“But…,” the girl tried again even as the voran slipped into the executive room and beyond.
The girl was looking for someone to support her, but by the time she looked for Nick again he was through the first door and heading for the door to the true lair. As he entered the final door, he was surprised to see lights on inside. Someone was awake apparently.
“Heads up,” a voice declared. A football came flying towards his door. Nick’s reflexes kicked in immediately allowing him to catch the missile.
“Mike,” Nick answered with a nod of the head before tossing the ball across the room. The large man had been an athlete before Nicola had turned him over two decades ago. A college quarterback, he had caught the vampire’s eye. She had preserved his youth and, even decades later; he still had a lot of that college frat boy mentality.
The big man smiled. “You’re here early. There must be something up.”
“He’s been visiting us a lot lately,” a woman’s voice spoke warmly. The pretty blond, Nicola, spoke up from a plush chair that she had curled up in to read a book. “Either dear Nicholas has decided that we are his kind of people or there’s something more important on his mind. I would guess the latter, though I do hope that you missed me, Nick.”
“You are a ray of sunshine in an otherwise gray and dreary day, Nicola,” the voran managed to wax poetic with a straight face. “While it is enjoyable to see you in your element and not in our usual business, I did want to let you all know how my research into the werewolves is coming.”
The woman sighed a long sigh pretending to be sad, and for all he knew, she might be. “You almost had me eating out of the palm of your hand there for a minute, Nicky, and then you had to kill it with this talk of werewolves.” Rising from her chair, the blanket slid to the side revealing her pale, bare legs. Tight shorts made of blue cotton and a pink, short sleeve shirt would have made most girls cold enough to have chills in the cool temperature of the vampires’ home, but Nicola could barely feel the cold. Her skin would be cold to the touch, but that chill ran all the way through a vampire.
Still, the blond haired girl with her gray eyes always seemed able to give a warm smile. She had been taken in the prime of her life, barely twenty when Marek had bitten her and changed her life to that of the undead. It was both sad and yet lovely as it had preserved her beauty for another eight decades, well beyond that of mere mortals. She had become a goddess of beauty and that was often how Nicola had baited her victims in her early days.
It had become Nick’s mission to change these vampires from the animals they could have become.
Caressing the plush carpet with each step of her bare feet, Nicola crossed the room to embrace the voran. A quick press of her lips to his as she pulled his mouth down to hers and Nick found his hand being drawn before him into the room. “May I?” the temptress asked his permission causing Nick to sigh. He knew what she was asking for.
After his nod, Nicola bit the same place as she had the night before. There was no scar or other marks to betray her bite. He healed nearly as fast as their kind could.
A simple bite and a couple gentle sucks of his blood led to her turning a smiling face back to his. The taste of his voran blood kept a vampire’s hunger in check in a way that nothing else could. It even let them be able to eat as normal humans for most of their meals. It was a discovery he and Marek had discovered early on in their relationship that had bound them for more than a century to each other. Most of his brood simply took a few drops of his blood that he regularly drained into jars for them to use. Nicola also lived that way, but when Nick showed up she could barely help herself from getting a fresh taste of his warm blood.
She was a little girl let loose in a candy store with him. His blood was her treat, but he only allowed moderation. Nick also had the power to enforce the restrictions that could otherwise most likely kill him. The stray of the other night was not his first vampire kill.
“Ah, Nicky, I do so love when you come around. I miss you too much. There is just something about you that draws me in.”
He wanted to laugh, but he didn’t. “You just love me for my blood,” the man stated. Nick hated to admit it, but he did have a soft spot for the vixen. She was the only one he let get away with her games.
Turning quickly to face him shaking her head a moment, she once again pulled him close to kiss his cheek. “No, no, I truly love you, Nicholas. Your blood is just my weakness. If only I had met you first, I might be dust by now, but I would have been content with that.”
“Now you’re going to make Mike jealous over there, not to mention Marek.”
She turned a pouty lip on him adding to her girlish looks, “No, that’s been over with for years. Michael became bored with me in like the first decade. Isn’t that right?” she questioned the big man who had become bored with her antics and started watching the TV.
With a glance and a nod, Mike smiled his agreement.
“How did you become bored with this one?” Nick chuckled as he sent the question across the room.
Shrugging, the big man answered, “You’d be surprised. I know you’re even older than I am, so I’m sure that you’ve found people and things that you liked, but eventually you find your passion for them just isn’t there. Maybe your kind handles it better than ours, but it’s true, at least for me.”
Nicola sniffed in annoyance, “More likely it’s just the kind of man you are.”
Nick couldn’t help thinking of Vivian and wondering how much of that break came from the same core of being so long lived. Maybe he didn’t lose his feelings for those he loved as easily as a vampire, a creature that seemed to lose a lot of its humanity after crossing over, but maybe it was still so.
“Oh lord, don’t tell me these two are going to have the conversation about men and women and their feelings again,” Jake exclaimed as he entered the common room. Marek’s second went to the refrigerator for his breakfast, which included the drops of Nick’s blood to get him through the day.
Nick had been led to the sofa where he sat. The woman cuddled up into him after pulling her blanket back across her legs. Still she managed to tuck her cold feet against his leg. It was bad enough when human women did that, Nick thought, but Nicola was even a bit colder he thought. That was another thing he allowed on the more rare times of socializing with the vampire crew, Nicola seemed to get more of her humanity back from the touches and his warmth. He didn’t really know if it worked, but the man always felt like it did something to remind her of the woman she had been before Marek.
Nicola frowned at Jake. “Well, it may not be all men and women, but it certainly is Mike.”
The man at the fridge paused a moment before shrugging his agreement. Mike made a weak protest that fell on deaf ears as even he couldn’t make himself believe it.
Marek and three others wandered into the common area. One of the other females, a redhead named Audrey that Marek was often close to, as well as Marcus and Edgar, from the previous night’s hunting party. Noting Nicola virtually snuggling against Nick, the man questioned, “Dare I ask?”
“I came to let you know what I found about the werewolves,” Nick stated directly.
“So soon?”
Nodding, the voran added, “I went to one of the bigger forests near the city. There had been recent sightings of evidence about wolves, so I started there and I think I got lucky.”
Nicola’s impish grin let him know he could get lucky in another way. Others noted the look and smiled or even chuckled as well.
Marek ignored them and asked his long time ally, “Anything substantial to worry over?”
Disappearing wolves? I’m inclined to think it’s them from the evidence, though the winter snows don’t make it easy to track everything about them. If it was the spring, I might have a better chance of following them.”
“So would the humans,” Mike put in letting them know he was still paying attention despite the TV’s sounds.
Nick and the others n
odded at the thought.
“I don’t know if I’ll have a better chance of finding them before spring than the rangers will, but I feel that I need to try.”
Nicola’s forehead scrunched up as she turned her face to look at Nick questioning.
He explained, “If the truth of werewolves came out, the odds of stories of vampires may be given more weight. If people get worried over monsters in their midst, we could be looking at a witch hunt, so to speak.”
Jake grunted from where he sat at the breakfast bar. He voiced his opinion as well as he said, “You’re always worried over the secret getting out about vampires. Even if it got out and people believed it, we’re careful about using our abilities as well as keeping hidden in the night.”
“There are cameras in more and more areas,” Nick stated calmly. The man had his opinion and he had a differing one. It wasn’t a reason to get angry though as he explained, “The odds of someone catching you are getting more and more likely. That is, if they are looking for that evidence.”
“We don’t come out clearly on film. The image is no more than a blur if there is any image at all.”
Shaking his head, Nick gave a gentle reminder that those in the room were too old to understand, “Welcome to the modern age, James. Most cameras are attached to digital recorders. Digital, unlike the old way of using film, can capture you. That’s why you need to worry more than ever. Technology may be what unites the ancient stories to modern times. The movies and books will be proven correct. The fact that many of the stories get your abilities and weaknesses wrong, notwithstanding, the fact that there are stories means other vampires have been lazy in hiding themselves.”
“There were, and still are, vampires who get cocky,” Marek stated jumping in on the conversation. “It’s those idiots that clean up their messes in a haphazard manner. Sometimes other vampires have to clean up their messes. Sometimes the idiots themselves need to be dealt with by one or more of our kind.”
“Or mine,” Nick added. The atmosphere in the room was getting more serious as they spoke. “This wasn’t my original reason for coming, of course. We’ve all discussed these matters before and it’s all just apocalyptic for your race, but it’s also a worst case scenario.
“Meanwhile, we have our current situation. If you all could keep your eyes open and let your other eyes and ears know of it as well, I would appreciate it. I will do what I can with what resources I have to find these werewolves. They may have connections to help keep them hidden also, so it may be awhile before they slip up.”
“Oooh, can we go on a stake out sometime, Nicky?” Nicola asked coyly batting her eyes at him.
“You joke, but it might be worthwhile to have your clan join me on the next full moon. Fanning out over a big area, we might be able to hear or see them.”
“Then we take them down hard,” Mike stated shaking a fist.
Nick put up a hand to stall his words and shook his head. “It may come to that in the future, but they’ve done nothing to hurt you or your kind as far as we know. No, I’m thinking that we can follow them, as humans or wolves, and find out their actual lair. They might have one home base like you all, or maybe not. If we can cover them in numbers, then they have no way of getting away and we can contain them if we must.”
“You’ve thought up that in just over two day’s time?” Marek questioned. “With just that amount of time you’ve decided that is the best course of action?”
Nick shrugged.
Raising a finger in declaration, the vampire said, “There are times where I think that you act like the head of this clan, but then I remember that you aren’t a vampire. In fact, you can’t even become one. Lord, knows we’ve tried it before. So why is it that we listen to you anyway?”
Nick smirked and replied, “Because you don’t want to live like animals.”
“Ah, the blood, yes. Even when you exile yourself from us and hide away, you find a way to keep your supply of blood coming. What would I do without you, my friend?”
“Become a monster?” Nick questioned with the real worry that had made them allies and perhaps even friends over a century ago. They had met aboard a ship coming from Germany just after the turn of that century. Nick had found him, the first vampire he had ever met, and Marek had bitten him and would have drained him of his blood, if not for the virtues in his veins. He had been nearly rabid having fled the man who sired him desiring a different life. Marek had found Nick and had actually found it after all.
His words hit deeper than he meant. Marek looked thoughtful as he said, “That’s right. You saved me from what I would have become or else I would’ve killed myself to avoid it. Either way you did that for me, so of course we’ll help if you need us to, Nick. Just let us know.”
The mood had darkened. All those in the room knew that the voran blood was all that stood between them and all consuming desire for blood. A few drops every few days and they were nearly human. The delicate line between superhuman and monster often depressed those of Marek’s clan.
Nicola leaned over to Nick and asked quietly, “Can you take me out for a little bit?”
A look of surprise on his face, Nick asked, “What do you mean?”
The girl smiled and shrugged, “Just a little bit of normalcy, Nick. I would like to go shopping and none of these men ever want to go with me. A girl just needs to go out once in awhile and I think it would be nice if you would join me.”
It was an odd request. Though Nick often met with members of Marek’s clan at the club and would socialize with them there or within their home, he couldn’t remember the last time he had ever been out with one of them where hunting wasn’t the activity. Curious, Nick nodded.
“Excellent!” she declared shedding the blanket. “Give me a minute to get changed and I’ll tell you where I want to go.”
The vampires all exchanged amused smiles. Nick wondered if he was somehow being played, but again he was curious.
Chapter 6- Mall Rats
After a short wait while Nicola changed clothes, the woman returned to the common room. Dressed in tight, black jeans and a red t-shirt with a low neck line peeking from beneath her black, leather jacket, the blond looked ready for a night out on the town rather than for a mere shopping trip. Her velvet like, black boots coming up to her calves had more traction than he heals he had seen her wear in the club most nights, however, so he figured that she was at least admitting there was snow on the ground.
Her blond hair had been combed out to fall in a cascade onto her shoulders and down the blades. Her makeup added a little more color to her skin, while lips were a soft red. Her grey eyes still drew attention despite all her decoration as many vampires seemed to have extra magnetism in their gaze. Aimed at a human, many would fall into a vampire’s trap with no effort expended.
Nick was mostly immune to that part of her magic. The fact that she was visually stunning and he was male left him having to guard himself even so.
“Ready?” he asked before the two whisked their way back out to find his car.
There was still some light to the day, but winter brought night early still and the gray of clouds dropping snow left her vampire skin safe enough from the sun. Contrary to some reports, the sun would not kill a vampire easily. Prolonged exposure to a summer sun, could burn their flesh, however, and less intense light tended to hurt them to lesser degrees. It was the main reason they stuck to the night, but daylight tended to be draining in other ways even when not directly exposed.
The creatures tended to be more sluggish and tired by day, which led to the vampire hunter myths of attacking sleeping vampires by daylight. During the day, they were strong sleepers and hard to wake up, though Nick thought a scream from another vampire being stabbed could awaken them unlike in many of the movies.
Their journey had been determined by Nicola. Turning the car onto the highway, they headed west to Schaumburg and the large Woodfield Mall. With some high end stores inside, Nicola preferred the mall to s
hopping downtown. As they wandered through the light foot traffic of the mall, caused by the snow, Nick noticed a different part of her character emerging. She liked shopping.
It was something that someone thinking on vampires and the various creatures of the night would not normally touch upon. The thought that a blood sucker would enjoy just wandering through a mall for reasons other than looking for victims was an odd idea. Nick knew of vampires as people more than the normal human, who had the notions of vampires derived by the fanciful thinking of movies and the like, but even he was surprised by the basic joy she seemed to derive from the simple chore. Perhaps chore wasn’t even accurate in her case, he corrected, noting her eyes scanning for a clothing store that she liked. This was fun for Nicola.
“Come on, Nick,” she demanded holding his hand and dragging the man after her. She was acting the part of a girlfriend, if he didn’t know better.
“What’s the rush?” he questioned as they hurried along.
She spun under his arm like a dancer, a big grin on her face, as she replied, “There’s never enough time for shopping.”
And there he was, outside a dressing room holding a vampire’s purse. Looking for all the world the part of a boyfriend dragged off shopping, Nick looked at the women’s clothing on their racks and the faceless dummies modeling outfits that would probably only be practical for actresses on television.
The first outfit was a red dress. Short and only reaching to her upper thighs, its thin straps left her shoulders bare and came down to reveal a fair amount of cleavage. She pulled the look off like a supermodel despite only being about five and a half feet tall. Her feet and legs were bare, since the boots weren’t convenient when switching clothes. She twirled slowly revealing a back cut even lower than the reach of her golden hair.
Vorans and Vampires (Book 1): Voran the Night Guardian Page 4
