Immortal Blood (1)

by Ramz Artso

  ‘Oooh, can I come?’ Birna asked, lighting up like a Christmas tree. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was so excited about.

  ‘Please do, or else we might die of –’

  ‘You’ll love our new shooting range,’ Asvi interrupted, knowing full well I had intended to say ‘boredom’. ‘I hear you’re an excellent archer.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ our guest replied, shrugging it off. ‘Apparently, if the rumors are true, you’re not too bad yourself.’

  ‘Come, Corey,’ Birna exclaimed, jumping up, ‘you’ll teach me how to shoot properly. I could definitely use some training.’

  Am I imagining it, or is Birns already head over heels for this guy?

  ‘What – now?’

  ‘Well, we’re done eating, aren’t we?’

  ‘All right,’ he said, getting up himself, ‘why not? Please lead the way.’

  ‘You kids behave,’ Callista called after us, as we slid out the crowded dining room, crossed the bustling hall filled with the sounds of ringing glasses and occasional laughter, and then headed for the hidden dungeons.

  Used to the sight, all of us completely ignored the emaciated prisoners and their yells as the prison guards tortured them.

  Once Birna was close enough, and Corey was too busy scrutinizing one of the occupants behind the silver bars, I whispered in her ear, ‘You’re being a little too flirtatious, sis’. Aren’t you forgetting something?’

  ‘And what might that be?’ she enquired, tossing aside her perfectly-combed hair.

  ‘You’re engaged, remember?’

  ‘So what? Ain’t no wifey just yet!’ She snapped her head in my way, looked me over and added, ‘You’re not jealous, are you?’

  ‘Jealous? The guy’s a total douche.’

  ‘And who might that be that you’re talking about?’ Corey suddenly weighed in, his cold eyes meeting mine. In that instant, both of us knew, perfectly well, that I had been talking about him.

  Her typical self, Birna froze up with discomfort. I, on the other hand, held his gaze and delivered, ‘Didn’t your mom teach you not to listen in on private conversations?’

  His thin lips formed an ugly, yet somehow equally pleasing smile. ‘She taught me to confront people and say what I feel to their face.’

  ‘Is that a challenge?’ I said, lifting an eyebrow.

  ‘More of a lesson. Talking behind people’s back is poor manners, to say the least.’

  I felt like flipping him off, but, remembering the promise I’d given Mother, cracked an evidently fake smile instead. ‘I’ll be sure to remember that one. Shall we?’

  Seething with anger, I led the way down a few gloomy tunnels ignoring the guards as they saluted me by raising their fists. Soon enough, we were in the shooting range and Birna was acting a little too dumb in order to attract Corey’s attention.

  They seemed to be getting along famously, but I couldn’t help noticing that whenever Corey brushed his cheek against Birna’s face, or helped her draw the bow by holding her arm, his smoky gaze came to rest on me. I honestly couldn’t have cared less. My mind was too busy retracing what I’d read the other night, and Calvin’s handsome face materialized before me every now and then, reminding me of his pleasant scent. The recollection had me salivating. In addition to that, I kept reiterating to myself that I didn’t like him.

  Once we were done shooting arrows, we ran into Asvi on our way upstairs. She informed us that Mom wanted me to give Corey a tour of our massive mansion. Clenching my teeth, I agreed and with assistance from Birna, introduced our guest to our stables, library, underground barracks and garage.

  By the time we were done, the sun had completely drowned in the horizon, and we were all seated on a bench beside a Victorian fountain. Birna was going on about something completely irrelevant, when Corey interrupted her by saying, ‘You know, now that it’s finally nighttime, can’t we do something more exciting than stargazing?’

  ‘Look, we’re not exactly having the best time of our lives here, either,’ I snapped at him, crossing my arms.

  ‘Ranka!’ Birna exclaimed.

  ‘What? I’m just saying.’

  ‘It’s all right, Birnie,’ he assured her, ‘your sister is right. That’s why I suggest we go out clubbing tonight, what do you say?’

  ‘Why not?’ I shrugged indifferently, deciding spending time at a nightclub was a more delightful prospect than sitting in one place and staring at his face. ‘But I’m going to say this once, and once only! No hunting – agreed? I don’t wanna get in trouble with my mother. I pretty much have to watch over you and,’ I had a flashback of Sigurd pinning me down to the ground, ‘I’m the one who’ll get if you end up hurting yourself.’

  He broke out in howls of laughter at these words, seeming genuinely amused. ‘You watch over me? Now, that’s funny.’

  If it hadn’t been for Brigida’s sudden appearance right behind me, I would have definitely slugged him in the mouth.

  ‘Hey boys and girls – well, boy and girls, actually. Did I hear someone say clubbing?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Birna answered her, ‘we’re gonna take Corey out. Any suggestions?’

  ‘Well, you can always go to Flash, we always have a table reserved there,’ she said, texting on her iPhone.

  ‘Sounds good enough for me. What are waiting for?’

  ‘Now wait a sec, Corey,’ I protested, remembering my last visit to the place and the humiliation associated with it. ‘Can’t we go someplace new?’

  ‘Sure we can,’ Brigida decided for everyone, before brushing a shock of blonde hair out of her round face, ‘and I know just the place.’

  Minutes later, we were inside Mom’s silver Rolls-Royce. Despite the fact that we were just as quick on out feet if not more so, cars offered comfort as well as cover from the dull weather, which I couldn’t say about the former of the two traveling methods.

  About an hour later, we reached the never-sleeping city and parked the car in the underground parking of a five star hotel, before walking to the club.

  ‘Miss Jonsdottir,’ a bald man at the entrance exclaimed, the moment his sneaky eyes came to rest on my sister, ‘how lovely it is to see you here again.’ Judging by his hungry stare, he had a crush on her.

  ‘Hello, Hugo, I suppose there’s a free table for us in the VIP section?’

  ‘Yes, of course, ma’am. For you always. Please follow me.’ He said something to one of the bouncers and he admitted us inside. ‘The usual stuff, ma’am? Two bottles of Louis Roederer Cristal?’

  ‘Make it three.’

  ‘Three it is, then.’

  As the cold liquid trickled down my throat, I did my best to conceal my disgust. We vampires fed off blood and raw, fresh meat. Anything else was a challenge to swallow. As for alcohol, our mother allowed us to drink, as it had no effect on our inhuman bodies.

  In about half an hour, the party really picked up pace and people got down to some serious dancing. The promise of love and broken hearts was in the air, as girls and boys rubbed their sweaty bodies against each other, smiling and enjoying the mixture of lively tunes and sporadic beats.

  ‘That guy has been staring at you for a while now,’ Brigida leaned over and yelled in my ear. ‘Maybe you should ensnare him in your webs, sis’?’’

  ‘I said there’ll be no hunting today,’ I replied, but my words caught in my throat the moment I saw his piercing gaze. It was Calvin.

  ‘As you wish. He’s mine, then.’

  My stomach did a tilt at these words. ‘No,’ I protested, not really knowing what to say. I didn’t want either one of them to get hurt.

  ‘What do you mean?’ She looked at me with confusion. ‘He’s a sorcerer. Can’t you smell it? We’ll be doing the world a favor…’

  ‘I changed my mind. I want him for myself.’

  ‘Fine, but only because I’m nice. He’s so cute. Don’t let him get away.’

  That’s when it came to my attention that Corey was missing. Fearing th
e worst, I glared questioningly at Birna, who shrugged in response and pointed in the direction of the exit. I gestured both of my sisters to follow, noting that Calvin had disappeared.

  I hope that idiot didn’t fall into the same trap I did, I thought to myself, quickening my step.

  ‘Hey, big guy,’ I addressed one of the bouncers at the exit, who looked at me in surprise, ‘seen the cocky-looking fella that was with us when we came in?’

  He pointed his clipboard. ‘Went that way. Had some company with him, too.’

  The idiot. I thought I told him no hunting, didn’t I?

  ‘Thanks.’

  My sisters and I rounded a corner, waited for a few teenagers to pass us by then sped off into the gloom of the alleys, where my fears were justified.

  Corey was down on the ground, unconscious, and the sorceress that had fooled him was about to lower her dagger on his head when Birna sent her flying into the air with a high kick. As expected, an angry genie popped into existence with a haze of crimson smoke and lifted her a few meters above the ground. Brigida and I attacked without much forethought; she taking on the spirit and I the sorceress.

  The fight continued for all of ten seconds, and I was about to bite down on the witch’s neck, when reinforcements arrived. Apparently, the sorcerers were having a big operation at the club and we were unfortunate enough to be in their way.

  There were six of them, all their spirits hovering by their side, awaiting orders.

  ‘Enough,’ the one in the lead yelled, his dark brows knotting together, ‘let her go, bloody.’

  ‘I will, but first she’ll have to safely see us out of this little problematic situation,’ I returned, mind racing.

  We were heavily outnumbered and would not stand a chance if a fight happened to break out.

  ‘I’m not going to play your little games, girl,’ he replied, looking like a cross father, ‘nor will I let you harm one of our own.’

  ‘If you come any closer you’ll be the one harming her, not me,’ I warned, holding his gaze with a flinty expression.

  ‘Fine, let’s do this the hard way, then,’ the man replied, glancing at his genie and nodding.

  Moving through the air, the spirit charged at us. A blast of freezing air abruptly struck my face and then, much to my own surprise and astonishment, my sister and I were standing in the middle of the topiary garden of our home.

  ‘What the hell just happened?’ Birna demanded an explanation, feeling up and down her body.

  ‘Never mind that,’ I said, panic rising in my throat. ‘Where is Corey?’

  That was when a bright flash blinded us momentarily and once my vision returned to normal, we found Corey spread-eagled near the gurgling fountain.

  ‘Oh, thank Odin!’ Birna allowed, rushing to his side.

  ‘Is he dead?’ I asked, beside myself with fear.

  ‘He seems to be breathing,’ she informed us, lighting up a little. ‘We should get him to the doctors.’

  Moving with great ease, she propped him up on her shoulder, his hands swaying lifelessly as she walked.

  ‘Wait, we can’t do that,’ I protested. ‘Mom will fry me alive.’

  ‘Seriously, Ranka,’ Brigida said with a note of repulsion in her sweet voice, ‘the guy might be dying, for all I know. Besides, you’ll be in real trouble if he doesn’t make it. You better pray he does.’

  ‘Why are you blaming me?’ I countered, as both of us followed Birna inside the house. ‘It’s not my fault!’

  Just then, much to everyone’s relief, Corey came wide awake, coughing and breathing heavily.

  ‘W-what –,’ he stuttered, clutching his chest as if he was suffocating, ‘where am – what happened?’

  ‘We’re not sure ourselves,’ I informed him, as my sister laid him down.

  ‘Freaking hell, you scared the guts out of me,’ Birna exhaled, rushing to his aid with patent affection in her eyes. ‘Are you okay? How do you feel?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, shooting up, then added, with wounded pride, ‘It was that genie. He pounced on me out of nowhere. It was a trap. They caught me off guard.’

  That’s when Asvi appeared, completely out of the blue. ‘Everything all right here?’ she asked, eyeing the four of us with suspicion. ‘I’ve been searching for you. Where have you been?’

  ‘We wanted to go clubbing, but then changed our minds once we hit the road and came back,’ I lied, always the quick one on my feet.

  The others nodded, thus confirming my story.

  ‘Very well, then. Stay home tonight. We just received a report of a club skirmish.’

  My sisters and I exchanged nervous looks. Only I had the audacity to ask, ‘What club?’

  ‘Smoke.’

  I felt my flesh crawl at these words. ‘Any casualties?’ I asked, pretending to be oblivious of what had happened.

  ‘No – not that I know of, anyway.’ She turned on her heel and added, before disappearing behind a corner, ‘Stay out of trouble, guys.’

  ‘The Rolls Royce,’ Brigida breathed, the moment she was gone. ‘We have to get it back before she notices it’s gone.’

  ‘Didn’t you hear her? We were just ordered to stay home,’ Birna reminded her.

  ‘So what?’ I stepped in. ‘You be a good girl and stay, then. I’m gonna fetch the car.’

  ‘You do that,’ Brigida agreed. ‘We’ll stay behind and make sure no one notices you’re absence.’

  ‘I’ll accompany you,’ Corey suddenly announced, taking a kind of shy step toward me.

  ‘You’re not going anywhere with me,’ I protested. ‘You’re the one who got us into this mess in the first place.’

  ‘Exactly. So I should help make it right.’

  ‘I said you’re not coming.’

  ‘I don’t care what you say. I’m not asking anyone.’

  I came face-to-face with him; my eyes, which were turning purple from irritation, an inch away from his. ‘I’m not asking anyone, either.’ A playful smile lit up his face. I developed a sudden yearning to wipe it off his face, but we’d already caused enough trouble for one night. So, I said instead, ‘Have it your way, then. But you’ll be hoofing it back. I won’t give you a ride in my car.’

  ‘How hospitable of you, Ranka.’

  ‘Trust me, Corey, I’m being exceptionally hospitable. Because if I wasn’t, I’d shove my shoe down your throat.’

  ‘You know what? I’m glad this happened.’

  ‘Glad that what happened?’ I said with contempt. ‘That you got your ass kicked by a girl?’

  ‘Like I said, it was a genie,’ he corrected me, seething with anger. He swept his eyes up and down my body with a disgusted frown. ‘And no, I’m glad it happened because I got to find out what a rare pain in the rear you can be. I can’t believe my mother even considered you for marriage. What was she thinking?’

  ‘Go cry to her then, why don’t you?’

  He bared his canines. ‘Boy am I glad you won’t be my wife!’

  ‘Relax, dude, I wouldn’t be your wife even if someone paid me and you were the last man on earth.’

  ‘Is that a fact?’ he said, leaning in and whispering the following in my ear, ‘then why are you casting those glances my way?’

  ‘Oh,’ I replied, stepping back, arms folded, ‘you mean the looks of pity and dislike?’

  ‘Cut the bull, Ranka, you know exactly what I mean. You want me.’

  His claim was so absurd; I couldn’t help breaking out in ridiculing laughter. ‘Want you?’ My snickering came to an abrupt end. ‘The only thing I want is to strangle you, rat-face.’

  ‘That’s too bad, because I’m gonna tell my mother we had a wonderful time together and can’t wait to get engaged.’

  ‘Why would you do that?’ I asked, my brow bunching up into a frown. ‘You won’t get anything out of it. I’ll just tell my mom otherwise. So you won’t get to spoil my day.’

  ‘Who said I want to spoil it?’ He took another step toward me, leaning
in so close I could feel his warm breath on my ear. ‘Maybe I want to make it better.’

  ‘Dude,’ I blurted out, fighting the urge to smack him, ‘you don’t stand a chance. Besides…No, actually, never mind.’

  ‘Besides what?’

  ‘I said forget it.’

  ‘Chicken,’ he insulted with a manipulative smirk.

  ‘Besides I though you hated me. That’s what.’

  Birna and Brigida kept exchanging uncomfortable looks. In addition to that, the former of the two seemed to have a glint of jealousy in her eyes.

  ‘Why would you think that?’

  I lifted a hand. ‘It doesn’t matter anyway. Whether or not you like me, I mean…’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because I can’t freaking stand you.’

  And with those words, I shot off into the darkness, headed for the big city. As the autumn wind howled in my face, I couldn’t help admitting to myself that my dislike for Corey was slowly dwindling away. Was it being replaced by something close to interest? No! Of course not! The thought angered me, which only contributed to my speed.

  Not before long, I realized Corey, true to his word, was right behind me. Narrowing my eyes, I ordered my feet to reach their maximum speed, before dislodging a heap of dead leaves into his face.

  ‘What did you do that for?’ he demanded, once he was by my side.

  I was about to reply when I caught his gaze. ‘Are you staring at my ass?’

  He looked away immediately. ‘No,’ he lied, on the defensive, ‘of course not.’

  ‘Well, it definitely didn’t look like you were checking out my back.’

  ‘I-I was looking at your shoes.’

  ‘My shoes?’

  He nodded and began to fall back. I didn’t for one second honestly believe that I was that much faster than him. He was obviously trying to avoid another falling-out. To my anger and frustration, I found that I was pleased – almost flattered, really.

  About thirty minutes later, we were in the underground parking of the luxury hotel where we’d left the automobile. Much to my surprise, Calvin was leaning against the shiny bumper, arms folded, chewing a red apple.

  ‘I figured you’d come to get the car sooner or later.’