When Casimir woke up, he barely felt like he'd slept. Sitting and lifting the curtain revealed that it was still dark outside. He got up and could see his clothing, neatly folded and resting on top of his bag. He dressed and stepped out of the room into brightly lit halls.
The Jewel Box seemed busy tonight. He could hear sounds through many of the doors before arriving in the lobby again: some groans and whispers, and even crying. Casimir kept walking. He was sure that if anyone was actually being hurt, Miss Adeline would deal with them.
He entered the lobby, expecting to see Adeline there. She wasn't, but there was another monster sitting on one of the overstuffed red sofas. She looked out of place, her black hair as stark as spilled ink. Her skin was translucent, the walls and furniture visible behind her where she wasn't wrapped in a white robe.
It was her pale blue lips that clinched it for Casimir: she was a snow maiden, and very far from home. He couldn't imagine it would be comfortable, having her icy blood in his system, any more than she would be comfortable in the warm room. He bowed his head to her, and she lowered her eyelashes in response. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Adeline entering from a small side door.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Adeline asked, nodding to the snow maiden.
"She is, but I'd think she'd be too cold to want to sleep with," Casimir said. He took the bill from Adeline's worn hands, opening the leather folder to see the datapad inside. It itemized his expenses, and he pursed his lips; the Jewel Box was definitely not a cheap meal. He swiped his card through the reader and signed on the screen with the electronic pen.
Adeline shrugged. "I would think so too, but I'm not going to argue with a paying customer. There are things in this city even colder than her."
He looked at the snow maiden; her expression was placid. Her kind were slow to anger but didn't like to be held prisoner. She wouldn't be in this city very long, and she would leave a trail of frozen bodies in her wake. Even a kiss from an angry snow maiden could literally freeze a man's blood. He mirrored Adeline's shrug and handed back the folder. "By the way, I wanted to ask, do you know of other vampires here?"
Her expression darkened. "There is a small group here. A family, or whatever you call yourselves. One of them came here and drained Garnet, one of my boys, nearly to death. I had no idea he was a vampire; he didn't tell me he was planning on taking blood."
"What happened to him?" Casimir asked.
"To Garnet? He recovered, after a lot of rest. You might have seen him when you came in. The vampire? While he was asleep, we staked him out in front of the building and let the 'family' come and get him. I told them that if they didn't pay a heavy damage fee, the vampire's head was going to stay behind."
Well, they definitely knew how to deal with vampires here. He made a mental note not anger Adeline. "Do you know how many there are?"
She shook her head. "Are you thinking to join up with them?"
"I'm just passing through. Thank you, and please thank Beryl for me. She was lovely." He gave another respectful nod to the snow maiden and walked out into the darkness.
It was an hour or two until dawn. Despite what the old stories said, sunlight wouldn't burn him alive. He could walk around during the day, but there was no advantage to it; the light was harsh to his eyes, and any blood he swallowed during the daylight would make him feel sick.
Casimir walked back to the same place where he had seen both the monster and Mikki. There was only a fleshy burned mess where the creature had been, and he looked around it. No sign of his knife. It must have dissolved, like the skin of his hand.
That reminded him to look at it. It would be easier to examine under a light, but it hurt quite a bit less now, he could see the dark red had brightened to a healthier pink. He imagined that by the next sunset, it would be completely healed.
He saw movement to his right and turned his head to see a lean profile standing just inside of the nearby alley. "You might as well show yourself. I can see you," he called quietly.
For a moment, it looked like the other person was going to move further away, but he stepped into view, still back by the mouth of the alley. "Were you looking for me?" Mikki asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes, but I thought you'd be asleep now." Casimir moved towards him carefully; he had a feeling that if he startled Mikki, he would bolt. "I wanted to say thank you."
Mikki's thin shoulders rose and fell. "You're not the first idiot I've saved. Doubt you'll be the last, either."
"Still, I'm an appreciative idiot." He stopped an arm's length away, looking at Mikki's face. His eyes were so dark they were hard to distinguish from the shadow that fell over him. "I'm Casimir."
"Mikki," he mumbled, confirming what Beryl had said. He lifted his head and frowned. "Do you smell that?"
"I smell burned flesh," Casimir said. "In any case, it's a little early for breakfast, but I'd like to take you out for a meal to thank you."
Mikki's frown deepened. "I smell blood. Let me guess: you're a vampire. Fangs are a dead giveaway, anyway."
"That would be a good guess. Yes, I'm a vampire," Casimir admitted. "But I'm not inviting you out because I was planning on making a meal of you." He raked his eyes critically over Mikki's whip-thin body. "You look like you don't eat enough as it is, and I have nothing else to thank you with, unless you accept sexual favors."
He was teasing, but Mikki didn't look any less annoyed. "Look, I know that is going to make me sound like a dick, but I don't trust strange monsters. Especially ones that prey on humans… and especially vampires."
Casimir put up both hands. "I was under the impression that there weren't many vampires here."
"There's not, but the ones that are here are assholes. Especially Jared."
"Jared?" He let his hands drop.
"Yeah, he's the leader, I guess. You know him?"
Casimir bit his lip, wincing when his fangs broke through the skin. The human gestures came out sometimes, despite him having long learned better. Doubly so when he was under stress. "It answers a few of my questions," he replied, licking away the faint taste of iron.
Mikki took a step back towards the alley. "Well, you do whatever you have to do and get out. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Don't make a mess."
"I'll do my best." Casimir wasn't going to hold his gun to Mikki's head and force him to come to dinner. "One more thing, though: can you tell me where I could rent a room? I figure you must know where everything is in this city."
He expected Mikki to blow him off, but he said, "If you go past the Jewel Box, there's a brown brick building about two blocks away. It's a hotel. The centaur who runs it is a mean son of a bitch, so watch what you say."
"I'll do that. Thanks, Mikki."
"Yeah, sure."Mikki started to move back into the alley.
"Are you sure I can't take you out for food? I was being serious about that."
Mikki snorted. "Nothing about the idea of a vampire taking me out for food makes me feel good."
"Fair enough, I guess," Casimir said, but he was talking to the empty air. Mikki was already gone.