I shake my head at the sound of my real name. I don't know how Frangelico found it. The last person to call me Broderick was my mother. The king just calls me that to mess with me, but I won't stoop to telling him to stop. That's a power game I won't win.
Frangelico crosses to the bar and pours himself a glass of wine. I refuse his offer of a drink and wait as the king holds the glass up to the light, swirls the red liquid, brings the glass back down to take a deep sniff and on and on. He does everything but marry it before taking a sip. "I take it you have something to report?"
I tell him everything I've found, with one exception. Jordy. I leave out any mention of her. Just because the king and I are allies doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. I'd rather keep Jordy off his radar.
"So your sources told you of the movements of the shifter slavers, and from there you discerned the location of the auction house?"
"I found this." I pull out the flyer of the theater and smooth it before handing it over the king. He studies it briefly before handing it back.
"I had a lead that led me to the theater first," I admit, in case Frangelico has me followed.
"A lead?"
"Confidential." I fold the flyer and put it back in my pocket. "But obviously correct. Your vampires are playing around behind your back."
Frangelico sighs and heads to the French doors looking out onto a stone patio. The doors open as he approaches and he exits. I follow, staying a few feet behind him as he leans against a column. His throat works as he tips back his drink.
He listens as I tell him all I know about the secret club. "There seems to be a contingent of your vampires who has a taste for submissive shifters. A new type of sweetbloods."
"Ah yes." He swirls the dregs of his glass. "Shifter submissives. One of my vampires has mentioned his sweetblood has gone missing. A pet fox, I believe."
I freeze, schooling my features carefully.
"You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" He smiles when I don't answer. "I admit, I've been lax about my children. I indulge them. It's so hard to create a vampire, you see. So I tend to keep them alive, even when they turn against me." His smile, half hidden behind his wine glass, is chilling.
"You've had evidence of a coup for some time now."
"Ah yes. Little Nero and his bid for an empire." Frangelico taps a finger against his glass. The moon has risen, washing the mountains with ghostly light. The polished columns of his portico frame the desert vista perfectly. The mansion is on a hill, too, facing east as if waiting for the first touch of dawn's early light.
I wonder how long it's been since this vampire saw a sunrise. Frangelico is old, older than anyone knows. It'd wear on me, all those years in the dark.
As the silence stretches, I resist the urge to move or cough, to remind the vampire king that I'm here. Just because Frangelico is as still as a statue, his profile limned with silver-grey moonlight and frozen like a Roman emperor's face on a coin, doesn't mean that he's forgotten I'm here.
Finally Frangelico straightens. "It's an incredibly difficult process to sire a vampire," he murmurs, still not looking at me. I get the feeling he's talking to himself instead of me. "So much time and blood. So many defeats. And when it finally works..." He sighs and bows his head. "You still have to support them. Wean them. Such a delicate process to produce another of my species. Humans blink and pop out brats. That's why they'll win in the end. They'll breed us out."
He turns and I avert my eyes.
"I used to think it right that our food was so plentiful. So prolific." A mocking smile curves his lips and I resist the urge to back away. Nothing scarier than a smiling vampire. "I thought that if I created enough vampires, I'd bring balance to the world. Like introducing wolves to Yosemite, to bring down the overpopulated deer." He looks at me then. "You must be amused, hearing me compare our species to wolves."
Nope, not amused. Fucking terrified. I don't know why Frangelico's getting all nostalgic and ranty, but I don't want to know. Some monsters are better left in the dark.
"Anyway," Frangelico moves back into his living room, and the moment is broken. "It seems my sired are rising against me," he says coolly. "Not just Nero, but a large contingent. There may soon be some…unpleasantness."
Unpleasantness. Another way to say 'complete slaughter of my enemies'. Another sign I've been working with Frangelico too long, I know exactly how he understates things.
Frangelico continues, "I understand if you wish to decline the remainder of this job."
"Nah," I say. "I'll see this through."
Frangelico's features flicker. "I did not expect you to say that. I thought you would be relieved to return to your quest to avenge your fallen family."
"Oh, I'm not giving up on that," I say grimly. "As soon as I get to the bottom of this, I'm back on the hunt for that murdering bastard."
"As much as I wish for you to focus on the business I assign you, I admit I am impressed by your dedication. I wish I could help you more on your quest." Before I can tell him how he can help me, he continues, "You have spoken of this vampire before. Are you any closer to finding out his identity? Then I might be able to help."
"The only thing I know is he's male. Tall. Big."
"With one eye, you told me."