by Joshua King
I stood up and immediately felt like a truck had hit me. I was groggy and felt like shit, but the headache and feeling like I’d been drugged weren’t unfamiliar sensations. I felt pretty much like I always did after a hard night of drinking and fucking. It would pass. Probably just in time for me to want to do it all again.
I didn’t know where I was. Obviously, I wasn’t at home. After a few seconds, I realized I was still in the room where I’d found Blondie the night before. I was upstairs at Solomon’s, which meant the walk downstairs would be awkward as fuck.
Before I could worry about that, I had to find a bathroom. I stumbled out of the room and down the hallway. I figured if there was a room with a bed up there, there had to be a place to clean up and piss nearby. They just went together. The room two doors down proved me right. I sidled up to the toilet and dropped my pants.
Something immediately caught my eye. My thigh looked strange, and I bent down to look closer. The whole inside of my upper leg was red and swollen. The more I looked at it, the more aware I was of how much it hurt. It burned like shit, and when I looked even closer, I noticed two little holes in the middle of the red area. It looked like a bite and felt like it had been pumped full of something nasty.
The pain got worse, and my skin felt like it was searing. Something had gotten me. I thought for a second it might have been a bug, but that would have had to be one big-ass spider to leave that kind of damage. I thought about the woman from the night before and the way her mouth roved over me. She had nipped at my skin in a way that didn’t feel exactly playful. Could she have left that kind of mark?
And how the fuck didn’t I notice? Actually, I knew exactly why I didn’t notice.
If my thigh looked that bad, though, what did the rest of me look like? I looked around the small, dingy bathroom for a mirror. There wasn’t one. That struck me as weird. What bathroom didn’t have a mirror? Especially in a bar. Didn’t people need to be able to make sure they looked good enough to get some ass? Or at least didn’t have puke clinging to their hair when they’d had too much. Maybe some dude in the same intellectual class as the morons from the night before had smashed it when they got pissed off.
I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of myself. I had to make sure I didn’t look too rough before I went back downstairs. Looking at the screen, I was shocked at the image I saw. I was expecting the same paunchy face and dark under-eye circles I’d been dealing with for months. Instead, my face looked thinner. Bags big enough to carry all of Mary Poppins’s shit were gone. I actually looked awake and healthy. I pulled the phone back a little farther to take another picture of myself. This one showed more of me, and I noticed more changes. My hair was actually thick again. I’d been waking up to gray hairs, but all of those premature little fuckers were gone. I looked as good as I did when I was twenty-one. I didn’t know how the hell it happened, but it felt good looking at a version of myself that didn’t look like life had run over me with a tractor.
I was intrigued by what I was seeing. If my face looked that much better, what else might be different? Not really caring I was standing in a grungy bar bathroom, I stripped down and started looking over the rest of my body. The gut I’d developed was gone. I actually had abs. My arms were thick, the muscles obvious again. My entire body looked tighter and younger, like I’d gone back years. I didn’t know what was happening, and it was messing with my head a little. I thought back to all the drugs I’d used when I was younger. I’d essentially traipsed through the alphabet sampling a little of everything that was available. Some I did a lot more than sample. I didn’t think they had much lasting effect other than the general crumbling of my life, but now I was wondering if the impact on my brain had been a lot more than that. How long does it take for the rest of the brain to find out about the deaths of their cell friends? Maybe I was just now starting to get the effects of some of those drugs and that was what was what was making me believe all this was really happening.
I squeezed my eyes closed, telling myself I was the same greying, softened man I had been when I walked into the bar the night before. The changes couldn’t be real. When I felt like I’d had enough of a talk with myself, I snapped another picture and looked at it, expecting to see the same me staring back. Nope. I still looked young, smooth, and fit.
I decided to go with it.
What the hell. I might as well enjoy it while my brain was still on its vacation from reality.
3
I had to admit I felt a bit of swagger in my step as I made my way out of the bathroom and back toward the steps down into the bar. It was hard not to when you looked as good as I did. I felt better than I had since I was at my peak. Maybe even better than that.
As I got to the top of the steps, I ran my hands down over my abs. I couldn’t even remember how long it had been since I had actually been able to feel my muscles through the layer of fat on my gut, but now the fat was gone. There were actual abs there again. Maybe my brain hadn’t been cooked by the drugs. There could be another explanation. Maybe it was possible to fuck hard enough to lose seven years’ worth of pizza, cigarettes, and whiskey in just a few minutes. If so, I had found my way to make a shit-ton of money. Maybe I’d whip up an infomercial and start marketing my revolutionary new health and fitness plan.
Pound Your Way to Glory.
It worked on so many levels.
I looked around as I made my way down the steps, not really knowing what to expect. I wasn’t going to pretend I hadn’t been in plenty of bars well before it was five o’ clock anywhere, but actually waking up in one brought the concept of day drinking to a whole new level. The bar looked surprisingly similar to what I remembered it looking like the night before. Despite it being sometime in the morning, the inside of the bar still looked dark and smoky. It had the solid doors and heavily curtained windows to thank for that. I was halfway down the steps when I noticed the same bartender from the night before was standing behind the bar.
She looked even hotter than she had when I first saw her. Not having the crowd of drinkers surrounding her might have been a part of it. I could see her better, and there was plenty to look at. The daringly low scoop of her neckline gave me an eyeful as she leaned over the counter to continue wiping it. The clingy fabric barely held back her ample cleavage, and I could tell she hadn’t bothered to put on a bra when she got dressed. If she leaned forward a bit more, her nipples would probably pop out to say good morning.
Not that I would have complained.
My feet hit the landing at the bottom of the steps, and she looked toward me. Straightening, she gestured for me to come over to her. I complied, sidling up to the bar and dropping down onto the same stool I’d sat in the night before. I wondered if she noticed the change that had come over me. Now that I was closer, I got an even better view of her. My eyes roved over her, and I took in the abundance of smooth, milky skin exposed by her clothes. Her thick red hair tumbled around her shoulders and down to the tight nip of her waist. A sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her little nose and her cheekbones only made her sexier.
My hungry stare couldn’t get enough of her. I didn’t even bother to try to look away from the lush swells of her tits or pretend I wasn’t full-on staring at her. Usually, I wasn’t that brazen with women. I’d never pretend to be chivalrous or say I didn’t like to get my fill of staring at hot women, especially when they were as sexy as this fiery bartender. But usually, I was a bit subtler about it. Not today. Even I was surprised by how completely nonchalant I was about staring at her.
She seemed to notice I was transfixed by her and made a decidedly not subtle sound of clearing her throat.
“Hey,” she said. “I’m up here.”
I looked back at her face and saw her looking at me with an understandably exasperated expression, bordering on disgusted. She probably got stared at like that most of her life and didn’t need more of it first thing in the morning.
“Hey,” I said.
Just
the fact that I was paying attention to her seemed to assuage her annoyance some. She held out one hand toward me.
“I’m Ashe,” she said.
“Hayden,” I said, shaking her hand.
Ashe tilted her head at me. My eyes flickered to Ashe’s cleavage again, and she gave a half-grin.
“Welcome to the Underworld,” she said.
It was my turn to give her a quizzical look.
“The Underworld?” I asked. “I thought this place was called Solomon’s.”
Ashe nodded. “To the average guy who walks in here without knowing where he is, it’s Solomon’s. To members of the kin, to your kin, it’s called Solomon’s Fang. It’s a favorite among us.”
“Us?” I asked, feeling confused. “My kin?”
“You’re a part of the Underworld now, Hayden. You have a whole new existence ahead of you. Well, hopefully.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
The half-grin returned. “You’re confused,” she said. “I guess that’s understandable. It’s not like you walked in here last night thinking you were going to meet a vampire, much less plunge your cock into one.”
I felt like I had just gotten smacked in the face with a brick. I tried to process what Ashe said, but it didn’t sink in.
“A vampire?” I asked. “I don’t remember seeing a vampire.”
“It’s funny that you think you’d know if you did,” Ashe said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not talking about fucking Dracula,” she said. “Vampires don’t go walking around in giant collars, black capes, and powdered wigs. Well, usually. I mean, I guess some of them might get their kicks out of that. But the one whose eye you caught isn’t going to be inspiring any Halloween costumes anytime soon.”
Realization hit me. “Blondie?” I asked.
Ashe gave a short, mirthless laugh. “I wouldn’t let her hear you call her that,” she said.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re telling me I hooked up with a vampire last night? And that’s why I changed like this?”
She nodded. “You catch on quick.”
“I thought I had just gotten back in shape,” I said, feeling a hint of disappointment.
“Overnight?” Ashe asked sourly. “Even you should know it was going to take more than a few minutes of burning calories to work off that gut. And when was the last time you heard of cardio taking the gray out of hair?”
“So what did cause it?” I asked.
“Like I said, you met a vampire. She was interested when she saw you, she got you into that room, and she hopped on. Did you notice anything… odd when you were fucking her?”
“Other than that it was happening in some upstairs room of a bar, and I hadn’t even said a word to her?” I thought about it for a second, and then something came to mind. “She bit me. I just remembered that. She went down on me, and she bit me.”
Ashe nodded again. “Are things becoming a little clearer to you?” When I didn’t answer, she leaned against the counter again. “Let me spell it out for you. She bit you, and she took your blood. That means she started the change.”
“She turned me into a vampire?” I asked.
“Not quite. Like I said, she started it. You have to finish it. You’ve got four days to complete the change.”
“What happens if I don’t complete it?” I asked.
“You die,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Fantastic.” I drew in a breath. “Four days?”
Ashe pushed back from the counter. “Well, that part is kind of misleading. It’s quite common to sleep through the first twenty-four hours because the body undergoes so many changes so fast. Best to plan on a solid three days, just to be safe.”
She bent down to pull a crate of bottles out from under the bar, and I let out an audible moan at the sight of her ass in her tight little pants. Ashe stood up and shot me a glare.
“That’s all a part of the transformation, too,” she said. “You’re going to have a much stronger affinity for sex now. It’s just the nature of the beast. You’ll get used to it.”
I still felt like I wasn’t totally grasping what she was saying to me. I couldn’t make myself believe it. This had to be one big-ass elaborate prank they liked to pull on the drunk chumps who fell asleep in the upstairs rooms. I leaned forward with my arms on the bar and stared at Ashe for a few seconds.
“Prove it,” I said.
“What?” she asked.
“I don’t believe you. Vampires don’t exist. Especially not sexy vampires who turn you during sex and crank back the years with their enchanted pussy.”
Ashe shot me another glare. “I can tell you for a fact it wasn’t her pussy that turned you. Enchanted or otherwise. You said it yourself. She bit you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what kind of joke is being pulled here. I’m pretty sure any second now, some dude is going to jump out from under one of the tables with a camera and tell me he’s going to post all the footage on YouTube. It’s going to be boring as hell, though, because I’m not fooled.”
“What do you mean?”
I leaned toward her, lowering my voice to a mock conspiratorial whisper. “There’s no such thing as vampires,” I said again.
“There’s not?” Ashe asked. “Thank you so much for telling me. I really appreciate you breaking through the delusion.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re going to keep it up?” I asked. “Look, you are unbelievably sexy. I’m not going to lie. You’re so hot, I forgot how to function for a few seconds there. But it’s not enough to make me start believing in urban legends and spooky campfire stories. You didn’t even offer me a s’more.”
“But you’re so quick to believe you can just wake up and all of a sudden and your gut is gone? And you’ve somehow managed to shake seven years of disappointment and failure funk off just because you spent a few minutes with a woman?”
I shrugged. “I personally find that easier to believe than a horde of the undead just roaming around New York.”
“You’re not in New York,” she said.
I looked at her incredulously. “I might not have known what end was up when I woke up this morning, but I know what city I’m in. I came for my high school reunion, and since I went to high school in New York, I think it’s a safe bet to say that’s where I am.”
“Then I suggest you keep your ass out of Las Vegas, or even Atlantic City for that matter. You would lose that bet.”
“Where do you think I am?” I asked sarcastically.
Ashe held out her hands as if to encompass the bar around us. “Solan City,” she said. “It’s a perfect mirror of New York but designed for our kind.” She grabbed a menu from the end of the bar and slid it toward me, turning it so I could look at the logo on the front. “See that?”
I looked down at the burgundy faux leather of the menu cover. I wouldn’t have thought a place like this would have a menu at all, much less one that fancy. If I’d seen it when I first went into the bar, I might not even have noticed the symbol on the front. Now that Ashe had it right in front of me, her fingertip tracing the gold embossing, I couldn’t miss it. Solomon. A complex tribal pattern surrounded the name of the bar, and she touched it almost adoringly.
“Do you know what this is?” she asked.
Her voice had that tone that meant she knew I didn’t. She asked the question in the way people do when they know you don’t know the answer but want you to admit it.
“No,” I said.
“It’s a character in ancient vampire language. It means ‘fang’.”
“I still don’t believe you.”
Ashe let out a sigh and took a step back from the bar. Locking eyes with me, she opened her mouth. I watched as her teeth started to shift, and my heart pounded as I watched sharp, glistening fangs slide into view. She let them stay that way for a few seconds, just long enough for me to know they were definitely real. They slid back up into place, and she closed her mouth.<
br />
“Convinced?” she asked.
“Holy shit,” I muttered. My mind cleared suddenly with a jolt of realization. “Wait. How did I manage to wander into a vampire bar? I was walking around New York. I didn’t say an incantation or go through a fireplace or some shit.”
Ashe rolled her eyes. “Did I say you’ve been transformed into a wizard?”
“I’m just trying to figure out how I went from being in New York to getting into here, and now I’m supposedly in some other city.”
“It’s both,” Ashe said.
“Both?”
“Solomon’s Fang isn’t just one place. It’s a nexus between the two worlds. It exists in both New York and Solan City simultaneously. When you come here, you can step through the gateway between the two worlds and fully enter the Underworld.”
“I’m not in New York anymore.” It came out resigned, like I was convincing myself.
“So now that you’re caught up to speed, where did she bite you?”
“What?” I asked.
I felt like I was most certainly not caught up to speed.
“Where did she bite you?” Ashe asked again, speaking slowly and pronouncing each word carefully like she didn’t think I understood her.
“On my leg,” I answered.
“Let me see it,” she said. “I’ll show you how the fangs fit.”
I got down off the stool and walked around behind the bar. Ashe reached for my belt and loosened it. The feeling immediately tightened my stomach and made my cock twitch. She unceremoniously dropped my pants around my ankles and crouched down to get a better look at the bite. Her soft hand ran along my skin as she pressed her fingertips into the still swollen and tender area around the punctures. It was starting to feel better but being turned on by having the sexy bartender on her knees in front of me was probably doing its part to dull the pain. Her fangs sank down out of her mouth again, and she tilted her head so I could see the pointed tips perfectly aligned with the holes in my leg.