Vampires Bite: Book 2 (When, Were, & Howl Series)

by Jeanette Raleigh

  Francis spent the night curled up in the back of his van in the parking lot. He always chose the stores that stayed open all-night so that his car wouldn’t be the only one. Tossing and turning, Francis pondered and discarded a thousand ideas, a thousand ways out. Vampires didn’t really sleep anyway, but Francis liked to zone out on occasion.

  In one reckless night, Garan had destroyed years of planning and hard work. Francis suffered years of hunger, decades without blood so that the community would trust him. Now his real estate agent looked at him with distrust, and Garan blabbed to too many creatures, supernatural and otherwise, about Francis. Now, he was known. Never a good thing for someone trying to keep a low profile.

  Francis rolled again, punching the soft pillow and pulling it forward as if that would cure his restlessness. I will kill Garan if I see him again. As rancid as he is, I will suck him dry.

  Chapter 17

  Ali changed back to human the next morning after some ancient doctor with a short mustache removed her bandages and the cone, thank goodness.

  Ali wanted Travis. When Travis touched her, the gentleness in his hands comforted her. This doctor, okay, so he was somewhat gentle and actually removed her bandages carefully, but he wasn’t Travis. That was this new doctor’s only flaw. But it was a big one.

  Given something to help her sleep, Ali drifted into oblivion, dreaming of Travis while another team of doctors and nurses set her arms and legs in human casts.

  The world dark and blurry, Ali slurred, “But what if I need to change back? You should use the other kind of bandages.”

  A disembodied voice answered Ali whose eyes were closing and opening. “You won’t be able to change out of human form for six weeks. Don’t worry. We can give you something for the full moon.”

  When Ali heard the words, she wanted to cry. Six weeks. That was a lifetime to a raccoon.

  Bored and restless, Ali actually greeted Francis with a broad and cheerful smile when he showed up at the hospital with a bouquet of yellow and pink-dyed daisies with baby’s breath and ferns. Grocery store flowers, but thoughtful just the same.

  “I’m really sorry about what happened.” Francis stuttered once on “sorry” and fumbled, dropping the flowers.

  “Are you okay?” Ali studied Francis with curiosity, lifting her head from the pillow to watch him lift the flowers from the linoleum.

  “Rough week. Yours has been worse, I think.”

  Ali grinned and even in human form, the raccoon charisma and mischievousness glowed in her eyes. “You didn’t come here for my health. Let me guess, a convenient excuse to stop by the supply closet and take a drink?”

  Daisies flopping about in cold hands, Francis opened his mouth, closed it again, and shook his head. In the fluorescent lights, he looked worse than usual, almost like cheap plastic. “No, I…hmmm…”

  “Yeah.” Ali’s sarcasm would have played better if she hadn’t winced at the end.

  “Look, your friends are in bigger trouble than you can imagine. I’ll take the amulet to the guy who wants it back, and he’ll leave you alone.”

  “Fine. It’s in my car, the silver Ford mustang parked in Joy’s Doughnuts. If you go at night when the other cars are gone, you can’t miss it. We stuffed the amulet under the passenger side’s seat. Just don’t break my window. I have a magnetic key holder under the back wheel just in case.” She almost told him that Rob's own magnetic holder gave her the idea.

  Francis laughed, not exactly a friendly laugh. “You expect me to believe that you would tell me all this? Maybe you don’t understand the kind of trouble we’re in. Please.”

  “Seriously. I told you the truth. I stole it on a lark, just a joke on some jerk because he pissed me off. If I’d known the danger to Rob or Jen, believe me, I would have left it alone, or thrown it in the river.”

  Francis asked a few more questions, trying to root out what he thought might be the truth. By the time he left, Ali’s emotions were boiling, leaving her restless and itchy with three casts to contend with.

  After Francis left, even the television couldn’t quell the restless irritation Ali felt.

  That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. There's no way I'm going to last six weeks as a human anyway.

  Pulling all of her irritation into a ball of energy, Ali shifted back into a raccoon, keeping her paws as still as possible. Pulling furry paws out of the cast, Ali felt like a hermit crab, leaving hard fully-formed shells and a bit of fur behind.

  Crawling along the bed, Ali realized the damage a leap would do. Biting at the cushions, she pushed them one by one onto the floor to help protect her fall and with teeth firmly clenched on the blanket, used the edge to swing to the floor. Of course, she fell with an oomph on her stomach and now her jaw hurt, too. But at least she was on the floor without using her paws too much.

  Ali hobbled across the room, trying not to favor any leg too much and finding all but the one hurt terribly. Dumb idea. You’ll probably rebreak everything. Go back to bed.

  Ali never listened to her cautious voice. Lingering at the doorway, Ali waited until the hall quieted before making her move. Two of the nurses were at the main station chatting. Weaving under a line of the chairs in the lobby, Ali waited at the corner for the elevator to open. When the doors swooshed, Ali ducked through them, hoping to find it empty.

  She startled a woman who clutched her purse and jumped back. “Good Lord. My husband’s already in here with a heart attack. You don’t have to give me one, too.”

  Ali hung her head contritely and then looked up and tilted her head with her best version of an animal smile.

  The woman wore thick glasses and tear-tracks glistened on skin the gentle color of cinnamon. From the handkerchief in her hand and the way she forced a smile Ali knew she’d been crying. “I suppose you come from the were ward. You look wretched but then I suppose I’m not at my best either. What floor would you like?”

  Ali lifted a single paw.

  “Ground floor? To get out?”

  Ali nodded.

  “Tell you what. I’m going to the 8th floor. My Ned might be a were-wolf but it was his human self that collapsed. When he wakes up…He has to wake up…” The woman’s voice broke and she wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. “I’ll hit the button for you when we get there.”

  Ali wished that were-magic could heal. She gave another nod and wiggled her tail a bit in what she hoped would be interpreted as a thank you. Watching the woman leave the elevator, Ali sent up a small prayer for her husband.

  On the way down, a mother and her son whose grumpy frown matched an arm in a sling entered on the fourth floor. “Hey, look, Mom.”

  “Hush, some of the smaller creatures can change outside of the moon cycle.”

  “Oh, that’s so cool. I wish I could change all the time.” Freckles dotted the boys cheeks and his hair flamed red.

  Ali sat quietly, hoping the rest of the way down would go quickly. A doctor or nurse would end the whole adventure.

  When Ali ran for the door in the entryway, at least one woman screamed and a hulking man tried to grab her. The pain seared her forelegs as she staggered through the automatic doors. I’m free!!!

  A heat wave gripped Spokane, dry heat, and the first blast of hot air felt inviting to Ali. She turned sharply at the corner, scampering along the wall of the building to avoid being followed.

  Sitting down in the shade of a maple tree, Ali watched a little girl in a wheelchair enjoying an afternoon stroll with her mom. The pair stopped at a fountain in the middle of a courtyard and the woman slumped onto the concrete bench circling the water and allowed her weariness to fade in the sunlight. At least, that’s how it looked to Ali whose own eyes were closing in her little hollow at the base of the tree. Curled up, no one would find her until she wanted them to. A perfect place to relax.

  The afternoon wore on and the day grew hotter. Ali looked with longing into the fountain. A splash of cool water or maybe a short swim would not go amiss. Ali waite
d until the courtyard was empty to make her move.

  Sneaking to the fountain was the easy part. Hefting herself up, most of the weight rested on her forepaws. Ali shook a little, pain sending shudders up her paws. EEEE, that hurt! Resting on the concrete bench for a minute, Ali waited for the throbbing to stop.

  The water gurgled with inviting splashes, and cheered by the cool spray, Ali slid into the water. For a moment, the world slipped away and the heat dissipated in sweet relief.

  Then Ali realized her mistake.

  Her paws stung with every movement, ached with the pressure needed just for one stroke. Her arms worked the water, the way a raccoon must to swim. And the pain required to keep afloat was unbearable.

  Ali labored back to the edge, unable to pull herself up. Calling for help, Ali scrabbled on the slick edge, but her paws gained no purchase. Searing pain traveled up and down her body. She sunk for a moment and took a lungful of water. She pushed one paw and then the other to keep her head up. Each movement jarred her senses. Ow, ow, ow, ow. Please someone help me.

  Think, Ali. No one is going to save you.

  Another lungful of water and Ali’s exhaustion seemed insurmountable. Her paws no longer had enough strength to keep her afloat. I’m going to die. Even while her body sunk into the water, her inner spirit felt a strange peace. Move Ali.

  She fought her way to the surface again, taking another lungful of air and called for help, sputtering and coughing, one paw touching the side of the fountain. So close. She just needed enough strength to pull herself back out. Struggling against the side, her paws slid slowly along the tile, unable to find purchase. Ali’s head slipped back under the water, and in a moment of clarity, Ali knew that she had no energy to drag herself out.

  Ali needed every spare moment and every bit of power to keep alive. The water tasted like chemicals and tickled her throat. Ali coughed. Her paws weren’t working. And without the movement of her paws, her fur pulled her down. Why couldn’t she make them move?

  Ali thrashed weakly in the fountain, her body slipping under the water one last time before a full lungful of water choked her. And just as suddenly, she was floating through the air. Not a near-death experience. Someone heard her cries for help.

  Ali felt the strong pair of hands carefully lay her on the concrete at the edge of the fountain, and felt heat on her back and a drip of water fall on her furry face. She coughed weakly.

  Her name. Ali heard her name and felt a shockingly cold circle of metal against her chest. She took a shuddering breath and felt herself pulled into those arms again. Travis. She smelled Travis and suddenly her body was being jarred. Why is he running? I’m fine.

  She wheezed, a large grin on her face. He smells so good. No, don't put me down. This is comfy.

  And then she was surrounded.

  Chapter 18

  Jen ran into St. Mary's, nearly tripping over an elderly man in a wheelchair. Tapping her feet on the elevator, Jen closed her eyes to calm herself. Finally the doors opened and she rushed to the reception area on the were floor.

  “I need to speak to Travis. He called about Ali.” Jen said, out of breath.

  “He’ll be right with you. Please take a seat.”

  One look at Travis and Jen knew that somehow Ali had wrangled the poor man into one of her adventures. Aside from the dark circles under his eyes, his scrubs were soaked on the front with splashes on the legs, the stethoscope swinging off-kilter

  “What happened?” Jen couldn’t pull off horrified. She knew Ali too well.

  “Your friend nearly drowned in the fountain. She’s okay. Would you talk to her? Once she is human again and we put the casts on her, she absolutely cannot change until the casts are off. The damage she did to herself in three hours.” Travis shrugged helplessly, his voice trailing off, but his eyes carried a wild fear that brought his animal nature to the surface. “I watched her go under that last time, and she relaxed in the water. Another few minutes and I would have been too late. I thought...I thought I was.”

  “She kind of gets to you, doesn’t she?” Jen took the doctor’s hand, thinking it odd that he was the one needing comfort. His hand was shaking.

  The doctor straightened himself. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

  “Can you put the casts on her as a raccoon?”

  “Well, yes, but that’s not very practical. She’ll need to be human to interact with others, go to work, live a normal life…”

  “She lost her job, so she doesn’t have anyplace to go at the moment.” Jen picked at a piece of lint on her jeans, staring off into the hallway. “When we were kids during the summers, Ali would go weeks in animal form. It drove her parents crazy. She loves life as a raccoon. I doubt she's gone a full day without spending some time in her animal form.”

  “Is that why she didn’t change? I thought maybe she’d rather drown than be naked in front of a crowd.”

  Jen bit her lip. “No, Ali forgets sometimes that she has an option to change back. She tries to solve her problems in raccoon form. And she was panicking.”

  “She wasn’t the only one.” The truth reflected painfully in Travis’ expression. He was smitten.

  “I’m sorry. I should have known how she’d react. Ali should stay in raccoon form. She can stay with me for a while.”

  “We’ll put the casts on her now, then. I’ll let you know when we’re done.”

  Jen left the hospital that day wondering if Ali would end up with a new beau. Travis certainly seemed to have an interest.

  * * *

  The next morning, Travis stopped outside Ali’s room. Walking into a patient’s room should be easy. He told himself that his attraction would fade once she left the hospital, that it was unprofessional to indulge in these feelings. After a moment of hesitation, Travis walked right by the room, reaching the end of the hall before turning back.

  From the start, her smell had drawn him, the gentle scent of woods and sunshine. But that was just curious interest. He really fell the moment he met the girl with piles of dark hair cascading around a pixie face. And to watch her nearly drown. He knew she was the raccoon in the water. He would recognize her in either form anywhere.

  His heart stopped when she went into the water that final time and didn’t come back up and even sprinting to her, he felt dead until her own heartbeat reached his ears through the stethoscope. So he had to see her. Just one more time.

  Ali’s eyes were open, and her paws splayed out in what must have been the only comfortable position she could take with her casts.

  Travis wanted to hold her hand. Human or raccoon with her breaks, that would just hurt her more. When he pulled the chair closer to her bedside and sat down, he caught a look in Ali’s eyes, and it seemed that she wanted him to stay. Was he misreading her?

  “You scared me yesterday. I thought I was too late when I saw you in the water. We don’t have as great a success rate resuscitating weres in animal form.”

  Travis touched the blankets near the edge, his hand resting a few inches from where Ali lay. She curled, keeping her paws out and shifted until she could rub her head against his hand.

  “If you’re telling me you’re sorry, then you’re forgiven.” Travis said.

  No, I just wanted you to rub my head. Ali thought. But if you think I owe you an apology, then I really am sorry.

  Travis brushed the fur on the top of Ali’s head and scratched her ears. “We don’t get a lot of ear scratches as weres, do we?” Travis said.

  Ali made a small noise in agreement and lay still, enjoying the contact. Once when he stopped, Ali rubbed her ear against his hand again. He smiled and indulger her a while longer. All too soon, Travis stood. “I wish...” He stopped and pressed his lips together. “Follow your instructions to the letter and try not to get into any more trouble. I’m off for a few days, so I won’t be here when you are released. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Travis rushed out of Ali’s room as if a patient had coded in another ward. She called o
ut a puzzled goodbye, and realized that she didn’t want to say goodbye. Not to Travis. Not ever.

  Chapter 19

  Francis lounged in the chair facing the old man, a sorcerer of some renown, and pretended that he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “I should have let Garan drink you dry. So tell me. What excuse did you bring for me this time?” The beady eyes and giant hooked nose gave the wizard the appearance of a hawk, although this man was not a shapeshifter. No, his magic was drawn from a different place, dark and deadly. And he took by force what gifts belonged to the shifters.

  “No excuses.” Francis gingerly pulled the amulet out of his pocket and held it out. Avarice lit the sorcerer’s eyes when he grabbed the amulet out of the vampire’s hands. Francis relinquished the charm easily, his voice steady. “The money you have provided is more than adequate for my needs. Let us part now as friends and consider our business done.”

  The sorcerer ogled Francis, his eyes crawling along over him like so many ants. Were Francis a woman, he would have called the gaze lecherous. Finally the sorcerer held up the amulet. “Yes. We shall part as friends.”

  * * *

  Francis carried a sword in his van, the tip oiled with a special mixture containing the sap of maple, oak, and pine. The modern world drew little call for swords and the play swords for weekend gamesters barely held an edge. Francis wielded a blade sharp enough to dismember. Dangerous, his maker told him. More vampires died at the hand of other vampires than any other, despite what hunter legends and stories might arise.

  Garan lurked in the house on Grady Way, just down the street from the sorcerer. He was the pet, eyes, ears, and muscle. More than that, he was an abomination, created far too late into decomposition to ever be considered a real vampire. But that wasn't why Francis was visiting him. He didn't like being crossed. As vampires go, he might look like a dopey, weak version. That's why vampires like Garan tried to take advantage, but Francis would prove himself tonight.