Fang U

by Mia Archer

  Then again those girls were never first rate goofballs like yours truly who wouldn’t know what to do with a hot girl hitting on her if her life depended on it.

  “Come on Kendra. This stuff is heavy,” one of the guys behind her said.

  Kendra flashed an irritated look to her friend and then turned back to me. Only when she turned back to me she was all smiles again.

  I giggled a little at the ridiculousness of this whole thing and just barely managed to cover it up. From the way she looked at me, just a little oddly, I wasn't sure how good a job I did. The giggle came out as more of a cough.

  "So where are you ladies headed tonight?" Kendra asked, not missing a beat despite my giggle turned cough. "Because we have a pretty cool party going on at our house and…"

  Amber held up a hand. That hand went right past the borderline of rude. I wouldn’t mind talking to this girl for a little bit, but it was obvious Amber wasn't interested in whatever he was selling for all that she’d encouraged me to flirt with the girl.

  "Going to stop you right there," she said. "We’re only going to the best parties tonight, and that means going to a Greek house!”

  I was pretty sure she’d just blown any chance I might’ve had with this girl. Or any chance she might’ve had with the guys in their little entourage. There was no way they’d be interested in bringing us back to their party after that rudeness, though again she was doing that thing where she was all beautiful smiles that made it hard to be mad at her.

  Then I turned back to them and it was obvious I'd underestimated how much college guys, and Kendra, were willing to put up with for a couple of cute girls. At least the way they were looking at Amber and Kendra was looking at me in particular made me think everyone in this little crowd was still interested.

  She stared straight at me, and I felt like giggling again. I couldn’t help it. It was the only reaction I could come up with to those dreamy eyes staring into mine.

  Dreamy eyes. Damn. That reminded me of another pair of eyes I'd only seen in my dreams. I suppose it would be more accurate to say it was a pair of eyes I'd only seen in my nightmares, but I knew that for the lie it was.

  The others in the group glances and then they all burst into laughter, which pulled me out of my dark reverie about the vampire I was supposed to be hunting.

  "You're going to a frat party?" one of them asked.

  "A bunch of douches who have to pay for their friends?" another one asked.

  Well then. I guess they weren't huge fans of Greek life on campus.

  "Yes that's exactly where we’re going," Amber said. "And you shouldn't say bad things about frats and sororities. All the best parties on campus are at Greek houses!”

  "Oh yeah! The most awesome parties on campus!" one of guys said.

  "Not!" another girl said.

  "Hey Jake! The early ‘80s called and they want their party destination back!”

  "Oh yeah Courtney? Well the early 2000s just called you…"

  They continued bantering back and forth, mostly saying things that weren’t all that nice about fraternities and sororities, but I only had eyes for Kendra. She stared at me and my knees went weak. It was as though my legs were rubber bands or something. A simple stare was enough for her to corner me like she was a predator and I was the prey standing still, terrified of getting caught.

  Of course that was a ridiculous thought. She wasn't a predator. I knew what predators stalked this campus. Knew exactly what they looked like when they were hunting.

  Kendra couldn't come close to that danger. Not with that easy grin on her face that looked so cute. So disarming.

  "Look, you might be disappointed at what you find at a party," she said. “Especially if you’re going to a sorority. They’re not really known for their ragers, and you don’t want anything to do with the ones that are.”

  There was something in the way she said that. A slight hitch that made me wonder if there was something more she was trying to say.

  I wanted to ask her, but not with her friends standing there laughing. Especially not with Amber standing right there with her arms crossed under her breasts looking like she wanted nothing more than to get away from this group who were insulting the Greek life she seemed to love so much.

  "Maybe some other time," I said.

  "So does that mean I get your number or something so we can make that some other time happen?" Kendra asked.

  I was about to do exactly that when I felt someone grab my arm. For a brief worried moment I thought it might be a vampire grabbing me, but of course that was ridiculous.

  It was evening, but it was early enough that the sun was still an orange ball on the horizon casting enough light that there wouldn't be any vampires out here looking for trouble. Not with a burning ball of nuclear death still partially in the sky ready to burn them to a crisp.

  "No she is not interested in that thank you very much," Amber said.

  And with that she pulled me away. I turned to look over my shoulder. Felt a pang of regret. Now all of Kendra’s friends were laughing and slapping her on the back and pointing in my direction.

  It was obvious they thought she'd been shut down, even if that wasn't entirely true, and it was equally obvious they thought it was hilarious that she'd been shut down.

  She didn't seem worried though. No, she was staring after us. Staring at me, in particular. I shivered.

  "Be careful out there tonight," she called after us.

  "We will!" I shouted back.

  And then it struck me just how ridiculous that exchange was. Be careful out there tonight? What could possibly be out there that she knew about? She had no idea what kind of danger lurked on this campus. She was just some girl out partying with her friends.

  I let Amber drag me away even though a part of me wanted to keep talking to Kendra. I was out with my roommate, after all, and I wasn’t going to go to a party with a bunch of people I didn't know without my roommate there to run interference.

  Vampires might be my biggest worry out there on campus, but I wasn't stupid. I'd been to the talks they gave to girls at orientation. I knew there were other kinds of predators out there that didn't have fangs, even if the ones with fangs were the ones that terrified me the most.

  "That was rude," I said as Amber dragged me along.

  "Oh I'm sorry," she said.

  “You are?”

  “Oh yeah. Sorry for saving you from those lame jerks. Sorry for dragging you off to an awesome party while they're probably going to go back and drink in their living room or something. Talk about boring!”

  "Talk about rude!" I said.

  Amber looked at me and blinked a couple of times. As though she really had no idea what she’d done. I let out a disgusted noise and shook my head.

  "That girl was cute, and you were rude to her,” I said.

  Amber reached out and put a hand on mine. “Look. You might’ve thought she was cute, but that girl is nothing compared to what you're going to see where we're going. Trust me. Not to mention none of those guys were all that great and we’re supposed to be a team here tonight.”

  "And where are we going?" I asked.

  For some reason I couldn't stop thinking about that last warning Kendra had called out to us. Like there was something to that warning.

  The magic might not have come to me, not yet, but I knew there were ways the universe tried to communicate with you even if the magic didn't talk to you directly.

  What if that warning had been one of those ways the universe was trying to talk to me even if Kendra didn’t have any idea she was communicating on behalf of the universe? What if that’d been fate’s way of telling me I needed to watch out?

  “We’re going to meet my friend Diana. I told you. So are you coming or not?" Amber asked.

  I was tempted to go back to the dorms. To lock myself in there and never come out, even if I knew the cinderblocks that held up my dorm room wouldn't be enough to hold back a vampire. Sure they couldn’t com
e in there unless I invited them in, not to our room at least, but the thing they never mentioned in vampire stories was you had to leave a place eventually.

  That more than anything made the decision for me. I didn't want to live in terror for the rest of my life. I was out here trying to find the people who killed Selene.

  I had a job to do, and so I forced a smile.

  "You're right," I said. "Let's go have some fun!"

  9

  Ivy

  "This is all so wonderful," Anne said.

  She reached up and ran a finger down my chest. The touch came with just the slightest amount of pain. I looked down and saw that a single claw had come out on her index finger only, and my shirt had been sliced as neatly as if she’d used a razor.

  I frowned. Reached up and grabbed her wrist. Pointedly pushed her away. Then gave her a withering look that only resulted in a smile.

  "You know I don't appreciate you ruining my clothes," I said.

  "And I don't appreciate it when you ignore me," Anne replied.

  She punctuated that thought by reaching down and wrapping her arm around me. I frowned, but didn't say anything. I knew it would be more trouble than it was worth to try and stop her.

  She didn't have the right, not exactly. Sure she’d claim she did. After all, she was fairly high at the sorority even if she didn’t come close to outranking me.

  She used that authority to take liberties though, and I’d never be comfortable with the casual way she brushed herself against me. Tried to initiate something where nothing would ever happen. Could ever happen.

  At least not if I had anything to do with it.

  It’s not that Anne wasn’t pretty. She was beautiful by any objective standard. The problem was I knew her too well. Far too well. Well enough that I knew I wanted nothing to do with her.

  "You really have outdone yourself Ivy,” she said, either missing the way I tensed up or ignoring it. "I mean it."

  Her free hand, the one that wasn’t wrapped around my elbow, reached up and pulled my chin towards her. I allowed her the movement even though I wanted to rip her arm off.

  It would grow back. Eventually. Though she’d be inconvenienced for a little while. That would also let everyone in this party who wasn't a vampire know there was something strange in this neighborhood.

  And who would they call? The cops. That was a headache I didn’t need.

  “I don't understand why you never let yourself enjoy these parties,” Anne said. “After all, we’re the only sorority who throws these things. Why not enjoy the privilege?”

  In a blink she stood in front of me. I might have thought she used her speed, but in my experience Anne was just that fast when she wanted something. And she’d made it very obvious exactly what it was she wanted from me.

  There were times when I almost thought it would be worth it to give in. Just once. Then I wouldn’t be a challenge. Then she’d grow bored.

  But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I so rarely felt anything. Anticipation. Hate. Love. Lust. I’d been around so long that it felt like there was nothing new to excite me.

  And Anne was one of those things that didn’t excite me. Though she did make me feel some emotion. Revulsion was an emotion, after all.

  "You know you could enjoy yourself so much more than you allow," she said.

  This time she was even more bold. Her lips almost brushed against mine. Might have if I didn’t turn away from her. She let out a noise that might’ve been amusement and it might’ve been disappointment.

  She stood on her tiptoes and started kissing along my cheeks. When I did nothing to stop her she took that as encouragement and moved to my lips. Sighed in contentment as she pressed hers against mine.

  I didn’t pull away from her this time. I didn’t enjoy it, but it was clear she wasn’t going to stop until she got something. Anne could be… insistent when she wanted.

  Her body molded against mine with that sigh and I could sense everything about her. The way her blood, no doubt newly borrowed from some unfortunate victim, pulsed through her veins.

  She was excited. I could feel her arousal, and I felt nothing.

  Always nothing. I’d almost think I was depressed, but I was pretty sure that sort of thing didn't work the same for vampires as it did for humans no matter how movies and books portrayed us constantly moping around about how tortured immortality was.

  Immortality wasn’t torture. It was a bore.

  Anne’s excitement, and her kiss, lasted for the space of perhaps another breath before she realized I wasn't responding in kind. She pulled away and stared. Her deep purple eyes darted back and forth between my own, searching for something she wasn't finding.

  "One of these days you're going to look back on the times I offered myself to you and you're going to deeply regret ignoring me,” she said.

  That finally got me to feel something. Not excitement, not arousal, but rather something closer to amusement. I favored her with a half smile, which was more of a smile than most ever got from me.

  "Why Anne,” I said. "With jokes like that you could almost go down to the comedy club in the village and have a good run."

  It took her a moment to realize I was mocking her, but she didn't take it well once she realized she was the butt of a joke. Not that she'd ever been appreciative of being the butt of any joke.

  She frowned and a low growl started in her throat. So low that I wouldn't have been able to hear it if it weren't for my enhanced senses.

  "You really are going to regret it," she said. Her hand ran down my arm again, squeezing along my muscles in a very possessive manner. "Of course I might not make you regret it for too long."

  I shook my head. There really was no getting around her once she decided she wanted something. It was just my damned luck that the one thing she always wanted when I was on my rotation at the sorority was me.

  I looked down from the balcony overlooking the main room and entrance. It was crowded down there, some of them vampires but most of them not. The sorority house was a sorority house, after all, even if it was a sorority house that was populated exclusively by vampires and the only sorority on campus that held parties like this.

  Usually that was something the university frowned on for some reason, but we had an understanding with them.

  The fact that the understanding was because the sorority was populated by vampires was kept from the public for obvious reasons. Most of the people down there had no idea they were dancing with bloodsuckers.

  Which was for the best. It was all part of the concealment plan I’d come up with and tested on this campus. A plan that had been adopted by so many other vampire clans in the years since. A plan resented by some who thought they should still be above the humans, but that most had adopted as a simple survival expedient.

  I looked out over the party and reflected on the differences from when I’d first started this sorority. Back in the old days we had parties, of course, but they’d been more civilized than this.

  Sure there’d been drinking and carrying on, sure there’d been people sneaking off to enjoy a private moment, and there’d even been the occasional religious group protesting what they thought was a house of sin until they’d discovered the hard way that it was far worse than a bunch of girls running a prostitution ring, but partying had been different when we started the house.

  I watched old and dear friends down there mingling. Most of them were young enough that this was still normal for them. The idea of going back to college for four years on a ten to fifteen year cycle so as to not arouse suspicion was still a never-ending party for them rather than the never-ending chore it had long since become for me.

  "There’s no need to look so glum Ivy,” Anne said. “You are supposed to be having fun here, after all.”

  I glanced at her again. Wished I could feel something other than irritation and annoyance. Wished I could feel something other than anger as I my eyes came to rest on the newest potential recruits to our or
ganization.

  Heavy emphasis on the "potential" part of that phrase. After all, if I had my way Diana and her fellow pledges wouldn't last. Though it wasn't for me to decide whether or not they would live or die.

  Mother had seen to that. The crafty old bitch.

  "I don't see why you're so hard on them," Anne said, following my gaze. "That one down there in charge, the one with the fire, she’s definitely got a spark. She reminds me of you when we were younger."

  "What would you know of me when I was younger Anne?” I asked.

  "Only what I've learned here and there from others, of course," Anne said.

  "You mean what you learned from spying on me?” I asked.

  There wasn’t a hint of amusement in my voice even though she seemed to think it was the height of humor that she'd been able to learn so much about me. At least she thought she’d been able to learn a great deal.

  "The only reason you like her is you don't have to deal with her directly as a pledge," I said.

  "You should…"

  "I should follow my own counsel when it comes to what I do with our pledges," I said. “That’s none of your business.”

  Anne made a noise in the back of her throat that made it clear she wasn’t pleased at my dismissal, but she also didn’t say anything.

  I looked down again. There were a few people mingling up here, but the second level was off limits to anyone who wasn't either a member past or present of the sorority, or personally invited up by a member.

  And of course no actual business would happen up here. Anything like that happened in the subbasement. Although even those were cut off tonight.

  The last thing I needed was for Anne to get down there and cause trouble. Especially when she was standing here talking admiringly of Diana, Elle, and their other cronies.

  I held my gaze on the pledges. They all had the look of vampires who’d been turned recently.

  "I see you’re enjoying ogling our new pledges,” Anne said, a hint of ice coming to her voice. “Is there perhaps another reason you want them all to yourself?”