Chapter Six

The spotlight finally went on, and the rest of the band was illuminated on the stage.

“We’re the Thirsty Thieves,” Travis said. A cowboy hat hid most of his face, but I knew that voice. There were loud whistles and cheers from the mostly male crowd.

Travis Grando, the lead singer of The Drainers, the vampire who’d made me a striga vie and who’d used my best friend as his personal chew toy this past summer, was onstage. Behind him were the rest of his merry band of assholes. They may have changed their name, their sound, and their look, but I knew they were still bloodsucking fiends who had no trouble abusing those around them.

My drumstick was in my hand before I’d thought about it.

Vaughn covered my hand with his. “Not now,” he said. With a sigh, I nodded and slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans.

“Do you know who that is?” I hissed.

“Yes,” he said. “But there are too many people around.”

I couldn’t kill Travis, no matter how much I wanted to, unless he broke the rules of my realm. Or in self-defense. Or if he challenged me.

Thorn started to get up, but I motioned her back. “Wait,” I said. “I want to see what they’re doing.”

When the cheers died down, Travis started talking. I guessed he was warming up the crowd by telling a story, like some musicians liked to do.

I slung an arm around Skyler. “Does it bother you? Seeing Travis again?”

She hugged me briefly. “It’s fine, Tansy. The music seems to be different at least.”

“I wrote this song when I was hanging out at my dad’s ranch,” he said.

Skyler reached out her hand, and I took it. She squeezed it convulsively as Travis put on his good ol’ vamp act for the crowd. I braced myself but didn’t detect the haunting music that made promises of eternal love.

“What’s wrong?” Connor asked.

“We’re about to hear a vampire band,” Granny said. “That’s what’s wrong.”

“Maybe we should find some earplugs,” Skyler suggested.

“We know what he’s capable of now,” I assured her. “We won’t get sucked in.”

“That’s Travis Grando with a bad dye job and a mustache,” I said. “And that’s Armando with…omigod, muttonchops.”

Skyler flinched. “I’m sorry, Sky,” I said. “I didn’t know they were going to be here.”

Travis was still monologuing, but the other guys finally got sick of it and started to play their instruments.

Armando caught me watching and gave me his player smile, but I wasn’t sure he even recognized me from this summer. There’d been so many girls on tour. I bet it pained him to trade his sharp-dressed-man look for blue jeans and a Western shirt.

I spotted Ozzie, too, but there was a new drummer—because Vaughn had been their last drummer when we’d infiltrated the band to save Skyler. All of The Drainers, who were now apparently called Thirsty Thieves, were good-looking, but this drummer was a stunner.

Black leather gloves concealed his hands, but over his gloves, a heavy gold signet ring gleamed from his ring finger. I’d never seen a drummer wear gloves while performing.

I searched the audience, looking for the faces of the girls I’d met while on tour with The Drainers, and spotted Natasha at a table not far from ours. Her dark hair was longer than before, but she was the same old leader of the Bleeders. She was pretty, even though her bad attitude was written all over her face. She was with two guys, humans, who didn’t look away from the stage once.

I went to do some snooping. There was an exit near the bathrooms, and I wanted to see where it led, but Natasha stepped in front of me.

“Hello, Tansy,” she said.

I raised an eyebrow. “You can call me Queen Tansy,” I said. During the summer, I thought I’d had a chance to convince Natasha the band members were up to no good, but here she was, still following them around, like the number-one fangirl she claimed to be.

She sneered at me. I was getting tired of bad attitudes tonight. “It must be nice to have a blood donor on speed dial.”

She was talking about Vaughn. “He’s not a blood donor,” I replied. “He’s my boyfriend.” It was useless to try to reason with her. I’d tried and failed before, so I wheeled around and went back to the table.

There was a brief pause between songs while the band drank what seemed like sports drinks, but I had my doubts. The next song was something I’d never heard before, moody and slow. Travis had unusual powers for a vampire, and one of them was the ability to compel through song. I listened but couldn’t detect it.

“The drummer is a fraction of a second off-beat,” Vaughn said.

“Who cares?” Skyler said. “Look at him.”

I couldn’t look away. His long raven hair flowed down his back, his powerful arms moving like pistons. His gloves went all the way to his forearms.

The lyrics to this song were mostly about a tear in his beer. Sad cowboy vampire was sad.

I relaxed just a little. Maybe Travis and the guys had reformed? The Thirsty Thieves didn’t seem to have a bunch of female super-fans in white, but there were a lot of dudes in hats and blue jeans.

But then the song ended and the next one began. Travis sang an upbeat and peppy rhythm, but the lyrics were misogynistic and mean, the worst kind of bro-country music out there. There was something underneath the happy sound, something dark and sludgy. It was anger. So much anger.

The music was calling to the worst inside humans, but I couldn’t quite make out the message underneath, until I realized it wasn’t meant for me. I watched the rapt faces of the men and boys. Their cheeks flushed, muscles flexed, hands clenched into fists. The compulsion coming from Travis was saturating every note, every breath they took.

“Boris is gonna hit you with a drum solo,” Travis said into the mic. The drummer’s name was Boris? I wondered where they’d found him.

When his drum solo ended, Boris took off his sweat-soaked tee and flung it at Natasha. Then he twirled his drumsticks and stared at me for a long moment before he sent a stick sailing right to me. Reflexively, I caught it. Vaughn scowled at the other man.

I tossed the drumstick to Natasha, who clutched both souvenirs to her chest.

“Why did they change their name?” Skyler asked. “What does it mean?”

“Nothing good,” Vaughn muttered.

“Why are they back?” Skyler was full of questions tonight, but I didn’t have any answers.

“Stupidity or overconfidence,” I guessed.

“Are you going to kill him?” she asked.

“I might have to,” I said. “You don’t know what you’re capable of until someone has their fangs at your throat.”

Examining the crowd, I searched for signs of cloudy eyes, stunned adoration, or familiar faces, and found obvious signs that Travis was using his unique vampire ability to entice the listeners into thinking he was the next best thing to a Greek god.

He hadn’t spotted me yet, but I knew the second he did. His hand holding the mic started to shake, and he stuttered out what seemed like the wrong lyric before he caught himself.

I glanced over at Skyler. Why had I brought her? I’d never dreamed that Travis would have the nerve to show his face anywhere near us again.

They announced the band would be taking a short break, and the guys passed us with their entourage. It was a familiar scene, but this time, they were surrounded by men.

The dudes were walking like ducklings in a row behind Travis, but when he stopped abruptly at our table, the rest of the group almost ran into him.

“Travis. So nice to see you.” I gritted my teeth, trying to prevent my fangs from coming down, then gestured to the men following behind him. “I thought we talked about this.”

“The fans are all willing,” Travis said. “To be absolutely factual, I am assiduous in my inquiries.”

Why was he talking like he’d been cuddling up to a dictionary?

He smirked at me. “You heard them. They were asking me to sing,” he said. “That’s permission in my book.”

“That’s just a loophole,” I protested.

“Is it?” Travis asked. “I’m obeying your law to the letter. I don’t think the PAC would look too kindly on a vampire queen who broke her own laws. You need proof. Good luck with that.”

I gritted my teeth. He was right. I was a new leader, and he was the previous leader’s son. I finally said, “I’ll be watching you.”

“You do that,” he replied.

“I even got a nibble of one of those Real House-honeys of Orange County,” Ozzie butted in.

“Tasted like too much Botox for me,” Armando said.

“I dig it,” Ozzie said. “Older women know how to suck.”

I forced down a gag. “You better not be making any vampires,” I said. “Especially not reality TV stars.”

“Vamps need love, too,” Travis protested. He gestured to his drummer. “Werewolves, too.” Vaughn flinched, and I gave him a puzzled look. Was he surprised that werewolves existed?

“What’s the new look and sound all about?” I asked.

“We wanted a change,” Travis said, but he stared at a spot over my shoulder instead of looking me in the eye.

He was lying.

“I’m reformed,” he said. “You can’t kill me without provocation.” Again with the big words.

“I know that, Travis,” I said, my patience at an end. “I made the rule. I can’t kill you unless you give me a good reason.” I had to stick to the laws I’d already created or I’d be no better than Jure Grando.

The gold belt buckle he wore had to be ornamental, since there was no way he needed that belt to hold up his tight jeans. I didn’t want to stare at his crotch region, but the belt buckle was enormous, and I could clearly read the words BITE ME.

“You mistake my intentions, Tansy,” he said mockingly. Travis sounded like he’d swallowed SAT flash cards.

I raised an eyebrow. “That’s Your Majesty to you.” I wasn’t really into the whole title thing—what you did was what really mattered. But Travis didn’t need to know that.

He bowed, but it seemed sarcastic. “Your Majesty…the girl who killed my father,” he said. There was a gleam of something dangerous in his eyes, but when I glared at him, he gave me a bland smile.

“Exactly. I’m your queen now,” I said.

“Of course,” he replied. He turned his attention to my best friend. “Skyler, you are looking as tasty as ever.”

“Don’t talk to her,” I said. I didn’t put any vampire compulsion into the words, but I wanted to.

“And Johnny Divine,” Travis continued.

“My name’s Vaughn,” my boyfriend replied.

“You were my drummer,” Travis said. “We had fun on the road, didn’t we?”

Fun? That’s not how I’d describe it.

“Can I stake him now?” I asked. I was joking, mostly, but then he had to open his mouth.

“No, you can’t,” Travis said. He smirked at me, like he knew something I didn’t.

I couldn’t kill him, but I didn’t have to like it, either. “Been reading the vampire newsletter, have you?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you up to?”

“Not a thing,” he said. He gestured to the crowd. “Do you see any Bleeders?” Skyler winced at the term.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” I said.

“But they donate blood.”

I snorted, and he added, “Voluntarily. No compulsion. All according to your rules.”

I waved him away. “Get out of my sight. If you step even a single toenail out of line, there will be consequences.”

We all watched him as he hopped back onto the stage in one fluid motion. I hadn’t detected any enchantment in the music, but maybe they’d gotten sneakier about it. If the Thirsty Thieves were using their vampire powers to lure new victims, I’d find out.

And I’d make them pay.

“Can you believe it?” I asked.

“That Travis dared to show his face?” Skyler asked.

“That he used the word ‘abide’ correctly,” I replied.

We all snickered, but then something occurred to me. Travis didn’t use vocabulary words. It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable—he was crafty and charming, which meant he had brains. He just didn’t like to use them. He couldn’t be bothered to improve his vocabulary or anything else—if tonight’s ensemble was anything to go by, certainly not his wardrobe.

“Travis has been talking to someone who uses their SAT flash cards,” I said.

Vaughn nodded. “I thought so, too. I was stuck on a bus with him this summer, and his vocabulary is more of the bro variety.”

Hmm. But what did it mean? I’d have to think on this more.

The night only got more confusing from there. After another set by the country band from hell, I needed additional refreshments. The thought occurred to me that I might need another weapon before the night was over, so I ordered a Diet Dr Pepper. Vaughn followed me.

“Did the band take off?” he asked, his mouth a straight line.

“Just on a break, I think.”

“I hate that guy,” he said. His hands clenched into fists.

“Vaughn, sit down,” I said. “Please.”

I raised my eyebrow beseechingly at Skyler to back me up, but to my surprise, it was Connor who came to my rescue.

“So, lovebirds, when did this happen?” Connor waved a hand between Vaughn and me.

“This summer,” Vaughn said.

“You finally found your balls, then,” Connor teased. “Asked her out properly. Told her how you feel.”

Vaughn blushed as I gave him a surprised look. Connor had been gone for a year, yet even he knew that Vaughn had liked me before I did?

“How is it that you knew something I didn’t?” I asked Connor.

“Vaughn tells me everything,” he said.

“Not everything,” Vaughn said. The husky note in his voice made me feel hot all over.

“What else did I miss this summer?” Connor asked casually.

Vaughn and I exchanged looks. There was no way our misadventures this summer were any of Connor’s business, and it wasn’t our story to tell anyway. It was Skyler’s.

“Why did you come back?” I asked, avoiding his question.

“I missed my friends,” he replied. “I missed Skyler.” She flinched when he said her name. He seemed to be telling the truth about his feelings for Skyler, but Connor Mahoney was hiding something, and I was going to find out what it was.