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She left us there, and Eli pulled his cell, punched a button, and waited I heard Alex answer, and Eli said, "Silentelse, and a moment later Jodi returned with a laptop, an older model, that she opened and booted up
Eli and I leaned over the table, braced on our hands, watching, as she brought up video and fast-forwarded through it A dance bar, people having fun, a lot of hip shi silly in fastAnd then Jodi hit a button and the vid slowed down The peopleand jiving, cuddling and kissing It was silent, no audio, and the view felt odd with the lack offun are loud Raucous
A shadow entered the bar,fast, and reached the center of the roo the face into better focus, then tapping until we had two blurred close-ups of the man on the screen, side by side, the bar visible around him
I had never seen him before, yet I kneho he was I did
His complexion was pale and sculed black hair reached his hips in tattered knots His eyes were scarlet and black, vahts in the room His nose was proud, a Roman nose, half-formed but with no nostrils yet, just black holes to either side of the arching bone He was gaunt, a scarecrow caricature of a risly fairy tale His beard was thin and scraggly, yet he wore clean, neat clothing, black from head to toe--dress slacks, shirt, and a black iridescent tie that caught the light I re va Liaht wear Withbetweenless cold,to do with your guys and Leo’s ure down the street today?"
I shook my head "Yes Maybe What" I stopped and sed down bile "What does he look like? After"
The close-up disappeared and the video started
The vamp raised his ar hair waved, slowing, as the people halted Only the vamp still moved The vamp walked to the nearest man and bent hi, angling wide, the way older vas to click down and up These were five inches long on top and at least three on the bottom Like a sabertooth cat He thrust them into the man’s throat He drank And drank And when he was done, he dropped the man on the floor and moved on to the next person, a woman stopped in the midst of a dance move, her pelvis rocked forward He pulled the woman to him and seemed to breathe in her scent He took her head in his hands, and with a move so fast that the cameras couldn’t capture it, he broke her neck and lay her on the floor On and on hethe necks of an to pixel out, rowing as he drank Hissi blocks But enough was left Too much Joses Bar-Judas--the assu His olive coloith blood-flush Luxurious black hair reached his hips in rippling waves, and when it slid forward, it ht colored, hts in the room; I couldn’t tell His nose was proud and his beard was thick and full, with glints that ht have been stray white hairs at his chin Eyebrows like ravens’ wings He was slender and elegant and utterly gorgeous If a fallen angel had mated with a raptor and a siren and the three had produced a son, he ht be this beautiful Even in the pixelated photos he was stunning Magnificent He’d stop people in their tracks wherever he went, even without vamp compulsion
When the vamp was done with the dance floor, he stroked his luxurious beard, sliding it through his hand, thoughtfully, as he stepped up to the band He drained and killed his way through theht his face as he bent over her and inhaled He closed his eyes, liking how she smelled I turned away I didn’t need to see aze on me "He’s a piece of work All that in front of the cameras As if he doesn’t care he’s on caht "He’s old Very old Five-inch upper fangs ed s only make him older The way he held the victims still with his mind means ancient, ancient, ancient Print me a photo or send it to my cell I’ll do--" I stopped, et you a name"
"Leo had a problem at the Mithran Council Chambers," Jodi said, with the kind of for to a suspect or a person of interest "We have reports of a hu and on fire, chased by a bunch of men who sound a lot like Leo’s people and yours Was it related to this situation?"
I picked through my possible responses and jutted my chin at the screen "Probably I could just say yes, but I never saw hiry and not blood-flushed and healthy"
"So what did he look like when you saw him?" Jodi asked
I shook my head "Doesn’t matter I want confirmation from someone who knew him Knows him I need to show this to Leo"
"No No way this leaves this room"
I didn’t look at Eli He had synced his phone We had it already I shrugged, one shouldered
"Leo needs to callto crack "And before you say anything, yes, I know it’s never convenient to drop by and visit with the cops But if I don’t get a call fro a warrant and haul hiht, in the trunk of ine he would find that extrenified Or you can wait until PsyLED is here and they’ll haul him down You don’t have many choices"