by Helen Bell
“You don’t breathe, yet you speak. Doesn’t air have to pass over your vocal cords to talk?”
He became quiet, seeming to debate with himself whether to share more information about his kind with me.
“Daryl, she already knows vampires are real, so what’s the harm in telling her more?” Tess asked.
“Yes,” he agreed. “And she’ll be dead from cancer soon, anyway.” Ignoring the look she shot him, he answered me, “We do breathe, but it’s out of habit, not out of necessity. And of course in order to speak.” He rested his elbow on the arm of his couch and went on, “Vampires go through three stages in their existence: Newborn, Adult, and Ancient.
“During the first five years after the Change, vampires are babies. They’re at the Newborn stage. Our laws state that an official guardian, an Adult or Ancient vampire, must be assigned to them. They guide and teach them everything there is to know about being a vampire. Newborns have no powers like controlling humans’ minds. Their senses and physical strength are almost equal to your kind, and they have difficulty restraining their bloodlust.
“The second stage is called Adult for a vampire, like me, who is between the ages of three and one thousand in vampire years. We can control our bloodthirst if fed properly. Our senses, speed, and physical strength are superior to humans’. Adult vampires have rapid healing capabilities, and our saliva heals human wounds, but not grave diseases or injuries. Like Newborns, every part of our body can grow back if it has been cut off, except the head. And we can’t control human minds, which we refer to as compulsion.
“The third stage is Ancient, and refers to a vampire who is over one thousand years old. My kind’s power grows with age, and Ancients are very strong. When we reach this stage, our fangs become larger and wider, and we can use mental compulsion on humans. Much stronger than an Adult’s saliva, an Ancient’s blood has healing properties that can save humans from life-threatening injuries and terminal diseases—permanently. But it has to be taken directly from the Ancient’s vein for a human to be cured.” He relaxed into his seat and crossed his legs. “Another thing about Ancients is that some develop unique powers like flying or empathy.”
“Yeah, it’s crazy. My boss, an Ancient, can smell how old a vampire is. So weird,” Tess said.
“Why does the blood have to be taken from the vein if a human wants to be cured for good?” I asked.
“Because an Ancient’s blood quickly loses its healing benefit when exposed to air,” he answered. “BFB was invented by vampires for financial purposes. The pill contains dried Ancient blood coated with a special substance that preserves fifty percent of the healing properties. That’s why in severe cases of diseases and injuries, the healing is temporary.” He stopped and looked at Tess, wrinkling his nose. “It’s getting worse, the smell. Are there some BFB pills left from when your brother was sick?”
“She can’t take one now, only in four hours,” Tess reminded him, then pushed to her feet. “And yeah, we have five pills, I think. Hold on a sec.” She disappeared into the kitchen. When she returned, she held a medicine bottle in her hand. She sat back on the couch, unscrewed the top, and spilled the contents onto her palm. “There are three.” She looked up at me. “It’s not a permanent solution for your sickness, so you have to drink one of these every twenty-four hours on an empty stomach. You gotta be on a fast for a minimum of six hours before taking it, hence the name Blood for Breakfast. Also, you can’t eat for three hours afterward.” She dropped the pills back into the bottle. “Another downside to them is the price. One hundred bucks for a capsule. It’s quite expensive.”
My eyebrows dipped. “One hundred bucks for a pill? Yeah, I’d say. Look, I appreciate your help and all, but I don’t have cancer. It’s ridiculous. Like I already said, I felt more than fine before that maniac kidnapped me, and I also felt fine, at least physically, during the time I was kept captive. If I was in the final stage of cancer, I think I’d feel some kind of pain, even with BFB, or whatever it’s called, in my system.”
“You don’t have pain since BFB is temporarily healing you. And if you were healthy before, then your kidnapper did something that caused your body to get that sick,” Daryl said.
Could he be right? Did I really have cancer? And was it actually possible that someone had given it to me? Then again, was that any crazier than everything else I’d learned tonight? But if he had given it to me, how—
Tess gasped. “The tattoo!”
“What about it?” I asked her.
“Maybe that’s what gave you cancer.” She gestured to my hand. “It’s there, right? Let him see the number.”
I turned my left hand up, showing him the ink, then told them about it counting down.
Daryl’s mouth opened in shock at the sight of the tattoo. “Dear God,” he whispered and got to his feet, stepping to me, his eyes not leaving my palm. He sat between Tess and me.
Too captivated by the tattoo, he didn’t seem bothered by my scent while examining my palm. “My knowledge of magic is rather sketchy, yet I can tell that what you have on your hand is extremely powerful dark magic. Something I have never seen before. And I’m one hundred and five years old.” His fingers traveled over the black digits. “Your kidnapper is certainly not human. Even in our world, there are few who can cast such a strong, dark spell.”
And apparently, I’d happened to stumble upon one. Yay me. I pulled my hand back and looked at the tattoo. “Are you sure it’s black magic? Can vampires sense it?”
“Vampires don’t have witch powers. We can’t perform magic, but we can recognize it, black or white, when we see it,” he replied.
“Why is the magic on my hand counting down? What will happen when it reaches zero?” A subtle note of fear tainted my voice.
He stood up and walked back to his chair. “I’m sorry. I don’t hold the answers to those questions, but I’m certain the cause of your cancer is the ink on your skin. The human body is not suited to withstand this kind of power. To be honest, I’m amazed it did not end your life right away.”
Yeah, it only gave me a tiny annoyance called cancer. I had a terminal disease. To say I was shocked would be the understatement of the century.
“I’m dying,” I mumbled, feeling like a truck had just hit me.
“You are. The black magic is weakening your body and your immune system,” he said.
It was a lot to take in. I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. My head shook slowly from side to side. Why me? Why had my kidnapper done this to me? Why had he kept me alive with vampire blood? Tears clogged my throat when a comforting hand landed on my shoulder.
“There’s an Ancient who may be willing to cure you permanently,” Tess said beside me.
I opened my eyes and glanced up. “Really?”
“Don’t get her hopes up. Asgard won’t heal her. He’s the cruelest among the Rulers of the United States,” Daryl told her.
“Rulers of the United States?” I said.
“Vampires have a social hierarchy with the Ruler, an Ancient male, at the top,” Tess explained. “The States have four Rulers. Each controls a vast area in the US. The Southeast and Northeast belong to Asgard. The West, to Djar. The Midwest and Southwest now have new Rulers, Ivar and Seth. The Ruler has the ultimate authority over all the vampires living within his area, and they owe fealty to him.”
“Okay, vampires have an organized society, and the Ruler is like a king. So how does one set up a meeting with a Ruler?” I asked her.
“I work at a nightclub called The Dark Night, as a Donor, a human who volunteers as a blood source to a vampire. Asgard is my boss. He owns The Dark Night. Lately he has been spending lots of time at the club, heavily guarded.”
“Why is he heavily guarded?” I interrupted.
“Someone is targeting the Rulers of the US. Two of them have been murdered, Maximus and Ferdinand,” Daryl answered.
I raised a questioning brow. “Two murdered? Aren’t Ancients supposed
to be like super-strong vampires? Undefeatable?”
“Which is why the Rulers speculate that the killings were committed by another Ancient vampire, perhaps even more than one,” Daryl said.
Tess added, “But they don’t have any suspects, and until they catch the perpetrator, Djar, the West Ruler, keeps his location secret, while Asgard is surrounded by bodyguards.”
I looked at Tess. “Let’s say Asgard agrees to help me. What good will his blood do if the reason for my sickness is still on my hand afterward? I’ll get sick all over again.”
“You won’t,” Daryl said. “The Ancient blood will destroy your cancerous cells. It won’t eliminate the powerful magic on your hand, true. But as long as it’s there, the Ancient blood will remain in your body and preclude your cancer from recurring. It’ll protect you from other serious diseases too. You should know, though, that for Ancient blood to be able to fend off diseases constantly, it must be pure, clean from substances like high cholesterol and triglycerides. Asgard must be willing to stop feeding on humans who have a risk of a heart attack. Their blood tastes the best.”
“I think Asgard will give her his blood, provided she’ll agree to work for him,” Tess told Daryl.
“Work for him?” My voice rose. “As what?”
She leaned against the back of the couch. “As a Donor. Face it: you can’t go back to your home, at least not at the moment, or contact your friends, or call the police to report your kidnapping. The way I see it, hon, you need a cure and money. Asgard will provide both. I know for a fact that he’s been looking for new Donors, which are not easy to come by these days. It’s a win-win.”
She had a point. If I rejected working at The Dark Night, how would I come up with the money to buy BFB pills? And after I was cured, I’d have to support myself financially while looking for a way to get rid of the damn tattoo and to contact my family without risking their lives. I sighed. The thought of being a human blood bag in a club full of creatures with fangs sent a trickle of horror down my spine.
But it beat dying.
“The pay is really good,” she continued. “You work four days a week, like me, give two, maybe three pints of blood every shift, and that’s it.”
My eyes grew bigger. “Two or three pints of blood four times a week? How are you still alive? Not allowing your body enough time to recover can lead to serious complications. Or death.”
“True,” Daryl said. “While not quite as strong as Ancient blood, an Adult vampire’s saliva has healing qualities too. When inside the body—in large amounts—it heals it by producing the same quantity of blood, up to three pints, that the Donor has lost after being fed upon.”
I cleared my throat. “Um … how does the Donor consume the saliva?” I bit back a sound of disgust. Did I really want to know? No. Was I going to? Yes.
“There’s another pill called S. It contains dried vampire saliva—much cheaper than BFB. Before every shift, a Donor is provided with S, free of charge,” Tess said.
“And I’ll be needing to take only one S?” I asked.
“Humans can only take one S every forty-eight hours. Otherwise, it’ll cause damage to your body,” she said. Okay, three pills a week didn’t sound so bad. My thoughts drifted to another subject, and she lifted an eyebrow. “You look worried. Why? Other than that, the S pills are completely safe.”
“It’s not that,” I answered. “If everything works out with Asgard, and I drink his blood, would there be a risk I’d turn into a vampire?”
Daryl dismissed my concern. “Humans cannot be made a vampire. You are either born one, or you aren’t.”
“Can vampires breed?” I asked.
“No, but Daywalkers can. Though, only with other Daywalkers,” Tess answered as she leaned over to her purse on the coffee table and pulled out her cell. “Great, so it’s all settled, then. I just need to talk with Mike, the vampire who runs The Dark Night for Asgard, and tell him that I’m bringing a human with me to my shift tomorrow night.” Phone attached to her ear, she directed her next words to whoever answered her call. “Hey, hon, it’s Tess. Mike with you?” Ten seconds of silence filled the room before she spoke again. “Mike? Listen, I got a friend who knows about vampires’ existence, and she’s currently looking for a job. Wants to be a Donor … What’s she look like?” Her gaze slid to me. “Straight brown hair reaching the middle of her neck, almond-shaped brown eyes. About five feet, three inches—”
“Five foot six,” I corrected.
“No, sorry. Five feet, six inches. Gorgeous body. Mike, she’s hot. The vampires in The Dark Night would love her.” Tess was still for a short moment, and then a look of concern showed on her face. “Why does he want to see us? Is there something wrong?”
Daryl moved to his feet, tensing at Tess’s questions.
After she listened to whatever Mike had said and hung up, Daryl asked her, “Does he know?”
Worry wrinkled her brow. “I don’t think so.” When she faced me, a forced grin touched her mouth. “Good news, Mike allowed me to bring you to the part of the club where the vampires are. Humans who hang out at The Dark Night, by the way, have no idea about the existence of the separated section for vampires. Anyway, Asgard will see you when we’re there, and you can talk to him.”
“I, uh, don’t mean to pry or anything, but is everything all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s nothing,” she replied.
Daryl stepped to her. “Tess, my love, I think it’s time you went to bed. It’s three thirty in the morning. You must be tired, and I’m certain your friend needs her rest too. Show her to the guest room.”
She nodded and led me to a small bedroom with modern decor and a twin-sized bed. God, it’d been ages since I’d slept on something comfortable.
“Tess, I’m so grateful for what you and Daryl are doing for me. Really. Thank you.”
She waved me off. “Don’t mention it. There are some clean clothes in the closet. We’re around the same size, so it shouldn’t be a problem. The bathroom is across the hallway. Oh, and here are the BFB pills. You need to take one in three and a half hours. Don’t forget.” She handed me the medicine bottle, and I promised to pay her back for the pills once I got the job.
After I showered and changed into Tess’s sweatpants and T-shirt, I set the alarm on the nightstand for seven a.m. and fell asleep. When the alarm went off, I took the BFB and returned to sleep. The next time I woke up, it was six p.m. Sitting up in the bed, I let my new reality sink in. Magic, fae, and girls with golden tears existed; vampires and magical tattoos, too. And I was dying of cancer. I was dying of cancer. I was dying of cancer. No matter how many times I repeated it in my head, I had a hard time accepting it. I glanced down at the reason I had a terminal disease and touched the number, 755. I wished I could get my life back, when my main concern had been keeping my GPA up. Self-pity crept its way into my emotions, and I pushed it away. There was no time for that; the clock was ticking on my life.
I slid off the bed and padded into the dark living room. The blinds were closed, and the sole source of light came from the kitchen.
Tess was sitting there alone, eating. “Hey, you slept well?” she said.
I smiled at her. “I did, thanks. Where’s Daryl?”
“Still sleeping, and no, not in a coffin. Vampires don’t really do that. And in case you were wondering, they do have a reflection.” She grinned and motioned to the fridge. “There are some bacon, eggs, milk. Make yourself something to eat.”
Starving, I fixed myself a sandwich and went to sit at the kitchen table with her. Tess talked about The Dark Night and warned me not to say anything about vampires to the human clubgoers in there. It was forbidden. I also learned that the first floor was for humans only, who were oblivious to the vampires in the underground cave beneath them. I shared my concern about being in a club full of bloodsuckers, and she assured me that humans, employees or not, were safe there. Though, right before we finished eating, she advised me not to wander
off when we got inside the club.
After Daryl woke up, Tess took me to her closet and dragged out dresses: short, long, classic, sexy; I tried them all on. They were about a size larger, but the next piece of clothing she pulled out fit perfectly.
“It’s my sister’s,” she said. “And it looks hot on you.”
I stared at myself in the mirror. “Wouldn’t she mind a stranger borrowing it?”
The navy-blue, long-sleeved dress ended halfway down my thighs and managed to give my small breasts a cleavage. My hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Everything looked perfect, except for the color of my skin. Three weeks of being out of sunlight, it was pale as fresh cream.
“I know my sister; she wouldn’t mind,” Tess replied and picked a black spaghetti-strap dress for herself, then showed me her shoe collection. “I will never borrow other people’s shoes. If you’re like me, I have something for you.” She lifted ugly neon-green heels. “They’re hideous, I know, but this is the only new pair I’ve got. Daryl bought them for me when I started working at The Dark Night. Ugh, he has no sense of fashion.”
I waved a hand in the air. “No worries. I’m sure the fashion police will give me a pass for tonight, given the circumstances.”
I slipped into the heels and did a spin in front of the long wall-mounted mirror. Her face twisted in horror at the sight of the shoes.
“Well, the upside is that they’re my size,” I told her.
In the living room, we met Daryl, and Tess handed me a black jacket. Then we were on our way to The Dark Night.