Eliza Ford: Cause of Death: Unnatural

“The owner is European, apparently,” he said, “Ukrainian, or something - or so I've heard.” He grinned a little disparagingly. “Well, that's what Eddie says. He'd know. Is there a club in town Eddie doesn't frequent?”

“Eddie?” said Em, a little stupidly.

Robert looked at her. “Eddie, the mortuary technician.” He paused. “Em are you OK? You look a little...”

Em reached across the table and laid her hand on Robert's. “I'm fine,” she said. “I've just got a bit of a headache. It's nothing, really.” That was an understatement, she thought, and then she noticed Robert was still frowning at her. Under the table she rubbed her ankle up the inside of his leg. “I'm fine,” she said again.

He still looked concerned. “If you're not feeling well,” he began, and the blond waitress interrupted with their drinks.

She placed a bourbon and coke in front of Robert, something tall and red in front of Em, and was gone.

“This isn't what I ordered,” called Em quickly, but Robert was talking again.

“If you want to go...” he said.

“Robert,” said Em. “Stop worrying. I'm OK.” She looked at her drink and shrugged. What could it hurt?

The lights dimmed and the show began and as she watched Em raised the red coloured drink to her lips. The second the liquid touched her tongue Em's head snapped back and she sucked in a deep breath of air. She knew that flavour very well. She spun her head round to look at the barman. He was watching her with a wide grin on his face and a smug expression. He raised an eyebrow at her and tilted his head. It was an invitation, but Em only snorted.

She knew what he was now, and the doorman. Lower vampires, but with a considerable amount of dark matter in their beings. The type of creature that is created when one of the family devours most of a human soul and fills the rest with dark energy. Alina has been busy after all, thought Em. She looked back to the stage and recognized a few more vampires amongst the dancers. Two tables away from her a dark haired man raised his glass to her, and his date smiled at Em suggestively and then bit her lip, slowly.

It was clear they all knew who Em was, and, she thought, it was clear they knew her status too. There was a grudging respect in their sidelong glances, but there was also an overt sense of playfulness. Em had a pretty good guess as to what that was about. If Alina and her entourage could entice Em into their little bit of fun, then Em was less likely to tell her father where his latest concubine had run to. A good play, but a risky one. Em hadn’t exactly been daddy’s little girl, but when the lord of the family is jilted in so public a manner it didn’t take an idiot to realize he was going to reign hellfire on anyone found harboring his runaway wench. Alina was out of her mind, Em thought. Either stupider than Em had thought, or more arrogantly confident than was good for her.

On the stage a group of dancers crawled on all fours to the front of the stage in a tangle of bodies and black leather. One slapped a palm flat on the floor directly in front of Em and Robert and snarled like cat. She was a vampire, Em noticed. Yes, the setup here was so obvious now. Why hadn’t she noticed it before?

Robert glanced over at Em and lifted his eyebrows and smiled. He was enjoying himself, and he obviously hadn’t noticed Em’s little moment with her cocktail.

She raised her glass to her lips again and took a long drink. Shutting her eyes and revelling in the flavour she smiled a long, slow smile. Watching Alina fall was going to be so enjoyable. Em was looking forward to getting her own back on Alina for this appalling headache the wench had visited on her this week. What surprised Em was how much the drink had cleared her head. She felt fantastic now, and the pain in her temples was nearly gone.

She shifted her chair closer to Robert’s and leaned her body up against his. He looked down at her quizzically and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She kissed the line of his jaw just above his throat, then she turned her attention back to the rest of the show.

* * *

When the last of the girls trouped offstage and a glittering silver curtain had splashed down from the ceiling, the lights brightened slightly and the blonde waitress reappeared at their table.

“Will you come this way please?” she said gesturing to a doorway at the side of the stage. The doorman stood there, his black hat perched jauntily over one eye, his hands adding flourishes to the mock bow he performed to show the way.

Robert stood up. “Our tour!” he said. “I’d forgotten. Are you coming Em?”

Em had enjoyed the show and now her headache was gone she was relishing the prospect of meeting Alina again. Em and Alina had been battling each other for five centuries now, give or take a decade or so. This far from her father’s side, and plainly acting without his blessing, Alina was in a rare position of vulnerability. Em held all the cards and she was going to enjoy playing them nice and slowly.

They followed the doorman down a dingy hallway, and then exploded into a busy room dazzling with mirrors, lightbulbs, sequins, feathers and lots of tanned flesh. Dancers flung themselves out of costumers and squeezed themselves into new ones. Long legs, fake eyelashes, loosely buckled pants, big boobs and impossibly defined sixpacks. It was intoxicating, and the mix of human blood to dark matter seemed to be about half. Em found herself grinning despite herself. Robert looked like a kid at Christmas.

From across the room came a screech and a large figure with hair piled high, a gold lame gown and a fox stole came striding through the middle of the chaos. Dancers and dressers made room for her - she seemed to glide across the dressing room as if she had wings.

“Emiliaaaa,” the woman drawled. “Daarling.” And suddenly Em was engulfed in a bear hug. “It’s so delicious to see you, my dear. How long has it been? Two hundred years?” She threw Em out of her embrace and caught Robert’s eye. She laughed as if she’d made a fabulous joke. Robert smiled back, bemused. “And who is this, my darling? Don’t tell me you’re married?”

Em pushed back from the woman and stared. “Alina?” This was not the Alina she remembered. The Alina she knew was thin and pale and smiled only when her lord commanded it. This Alina had packed on a hundred pounds and … gold lame? Em was incredulous. She suddenly became aware of Robert staring at them both and realized she’d have to play along.

“Alina. It’s, erm, lovely to see you again,” Em managed. And then, regaining her composure, “I didn’t know you were in town.”

Alina’s eyes narrowed slightly. She allowed a flicker of dark energy to whisper out of her being and into the brightly lit room. Em did the same and their energies met in the space between their bodies and battled for a moment. It was over quickly. Alina didn’t seem to have the half the strength Em remembered her having, and Em had to reign her energy in sharply as Alina’s collapsed in seconds. Around them, the vampires in the room froze for a moment and stared at them, looks of hunger on their faces. The humans noticed nothing and in a heartbeat the moment was past.

“Of course I’m not married,” said Em loudly. “This is my boss, Robert Williams. You invited him here, Alina. Remember?”

Alina flung an arm expansively in Robert’s direction. “Of course I do. Our local forensic pathologist. I had the chief inspector here last week. One must always look after the authorities, don’t you think? Mr Williams, how did you enjoy our little show? Did you find it enticing? Did you find it entirely divine?” Leaving him no time to answer Alina called to a well muscled man standing close by watching. “Raoul, my darling, we promised the delightful Mr Williams a tour. Show him the sights, will you, and do take very good care of him.”