The Vampire's Revenge Read Online Free PDF Page B

there be?
    “You are some kind of big cat, right?” Rennie asked.
    Rufus turned beet red. “No! I’m just a were cat, all right? Felis silvestris catus. ”
    The rest of us froze in place for a second, trying to wrap our minds around it. I finally asked for clarification. “Dude. You’re just a regular old cat?”
    The five of us who were not part-time house cats exploded in laughter. “How in the hell did you wind up as a were kitty ?” Jerry asked when he’d caught his breath. “That is just so wrong. Shape shifters are supposed to be dangerous, man! What happened?”
    “I’m not a regular were,” Rufus admitted glumly. “It’s more like a curse. I have to spend nights as a human and days as a cat. Kind of like those two dogs of William’s.”
    “Wait a minute!” Rennie wheezed, holding his side. “Don’t tell me! You’re the red tabby that hangs around here in the daytime, aren’t you?”
    When Rufus went all stone-faced and refused to answer, Rennie dissolved into hysteria. “Oh, my gawd! I’ve been feeding you Tender Vittles and table scraps for years and didn’t even know it was you!”
    Huey shook his head in wonderment. “I thought y’all knew. I’ve known that ever since I came back,” he said and wandered out again.
    I shook my head. “Zombies have a way with animals, I guess. So what was the curse all about?”
    Rufus waved his hand. “Never you mind. Y’all done made enough fun of me for one night without dredging up that ancient history.”
    I wondered how ancient that history was. You could never tell with curses and spells. Reyha and Deylaud—the “two dogs of William’s,” as Rufus had described them—were hundreds of years old, even though in their human forms they looked to be twenty-somethings. It was interesting that Rufus looked on his lot in life as a curse whereas the Rin Tin Twins considered theirs a gift.
    Otis clearly did not agree that Rufus had been made enough fun of. He was still slapping his knees, laughing. “Here, pussy, pussy!”
    Rufus dove across the table, scattering cards, chips, and coffee cups in his wake. He hit Otis in the chest, his momentum carrying both of them onto the concrete floor where they grappled, trying to get a clean punch off.
    “Will the two of you look at each other?” I shouted. “You’re acting like a couple of damn fools.”
    Jerry and I pulled them apart. “Otis, say you’re sorry,” I demanded, holding him by the scruff of the neck.
    “Sorry.” He smirked.
    “Like you mean it,” I said, shaking him like you would a stubborn child.
    “Sorry,” he repeated, looking at the floor.
    “Now, Rufus, you say you’re sorry for giving Otis the skunk eye lately,” I said.
    “Sorry,” he muttered.
    I released my hold on Otis, and Jerry let Rufus go. “Y’all ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” I scolded. “Acting out like a couple of kids while I’m out there fighting demons and trying to hold this city together. From now on you two are earning your keep.”
    “Huh? I work for the Sidhe,” Otis said.
    “Well, now you’re working for me. And unless you want to be a blood donor, I would suggest you go out there tomorrow and use those faerie glamour skills to find Eleanor.” Otis began to protest but shut up quick when I flashed fang.
    “And as for you, hairball,” I said, directing my attention to Rufus. “I would suggest that you use your talents to comb this city in your feline disguise and help Otis sniff out Eleanor’s whereabouts.”
    I gathered them up into a man hug, one against each shoulder. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before,” I said, squeezing them until they both gasped. “You guys are going to make a great team.”
    Rennie looked up at us, wiping away tears of laughter with his bandanna. “I just love it when a plan comes together for you pointy-toothed types. Especially when it doesn’t involve me.”

    “How goes the demon hunting?” Melaphia asked, sipping a cup of