Vampire Alley by Celia Roman

Author:Celia Roman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: urban fantasy, urban fantasy mystery, contemporary fantasy, strong female protagonist, private detective, private investigator, shifters, vampires
Publisher: Bone Diggers Press
Published: 2024-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Jabari stopped outside a door in the far wing of the house, on the second floor near where David’d originally been housed. He knocked once, then opened the door without so much as a by your leave. “Mirabel, darling? I’ve brought company for you.”

I stepped in behind him and looked around as subtle as I could. This room was furnished a bit different than Mama’s and David’s, in sleek modern furniture, all glass and dark wood. I peeked around the wall and discovered that it was twice the size of theirs, too, with one half kitted out as a sitting area and t’other as a bedroom.

I whistled low under my breath. Some digs.

The woman herself was about as elegant and poised as Delphine. Pretty much the opposite of me, which made me laugh a little. I was comfortable where I was, in jeans and boots and tank-tops or one of Daddy’s old t-shirts. This woman, with her perfect pale skin and her deep blonde hair rolled into one of them fancy twists on her head; she wouldn’t last two seconds in the woods.

She was sitting on the edge of a cream-colored loveseat, her ankles crossed and her knees to the side, a sheaf of paper in her hands. Soon as she spotted Jabari, she set the papers aside and rose, her expression open and happy. “Jabari, my love.”

He crossed to her, took her hands in his, and touched a kiss to ‘em. When he was done, he stepped aside and swept his arm out to me. “Mirabel, meet Sunshine.”

She smiled prettily at me and held out a hand in welcome. “You’re helping us with our little problem, yes?”

I shook her hand and dropped it just as quick. This woman was pure human, through and through, not a whiff of monster anywhere about her. “Doing what I can.”

“You sound so modest. Jabari has told me so much about you.” She glanced at him outta the corners of her eyes and her smile turned coy and playful. “I confess to a touch of jealousy.”

“Never fear, darling,” he said. “No other woman could take your place.”

I just stopped myself from rolling my eyes. “You had a point here, I’m guessing.”

Jabari turned a cool look at me. “One must observe the niceties, dear girl.”

Mirabel waved her hand at him. “As if we were at a social function. Let’s do dispense with formality. Would you like some tea, Sunshine?”

“Naw. Thanks,” I tacked on, remembering where I was. “Mama’s got supper about ready.”

“Then we should get down to business, yes?” She sat again, tucking her knees to one side with her ankles crossed, and waited for us to sit before continuing. “Jabari has proposed that I be your guinea pig.”

My eyes widened and jerked to his. “Do what now?”

“Mirabel has agreed to sample SkyLight so that we may observe its effects on humans.”

“Now just a minute,” I said, kindly hot. “We don’t know what it’s gonna do to her.”

Mirabel reached across the space between us and patted my knee with her fingertips.

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