Banshee Charmer (Files from the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, #1) by Tiffany Allee Read Free Book Online Page B

size of Chicago. And the unassuming young-looking man with the dark hair and a slightly too-wide nose especially didn’t look strong enough to control all of the vampires in three states. He wasn’t particularly tall—maybe five feet nine inches. A square jaw and dark brown eyes added to his average appearance. No power rolled off of him, seeking to overwhelm me, no supernatural aura of fear made my heart race around him. If I didn’t know who he was, I would have dismissed him as nothing but a normal young man.
    I would have been wrong.
    Claude bowed his head to the Magister as he rounded the desk. He walked behind it, looking out of place among the old things surrounding him. After a quick jerk of his head to Claude, his attention moved to Aidan. He nodded to him as well, a contemplative expression on his face, and then he turned to look at me.
    “This is Detective McLoughlin. Mac, this is Lucas Chevalier, Magister of the Northern Midwest Territory,” Claude said. “This is Aidan Byrne. He’s assisting with the investigation.”
    “Mr. Chevalier,” I said.
    “Please, call me Luc.” He smiled at me, and I wiped my palms on my pants, but he didn’t move to shake my hand. Throat suddenly dry, I didn’t offer to shake his either.
    I gave him a quick nod when I couldn’t think of the right response and turned my attention to Claude. His eyes never left the other vampire.
    “Detective, thank you for agreeing to see my son here rather than at your police station.” Luc sat down, seeming at ease with police in his house.
    “Not sure it was much of a choice, but you’re welcome.”
    Luc Chevalier laughed, and motioned toward the doorway. A man who bore a striking resemblance to the Magister strode into the room, assessing Claude and me before quickly dismissing us and looking at his father. They could have been brothers, and I wondered if they were actually blood relatives. Such a thing wasn’t unthinkable, but it would mean that Nicolas was nearly as old as Luc. Could he be his actual son? If so, it meant Luc had fathered him before going through the change, as they called it. Vampires were not alive, and therefore couldn’t biologically father children.
    “This is my son, Nicolas. He will answer your questions.”
    Nicolas leaned against the desk rather than sitting in one of the extra chairs dotted around the room, and crossed his arms. Unlike Claude and Lucas, a clear feeling of something wrong rolled off of this vampire, with a touch of the fear their race was known to cause in humans and otherworlders alike. Like the sex appeal of succubi, it wasn’t something they could control. Not according to common knowledge, anyway. I shot a quick glance at Claude. I’d always assumed that the stronger the vampire, the more aggressive the aura of fear that followed him. Stuck in a room with one of the most powerful vampires in the city—a man who seemed to elicit no fear whatsoever—made me wonder if the opposite was true.
    “I understand you worked with Claire Simons?” I asked, pulling out a small notepad and pen from my pocket.
    He shrugged. “I guess you could say that. I’m an attorney. She was a paralegal. She didn’t even work on my cases.”
    “Did you know her outside of the office?”
    “She wasn’t exactly my type.”
    “Really? That’s not what I heard.” I’d heard no such thing, but I hoped the rumor that vampires could tell if the living lied was a fairy tale, or at least an exaggeration.
    Luc Chevalier’s chin rose slightly, and he stared at his son. I couldn’t see a change in his expression, but the sneer faded from Nicolas’s face and he uncrossed his arms.
    “Look, I didn’t associate with her outside of work. I didn’t even really notice her. She just didn’t hit my radar,” he said, tone matter-of-fact.
    “Oh really? Why is that? She didn’t look tasty enough for you?”
    His lip drew back in a snarl. “I wouldn’t say that. All you humans taste pretty much the same