by Helen Bell
Why on earth would a mighty being such as Oberon trouble himself to break free a mere human? Was it because of the rare black magic on my hand? That train of thought jolted to a halt when I spotted a folded piece of paper lying on the floor near the dresser. I rose from the bed and went to pick it up. Someone had written me a note.
I heard your conversation with Philippe about Zoey at his party. We need to talk. It’s important. Meet me tomorrow at Pardee Seawall Park, 4:00 p.m. Take a seat on a bench and wait for me.
That was it? No name? No physical description of him or her? No explanation as to why he or she wanted to meet with me? I turned over the piece of paper. Nothing. I looked at the jacket draped over the back of the chair near the dresser. The paper must have fallen out of a pocket. Someone had slipped the note inside while I was at Philippe’s party. But when? Even as the question arose in my head, I remembered the girl I’d bumped into at the party. It must have been her who had slipped the note—no doubt. Whoever she was, she might shed light on Zoey’s whereabouts. I had to go see her.
At four p.m. Gideon would be sleeping, being a vampire and all, so I’d have to go there by myself. I’ll bring him up to speed with the latest developments when I return.
I unlocked the cell phone to look up Pardee Seawall Park. Okay, not too far from here. And it was public, somewhat safer when meeting a stranger. I stepped back to the bed, got in, and set the alarm for three p.m.
Chapter 8
The cab driver pulled up at Pardee Seawall Park, and I paid him with the money Gideon had left me in the dresser drawer. Then, I hiked to a walkway with a wrought-iron fence lining it. A long row of benches and brass streetlamps along the coastline faced the ocean water, overlooking the harbor. I sat down on one of the benches, a cold breeze brushing my face.
As I waited for the girl, I glanced up at the sun. The side effect of BFB was a bitch. I could still feel the burning sensation that had gnawed at my eyes and skin when I stepped out of the house earlier. I’d rushed back inside—as far away as possible from sunlight—and applied sunscreen. I had to wait until the pain let up before I could put sunglasses on. Only then, had it been tolerable for me to walk out into the sun again and get here.
Fifteen minutes of watching people stroll along the fence passed without her showing up. I became restless. Where was she? As I glanced at my watch for the millionth time, someone sat next to me.
“Are you really Zoey’s sister, the one who went missing?” the stranger asked.
I looked up and recognized the girl I’d bumped into at Philippe’s party, remembering that dark brown hair tipped with bright pink highlights.
“She has only one sibling, and it’s me, yes. Who are you?” I demanded.
“I’m Izzy, and I know your sister. We had a few classes together and used to hang out sometimes.”
My eyes went wide. Philippe had mentioned her name. “Do you know why Zoey suddenly decided to leave everything and disappear?”
She shook her head, her brown eyes apologetic. “No, I don’t,” she answered, and disappointment swept over me. “Zoey was fine,” she continued. “Everything was cool until one day I found her in her dorm room, crying. She explained that she was worried ’cause her sister, you, didn’t come back home from a trip with some friends. So what’s the deal? Why didn’t you return home?”
“It’s complicated. Do you know where she may be now?”
“No clue.”
I sighed. Then why did she drag me here?
“I’m worried about her,” she said. “After that day in her dorm room, we didn’t talk much since she was busy looking for you. The last time we spoke was when she called me. It was a week ago. All of a sudden, she dropped out of school, went AWOL on social media, and demanded that I wouldn’t contact her again. I was sure she was joking around, so three days later, I stopped by her dorm. Her roommate said that Zoey had left and taken all her stuff with her. I called her. When she didn’t pick up for two days, I stopped by Philippe’s basement loft. He claimed he didn’t know where she was either and that he was concerned about her. Yet he was in a mood to plan a party. He even invited me.”
“Why did you slip the note into my jacket? Why not just talk to me at the party?” I asked.
“Too many eyes, too many ears. I don’t trust Philippe and his friends.”
“You think he had a hand in Zoey’s decision to leave?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “He might have. I eavesdropped outside his office door when you were there. He sounded devastated, asking your vampire friend to find her, but it could have been just an act. He’s hiding something. I never liked him. She cried a lot over that shithead but wouldn’t dump his sorry ass. She was so in love with him. To be honest, I feel guilty. She met him because of me. I introduced her to the vampire world, brought her to The Dark Night, a vamp club.”
A couple holding hands walked by as a gust of wind blew Izzy’s hair across her face. She brushed it out of her eyes.
“How’d you get involved in that world? Are you a Donor?” I said.
She shook her head. “Before Zoey and I became friends, I used to go out a lot to The Dark Night, where humans hung out. There I met this girl, Kelly. We hit it off immediately. At first, I didn’t know about her, but she later confessed to being a Newborn vampire. Her Change happened last year, in the middle of her midterms. She’s still adapting to the transition but swore she wouldn’t hurt me and that her bloodlust was under control. Funny, but I was more fascinated than afraid. She’ll be nineteen forever. How awesome is that?
“Anyhow, when Zoey started to hang out with us, Kelly thought it’d be cool if I brought her to The Dark Night. Strangely, your sister didn’t freak out, like I did, when she discovered that vampires were real. She was pretty casual about the whole thing and wanted to explore the cave. Kelly managed to get us downstairs. We had good times. That is, until Zoey met Philippe.”
Two children playing with each other came close to our bench, and Izzy paused. A woman near the fence called out to them, and they ran back to her.
“As always,” she went on, “every other guy hit on her. Zoey turned them all down, but not Philippe. She was totally into him, charmed by his accent, by his looks.” She rolled her eyes. “God knows why. He’s a world-class jerk. They started dating. She fell head over heels for him, but once the honeymoon period was over, troubles came. She found out he had a number of fuck buddies, and it broke her heart. He told her he doesn’t believe in monogamy. She was devastated but didn’t dump him.”
I huffed out a sigh. “Ugh, that asshole. After I find Zoey, I’ll put some sense into her. What happened after the night you went to Philippe to ask about her?”
Her stare drifted to the ocean before it returned to mine. “I left his house and called Kelly, thinking maybe she had talked to Zoey and knew what was going on with her, but it kept going straight to her voicemail. The following day, I waited till night and drove over to her apartment. The door was busted in, and the inside was trashed like someone had been looking for something. When I stepped into her bedroom, I heard a man in the bathroom. I quickly hid under her bed, and men’s boots came into view. He moved to Kelly’s dresser and ripped open the drawers. Then he made a short phone call.”
“Did you see what he looked like?” I asked.
Her head bobbed up and down once. “I got a peek at him. He was tall, about forty years old, brown hair, definitely a vampire. He held something in his hand, but from under the bed, I couldn’t tell what it was.”
I zipped my jacket shut as the wind picked up. “What did he say on the phone?”
“Something about finding it. Have no clue what it meant. Before he ended the call, he mentioned a date and time of a meeting and confirmed that he’d be there. After he took off, I followed him,” she answered.
“Have any idea who he may be?”
“No. That’s why I was at the party yesterday, to ask Philippe if he knew anyone who matched that vampire’s description
, but he didn’t even listen to me, telling me to leave him alone,” she answered.
“You said you went after the vampire intruder. Where did he go?”
She pointed at the hundreds of houses sitting near the waterline a few miles away from us. “Over there. His home is at the end of the walkway. That’s why I’m here. That meeting he mentioned? It’s today at seven. Look, I don’t believe in coincidence. Both Zoey and Kelly suddenly went MIA; it must be connected, so I stalked him the last couple of days. As soon as he leaves the house for the meeting, I’ll trail him. My car’s parked nearby. You want to come with?”
My recent experiences with strangers weren’t the best, but with my new martial arts skills, I felt more confident, so I nodded.
Thirty minutes later, we were in her Jeep, following a black BMW to an industrial district, the sunset coloring the sky in soft orange and purple. By the time he pulled up outside an abandoned building with broken windows and graffiti painted on the brick walls, the moon and stars were out in a cloudless sky. I took off the sunglasses while Izzy parked the car at a safe distance from the BMW. The area was empty of people.
Out of the car, we crept through dead grass, ducking as low as possible, passing several streetlamps casting a soft light. We hid behind the corner of a small decaying building next to the deserted one the vampire was standing in front of, like he was waiting for someone.
“Izzy? What are you doing here?” a low voice said behind us. We both jumped and snapped our heads back.
Izzy gasped. “Kelly?” she whispered sharply. “What are you doing here? Where have you been? Why haven’t you picked up any of my calls?”
“My cell broke when Philippe beat the shit out of me while grilling me. I bought a new one and changed my number because of him. Sorry I didn’t have time to talk to you. Gosh, you were right about him; he’s a total ass.”
Kelly’s hazel eyes were weary, her dark brown hair wrapped in a messy bun. Jeans and a shirt with long sleeves encased her slender body, a pearl necklace around her neck.
“He hit you? Why?” Izzy’s voice rose above a whisper.
She shushed her and answered, “Three nights ago, as I was walking to my cousin’s house, Philippe jumped me. He dragged me over to a dark corner. He’s balls-out crazy. Did you know Zoey dumped him over the phone? Turns out he has no idea where she is now and is convinced I had something to do with her disappearance. He thinks she’s scared of me ’cause I hurt her. I swore to him that I didn’t, that I control my bloodlust around humans even though I’m Newborn, but he kept hitting me, demanding I reveal the truth. I was lucky my cousin saw us. Shelley’s got a few hundred years on Philippe, so he let me go and took off.
“I was afraid of him and stayed at my cousin’s house for a while. When I returned to my apartment, I found out that someone had broken into it. They trashed everything and took all my jewelry. Shelley hired Ian. He’s the best PI there is, a bit expensive but worth every penny she paid him. After six hours, I got all the information I needed. It was Philippe who sent a man to break into my home. Maybe he thought Zoey was there, I don’t know. The greedy fucker who tore my apartment apart wasn’t just looking for Zoey. He also stole my stuff to sell it. Ian told me that the vamp thief found a buyer and that they were meeting here, tonight.”
“I came over and saw the mess in your apartment,” Izzy said. “I was under your bed when he stole your stuff and I overheard him set up this meeting. He also said he found it. What is it?”
Kelly’s mouth opened in shock. “You were in my apartment? Thank gosh he didn’t see you. ‘It’ probably refers to my grandma’s necklace. It’s worth a fortune. I was an idiot not to lock it away in the safe. I saw how Philippe’s men had their eyes on that necklace the night I wore it at that party Zoey invited us to.”
“Yeah, I remember. The diamonds on it were gorgeous,” Izzy said.
“Did Zoey call you too? Before she disappeared?” I asked Kelly.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Like I already told Philippe, I don’t know where she is. Who are you anyway?”
“Sydney, Zoey’s sister,” I replied.
Her brow shot up. “Sydney? Didn’t you go, like, missing?”
“It’s a long story,” I said.
Izzy glanced at Kelly. “So, wait, you’re here to get your jewelry back?”
“Yes. Before I spotted you, I was about to threaten him into returning my stuff.” Kelly’s trembling hand drew out a small handgun from her purse. “With this. My cousin would kill me if she—”
“Someone’s arrived,” I cut in as a car pulled up near the vampire. A man got out.
“Kelly, listen to me,” Izzy said. “Don’t do anything stupid. If the buyer’s an Ancient, we’ll end up dead.”
“She’s right,” I agreed. “The jewelry isn’t worth your life. Our lives.” Kelly watched the men as the buyer opened a suitcase full of what seemed like money. A moment passed before she put the gun back into her bag.
“All right, all right. Let’s get out of here.” She gritted her teeth, and then her cell phone rang in her purse. Her hand shot into the bag, but it was too late. The vampires’ heads whipped our way.
“Hurry, to my car,” Izzy urged and we sprinted toward her Jeep. The two vampires were dangerously close when we jumped inside the car. The engine roared to life, and Izzy slammed on the gas, speeding off. As we moved farther away from them, I felt relief. But also disappointment. The vampire in Kelly’s apartment wasn’t connected to my sister’s disappearance. Zoey’s whereabouts remained unknown. At least Izzy had discovered that her other friend, Kelly, was fine.
“Phew, that was a close call,” Kelly said.
“Sorry I dragged you into all this. I thought Kelly had been taken by that vampire and that it might be related to Zoey,” Izzy apologized, still driving fast.
“He didn’t kidnap me, but I was tortured by that monster, Philippe,” Kelly added with a shiver. “I’m staying at my cousin’s house until he gets off my back.”
“Probably for the best. Let him cool down,” Izzy said and then asked me, “Where do you need me to drop you off?” I gave her Gideon’s address, and then my phone number when we reached his house, in case they heard from Zoey.
After that, I waved goodbye and stepped inside the house. The light in the living room was on. I walked through the French doors. Gideon was sitting on the couch, a glass of blood in his hand.
“Oh, look at that. You’re alive.” He looked calm. His tone, however, was anything but.
Apparently, he’d called me ten times when he realized I wasn’t in the house. My phone being on silent, I hadn’t heard it. I apologized and recounted everything that had happened with Izzy and Kelly.
“You escaped two vampires, one of whom might have been an Ancient?” he repeated, his voice somehow even angrier. “Goddammit, Sydney, you should’ve woken me up, or waited until the sun set, so I could come with you. Do you have any idea how extremely vulnerable you are near Ancient vampires?”
Why was he so agitated? “Which part of succeeding in escaping them did you fail to understand?”
He stood up, setting his glass on the coffee table with a thud that rang with irritation, then stepped to me. “Which part of being extremely vulnerable near Ancient vampires did you fail to understand? Sydney, an Ancient can control the human mind easily, make you spill all your secrets, or worse—kill yourself just for the fun of it. Ancient vampires can own you. Your body and your mind.” This shut me up. The thought terrified me. He dragged a hand down his face and sighed. “If you insist on following up on new leads without me,” he continued, “you will learn how to block compulsion. It’ll take some time to teach you, but it just became our top priority.”
Surprise filled my voice. “It’s possible for humans to learn how to block it?”
“With hard work, you might be able to. It’s not a guarantee, though.”
I was easy prey for Ancients. Before I could go on with my search for Zoey, I had to f
ix that. ASAP. “When do we start?”
“The first step is knowing how to reach a state of heightened awareness. Have you ever meditated?”
“Meditated? No,” I answered, and my first lesson started.
Chapter 9
Breathe in, breathe out, I instructed myself, sitting on the floor of the living room in a lotus position, my eyes closed. For the first time, my mind was empty of thoughts for a whole hour. It’d been three days since my training started, during which I’d done meditation and mindfulness exercises from sunset to sunrise while Gideon guided me. Unfortunately, I’d been failing, not able to wipe my mind clear of thoughts for more than a few moments. However, today, waking up two hours earlier than usual, before the sun was down, I’d been determined to make it. And I did. My mind had been silent for over two hours.
Super excited, I hurried upstairs to Gideon’s bedroom door. Without knocking—or thinking—I flung it open. Two steps in, I froze. There, in the middle of the king-sized bed, Gideon lay motionless on his back and on top of the covers. Also, he was naked. Very naked. My mouth went dry as my stare drifted down his hairless chest, then to the trail of hair from his navel to his groin. I explored his stomach, flat and lean, his perfect six-pack, the trim muscles of his torso, the V of his hips, and the seriously impressive, erected pe—
“You’re welcome to do more than just stand over there and ogle.” Eyes closed, he suddenly spoke, startling me.
He was awake? Crap. “I am not ogling.” How on earth did he know I was ogling? Never mind, change the subject and focus on his face. “Uh, sorry I didn’t knock,”—his face, Sydney, his face—“but I wanted to update you. I did it! I can have no thoughts in my head.” And no shame in you. Look up. Have you forgotten where his face is? “I’m ready.”