Tricked

It would be better to remove her from the premises and make sure no other vampires were around. I also wanted to check on Oberon.
    » Enough playing. Tell me who this man is or I will tell Zdenik, « she said to Leif. And those were her last words. I completed my binding, and she discovered that it was simply impossible to open her mouth. Eyes widening in shock, she conveniently lifted her hands to her mouth for me, and I was able to execute a shorter, » repeat « binding, with just a small adjustment of the target: Now her hands were also bound to her mouth, and panicked noises were trying to bubble out.
    » Grab her around the shoulders like you’re buddies, but don’t let her go, « I said to Leif in Old Norse. As he moved to obey—she struggled a bit before he could secure his arm around her—I began one last binding on her jeans: I bound the inseams together so that she wouldn’t be able to run. In this way, she was immobilized inside of fifteen seconds without a single punch thrown or a scream to summon would-be heroes.
    Her desperate noises were attracting attention, however, some scowling faces wondering why that woman was so upset and whether the men had anything to do with it.
    » It’s her food allergy, « I said in English, a bit louder than I needed to. » We’d better get her to the doctor. Come on. « Some of the nearby patrons’ expressions changed to pity for the poor lady with an allergy.
    Now that he was clued in to the ruse, Leif played along. » Let’s get you outside, « he said consolingly, also speaking a little bit louder than necessary, to reassure anyone listening in. Using only his left arm to squish her side next to his, he basically carried her out of the restaurant, lifting her up a bit so her feet wouldn’t drag on the floor. With her hands pressed to her mouth, Natalia plausibly looked and sounded like she was having trouble with something she’d eaten.
    » Stay here, « I told Granuaile before following Leif. » We’ll be back as soon as possible. «
    » I’m coming, « she said, moving to stand.
    » No, « I said firmly. » I really need you to remain here. « If there were other vampires outside, I didn’t want Granuaile to become an easy target. » Seriously. «
    She studied my face to see if there was any give in my expression and found none. She slumped back, clearly displeased but not about to fight me on the subject.
    » Thank you, « I said, then hurried to catch up with Leif.
    Oberon! I called, mentally shouting as I darted past tables to the front door.
    › Huh? What? ‹
    Oh. You’re okay?
    › Yeah, I’m fine. Are we going now? ‹
    I breathed a sigh of relief as I reached the exit. Thank the gods of twenty pantheons. Why didn’t you answer earlier?
    › I didn’t hear anything. ‹
    I called you twice , I said as I looked around for Leif. He was to my left, still carrying Natalia, heading next door toward a convenience store with a few gas pumps in the front; we’d left Oberon in the parking lot, to my right.
    › Oh. Um. ‹ His tone became apologetic. › I may have taken a short nap, Atticus. I’m sure it was very short though. Next time, remember to ask for the non-drowsy yak liver. ‹
    Walk to the sidewalk and turn left , I told him. You’ll see me there. Follow behind and watch for vampires, please. Maximum paranoia. Don’t forget the roofs .
    › Okay. I see you now. Only vampires I can sense are the ones in front of you. Leif and that one from earlier. ‹
    All right. Keep me informed of any developments .
    Leif paused at the end of the building and swung around to check on what I wanted to do. I jogged to catch up and pointed to the sliver of space between Granny’s Closet and the convenience store.
    » Dumpsters should be back there, « I said in Old Norse. No use getting Natalia even more riled up. Yet.
    As casually as we could, and with Leif still pretending that the arm around Natalia was protective, we walked the thirty yards or so to the back of the building and slipped out of sight of all the traffic on South Milton Road. We found the big industrial trash bins and I threw open the lid, startling a few hardy flies that were battling the chilly temperatures.
    I’m dissolving your camouflage, Oberon. Please make sure no one follows us back here .
    › Got it. ‹
    » Toss her in, « I said to Leif, purposely using English. Natalia heard that, made a supreme effort, and managed to separate her legs, tearing her jeans right down the