by B. J. McCall
Harper realized Danik was testing her, and he’d do to her what his father had done to Mia. Danik believed fried was better than fanged.
“Does the sunlight burn?”
Her skin was fiery and tingling, a sure sign of vampire infection. She stood in the bright sunlight. “No.”
Finally, Danik let the drape fall, blocking the sunlight.
“I’m okay. I just need to let these wounds heal.”
“You’d better hope they’re healed before your evaluation,” Danik said. “Or you’ll be sent to the infection center.”
Fear shot down Harper’s spine. “I can’t go there.”
“Then we can’t let that bloodsucker get to you again. I’m going to stick to you like glue.”
Harper panicked at the thought. If Danik stuck around, she wouldn’t be able to sneak away and see Egan. “I’m going to get out of town and visit my dad,” she said, lying without feeling a smidgen of guilt. “The vampire won’t be able to get near me.”
Her father and his new family lived a few hours’ bus ride south of Blight. If Danik believed she was leaving the city, he’d back off.
“Good, you’ll be safe there. When are you leaving?”
“Tonight. I’ll have to check the time for the southbound bus.”
“I’ll walk you to the bus station. Make sure you get on safely.”
If she tried to discourage Danik, he’d be suspicious. “Thanks.”
“Finish your shower. I’ll pour the coffee.”
Harper stepped into the shower and turned on the cold water. She’d have to explain the situation to Egan, and he’d have to lay off the blood taking.
Chapter Nine
Worried that Danik might follow her, Harper rode the bus to a station outside the city limits. She cooled her heels for close to an hour before catching a northbound bus back to the central station. Then she started walking. If she walked all the way to Egan’s place, it would take around two hours. She’d be there by midnight if she were lucky enough to make it across the city without encountering a vampire.
The smart thing to do at night was travel by cab, but she’d spent her money on bus fare. She stuck her hand in her pocket and closed her fingers around the mini-burner. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing.
Sticking to the busier roadways, Harper kept a watchful eye for vampires.
Danik was right about one thing. There were far too many vampires hunting in the city streets at night. Vampires like Egan were venturing out of the Cemetery to mingle with humans at private clubs and the popular vampire raves. Rubbing elbows with vampires gave humans a risky thrill, but the real danger was the roving gangs of newly turned vampires. Too many unwanted teenagers lived in the streets of Blight, making them easy prey for the more experienced vampires. They sold their bodies and their blood. When the teenagers were turned, no one cared.
Harper understood the pain of being unwanted. Once her father remarried, his new wife and son were the center of his world. Harper, the product of his first marriage, was a constant reminder of the woman who had deserted the family. She barely remembered her mother, but her father’s wrath was delivered on a daily basis.
She walked, her fast pace eating up the miles. Harper saw red neon lights in the distance and glanced at the street signs. The Carmichael was only four blocks away. She’d made it.
A low hiss chilled her joy. On alert, Harper snatched the mini-burner out of her pocket and prayed for a passing vehicle, even harder for a DSA patrol car.
Another hiss. If vampires had spotted her or caught a whiff of her scent, she’d be lucky to make it to the Carmichael’s bar before they were on her. This part of town was safer than the area she usually patrolled, but danger lurked in every dark corner.
Her gaze scanning the street, Harper picked up her pace. She caught a flicker of a dark shadow and readied her finger on the trigger.
Just ahead a young woman appeared beneath the one functioning streetlight. Her skin was so pale it looked white. Her hair was flame red. She moved too fast to be human.
Harper prayed the attractive woman was alone. One-on-one, Harper might have a chance.
“If you’re selling blood, I’m buying.”
If the vampire lived in the Cemetery, she’d know Egan. Harper had to take a chance. “I have a date with Egan, or are you so foolish you steal food from an old one?”
The vampire retreated into the darkness.
Harper ran.
Shadows crossed her path, and Harper triggered the burner. The dark shadows rushed her. Holding the burner with both hands, she swung her arms and was rewarded with screams.
Less than two blocks away, the Carmichael’s lights shone, a beacon of safety. Her one shot was the street level bar. Her nostrils filled with the stench of burnt vampire flesh, Harper sprinted up the middle of the street.
The attack came from behind, taking her down to the pavement. She landed badly, her right arm taking the brunt of the vampire’s weight. She tried to rise, but cold fingers snagged her wrist and a knee slammed into her back, knocking the air from her lungs.
Without her helmet and uniform jacket, Harper was easy prey. Nails dug into her back, tearing her clothing and digging into her skin. The hot sting of fangs sank into her neck and right wrist. She was face down on the street, tiny chunks of asphalt digging into her cheek. More bloodsuckers would come, and she’d pay for her night sins.
The heavy weight was lifted off her back, and the fangs were ripped out of her neck and wrist. Still holding the mini-burner, Harper struggled to her feet and started running into a dark fog.
“Harper.”
The familiar voice penetrated her fear and strong arms lifted her. “I’ve got you.”
“Egan?”
Cool lips touched her forehead. “You’re safe.”
Held to his chest within the comfort of his arms, Harper succumbed to the fog.
* * *
Egan blamed himself. He loved Harper, but his love had almost cost her life. That was unforgiveable.
He’d bathed her, cleaning her wounds, and laid her on her stomach. Looking at jagged cuts on her back, Egan was glad he’d torn off the heads of her attackers.
Her skin was pale and she was weak, but taking her to a hospital was out of the question. Doctors didn’t cure humans with multiple bites. They called in the authorities. After that the victims simply disappeared.
Egan climbed into bed beside Harper to watch over her. For the first time in two hundred years, Egan prayed. Don’t let her die. I’ll never see her again. Just don’t let her suffer.
Egan watched over her, paced for hours, prayed, then repeated the process. She slept for hours, the minutes agonizingly slow. What if she didn’t recover, but turned? Then she’d be his forever.
He forced away the thought. If he’d had a choice, Egan doubted he would have chosen to join the soulless. But he’d accepted his fate and made the best of it. He’d had many great years, but everything had gone sour about fifty years ago. The future looked bleak.
Harper had to live.
Egan slipped his hand beneath the blanket and touched the small of Harper’s back. Her skin was warmer. Perhaps his prayers had been answered.
A few hours later, she stirred and uttered his name.
“Harper.”
Her eyes fluttered open. She started to roll onto her side, grimaced and swore.
Egan helped her to a sitting position.
“What happened?”
“You were attacked.”
“The pretty woman with the red hair?”
“Amelia isn’t like the others. She’s a friend.”
“She asked me if I was selling blood.”
“People need money. Amelia’s willing to pay. You mentioned my name and she sought me out at the hotel. If she hadn’t, I never would have reached you in time.”
He saw something flicker in Harper’s eyes and waited for her to ask about his relationship with Amelia. Egan didn’t l
ike to talk about his prior sexual partners, but if Harper asked, he’d tell her the truth.
She looked at her bandaged wrist and reached over her shoulder with her right hand to touch the edge of the bandages. “How bad is it?”
Egan brushed her hair off her forehead. “You were bitten on the neck and the wrist. Your back is lacerated, but the cuts aren’t deep. I cleaned the wounds.”
She touched her lower lip.
“You have a cut on your lip.”
Her hand dropped to her chest. “I’m too warm to be a vampire.”
He kissed her, a brief brush to her lips. “You’re okay. Just running a low fever.”
She licked her lips. “I’m really thirsty.”
Egan was too. Stripping off her blood-soaked clothing and cleaning her bleeding wounds had triggered an intense thirst, but Egan’s worry over Harper’s well-being had overridden his urges. “I’ll get you some water.”
He poured a glass of water and returned to the bedroom. Although the Carmichael was close to a hundred years old, the Carmichael’s plumbing, electrical and heating still worked.
“Thanks. Got any coffee?”
“I’ll make you a cup, but drink all the water. You need it. How do you take your coffee? Cream? Sugar?”
“You have cream and sugar?”
Egan’s friend who now owned the Carmichael had provided groceries. Food was expensive, making it difficult for the working class. While Harper was his guest, Egan planned to spoil her. “I have both.”
“I’ll take both.”
“Would you like something to eat? I have steak.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “I’ve never eaten steak. No one has steak.”
“Steak and fresh tomatoes and carrots.”
“Fresh? Not canned?”
Egan nodded.
“How does a vampire get steak and fresh vegetables?”
“I still have human friends, far fewer than I used to have but we help one another. Are you hungry?”
“Very.”
Egan walked into the closet and selected a white long sleeve shirt. He had little use for the racks of tailored clothes and handmade shoes, but he enjoyed looking at them. The clothing reminded him of the time when Egan Carmichael was part of society instead of a prisoner of the Cemetery. Back in the bedroom, he held out the shirt for Harper.
“Move slowly. I don’t want the cuts on your back to bleed.”
Harper slipped her arms inside the sleeves and buttoned the shirt. “This must be difficult for you.”
“Not as difficult as seeing what those street vampires did to you.” Hearing her cry out in pain had torn Egan apart.
“I love you, Egan. Thanks for saving my ass.”
“It just so happens I love your ass.” He kissed the top of her head. “In a couple of days you’ll be well enough to go home. You shouldn’t go on patrol until those wounds are healed.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t go back, Egan.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The night of the riot we were called in to take out the vampires attacking the crowd. I froze. It used to be easy to take out your kind. I never questioned the right or wrong of it, but now I find myself asking is this a good vampire or a bad one. I’m already scheduled for evaluation. I’ll never pass the physical. If my friend, Danik, sees these new bites and the cuts on my back, he’ll turn me in.” Her hand shaking she rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “Or worse.”
What did she mean by worse? “If he’s your friend why would he turn you in?”
“If you make me a cup of coffee, I’ll tell you the whole story.”
Egan took Harper’s hand and helped her out of the bed. “Come into the kitchen. You talk. I’ll brew the coffee.”
Her confrontation with Danik concerned Egan. He handed her a cup of coffee and grinned as she dumped in cream and sugar.
She sipped the coffee and sighed. “Thanks.”
When Harper told him how Danik’s sister had met her end, Egan shuddered. A vampire’s greatest fear was the sun.
As he cooked her steak and vegetables, she told him about her bus ride and her trek across the city. She was lucky to have survived. “I can’t go back. I can’t trust Danik not to turn me in, and I can’t go to my father. I have no money, no assets. I would have been better off if those street vamps had finished me off.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I can’t even be a vampire. I’m DSA. Totally screwed.”
“I have money.” With no means of earning money, Egan’s funds were steadily draining, but not exhausted. Egan had known the day would come when he’d have to give up the penthouse and accept an existence inside the Cemetery. That day had arrived. “You can go anywhere you want and start a new life.”
“Where would we go?”
“Not we. You.”
“I’m in this situation because I want to be with you. If I wanted to go it alone, I wouldn’t have lied to my friend and walked across the city in the middle of the fucking night.”
Egan wanted to be with Harper. Over the decades, he’d had relationships, but mostly he’d been alone. “We can’t stay here, and I can’t go with you.”
“There has to be a way.”
“I can’t live among normal people and you can’t live with vampires.” He plated her meal and set it before her. “Eat. No more discussion.” He sat down at the table to make sure she consumed every bite. “Eat. Enjoy.”
Egan expected her to dig in and devour the food. Instead, she cut the steak into small pieces and savored every bite. “My grandmother used to talk about the old days when common folk had real food instead of the processed stuff. Now I understand. I’ve never tasted anything so good.” After she finished the vegetables, Harper leveled a thoughtful gaze at him. “It’s like the difference between animal and human blood, isn’t it?”
“An excellent analogy. But human blood straight from the source is like a drug.”
“I heard in the old days the rich vampires got all the human blood they wanted.”
“True. We didn’t go around attacking people. We hired staff to supply us daily. We paid them well, but humans can get as hooked on the giving as the vampires do on the receiving. Bonds can form.”
“Ever happen to you?”
“I never let things get that far until recently.”
“You think we’ve bonded because you sucked my blood.”
“Sex and blood is a powerful combination.”
“Is that all it is? You stop tasting my blood and this thing we have will be over?” She reached out and took his hand. “The truth, Egan. My situation is too serious for you not to be brutally honest.”
“I love you, Harper. Not just for your blood.”
“We’ve got to make this work.”
“I need blood to survive. The government delivers to the Cemetery, but outside the walls humans become the source. It’s different outside the cities. There are places where the vampires breed cattle and horses, providing their own nourishment.”
“I thought vampires only wanted human blood.”
“It’s the best, but top quality animal blood can sustain a vampire population. We used to buy it before the government forced us into the Cemetery.”
“Is it really bad inside?”
“Being a poor human is better than being a rich vampire. When I was alive I loved riding and sailing, feeling the sun on my face and the taste of salt in the air. It’s been so long, I can’t recall the sensations.”
“But you existed for over two hundred years. The things you must have seen and done.”
He lifted her uninjured hand and kissed her palm. “If I could have a wish granted, I’d wish for one year with you as a human.”
“We could have eternity.”
Egan dropped her hand and pushed away from the table. “No. Never. You can have a good life. Husband. Children. Old age. Natural death.”
“You think it’s wonderful for us, but most humans I kn
ow are miserable. I live in an apartment that would fit inside your bedroom. My biggest pleasure is an afternoon flick once a month and a beer after work a few days a week. I don’t have much of a life to go back to.”
Egan raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m offering you a new one.”
“One without you.”
“I can’t see you in a place like the Cemetery,” he said, pacing the room. “It’s dark, gray and crowded. It’s violent. Rapes. Turf wars. You’re given a pint of blood every couple of days, just enough to sustain you. I hate every moment I spend in that place.”
She rose from the table and fisted the front of his shirt. “I love you, Egan. More than anyone or anything. More than life. Let’s leave the city, find a place together. Can’t we go to the place where the vampires raise cattle and horses? I’ve never seen a horse or a cow.”
“Have you thought about drinking blood? Never eating again. Never greeting the dawn or walking in the sunlight. Think about forever in the darkness.”
“I’ve worked nights for the last five years. The question is, do you love me?”
He loved her. He’d walked this Earth for a long time and he understood the depth of his feelings. That was precisely why he couldn’t rob her of life.
For more years than he wanted to count, Egan had longed for someone to share his existence. Someone to love and to cherish. Someone who would love him in return. Having Harper at his side would make forever endurable. Taking away her humanity and destroying her soul for his personal happiness was more than an indulgence in night sins, it was immoral. “I love you, but I won’t turn you into a vampire.”
She released his shirt. “I’m leaving.”
“You’re not well.”
“Not your problem.” She looked around. “Where are my clothes?”
“I’m not letting you go.”
“What are you going to do, chain me to the wall?”
Egan followed her into the bedroom. She picked up her pants and pulled them on.
“You think I’m going to let you leave?”
“You may be stronger than me, but there’s one thing I can do that you can’t. Walk outside in the sunlight.”
It was close to dawn. Although the apartment was without windows, Egan sensed the change in light, a skill that had aided him many times. He could force himself to remain awake for just so long. At midday when the sun was high, he’d fall into a deep slumber and wouldn’t awaken until sundown.