by L.H. Cosway
“Nothing. Do you want to go dance with the others? I’ll sit here at the bar.”
“No way. I’m not leaving you on your own. Let’s down these drinks and go dance together.”
And that was how I found myself on the dancefloor at Crimson, making an effort to have fun with my friends and be carefree for once. I hated dancing when I was sober, but I was a little tipsy, so I didn’t mind.
After several songs, I spotted Ethan up in the VIP section. He stood by the railing, staring down at me. Every cell in my body tightened in awareness. The way he looked at me was just so all-consuming. He was way too handsome, so handsome he seemed to be able to transfix me, hypnotise me. Acting on instinct, I left the dancefloor and climbed the steps to the VIP section. Ethan waved at the bouncer to let me through, and I went to stand next to him. He didn’t speak, but there was an energy radiating off him that had pleasant goosebumps rising in my skin. His arm brushed mine, and the contact seemed intentional.
I think he wants me.
The realisation was shocking. It seemed like a forever since I had last felt desirable. I decided to go with the flow, see where the night took me. I deserved to feel good for a change, let loose, go wild. But then, my body betrayed me when I let out a massive yawn.
“Tired?” Ethan asked, his lips twitching in amusement.
“A little,” I answered honestly. “I had to take on a second job, so sleep has been elusive.”
“Oh? Where’s the new job?” he asked, turning to me with interest now.
“It’s in this little holistic store. I actually really like it there, even though the hours are rough. But, get this, my new boss is so eccentric. He thinks I’ve had a magical spell cast on me,” I said with a laugh.
Ethan didn’t laugh though. He went incredibly still. “A spell?”
“Yes. It’s so silly,” I rolled my eyes, but Ethan didn’t drop the seriousness.
“What’s your boss’s name?”
“Marcel Girard. He’s this old hippy-type with a ponytail.”
At this, a violent look came over him. “You’re working at Indigo?”
My eyebrows rose. “You know the place?”
“Yes, I know it. Tell me what exactly Marcel said to you.” I didn’t like how pushy he’d become. I also didn’t like his perturbed expression. Had I taken crazy pills? Why was everybody acting like this whole spell thing was plausible?
I backed away from Ethan. “You know what, I think I’m going to go find my friends now.”
I’d barely taken two steps back when Ethan reached out and caught my upper arm in his grip. “Tegan, this is serious. Tell me what he said.”
“Let go of my arm right now,” I ordered, gritting my teeth.
“No. Talk.”
“I’ll scream,” I warned, the instinct to flee strong. How did I keep forgetting that Ethan was scary? It was like his beauty dazzled me and erased my memory every time I saw him.
We stared one another down, then finally, he let go. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you, but your new employer is not what he seems.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll explain when you tell me what he said about the spell that was cast on you,” Ethan answered calmly. I didn’t want to give him what he wanted, but I was curious to know why he thought Marcel wasn’t what he seemed.
I let out an aggrieved sigh. “Fine. When we first met, Marcel told me I had a magical aura, but he couldn’t tell what it was. So, he got this other guy who works there, Gabriel, to see if he could—"
“Gabriel?” Ethan questioned, and several indecipherable emotions passed over his face.
“Do you know him, too?”
“I do.”
“Oh, that’s odd.”
“Why is it odd?”
“Well, it’s odd that in a city this big I met two new people who just randomly happen to know each other in the same week. You two also remind me of each other for some reason.”
At this, the barest flicker of pain entered Ethan’s expression before disappearing. He cleared his throat. “Was Gabriel able to decipher the spell?”
“No. They still don’t know what it is, only that they think it was cast by my mother. Now tell me what you know about Marcel.”
“Let’s just say, you cannot associate with both him and me. You will have to make a choice.”
“Okay, well, that’s easy. I choose my job.”
I turned to walk away but Ethan moved to block me. “I wouldn’t choose so hastily.”
“No? Why not?”
Ethan glanced from left to right. “We can’t discuss this here. Come with me.” He took my hand, swiftly leading me from the main club floor and down a corridor to a tastefully decorated office. Ethan shut the door behind him and gestured for me to sit. I perched on the edge of the couch, not allowing myself to get comfortable. I was more than a little wary about being alone in an empty office with him.
“It might seem like Marcel and Gabriel are trying to help you, but they may have ulterior motives.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have an ulterior motive? Because I still don’t entirely understand your interest in me.”
“I have no motive other than curiosity. Like I already told you, I mean you no harm.”
“And what’s so curious about me?” I asked, folding my arms and tilting my head.
“I find it curious that you were drawn to Indigo and that you made my acquaintance within the same few days.”
Well, he had me there. I was curious about that, too. The strange draw that seemed to urge me to apply for the job at Indigo was also, well, curious.
“It’s difficult because there’s so much I can’t tell you,” Ethan said in frustration as he dragged a hand through his short, thick hair. “You’re not ready for the whole truth, but you need to know that choosing to continue working at Indigo isn’t the right decision. I’ll give you a job here. I’ll even double whatever Marcel is paying you.”
My eyebrows shot up. Double pay? It sounded too good to be true, which usually meant it was. “That’s very generous, but no, thank you.” A more trusting person might’ve jumped at Ethan’s offer, but I wasn’t trusting. Far from it. In fact, his offer only made me more suspicious.
I stood, but he moved fast, appearing in front of me. “Don’t leave,” he murmured, gently touching my chin and tilting my head so that our gazes met. “Do you know what it feels like when I’m near you?” he asked in a seductive, entrancing voice. It made me instantly forget why I was wary of him or why I should be leaving.
“What does it feel like?” I whispered.
He lowered his mouth so that it was hair’s breadth from mine. “It feels like my entire body is vibrating with the undiscovered mystery that lies inside of you.”
“There’s no mystery in me.”
“I beg to differ.” Something flashed in eyes. Hunger? His hand moved from my chin to rest against the side of my neck. “Your heart beats so fast,” he sighed like it was somehow devastating and his minty breath washed over me. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, and I was sure my heart beat even faster. I wanted to kiss him, but at the same time a voice in my subconscious screamed at me that it was a bad idea.
“I don’t think that would be wise,” I answered, sounding far too breathy. “Also, not very friendly.”
Ethan moved away a few inches. “Be that as it may, I look forward to kissing you, and doing other things to you, if you ever allow it.” The way he looked at me made me feel naked. Vulnerable, even. I didn’t like it.
“Platonic friends don’t kiss or do… other things.”
He studied me a moment, a look in his eyes like my resistance both impressed and surprised him. “No, they don’t,” he finally agreed, giving me a confident smile that had me clenching my thighs together. No. Stand your ground. Get out of here before he obliterates your self-control to shreds.
I cleared my throat. “Right, well,
I really should get back to my friends now.”
He seemed disappointed that I remained intent on leaving, his face and tone turning flat. “Very well then.”
He moved away and led me from the office. As we entered the corridor, I heard shuffling coming from down the hallway. I glanced in the direction of the noise and saw that the fire exit I’d gone through last time had been left open. For some unexplainable reason, I walked towards it, hearing a feminine shriek followed by a loud gasp outside.
“Tegan, where are you going?” Ethan called, but I was already at the exit. I peeked my head around the doorframe, and the scene I was confronted with literally froze me in place. I recognised my friend Amanda even before I saw her face. There was no mistaking her long blonde hair.
Lucas’s mouth was on her neck, and it looked like he was giving her the hickey of the century. What they were doing just looked so … strange. It struck me as different, not the usual sight of two people necking in an alleyway. Tiny hairs rose on my arms.
“Oh, my God.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, Lucas’s head snapped up, and I fell back from the shock of it.
His eyes were pure black like he was possessed by a demon. A trickle of blood ran down his chin. Amanda’s eyes rolled back in her skull, as though she were completely out of it, and there was a small, bloody bite mark on her neck. My back hit something solid. I was vaguely aware that Ethan was behind me just as everything became a blur. Seconds later, I was back in his office, sprawled on the couch. I shook my head, feeling a wave of dizziness, and looked up in time to see him lock the door.
6.
“What the hell did I just see?” I asked, my voice shaky. Ethan stood by his desk, his head tilted down as he stared at the floor in contemplation.
“It appears that Lucas and your friend have been getting to know each other better.”
“Riiiight,” I said, blinking rapidly. He’d bitten her like … like a vampire. Shit, she was still out there! I rose, rushing to the door before remembering it was locked. I turned back to him, furious. “Open this door. Now.”
“I can’t do that, but I assure you, your friend is quite all right. She’s probably enjoying a nice little high right now courtesy of Lucas’s bite.”
“His bite?”
“Correct,” Ethan affirmed. “I didn’t want to tell you like this, but circumstances have forced my hand.” He paused and heaved a frustrated breath. He looked conflicted, like he was trying to come up with the best possible way to break some very bad news. “We aren’t human, Tegan. I’m beginning to suspect you aren’t either. Not entirely, anyway.”
I let out a loud, manic burst of laughter as I turned back to the door and futilely turned the handle over and over. “Ha! Hahaha! Not human. Very funny. Where are the hidden cameras?”
I was rambling now, on the verge of losing it completely. I just really needed to get out of here. Maybe I was having a manic break. Yes, that could be it. The grief of losing Matthew combined with the stress of my night shifts and trying to keep my head above water financially had caused me to snap.
Eventually, I gave up on the door handle and sank to the floor. This was all a little more than I could take right now. A comforting hand landed on my shoulder and then Ethan was helping me up and leading me back over to the couch. I swallowed thickly and met his gaze. I didn’t sense any danger from him, not in that moment anyway. He looked down at me, his expression apologetic, like he was sorry to have turned my worldview upside down in the space of a few moments. I tried to think clearly. If this wasn’t a dream and I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown, then I needed to know exactly what Ethan was trying to tell me.
He said he and Lucas weren’t human. Okay, well, there could be some truth to that. For one, Ethan Cristescu moved inhumanly fast, and for two, his eyes were a shade of gold I’d never seen before, and for three, Lucas had certainly looked far from human out in the alleyway with those black demon eyes.
“If you aren’t human, then what are you?” I finally whispered.
Ethan gave a sad smile. “Isn’t it obvious?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “A vampire?”
“That is the modern term, yes.”
“And what do you think I am? A werewolf or something?” I asked in panicked bemusement.
Ethan gave a low chuckle. “I’d place my money on a witch, or at least the descendent of one.”
Okay, now I felt dizzy. “There are witches?”
“There are many, many things in this world, Sunshine.”
I swallowed, shaking my head as another wave of dizziness hit me. “This is a lot to take in.” A tremble of fear shot through me as I grabbed the arm of the couch to steady myself. If Ethan really was a vampire, and this wasn’t some surreal, exhaustion induced nightmare, then I had to play it cool. Real cool.
“I have no doubt,” Ethan said soothingly as he came to kneel before me.
Was I losing my mind? Was my sanity slipping? If there was a Bible in front of me right now, I’d unhesitatingly place my hand upon it and swear that I saw Lucas transformed into a monster and feeding on one of my friends. Feeling a chill, I wrapped my arms around myself.
“You have nothing to fear,” Ethan went on. “We don’t kill people, Tegan. At least, it is our policy not to.”
“What is your policy?”
“To feed and wipe the memory of those we drink from when we’re done.”
My eyes grew wide. “You can wipe memories?”
“Yes, though not yours, apparently.”
My mind whirled, going back to the night we met. He’d stared at me all intense and insisted I forget what happened. I thought he meant the robbery, but he meant our meeting. That was why he was so freaked out when I came to Crimson the next night and remembered him.
“You tried to do it the night we met, didn’t you?”
Ethan nodded. “It’s called compulsion. We can compel humans to do and see what we wish.” He gestured to his gold eyes. “If you were an average human, you wouldn’t be able to see my true eye colour.”
“That’s why you insisted they were brown,” I whispered. This was all making far too much sense, and I didn’t like it. At least if things didn’t make sense, I could pretend I was dreaming.
“Brown eyes are much less conspicuous. Mine mark me as … other.”
And by other, he meant not human. A long stretch of silence fell. I didn’t know what to do, what to say. If Ethan and Lucas were vampires, then the world was a much scarier place than I thought. And believe me, I’d already given it some fairly negative reviews. Add vampires and witches and whatever else Ethan was referring to when he said there were many, many things out there, well, I was just about ready to pass out thinking about it.
“What happens now?” I asked quietly. “You can’t keep me locked in your office forever.”
“I wouldn’t mind keeping you forever,” he replied darkly, and my heart skipped a beat. Being kept by Ethan Cristescu would be a sweet prison, but a prison nonetheless.
“I can’t believe vampires are real,” I said, my mind racing. My entire fact-based, scientific system of belief teetered in the balance.
Ethan reached out and ran a finger along my bare forearm. I realised it wasn’t merely a caress. He was tracing the line of a vein, which somehow managed to both arouse and put me on edge. “Have you ever heard of the saying, within every myth lies a grain of truth?”
“I’d hardly call this a grain.”
Ethan chuckled, the sound a pleasant rumble vibrating through me. “You are taking this all rather well, I must say.”
I was? Well, at least he thought so, because personally I felt like I was losing my marbles. “How do other people take it?”
“A lot of screaming and crying, pleas to God that it isn’t so. Then I typically have to use my compulsion to calm them down. It’s a good thing you’re acting so calm since I don’t have that option with you.”
“At least now I finally underst
and why you want to be my friend.”
“It’s not the only reason,” he said, his tone teasing. “There’s also your stubbornness and sassy attitude, which I’m becoming quite fond of. But on a more serious note, I need to explain things to you about our existence. If you are to be one of the few humans aware of us, then you need to know that we are not the killers portrayed in your stories.”
“Please do.” I sat back, making a gesture for him to continue and trying my best to maintain the calm he’d just been praising me for.
Ethan eyed me closely. “As you have already deduced, I am a vampire, as is Lucas …”
“What about Delilah?” I interrupted, thinking of her otherworldly beauty.
“Delilah is neither one nor the other. She is a dhampir, half-human, half-vampire. We share a father but have different mothers.”
“You share a father? Does that mean you were born?” The idea went against the visions of coffins and the undead swirling on the periphery of my brain.
“Yes, I was born,” he replied. “We’re not the dead things most myths say we are. We’re simply another species. It’s not known how we evolved. Nobody can trace our origins that far back. We’re parasitic in nature—in that we survive off human blood. Animal blood will do in a pinch, but it doesn’t provide the nutrients and strength we need to operate to our highest potential. We don’t need to kill when we feed. We only take a small amount, the same as what you might donate to a blood bank, and the human falls into a state of euphoria from the chemicals released in our saliva when we bite. It’s similar to taking a drug like heroin, but without any of the negative side effects. At least, there are no negative effects if we only feed once for a period of a few weeks. If we feed on the same human too often, they can become addicted to our bite.”
“How many of you are there exactly? I don’t get how you can exist and people haven’t discovered you yet.”
“Many have discovered us, but our use of compulsion allows us to prevent it from becoming widespread knowledge. In the grand scale of things, there are very few of us. We make up less than half a percent of the world’s population. We normally live in cities because there are more people to feed on and it’s also easier for us to blend in with the crowd.”