by Jade White
For a second, she thought she’d won. He retreated from her after she came, kissing her on the lips softly as she closed her eyes, exhausted. Her breasts were heaving, and her nipples were cold, so she knew her shirt had come off again at some point. Kim was surprised she wasn’t sore from their vigorous sex from earlier; in fact, it was really strange that she wasn’t sore, because she nearly always was whenever they had sex more than once. She heard a door open and close in the distance. Going to wash his hands, I bet.
She opened her eyes wearily. “That was incredible,” she called. “Can that happen every time we argue?”
When Luke didn’t answer, she sat up, and the room seemed to tilt around her. Whoa. What the hell? It felt like she’d been drugged, but she hadn’t drank anything in at least an hour. “Luke?”
There was no answer.
“Luke!”
Her heart started to race, and her sluggish brain finally caught up with reality.
He used magic on me. He drugged me up when I came and ran out the fucking door.
The anger inside her inflated to fill her lungs, spreading through her body with each breath she took. Miraculously, the rage seemed to be driving back the fog; after nearly a minute of heavy breathing, Kim was able to stand and begin to dress.
Luke had gone through a lot of trouble to stop her from following her, it seemed. He had never used his magic on her before, even accidentally, and Kim wasn’t sure she ever wanted to experience it again.
All that trouble, and it was for nothing. Nothing! You can’t run from me, Luke, just like I couldn’t run from you.
She was angry and confused as she picked up her car keys, and she didn’t even stop to consider forming a plan; her body and brain were finally on the same page, and that was all that mattered. Finding out what the page said would just be a bonus.
***
Kim had been driving for an hour outside of the city when it occurred to her that she should try and tap into the bond instead of wandering around, hoping her internal compass would lead her to the right place. Her anger had cooled, and now she was flooded with worry. How can I do this? She pictured Luke’s face in her mind, trying to call up the feeling she got when he was near her, but the anger started to mount again, and the picture faded.
Shit. What if he’s right? What if it’s a trap? What if I don’t find him in time?
She thought back to the first body she’d seen. It seemed longer than two weeks ago, probably because she’d seen a body nearly every day after that. Ryan had been one of the worst, because he looked so young – he was nineteen when he’d turned, so the 60-year-old vampire looked smaller and more frail than any of the others she’d seen. Ryan had been one of the vampires that hadn’t been present when she stumbled upon their training, but it hit her just as hard. Kim wondered if it had to do with the bond. The next second, she realized she was tired of asking that question.
Kim turned down a side street, her headlights shooting up the blacktop and lighting up every twig and pebble scattered there. Her eyesight was still getting sharper, it seemed, and it was one of the things she was most grateful for. She could read the lettering on a plastic bag from three hundred feet away, and she could see a possum’s beady black eyes from roughly the same distance. Maybe it’ll keep me out of trouble tonight. Kim groaned. Why did he have to scamper off after dark? Maybe we should see if the serial killer can switch to a daytime schedule.
If Luke had been around, her aura might have seemed cynical, but Kim defaulted to cruel humor as a defense mechanism these days. After years of stewing in anger over her pain, the only thing she was left with was a barely healed ulcer and sharp wit, but those weren’t filling any voids in her life. With a surge of warmth, she realized she did have something filling the void now--two things, in fact. Two things she wouldn’t trade for all the Pepcid and wisecracks in the world. Her heart started to defrost. I guess I am changing a little, she thought. I never used to get this mushy. Thanks, Evan and Luke. She drove in silence for a while, trying not to get any deeper in her thoughts.
Unbidden, and image of an ashen-faced Luke lying with limbs akimbo filled her head, and her heart felt like it was wrenching itself out of her body. Please don’t let me be too late, she thought. Please. She had no idea who she was begging, or even if she believed it would work.
Her arms turned the wheel automatically, and she slowed the car as it plowed through a tall field of twisted weeds. She turned on her brights and was relieved to find another flimsy shack standing a hundred yards away, slightly bigger than the first shack Luke had taken her to. Does this outpost have weapons? It didn’t matter to her, really, as long as it helped her find Luke.
Her skin started to buzz like there were bees just under her subcutaneous tissue, and she knew she was close. Her teeth were vibrating as the car drew closer. Something in the back of her mind told her to stop, and she stomped on the brakes and threw the car in park, throwing up a mushroom cloud of dust behind her little green Fiat.
Kim got out of the car slowly, rotating her head on her neck like an oscillating fan. There was no way to take in everything, because her eyes could still only see so far in the dark, but she felt reasonably sure she wasn’t going to be attacked at that moment. She took a step forward and pulled her hoodie closer to her, cursing herself for not bringing a real coat. The desert is cold as death at night. How did you forget that?
The icy wind whipped her ponytail into her face, and she held it back with one hand, staring around the perimeter of the shack for some sign of Luke – broken branches, footprints, anything. She looked fruitlessly for a full minute, her heart in her throat at first; as she searched, it slid back down into her chest and started to dip toward her stomach. Finally, just as she was reaching the limit of her frustration, she spotted some bent weeds leading up to the area behind the shack. She suppressed a cheer and crept as quietly as she could along the makeshift path. (Why am I creeping? she thought. Then: Why not?)
As she neared the back of the shack, she saw that the door was wide open. Kim stopped just before she rounded the corner, looking around wildly for some kind of explanation; there were no other trails, though, so she knew she had to suck it up and go in. Why did I do this? Why didn’t I just call the cops and report him missing? They have vampires on the force.
But she was here now, and there was an irresistible compulsion compelling her forward. Kim needed to see what was in that shack, or she would have come here for nothing. Whether or not Luke was lying dead in there, this was the reason she had come out, and she hated waste almost as much as she hated being ordered around. Kim steeled herself, took a deep breath, and trotted over to the doorway, ready to run into the shack with only the brights of her car shining on its walls for light.
She ran straight into Luke, hogtied, gagged and suspended from the doorway, his face a mask of horror at first. Then his eyes focused on her face, and his eyes widened as he started to shout through his gag.
“Ssh!” Kim said, still not sure why quiet was so important. She pulled out the small pocket knife she had brought along and started sawing through the ropes, working as quickly as she could as her hands trembled like leaves in the wind. Luke kept grunting, and she dropped the knife once, but after two tense minutes, he collapsed to the dirt, tugged his arms loose, and ripped out the cloth gag.
“Kim,” he said hoarsely, but she knelt in the sand and pressed a hand to his lips, wincing at how raw they looked.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said quietly.
Luke shook his head, looking lost and broken. “It was a trap,” he said.
Kim hooked her shoulder under his arm and boosted him up, glad, for once, that she had some kind freakish vampire strength from the bond. “I know, baby.”
Luke was still shaking his head. “Kim, he’s in there. He might not be dead yet.”
She looked at him, trying to figure out if she’d missed a word or two. “Who?”
A long, shaky breath issued from the sha
ck just as Luke answered. “Anton.”
Kim stared at him for a second, unable to believe her ears. “You said he was dead.”
Luke shook his head again. “Trap,” he said weakly. He nodded in the direction of the shack, his eyes pleading. Kim paused, then helped him walk in, painfully aware of how dark it was when they got inside.
The dark was merciful, because whatever had happened to Anton had not been pretty. One of his legs looked deboned, and the other was bent out and to the side as though it had been snapped at the knee. Anton was gasping for air, his chest oddly sunken in, one of his arms attempting to reach for them both. Kim knelt beside him and grabbed his hand without thinking, Luke flanking him on the other side.
“Anton,” Kim whispered. “What happened?”
Anton looked at Luke, who struggled to speak normally.
“They told him I was dead,” he said flatly. “Got him to the shack, same way they got me. He got here first, and they….did something to him” Luke said. “I think they meant to kill him, but then I showed up.”
Kim’s blood ran cold. “You saw them? You saw the killer?”
Luke shook his head. “They had a hood, and a bandana around their face,” he said. “Attacked me, knocked me out immediately. I came to, and they were speaking through one of those voice modulators.” His eyes were blank, and Kim realized he was in shock. “They told me I would watch Anton die. Then they said they were calling someone else, and that person would watch me die.”
Kim fought the urge to vomit. “Why did they leave?”
“To call,” Luke said simply. “I don’t know who. I don’t even know if they really called anyone.”
Kim was looking down at Anton, panicked by his immense pain and the realization that she could do nothing about it. “Do you think they’re coming back?”
Luke shrugged. “I heard running. Then you pulled up.”
Kim groaned. I probably drove right past them.
Both vampires tensed at the same time, and Luke turned toward the door, trying to stand. Kim helped him, looping an arm around his waist, and was surprised when he found the strength to step in front of her. Vampires heal so quickly.
“Footsteps,” Anton croaked.
By the time they were just outside the shack, Kim heard them, too. She gripped her pocketknife, dimly aware that it would be useless against whatever kind of creature it was. Luckily, it was another vampire and not a monster.
“Holy shit!” Sonia’s face was the picture of disbelief. She looked around the shack, unable to settle on anyone. “Oh my God – Luke? Anton! Kimberly--what--?”
“Anton needs healing,” Luke said hurriedly. “Help me. I’ll explain.”
Kim was more than confused as they both dove to the floor and lifted a floorboard. Luke reached in and brought out what looked like an IV pack filled with blood, and Sonia had an identical one in her hand. She watched as Sonia placed both hands over Anton’s midsection and screwed up her eyes; Luke broke the IV open and started to dribble blood into Anton’s mouth. The temperature in the shack started to creep up, causing Kim to unzip her hoodie and start to fan herself with her hands.
They’re using their auras to heal him, she realized. Thank God.
Anton’s eyes grew clearer and brighter and Sonia looked up at Kim and then back to Luke. “Want to tell me what’s going on here? I got a call saying two of my vampires are dead. I get here and there’s two living vampires and a human, clearly worse for the wear.”
“It was a trap,” Luke said grimly. “Anton and I got the same call, regarding each other. They ambushed both of us. Anton only survived because I stumbled upon him while the thing was trying to kill him.”
Sonia frowned. “Thing? So it looked like an animal?”
On the ground, Anton was shaking his head and trying to speak, but Sonia shushed him.
“He was humanoid,” Luke said. “Human-like eyes, at least. No trace of vampirism.”
“Did he speak?” Sonia said. “The voice I heard sounded weird. Too gravelly.”
“Modulator,” Luke answered. “He’s covering his tracks well.”
“Shit,” Sonia muttered. She looked at Kim. “Look, I hate to ask this, but none of our homes are safe right now. Leshaun was killed in his own home, and I think they know where the rest of us live. Could Anton and I bunk with you until he’s ready to get back on his feet again?”
Luke stared at Sonia incredulously. “Are you kidding? Kim and Evan don’t need to be exposed to this--”
“They’re already exposed,” Sonia shot back. “You don’t think this guy knows all about them already? They’ll be safer with two healthy vampires in their home. And one healing one,” she added. “Who will soon be healthy.” Sonia squeezed one of Anton’s hands.
“No,” Luke said heatedly. “No way. Not after--”
Kim cleared her throat, and they all looked up at her.
“I have a sofabed and a cot,” she said. “You can stay with us.”
Luke glared at her, and she glared right back. “Sonia is right. We’re already in this, Luke. Besides, don’t you think you owe me a little bit of autonomy by now? I saved your life,” she said angrily.
Luke’s face softened, and he looked ashamed. “Yes. Yes, of course, Kim. You’re right.” He sounded defeated, but Kim tried not to feel guilty. She was right, after all.
“Okay,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
***
Daisy fled as soon as Kim pulled into her parking space, looking venomously at the car full of vampires. Kim had called ahead to give her warning, but she hadn’t expected her to leave so suddenly. After Kim got Anton and Sonia set up in the living room, she led Luke into her bedroom to lie down, thankful that Evan was such a heavy sleeper.
She stood over his crib, gazing at his peaceful face as he slept. How close had she come to being killed tonight? What would have happened to Evan? She was sure Suzanna would want to help take care of him, but she’d never ask her to give up her life to raise a child. Her parents were retired, and there was no way she’d ask them to raise another child. Her cousins were too estranged. Kim sighed. Her brother and Daisy were the only people fit to take care of Evan, and likely the only people who would be happy to take him. It wasn’t the best choice, but it wasn’t the worst.
Hands encircled her waist from behind, and she relaxed into Luke’s strong embrace, feeling the tension start to drain out of her body as his lips touched her neck. She smiled. Is this what a soul mate is? Always in sync, magnifying all our emotions, showing up in the nick of time?
“Thank you,” he said in her ear. “I wouldn’t be alive right now if it weren’t for you. Thank you, Kim.”
She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, pleased to see that he looked perfectly healthy again. “You’re not mad?”
“No!” Luke said. He paused. “Are you mad?”
Kim sighed. “That was a dirty trick you played on me. I didn’t like it, but I understand why you did it. Don’t do it again, please.”
“I won’t,” Luke promised. He kissed her, and Kim had to try very hard to calm her body as his hands drifted up and down her curves, gracefully avoiding her round backside with visible restraint.
“I love you,” he said simply.
Kim pressed her nose to his. “I love you, too.”
“Ahem.”
They both jumped and separated, looking at an embarrassed Sonia in the doorway of their bedroom.
“Sorry. I have some pertinent information,” she said. “Anton remembered something.”
Luke’s whole demeanor changed. “What is it?”
“Just a general description,” Sonia said. “And this is shocking. She’s human.”
Luke gawked. “She?”
“Human?” Kim echoed.
Sonia smiled grimly and nodded. “Yep. About 5’5, 145 pounds.”
“Anything else?” Luke asked breathlessly.
Sonia read from
a small notebook. “Uh...freckles. Girlish voice. Painted red nails. She had a face like a rat – slim, pointed, almost pinched. Red hair. No,” she corrected. “Red-orange, heavy on the orange. Like a carrot. Green eyes.” She flipped the notebook closed. “And a gap between her front teeth.”
Kim gasped, feeling like she’d been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.
Luke had turned to stare at her in concern, but Kim wasn’t paying attention to the room. She’d been building a sketch in her head, and it had been remarkably easy to do as Sonia spoke. When she finished, it only took Kim a second to realize why she had such a perfect model in her head; the model had been there that very evening, in fact, and nearly every day for the past month.
Anton was talking about Daisy.
Chapter 7
“What do we do?”
Luke’s first question had been posed to Kim, and she was as shocked by this as she was to find that she had no clue what to do.
“I don’t know,” she said dumbly. “I don’t know, Luke.”
Sonia shot her a look covered in pity. “She has to sit this one out, Luke,” she said under her breath. “Look at her. She’s in shock.”
“To be fair, so am I,” Luke countered. “Daisy doesn’t seem like a murderer.”
“Well, she is,” Sonia said shortly. “And we can’t have someone who is related to a murderer tagging along, anyway – it could complicate things.”
Kim broke out of her daze long enough to be offended by the implication. “I can help,” she said firmly. “Just give me a minute.” Truthfully, she felt like she needed more than a minute; her knees were about to give out from under her.
Luke crossed the room and pushed her gently to the bed. “You don’t have to come,” he said urgently. “I know you want to, but you don’t have to. You’ve already done so much for me.”
Kim looked at him, trying to gauge his sincerity. His eyes were locked with hers, but there was an odd vibration rolling off of him.