by E. M. Moore
“Hey, no fair,” Nic’s husky voice called out from the front seat. “Some of us are driving and can’t even look at Ri right now let alone touch her.”
Stephan’s lips split into a smile while they still touched my skin. “Sorry…not sorry?”
The princes all laughed, Connor the loudest. It really was an un-Stephan like thing to say. Not that he didn’t have a sense of humor, but that was more of a Connor-ism.
“Laugh it up,” Nic barked. “Wait until Christian and I make you and Connor take the front seats so we can sit next to her.”
Connor’s hand shout out in front of me and pointed to the side of the road. “There’s the first exit.”
Nic had to break a little harder than he should have had he been paying attention to what he was doing. Then, he swerved to get over into the exit lane. The road curved around parading through a forest of pine trees before we went down a small hill that leveled out right near a gas station. Nic pointed ahead and looked in the rearview mirror at Connor. “That good enough for you?”
Connor gave a quick nod and Nic pulled into the gravel parking lot, kicking up dirt and stones in our wake. I looked around at the small gas station surrounded by trees and the stretch of road yawning for miles in either direction. The place looked abandoned except for the blinking Open sign in the front window. There were only two gas pumps, and in the far right of the parking lot, a broken fence surrounded something that looked like it hadn’t been used for years. Street lights jutted out from the dirt at the corners of the parking lot, but they swayed in the slight wind, one was even leaning as if it hadn’t worked in a long time, while one of the others had the glass completely broken out of it. A quick check on the ground looked as if the glass still lay at its base. Whoever owned this place definitely didn’t keep it up like they should.
“The land that time forgot…” I mumbled.
“Tell me about it,” Nicolai said. “Let’s make this quick. Everybody out. Be back in five.”
The princes all pushed their doors open. As soon as Connor got out, I noticed a black SUV had pulled up next to us on that side and no doubt there was another one flanking us on the other. Nicolai spoke briefly with a guard as we walked to the front entrance. That same guard stood right near the entrance as we all walked inside. He looked me up and down, his brown-black hair cut close to his head with dull brown eyes. He looked rather unextraordinary compared to the princes except he had a chiseled face, though it was rough. Not the smooth concrete that the Ravanas had, but this guy looked as if he had put up a tough fight for his life one or two times. I nodded at him finally, and he nodded back.
The interior of the little gas station store smelled musty and stale. There was an older gentleman at the front counter who narrowed his eyes at us as soon as we entered. The guys all split up, Connor heading toward the restrooms as the others grabbed a haul from the snack and drink aisles. I stayed near the front, gazing out at the window toward the guards we left behind. One had came in and swept the place before us and then left, but that same guard who’d eyed me was still stationed outside. He was unmoving, faced straight ahead, but I had a feeling he was well aware of everything going on. I took stock of the way he carried himself, trying to mimic him in the shoulders. I pulled my own back, and then up, pushing my chest out. There was just something in his demeanor too. Something that said, ‘Don’t mess with me.’ I wanted to be seen that way, instead of the way Kay had made me look. Like a damsel in distress instead of the kickass guard I needed to be. I may as well start now.
I looked around, making sure I could spot all my guys in the small store. The bathroom door was still shut. Nicolai was now near the sports drinks, Stephan was glancing idly at the sunglasses while Christian had just picked up a bag of chips. I glanced at the guy at the counter, his eyes were still narrowed, almost glaring at my guys. He hadn’t said anything when we came in. In fact, now, I could sense waves of hostility floating off him. He was not happy that we were here. Not at all. His jaw was clamped shut and his yellowing eyes were filled with hatred.
The bathroom door creaked open and I went to turn when a small sticker in the front window caught my eye. It was a picture of a very cartoony looking vampire fangs, much like one would see around Halloween, with a circle and line through it.
No…vampires?
How in the…? I moved toward Christian, grabbing the hand that held his newly acquired chips. “We need to go. Now.”
He looked down, his face suddenly very serious and stoic. “What?”
“There’s a sign in the window…” I nodded nonchalantly toward the front.
Without moving his head, Christian’s eyes peeked over.
“The vampire teeth,” I explained, raising an eyebrow. I was trying to ask him without asking him if he’d seen it.
He nodded, but he didn’t seem at all disturbed by it.
Stephan came right over then. “What’s wrong?” he asked, not bothering to lower his voice. I was really starting to panic now. If we alerted the gas station attendant to what was going on, I didn’t know what he might do. He was already looking at the princes as if he knew what they were. How could that be though? How did he even know vampires existed? Wasn’t it supposed to be the best kept secret?
A cocky grin pulled at Christian’s lips. “Front window. Upper corner.”
As soon as Stephan spotted it, he snorted. “Oh. That.”
Hesitation swirled in my gut. I still didn’t like this. A quick glance back at the aging cashier told me what I thought. He knew what they were. “Please can we leave?” I asked, not caring if I sounded paranoid or not. I needed them to be safe, and at a gas station that did not care for vampires sounded like the exact opposite place that would be safe for them, regardless of how this attendant knew who they really were.
Nicolai came right over. Sometimes I thought that vampires had extra special smelling powers too It was as if Nic could sense the tension even though he was on the other side of the small store. “What’s up?” His dark eyebrows were in a bunch over his eyes, casting his face into an even more shadowy look than his normal one. If I didn’t know any better, I would be afraid of him. Actually, I should say, if I wasn’t me, I would be afraid of him. Nic was no joke.
I stood in front of him, my shoes just grazing his, I only came up to his shoulder height. “No vampire sign in the window.”
His face relaxed immediately. It did nothing to quell my own nerves though. I felt it. Something was off. Wrong.
“Please,” I said, begging him with my eyes.
He looked as if he wanted to laugh, but was stopping myself. My stomach did a hard flip. My face was starting to heat up, but I didn’t care.
Nic pat my head. “It’s okay.” He looked around at his brothers. “Alright, load up the counter with your stuff. Let’s get out of here.”
My heart almost pitched right out of my chest. They were going to head up to the guy who looked as if he wanted to murder them? I got in their way. “Give me the money. I’ll pay for it.”
Connor came forward and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Chillax, Princess. We’ll explain it all in the Jeep.”
Frustration rolled through me. I looked briefly toward the guard standing like a sentinel just outside the front entrance and wondered if I should bring him in here. Couldn’t the Ravanas feel the thickening tension inside this place? It was like lead weight on my shoulders.
“I am begging you…” I said, my eyes pleading with him.
“Shh,” Connor said, while pulling me to his side. He walked me up to the front counter and threw his stash down. There were a few candy bars and a soda that he added to an already massive pile. The man behind the counter looked down at all the snacks and then back up at them. Then, very slowly, he began to ring up all the things in front of him that looked like it was a PSA for how to get Diabetes. I knew that they could consume things other than blood, but I’d never seen such pure evidence of their sweet tooth before.
“Long t
rip?” the older gentleman said, his voice clipped, but not even looking at us as he asked his question. His white mustache moved over his lips as he chewed at something in his own mouth. His blue eyes were yellowing with age.
Before the guys could answer, I spoke up. “Not really. Just passing through. You look kind of isolated out here.”
The man looked up, his eyes meeting mine. He frowned, his bushy gray-black eyebrows were like caterpillars over his eyes. “Can’t say we get much outsiders. We kind of like it that way.”
I nodded at him, trying to telepathically share with him that it would be a bad idea if he tried to do anything to my guys. He looked away after a few seconds and rang up the last of the snacks. Christian moved forward, using his smooth voice. “What’s the damage?” he asked, smiling.
The guy didn’t smile back, only told him what the register rang up, which seemed way too expensive for the small snack-sized chips and candy bars the guys threw down there. I watched as Christian counted the twenties from his wallet and placed them on the counter ahead of him. My heart lurched in my throat when the register dinged and Connor pulled me against his side. I knew he was well-meaning, but I still couldn’t shake the thought that something bad was going to happen. If it didn’t, they were going to think I was nuts.
The man licked his fingers and then brought out the bills for change before slipping them over the counter toward Christian. Christian picked them up and put them back in his wallet.
Maybe everything was fine. The transaction seemed to go over smoothly.
The guy bent down to grab a shopping bag, but Christian held his hand out. “No need. We can take our own stuff. Thanks though. Have a great day.”
Christian grabbed his stash from the pile and then the rest of them one-by-one took what they picked out from the counter until it was just Connor and I left. The older man eyed me. Well, not really me, but Connor’s hand around my shoulder. The bell above the door dinged. That’s when the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.
“One more thing,” the guy called out.
We were already walking past him, Connor had his stash in his hands. I looked around to see the guy’s hand pull up from behind the counter. He had a small white bottle in his fist and it came barreling upward straight for us.
Chapter Six
Time seemed to slow. I pushed Connor out of the way as I ran forward. The bottle and its contents were streaming toward where we just were. I kicked out, sending the bottle flying into a rack of White Cheddar Popcorn. Drops of wet liquid splashed onto me as I hurled myself up and over the counter and landed on the old guy. I pushed his face into the floor, using my knee to jam into his ribs. He started muttering about vampires being the devil’s work. I barely heard him though as Connor hissed. There was a commotion and then the same guard who was outside the entrance was now in front of me. Strong hands pulled me off and back over the counter. I started to wrestle against them until I heard Nic’s husky voice in my ear.
More guards burst into the small shop. There was orderly shouting, and then we were being rushed out. Nic threw me into the back of the Jeep, Connor and Stephan slid in after me just before the two doors in the front of the vehicle opened up and Nic and Christian got in. A burning smell infiltrated my nostrils and I looked over at Connor who had wisps of smoke wafting up from his arm.
“What the hell?”
“Holy water,” he hissed.
Stephan pulled me over to the far side of the backseat as he climbed over me, pulling his ever present miracle cream from his pocket. “Tell me one of you grabbed an actual water from the store,” he said, his voice tight and clenched.
The Jeep careened in reverse and then sped off. I held onto the back of Christian’s seat to keep from being thrown around. My mind was still trying to catch up to exactly what had happened when we were on the ramp heading back onto the highway. A quick check behind us told me there was at least one SUV following us.
“I got Ri one. It’s…somewhere. Shit! Where is it?”
“Here,” Christian said, uncapping a water and shoving it at Stephan. Stephan took it and poured most of it over Connor’s arm and then handed the water to me.
“Is he going to be alright?” I asked, watching the scene and feeling as helpless as could be.
Christian touched my shoulder. “He’ll be fine. It just hurts like a…it hurts bad until you can get it off.”
“Napkin,” Stephan demanded.
Christian turned away to look through the glove compartment. He came up empty-handed.
“Something!” Stephan said, as Connor gritted his teeth and squirmed.
I pulled the light sweater I had on over my tanktop off and handed it over. Stephan barely looked down before rubbing Connor’s arm with it. The more he did, the more Connor’s jaw relaxed. By the time, Stephan threw my sweater back at me and smoothed his cream over his brother’s upper arm, Connor looked as normal as ever. His head fell back against the seat and then looked over at me. Relief, joy, honesty, poured from his every pore. “Thank you, Princess. That could’ve sucked a lot worse.”
Stephan sat back, looking over his handiwork before pulling me back into the center and sitting back against the seat with a sigh. No one spoke. Nicolai still had the gas pedal closer to the floor. The trees whipped by. Christian looked in the backseat, his lip pulled between his teeth. I rubbed my hands over my face, willing my heart to settle down in my chest. “Okay, what the hell just happened?” I asked.
At the same time, the radio came on. “Situation all clear. Update?”
Nic took the walkie talkie in his hand. “Connor’s fine. All clear here.”
The staticy voice came over again. “Your trainee?”
Nic locked eyes with me in the rearview mirror. “As awesome as ever.”
“Condition, Nicolai?” the voice demanded.
He smirked into the receiver. “Clear.”
“Seriously. What the hell?” I asked as soon as he let go of the speaker button.
Christian sat on his knees in the front seat and reached around to grab my hand. “You did so well, Ariana.”
Connor laid his head on my shoulder, cuddling up close to me. I laid my head briefly on his, but then sat up straight again. “I need to know what that was about. He seemed to know about you guys, about vampires…”
Nic’s voice boomed through the interior of the Jeep. “There’s a small sect of people in New York, mostly those that live close to where we live, who think they know what’s going on in The Catskills.”
“It looks like they do know,” I said, remembering the anti-vampire sticker and the bottle in his hand. “They threw holy water at Connor. That wasn’t just an accident or coincidence. They knew it would hurt him.”
“They’re radicals,” Christian explained, his thumb still moving up and down my forearm. “They think they know. It turns out they do know a little, but they think we’re far worse than we actually are. They think of us as the blood-sucking demons from horror movies who prey on humans. Usually they don’t do anything, but…”
I looked around the Jeep. They all sat there with solemn faces.
“I guess we’ll have to be more vigilant now,” Christian continued, staring at each one of his brothers. “It’s getting worse.”
My head started to pound. It did this every time I felt like I was a step or two behind. Why didn’t I know everything they knew? The worst thing I had to get over was not being educated like the other trainees who actually grew up in this world. I rubbed my temples. “Please explain this all to me before I explode.”
Stephan turned toward me in his seat, drawing my attention. “The radicals only think they know what’s going on. Yes, they’re on the right track as far as knowing we’re humans, but they also think that we’re killing innocent people, which isn’t true.” He eyed his brothers, and then continued. “Most of the people who live around here think the radicals are nuts, but they’ve been getting more and more organized. More and more evidence
has come out… It’s one of the things The Council has been looking to quell. It’s a big deal since it’s so close to home.”
“More evidence?” I looked to my left and noticed Connor had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I passed my fingers over his cheek as he slept.
Nicolai spoke up from the front. “I’m telling her. I told her I wouldn’t keep anything from her again, and I meant it. Ri, there’s been a rogue group of vampires who have sprouted up. It’s why my dad asked you to leave the room earlier the other day. He wanted to tell us about this new group of vampires. They’ve been taking and killing humans. The evidence is playing into these crazies. They have bite marks on their necks, leeched of blood, the kind of thing you would expect if you thought vampires were a real threat to humans.”
My heart sunk in my chest. Not only did we have inside forces against us, now we had to worry about humans now, too. “Then why didn’t you guys believe me when I said I wanted to leave?”
Christian blew a huge breath out of his mouth and shook his head. “I’m going to call that being foolish…and naive, and maybe even a little stubborn. Let me be the first one to say that I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Ariana.”
A chorus of ‘Me too’s’ rang out through the Jeep. Even Connor sighed into me.
“You have to realize, Ri,” Nic started. “We’ve lived a privileged life. Things like that just don’t happen to us. That sign has been in that gas station for the past few years and nothing has ever happened. They’re getting more prepared, stronger, more confident. We really need to do something about this rogue sect of vampires. It’s totally playing into the humans’ hands and if we don’t act soon, we’ll be getting it from all sides.”
Stephan forced my shoulders back onto the cushions behind me and then gently guided my head to his own shoulder. “You were amazing, Ariana. Thank you,” he whispered.
I wanted to tell them they needed to trust me next time, but it wasn’t the time right now. Not when Connor was sleeping off his attack and we were still speeding our way toward their huge house. “I want in,” I announced. “I want in on everything that’s going on. The rogue vampires, the humans, everything. It all impacts you guys and I need to know what’s going on in order to keep you all safe.”