Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

I’m worried,” Naomi lied. I could hear it in her voice.
    â€œSee, the professor here has leukemia.” The younger girl took out a quart of milk and drank out of the carton. “As long as she’s playing blood bank, Stefan’s return donations keep her cancer in check. If he quits”—she made a choking, gasping sound, then gave Naomi a faint pleased look. “In return she acts as Stefan’s business manager—paying bills, doing the taxes…shopping. Hey, Naomi, we’re out of cheese.” She replaced the carton and shut the fridge.
    Naomi slid off her chair and faced the younger girl. “If he is dead, that means no more free ride for you. Maybe you should go back to your mother and her new husband. At least until the Mistress finds you and gives you to another vampire. Maybe Andre would want you.”
    The teenager just stared at her, her gaze coolly mocking. Naomi turned to me and said, “She doesn’t know any more than I do.”
    She glared at the girl one more time, then stalked off. The girl had come out the clear winner in their engagement. I found myself thinking she’d make a good wolf.
    â€œI’m Mercedes Thompson,” I said, turning on the stool so I could put my elbows on the butcher-block table and lean back in a nonthreatening manner. “I’m looking for Stefan.”
    She glanced around as if looking for him, too. “Yeah, well he ain’t here.”
    I nodded my head and pursed my lips. “I know. One of the wolves he was with last night was returned to us in very bad shape.”
    She raised her chin. “You aren’t a werewolf. Stefan said.”
    â€œNo,” I agreed.
    â€œAnything that could take out Stefan could wipe the floor with old Andre out there.” She jerked her chin toward the front door. “What makes you think you can help Stefan?”
    â€œMarsilia believes I can.” I watched the impact of the name hit her. For a moment, even with the veil of dark hair that covered her face, I caught a glimpse of the fear that rose from the depths of the house. Everyone here was very afraid. The house reeked of it.
    â€œIf Stefan doesn’t come back,” she told me very quietly, suddenly sounding much older, “I think we’re all dead, not just Doctor Tightbritches. Sooner or later, we’re all gone. The Mistress won’t want us free to blabber about them . So she’ll farm us out to the rest of her vampires, put us in their menageries. Most of them aren’t as careful with their food as Stefan. No control when they’re hungry.”
    I didn’t know what to say that didn’t sound like a platitude, so I picked a thread out of her speech and plucked it. “Stefan keeps you alive longer than the others are able to?”
    â€œHe doesn’t kill those of us in his menagerie,” she said. I remembered that the London Zoo had once been known as a menagerie. She shrugged with studied casualness. “Mostly, anyway. When he gets us, we have to stay a couple of years, but after that, ’cept for Naomi—and that’s hardly Stefan’s fault either—we’re free to go.”
    â€œWhy a couple of years?” I asked.
    She gave me a “how stupid are you?” look. “It takes that long for him to establish enough of a connection to make sure we won’t go telling anyone we meet about vampires.”
    â€œHow long have you been with Stefan?”
    â€œFive years this August,” she said, though she couldn’t be over twenty. I hid my shock, but not well enough because she smirked at me. “Twelve. I was twelve. Stefan’s a big step up from my folks, let me tell you.”
    Vampires are evil. Funny how I kept trying to forget that about Stefan.
    â€œYou probably know more about vampires than I do,” I told her, changing my tack so I could get a little more information. “I grew up with the werewolves, and even though I’ve known Stefan a long time, most of our conversations are about cars. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”
    â€œWhat do you want to know?”
    â€œHow much do you know about the thing that he was hunting?”
    â€œHe doesn’t talk to us much,” she told me. “Not like he used to talk to Daniel. He said it was a vampire demon thingy.”
    I nodded. “Close enough. Apparently if I can kill the vampire, the demon will just go away.