Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 166

Peter snorted. "Surely a vamp knows where vamps hang out."

I refused to look at him. "Yes, of course," I said, unwilling to share how little I knew about vampires.

Eddie smiled, but his eyes were full of pity. "I'll give you directions to a bar. Vampires visit regularly as do their followers. You may find information there."

"Thank you."

"So is that it? Can I go now?" Peter said, his voice sarcastic. His eagerness to leave left me cold.

"You sit down," Eddie said. Although his tone was as low and calm as before, I shivered as though he shouted. His presence was overpowering.

"Perfect, just perfect," Peter muttered, but he sat down right away.

Eddie ignored Peter and returned his gaze to me. The blackness was gone, but I was afraid to look too deeply in his eyes. He scared me. I had to be on my guard around him.

Peter looked at me warily, but I had no time for his problems. Night was coming. We had to leave quickly. I shook myself, aware that heavy magic had finally lifted.

"We have to get going. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Possibly. Peter, wake Carl up, and take him outside for a few minutes. Ava and I need to chat about something a bit more personal."

Peter reluctantly dragged Carl up out of his seat.

"No, I'm staying with Ava," Carl said. His hesitation made me even more suspicious of Eddie.

"It's okay. I'll be out in a minute." I watched him follow Peter outside, my heart sinking at the emptiness in Carl's eyes.

Afraid of being alone with Eddie, I acted snappy.

"Can we hurry this up? I want to get all of this over and done with as quickly as I can."

Eddie smirked at me. "I know you don't like to be around people, but if you were used to it then Carl wouldn't bother you so much."

"I was used to it before. Didn't help my ex much."

"A mistake. We all make them." He confirmed my suspicions. He knew more about me than he should.

"Some mistake. I bit him and drank his blood, Eddie. I could have killed him."

"But you didn't. Stop thinking about what you might have done, and concentrate on what you have done. You've helped out a few humans, right? Carl can't be the first. I'd say that balances out an indiscretion or two."

I shook my head in disgust. "That isn't how it works."

"Isn't it? We'll see. Hold on for a second. I want to show you something."

He left me alone and was gone long enough for me to get scared. The persistent cold gasp of air on the back of my neck kept me on edge. I couldn't see anything, so I searched with my other sense and noticed a faint wisp of pale white energy right next to me. There was definitely something with me, but I had no idea what it could be.

Eddie returned with a small velvet box in his hand. "This is for you," he said, handing it to me. "It might help."

I opened the box, revealing a silver filigree cross. I touched it hesitantly, half-expecting it to burn me after the things I had been thinking about recently concerning Carl. But it felt cool against my fingers. I started, almost certain I saw a flush of crimson cross the surface for an instant. I glanced at Eddie quizzically.

"It's okay," Eddie said. "It won't hurt you, although it might hurt a real vampire. Poor little mix that you are. You have it bad, don't you? The thirst?"

I nodded, my eyes welling up with tears. He patted my shoulder sympathetically.

"You know what I am?" I asked, almost hesitant to hear his answer.

"I know more than that, petal."

"So what am I?"

"You're neither vampire nor human, that's for sure," Eddie said.

I bit my lip. "Do you know my grandmother? Is that how you know about me?"

"Nancy? I know her well. She came to me some years back and told me all about her little Ava. She's not the woman you once knew. May I?" he asked, unclasping the necklace.

I let him drape the chain around my neck. It was long enough to be covered by my clothes if I tucked it in. Its touch was surprisingly cool. Refreshing. I felt it lean against my skin as if it were sinking in. Calm drifted over me almost immediately. The dry ache in my throat subsided. Relief.

"Oh, wow," I murmured, stretching lazily.

"Feeling better?"

"Are you doing that?" I asked.

"No, it's the cross. It's a talisman of sorts. It'll help you with the thirst. Keep your mind focused long enough to get Carl out of your way."

"And you just happened to have this lying around?"

His smile was sudden but genuine. "Something like that."

I was overwhelmingly grateful, but even as the cross dispelled my thirst, I realised I hadn't craved Eddie's blood for a second. Curious.

Aside from that, the cross worked. I could already tell it was exactly what I needed. I could feel it: the magic working its way into my veins, quenching the thirst, and soothing that raw hunger in my gut. For the first time in years, I relaxed and knew what it meant to feel human. Maybe Carl could survive his visit with me after all. That thought alone brought a lump to my throat, and I realised just how tense my adult life had been.

"And look, Ava. See the cross? Four tips plus the body make five. Safe. Touch it when you need strength."

His smile was kind, but I blushed anyway at the thought of him knowing about my little quirk. I could only figure my grandmother had told him. My number obsession had bothered her almost as much as my vampire-like tendencies.

"Don't forget, you're heading to vampire territory now. It won't be safe for you. You have to be on your guard. Aware. There isn't much time; they know you're around, and the cross won't work for long. So be careful. And trust Peter. He's a bit gruff, but that's to be expected after what happened to his family. He can be narrow-minded sometimes, but he's a solid one."

I touched my bruised face self-consciously. Eddie tutted.

"That was unfortunate alright. I have just the thing." He took a tub out of a cupboard and wiped some of the contents on my face. It felt slick and oily, but my face tingled nicely, the freshness of the pain dissipating.

"Didn't Carl help you?"

I nodded. "He offers himself to me too. How do I make him stop?"

"It can't be helped, I'm afraid. Part of the thrall is to give you what you need, whatever that might be. Go on now, little one. It'll be dark soon. Visit the bar tomorrow in daylight. Get information before you go again at night. Be wise."

He pressed a piece of paper into my hands, directions to the bar. I glanced at the name but had never heard of it before. I thanked him again, less in fear of him but still wary. He didn't accompany me to the door, but the strange presence did. I pushed the door open and stepped outside, my stomach turning a little at the drastic change in atmosphere once I was away from Eddie's magic.

Outside, Peter and Carl stood together. They stopped talking as soon as I approached. I fidgeted awkwardly, knowing Peter wanted to leave. For the first time I was able to stand next to Carl without wanting to feed on him, but all I could think about was making Peter stay.

"Uh, thanks for bringing me here," I said to Peter, fidgeting under his gaze.

"Did he give you the address?"

"Yeah, it's some place called the Black Rose. I don't know it, but his directions are pretty clear."

"I know it," Peter said. "I'll pick you two up tomorrow, okay?"

"Oh," I said, surprised. "You're going?"

"I said I'd help. I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Early," I called after him, hoping he'd hear me. He raised an arm in answer and kept on walking away. I admired his behind for a few seconds before I remembered Carl, who was still standing there aimlessly.

Carl and I walked back to my place. For once, I was thankful for his silence because I had so much to think about. At least now I had a purpose and a chance to help him.

That evening, the cross worked its magic. Somehow, it masked Carl's scent or at least dampened my reaction to it, even when he offered his wrist to me. I was able to shrug off my instincts with little effort. I couldn't believe how relaxing it was. It made me feel almost human.

An undercurrent of need remained, but, for the most part, the temptation was easy to control. I was still bothered by Carl's behaviour, though. He was compelled to do it, but it irritated me that he wasn't even trying to survive. As soon as he dozed off that night, I rang my grandmother.

"What's the deal with Eddie Brogan?" I barely let her say h.e.l.lo.

"What? Ava? You know Eddie?" Her voice was thick with sleep.

"The man you sent me to, Peter, he took me to Eddie. After he'd attacked me, that is."

"Oh, Ava, didn't you tell him I sent you?"

"No. Look, that doesn't matter; tell me about Eddie. Can I trust him? He gave me something; it's helping me. I'm not so thirsty now."

She caught her breath. "The cross? It works?"

"How'd you know about the cross?" I seemed to be out of the loop on every single thing. My self-imposed exile meant I had to ask questions at every turn. I was eager to catch up.

"When you left, I bought books at his shop. I suppose I ... well, I sort of hoped you'd be there. You used to sneak those books all the time."

"Go on," I said when she hesitated.

"Well, he spoke to me one day, and I found myself telling him all about you. He said he could help you with the thirst. He showed me the cross, said it was for you. But-"

"But I never came back." I chewed it over in my mind, wondering if he had forced her to talk the way he had with me. "Did you tell him everything? About my mother or anything?"

"I'm not sure... I just don't remember so well."

"It's okay. You've told me all I need to know. I'll ring you next week."

I hung up before she could invite me over. I wasn't nearly ready for that. I mulled over the day's events. Eddie opened up more questions than he answered. Even though his talisman had worked, and Peter seemed to trust him, I still felt like I shouldn't. That led me onto thoughts of Peter and how nice it would be if he didn't completely hate me.

I couldn't sleep that night because I kept thinking about Peter, not Carl.

Chapter Five.

The first thing I did when I woke the next morning was touch the chain around my neck to make sure the cross was still there. As soon as my fingers touched it, a sense of security eased the tension in my muscles. For the first time since Carl showed up, I felt really relaxed in bed and ended up dozing off again. A loud knock on my bedroom door a while later woke me properly.

Bleary-eyed, I practically fell out of bed trying to see what was going on. Peter stood outside my bedroom door, eyeing me with a smug grin.

"Thought you wanted to be early?" he said, clearly delighted he caught me unawares.

"Shut up," I croaked as I shoved past him. "Lemme shower. Put on the kettle."

"Face is better I see," he called after me.

I checked in the bathroom mirror and sure enough my face was almost totally healed. A shadow of a bruise remained, but it was so light that a touch of concealer would cover it.

"Who is that guy?" I muttered, wondering what else Eddie could come up with.

I took a quick shower before heading into the kitchen. Peter and Carl were both sitting on the sofa eating sloppy breakfast rolls in silence.

"One on the counter for you," Peter said, his mouth full.

I glared at him suspiciously, but he seemed in good form, so I figured it was worth trying out the food. I was pretty hungry, even with the chain around my neck. The food looked greasy but tasted delicious. Peter raised an eyebrow as I wolfed it down.

"Quick metabolism," I told him, my cheeks flushing. I had always had a huge appet.i.te. When I was a kid, my grandmother went through a phase of trying to starve the demon out of me. It didn't work. I got so hungry that I bit a kid in school. My fangs hadn't grown yet, but it scared her enough that she went back to feeding me properly.

"Why are you here so early, anyhow?" I asked Peter after a few minutes, breaking the awkward silence.

Peter crushed the greasy wrapper from his food and stood to throw it into the bin.

"Figured we need some sort of plan before we go storming vampire bars," he replied.

"So how are we working the bar?"

He sat back down next to Carl, who had fallen asleep again.

"Think he's okay?" Peter asked in concern.

I shrugged. "Can't be great. He nods off a lot. I sort of ordered him to take care of his needs, didn't mean it quite like this."