by Lisa Olsen
“So pleased you could join us,” Kursik rose with fluid grace as I approached, pulling out his own chair for me. His voice was like smooth obsidian, dark and polished, his English well spoken with a faint Russian accent. “Your lovely companion was regaling me with the tale of your adventures this evening. Really, very stimulating,” he smiled, taking the seat beside me.
“Oh, it wasn’t such a big deal. Just a little girl talk,” I tried to downplay it.
“You are too modest, Miss…”
“Anja, Anja Eh…Gudrun.” I remembered my false name at the last moment, hoping Bridget wouldn’t rat me out.
“Yeah, you’re too modest, An. You put her down like a dog, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Bridget grinned. If she noticed the name change, she didn’t react to it.
“There’s plenty you might find surprising about me,” I murmured, shooting her a look. “Why don’t you go see your friend Scotty, get yourself another drink?”
“What a good idea.” Bridget rose, catching on to the fact that I wanted to be alone with the guy, though I’m sure she had the wrong idea about why. “Can I get one for you, man?” she looked up at the imposing guard who stood off to the side, but he gave no sign that he heard her at all.
“Booth does not drink... alcohol.” Kursik waved the offer away and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes over that one, it was a little melodramatic, like those old black and white vampire movies.
“Then I’ll have one for him. Later, Anja.” With a final wink, she scooted off to flirt with Scotty, who I’m sure filled her in on the news that our drinks were on the house for the night, since I noticed she switched to boilermakers.
“I almost forgot to thank you for the drink earlier, that was very kind of you.” I remembered my manners belatedly.
“It was nothing,” he waved my thanks away. “In truth, I hoped to speak with you tonight. You present an interesting contradiction.” Kursik studied me boldly, his bright eyes assessing carefully.
“I do?”
“Oh yes, I find you a delightful combination of old world charm and modern sensibilities. It is not often one meets one of our race that has learned to adapt so well.”
Holy moley, it sounded like he’d been giving it quite a lot of thought. How closely had he been watching me? “How do you mean?”
“Your appearance caught my eye, of course. You have managed the modern trappings better than most. But the skilful use of power… enough to pacify the situation without abusing your position. Masterfully done, my dear.” He raised his glass to me and I raised mine in turn, buying time to figure out how to reply as I took a sip. The guy gave me way more credit than I was due for flying by the seat of my pants, but I’d take it if it bought me the right kind of street cred.
“I dislike confrontation as a rule,” I said finally, and he leaned forward, completing my sentence with his own.
“But if you give an inch, they’ll take a mile. No one will make that mistake with you again, will they? You’ve shown you’re not to be trifled with.” His eyes glittered with what I took as admiration.
“That was the general idea,” I returned his smile, trying to look as though it had been my intention the whole time. Even if I did live to be a few hundred years old, I didn’t think I’d ever have his poise. The guy oozed power in a way that made me feel a little on edge, but not in a bad way, it was exhilarating. It was like… standing at the top of a very tall building and looking down. I felt small and powerless beside him, but there was the smallest urge to lean out further, to see how far I could take it.
I decided to go on the offensive; he seemed to like strong women, I couldn’t let him dominate the conversation. “Have we met before, Mr. Kursik? You seem almost familiar to me.”
“I’d like to believe we’d both remember it with much more clarity if we had. And please, call me Aleksandr.” The look in his eyes pierced me right down to my toes. Oh yes, I definitely would have remembered him if I’d met him before. He was definitely not the man I’d seen at the auditorium earlier that night.
“Only if you call me Anja,” I agreed. “Have you been in San Francisco long, Aleksandr?”
“Not long, only a few days, but I intend to stay a while to expand my holdings here. What of you? I don’t recall hearing any mention of someone of your delicious attributes on my past visits.”
Delicious attributes. Did he want to date me or eat me? “I’ve been here for ages,” I replied vaguely, but then I remembered that didn’t exactly synch up with the fact that no one in the bar knew me except for Bishop. “I’ve made my home here, but I only recently decided to rejoin the local community,” I added quickly, figuring it stood to reason that vampires might take a time out every now and again.
“It appears I’ve come at an opportune time then. Perhaps we can discuss a joint venture in the future.”
“Perhaps,” I smiled serenely, taking a sip of my drink, but on the inside I was a bundle of nerves. I assumed a vampire of his age or mine would have all sorts of business holdings, was he proposing we get into bed together for a business venture or something more literal? “This is a business trip for you then?”
“I hope I’m skilled enough to know how to combine business with pleasure.”
Those eyes did things to me, the sort of things usually reserved for mooning over movie stars I knew I’d never get a chance to meet, and I did a surreptitious check to make sure I wasn’t drooling. “Here’s to a productive trip for you then,” I raised my glass, not exactly sure what I was proposing, but I was dying to find out. At that point I didn’t even care if he was giving off equal parts dangerous and sexy vibes, I was willing to live a little dangerously now that I was dead.
Unfortunately, Bridget picked that moment to reappear, weaving slightly as she made her way back to the table. “Hey An, this place kinda blows, I wanna go dancing. I know this club on Stark, where it’s hoppin’ until dawn. How about we roll down there and see what’s shaking? Or no… how about we go get blueberry pancakes!” Her eyes grew wide with excitement, convinced in the brilliance of her plan even as she wavered in place.
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea, Bridge. You’ve had too much hopping already. I think maybe I’d better get you home.” Before she said anything else to give me away…
Aleksandr’s eyes flashed with annoyance before his smile reasserted itself. “Your friend has perhaps had enough excitement for the night. I could easily arrange for an escort to take her home if you would like to continue our discussion somewhere more private?”
Oh I was tempted… but I couldn’t ditch Bridget with one of his lackeys. Plus, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to be completely alone with the guy yet, even though part of me was dying to find out what he had in mind. “That’s very kind of you, but I’ll see her home. I brought her here, she’s my responsibility.”
“Get over yourself,” she snorted. “One fight and you think you’re all that. I can take care of myself.”
“Bridget, that’s enough, wait for me outside.” I made my voice low and deadly serious, praying the message got through to her alcohol soaked brain before she ruined everything. To my relief, she fixed me with a sunny smile.
“Wait for you outside,” she beamed, lurching for the door.
Allowing myself a brief prayer of thanks for small miracles, I turned back to face him with a rueful grin. “I’m sorry, I really do need to go. It was great meeting you though, Aleksandr.” I got to my feet, ready to make a break for it if I heard Bridget get into any trouble and he rose with fluid grace, pulling the chair out for me. His calm façade back in place, Aleksandr had an air of easy come, easy go that made me wonder if he was all that disappointed after all. But when he spoke, it was of seeing me again.
“Perhaps we might meet again. Sometime where there are fewer… distractions.”
Was that vampire speak for give me your phone number? I wasn’t sure I wanted to give him my cell and I didn’t want to ask for his for a round of ‘don’t
call me, I’ll call you’. In the end I settled for, “I’ll be around.” With what I hoped was a mysterious smile, I left him in the bar. It didn’t even occur to me to turn around and see if Bishop was still there.
Chapter Thirteen
I half expected to find Bridget long gone by the time I got outside, but I was gratified to find her standing on the sidewalk corner, smoking. Only she wasn’t alone. I swear that girl was like a guy magnet. How did she manage to draw them so quickly? Almost immediately I recognized Rob from inside and I relaxed a little. At least it wasn’t a total stranger.
“Hi guys.” It felt good to be out in the cold night air, even though my legs were scantily clad.
“Hey An, you don’t have to take me home after all, Bob here is gonna come get some blueberry pancakes with me,” Bridget clung to his arm, mostly for balance as near as I could tell.
“It’s Rob,” he corrected her mildly. “And actually, what I said was, I’d see you both home safely. No mention was made of pancakes, blueberry or otherwise.”
“You can get chocolate chip pancakes if you want,” she amended, and I jumped in before he had a chance to change his mind.
“Thanks all the same, Rob, but it’s not necessary. I can make sure she gets home alright.”
“Still, I’ll sleep better tonight if I know you’re both home safe,” he insisted. “I’ve got a car right around the corner. I’ll be back in two shakes, yeah?”
“I’ll wait to shake it ‘til you get back,” Bridget grinned sloppily. Maybe it would be easier to get her home in a car in the shape she was in. How many boilermakers did she have?
“Thanks Rob.” I gave him a nod over the top of her head and he strode off with a whistle.
“Dibs on the Brit, you can have the Russkie,” Bridget called out before he was even out of earshot.
“I’m not in the market for any nationality, so knock yourself out,” I replied quietly.
“Could have fooled me, you were practically in that guy’s lap.”
“I was not!”
“It’s okay. It’s a cinch he’s not my type if he’s into the virginal thing.”
“I’m not a… I’m not having this conversation with you.” I darted a look around, hoping like hell no one was listening.
“Whatever. We both know you’ve had your knees pressed so tightly together you’re practically a nun. Shotgun!” she called out as Rob’s car came into view. It was nice, a newer black Audi, and I hoped Bridget didn’t end up getting sick in it, that might cure him of his Good Samaritan tendencies.
I listened from the back as they chatted up front, Bridget flirting shamelessly with him and Rob firing it right back at her. It was a little strange, but I’d almost gotten the impression he wasn’t particularly interested in her before, but he seemed very into her now. Rob was a perfect gentleman when we arrived, opening the doors for each of us and escorting us to the front door.
Bridget waited in the vestibule for him to follow. “You’re not coming up?” she blinked in surprise.
“I think I’d better call it a night. Call me when you’re closer to conscious though, yeah?” He leaned in to kiss her cheek, holding out a business card and she snatched it up happily.
“Suit yourself, blueberry pancakes here I come!” she declared, charging up the stairs.
“Thanks again for the ride, Rob. That was very sweet of you.”
“I can be sweet when the occasion calls for it,” he gave a half shrug. “You’d best go on after her, you’ll be needing to feed soon.”
“Shhh, she’ll hear you,” I hissed, looking up the stairwell, but Bridget was already on the second set of stairs, I doubted she could hear us.
“She doesn’t know?”
“Of course not, we’re supposed to keep it a secret, right?” How he fit in with the vampire community was still a mystery to me, as well as how he knew I hadn’t fed recently.
“Well, yes. But I thought… so she’s not your feeder then?”
“My… eewh, no. She’s my friend!” The idea of feeding from Bridget made my skin crawl, guilt adding to my discomfort since her blood was the only blood I’d tasted so far.
“My apologies then,” his hands came up in a supplicating gesture. “You’d better make other arrangements soon. You don’t want to put it off for too long, trust me.”
I was supposed to be hundreds of years old, why didn’t he think I’d think of that? “I know that, don’t you think I know that?” I replied a little crossly.
“Right then. Seeing as how you’ve got everything under control, I’d best be on my way.”
Oh man, there he was trying to be nice and I was snapping at him for no good reason. “Wait… thanks, for taking us home. It was unnecessary, but nice of you all the same.” I offered him a conciliatory smile and after a beat, he smiled back.
“No worries, miss. You take care now.”
“I will. Bye.” As he walked away it occurred to me… Rob knew where I lived. I just hoped he’d choose to keep that bit of information to himself.
* * *
I wasn’t looking forward to explaining what the hell had gone on in the bar that night, but it turned out I could put it off for another day. Instead of whipping up a batch of pancakes, blueberry or otherwise, Bridget snored soundly on the end of the couch. Thanks to my new super strength, it was fairly easy to get her to the bedroom, and I tugged her boots off, covering her up for good measure.
I was definitely hungry, but nothing sounded good. After standing in front of the open fridge, enjoying the cool blast of air for several minutes, it occurred to me in a ‘duh’ moment - what I wanted wasn’t in the fridge at all. Only as far as I knew, no one delivered blood in thirty minutes or less. So how the hell was I supposed to actually go about eating?
The idea of hunting someone down would have been laughable if I hadn’t found myself standing at the window, watching the deserted streets below for signs of life. Thank God it was so late, I probably would have lunged at the first movement, be it citizen, cat, or collie. Lying down only made it worse. I could hear the other people in the house, their little snorts and snuffles in sleep reminding me that each one of them pulsed with the one thing that would satisfy my cravings. I actually made it all the way down the hall towards Bridget’s room before I realized what I was doing, and halted in my steps, nails gripping into the faded wallpaper while I wrestled with the desire for just one taste.
I knew it wouldn’t stop at one taste. The memory of Bishop pulling me off of her the other night was blurred and hazy, but the hunger was sharp enough, especially since I had a repeat performance in my belly now.
I needed help. So I turned to the only people I knew of that might have some ideas on the subject, my semi-geeky gamer buddies from high school. Flipping open my laptop, I tried Kyle on video chat first, figuring I’d have the best chances of reaching him, despite the late hour.
“Anja. Hey. I’m surprised to see you up so late. Are you pulling an all-niter for school or something?” From the distracted look on his face and the headset, I assumed he was also playing something else while he talked to me.
“Something like that,” I nodded. “Actually, I was taking a study break and decided to see who else might be up. How have you been doing?” For the next twenty minutes he talked my ear off about Call of Duty and his concerns about the Avengers movie’s impact on the books. I made polite listening sounds and we actually went on a completely random tangent on the subject of the Star Trek reboot and how that changed the reality of the established canon. Okay, so we were both more than a little geeky.
“I was wondering, you’re still into the whole vampire thing, right?” I skillfully brought us back to the reason for my call.
“Totally, we still LARP every Friday night. Why, are you interested?” He leaned forward in his chair, setting down the controller in his hands. Live Action Role Playing consisted of a bunch of gamers dressing up and running all over town in the middle of the night acting out predetermined
scenarios. It was very popular with the theater crowd I hung out with in high school, but I was never brave enough to venture out in public dressed like a vampire, an elf or whatever the game du jour was.
“Oh, ah… no, that’s not really my thing. You know me, I feel self conscious going out on Halloween.”
“Nobody cares, Anja, this is San Francisco. You wouldn’t have to dress too outlandish, you know. Or you could change when you got to the hall.”
“I wasn’t really calling to ask about joining your game, I was more interested in some of the talks we used to have. Remember when we stayed up all night with Joey and Lei talking about real vampires in San Francisco? You thought this place was a perfect breeding ground for vampires, remember?”
“Oh yeah, I remember that. You got all freaked out that your mom would find out Lei was having us guys over, and you insisted we close all the blinds.” Trust that to be the only thing he remembered…
“Yep, that sounds about right. What else did you say… something about the fluid population making it easy hunting ground…?” I prompted.
“Right, because of the homeless and the temperate climate, there are always people out on the streets at night. It’d be easy pickings for a bloodsucker.”
Munching on the homeless didn’t sound especially appealing. What if vampires could catch diseases? That wasn’t something Bishop covered in his Q&A session. “What if they didn’t want to take the risk of getting caught though?”
“There’s always banked blood for the faint of heart. Get it… cause they wouldn’t have a heartbeat,” he snickered.
“Yeah, I get it. Are you serious though? What, just waltz into the hospital and ask for a pint of blood? Wouldn’t that raise a few eyebrows?”
“Sure they could, with their ability to mesmerize they’d be able to cover their tracks easy,” he insisted, but I found myself shaking my head. That was all well and good, but I had no idea how to do that.
