The Gates of Troy (Lopez Time Book 3) Read online

  Except that he needed to seem a little bit manlier, if he really wanted to pull women in. He actually had managed pretty, which was probably the real thing going on at the moment, instead of anti-vampire hate movement members attacking to make a point.

  The guys had basically gay bashed the other kid, because they secretly wanted to have sex with him. Except that, of course, they didn’t. The conflict had caused them to respond in the wrong way, setting things in motion that evening.

  At a guess.

  “No problem, Mr. Mivens. Still, from now on, you might want to get with Mable here, before doing your vampire act? She can give you tips on how to do it correctly. You can pay her back with errands? Really, that can be an actual job, if you play it right. A lot of vampires need to have things done occasionally during the day. Getting cat food and paying bills. Especially this time of year.” He was just talking, since the boy might well have a job already but Mable actually lit up at the idea.

  “That would be a great help. I don’t need much, myself but I can pay a little. Fifty dollars for say, ten trips a month?” She looked hopeful about it.

  Interestingly, that got a nod.

  “Five dollars a trip, as long as it doesn’t take too long? You have to pay for whatever it is though. The cat food or whatever?” He sounded shy, suddenly, and held the cold can to his face.

  Nodding, Troy smiled.

  “You should get with Harriet the local leader, Roger. Mable, could you take him in for that?” He didn't mean it as an order but it was always easier to have someone with you, than to do that kind of thing cold.

  It clearly had Mable feeling a bit uneasy but she nodded.

  “We can do that now? I don’t have a vehicle. We could take the bus?”

  The kid, looking too pretty still, with high end fangs showing, smiled.

  “I have a car? It’s a piece of junk but I just filled it up, so we can go someplace? I don’t know where a lot of things are.” He sounded humble about it, at least.

  Troy nodded.

  “The Y-Tavern. I’ll go with you, if that’s all right? Harriet is the local vampire leader, so you need to put a bit of effort into things first, if you want her endorsement, for the new job. Also, you need to lose the fangs. The make-up… That can stay but you should tie the hair back. Maybe get it cut soon? I’d do it for you but you know, I have no clue how to do that kind of thing.”

  Mable looked at the boy, a bit critically.

  “I do. I used to do it professionally, for a few decades. Before I became a vampire. The styles are a little different but I can do something to match the modern trends. We could redo the makeup as well? Men didn't wear that back in my day but it does help a bit. You wish him to appear attractive, my lord?”

  The words were spoken softly, with a bowed head, which got attention from several of the other police there, who were eavesdropping.

  “Troy. I’m not that high up in the council structure. I basically handle travel for them now. That and clean the floors. Handle minor tax issues. That kind of thing. As well as my job here, with the police.” It sounded like a lot, suddenly.

  Mable nodded.

  “Forgive me, Troy. You wish us, the local vampires, to promote this boy?”

  It was a strange thing to say, really. Not that it was a horrible plan, really.

  “That’s up to you, Mable. You as well, Roger. This could be an important job, if you make it one. Not high paying, maybe but the more you’re willing to do, the more important it might be. Do you have another job?”

  “Not really. I pick up some temp things. My mom kind of wants me to get a job but… It.. Things are hard right now, you know?”

  Troy got that one. It wasn’t true, for him personally. Not on an economic front but a lot of people in the area weren’t working. It didn't even show up in the statistics, since job numbers stopped being counted when the unemployment ran out. That meant the most desperate unemployed people weren’t counted at all. Most of them were young, too, and ended up living off their parents for a long time, lacking other options.

  They walked, as a group, first to Mable’s place, which was a nice, if older, home. She’d run in to get the needed cat food, which Roger carried for her. Then they had to stay there for a while, since he needed a haircut. The fake teeth were popped off and his face scrubbed down as well. That left him in a Twilight shirt but that part wasn’t too bad.

  Most vampires didn’t know what that was, after all. It wasn’t a big issue at least. After all, the sparkly vampires were both the villains and the heroes of the thing. That meant getting up in a bunch wasn’t going to help them look better. Besides, a lot of vampires didn’t follow trends all that closely. Some did but it was easier to let go of that kind of thing than not, Troy knew.

  He was already starting to do that, at least a bit. Things just didn’t seem all that important. Troy only knew what Twilight was due to having seen the movies while he was still alive. Most of a decade before. Which probably meant their new little friend was kind of out of date.

  He also looked a lot better, once he didn’t have long hair. Some guys could pull that off but if you were too skinny, you looked like a girl. That wasn’t what most of them were going for. If you were too chubby, it also didn’t work very well.

  Now he had hair down to his collar, with nice styling done to the rest of it. Even better, it was cut to hold the style with simple brushing.

  Mable smiled as she explained that part.

  “It’s a trick I worked out… Oh, fifty years ago. Men can’t be bothered to do much with their hair, most of the time. By shaping it correctly, they can just spend a minute or two each morning and be set for the day.”

  “That’s excellent. I can come to you when I need mine done again?” His was very short, at the moment but it still took longer than that to really keep on top of caring for it. Being a cop, he needed to look sharp, all the time.

  The vampire, instead of being pleased, or upset, went very still.

  “That… I can do that, my lord. Troy.”

  The kid, Roger, stood up, looking in the mirror.

  “This is really nice. Um, not to be dumb but why do you keep calling Troy my lord?”

  There was a look then, on the old woman’s face. She looked a bit Hispanic, or possibly Italian but was pale, being dead like she was. Her face held wrinkles but with a bit of work, she probably could have sold herself as being a well-worn fifty, instead of the sixty-five or so she looked at the moment.

  Blinking, Troy realized something. He could change that. It would take a bit of magical reshaping but the idea was similar to healing. If he held the idea of what he wanted, say for her skin to tighten up, then added a bit or power…

  He smiled at her, which got her to bow her head as she explained it to the human.

  “Mr. Lopez is a functionary of the vampire council. They only work directly with the most powerful of us. I can’t win a fight with him, if I gave insult, so I’m not going to do that. You can’t either. I can’t protect you from this, boy. The same is true of the others we’re going to meet. That’s why Troy is going with us. If he vouches for you, the others will know that they have to fight both of us, if they harm you. That won’t stop them, if you give insult, so learn to be polite. Fast.” Her tone was dark and harsh, like she wanted to instill the proper fear with a beating.

  She didn’t do that though.

  Instead she looked at her reflection in the mirror that she’d gotten out to show Roger his new style.

  “I should have turned at a younger age. It wasn’t an option at the time. My granddaughter turned me, on my deathbed. I’m stuck this way.” She sounded bland on the subject.

  Also, Troy understood, that she’d been influenced by what he was thinking. Given he hadn’t been projecting, he hid his mind from her. She probably had a psychic ability of some sort. Some Vampires did, after all. About a third of them, actually.

  “I was just thinking that I might be able to do something abou
t that, if you want to try it? It might hurt but probably not too badly? Just… Kind of like a magical face lift?”

  Roger stood up and moved, so that the vampire could take his place. For her part, she went very still, while he tried to work out what to do. It wasn’t that hard, though he couldn’t just do the face. It meant coming up with a complete picture of what she needed to look like naked. Then, using a bit more energy than he would have thought it would take, he brought the idea into being. It took about two hours to get done. There was no screaming.

  No whimpering even. It seemed like it didn’t feel like much to Mable at all.

  When he opened his eyes, he saw Roger sitting in the other kitchen chair, all of his hair swept up. Troy hadn’t noticed it happening as he worked, in the dimly lit kitchen. There was a broom and dustpan in the corner though. Those were both red and made of modern materials, though not everything in the room was new at all.

  It looked like a kitchen and was clean but like his own, wasn’t used for much.

  Glancing at his work, he smiled.

  “What do you think, Roger?”

  The boy was starring a bit, then he actually blushed.

  “She’s hot. I mean… way out of my league. Here… Let me…” He went to the table and picked up the small hand mirror, then held it as the vampire woman looked at her image.

  She went very, very still, then touched her face.

  “This is… I didn’t look like this when I was alive.”

  Troy winced. He’d tried to match what the bone structure told him to do but it was possible that he’d messed up, it being his first time. He was about to tell her he could fix it, which he could, when the lady clasped her hands in front of herself.

  “This is simply amazing! What do I owe you for this… Miracle? I have some funds…” She seemed a bit reticent then but shrugged. “Or we could date? I look nice enough for that now.”

  She did look pretty good, he had to admit. For a moment, he felt a slight bit of pride in the work. Her older clothing even looked better on her, now.

  “We can trade? A haircut for this? Now, we should go. It’s nearly midnight, so things should be about right, that way.”

  That meant walking to Roger’s house, which was a rather small apartment, about two blocks from Mable’s. They went inside, since the kid decided that he wanted a better shirt for his job interview. All on his own, as well.

  That meant standing in the slightly poor looking living room, as a tired looking mother came out to see what was going on. She was plump, and not that old, to be honest. Not cute, really but only about forty or so. Her hair was matted down on the side of her head, having been sleeping it seemed. To that end, Troy decided not to judge her on it. She wasn’t getting a fair viewing that way.

  Her pajamas were pink, and her one physical asset of note was her chest. She was huge that way. Enough that Troy had to figure that she was going to have back problems from it, sooner or later.

  “Um, hello?” She sounded tentative but didn't seem scared. Just confused.

  Then, Troy was in a suit and tie and Mable in a dress. They both looked nice enough that they probably weren’t criminals.

  Troy moved forward, his hand out to shake.

  “Hello! Troy Lopez, Lincoln PD. Supernatural Division. This is Mable Herrington. Local vampire. She also does excellent hair styling.” He added that, to offset the vampire part of things a bit. Then he let his face go a bit more serious. “Roger was attacked by three people at the store down the street. For being a vampire, which was ridiculous. Mable saw it happening and interceded, before things got out of hand. We’re taking Roger for a job interview, to see if any of the local people need errands run during the day. It’s not a glamorous job but it really does come up that things like that are needed.”

  He should have covered more about Roger but the boy came out, wearing a pair of black slacks and a button up shirt. With the new hair and scrubbed skin, he looked nice. Professional, if not that old. Then, Mable’s new look only put her at a few years older, if that, so they could hang out in public and no one would think it was strange at all.

  The mother, who hadn’t given her name at all, not having a real chance to do that at all, blinked. After a bit, she smiled and looked troubled at the same time.

  “Sorry. I’m still asleep. Ah… This is… You were attacked?”

  Roger actually sneered a bit then.

  “Yeah. Billy Pence, the jerk that used to bully me in school? He and his friends jumped me. Then Mable kicked their asses. It was a glorious thing to see. I don’t know why they always go for me like that. I guess I was dressed funny. You know, I had my whole vampire face on.”

  The mother nodded, her PJs shifting a bit, since even with a bra on, her breasts made things move. He didn’t stare but it was actually kind of hard not to. The woman was built that way. If she could lose a little weight and he did something like he had with Mable…

  Troy decided to leave her alone. Unless she asked for his help, it was just him being pushy and judging people without good reason. Most people needed to be plain looking, after all. Otherwise the pretty ones would be left with nothing, and that was all some of them had.

  Mable still had silver hair but it looked fake. Thick enough that it worked with her young face still. If she didn’t like it… Well, she could dye it. Or he could change the color, he bet. Possibly even to something more interesting than black, which was what it would have been when she was younger, he bet.

  Which was also something that he shouldn’t do, unless asked. She was hot enough after all. Being too good looking was asking for trouble, in the long run. As it was, Roger kept looking at her now. As if he didn’t recall her older form, from an hour or two before.

  Troy put his hand out again, and locked eyes with the woman. Those were a bit sleepy but a nice gray-green and only a tiny bit bloodshot. She smelled warm but not musty or anything unpleasant.

  “We need to go. Nice meeting you. We’ll try to have Roger back in a few hours. Let me get you my card?” He had those, after all.

  Then, as if it made sense, he invited her to the picnic on the fourteenth. She didn’t seem that positive on the idea but he smiled a lot and tried to look hopeful about it. They were having free food, drinks and bands playing, so he tried to use that as a sales point.

  Even if he was in a suit and standing in her living room at midnight, the woman still was clearly not willing to lose a Saturday to something as boring as a community get together. Some, possibly most, people would have felt the same. It was why he expected a very small turn out, on the day.

  When they left, Mable made a point of reintroducing herself to the woman, and got her name, which was Opal. It didn’t really fit her but Troy filed that away, just in case it came up. He lived in the area, after all. Just knowing people was sometimes enough to smooth things over. A lot of people were pretty reasonable, if you just spoke to them in person. Even if they wanted to argue a point, you had a chance to work things out that way.

  Roger’s car was a disaster, of course. There were food wrappers inside of it, and piles of trash on the floors. Troy didn’t even get inside, just pointing to the apartment complex’s dumpsters.

  “Over there. We’re cleaning this out first. You might have passengers, so keep this up, from now on.” It wasn’t a limo, being small and beat up but looking a little poor could work for a lot of things. Not everyone that vampires needed transported would want attention. That didn't mean things couldn’t be clean and tidy.

  It was also illegal for him to drive his car that way. Free floating trash could be a hazard. True, he probably wouldn’t get a ticket for it but he could. Then, seeing that, Troy checked his license, registration and insurance. He actually had all of that.

  “Good. Keep on top of things and you could go places. There’s a place for a man that can get things done. Really, there always is.” That was simply true.

  He knew that one, since it had basically been his job, back when
he’d been human. The man who handled things and got it done. The only real difference was that Troy had lived in an area where the vampires were around all day long. It would be harder, if the clients were only up at night.

  Meaning it was a lot more important, in potential.

  Chapter four

  The Y-Tavern wasn’t a sophisticated place. It also wasn’t filled with strictly dead clients inside. In fact, there were only seven or so in the entire place, even though it had better than seventy people, over all. Troy could feel the dead zones made by the vamps. They didn't move as much, and their hearts didn’t beat. That left them all eerily silent, compared to the warm bodied humans in the place.

  Like all bars, ever, this one smelled of sour beer and people that should have showered before going out for the night. That last part wasn’t a thing that he’d gotten back in the day, with a regular person nose but now it was intensely apparent who’d showered that day and who’d figured a bit of extra deodorant was going to cover up the lack.

  The last group all smelled delicious.

  It took about ten seconds for someone to recognize them. Him at least. That was Molly, the waitress, who waved at him, smiling.

  “Mr. Lopez! Let’s get you and your friends a table. Can I get you folks anything to drink?” She glanced at Roger then, wondering if he needed to be carded, from the look on his face.

  As they walked, the woman in the lead, looking back, he nodded.

  “Water for me. Could you get Mable here some animal blood and a soft drink for Roger? He’s working.” That wasn’t exactly true but it would kind of shorthand things to everyone there. The boy, no matter how old he looked, was the kind of person that needed to be taken seriously.