by Amber Kalkes
“Yes, Mr. Naidoo?”
“When the time comes and you change your mind, you’ll call me, won’t you?”
I give him a small reassuring smile, “I’ll certainly keep it in mind, sir.”
He nods just as the elevator doors slide open. I give him one last smile and step into the elevator. I turn to face him, and he looks at me with a pained look on his face. I find that it doesn’t suit him. I give him a small wave just before the elevator doors closed. Once they do, I start chewing on my lip again and secretly hope that my next errand doesn’t have to do with Josette. I’m not sure I’d leave in one piece.
When the elevator doors open again, I plan on speeding out of the building. But instead, I’m met with the blonde woman from the reception desk. She’s breathing really hard and her gray eyes are practically glowing as she stares at me. The hair on the back of my neck and arms stands on end as her eyes are locked with mine. Something isn’t right. Something about her is off.
I eye her up, trying to figure out if I can make a run for it. Figuring it’s worth a shot, I try to push past her, but just as I’m out of the elevator, she grabs me. One arm wraps around my waist and the other covers my mouth, as she drags me towards a back door. She throws me against the stairs and my back hits the edge of one, making me gasp in pain. Suddenly, she grabs my hair and forces my head to the side so she can expose my neck. That’s when it occurs to me, that she too, is a vampire.
The thought is cut off when her fangs descend into my neck. I open my mouth to scream at the pain of it, but she covers my mouth with her cold pale hand. I start pushing, kicking, and punching at her stone-like form, but it does nothing. It’s almost like she doesn’t feel it at all. She grabs both my hands in one of hers, and pins them over my head while tightening her hold on my neck. I let out another muffled scream.
This feels nothing like when Tobias bit me. Nothing at all. No warmth, no gentle care. Only a pain so intense that I can’t even think through it. My body feels like its laying on a table full of knifes, repeatedly puncturing the skin. But it’s not killing me, I just feel the pain of it, over and over again. Abruptly, she removes her fangs from my neck and her weight is removed from me. This time, my scream isn’t muffled as she nearly takes a chunk out of my neck with her extraction.
“Bullets can’t harm me, fool!” She hisses.
I manage to keep my eyes open, through the waves of pain and spot Anthony with a gun in his hand. He has it pointed right at her forehead and he doesn’t look like he’s playing any games. He clicks back the hammer and lowers the muzzle to the right side of her body.
“It all depends on where you put it.” He tells her simply, before pulling the trigger. I expect a loud bang but it’s only a small sound. It’s then that I realize that he must have had a silencer on it.
Warm blood trickles down from my neck and slides down the fabric of my shirt, staining the skin underneath. I’m losing a lot of blood, more than I probably should. My body is still wracked with pain, and I keep feeling strange, strong convulsions moving through my body. I feel someone put pressure on my neck and I crack open my eyes to see a pair of blue eyes looking down at me.
Putting a handkerchief against my wound, he keeps his hand on it as he starts pulling on my arm. I moan as I get to my feet, my legs convulsing with pain as I do. Anthony steadies me and starts leading me towards a back exit in the stairwell. I must have passed out for a few minutes because the next thing I know I’m back in the car.
I lift my hand to my neck and find a bandage where the bite marks are. Lowering my hand, I see that it’s stained with my own blood. I’m overcome with dizziness again and am dragged back into unconsciousness. This isn’t how I wanted to go. Without pain was the goal, after all, if this is how it has to be, I guess I’m okay with it. As they say, beggars can’t be choosers.
Chapter Fourteen
Solicitude
I feel like hell.
That’s the first thought I have when I wake up. Anthony must have carried me in, used my key, and stripped me of my jacket before leaving me in my apartment. I find some optimism in the fact that he thought I was healthy enough to just ditch here. Or maybe Tobias just ordered him to get rid of the body.
Tobias had to have known something about this. How else would Anthony know which apartment was mine? Either way, I have mixed feeling about waking up alone in my apartment. Florence purrs and rubs her face against my leg, as I stand at my bathroom sink. Well, maybe not completely alone.
I glance up at my reflection in the mirror and grimace. I’m covered in dried blood. My shirt is ruined and I look incredibly pale, especially against the bright red coloring of my own blood smeared on my skin. I gingerly pull my shirt off over my head but suck in a sharp breath at the pain I feel. My whole body feels sore.
Everything hurts actually, even breathing comes with a fair amount of pain. How come I never felt that after Tobias bit me the first time? He bit me in the same place and took even more than what that woman took, but I didn’t feel like this afterwards, or during it. Turning on the faucets, I let the water warm up before quickly washing the blood off my hands.
“Out, damned spot,” I murmur, “Out, I say.”
I think I may be losing my mind.
I reach for a towel to dry my hands, but I find I don’t have one. I should probably do laundry. With a sigh, I dry my hands on the legs of my jeans before looking at the bandage on my neck again. With nimble fingers, I start peeling the bandage tape from my skin with a wince. The bandage is pulling at the partially healed skin and is taking some of the scabbing with it. It’s not a pleasant feeling.
I hiss between my teeth as the last of it starts to come off. A few tears fall from my eyes and I let them stay as I stare at the reflection of my injury. Dear god, it looks horrible. It’s not a clean bite like Tobias’. It’s a mess and it looks like she bit me a few times.
There’s some overlap on some of the teeth marks, and she really got into the skin there. Grabbing a wash cloth from under my sink, I put it under the water and wince as I bring it up to the wound. I cry out when the warm water hits the tender flesh. It really burns, but I have to clean it. I contemplate grabbing the bottle of vodka I’ve saved. It’s sitting in my mini fridge but I don’t want to waste it. It’s the good imported stuff and a housewarming gift from my dad.
Continuing to dab the cloth against the wound, my hand is suddenly grabbed. I let out a short scream, before I slap my hand over my mouth when I meet a pair of furious red eyes. I let out a sigh and try to take my hand back from Tobias’s but he only tightens his grip. Grabbing me by the other side of my neck, he pulls me closer to him as he inspects the wound.
“This is deep.”
“No shit,” I snap and try again to pull away from him but he quickly stops me by tightening his hand on my neck, “Don’t you think I’ve had enough vampire handling for the day?”
Tobias’s eyes flicker to mine before letting me go. Once I’ve put some space between us, it takes a few minutes but I gradually start to relax. My neck is tingling from having his hand on it and I rub the feeling away with one of my hands. He watches me do this with narrow eyes but doesn’t say anything.
“Some chauffer you have there.” I comment mildly.
“Anthony is the best,” Tobias allows before glancing at my wound again, “I can heal that you know.”
“By giving me more of your blood.” It’s not a question.
“Yes.”
“I don’t think that’d be a good idea. I slept for three days last time.”
“This is different. You don’t have as much damage this time.”
I arch an eyebrow, “Now that, I find doubtful.”
His lips fall into a flat line as he takes a step towards me, “You’re forgetting the condition you added to our deal Shoshanna. I keep my fangs between us and you do what I want without complaint. Remember?”
“Yes.” I mutter petulantly.
“Then I suggest you come clos
er so I can help you.”
The undercurrent of an order is very audible in his tone as he speaks. I scowl but I don’t argue as I inch closer to him, very aware of how exposed I am. I’m only dressed in jeans and a blood stained white tank top. My destroyed long sleeve and dark gray V-neck is discarded in the hallway, so my shame is just there, in the open.
He doesn’t seem concerned about it though. His eyes are all about the wound on my neck and only on that. It makes me frown at him, trying to understand how his mind works. Most people would be horrified, disgusted even, to see me in my natural state. An unwelcomed thought comes slithering into my mind at that point. He’s not affected because he’s seen and done way worse.
A crunching sound gets me out of my thoughts and my attention back on him. To my dismay, he’s biting into his own wrist. Blood seeps from his wrist down to the broken tile of my bathroom. I now notice how small it is, especially with him in it. Then again, he seems to fill every room with his presence. I absently wonder if that’s another vampire thing or just a Tobias thing.
He cups his draining blood in his other hand before sucking and licking the wound clean. When he goes to grab the wet washcloth from the edge of the sink, I notice the bite mark is almost completely healed. Dipping the edge of the washcloth into the blood in his hand, he glances into my eyes in warning, before pressing it against my wound. I don’t expect the stinging pain and cry out. Shit, it burns!
I grip the side of my sink and bite my lip, hard enough to probably draw more blood, while squeezing my eyes shut. I don’t know how long we continue this routine, but eventually the stinging heat fades into a manageable burn. Uncomfortable but not overwhelmingly so. I feel cool fingers under my chin, pushing my face up, and slowly, I raise my gaze to meet his.
“The pain will pass.” Tobias tells me solemnly, but I get the hint we may be talking about something else.
I frown a little and search his gaze for more information about what he could mean, but his face is impassive. Slowly, his hand moves from under my chin and his thumb caresses my lower lip. I see some blood on the tip of the pale pad and suck my bottom lip into my mouth. Tobias lifts his thumb to his mouth and sucks the blood off it before winking at me. I immediately scowl at him.
“This is all your fault. I hope you know that.”
“Why else do you think I healed you?” He asks with a slight smirk, “I have to keep my servants happy or they’d never do the job right.”
Tobias turns and leaves the bathroom with me trailing after him. I’m sick of being in the dark with everything going on, I realize. That’s why I’m so mad. I tell myself I didn’t want to know because he doesn’t seem keen on telling me. I don’t want to expect anything from him though. It seems like it’s too much to put trust on someone who you can barely stand.
“I’m not your servant!” I hiss at him.
He gives me a puzzled look, “Did we not cover this previously? You belong to me, Shoshanna. That’s how this deal works.”
“Why can you be out during the day?”
Tobias looks even more confused at my blurted question, “What?”
“When I saw Viktor, thanks for the heads up about that by the way. He was up during the day, so were those receptionists and I’m pretty sure they were all blood suckers like you. How is that possible?”
“Reading a lot of Anne Rice and Bram Stoker lately?”
I ignore his joke and glare at him, “You said you couldn’t walk out in the day.”
“No, I said it was difficult, not that I couldn’t.”
“Oh my god…” I trail off in horror, “Do you…?”
“What?”
“Do you sparkle?”
He scoffs and looks downright offended, “No. I don’t ‘sparkle’. I burn in the sun, but it’s not for the reason you’re thinking. I’m not some unholy thing forced to suffer in darkness. My skin is sensitive to heat. Direct sunlight causes my skin to melt-off to the bones.”
“Can you die that way?”
“With prolonged exposure, yes. It also works with fire. It’s one of two ways to kill my kind.”
“What’s the other one?”
Tobias smirks at me, “Like I’d tell you.”
“Anthony shot that woman in the heart.” I tell him quietly, “Is she dead?”
His face goes hard, “Not by Anthony’s hand, I can tell you that much.”
“By yours?”
He debates a minute before throwing the curveball question of, “Have you eaten?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Since last night, I mean.”
“Oh.” I mutter and twist my mouth ruefully, “No.”
Tobias removes his jacket and tosses it on my desk. He’s dressed in a black t-shirt and dark washed jeans. On his feet are black boots and once they hit the linoleum of my hidden kitchen, his strides become louder with each step. He crouches down, peering inside my mini fridge, his back facing me. I sit down on my bed, wondering what it is he’s doing.
“You don’t have much here.” He mutters disapprovingly over his shoulder.
I shrug, “I don’t have much time to shop for groceries.”
“Your feral beast has plenty of food.”
“Florence is different.” I tell him, not liking his terminology at all.
He looks unimpressed but doesn’t press the issue. Turning his back to me again, I take the opportunity to watch him. When he’s done inspecting my fridge, he rises to his feet again. I take note on how graceful his movements are. It kind of reminds me of Florence. The fluidity of her moves, seem to be similar to how he moves.
“I’m not hungry.” I tell him.
“You’ll eat.”
“But I’m not hungry.” I insist, getting an irritated glance in return, “Honestly.”
“Will you eat later?”
“Yes.”
“Do you promise?”
I tilt my head and smile a little, “Would you trust my word if I did?”
“Good point.”
“Tobias?” I ask, my voice very quiet and hesitant, “Why did you send me to Viktor?”
His eyes widen subtly before they go flat, “To deliver something.”
“A piece of paper in an envelope?”
“An important piece of paper in an envelope.”
Chewing on my lower lip, I consider my next statement before saying, “He offered to break our bond for me.”
Tobias’s voice is deceivingly smooth, “Did he?”
“Yes, he said that if the bond was strong enough, you could make me do anything, even against my will. It made me wonder why you didn’t just do that, once the deal was struck. You only want me for a few months and if you made me your slave like, you would have a non-complaining servant. No hassle.”
With a sigh, Tobias roughly runs a hand through his slick, straight dark hair. When he does that, a shiny patch of skin catches my eye on his exposed forearm. It looks like a bite mark, long healed over. Red eyes come into view and I see them narrow at me, making me drop my gaze. When he clicks his tongue and drops his hand, I peek at him, only to see him looking aggravated.
“Are you trying to convince me?”
I pull my legs into my chest and shake my head, “No. Just thinking out loud, I guess.”
“I don’t want a slave.” He snaps after a few minutes of silence, “I sent you there to play with your mind and make you force yourself to do things. You being a slave would put a damper on that, wouldn’t it?”
I frown, “I don’t understand.”
“You had to force yourself to go in that building, go sixty floors up and then converse with a vampire you were scared of. I figured you’d run like hell once you got in the building” He tells me before giving me a bewildered look, “You surprised me.”
I give him a dirty look, “I’m known to do that on occasion. So glad I could amuse you.”
“Amuse me you do.”
“Oh goodie.” I mumble dryly.
He laughs at that. His laug
h is interesting. He has two laughs. One is an obviously practiced one, which is meant to be fascinating and alluring. It sounds smooth and dark like velvet. I could see how it could send a shiver down a woman’s spine. The other laugh, the one he just used, is different. It comes from his stomach and has a low rumble that sounds more organic. I discover I prefer the latter of the two. Pretenses are aggravating enough as it is, without them being Tobias’ pretenses.
“What?” He asks with a raised brow.
I realize I’m just staring at him like an idiot and quickly scowl, “Why do you even ask questions when you can just dig in my brain, like the creepy undead hacker you are, and find out yourself?”
He smirks at me, “I like watching you squirm.”
“Well, good luck finding another circus monkey, when another one of your friends takes a chunk out of me.”
Tobias’ face is immediately severe with anger, “Would it kill you to be thankful?”
“Thankful?” I laugh, unable to help myself, as I get to my feet to meet his eyes, “Are you kidding me? I asked you, no, pleaded you to kill me. You didn’t. Instead, you made me linger here. Then, when I took your advice and just did it myself, you saved me yet again. Then, you send me to your hypnotist of a drinking buddy and my neck is nearly chewed through! So, don’t tell me to be thankful, when all you’ve done is continuously fuck up the one thing I’ve asked of you!”
“I’m trying to save your life.” He growls.
My mouth falls open and my eyes go wide, as his words echo through my mind. It makes as much sense as it makes no sense, whatsoever. Tobias suddenly swears lowly under his breath and turns away from me. I slowly sink back down to the edge of my bed and let myself process this. Yeah, it still makes zero sense.
He wants to keep me alive? Why? What makes me so special compared to the many he’s killed? He is an angel of death, a murderer for survival and yet he feels pity enough to think I need to be saved? If anything, I need to be put out of my misery. Tears starts escaping from my eyes as a thick haze of despondency starts to wrap around me. It was never going to be easy, not with him, not this way.