Lara's eyebrows shot up. "It's that kind of place?"
"Exactly," Vanda replied. "But with male Vamps doing the...dancing."
"I want to dance," Tino said.
Lara sighed. "It sounds interesting, but I don't know if we can get my maid of honor to agree. She's a little - "
"I told you to stay away from me!" A loud voice interrupted Lara. "You come after me again, and I'll sucker punch you into next week. You got that?" A young black woman in a red dress strode into the corner area. "Lara, that Blackula dude is stalking me."
"Who, Phineas?" Lara waved at the young Vamp, motioning for him to stay back. She lowered her voice. "LaToya, he's a nice guy. I think he looks like Denzel."
LaToya crossed her arms with a huff. "A dead Denzel."
"He was one of the Vamps who rescued me from Apollo's compound," Lara continued. "He helped rescue all the girls. He's brave and loyal - "
"I don't care," LaToya grumbled. "He's still one of them. I don't know how you can stand to be around them."
Lara winced. "LaToya, this is Constantine, Maggie, and Vanda."
LaToya smiled at them. "Hey there." She patted Tino on his head. "Aren't you a cutie? Did you come here with your mommy?" She glanced again at Maggie and Vanda as if she were trying to figure out which one of them was the mom.
"Yes," Tino said. "Do you want a cookie?"
"Don't mind if I do." LaToya grabbed a plate and circled the refreshment table, helping herself. "Thank God I found the place where all the normal people are hanging out."
Vanda set her empty glass on the floor underneath her chair. "So what do you have against Vamps?"
"Oh, the usual." LaToya popped a grape into her mouth. "They're dead and slimy, probably stink during the day - "
"That's not nice." Constantine frowned as he grabbed the last cookie.
"LaToya, cool it," Lara whispered. "I'm in love with a Vamp."
"I know." LaToya grimaced as she tossed shrimp on her plate. "And now you want to quit the police force and work for that stupid vampire company."
"MacKay Security and Investigation," Lara said. "I can work alongside Jack."
"I like Jack." Tino stood close to the table, watching the women argue.
"Whatever." LaToya drizzled hot sauce on her shrimp. "All I know is, I came to New York to be a police officer with you, and now you're quitting. I might as well go home. At least there I wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of creepy vampires."
"Where is your home?" Maggie asked.
"New Orleans." LaToya stuffed a shrimp in her mouth.
Maggie covered her mouth to hide her grin, but Vanda wasn't that polite.
She snickered. "No Vamps in New Orleans?"
"Dammit." LaToya set her plate down. "There's no escaping those monsters."
"They're not monsters," Tino grumbled.
"You're right, sweetie." Lara tousled the little boy's curls. "They're real people. And they have real feelings." She gave LaToya a stern look. "You're hurting Phineas's feelings. He doesn't deserve that."
"All right. I'll let Blackula know just how sorry I am." LaToya walked off.
Lara watched her go, then turned back to Vanda and Maggie with a confused look. "That seemed a little too easy. She's usually more stubborn than that."
"Maybe she's had a change of heart." Maggie stood up to survey the crowd. "Where is she?"
"There." Lara pointed to a bar. "She just picked up a Vamp drink."
"Maybe she's taking it to Phineas," Maggie suggested. "It would be a nice gesture."
Vanda walked over to the refreshment table for a closer look. "I don't think she's giving him a peace offering. The hot sauce is gone."
"The red stuff?" Tino asked. "I saw her take it."
Lara gasped. "I've got to stop her." She ran after her roommate.
"We should warn Phineas." Maggie searched the crowd. "Do you see him?"
Vanda scanned the room, then looked down when something tugged at her skirt.
Constantine clenched her skirt in his fist, his eyes wide with worry. "Is something bad going to happen? Why doesn't that lady like Phineas?"
"She just doesn't know him," Vanda explained. "Once she gets to know him, I'm sure she'll like him."
"I see him." Maggie pointed at the dance floor. "He's over there by the band."
Vanda quickly poured a cup of punch and pressed it into the little boy's hands. "Can you take this to your mom? She gets very thirsty."
"Okay." Tino headed back to the dance floor, carefully holding the cup of punch.
Maggie gave Vanda an appraising look. "You really are good with children."
Vanda shrugged. "Come on, let's get to Phineas before LaToya does."
She and Maggie skirted the table, but came to an abrupt halt when Corky Courrant made a grand entrance into the banquet hall. Her cameraman followed, the camera perched on his shoulder as he recorded the scene.
"Oh great," Vanda muttered. "Who invited her?"
"She reports on all the big parties." Maggie pulled Vanda behind a potted plant. "If she sees you, she'll start screeching at you."
"So? I'm not afraid." Vanda moved back into view.
Maggie pulled her back. "She'll try to provoke you into a fight. She wants everyone to think you're violent."
"I am violent." Vanda stepped out.
"You don't want to start a scene." Maggie tugged on her arm. "It would ruin Lara's engagement party."
Vanda spotted LaToya on the dance floor, handing Phineas a drink. "Looks like someone else is going to ruin it first."
Meanwhile, she didn't have to worry about Corky seeing her. A group of well-dressed Vamps had gathered around the reporter, no doubt hoping they would appear on her next show.
"Don't crowd me," Corky hissed at them. She wore a glittery black dress with a low bodice that displayed her augmented bosom. The shimmering black skirt hit just below her knees.
Vanda recalled that one of the brassieres she'd sabotaged was black. And she'd altered some black underwear, too. She gave Maggie a sly grin. "Corky might be giving a bigger exposé than she planned."
Maggie frowned. "What do you mean?"
Corky posed in front of the camera and spoke into a microphone, her voice drowning out the low roar of others. "This is Corky Courrant, reporting for Live with the Undead. Tonight, I'm attending the posh engagement party of Giacomo di Venezia, known as Jack to his close friends, like moi. Recently, some rumors have surfaced. I know the truth, of course, so I will confirm that Jack is actually the son of that famous libertine, Giacomo Casanova."
Corky assumed a tragic face. "I'm afraid the other rumors are true, as well. It grieves me to tell you this, but Jack is, indeed, illegitimate. And not only is he a bastard, but he's fallen for a common mortal. Once again, a rich and eligible male has brought shame upon Vamp society by marrying far beneath himself."
"That's enough!" Jack pushed through the crowd to confront the newswoman. "I won't have my future wife insulted."
"Jack!" Corky grinned maliciously. "How kind of you to grant me an inter - "
"Aargh!" a hoarse voice shouted. Glass shattered on the dance floor.
The crowd turned to see what was happening. Phineas had fallen to the dance floor, his hands grasping his throat as he squirmed in agony. Lara kneeled beside him, while LaToya hurried away, circling the crowd to reach the entrance.
"He's been poisoned!" an onlooker yelled.
Jack pushed through the crowd to reach Phineas. Jean-Luc and Roman met him there. Lara whispered to them while murmurs of poison spread quickly around the room.
"We're under attack!" a male Vamp shouted. "Sound the alarm!"
"It's the Malcontents!" another Vamp yelled. "They'll poison us all!"
Glasses dropped all over the banquet hall, the sound of shattering glass accentuating the squeals of fear. Frantic Vamps stampeded toward the foyer.
Connor blocked the entrance, his broadsword drawn. "No one leaves the premises till we find the person responsible."
Vamps screamed at him, demanding to be allowed to leave. Others huddled in groups, shrieking and glancing wildly about.