Turned by Blood

by Holly Hook

  “Why didn't you keep that sword?” I asked, breaking into a run after Alyssa again. Not that I had much room to talk. I had thrown away the knife.

  “It was too dull to be any good!” she shouted. "I can't even hit those guys."

  We slid back down the opposite escalator, leaving the trio scrambling against each other where we had stood two seconds before. Before, I would have tripped, but now I could leap down three steps at a time with ease. No one was on the way down, or Alyssa and I would have run them over. I spotted two security guards below, running to the sword store, but they'd never catch us—or the people who had started the mess.

  “Outside,” I breathed. “We can't stay in this mall.”

  Behind us, the man yelled in that old language to his pals. He had an advantage—and he must be at the top of the downward escalator. I jumped to the carpet and led the way to the nearest exit, turning my thoughts to getting on a bus. I still had money. These guys couldn't catch up with a bus getting on the freeway, and I knew of one stop where you could do just that.

  Xavier would have to fend for himself right now. He could just throw War Magic at these guys. We couldn't. Well, Alyssa might, but not as well as him. It was us that Bathory wanted.

  The closest exit was over by the mini-library. We bolted down the hallway which was bare on a Friday night, and I hit the door so hard that the hinges squeaked with the stress. We burst into the night air and ran across the parking lot. Behind us, the three minions hit the closing door and forced it to burst open again.

  I didn't dare tell Alyssa about the bus stop. These guys had likely heard us speaking to each other already. I almost wanted a few ATC vans to pull up, but the ATC was still pulling itself back together. They weren't out on patrol tonight. It was just the dark parking lot, the sodium lights, and the glass box that was the bus stop straight ahead.

  And a green Cumberland city bus was pulling up. A single man who smelled of deep-fried food walked towards the opening doors of our escape.

  “Wait!” I shouted, blowing our plan. It wouldn't have mattered. It was obvious where Alyssa and I were running. I hoped it was dark enough for the driver to miss that two blurry girls were bolting for him.

  I reached the bus first and climbed on. “Go!” I shouted. “There's a man chasing us!” I let real panic flow into my voice, and Alyssa piled into the bus behind me. The poor guy sat down, a restaurant worker done with his shift.

  “Where did you come from?” the driver, a man with silver hair, asked.

  “Just go!” Alyssa begged. She was playing the part of a helpless female, and judging from the look on the driver's face, it was working.

  The footfalls of Bathory's minions closed in. We had two seconds before they piled onto the bus, snatching us and killing these two Normals. “Go!” I screamed.

  The man narrowed his eyes at me and put his hand on the lever to close the door. “Are you Abnormals?”

  I had forgotten to hide my teeth while speaking. Well, it was an emergency.

  “More are coming if you don't move,” I said.

  The man paled and closed the door.

  A split second later, something rammed into it, making the metal squeal and tremble.

  “Whoa!” the restaurant worker shouted.

  The driver stomped on the gas, sending both me and Alyssa into the same seat. I fell in first, and she squashed me by mistake.

  The bus's engine roared as the poor driver gunned it faster and faster. The door continued to squeal. Alyssa got off me and grabbed onto the seat. The worker man stood and grasped his own. There was no one else on the bus but us.

  “Did we lose him?” I asked Alyssa.

  “There's something on the door!” the driver shouted. “It's trying to get in!”

  “I should've kept the sword,” Alyssa said, pressing her face to the opposite window. She faced me. “It's him.”

  I joined her at the window, and the three of us passengers all gazed into the night together. The mall fell away as the bus pulled onto the main road and gunned it towards the freeway ramp.

  The shaggy guy hung onto the closed door of the bus. Neither of his friends had joined him. I hoped they got run over, but I figured we wouldn't be that lucky. The man's hair blew in the wind as he hung on. We passed a few cars, and I caught glimpes of the drivers as they turned their gazes to the sight.

  And he was prying at the door, trying to get it open.

  “Um, Alyssa?” I asked.

  “I know,” she said, shooting me a look somewhere beyond oh crap. “He'll get in.”

  I knew what would happen. This guy had confidence he could deal with us both, and he'd murder the driver and the other passenger. Worse, he might take them and threaten to tear open their throats in front of us. We were the only thing between them and certain death. This was an old vampire, and if he was with Bathory, he was one who liked to kill his victims.

  Alyssa and I had the job of stopping him.

  “Keep driving,” I shouted at the driver. “We'll try to keep him away from you.”

  That sounded confident. I searched around the bus for a weapon. Unless we could rip up a seat throw it at the guy, we had nothing. The door squeaked and squealed. The driver kept his shaking hand on the lever to keep it shut, but he was struggling. The only reason our friend hadn't gotten in was the fact that he struggled to get a good grip on the door. I smelled something metallic. Fear, as Alyssa said.

  I peeled my face from the window and raced down the aisle towards the door. I glimpsed the man outside. He clutched the rim of the door like a spider, and cars honked as if trying to warn the people on this bus of the danger. Everyone knew no Normal could cling onto a moving bus like that. The driver braked and then sped through a yellow light. Signs pointing to the entry ramp emerged from the dark, reflecting green and white. The driver clicked on the turn signal.

  “Do a sharp turn!” Alyssa shouted.

  The driver obeyed. I had to admit: he had skill. It must come from years of navigating Cumberland.

  Another vehicle honked, and we turned onto the ramp. It was a curvy one complete with those yellow and black arrows, but the guy still held on. In fact, he pulled at the door, and metal squealed as he opened it halfway.

  “You newborns,” he snarled. “When the Mother calls, you do not disobey.”

  “Since when is that a law?” Alyssa asked. She grabbed the lever from the driver and held it in place, keeping the guy from opening the door further. She had a better chance than he did.

  I wished I had her attitude. I took off my shopping bag. The guy pulled again, and the door slid open more.

  And he started squeezing himself inside. He smiled, baring his fangs. This was one Abnormal who wasn't ashamed of his nature.

  The driver didn't dare look as if he were too afraid to face the coming death. If Alyssa had kept that sword, she could have ended this guy with her touch of Death. It wasn't like he could dodge her while clinging onto the door.

  Alyssa couldn't release the handle, or he'd get in.

  It was on me. I had only the contents of my shopping bag.

  I rummaged through it and closed my hand around the metal file. It was all I had. I fished it out, tore open the packaging, and ripped out the metal device.

  “Stop the bus!” the shaggy man shouted.

  The poor driver shifted and muttered to himself. He probably had a family.

  “Don't stop the bus,” I said, brandishing my crappy weapon.

  “Janine!” Alyssa shouted, shaking as she held the lever that kept the door halfway shut.

  “What's going on here?” the restaurant worker asked, backpedaling to the rear of the bus.

  I raised the nail file and rammed it right into the old vampire's eye.

  He hadn't been expecting it because he let go of the doorframe and brought one hand to his eye. The nail file stuck out, and scentless blood spurted out around it, missing my hand by inches. I let go as he roared in pain and tried to pry the nail file out. My
body acted, and I kicked at the man while he struggled with the surprise weapon.

  Our attacker fell away from the door, and it closed with the force of Alyssa pulling on the lever.

  Meanwhile, we merged onto the freeway and joined the river of taillights flowing through the city. I fell back into the front seat, tense, not wanting to look at the freeway behind us to see the new mess.

  My phone buzzed again, telling me I had another text.

  “Not now, Mom,” I managed, and wrapped my arms around my knees.

  Alyssa released the lever. The poor driver continued to speed until she said something about how he could slow down now. He did, catching his breath.

  “Janine,” she said, rushing over and wrapping her arms around me. “That was amazing. I didn't know what to do.”

  “I'll never say nail files aren't useful again,” I managed. “One's going to stay with me for the rest of my life. Screw pepper spray.”

  My phone buzzed for a second time.

  Alyssa didn't miss a beat. She was more used to this stuff than me. “Maybe that's Xavier,” she said. “We left him at the mall. He must wonder where we are.”

  I pulled out my phone. In the past few minutes, I had forgotten about him. I handed it to Alyssa because I needed a minute to recover from the horrifying events that going to the mall had brought us.

  She read the texts.

  And sighed.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “Typical,” she said. “It's Xavier. 'Aunt Primrose said the food court wasn't good enough for her. I had to meet her at Lovetail's. Meet me there when done shopping.'”

  “Lovetail's?” I asked. “It sounds like a place where rabbits meet for Valentine's Day.” I had to say something funny and put a non-scary image in my head, because the sight of that snarling guy and his fangs sent shivers down my spine. Which was ironic, considering I now had the same. I'd never get used to that part.

  “Do you want to go to Lovetail's?” the driver asked. “I can take you there. I don't care what you are. I won't even tell the ATC you rode my bus. And your fare is free.” He was shaking, and the air was full of that metallic smell. I could hear a tremor in his voice I wouldn't have picked up before.

  “No, no,” I said, scrambling out of my seat. “We'll pay you. You deserve it.” We had brought that creep in his direction. That part was our fault.

  “Did you knock that guy off with a nail file?” the restaurant worker asked. He remained in the back of the bus.

  I ignored him. We had attracted way too much attention to ourselves. I wasn't even happy that it gave us an excuse to dye our hair again. Alyssa frowned at me.

  “Pay him a great tip,” she said.

  There was more to her words. We had to make sure the driver stayed shut up. Xavier had given us enough money to ensure it. I dropped my bag on a seat and fished in my pocket for one of the hundred dollar bills. I handed it to the guy, but he didn't take it at first.

  He feared us.

  I had bared my teeth at him, which hurt. And now he gave off that metallic smell that Alyssa said was adrenaline. He also smelled like a fancy salmon dinner. My stomach growled right when I handed him the hundred dollar bill.

  “That's okay,” he said. “You don't have to pay me.”

  “Take it,” I said, hating my stomach. “You deserve it. That was some amazing driving.” Having the bill in hand would make him think twice about calling the ATC on us.

  “No. I'll drop you off where you need to go, and then I'll be on my way.”

  “But Lovetail's must be off your route,” I said. “Take it.” I slapped the hundred dollar bill down on the dashboard, and I didn't miss the way the guy flinched. I backed away from the driver with my hands up to ensure him I didn't mean him any harm—although a part of me wanted otherwise. The salmon smell hung in the air as the metallic adrenaline faded.

  Alyssa motioned me back. The guy in the kitchen apron didn't back away, but he didn't ask us questions, either. I hoped that he still thought we were Normal girls. The guy trying to get in was the biggest threat unless he thought we wanted him for ourselves. I knew what kinds of things people thought about Abnormals. Sure, some beings like demons and Dark Mages deserved a bad reputation, but there were many people who liked no Abnormals at all.

  Like my mother.

  And vampires had hurt plenty of people.

  “The peace offering was good,” Alyssa said. She kept her voice low. “That guy didn't want it because he plans to report us. He doesn't want the guilt hanging over him. As soon as we're off this bus, we need to get Xavier and leave the area.”

  “Isn't that extreme?” I asked. “We got rid of the guy who would have killed the driver.”

  “It's not,” Alyssa said, leveling a serious stare at me. “You haven't been this way for a week yet, and there's a lot of learn. You can never, ever trust people to not report you.”

  “What about your Normal grandmother?” I asked. “She's okay with you.”

  “She still called the ATC on me and Xavier before she realized we weren't evil,” Alyssa said. A hint of pain came over her face.

  “That was when you first met,” I said. I knew people wouldn't like us, but hiding our nature was harder than I expected. I hadn't even had the chance to pick up contacts or file down my teeth, and I'd have to do both before going back to school. “She believed their stories about you.”

  Alyssa turned away. “They weren't entirely wrong.”

  If Xavier were here, he'd tell her to stop beating herself up. Alyssa had improved in the past several days. She had to because awful things happened to her when she believed the worst of herself before.

  “How far are we from Lovetail's?” I asked the driver. “My friend and I are in a hurry.”

  “It will be two more exits,” he said.

  “Xavier must have Transposed there,” Alyssa said. “He could have come back to the mall in seconds.” She sighed.

  “Maybe he couldn't do it in a crowd,” I said. When War Mages Transposed from one place to another, it was flashy and complete with hot, magenta columns of magic. Xavier still had that ability and more. Even though Alyssa was Bound to him as his battle partner, she didn't have that ability, even though she could summon weaker forms of his magic. It would have helped us a lot here.

  “All he had to do was pop in, grab us, and get out,” Alyssa said. “Then we wouldn't be in this mess.”

  She said nothing about my stunt with the nail file. It was the first useful thing I'd done since Turning and zip. I picked my bag off the aisle floor and plopped down in a middle seat. The guy from the restaurant was busy texting someone. He punched the phone keys as if he couldn't wait to tell the story about the vampire trying to break into the bus. That was sure to go crazy on social media, and I'd be one of the first people to see it. Brave girl stabs vampire with a nail file, saves bus.

  Tingles ran over me at the thought, but I shook my head. I'd known Alyssa long enough to know attention wasn't always a good thing.

  The driver pulled off an exit and went through a few intersections. We rolled through downtown Cumberland now, complete with its skyscrapers. At one point, we stopped at a light that gave us a full view of the ATC headquarters. Its three red letters glowed over the city as if promising the Normal citizens it would keep them safe from people like us. Even though it was dark, my vision showed me the three burned floors of the twenty-story building. I could even see yellow tape inside, warning people to stay out.

  The headquarters had closed until it passed inspections to ensure that it wouldn't collapse. No lights were on inside. Richard Grimes, the new owner of the company, had a mess to clean.

  “I don't want to see that,” Alyssa said. “There are too many bad memories in there.”

  “My mother was a prisoner in there once,” I said. The former mayor had allowed one of his vampire servants to feed on her. In fact, one of his other servants had bitten Alyssa fourteen years ago, as part of his plan.

  “S
o that's two of us,” Alyssa said, watching the driver.

  I had a thought he might turn towards the ATC building and honk at someone to come out and help him, but he eyed the hundred dollar bill on his dash and kept going straight. The tactic was working, at least for now. At last, he pulled up to a bus stop near a fancy restaurant and opened the door.

  “Here you go, girls,” he said in a relieved tone. “Here's the place you need.”

  I forced a smile. “Thanks. You deserve a raise.”

  Alyssa and I got off, and I kept my bag of clothes hanging over my shoulder. Alyssa did the same. We had kept our purchases during the whole chase. That might have saved the lives of these two people on the bus.

  The driver closed the door the second I'd stepped off. He sped away.

  “You have to get used to that treatment,” Alyssa said without emotion.

  “It'll get better once I learn how to use a file,” I said. “And get contacts.”

  “It will,” she said, not sounding sure. “We can't go back to the mall. I think I see Xavier in that restaurant. His aunt isn't letting him go.”

  I checked my phone and found the text about us being trapped in the sword store. I'd misspelled a few things and sent the text off halfway through, and Xavier had responded the first time with a bunch of question marks. He hadn't known what I meant. Then he sent the texts about his aunt having to meet him in a fancy place because of her ego and all. All this time, he had no clue about our danger.

  And he was sitting inside, in his leather coat and hat, while his Aunt Primrose sat opposite him, sipping on a glass of water. A single candle flickered on the white tablecloth and a waiter with a towel over his arm wove through the tables. I could smell the food from inside and I noticed that everyone except for Xavier was in fancy garb. It wasn't quite a suit and tie place, but it was close.

  Alyssa and I had wacky hair, and we wore jeans. That wouldn't get us noticed at all.

  “I don't want to go in there,” Alyssa said.

  “It doesn't look like Xavier enjoys it,” I said. Alyssa's boyfriend ground a napkin in his fist over and over as he spoke over the fancy music playing inside. If I focused, I could make out snippets of sentences through the glass. I was getting better at zooming in on things I wanted among all the other noise.