by D. D. Syrdal
Across town he made his way back to the underground club where he had met the cute blond the night he had been searching for Kiril. He entered and headed straight downstairs to the dark basement section. It was darker than he remembered, but the clientele this establishment served generally liked it that way. He stood at the bottom of the staircase and surveyed the room for a moment, taking in the number of people present, looking for any likely prospects. To his surprise and delight the little blond was there again, except this time she wasn’t alone. She was with a small group, and one of the guys was running his hands all over her. She was trying to fend him off gently, but he was apparently too wasted from drugs or drink to pay any heed to her attempts to stop him. Disgusted with the adolescent behavior, Andrej approached the table. He could set this punk straight without too much trouble. Elizabet didn’t see him approach but looked up when she heard his smooth deep voice.
“Hello,” he said. The group at the table looked at him. Young kids, not one of them over twenty, he thought.
“Andrej,” Elizabeth said, with obvious relief.
“I hope I’m not intruding.” He looked straight at the lout attempting to grope Elizabet.
“Not at all, it’s good to see you again.”
The boy quit trying to fondle Elizabet and looked at Andrej, annoyed.
“Who’s this, Elizabet?” Belligerent from whatever he was on, or maybe just by nature, he was bristling, spoiling for a fight.
“No one you know,” she said and stood up to leave. Andrej held out his hand to her and she accepted it gratefully. As she started to walk away the guy who had been pawing her started out of his chair after them. He wasn’t ready to let her go so easily.
Andrej whipped around and looked him in the eye.
“I believe the lady is ready to leave. With me. Now.”
The kid was unsteady and wobbled back onto a chair. Andrej snorted in disgust. He turned back around and took Elizabet by the arm, guiding her out of the bar.
“Thank you,” she said breathlessly when they were outside. “It’s almost like you knew I was in trouble.”
“Is that your boyfriend?”
“God, no,” she said. “I just met him.”
“You need to be careful, pretty young girl like you,” he said, kissing the back of her hand. She was falling hard and fast, he saw. She had been smitten the first time they met, and he could see the attraction was still there. A little gallantry and he was a prince in her eyes. And a little deferred gratification on his part was about to pay off nicely. He stroked the side of her face, locking eyes with her. She was willing, easy to put under. He would have liked to take her back to the apartment but with Neko using the spare room it wasn’t possible. Another time, perhaps, he thought as he led her back behind the club. Yes, she really should be more careful, he thought as he sank his teeth into her neck. He had one arm around her slim waist, his opposite hand holding the back of her head. She put an arm around his neck, embracing him in return. In a few minutes he withdrew his teeth, careful not to leave any blood on her neck. She was strong, her blood was unusually satisfying. He kissed her mouth tenderly, running his hand down her thick soft hair. He found himself enjoying the moment, a rare occasion of near intimacy, even though she was less than aware of what was happening. Something was sparking in him, he began to feel a sense of protectiveness towards her. Perhaps it was simply from having rescued her from the frat boy in the club, but he wasn’t content to simply bring her out of the trance and let her go back to her friends. He held her close, his arm still around her waist as they walked back to the main street. Once there, under the glare of the streetlights he released her from the trance. She woke up, blinking her eyes and looking around in confusion.
“What was I saying?” she asked.
“That you didn’t know that guy that was pawing you,” Andrej reminded her.
“Oh, no, I don’t know him.” She was still a little muddled, glassy-eyed.
“Why don’t I get you cab home?” he offered.
“No, no, I can walk. I don’t think I have cab fare anyway. It’s not far,” she said.
“Come on,” he said, hailing a cab. “It’s on me.”
As the cab pulled up to the curb he opened the door for her, and handed the driver more than enough cash to cover the fare. He instructed the driver to take her wherever she wanted to go, then stepped back onto the curb.
“Aren’t you coming?” she asked. She was clearly used to having to make some kind of payment for a favor, not realizing she already had.
He looked at her with a twinge of regret and smiled. “I’m sorry, I can’t tonight. I have to take care of something. I hope I’ll see you again.” With that the cab drove off, and Andrej turned to head back up the street, wondering how Neko was making out. He didn’t have to wonder long; Neko was striding down the sidewalk toward him. He lit a cigarette and waited in front of the club, half expecting to see the punk who’d been molesting her get tossed out. He might have missed it while he was in the alley with Elizabet. Damn the luck, it would have been amusing.
“Well?” he asked as Neko reached him.
“I ended up taking her to the hospital, they checked her in.”
Andrej offered him a cigarette, then lit it for him. “What for?”
“They didn’t say. She was becoming more and more incoherent. I hung around long enough to make sure someone had her under observation and split.”
Andrej nodded, dragging on the cigarette. Neko was unusually disturbed by this incident though.
“You ever have one weird out on you like that? That was a first for me.”
Andrej thought about the woman in the bookstore. “Yes, once.”
“Any idea what caused it?”
“Yes. She was pregnant.”
Neko let out a low whistle at that. “I hadn’t thought of that. How’d you find out?”
“The taste, I knew before I finished. She wasn’t showing yet, so I didn’t know ahead of time. I still should have sensed it,” he said. Why hadn’t he? He was still angry with himself for being so distracted with the idea of the meeting at Sedlec that night.
Neko rubbed his chin. “I didn’t taste anything unusual,” he said. “I don’t think that was it with this one.”
“All right, well, you got her to a hospital, she’ll be fine. I think I want to head home, check in on Anne-Marie. After last night I shouldn’t have left her alone this long.”
“All right. Grab a cab?”
Andrej shook his head and flicked the cigarette butt out into the street. Neko grinned. Any excuse to use his powers still gave him a rush. They headed back behind the club, out of sight of onlookers.
“I forgot to ask, how’d you make out tonight?”
“Very well,” he said with a sly grin.
Neko laughed. “That’s my boy.”
Chapter 15
