by D. N. Hoxa
“So, what’s your story?” El asked.
“Since you’re my guests and in my home, I believe you should be the ones to go first,” I said.
What was I going to tell them? I had no story. None that I could share, anyway.
“Fair enough,” Drag said, nodding. “We come from the South. Brazil.”
“It must be a long way from there,” I said, and they both nodded.
“Longer than I thought it would be. We had to go through Mexico.” El said.
“So what brings you to these parts?”
They looked at each other before they answered me. I wasn’t the only one in the room who was tense. They had accepted the invitation of a stranger, too.
“Pleasure, actually. We hear Florida is the place to be for vampires,” El said. I did not believe that for a second.
“Yeah, I heard that, too. It’s not too far from here.”
“That’s where we’re headed,” Drag said. “So, why aren’t you there?”
I shrugged. “I’m not much of a people person.” Bugz had said those words to me once. I didn’t think she’d mind that I stole them. “I prefer to be on my own.”
Drag nodded. “Cool,” he said. “I hope we’re not being too much trouble.”
If he only knew. Even with the tension and uncertainty boiling in the room, it was still better to have strangers there than be on my own.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“What’s with the mask?” El asked. He was almost done with his bottle of wine. Made me wonder if they had fed recently.
“I like my mask,” I said. “Don’t you?”
“Not really, no,” El answered without missing a beat. Zuke raised his hand and gave me a thumbs-up. Both vampires laughed.
“Looks like he digs it,” Drag said. I nodded at Zuke to say thank you.
“What’s it like in Brazil?” I asked. “Are there human communities, like here?”
“Not really. Just scattered groups all over the place. Vampire communities, yes,” Drag said.
“Really? So why are you going to Florida, then?”
My question seemed to catch him off guard.
“To change the place, man. Just to change the place.”
El finished his bottle with one long gulp.
“How long since you’ve fed?” I asked. I’d only drank a bottle that fast when I was craving like mad.
Drag shook his head as if to clear the thoughts away. “Days,” he mumbled.
“I’ll tell you what, if you stick around, I’ll take you to feed.” I must’ve been crazy.
“There’s no one around for miles,” El said.
“It’s a three-hour run, but there are eight you can feed from,” I said. There were twelve humans in total, but I’d already fed off four. They needed to rest for a couple of days before they could be fed on again.
Zuke smiled first. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Mask,” Drag said grinning, and he reached out his hand for me to shake.
“In exchange for what?” El asked, his small eyes filled with suspicion. Exchange? “No vampire ever gives his food away without wanting something in return.”
I was genuinely surprised I’d survived that long.
“In exchange for the truth,” I said, since he offered “I’ll let you feed off my humans, if you tell me the truth about why you’re here.”
Drag dropped on the couch again. They didn’t like it, but they needed to feed. Would they risk leaving without feeding, or were they desperate enough to tell me the truth for blood? I almost fell bad for making them, but I was dying for a decent conversation.
Silence fell in the room like a thick blanket. I leaned against the wall, watching them exchange looks with each other, trying to make a decision. I was patient, and finally, after a few minutes, Drag spoke.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said and reached for the small leather bag wrapped around his torso. He pulled out cards. “Why don’t we play a game of poker for tonight, and we can talk more tomorrow?”
Zuke immediately stood up, took the table El was sitting close to, and dragged it to the middle of the room. Then, he rearranged the chairs. There were only three so he looked up at me as if to ask where he could find more.
Was I really going to play a game of cards with those guys? Did I really trust them not to kill me as soon as we woke up the next night?
I didn’t, but what better things did I have to do? I didn’t think life could get any worse than simply ending.
So I pointed Zuke to the next room where he could find more chairs. “Sure. If you teach me how to play.”
“What?” El laughed. “You’ve never played poker before?” I shook my head. “How old are you?”
“Old enough.”
“I thought you Americans were crazy for a game of poker,” Drag said.
“I’m not American. I’m Spanish,” I said and finally took my seat next to them.
It was dark in the room, too dark, but vampires didn’t need light to see.
“Really? I couldn’t tell,” Drag said.
“I’ve had time to perfect my accent,” I lied. I had no idea how I could even speak the language, let alone have a perfect accent.
“Well, what do you know?” El said, grinning. “In that case, it’ll be my pleasure to teach you poker.”
They did. It was easy for the most part, but it got really confusing sometimes. Both Drag and El filled me with instructions for half an hour after we began to play. For a few minutes after that, there was silence. Then, Drag cleared his throat.
“I hear things aren’t going so well in the States,” he said. He expected me to elaborate.
“What do you mean?” I asked instead.
“Crazy talk has reached our ears about Doyen Mohg and how he claims to have found something that replaces the blood of humans for us,” Drag said.
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Not really, no. I just wanted to know if you knew something about it.”
“I know as much as you do, I guess. They say he’s found something and he’s preparing for war even, to protect humans from someone.” I said.
El’s leaned back on his chair. “War?” He faked the surprise well.
“Yes, that’s what they say. Someone wants to enslave the humans, and they say Mohg is trying to stop it.”
“Someone?” Drag said.
I smiled behind my mask.
“No idea.” I shrugged. “I like to keep out of these things. Not a people person, remember?”
Drag smiled, but it was fake.
“So you don’t work for Mohg,” he concluded.
“Nope. I don’t.”
“Funny. They say every vampire around these parts works for him,” El said.
“I’m proof that’s a lie,” I said.
They were definitely there because of Mohg. What I wasn’t sure about was whether they were collecting information for Mohg, or about him.
“All in,” El said, and then turned to me again. “Do you know many that work for him?”
So, about Mohg.
“Plenty,” I lied.
Drag and El looked at Zuke, who continued to play like nothing had happened.
“Who are they?” El asked.
He got a cold look from Drag for his question.
“If I wrote you a list, it would be as long as you are,” I said, grinning.
“What do you think?” Drag asked, attempting to change the conversation a bit. “Is he going to succeed?”
“Who, Mohg?” I asked.
He only nodded. That was the second I realized where they were coming from. Chandra. They were there to collect information, or so it seemed to me. Lucky for them, they’d met me. A guy, all alone in an almost empty city, who they could kill easily if I posed even the smallest threat to them.
“It depends, I guess.”
“On what?” El said.
“On who the opponent is. And on what his opponent has that Mohg doesn’t, and what Mo
hg has that his opponent doesn’t.”
“What’s the word in the streets?” Drag asked.
“I’m not sure. I’ve been on my own for almost a year now,” I said. “What about you guys? What do you think about it? What’s the word in Brazil?”
“Well, they think Mohg’s doomed,” Drag said.
I looked at El, but he was looking down at his empty bottle with longing.
“You can have another bottle, El,” I said.
If they felt more comfortable, they might share more. El’s face lit up. He ran to the poison room and back in just a second, with a fresh bottle of vodka in hand.
“Thanks, man,” he said, grinning.
“Why do they say Mohg is doomed?” I asked Drag.
“Well, because he’s pretty isolated in that island,” he said.
I wanted to ask what island, but if I did, they would know I was full of shit, so I acted like I knew what island they were talking about.
“But he has power. He has men, all over the place.”
“The other side has men, too.”
“Not as many as Mohg. Have you ever seen the island?”
It was a dangerous game I was playing. Because it was, I was as excited as a kid. I hadn’t had that much excitement since I’d woken up a vampire.
“He can have as many men as he wants, but they are nothing without power,” Drag insisted.
He was getting pissed off so I continued to lie.
“Oh, he has power. Mohg has a lot of power,” I said. I had no idea what I was talking about, but it worked.
“He might, but Chandra has the bombs.”
The second he said it, regret flashed in his eyes.
I smiled. “So you’ve heard about Chandra. And about the silver bombs.”
“Why aren’t I surprised that you know, too?” Drag said. He wasn’t smiling.
“Is that where you’re coming from? From Chandra?” I asked.
He and El stood up immediately. Zuke stayed put, as did I. The fear that spread in my chest wouldn’t help me, so I ignored it. I wasn’t fighting with Mohg. I had nothing to do with it. I could swear it. I would, if I had to.
“What’s that to you?” El growled.
His eyes had began to turn silver. He meant business.
“Nothing at all,” I said. “I was just curious. Can you blame a man for being curious?”
Drag put his hands on the table and leaned down, closer and closer to my face.
“Why should we believe that you’re not going to run to Mohg and tell on us?”
There was the confirmation I needed.
“Because I don’t trust Mohg. I never have. It’s up to you to believe it or not. I can only tell you that I have no business with him or his.”
It was an absolute truth I told. I had no connection to Dublin or Bugz—or even Morta—anymore.
A minute passed, Drag still in front of my face. He didn’t believe me. Even Zuke looked tense now. El stood by his side, ready. There was only one thing I could think of to do. I slowly leaned my head back and took off my mask.
To El and Drag, I was just a face hiding behind a mask. But Zuke sat back and his lips parted when he saw me.
“Why don’t you trust Mohg?” Drag asked, and the next second, he moved away from my face.
Zuke touched both their arms, and nodded for them to sit down. They seemed to trust him, because they did as he asked.
It was a relief to stand without the mask. Easier to breathe, though I didn’t need to.
“Because he has too much power. It’s never good for all the power to be in the hands of only one man,” I said, and that wasn’t a lie, either. I had thought it as soon as I’d learned about Mohg.
El nodded. “It could fuck up your brain.”
I’d thought he would be more difficult to convince than Drag. I was wrong.
“I find him unreliable,” I added. “That’s why I don’t want to work for him.”
“Then why don’t you get out of here?” Drag said.
I shrugged to gain a second. I had never thought about that. I had never thought about leaving the US, returning to Spain. Or going to any other place. “I never had to, I guess.”
“You should come with us,” El said all of a sudden. “Tomorrow. You’re taking us to feed, right?” He didn’t let me speak. “Afterwards, you can come with us.”
I suspected the reason he was inviting me was the room filled with poison. He was almost done with the second bottle, too.
“And do what? I don’t know the whole truth. I know you’re coming from Chandra, but why? For what?”
El looked at Drag, who looked at Zuke, who only shrugged, as always. The surprised look on his face was gone now.
“Chandra didn’t actually send us here,” Drag said.
“Who did?”
“That, we will not say. But we’ll tell you why we’re here. That’s what you asked in the beginning, right? Why we were here. Not who sent us.”
I nodded. I already knew where they were from. If Chandra hadn’t sent them, then someone connected with her had.
“You’ll add another bottle for each of us tomorrow night, after we feed,” El added.
I nodded again.
“We’re here looking for someone,” Drag said.
“Who?”
“I said I’d tell you only why we’re here, no more,” Drag said.
“Have you had any luck so far?”
“Not really,” El said, flinching.
“Well, maybe I can help,” I offered.
“In exchange for what?”
El didn’t miss a beat. I asked myself the same question. In exchange for what, Matias?
“You tell me what you want from whoever you’re looking for, and I’ll help you find them.”
“And what if we can't?” Drag asked.
“I’m sure that’s not the case. I do want to help you, but I can't without knowing why I am doing it first.”
I expected them to contemplate first, but El immediately nodded. Zuke shrugged, yet again. And Drag said, “Deal.”
I felt the first tug of the sunrise. We didn’t have much time.
“So, who is it?”
“It’s a woman. Morta Fox.”
My face gave me away the second they said her name, as I knew it would. El’s smile grew.
“You know her,” he said, delighted.
“Of course he does, El. Who doesn’t?” Drag mumbled.
El flinched. “I guess,” he said reluctantly. “At least now we’ll know what she looks like,” he mumbled.
Fuck. They didn’t know what she looked like.
“So?” Drag said, raising his brows at me.
I got myself together as fast as I could. “You guys know what she can do, right?”
“Like I said, who doesn’t?” Drag said. He wasn’t too happy about it, either.
“And what do you want from her?”
“It’s a bit complicated,” El said.
“The one who sent us after her has a message. They know each other from before,” Drag said. “The message is to ask Morta to go for a visit.”
“And if she doesn’t accept?”
“Look, we get what she’s capable of, so we’re not going to start a fight with her. We’re not stupid,” El said. “No need to be afraid, Mask.”
They’d completely misunderstood my fear. I was grateful for it.
“Good to know,” I mumbled.
“We have other ways to make her understand,” Drag whispered.
I looked at him and the sickening grin his face held didn’t sit well in my stomach. He reached for his small leather bag and took out a black plastic box.
“I’m done,” El said and stood up.
I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up, because I needed to see what was inside the box, but I felt it, too. I had but a minute or so left before unconsciousness took me. I stood up on shaky legs. Drag and Zuke did, too.
“You can sleep here,” I said. “I’ll
see you in the morning.”
They all nodded. El got two chairs together and lay down on them. Zuke took the couch on one side, and Drag on the other. I ran for my own room with the mattress and a soft blanket on the floor. I shut the door and barely managed to crash before I was unconscious.
XXI
The little black box was the first thing in my mind as soon as I opened my eyes. I didn’t need to wonder if the vampires had left. I could hear them speaking.
“Oh, man, I can't fucking wait to sink my teeth into fresh flesh,” El was saying.
“It’s been too long,” Drag said.
I hurried to the door and out. They were all standing, waiting for me.
“Good to go?” El asked me. Was I?
“What was in that box?” I asked instead.
“Let’s just say that it’s strong enough, even for her beating heart,” Drag said.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s a tranquilizer. A strong one,” El said. “So are we going or what?”
We did. I didn’t say anything else about the matter, because now—finally—I knew what I was going to do next. I was going to escape when they least expected it, and find Morta. Warn her.
I wouldn’t be the stalker guy who looked like Hammer anymore. I actually had a reason to talk to her now.
When I took them to my humans and told them who they could feed off, they said nothing. They were real gentlemen like I half expected them to be. Once they were done, we left the building walking. They were no longer in a hurry.
“So, which way are you going to lead us?” Drag said.
I’d been exercising my answers for three hours while we ran. I knew exactly what I was going to say.
“Florida, I guess. I haven't heard of Morta in a while. Last time I did hear, she was in Florida,” I said.
“We already knew that,” Drag said, nodding. “They say she’s Mohg’s little pet,” he said dryly.
“I don’t know about that.”
“So what does she look like?” El asked.
“She has long hair. Light brown. Her eyes are almost colorless. Grey. She’s tall and skinny.” I was terrified that they’d call bullshit. But they didn’t.
“Wish she would’ve told us more to go on,” El said. She. Whoever was looking for Morta was a woman.
“What did she tell you?” I asked, as if it was no big deal.
