"You...you do?" I asked, sliding into the booth we were presented.
"Why don't you pick something out first," he said, nudging my menu closer to me after the hostess made a quick promise to return when we were ready. "Hen's cooking is the best in town. Anything on here will be good, and don't fuss about the price. Get as much as you want, I've got it covered."
Normally, I'd still end up choosing a plain bagel and a glass of water so as not to impose upon whoever was treating me, but I felt a bit like the town owed me for everything I'd been put through and my stomach may have rebelled if I didn't provide a hearty meal. So I ordered myself a hefty stack of waffles and a cup of tea, while Everett ordered a coffee and donut.
"Tell me what you saw at Antonov's," he began before the waitress had even managed to retrieve our menus from the table.
"What do you mean exactly? About how the children bit me or the part where zombies chased after me?" I kept my voice low, my eyes casting around the diner, which looked as any diner would — lots of chrome, lots of shiny plastic in pastel hues, and lots of blue collar patrons sipping steaming cups of coffee. However, I knew they weren't average Joes and Janes. There could be mages or zombies or werewolves seated around me, and maybe my attackers or just an acquaintance of one of my attackers, was sitting there listening in.
"Those weren't zombies," said Everett with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Those were vampires. Antonov's employees."
"His employees?" I asked, my guard dropping once I knew that none of them would be in the diner during the day.
"He may be a lusty prick, but he's good to his people. Only Kyra, Dragan, and Bernadette are rich enough to afford multiple feeders at any given time. There are plenty in town that can keep a feeder or two in their household, but they have to be a lot more careful with their expenditures than Kyra, Dragan, and Bernadette do. Keeping a human is expensive around here since most are unemployed and those that do have jobs make meager wages. So it's up to their sponsors to provide and the majority of the vampire population can't do so and thus don't have feeders. Instead they're on an animal diet. Antonov hires most of the vampires in town and has them work the farm, growing feed and tending the livestock. That livestock, in turn, feeds the town. Vampires get the blood, werewolves and mages get the standard cuts of meat, and the zombies get what remains of the carcasses. Ghosts don't eat by the way."
I gave him a little nod in agreement, however instead of continuing on, a crooked smile stood out beneath his auburn stubble.
"Seems you're coming to terms with things."
"I-I suppose so," I said with a blush that I didn't particularly understand. I hid it by turning to face the waitress who had also played hostess and shown us our seat earlier. The tall, plump thirty-something-year-old arrived with our orders and a genial smile upon her cherry red lips. A color that matched what was certainly not naturally red hair.
"Here ya go. Enjoy hon." She gave me a wink, revealing a bright teal shade coating her eyelid.
"Thanks Hen," said Everett, who broke his donut in half and dunked it into his coffee.
"Let me know if you need anything else." She then headed back to the counter to serve a group of men in workman's jumpsuits.
"But..." I started, looking down at my waffles as I spread the strawberry syrup around with my knife. "But, Bungee was complaining about being hungry. Is there not enough food on the farm?"
"The animals can sustain, but the fact is, for vampires and zombies, humans are what they need to thrive." He put down his donut and leaned back into his chair, casting his eyes to the ceiling and crossing his arms over his thick chest. "The vampires generally do all right. They hold festivals every now and then where everyone gets a little human blood. The problem is the blood is given up by the feeders in town and they can only be tapped for so much. They need time to build their blood back up before another festival can be held and we are low on feeders here."
"You mean Antonov just gives up his wives for all the other vampires? I can't believe someone like Natasha would do that."
"They have to," said Everett, nodding his head back down and looking me in the eye. "Once a human has been fed on, there's a blood link. It grants the vampire a few things, like a heightened awareness of a feeder's emotions and thoughts. Feeders are also physically incapable of harming the vampire and then the vampire also has the ability to compel a feeder into doing as they please. So if Dragan tells them to drain a pint for him, they have to."
"I guess I'm just surprised he'd share them."
"That blood link extends to vampires and their sires as well. In fact the link is stronger once a feeder is made a full vampire. So Dragan doesn't have a choice."
"So," I said, swallowing down a bite of one of the fluffiest waffles I had ever had, "who is his sire?"
"Well really it's a dam. Kyra created both Dragan and Bernadette."
"Wait," I said, dropping my fork, "she's the head vampire?"
"That she is, that's why she's one of the sheriffs. She has command over all the vampires here, even the ones she didn't create herself. And this is her territory so should any vampire that comes in from the outside that she has no relation to, they have to do a rather elaborate oath ceremony to create a new blood link with her or else...well it can get ugly. But, that's only if they want to stay. We have supernatural folk coming and going all the time that stay at Spencer's. So long as they're transitory and don't cause problems, they don't need to swear an oath to her."
"So if that's the reason she's a sheriff, are you someone important?" I didn't mean it to sound so dismissive of his stature in town, but fortunately, he didn't take it that way. Instead, he sighed and looked out over the diner.
"Yeah," he said, turning back to me. "I'm the alpha of the werewolves."
"You're a werewolf?" I asked, my words a stunned whisper.
"That's why we split shifts," he said with a shrug. "Kyra can't work days anyway and depending on the moon's cycle, I can be not of sound mind at night."
"There was a full moon or at least close to a full moon last night," I said, recalling how brightly the moon lit the hay field that I was so desperately trying to hide in. "Were you a wolf then?"
"What I was doing last night is of little importance, what I'd really like to hear is what you were doing last night. Why is it you told Calista that perhaps she was killed by someone who didn't want her to be a vampire?"
"I didn't think anyone really heard that."
"Kyra has very good ears," he said with a sigh that seemed to indicate that trait had gotten him in trouble a few times. "She didn't stick around to ask you about it since you were bleeding out and Calista needed to get a move on, but she passed the information on to me when we switched shifts."
"Well, it's just...things are strange in that house."
"That's to be expected." He dunked his donut in his coffee again as he gave me a shrug.
"Yes, well, I wouldn't know that. It's just...those kids attacked me because their mom didn't like me being there. She seemed to think I was trying to replace her. Which I don't understand because Antonov clearly was looking to replace Scarlett...and, well, Scarlett she said something that caught my ear. Something about how with Calista gone, she was safe for a little while longer." I stopped and thought about Scarlett's sad desperate eyes. "But, I just don't think she's a killer."
"Hmm," he said. He took a sip of his coffee and once again reclined back in his booth with his eyes to the ceiling. "Natasha is antsy because she's moving towards 40 faster than she'd like. She's only ever wanted to be a vampire. That isn't a secret. Except Antonov hasn't turned anyone since he got this baby fascination. Scarlett, however...well, I didn't know Antonov had settled on her being infertile. We all wondered, but when he showed interest in Calista, we began to suspect that was the truth. Though, I had always thought he was just going to take another wife. I guess he's more responsible with his money than I give him credit for."
"What would happen if he disowned Scarlett?"
He gazed down at me from the bottom of his eyes, before sighing and coming forward with his elbows planted on the table. "She'd be on her own. No vampire will take her once she's been fed on by someone else, except for Kyra."
"Why Kyra?"
"Sires and dams can take a feeder from an inferior as they please. It's all a hierarchal mess with lots of oaths of fealty and acts of tribute."
"But you're an alpha," I pointed out.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a low growl in his voice.
"I just...that seems to indicate you have some politics in your, uh, I guess, group too."
"We go by pack, but yes, I suppose you're right." He shrugged and looked away. "Anyway, we won't take her because she's tainted by a vampire. Zombies won't because they can't feed their numbers as it is and the ghosts won't use a feeder for possession since Dragan could just waltz in and manipulate her even if he did disown her. The blood link will always remain unless she can afford a very expensive and difficult ceremony. Ghosts don't want to have to worry about someone hijacking their ride. So that leaves no options for Scarlett. However, as long as she doesn't leave town, we won't come after her, but she'd have to fend for herself and since no one around here will hire a human without a sponsor, she'd just waste away."
"Why would you let that happen?" I gasped.
"We've made great strides in human rights," he said with a stern bite to his voice. "Not too long ago, we'd simply kill her, but the fact we'd even give her a chance at keeping herself alive is an improvement."
I didn't know how to respond. The realization that I was in fact in the presence of supernatural beings had not tagged along with a realization that there was danger in being in the company of supernatural beings. Perhaps Claire was right, maybe most of them just wanted as normal of a life as they could manage, but they still needed blood to live. They still turned into wolves in the glow of the moon. And they still were monsters of myth.
"Was that all that you had about potential motivations for Calista's murder?"
I gave him a nod, but didn't look him in the eye. Instead I made slow work on my waffle.
"Well, I appreciate the information."
I gave him another nod and took another bite.
"Since you've shared some with me, I think I'll share some news I learned recently as well."
I paused mid-chew, but since I didn't know where he was going with this, I returned to my waffles.
"Did you know we have internet out here? We even manage to pick up some pretty good signals from the TV tower in the city past our valley. Means we can keep up with the world outside of our town. Though, you should know, humans don't have access to the internet unless supervised by a sponsor."
The little hope bubbling up in me, with visions of sending out an SOS, were squashed in a matter of seconds.
"I try to stay afloat on the local news, in case it may somehow come to effect us and I happened to hear a missing person's report. They're particularly concerned since the young woman left a suicide note."
I dropped my fork and swallowed a large chunk of strawberry after my jaw refused to put the energy into chewing.
"Your note didn't say much. Just that you were leaving and not coming back. That you left the note because you wanted someone to notice you were gone."
A fire tickled the corners of my eyes. Partly because of the pity in Everett's gravelly voice, but also out of joy that I had actually made it on to the news.
"Where were you headed Delilah? Why did you end up here?"
"I-I don't know," I said, the words stumbling out of my mouth. "I just followed my feet."
"And they led you here?"
"I guess, I wasn't going anywhere in particular."
"I think you were," said Everett. "I think you were heading here."
I sniffed away a tear and then the shock of a warm, rough hand, quelled the sadness threatening to break me. With a gentle touch, Everett placed a couple fingers below my chin and nudged my face to turn to his.
"Has anyone explained to you how Bodies are called here?"
"Yes," I said, the one word struggling to make it across my tongue. "But, I had been driving for hours and I don't know how long I was walking in those woods. I was well on my way before she died."
"Unless her death was sealed well before you found her."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," he said with a shake of his head. He returned to his thoughtful repose and in that silence I finished my waffles.
"Thank you for breakfast," I said after Hen had long ago picked up our empty plates. "If you've asked everything you needed to, can I go? I'd like to look around town."
It took him a moment to answer, but eventually he shook himself from his thoughts and reached into his pocket for a wallet.
"Yeah, you should go. Take this, it's a credit card with your allowance on it. Your initial credit is $500. It should buy you some amenities you need for your room and some clothes. Don't waste it on food, you have that provided for you. After this week, all other weeks will only be $50. You can save it up or spend it as you wish."
"Okay, thank you." I took the card from him and started for the door.
"Delilah, there's one more thing."
I turned around and I felt every pair of eyes in that diner, turning around with me.
"We'll know if you try to leave town. Don't make us hunt you."
My blood ran cold as everyone's gazes pressed into me. I felt their pity. I felt their disgust. And I felt their hunger.
"Of course, Sheriff." And with that, I headed into town.