how unhappy everyone was when I came back, there was some good news. Having been left out of all the action, Klaus spent the night trying to come up with our next move in the case— and he found a pretty good lead.

So, after everyone got done yelling at me for whatever I did to piss them off, Klaus took James and me into his office.

"I did some digging in BGS's research department mainframe," he said as he went to his keyboard and started clicking the keys until they started sounding like popcorn in the microwave. "And I found out that Megan Wright's ex-husband, Michael, went to prison several years ago because he had been funneling money to an off-shore account for his vampire bosses." He sounded proud of himself as he told us all of this. "In court, he confessed to everything. The account, his vampires being bosses— everything."

"That must've pissed them off." I said.

"Enough to kill his wife for revenge?" James asked. Klaus nodded.

"Maybe. I'm not saying they're suspects, but I'm also not saying they didn't have a motive. I'm just saying it seems like as good of a place to start as any. Their names are Mason Thomas and Lewis Sofer, here's the address of their company. " He said, pointing to the address on the screen.

"Well okay then! Let's go." I said, turning to walk out. But just before I could leave, James grabbed my wrist and pulled me back in.

"Oh no you don't. You've done enough painting the town red for one evening. We'll go tomorrow night, they'll still be there."

I stared down at James' hand and frowned. Nobody told me what to do, especially not some snot-nosed punk who thinks he's hot shit over in the states. He was in my town— on my turf— and momma don't take that shit.

I jerked my arm away from James. I wanted to say something witty, but everything that came into my mind didn't sound adequate enough. So instead of standing there like an idiot, I went back out to my car. The garage seemed cold, even after I turned the light on. I didn't really want to go out again. I was tired, and wanted more than anything to take a shower and wash away the bloodstains of the evening. But I couldn't admit that to James or anyone else. I was Alice Bailey, and Alice Bailey doesn't get tired when there is a vampire to find.

Sliding into the driver's seat of my car, I loathed turning the key. So much so that I actually just sat there with my hands on the wheel, trying to will myself to do it. But then, when I brought my arms down, I saw something glittering in the cup holder out of the corner of my eye. When I looked, I saw the rust colored coin Emily Wright had given me what seemed an eternity ago. I picked it up and looked at it.

The blood had already crusted across the face, tracing around the engraving of the bloomed lotus blossom. I wondered what it was for, and why Fang had one. But most of all, I wondered why my mother had one.

I got out of the car and hurried back into the house. I walked right past James without acknowledging him, and when I got into my room, I locked the door so he couldn't follow.

I had my mother's keepsake box hidden in one of the drawers in my closet, buried deep under old socks, lost headbands, antique shirts, and bathing suits I didn't even remember having.

My fingers were shaking as I lifted the box out of the drawer and carried it into my room. It was a perfectly square box with a 4 x 6 picture of our family inside. Engraved elegantly around the picture were the words: "It doesn't matter where you go, what you do or how much you have, it's who you have beside you that matter most." And under the picture were the words: "Arthur, Tabitha, Klaus, and Alice Bailey."

It felt like my throat had closed up when I saw my parents in the picture. My eyes began to burn, but I knew I wouldn't cry. I hadn't cried for a very long time. But it hurt to see my father again, looking so strong and warm… and my mother, so sweet and radiant. It was almost as if I was looking in through a glass window on happier times.

Slowly, I lifted the lid and was surprised at what I found inside. My mother had stored away the things that meant the most to her, which included the usual things: a picture I had drawn for her in kindergarten, Klaus's sonogram, a necklace my father had given her during their quick courtship, and a picture of her and her sister in gaudy yellow dresses that made them look like little tea cakes. But the thing that stood out among all of these precious memories was one single rust colored coin with a lotus design etched into it. I lifted it out of the box and compared the two.

Why did mother have this? What could possibly connect her to whatever this coin was for? So many questions ran through my mind as I sat on my bed, comparing the twin coins, until I felt my head begin to ache. I wasn't going to find anything useful, and I began to see that after a while. I put my coin in the box along with my mother's, and put it back in the closet where I got it from.

As I stripped down in my bathroom to take a shower, I caught a glimpse of the deep, jagged scars that ran all down my back. Unavoidable occupational hazards, it's hard to be a vampire hunter without getting a scar or two. They used to make me feel ugly, and to some extent they still did, but I was more accustomed to them. Now they were just a part of me.

I was surprised, though, when I looked at the arm that had gotten shot and there was nothing left but the little red line of a minor scratch. I couldn't decide what was worse: having yet another scar, or having vampire blood pumping through my veins for a whole month. After staring at the once vicious bullet wound for a moment, I decided it didn't matter anyway. The blood was there, and until the month was up, I was impervious to being turned and my senses were heightened. Besides, no one needed to know but me and Fang.

The warm water raining down from the showerhead was euphoric. The blood and dirt slid off my body with the steady streams of water, and ran down the drain. It felt like I hadn't had a shower in ages, when I had showered just that morning. It had been a long day, and when I climbed out of the shower; dressed in my PJs; and crawled into bed, I fell into a comfortable cloud of deep sleep.

v—v

^—^

That next night— after Klaus gave us the news that he had arranged for us to meet with Thomas and Sofer under my pseudonym— James and I went to Thomas and Sofer's company in downtown London. The building reached out from the ground and looked as if it was built out of millions of mirrors. The inside was just as glamorous as the outside, and the only thing that didn't simply scream elegance was the pasty little man standing behind the front desk, typing away on his laptop.

I gave James my best let-me-handle-this expression, but he shook his head to it. I gave him a quizzical look, and he leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"You're not exactly the sweet-and-social type. Let me handle this, and if things start to get out of hand, I'll let you bully him, okay?"

My skin erupted in goose-bumps when I felt his warm breath against my ear, and having him anywhere near that close to me made my heart hammer painfully against my chest. I hadn't even realized it until I had nodded and we were walking up to the front desk that my fingers were shaking.

"Excuse me," He said to the little man behind the counter, who looked at us distrustfully. "We're here to see Mr. Thomas and Mr. Sofer; I believe we have an appointment. Alex Braxton?"

I wasn't sure if the little man would believe James, and I became less sure even after he began typing away on his laptop. He had no reason not to, but for some reason I just didn't think he would. This was why I was so surprised when he gave us the okay to go on up to their office. James smiled smugly at me as we walked towards the elevator, and wasn't fazed one bit when I gave him the meanest look I could come up with.

Their office was on the top floor, but it may as well have been on the other side of the world. Being stuck in the elevator with James was pure torture. I couldn't keep from stealing glances at him through the reflective metal door, and each time I found myself admiring something new about him. I liked the way his hair swept across his forehead and fell in the way of his big brown eyes, and how he was thin and masculine at the same time— the right kind of body type for a man. Strong enough to hold his own, but thin enough to wrap your arms around…

I glanced up at the numbers above the door. Could we be moving any slower? The longer I spent in that damned elevator with him, the more my throat felt like it was closing up and my whole insides were collapsing. James was making me claustrophobic, and I needed to get out.

When the doors opened, it couldn't have been much different than recovering from a surprise— and forceful— dunk in a pool. It felt like I wanted to gasp for air, but I didn't. I remained calm, cool, and collected as he and I walked down the hall to Mr. Thomas and Mr. Sofer's office.

I knocked on the door. Moments passed, and when I thought about knocking again, the door was opened.

The man who opened the door looked almost like a badly aged fifty-year-old with a horribly colorless complexion. The man was undeniably a vampire.

"You must be Alex Braxton," said the vampire. I watched his eyes dart between us, as if he was trying to figure out which of us was Alex Braxton.

"Yes, I am." I said, making his eyes land, and stay, on me.

"We've been expecting you," He said, opening the door wide enough for us to walk in. We did, and saw another man sitting behind the desk. He looked roughly the same age as the vampire who had opened the door, except his hair was considerably whiter. "I'm Mr. Sofer and that's my associate, Mr. Thomas."

"Pleased to meet you both," James said politely. He was the only one who could say it. I was standing so rigidly beside him that any politeness on my part would've been impossible. I was far too busy trying not to pull out my guns and shoot until the walls were painted with vampire blood.

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Thomas asked, standing up and walking gracefully over to Sofer. "It's not every night we get a visit from the White Bandit herself. It better not be anyway."

"Have anything you'd like to say about Megan Wright's death?" I snapped instantly. I had hoped to gracefully move up to the subject, but what the hell? I didn't like to beat around the bush anyway.

"Just that it's a sad thing. She was such a pretty woman."

He didn't sound too regretful of her death, but that didn't surprise me too much.

"We would also like to be of service to you in finding whoever did this."

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Aside from not wanting to be suspects, it's every vampire's duty to make sure no one shines that much light on our kind." Sofer said. "Otherwise, we would quickly be wiped out. Superstition is our best weapon, and it's that kind of thing that permits us to hide from mortals. Whatever vampire did this, if a vampire did do this, it needs to be taken out."

I hated the idea of helping a vampire. I hated the idea of doing anything except placing my guns against their foreheads and making soup out of their brains. But Sofer made some very valid points, and if worst came to worst I could always come back to their company and kill them. So basically it was a win-win.

"What've you got?"

"Have you ever heard of a goblin named Balor?" Sofer asked, James and I shook our heads. "Do you even know what goblins are?"

"Of course we do." I lied, but I assumed Klaus could find something on them and tell me anyway. No reason to look stupid in front of the enemy.

"Of course, why would I think otherwise? Balor lives in the sewers underneath Hyde Park. You can find a direct route to his home through a drainage pipe."

I didn't know whether or not I wanted to believe him. For all I knew, he could be leading me into a trap. But no matter how heavily the possibility weighed on my mind, it didn't stop James and I from heading to Hyde Park from their office in search of the goblin.

As we made the drive from their office to the park, Klaus told me that he found something on goblins, just as I'd hoped he would. Apparently, according to BGS; if you want to know or find something, you go to a Goblin. I was hoping for something more, but beggars couldn't be choosers and what Klaus found was good enough for me. It was also around this time that I suddenly realized that the file didn't say what Megan Wright did for a living before she died— if she did anything at all.

James and I met up again at the park, where I told him what Klaus had found out as the two of us searched for the drainage pipe that Sofer had told us about. Just when I was starting to think that maybe we'd been tricked, we found a large circular pipe sticking out of an avalanche of white rocks far, far away from where all the fun of the park would've taken place, had it been daylight.

I hated the idea of crawling on my stomach through a pipe that led into the sewer, but I had no choice. So, with much distaste building up inside of me, I laid my stomach down against the pipe and began to crawl, James following behind me.

A lot of things made the journey unpleasant. Not only did having James crawling behind me— with a great view of my hindquarters— make me nervous, but the further we crawled into the pipe, the worse the smell got. By the time we were able to come out, I was doing everything I could to remember to breathe through my mouth.

We were standing in a living room sized area with a cot in the far corner across from a small, old looking computer, a fridge in the far corner, and a TV in front of a torn-up couch. Everything standing in ankle-deep sewer water. In the center of the room stood who I guessed was Balor.

He was an ugly little creature with fangs too big for his mouth, black spikes all down his back, and dark gray skin that looked made of tree bark. His jet-black claws were bigger than his hands, looking sharp enough to cut through a buzz saw.

When he saw us, he didn't growl, or shout, or anything. All he did was smile at us with those enormous yellow teeth.

"Are you Balor?" I asked. He nodded.

"The one and only. But you don't need to introduce yourself, I know who you are."

"Oh do you?"

"You don't get a reputation like yours and expect not to have every monster in the city not know you, White Bandit," I resisted the urge to proudly grin, I was glad that my title had become so famous.

"Do you know about the Wright murder?" I asked.

"Of course I do. News travels like wildfire, especially when a vampire might be involved. But that's what you're doing here, isn't it? You're the little huntress the Black Glove Society hired to sniff out the culprit."

It was unbelievably unnerving that Balor knew all of that on his own. But I didn't show it. "Can you tell me what Megan Wright's job was before she died?"

"Only that? I can manage that. But you see, we've got a problem. Knowledge comes at a price, and I need to know how much you're willing to spend."

I sighed. "How much do you want?"

Balor laughed, deep and throaty. "Goblins don't have much use for money. We're not usually welcome in shopping malls, if you can believe it."

I was getting sick of this. I didn't have all night to try and negotiate a trade with a goblin, so I did the only thing I thought might just work. "Okay. How about I promise not to tell the Black Glove Society that there's a Goblin living under the park? I'm sure they'd love to get their hands on a Goblin to dissect."

Though I could hardly see much expression in those big, ugly eyes of his— I could've sworn I saw a look of disgust wash over his face. "Ugh, sounds fair enough. But next time you pay for your information like everyone else. Megan Wright used to work as a prostitute on Comberwell Church Street. If you're looking for your next move, I suggest you start there."

"A prostitute?" I asked, not entirely believing it at first.

"Yeah, you know the kind of women who stand on street corners and get paid to pull up their skirts? One of those." He laughed, "You've been skulking around the underworld hunting vampires, but you've never heard of a prostitute?" I gave him an angry look.

"I just didn't expect it,"

"Why? Because she has a kid? Wake up and smell the urine sweetheart, even prostitutes have kids. Some call them trick babies."

"That's not why!" Even though it was, I didn't want to admit it. It made me sound like a bad person.

"Well, you better get to Camberwell before all the brides of darkness turn in for the day." I nodded.

"Thank you, Balor," I said as I turned to leave. Even though I hated saying thank you to any of the monsters in the city, he was one of the few that didn't try to screw me over or exploit me. He, of all of them, deserved it. James waited beside the drainage pipe for me.

"Just don't forget what I said," He said, "Next time you need something you're gonna have to pay for it like everybody else."

"Fair enough," and it really was. I hadn't entirely expected the one freebee that I got, and I wasn't greedy. But I was grateful for it.

I could feel him watching us from behind as we crawled into the drainage pipe to leave. I half-expected him to attack us while we were in the small space, practically helpless, but he didn't.

Our next stop: Camberwell Church Street.