I held a hand up. “Just one second.”
“What?” Frat-boy stopped in his tracks.
“So you know who I am, right?”
He glanced at his friends, then back to me. “Sure.”
“I’m the Slayer of Slayers. That means that I’m extremely dangerous.”
He laughed. “You don’t look so tough. I think I can handle you.”
“That’s what the others said. And now they’re six feet under.”
I sawChad visibly flinch at my words. “She’s right. Maybe we should just clear out.”
Frat-boy shook his head. “She’s bluffing.”
I shrugged. “Do you know who Gideon Chase is?”
He hesitated for a split second. “Of course. Everybody does.”
I nodded. “He’s on his way to Toronto right this very minute. Why? Because of me. Because of who I am. He wants to meet the Slayer of Slayers himself.”
“So what?”
“So if you kill me, kill us, I think he’s going to be majorly pissed off. It’ll be the ultimate insult. Spoiling his fun. And you know Gideon. He likes his fun, doesn’t he?”
Well, I hoped he did, anyhow.
Frat-boy pressed his lips together. “Gideon Chase is cominghere .”
I nodded. “That’s right. So this can go one of three ways, boys. You can try to kill us and succeed, and when Gideon gets here and finds out what happened he’ll probably kill you for taking his fun away.
Number two, you can try to kill us, but being that we’re incredibly dangerous vampires, we’ll kill you instead. Horribly and painfully.” I bared my fangs for full effect. I hoped I didn’t have any lipstick on them. “Or number three, you can turn around and leave us the hell alone and live to see another day. I strongly suggest you go for number three. Then again, number two’s fine also. I am a little hungry and you boys do smell delicious.”
I glanced at George and he nodded in agreement. “They do. They really do.”
Frat-boy appeared to think about it for a moment, a range of emotions going through his expression: doubt, fear, and finally anger. He didn’t like me telling him what to do. He gripped his stake tighter and took another step toward me. I forced myself not to move back.
“I guess I’m a bit of a gambler, then,” he said. “Because I was sort of looking for another kill under my belt. Right, guys?”
He was met with silence.
The other guys had taken off around the time I mentioned the “kill you horribly and painfully” part.
He glanced over his shoulder, and then back at me.
I took a step forward.
He nodded and tucked his stake into his belt loop. “Say hi to Gideon for me.”
Then he turned around and left the smoking area. Quickly.
“I seriously think I just peed myself,” Amy said. “That guy who bought me a drink was going to totally let us die.”
I gave her a look and tried to tell my churning stomach to relax. “Didn’t I try to tell you that?”
“Well, I couldn’t visualize it. Now I can. That was terrible.”
“Yes,” George agreed. “Terrible. Who chose this stupid club, anyhow?”
“You did.”
“And it’s a great club, if it wasn’t for all the hunters. They should put a warning on the sign out front.
And what’s the story with that Gideon guy you were talking about?”
I swallowed hard, but just shrugged. They didn’t know. They didn’t need to know. It would just make them worry more than they already did. “I was just making it up as I went along. Luckily it worked. All I know is I seriously want to get the hell out of here right now.”
He looked around. “Where did the bodyguards go?”
“No idea.”
“I think I need some more Moonshine,” he said.
I realized my buzz was almost gone, replaced by three layers of stress. “Yeah, let’s have it back at the house. I hope you bought a gallon of that stuff.”
So, without any further protestation from Amy, we left the Liar’s Club, on guard, on edge, and still a little tipsy. I was fuming that Janie and Lenny had basically abandoned me to my own devices. At least until I saw Lenny pounding his head against the wall of a nearby alley.
“Lenny?” I said. “Where the hell did you two go? I needed you in there.”
“Sorry. I was coming back. I just needed to get some fresh air.”
I frowned at him. “What are you doing?”
“Pounding my stupid head.”
“That’s what I thought you were doing. And why are you doing that?”
“Because I’m a big, fat dummy, that’s why.”
I glanced at Amy and George, who stayed back a bit so I could approach the masochistic bodyguard.
“Can you be a little more specific?”
He stopped pounding and looked at me. “Janie hates me.”