Blood Debt

isn't."

    Henry ignored him. "There's an empty condo across the hall with an identical layout to this one. It wouldn't take long to secure the small bedroom. The woman who owns it recently died. I called her companion on the way in…"
    "You have a cell phone?"
    "Try to keep up, Detective; these are the 90s. Anyway, Mrs. Munro is leaving to spend the next week with her son in Kamloops and has graciously allowed us the use of her late employer's condo."
    "Nice of her."
    "Isn't it; but I assure you my persuasions were, for the most part, monetary. While Mrs. Munro is likely to receive the lion's share of the estate, she's just lost her job and will have no income until after the will clears probate. I swung around and picked up the keys and I think it should suit our purposes." He drew a key chain out of his pocket and threw it to Vicki who snatched it one-handed out of the air.
    And threw it back. "It never occurred to you to ask me what I thought?"
    "You can always spend the day locked in your van," he reminded her.
    "The hell you can, it's already been ripped off once." It gave Celluci great pleasure to ignore Henry's startled exclamation. "Take the keys, Vicki. He asked you to come here, it only makes sense he finds you accommodation.''
    Reluctantly, Vicki held out her hand. "If you put it that way…"
    "That's exactly how I put it." He waited until the keys had changed hands once again, then he continued. "My second point concerns territory and keeping the two of you from each other's throats. This is a big city. Why can't Vicki hunt an area you don't use? You seemed to have implied that was possible back when that other vampire moved into Toronto."
    "Unfortunately, Detective, it isn't just the hunting, it's all contact. I have shared cities in the past, but there have been very clear boundaries drawn with neutral areas in between. Our paths never crossed."
    Vicki broke in before Celluci could respond. "Wouldn't work, Mike.
    If I'm going to find out who offed our restless spirit, the restrictions of the night will be more than enough. I don't know, can't know, where leads are going to take me until I'm there, and very clear boundaries will only get in the way."
    "Uh, I've got an idea that might help."
    Vicki spun around, then glared, not at Tony but at the other two men. "Why didn't you tell me he was there? Both of you were facing the kitchen!"

    "Very careless, Vicki." Henry fell easily back into his role of teacher and guide because at least that role had parameters he understood.
    "You should have known he was there. Caught his scent. Heard his heartbeat."
    "His scent permeates this apartment. And his heartbeat got lost in the sound'of the dishwasher."
    "The perils of the modern vampire," Celluci muttered.
    Tony grinned as he stepped forward. "And that's my point. You guys are modern vampires. I mean this not sharing a territory stuff probably made sense back in the Middle Ages when villages were only like a couple hundred people and more than one vampire would be kind of noticeable, but this city has nearly three million people in it."
    "He has a point," Vicki allowed. "There're probably as many people in this condominium complex as in a good-sized village of the 1500s."
    "But it is my city…"
    "Jeez, Henry, you've never even been to West Vancouver. There could be another vampire, six ghouls, and a family of aliens over there for all you know, and you already said cities can be divided. That has nothing to do with this.
    "Look, it's an attitude thing." Tony stopped just outside the perimeter of the triangle. "You've said it yourself, Henry, times don't change you, so you have to change with them or be left behind. And when you get left far enough behind, well, the next thing you know, you're spreading your towel for that last sun tan."
    "Last suntan?" Vicki repeated with an incredulous look at Henry.
    "I never said that."
    "Maybe not those exact words," Tony admitted, "but that was what you meant." He grew suddenly solemn and fixed both Vicki and Henry with an intent, worried stare. "Change or die, guys."
    After a long moment, Vicki shrugged. "Look, I'm not trying to take over your territory, and there's plenty of food here for both of us, so we can't logically be a threat to each other. There's no reason we can't put up with each other for the duration."
    "Listen to your blood and tell me you believe that."
    "I'm listening to my brain, Henry. You should try it some time."
    He growled. She echoed it. They