Keeper of the Night

As Barrie poured hot water into the teapot, they heard the sound of a car door slamming. “Sailor’s home,” she commented.

“So she is.”

“I’ll get another cup.”

Rhiannon walked to the door and opened it just as Sailor was about to knock.

“Hi,” her cousin said.

Sailor spoke with a cheerful voice and had a perfect smile to go with it. Rhiannon thought that while they were all decent looking, Sailor was their true beauty. It made sense that she was so passionate about being an actress. She had both the talent and the looks.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that Sailor had been destined to be Keeper of the Canyon Elven. Elven were beautiful, Rhiannon reminded herself drily, thinking of Mac Brodie.

Guilt bit into her. Several times she’d caught herself feeling impatient with Sailor for not taking their calling seriously, but hadn’t she wanted to deny it herself? And now she was facing her first real challenge—because even if the murders proved to have nothing to do with the Canyon vampire community, standing up to Hugh was going to be no picnic—and all she wanted was to run away.

“I saw the light, so I thought I’d stop by,” Sailor said.

“Come on in,” Rhiannon said.

Sailor swept past her and headed straight for the kitchen. “I had a great night—I mean a great night. I went to this fantastic party at the club—Declan Wainwright’s club, the Snake Pit.”

Declan Wainwright was the shapeshifter Keeper for the Malibu area. They’d known him forever, though Rhiannon wasn’t sure she would actually call him a friend.

“Declan told me he was going to ask you to play there a few nights a week. Well, he didn’t tell me. He’s kind of an ass to me. I’m not A-list enough for him, so mostly he ignores me. But I was with Darius Simonides, and he told Darius that he was going to talk to you. Pretty great, huh?”

“It’s nice that you spent some time with Darius,” Rhiannon said, filing away the potential offer of employment to consider later. Darius Simonides was Sailor’s godfather and a big-deal Hollywood agent, but as far as Rhiannon could tell, he hadn’t done much for her. At least not professionally. There was also something…slimy about him, she thought. Maybe it was because he was so…Hollywood. In his line of business, double-talk was really the only talk. Maybe that was at the heart of her reaction to him, but she still didn’t trust him.

“Not only that, we hung with Hunter Jackson, too—do you know who he is?”

“Hunter Jackson,” Rhiannon repeated, trying to remember why he sounded so familiar. “I’ve heard the name,” she said.

“He’s a director,” Barrie said.

“He’s the director these days, and he says that he has a role for me in a big-budget vampire thriller he’s going to start filming in January. He and Darius actually invited me to the Snake Pit tonight to talk to me about it.” Sailor beamed. “And it turns out there’s a reason why Darius has kept his hands off me.”

“That’s good to hear,” Barrie muttered sarcastically.

“I mean as far as my career goes,” Sailor said. “Darius is a sweetie—people just think he’s tough because he’s so powerful. The thing is, he wanted me to make my own way, to prove I could succeed on my own before he stepped in. But tonight—it was wonderful!” Sailor looked rapturous. She drew a breath, and Rhiannon was sure she was going to go on some more about her amazing night, but instead she said, “Barrie, you have artificial sweetener, don’t you? I don’t want to gain an ounce right now.”

Rhiannon decided that she would once again have to rethink Sailor’s role in ensuring the safety of the world.

“I have everything I can think of for anyone’s choice in tea,” Barrie said. “Dig into the cabinet and help yourself.”

“So, tell me more,” Rhiannon said, genuinely happy for her cousin and momentarily putting aside her fears for the fate of the world.

Sailor turned to her, beaming. “The two leads will be major A-list actors. I don’t know who yet. But what I’ll make for just a few days’ work will pay my bills for months.”

Rhiannon lowered her head. At least one of them would be making a decent income, though if what Sailor had said about the offer to play the Snake Pit was true, she would be earning some real money, too, even if Hugh got mad enough to fire her. She looked up quickly, frowning. “Hunter Jackson…I remember reading something about him.” She looked at Sailor. “He’s a vampire, right? But he’s the responsibility of the West Hollywood Keeper, Geoff Banner.”

“Yes,” Barrie said. “And he’s the perfect person to direct a vampire thriller. The movies always have it wrong. Like all that crap about how vampires can’t go out during the day.”

“Seriously,” Rhiannon agreed. “But no one wants to hear that the only problem is their eyes are exceptionally sensitive to light, so they always wear sunglasses—something that seems to be expected in Hollywood, anyway.” She met Sailor’s eyes. “You did know that he’s a vampire, right?”

Sailor stared at her, indignant. “Of course I did. I’m the one who really grew up here, remember? I know the lowdown on almost everyone. Am I supposed to suddenly be suspicious of him because he’s a vampire? And of all people who might be down on vampires, it shouldn’t be you!”

“I’m not down on vampires,” Rhiannon said quickly.

“Then what’s your problem?” Sailor asked.

“I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were dealing with, that’s all,” Rhiannon said.

Sailor looked at her as if she knew Rhiannon doubted her abilities—and her competence in the face of a crisis. “Yes, I am well aware, thank you. And if you come across any Elven, I hope you’ll try to be a little less judgmental.”

Failed that one, Rhiannon thought. But she kept silent.

“Hey!” Barrie said, lifting a hand. “I get that we’re all a little jittery right now, with our new responsibilities and all, but it’s important that we get along. The world respected our fathers, but we’re going to have to prove ourselves. And that will be a lot easier if we respect each other.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Rhiannon said softly.

“There’s nothing to prove, at least not right now,” Sailor said. “Thanks to our dads, everything in the Canyon is running smoothly.” She turned to Rhiannon. “Can’t you just be happy for me?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. I am happy for you,” Rhiannon said. She hugged Sailor, who resisted for a moment then eased up and hugged Rhiannon in return. “I’m sorry. It was a bad night for me,” Rhiannon said.

“Her tip jar was stolen,” Barrie explained. “Among other things.”

“Those bastards stole your tip jar!” Sailor said, straightening, her protest loyal and fierce.

“It’s all right,” Rhiannon said. “I’ll live.” She an arm around Sailor’s shoulders. “We need to go home. Barrie has an early morning, as usual.” She turned to her other cousin. “Night, Barrie, thanks for listening.”

“Hey, wait,” Barrie said, following Rhiannon and Sailor to the door. “Rhiannon, I’ll see what I can dig up tomorrow. And also, I was thinking that Sailor and I should go see that play with you.”

“You don’t have to,” Rhiannon said.

“Play?” Sailor said, perking up. “What play?”

“Vampire Rampage,” Rhiannon said.

To Rhiannon’s surprise, Sailor’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, not at all. They pulled a promo stunt in front of the coffee shop tonight.”

Sailor’s eyes were wide. “The movie—the one I’ve been asked to be in—is called Vampire Rampage, and it’s based on the play. Yes, let’s all go. It will really help me to see the original.”

“And to think, I was just hoping it might keep someone alive,” Rhiannon said.

Sailor turned slowly and stared at her. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“An Elven actor stopped by the café tonight, and he told me that I really need to see the play. And then Merlin told me tonight that three murder victims have been found drained of blood. So now I’m kind of worried that a vampire, well, you know….”