by Eve Paludan
In a blur, he parted the sea of spectators with his fists and caught the hand of the teenage vampire with the knife and knocked it away—then he pummeled the bloodthirsty guy into the highly polished wooden plank floor for his actions.
Anthony tore the ropes from the screaming girl with his bare hands. “Go!” he ordered, waking her out of her frozen terror.
Emily scrambled past him and ran into Tammy. Tammy grabbed her hand while chaos ensued and said, “Come on, let’s get you out of here!”
“How do I know you aren’t one of them?”
“Hey, my brother and I are saving you here! The least you can do is cooperate.” Tammy yanked the bleeding girl along toward the door that led to the restroom, the locker room and the outside exit.
When they got to the restroom door, Tammy turned to see her brother fighting for his life. “Anthony, look out! Come on! Run!”
“I’m a little busy!” Anthony had a bunch of vampires trying to beat him up and he was giving them hell, but they were ganging up on him until he had five of them trying to take him down.
“Turn on your arms, dumbass!” Tammy shrieked.
“Inside the building?” he screamed back.
“Trust me,” Tammy yelled. “Turn them on and point them upward at the high ceiling. It’s metal!”
Anthony roared at the vampires, turned his arms into flames, and pointed them upward toward the ceiling. The flames shot partway to the high ceiling and suddenly, water sprayed everywhere from the fire sprinkler system.
Tammy screamed, “Water kills vampires!” and tried to send the vampires a mind suggestion so they would believe it, even though that was a lie. Apparently, some of them did believe it and rushed toward the exits.
Pandemonium ensued, and Anthony ran to Tammy and Emily, picking up a baseball bat along the way and jamming it through the handle of the restroom door so no one could follow them out of the building through that exit.
Outside, Anthony leaped over the guy he had knocked down earlier, who was moaning and crawling with his feet still zip-tied together toward his knife in the bushes.
Tammy got the car unlocked, pushed Emily in the back seat and dove in the driver’s seat and started the car. Anthony got in the other side and Tammy pulled out of the parking lot, tires squealing and leaving a long scratch.
Anthony turned around and looked at Emily, who lay inert across the back seat and slid around as Tammy made some turns in the neighborhood to ditch anyone who was trying to follow them.
Anthony said, “Tam, she’s not breathing! And she’s pale. We have to get her to a hospital!”
“Oh, no, she must have lost a lot of blood. There’s so much of it on her clothes, I can’t even see where she’s hurt.” Tammy headed for the freeway, so she could get Emily to the nearest ER.
Anthony took off his seat belt, hopped over the seat and got in the back with Emily. “I’m going to start CPR. Drive faster, Tam. Faster!”
As Anthony leaned closer, intending to put his mouth over Emily’s and start breathing for her, she opened her eyes and said, “Something’s wrong with me. I’m not breathing, but I’m… alive, I guess. I feel like utter crap, though.”
Now, Anthony screamed for the first time since they had started this rescue mission. “Pull over! Pull over! She’s a vampire!”
“I’m a vampire?” Emily hissed experimentally. “Yup, I guess I am a vampire.” She hissed again, pleased with the sound, and laughed maniacally.
He jumped over the seat again into the front seat but didn’t turn his back on Emily.
Tammy said firmly, “Emily, stop that hissing right now or I will pull this car over and really give you something to hiss about!”
Anthony looked at Tammy, shocked. “Oh, my God, you’re becoming our mother. I never thought I’d see the day!”
“Shut up, Ant.”
Emily quit making the hissing sound and then started sobbing wildly. “I remember now. I was dead for a minute… but then I heard something talking inside of me! And waking me up with his scary demands for blood. I was dead, but now, I’m undead like all of them! The ones who attacked me! What am I going to do? I can’t go home like this. As if running away wasn’t bad enough, now, my foster parents will really flip out! I’ll get kicked out for sure or have to go to a detention center until I’m eighteen.”
“She’s right, Tam,” Anthony said. “They won’t understand.”
Emily leaned forward and tried to look in the rearview mirror. “How do I look? I can’t see myself in the mirror.”
“You’re pale, what do you think?” Anthony said.
“How pale?” she replied.
“Ghastly,” Anthony assured her. “Death warmed over. Chalk face.”
“Nooooo!” Emily screamed shrilly.
“You’re not helping, Anthony,” Tammy scolded him.
Emily sobbed and tried again to see herself in the rearview mirror, leaning over the seat back, putting her head between Tammy and Anthony and messing with the mirror.
Tammy said, “Emily, get out of my way. I’m trying to drive. Sit back and buckle up like a good vampire so I don’t get a seat belt ticket.”
“There are good vampires?” Emily sniffled as she clicked her seatbelt closed.
Anthony handed her a box of tissues from the car’s console. “There are good and bad vampires, just like there are good and bad people. The first rule of being a vampire is, ‘Don’t be evil.’”
“I’ll try.” Emily said. “I’m hangry, though.”
“Hungry and angry?” Anthony said.
“Yeah, I want to kill something very violently and suck it dry. A mammal on two legs, preferably. Hey, I can hear your heartbeats. They’re loud!”
“Well, that didn’t take long,” Anthony said.
Anthony and Tammy looked at each other as she drove.
“Is there anything left in Mom’s garage fridge?” Tammy asked.
“I dunno, Tam. Anyway, we don’t have a key to it.”
“I have a key to it. I took it off Mom’s key ring years ago and made a copy, then returned the original.”
“Dang, Tammy. Is there anything you won’t do to shatter Mom’s trust of you?”
“Well, I wanted to know what she kept in there that was so secret, she had to put a lock on it. I figured it was Sprinkles cupcakes for my birthday. I was pretty grossed out when I saw it was pig blood in plastic bags.”
“Well, I’m glad you have a key. I guess. We need to find something to feed Emily or she’ll—”
“Yes, that’s right, delicious Anthony who smells like Axe. I’ll find something or someone on my own.” Emily licked her lips. “Mmm, both of you, I can hear your pulses and how fast they’re going now!”
Tammy shook her head. “Behave while we figure out what to do with you, beyond getting those mascara tracks off your cheeks before the Kardashians see it and find a way to turn it into a viral makeup look.”
“Oh, no!” Emily licked her hand and scrubbed at her face with that hand.
Anthony suggested, “I know she’s working tonight, but what if we call Mom?”
“And tell her what? That we’ve brought a vampire home? And that the vampire who came to dinner is probably having us for the first course before she ravages the neighborhood? She will not be happy, especially since she and I just argued about my impulsive, irresponsible actions.”
“Well, who else are we going to call? Ghostbusters?” Anthony asked.
“Oh, snap! How about Fang?”
Chapter 11
Sam rang the doorbell at Kingsley’s house. She grinned when she realized the new doorbell played about the first eight notes of the song, “Moon River.”
Franklin, the patchwork-skinned butler, answered. He let her into the foyer and closed the door but said, “He’s not home right now. Were you expected?”
“Hi, Franklin. No, I just… May I come in? I really need to talk to him. And I couldn’t get him on the phone.”
“I’m sorry. He
went out on an errand after checking the freezer for something and not finding it. If I’m guessing correctly, he just went out for ice cream. And his phone is on the charger in his study. The battery isn’t holding a full charge anymore. Would you like to wait for Mr. Kingsley?”
Sam smiled. “I would. I’ll wait.”
“Very good. Would you like to wait in the living room?”
“Yes, please.”
“Want the television on?”
“No, just books. You know me. The book is always better.”
Franklin smiled a crooked smile as she followed him across the marble entryway to the massive living room with its white couches and moon-themed decor.
“Coffee, tea, or maybe a little hair of the dog?” he offered.
“No, thanks. I’m good. I’ll just make myself comfortable.”
Franklin nodded and disappeared through a semi-hidden pocket door that must have been a secret passageway to somewhere interesting. One day, she would get a full tour of Kingsley’s Yorba Linda home.
Sam became engrossed in a coffee table book that was all about the moon and had just gotten to the end of it when Kingsley did indeed show up with ice cream. Apparently, he had been to Von’s and had bags and bags of ice cream containers.
Franklin appeared as if from nowhere and took the bags from him, then headed for the kitchen.
Sam put down the book and stood up. “Surprise!”
“Sam, what an unexpected pleasure. But you look out of sorts. Everything okay at home?”
“No, I just had it out with Tammy for skipping school.”
“Whoa. Again?”
“Yeah.”
“Want me to speak with her?”
“No, I got it, but thanks for the offer. I threatened to withhold the tuition money from her first semester at college if she ever skips school again.”
“That’s extreme. Why didn’t you just ground her?”
“Because it doesn’t work. I had to threaten to take away something that means everything to her if she messes up again.”
“Now there’s some tough love. But you know your daughter better than anyone does. I support your decision because you’re the best mother I know.”
She smiled. “Thanks for your support, but that isn’t why I came tonight. Not to grouse about Tammy.”
“What’s up?”
“Something went south, deep south, with my current infidelity case.”
“Really? Let’s go in my home office and talk.”
They walked through the dining room into his study. Kingsley turned on the gas fireplace and pulled two massive wingback chairs in front of it. He took one. She sat in the other, and they both put their feet on the warming hearth.
“So?”
“I’ll cut to the chase. It’s an adultery case, and I’m surveilling the wife. Not only is my client’s wife cheating with her work partner—who’s a cop, by the way—but something even worse is going down. And I don’t mean that in a sexy way.”
He raised his chin a bit. “Let me guess, Sam. I can see the sick look on your face. She’s a vampire, right?”
“No, but you’re close. He’s a vampire. The guy she’s having an affair with is a freaking blood-sucking, horny-as-eff vampire.”
“I didn’t expect that.”
“Neither did I. But there you are—my unexpected case direction. And top it off—”
“In a sexy way?” he interrupted.
“No. I meant to say, she might be under a compulsion.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She’s been his willing feeder for a while. He feeds from her, and if it has the same effect as when I used to feed from Allison’s wrist—”
“Wait a minute, Sam. You did that?” Kingsley asked, astonished.
“Yeah, I did. She wanted to feed me. I didn’t compel her, but she got addicted to it, and I have to admit, so did I.” Sam paused. “I feel so dirty, telling you one of my deepest, darkest secrets.”
“I’m an attorney. I’ve heard worse.”
“But not from me.”
“True. But why on earth would Allison want to do that with you? Was it a sexy time for you two?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Why do men always think like that? Can’t it just be about friendship? A close friendship? A symbiotic platonic relationship between two women?”
“Of course, it can. Please continue.”
“Believe it or not, it made her more psychic to be my feeder-symbiont, and possibly amped up her witchy powers.”
“You don’t say. That’s intriguing.”
“It was. She got addicted to it very badly, though, and after a while, it was more Allison compelling me to keep feeding from her than me wanting to feed from her. I finally put a stop to it, though it did put a damper on our friendship. I think it took a long time for her blood count to go back up, too. She was pale for months.”
“I’m glad you stopped doing that with her. That’s not you, Sam. That was Elizabeth making you do it.”
“My ‘inner bitch’ entity? I never even thought of that. But that makes more sense than me doing it on my own. Elizabeth is sneaky like that. But I share the blame for letting that situation get out of control, for a long time, too.” Sam paused. “Can we get back to talking about my client’s wife cheating on her husband?”
“Sure. Let’s get to the juicy part, though. Besides the blood feedings, they’re having vampire-human sex, too?”
“Oh, at this point, the sex is the least of it. He’s a freaking vampire detective.”
“I see what you did there.”
“Kingsley. Geez.”
“Sam, I do see your problem. You have to report back to your client about his wife’s infidelity, but you don’t want to tell your client that his wife is cheating on him with a vampire, but that it isn’t her fault because it’s nonconsensual?”
“Exactly. It puts me at risk, too, to even acknowledge that vampires exist. He might guess that I’m a vampire and not just a really pale woman with creepy eyes. He looked at me askance.”
“How dare he? You don’t have creepy eyes. You’re beautiful, Sam. You don’t even know because you can’t see yourself in the mirror.”
“Flatterer.”
“It’s the truth. One look in your vampire eyes, years ago, and I was all yours.”
“Shut up, it took you months for you to become completely mine,” Sam said and laughed. “Lest you forget about the fork-stabbing I gave you when I found out I wasn’t your one and only lover.”
“Good thing that’s water under the bridge,” he said carefully.
“I still don’t think of you as my ‘property.’ A pretty woman can still turn your head.”
He laughed. “It’s the wolf in me. It’s all his fault.” He paused. “Do you remember our first night together?”
“I could never forget that, Kingsley. You made me feel worthy again, and cared for, and sexy. Hell, I hadn’t had a you-know-what since I became a vampire. Until you. Dear God, that felt so good to just let go and be… satisfied.”
He nodded and winked at her.
“Kingsley, I’m serious when I say we’re really digressing here.”
“You’re a party to that digression as well. Sorry, not sorry, to deviate into sexy territory,” he said lightly.
“Please, Kingsley. I need legal advice, and you’re a lawyer. What the hell am I going to tell my client? And don’t say the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So, I officially dub you my lawyer for this legal advice, if you’ll accept me as your client and keep this convo on track.”
“Of course, I will. Our attorney-client confidentiality is in force now, and I promise, no more sexy flirting while you tell me everything you know about your investigation.”
She shot him a grateful look. “I knew I did the right thing by coming to you with this.” And then she blabbed all that she knew of the investigation as fast as she could get it out.
Kingsley said, “That’s quite an
infidelity case. Here’s the thing. If you tell the husband she’s cheating on him, but you want to absolve her of blame and try to save their marriage, then you have to also tell him that her lover is doing some sort of mind control on her.”
“He’ll ask how, and it will be a can of worms unlike any other client of mine has had opened by me. I mean, I could say Amber Tarkington cheated on her husband because she was hypnotized by Detective Holden, but that isn’t really credible or provable unless he knows about the vampire part.”
“Come now. You’ve had more complicated investigation cases than this one.”
“I suppose I have.”
“I understand why you don’t want to rat her out because her partner is a vampire and that potentially exposes you. So, and this suggestion is rather unorthodox, but what if you have a talk with Detective Kevin Holden, vampire to vampire, and ask him to un-compel Amber Tarkington? And if she still loves him, she’ll stay his lover, and if she doesn’t, it was never meant to be.”
“Kingsley, she’s feeding him. Do you know what it is like to block access to a blood meal from a vampire?”
“He’d try to kill you over rights to his feeder?”
“Of course.”
“All righty then… Sam, as your lawyer, I have to ask you a hard question.”
Sam’s lip quivered a bit. “Go for it, Counselor.”
“Are you thinking of killing Kevin Holden?”
She didn’t answer right away. “It did briefly cross my mind, but I dismissed it as a viable option. I’m not going to kill another vampire in cold blood. And also open myself up to scrutiny from the Fullerton PD when they lose a top narcotics detective. Detective Sherbet already knows I’m working this case because he gave the husband my name and number as a referral. If the guy she’s cheating with turns up dead, i.e., missing, it’s about three seconds of Sherbet thinking about that and knowing I did it.”
“I’m glad you dismissed the notion of murder. Only because you feared being caught.”