Chapter Eight
Lenny arrived around two. By then, Vixen and I had demolished the entire package of mint cookies and they kept fretting, glancing at the clock.
“I can’t stand being made to wait,” they said.
“You’d go nuts with Kipa, then. He’s always running late. I swear, I have to tell him we need to be somewhere a half hour earlier than we do so we manage to get there on time,” I said, laughing. “He’s trying, though.”
“You bedded yourself a wild one. I always knew you were a fireball,” Vixen teased.
I had long suspected that if I hadn’t been so much younger, Vixen might have made a play for me, but though my age didn’t bother Kipa, for some reason it bothered Vixen. I wouldn’t have taken the chance, though. As much as I liked Vixen, they could be ruthless when they were angry and I had seen them browbeating Apollo now and then. Part of me wanted to intervene, but Apollo had a mind of his own, and he belonged to Vixen—he was their boytoy and the pair of them had some sort of agreement about what was and wasn’t acceptable.
“Kipa’s wild, in some ways, yes. But there’s a side to him that not many people are allowed to see. And that side…is the side that makes me want to hold him when he’s upset, and that makes me trust him with my heart.” I paused as the doorbell rang. “Don’t tell Lenny who I am. You can tell him my name if he doesn’t know I’m a bone witch. But if you have talked about me, introduce me as just a friend.”
“No, he doesn’t know your name,” Vixen said. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, but I’ll need some time alone with him because your energy can interfere with my reading. So make up some excuse to leave us alone for about ten minutes.” I returned to the seating area and sat down in an armchair that had a good view of both sofa and loveseat.
Vixen joined me, sitting in the rocking chair. A moment later, Camilla escorted in a man who looked to be around mid-forties, with short hair that was bleached blond. He was medium height, his eyes were pale gray, and he looked fit, but not overly athletic. But his looks were the least of my concern. I shuddered as he entered the room, a malevolent aura following him. His shadow loomed larger than it should, and as I watched, it moved in directions that it shouldn’t. Crap, I’d never seen that before.
“Lenny, this is my friend Raven. Raven, this is Lenny. Raven dropped by to return something she borrowed from me,” Vixen lied smoothly. Vixen was good at lying, at underplaying a situation, and like all snakes, they could be charming all the while they were sizing you up.
Lenny stared at me warily. He didn’t extend his hand, so I stood up and thrust mine out at him. He couldn’t ignore it without being rude.
“How do you do?” I said. “Any friend of Vixen’s is a friend of mine.”
Lenny stared at my hand for a moment, then took it. His skin felt icy, but I could feel his pulse racing through his fingers, so I knew he wasn’t a vampire. He squeezed a little too hard, his eyes lingering on me a little too long. It took everything I had not to pull my hand away too fast. I could already tell he had an attachment.
Something was siphoning energy off of him, but it was more than a simple psychic leech. Whatever was back there was watching me, sizing me up, and so I raised my shields, blocking its view. That would put it on alert, but better it be leery of me than see through to how much power—and what kind of power—I actually had.
“Where do you live?” Lenny asked.
As he spoke, I could tell that something was using him as a puppet, making his mouth move. I wondered if Lenny was still in there. In some cases, a Walk-In would obliterate the original soul. In other cases, the original soul wasn’t strong enough to wrest back the body from the intruder.
“I live around,” I said, returning to my chair. “Vixen, I need my hair dryer back that you borrowed?” That was one thing I absolutely knew Vixen had. With the elaborate hair styles that they wore, they had to have every gadget and product in the world.
“Of course. I really like it, but I think I’ll stick with the one I have.” Vixen stood, giving me a wry look. “I’ll go find it.” They exited the room with one last look back at Lenny and me.
I waited for a beat. Then, clearing my throat, I said, “So, how do you know Vixen?”
“I’m their web designer,” he said, abruptly turning to stare out the window. “But I’m getting bored with the job. I’m thinking I might pick up stakes and take off.” His voice was gruff and he shifted in his seat.
“How long have you worked for Vixen?” I tried to pursue the conversation. If I could keep him talking, I could observe him. That was my best bet of deciphering what was going on.
“No more questions,” he said, turning around. For a human, his eyeshine was intense.
I stiffened, narrowing my eyes. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to intrude.”
But Lenny leaned forward, squinting at me. “I know that Vixen called me over here to set us up. Don’t even think about it, toots. I’m not interested. I don’t need arm candy.”
I suddenly realized that Lenny—or whoever was manning Lenny’s helm—thought that Vixen was trying to set us up. I could work with that.
“Busted.” I hung my head and forced myself to blush. “I’m sorry they troubled you. Trust me, given how surly you are, I’m definitely not interested. And don’t blame Vixen. I was the one who pushed them to see if they had any single friends—”
“Wait a minute. You’re one of them. You’re one of the Ante-Fae, aren’t you?” Lenny’s expression took on an interesting look, one I didn’t care for. He was sleazy and menacing, and that he had perked up when he realized I was Ante-Fae also set an alarm bell going.
“Yeah, I am,” I said. I wondered if I should come out and confront the creature, but that might not be the best idea. It would surely cause him to run for cover and then Vixen would be out of a website designer and a friend.
“So, you were looking for a date? Why are you interested in someone who’s human?”
The Walk-In was testing me. I scrambled, trying to think on my feet. “I’m not, per se. I lost my fiancé a year and a half ago. I’m just now feeling ready to date again and I’m looking to get back into practice.” It wasn’t exactly the truth but it wasn’t an outright lie, either. I had lost my fiancé, and if it wasn’t for Kipa, I probably wouldn’t be dating even now. We had instantly hit it off and that didn’t happen very often.
“Hmm, what are you?” he asked.
I had no intention on telling him that I was a bone witch, but I was stuck on what to say. I could stall but—
“I know Vixen owns the nightclub. Do you work for them?” His interruption gave me a reprieve.
I quickly said, “I read tarot cards for a living.” I left the exorcisms out of the conversation.
Lenny pulled back, relaxing. As he did so, I managed to catch a glimpse of something shifting yet again in his expression. And in that moment, I saw the face of a tired, frightened man, staring at me with pleading eyes. That was Lenny. It was so quick that I would have missed it if I had blinked, but long enough to confirm that Lenny was still inside, being held hostage. But it also told me that I had been talking to the attachment. The glimpse also told me that—whatever it was—it was stronger than he was. He couldn’t fight his way around it.