Not counting myself? She couldn't exactly tell them about that right off. Turning wasn't technically the same as killing. Sabine thought back to the morgue. She hadn't really known the attendant, and she wasn't sure he had died from her bite. She shook her head no. "I lost my mom to cancer when I was in high school, and my father passed away a little over a year ago. So who wins the pool?"
Kim raised her hand. They all reached into their wallets and passed her a dollar.
Sabine smiled at their antics. "So let me guess. Kim, you were born in 1980; Gabe, you're a fireman or something; Darren has a Subaru WRX, and Sam... you're a magician?"
"Wow, that's not bad," Kim said.
Sam shook his head. "I used to go by my Arabic name and some people butchered it. I got the nickname 'Shaman' and I use it because my true name proved false."
Sabine couldn't help but ask. "What was your true name?"
"Salman. It means 'safe', but I discovered a year ago that none of us is truly safe."
"I read the posts you put on the site. You all seemed so hurt, but you seem happy now." She concentrated on breathing normally and choosing her words carefully.
Sam shrugged. "We survived. We paid a price to learn a great secret. This group has given us new friends and fellowship."
Darren stared at her. "So why are you on the site? Were you attacked also?"
Sabine nodded. "I don't remember much though. I was totally drunk at the time."
"That's typical. Vampires look for weak and vulnerable people to feed on," Gabe said, nodding.
The waitress came to the table, carrying a skillet full of garlic cloves. She put the skillet on a stand and took out her notepad. "Would you like drinks while you're waiting?"
Gabe looked to Sabine and Trent. "We have a tradition that we started when we first met. This restaurant has a drink called VAMPIRE'S BITE. Are you up for it?"
"Bring it on," Sabine said, smiling.
Trent nodded and gave Sabine a knowing look. "Count me in."
Gabe slapped the table. "Great! Seven Vampire's bites."
The waitress nodded and left.
Kim got up. "I'm going to freshen up. Sabine?" She gave Sabine an expectant look.
Sabine looked the question to Trent. Would he be okay without her? He nodded. She got up and followed Kim to the restroom. When they got there, a woman was standing by the door. Sabine could hear voices inside, over the din of the crowded restaurant.
"Are you waiting for the restroom?" Kim asked the woman.
The woman nodded.
Kim gestured for Sabine to take the next place in line. "I wanted to get you alone to warn you about Darren."
"I have a feeling I know what you're going to say," Sabine said.
Kim nodded. "He's a total letch. I was nervous about wearing this outfit 'cause I knew he'd eat it up, and I swear I felt like he was licking me with his eyes until you got here."
"There's a pleasant visual. Maybe he'll be easier to live with if he has to split his attention?"
"I think he'll totally forget about me with you there. You're totally bad-ass gorgeous."
"You know, you shouldn't sell yourself short. You're beautiful, and that outfit is über-cute. He's probably been fantasizing about you for a while, and he hasn't heard my rejection speech yet. You know how some guys are."
"I just wish Gabe would give me the time of day."
Sabine smiled wide at her. "Gabe, huh?"
"He's so handsome, and he's got that firefighter hero thing going for him, but he was in a relationship, and even though they broke up, he's hyper focused on this vampire hunting crusade now, and I just don't think he sees me that way."
"Have you dropped any hints?"
"I broadcast signals he could see in San Jose if he was paying attention," Kim said.
"Okay, but have you made a move?"
"Oh, no way! If he's that oblivious, I don't want him to crush my heart."
Sabine reached up and rubbed Kim's arm with her gloved hand. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
A couple more women lined up behind them, and a woman dressed like a biker pushed past everyone to get to the restroom.
Kim clenched her hands into fists and looked at the woman's back. She mumbled "There's a line here."
The woman had almost passed Sabine, but stopped and turned to face Kim. Tattoos covered most of the skin that showed through the opening of her terminator-style jacket. She pulled a switchblade and aimed it menacingly at Kim. "What did you say, bitch?"
Kim swallowed, the fear flowing off her.
Sabine felt the world go into slow motion. The biker's stance, slightly off balance. The knife: far side, right hand. Left hand close, coming up to grab at Kim...
Sabine grabbed the biker's left arm, twisted it back and turned the woman to face the wall. The knife got trapped between the biker and the wall, and Sabine wrenched the woman into an elbow lock.
The biker groaned against the pain in her arm and tried to twist, but Sabine held her fast.
Sabine looked back to Kim, who seemed to be frozen somewhere between "fight" and "flight". Sabine felt in her heart that Kim needed a helping nudge. "Grab her arm and push up!"
Kim snapped out of her stunned amazement and moved forward, grabbing the woman's arm.
"That's it, and keep her against the wall," Sabine said, adding an encouraging nod.
"I'm gonna bleed you bitches, bad!" The biker chick cursed at them, trying to throw herself off the wall.
Sabine pinched a nerve in the biker's right arm until it went numb and the knife dropped. She felt the woman's pockets and pulled out a small men's wallet from one. She opened it and found a driver's license. She held it up in front of the biker's face as Kim strained to hold the woman. "Beatrice? What kind of name is that for a biker?"
Beatrice spewed enough profanity to make a sailor blush, centered around death threats and Sabine's lack of virtue.
Sabine put her mouth close to the biker's ear and whispered just loud enough for Kim to hear. "Beatrice, you shouldn't threaten people when you don't know how strong they are. We belong to a secret organization with members all over the city, and we know where you live now. We can find you any time, and now we'll be watching. You won't know who we are, but we know who you are. If you ever hurt one of us, we'll come for you. It won't be pretty."
Beatrice began to stink of fear. "You come looking for a war, and you'll get one, bitch."
Sabine stepped around Kim and looked Beatrice in the eyes. She focused a trickle of glamour at the biker. It ended up being less than she'd wanted, but she hoped it would have the desired effect. "You're going to leave now, and start being nice to people. Do you feel me?"
Beatrice glared, looking unaffected, but the fight seemed to leave her. "Yeah, I was leaving anyway."
Sabine nodded to Kim, who released the arm lock and stepped back.
Beatrice bent down to pick up her knife, but Sabine stepped on it.
"Leave it. It's ours now." She held out the biker's wallet.
Beatrice straightened and grabbed the wallet. She glanced at Kim and Sabine and the other two women in line before making a hasty exit.
Sabine picked up the knife and put it in her bag, breathing a sigh of relief.
Kim leaned against the wall. "My legs feel like rubber." She started to collapse. Sabine caught her and helped her stand, just as a woman left the restroom.
The woman ahead of them motioned towards the door. "You can go ahead if you like."
Sabine looked at Kim. "You okay to go in now?"
"I need a minute here."
Sabine smiled at the woman ahead of them. "It's okay. You go ahead, we'll wait our turn."
The woman nodded and headed into the restroom.
Kim stared wild-eyed at Sabine. "I can't stop shaking. That was the scariest thing that's happened to me in a year."
Sabine put a calming hand on Kim's arm, fighting down her own subconscious thrill at the sound of Kim's pulse and the smell of fear
. She shook off the vampire instincts and focused on helping Kim. "It's the adrenalin. It'll wear off in a minute. So I take it you haven't been on a hunt yet."
Kim choked back a laugh. "Not even. And don't expect me to stick around for the late show tonight either."
"But why join the site if you're not going to go out there?"
"I just wanted someone to tell me I wasn't crazy. I'm scared of my own shadow, Sabine. I get panic attacks just thinking about going after vampires."
"What you did just now took courage. You know what they say: Courage isn't the lack of fear; it's doing what needs to be done in spite of your fear."
Kim nodded. "Okay, but hunting vampires doesn't need to be done. Does it? I just needed someone to talk to, since my therapist wanted to have me committed."
Sabine moved closer and whispered so the woman behind them wouldn't hear. "What if you could be totally safe, and talk to the vampire that bit you without fear of anything bad happening? If you could do that, what would you say?"
Kim shrugged. "I don't know. I just want my life back."
Sabine picked her words carefully. "If you had the chance to confront the vampire tonight? With a guarantee you'd be safe?"
Kim started to breathe deeply.
"It's okay, relax." Sabine patted her on the arm. "Just hypothetically, what would give you closure?"
Kim just stood there, her eyes searching Sabine's face. A tear rolled down Kim's face, followed by another. She shook her head gently. "I don't know."
Sabine hugged her, whispering in her ear. "It's okay. I understand how you feel." And she did. She could read Kim's emotions like they were painted in the air.
A pair of women came out of the bathroom. Sabine walked in with Kim, waiting by the counter while Kim went for an open stall. Sabine eyed the mirror and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't silver backed. Kim finished up and joined Sabine at the counter.
Sabine leaned against the wall. "Okay, so...? What do you mean by wanting your life back?"
Kim washed her hands and dried them, adjusted her stakes and pulled out her lipstick to apply a fresh coat. She finished, and looked at Sabine in the mirror. "I don't want to be afraid to jog at night, for starters. I want to be able to walk in dark places and not worry that every shadow holds a monster."
"What if I offered to help you with that?"
Kim smiled and looked at Sabine. "I'd like that."
"You did great in the hallway there."
"I've been taking some self-defense classes. But really, I just froze like a deer in headlights. You did most of it."
"I've been studying martial arts since I was in grade school." Sabine's eyes lit up. "I could totally teach you all kinds of moves."
"Really? Do you have a dojo you go to?"
Sabine recalled the Tae Kwon Do school in town that she had gone to when she moved up from Los Angeles. She liked the little middle-aged Sahyun, a sixth-degree black belt, and had helped him by teaching a class or two when he needed a night off. After her dirt nap, she tried sparring with him once. He had commented on how she was faster and stronger, even though she'd tried to be slow and gentle. She'd stopped going, afraid of hurting the man. "I'm more of the eccentric gardener type now. Wax on, Wax off."
Kim chortled. "I think Darren is the expert at 'wax off'."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Sabine agreed.
They returned to the table. Their final member had arrived, and stood as the women approached. He had curly brown hair and hazel eyes, and a light tan. Muscles bulged on his arms, which were left bare by an embroidered tunic. He wore metal gauntlet-type bracers on his forearms with decorations that matched the embroidery on the tunic, which looked to be some Celtic design. He radiated some kind of faint aura that made Sabine's hair stand on end.
Sabine couldn't believe it. The morgue attendant she had attacked was alive!
And staring at her.
"Hi Robert!" Kim said cheerfully. "Robert, this is Sabine, aka 'MourningGirl'. Sabine, this is Robert."
Sabine smiled and waved at Robert across the table. "Hi Robert."
Gabe raised his glass. "Let's have a toast."
Everyone raised their glasses, including Robert. His eyes hadn't left Sabine.
Gabe said, "To hunting the vampire that bit us."
CHAPTER 8
Sabine sipped her "Vampire's Bite", surprised at how much she enjoyed the sweet drink. She eyed Trent, who was smirking at her from across the table.
"Do you have a sister, Sabine?" Robert asked, sitting at the end of the table, between her and Trent.
She took another sip of her drink as people passed bread around for the garlic tub. The smell wasn't overwhelming, but she found herself wiping at her nose anyway. She thought about the memories Esmerelda had shown her, and suddenly wondered if she had siblings out there someplace in the world. Robert was still waiting for an answer, so she went with the truth. "As far as I know, I'm an only child."
"Any cousins?"
She shrugged. "Not that I know of."
"It's just that you look like..."
Sabine held up her hand. "Someone you've met. Yes. We've all met before."
"We have?" Gabe asked, before biting into a piece of bread that he'd slathered with garlic.
Sabine stood. "I'm the vampire that bit you all. I came here tonight hoping to make amends. I hurt each of you when I was weak and didn't know what else to do. I hope that I can do something to help you all heal."
She sat back down.
Gabe chewed and swallowed. "What kind of game are you playing at?"
Kim stared at Sabine.
Sabine turned to her. "Please don't faint. I promise I won't hurt you."
Kim laughed. "Okay, funny. Good one. If you're a vampire, show me your-"
Sabine opened her mouth and let her fangs descend, pointing. "My fangs?"
Kim started hyperventilating. Everyone moved. Trent held Gabe down by the collar of his duster. Sam reached for his bag. Darren pulled his pistol. Robert pulled a vial of something and tossed the contents.
Sabine dodged so that the liquid hit her on her covered neck and chest instead of the face, and sat back down as Darren aimed his pistol at her and Sam produced a cross and stake. Kim toppled toward Sam.
Sabine quickly entered Darren's mind and forced his gun hand up. Then she grabbed Kim to hold her upright, and looked down at the water dripping off her leather and soaking her turtle-neck. She looked a question at Robert. "Holy water?"
Robert shrugged and nodded, the picture of smooth calm. "Guess it lost its blessing."
Sabine sensed a shift in the air around Robert. It might have been the air conditioning, except that her spine started to tingle. For a moment, she felt like she was walking on her own grave.
Gabe glared at Trent, trying to fight his hold. "What the hell is your problem?"
"She's a friend, and she won't hurt you," Trent said, not even straining to hold Gabe down, even though they were almost the same size.
Darren growled and cursed, fighting with his gun arm. "What did you do to my goddamn arm?"
Sabine grabbed her napkin and blotted the water. "Holy water doesn't do anything to me. Lucky me! I have a soul. Which has been tortured for the last year, and drove me to come here." She looked at Sam with his cross, and pointed to her own. "Same goes for your cross Sam. See? I'm wearing one."
Sam looked between the cross he held and the one Sabine wore.
Sabine looked back at Darren and his gun. "What kind of ammo are you using?"
"Hollow points with little silver pellets in them."
Sabine took a deep breath that she didn't need and steeled herself. "You'll get arrested if you shoot me in here."
"Not if you turn to ash."
"Only the really old ones do that," Gabe said, trying to get a good hold on Trent's arm without success.
Sabine stared at Gabe and shuddered, thinking about how she'd slowly decompose. She swallowed and shook off the mental picture. "He's the expert,
Darren. So being as how I've only been a vampire for a year, I guess I'd bleed all over, and you'd go to jail."
Darren sat and Sabina telepathically forced his gun hand under the table as the waitress came around to check and see what the commotion was about.
"Is everything okay here?" The waitress asked.
Sabine turned and released some glamour at the waitress. "We're rehearsing for a play."
The woman sounded like she was in a trance when she replied. "You're rehearsing for a play."
"Please give us fifteen minutes before coming back for our orders."
"I'll give you some time and come back for your order," the waitress said. Then she blinked, shook her head and walked away.
"You just used glamour on her!" Darren said.
Sabine shrugged. "I could have used it on all of you just now, but I didn't. I'm here to pay penance for hurting you before. So put away the weapons and let's talk."
"Why should we believe anything you say?" Sam asked. "How can we be sure you're even who you say? Either you're the monster that gave us our nightmares in the first place, or an even worse vampire that's messing with us as some kind of game."
Kim's eyelids fluttered.
Sabine looked down and sighed. "Robert, you were my first victim, and I was a full-on vampire with no soul that night in the morgue. When I went home, some people were waiting for me. Some friends of mine managed to resurrect me, but the vampire who turned me forced them to stake me. Stakes to the heart don't work on me either, now; so I woke up underground a week later."
Trent grinned. He obviously liked getting the whole story. The other men just stared at her.
"I dug my way out of the ground and I was crazy with blood lust. I ran into Kim first, then you Darren, then you Sam, and Gabe last. I was overcome with guilt and apologized because I didn't know how to use glamour or wipe memories."
Gabe stared in challenge. "What kind of dog was I walking that night? I never told anyone."
"It was a cute little terrier. He barked at me until I made him stop."
Gabe pushed Trent's arm away and glared. "It's you."
Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1) Page 10