Crimson Bayou (Things that go Bump in the Bayou Book 1)

by Alizabeth Lynn

  Good evening, handsome.

  I, too, have to work during the day, but I’ll be home this evening and would be happy to have your company. Maybe I’ll let you put your lips on mine...again.

  Carissa

  Daniel waited until Aden was done reading the note before he spoke, his lips twitching as he studied the younger man. “I’m guessing you met someone?”

  Aden stashed the note in his nightstand without answering.

  Shaking his head, Daniel made a sound in his throat—the one he always made when the shit was about to hit the fan. Aden turned to him with a frown.

  “Spit it out, old man.”

  Daniel raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’re going to have a chance to see your girl tonight, my friend.”

  “Why’s that?” Aden asked as he sat down to pull on a spare pair of boots – making a mental note to retrieve his others from Carissa.

  “The slayers are here.”

  One of Aden’s boots slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the floor. “So soon? You made it sound like we had more time.”

  Daniel sat down on the bed beside him. “I wish I was wrong, that my information wasn't correct. But it’s true. They are here.”

  “Well then.” Aden picked up his boot and rolled his shoulders. “Okay, old man, what do we do?”

  Daniel rubbed his neck. “I have a lead on one of the slayers, and we’ll need to take him out first. I’ve also heard rumors that there’s a group of them in the area, but I don’t have any more information than that at the moment. That’s something I’ll need you for.”

  Aden placed both booted feet on the floor and straightened his pant legs. “I can do that.” He stood up and retrieved the black t-shirt he’d thrown on his bed before his shower. Slipping it over his head, he frowned. “You know how I feel about killing. How can we get rid of this slayer without compromising my integrity?”

  Daniel stood up, his feet shuffling against the floor as he paced back and forth beside the bed. “Yes, I know you don’t like it, but such an eventuality may not be avoidable. Slayers aren’t here to get to know you – us – they want vampires dead, no questions asked.”

  Aden stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “I was afraid of that.”

  “But,” Daniel held up a hand. “There is a way to make them less dangerous. Maybe we can run this one out of town instead.”

  Aden motioned for Daniel to follow him out of the bedroom. “I’m listening,” he said as he led the way to his kitchen. He placed his first cup of blood in the microwave as Daniel leaned against the counter.

  “Well?” Aden asked.

  His friend shrugged. “We strip their powers.”

  Aden’s hand stopped halfway to the latch on the microwave. “Wait. You never said anything about being able to do that. If you’d mentioned that earlier, I wouldn’t have been as worried.”

  Daniel rubbed his chin. “I didn’t? I could have sworn—it’s no matter—you know now, and that’s what’s important. But you should be worried.”

  Pulling his cup from the microwave, Aden took a sip before asking, “Why? You’re making it sound like this is going to be difficult.”

  Daniel pushed away from the counter, stalking around the room with his hands in his pockets. “Let me put this into perspective for you: Their speed is comparable to ours, and their lifespans are more than quadruple that of a normal mortal, yet they spawn at the same pace. They can easily surpass us in numbers. You can’t put a slayer in a trance, either. They’re immune. It’s also difficult, although not impossible, to turn a slayer into a vampire.”

  Aden took another drink. “What does that have to do with anything? We aren’t going against our own kind, are we?”

  “Actually, I think we are.” Daniel stopped pacing, narrowing his eyes at the younger vampire.

  Aden rubbed his ear as he put his empty cup into the sink behind him. “What? Do I have a blood mustache?”

  “How long were you with your girlfriend before you were changed?” Daniel asked quietly.

  Turning to rinse out his cup, Aden shrugged. “A couple of years. Why?”

  “Answer this first: How many times before that did you walk away with a hickey on your neck that looked like a snake bite without the pain?”

  Tilting his head to the side, Aden thought for a moment. “At least a couple of times a week for that last year,” he said. His eyes widened. “Are you saying Jasmine was a vampire? How the hell did I not know she was biting me?”

  Daniel raised an amused eyebrow at him. “You fed from mortals for ten years before I took you to the blood bank. If you hadn’t resisted your new nature, you might have known the answer to that already.” He sighed. “Jasmine is a very powerful Vampire Council member. She’s over six hundred years old, and has perfected her mind control. Chances are you just thought it was sex.”

  Aden leaned weakly against the counter, his mind spinning. “But you said before that I am in danger. If I’m a threat, why did she change me?”

  Daniel resumed his pacing. “At the time, she didn’t consider you a threat, but that changed when you found that lost child. They didn’t like you bringing attention to yourself. Only she and I were supposed to know you existed, and then you wound up on national news.”

  Aden cursed under his breath and closed his eyes. Now he knew the real reason he’d been exiled to such a tiny town, and it boiled his blood. Daniel wanted to keep him hidden from the Vampire Council. Aden wished his mentor had just told him that instead of keeping it a secret. Yeah, the little voice in the back of his head whispered venomously, and if a frog had a glass ass, he’d only hop once. Shaking his head, Aden sighed. If Daniel had just been honest, he would have been more understanding, and probably wouldn't have complained so much. Still...he was the child his unknown father didn’t want after his mother died, and the vampires didn’t want him, either—except to kill him. Well that’s just peachy. He tried to center himself as he reached out to stop Daniel from walking away.

  “So, I guess she’s the one that changed me after my car accident—after you found me and brought me back to my apartment.”

  Daniel nodded. “If I hadn’t let her, you would have died. You were speeding, Aden. After you went off the embankment, your car flipped three times before you hit that tree. Hell, you’re lucky there was enough life left in you for the change.”

  Aden shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. “Yeah, thanks for that.” He scratched his ear. “How did she do it? Does the mortal need to be near death, like me, or can it happen to anyone?”

  Daniel frowned. “I keep forgetting you’ve only tapped the source reluctantly. It’s not a difficult thing to do for a practiced vampire. All you need is your saliva. During a normal feeding, the suction is too powerful for saliva to enter the wound. However, if the intention is to change the mortal, it’s possible to allow some to enter the bite as you finish feeding – before you’ve closed the punctures.”

  Aden raised an eyebrow. “It’s really that simple?”

  “Yeah.” His mentor nodded. “One bite is all it usually takes for a mortal to be changed. It can sometimes hurt, although those of us with a conscience do everything we can to ensure that doesn’t happen. Once the saliva has entered the bloodstream of a normal mortal – it only takes one time for them – they die during the day and arise the following night as one of us. But you—” He shook his head. “You were different. You passed out – which could have been from the accident – but that doesn’t explain why you awoke at noon the next day. If I hadn’t been there…well, that’s something best not considered.”

  Without a word, Aden strode out of the kitchen and into the living room. Stopping in front of the window, he stared out at the night. No lights were on across the street, and now he wasn’t so sure getting to know his pretty neighbor any better was a good idea – or kissing her again. His life wasn’t the kind he could drag a human into, no matter how much he liked her. He had a secret to protect, a
nd now his own life was well and truly on the line. In the future, it would be much better to leave Carissa alone.

  Squaring his shoulders, Aden turned to face Daniel, his eyes carefully blank, his thoughts guarded. He sighed. “So, the fact of the matter—as far as you know—is that, now, both slayers and the Vampire Council want me dead?”

  “That about sums it up.”

  “Let’s not waste the night, then” Aden said as he pulled open his front door and ushered Daniel through. “Tell me how to strip their powers, and we’ll go after the slayers.”

  His friend moved past him. “For that, we need a witch.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Louisiana is lousy with magick workers. The one I know prefers the title ‘sorceress,’ though,” Aden said with a grin, “Will that do?”

  Daniel gaped at him. “Do I even want to know how you came to know a sorceress?” He laughed and held up a hand. “On second thought, don’t answer that. Just take me to her. As long as she can make the potion we need, we’ll be in business.”

  Aden smiled as he led the way down the sidewalk. “Oh, she can definitely do that, my friend. Follow me, and I might teach you a thing or two.”

  Thirty minutes later, they reached the outskirts of town, headed toward Springhill. Since neither man owned a car, they’d made use of their vampiric speed. They slowed as they reached a narrow dirt road to the left of the highway. Aden veered off the main road and onto the dirt, with Daniel following warily behind. The swamp water lapped at the banks around them. He scanned their surroundings, but due to the thickness of the trees blocking out the moonlight, Aden couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of his boots—even with his extraordinary night vision—and Daniel wasn’t faring any better. He fidgeted, cursing under his breath and bumping into Aden every so often, clearly out of his element.

  A few yards down the road, Aden flung out his arm, stopping his friend in his tracks. A hiss sounded beside them, followed by a slithering sound before a heavy something splashed into the water.

  “Alligators,” Aden whispered. “Vampire aren’t their preferred meal choice, but they won’t hesitate to take a bite out of your hide if you get too close.”

  Daniel shuddered, his footsteps faltering. “Right. I’ll be sure to remember that.”

  It was another mile before they reached an old, weather-worn swamp house in a clearing on the bank of the bayou. The building hovered over the water on stilts so old and rotten that they appeared to be held up by nothing more than magick and faith. There was an old oil lamp burning on the rickety porch, and the whitewashed wood was peeling, but the windows were so clean they sparkled in the moonlight.

  “Stay here,” Aden said as he climbed the rotting stairs, making a mental note to come back one night and fix them for the old woman.

  When he reached the top of the porch, he raised his hand to knock on the door, but although lights twinkled in the windows, the little house felt empty. Dropping his arm, Aden looked around. It was rare for anyone to sneak up on the old woman, so she probably knew he was coming. His chuckled was quiet as he saw a pointed piece of wood, about a foot long, lying on top of a piece of paper. A squat vial of reddish liquid stood beside them.

  Aden leaned down, picking up all three objects, and then slipped the piece of wood—an expertly whittled stake—under his belt. Grinning to himself, he read the note. The old woman thought of everything, missing nothing in her small corner of the bayou. Aden used to wonder how she knew so much, but that was until she confessed to being a sorceress. Now he expected such things. Still smiling, he brought the items down from the porch and passed the note to Daniel.

  It read:

  Aden,

  I regret that I’ll miss your appearance. You so rarely come to visit anymore. However, I know what you’re looking for, so here it is. One drop of this potion onto the exposed skin of a slayer will remove all traces of their supernatural powers. The stake is in case you discover their employer has traveled with them.

  Also, remember my warning. My words from earlier still stand: Look close, lest you lose the life you have. Hope for the future is not yet lost. Look into your heart, and you’ll find the answer to that.

  E.

  Daniel smiled as he looked up from the paper. “She’s a wise one, isn’t she?”

  Aden nodded, reaching out to take the note back. “Yeah, she’s something special.”

  His smile faltering, Daniel studied their surroundings. “When did you meet her, and why did you tell her what you were?” he asked. “That was the one concrete rule we established when you moved here—value our secrecy above all else.”

  Aden hooked his thumbs in his pockets and stared out over the water, considering his answer. “I met her about ten years ago,” he said slowly, “I was having a bad night – depression was setting in – so I went wandering around the bayou.” He paused and grinned sheepishly. “I damn near turned myself into a piece of alligator food. That’s when she hobbled up. She did some kind of spell, and told me she knew what I was—all matter of fact—as if she came across vampires every night.”

  Daniel raised an eyebrow. “And you trusted her?”

  Aden shrugged. “Well, yeah.” He raised his hand, ticking off fingers as he spoke, “She didn’t try to kill me, she didn’t think I should sparkle, and she didn’t beg for me to change her. Oh, and, obviously, she saved my dumb ass from becoming alligator bait.” He slid his hands back into his pockets, fingers curling around the potion bottle. “She’s been my only friend in this town besides you,” he said quietly, then louder and with a grin, “Alligators haven’t bothered me since she did her little magick trick, either.”

  Daniel shifted from foot to foot as they heard more slithering in the darkness, followed by the water sloshing over the banks. “Uh-huh. Well, I have no such protection, so do you think we can get out of here now?”

  Patting him on the back, Aden chuckled. “Stick close to me, old man, and they won’t bother you either.”

  Daniel snorted. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d still rather get the hell out of here.”

  Aden laughed again as they proceeded back toward the highway. They walked off to the side, hidden by trees, with Aden between Daniel and the murky, alligator infested water. They stopped once they reached the asphalt. Aden didn’t worry about being seen—the chances of anyone driving by after two a.m. was slim.

  Tugging on his ear, he eyed his friend. “Okay. We’ve got the potion, now where’s the slayer?”

  “At Magnolia Bayou, the little motel two miles past the city limit sign. That’s where the Vampire Council members stay whenever they come to this part of Louisiana. The motel has been owned by the same family for generations, and in order to inherit, they all have to meet with Leader Pembelton and sign a confidentiality agreement.” He shuddered. “I’ve never asked what that means.”

  Rolling his eyes, Aden crossed his arms. “And when did you plan to tell me this?”

  Daniel scuffed the toe of his right boot against the ground. “None of their delegates have come down here since before you were changed. I didn’t think I was going to have to tell you.”

  Aden remained silent for a moment, mulling over his mentor’s words. Something about them set his gut to churning. Daniel was usually straightforward and honest – or at least Aden thought he was – but tonight Daniel kept averting his eyes and shuffling his feet—two things he only did if he was hiding something. Questions raced through Aden’s mind, clamoring for an outlet, but when he opened his mouth to voice them, the wind swayed the branches just right, and he saw Daniel’s face. He looked more worried than Aden had ever seen him.

  With a sigh, Aden gestured down the road. “Let’s go, then.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  When they arrived, Aden pulled Daniel to a halt near the edge of the parking lot. Lights blazed in eight of the twenty motel windows. Frowning, he studied the building.

  “How do you te
ll which room the slayer is in?”

  Daniel leaned forward and sniffed the air. “Slayers smell…different—kind of floral with a little bit of spice.”

  Aden’s mind drifted back to the memory of a similar scent. Carissa. He shook his head—she was too easily spooked to be a slayer. Except when she kissed him. He shook his head again. Don’t think about that now. However, it did put Daniel’s description into perspective.

  “So, it kind of smells like a woman’s perfume,” he muttered as he imitated his friend and sniffed the air.

  A tingle began just below his ears, fissuring out, questing through his cheeks and over his nose, before spearing him in the eyes with enough force to make him flinch. He could feel his eyes illuminate, warming as his vision changed from clear to gray. Sucking in a shocked breath, he turned his face away from Daniel as he stepped forward. His nostrils flared as he inhaled again, separating the stale scents of sex, perfume, and unwashed humans. A trail of undulating colors led to the different rooms, where his ears picked up the accompanying sounds of the occupants.

  Light blue waves wound to rooms 102, 108, and 109, punctuated by the staccato chirps of male and female pleasure. Aden narrowed his eyes and inhaled again, holding up his hand as Daniel made a sound – as if to speak. He focused on the dark green wave pulsing toward room 110, and he nearly gagged. The man inside was violently ill, the contents of his stomach all over the floor by the smell of things. Blinking, he refocused, following a strawberry pink line to rooms 111, 112, and 113. The occupants in each of those were deep in conversation, their words proving they weren’t who he and Daniel were looking for. narrowing his eyes, he focused once more, his gaze following a wispy, smoke-colored stream of light that flowed toward the last occupied room—the only one whose scent trail someone attempted to mask.