Chapter Five
I woke some hours later, my leg draped over the blanket and my dress hiked way too high. I quickly covered myself while searching for Josh. Right on cue, Josh pushed the curtain aside and appeared at the edge of the bathroom area, his red hair glistening in the soft light coming from the lamp on the far nightstand.
“How bout I take you home so you can get cleaned up before we start introducing you to people,” he suggested. I liked that idea. He helped me up and we left his room.
“What is this place?” I asked in a whisper as we headed up the steps, passing another man who watched us closely.
“This is where those in my seethe are safe.”
“Seethe?”
“Family of vampires. This place is like our headquarters.”
“You live here?” I asked.
“I have a room, but I also keep a private apartment.”
I heard a door from behind me open and shut. “It’s been ages!” came a female voice from what sounded like a great distance.
“All right Emma, I’ll try and come visit you,” stated a disembodied voice, much closer at hand. We turned to see a tall man with a wide jaw, dark brown hair carefully styled, and green eyes that faded to red near the center. He was carefully sliding a sleek cell phone into his pocket. I felt a little mesmerized. He made Isaac look like a hillbilly. So much for not meeting anyone until I cleaned up. “This her?” he asked from the doorway.
“Yes, sir,” responded Josh in a respectful voice. “Nikolai, may I introduce Ashley Hawn. Ashley, Nikolai Krasniy.”
The tall man nodded to me and turned toward Josh. “She finished?”
Josh nodded.
“Good.” Nikolai glanced quickly at me. “Get her cleaned up and bring her to meet Mikhail.”
I bristled at his tone and choice of words. Though I knew I looked like the loser of a mud wrestling match, I didn't appreciate him pointing it out. A gentleman wouldn't have brought attention to it. I wanted to make some snarky response about his own need to get “cleaned up,” but the truth was he was just too pristine. Not to mention he was wearing the suit of all suits. Now, I've seen some pretty nice suits before, but this one was in a league of its own. It hung from the man in sleek, well-ironed lines.
Instead of talking back, I glared up at him. It was the best I could manage. I wondered if he'd look as nice after going through what I had. He noticed it and condescended to ignore me. Josh, sensing the tension forming, took me by the arm and led me away, my bare feet pattering against the floor. We went to the door where I had first discovered my sensitivity to the sun. Thankfully, the sun was set and I walked out without the slightest discomfort.
We walked through the dimly lit streets of Olympia toward my apartment, passing a few teenagers and the occasional politician—Olympia was the state capital, after all. The city also had quite a few colorful bars which were slowly filling. We reached my apartment in less than two minutes, with only one or two pointed looks at my lack of shoes and matted hair. But this was the land of hippies; my matted hair could just be dreadlocks and my lack of shoes a choice of conscience—anti-child labor maybe? Then again, I didn’t know too many hippies that wore little, slinky black dresses. We weaved through the courtyard and into the narrow staircase leading up to my door. I could almost hear Josh's thoughts as I stopped at my paint-chipped door—people actually live in these dumps? Belatedly, I realized I didn't have my purse with me anymore, and thus my keys. I glanced at him and he seemed to understand. He reached for my door handle, twisted it easily, and pushed it open. I heard a crunch as the deadbolt tore through my wall and cringed. That was going to cost. Thankfully, Josh's inhuman strength distracted me.
How the hell had he done that? Seeing vampire strength in real life was a far cry from reading about it in books.
We entered my dingy apartment. I looked around, the whole place taking on a new light while in the presence of a stranger.
“You live here?” he asked, echoing my previous thoughts.
I tried not to take offense at it. “Unlike some people, I'm not rolling in it. My books aren't that popular.”
I moved into my apartment, hoping to find some comfort food. “Do you want anything?”
“No.”
“I can still eat food right? I mean, Isaac ate in front of me.”
“Yes, you can eat food, but it won't be as satisfying.”
I shrugged and closed the fridge door, no longer really interested in food. Nothing looked good. I couldn't figure out what I was craving.
“Why don't you go shower?” Josh suggested. “I'll wait here.”
I hesitated a moment before realizing there was nothing of value for him to steal.
I gathered up clothing that in no way resembled a cocktail dress—jeans and a T-shirt—and shuffled into the bathroom. Once out of the shower, I dressed and returned to the main room. I threw my wet hair up into a ponytail and stuffed my feet into my most waterproof pair of boots. Josh sat on the edge of my bed, petting Muffler. I filled Muffler's bowls while the cat was happily distracted. On the way out of the door, I grabbed my brown leather jacket, and I followed him down the stairs and out onto the street.
“So do—do vampires, like, live forever? Like in my books?”
“Well, we don't die of old age, but we can still die. And far more easily than in your books.”
“Then how old are you?” I asked, an uncomfortable idea forming in my mind.
“I was born in 1952 and turned at the age of twenty-one.”
“So, you're really sixty years old?” I ask after a brief pause to calculate his age. Math wasn't exactly my best subject—hence the writing.
Josh chuckled at the clear sound of shock and disgust. “Yes. I'm an old fart in your eyes—though barely middle-aged compared to many of my seethe. Well, soon to be your see… ”
Josh was cut off by a blow to the back. He fell to the ground, blood spurting from his broken nose and tainting the sidewalk. I turned to see a man dressed in dated black jeans, a black sweatshirt, and a knit hat pulled down to his eyebrows. At first, I thought it was just your average mugging—whatever that means—but the attacker immediately turned toward me, arms outstretched, as though I was the item he intended to steal. He ignored Josh. I panicked, not having the faintest idea how to defend myself.
My panic sadly didn't produce a speedy retreat. Rather, I became glued in place, my eyes wide with fright. My breath caught painfully in my chest, keeping me from screaming. Thankfully, the blow to Josh's head hadn't muddled his thoughts. He pushed himself off his knees, launching himself into the attacker's legs. The man in black toppled over onto Josh's back.
Without really thinking about it, I jumped forward and slammed my fists into his back. I felt a newfound power surge through my muscles. The man grunted and rolled off Josh. Evidently, my blow was harder than I realized because he didn't get up as quickly as Josh. The redhead swung his leg into the attacker's rib cage. I heard a faint crack of ribs breaking. Was I supposed to be able to hear that?
Well, I am a vampire now, I thought in a smug mental voice.
Josh jumped in between me and the other man as our attacker climbed back to his feet, his body hunched slightly toward his left side. “Give her to me,” the stranger ordered, his voice constricted with pain.
Josh and I both hesitated, too surprised by his demand. “Who are you?” Josh finally asked.
The man grinned, circling to the left, which forced Josh to shift. I stayed behind Josh, as I sensed he wanted me to do. Considering I had no idea what was going on or how to fight, it seemed a good idea.
“Who sent you?” asked Josh in an effort to get any response from the stranger.
“My primus, of course,” stated the man, with a chuckle, right before he lunged at Josh. Josh was at least six, maybe even nine inches shorter than his attacker, but he was a great deal faster. Josh managed to take two steps forward and duck before their bodies collided. He used his low center of gravity
to flip the other man over his shoulder while taking hold of one of the man's legs. The move resulted in our attacker slamming head-first into the pavement. His skull collapsed in a sickeningly crunchy splat.
I don't know what response I expected from myself, but I'm sure it was not throwing up. Nevertheless, I dropped to the ground and started heaving, but there wasn't anything in my stomach to expel. I barely managed to spit up some useless bile.
Josh moved before I could finish. He leaned over the man and quite literally tore his head from his shoulders. The body instantly turned to dust. I gasped and scooted away from the pile that was slowly turning to mud, thanks to the annoying drizzle.
“W-w-what just happened?” I stammered after swallowing a few times to get the taste out of my mouth.
“We'll talk when we're safe,” he said, spitting blood from his lips in a totally manly, and not at all gross sort of way. Josh pulled me to my feet and guided me away from the site. We were still a number of blocks away from the vampire bunker. Josh nudged me down an alley, presumably to avoid notice. After all, he couldn’t clean his bloodstained face. Strangely, the broken nose didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore. We weaved through the alleys, avoiding the attention of the local nightlife.
Josh yanked on my leather jacket, pulling me to a stop beside a nondescript door. He banged on the door in a rhythmic fashion and stepped back. It swung open a second later, nearly taking my nose off. A man I didn't recognize glanced at us before stepping aside and to let us in.
“What happened to you, Josh?” the man asked as he followed us down the steps.