Conclave (Hypernaturals 3)

Floating PI

This time I turned and walked away and left a seething hot killer looking directly at the back of my neck. If I had actually poked the name tag, Cert would have shattered every bone in my arm. I am surprised she did not lean forward to give herself the pretext. I guess she has some honor. I am sure no male in the history of ever gave her that much shit and lived to tell the tale.

The Vampires at the hot tub squeezed open a path to the center of the tub. No one seemed to mind I am, in essence, 'cutting into line'. I steered through the press to be as close to where Morgan floated as I can. Morgan sensed the stir, opened one eye, and saw me squeezing in. She fluttered her hands to move and floated my way. More room was made for her and Morgan joined the press as she climbed out to sit next to me. Rising hot water vapor from her skin and hair made her look like she is steaming. As she looked at me I again got the feeling of her being tired. It is subtle, but it is in her body language someplace that my subconscious mind can perceive even if it is not telling me how it read that from her.

I have always liked Morgan. Attracted to her (one-way) since the very first day I met her. Her work with my brother's law firm always top-notch and she is a crusader, like my brother. She pursues truth, no matter where that takes her. Knowing now that Morgan knew about the Vampire community, has a Vampire mother, shot William in the leg while he dangled me, gave blood to Helen, and is hunting with all her impressive skill to find William's whereabouts, I am disposed to feel even more warmly towards her if that is possible.

If I was not married, Morgan is the human that would break my heart. When she said 'No'. If she said 'yes' then when I lost her a few years down the line. Human.

"You get any sleep today?" I asked her when she wedged in. I paused for a moment to consider her total ease with the current situation. A human, surrounded four deep by naked Vampires. Everything about her body language and scent said she thought no more about that than if she were sitting fully clothed at the office reading the paper.

The way Morgan shook her head 'no' spoke volumes: I could read her physical exhaustion in the motions. "No. I talked to a lot of people. Set many of things in motion. Planted seeds in all the places I know of. Talked to a friend of mine on the Rangers, and Helen's friend at the County Sheriff's department. Worked with some of Rachel's sources. Did not leave time for sleep. I will get eight tonight, after the hot tubbing. I know better than to burn my candle at both ends, at least for extended periods of time." She looked around at the layers of Vampires. "I cannot miss one of these. Too rare a privilege to be here."

"Wow. Are you sure you are a human? I had to take a nap."

I saw her looking at my beer sideways, offered it to her. She took a long pull that made half the bottle evaporate, sighed. Handed it back. "I am human enough. They took a lot of blood from you for Helen. Far more than from me, or Jessica. You look pretty good for having been drained so deeply. Vampire recovery time is always amazing."

"My Mom gave me some kind of drug that encourages new blood cells, same as you. Jessica filled me with liquids and vitamins, and all sorts of shit. I swear she has stock in some vitamin manufacturer."

Morgan took the bottle again when I offered it, and when she handed it back it was empty. "She probably owns at least one by now, if not more than one. Vampires and their investments. Jessica learned from a master at that too: Helen is a beast in the financial wizardry department. I bet this resort earns money its first year under her management."

I nodded agreement "Probably true. If she doesn't own a pharmaceutical company, then Helen does." I shook the bottle to show its sad state. "Be right back. Save my tiny Morgan-adjacent place."

I went, retrieved a bucket, filled it with ice and Shiner Bock's, and returned to the barely open space by Morgan and wedged back in. I went to a different bar than the one Cert is at. I felt her eyes on me, and a small grin of triumph on her face when she saw I avoided her.

Yeah. Fine. Next time, I am going back to her bar again. I started thinking of snarky things to say to her, then shoved that into the background so I could talk to Morgan, and drink beer with a friend and member of my Crew. Mom's words.

Morgan told a joke. "While you were gone, I had to fight off a few people that wanted to sit there. Since you were bringing me a beer, I beat them back. Their bodies are at the bottom of the hot tub."

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you." We clinked beer bottles. Sipped.

As Morgan and I chatted, a dozen other conversations were going in the Jacuzzi. Some about the events of the day, Human politics, the trivialities of Vampire life. One group talking about the inadequacy of human males to be able to keep up sexually, and one woman noted that male Vampires are not much better. I saw a few glances over at me to see if I heard or took offense.