by Lisa Olsen
I didn’t dare go for the neck, it was too close to the beat of her heart. Instead I reached for her wrist, like Bishop had done. This time I did put a compulsion out there, I didn’t want her to feel any pain at all. “This won’t hurt at all, I promise.” When I was sure I had her under my sway, I lifted her wrist, my fangs already out and eager for a taste.
Had I said her wrist wasn’t close to the beat of her heart? I was such an idiot. After days of taking blood from Bishop only, her heartbeat was a siren’s song, beckoning to me in a rhythm I couldn’t resist. Lulling me into an almost trance-like state, I felt Bridget’s response reverberating through me as she shifted closer, her lips parted in a lover’s sigh.
It was Bishop’s powerful blood that gave me the strength to end it before things went too far. That and the fact that I wasn’t truly hungry. The thrill of stopping before Bridget was remotely weak or damaged almost made up for the loss of her salty-sweet goodness.
Almost.
I healed the twin wounds at her wrist with my own blood to remove the temptation and only when the scent of blood had cleared did I trust myself to draw in another breath.
“Holy shit… That was um… that was…” I’d knocked her speechless, a new one for me. “When did you learn how to do that?”
“Do you need a cigarette?” I laughed weakly.
Bridget gave a long, luxurious stretch like a kitten waking up from a nap. “Damn, girl, you need a snack anytime, you don’t have to ask.”
Filing away the invitation for a time when she wasn’t under the influence of my compulsion, I tried to focus on the task at hand, catching hold of her will again. “Okay, look at me now. Hear my voice only, and obey my voice only. Do you understand?” I tried my best to duplicate Bishop’s words.
“Understand,” Bridget nodded vacantly.
“Do you remember the night Bishop compelled you to keep me safe?”
“I remember.”
“What did he say to you?”
“Anja’s life is the most important thing in the world to safeguard. You will do everything in your power to shield her from danger.” It was his instruction to her verbatim.
“Good. You were right to obey Bishop, but I release you from that compulsion. You are no longer responsible for safeguarding my life. Do you understand?”
“Understand,” she nodded.
So far, so good. “What else did he say to you about inviting people into the house?”
“You will not invite anyone else into the house without my or Anja’s permission, no matter what the reason. The plumber, mailman, even people you recognize, no one is to enter this house. If the police come, they will have to return when Anja has given you leave to do so, do you understand?”
That was the way I remembered it too. “I release you from that compulsion as well. You are under no obligation to seek permission from Bishop or me to invite anyone into your own home. Do you understand?”
“Understand.”
“By my blood, no one else may sway you in this. Hear me and remember.”
“By your blood.” Bridget nodded again and I held her there under my sway for long heartbeats until I was reasonably sure it would take. “Did it work?” she blinked once I let her go.
It felt like it had, but I couldn’t know for sure. “I have no idea. I guess the only way to test it out is for you to invite someone in.”
“Sweet, I’m ordering a pizza.”
Chapter Five
It turned out my compulsion worked like a charm, and Bridget celebrated by delivering a scorching kiss to the very surprised but cooperative pizza delivery guy. I wasn’t sure what it meant, my being able to overturn Bishop’s compulsion. He was older and stronger than me, but I did have a closer connection to Bridget. Would I be able to break his compulsion on someone else? Maybe not. Hopefully it would never be an issue.
I was kinda bummed about trading little more than text messages with Bishop the rest of the night. It was rough with the time difference, but rougher still that he was too busy for a phone call. I tried to cling to the hope that it would only be for a few weeks and turned my thoughts back towards finding something to fill my nights.
A search on monster.com held surprisingly few jobs available for actual monsters, and Craig’s List didn’t turn up many viable prospects either. That meant I had to hit the pavement and check out the night spots that might have job openings too small to list online. After all, I didn’t need to make much. My living expenses were practically nil with Bishop paying for utilities and no grocery bill. Mostly I wanted to keep busy and have some walking around money.
I checked out a few local coffee shops and clothing stores, a music store and a book store, coming up short on all angles. For a half second I thought about going in when I saw a help wanted sign at my favorite comic book store, but in the end I decided against it. Better to cut ties with my past and limit the possibilities of running into my old friends now that I was a vampire. If I did have a slip up at work and accidentally ate someone, I’d hate it to be someone I knew. Besides, the latest they were open was midnight on weekends, and I needed more of a night job.
I found myself at the Bleeding Hart, feeling up to a bit of company to help distract me and maybe even put some subtle feelers out about where other vamps worked. If they worked. I assumed they weren’t all independently wealthy, not the younger ones at least.
Mason sat at the bar nursing a beer, and instead of avoiding him altogether, I slid onto the stool beside him. His hopeful, almost puppydog look made it hard to stay mad at him, but found it difficult to let him completely off the hook. “I have to say, I’m kinda surprised to see you here.”
“I always hang out here,” he shrugged.
“Yes, but after the other night, I thought maybe here would be difficult for you.” I could see it hadn’t even occurred to him though. Did he not understand that people would have heard what happened to Scotty by now? Or did he just not care?
“You’re still mad about it.”
I thought about it for a long moment. It still bothered me a lot, but mostly the situation that led to it in the first place. “I’m mad about what happened, but not necessarily at you specifically. I still think it was a terrible waste.”
“It is what it is, Anja. I can’t apologize for doing my job.” We sat in silence for a few minutes as Zoe slid a drink in front of me, sending a fearful glance in Mason’s direction instead of her usual snarl. “Are you here to go hunting?” he asked at length, a light of hope in his eyes.
“No thanks, I’m good.” Which I was profoundly grateful for. The last thing I wanted to do was follow him around again and take the chance of being roped into another Order assignment.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” I could see he thought I was blowing him off by the tightening of his shoulders, and I nudged my foot against his. “Really, it’s fine. I already took care of it.”
“Oh, alright then.” Mason tipped up the end of his beer, throwing down a few wadded bills from his pocket. “I’d better get to it. See you later, s… see you.”
I noticed he refrained from calling me sis, and I felt a pang of loss. Eventually we might find that easy friendship again, but it would take a while for me to get over the sight of him washing people down the drain. Mason got up to leave, but was waylaid by the appearance of Cage at the door. One member of the Order was bad enough, but at the sight of another, I left the bar to seek other company.
Jarrod and Leander welcomed me to their table, the mood generally subdued as they talked about their new club, which was well on the way to becoming a reality.
“I’m sorry about what happened to Scotty,” I offered, acknowledging the elephant in the room. “He was a good guy.”
“He will be missed,” Jarrod replied, and echoing sentiments were expressed around the table. “But the law is the law.”
“It’s a stupid law,” I muttered. It was like I’d flipped a switch, and the low current of energy from those with
in hearing distance was palpable.
“One must be careful in voicing those opinions,” Leander said in a low voice, his eyes on where Mason talked with Cage by the door.
“I don’t care. He knows I think it’s stupid. Why should they get to decide who lives and dies?” Mason looked over at me then, and I knew he’d heard me. I met his gaze without backing down, and he was the first to look away with a shake of the head. When he and Cage left, a nervous titter broke out around me and the tension dissipated.
“Technically it’s not up to them, it’s up to the local magistrate. He’s the one who didn’t grant the petition.”
Interesting. “Who is our magistrate? I don’t think I’ve met him.” At least no one had pointed him out as such.
“You won’t catch him setting foot up here very often,” Leander snorted behind his hand. “He spends all his time down in La La Land.”
“Los Angeles?” Not very local. “Isn’t he supposed to be the representative for our area though?”
“He’s too busy with his nose buried halfway up the Warden’s ass,” Leander snickered, and Jarrod tossed a balled up napkin at him.
“Oi, watch it.”
I wanted to ask about the Warden in the worst way! I had no idea we even had a Warden or what that meant really, but Anja Gudrun should know all about the big players, shouldn’t she? “That’s pretty lousy. Too bad we can’t vote his behind out of office,” I ventured, not knowing if such a thing was possible.
“I never would have picked that tosser, but the Elder’s not known for his smart decisions.” Sporadic giggles broke out at Leander’s quip, but Jarrod looked distinctly uncomfortable with the public comment and I decided to change the subject before anyone got in trouble.
“Well, it’s a shame. Scotty was a good guy and he didn’t deserve to go down like that.” A chorus of agreements were shared and I raised my drink. “To Scotty and Marta.”
“May they be together in the next life,” Jarrod agreed, touching his glass to mine.
“Cheers!” the crowd agreed.
“Skol!” I called out, finding it fitting for the situation, toasting our fallen comrade. As I set down my glass, I saw Rob nodding to me from across the room. I wasn’t all that surprised to see him, but when had he come in? When he didn’t look away, I wondered if he wanted something. Another jerk of the head, this time towards the door confirmed that suspicion and I politely excused myself from the table to see what was up.
I didn’t see the point in trying to hide the fact that he wanted to talk to me, so I strode right up to his table. “What’s up?”
“Fancy a stroll?”
“A stroll?” It wasn’t the best weather for walking under the stars and he knew I was still ticked at him for the lying thing. What would possibly prompt him to ask me something like that? I waited for more of an explanation and he gave a half shrug. When I realized that was all I’d get out of him, curiosity got the better of me. “Alright, I wouldn’t mind a walk.” At least it wasn’t raining.
I waited until we were several blocks away from the bar until my questions got the better of me. “Okay, so what’s so important you had to lure me out here in the dead of night? Or do you just miss my company?”
His lips twitched into an almost smile at that. “I figured the less ears the better for what I have to propose.”
Intriguing. “And what are you proposing?”
“I figured you might want to go see your boy. Might could make that happen.”
“As in go see him in England?” My brows lifted in surprise. Was he offering me a plane ticket, or a loan out of guilt? “I don’t want a handout.”
“Not talking about a hand out, talking about a ride.”
“I don’t think your car will make it,” I snorted.
“It so happens I know a fella who’s bound for that exact place. Wouldn’t be hard to get you a seat on the plane.”
“Are you serious?”
“Course I am, I wouldn’t offer it otherwise.”
A free trip to England? Even though I’d just said I didn’t want a handout ten seconds ago, part of me really wanted to accept. It wasn’t like Rob was shelling out the money for a ticket himself, it was a favor. If someone was already flying out there I could hitch a ride easy peasey, as he’d say. “Why would you do this?” I wondered aloud. Were there other strings attached?
“Wasn’t for you. I wanted a chance to visit the homeland again and the only way I can go is if you go,” he replied, looking at his feet and I knew it was a lie. The good kind though, the kind where he wanted to make it up to me, but was too much of a guy to come right out and admit it.
“Oh, alright,” I accepted it without calling him out on it. “When is your friend making this trip?” I couldn’t wait to call and tell Bishop the good news!
“Tomorrow night, will that suit?”
Whether or not it did I wasn’t about to complain. “I’ll be ready whenever you say. Just let me know where and when to go.”
“Right then,” he clapped his hands together, blowing on them in the cold air. “I’ll make a call and get back to you within the hour so’s you know the particulars.”
“Great!” Suddenly it was all I could do to stand in one place, I felt like jumping up and whooping for joy. “Thank you for thinking of me, in your travel plans,” I added with a straight face and he gave a single nod.
“Another thing, it might not be a bad idea to bring a companion. Ladies of your class generally bring someone with on a trip like this.”
My class… he meant alleged age, I supposed. It wasn’t like I had an entourage sitting around at my beck and call. “Oh, can I bring Bridget?” Not that she resembled anything close to a lady in waiting, but I couldn’t think who else I’d want to share in the adventure with. Two seconds after suggesting it I realized what a problem that might pose for him. “Or if you think that’ll be uncomfortable…”
“Naw, it’s fine. I deserve whatever I got coming where she’s concerned.” There was regret there and that was the difference between my beef with him and with Mason. Rob felt true remorse for having to lie to me while Mason shrugged it off without guilt. Mason might be sorry I was mad at him, but not for having to kill Scotty in the first place.
“Listen, about the other night…” I began, only to have him interrupt with a single hand.
“No worries. I was less than honest with you.”
“I understand though. Jakob can be hard to resist.”
“Most wouldn’t try, but you do, don’t ya?” There was respect in the tilt of his head.
“Anyway, thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it.”
“My pleasure.” I was treated to one of his rare smiles then and it felt like the breach between us had been healed. “In the spirit of open communication, I’ll be escorting you, you understand.”
“I suppose that’s non negotiable.”
“Too right. I’m to watch over you, same as before now that your boy’s abandoned you.”
“He didn’t abandon me, he got transferred.” My brows drew together and he put up his hands in a supplicating gesture.
“All the same, I’m to see to your safety.”
“I’m sorry, this has to get old for you after a while, spending your nights following me around.”
He shrugged. “I’ve had worse jobs.”
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Longer than you’d think,” he allowed, his head canting to one side as he ran through the years. “I reckon I’ve done piecework for him off and on for sixty years or more.”
I remembered him saying his family was more and less than human, but… “Sixty! How old are you?”
“Now, now, it ain’t polite to ask in mixed company,” he smirked.
Looking around, I noticed a couple across the street walking in our direction. I didn’t think they’d be able to overhear us, but it wasn’t my secret to risk. I made a mental note to add a few questions to my list of things I wond
ered about Rob. “Some other time then?” I asked, my smile widening at his single nod. “Okay, well I’m going back to my apartment to figure out what to pack, so you don’t need to follow me around tonight.”
“I’ll see you there, safe and sound.”
“It’s really not necessary.”
“It’s my job.”
Something about the way he said it made me wonder… “Right. I’ll talk to you later then.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
I didn’t waste any time dialing Bridget’s cell the second I got into the car. God bless Bluetooth. Bridget answered in a supremely bored voice, and I could guess how her night was going at the hospital. “I don’t suppose you can take a few days off?”
She jumped at the chance to blow off work to go to England, insisting the a-hole in charge of the schedule owed her a favor or three. We spent the whole drive discussing what to wear on the trip. I had no idea what to expect, whether we’d be stepping into the London club scene or Brideshead Revisited. Between the both of our varied wardrobes I figured we’d be covered, and I knew there’d be a flurry of packing the second she got off shift.
Rob called me before I even took off my shoes with the flight particulars. We’d be catching a short flight to Los Angeles just after sundown, then taking a bigger jet to London with his friends, with a stopover in New York. I called Bridget back and made plans with her to come and wake me up in time to make our flight, as I knew rising before the sun went down wasn’t my strong suit.
I had less luck in reaching Bishop, but he was likely asleep, given the hour. Not wanting to leave the good news on his voicemail, I left him a message to call me around five p.m. my time. As I slipped under the covers I couldn’t help the thrum of excitement that coursed through my veins. The next time I sought my bed, I would be by Bishop’s side, where I belonged. Sleep was a long time in coming.
Chapter Six
The flight to Los Angeles went off without a hitch. If I was worried about Bridget’s attitude towards Rob, it was nothing a few charming compliments and a magnum of champagne couldn’t repair. The only thing that marred the evening was the lack of a call from Bishop. I sent him a quick text, trying not to be the clinging girlfriend, but wanting to let him know about the trip. I got a busy, call you later response, but at least I knew he was fine.
