0.6-The Asylum Interviews: Trixie (3 page)

Trixie stepped around the glass case and into the next room, where we tattooed. As she walked past me, I took a chance to check her out. Dressed in dark jeans that hugged her hips and legs and a black button-up shirt, she already looked overdressed for a tattoo parlor, but nice for an interview. The human version of Trixie was beautiful, but the elf version snagged my attention. While Jo had a dark, dangerous allure to her, Trixie was a delicate angel who should be revered and worshipped.
Yeah, she wouldn’t be a distraction.

I moved to follow her into the tattooing room, but she stopped just over the threshold. I looked over her shoulder to find that she was staring at Bronx as he sat on his stool munching on a turkey sandwich.

“That’s just Bronx. He’s doesn’t bite.”

“I know he doesn’t bite,” she said irritably. “I just didn’t know there were any trolls who tattooed.”

Bronx put down his sandwich on the plastic wrap it had been covered in and brushed his fingers off on his pants before extending a hand to her. “There aren’t many of us, but I’ve been told I do good work.”

“He does great work,” I chimed in as I walked over to my stool and sat down as she shook Bronx’s hand.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to insult you,” Trixie said, smiling lightly at my companion.

“You didn’t. I tend to surprise a lot of people.”

“Let me see your portfolio,” I said, stretching out my hand. Trixie handed it over before settling in a folding chair on the opposite side of the room between Bronx and myself. The troll started to wrap up his half-finished sandwich and I shook my head. “Finish. I’m sure Trixie won’t mind.”

“Please do,” she added quickly. “Mr. Powell said that you are extremely busy.”

Bronx only hesitated for a moment before unwrapping his sandwich. “Thanks. It’s my only break of the night.”

It was then that I looked around the large open area we used for tattooing. I gave a little laugh as I looked over at my coworker. “I just realized that I’ll need to have a third chair put in if I hire another artist. I’m sure there’d be times that all three artists could be inking at once.”

“True. How long would we be down?” Bronx asked as he inhaled the last of his sandwich. He then reached into the brown paper bag at his feet and pulled out two more sandwiches. I didn’t tell Trixie that those were actually his fourth and fifth sandwiches. The troll could eat, which was one of the reasons I had never offered to pick up the tab—he’d break my fucking wallet.

“Just a day. I could get some people to bring in a chair, rearrange them, and then bolt them down. I could then come in early the next day to re-sterilize everything.”

Bronx laughed as he swallowed his bite. “I could use a day off.”

Shaking my head, I opened Trixie’s portfolio and set it on the tattooing chair in front of me. Her distracting looks were quickly forgotten when I saw the photos in her portfolio. Jo had not exaggerated. Trixie was talented. I’d be crazy not to have her on staff, particularly if she could also stir a decent potion and get along with Bronx and me.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Powell, but I’m not actually here for a job,” Trixie began in a firm voice, dragging my eyes from the photos before me. My stomach sank and I frowned. Not exactly what I was expecting to hear.

“First off, it’s Gage. And second, what are you talking about? You don’t need a job?”

“No, I do need a job, but it’s not my real reason for being here.”

I sat back in my chair and folded my arms over my chest. Here it comes. She was going to spill out why she was using glamour and how her trouble was landing on my doorstep.

“I want your help in freeing Jo,” she said, confusing me more ways than I could count. That was unexpected.

I shifted in my chair, fighting the urge to rise and pace the room. “What are you talking about?”

“Jo said that you used to date. I thought you might be willing to help her.”

“Yes, but last night was the first time I’ve seen her in more than two years. What are you talking about? Free her from what? She seemed fine last night.”

“Except . . .” Bronx’s pointed look reminded me of Jo’s unknown man. I had emailed to check in, demanding an explanation, but I had yet to hear back.

“You saw Chester?” Trixie gasped, jumping out of her chair.

I snickered, unable to stop it. “Chester? The vamp’s name is Chester?”

“Gage,” Bronx said in a warning voice as I caught the glare from Trixie.

I cleared my throat and sat up. “Sorry.” But really, what self-respecting vampire had a name like Chester? Most of the male vampires I had encountered had names like Fang, Blade, and Payne, and it was just hard to be afraid of someone named Chester.

“Yes, I believe we saw him,” Bronx said when I didn’t speak. I was still trying to pull myself together. “Tall vampire with dark brown hair.”

Trixie sank back into her seat, looking a little frustrated. “I’ve actually never seen him. Jo just told me about him. He’s the only one who threatens her.”

“He was that,” Bronx admitted.

“Why don’t you tell us what you know?” I asked, finally putting my thoughts back on track. “As I said before, last night was the first time I’ve seen Jo in over two years.”

Trixie dragged in a deep breath and folded her hands together in her lap. “When I met Jo in June out on the Coast, she was already talking about leaving the band. She said she was getting tired of the travel, tired of putting up with Royce, and it seemed like Kevin and Daisy were looking to settle down with a pack to have kids. She mentioned wanting to come back to Low Town and a month ago, she did.”

“Wait!” I interrupted, throwing up my hands. “Jo has been back in town a month?”

“Yes,” Trixie said with a slight hiss and a pointed look that demanded my silence. I shook my head. Jo had come back and didn’t contact me until now. What the fuck? It’s not like I was interested in getting back together, but it would have been nice to know she was moving back.

“Anyway, when she moved back she discovered that she couldn’t rejoin her old nest. Something about no available spots, so she was forced into Chester’s. He’s a cold, manipulative asshole and he’s been making her life hell since she came back to Low Town. I’m afraid of him hurting her.”

“I don’t understand. Why doesn’t she just leave? She left her last nest.”

“If she wants to stay in Low Town, she has to be part of a nest,” Trixie said.

“And there are only two nests in Low Town,” Bronx added.

“I guess I still don’t understand. Why is she a part of this nest? I saw her apartment plenty of times when she lived here before and she lived alone. No nest.”

“Did you not study the rulings on the Vampire Bill of Rights in 1914?” Trixie snapped.

“Just the part that all citizens have to have legal documents registered and approved before being turned into a vampire. The rest didn’t apply to me.”

At this point, even Bronx was starting to look a little frustrated. To be honest, the warlock who tutored me in history tended to skip over a lot of vampire history because the Ivory Towers saw them as dead humans that just needed to be buried better. Most spells didn’t work on vampires and the Towers certainly didn’t care about vampire rights. After leaving the Ivory Towers, I had been too busy trying to survive to go back and learn all the history I hadn’t been taught. Of course, I couldn’t tell my companions any of that.

“In 1914, various governments enacted certain rights and restraints on the vampire population,” Bronx explained. “One of the requirements was that all vampires who live in a single city needed to be a part of a government-licensed nest. The nest acts as both enforcement of laws and as a sponsor. If Jo isn’t a part of a nest, it can make her life extremely difficult. The worst of which being that she would lose her BBC and her name and picture could be handed over to the Hunt Club for extermination.”

“Fuck,” I grumbled, shoving to my feet. With my hands folded on my head, I paced away from my chair toward the back room. Jo needed her Blood Bank Card, or BBC as it was popularly known. She had always said that tracking down a willing human and getting a pint was too much hassle and trouble, not to mention risk. She much preferred heading down each night to the local blood bank and picking up what she needed.

And then the fucking Hunt Club was a damned eyesore from the stone ages that needed to be disbanded, but humans still needed that security blanket so they could sleep at night. The Hunt Club was a group of mostly human men who tracked down any creature that had failed to toe the line. Their popular target tended to be vampires since humans were their main prey and the Hunt Club felt the need to strike back.

I paced back into the tattooing room to find Bronx and Trixie silently waiting for me.

“Why the hell didn’t she tell me about this?” I exploded. Trixie jerked in her seat, looking stunned by my anger. “Okay, so we didn’t have the closest of relationships. We didn’t share a lot of private details, but we were friends. She knows she can come to me and I will happily help her with anything. Anything!”

“I think she’s embarrassed,” Trixie ventured. For the first time, her voice was placating. Whatever she had been trying to get out of me, she finally got. “She didn’t know that I planned to tell you about this. When she mentioned this job to me, she also told me that you used to date. I wasn’t even sure that it ended well, but I thought I would at least try to get your help. Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting much since few humans are willing to take on a master vampire.”

“I’m more than taking this Chester on. I’m ripping his fucking head off for touching her,” I snarled at Trixie and then turned to look at Bronx. “And you promised to hold him down.”

“I will if that’s what you want, but we have to be careful about this, Gage,” Bronx said. “You can’t march in and take on a master vampire. They don’t get to that position based on charm and good grammar.”

“Besides, getting rid of Chester could upset their entire social structure,” Trixie added. “It could destroy the nest and then Jo is still screwed.”

I flopped down in my chair, feeling more frustrated by the minute because I had been neatly excluded from Jo’s life in more ways than I wanted to contemplate, her friend—not Jo—enlightens me to the problem, and then Bronx and Trixie take away my only outlet for my anger, namely kicking Chester’s ass. “Fine, then what do you suggest? Peaceful protest? A letter-writing campaign?”

“You don’t have to be such an ass. I’m worried too,” Trixie snapped, standing so that she could look down at me. “If I hadn’t come here, you wouldn’t have known any of this and she would have continued to suffer. So if you’re done pouting and coddling your bruised ego, maybe you could put your brain to use and think of a viable way to help her.”

My shoulders slumped as I dropped my head into my hands. I was being an ass. I was missing the point, which was that Jo needed help. “You’re right and I’m sorry,” I said. I looked up and found Trixie staring at me with a surprised look on her face. “Never hear that before?” I asked with a smirk.

“Uh . . . no, not for a long time.” Trixie’s voice was soft and a little husky as she took an unsteady step backward, turning to her chair.

“I might not be the smartest man, but I do admit when I’m wrong. It just might take me a little while.” Trixie nodded, the first glimpse of a genuine smile crossing her full lips since she’d walked into the parlor. “I think the first thing we need to do is talk to Jo and get the whole story. She might also have a suggestion or two about how to deal with Chester, seeing as she is a vampire and has the inside scoop on how their society works. I would rather not take Chester down and leave a lot of vampires homeless—not the best way to make friends.”

“Good idea,” Bronx said with a grim grin.

“I’m supposed to be meeting her tonight at Warm & Toasted,” Trixie offered. “She wants to know how my interview with you went.”

I stood, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was only seven thirty. The night was still young—plenty of time to get into trouble. “What time?”

“Nine.”

“Great. I’m going with you.” I turned my attention to Bronx to ask him something, but Trixie also jumped to her feet and closed the distance between us.

“You can’t go. She’ll know I told you.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re past the point of hiding this from Jo. If we’re going to help her, she has to know and I’m not sitting back waiting for you to feed me more info. And last I checked, I’m the only one here who had been intimately involved with her. Unless you’ve got something you’d like to share with the rest of the class?”

Trixie’s lovely mouth bobbed open for a couple seconds as her cheeks flustered bright red. “It’s not what you’re thinking. Jo and I are just friends. Just. Friends.”

I shrugged. “A guy can hope.” I turned to look at Bronx, who was shaking his head at me while trying to hide his smile. At least he knew I was only teasing. “How many appointments you got tonight?”

The last of his smile instantly soured. “Several.”

“Keep your cell phone close.”

“I can cancel,” he offered and I appreciated it. I was getting too accustomed to having him at my back. But I didn’t think I wasn’t going to need it tonight. After calming down, I realized that I couldn’t go gunning for Chester’s head without a plan, and I wasn’t going to have a working plan until I got all the details from Jo.

“Thanks, but don’t. We should be fine.”

“Call me before you head to the nest,” Bronx said firmly, bringing a smile to my lips.

“Like I would deny you your fun!”

“You’re not going,” Trixie said in a low voice, sounding as if she was crushing each word between her clenched teeth.

Turning to face her, I shoved my hands in my pockets and smiled. “You lost your right to veto me out of any involvement when you passed along your news. Jo is my friend too and we will help her together.” I extended my hand toward her, waiting for an agreement.

Trixie stared at it for several seconds, her lips pulled into a frown, before she took my hand. “You’re a prick and an asshole and I have no idea what Jo ever saw in you, but we’ll help each other.”