Tall, Dark and Immortal

by Cat Devon

  Once they’d left, Keira looked down at the Band-Aid on her arm. “She did a good job. That didn’t hurt at all.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “She was compelled, wasn’t she? That’s why she had that funny look in her eyes.”

  “Yes.”

  “You can compel humans to do whatever you want?”

  “Most humans, yes.”

  “With great power comes great responsibility. For Spider-Man and vampires alike.”

  “Spider-Man and vamps don’t share many similarities,” Alex said wryly.

  “You’re both outsiders who hide your true identities, right?”

  “I suppose. I never thought of it that way.” Probably because Alex didn’t see himself as any kind of hero, let alone a superhero. Yes, he did have some super abilities. And yes, he tried to use them at times for the greater good.

  But there had been times in his afterlife when that had not been the case. Times when his rage and thirst for revenge had consumed him like a fever. The fact that he was dependent on human blood to survive had been hard to swallow at first. Then he’d welcomed that hunger and fed it with utter excess. Those dark years lived on in his nightmares, leaving him shivering in a cold sweat like those times in a shallow foxhole on Iwo Jima with explosives banging, flashing, and crashing all around him. Dig your foxhole too deep in the sandy areas and you’d be buried alive when it collapsed. Dig it too shallow in the areas with lava and you’d have your limbs blown off by enemy fire. He’d thought that island was hell on earth … until he’d been turned into a vampire and made his own hell on earth.

  Keira interrupted his dark thoughts.

  “Will Doc Boomer be able to tell me what is happening to me?” she asked.

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Plans don’t always work out. I had a plan when I came to see you at the police station, you know.”

  “What was your plan?”

  “That we’d work together to find whoever is stealing the blood and then stop it.”

  “That’s still the plan.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t anticipate being threatened by vampires on my fire escape. I didn’t expect you’d kidnap me or that my apartment would be torched.”

  “Life is full of the unexpected.”

  “Was your life like that?”

  “Hell yes.” He’d never dreamed he’d end up as a vampire. Yet here he was, still unsure what the purpose was in his being turned.

  His mother died when he was five. He’d been raised in a series of foster homes before finding the Kendalls. He’d been a bitter thirteen-year-old when he’d arrived on their doorstep. Bill Kendall was a pharmacist while his wife, Jill, was a homemaker. They were the reason Alex felt shame for the evil things he’d done in his early years as a vampire. They’d given him a sense of moral values that remained with him even now.

  Doc returned a short time later. “I have some preliminary results.” He had an iPad in his hand. “She definitely has hunter blood in her. A very intense and virulent strain of hunter blood. The rest of her blood is human for the most part. The interesting thing is the slight percentage of hybrid blood that I found.”

  “Hybrid? What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

  “I’m not done testing yet, but I think the hybrid element is what has made your hunter blood as intense as it is. The components in the hybrid mix include one percent druid, not enough to show up on our scanner but enough to affect the totality of your traits.”

  “Am I suddenly going to try to blast vampires?” she asked nervously.

  “No. Becoming a vampire hunter is a conscious decision and requires years of training,” Doc Boomer said.

  “Why can’t I blast my way out of here?” she said.

  ‘Because at some deep level you feel safe here,” Doc Boomer said.

  “Do you have any hypotheses about the blood thefts?” she asked him.

  He blinked at the change of subject and paused before answering her. “I don’t think it’s for vampire consumption.”

  “Why not?”

  “There is sufficient supply in the pipeline.”

  “Maybe there’s been a stoppage at some point that you don’t know about,” she suggested.

  “We’d know.”

  “Would someone or something else be trying to consume the blood?”

  “I don’t believe so,” Doc said. “Demons don’t consume blood. They consume souls. Black magic…”

  “Black magic?” she interrupted him. “You mean like witches?”

  “Thanks for your help,” Alex said, hurrying Doc to the door. “Text me when you get more info.”

  “Wait a minute,” Keira said. “Doc, in the tunnels you said something about me not being a witch. Does that mean there are witches here?”

  “Of course,” Doc said. “How else do you think your furniture was re-created if not by a spell?”

  “What do you mean re-created? This is my furniture, isn’t it?” Keira turned to Alex. “Isn’t it?”

  “Sure looks like it to me,” Alex said before rushing Doc out the door.

  “These are my things.” She picked up the small red horse. “And these are my photo albums.” She opened one, but the pages were blank. “Where are the photos?” She remembered asking that question right before the sirens went off for the invasion warning. No one had answered her then. Instead she’d been shoved into that damn dark hole.

  “Why did you get rid of Doc so quickly?” she asked suspiciously. “What were you afraid he’d say? That he’d tell me about the witches in the area?”

  “He’s a busy man.”

  “You mean he’s a busy vampire.”

  “Same thing.”

  “Not really. Yet again, you still haven’t answered my question about my photographs. Where are they? Did you take them as part of your investigation of me?”

  His phone rang. Checking it, he said, “I’ve got to go.”

  “Of course you do,” she said sarcastically.

  Alex opened the door to find Zoe standing there. She waved at Keira. “Hi, there. My name is Zoe. I just ran into Doc outside the building and he told me you know about the furniture spell.”

  Alex swore under his breath. His foster mother Jill frowned upon cursing out loud in front of a lady. He’d picked up plenty of colorful language while in the marines. None of which was relevant at the moment. He needed to focus here.

  The problem was, Zoe talking about the furniture spell. Alex didn’t want Keira knowing details about her surroundings or the people in Vamptown like Zoe, who was indeed a witch. But that ship had obviously sailed. He’d have to minimize the damage.

  “There’s been another blood theft. I’ve got to return to the police station,” Alex said. “Have Sierra come stay with Keira.”

  “No can do,” Zoe said cheerfully. “Sierra is having tea and cupcakes with her publicist Katie at Heavenly Cupcakes. Katie is in town for a family wedding and took a few extra days off. It’s her first time in Chicago and Sierra is showing her around.”

  “Does Katie know about the vampires?” Keira asked.

  “No way.”

  “What about the witches?”

  “What about them?” Zoe said.

  “Does Katie know about those? Does Sierra?”

  “Sierra does. Katie doesn’t,” Zoe said.

  “And that’s the way we want to keep it,” Alex said as he headed out. “Behave,” he warned Keira and Zoe both before leaving.

  “So I heard you have special zapping powers,” Zoe said as she took a seat on the couch.

  “Did you do this?” Keira pointed to the couch. “Doc said a witch’s spell re-created my living room furniture. Was that your doing?”

  Zoe nodded.

  “So you’re a witch?”

  Again Zoe nodded.

  “Are there many of you?”

  “Here in Vamptown? No.”

  “Wait a second. Vamptown? Is that where I am? I thought I was still in Chicago
.”

  “You are. Vamptown is a neighborhood, like Greektown.”

  “Only it’s full of vampires instead of Greeks?”

  “This is all off the record. Sierra said she already told you that you can’t reveal what you know, that you can’t share it or write about it.”

  “No one would believe me,” Keira muttered. “I barely believe it myself. How did you know how to re-create my living room?”

  “Bruce showed me your Pinterest page. You had a photo of it posted there.”

  “And the photo album?” Keira opened it and showed Zoe the blank pages.

  “I’m sorry about that, but I couldn’t re-create what I couldn’t see.”

  “So all my family photos are gone.” Keira wasn’t even aware that she was crying until she tasted salty tears on her lips.

  “I’m so sorry.” Zoe patted Keira’s arm. “I’d hug you but I wouldn’t want to freak you out, being hugged by a witch you just met and all.”

  “Distract me,” Keira said, impatiently wiping away her tears. “Tell me how you ended up surrounded by vampires.”

  “I moved here from Boston with my grandmother.”

  “Is she a witch, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why come here?” Keira asked.

  “She knew Nick, and he invited us to come. We were looking to relocate so things worked out.”

  “Do witches and vampires get along?”

  “Most don’t,” Zoe replied.

  Keira changed the subject slightly. “Sierra told me she’s in love with a vampire.”

  “That’s right. His name is Ronan and he’s a sweetie.”

  Keira had a hard time imagining a vampire as a sweetie. “What about you?” she asked Zoe. “Are you in love with a vampire?”

  “With a vampire Demon Hunter,” Zoe said proudly.

  “How is that different from a vampire?”

  “Didn’t your grandfather go into that in his journal?” Zoe asked.

  Keira immediately got suspicious that Zoe was after the journal and would somehow use her witchcraft to get it.

  “Relax.” Zoe patted Keira’s arm again. “I can’t locate your journal.”

  “How did you know…?”

  “Your expression. Going back to my question, you don’t know about vampire Demon Hunters?”

  “I may have skipped over some stuff,” she admitted. “And some pages were written in what looked like an ancient language.”

  “Interesting. Do you know why your grandfather became a vampire hunter? Was it something he decided to do, or was he born to do it?”

  “He wasn’t real clear about that.”

  “Men never are.”

  “Do witches live a long time? Are you immortal like vampires?”

  “Normally no. But my life hasn’t been normal since I met Damon.”

  “He scares me,” Keira admitted.

  “He scared me, too, when I first met him. But I fell for him anyway.”

  “You mean Damon is…?”

  “The vampire Demon Hunter that I love. Yes, he is.”

  “You’re a braver woman than me,” Keira said with a shake of her head.

  “I don’t know about that,” Zoe said. “Sierra told me you walked into Alex’s police district building and confronted him knowing he’s a vampire. That was very brave of you.”

  “Or stupid, as Alex takes great pleasure in telling me over and over again.”

  “He wasn’t happy with me re-creating your furniture,” Zoe admitted. “He didn’t want you knowing I’m a witch.”

  “He doesn’t trust me.”

  “Can you blame him? Your grandfather killed vampires.”

  “I thought he was an accountant. I only had him and my mom, and she passed away two months ago. They were my only family.” Keira bit her lip as emotion threatened to overtake her again. Zoe seemed nice enough but Keira didn’t want to continue showing weakness. She needed to keep her wits about her.

  “Did your mom know about your grandfather’s secret?”

  “He left me a note saying she didn’t know anything about it. He sent me to Alex if there was trouble. The blood thefts seemed like trouble to me so I went.”

  “I heard about your godson and his blood disorder.”

  “Benji is the greatest little kid you could ever imagine. I don’t suppose you have a spell to cure him?”

  Zoe shook her head regretfully. “I wish I did,” she said softly. “There are so many children dealing with life-threatening or fatal diseases.”

  “His mom and I are hoping that he can be part of a new drug trial to treat him.”

  “I’ll certainly send white light and positive karma Benji’s way.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Zoe paused a moment before adding, “I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer here but we need to discuss what the procedure is should we get another invasion warning while I’m here with you.”

  “I’m not going back in those caves,” Keira said.

  “They are tunnels, and trust me I’m no fan. I had a demon strap me to a table and threaten to cut me into little pieces in those tunnels.”

  Keira’s eyes widened. “There are demons down there?”

  “Not anymore. That was a onetime deal. Damon eradicated the demon.”

  “How do you know there aren’t more?”

  “Because Damon is an awesome Demon Hunter and no demon would dare come around here.”

  “But apparently one did and tried to hurt you.”

  “True but that was a onetime deal, like I said.”

  “How do we know that demons aren’t behind these blood thefts?” Keira was rather proud of the calm way she was absorbing the information that Zoe was sharing. If vampires existed, why not witches and demons? Yes, both had been mentioned before, but not in any detail.

  “Demons are more into stealing souls than blood.”

  “What other creatures are there?”

  Zoe looked insulted.

  “I’m sorry,” Keira quickly said. “That came out wrong. I wasn’t insinuating that you are a creature or that witches in general are creatures.”

  “What about vampires?”

  “What about them?”

  “Do you consider them to be creatures?”

  “I consider one of them to be too damn sexy,” Keira muttered.

  “I know. Damon is incredibly sexy but as I said, he’s mine.”

  “I was referring to Alex.”

  “Oh. Okay then. Alex is sexy, too, and not mine, so you go, girl.” Zoe grinned and offered a high-five that Keira accepted because not doing so seemed rude.

  “What is it like, loving a vampire?” Keira asked.

  “The sex is off-the-charts incredible,” Zoe said.

  “That’s not what I meant exactly.”

  “I know. But you were wondering, right?”

  Keira didn’t know how to answer that so she remained silent.

  “It’s natural for you to think about it,” Zoe said.

  “Is it? So all women who come in contact with Alex wonder what it would be like to have sex with him?”

  Zoe grinned and nodded. “Probably.”

  “Because it’s a vampire thing.”

  “Actually women have been falling for Alex most of his human life, since before he became a vampire. Or so I’ve heard.”

  Keira was desperate to change the subject. “Are the vampires here related in some way?”

  “They are part of the same clan but they aren’t brothers per se.”

  “How many are there?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Zoe countered.

  “I’m a reporter. I’m naturally curious.”

  “So is Sierra. Curious, I mean. Must be a writer thing.”

  “It is.”

  “I’m a former librarian myself. Now I own an artisan soap company. Bella Luna.”

  “There is a basket of your soaps and body lotions in the bathroom here. I really liked the citr
usy one.”

  “Thanks. It’s called Revive and it’s one of my best sellers. But let’s get back to our game plan for the next invasion warning. The only safe place is in the tunnel.”

  “What if the invasion comes from the tunnel? That demon who terrorized you got into the tunnel,” Keira reminded her.

  “He was coming from hell. He escaped through a portal my grandmother and I inadvertently opened. But that’s been closed now.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Keira turned the conversation to Zoe. “What made you want to become a soap maker?”

  Zoe countered with, “I’d rather answer your earlier question about what it’s like loving a vampire.”

  “That’s okay, that was too personal—”

  “Yeah, it was, but I’m going to answer anyway.”

  “You already did.”

  “That was about the sex. Which is incredible but there’s more to love than that. I can’t say what it’s like to love a vampire. I can only say what it’s like to love Damon. We share a special kind of connection that I can’t even begin to explain, you know?”

  “Yeah, I do know.” Keira knew because she was feeling the same way about Alex. But she was no witch with special powers. Or was she? Not the witch part, but the special powers part. She’d blasted a huge hole in that tunnel. “But I need to know how to control my powers. Can you teach me?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What’s the emergency?” Alex demanded as he joined Craig in the interrogation room reserved for their use.

  “There’s been another blood theft.”

  “Where?”

  “At the biotech medical lab where Bunny works. They just discovered the theft an hour ago.”

  “It happened in broad daylight?”

  “We don’t know that. It may only have been discovered now but taken place last night.”

  “Any suspects?”

  “None in custody,” Craig said.

  “What about the research assistant Warren?”

  “He’s disappeared.”

  “The Gold Coast vamps questioned him but released him. You work on trying to track him down. I’ll head over to the lab.”

  “Bunny is pretty upset about Warren’s disappearance,” Craig said.

  “She came to see me yesterday and said the thefts were her fault.”

  “That’s shit.”