I caught him by the shoulders, steadying him, as I tried to come up with a coherent response to his estimation of my childhood. I had a great childhood, but how do I say that without sounding defensive? I belatedly realized that I was possibly overstepping his boundaries by touching him, and I froze.
Before I had time to spiral in my doubt, Grove regained his balance. “Woops, thanks, Blood.”
I let him go and backed up to give him space. “Sure.”
Ahead of us, Brody tipped his head back sniffing the air. “One of the bars has a new special this month—deep fried pickles,” he announced.
“Does it smell good?” Grove dusted himself off, then trotted up to the werewolf.
“Pretty good, yeah,” Brody said.
I followed the pair, stiffening when my slayer abilities kicked in and I felt the wispy presence of a vamp. “Vampire,” I called, keeping my voice soft.
“Aww, now that takes all the fun out of sneaking up on you,” Considine said, his voice coming from directly behind me.
I swung around, pulling a dagger from my belt while simultaneously backing up towards Grove and Brody.
Considine cocked his head, and I briefly saw a bright flash of teeth as he smiled, everything but his lips and chin shadowed by the spell woven into his hooded jacket. “What, no greeting? I’m hurt.”
There’s no harm in being polite to him. Vampire elders are usually sticklers for that kind of thing.
“Good evening, Ruin,” I said.
“There we go—good evening, Slayer.” Considine rolled his shoulders back. “Out on patrol with the dog and the poisonous fae, I see?”
“Yes,” I said. “If you’ll excuse us, we should keep moving—so we can maintain our schedule.”
“No worries,” Considine said—he sounded weirdly modern for a vampire who had been turned in BC times. “I’ll just come along!”
“Uhhh,” I said, my brain scrambling to process what he said—because there’s no way he’d actually just said what I heard.
Ruin, unbothered, strolled past me and paused next to Grove and Brody. “You two—to the back.”
“Blood always brings up the rear,” Brody said.
“How lucky for you, but not tonight. Go.” Considine pointed back behind me.
Grove shrugged and marched down the boardwalk, circling behind me.
“Grove,” I called, my awkwardness falling away as I switched into work mode. “He’s not with the department—you don’t follow his orders!”
“You don’t have to,” Grove said. “But I do. My self-preservation is way too good to take on a vamp of his caliber.”
“We don’t even know what caliber he is,” I protested.
“I know he’s enough to make you nervous, which means Brody and I should probably be squealing like dryads who’ve seen a chainsaw,” Grove said.
Giving up on Grove, I took a few big steps forward so I stood shoulder to shoulder with Brody, shoring him up. “You’re not coming on our patrol—it would be a conflict of interest, and incredibly unprofessional.”
“Fine.” Considine shrugged. “How about a quick five-minute fight as a consolation prize?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Considine said. “Is it because you don’t think you have the advantage? I’ll refrain from using my right hand during the fight—at least until I need to. How about that?”
“Good evening, Ruin.” I nudged Brody, steering him away from the boardwalk and back towards the businesses that lined the lakeshore. Grove followed so closely he stepped on Brody’s heels, and the silence of the lakefront was ruined only by the muffled laughter of humans on Main Street and the lap of water brushing the lakeshore.
“Come on—I won’t hurt you. Much,” Considine complained as he strolled along behind us. “I’ve said it before—you’re too much fun to risk killing. And I’ll have you know I am feeling more than a little peeved that I put myself out for you to kill that stupid serpent, and you still are wary of me.”
He’s Considine Maledictus, I reminded myself. No matter how casual and charming he acts, he’s a vampire who is over two thousand years old. I can’t doubt these facts or he’s going to pull me into his speed.
Ruin/Considine’s friendliness was probably the best weapon he had. He was an elder vampire: he could use his pheromones to daze Brody or Grove, but instead he cajoled me and spouted witty remarks.