Bat Shift Crazy: An Ex-Shifter turned Vampire Hunter Urban Fantasy (The Legend of Nyx Book 2)

by Theophilus Monroe

  "I'm just a boy, in love with a boy. And you can suck it."

  I raised my eyebrows. I heard a few giggles in the crowd as she belted out the words "Suck it... suck it... suck it" in succession.

  But when she finished, the crowd erupted in cheers.

  Gina stood from the piano and took a bow. I clapped my hands. Not at all what I expected. It certainly didn't fit with the high-brow image I was trying to inculcate for Nicky's. Still, the crowd loved it, and, I had to admit, I'd probably have that chorus running through my mind the rest of the night.

  Chapter three

  Gina's second number, much like the first, wasn't at all what she'd sang for me when we rehearsed. Those songs were more like mine—rapturous, emotional, tear-jerkers. These songs were almost angry, full of rage and angst. But I couldn't deny the crowd was into it. Especially the contingent that had followed me from Leotards and Lace. Some of the others, the locals who'd come to my show expecting more of what I usually offered, looked like deer in headlights as they watched Gina belt out the chorus of her second number.

  The chorus was chock-full of f-bombs. Except she sang it sweetly as if she were romancing someone with her expletives. "Fuck you, you say. Répondez s'il vous plaît. No, thank you. But fuck you, too."

  Certainly not the sweet song about love she'd played for me when she auditioned. I assumed the songs she sang for me in private were the ones she intended to sing on stage. I guess I should have known better than to make assumptions. When you assume it makes an ass out of u and me. A pithy saying, one that probably would have scared the bejeezus out of me before I lost my shape-shifting ability. Back then, without any sense of human medium, I probably would have envisioned myself making an assumption, then finding myself turning into a donkey. Or, a butt with legs. Never sure which meaning of "ass" applies.

  At first, I was a little angry about Gina's song choice switcheroo. But when I heard the crowd cheer, I reconsidered my disapproval. They loved it. The regulars did, at least. As for the tight-assed suburbanites who were clearly taken off guard, well, I figured I'd win them over. Hopefully, they'd forget about it. And I'd talk to Gina later. He'd probably be Geraldo once I had the chance. Maybe he'd be more amiable than Gina if I asked him to turn down the angst a touch.

  At least Gina stuck to the final number we'd rehearsed. I half expected she'd change the lyrics to something more... risqué. But she stuck to plan.

  It was her own arrangement. Still recognizable—it's one of those songs you don't forget. But Gina's version highlighted her skill on the piano as well as her voice. It was impressive. Hell, when she'd performed at Leotards and Lace, I didn't know she could play the piano, much less that she was something of a savant. I hate to say it, but she was a better piano player than I was.

  When she finished, the whole crowd rose to their feet. I walked out on stage and, as Gina stood from the piano, I embraced her.

  "It was stunning," I said. "We'll talk about the other songs later."

  Gina giggled a little. "Sorry about that."

  "It's fine," I said. "And don't apologize when you aren't sorry. Do you, Gina. Nicky's is all about providing a platform for expressing your true self."

  Gina nodded and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wasn't entirely sure she heard what I said over all the crowd noise, but clearly, she got the message I wasn't angry. If anything, I was concerned about whatever dark place in her soul her original songs had come from.

  The house band came out and took their positions behind me as I took my place at the piano and adjusted the microphone's position. Gina was a little shorter than me. I had to move it up about six inches. The band would take a minute to get situated, so I opened with a piano number of my own.

  "She's Always a Woman," by Billy Joel.

  It was my first time playing the song at Nicky's. My first time singing it on stage at all. I took it as something of an ode to myself. And it allowed me to show off my improving skill on the baby grand.

  They applauded when I finished. Not the same response that Gina got from her final number. But when I sang, the crowd tended to settle in for a series of numbers. I'd have them to their feet before I was done.

  The following number was a little more up-beat, and it required the band. "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Gina joined me back on stage to add the necessary background vocals. The house band was good, but they were less than average singers.

  I started at the piano then rose to my feet, taking the microphone in hand, when the song picked up. I was about to sit back down for the piano bit that ends the song when I saw her...

  Standing in the back of the room. Her red eyes caught the light. I hadn't seen her before, but her eyes, combined with the smell wafting in the air made it clear. She was a vampire. And, from the way she was dressed, she was older than the younglings Devin and I staked earlier.

  She wasn't talking to anyone. She wasn't harassing the patrons. She was beautiful. She had an air about her that reminded me of Audrey Hepburn in her prime. Glamorous. Shoulder-length chocolate brown hair. Heels that were at least as high as mine. A long, black, form-fitting dress accentuating her curvy frame. Dark red lipstick.

  Devin snuck in behind her. He'd made good time. But his timing... well...

  I wasn't sure if it was good timing or the worst timing possible. So far, the vampire wasn't harassing anyone. She didn't have her sights on any of my patrons whom she might claim as an after-the-show meal. She was staring right at me, her lips curled in a sly smile, as she sipped on a martini.

  Slow sips. Most vamps hallucinate when they consume alcohol. This one, though, wasn't distracted by anything. She was focused. She was there with a purpose—she was there for me.

  Not for Nicky. That was me during the day and at night when I took the stage. She was there for Nyx, my late-night vampire hunter persona.

  Devin didn't notice her. He took his place on a stool at the bar. All the seats closer to the sage were filled.

  So long as the vampire didn't try anything, I wasn't going to stop the show. No reason to cause unnecessary alarm. I'd finish my set, stake the bitch, and then chain her up and interrogate her. No fireballs to the chest. I wanted to know why she was there, what she wanted...

  If she was there to attack me, she wouldn't have revealed herself. She had an agenda. I needed to sort out what it was. Perhaps, whoever she was, she knew about where the catacomb vampires had gone and what they were up to. Chances were better than not she was one of them.

  My next song, another tribute to myself and my own journey, was "Most Girls" by Hailee Steinfeld. I had a few powerhouse numbers after that. Through it all, the vampire stood there, completely still like a statue except for the occasional sip she took from her drink, never taking her eyes off of me.

  I finished my set with the song I was best known for. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," originally made famous by Roberta Flack. Now, I was making it my own. I made eye contact with Devin as I sang it. I used to sing it with no one particular in mind. Now, it had a new meaning. My heart melted every time I sang it.

  I almost forgot about the bloodsucker lurking in the back of the room.

  Until I hit the final note.

  The vampire raised one hand into the air and snapped her fingers. She shifted into a giant bat and flew out the door, propped open by a wedge.

  And a tingle fell over my body. I hadn't felt that sensation in a while. Not since I'd shifted back at Order of the Morning Dawn's secret church. And, before that, not since I'd been an elemental.

  I couldn't shift. I couldn't change. I'd taken this form because I "targeted" Devin to take the form he desired the most. It was this body, the body that once belonged to Alice's long-lost love, Johann. But now, it was mine. A body Devin adored if for no other reason than it was the form in which he met me.

  The only way to shift again was to eat the one whom I targeted. And I wasn't going to make a meal out of Devin, ever.

  At least that's what I thought.

&n
bsp; Until everything went dark.

  Then my vision returned in black-and-white.

  I raised my arms, and they caught the air.

  I screamed.

  My voice echoed back at me. My hearing... I could have heard a pin drop on the opposite side of the room.

  I'd become a bat. I flew out the door, cheers erupting from the crowd.

  Not the screams I expected.

  They must've assumed I'd added illusion to my show—they were wowed by it, not frightened like they should have been. This was no magic trick. I'd actually shifted... into bat form! Just like the vampire. I knew a bit about it. Alice had that ability. She and her former lover, Johann, acquired their bat-shifting curse when feeding in eastern Europe. It was a long time ago. When she and Johann were still operating as nightwalkers for the Order of the Morning Dawn. And it was an ability that was frequently passed down from sire to progeny.

  But why did I have this ability now?

  It must've been the taste of Alice's blood Wolfgang made me drink... before we staked and eliminated him. I must've, somehow, absorbed her ability.

  The hot air outside fluttered through my wings. I screamed again. The other bat screeched back at me. It was the vampire.

  I followed her... whatever she did, when she snapped her fingers before she changed shape, it triggered the same shift in me.

  I released another shriek. This time, though, I didn't get a response. Where had she gone? I heard the revving engines of cars driving through the streets all around. Crickets in the trees. Even the sound of a whistle, a referee most likely at officiating the local high school football game.

  Contrary to popular belief, bats aren't blind, after all. But in this form, my hearing was more acute than my sense of sight. It was primary. My eyesight, lacking color and clarity, was secondary.

  I tried to scream again... but nothing came out. The world around me went black. The sounds faded into nothingness. What the hell had happened to me?

  Chapter four

  I opened my eyes. Devin was staring down at me, his lips pressed together. He took a cool rag and dragged it across my forehead.

  I lifted my arm. It was an arm again. Not a wing. And I could see. I was back to myself. So far as I could tell.

  "You're back," Devin said. "Had me worried there for a while."

  I sat up and looked around. "We're back at the apartment?"

  Devin nodded. "I found you naked, laying behind the dumpster behind Nicky's."

  "Naked," I said, shaking my head. "Fantastic."

  "I didn't mind," Devin said, smirking.

  I snorted. "What about my dress? My heels?"

  "Left in a pile on the stage," Devin said, pulling out his phone. "People loved it. They're still posting about it on your Facebook page."

  I bit my lip. "Talking about it, how?"

  "How the hell did she do that?" Devin said, reading one of the posts. "One of the comments on the video."

  "Wait," I said. "Someone caught that on video?"

  Devin nodded. "If you think we sold out fast before, this is going to take it to a new level. We should up the prices."

  I sighed. "Stop joking about it. Did you catch that vampire?"

  Devin shook his head. "I didn't see her anywhere. Didn't realize she was a vampire until she turned into a bat herself."

  "Did anyone see her change?" I asked.

  "No one's talking about it if they did," Devin said. "So, at least there's that."

  I ran my fingers through my hair, tucking my long, white strands behind my ears. "I must've absorbed that ability when they made me drink Alice's blood. I can't think of any other reason... but that vampire, she triggered it somehow."

  Devin nodded as he raised the rag to my forehead again. "Don't worry about that right now. You need to get some rest."

  I brushed his hand away. "I'm fine."

  Devin cocked his head. "Fine? You were passed out for hours."

  "What time is it?"

  "Four in the morning," Devin said. "You didn't even flinch when I loaded you into the car. Or when Donnie and I carried you up to the apartment."

  "That vampire," I said. "She was old. Must've been from the catacombs. If she had the same ability, Alice and Johann had, she was probably a progeny of one of them."

  "Maybe, but maybe Alice and Johann weren't the only vampires who contracted that ability in eastern Europe," Devin said. "Two steps ahead of you. I already tried to call Alice."

  "Tried?" I asked.

  "It said her number had been disconnected. Whatever she's up to, she doesn't want anyone to find her. Not even us, apparently."

  I sighed. "That's so much like Alice. I spent years trying to hunt her. She's damn good at covering her tracks."

  "She's evaded you, the other vampire from New Orleans who wanted her dead, and the Order of the Morning Dawn, for years. If she doesn't want to be found, I don't think we'll have much luck. Even if we go down to New Orleans to find her."

  "When you were a member of the Order," I said. "Was there any intelligence about where she might go in New Orleans? Like, did she have a place there or anything?"

  Devin shook his head. "The only time we knew she went there was when the Order sent her there, back before the Order decided to eliminate her."

  "I know," I said. "I was there, remember. When she came to the Vilokan Asylum."

  "To try and kill Mercy Brown," Devin said. "You've told me about it several times. And, of course, I already knew that because it was on the Order's commission that she went there, to begin with."

  I crossed my legs and reclined back into the couch. "We don't have time to waste tracking her down anyway. The vampire last night had an agenda."

  "She came to find you," Devin said. "Unless triggering your bat shift was her entire purpose, she'll be back."

  "Possibly," I said, lifting my hand to my forehead. My head was pounding. "Could you get me a glass of water? I think I might be a little short."

  Devin nodded and stood up, walking to the kitchen, which was off the living room in our loft apartment. "Not easy for someone who's made of water to get dehydrated."

  "You'd be surprised," I said. "Even your body is mostly made of water. Mine is almost entirely made of water. If I'm running short at all, these damn headaches are the first clue."

  Devin returned with a glass of cool water. No ice. I never drank my water with ice. It was nice to see he remembered that. I gulped down the glass in two large swallows.

  "Need more?"

  "Please!"

  Devin handed me another glass. Mostly satiated, I took a smaller sip. "I might have something we can use," Devin said. "After my dad died, my mom said she had a whole box of things from the Order. I didn't want anything to do with it, so it's still back at her house."

  I scratched the back of my hand. "And you didn't think to say something about that before?"

  Devin shrugged. "It's mostly membership roles. Copies of some of the Order's rites. Shit like that. There were a few debriefings from his missions in there. But nothing about the catacomb vamps. I didn't think it would be relevant or helpful. Mina's running things with the Order now, and it isn't like she'd give us any answers considering she was the one who released all the vamps."

  I shook my head. "The Order is dedicated to eliminating vampires. I still don't know why she'd release them like she did."

  "We've been through this," Devin said. "The Order believes that the ends justify the means. She figured they'd be easier to hunt down, one-by-one than it would for what was left of the Order to find and stake Alice."

  "Right, because she thought they'd go after her. Alice staked most of them, to begin with. They want revenge."

  "And since Alice took them out one at a time, Mina probably figures they'd stand a much better chance against her as a group."

  "It was still foolish," I said. "Vampires, like the catacomb vamps, have lived a long time. Some of them for more than a century. Maybe longer. They don't do much with any urgenc
y. They'll play the long game. If the opportunity presents itself to take out Alice, they'll take it. But they're going to focus on consolidating their power first. And so long as Alice is on the run and not actively hunting them, they'll focus on whatever they think is the more imminent threat."

  "Like you," Devin said.

  "Like both of us," I replied, taking Devin's hand. "You're as much a threat to them as I am. And since you're your father's son, they probably won't underestimate you."

  Devin yawned. "We'll if they want to get to you, they'll have to go through me."

  I stared at Devin blankly. "And they'll do it, Devin, which is exactly what I'm afraid of. I should say the same. I won't let them get to you without going through me."

  Devin grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine. "We'll face this together, Nicky. Whatever's going on. Just try to keep your shit together and refrain from going batty again."

  "If I knew how to stop it, it wouldn't have happened, to begin with."

  Still holding my hand, Devin stood up. "Come on, let's go to bed."

  "I don't need to sleep," I said. Strictly speaking, I didn't need much sleep ever. I didn't require it like most humans did. Still, from time to time, a little rest helped me clear my mind. "Like you said, I've been passed out for several hours already."

  "You might not need sleep," Devin said. "But I do. And I'd like it if you were in bed with me."

  I nodded. "Alright. Well, like I said, I'm not leaving you alone. Not until we know exactly what this vampire is up to. I highly doubt that she's working alone."

  "Probably not," Devin said. "But until I get a little sleep, I won't be much use fighting off any of them."

  We went back to the bedroom. I was still in my panties. At least Devin had the decency to cover my private parts. I was a bit embarrassed he'd seen me like that. So far, we hadn't done much together physically. Nothing beyond kissing. Not because he wouldn't, but because I was anxious about it. I'd never been with a man, or any human for that matter, before.