In Blood

by C M Thorne

  Rainer nodded slowly, “Alright. We can pick it up before going back to my place. There are only two stations in South Isle. Do you know which one you left your backpack at?”

  “Uh,” he hesitated, “the one closest to the Oleander.” He resisted the urge to look up and see the vampire’s reaction as he answered.

  “Ah,” Rainer said, taking a step forward. Caleb looked at the vampire, who was now less than three feet from him. Rainer hesitated and glanced into the apartment around Caleb. “Well, let us leave then,” he continued. “We need to get to my place,” he paused, “or I should say, soon to be your place.” His eyes lit up humorously and Caleb blushed.

  “I don’t know how I feel about that actually,” Caleb spoke down towards the floor. He couldn’t just allow all of this to happen without at least voicing his opinion. “You are being far too generous.”

  “Nonsense,” Rainer moved into the apartment as he spoke. “As I said before, you wouldn’t be in this situation if I had not angered Henri.”

  “Right, I would be dead,” Caleb countered, stepping over the threshold into his sister’s apartment.

  “Semantics,” Rainer glanced back at him as he moved toward the kitchen. He flashed forward and then back before Caleb could follow, both of his bags in his hands. “I own the club you were attacked in. You willingly came to the club. The club should not have been so lax that night in the protection of our human patrons. We could play this game forever.” The vampire seemed to enjoy the light banter as he looked into Caleb’s pale eyes once again. His typical stern and sculpted emotionless face seemed to betray itself as his lips hinted at turning upward at the corners once more. He wanted to see the vampire actually smile, but that did not appear to be something he was capable of.

  “I guess we could,” Caleb responded, face burning as he met Rainer’s steady gaze. The vampire seemed to be flirting with him, possibly. Caleb doubted that was what it was. Maybe flirting meant less to vampires. His life certainly meant less to the immortal beings. His human life was a mere blink of the eye in the face of eternity.

  Rainer looked like he wanted to say something more, but he broke eye contact, looking around the apartment once more. “Is there anything else you need to do or grab?” He asked, the moment shattered. It was vindication for Caleb. The flirting was not real.

  He shook his head a little, staring past the vampire to his sister, who seemed too intent on cleaning her home to even notice them. His stomach clenched with regret at leaving his sister, but he knew that she would truly be safer without him around. He wasn’t sure how to handle this situation however. He felt strange just walking away from his sister after what she had gone through. What she and Erica had both gone through. They had almost died tonight. So had he. It just wasn’t safe, he told himself, plain and simple.

  If DI would be safer without him around, then it was best for him to just turn and leave. He would text her tomorrow after questioning Rainer on how he could interact with her. He shook his head once more, thinking of how his new living situation would have to be explained and it would ignite not just Dinah, but all three of his sisters. There was no avoiding it. Lizzie would freak. So would the pastor, as there was no way Lizzie would be able to keep such juicy gossip to herself.

  The vampire had pulled a wad of money from his wallet, moving to hand it to Erica. “You have been saying this money for emergencies. Use it to replace what needs replacing and buy a security system for the apartment that calls the police. Someone will be by tomorrow to spell your house again against vampires. Do not question or interrupt it.” He paused, taking a deep breath, “You will forget that I told you this. You will forget the person coming tomorrow after the spell is complete.”

  Erica nodded, loose and mindlessly as Rainer turned away from her. “Let’s get going,” he spoke softly as he breezed past Caleb, moving at a swift, but human speed.

  Caleb glanced back as he moved to the door before closing it and following the beautiful vampire toward the stairs.

  CHAPTER 7

  Rainer drove them in his luxury black sedan through the streets of the city, weaving in and out of the crawling cars out in the middle of the night in silence. Caleb did not dare break the quiet of the car, hardly daring to even glance over at Rainer as his warm eyes did not move from the road. Before he knew it, they were pulling up in front of the bus station, slowing down in the passenger drop off and pick up area. He turned to ask if Rainer just wanted him to go in real quick, but the vampire had flashed out of the car, coming around and opening Caleb’s door. His pale hand extended down to him as he turned his face up to the handsome vampire, haloed by the buzzing lights behind him.

  “Oh,” Caleb muttered, unbuckling his belt and accepting Rainer’s cool hand. Unlike Henri’s hand, it was large, slightly rough, and pleasantly cool, not cold. He flushed as Rainer pulled him from the car effortlessly, depositing him on the sidewalk. “Thank you,” he muttered softly again.

  “Let’s get your bag,” Rainer spoke matter of factly, letting go of his hand and turning to the doors of the station.

  Caleb hurried up behind him, grabbing the key fob from his pocket and following the vampire over to the lockers. Rainer stepped to the side and Caleb put the fob into the machine, which calculated how much he owed. Before he could retrieve his wallet, Rainer blurred forward and swiped his own card through the reader. Caleb wanted to protest but just stepped to the side and opened the locker, sighing upon seeing that the bag was still there, not that he had entirely expected it not to be. He turned to Rainer, whose warm eyes were watching him. “All good?” Rainer asked.

  “Uh, yes,” he nodded and then had to hurry to catch up with the vampire, who glided back out to the car. He held the door open for him and offered his hand to lower him back into the car. Caleb took the vampire’s hand, squeezing it a little as he stepped into the car.

  Rainer’s hand slipped free once Caleb was down and the door closed quickly. Then the vampire blurred into his seat and the car purred to life, pulling away from the curb before Caleb could even grab his seatbelt. He felt so slow, playing catch up and dragging behind. Classical music floated from the speakers of the car, providing a surprisingly comfortable silence. It was nearing five in the morning now and the sky was flourishing with the pale colors of pre-dawn.

  Cal wanted to say something, but he felt like he couldn’t break the ambiance of the air in the car. It was easy, but he still found ways to overthink. If he had any chance with the vampire, it would be now. He had no idea what was going to happen now. Rainer was putting the condo in his name, but what did that mean? Would he be living there still as well? Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “How is this going to work?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Well, um,” Caleb bite his lip, feeling foolish. “I just meant,” he paused, wringing his hands and trying to catch his breath, “will we be living together?”

  Rainer puffed out a breath through his nose, which seemed to be the closest thing to a laugh that he was capable of. “I need to be close to keep you safe through all of this.”

  “Right,” Caleb muttered, nodding. “Wait!” He exclaimed suddenly and much louder than he had expected. “How did you know I was in trouble earlier?! You weren’t close by in Old Town were you?”

  “I knew you were in trouble,” he answered simply, keeping his eyes forward.

  “What does that mean?”

  “I,” he paused, amber eyes flicking to Caleb, “I sensed it.”

  “Oh,” Caleb furrowed his brow. “How does that work exactly?”

  Rainer glanced at him again and huffed a little. “Honestly?” Caleb nodded at him and he continued, “I can sense you because you’ve had my blood.”

  “Right,” Cal nodded before something made him stop, seeming wrong. “Wait, I only just had your blood.” He turned in his seat, somehow feeling emboldened enough to actually face the vampire.

  “That is true that you just had my blood,” Rainer answere
d, not looking at him directly, “more, anyway.”

  “More?”

  “When you were attacked,” Rainer’s gaze flicked to him, “I was worried and I gave you a few drops of my blood.” His face looked earnest, genuinely worried. “I wanted to make sure you were alright. It wasn’t enough to do more than help you feel better and establish a bit of a connection.”

  Caleb sat there for a minute, staring at the side of the vampire’s face. “You told me that your witch friend looked me over,” his tone was almost accusatory and he hoped he wasn’t being harsh. He didn’t think he minded being given the blood before. If anything, as it showed that Rainer was worried about him, it made him feel better. Perhaps it was possible for the vampire to be interested in him after all.

  “She did,” Rainer nodded. “I was a little nervous before she got there however so I did it as a precaution. The last thing the club needed was human death at the hands of a supernatural.”

  And his rising hopes were dashed. It was all obligation. All of this. The vampire just had some old world sense of duty and now Caleb was all tangled up into a potentially damning legal situation so he was being kept close and safe. He bit his lower lip, looking back out his window as he shifted into his seat properly. He didn’t dare say something else and betray the fact that he was let down.

  “Are you hungry?” Rainer asked suddenly.

  “Um,” Caleb spoke uncertainly, glancing at the vampire in the driver’s seat. “I guess I should be, but I am not really. Like at all.”

  “That could be my blood,” he replied, fingers tapping against and tightening around the steering wheel.

  “Wait, what?” Caleb asked, blinking quickly as he focused on Rainer. He did understand why his blood would matter? He didn’t exist on blood so it wouldn’t fill him up, right? Had the healing changed him? “I don’t need to eat if I drink blood? But I’m not a vampire?”

  “Well vampire blood can heal,” Rainer answered with a nod, eyes flicking over to him, making his breath catch. Caleb felt as if the vampire could read his mind. As if he knew the unspoken questions floating around in his head. He would of course be absolutely mortified if he could and he shrunk into the seat. “But,” Rainer continued, “it also enhances or changes certain aspects of the recipient. You have enough in your system now for small changes. It gives you a taste of vampirism. Your sight may be enhanced. Or your strength. You may not feel the need to sleep much or eat as often.”

  “How long does it last?” Caleb asked, running his hands along his thighs and gripping his knees nervously. If the vampire was in his head, he wasn’t making it obvious.

  “Until it runs its course and leeches from your system,” Rainer replied. He shrugged his shoulders easily, adding, “Days to a week with how much I gave you possibly.”

  Caleb nodded even though he did not understand exactly how it all worked. Was there an understood scientific answer to it all? Or was it all just magic? There was so much more to the world than that which humans like his father accepted, and Caleb had been closed off to it all. He felt like he should know these kinds of things. Was he the only one on the outs? Vampires were notoriously secretive, so maybe it wasn’t just him who was confused by the science of vampiric blood and its properties.

  Cal wanted to talk about the things running through his head. He did not want to pester Rainer with more questions, however. They were on their way for him to sign his condo over to Caleb after all. He did not need Caleb asking about all the ins and outs of vampirism at the moment. Caleb stared at his strong profile, getting lost in his admiration of his strong nose and sharp, masculine jaw. Rainer noticed Caleb ogling him, eyes flicking sideways to peer at him. He jumped a little, the spell broken as he averted his gaze.

  He looked out his window and bit his lower lip once more, chewing on it nervously. He simultaneously wanted to ask Rainer all the questions he had never been able to get satisfying an answer to and just stare at him. The thought of the vampire touching him, putting his wrist to Caleb’s mouth and holding his hand to help him in and out of the car, made his ears burn and his stomach drop. It was worse than the craziest roller coaster. It was completely visceral and overpowering. He remembered his fear that the vampire cold read his thoughts and startled, biting into his lips a little too hard, causing blood to wash across his tongue.

  Rainer inhaled sharply next to him and Caleb cautioned a glance at him. The vampire’s eyes had narrowed and his nostrils were flared. “What did you do?” He asked with a stern, controlled tone.

  “I’m sorry,” Caleb replied. “I bit my lip.” He held his hand up to his mouth.

  Rainer focused back on the road. “It should heal in a moment.”

  “What?” Caleb breathed out, leaning forward as he reached up and pulled the visor down. He slid the mirror open and looked at his lip as the small gash closed up, leaving only a faint smearing of blood. “Can I not get hurt?” Cal asked, closing the visor.

  “Yes and no,” Rainer answered as the car slowed down in front of the Oleander building. “Do not go and try to jump off anything or think you will survive being hit by a car. You would die and there is a high chance you would slip into transition.”

  “Transition?” Caleb asked as Rainer stopped in front of his building, parking the car and flashing around to open Caleb’s door in a blink of the eye. “As in,” he continued, unbuckling his seatbelt, “transition into a vampire?”

  “It is possible,” Rainer replied, offering his hand once more to Caleb. His breath caught as he was pulled out onto the curb and the vampire continued speaking, “There is a high chance that you would not transition however. So, be careful.” He looked deep into his eyes before flashing to the back of the car, retrieving Caleb’s bags, and returning to walk into the lobby.

  A woman stood behind the desk today, raven black hair pulled back perfectly against her head into a simple, elegant bun. She was wearing a tight fitting crimson blazer, a small pearl necklace against the exposed nape of her neck, and dark red lipstick. “Good morning, Mister d’Este. Is there anything you need this morning?”

  “Yes, Miss Chandra,” Rainer walked up to the desk, setting Caleb’s bags down. “We have a notary and a lawyer coming to transfer ownership of my condo to Mister Bishop here.” He motioned back to Caleb as he spoke.

  The beautiful, young woman glanced to Caleb blankly, nodding, “Yes, they are waiting for you in conference room B, sir. I will have those bags taken up.” She came out from behind the desk and waved an arm outwards. “If you’ll come with me, sir.” Miss Chandra appeared to completely ignore Caleb’s presence, speaking directly to Rainer and giving him all of her attention.

  She led them down from the lobby to a wide hallway, stopping in front of a set of double, frosted glass doors, pushing them inward and letting the men enter the room. The conference room was dominated by a large oblong wood table with a slew of chairs gathered around it. A modern looking, round chandelier hung close to the ceiling and black cabinets ran along the walls of the room with long mirrors hangings above them. Two men in dark suits sat at the table on the other side of the conference room with several papers laid out between them.

  The woman closed the doors behind her, leaving Caleb and Rainer with the men. Rainer leaned across the table slightly, reaching out with his long, powerful arms to quickly shake the hand of the older of the two men. “Mister Williams,” Rainer addressed him, making Caleb believe that he was the lawyer.

  The younger, pale blonde haired man pulled at the bottom of his coat as he stood. “Mister d’Este,” he reached out his hand eagerly, “I am Thomas Pullman. I will the notary for today’s proceedings.”

  “A pleasure,” Rainer took the man’s man quickly, releasing it almost as quickly as he had taken it. Thomas’ face fell as he retracted his hand, looking between it and Rainer for a moment.

  The lawyer sat back down as the defeated looking notary did, clearing his throat, “It is my understanding that you are transferring legal ownership
of penthouse three on level twenty-eight of the Oleander building to this young man, a Mister Caleb Bishop.”

  “Correct,” Rainer answered, pulling out a chair for Caleb to sit down. “And the contract you’ve drawn up has all the points I discussed with your office earlier?”

  ‘Yes, everything is here,” the lawyer affirmed, pushing a black leather portfolio across the table.

  The vampire sat down and opened the portfolio, thumbing through the numerous pages within it. “Everything seemed to be in order,” he pushed the portfolio over to Caleb and grabbed another from the lawyer, who cleared his throat.

  He adjusted his dark blue tie uncomfortably, looking almost pained before he said, “I just need to go over a few things verbally.” He nodded to Rainer. “So, Mister Bishop,” he made eye contact with Caleb, “Mister d’Este is relinquishing his condo to you under a set of conditions. Have you two discussed the conditions?”

  Caleb gulped and shook his head, “Um, not really, no.”

  The lawyer’s eyes flicked to Rainer, but continued on, “The main points are that the condo is being turned over to you under the condition that you return ownership after one year, upon official written request from Mister d’Este, or upon your death. Under the first two conditions, you will have thirty days after the requirement is fulfilled to meet with Mister d’Este to meet him in order to transfer the condo back into his name or he has the right to sue you for the full property value of the condo and all items residing within it.” The lawyer uncapped a set of expensive looking fountain pens in front of him, looking downwards as he spoke back up, “Do you understand, Mister Bishop?”

  Cal glanced at Rainer, but the vampire was looking over the contract carefully. He nodded, “Yes, I understand. Where do I need to sign?”

  The lawyer stood up, handing Caleb and Rainer pens. “You will not need to print, sign, and initial all three copies we have here today. Everything has been tabulated for your convenience. Mister Bishop, you are the blue tabs. Mister d’Este, you are the red tabs.”