"You stole a vampire's car?" Sylvia said again.
"Stole is a strong word," I told Sylvia. "It was at my shop for an oil change when trouble hit, and I needed a car that no one could track. It'll be okay, trust me - as long as you don't talk about vampires. They take their secrecy very seriously."
"Mercy," said Maia.
"Okay," Sylvia said. "I'll make sure the children understand."
"Mercy." Maia's eyebrows lowered, and her voice rose. "You need to tell Penny's mama so she won't think I'm a liar."
"I will speak to Penny's mama," said Sylvia. "Now hush so I can read about big bugs and rotten fruit."
They hushed.
Ben followed me down the stairs. Asil and Honey, in her wolf form, were waiting at the base of the stairs. Ben must have told them before he'd gone upstairs to get me. That was okay, it saved me time.
I pointed to Honey, and said, "Stay out of sight, please. Too many guards says I'm scared of her - which I am - but I don't have to advertise that. It would reflect badly on the pack. Ben and Asil can come to the door with me, because no guards says I don't respect her." Which was also true but not useful.
I patted the lamb necklace around my neck to make sure it was still there. Objects of faith worked against vampires, and for me the lamb worked as well as a cross. Adam had given me a gold-with-emerald-eyes replacement for my silver lamb because wearing silver is problematical when you are the mate of a werewolf. It was just the right size to stay around my neck when I changed, and it was sturdy enough to stay on when I ran. On the same chain I wore one of Adam's army dog tags. Wedding rings are dangerous for a mechanic. I took a breath and centered myself as if I were about to enter a match at a dojo.
The man waiting on the porch step was a complete stranger, though my nose told me he was a vampire. I didn't know all of Marsilia's vampires by name, but there weren't that many, and most of them I knew by sight.
Marsilia was low on powerful vampires. Maybe she'd been recruiting. Though I had no way of telling which vampires were more or less powerful than others, this one did not seem like a new vampire. They had less control of themselves.
He was Asian - Chinese, if I wasn't mistaken - with a lean build. He wore black jeans and a gold silk shirt with a mandarin collar. With the porch light shining directly on him, I could see that it was embroidered with dragons in a gold just slightly darker than the cloth of his shirt. The temperature had fallen with the sun, and if he'd been human, he'd have been shivering in the cold.
He'd been changed young - not as young as Wulfe, who still looked like a half-grown teenager, and had since the Middle Ages. But if the vampire on Kyle's porch had been over twenty when he'd been turned, it hadn't been by much.
He bowed his head in greeting - the kind of bow I made before beginning a karate match, with head up and eyes on your opponent rather than the way some of the older European vampires and werewolves do it. I returned his bow the same way he gave it.
"I am Thomas Hao, Ms. Hauptman," he said without inflection of accent or emotion. "It is my great pleasure to issue you and your mate an invitation to meet with Marsilia, Mistress of the Tri-Cities' seethe. You may, of course, refuse. I am asked also to inform you that if you come tonight, certain matters may be quickly resolved. She has some information regarding the recent regrettable incidents that she believes would be interesting to you."
"Oh, that's too easy," said Ben, looking at me. "What does she want?" He spoke quietly, and both he and Asil had stayed a step farther back in the foyer than I was, so Hao didn't have a clear view of them. That didn't mean he couldn't hear them clearly.
"Do the wolves speak for you, mate of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack?" Hao asked, his voice exquisitely polite. No, this was not a new vampire.
"I agree with Ben," I said half-apologetically. "I've all but totaled Marsilia's new, very expensive car, and she's just going to forget about it and give me information to top it off? If that's so, why not just a phone call?"
Hao studied me, then looked over his shoulder and took a step back to stare at the Mercedes. He stood there motionless for a few seconds, and when he turned back to me, I was sure I saw amusement on his face, though there was not even a hint of it around his mouth.
"Ah. I do not believe she is aware that the car had been damaged, Ms. Hauptman." Yes, that was amusement.
I folded my arms; last night I'd have jumped at the chance. Having Marsilia invite me would have given me a slight advantage over inviting myself, as I had planned. But with Adam and the pack back safely, we didn't need the vampires anymore. "I think I'll play it prudent. Tell Marsilia that I'll have the car repaired to her satisfaction and give her a few months to get over it before I visit."
Hao looked at his feet and pursed his lips. "Marsilia is worried, Ms. Hauptman. We know about the abduction of the pack. The one behind the incident is a danger to everyone in the Tri-Cities and not just to the Columbia Basin Pack. At a different time, the damage to the car would, I am certain, have just the effect you are concerned about. But Marsilia is old and very, very wealthy. A car is as nothing given what she sees coming."
Beside me, Asil came subtly alert, and I felt it myself. This was a twist I hadn't seen.
"Why doesn't she just use the phone?" I asked.
"Or let you tell us right now," murmured Asil.
"Because one may be overheard on the phone, and this is dangerous information," said Hao, choosing to ignore Asil, "information that may prevent more deaths in your pack." He paused, and again I got the impression he was amused, but no sign of it crossed his face. "Also, because Marsilia dislikes using phones or" - he glanced at Asil - "surrogates when she can make you dance to her bidding."
That sounded like Marsilia, all right.
Vampires do not breathe except to talk, they do not perspire, and their hearts race only with stolen blood. So it's very difficult to tell when they are lying and when they are telling the truth. I cannot reliably do it.
"Can it wait until tomorrow night?" I asked.
"I believe that you would regret it if you waited," Hao said. It struck me as odd that he ventured an opinion. I might not be able to tell how old or powerful a vampire was, but I could read subtle cues. This vampire was not anyone's minion. He caught the mistake himself and was more careful as he continued to speak. "I was to tell you that you should bring Adam and however many of the pack you choose to."