“Knew? That’s a good one.” Julia laughed. When she noticed Thomas waiting for more information, she stopped. “Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting how young you are.” She gave a small, apologetic shrug that made Thomas less inclined to take offense since it made her look cute. “No, when you get to Vivian or Sara’s age—that’s vampiric age mind you, not physical age—something strange happens. If you concentrate really hard and maintain eye contact, most people kind of . . . agree with you. Do what you say. Like the precinct captain does for Vivian.”
Thomas nearly dropped his fork, and although he managed to hold onto it, a piece of steak dropped to the floor.
“We can hypnotize people?” he breathed, a little excited.
“No, it isn’t hypnotism. The person under your influence is just more likely to take your suggestion is all.”
“Can you do that?” Thomas asked.
Julia smirked. “I don’t need to hypnotize you to get you under my influence. I bet if I asked you to jump off a bridge, you’d do it right now.”
“You bet, do you?” Thomas asked, returning her grin. “I’ll take that wager.”
Julia reached across the table. Her smile sent a shiver down Thomas’ spine as her hand closed on top of his.
“Sounds dangerous,” she purred. “Want to give it a shot? We can see who would come out on top.”
Thomas flushed and finished his wine in one gulp.
“Okay, you may have a point there.”
◆◆◆
No night was truly dark in the heart of Colesbrooke, thanks to the sheer amount of light pouring from various sources throughout downtown. The false illumination obscured all but the brightest of stars each night, which could put a damper on what could otherwise be a very romantic situation.
Thomas didn’t consider himself a romantic, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the restaurant he and Julia had eaten at was located in one of the upper districts of the city. It was less populated and offered a better view of the night sky.
It made the big, silvery moon and the few stars surrounding it look all the more pronounced and beautiful, which later added a great ambience to their long walk back to the Red Lightning Pub.
Emboldened by how smoothly the night had gone when compared with the chaos of the afternoon and evening, Thomas reached out to hold Julia’s hand.
His fingertips grasped at empty air. Thomas frowned and turned to see where she’d gone.
Julia stood in the middle of the sidewalk several paces back, staring straight ahead of them.
Her jaw was clenched, and her hands curled into fists.
Surprised, Thomas spun forward to see what had prompted such a reaction.
A scrawny man dressed in camouflaged pants and a filthy white jacket with its sleeves rolled up despite the chill approached them. He looked out of place among the high rises, coffee shops, and designer boutiques, and the large knife he carried with a brazen sort of familiarity completed his stand-out getup.
The comfortable ambience of the night vanished, and the more pressing concerns of war, rival vampires, and danger crashed back down. The night was ruined so thoroughly and suddenly that Thomas wondered how he’d managed to relax enough to enjoy the date in the first place.
“Lovely night for a stroll, ain’t it?” the man said, flashing a grin of crooked, yellow teeth. “Don’t need no suntan lotion when the moon is up, yeah?”
If the not-so-subtle hint about Julia and Thomas’ aversion to the sun wasn’t a clear enough indication this knife-wielding goon was in league with Ernest, the puckered scar tissue on his neck from twin puncture wounds certainly was. The marks where the man had been fed upon directly by a vampire were more prominent than the track marks along his exposed arm.
“Vampire?” Thomas asked under his breath.
“Don’t think so,” Julia said. “Must be a gang member lackey. Bite marks mean he’s food.”
She raised her voice to address the approaching man.
“Yes, we’re quite enjoying ourselves,” Julia said in a falsely cheerful voice. “And we would be quite upset if someone attempted to ruin that for us.”
Despite knowing the nature of the people in front of him, the man was undaunted. His laugh caught in his chest, and he waved a bottle as he popped it open with a filthy thumbnail. A small cross was etched into the side of the bottle. Holy water.
Thomas braced himself to be splashed with the burning water, but the man did not fling the bottle. Instead he held it over his knife and let the crystal clear substance drip onto the blade.
Vampires were at the top of the food chain, but Thomas still didn’t want to confront a man with a massive knife coated in liquid that would char his skin. He and Julia could outrun the man. Thomas started to suggest just that, but Julia beat him.
“I don’t know what that bloated tick you call a boss told you, jackass, but that knife won’t keep me from force feeding you your own balls. Now why don’t you piss off?”
Dropping the bottle and stomping it under a booted foot, the man chuckled but didn’t move.
“The knife ain’t what you should be worried about,” he wheezed, scratching at the puncture marks on his neck.
Julia tensed, ready to spring—a moment too late.
A blur sprang from the shadows of a nearby hedge and slammed into her. Knocked clean off her feet, she collided with the side of a car, shattering the windows as the alarm went off.
A vampire dressed like the poster child of a biker gang stood where Julia had just been standing, smirking.
“Julia Foxe, right?” the vampire asked. “Ernest will be thrilled when I bring back your head.”
“No,” Thomas shouted, primal rage painting his vision red.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, raging at the threat of Julia’s death. Something moved at the corner of his eye, and Thomas spun as the human lunged forward, his knife aimed right for Thomas’ ribs.
Thomas sidestepped the blow and shot his fist out, catching his attacker right in the gut.
The man’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his mouth twisted in a silent scream of pain as he dropped his knife. His hands wrapped defensively around his torso as sickly yellow vomit dribbled over his lips, and he stumbled back, making gagging sounds, and fled.
Fueled by his anger, Thomas spun around to face the vampire who had attacked Julia. As he raised his fist, white-hot knives of pain shot through his chest where Ernest had stabbed him. Surprised, Thomas grunted and nearly lost his balance as the vampire hit him, his knuckles colliding with Thomas’ jaw.
“You’re at least seventy years too young to be tryin’ to tangle with me, new blood.” The biker laughed and cracked his knuckles menacingly. “I coulda taken you when I was human.”
With each throb of pain, more and more of Thomas’ humanity slipped away as the predator inside him screamed to be free. His fangs extended from his gums, his heart hammered in his chest, and the raw power of the curse surged through his body. Intoxicated by the strength filling him, Thomas flung himself at his opponent.
Aside from a few short childhood scuffles, Thomas had never really been in a real fight before he’d turned into a vampire. What he lacked in experience he made up for with vigorous enthusiasm as he hurled his fists forward, hoping to strike anything.
The vampire stumbled back, throwing his arms up to deflect what punches he could. He grunted as he took a solid strike to the shoulder and a glancing blow to his jaw.
Thomas learned quickly there was more to fighting than flailing blindingly at an opponent, even when he had enhanced strength. He was at a disadvantage in terms of experience. As he threw another punch, his opponent raised his knee and drove it into Thomas’ navel, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could recover, the vampire pinned him by the shoulders.
Thomas jerked his torso but was unable to break free from the biker’s grip, and his old chest wound ached with each twist. His body tensed as helplessness overwhelmed him and his chest
pain intensified. The vampire opened his mouth wide, his fangs like miniature, ivory daggers, and he tilted his head, aiming for Thomas’ throat.
“Thomas!”
The biker lunged forward. As he brushed Thomas’ neck, something shoved him aside and his fangs sank deep into Thomas’ shoulder instead of his throat.
Liquid fire poured into Thomas’ shoulder as the vampire’s fangs pierced him. Thomas gasped and hissed, flailing his fists at his attacker. The vampire pulled away from Thomas, his fangs ripping from Thomas’ flesh, and Thomas howled. Wiping blood from his face, the biker vampire narrowed his eyes in fury.
Julia hunched over next to Thomas, wavering as she recovered from smashing into the car. She trembled but not from pain. It was rage.
“You’re tougher than a scrawny girl should be.” The biker spat at her, raising his fists. “But you still ain’t tough enough to scrape with me.”
Julia’s eyes glinted in the night, as hard as the steel she held in her hand.
She raised the human’s dropped knife and ran toward the vampire full tilt.
The biker’s confident expression fell, doubt flickering in his eyes. He barely had time to raise his hands before Julia reached him, and the entire length of her blade pierced straight through the soft flesh of his palm. He shrieked with agony. If he hadn’t sacrificed his hand, the blade would have sunk into his forehead.
Julia followed through with a wild left punch that crashed into the biker’s face and knocked a fang and several other teeth to the sidewalk. She prepared to throw another punch but had to step backward to dodge the biker’s sloppy kick. Some distance opened between them, and the vampire biker used it to turn and flee.
She chased after him but spun around at Thomas’ shout.
“No, don’t.”
Thomas stepped forward and the world spun. He blinked in confusion.
“Whoa. . . .”
The ground rushed up to meet him, and he prepared to hit it full force, but Julia caught him. She touched the biker vampire’s bite on his shoulder.
“Thomas, never go to Vegas,” she said, grimacing weakly. “You have the worst luck I’ve ever seen.”
◆◆◆
“By God, if I had a nickel for every time this kid came through those doors in a bad way, I’d have enough cabbage to buy a gold-plated Cadillac.” Lawrence set the jar he was cleaning on the bar counter and poured red lightning.
Julia’s tired laugh faded to a grunt as she finished hauling Thomas through the pub’s door. “Like I said, rotten luck. Help me, Dad. He’s been bitten.”
Thomas doubled over and retched on the floor.
“Bitten? As in he caught some fangs?” Lawrence asked his daughter sternly as he stopped in front of Thomas.
The smell of blood in the red lightning roused Thomas enough to stand. His craving for blood was ravenous, and he reached for the mixture of blood and moonshine.
Lawrence slapped his hand. “Mitts off, kid. It won’t do you no good. You’ll just make more of a mess.” Lawrence glared at his daughter. “How on earth did any of Ernest’s men get close enough to bite? Why weren’t you packin’ a pocketful of silver buckshot?”
Thomas groaned and tumbled into the counter. Julia helped him steady himself and rubbed his uninjured shoulder.
“I didn’t think the diner staff would appreciate me carrying a shotgun under my blouse.”
Lawrence shook his head and took a healthy swallow from the jar. “Ernest is dangerous. If his thugs can get close enough to bite, you shouldn’t be out at some swanky joint invitin’ trouble.”
Thomas’ stomach growled as Lawrence drank, which made him want to retch all over again. The pain in his shoulder from the bite spiked.
“Lawrence, now isn’t the time,” Julia said.
“Don’t you ‘Lawrence’ me. You don’t know how dangerous Ernest is. He’s—”
“Your ex-partner. Don’t let your personal grudge make you think I’m any less capable than I am if we were dealing with any other vampire who goes blood mad.”
“Until tonight you didn’t give me any reason to think you weren’t capable. Look at your goof. He’s got two holes in his shoulder because you didn’t take this seriously. He’s already packin’ wood inside him, and now he’s fightin’ off poison. Hell of a combo.”
Thomas reached for the red lightning again, hoping Lawrence was distracted enough arguing with Julia, but Lawrence deflected his hand.
“Dad,” Julia said.
Thomas turned his head and vomited again. Julia held his shoulder to keep him upright as he started dry heaving.
“God, this is awful. Is it going to stop any time soon?” Thomas asked, wiping his mouth and the sweat stinging his eyes. A thick dryness in his mouth tortured him.
Lawrence shrugged, although he did spare Thomas a genuine look of sympathy. “Couldn’t tell you for sure, kid. This is what happens when someone with the curse gets bitten by a vampire. Our fangs seem to be, whatcha call it, venomous to one another. Most of the older cabals and groups of vampires consider it taboo and the worst kinda luck to bite another vampire. As you’ve seen tonight, that damnable bastard Ernest encourages all of his blood junkies to go for the throat with their own fangs. It’s a fear-mongerin’, despicable tactic that warms his twisted heart.”
An incredible pounding in Thomas’ temples began to drown out Lawrence. It matched the painful throbbing in his shoulder. Venomous? He wanted to ask how it worked but dry heaved instead.
“Don’t worry,” Julia said. “You didn’t catch the fangs to the throat or any other main arteries. You’ll be better in a couple of days. Promise.”
Doing his best to square his shoulders and look brave, Thomas shook his head—or at least wobbled his head a bit in a negative fashion.
“No, not that long.” He panted. “I’m a medical professional. If this—if this is an illness, I can solve it. I just need, I just need—”
Thomas tripped over his own feet, and Julia caught him— again.
“—to get to the medical equipment downstairs.”
For the first time, Lawrence looked at Thomas with something akin to admiration. A genuine smile broke out, and he raised his hand as if to pat Thomas on the shoulder. Thomas was grateful he didn’t.
“Well now, that’s quite some fire you got in your belly, kid. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was lookin’ at a tried and true knock-around-guy instead of that mewling kitten I found in an alley. I dunno if you’ll figure this one out, but I appreciate the moxie. Whatever you need, Thomas, I’ll get. Except red lightning.”
Thomas swelled with pride, the pounding in his head reducing. If nothing else, his terrible luck was at least starting to put some strength in his stance. Or it had until Thomas tottered backward and tripped over a barstool, as close to unconsciousness as he could get without going completely under.
◆◆◆
The next morning, blind spots swirled about Thomas’ eyes as he experienced a headache on a new level. His stomach felt like it was collapsing in on itself, and his shoulder flared in agonizing pain at the slightest provocation. Damn vampire bite.
Disinfectant didn’t work. Anti-inflammatory didn’t work. It took a great deal of effort to keep the wound clean as it constantly wept but wouldn’t scab over or heal properly. Thomas worried about sepsis, explaining it to Julia as an illness where a body’s natural defenses would cause far more damage in fighting infection than the infection itself ever could. Julia had laughed and said his vampire constitution was smarter than that, but he still worried.
By midafternoon, Thomas was losing hope. He’d tried everything he could think of but nothing helped. Lawrence’s men were going untreated, some of them still bleeding as they failed to remove all the wooden slivers and metal bits from their own flesh. Someone passed along word of three more victims of Ernest’s brutal murders. One of them was a little girl, only ten years old.
Thomas sat on a cot in the basement staring at the mirrors lining a
ll four walls. He looked terrible. His skin was tinted green, except for the purple streaks that were snaking out from the wound in his shoulder. He could see the tips of the lines around the collar of his t-shirt. He lifted his shift, wincing, and tapped at one of the lines where it was thickest next to the wound. Pain flared with renewed vigor.
He was going to have to wait this out.
Julia crashed through the door with a triumphant smile. “You were right.”
Thomas jumped, groaning as he dropped his shirt. “It’s rare I hear that. I’m almost afraid you’re wrong. What was I right about?”
Stepping over to his cot, Julia adjusted the bottom hem of his shirt and presented him with a small white box.
“That other vampires would be looking into these kinds of wounds. I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. Most inhabitants of the supernatural community don’t keep up with modern medicine. Some of them think leeching is modern medicine.” Julia laughed and handed Thomas the box as he reached for a nearby scalpel.
“I was required to attend seminars to keep up, and I just finished medical school a couple of years ago. Technology and techniques are advancing all the time,” Thomas said, growing more and more curious about the contents of the box. “This is from a fellow vampire? Someone in the herd?”
Julia giggled. “What are we, sheep? It’s a flock. Flock!”
“We’re geese?” He slit the tape on the white box.
Julia’s giggles turned into soft snorts. “The answer to your question is yes and no. Yes, a vampire did deliver the box, but no, she wasn’t part of our flock.” Julia winked. “Lawrence didn’t recognize the vampire who delivered it, which means she could have been from outside the city. But that would be odd, since he was only asking locals if they’d been studying up on vampire sicknesses. At first he thought it might be a bomb of some sort, but it passed inspection.”
Thomas stopped opening the box, his finger tucked under an edge. “Are you sure? My luck sucks lately.”
Shadows of Colesbrooke Page 19