Kiss of the Vampire(3)

She looked down at the body. “I know her. Her name is Amarinda Novellus.”

“How do you know her?” Dante’s voice was hushed, his tone compassionate. Finding out that you knew a victim was never easy. It brought the violence of the murder all that closer to home.

“She was a friend.” Nix clenched her jaw against the pain of her loss. She and Amarinda had drifted apart over the last five years because being around the female vampire had dredged up too many memories Nix hadn’t wanted to deal with. Now she’d never have the chance to renew their friendship. Her emotions rose, her gut churning with demon fire as if the beast inside was trying to burn its way out.

Nix stared at what was left of her friend and pushed the guilt and grief aside. She had a job to do. Had to focus and get it done. She could grieve and wallow in regrets later. After she found Amarinda’s killer.

Dante glanced at the victim, his face drawn and taut. A heavy sigh left him. “The second dead ED in as many days. God, I thought humans could be vicious to one another, but what EDs can do to each other…” He gave a slight shake of his head and gestured toward the gaping rib cage. “I mean, an ED had to have done this kind of damage, right?”

“Could have been a pret.” Nix refused to call them EDs. It wasn’t that there was anything technically wrong with the term, “extra-dimensional” really was quite accurate. But most humans said it with such disdain in their voices that it had become an insult and wasn’t used by most preternaturals. She replaced the tarp and rose to her feet, removing her latex gloves and tugging the back of her short leather jacket down over the knife scabbard at the small of her back. She might possess more strength than an average human female, but it never hurt to have actual weapons at your disposal. Like a blade made of silver at her back and the Glock 9 mm at her waist.

Dante stood as well, towering over her. Of course, most men did, since her human DNA contributed to the fact that she was only five four in her stocking feet. Good thing she had on her three-inch-heel boots tonight. That way, at least, her eyes were level with his chin instead of his Adam’s apple. She met his gaze. “There don’t seem to be any bite marks that could make it a vampire kill, and I don’t see any bites or scratches or tufts of fur on Rinda that would suggest a shape-shifter. Until the coroner can take a closer look, we won’t know if the damage was done by humans with knives or prets with claws and teeth.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You really think humans could’ve done this?” He gestured toward the covered body.

“Maybe.” The editorial she’d read just before she’d entered the taped-off scene came to mind. “Some of the anti-pret groups might have moved from rhetoric to rampage.” She shrugged. “I’ve met some pretty violent humans, especially on this job.”

“Yeah, me, too.” He paused. She could tell by the look on his face he was really hoping humans hadn’t been involved. Of course, if they weren’t, that would mean that both of them would no longer be involved on this case. If this incident were pret against pret, human authorities would back off and allow the preternatural council to resolve the issue. Dante added, “This didn’t happen here. Not enough blood.” He gestured around the site. Criminalists were busy doing their jobs, from those taking photographs and placing evidence in paper bags to the one at the edge of the scene making a video recording. “There should be spatter everywhere, but there’s only what’s on and under her body.”

Nix agreed. “This is definitely a dump site. She was killed somewhere else.” The killing hadn’t taken place that long ago, either. What blood was there was still fresh. One of the human techs walked by, the air disturbed by his movements wafting the rich smell of blood toward her. She could almost taste the coppery tang on the back of her tongue, making her stomach knot even more.

Demons didn’t ingest blood like vampires did, but the smell of the stuff still brought out a primal response. A dull throb set up in her forehead and she brought one hand up to rub under her bangs, willing her horn buds to stay hidden. The last thing she needed was to start showing her demon at a crime scene. None of her human colleagues except Dante knew she was anything but 100 percent bona fide human being. She planned to keep it that way. While most people had settled down fairly well after finding out that vampires, werewolves, and the various fairy folk were real, they were downright hostile about demons. She didn’t need the prejudices of the cops and the crowd gathered on the other side of the yellow tape hindering her work.