Part 3 (1/2)
”Oh, yeah... you're right,” Carlos b.u.mped his gla.s.s against Yonnie's and then laughed. ”d.a.m.n. What has the world come to?”
”Anybody left is in lair or underground,” Yonnie said, not finding the humor in Carlos's comment. ”A few scattered Thirds, maybe some Fourth gens and lower. Even the weres are keeping a low profile, since y'all blew up New York and Philly. No turns have been authorized while every seat at council is vacant, especially the Chairman's, but you can still get your a.s.s beat down or killed.” Yonnie straightened and tossed down the remainder of his new drink. ”So, on that note, I think it's time for you to go home and sleep this night off.”
”Man, the night is young,” Carlos complained, glancing around the club. The music had become his pulse, even though it gave him a headache. Booty was everywhere, the joint was jumping, and the last place he wanted to go was back to the shack with the team.
”You're married. That's all I'ma say.” Yonnie rubbed his chin and folded his arms over his chest.
”Like you ain't?” Carlos smiled.
”That's different,” Yonnie said, reaching for his flask. ”You and D are heart-to-heart; me and Tara have an arrangement.”
”You with her every night, then-”
”You got it all wrong,” Yonnie said, easing his flask next to his empty gla.s.s. ”Only when necessary.” He stared at Carlos.
”C'mon, man,” Carlos said, abandoning his drink. ”Be serious.”
”I am serious,” Yonnie said, his voice so low that it was hard to hear it. ”She only comes to me when it gets like that, when she's missing him real bad... you know what I mean?” Yonnie shook his head. ”She can't actually be with him anymore, since I elevated her to a strong second-it's not like when she was a Fourth-gen. Her bite is lethal, literally, since no turns are authorized. This time he won't even come back with fangs, and I can't make any new friends so I can leave her alone. The broads at Gabrielle's... hey. They ain't her.” Yonnie looked at the dark liquid in his short rocks gla.s.s. ”The more she stays away from him, the more she misses him, the more she blames me. Catch-22.”
”d.a.m.n, man...” Carlos raked his fingers through his hair and allowed his shoulders to slump. ”Ain't how I envisioned things.”
”Is it ever the way we think it's gonna be? That's true in life, and is so true in death. You know that.” Yonnie stared down into his drink. ”Sometimes she tries to make me feel like I'm the one. But, it ain't like that-won't be till Rider crosses over, until he's dead and buried. All I asked her to do was not put it in my face if she goes to see him... that's part of the reason you ain't seen me. Last thing I wanted to do was come on the property and pick up her trail right to that motherf.u.c.ker's door.”
”Whatchu gonna do, man?” Carlos said. Eerily, he was half intrigued, remembering the vampire code of s.n.a.t.c.hing a heart out if one's territory was breached, but the other half of him really wanted to know how his best friend planned to handle a situation that vaguely paralleled his own. Carlos shook the strange combination of thoughts and focused. He needed to understand where Yonnie was coming from to avoid having something crazy happen to Rider.
”Look,” Carlos finally admitted. ”I'm in a f.u.c.ked-up Catch-22, myself. Y'all are both my boyz, and I'm not trying to see either one of you iced over a woman. Seriously, man.”
”If I kill him, I lose, if I let him live, I lose,” Yonnie said without emotion. ”Most times, I go stay with Gabby, until I miss Tara so much that... you understand what I'm saying.”
Carlos only nodded. The conversation was sobering.
”Tara keeps a separate lair at the edge of the canyon, sometimes when needing her gets bad, I might blow through... she might be inclined. A few times, even when she wasn't, she cast a good enough illusion that I didn't care. You know how it is when you're having one of those nights when you're over the top. You'll lie to yourself and blow your own mind. Tara's cool, won't leave a brother strung all the way out. We're friends, and friends do s.h.i.+t like that for friends, right? Even vanis.h.i.+ng point.” Yonnie stared at Carlos, hurt s.h.i.+mmering in his eyes so clearly that Carlos looked away.
”Yeah, man,” Carlos finally said, extending his fist to Yonnie, and softly pounding his. ”She's good people.”
”Real respectful, too,” Yonnie said, as though talking to himself. ”I ain't smelled him on her yet. Not sure how I'll react. Time will tell. As you know, women are complex.” He opened his flask and took a healthy swig directly from it. ”But I knew I was walking into this situation, so that's cool.”
”That's f.u.c.ked up, man,” Carlos said, shaking his head and going back for his drink. ”I'm seriously sorry to hear this, man. I don't know what else to say.”
”Like I said, it's cool. I stop by Gabrielle's from time to time; Tara don't ask me my business, I don't ask her hers. Everybody is respectful, discreet. Every now and then, she comes to me and offers her throat and all that goes with it-we cool like that with each other. Then, we don't speak on it. No more, no less. It's all good.” Yonnie stretched and glanced around the club with disdain. ”That's why I'm taking your a.s.s home before you mess up, do some irreversible s.h.i.+t, and then be caught up in the madness like me.”
Carlos lifted his gla.s.s as Yonnie reached for his flask to put it back into his breast pocket. ”Hit me with some color, and let's hang. You don't seem in the right frame of mind to be going back to Arizona right now.”
Yonnie held his flask midair. ”What did you say?”
”Look, man,” Carlos said, letting his breath out hard. ”This is me and you talking. If you-”
”You asked me to color your drink.” Yonnie's eyes held fear, and he quickly put the blood flask away.
”I did not, man,” Carlos said, chuckling. ”Your a.s.s is the one who's drunk.”Yonnie's eyes widened and his glance went from Carlos to the mirror behind the bar and back. ”You've got a reflection, but you are serving a quarter inch of fang!” His whisper was so intense that the bartender briefly looked up.
”Get the f.u.c.k out of here,” Carlos said laughing nervously, but his line of vision shot straight to the mirror. Sure enough, he was sitting on the stool; Yonnie wasn't as he studied his reflection through blurry eyes. He couldn't see any fangs. But as his tongue slid over his teeth, a short fang nicked it, putting the distinctive, salty taste of blood into his mouth. He felt his jaw, and as casually as possible, allowed his thumb to graze his incisors. ”Well, I'll just be d.a.m.ned,” he murmured.
”My point exactly,” Yonnie said and stood. ”You're cut off, time for you to go home.”
Carlos spun around slowly on his stool, but didn't stand. ”Maybe I'm just going through some crazy flux...” Awed, his voice was reverent, but he couldn't shake how secretly pleased he was.
”I don't know what it is, man, but I ain't being a party to a relapse. Not on my watch. The only reason I can cross into some places to avoid the Chairman, is because you elevated up and out of h.e.l.l. They ain't got you no more. Not even the Chairman could f.u.c.k with that. Think” Yonnie spoke through his teeth, his incisors lengthening slowly as his agitation progressed. ”You can't just throw away an opportunity like that behind some-”
”I know what I'm doing, man, and I'm not re-”
”You don't know what you're doing,” Yonnie said, leaning in close enough to Carlos that his cool breath crept along Carlos's throat. ”You are in here considering stray tail when you got D, something you didn't even do when you was at council level, motherf.u.c.ker.” He poked Carlos in the chest as he spoke in fast, nervous bursts. ”You're in here jonesing for a hit of blood like a d.a.m.ned crack addict. And s.h.i.+t, I don't like it. Talking crazy about hanging out all night and switching your whole body clock from daylight to dawn. No, man, I'm taking you home. That's the end of it.”
Crickets and owls created a symphony outside. The stars were stage lights, an occasional coyote howl added treble to the bullfrogs' ba.s.s. Jackrabbits made shaker sounds as they dashed through the brush. Damali's mind composed on the fly as she sat on the darkened porch, only a candle for light-the floodlights just brought mosquitoes, gnats, and moths. She wanted to sit very still without having to swat anything. But she gave up that desire the moment a dark cloud began to form on her bottom step.
Burnt ash filled her nose, Yonnie's signature was in it, but one could never be too sure. Damali stood and picked up the Glock nine that had shared the wicker rocker with her. ”Friend or foe?” she said in a mild but tight voice. ”Talk to me.”
”Friend,” Yonnie said, dumping Carlos on her steps.
Damali relaxed as Carlos caught his balance and held on to the stair rail.
”You ain't right, man,” Carlos said, disgusted as his clothing changed back to what he'd been wearing when Yonnie had picked him up earlier. ”You could have at least taken me back to my place.”
”Take yourself, and talk to your woman,” Yonnie grumbled, and began walking away. ”Hey, D,” he added, without turning around. ”Y'all have a good night.”
She watched Yonnie vanish. ”Bye, Yonnie. You have a, uh, safe night, too.” Her gaze immediately went to Carlos, who was halfway down her front path headed toward the road. ”Hold up. What's going on?”
”Nothing,” Carlos said, totally outdone. ”I'm going home.”
”Wait,” she shouted, catching up to him. ”What was all that about?”
”Nothing.” He kept walking.”Yonnie doesn't just make pop calls. And what's with the att.i.tude?” She held his arm; he s.n.a.t.c.hed it away and resumed a slightly wobbly path toward his unfinished house.
She was on him and in front of him in two seconds. He rounded her. She reached to grab his arm again, but he s.n.a.t.c.hed it away.
”Get off me, D, I'm not playing.”
She lowered her hand slowly and let him forge ahead of her. Was she losing her mind, or did she see a flicker of gold in his eyes, not silver?
”Yo, yo, yo-wait a minute, Carlos Rivera,” she said, running to come beside him when he refused to slow down. ”What was your boy, Yonnie, talking about-talk to your woman? About what! Where did he take you? What did he do to you?”
”Aside from getting me nice, nothing,” Carlos muttered, ”but you are totally blowing my nice.”
”Your eyes.”
”What about 'em?” He stopped and glared at her. ”You need s.p.a.ce, I need s.p.a.ce. That's how you-”
”Oh... s.h.i.+t...” Damali whispered and covered her mouth with her hand.
”What D? Stop trippin' out here!”