Zack thought about the situation for a second. He got angry again. “What do you mean ‘I can’t tell him’? I think the hole in my leg will do a little more than raise an eyebrow or two.” Zack straightened his glasses.
“Let me take care of you first. Then we’ll talk to your dad together about what happened here.” Kyli was dismissing Zack's fears.
“Then you'll help explain things?” Zack wanted to be sure before he agreed to anything.
“Of course I'll explain.” Kyli was treating Zack like a child. Telling him everything was going to be okay.
Kyli started the engine. It roared, far louder than what a person might think it would from the look of the flashy station wagon. She put the automatic car into gear and they rolled out of the back alleyway and onto the street.
Zack scrambled for the seatbelt. He buckled himself with haste. Kyli wasn’t wearing one. She hadn't bothered to reach for it.
Zack commented. “You know that’s dangerous.”
Kyli smiled. “Only if we crash in the daylight and only if you’re not around.”
Confused, Zack asked. “What do I have to do with you putting on your seat belt?”
Kyli swiftly placed her right hand onto Zack's chest and pushed him back into his seat with a single finger, her lissome ability showed well. She turned to him for a moment and smirked. “Exactly.”
Zack kept quiet for a minute.
They drove a few miles down the road, into downtown Gainesville.
“Where are you taking me?” Zack wasn't familiar with the neighborhood.
“To a place where we can heal you, nice and quickly.” Kyli’s smile was stretching ear to ear with the thought of messing with Zack further.
“Are you studying to be a doctor or do you plan on having someone make a house visit?” Zack complained.
“No, there'll be no doctor seeing you. Why'd you ask?” Kyli's reply was playful and carefree.
“I need to be seen by a doctor, not someone that wants to play one.” Zack argued.
“So now you want to play doctor? Zack, I didn't know you had it in you to ask.” Kyli was toying with Zack. “Don't get so flustered. I told you I'd take care of you.”
Pessimistically. “So you’re telling me that tomorrow I’m 'gonna be able to do jumping jacks?” Zack didn’t believe it for a second.
“No.” Kyli paused. “I’m saying that by this time tomorrow you'll be able to run a marathon on that broken leg of yours that you're harping on. Not to mention your asthma.”
“But I can’t run a marathon now.” Zack’s glasses were falling off his right ear he was so flustered.
“You're doing it. Just as I told you not to.” Kyli rolled to a stop at a light, leaned over the large middle expanse and pushed his glasses back up for him. “Don’t worry so much. Believing what I'm saying has nothing to do with the outcome.” The light turned green and she continued.
“Okay, but you still haven’t answered my question. Where are you taking me?” Zack wanted to know what her intentions were.
“To a steak dinner!” Kyli proclaimed.
“I am a little hungry, but I read that you shouldn’t eat meat if you have a broken bone. It slows the healing process.” Zack was whining, he wanted to go to the hospital and call his dad to begin to explain what happened to him. However, he didn't. He kept staring at Kyli as she drove.
“You’re just whining now. Come on, we’ll take you upstairs, bandage your arm, leg, and splint your finger. Then I’ll serve you up a nice juicy red steak.” Kyli was getting excited and her fangs where showing more. She ran her tongue over and around the tips.
Zack watched Kyli for a minute, enjoying the way she moved, the way she spoke. Then Zack had to speak. “Well, I actually don’t really like my meat rare. I only eat very well done. There’s something about the consistency that makes me hurl.”
The car came to another stop light and Kyli wasn’t pulling forward after it changed. “You mean you’ll vomit if you were to eat a bloody steak?”
“Yeah, that’s the just of it.” Zack explained.
Kyli ripped out laughing. She would have been rolling on the floor laughing out loud, but there was no floor to be found in the car. Kyli made due with rocking side to side in her seat. She was hysterical.
Zack was alarmed for a moment. “What are you doing?”
Kyli froze. Zack could see she had thought about something for a second then reached into her shirt pocket for a cell phone. She pressed a few bottoms and showed the screen to Zack.
“ROTFLOL?” Zack read it aloud.
Kyli burst out into another laughing fit as a car came up behind them and honked. Kyli drove onward down the street, trying to calm herself.
“What’s so damn funny?” Zack was feeling like Kyli was making fun of him. That it was a joke at his expense.
In reality, Kyli was laughing at what was coming later that night. A scene that she so vividly predicted in her mind. “You’ll see and I’ll keep laughing when you do.” Kyli peered into the distance on the right. “And here we are.”
There was a row of hotels on the right side of the road. Gainesville didn’t have a red-light district in a true sense. This string was the closest thing they had. Zack didn't know what to think about where they were headed.
“You’re taking me to a Motel for a steak dinner?” Zack was expecting a 24-hour restaurant, not a rundown Motel steak.
“No, I’m taking you to a Hotel.” Kyli sounded irritated.
“What’s the difference?” Zack had the nerve to ask a stupid question.
Kyli seemed annoyed. “A motel is for deadbeats and the used shells that were once people. A hotel is for a weekend getaway or an overnight stay on a business trip.”
“Okay, then which Hotel are you taking me to?” Zack looked out towards the hotels on the side of the road more.
There were only three hotels left in the row a Ramada, a Holiday, and the brand new Waterfield Heights Hotel. They were in the newspaper a few months ago. The town had made a spectacle about the chain finally coming to their midsized college town. It was an event for those who cared. Zack didn't pay too much attention to it until he saw it firsthand. It was a seven level hotel with a long string of white lights lining the edge of the rooftop. It was intended for visiting starlets and public figures that might be passing by.
Zack thought about the hotel for a second and then began to think about where his wallet was. There was nothing in his right front pocket, where it should have been. Zack knew that if Kyli was considering this a real date, he would have to pay. The venue didn't matter. Zack did think it was odd that she was bringing him to a hotel though. Zack wanted to know what Kyli was planning on doing with him that needed complete detachment from their normal homes. A feeling of dread washed over him as he concluded that Kyli might be testing him. She might be setting him up to see if he takes the check or at least offers to pay at the counter.
A bead of sweat ran down his face as they passed the Ramada. This was one of those moments where there was no easy way out. They passed the Holiday. If Zack didn’t offer to pay, Kyli might think he was cheap and not want to see him again. On the other hand, if he did offer to pay and he couldn’t produce his wallet, there was also a problem. Zack was mauling over what to do as Kyli turned into the parking lot of the Waterfield Heights Hotel.
“We’re here.” Kyli rang out as she drove the car up to the valet area.
As the car came to a stop, the valet opened the door for Zack. He looked up at the sign, and read it aloud, “Welcome to the Waterfield Heights Hotel.” Zack swallowed what little saliva his mouth had.
Kyli walked around and helped Zack up and out of the car. A pool of blood was left on the passenger side mat. The male valet was young and tall with short blond hair and a naive face. He looked at Kyli as if something was wrong.
“It's okay, we got a little out of control with the stage make up. Damn artists.” Kyli smiled at the young man.
The valet sm
iled back. “Of course miss.” He walked around, sat down, and began to drive the car away.
Zack could tell he believed what Kyli had told the man. Zack thought to check out what the exterior of the car was like. It was a long black wagon with silver trim and red lit ground-effects facing the pavement on all sides. The car was bigger than the average truck, but it was station wagon. Zack wondered how she could drive such a large thing. It glowed as it pulled off.
As Kyli helped Zack up the steps and into the lobby, the manager nodded at her. “Will you be needing a second room, miss? Or will the one do for tonight?” He hadn’t caught onto the dried blood on Zack’s leg or the blood on his shirt that Kyli was carefully hiding. He said nothing about the obvious blood on Kyli's white dress shirt.
Kyli stared sternly at the manager. “No, I do not need a separate room for my friend here. We will be fine in one, thank you.” She was irritated that the manager had asked. Kyli sighed quickly, panting at a certain thought. “And I'll have you sent up a menu in ten minutes as well. Will that be okay?”
Zack thought that if he had responded the way she did, he would have been thrown out the front door and told to walk to a hospital by himself. Zack was starting to admire Kyli for her spunk and nerve.
“It’s a Road Master.” Kyli said to Zack.
“What? What do you mean? What is?” Zack was still concentrating on what to do about the counter once they had arrived.
They arrived.
“My car, it’s a Road Master. It’s the 4th largest station wagon ever made.” Kyli was obviously proud of this little known fact. She toted on the subject for a moment as she nodded to the manager. Kyli quickly sneered at the manager. She helped Zack hobble to the elevator.
“What was that about?” Zack wanted to know why she was so upset at the hotel manager. Sudden random and outlandish reasons floated into Zack's head. All of which were complete fiction, which of course didn't matter to Zack.
“Bureaucracy.” Kyli mentioned under her breath.
“You're in politics now?” Zack jested.
“My father says he wants to keep me safe. If I have to answer to a few placeholders to make him happy, then I guess it's okay. He likes it when I do what he tells me to.” Kyli seemed dissatisfied with her father.
“You don't think it allows him to worry less?” Zack said thoughtfully to Kyli as she pushed the elevator button.
“I think it’s the GPS he installed in my car that does that much. That's all the peace of mind he ever needs. Mostly he's just avaricious and doesn't pay too much attention to me personally unless I raise hell.” Kyli chuckled as the double doors opened.
Zack chuckled a little, and then winced in pain.
“Sorry.” Kyli said as she noticed some of Zack's blood drop on the lobby carpet.
The elevator doors opened and Kyli helped Zack in. She pressed the top floor. Inside there was simple, passive music playing. The inside of the elevator was red with gold trim. The carpet was a spiced red and black. Everything about this hotel screamed luxury. Zack didn’t want to be on the bad side of the bill and destroy his chances completely. They waited for the ensuing ding that would mark their destination. Zack began to sweat.
Zack spoke up with hesitation. “Kyli, why are we staying here? Wouldn’t one of those motels cost less?” Concern was overtaking his pretension on the subject.
The elevator dinged. They had reached the seventh floor.
“But Zack, we’re already here.” Kyli said in a childish tone, not wanting to go. “It would take too much time to get you to another hotel.” Kyli gestured to the blood dripping down Zack's left leg. “Besides, you'll draw more attention if we leave and trail a new line of evidence back to another room.” Kyli raised her eyebrows and smiled widely. “But I might be able to keep you alive if we stay here. That's not a problem, is it Zack?”
Zack pushed his glasses back up his face. “No. not when you put it that way. It's just that I really can’t afford this.” He broke down and said it.
Kyli helped Zack to walk forward. “Relax, it won't be a problem.” Kyli sighed. She could see Zack wasn't getting her little joke. He had entirely ignored it. “We’re already on the floor. Come on, it’s the last room on the right.”
Zack felt light headed. He agreed, then immediately asked. “What do you mean you might be able to keep me alive?”
Kyli burst out laughing. She helped Zack walk down the red hallway. This floor was decorated differently than the rest of the hotel. Instead of gold crown molding at hand level, it was in the upper corners of the hall. There was a darker red used in the paint as well. It reminded Zack of the dried blood on Kyli's shirt. There were no doors as they proceeded. Zack and Kyli reached the end of the hall which had only two doors, one on each side.
“What's with this floor? There are only two rooms?” Zack asked Kyli. He noticed she was holding him up more and more as they went on. Blood from his left arm was heavily staining her white shirt. She was nearly soaked on the right side of her body.
“These are the presidential suites. This hotel has two, and we’re in the one on the right.” Kyli said with a smile.
Zack stopped in his tracks, stumbling forward, out from Kyli’s arms. He leaned on the black door with gold trim. His heart was racing. Zack said with his head down. “Kyli, we can’t do this. It’s one thing to take care of me, but to bring me to the best hotel in town? It's the biggest room on top of that. It’s too much. I can’t do this. We need to go somewhere else. I can't afford to pay you back for this.”
“Zack, read the sign on the door.” Kyli took a hold of Zack’s head and lifted it to the sign.
The black door had a sign in gold that read 7777.
Zack found nothing out of place. “So? What’s with the large room number? There are just these two rooms here.”
“Zack, you're making a fool of yourself. This was never about money. Look down.” Kyli pointed his head down underneath the room number.
Under the sign, there was a name plate. It read Kyli Waterfield. It was engraved in silver.
“Why is your name on the door?” Zack was getting frustrated. His tunnel vision was focusing on the location, nothing else. He was anemic and it was taking the better of him. He was paying attention to where he was, not what the implications of having her name on the door of the place meant.
Kyli reached into her pocket for a small set of keys and opened the door. “I’ll sit you down on the couch and get some bandages. I’ll give you a few minutes to realize what’s really happening in the world around you. Then we’ll order in room service.”
Inside, the room was painted white and blue. There were clouds everywhere. Small images of birds in the distance gave the impression that the viewer was flying. There were red black-out curtains that lined the windows. Cherry hardwood floors covered the entire loft. There was a black couch in the middle of the living area. It appeared to be well worn. There were white bookshelves and dark cherry wood tables against the walls. The room seemed very unique. Zack snickered at the fact there was a coffee colored coffee table in the middle of the living room. There were Japanese katanas hung over all the doorways, most of the walls, and some from the ceiling itself. There were pictures of Kyli on the shelves and even a poster of her on the partially open bedroom door. Though the room itself had little sense of design or color preference, the swords themselves were highly individualized in shape, size, and curve. These weapons seemed old and all of them were highly adorned. More than thirty were in the room that Zack could see. The room even had a scent to it. Cherries and lavender, everywhere as Zack moved through the room.
Zack sat on the couch as he continued to gaze around.
Once Zack had a moment to think about it, the resulting expression on his face was palatable to Kyli. Dumbfoundiepiphanication should be a word created especially to describe Zack's face in Kyli’s vocabulary. With a stunned expression Zack spoke. “This is your room?”
“Give the boy a prize.” Kyli was alr
eady in the kitchen, getting a bowl of warm water and a few towels.
“You live here?” Zack was still grasping the situation.
“Congratulations, you’ve won a nice clean bandage.” Kyli set the bowl down next to Zack's feet and went to the bathroom to get a first aid kit.
Zack had to ask. “What are all the swords for?” He was no longer thinking of his injuries. The fact that Kyli lived in a large hotel room was more interesting to him.
Kyli returned with a box of bandages. She sat down next to Zack and prepared to clean his wounds. “I have a thing for Japanese weapons. Besides they’re silver and my dad likes that I have them for protection.” Kyli leaned down to take off Zack's shoes.
“And the clouds?” Zack wanted to know.
Kyli removed Zack's socks. “I like the day time. Though I can be a bit of a shut-in.” Kyli did a once over on her own walls. “Yeah, I know. They're a bit much. But there are some days that I can’t go outside due to my condition. This lets me remember what it’s like outside after a few days trapped in here.”
“You mean the being a vampire?” Zack asked as he watched Kyli set his socks into his empty shoes.
“No. I'm not a vampire Zack. I'm a vampeal. I am able to enjoy the sun. It's just that some days are worse than others and I can't.” Kyli was choosing not to say everything on the subject.
“So you have to stay in here when that happens?” Zack pulled his pants legs up.
“Well, this and the roof.” Kyli scooted closer to Zack and rolled up his left pant.
“The roof, wouldn’t there be more sunlight up there?” Zack was confused.
Kyli rolled up Zack's right pant. “I have an open air garden that runs half the length of the building. I go up there to relax when I miss the daylight.” Kyli sighed.
“How? You said the sun gets worse sometimes.” Zack could see that Kyli didn’t want to explain herself right now. Zack asked anyway.
“It does.” Kyli could see Zack preparing another question. “And to answer the next one, the roof has an ultraviolet net over the lounge area. It covers most of the roof, but doesn’t block the plants. It helps but it’s a shame because there are times when I really can’t watch the sun rise. My skin and eyes become too sensitive. There are even times when I fail to mark the changing of the days and just stay up.”
Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) Page 8