7. St. Ann Street

St. Ann Street

There was a somewhat grumpy vampire waiting for us to talk to, though he didn't know it yet. On to St. Ann Street. I remembered where we'd been, and Sloane had said something about a gallery, so hopefully, we'd find that rather than breaking into his courtyard again. I didn't want to face his fangs head-on.

We walked down Royal, crossed Esplanade into the Quarter, and continued on until we got to the corner of St. Ann. The laughter that ripped from Luc at seeing the building there was priceless. I loved the sound and the pure joy coming from him. "What?" I asked as if I didn't know.

He thumbed over his shoulder. "We're looking for a vampire, right? Don't suppose he eats here, at the café?" The Vampire Café was bustling with a line waiting.

"I'm sure that's what he meant when he said people were eating. And we were in this area, but…" I turned around. "We came out on St. Ann. And he had a gallery. Somewhere…"

"You don't know for sure."

"Not like we weren't on the run." I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn't above pouting, and I didn't like being called out. Luc only laughed. "Shut up. I'll find it."

I pointed down St. Ann. Then turned around. The courtyard was behind it, so it had to either be on Royal or Dauphine. We'd been around Dauphine…but it could have been on the other side of the block. I was pretty sure we'd turned right. Or left? It was worth a look. Since we were on Royal, I went back up that way.

We hadn't passed Lafitte's. That was a crazy place, said to be haunted, so I didn't want to go there now with Luc. It didn't set right.

I stopped.

"What?"

I turned. "This is it." It was a small, very small, art gallery. "I got confused because we crisscrossed and doubled back. But there is a parking lot back there. Behind this. And the secret courtyard." I smacked my hands together. "Come on." And the gallery was still open.

"You feel pretty smug right now, huh?"

"Kinda, yeah." I pulled open the door and waited while Luc entered first, though I probably didn't have to. Inside was a riot of color, mostly from the art, but the walls were robin egg blue where there wasn't exposed brick, and the art was practically everywhere, but tastefully so. "Woah."

"You again? Houston, was it?" I turned to Sloane, who was slumped against the one bare spot on the wall.

"Austin."

"Whatever. Why are you here?" He narrowed his eyes, and I wondered if he contemplated eating me. Deities !

"I have a-a proposition for you."

The vampire rolled his eyes. "I'm not biting you."

"Uh…not asking you to. Duh."

"Then what are you asking?"

"You're like immortal, right?" I didn't wait for him to answer. "So, if someone took some of your life force, it wouldn't really hurt you, right?"

"No. Not as long as I drink." He was curious now, I could tell. Or maybe I was hoping.

"Okay. So, if you had, say, an unlimited supply of blood. Anytime you wanted or needed, would you be open to exchanging your life force for it?"

"That sounds too good to be true. So it probably is."

I shook my head. "No. I have it all worked out. Easy-peasy."

Luc walked around the vampire, but not too close. "I think he's going to bite." What an expression.

"I'm serious. No joke."

"Why me?"

"You're the only vampire I know."

He laughed. He was lacking in what I would have thought of as vampire attire. He looked like, well, an artist in his loose denim, plain white T-shirt, and a long, lightweight jacket over it. His combat boots were the only vampire-esq thing about him. And his long dark hair. Oh, and his pale face. And fangs. He smiled, showing them. "Okay. I'll go along, but if there's a catch, you better tell me now." And his expression filled with the promise of violence and death.

"N-No catch. I mean, I'm not sure it will work. The whole exchange of life essence part. I don't know exactly how that works, but if you're willing to try, this could be a pretty good gig for you."

"I'll try. But what's in it for you?"

"Let's just say I'm brokering the deal."

"What exactly does that mean? Why are you doing this?"

I held my hands up.

"Austin. I don't know you. I don't trust you. This could be a trap. So, either you tell me something believable here or get the fuck out of my shop."

"No need to cuss. Gees. Okay. I owe him money."

"Him who?"

Now Luc was looking at me instead of the vampire. I had to help him, and this was the way to do it. I took a deep breath before answering. "Carlos Marcello." And then I cringed, waiting for his response.

"Carlos… The Carlos Marcello?"

"Yes. I owe him a lot of money, and if this works, he wipes the slate clean. He gets the vital life essence he needs, and you get the blood you need. Win-win-win." I slid my hands together, back and forth. "Like I said. Easy-peasy."

"It should work, but it still doesn't tell me why you're doing this."

"I told you why. Clean slate."

"Eh…if it was only the debt, you would get out of town. Run. What gives?"

I sighed. It felt like I was giving up my secrets to everyone, and to be honest, they were Luc's secrets as much as mine. I turned to him and lifted an eyebrow. He nodded.

"Fine. It's Luc. I need to help him. You remember my spirit friend?"

"How does this help him?" What a difficult vampire. Maybe I should have laid out the whole story from the beginning.

"We have a path to his restoration. Lady Geneviève has agreed if we can find the right payment. So I need Marcello off my back so we can figure that part out."

"Sometimes payments are more than money, more than you think you're giving. Be careful what you bargain for."

"Thank you. We're bargaining for Luc's life. So…" I held my hands up. What wouldn't I give for him? I hardly knew him. But I was in pretty deep already. I liked everything about Luc. He was stylish, cool, and talented. His soul felt good. And I had never had that kind of good in my life. After all of this was over, he would probably figure out what a shitty person I was and ditch me, but until then, I would do whatever I could.

"Okay. Let's go see Mr. Marcello."

Thankfully, Sloane had a car. A little, tiny electric vehicle that we barely fit into. But it was better than walking all the way back to the Garden District.

I pointed out the house. "Woah. I guess you weren't kidding, were you?"

"Nope. Not even a little bit. Come on."

Jude opened the door, a scowl on his face. "I didn't think you'd be back."

"I made a promise."

"Not that it means much coming from you."

"Hey! You don't know me."

Jude ignored me, choosing to greet Sloane instead. "And you are?"

"Here to see Carlos Marcello." Sloane smirked a little. I didn't know if he was always a smart ass, if he didn't care for underlings, or if he was backing me up.

I preferred the latter. "Ahh… you've got my back, dude."

Sloane rolled his eyes. "Can we get on with this?"

"Wait right here." Jude let us into the foyer, but no farther as he scampered off to assuredly check with the big boss. Did he know what he'd let in the house? That Sloane was a vampire? And did all that invitation stuff actually mean anything or was it a myth?

I didn't have time to even ask since Jude came right back and ushered us into the same fancy parlor I'd met with him in before. This time, it was empty. I sat at the table while Sloane looked around the place. I didn't know if he was impressed or interested, and I didn't get a chance to ask that either. Carlos Marcello walked in, his presence nearly bigger than life, and he took up all the empty space in the room.

"Austin." He nodded to me and then looked at Sloane. "And you are?"

"Sloane St. Germain. Well, that's the surname given to me after my maker. I'm of Jacques St. Germain's line, though a bit removed, if you will. Nonetheless, it works as well as any other name."

"Charmed, I'm sure. What's this about, Austin?"

"Sloane is a vampire. He can give you all the essence you want."

"In exchange for blood," Sloane was quick to chime in. "Fresh blood."

"He needs it to refuel the life essence. And he's immortal." I held up my hand. "See?"

"I'm impressed. If this works. If I can get the vital life from the vampire, we have a deal." Greedy-greedy, this one was. "I never thought about that before. Clever, clever, Austin."

Sloane nodded. "Let's try."

I didn't even want to think about what would happen if it didn't work. Carlos escorted Sloane into another room, and Luc promptly followed, leaving me alone with Jude.

"How long have you been a goon?" My smart mouth had refrained from the questions long enough.

"What?" Jude scowled even more. I was afraid his face would break.

"I mean, how long have you worked for the Deadman mafia?"

"Don't call it that. And long enough."

Apparently, we weren't going to have a conversation about it. Well, fuck him anyway.

A minute later, Luc showed up. "I think it worked. Marcello took life force, then sent for blood." Wherever the fuck he got that from—but it wasn't my problem. "Sloane is feeding from a nice young man. If it restores him, we're good. I think." Well, he did say fresh .

I leaned back in my chair. "Thankfully."

"What?" Jude asked.

"Nothing." I didn't want to get into it with him. Telling him about Luc felt blasphemous.

But it worked.

Carlos was smiling ear to ear when he returned, followed by a strutting vampire who was showing a lot more swagger than before. Maybe it was the blood. Did it get him drunk? I didn't know and likely would never know.

"Slate is clean. Thank you. Good luck and goodbye." I was being dismissed for sure, but I looked to Sloane for confirmation. I wasn't leaving him here if he was distressed at all.

He nodded. "It's good. Go."

I headed to the front door, but Marcello called my name, and I turned around. "One last thing."

"Yes?"

"You are no longer welcome in any gambling establishment in all of New Orleans."

I nodded. And left.

One problem down.