by Mia Archer
I looked for any sign that the other sorority girls were vampires. The only problem was vampires didn't exactly wear nametags that said they were blood suckers. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d stumbled on a vampire sorority.
Now there was a terrifying thought. They were hiding in plain sight. How many people had come to parties at this house and disappeared? How many times had they covered it up?
What if I became another one of those people who disappeared? The Coven Mother and other witches would never know what happened to me. Sure they’d suspect, but they wouldn't be able to prove anything.
"So here’s our common room. That's where we have our meals put together by a lady who does good work, and we also use it to screen movies on party nights. But you were already in here, so…”
The room where they were showing the Belushi movie. Only they’d moved on to everybody’s favorite Ryan Reynolds college movie. And I seriously doubted what she said about having meals prepared. The less I thought about how a vampire meal might be prepared the better.
I fixed her with a sharp glance. I hadn't told her I'd been in there. How did she know? Had she been following me?
Of course she had. She’d found me out back with that Diana asshole, after all. Maybe she was sniffing me out.
My pulse picked up. I wasn't sure if it was picking up because I was looking at her or because I was afraid.
If she'd been following me then there was a chance she suspected something. If she suspected something then this could be my last night on the earth.
But what a way to go!
Damn it. No! I was not going to think with my hormones! Even though it was obvious they were calling the shots right now.
"And if you follow me in here you'll see the foyer and our main room where all the magic happens," she said, pulling me down the same hall I’d used to try and escape from Diana earlier.
"The magic?" I asked.
I was thinking like a witch. I looked around expecting them to be working on some spell. There were rumors that vampires had magic of their own. Dark arts that helped them do their terrible work.
Only when I looked into the party room I realized she wasn't talking about black magic. No, there were people dancing in there and swaying to the beat. There was a keg off in the corner and a couple of girls were pumping it providing a steady flow of beer.
Right. Where the magic happened. The same magic that happened in frat and sorority houses on college campuses all around the country. Sure this was a vampire sorority, but it didn’t look much different from a real sorority in this case.
"So how about that drink?" Ivy asked.
I let her lead me over to the keg, and the entire time it struck me just how normal everything was. Everybody was having a good time. Nobody was showing fangs or claws. Nobody was terrified considering they were surrounded by vampires.
Of course nobody knew they were surrounded by vampires. The vamps did a damn good job of making everything seem like your typical college party.
I had to hand it to them. I would’ve applauded them if the whole thing wasn't so damn horrifying.
Ivy worked the keg like a pro and handed me a red plastic cup. I looked down at the drink. Sniffed it. Though of course if they’d put anything in there I wouldn’t know until I took a drink.
Still, I kept an eye on it like they warned us at orientation. I didn’t want to give someone a chance to spike it, but it’s not like they were going to spike the entire keg. Right?
I wouldn't put anything past vampires, but I was supposed to act normal here. So I forced myself to take a drink while maintaining eye contact with Ivy.
Not that it was all that difficult to maintain eye contact with Ivy. God her eyes were gorgeous. I reminded myself they were the eyes of a dangerous killer, but it didn’t work.
I shivered again. And then the alcohol hit me. It didn't taste all that great, but damn it burned on the way down. Which might be because I wasn’t much of a drinker. I pulled the cup away and looked at it. I thought liquor was supposed to do that, not beer.
"Like it?" Ivy asked. "We brew our own stuff here."
Terror shot through me. I’d been deluding myself when I thought they couldn’t spike the whole keg. If they brewed their own stuff here then…
But suddenly I didn't care. I felt a little lightheaded. I knew it was the alcohol, but what could I do? I felt good, and I suddenly wasn't as worried as I probably should’ve been.
"Would you like to dance?" Ivy asked.
I looked her up and down. And instead of seeing a vampire I saw a hot girl. A hot girl who was asking me to dance.
I took another drink and that warmth ran through me again. Ivy smiled, and I knew there should've been something disquieting about that smile. Instead it simply made me feel warm. Warmer even than whatever I was drinking.
What the hell. I was supposed to be blending in here. I was supposed to be gathering intel. So what if I enjoyed myself with a little dance while I was gathering that information?
I smiled. "Sure!"
13
Lisa
I didn't realize how small the makeshift dance floor they’d created was until I was pulled out into the middle of it. Bodies squeezed in all around me and it was all I could do to keep breathing.
I'd never been claustrophobic before, but now here I was being pressed in from all around. Maybe it was because I knew I was surrounded by vampires.
I focused on Ivy. Focused on those piercing eyes. I felt better when I stared into her eyes.
They were dreamy. Hypnotic. Looking into them told me everything was okay in the world.
The rational part of my mind was reciting facts and figures from books I'd read in mom's bookshop. That I was reacting the way some women did to vampires. They could pour on the charm and have a human doing things they never would’ve imagined before running into a vampire.
Usually they poured on the charm for a chance to bite into your neck, but in my case I was letting her lure me out onto a small dance floor in a cramped front room in their sorority with music that was being played way too loud.
"So if you won't tell me your name then will you at least tell me a little about yourself?" she asked.
Dangerous. So dangerous. I shouldn't give her any information. And yet I smiled. Opened my mouth. Started talking.
Stupid!
"I'm from New Salem. This is the first time I've really been away from home," I said.
Damn. New Salem. What if she made the connection between New Salem and where Selene came from? How much did this vampire learn from her before she killed her?
I didn't know, and not knowing was putting me in just as much danger as Selene had been in when she met this woman.
Yet I felt drunk. Lightheaded. There was a part of me that didn't care. I hated that there was a part of me that didn't care. That part of me was going to get me killed.
“Never heard of it," she said.
My smile hid my relief. she didn’t know about New Salem. This was my chance to shut the fuck up before I said something that got me killed. So of course I opened my mouth and kept right on chatting.
“It's one of those small towns with only a couple of stop lights. Blink and you miss it. If you never go off the beaten path you have no reason for going there."
Her smile grew even wider. I tried to remind myself that smile could include fangs if she wanted, but it was so difficult with her looking at me like that. she stared at me like I was the only girl in the world.
It sent another shiver running through me.
"If it has girls as beautiful as you then maybe I should check the place out sometime," she said.
Not likely. If she ever dared to show her face in New Salem she’d be reduced to dust before she set foot across the wards that protected the town from undead creatures of the night and other unsavory elements of the supernatural world.
Not that I was going to warn her. I could hold back that much.
"So what about you?" I aske
d.
I had to pause to jump to the side. A drunk girl danced a little too close for comfort. Her beer sloshed dangerously close to spilling all over me.
The last thing I wanted was to go back to the dorm reeking of beer. My laundry plan was taking stuff home whenever I got a full hamper, and the last thing I needed was my mom smelling stale beer on my clothes.
Something told me her reaction to finding the smell of stale beer on my clothes would be worse than the way she'd reacted when I volunteered to go hunting vampires.
"So what about you? What's your story?"
A dark look passed across her face and I knew I’d hit on something. She didn't like people asking about her background. Exactly the sort of thing I'd expect from a vampire in hiding.
“That's not important," she said.
"Now who's the one keeping secrets?" I asked.
She pulled me closer. It was entirely too forward, and I loved it. Goosebumps rose over my body. Her scent was feminine with a hint of something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Essence of vampire? What did essence of vampire even smell like? An old Hot Topic in the mall?
Whatever. The whole effect was making me dizzy. I could joke, but I couldn’t argue with results.
"You keep your secrets and I keep mine," she said. "It only seems fair."
As I gazed into her eyes I thought she had a point. It did only seem fair. After all, I was keeping my name from her. Among other things.
So I allowed myself to melt into her. I told myself I was playing a role, but at this point even the nonrational part of me screaming that I wasn’t completely head over heels over this girl knew I was lying, and I didn't give a damn.
I told myself it was just a moment. That's all I was allowing myself. A moment to enjoy feeling her pressed against me. A moment to pretend I was at a normal campus party pressed up against a pretty girl who'd taken an interest in me and totally wasn’t a bloodsucking murdering vampire.
I told the rational part of my mind to take a break. I wanted this. So I wrapped my arms around her. Pressed myself against her. Enjoyed myself.
She ran a hand through my hair. Such a gentle motion. Not the sort of thing I’d expect from a ruthless killer. Not the sort of thing I’d expect from the eyes that stared down on Selene as she drew her last breath.
Selene. Who was Selene? I tried to catch a memory, to remember the dreams, but they slipped away and scattered across my mind. Like the neurons were misfiring and I couldn't remember anything but Ivy.
But was that really so bad? Why did I need to think of anything when I was so close to Ivy? She was my everything. She was all I needed. She was so damn hot, and I was so lucky she wanted me.
"You truly are so beautiful," she murmured into my hair. "You know that, right?"
I pulled away and looked up at her. Which had the added effect of allowing her eyes to stare into mine.
They were like pools of fire. I could get lost in those eyes. I wanted to be lost in those eyes. I wanted her to lean down as I arched my neck to the side. As I felt her kissing along my neck and…
I shook my head. What the hell was wrong with me? Was I really swaying back and forth on the dance floor thinking about how nice it would be to let her nuzzle my neck? she was a vampire! She was…
So hot…
So gentle…
So dangerous…
So beautiful…
I tried to remember. I was trying to resist something, but why would I want to resist this? This was one of those perfect moments that was everything a girl dreams about when she comes to college.
I shook my head. I was trying to remember something. Something important. What was it? she said something. Beautiful. She called me beautiful. That was important.
I smiled.
"I'm sure you say that to all the girls," I said.
She frowned. Again that darkness crossed her face. It was a reminder of what she was. It shattered the spell that had fallen over me. Like I was floating in a cloud or something. Like there was a haze that was descending on me. Preventing me from thinking properly.
"Actually I don't," she said. "I'm not sure what it is about you, but…"
Then she did something that really distracted me even as it pulled me deeper into the moment. she leaned down. Closer. So close.
A surprised part of me realized exactly what was happening. I'd never kissed anyone before, let alone a vampire.
And yet she was moving closer. Her lips parted. My own parted without thinking.
Without thinking. There was something to that. The cloudy haze closed in around me. Threatened to overwhelm me.
I floated in a formless void. Clouds roiled all around me. They sparkled and multicolored lightning flashed through those clouds in the distance.
And there was that thumping in the background. Like bass in a dance song. Like…
No. I wasn't floating in a void. I was in a sorority house. I was dancing with a vampire. She was leaning down and about to kiss me.
The void shattered as fear lanced through me. I took a step back and bumped into a girl who held a beer tipped precariously.
"Hey!" she shouted.
The girl spilled forward into the guy she'd been dancing with. The beer that’d been threatening to spill splashed all over her which caused her to take a step back and shout.
That created a chain reaction where she bumped into someone else who was holding their booze a little too precariously, and it was like watching dominoes fall. If dominoes splashed beer everywhere when they went down, that is.
I stared, dumbfounded, as that chain reaction had the entire dance floor tumbling drunkenly and throwing bear everywhere. Then turned to look at Ivy. She’d stumbled back as though someone tripped into her.
That was weird. I hadn't pushed her and she was deftly avoiding anyone who stumbled near her. What was going on here? What had caused her to stumble back like that?
She shook her head and looked at me with a wary expression. I wondered what I'd done to deserve that expression. Though the shouting mess I’d caused was probably enough to deserve that look.
If I wasn't here on a mission then I would've been really embarrassed about this.
As it was I was relieved for an excuse to get the hell out of here. An excuse to avoid that kiss that might’ve been the end of me.
Even if there was a part of me that felt a distinct sense of loss at the thought of missing that kiss.
The fact that the kiss desiring part of me was so strong was proof I needed to get out of here before things went too far. Before I did something I'd regret. Before I did something that could end with someone else sifting through my memories before they went on a suicide mission of their own.
"I need to go," I said.
She held her hand out as though she was going to try and stop me. I eyed that hand warily. I knew very well that if she wanted to keep me here all she’d have to do is wrap her arm around mine and hold me.
I’d be as helpless as I’d been with Diana earlier.
"But…"
"I'm sorry, but I really have to go," I said. "This was nice."
Now there was a surprise. I wasn’t lying. This had been nice. And that was a big part of the reason why I needed to get out of here before it got nicer. The fact that it was so nice was also why it was so dangerous.
"Did I do something wrong?"
There was something in her voice that gave me pause. That almost made me stop trying to get the hell out of that small room. It was difficult enough with everybody packed close in together.
Still, I couldn’t ignore that hitch in her voice. She was almost pleading. As though she was genuinely worried she'd done something wrong.
Not the kind of behavior I’d expect from a dangerous bloodsucking monster. In fact, everything I’d learned about her tonight made me think she was anything but a dangerous bloodsucking monster.
Of course the one thing all the books on vampires agreed on was they were very good at making you think they
weren’t bloodsucking monsters. That was how they operated and I was falling for it.
Still, the more time I spent with her the more difficulty I had believing she could have killed Selene.
And that was why I needed to get out of here. I was too close. This was too much.
"I'm sorry, but I really do have to go," I said.
I ducked through the crowd. I didn't turn to see if she was following. she could stop me if she wanted, but everything I'd learned about her tonight told me she wasn't going to do that.
It was a test. If she did try to stop me then that proved something. If she didn't try to stop me then maybe that proved something too.
It was all so confusing. It was all too much for me. And so I was glad when I stepped out onto the front porch. I glanced at the two girls standing there, and they gave me a once over. A look that made me profoundly uncomfortable, but I didn't care.
All I cared about was I was free. Maybe not for long if Ivy chased me down, but I was free for the moment. And I needed to get the hell out of here.
14
Ivy
I stood, dumbfounded, for a long moment. People shouted all around me. The chain reaction that girl started when she bumped into that drunk girl had spread to most of the room now.
I frowned. That meant even more alcohol seeping into the carpet.
I remembered a time when this house was new. When it smelled pristine. Now even ripping up the carpet and replacing it wasn't enough to get that stale alcohol smell out of the place.
Greek life. I was the one who thought it was a bright idea to hide in plain sight in a sorority. I had no one to blame but myself.
I turned and followed her as she stepped out the door. I saw her pause for a moment on the front porch, a moment where the two pledges out there eyed her appreciatively, and then she was gone.
Jealousy surged through me as the pledges checked her out. They shouldn't dare to look at her. She was mine.
I was surprised at the suddenness and strength of the emotion. I hadn't felt like this about a girl since…