Mr. Singer, also known as a Van Helsing of New York, was seated at his desk, neck deep in paperwork and very clearly in a bad mood. Only one Van Helsing was assigned to each city, so I could only assume that he was a Van Helsing, but whether or not he was THE Van Helsing, I had no clue.
Maybe I should clarify the wonderful world of monsters… each monster belonged to its own clan, or family if you will.
I am the only one of my kind, so I am considered "THE" Ribbon Girl. But since I am also a Gypsy, I am part of the Gypsy House. Not like I have ever introduced myself to that side of the family. I haven't considered myself part of that House since 1810 when I changed.
The werewolves, if there were any left, had their own family under the head werewolf, Vseslav, the vampires had Dracula, and their house was called Vampyre, Frankenstein had his own clan and so did the Skinwalkers. As you can see, monsters are very organized.
Each House had its own offshoot in almost every city in the world, and, as much as you could be a head of your family, there was only one true Head of the House. Unfortunately for the Van Helsings, they were the ones that needed to police all of the Houses to ensure that the secrets of the supernatural world never came to light.
And seeing as how I have never met a non-human monster, I would say they were doing a very good job of it.
But back to Van Helsing. If he was just an "a" Van Helsing, it meant that he had the powers of the Van Helsing family to kill monsters and manipulate metals, but he was not the strongest of them. To be "THE" Van Helsing meant that not only were you the strongest of all monsters, but you controlled everything within that world.
As I said, I was praying that Viktor Singer was simply 'a' Van Helsing. I did not want the Boogeyman of Boogeymen to be in the same city as me. I had perfected staying under the radar and I did not want to be discovered after all this time.
If I had the ability to disappear into thin air or become invisible I would have done it in a heartbeat.
Van Helsing, whether he was A or THE Van Helsing, monster hunter extraordinaire was sitting across from me, a monster.
I was pretty sure I was going to be sick to my stomach.
Although not technically a Gypsy, he was, without a doubt, a pure-blooded Romanian.
And the draw I was feeling towards him caused me to not be able to breathe.
There was a little-known fact that those with the blood of Gypyies would always be able to identify each other. And those of a pure bloodline with their pride intact would feel the strongest pull. If I could feel him, there was no way that he could not feel me.
Although Kowalski and I originally agreed that I would do all the talking, one look at me made my partner realize that he should take point.
The moment I walked in and sat down, Mr. Singer looked at me, his eyes never leaving me for a single second.
He should not be able to tell that I was a monster, after all, Ribbon Girls technically did not exist, but he would know that I was a pure-blood. And that fact alone might be enough to seal my fate.
Kowalski looked back and forth between us, sensing the tension but not understanding the cause. Pushing on, he started to speak.
"Thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to be able to meet us. We greatly appreciate it. We have come across some information that one of your employees is selling weapons and ammunition to an individual known to us as 'The Specialist'. We are asking for your cooperation in catching this man." His polite manner was awe-inspiring, and I would have been in awe if I wasn't scared to death.
"Ce ești tu, fetiță a sângelui curat?" Asked Singer, his eyes never leaving mine.
'Just what are you, little pure-blood,' my mind automatically translated the Romanian that he spoke.
"Eu sunt," I replied, "cu toată mândria mea intactă." 'I am me, with all my pride intact.' I replied back, my head held high. For a Gypsy to have her pride intact was a rare thing. We were like sprinkles on an ice cream for those Gypsies that did not have their pride anymore.
Those Gypsies had to have done something that they were ashamed about, like killing an innocent, cheating, stealing, those sorts of things that many people link to being a Gypsy in order to lose their pride. I can only assume that one of the Van Helsings would no longer have their pride intact. That was what was making me so irresistible to him.
My Momma warned me about those types of men. It was better to stay away from them so as not to have my pride worn away by their actions. I would never be able to hold my head up high again if that were the case.
"Have you two met before?" My partner asked, once again cutting through the tense atmosphere in the office.
Mr. Singer finally broke eye contact with me, and I was able to breathe again. He turned his attention this time to Kowalski and looked him over. Whatever he saw in him, Kowalski clearly came up lacking.
"My assistant will help you with whatever you need for your investigation," said Mr. Singer, clearly dismissing us from his office. We could not have been in there for more than five minutes before we were kicked out.
Not one to complain, I quickly stood up and moved to leave the room. I didn't even make it to the door before I heard his voice call to me again: "Ne vedem în curând, puiul meu."
'I'll see you soon, my little Cub…'
A shiver racked my spine and I bolted for the door as if the hounds of hell were on my heels… and they probably were.