Kallias dropped her hand and pulled a small set of keys out of his pocket. He pressed a button, and the car beeped twice, its headlights flashing in unison with the sound. “No, we’re stealing it. I just happen to have the keys for it.”
She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. “It’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?”
“What? This?” Kallias laughed as he left her on the passenger’s side and rounded the car toward the driver’s side. “It’s practical. It blends in.”
“My 1984 Buick is practical,” Rose muttered. “This is excessive.”
He leaned forward against the car, toward her, both arms resting casually over the roof of the car. “If you think this is excessive, I can’t wait to hear your reaction when you see Erik’s car,” he laughed. “Erik doesn’t do anything practical.”
Rose opened her mouth to reply, but she stopped as she noticed Kallias suddenly straighten, his nostrils flaring. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
He turned toward the man leaning against the gray car and squinted, as if he were concentrating on something. Suddenly, he spun back toward her and stepped away from the car, his brown eyes widening in alarm. That is when Rose realized that he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at someone behind her.
“Rose, get in the car,” Kallias demanded urgently. “Now.”
Rose suddenly felt a delicate hand curl around her shoulder. A thin female body pressed against her back. “I have to admit. You do smell amazing,” a woman murmured in her ear, her voice laced with a heavy Spanish accent.
Rose spun around to find a woman standing behind her. Her eyes widened as she took in the woman’s appearance. The woman was easily the most attractive woman Rose had ever seen, more attractive than any model or actress, and just as attractive as Kallias and Theron. The woman was tall and slim, though not quite as tall as Rose. She wore a black satin dress that clung closely to her thin figure, drawing attention to every slight curve of her body. Her shiny black hair framed her face, hanging just past her chin, and the woman’s flawless bronze complexion practically glowed under the streetlights. The woman smiled at her.
“Oh,” Rose said awkwardly. “You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”
The woman offered her a wide, dazzling smile, complete with fangs.
“Walk away, Sofia,” Kallias warned. “This is not the place or the time.”
The woman laughed sweetly, “For what? A conversation?”
Rose stepped back cautiously, her back colliding with the car behind her.
The woman stepped forward, cornering her. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
Before Rose could think of a response, the vampire was suddenly thrown back as Kallias put himself in between the seductive vampire and Rose.
Sofia pulled herself back to her feet, straightening her dress. “Relax, Kallias,” she cooed, a smile curving at her lips. “There’s no need to cause a scene.”
“Don’t do this, Sofia,” he warned, scowling at the veiled threat.
Sofia closed the space between them. She pushed a strand of sleek black hair out of her face and smiled seductively at him. “Hand your pretty little girlfriend over, and I’ll do whatever you want. And I do mean whatever you want.”
“I think you’re confusing me for Erik. That doesn’t work on me,” Kallias said. He leaned closer to her. “I’d have to actually want you for that to work.”
Sofia’s smile faded, and an inhuman snarl sounded from her throat.
Kallias straightened. “Rose, get in the car,” he repeated. “Hurry.”
The man leaning against the gray car suddenly started to approach them, hesitantly. “Hey, Sofia, is everything okay?” he yelled. “Should I call the police?”
All three of them turned to look at the unsuspecting human, and he froze, watching Kallias nervously. A smile curved at Sofia’s lips, and then, before anyone realized what was happening, Sofia raced toward the man, grabbed his head, and twisted, snapping his neck. The human man collapsed onto the pavement, unmoving, and Sofia turned back toward Kallias and smiled.
“Oh, by the way, you were right,” Sofia said. “I am killing humans now.”
Kallias glanced back at Rose. “In the car. Now,” he urged.
Rose was too shocked to speak, her eyes wide as she gaped at the man who lay motionless on the pavement. “Please tell me that guy’s not dead.”
“Rose,” Kallias said anxiously, “I need you to get in the car.”
She looked at him, worried by the urgency she heard in his voice. She opened the passenger door and slid inside the car. Kallias slammed the car door closed behind her before she’d even finished sitting down. She glanced at them through the window, watching as Sofia rushed toward her. Kallias wrapped one hand around Sofia’s arm and slung her, sending her halfway across the parking lot. The vampire’s body slammed into the pavement and slid back several feet. Rose heard the driver’s door open as she watched the vampire through the windshield, and she glanced over to find Kallias sliding into the driver’s seat. He shoved the key into the ignition, staring straight ahead at the unmoving vampire.
“What about the man?” Rose asked. “We have to help him.”
Kallias sighed as he cranked the car. “He’s dead, Rose.”
Her throat felt tight. “Surely, there’s something we can do.”
Kallias watched as Sofia finally climbed back to her feet. He knew she was injured. He could smell the blood. “There’s nothing we can do. He is dead.”
“But,” she said quietly, her voice soft and sad, “it’s not right.”
He sighed. He didn’t look at her. His gaze remained on the vampire halfway across the parking lot from them. But his eyes softened. “You can’t save everyone, Rose. That’s something you need to learn sooner, rather than later.”
“And if I choose not to accept that?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
As Sofia began to approach the car with a noticeable limp, Kallias shifted the car into reverse. “The darkness inside of you will eat you alive,” he muttered.
Rose frowned at him, but before she could respond, she heard the vampire’s voice again. She leaned forward, watching through the windshield, as Sofia approached the car with a torn dress and cuts and scrapes all over her body.
“You think you’re safe inside your car?” Sofia yelled. “I’ll just chase you.”
“You’re welcome to try,” Kallias said, not even bothering to yell.
Rose turned toward him. “Who is she?” she whispered.
“Sofia Pérez,” he answered, “a 347-year-old vampire from León, Spain.”
Rose glanced back at the approaching vampire. “She’s gorgeous.”
Kallias raised an eyebrow at her, the corners of his lips twitching.
“Objectively,” Rose added quickly. “I meant: Objectively, she’s gorgeous.”
“Right,” he chuckled. “Have you fastened your seatbelt?”
“Of course,” she muttered. “Why?”
“You’ll see,” Kallias said, and then, he slammed his foot on the gas.
The car jolted backward so fast that it took Rose’s breath. As the car sped backward, Sofia began to run toward them, but then, before she could reach them, Kallias suddenly slammed his foot on the brakes, causing the car to jerk to a screeching stop. Unable to stop in time, Sofia slammed into the car, her body falling forward onto the hood of the car. Before Rose could even recover from the abrupt, terrifyingly fast stop, Kallias jerked the gear shift forward, shifting the car back into drive, and slammed his foot on the gas again. Sofia fell backward onto the pavement as the car shifted, and before she could even move, the car jolted forward and ran over her. The car continued speeding forward until Kallias jerked the steering wheel, causing the car to spin around in a complete circle, and then, before Rose could say anything or even fully process what had just happened, he slammed on the gas again and ran over the vampire a second time.
This time, he turned the steering wheel and continued forward, and
with a crash that Rose felt all the way into her bones, the car jumped the barrier, skidded down the hill and onto the Interstate without even slowing.
Kallias was laughing. “I’d like to see her chase us now.”
12
Grocery Stores Don’t Sell Humans
“Are you insane?!!!” Rose screamed as soon as she could breathe again.
Kallias continued to speed down the Interstate. He seemed completely unfazed by the ridiculous daredevil stunt he’d just pulled. He glanced at her, laughing as he saw the look of pure horror on her face. “Just a little.”
“You just ran over someone!” she snapped, clutching the door handle.
He leaned back against the leather seat, his arm relaxed on the steering wheel. He looked more like someone who had been driving on the Interstate for several long, boring hours than someone who had squashed a vampire under his car a few moments ago. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but she was trying to kill you.”
She just stared at him in disbelief. “So…is she…dead now?”
“I doubt it.” He snorted, “But she’s probably not gorgeous anymore.”
Her jaw dropped. “Oh my goodness. You’re so…so…”
“So what?” he interrupted, his smile suddenly fading. His hand tightened around the steering wheel. “Violent? Brutal? Animalistic? Monstrous?” he offered. All the humor that had been in his expression a moment ago was gone, replaced by bitterness and anger. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Do I not act human enough for you? I am a vampire, Rose, in case you’ve forgotten. A monster. And if I weren’t, you’d be dead by now. You don’t have to like the way I do things. You don’t have to agree with it. You don’t even have to understand it. But don’t expect me to act human for you. What I am is the reason that you are alive.”
Rose stared at him, biting her lip, as she tried to think of a response that wouldn’t make the situation worse. She’d obviously hit a nerve. “I would never ask you to pretend to be something you’re not,” she corrected after a few moments of deafening silence. “And I would also never call you a monster.”
“Why not?” he asked quietly. “It’s what I am.”
“I don’t think so,” she told him. He glanced at her, his brows furrowed. “I’m sorry if I insulted you,” she sighed. “This is all just…a lot to process.”
“You didn’t insult me,” he mumbled. “I just… I assumed you would.”
Rose stared at him. “You hate what you are, don’t you?”
He didn’t look at her. “Wouldn’t you?” he asked. “If you woke up as this? If you suddenly wanted to bite people? To drink their blood? To kill?”
“Maybe,” she said softly. “Or maybe not. I don’t know.”
Kallias flexed his fingers, forcing his grip on the steering wheel to relax. He glanced briefly at the rear view mirror and then swerved into the left lane.
“Someone must have seen you run over that vampire,” Rose realized, suddenly worried. “Someone will call the police. We’ll get arrested.”
“If anyone saw that, and that is a big if,” he said, scowling at her, as if she were crazy. “Do you honestly think anyone will believe that someone ran over a woman twice, and then, the woman just got up and walked away afterward?”
Her eyes widened. “You think she got up and walked away after that?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “She may have crawled.”
“Vampires can’t be that resilient,” she argued.
“As long as we feed, the healing is practically instantaneous,” he told her. “Sofia usually feeds once or twice a night. As a matter of fact, she’d fed once already tonight. So, she will feed again, and then, she’ll be fine. Unfortunately.”
She frowned curiously. “How do you know she’s already fed?”
“I could smell the blood on her breath,” he answered.
“Oh,” she mumbled, grimacing. “What about the hotel’s cameras?”
“They’re faulty on that side of the parking lot,” he said. “I checked.”
“It’s so comforting to know that I’m riding in a car with someone who prepares ahead of time to run over people,” Rose muttered sarcastically.
Kallias laughed. He glanced at the rear view mirror and switched lanes again, pressing down on the gas pedal to pass an entire line of fast-moving cars.
The swerving of the car jolted Rose’s body sideways in the seat, making her suddenly aware of how fast they were moving. She leaned forward to look at the speedometer on the dashboard, and her jaw dropped. “You’re speeding!”
“Yes,” he said slowly, frowning at her.
She glared at him. “Speeding is against the law.”
“Human law,” he corrected. “I’m a vampire.”
“It has nothing to do with species!” she snapped. “It has to do with the fact that you’re driving a car on a road, and if you crash the car, we will die!”
“You might die, but I’d survive,” he corrected.
“Kallias! You’re driving one hundred miles per hour!” she realized.
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t be dramatic. I’m only going ninety-nine miles per hour,” he complained. He pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal and flashed a playful grin at her. “Now, I’m going one hundred miles per hour.”
“You need to slow down before you kill us,” Rose insisted.
“I’m not sure you’re qualified to give me driving advice,” Kallias said.
“Oh, right, because you drive so well,” she said sarcastically. “In the few minutes that I’ve been in the car with you, you’ve run over someone twice, jumped a barricade and entered the Interstate in the most dangerous way possible, and now, you’re so far over the speed limit that reckless driving isn’t even a suitable description anymore! Where did you learn to drive? The depths of Hell?!”
“Close,” he chuckled. “The backstreets of Harlem in 1917.”
“Did you run over the people there, too?” she sassed.
He laughed, “Only a few.”
She glanced back at the speedometer. “Do you plan on slowing down?”
“No,” he told her.
“Oh, this is just great,” she muttered sarcastically, narrowing her eyes at him. “I survived all of those vampire attacks just so I can die in a car wreck.”
He laughed at her pessimism. “Relax. I’ve been driving for almost a hundred years, and I have never wrecked a vehicle. I am a very skilled driver.”
“So skilled you run over people,” Rose added irritably.
He shrugged. “I’d like to see you try it.”
Rose watched as his eyes darted toward the rear view mirror again. She leaned over and checked the mirrors as well, but she saw only blackness behind them for miles. They’d left all of the other cars behind. She looked back at him. “You’re not thinking that Theron is behind us, are you?” she asked worriedly.
“I doubt it,” he said seriously. “Even if he has already found Sofia, he won’t be able to chase us. Not immediately, anyway. He’ll need to return to his car, if he even has one. By the time he does that, we’ll have crossed the state line.”
“He could just hotwire one of the cars in the parking lot,” she suggested.
He raised an eyebrow. “You think Theron knows how to hotwire a car?”
She shrugged. “It’s not hard.”
He stared at her, his eyes wide.
“I haven’t stolen a car before, if that’s what you’re thinking!” she snapped when she saw the look he was giving her. “But my brother, on the other hand…”
“You have a brother?” Kallias asked suddenly. “Where is he?”
Rose frowned at his suddenly panicked tone. “He’s…in prison. Why?”
“Oh,” he said, nodding. “Good.”
She scowled at him. “It’s good that my brother’s in prison?”
He sighed, “If a vampire knows your scent, he can sniff out a family member of yours. Your blood would smell similar. If Theron had access to your brother, he’
d use him to get to you. But if your brother’s in prison, he’ll be fine.”
“No one knows about him,” she said, “except Audrey and Owen.”
He frowned curiously at that. “Why? Are you ashamed of him?”
“No,” she said quickly. She sighed. “It’s just…people look at me differently when they know my past. It’s like they think mistakes are genetic.”
He nodded in understanding. “Why is he in prison?”
“Drug possession,” she answered. “He’s lucky, really. Zach was involved in all sorts of stuff. Gang violence. Stealing. Selling drugs. He was just lucky that when he did get caught doing something, it was something relatively minor.”
“How long is his sentence?” he asked curiously.
“Seven years,” she said. “He’s been in there for five. So, two more.”
“Do you have any other siblings?” Kallias asked.
She shook her head. “Nope. Just Zach.”
“What about your parents?” he asked, still concerned.
“My mom’s dead,” she said numbly.
He froze. “Was she the one that you found?” he asked hesitantly.
“The one I found?” she repeated bewilderedly.
He exhaled slowly, his fingers drumming nervously on the steering wheel. “The night that Theron killed your teacher,” he sighed, obviously not sure about whether or not he should ask, “I saw something in your mind. A memory. There was a corpse lying in the floor of a living room. Was that your mother?”
She stared straight ahead, her expression blank. “Yeah.”
His eyes softened with sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
“When I found her, she’d already been dead for three days,” she said, still staring blankly at the windshield. “I’d moved away for college, and Zach was in prison. She wasn’t answering my calls, but that wasn’t exactly unusual. After my last class that Friday, I drove home just to check. I should’ve checked sooner.”
He glanced at her. “How did she die?”
“Drug overdose,” she said. “Accidental.”
Kallias watched the road, his brows creased. “You were alone?”
The Stone of the Eklektos Page 32