Zero

by R. E. Carr

  “Ready for a night out on the town, hot mama?” Maria asked.

  Paige rolled her eyes. “Mom,” she sighed. “Has Toy been rubbing off on you?”

  “We all need to get our minds off . . . well, everything. I can’t do much around here, but I can help you relax,” Maria explained. “Toy is taking us to a hole-in-the-wall with live music and great chicken. I can’t think of any experience more Nashville than that.”

  “I feel like I should be wearing cowboy boots,” Paige said as she stepped out onto the landing. Both Toy and Steve waited by the railing.

  “You won’t believe this place,” Toy said, leading them to her truck. “It’s like legit honkey-tonk, as opposed to most of the poser places on Broadway . . .”

  Toy went on for a while, talking about the ambiance and the amazing food with Maria in the front, while Paige and Steve lounged in the back seat of the truck. The vampire was living dangerously in a T-shirt and sunscreen, and he had somehow managed to find a New York Yankees cap this far south.

  “So how come Mrs. DeMarco isn’t joining us this evening?” Paige asked.

  “Well, let’s think about it, Pip. I’m going out to eat large quantities of meat with my granddaughter and my great-granddaughter. Do we even need to mention the part where you totally banged my vegetarian wife’s long-lost brother? Can you think of anything more potentially awkward?”

  “Good point. You’re also wearing a Yankees cap.”

  “An unforgivable sin, I know. The second I found one, I had to get it. I ordered the guy behind the counter to give it to me . . . and he just did!”

  “So, you have the whammy voice now too? You’re not freaked out?” Paige asked softly.

  “Freaked out? No . . . I don’t think that I am. In fact, I feel a lot more confident now than I ever did before. It’s almost intoxicating.”

  “You look scarily smug when you say that, Steve. Does this mean that you’ve got all your mojo back?”

  “That is none of your business, young lady,” he replied, giving her his best impression of an old man.

  “Next thing you know you’ll be telling me to get off your lawn,” Paige said, bursting into giggles.

  “What are you two getting into back there?” Toy asked. Both DeMarcos in the back seat could see Toy’s raised brow in the rearview mirror.

  “Just mocking Steve,” Paige replied.

  “Oh?” Toy asked. “Why now?”

  “He used his new fantastic vampire powers . . . to get a Yankees hat,” Paige smirked.

  “Dude, why not a Mercedes?” Toy asked.

  “That would be stealing,” Steve protested.

  “And the cap wasn’t? Not only was it stealing, it was kinda lame,” Maria chimed in.

  “I gave the guy twenty bucks for it,” Steve muttered.

  “What was that?” Toy asked.

  “I said I gave the guy twenty bucks for it!” Steve snapped. “I think Georgia’s self-righteousness may be rubbing off on me. Make a snarky comment, any of you, and I will use the whammy voice.”

  “Promises, promises, big boy,” Toy cooed, hunting for parking. “Oh yeah, I meant to tell you - I found a theory that might just explain what happened.”

  “You? Found a theory?” Steve asked, back to his haughty vampire voice.

  “Yeah, while you guys deal with drama, I just putter along and do my job,” Toy explained. “And here we are! It’s off the beaten path but totally worth it.”

  Paige needed a moment to steady herself as the heady aroma of fried chicken wafted into the truck. Even Steve salivated at the delectable smell. Maria and Toy popped open their doors the second the truck stopped. It was only after they were all seated inside and had ordered half the menu that Toy continued with her theorizing.

  “OK, so correct me if I’m wrong, but most bloodsu—err most vampires don’t drink other vampire blood, right?” Toy asked. “It’s like a sexual thing.”

  Paige’s eyes widened, as her mom leaned over and asked, “A sexual thing?”

  Both Steve and Paige paled slightly. Steve stammered for words as his own granddaughter looked at him for an explanation of vampire sex. “It’s not always sex,” he finally choked out. “We give blood to influence humans and to heal them. It’s a different type of, um, fluid mixed in the blood, and a lot more of it when it’s sex.”

  “Oh, that’s how it works,” Maria said, now looking at Paige. Paige blushed.

  “I did not have sex with Arthur,” Steve said, just in time for the waitress to plop his grilled chicken in front of him. She gave him a little wink. Once the waitress left, Toy continued.

  “But you did have his blood inside you, right?”

  All eyes turned to Steve. He nodded reluctantly.

  “Maybe you have the ability to, like, absorb other vampires’ powers - like Rogue, or that cute guy on Heroes,” Toy said, suddenly excited. “Wouldn’t that be awesome? Maybe we could give you some of Lorcan’s blood and you’ll be all immune too.”

  “It doesn’t work that way.” Steve shook his head. “None of it works that way.”

  “Oh, really?” Toy countered. “Well, we found mention of a vampire known as ‘the Beast of a Thousand Names’, who was forbidden to drink the blood of others because they feared that he could steal their soul. As it turned out, what that meant was he could drink the blood of others, and slowly learn their abilities if he watched them perform them. He was a mimic.”

  “Steve, isn’t your vampire father nicknamed the Beast . . . one of his many names?” Maria asked.

  “I’m sure he would have mentioned if he had the ability to . . . go Rogue, or whatever you called it,” Steve said. “I mean he’d warn me . . . or something. I wouldn’t just hear about it from breaking into his library.”

  “Well, have you drunk any other vampire’s blood?” Maria asked.

  Steve became intensely focused on his chicken. The three women exchanged glances. Maria prodded again, “You haven’t drunk any other vampire’s blood . . . have you?”

  Steve pulled his cap lower to cover his eyes. Maria pursed her lips.

  “Does that make you a vampire virgin?” Paige blurted out. Toy didn’t bother stifling her laughter. Steve gnashed his fangs against a particularly large chunk of chicken.

  “Don’t you have the same ability as your mom?” Toy asked. “The Steve thing you do might not really be yours. Maybe you copied it.”

  “I did not sleep with my mom!” Steve spluttered, at the very moment the waitress came to fill their water glasses. She gave Steve an even more wide-eyed look this time.

  “It’s not what you think,” Steve said quickly.

  “Oh, I don’t judge, sugar,” the waitress said. She then set a fresh Shirley Temple in front of Paige. “This is for you, hon. There is a dream of a hunk at the bar, and he asked to buy you a drink.”

  “Me?” Paige asked. She peered around the waitress and looked for her mysterious benefactor, but couldn’t get a good look at the bar.

  “He said the cute little thing under the Corona sign,” their waitress replied.

  “Obviously he meant me,” Toy said reaching for the drink.

  Paige snatched it back and pointed to the neon bottle right over her head. She sniffed it once and only detected cherry syrup and lemon lime soda. The waitress gave a little nod over her left shoulder. “He’s sitting three down from the jukebox on this side if you want to thank him - and believe me, you want to thank him.”

  Once the waitress left, Paige got a better view. All she could see was spiky medium-brown hair and the back of a concert T-shirt. She frowned and sniffed at her drink again.

  “Someone has a secret admirer,” Toy said. “At least someone at this table isn’t a virgin.”

  “Seriously? I’m sitting with my granddaughter and great-granddaughter. How do you think that happened?” Steve complained.

  “Vampire virgin,” Toy fired back.

  “Nothing good ever happens when a guy buys me a drink,” Paige said,
her stomach turning.

  “Come on, it’s nice to have a little attention, isn’t it?” Maria said. “This is our fun night.”

  “The magic pussy strikes again,” Toy muttered. Paige kicked her under the table. Toy nudged her back. “Your mom is right, it’s a fun night. You might as well see if the guy who bought you a drink is hot.”

  “I don’t care if he’s hot—” Paige started.

  “I kinda do,” Maria said. Toy nodded as well. “I’d like to know who has an interest in my baby.”

  “Fine, I’ll eat my chicken and then I’ll thank him. After all, it’s only polite,” Paige muttered.

  Toy craned her head around and let out a little squeal. She then leaned back over to Paige, almost hyperventilating. “Paige . . . oh lordy . . . Shorty, I think Channing Tatum just bought you a drink.”

  “I doubt that,” Paige scoffed.

  “You’re right - it’s his hotter brother, or second cousin, or something. I just got green eyes and a jawline you could cut glass with.”

  Paige dropped her chicken. Toy cringed a little. “Yeah, probably not the best features to remind you of . . . but he is pretty damn hot. He’s not as Irish-looking as you-know-who. His hair is lighter and he’s wearing cowboy boots.”

  “I’ll go say thank you, and tell him I’m not interested. Will that entertain you all?”

  “I don’t smell any bloodsuckers in the room, other than the Hundred-Year-Old Virgin,” Toy added. Steve snarled.

  “It’s a wonder you can smell anything other than cigarettes and breath mints,” Paige muttered under her breath. She did sniff the air, but could hardly pick up anything but the almost-overpowering mix of chicken and alcohol.

  “Shorty, we’re all right here if you need us,” Toy said with a smile. “Come on, live a little. Don’t think the bag is going anywhere—”

  “Low blow,” Paige sighed. “I have to go to the bathroom anyway. I’ll think about stopping by.”

  With that, Paige excused herself and wandered up to the bar. She looked back once to see her mom smiling, while Toy and Steve gave her stupid grins and thumbs-up. Paige rolled her eyes. “This is so stupid and pointless,” she muttered, as she approached the stranger at stool number three. She raised a brow at his Rush world tour T-shirt mixed with black cowboy boots and a chain around his neck. Her dismay turned to pleasant surprise as he turned around and gave her a smile bright enough to drown out the neon.

  “Well, howdy,” he said, slightly cocking his head. “I was hoping you’d stop by.”

  Paige put on her best apologetic smile. “Hi. I, um, really appreciate the drink, but—”

  “Oh man, don’t tell me that dude in the Yankees hat is with you? Because honestly, I get a kinda douchey Guido vibe off him,” he said.

  “Oh god no,” Paige said, a little too fast. “He’s . . . family. We’re not—”

  The stranger let out a sigh of relief. “My name’s Jon, short for Jonathan, and I’m not normally this forward, but when I saw you sitting there, looking kinda forlorn and out of place, I just had to try and get your attention, you know.”

  “I’m Paige, and I’m sorry, but I’m . . . taken.”

  “Oh man, well the good ones always are. He’s a lucky dude.”

  “Not as lucky as you think. Anyway, thanks for making me feel special. Sorry that the timing is bad,” Paige said, giving him a little wave.

  “Oh, you are special, no doubt about that,” Jonathan replied. “I guess I’ll see you.”

  “You know, my friend Toy is single, and she thinks you’re yummy,” Paige said, as she looked around for the bathrooms. “Maybe you’d have better luck buying her a round.”

  He gave her a little wave, and Paige did sigh a little as she took in the chiseled features and bright green eyes. She shook her head and ducked into the hall. “You’re just looking for similarities, Paige,” she chided herself. “You’re just being—”

  “What? Do I remind you of someone?”

  Paige whirled around and saw Jonathan only a few steps behind her. Her heartbeat quickened as she picked up a strange sweet scent now coming from the back door near the toilets. Jonathan took a step toward her.

  “I think you should step outside, Miss,” he said, pointing to the door. His other hand remained hidden between his back and the wall.

  “All I have to do is scream,” Paige said, sliding her own hand behind her back so she could pop out her claws.

  “You scream, and your little entourage doesn’t make it out of the building. Sure, the vampire might make it, but I don’t think the other two will,” he said, his voice lower. “Now if you walk out that door, we can talk, Paige DeMarco. Do you really want this to get ugly?”

  “Talk, huh?” she asked.

  “Talk,” he replied, nodding.

  “If you really want to talk, we walk out the front, or we sit at the bar. I can smell your bloodsucker backup out there,” Paige growled. Jonathan motioned toward the front.

  “Fine, out the front - but no funny business,” he acquiesced. “I’ve been warned about you.”

  The pair of them walked slowly through the crowded restaurant. Paige plastered a smile on her face as she caught Toy’s eye, then winked at her and nodded toward Jonathan, who had now wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She could feel something sharp just poking her arm.

  “Please figure it out, Toy,” she prayed under her breath. It was Steve, however, that seemed concerned as soon as he saw Jonathan’s profile. He started to stand, but Toy waved him back.

  “Remember, no funny business,” he growled in her ear. At this distance her sensitive nose detected a mix of the sweet aroma of vampire blood and something far more terrifyingly familiar. Her blood ran cold.

  “You’re not—” Paige began, then trailed off as they passed through a crowd to get out to the parking lot. They ended up settling down on the edge of a planter, close enough to be seen by the folks waiting to be seated, but far enough to converse without really being overheard. Once she was sure the speaker overhead was obscuring their words, Paige finished with, “—human.”

  “No, I don’t think I am anymore,” Jonathan confessed. “I should be dead, but I’m not; and I have very specific orders.”

  “What’s that?”

  “To kill you, Paige DeMarco.”

  “At least you bought me a drink first,” Paige said ruefully, mentally surveying her options. Jonathan kept his arm around her, and she could just see a needle. “Ketamine?”

  He laughed a little. “Naw, this is some horse tranquilizer I got from a nearby vet, but it should do the job.”

  “It won’t kill me. That doesn’t exactly fit your orders, does it?”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t. You see, I’ve been around vamps my whole damn life. They’ve taken everything from me, but the only upside is that the more they mess with your head, the more you can fight them,” he said, never losing eye contact. “I have this running mantra in my head to shoot you dead, but I don’t want to listen to that right now. Don’t change that, babe.”

  Paige nodded. “You said you should be dead. What happened?”

  “A crazy, mutated bitch snapped my spine, yet here I am, walking. Kinda funny, right?” He turned his left arm over so she could see a strange circular scar on his forearm. “I had a bunch of glass in here once. All my other cuts healed over like nothing had ever happened, but this one stayed. I woke up on a slab with one thought in my head – that I had to hunt you down, and I know that’s a bloodsucker messing with my brain.”

  “Anything else weird happen? I mean not that it’s not enough,” Paige asked. “You know, maybe with your teeth?”

  “You mean like how all my goddamn teeth have started falling out one by one? Or how I can smell trash a block away? I’m feeling angry at the tiniest things, and damn . . .” He trailed off, breaking eye contact with Paige. “What are you doing to me, woman?”

  “Are you sure no one . . . bit you?” Paige asked. “I think you might b
e infected . . . with the same virus that I have.”

  “You mean I’m . . .”

  “I think you’re a werewolf, Jonathan,” Paige said softly. “But we can help you. I have friends who can help you. You’re going to change soon, and if you’re on your own—”

  “A werewolf, really? I thought only freaks became those . . . legends and freaks.”

  “And children of anti-vaxxers,” Paige added. “I can thank my dad for this. Please, let us help you. It’s about to be a whole new world of crazy for you.”

  Jonathan winced. He nodded his head as if in time with some unknown tune. “No, I’m not listening to you right now,” he muttered. For the briefest of moments, his bright green irises seemed bigger and more luminous. “Look, I know I need help, and I can’t trust the damn bloodsuckers,” he finally choked out. “Damn it, what is with you?”

  “What?” Paige asked as Jonathan started to shake. The syringe dropped to the pavement and he recoiled from Paige as if she were a snake. He buried his face in his hands, a low guttural sound building in his chest.

  “Oh shit,” Paige said as she saw the blood starting to trickle from his fingertips. She whipped out her phone and had just enough time to text “Help” to Toy before Jonathan grabbed her roughly and began dragging her around the side. Paige tried to push back, but came to the startling revelation that this Jonathan was actually stronger than her. Paige looked desperately for anyone in the parking lot, but the only people close by seemed lost in their phones.

  “Don’t scream,” Jonathan growled, his voice now a full octave lower. He led her to an imposing black SUV in the far corner of the lot and tossed her against the tailgate with ease. Paige instinctively grabbed her belly.

  “Please,” she begged. “Let me help—”

  “You can’t help me!” he barked. “No one can.”

  His hands curled into clawed fists as talons burst from under his nails. Before Paige could blink, those same talons wrapped around her throat and shoved her against the back of the SUV. Jonathan leaned in and snarled, his teeth now elongated and his eyes inhuman. Paige bared her own canines. He leaned in closer, his breath on Paige’s lips now, but he still didn’t squeeze. Before he could lean in any closer, a new set of footsteps echoed in the dark corner of the back lot.