“You’re, uh … mighty nimble there.”
She flashed half a smile before resuming her position on the arm of the couch.
“I jog a lot.”
“Yeah. You look like you do. My name’s Harold. Harold Linderman. Nice to meet you.”
Victoria didn’t bother looking in his direction, keeping her attention on Karen’s house.
“I’m Victoria.”
“Victoria. Lovely name. Do you have a last name?”
“I do.”
Harold waited to hear it, but Victoria offered nothing. He didn’t push.
“Hey, what you got to drink there? Do you mind if I have a taste?”
She glanced at the blood-bag, next to her foot, and snickered quietly.
“I don’t think you’d want to sample that.”
“Oh, I’ll sample anything.”
“Trust me. That wouldn’t agree with you.”
“So stingy.” He nearly collapsed on the couch next to her, throwing up dust and dirt. Victoria fanned the air with her hand. “That’s okay. I’ve got my own liquid strength, right here.”
He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and took a deep drink.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here?” He waved around them. “This place doesn’t attract someone with the looks of you.”
“I could ask you the same question.”
“Oh, I come here from time to time. To catch a quick nap, get out of the rain. Found a dead body here once. Oh, four … maybe five years ago. The cops thought I did it, for the longest time.”
Victoria frowned.
“Yeah. Not the best of smells, is it?”
“You ain’t wrong there.” He leaned forward on the couch, peering over the TV stand and through the living room window. “So, what are we doing? Watching the world go by?”
The smile she gave him was genuine. She liked Harold. He had a simple, easygoing nature. There was a look in his eye, a look that said he’d been through much in his life, and didn’t let it get him down. She reached for the blood at her feet, deciding to join him for a drink.
“Uh,” he said. “Why is your alcohol in a bag?”
“I guess the same reason I’ve seen wine in a box.”
His face twisted as he shook his head and stuck out his tongue in disgust.
“Oh, no, Vic. I won’t drink that stuff.”
Victoria, after so long, had finally met the one person she’d let call her a nickname.
She discretely turned the bag away from him and punctured it with her fangs. Taking two long drinks, she closed her eyes as she felt the blood rush down her throat. The world exploded around her. The stench in the house grew stronger, the noises outside louder, as her senses sharpened. She could hear Harold’s heart beating, and was so tempted to add some delicious warmth to the mix.
“I take it you’re looking for someone,” Harold said. “This is a nice little spot to … well, spy, if you know what I mean.”
She didn’t ask him to explain further. She didn’t want to know what Harold did in the shadows, watching people from the dark. But she would admit the truth.
“I am,” she said. “I’m watching that woman across the street. Don’t ask questions, but I think she might be in trouble.”
“Oh. That woman.”
Victoria turned toward him.
“You know her?”
He nodded.
“Yeah. I know the neighborhood, really. That’s the beauty of my … living situation. I see everyone, no one sees me. She must have a hard time keeping a boyfriend. I can’t figure why. Very lovely, sweet. But a lot of guys come and go. She can’t seem to keep any of them around. Ever since she lost her family, she’s been a little wild.”
“Her family?”
“Yeah. I think maybe a year ago. Her mother, father, her sister. It was terrible.”
She felt a quick stab of pain in her stomach. Memories rushed back that she pushed away.
Victoria could relate to losing family.
A van slowed and parked outside her house. It took the time to parallel park. Three men climbed out, all wearing white work uniforms. The logo on the side of the van advertised a carpeting company.
“Oh, wow,” Harold said. “I guess she needs some new rugs.”
“I somehow doubt it.”
She listened through the broken living room window. The work crew didn’t talk to each other. There was no banter, no discussion of the late hour, no talk of plans after work. They were all business, ready to perform a task.
She knew that task didn’t involve carpet.
“Cliche,” she said, watching them pull a roll of material from the back. She spoke to herself more than Harold. “But still effective, I guess. I haven’t seen a body rolled up in carpet in quite some time.”
“Huh?” Harold said.
The three men walked down the sidewalk, carrying the roll. Victoria drained the rest of her blood and turned to put a hand on Harold’s shoulder.
“Harold. I need you to do me a favor.”
“Call the police?”
“No. Don’t call the police.”
“Wasn’t planning on it. They don’t like me. What are you going to do?”
“Going to see if they need a hand moving furniture.”
Harold grinned. He was missing several front teeth.
“I get the feeling you can take care of yourself.”
“And you would be right.”
She tossed the empty bag aside and left through the front door. The men were already at Karen’s porch. One was knocking on the door.
Karen opened it.
They forced their way inside. There was a quick squeal of surprise that only Victoria could hear. They quickly pulled the carpet in behind them and slammed the door shut.
Victoria was already on the sidewalk. She wasn’t quite running, but walking at an unnatural speed. There was a flash of movement by the window, a tug at the curtains.
She gave the door a stern kick. Locked or not, it didn’t matter. The door jamb splintered and flew open. She surveyed the scene.
One man had Karen pinned to the floor, on her stomach. He was trying to wrap duct tape around her wrists, but Karen struggled. The other two were on their knees, trying to unroll the carpet. Her dogs were in the backyard, barking and scratching at the door, unable to help their master.
Every surprised eye turned to Victoria.
She’d learned over the centuries never to underestimate anyone, even a lowly human. With proper training and weaponry, a human was a formidable foe. She had several close encounters, nearly lost her life.
The men who wanted to kill Karen knew of vampires, had something to do with the disappearing local population. But Victoria had caught them off guard. They didn’t have a chance.
She was on top of one before he could even reach for the gun under his shirt. He cried out as she raked one claw, and then the other, across his chest. Blood sprayed upward, dotting her face. Karen screamed.
The man pinning Karen managed to retrieve his weapon, but that was all. He didn’t get to pull the trigger. He didn’t even get to aim. Victoria’s fangs were in his bicep. The blood was exquisite. It shot into her mouth, in rhythm with his beating heart. The gun twitched as it trembled in his hand. She calmly removed it from his grip and dropped it to the floor.
The third man tried to run, the smartest course of action. Victoria was too fast. She crouched down, a human limb still in her mouth, and grabbed his foot. The air rushed out of his lungs as she yanked, and he crashed to the floor. He tried to crawl away, but Victoria wouldn’t let him. She squeezed his leg, crushing it. She grabbed the throat of the man she fed from as she leaned over and clutched the hair of the other. Both hands went to work. She slammed a face into the floor as she choked the other. Their struggle didn’t last long.
The entire fight only lasted seconds, but left quite the impact. Blood on Karen’s couch, on the carpet, on Victoria. She walked to the front door and closed
it. It didn’t stay shut, because of the splintered jamb, but it would suit her fine.
Karen was still screaming.
Victoria turned to see her pushing herself along the floor, toward her neatly kept dining room. Her hands were bound behind her. She searched frantically for anything that could help her.
“Get away from me! You monster!”
The corner of Victoria’s mouth lifted in amusement. She’d been called worse.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
She squatted down, trying to appear non-threatening. Her eyes turned their normal shade of green. Her talons shifted to normal fingers, fangs retracted. Still, she wasn’t sure how inviting she appeared, with blood all over her.
“Karen,” she said. The woman flinched at hearing her name. “I know a lot just happened. Your mind is going in crazy directions. But try to absorb this. Me, a vampire, just saved your life from these men.” She motioned toward the beaten-down imitation carpeting crew. “Three humans. Adam sent them, to kill you.”
Karen’s eyes lit up. She sat up, no longer trying to flee, and stared at the three motionless men. Something was getting through.
“No,” she said. “Adam … he wouldn’t do that.”
“He would. He did. I was at the restaurant. When you went your separate ways, he made the call. To them.”
“But why?”
Victoria sighed. She approached Karen carefully, her palms raised in peace. Karen shied away for a moment, but then went still. Victoria made sure every movement was slow, deliberate. Turning her index finger into a claw, she reached behind Karen and tore the tape binding her wrists. Karen rubbed them, not taking an eye off Victoria.
“Who are you?”
“One thing at a time.”
Victoria offered a hand. Karen didn’t accept it, choosing instead to climb to her feet herself. Her knees wobbled as she stood upright. Victoria steadied her by the shoulder.
“Whoa. You’d better have a seat.” She walked Karen to the couch. “Sit. I’ll get you some water.”
The thought entered Victoria’s mind that Karen might run. She kept her ears tuned as she walked into the kitchen. She listened as she retrieved a glass from the cabinet and turned on the faucet. Karen didn’t move a muscle. She panted, her heart racing.
Victoria rejoined Karen in the living room and handed her the glass. They said nothing as Karen sipped. The silence stretched for almost three minutes. Victoria was patient. There was no need to bombard Karen was questions. In fact, Karen certainly had some of her own. Whatever she had to do with missing vampires, they were now allies.
A look of confusion crossed Karen’s face. She peered outside, through the living room window. The sun had set, but darkness hadn’t yet claimed the night. Victoria could see her working the math in her head.
“You were out? In the day? How?”
It was tempting to tell Karen the truth. A small penance for luring vampires into Adam’s clutches. She wanted to tell Karen about witches, and the magic potion that let her walk in the day. She wanted to tell her about werewolves, and all the other monsters out there. But Adam had said it best earlier. She’d already suffered enough.
“Not all of us are the same,” she said simply.
Karen’s confusion turned to barely controlled rage.
“You all deserve to die.”
“Some of us do,” Victoria said. “I’d like to think I don’t. Some humans do, too. How about them?” She gestured to the carpet. “Do they deserve to die? Are you going to judge all vampires? All humans?”
“Are they dead?” Karen asked, pointing at the men.
“No. Killing isn’t ever the first thing on my list.” She laughed to herself, thinking of Jack. His list was far different. “But, I’ll be honest. They might not live through the night.”
“Adam,” Karen said. “I thought … he cared about me. Why did he—?” She couldn’t finish the question.
“I don’t know. But we might answer that together. You’re going to have to start. What are you involved in?”
Karen exhaled. A tear ran down her cheek as she lifted her shirt, exposing a black bra. Victoria winced at the scars. They were everywhere, across her stomach and back. She looked like an animal had attacked her.
“This isn’t all, either,” she said. “I can’t wear shorts anymore. Let’s just put it that way.”
“What happened?”
“It was my sister’s birthday. We were out celebrating with our parents. It was late. We were at a red light. We were just talking, laughing.” The tears flowed as she relived the event. “They came out of nowhere. I’m not even sure how many. I just remember their fangs and eyes. I remember my mother’s screams … ”
She cried for a moment, unable to speak. It took an effort to find her voice.
“I woke up in a hospital room. My family … didn’t make it. I remember one of those things biting me, drinking me. I still have nightmares.”
Victoria risked putting a hand on her shoulder. Karen stiffened, but didn’t recoil.
“That’s when Adam showed up. He visited me in the hospital. He told me all about you.” Her use of the word carried venom. “He told me about vampires. He said he belonged to a group of vampire hunters. That I was attacked by newborns, thirsty and out for blood.”
Karen went silent, and Victoria didn’t push for more, giving her some space. She turned the story over in her mind, and the questions that came along with it.
“So,” Victoria said, after a moment. “What did you do for him?”
“I helped him catch them. He set it all up. I went to bars, places he sent me. I pretended I was open to them, offered myself for … feeding. Sometimes, it was here. Others, it was the dirty, back alleyways. Adam came with his team and took them.”
“Took them?” Victoria perked up. She’d guessed at most of Karen’s story, but finally she’d thrown her a curveball. “He didn’t kill them?”
“No. He never told me what he did with them. And I didn’t ask. I don’t care what he did with you fucking monsters. Or at least … I didn’t.”
Victoria knew there was more. Something must have happened for Karen, in her own words at the restaurant, to feel like she couldn’t do it anymore.
“What happened?”
“The last one. Travis. He wasn’t like the others. He … I … ” She almost seemed embarrassed. “I liked him. He was kind, gentle. Never pressured me, always made sure I was okay.”
“Not quite the monster you thought we all were?”
Karen said nothing. She’d need years of therapy to help work through her grief, untangle her conflicting emotions. Victoria sympathized. There was help out there, but counselors that helped humans when the supernatural invaded their world didn’t advertise on the Internet.
“So,” she said. “You told Adam you were done helping him, and he decided you weren’t worth keeping around. What I want to know is what is he doing with these vampires, if he’s not killing them?”
Karen shrugged and stared at the carpet. Victoria stood and dropped to a knee beside one of the unconscious men. She plucked out his wallet.
“What are you doing?” Karen asked.
She thought back to Adam’s phone call.
“I’m looking for someone named Mike. I’d like to have a word.” She smiled as she moved to the second man and checked his wallet. “And here we are.”
She turned Mike over. His nose was broken, his face covered in gore. One tooth was chipped, while another lay on the floor in front of him. She held out her hand to Karen, gesturing for the glass of water. Victoria took it and gave Mike a few light slaps as she poured water on him.
His eyes opened as he coughed. Victoria covered his mouth, and that took him from groggy to completely awake.
“Hi,” Victoria said, smiling sweetly. “I’d like to ask you a few questions. I’m going to remove my hand. Please, don’t scream, or I’ll get mad. Do you understand?”
He nodded weakly. Victoria
kept her free hand locked on his wrist. He glared at her as she uncovered his mouth.
“Okay. Why are you kidnapping vampires?”
Mike spit at her, pelting her with another tooth. He turned toward Karen, shooting her a look of pure hate.
“You’re working with them, now? You fucking disgusting traitor—”
Victoria squeezed Mike’s wrist, ever so gently. Blood vessels burst. Bones popped. That recaptured his attention as he grunted in pain.
“Mike. Ignore Karen. Try to pretend she’s not even there, and you didn’t just burst into her home to kill her. Do I have to repeat the question?”
“I don’t fucking know! I’m just the help, lady. Adam’s working with a bunch of nerds. Doing experiments on them or something. He doesn’t let us back there.”
“Back where? Where is Adam, exactly?”
Stubborn silence. Mike stared straight ahead, not looking at her. Another squeeze, and his wrist snapped. Karen jumped to her feet as he cried out.
“Come on now, Mike. Start talking, pretty please. Where have you been taking these vampires?”
An approaching smell touched her nose. She looked up to see Harold slowing pushing open the front door. He carefully poked his head inside, with a look of wild-eyed concern.
“Uh, Vic?” he said. “Is everything okay in here?”
“Harold. Come on in.” She turned to face Karen. “Do you mind?”
Karen shook her head no. Harold took the invitation, his footsteps cautious.
“Shut the door behind you,” Victoria said, then regarded Mike. “Where? And Mike … I will not ask again.”
“Eleventh Avenue,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “Just before you hit downtown. There’s an old metal shop there. Been shut down for years.”
She looked up at Harold.
“You know the place?”
It took him a moment to collect himself.
“Y-Yeah. Me and some of my friends sleep there sometimes. But there’s nothing besides old mattresses and broken equipment.”
“It’s not out in the open, you piece of trash.”
Victoria slapped him.
“Hey. You’re talking to a friend of mine. Be nice.”
Damned and Cursed | Book 10 | Fallen Skye Page 2