Demon Night

humans, but not every leader liked to get blood on his hands. As one of the rare nosferatu-born, Manny was the strongest vampire in the city, and he’d taken on those duties in return for modest payments.
    But when Vladimir and Katya had been killed three months before, Manny had taken their position—likely by virtue of his strength, as Ethan doubted Manny had been the one to murder them…and whoever had wasn’t stepping up to claim their place.
    Manny hadn’t been all that successful winning over the community, but perhaps he intended to change that. Money would give him a more solid foothold than strength alone. Maybe that was why he was selling out here. Ethan hadn’t seen him in this part of the city before, but Manny might be thinking to expand his territory.
    The transaction didn’t take long, and the human finally slid out onto the sidewalk. Nineteen to twenty-two years old, buzzed blond hair, undershirt, and oversized pants with the crotch hanging down near his ankles. Ethan shook his head; the only difference between this kid and fifty others Ethan had seen come out of Manny’s car was the brand names on their skivvies, and whether they cinched their belt around their ass or below it.
    The kid looked up and down the deserted street before strolling off, and Manny climbed out of his car. The silver medallions banding his black hat winked as brightly as his wheels. The brim cast a shadow down to his hooked nose and over a mustache that hung like a skinny dead ferret down the sides of his mouth.
    Ethan waited until the kid disappeared around the corner before clearing his throat.
    The tail end of the ferret twitched back to life. Manny’s eyes widened briefly and met Ethan’s before the vampire dropped into his seat. The white reverse lights flared as Manny shoved the gear out of park.
    Ethan leapt from the roof and slammed to the ground in a crouch, getting an up-close view of the Cadillac’s rear license plate. He reached just beneath and behind the bumper; once he got a good grip on the frame, he braced his elbow against his knee and lifted.
    The vampire was stubborn—Ethan had to give him that. Manny sat for a good thirty seconds with his rear tires spinning wildly, the rubber grabbing for purchase an inch above the road. Finally, he eased up on the accelerator and fired a barrage of curses over his shoulder.
    Not trusting that admission of defeat, Ethan called for him to shut it down, then waited another minute until the engine cut off.
    The air reeked of fuel. Ethan rounded the automobile; Manny grinned at him through the window and pushed down the little plastic lock.
    Ethan braced his hands on top of the car, leaned down. “You planning on playing all night? Or do I haul you out?”
    With barely a touch of his Gift, the lock popped up, straight as a toy soldier. Manny glanced uneasily at it, then slowly opened the door. His polished, pointed boot swung to the ground.
    “Drifter. I didn’t know it was you, man,” he said as Ethan stepped back to give the vampire room to stand. Even at full height, Manny had to tip his head back so far the brim of his hat was near vertical. “All I seen was some huge white dude jumping off a roof, and I didn’t want to be hanging around here when the cops come to scrape up the mess.”
    Chrome glittered over his front incisors, and matching wire wrapped the upper length of his fangs, making for a smile as pretty as the automobile’s radiator grill.
    Ethan angled his head, looked Manny up and down. There wasn’t much money to be had as a two-bit dealer, pimp, and former enforcer, but considering the sparklies the vampire sported, Ethan wouldn’t have guessed it just to look at him.
    “You dealing out here now?”
    “No, man.” Manny plucked at the third button of his striped shirt, the cotton as crisp and stiff as his black jeans. “I was just sitting here, and he just walked by.”
    That fit what Ethan had caught from Manny and the kid; the transaction hadn’t been planned, but a chance meeting.
    “Are your girls working over here?” Ethan asked, though he doubted it. Capitol Hill wasn’t Angie’s and Cora’s style. “Maybe drinking from their johns?”
    Offended machismo poured from Manny’s psychic scent. “I’m man enough for both of them.” When Ethan refrained from commenting on that, Manny pulled at the button again. “Come on, Drifter. Why are you hassling me? I haven’t done anything.”
    Ethan’s gaze fell to Manny’s