The Blood Bargain

by Reeves, Macaela

  He set up the board carefully on the table, taking the dog for himself. I picked the thimble. After dealing out the starter cash, we rolled to see who went first. I won with a five. I picked up the dice again to make my first move. Shaking them in my hand I tried to remember the last time I played this.

  “You don’t like monopoly.” Dimitri seemed hurt in his question. I must have been frowning.

  “No, the game is fine. I used to play this with my parents on board game night.” The dice flew onto the table. I rolled a three.

  “Board Game Night?”

  “My Mom had a no TV Thursday rule. I think Thursday because none of her shows were on.” My little thimble landed on Baltic Avenue. “I’ll buy it.” We exchanged little paper dollars and blue topped property card. In a quick movement he scooped up the dice and rolled. Snake eyes.

  “Keep rolling like that and you’re gonna end up in jail.” I teased him. As a response I got the deep chuckle of his laughter. A scary sound, but one I enjoyed nonetheless. He moved his piece and handed me the dice.

  A four. I moved my thimble. One. Two. Three. Four....

  “You are mad however, your facial muscles are tense.” Dimitri spoke as I handed him the dice back. He just was not dropping it was he?

  “No I just...I don’t like my fate I suppose.”

  “Fate?” An eyebrow raised over his ice blue eyes.

  “After you saved me, my Dad took the opportunity to wed me to Zack Graham, it's supposed to be after we’re done...” Dimitri growled. Literally.

  “You are not for him.” He spoke through clenched teeth. Truer words had never been spoken.

  “I’d rather die.”

  He rolled the dice, moving his little dog two spaces. “Come stay with me then.” I immediately suppressed the urge to laugh, me live with a vampire?

  “Stay with you? Really? How are your roommates going to feel about that.” The thought of

  having breakfast with blondie made me want to throw up.

  Not wanting to dwell on my last brush with his ‘family’ I rolled the dice again. Sweet a six!

  “I’ll buy it.” Money was exchanged for the little yellow topped card.

  “I do not live with any others.”

  “Then where do you live?” Now I was seriously confused.

  “My house is on 3rd, the little green one with the white shutters. I moved in after Mr. Vern passed.”

  I shot him a look.

  “Of natural causes.” Dimitri elaborated.

  “Death wasn.t reported back to the council?” Not that I really gave a crap about the council at the moment.

  “The doctor collected the body. I assumed possession of the property shortly thereafter by special request.”

  “That house could have gone to one of many families that are currently smashed together.” He just shrugged. I knew my argument was moot, what would a vampire care for human living conditions. Still this was a point I had to make, these other denizens of junction reminded me of feudal lords -they were definitely revered and feared as such– continuing to live in relative luxury

  while the rest of us made the best with what we had.

  “I wanted my space. Before the outbreak I had a six thousand square foot stead on the Riviera.” No surprise there.

  “Then how did you end up in nowhere Iowa?” I couldn.t see how he could have gotten from there to here during the outbreak. That was, unless they made arrangements before the Last Flight.

  “Caius summoned me.”

  “Summoned? Is that a fancy vampire word for a text message?”

  “Don.t be obtuse. It is not a form of your communication, especially not something as uncivilized as a text message.”

  “Uncivilized?”

  “Your kind does not even use words associated with any language in those base conversations.” He scoffed. “How I long for the days of the written hand. A time when thought was put before verbiage.”

  Ignoring the insult, although accurate, on how we uncivilized humans communicated I pressed him to elaborate. “So how does this ‘Summon’ work?”

  “I cannot explain in a manner you would comprehend.” I frowned. Well it definitely was not air travel, because I could comprehend the mechanics of that century old invention just fine. I wished at that moment we were talking about something else. The Last Flight was twenty hours after we took refuge in Milo. I saw the whole thing live on TV. I don’t know why the adults

  named it such, as it wasn’t just one event, it was a series of tragedies occurring sequentially within a matter of minutes. It started with a plane from New York to Chicago. The commercial passenger jet had lost contact with control, flying erratically. Crashed right into the Sears Tower.

  Then another one, downed in a field in Tennessee. Two more on the west coast. Three reported in Europe. Each case was the same, the passengers died not in the crash, but from the bitten who had boarded those flights. Each flight held survivors in the fact that they were all still moving.

  One of the last television broadcasts we got was a reporter who had ignored the police barrier for the sake of ratings. Standing by the burning building in Chicago she spoke of the horrible tragedy, only to be gutted by the very people whose deaths she was lamenting. While I was lost in my own thought I heard him clear his throat.

  My eyes snapped up to see his concerned expression. Damn. How long had I been lost in that memory. He softly elaborated his earlier statement.

  “Summoning…It is a function elders have on their hierarchy…” I relished the topic change.

  “Do you have any functions?” I used air quotes on function. It seemed appropriate. Function was for math and programming, not for super powers.

  “Some.”

  “Can you turn into a bat?”

  “No.”

  “Can you control rats?” I did not mean for that to rhyme, but both were in Dracula.

  “No.”

  “Wolves?”

  “I’m not a pet person.”

  I thought of Anna. “Mind control?”

  “You watch too many bad movies.”

  Realizing I had just probably annoyed the hell out of him, I went back to casual conversation. This twenty one questions marathon had gotten me nothing but a repeat of him saying the word no. Although I had to admit, when he said the two letter word, it sounded

  amazing. Hell, when he said anything it sounded amazing.

  I mentally kicked myself for thinking that and reiterated his statement to clear my brain. “Caius is your elder.”

  He nodded. “Antonia’s as well.” He put a finger under my chin and lifted my head to look at him. “Are you asking all these questions to know of me? Or to stall from my question?” Busted. Now he was touching me, giving me a hard time thinking about anything besides his perfectly formed masculine mouth and strong scent.

  There are fangs under those lips Liv, I told myself. Get a grip girl.

  “Yes.” I breathed the word. And there went the eyebrow.

  “Yes?” I backed up and took a deep breath. He was moving too fast and a bit too forward. Did I want to live with him? Not really. I was still very scared of him on many levels despite him saving my life twice. On the other hand, did I want to live with Zack? Hell no. If he could keep me from that fate...

  “Will you tell me something else?” I asked him, fidgeting a little bit. I needed to change the topic...

  “Maybe.” He seemed pouty that I had scooted away from him on the couch.

  “Know anything about a missing caravan?”

  “Human migration patterns bore me.”

  “Is that a yes or a no?”

  He shot me a ‘what did I just say’ look from his corner of the couch. Apparently that was all he had to say on that.

  “Okay fine. It’s your turn by the way.” I pointed at the game board.

  “Is it now. Well as it is said, you are going down.”

  I laughed at his attempt at banter. We finish the game, trading jabs and ove
r dramatic pauses on acquisitions and rolls. He goes to jail twice, I built a hotel on Atlantic. In

  the end, I win. Complete with a little victory dance.

  When I was done gloating, he picked up the pieces carefully, making sure to organize the cards and place all items in the box in order.

  “Evelyn, your smile does not reach your eyes. What nightmare torments your mind?”

  I stifled a giggle. “I’m fine.”

  “You are surely not fine. Tell me of your woes.”

  I basically did a brain dump to him of everything I had heard in the meeting plus the reasons I went up to the city in the first place. Granted if the vamps were in anyway involved, I just screwed up again. However, for some reason I trusted him. Not them, just him. He listened intently as I spoke, his eyebrows joining as I hit the questionable points.

  “I disposed of nearly one hundred last night.” Dimitri told me. I suddenly didn.t feel like jumping him about the four at the wall. Over a hundred...oh my...was it...

  “Following down from the city?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Cole’s retreat had led them right to us…

  “Yes.” Shit.

  “Do not blame yourself.”

  “I put everyone in danger, I should blame myself.”

  “Life is dangerous Evelyn, if it were not than it would not be considered living.” His head tipped forward, thick dark locks framing his eyes.

  “Your life is not dangerous.”

  “Many would consider my life not living.”

  “I have a feeling they would be wrong.” Shocked at my response, his eyes lowered to the floor, then he chuckled.

  Fricken chuckled.

  “You continue to surprise me Evelyn.”

  “Stop calling me Evelyn. It’s a stupid name.” The words left my mouth before I could stop myself. I had long thought my parents had bestowed a cruel joke upon me with my moniker. The truth of the matter was they wanted a boy and I was a last minute surprise. When I popped out and was thrown in pink they had to dig deep in the family tree to pick something.

  “I think it is rather lovely.” I laughed. No one had ever referred to my name and anything positive in the same sentence. Aside from my grandma that was and even then it was mostly because I’d been named for after her mother.

  “If I had been born in the late 1800’s maybe.”

  “A wondrous period of invention.” I glared at him. “As you wish, what moniker should I bestow upon you in greeting? I do recall you were not fond of ‘girl’ either.”

  “Liv.”

  He looked me square in the eye, his ice blue iris glowing like sapphires back lit by a flame. When he stared at me, it took my breath away. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. I was...lost in that lake. That inviting water called me forward, demanding that I swim. I wanted to. I wanted to dive in and stay immersed in that pale blue ocean, even if I drowned. His lips parted, mouth moving to form a word.

  “Liv.” When he said it I about swooned, his accent stretching out the single syllable so that every letter had individual meaning. Then he looked away.

  The blood rushed to my face. What had just happened? This was not like me. I do not get this way over men. Not now not ever. Especially not over a bloodsucking freak of a man. My mind was split at that moment, part of me screamed run. Run and never come back. Marry Zack, have a million babies. That little voice was drowned out by my conscious mind that wanted a future that was my own. A future, that was only possible living with a vampire.

  “How long can I stay with you?”

  “For as long as you live if you want.” Wow...I guess to him it was a blink of the eye in his timeline. It was like having me crash on the couch for a week.

  “Do I have to ...feed you for that long?”

  “That is your choice past your current obligation.”

  There was that word. The word I yearned for in my current existence. Choice. How could I say no?

  “I’ll meet you at your real place at sundown tomorrow.” I lifted my chin up, focusing my eyes on his forehead rather than those pale blue orbs. “And I want my own room.”

  “As is proper for a lady.” He agreed.

  With that it was done.

  No longer would I live at the mercy of those who would control me. From now on, I would be an independent woman who lived with a vampire; a concept that both delighted and scared me to the bone.

  Chapter 9

  “Are you out of your goddamned mind?!” My Dad hollered at me across my room. I hate to admit it but I was really really really enjoying this. Personally I thought he was out of his goddamn mind for the whole Graham thing.

  “He offered, I accepted. What’s your deal?” The calmer I was, the madder he got.

  “Evelyn Marie Younger this ‘he’ is a vampire!”

  “You were fine with me feeding him? Just not taking up the spare bedroom?”

  “I forbid this.”

  “You can’t. You don’t own me.”

  “Your wedding is..”

  “How about you go tell Caius no?” I met his stare head on with my challenge. Go tell your vampire overlords that you forbid my new arrangement. He frowned a dark sneer crossed his face that chilled me to the bone. He knew I had pulled the ultimate trump card.

  “Fine. Be it on your own head when you get yourself killed.” With that he slammed out the door. When he left my hands were shaking. No matter what, my Dad still had an effect on me. Probably always would. I imagined my Moms reaction to all this, she would not have been a big fan of me doing this. On the other hand there was no way she would have been a fan of me being

  bartered off to one of dad’s buddies. Deep down I felt horrible we had drifted so far apart lately. Ever since I went up there…he’s treated me like I never really came back. Maybe that’s just how he was raised to deal with gross disappointment. Yeah, that was the correct term for what I’d done: disappointing. Thing is though, there was a scav up there and there was a distress signal. The ins and outs of that I may never know, but I couldn.t just bury my head in the sand and pretend it didn.t happen.

  Even if that meant pushing him further and further away.

  I spent the rest of the day packing up my things and listening to Zoe cry. She was so worried about me.

  Every time I caught her eye she tried to smile but I could hear her through the wall when she walked away. In her mind I was walking to my death. If only she knew that true death for me was the submission that would await me in the Graham house. Mark wished me the best of luck, it

  was obvious and understandable that they kept my leaving from the little boys. I did interrupt their truck time for a couple of really big hugs.

  When the last of my few things were being shoved into a duffel, Candice popped her head in to flip me off with a grin.

  “You.re going to have to let me know what it’s like with a bloodsucker.”

  “Candice! He’s giving me a spare bed, nothing else.”

  “Suuure well let me know how the ‘spare bed’ is.” I laughed. Thank god for Candice, she had always been so much more open minded, about everything really. I was going to miss living with her. I made a mental note to find her at the garage later. Even though our roofs were

  changing, we could still hang.

  My father didn.t say goodbye as I walked out the door.

  I carried my duffel bag alone on the walk to his house. The whole two block journey that it was. The house was as he described, a little white sixties bungalow with an overhang deck and green shutters. The yard was in decent enough shape, not that it had been mowed in a decade, when you’re struggling for supplies, gasoline for the clipper seemed like a ridiculous request to even make.

  Approaching the door I came eye to eye with a cheery white welcome sign slapped at eye level. Cute. I raised my hand to knock.

  “You don’t have to do that.” I jumped, turning to the side.

  In one of the rockers in the shade Dimitri was sitting. Out in the low daylight, he looke
d like just another guy, nothing scary nothing sinister, just a guy that would draw a hundred eyes at a party.

  “And you didn.t have to do that!” I countered.

  By his laugh he knew damned well he scared me. Rolling out of the chair he walked over and put a small key in my hand.

  “I lock doors, for obvious reasons. Make sure you always do the same.”

  I tried the key he gave me, it slid easily in the lock and rotated without catching. With a turn of the knob I found myself in the living room.

  It was a somewhat long and narrow room, with a pair of slip covered couches and a TV that looked like it was purchased in 1981. Family photos hung above the couch and sat upon the end tables. The only items more prevalent in the room besides all the smiling faces were the abundance of kitten figurines. There was a curio cabinet full by the door, then the little porcelain felines covered every available free surface from the top of the TV to what little room was left on the end tables. The hallway at the far end of the room looked like it led back to the bedrooms while the opening right across from the front door showed a dining set peeking out from behind the wall.

  “Have a thing for cats?” I asked him, not sure where to set my bag down.

  “I didn't bother decorating. Do they bother you?”

  “A little bit.” A lot actually.

  “I will remove them then.” He pointed down the hall past the TV. “Your room is down there. The basement is mine. I would appreciate if you did not go down there.” He didn’t follow me as I walked to check it out.

  Well, it was similar to my old room decor wise at least, with a little more flower vomit.

  Someone had been a big fan of shabby chic; the walls were pale lavender, the poster bed, dresser and nightstands were cream, the bedding was pink and fluffy as all get out, both of the lamps in the room poured crystals from the shade.

  Least the room was pretty devoid of personal effects.

  I tossed my duffle bag on the bed and opened the closet door, ready to begin arranging my sparse belongings.

  I stopped dead when I saw what was already in the closet.

  “Dimitri!” I hollered.