”Yeah. Do that again.”
”I can’t. I’ll take too much, and then you’ll be screwed. Can you get home?”
”Home?” He opened his eyes and looked at me. “I can get home.”
What the hell? He was acting as if I had hypnotized him.
”I guess you’re under my power or something.” Shit, if I’d had this power years ago ... okay, never mind that. “Um ... you won’t remember any of this. You ... you won’t even remember coming to my house. You had a craving for ... uh, chocolate donuts. Uh yeah, just go home.”
He reached for me. ”Can I—“
”Hell no! Go home!”
CHAPTER 3
After Kent left I tried to sort through my feelings and thoughts. There was no mistaking it. I was no longer the person I had been twenty-four hours ago—if I was a person at all. I wasn’t going to get any help from other vamps. They were going to try to kill me.
Tige, the Rastafarian, was who I needed to be talking to. Somehow I didn’t sense malice in his actions. He had turned me because of the accident. But where was he? Tony had mentioned a Rogue who made a Third—me. Why hadn’t he come back to help me, though?
Okay, it was a big problem, but I had other pressing concerns. I was one of the undead, so how the hell was I going to work my nine to five? And my friends and family were definitely not going to be happy about this.
And you know what? I kinda liked the sun. And I’d never be able to eat another chocolate bar. Also, I’m not sleeping in a coffin! I’m not going to be a fashion victim either. If I had to be undead, I was going to still rock my DKNY and BABY PHAT.
I stopped my pity party and decided to make sure the sun wasn’t going to peek through my bedroom and fry me in my sleep.
I wondered if I was going to lose consciousness or if it was going to be like sleeping. I didn’t want to take any chances. I had survived one night sleeping in the bathroom so I knew it was safe. Tomorrow I’d just have to go out and find something to black out the windows of my apartment.
I dragged my mattress into the bathroom and tossed it into the bathtub. I was probably ruining the mattress, but I made it fit. There were no windows so I didn’t have to worry about sunlight. I turned on the radio to the last of the mellow moods hour. Boney James was blowing his horn. I snuggled under my blanket and tried to pretend I was pretty lucky and not just screwed.
~***~
I don’t recall falling asleep. A heavy feeling dragged me down. I guess it coincided with the rising of the sun because before I knew it I was gone.
Upon awaking I decided my sleep consisted of complete nothingness. There are not many things scarier than the feeling of being at the mercy of anybody or anything—especially after being nearly killed by a pack of Vampires. Now, I could understand why Vampires had secret lairs.
I cleaned up, replaced my mattress, and made up my bed. It was Sunday night, and I would have to figure something out about a job.
My cell phone was also blown up with calls. I called Arnitra.
“Girrrrrl!” she growled. “Where have you been? I came over, knocked and knocked, and your car was sitting in the parking lot.”
”Oh, I had food poisoning or something. I’ve been sick all weekend.” Damn, I so wanted to tell her about drinking Kent’s blood! Arnitra and I shared everything. How was I going to get through this without my BFF?
”Kim, you’re not keeping anything from me, are you? You didn’t have a torrid one-night stand with Rasta Man, because if you did I swear I’m going to talk about you like a dog!”
I laughed for the first time in forever. “Shut up!” I felt my eyes sting with unshed tears. I didn’t feel like a Vampire. I felt just like me, Kimberly Ann Russell.
We talked for a while. I didn’t want to get off the phone with her because who knew when I’d be able to chat like that again. But I had to go out to the Home Depot, and I didn’t know if I would have to feed soon. I never wanted to feel pain like that again. I would have to prevent it before the hunger got too great.
I slipped on jeans and a sweater and then put on sunglasses because I noticed some not-too-pleasant changes since feeding.
First, my eyes had taken on a gleam. They were golden and otherworldly. They looked like lion eyes and not in a “cheap-looking-contact-lenses way,” but in a “you-are-not-human” way.
Second, my eyesight and sense of smell had sharpened. When I walked out the door to get into my car I could see ants crawling over a candy wrapper left in Mrs. Kennedy’s yard half a block down the street. I swallowed uneasily and got into the car. Once inside the Home Depot, I heard every conversation, sniffle, fart, complaint, disagreement, and ringing cell phone. I staggered and touched my hand to my head. I was so distracted that I didn’t see the store greeter when he stepped up to ask me if I was okay. I had to concentrate on his lips to understand what he was saying.
I dismissed him with a nod and hurried past him. I wanted to hurry and get out of there because being confined inside a building made the noises much worse. I had not experienced any problems when I was outside. It had to be the blood, because I hadn’t experienced this at Club Midnight.
I filled my cart with black paint, black plastic sheeting, and black duct tape. Also I picked up some light bulbs because I was out and I saw a cute paper towel holder--only when I touched it I heard a sizzle and felt a flash of pain. Ouch! I forgot, no silver. I put my fingertips into my mouth and hurried away.
As I loaded my car, I felt something that made the hairs on my neck stand up. It reminded me of when I had spotted William at the club.
I got into my car and drove away. Something was out there—something like me. I decided to take the long way home across the river because I remembered reading that supernatural beings couldn’t cross over flowing water. What would happen to me? Would I go blank? I was already on the bridge to Kentucky, and I prayed that I wouldn’t take anyone else out if I blacked out.
But nothing strange happened. Ninety minutes later I returned to my apartment and hurried inside with my packages. I didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary, so I relaxed a bit when I left the car and went inside.
I hated to do it, but I blacked out every window in the apartment I figured I probably wouldn’t be doing any sleepwalking, so there was no danger of my accidentally frying myself if I walked out of the bathroom. I put the black plastic over them anyway, making sure every crack was covered. I took down my nice dainty sheers and hung heavy drapes.
Then I dialed my boss’s voicemail and tried to think up a reasonable excuse for why I was unable to come in to work. “Hi Mr. Hadley. Uh, this is Kim and I won’t be in to work tomorrow. Well, actually I won’t be in for a few days…” Well for fucks sake! Maybe I should just say Mr. Hadley I won’t be back to work because I’m fucking dead!
Instead I thought of some reason that he wouldn’t want to see me at work—like if I had spinal meningitis or hepatitis…”Well my doctor said that this…rash isn’t contagious…as long as the pus stops draining from the sores. But if you really need me in I don’t mind wearing gloves. And I can spray disinfectant just in case he’s wrong and this stuff all over me is actually contagious. Well…I’ll just call in later in the week. Bye.”
I hung up the phone contemplating how I would handle work, and something became clear to me. I believed that somehow I was coming back from this. I’m a Vampire. Why the hell am I worried about what to tell my boss? My death, unfortunately, superseded my ability to hold a job.
I was about to hold another pity party when I heard a noise outside my door. Somebody or something was standing outside my apartment door.
Fear like a cold hand gripped me. “Who’s there?” I whispered from my bedroom.
“Let me in,” a voice said more in my head than out loud.
My breath came out in a panic. “What do you want?”
”To come in.”
I thought seeing the movie The Exorcist for the first time was scary. This took the cake! I had been the cause of
a Vampire becoming dead—permanently dead. The Council had wanted me put down before that. I couldn’t begin to imagine how pissed they were now that I had put down one of them.
“If you could, you would have come in by now. You need me to invite you, don’t you?”
Silence.
I got up and crept into the living room. ”Hello?” I whispered. “I’m not going to invite you in.”
”You’re a Vampire, Kim Russell, and I don’t need an invitation to enter your home,” the voice said. “It’s only as a courtesy. Are you going to open the door, or am I going to burst through it?”
He knew my name. The Devil was a trickster, Pastor said. This was the closest to the Devil I ever hoped to get. ”Do what you gotta do.”
Nothing happened.
I heard a sigh.
“Okay, I was bluffing. You’re good, I see.” It sounded like Tony, the vamp who looked like Omar Epps. I wasn’t going to be sidetracked by his good looks, if that was his plan.
”You might as well be up front,” I said. “Are you here to kill me?”
”No.”
I felt marginally relieved. “You lied about being able to come inside. How do I know you’re not lying about this?”
The sound of splintering hinges caused me to leap back before the pieces settled. I had moved so fast that I couldn’t recollect commanding my body into action.
Tony strolled into the room looking sharp in a black leather coat, black pants, and another black silk shirt. He was wearing a Rolex on his left wrist. Yum! He looked good enough to eat. But wait, he’s here to kill me. Focus!
”I offered a courtesy, not a lie, when I said that I would not just burst into your home.” His eyes took in my appearance in the same way that they had the night before. He started at my feet—or what he could see of them—and ended at my face. ”You’ve fed.”
I felt like a little girl hiding behind her Mama’s skirt as I peeked from behind the wall. He smiled or smirked. I don’t know which, but I didn’t like it. I was damned scared and he was amused.
”Since you’re in here you might as well tell me what you want,” I said, trying to sound fearless.
Instead of answering, he looked around my place. He studied a picture of me with some family. Tony could have killed me by now, so it was pretty stupid to be standing half behind the wall as if it was really going to save me. I walked back into the living room.
He ignored me in a way that seemed to be a very Vampire-like trait—as if it didn’t matter if I crept around because I was ultimately going to do what he wanted me to do.
”I want to bring you in,” he said.
”Bring me into what?”
He looked at me from over his shoulder. “The Family, of course.”
”Yesterday that would have been cool,” I said. “Of course that was before I was almost killed.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t like the way that went down. It wasn’t giving you the benefit of showing your abilities.” He smiled as if there was a joke that I wasn’t included in. “But you did show them.”
”Them? Aren’t you apart of them?”
”I apologize.” He approached me with his hand held out.
I stiffened but didn’t step back.
“My name is Tony. Tony Yates, Vampire, Council member, and ex-hood rat.”
I put my hand in his and he bowed over it.
“At your service,” he said.
I swallowed dryly but at least some of my nervousness had left. “I’d introduce myself, but you already know my name.” I marveled that his hand was nothing like touching William’s had been. Tony’s hand was warm.
”I am a Council member, but I’m not like them. They are the old school Neratomay, and I’m a new school vamp. They are straight out of Europe, and I’m straight out of Harlem.” He appraised me again. Tony was checking me out. I guess men didn’t change regardless of whether they were alive or dead.
”You probably have a lot of questions,” Tony said. “But I need to know something first. Who did you take blood from?”
I looked down at the floor. “My ex ...”
”Where is his body?”
My mouth dropped open. “I didn’t kill him. I just sent him home and told him to forget it had ever happened.”
Tony blinked. He rubbed his goatee and looked at the floor. “A Second Generation would have rampaged and killed friends and loved ones. We’ve come to understand that Thirds don’t always have the bloodlust.”
”Well, I can attest to that. It was ... good, but ...” I shrugged.
”I didn’t know what to expect when I came here. I thought you’d be overcome with the hunger. Instead ...” He glanced into the open bedroom. “I see that you were decorating.”
Tired of tensely standing in the same spot, I moved to my favorite chair and sat.
Tony strolled over to stand opposite me but not too close. “We are not permitted to kill for food. To kill humans is to bring attention to our kind. It is never permitted.”
I grimaced. Kill? He stressed it as if I wanted to go out there killing people. Other than that Republican vamp, I have never had to consider killing anyone.
Tony watched me closely. “You have no idea what I’m referring to, do you?”
“Not really.”
He raised a brow. “It’s a part of the bloodlust, and thankfully something you will never have to experience.” He dropped his gaze from me as he looked at the items in my apartment. I saw his eyes settle on photos of me and members of my family. “You don’t quite believe that you are dead.”
”I ... but I—”
”It’s in the way you talk,” Tony interrupted, “the way you sit, even the way you continue to breathe even though you no longer need oxygen in your lungs.” His gaze returned to me. I caught my breath and held it. Damn. He was right. I was making myself breathe. That was why there was such an air of calm about him. It wasn’t only that he was a cool guy.
He wasn’t breathing.
I was having a tough time staying focused on what was important instead of on how fine Tony was as he paced back and forth in front of me. “I, um, am I in trouble for killing that man last night? I mean, it was kill or be killed.”
“Johan? No. Had it been an actual kill you would have been given his seat on the Council. We understand it was his recklessness that caused his death.”
I could see that there was something more, or Tony wasn’t exactly pleased about something, but the human part of me didn’t want credit for a murder, and the Vampire part wasn’t developed enough to understand why I should.
”Johan.” I spoke his name. It seemed only right. “So how is it that no one knows about the existence of Vampires?”
”What do you mean, no one? Many know about us. One hand washes the other.” He made a dismissive gesture with his hands as if it all bored him. “Humans want wealth and power—we want security.”
”And people don’t whisper your secrets?”
”Not when we tell them not to.”
”Oh. Of course. So, is Tyra Banks a Vampire? Or what about Prince?”
“What?”
“Well, they are just too pretty to be real.”
Tony laughed. “No Vampires are permitted in the public eye. If a celebrity is turned, then he or she has to ... disappear—fake death, whatever. The Neratomay want to avoid the public eye at all costs. It’s the Third Generations that want to control celebrities or turn them into food. And that’s one of the reasons Third Generations are put down.”
”Like so much trash,” I stated bitterly. ”How often will I need to take blood?”
He strolled back to stand in front of me. Dayum! He was so fine that I almost missed his answer. ”That, I don’t know. You’re a Third and still smell of human ...”
Tony had a strange glint in his eye that made me want to protect my neck.
“We are fed by a Master who sustains us for days,” Tony said. “But even before that there is the bloodlust and th
en we must feed, even if it’s on a loved one.” Tony’s eyes lost it’s warmth.
I didn’t even want to consider what loved one he had fed on.
“With Thirds, it’s different,” Tony said. “Some are just like the Neratomay. Some are like you.”
”But what exactly is the difference between you and me?”
”You don’t know you’re a Vampire. We do.” He studied me, making me uncomfortable. “Later. Much, much later, we remember what we once were. But by then it’s usually too late.” He looked at the splintered door. “We need to leave this place.”
I didn’t budge. “Where am I supposed to go?”
Tony smiled, and it was so sexy. “Home with me, of course.” He gestured to the door. “You’re not going to be able to stay here with the door wide open. Anybody could walk in or out while you are dead to the world. And if they tried to drag you out ... Let’s say to the hospital ... Well, need I say more?”
I grimaced. “I could always stay at a hotel.”
Tony shrugged “If you think you could do that within the next two hours. But that wouldn’t give you much time to secure the room against sunlight. And if a well-meaning cleaning lady entered the room …”
”Okay, okay. I get your point.” I stood. “I need to pack a bag.” I hurried to the bedroom feeling manipulated.
I looked in my closet unsure of what to pack. I certainly didn’t want to be all up in Tony’s house dressed down when he was looking sharp. Of course, if he was going to be sleeping in some underground crypt, I was not bringing out my good stuff.
I decided on black jeans, comfortable black ankle boots, a sweater that hugged my new curves, and a multicolored button-down blouse.
I threw in my matching Victoria Secrets undies, my perfume, and my jewelry. I didn’t want to take the time to go digging in my jewelry box past the silver and the crucifix, so I placed the entire thing in my overnight bag.
Fighting back sadness, I reached for a family picture on my nightstand, but when I touched it, I flew across the room into a wall. ”Ahh!” I screamed, and I plunged my fingers into my mouth. Silver. Damnit! I forgot that it was in a silver frame.