what, you go home and I'll personally tell the Gypsy you got tired of waiting."
"That's real tempting," Mica said, "but I think I'll just wait. I don't have anything better to do."
Do I, Lord?
Miriam's face went stony as she stepped back from the table.
"Like I should tell you what to do. Stay up all night if that's what you want.
Gina
… you be nice and don't give him any hassle, you hear? Now, I gotta get back to those three before they start peeling the wallpaper off with their teeth. Be good!"
Mica nodded even though he wasn't sure which one of them Miriam's parting shot had been directed at. Lord knows
he
was trying to be good.
Trying
even though he kept seeing Luci and Gypsy and the Woman-Who-Wasn't-Piper rolling around the floor of the dressing room
— naked, sweating bodies crawling… touching… sucking…
"Are you gonna fuckin' sit there all night?" Gina suddenly hissed, slapping the table with her palm.
Oh, Lord…
"Well, ain't this a cozy little scene."
Mica's head snapped around so quickly he was sure he'd heard one of the vertebra in his neck pop. Gypsy leaned up against the end of the booth, a shadow among shadows… one with a shit-eating grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Gyp?"
"What's the matter, Preacher-boy?" he asked, leaning over and punching Mica lightly on the arm. Only this time it
was
lightly. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"So what's so special about him?"
Dressed in the conservative starlet outfit that Luci had picked out for her: Slit-to-the-thigh hip-hugger jeans and a plunging-to-the-belly-button sequined top and shoes that would make a podiatrist cream his shorts, Allison folded her arms over her breasts and squinted at the man gaping up at Gypsy.
He didn't look like anything special. His dirt-water brown hair was too long for his thin face — his hawkish nose too long for his narrow eyes. His whole manner too young for the body that held it. All he needed was glasses and a pencil stuck behind his ears and he'd look like a grown up version of the Audio-Visual nerds Allison and her girlfriends used to laugh at in high school.
"That's the Preacher-boy," Luci said. The little white dinner dress that she'd slipped into made a soft rustling sound as she stepped up behind Allison and ran a hand slowly down her back. "He works out front. But you better watch out for him. He's a real dyed-in-the-wool True Believer, always talking up the Big G and praying for our immortal souls."
Allison felt her skin crawl under Luci's cold hand.
"He's a
holy
man," she gasped, "and he can still come in here? Isn't he supposed to burst into flames or something?"
"Believe me, he's come close," Luci said, "but so far all he's done is smolder. A little."
Allison shook her head — shook off Luci's hand and pressed her back against the wall. What the hell was a preacher doing working for the damned?
"I already told you, Alley-cat," Luci said out loud, answering the unspoken question. "Besides, I like having him around… it's a challenge."
Allison watched the smile mold itself around Luci's fangs.
"What challenge? Everyone knows a Man of…" Allison pointed one finger toward the water damaged ceiling, "…
you know
is immune to our kind."
Luci's emerald greens blinked slowly, as if she were coming out of a deep sleep.
"Is that more paperback novel crap? Jesus, I wish you hadn't read all that shit. Look, no one is immune to us, baby.
No one
." Luci grabbed Allison's shoulders and turned her back toward the far booth. "Sometimes the rules of the hunt change, but that's all. If we sucked him now, his blood would destroy us… okay, so that part's
like
the books. But all we have to do is make him lose his faith. And that's going to be a whole hell of a lot easier now that you're here.
"So come on," Luci said, looping her arm through Allison's and dragging her away from the wall. "Suck in your fangs and stick out your tits. I can hardly wait to introduce you two."
Allison let herself be
"That's real tempting," Mica said, "but I think I'll just wait. I don't have anything better to do."
Do I, Lord?
Miriam's face went stony as she stepped back from the table.
"Like I should tell you what to do. Stay up all night if that's what you want.
Gina
… you be nice and don't give him any hassle, you hear? Now, I gotta get back to those three before they start peeling the wallpaper off with their teeth. Be good!"
Mica nodded even though he wasn't sure which one of them Miriam's parting shot had been directed at. Lord knows
he
was trying to be good.
Trying
even though he kept seeing Luci and Gypsy and the Woman-Who-Wasn't-Piper rolling around the floor of the dressing room
— naked, sweating bodies crawling… touching… sucking…
"Are you gonna fuckin' sit there all night?" Gina suddenly hissed, slapping the table with her palm.
Oh, Lord…
"Well, ain't this a cozy little scene."
Mica's head snapped around so quickly he was sure he'd heard one of the vertebra in his neck pop. Gypsy leaned up against the end of the booth, a shadow among shadows… one with a shit-eating grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Gyp?"
"What's the matter, Preacher-boy?" he asked, leaning over and punching Mica lightly on the arm. Only this time it
was
lightly. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"So what's so special about him?"
Dressed in the conservative starlet outfit that Luci had picked out for her: Slit-to-the-thigh hip-hugger jeans and a plunging-to-the-belly-button sequined top and shoes that would make a podiatrist cream his shorts, Allison folded her arms over her breasts and squinted at the man gaping up at Gypsy.
He didn't look like anything special. His dirt-water brown hair was too long for his thin face — his hawkish nose too long for his narrow eyes. His whole manner too young for the body that held it. All he needed was glasses and a pencil stuck behind his ears and he'd look like a grown up version of the Audio-Visual nerds Allison and her girlfriends used to laugh at in high school.
"That's the Preacher-boy," Luci said. The little white dinner dress that she'd slipped into made a soft rustling sound as she stepped up behind Allison and ran a hand slowly down her back. "He works out front. But you better watch out for him. He's a real dyed-in-the-wool True Believer, always talking up the Big G and praying for our immortal souls."
Allison felt her skin crawl under Luci's cold hand.
"He's a
holy
man," she gasped, "and he can still come in here? Isn't he supposed to burst into flames or something?"
"Believe me, he's come close," Luci said, "but so far all he's done is smolder. A little."
Allison shook her head — shook off Luci's hand and pressed her back against the wall. What the hell was a preacher doing working for the damned?
"I already told you, Alley-cat," Luci said out loud, answering the unspoken question. "Besides, I like having him around… it's a challenge."
Allison watched the smile mold itself around Luci's fangs.
"What challenge? Everyone knows a Man of…" Allison pointed one finger toward the water damaged ceiling, "…
you know
is immune to our kind."
Luci's emerald greens blinked slowly, as if she were coming out of a deep sleep.
"Is that more paperback novel crap? Jesus, I wish you hadn't read all that shit. Look, no one is immune to us, baby.
No one
." Luci grabbed Allison's shoulders and turned her back toward the far booth. "Sometimes the rules of the hunt change, but that's all. If we sucked him now, his blood would destroy us… okay, so that part's
like
the books. But all we have to do is make him lose his faith. And that's going to be a whole hell of a lot easier now that you're here.
"So come on," Luci said, looping her arm through Allison's and dragging her away from the wall. "Suck in your fangs and stick out your tits. I can hardly wait to introduce you two."
Allison let herself be
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