by Raven Steele
"That makes it sound cooler than it actually is. Have you heard of Ironwood?"
"Of course. It was the name of Coast City before it burned down. That was over a hundred years ago, right?"
I nodded. "Very few people know that some of Ironwood didn’t burn down. Officials merely built Coast City over it.”
We walked inside, and the door closed behind us. The walls on this side had been plastered over and painted a light tan, making it look like stucco. "We've fixed it up pretty good given what it is."
"I had no idea this existed," she whispered. She picked up her speed as if she couldn't wait to see what lay ahead. I admired her fearlessness.
I caught up with her. "No one does, and we want to keep it that way."
The tunnel ended at the beginning of Ironwood’s main street. She stepped onto the boardwalk, looking left and right at all the buildings that had been fixed up. Her eyebrows lifted high, and her mouth fell open. I glanced at them too, trying to see them as if it were my very first time, but the old structures were too much a part of my life. There was nothing strange or shocking about them.
When she passed my house, the post office, I darted inside before she could notice and surveyed the small space for my coffin. It wasn't immediately visible unless you walked behind the counter. I snuck back outside.
Oz heard us from command and stepped onto the boardwalk with Amy. Amy, who usually greeted me with a hug, remained next to her brother, holding his hand. She avoided eye contact, which pained me.
"You must be Emma," Oz said and bowed dramatically as if she were royalty.
Emma’s face pinched. "Do I know you?"
He shrugged and sort of smiled. "We met outside of your house once. I was the cable dude."
"I remember that, but you aren't really a cable guy, are you? Were you spying on me?"
He raised his hands in a surrender motion. "I just installed a camera to watch the outside of your house. Whoa, that sounds creepy. It wasn’t like that. We wanted to make sure you stayed safe. We knew Aris would want that while he was away."
She glanced at me and then to Oz like she wanted to say something, but must’ve thought better of it. She lowered her gaze to Amy. "And who are you?"
Amy nudged Oz. "I'm his little sister, Amy, and the girl that pretty much keeps this place running. I'm also really good with a .22 so if you ever get into trouble, just call me."
Emma smiled. "I'll do that."
Roman and Rebecca arrived just then, walking towards us down the center of the street. Emma straightened.
"You look familiar too," she said to Rebecca.
Rebecca extended her hand. "I'm Rebecca. I've eaten at your diner a few times. You have great pancakes there."
"Another person spying on me?" Emma stared down at Rebecca’s hand, refusing to shake it.
“It wasn’t like that,” Rebecca was quick to say.
“Sure feels that way,” she said.
Roman stepped forward and bowed slightly. "And I'm Roman, Aris’s guardian. We are honored to have you with us.”
“Are you … ?”
“Blind?” he finished for her. “Yes, but don’t let my eyes frighten you. I see in other ways.”
She glanced back at me. "I can't imagine what it must have been like to raise Aris. I'm sure it was challenging."
"Immensely," he said and cracked a rare smile.
Emma surveyed the place. "I appreciate you letting me stay here, but I want you to know that I'm not helpless. Victor taught me to fight, specifically vampires. Whatever operation you guys are doing down here, I want to help."
"We appreciate your willingness," Roman said. "but it's best if you stay away from people. At least until the threat against you is gone."
“Wait, what?” Her eyes widened. “I have a job. I can’t just quit.”
Everyone grew quiet and looked at me as if I had to be the one to explain.
“Your life is in danger,” I said.
She laughed. “It’s always been in danger. I grew up with an alcoholic father and a judge for a mother. My life has been threatened plenty of times. Look, I get what you all are trying to do, and I’m grateful, but my life can’t just stop. I’ll agree to a lot of it, sleep here and avoid unnecessary travel, but I have to keep my job. It’s paying for my college.”
“I’ll pay for it,” I blurted.
She glanced over at me and wrinkled her nose. “Ugh! No. I can do it myself and will. Why am I suddenly a hot commodity anyway?”
Rebecca nodded her head toward me. "To get at him."
"Well that freaking sucks," Emma said and shifted her injured shoulder. "And what do they want with you?"
Amy answered her before I could. "They want him to join the bad guy side because Aris is super strong and fast. He will make a great addition to their team, but there’s something about him they don’t know.”
“What’s that?” Emma asked.
“Aris is a superhero."
Emma raised an eyebrow at me. "Is he now?"
The growing hunger pains in my gut subsided slightly at Amy’s words. She still believed in me even after I nearly attacked her.
Oz ruffled his sister's hair. "If he's a superhero, then I’m his trusty sidekick."
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "At best, you’re his electrician."
"That’s an excellent sidekick name—The Electrician." He faked a shiver.
Rebecca snorted. “Then what does that make Roman? The Carpenter?”
“I offer more than carpenter skills,” Roman countered.
While they argued about each other’s nicknames, I touched Emma lightly on the elbow. "You must be tired." My gaze dropped to her shoulder. “And sore.”
“It is late,” she said and yawned.
"I have a bed for you at my place," Rebecca said as if she had been listening the whole time. “I don't hang out there much, so you’ll mostly have it to yourself."
"Where do you go?" Emma asked her.
Rebecca's eyes flashed to mine. She obviously didn’t want to tell Emma what she really was either.
"I have insomnia,” she lied.
Emma ran her fingers through her hair and looked at me. "Where are you going to be?"
I motioned my head behind me. "I'm in the post office, but I'm going back up above. I have business to attend to."
She searched my eyes and drew her brows together. Her mouth tightened as if she couldn't bring herself to say the words hovering on her lips.
“You need to go to bed too,” Oz told Amy. “Come on. I’ll tuck you in.”
She smacked him in the arm. “I’m not five!”
“Over here,” Rebecca said to Emma.
Emma stepped off the boardwalk to follow her. She glanced back at me briefly, our eyes meeting. I grew excited at the realization that I would be able to see those aqua colored eyes every day.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Roman asked, "Are you sure you don't want to tell her what you are?"
I walked toward the halo where I could find blood. The pain in my gut was spreading. "For now. I don’t want her thinking I’m like one of those monsters up above."
"You're not like them."
"Aren’t I? You saw me the other night. I lost control."
"There will be an adjustment period. You just need to stay focused on why you’re doing this and who for. It's your connection to the humans around you that will help you keep your humanity."
I opened the small refrigerator in Roman’s office and removed a blood bag. I pierced it with my fangs and sucked it dry. "When I come back at dawn, please make sure my door is locked. I don't want Emma wandering in there."
"What will you be doing tonight?" he asked.
"I want to hit a few of the smaller vampire locations. I need to start taking out as many as I can. I also want to see if I can find out who’s making vampires and others like me."
"You should consult with Victor. He may have the answers you seek."
"I don't know if I'm read
y to start collaborating with him. I admit, he took good care of Emma, but I can't just forget all the horrible things he did, including killing Kristin."
"I'm not asking you to forget or forgive, but I am asking you to use him for information. He is a valuable resource."
I considered his words while I drank another blood bag. "I’ll think about it. Can you tell Rebecca to meet me at the corner of First and Oak in an hour? I’d like her help."
“Be smart and be careful,” he said.
With the way my appetite was growing, I didn't think I could be either. My only goal tonight was not to drink blood from a vein, a task that seemed impossible. As I grew older and mastered my bloodlust, it wouldn't be out of the question to feed on willing humans. A human/vampire relationship could be beneficial to both partners, but I was nowhere near having the self-control to be able to do something like that. The problem was, every time I did drink straight from the vein as I had with the Chief of Police, I couldn't stop until they were dead. Not like I wanted to stop with him. He deserved it, but there would be others who wouldn't.
Every time I sunk my teeth into someone’s warm neck and tasted that sweet, coppery liquid, my obsession grew. If I continued to entertain it, no one would be safe around me.
Chapter 19
I left Ironwood, still hungry. I breathed in the cold air, hoping it would clear my mind from the lingering taste of blood on my tongue.
Oz had mapped out several vampire locations. I pictured them in my head, remembering which ones were considered nests. The idea of living with other vampires in a confined space made me grimace. Samira had said that’s how most vampires chose to live their lives, especially newer ones. But because I had ancient blood coursing through my veins, I did not share these same desires.
I surfaced and climbed a nearby building to give me a bird’s eye view of the city. The sky was smothered in dark clouds, blocking all celestial light. Even the streetlamps beneath me struggled to illuminate the dirty streets. There was just too much darkness for light to contend with.
Hurrying along the rooftops, I sensed vampires below walking freely along the streets. They grew in numbers the closer I came to Pigtown. I stopped and watched them interacting with each other, as well as the few humans who still braved the streets this late at night. The vampires, mostly young, had no respect for their surroundings. They were loud and destructive, behaving the way a crowd might after a championship sporting game. They also freely drank blood from humans, drug abusers by the looks of them. Money was exchanged, so both parties were satisfied.
I had to admit, watching them drink warm blood right from the source, made my mouth water, but I remembered my goal. I had to be different from them. I had to be better.
By the time I met up with Rebecca, my fingers were itching to kill. The first few locations we hit only had a couple of vampires inside, probably because they were out on the streets, but as the night wore on, nests became more crowded. Rebecca and I fought them together, each sharing in our own kind of joy at their deaths. Rebecca was especially excited by killing so many vampires. It made me wonder what in her past had caused such a passion for it.
Only twice did I show mercy. It was for two female vampires who promised to leave the city. All others were dusted, their ashes returning to the earth where they belonged.
I didn't see Victor that night. I had intended to but had got too caught up in the slaughter. With dawn tugging on my senses, Rebecca and I headed back to Ironwood. Usually, she stayed up beyond sunrise, sometimes not sleeping at all, but the night's events had worn her down. She slipped away to sleep on a small couch in Roman's office.
As soon as she was gone and I was alone, I crept over to where Emma slept. I quietly opened and closed the door of the small structure. It was pitch black inside, but my night vision made it possible to see everything. The space, mostly bare of personal belongings, held only a small table with several books resting on its top. At the back, a mattress laid directly on the floor. Over a century ago, this building used to be a bakery.
I slowly knelt next to the bed, eying Emma while she slept. She was lying on her good shoulder, giving me access to the injured one. Her brows were drawn together as if she were dreaming something unpleasant. I wish I could fix that too.
Gently, I pulled back the covers from her shoulder. I withheld a gasp at the sight of her darkened flesh. It had already bruised dark blues and purples where she was punched. All for me. Who knows what would've happened had she not intervened when she did.
With a thought, my fangs grew long, and, like I’d seen others do before me, I bit into my forearm drawing blood. Before the wound could heal, I dipped my finger into the crimson liquid and lightly rubbed it across her skin. I slipped the strap of tank top down her arm to give me better access. The bruise began to heal.
She moaned pleasurably, making my desire for her jump. I almost breathed in, but fought the urge and worked quicker. Fix her and leave. Fix her and leave, I repeated over and over.
As soon as the task was done, I used all my strength to move away from her. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but, unless something changed, there was no world where we could be together. It wasn’t fair to her.
I left the small house, downed three bags of blood, before crashing in my lonely coffin. I tossed and turned, not an easy feat in such a small space, until I finally fell asleep, dreaming dreams that would never be.
When I rose, Emma had already left for the late shift at work, hopefully, accompanied. Despite her absence, her scent still lingered, filling Ironwood with her citrus smell that excited all my senses. I hurried and drank several more bags of blood to keep the hunger inside me at bay.
I walked into command. "Where is everyone?"
Oz swiveled around and stretched his arms high. "Rebecca's hanging out at the diner. She said she would walk Emma home after her shift. I think she gets off at eleven tonight. Oh, and Amy is with her too."
"Do you think that's safe?" I asked.
He shrugged a little. "I think so. It's not Victor trying to get us anymore. Besides, they've gone in disguise. I think they like dressing up way too much."
"And Roman?" I couldn't sense him anywhere.
"He said he was going for a walk. Whatever that means."
I nodded toward the screens on the wall. "Anything new today?"
"Nah. Pretty quiet. I did make a few calls to some of my old contacts to see if anyone knows anything about newer vampires being created. They were going to ask around and get back to me."
"Good. I'm going to hit the streets again. Have Rebecca text me if she wants in."
I turned to leave, but he stopped me. "Do you think someone like Rebecca would ever go for a guy like me?"
"I think Rebecca is a complicated woman. You’re probably not her type, but maybe she needs someone opposite of what she's had in the past."
He grinned. "I like that. Giving a brother some hope."
"There is always hope," I said, but, as I left Ironwood, I wondered if that were true. I would always be a vampire. It didn't matter how much I hoped it wasn't so. I needed to figure out what that meant for Emma and me. My life would always be shrouded in darkness, danger lurking around every corner. It was the nature of who I was. Maybe hope wasn't meant to be in my world.
I rose fully into the night, ready to partake of all it offered me. I had an itch inside me that needed to be scratched. I knew that itch involved human blood, but I hoped by fighting and killing vampires, the urge would dissipate.
I managed to stay in control that night and for the next several nights after. We fell into a steady routine, all of us living in Ironwood. During the day, Emma would work her shifts at the diner with Rebecca tagging along. She and Rebecca had become fast friends, and with Amy, they made the perfect trio. Amy loved the attention, and I was glad she had more company. Oz hadn't had any luck finding out more information about new vampires but kept trying, while also vying for Rebecca's attention. I sort of felt bad fo
r him because his efforts were in vain.
Roman was the only one who hadn’t fallen into a routine. He still practiced magic, but he would disappear at different times throughout the day. He never told me where he was going, but I suspected he was surfacing more and more. For what, I didn’t know.
I rose a little bit earlier than usual, hunger eating at my insides. I hadn't drunk from the vein in over two weeks, and lately, it was all I could think about. The cold blood from the bags just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I did my best to ignore the ache in my stomach, as I downed my fourth bag.
"That's more than usual," Roman said, startling me. I was surprised he had managed to sneak up on me. I must be more distracted than usual.
"Just getting my strength back. Last night was difficult. I had to fight a few older vampires."
"You’ve been doing very well, but I fear you are just scratching the surface."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"It's time you talk to Victor. You've put it off long enough. As much as I don't like the man either, we need his information. The Principes Noctis is growing stronger, and more vampires are flocking to the city daily. They hear how it's changing and want to be a part of it. It's wonderful all the work you've done so far, but it's a minor dent. We need to hit them where it counts, and Victor would know how best to do this."
"Assuming he’ll tell the truth. We can’t trust that he’s suddenly on our side.”
"As I said before, use him. You should be able to tell if he's lying or telling the truth. We need to move forward on this." He glanced down at the empty blood bags in the garbage can as if he could see them. "I have an inclination you've been enjoying your nightly slaughters too much, but this is distracting you."
His eerily white eyes looked up at me. "Focus on the big picture. Remember your goal. Everyone's lives in the city, including the ones down here, are on hold until we can get rid of the Principes Noctis."
I lowered my head, knowing he was right, but feeling anything but comfortable with it. "I'll find him tonight."
"He'll be waiting for you on the top balcony at the Devil's Playground at 11:00."
