by Alex Duval
“From the alley?” the girl sounded skeptical.
“No. The entrance is in the alley,” Luke said. “There’s a gate that leads to the beach.”
“Okay. Sounds delicious.” The girl giggled, and Jason heard their footsteps moving away toward the service alley that ran behind the club. He peered around the other side of the SUV, waiting for them to move out of sight so that he could show himself.
The moon had come out from behind a cloud, and it shone down onto the lot. He could see the girl clearly now, see her smile as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder.
And he could see the guy, too—which came as a shock. Because it wasn’t Luke Archer.
It was Scott Challon.
Seventeen
“Let’s go,” Scott said. He took the girl’s hand and led her toward the alley.
Jason had to remind himself to breathe. What was Scott doing back at the club? Where had he come from? Jason scanned the parking lot, looking for Adam. Surely his friend would have called him to say Scott was heading back to The Dreamhouse.
But it was Luke with that girl, a voice whispered in Jason’s head. He had been certain that it was Luke. How could the girl be with Luke one second and with Scott the next?
She couldn’t be, Jason thought. Unless Luke made himself look like Scott!
And, with that thought, Jason yanked out his cell and called Adam, who answered on the first ring.
“Adam, where’s Scott?” Jason demanded. “You still following him?”
“Yeah. He’s at Duke’s Burgers. Been here for more than an hour,” Adam complained. “Just him and his friends. I wish they’d go home if they’re not going to commit any crimes.”
Jason’s heart began to thump so hard that he was surprised Adam couldn’t hear it. “You’re sure he’s there right now?”
“Yes. He’s eating French fries and telling jokes. His boys are laughing. I’m looking right at him.”
“So am I,” Jason murmured. “Scott and that redhead he was with earlier have just disappeared around the side of the club.”
“What?” Adam cried.
“Just stay on Scott. Don’t let him leave your sight,” Jason said. He hung up the phone and ran toward the alley. He knew what was going on now, and it was very, very bad. If Scott was sitting in a burger bar, then it was Luke holding hands with the redhead. And if Luke had made himself look like Scott Challon—he had to be a vampire.
Jason raced around The Dreamhouse and into the dark alley. The two-story building blocked the moon, and there were no lights. The sound of the surf drifted up from the beach behind the alley, but Jason didn’t see any beach access from back here. The alley was filled with Dumpsters for the club and some old rusted barstools. Besides The Dreamhouse, the nearest building was three hundred yards away. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to come into this alley unless they were here to drop off supplies at the service entrance to the club, or to pick up the garbage. Why would anyone bother putting in an access path to the beach?
He’s going to kill her. Jason knew it with absolute certainty. Soft laughter drifted toward him from somewhere up ahead. He hurried forward, running softly to keep from being heard. Finally he spotted them, up against the concrete wall of the club, making out. Luke’s hands were in her red hair, and his lips were on her neck. He opened his mouth, and Jason saw the moonlight glint off vicious fangs.
Jason shouted, “Hey!” and the vampire looked up.
He still looked like Scott Challon in almost every way. But his eyes met Jason’s. Green eyes shone in the darkness as if lit from within. There was no humanity there, only evil and uncontrolled desire: bloodlust. Just what Sienna had described—pure, pulsating hunger for human blood, an unnatural need. But of one thing Jason was completely certain: They were Luke Archer’s eyes.
Jason actually felt a momentary sense of relief as everything finally added up. It had been Luke all along. He’d been impersonating Scott the whole time—even at Belle’s yacht party—and so Scott had gotten arrested, not Luke. No one had even seen Luke near the dead girl. Well, except Scott, Jason remembered, but nobody had believed him.
Luke stared at Jason now, his fangs still sunk into the flesh of the girl’s neck.
“I think we’ve got some things to discuss,” Jason said firmly. He took a step toward the vampire.
Luke lifted his head and released the girl’s neck. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, black as oil in the darkness. The redhead swooned, falling back against the wall of the club, almost unconscious. She raised her hand to her neck, smearing blood all over herself. But when she saw it on her fingers, she only laughed as if it were the funniest thing she’d ever seen.
“Get out of here!” Jason told her. “Run. Go!”
The girl looked up at him, still smiling vaguely as if she’d had too much nitrous oxide at the dentist’s surgery.
“Run!” Jason yelled.
She blinked, confused, then turned to Luke. “Scott, what’s going on?” she asked.
Luke smiled, his razor-sharp fangs showing white against the darkness. His eyes still glowed with lust. “It’s your lucky day,” he hissed at the girl.
Finally she seemed to snap out of her trance. Staring at the atrocity that was Luke’s mouth, she backed away. Jason grabbed her arms and shoved her toward the entrance of the alley. Tears streaking her face, she stumbled into a run. He watched her until she disappeared around the corner of the building. Then he turned to face the vampire.
Luke licked his lips and smiled a bloody smile. “It’s nice of you to take her place,” he growled, his voice at least an octave lower than normal. “I generally prefer female blood, but if it means so much to you, I’ll be happy to drink yours instead.”
Eighteen
Jason felt a thrill of fear as he stared at the creature before him: a vampire. A feverish nightmare come to life.
Luke chuckled. The sound was grating, like metal scraping against metal. And somehow it cleared through the fog of fear in Jason’s brain. No matter what the guy was, he’d killed an innocent girl. And he intended to kill again. Jason intended to defend himself at any cost.
“Sorry. I’m not up for getting drained by a bloodlusting freak tonight,” he said grimly.
Luke’s laughter echoed off the walls of the building as he began to change. His face twisted, losing any hint of Scott Challon’s features. Gradually, the face of Luke Archer emerged. The same face that Luke wore when he sat at Jason’s lunch table in the school cafeteria. But then his body began to change, as well. The muscles of his arms expanded, growing to twice their normal size. His legs and torso lengthened. Even his neck seemed to stretch as he grew half a foot taller, so that he now towered over Jason.
Finally, Luke stood still—impossibly strong, improbably massive. His upper lip curled and he let out a low snarl.
Jason’s neck spasmed as if his body remembered the last fight he’d had with a vampire—Dominic—who had been kind of thin, and not very muscular. But he’d almost squeezed Jason’s throat closed before Jason had managed to defend himself. His strength had been entirely out of proportion to his size.
But Luke was huge. Jason couldn’t even imagine the extent of his strength. He swallowed hard and balled his hands into fists. He saw no way to escape. All he could do was fight.
Jason went on the offensive, dropping into a fighting stance and then springing forward with a series of jabs to Luke’s torso. He got in a few solid hits, but the guy barely seemed to notice. He grabbed Jason’s hand in mid-swing and jerked him forward, toward those flashing fangs.
Jason ducked, still going forward, using the force of Luke’s own move against him. Luke stumbled backward, thrown off balance. Jason took advantage of the vampire’s confusion to get in a roundhouse kick to the chest. Luke stumbled farther back.
But then he laughed.
In one move, he lunged forward and backhanded Jason across the face. The blow was so strong that Jason’s head snapped to the si
de and he fell.
Luke jumped on him immediately, pinning Jason to the ground. He bared his fangs. “Did you really think you could stop me?” he snarled.
“No…but I can,” a cold voice replied.
Luke leaped off Jason and scanned the alley.
Jason whipped around too, as he scrambled to his feet. No one was there; no one had entered the alley. And yet, by the time he turned back to Luke, Zach Lafrenière was standing between them.
Jason glanced up at the roof of the club. Zach must have jumped down from there. Insane. The roof had to be almost thirty feet high. It became increasingly obvious to Jason that he knew very little about vampires.
Jason watched the two as they faced off.
Luke didn’t bother talking to Zach. He just hurled himself at the other vampire. But Zach leaped straight up into the air, tumbling over Luke’s shoulder to land behind him. Immediately he wrapped his arm around the bigger guy’s neck and squeezed.
Jason backed away, trying to get out of the range of Luke’s flailing legs. Luke struggled, twisting back and forth, but Zach held on. Finally Luke threw all his weight back against the wall of the club, slamming Zach into the concrete.
Zach let out a strangled cry, and Luke laughed and jerked away from Zach’s grasp, turning to attack head-on. But Zach was faster. He ducked and rolled to the side so that Luke’s fist smashed harmlessly into the wall.
Behind his opponent once again, Zach jumped into the air, shooting six feet straight up. He kicked Luke in the back of the neck, snapping his head forward. Then, on the way down, he caught hold of the guy’s head and twisted it savagely to one side, trying to break his neck. Watching, Jason felt as if he’d slipped into The Matrix. Evidently the laws of physics didn’t apply to vampires.
Luke spun with the move and grabbed Zach’s legs, using the force of Zach’s jump against him. Zach flew through the air and landed in a heap ten feet away.
Jason expected him to stay there, but Zach leaped right back up and charged at Luke, slamming him back against one of the Dumpsters. The thick metal crumpled where he hit it. Thick. Metal. Crumpled. Jason couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Luke bellowed like an enraged animal. He pummeled Zach with his fists, his eyes burning like green fire. Zach blocked most of the blows, but he was slowing down.
He hasn’t drunk as much blood as Luke, Jason realized. All that blood consumed in bloodlust has made Luke stronger.
Zach ducked a blow and jumped to the side, grabbing one of the rusted bar stools. He held it in front of him for protection, but Luke caught hold of the metal legs and pulled with all his strength. Zach flew forward, stumbling to the ground as Luke tore the stool from his grasp.
In one move, Luke snapped a metal leg off the stool and hurled himself on top of his enemy. Pinning Zach down with one arm, he raised the metal leg over his head like a spear. In just a moment, Luke would plunge the metal stake into Zach’s heart, and Jason remembered Sienna saying that that was fatal for humans and vampires alike.
He had no choice. He ran at Luke and threw himself at the vampire with all his strength.
Caught off guard, Luke tumbled off of Zach, just as he had started to bring the metal stake down. He hit the ground hard, and Jason heard the stake clatter to the pavement. He breathed a sigh of relief; he’d saved Zach’s life—for the time being. But right now was not the time to celebrate.
Hold him down, Jason told himself, driving Luke’s shoulders into the ground with every ounce of strength he possessed. But in a few moments, Luke had managed to free one arm. He reached up and threw Jason off. Jason felt himself flying through the air and then he slammed into the blacktop—hard. The wind rushed from his lungs and he lay still for a moment, just trying to breathe.
Meanwhile, Luke rose to his feet, reached down, and grabbed Jason by the throat. He lifted him off the ground with one hand and slammed him back against the wall. Jason kicked out, hoping to connect with a vulnerable part of Luke, but there didn’t seem to be one.
Jason couldn’t think of another plan of attack while suspended several feet above the ground and slowly running out of air. He struggled to stay conscious, but blackness clouded his vision.
All he could see was Luke’s blazing green eyes as he bared his fangs and went for Jason’s jugular.
Then there came a sickening thud, followed by a hideous sucking sound. Luke’s eyes widened in surprise and he looked down. Jason followed his gaze—just in time to see the metal stake emerge from Luke’s ribcage and shoot straight into the wall beneath his own armpit.
Luke stared at the metal stake as if confused. Then he slumped forward, dead.
Over Luke’s hunched shoulders, Jason met Zach’s eyes. His gaze was cool and steady, in spite of the fact that he had just stabbed Luke through the heart.
Was he trying to stab us both? Jason wondered.
Zach jerked the stake backward, and Luke’s body tumbled to the pavement. Jason fell with him, landing in a crouch over the vampire. But he didn’t take his eyes off the body, because it was changing. The crazed vampire who’d been ready to kill Jason a few seconds ago was gone. Luke was…Luke again. A thin guy, not especially tall, not especially muscular.
But Jason noticed something else different about him now: His features seemed sharper, his bone structure more perfect, his skin completely unblemished. He’d never been this remarkable-looking at school. Clearly he’d been toning down his appearance the same way Sienna did, in order to blend in.
His clear green eyes were open, but the crazed glow of the bloodlust had died with him. His mouth bore traces of blood, but the fangs had vanished. He looked entirely human.
“Freeman.” Jason looked up to see Zach holding out a hand. He grabbed it, and Zach pulled him to his feet. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Jason’s voice came out hoarse. He looked down at himself, searching for signs of injury. Everything hurt, but nothing seemed to be broken. “I’m fine.” He looked at Zach. “How about you?”
Zach laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I’m great,” he said. And Jason could see that he was. The guy looked as if he were going clubbing, not as if he’d just survived the fight of his life. No bruises, no blood, not a hair out of place.
“What were you doing here?” Jason asked.
“Looking for him.” Zach glanced down at Luke. “We couldn’t let him kill again.”
“You knew?” Jason demanded. “You knew it was Luke?”
“Not until tonight,” Zach said. “He didn’t grow up with us, so we didn’t know he was…one of us. But there’s a certain feeling we get. I’ve had suspicions about him for a while now.”
“And you didn’t do anything about it?” Jason said, disgusted.
“I didn’t know he’d go rogue,” Zach replied flatly. “Bloodlust is dangerous. It’s forbidden. We’re taught that from infancy. None of us would ever give in to it. The very idea is unthinkable.”
Jason sighed. “Sorry. I know you’re not all…like him. I’m just—”
“It’s all right,” Zach cut him off.
Jason studied him. Sienna and Brad were so friendly, so normal. But Zach was different. Aloof. Yet he’d done the right thing tonight. “You saved my life,” Jason said. “I guess I owe you one.”
“No. You saved my life too,” Zach said. “You don’t owe me anything.”
Jason smiled. “Okay. We’re even.”
For the first time, Zach smiled back. For an instant, then it was gone. “No, not even. You shouldn’t have been here. It wasn’t your problem,” he said. “Go home. I’ve got some cleaning up to do.”
Cleaning up? Jason thought. Weren’t they going to call the cops? What the hell was Zach going to do with a dead guy who’d been staked through the heart? He opened his mouth to ask, but the look on Zach’s face silenced him.
I don’t want to know, Jason decided. He already knew more about the ways of vampires than he wanted to. “Okay. Good luck,” Jason said.
Zach
just raised an eyebrow.
“Right. No luck necessary,” Jason corrected himself. He turned and walked away. Zach obviously knew what he was doing.
When he got back to the parking lot, Jason pulled out his cell and called Adam.
“Jason? What’s going on?” Adam greeted him.
“You still following Scott?” Jason asked, picking his way through the cars toward the road.
“Yeah.”
“Well, you can stop,” Jason said. “We found the killer—”
“We?” Adam interrupted.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you tomorrow.” Jason reached the edge of the parking lot and stepped out onto the sidewalk. It was late, and only a few cars whizzed by on the Pacific Coast Highway.
“So it’s not Scott?” Adam asked.
“No—our very own Luke Archer. He was a vampire,” Jason said. “But he’s dead.”
A long silence on the other end of the line. “Jason,” Adam finally said. “Did you…”
“No.” Jason took a deep breath. “Look. It’s all taken care of. I’ll explain in the morning.”
“Wanna meet at Peet’s Coffee?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you there at ten.” Jason hit end, then began scrolling through his phone book for the number of the cab company he’d used to get here. He felt drained, both physically and mentally, as if he’d been through a fifteen-round boxing match and the SATs all at once.
“Need a lift?”
The unmistakable voice of Sienna. Jason looked up slowly from his phone, unable to stop himself from smiling at the sight of her. The exhaustion vanished from his body the instant his eyes met hers.
She sat in her Spider, which was idling on the side of the road. “What are you doing here?” he asked, walking over. He leaned in through the passenger-side window.
“I was at the The Dreamhouse,” Sienna said.
“Not while I was in there, you weren’t,” Jason replied.