“Shut your trap, Jerry, you need to read more anyway,” Joe said, sounding bored.
“Yes sir,” Jerry replied. That answer had become second nature to him now.
“Daniel, I’ll show you where the shower is,” Sophinia offered with another of her smiles.
Jerry took another big swig of his beer then followed her out of the kitchen. They walked slowly through the halls, heading back toward the main entrance.
“So...how are you holding up?” Sophinia asked out of the blue.
Jerry hesitated to answer while he tried to think of a way to say it. “Well, I don’t know if it’s that freaky feedback loop, or what, but...I don’t know, I feel like I should be checking into a mental hospital right now, but I’m not. I mean Joe, I can understand; he’s seen things that I don’t even want to think about, but I feel like I should be having a harder time internalizing this stuff.”
It was the truth and deep down it worried him. He should be freaking out, but he wasn’t and he didn’t know why.
“I’ve never been human Daniel, but I have done my utmost to try and understand humankind. Deep down, you have an unwavering instinct that warns you about the unknown. Perhaps all humans are built with the capacity to accept the unbelievable...or maybe you’re just a lot more well-balanced than you think your are,” she said.
Jerry couldn’t help but grin at her comment, but his smile disappeared quickly. He may have been young, but he wasn’t stupid and her spiritual talk earlier was a dead giveaway.
“Now, why don’t you say what you really think,” he said.
“That I think you may have been chosen for our world? Yes, I believe that too. But my beliefs won’t help you Daniel. As much as I wish they would...”
The two of them walked up the big staircase towards the second floor, past statues of angels on the banisters and onto the landing.
“Okay, tell me honestly, what’s the rent on this place?” Jerry asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I own the land,” she replied.
“Really?”
“I own a lot of land. I’ve had fifteen hundred years to build my piggy bank, Daniel. Money has never been an issue for me.”
“Must be nice,” he said, trying to hide the disdain in his voice. The truth was that Jerry hated people that were born into their wealth because he thought most of them had never worked to earn it. There were exceptions of course, people that got left a huge sum of money, then gave a massive chunk of it to charity or invested it in helping people less fortunate, but for the most part, he just thought rich people were snobs.
Sophinia didn’t seem to be though; either that or she was a nice snob.
“Take your time,” she smiled as she opened the door to the bathroom.
“Thanks.”
She nodded before leaving him.
It wasn’t a bathroom; it was the changing rooms at a luxury leisure center. The shower area alone was about twenty feet long and had ten different shower heads. Of course, she’d probably need something like this for her wings. He had no idea what her wingspan was, but he guessed that she had had this room built specifically to cater for washing them.
Likewise, there wasn’t a bath tub; there was a swimming pool with water jets. He wouldn’t be surprised if the damn thing actually had a wave machine built in. Everything was made of marble and was shining clean. She must have a staff of about two hundred people to clean her house.
As he let the hot water run over him, he thought about Sophinia’s words. One thing he had never expected was to find a spiritual vampire. He remembered the old movies in which Dracula would demonstrate some overly dramatic show of panic and flee at the sight of a cross, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the pureblood mistress of this house actually knelt in front of one, praying for forgiveness every day.
He didn’t buy it.
CHAPTER 9 – CASSANDRA
Sioux Falls – South Dakota
Given that he had only been in that house for about an hour or so, Jerry didn’t think it was wise to walk around in nothing but a towel like he did back home, so he promptly dried himself off and put his cloths back on. They still stunk a little of oven cleaner, but not much. He did his best to make his hair look presentable and folded the wet towels up before leaving the bathroom. He then made his way back to the library where everyone else was gathered. Larz was there packing books into a large box, which he sealed and carried out a few seconds after.
“So, moment of truth,” Parker said.
Sophinia approached Daniel with a face completely devoid of emotion. She leant into him and began smelling the hair behind his ear. It made Jerry feel very uncomfortable.
After a few moments she backed away with a smile on her face. “Very impressive, Matthew.”
“It worked?” Parker and the others walked over towards Jerry.
Claire, particularly, didn’t seem to care about how awkward he felt, as she started smelling him as well. “That’s amazing. All I’m getting is soap and a little oven cleaner on his clothes,” she said happily.
“Great, so I don’t stink anymore, that’s reassuring, but you guys are invading my space!” Jerry said, getting a little annoyed.
“Remember, you’re going to need to take a shot every twenty-four hours or your scent will return.
“Yeah, I got it,” Jerry said, before turning to Sophinia. “Thanks for the shower.”
“You’re very welcome,” she smiled graciously. “In fact, you are always welcome here, should you wish to return.”
“There are worse places to spend the summer,” he shrugged.
“Before you go, I’m going to need some more of your blood to run tests on,” Parker said.
“Alright, we’ll load this stuff into the van,” said Claire. “Meet you back here in a few.”
Jerry and Parker returned to the lab, which Jerry would now forever refer to as ‘the secret laboratory’ whilst using the worst Dracula impersonation imaginable. He rolled up his sleeve and allowed Parker to extract a pint of his blood into a pack. Dr. Parker made sure to cover and dress the wound well just in case it bled afterwards. The two then made their way back, but they didn’t have to go to the library as the others were waiting in the hall by the main entrance.
“Ready to go?” Claire asked.
“Another few hours in that rusted shit tin - sounds great!” Jerry said with mock excitement.
“I promise you a more pleasant journey next time Daniel,” Sophinia’s eyes crinkled “I hope we get to meet again soon.”
“Yeah, this was...nice,” he said roughly.
“Your house is awesome!” Goose chirped.
Sophinia seemed to find his enthusiasm amusing because she laughed lightly. “Thank you very much.”
Suddenly, without warning, her smile vanished and her head snapped around towards one of the doors that led away from the hall.
“Ahh shit!” Claire growled, looking in the same direction.
Goose, Joe and Jerry all looked very confused for a second, but soon understood. From behind the door came muffled sounds of someone yelling and apparently arguing with another person. As the sounds came closer it became obvious that it was a woman doing the shouting.
Suddenly, the door burst open and out stormed a black clad woman with brown hair. She looked furious. She was being followed by a small, formally dressed man who seemed to be getting more and more frightened with every second.
The woman froze in her tracks as she saw the group, and glared. She was simply incredible. Everything about her screamed ‘Too good to be true’, except for her anger and her glowering presence, which warned that she was not to be messed with. Her beautifully crafted face rivaled Sophinia’s and her body must have been made by the Devil himself. But the awe that her looks inspired vanished and was replaced by stark terror as Jerry realized exactly who she was.
Cassandra. The one who had bitten him.
He instantly went for the gun on his belt and pointed it straight at her. She
didn’t even flinch. Instead she just looked even more pissed off.
“What the hell is he doing here?!” she hissed through gritted teeth.
“I invited him,” Sophinia said with a calm but forceful tone. “He’s a guest.”
“Like you,” Claire snarled and shot an icy look.
“Claire,” she smiled sweetly, oozing hatred.
“Whore,” Claire shot the same nasty smile back.
“Ever the faithful neutered guard dog, I see,” Cassandra replied.
“How about I slap that attitude out of your mouth?” Claire said, advancing.
“How about I bury a pickaxe in your ass?” Cassandra retorted, stepping up.
Goose winced, getting a very nasty mental image.
“Ladies, behave,” Sophinia warned and both of them stood down.
Cassandra immediately turned to the pureblood, looking half frustrated and half enraged.
“Are you insane?! You pump me full of that crap to get his blood out of my system and now you bring him here, do you want me to kill him or something?!”
Upon hearing that, Joe and Goose both pulled their weapons.
“You really think I’d let you hurt him?” Sophinia asked.
“You shouldn’t have taken the chance! You haven’t tasted his blood, I have! You don’t forget something like that!” Cassandra yelled.
The gun rattled nervously in Jerry’s hand. She was even more terrifying to behold now than before, and yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. She was beautiful.
“I was expecting them to leave before you did,” Sophinia placated.
“Well now I am leaving, before I’m late for work!”
“Oh no, who will the horny morons give their dollar bills to?” Claire mocked.
Jerry and Goose’s eyebrows rose exponentially when they heard that. She was a stripper?
“That coming from the prude who’s had her thighs welded shut?” Cass snapped back. “Seriously sis, someone is going to have to get down there with a leaf blower to get rid of the cobwebs.”
If it were possible, the boys looked even more stunned than before. When Claire had told them about a falling out, she had massively understated things. These were two seriously vicious women and they were seconds away from tearing each other’s limbs off.
Jerry’s mind flashed back to the attack and the skills that Cassandra had shown when she had defended them. It had been like watching a real-life version of the Matrix.
“You’re free to go,” Sophinia’s eyes were steely. “Should any urges for human blood arise, I trust you’ll let us know immediately,” it wasn’t a suggestion.
Cassandra managed a small nod before storming off towards the door.
“Cassandra,” Sophinia called out. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
The vampire stopped marching. Even though her back was turned it was obvious that she was gritting her teeth in frustration. Finally she turned to face Jerry.
“I...I’m sorry for biting you,” she forced out. That one sentence had appeared to take every drop of willpower she possessed. Clearly, Cassandra didn’t apologize often.
After the initial shock wore off, Jerry managed to speak. “Water under the bridge,” he shrugged.
She glared at him once more before turning around again and heading for the door.
“Oh, hey!” Jerry called out suddenly.
“What?!” she barked.
“Thanks for saving my life,” he said simply.
For a second Cassandra actually seemed somewhat confused and taken aback. Being thanked seemed to be something else that she wasn’t use to. She didn’t respond with words. She just nodded and walked away, slamming the door behind her as she left.
The three men put their guns away and breathed a sigh of relief. That had been tense.
“I’m sorry about that,” Claire said, still looking annoyed.
“You weren’t kidding about a family feud,” Goose remarked.
“Did I hear you say that you got a stripper to come rescue me?” Jerry had to ask.
“Yeah. She works at a bar called The Nearly Departed. It’s on the outskirts of St. Cloud just off Lincoln Avenue. The place caters to our world more than yours.”
“Huh...you ever see Clooney and Tarantino in there?” Goose grinned.
Claire let out a laugh. “No, film buff, but one of the bouncers does look a little like Harvey Keitel.”
Goose nodded, looking impressed. He wanted to check that place out...mainly because it had strippers.
“What’s this detoxing thing you guys were talking about?” Joe asked.
“Pump them full of a mix of chemicals and viruses that attack red blood cells faster than they can heal. It causes the blood inside to decay and die. It basically flushes a vampires’ system out, then you start feeding them animal blood instead,” Parker explained.
“Sounds delightful...”
“It’s very unpleasant but it does work,” Sophinia said. “It’s getting late, you should get back. We’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll see you Monday,” Parker nodded.
“Stay safe,” Sophinia added, as they began to move towards the door. As soon as they were gone, Sophinia walked over to the intercom nearest to her and pressed one of the buttons. “Call Adams and Benchley, tell them to do a complete background check on all of Daniel Jericho’s relatives.”
She took her finger off the button and listened to the sounds of the crappy van starting up. She heard Jerry say something about Cassandra and it was pretty clear what he thought about her.
Despite her mood and their previous meeting, Jerry had Cassandra stuck in his mind the whole journey home. He thought she was incredible.
CHAPTER 10 – BARS, BOOKS AND GUNS
Joe’s House – St. Cloud
When they arrived back at Joe’s place, Larz carried the box of books over to the front door, but had to wait to be invited in before placing them on the table. After he was able to cross the threshold he went back out to the truck and started bringing in several metal cases that Joe immediately recognized as army issue ammo crates.
Inside were a range of different ammunition calibers going from standard 9mm to 7.62mm to 12 gauge, all of which were silver tipped. There were also a couple of silver switch blades in there.
“Goose, you should probably crash here tonight,” Joe said after looking at the bullets.
“I don’t have my toothbrush, but okay,” he replied.
“I guess I could make up the couch or something for you, if you like?” Joe asked Claire.
“It’s fine,” she smiled. “I slept a few days ago. I won’t be needing a nap for a while.”
“Err, okay...well, we don’t have pay per view but you’re welcome to watch TV.”
“It’s okay, I brought a book,” she said, reaching into the box and pulling one out.
“The Battle of Britain?” Joe asked, reading the cover.
“Like I said; I missed it,” she shrugged.
“I thought it would be the King James,” Jerry mumbled.
Claire looked at Jerry and knew exactly what he was talking about. “What, humans get exclusivity when it comes to believing in a higher power?”
“No, it’s just...I’ve never heard of a spiritual vampire before, is all. I mean, I always thought that vampires hated that stuff. Okay, crosses don’t work, but I just figured you wouldn’t want anything to do with...holiness.”
“When you are one of the mythical things that aren’t supposed to exist, it becomes a lot easier to believe in the others. Besides, don’t let Sophinia’s whole ‘Pope Dumbledore’ routine fool you, she can be really nasty when she wants to be. I saw her rip a bus in half once,” Claire said, not taking offense.
“Why the hell did she do that?” Goose asked.
“There was a Revenant on board,” said Claire.
“What’s a Revenant?”
Claire pushed the box of books towards the boys. “Read and find out.”
; “Tomorrow, you two need to get some sleep,” Joe said, making it obvious that this was an order. He wasn’t as far out of his army days as everyone thought.
“Come on, I’ll get you some pillows and stuff,” Jerry said and the two of them headed off towards his bedroom.
A few seconds after they left, Larz departed the house to go and check in with a few more of Sophinia’s people, leaving just Joe and Claire in the living room.
Blood Heavy (Blood Heavy Series) Page 10