My Vampire Assistant - Chapter 80

“I can’t believe it, JJ! Are you using her as a shield against that harpy, now? Avarice might not be the best person I know, but this is just… well, this is just a dick move!”

JJ raised his hands in a placating gesture that did nothing to diminish my outrage. “Ma chèrie, please… Will you always think so badly of me?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to burn a hole in his head with my glare, but now that my initial burst of anger went away, I was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Only if you deserve it. Do you?”

JJ shrugged. “I can’t be the one to judge if I deserve your scorn or not—this scorn is only yours to give—but at least I know I don’t deserve it for the reasons you named. I assure you, ma chèrie, that Avarice is well-aware of what’s going on, and had agreed to warn me if any of her people notice Christina skulking around. Of course, not for free, but you don’t need to worry about payment for this.”

The breath and simmering fury I had been holding left me out with a sigh. “Alright. Sorry, I will admit it… you learn from your mistakes.” I gave JJ a mirthless smile, then frowned as another thought appeared in my head. “How much did she force you to pay?”

JJ returned my smile with one of his own, much wider and full of fangs. “Just a single favour, to be cashed at a later time. Avarice grew to enjoy owning those when she realised the rumours of my abilities weren’t exaggerated. It’s a part of her success—she knows that good connections are worth more than money.”

I nodded, looking down at my hands. “Can’t go anywhere without these.” My voice was dull and lifeless as my memories turned to my past. A wonder what small things could make me suddenly remember. My dad… He knew how to negotiate, but never was fantastic at making new friends. He liked his antiquities more than most of the people he had business with.

And… for most people worth knowing, I was just a young girl, not worth attention. Way too many people only cared for my looks, not for what I was saying, and my lack of reputation only increased that. Then again, every road started somewhere. That included mine.

With renewed determination, I looked up at JJ again. Now, he probably had connections. Acquaintances, at least. Not of the kind I’ve ever envisioned in the past, but certainly people with money. I put that thought away for now, though.

“So you say we are safe for now, and if Christina reappears, Avarice will let us know?” I asked. When JJ gave me a nod of confirmation, I bit my lip for a moment before continuing. “Then what?”

“Nothing good, ma chèrie. Which is why we should do our best to prevent whatever Christina is plotting right now. ‘Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.’ We must find her current lair and strike before she does. This way, the initiative will be ours. Well, of course, I would be the one to attack, without you.”

My eyes opened wide. “Is this a quote from ‘The Art of War’?”

JJ grinned. “It is. I knew you were one of these rare people with both great knowledge and great beauty, ma chèrie.”

Heat rose to my face from the compliment, and I had to force myself not to look away. This was serious! Serious! This was about Christina! About Christina, and finding and attacking her. The perspective of ever meeting the harpy again wasn’t a welcome one, but it was either meeting her on our terms or on hers.

I agreed with JJ’s plan. It was as good as or better than anything I could come up with, at least. How to find Christina, though, was another question. I had a feeling just combing the city wouldn’t do much. Then, an idea struck me.

“I can ask other witches. They won’t miss any vampires because of glamour, and one of them, somewhere, might spot Christina just by accident. Then we will know at least where her territory is.”

“This is brilliant, ma chèrie.” I saw pride shining in JJ’s eyes. Somehow, it affected me even more than just his respect. Not so ignorant witch anymore, eh?

“Meanwhile, I will negotiate for information from other vampires. When Christina arrived in St. Petersburg, she would have to fight or trade for the territory she has now. Someone should know about it, whether or not she came there recently.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

A yawn escaped my lips, and I took a glance at the computer’s clock. It was way-too-late o’clock, aka how-long-we-were-there o’clock. Damn. Did I have to wake up early tomorrow, too?.. I wished I could sleep like vampires did—occasionally.

“You should go to bed, ma chèrie. Nights are for vampires who don’t need to sleep as much as humans do.”

I hummed in agreement and stood up. “Will you go to sleep today, too, JJ?”

He appeared thoughtful. “A hard question. More sleep will help me regenerate my hair faster, but there’s so much to do… Not to mention, I slept just last night. And what’s even the point of going to bed when you have no one to share it with?”

I sent JJ a sour look, though my lips quirked at the sly glint of his eyes. “What are you hinting at? Do you want me to tuck you in, read you a story and kiss you goodnight like a kid?”

A burst of quiet laughter erupted from him. “This isn’t just what I imagined, ma chèrie, but a kiss goodnight I would gladly accept.” He stood up from his seat and his eyes darkened with something more intense than just amusement. “And give.”

JJ reached for my arm, and I didn’t resist when he pulled me towards him. But before he could lean towards my lips, I reached to give him a quick kiss on the cheek and jumped away with a grin, gleeful like a kid who successfully pulled off a prank.

“Goodnight, JJ! I believe you will tuck yourself in without my help!”