When I reached the trees, I realized the house stood on the edge of a bayou which emitted an earthy, leafy aroma. I could hear bullfrogs and what I thought were owls. I would have stepped into the trees if it hadn’t been for the mist which hid the ground from sight. I had never been a big fan of bayous despite having grown up in New Orleans. I left exploring them to the tourists who paid through the nose to go out on one of the swamp boat tours. I preferred solid ground, and said as much when Justin joined me.
“There’s nothing in there we need to fear,” he replied.
“Moving water,” I pointed out, recalling what he’d told me earlier.
“True, if you go in too far. Not as dangerous as the stream, however.” He pointed to the east side of the grounds. I could hear it, now, and saw the bank limned by the moonlight.
“Everything is so sharp and clear, and…and…” I said, astonished.
“As if a whole new world has opened up for you?” He smiled knowingly.
“Yes, exactly.”
“Well, it has. A very different one than what you’re used to.”
“With rules and regulations I’d better learn if I’m going to survive.” That didn’t sit too well with me, now that I thought about it. I’d never been one to toe the line—not in school, not at home, or with my relatives when I was living with them. Not even in the jobs I’d held after graduating high school—until I finally fell into one that worked for me, bartending at a club on Bourbon. Not the one where I’d met Justin. I kept my private life, such as it was, private…more or less.
“Definitely,” Justin replied, putting his arm around my shoulders.
We stood that way for a long moment before I asked, “When do we start?”
“Tomorrow’s soon enough. For now, come back inside. My delivery is about to arrive, which will give you a chance to meet another one of us.”
I wondered how he knew, until I picked up on the sound of a vehicle on the main road about a half mile from the house. That much I did remember from our arrival on the first night, although I couldn’t say exactly where the house was. I had been more interested in Justin than my whereabouts. I did recall that we’d turned off the main road and had driven along a long lane that ended in front of the garage at the side of the house.
“You hear it, too,” Justin said as we made our way back from the bayou.
I nodded. “It sounds, well, much closer than it probably is.”
“Which is just as well. Knowing when someone’s approaching will keep you alive.”
I shot him a dour look. “It’s all about survival, isn’t it?”
“Yes and no. There will be times when your life will be entertaining. When you can relax your guard and live it to the fullest.”
“Damn, I hope so.”
He laughed heartily as he let us into the house. “Why don’t you wait here?” He pointed to the sofa. “Or better yet, go upstairs and finish dressing, then come back.”
I’d forgotten that all I had on was my jeans, so I did as he suggested. When I returned to the living room a man—well, a vampire, I knew instinctively—was deep in conversation with Justin. I wondered if that was another part of being what we are—knowing who was and wasn’t one of us. I supposed I’d find out in time.
The man looked over when he heard me enter. “So you’re Justin’s newest protégé,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Roland, an old friend of Justin’s from way back.”
“Lucas,” I replied, dipping my head. “How ‘way back’?”
He laughed. “Close to three hundred years. We met right before the Revolutionary War.”
That took me aback. I mean, I knew three hundred years was a long time ago, but that put it in perspective. “Were you both, you know, vampires when you met?”
“Indeed we were,” Roland said. “Mere fledglings, although we were free of our Sires by then.”
“Did you fight in the war?”
“Lucas, now is not the time to discuss our past history,” Justin said before Roland could reply. “He brought along an excellent wine which I’ll decant so that we can celebrate your rebirth.” Going to the tall oak cabinet along one wall, he opened it to reveal a rack of wines as well as at least a dozen crystal glasses. Taking three glasses, he handed them to us and then opened the bottle of wine on the mantelpiece. After filling our glasses, he took his from Roland and lifted it. “To Lucas. May you live long—”
“If you say, ‘and prosper’,” Roland broke in, rolling his eyes.
“I am not a Vulcan,” Justin retorted with a laugh before taking a drink.
Roland and I followed suit. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it, not being a fan of the stuff in general. Or I hadn’t been, before I’d been turned. Perhaps being a vampire had changed my tastes. I snorted to myself. That’s a given since they now run to blood and more blood.
“How are you adjusting?” Roland asked me.
“It’s been three days. How do you think I’m adjusting?” I replied furiously, tamping it down when Roland scowled, saying, “I’m still scared shitless, but as I told Justin, I’m a pragmatist. I know there’s not a damned thing I can do about it so I’m trying to get used to the new me.”
“It will take a while.” There wasn’t an ounce of sympathy in Roland’s expression or tone of voice, so I took it that he was being literal.
“But it will happen,” I stated. “I’ve got no other choice.”
“Not unless you decide to take a walk in the sun.”
It took me a second to get what he meant. Then I said, dryly, “The vampire version of suicide?”
“Exactly. Don’t do it, though. There’s a lot to be said for being what you are now, even if you don’t believe it at the moment.”
“Yeah, if you say so.” I tossed back the rest of my wine, wishing it affected me the way alcohol used to. Being at least a bit drunk might make his interrogation easier to handle.
Justin must have sensed my emotions because he said, “Go easy on him, Roland. He’s barely begun to find out what his new life is all about.”
Roland bristled momentarily and then smiled at me. “He’s correct. I do tend to push ahead without taking everything into account. I’ll try to do better the next time I visit. For now, I must leave. I have two more deliveries to make before sunrise.”
“Is it that late?” I asked.
“No, my young friend. One of them is on the other side of the city from here and as I have to drive there…” He lifted one shoulder.
I wasn’t sure I’d consider him a friend. Not yet, anyway, if ever, but I kept my peace, replying, “It was nice to meet you.”
“You, as well.” He turned to say to Justin, “Would you mind accompanying me to my van?”
“Of course not,” Justin replied. I had the feeling Roland was going to tell him what he really thought about me. Not that I gave a damn. He had no control over me or how Justin trained me when the time came.
While Justin was gone, I went into the kitchen to get a bag of blood as my hunger was peaking again. I’d just drained it and tossed the empty into the trash when he appeared.
“Do you want one?” I asked while taking out a second bag.
“No thank you.”
I studied him. “So far, I’ve never seen you drink from one.”
“Not too surprising. First off, I’m old enough that I only need blood every four to five days. Also, I don’t drink bagged blood unless it’s an emergency.”
“Huh?”
“I drink from the source. I find the taste is much richer and more fulfilling.”
“You’re shitting me. You go out hunting for some human, like in the movies?”
He chuckled. “Yes, although I’m not violent about it the way vampires are portrayed in them, and in most books. I certainly don’t tear out their throats. When I find a suitable donor I enthrall them, take what I need, and then seal the wound and wipe their memories of our encounter.”
I thought about it
then asked, “Can I do that?”
“Not yet, but in time you’ll learn how to.”
“So sometime soon you’re going to disappear for a few hours to find your next victim…umm, donor.”
“It won’t take that long, as I’ll fly rather than driving.”
“Right. Turning into a bat, first.”
“Oh, Lucas.” He shook his head, obviously amused at my naiveté. “No. Flying is one of the attributes you gain when you become a vampire. One of many. You’ve already discovered some of them, enhanced hearing, sight, and smell.”
“How soon before I’ll be able to fly?”
“We’ll work on it next week, along with misting and how to speak telepathically with me and any other vampires you might run into.”
I’d emptied the bag as we talked. Now I tossed it into the trash while I tried to grasp what I’d be able to do, in time. “Is there more?”
“We’ll find out as your training continues. Each vampire has his own abilities above and beyond the basic ones. It will take time to determine what yours are.”
Something else occurred to me, so I asked, “Does it have to be human blood?”
“Oh, yes. Animal blood will do little for you, although in an emergency it’s better than nothing at all.”
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned emergencies. Do they happen often? Am I going to have to be on my guard twenty-four-seven?”
He smiled, shaking his head. “They are few and far between, thankfully, but they can happen. Especially if you do something foolish that reveals what you are. But enough of this for now, before you mind explodes from overload.”
I wasn’t about to argue. While I was curious and still had a lot more questions, I definitely felt as if learning one more thing right now would definitely do that. He suggested we go into the parlor—which was in fact a media room slash library no matter what he called it—and watch a movie. “And not a vampire one,” he added with a grin.
That’s how we ended the night before going to bed. Not a bad thing, I decided, as it gave a bit of normalcy to what had become my very chaotic new life.
Chapter 3
The fourth day, no, night…I have to stop thinking of them as days. There are no more days for me now, only nights.
Be that as it may, that evening I awoke with the usual hunger that drove me down to the kitchen. This time, however, I put on my jeans, first. I wasn’t up for another confrontation with Justin. If it happened I might let my anger out, physically, which I knew wouldn’t be my smartest move. He was much older than me and undoubtedly a hell of a lot stronger. Not that I wasn’t tempted.
I took the stairs two at a time, flung open the refrigerator to grab a blood bag, and tore into it as if I hadn’t drunk in a week. Dropping it onto the counter when it was empty, I got another one and drained it before putting both of them in the trash.
“Feeling better,” Justin asked laconically from the doorway.
I whirled to glare at him. “You had no right!” I snarled.
“What does right have to do with anything?” he replied calmly. “We’re vampires. We do what we want as long as we don’t reveal our existence to the humans.”
“So if I wanted to kill you for what you did to me, I’d be within my rights to do so?”
“First, you couldn’t. I’m ten times as powerful as you. Second, even if you succeeded you’d immediately be designated a rogue and every vampire in the area, no, in the country, would be after you.” He smiled maliciously. “When they caught you, and they would because you’re too young to know how to hide from them, they would make certain your death was extremely painful.”
I wanted to punch the smug look off his face. Instead, I turned to walk swiftly away, calling over my shoulder, “You never intended to fuck me, did you?”
“Of course not,” he replied. “I don’t do men.”
I’d said that in anger, figuring he’d admit he would have because he at least found me interesting as more than a companion for the next year. Whirling around to look at him, I asked, “Then why the hell didn’t you pick up some woman?”
“They may be fine in bed, but as housemates they’re a royal pain in the ass. They either expect to be catered to hand and foot or they try to take over, bustling around cleaning and rearranging things and…” He shook his head.
I almost laughed. Not because I found that funny, but because at least in that respect he and I were in agreement. I’d grown up with a mother who ran roughshod over me and my father. The most important thing in her life was a clean house and God help us if we left a sock under the bed, a water-ring on the coffee table, or crumbs anywhere in the living room while we were watching TV.
“I see you agree with me,” he commented.
“Reading my mind?” I snarled.
“It could have been your body language or your very expressive face.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“Not this time, Lucas. I try not to pry but occasionally it’s necessary. I had to find out how much it bothered you that I’m not gay.”
“I don’t give a damn one way or the other, although it’s going to be a long, dry spell since you aren’t. It’s the idea that you used the fact that I am to get me to come home with you that pisses me off.”
“Would you have, otherwise?”
“I, umm…Probably not. You could have compelled me to,” I pointed out.
“True, but I didn’t.”
“In a club full of willing men, why did you choose me?”
“I told you, the first night, you’re young and healthy. The fact you’re not some big bruiser also played into it. I learned a long time ago that men like that tend to think they’re better than everyone else because of their size.”
I could see his point. I’d run into a few of them in high school. They would bully smaller guys like me for the fun of it. I was a slender five-nine which made me the perfect target. I’d bulked out since then, in order to protect myself, but I’d never be synonymous with tall and athletic. That didn’t seem to bother the guy who’d hired me to tend bar at the club. As he’d said at the time, there were bouncers to handle troublemakers.
Thinking of that reminded me. “What about my job? They must miss me by now. At least I hope they would,” I added dryly. “And my apartment? The rent’s due in a week. If I don’t pay it, chances are the landlord will toss my stuff in the street. He’s not big on people who pay late.”
“Tell me where it is and I’ll get your clothes and anything else you think you want to keep. Not the furniture, though.”
“Yeah, well the furniture’s mostly from a secondhand shop so I can live without it. If I come with you…” I looked hopefully at him.
He considered the idea and nodded. “If you’ve calmed down, we can do it tonight.”
“Let’s say I’m not about to try and strangle you at the moment and leave it at that.”
He chuckled. “Tomorrow or next week is another thing?”
“You never know.” I smiled, briefly.
“At least you’re being honest. Go finish dressing.”
I did, and then we took off for the city. This time I was aware of my surrounding during the drive. He definitely lived out in the boonies, or the bayou, I guess. The first house we passed was a good three miles from his. They got more frequent once we were on the road that ran beside the Mississippi. A little over half an hour later, he found a parking space close to my apartment. Not an easy thing to do since it was only eleven P.M., give or take.
“Definitely not high class,” Justin said when we were in my place. Or I suppose what had been my place before my life changed drastically. He had a point. As I’d told him, the furniture was used when I got it. It wasn’t in bad shape but for sure it was nothing special compared to what he had at his house.
“You’re a reader.” He crossed to the small bookcase to see what my literary tastes were, and shook his head. “Perhaps you could kill me, after all.” Since most of them were t
hrillers or mysteries I could see why he joked about it.
I went into the bedroom, got my suitcase and knapsack from the closet, and filled them with my clothes. I didn’t own a lot, but having worn the same thing for the last four days I was glad to be able to have some choices from now on. I changed into clean jeans and a T-shirt. Then, after collecting my personal items from the bathroom, I closed the suitcase and took it and the knapsack into the living room.
“Do you have a box to pack these in?” Justin gestured to the books.
I almost said I’d leave them, but didn’t. The collection of books he had in the parlor, which was fairly large, suggested he’d think less of me if I didn’t take mine with us. Why I cared, who knows, but I did. “Let me check the alley,” I told him. “There’s probably some in one of the Dumpsters.”
He grimaced, but didn’t stop me. I found two that were in relatively good shape, brought them back upstairs, and filled them with his help. Then I collected the pictures of my family hanging on the wall over the bookcase, putting them in the knapsack. I debated on a few of the knickknacks I’d collected to decorate the place, chose a couple that meant something to me, and after stuffing them in between the clothes in the knapsack, told him that was it.
I hefted the knapsack over my shoulder and grabbed the suitcase. By then he had picked up the two boxes of books as easily as if they weighed nothing. “That definitely reinforces how strong you are,” I told him as I opened the door.
“You could do it, too,” he replied. “When we get back to the house, you can take them in.”
I suspected he was right, since I knew vampires were much stronger than humans. Still, I wasn’t about to offer to carry them, as well. We made it back to the car without my landlord knowing I had vacated the premises, which was fine with me. He was a nasty, nosy older man and I didn’t relish the idea of a face-off with him for terminating my lease without letting him know.
I Hunt by Night Page 2
