City Of Blood

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I slam the door shut behind me, then double and triple check the locks the same way I have been every night since the cage fights. I'm not sure what I expected from them, but I didn't think they'd hit me this hard. No matter what I do, I can't get the images out of my mind. Instead of increasing my resolve to do my job and find a way to bring the City Of Blood down, it's only distracting me.

With the new latch I bought firmly in place, I turn back to my small apartment. Loneliness creeps over me. There's no one who will cry out for me if I die.

"Hello?" I call out, the same as I do every time I come home.

"In the kitchen," a familiar voice answers.

Great. Just what I need. The one day I really hoped there wouldn't be anyone waiting, there is. Probably on the back of what I wrote in my report.

I drop my bag by the door and make my way to where he's waiting.

Bram leans against my kitchen side, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world, and not like he's an illegal unregistered vampire in a city which kills people for less. I'd be too nervous in his shoes. But then again, he does his job the same way I do mine. With our eyes fully open to the consequences.

"How are things going?" he asks.

"Bad." I shrug. There's no point lying. The only reason we have check-ins like this is to make sure I'm handling my assignment well. It makes me a little uncomfortable thinking of him sneaking into the city for me. I'm not sure how he gets in. Which is the way things should be. The less I know, the less can be tortured out of me if I'm caught.

He nods knowingly. "As we suspected from your last message."

I sigh. "I don't understand why you can't just send in your girlfriend and her hunters," I mutter. The ex-vampire hunters would be done within days, and no one would have to get their hands dirty. Except them, of course. But they're used to it.

"Wife," he corrects instantly. "And because we promised we wouldn't make them do that anymore." His expression hardens into one I'm not able to read.

From what I can tell, that's just part of his personality. Whatever happened to him when he was younger, he's as hard as nails now, and not the kind of vampire anyone would want to mess with. Unless he's talking to his wife, that is.

I sigh dramatically. "I know, it's just wishful thinking."

He chuckles. "I'm sure there are others wondering the same thing," he admits. "But I'm not here to talk about alternative ways to end the city."

"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow. "Do you want me to go back to the cages?" The words almost stick in my throat, but I force them out. It's my job. I must remember that, no matter how disgusted I become. It's not like I've been sent to the city to get blueprints so they can build another one.

"Not yet," Bram answers, finally unfolding his arms from across his chest.

I resist the urge to tap my foot as my impatience grows. The longer he's here, the more in danger we both are.

"We need you to go to a party."

Is he serious? A party?

"Inside the city?" It doesn't make any sense to me. How can they send me to a party after what I've seen?

"Yes." He picks a slim piece of card up from the kitchen side and hands it to me. I hadn't even noticed it sitting there.

I take it from him and scan the elegantly written words on it.

"You want me to go to one of the Mayor's parties?" It's impossible to keep the disbelief from my voice. I'm starting to realise why none of their other spies are still alive. This is reckless, to say the least.

"We need as much information as we can get."

"It seems risky," I mutter.

"It is," he admits. "We've never gotten anyone inside one of the Mayor's parties before."

That's because they keep sending vampires who look as if they've spent the past hundred years working out and drinking protein shakes. The unremarkable young woman approach is a new one.

Either that, or they couldn't find anyone more reckless than me to take the post.

"You'll be needing this," he adds.

I take the object from him, loving the feel of the smooth wood against my skin. When one of my fingers runs over a catch, I press it, and the wood splits in two, revealing a circular black fan. I click the two handles together. I turn it over to see if there's a pattern on the other side, only to be disappointed.

It's pretty, if a little boring.

"Why do I need this?" I ask, flipping it over a couple of times to see if there's something I've missed.

Bram shrugs. "I'm just the messenger. You're to take it to the party."

I want to make a snide comment about how useless his information is, but I bite my tongue. He's right. He's just the person telling me about my next job. It's not his fault we can't share many details.

"Fine." I glance at the invitation. Only two nights until I find out my answer. That'll have to be good enough.

"Oh, and one more thing," he says.

I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to continue.

"You'll need an appropriate dress for the party."

"Is nothing you supplied me with good enough?" Most of my clothes were here before I was. Now I think about it, I doubt any of them are suitable for the kind of event the Mayor holds.

"No."

I run through my finances in my head, trying not to panic about how much a suitable dress will cost.

"There's extra money in your account to cover the cost," he assures me quickly.

Relief floods through me. That's one less thing to worry about. "Thank you."

"Stay safe," he tells me, then heads towards the door. He'll be gone within minutes and we'll have gotten away with another meeting.

The moment I hear the door shut behind him, I rush to it and bolt all the locks again. They aren't likely to stop anyone who wants to get in to arrest me, but I still find reassurance in having them. And I have to make myself feel safe while here, or I'm never going to get my job done.

I lean against the wall, preparing myself mentally for the idea of dress shopping. I hate it on a normal day, but with so much at stake, I find I like the idea even less.