by Shannon Bell
I took a walk down the path where it was dimly lit, but better than the pitch dark that surrounded the entrance of the catacombs. I kept humming to myself because I didn’t want to hear the girl struggle. The only thing that she did wrong was not have sex before a vampire came upon her. She died a virgin and that sucked.
Caught up in my own thoughts, I let out a shriek when someone grabbed me by the shoulder.
“Keep it down.” It was Olivier. “The sacrifice is done so you can come back.”
I nodded and followed him back, the whole time wondering why Nico didn’t come get me. He was probably supervising Gregorio to make sure the money was being well spent.
The candles were blazing higher and puddles of blood were in the center along with smears in various patterns and designs leading to each of the candles. There was one candle for every zombie that needed to be put down, but other than that, I had no idea how any of this was supposed to work. Even when Gregorio had explained it to me, I just nodded, pretending to know what he was talking about.
Gregorio stepped over some of the candles and stood in the middle of the circle. The candlelight illuminated his face while he read an incantation. There was just enough light for me to see his eyes roll back when he raised his arms over his head. He hit a higher note in the incantation and my stomach lurched.
I leaned forward, grabbed my knees, and vomited on the ground in front of me. Uncontrollably. I couldn’t have stopped if someone paid me. Nico leapt to my side, holding the hair out of my face as I let out a few final dry heaves before coughing and standing upright.
“She’s sensitive,” Olivier said.
“Leave her alone. This is a lot for her to deal with,” Nico said.
Olivier shook his head. “She’s a sensitive.”
“Can you stop talking as though I’m not standing right here?” I asked, wiping my mouth and wishing I had a breath mint.
“They’re coming,” Gregorio said.
As good as his word, several zombies rounded the corner of Boulevard Saint-Jacques. I watched in horror and amazement as these dead men walked into the cemetery. They all had blank stares across their faces and looked as though they were being controlled by a puppet master in the sky. Many of them walked with a wobble and it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before people started to notice that they weren’t the homeless drunkards that crowded certain areas of Paris. They were fucking zombies.
People saw what they wanted to see. Zombies weren’t real. Even if a zombie walked down the street and looked like a zombie, people would rationalize it and explain it away so they didn’t have to deal with the fact that there are many things that go bump in the night. Most people would never stop screaming if they found out about half the shit that was happening in their city. It made me wonder what the hell was wrong with me that I wasn’t one of them.
“Mia mortale, are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m just watching this.”
As one of the zombies came rounding the corner, so did a police officer.
“Umm,” I said, trying to make sure everyone was seeing what I was.
“Shit,” Nico mumbled.
Olivier jogged up to where the officer was.
There were a few words exchanged and the officer kept looking over his shoulder to see what was going on in the circle. Olivier kept moving in front of the officer to block as much as he could. He was at least two inches taller than the officer, but the guy still had a pretty good view.
I looked back at the circle and the girl that was killed for the sacrifice was nowhere in sight, so that was one good thing in our favor.
Another one of the vampires took off to go find out what was taking so long with Olivier. He said something in French that I translated as best as I could. If I was correct, the vampire just threatened to kill the officer if he didn’t leave. I looked to Nico to ask and he shook his head. “Don’t ask,” he said.
The vampire approached Olivier and the officer. The officer reached for his hip holster and the vampire moved in a blur to snap his neck.
I let out a gasp and the snicker of a few vampires behind me caught me by surprise. They just killed a fucking cop.
Olivier yelled something at the other vampire and both grabbed the body of the officer and brought him back to the blazing fire.
“I had everything under control,” Olivier said. “Until Colin here decided to come over.”
“What made you go over there?” Nico asked.
“He was a member of the Gendarmerie. Military police,” Colin answered, kicking the body. “He has a fucking machine gun on him.”
“We need to be quick about this. It doesn’t look as though he had a partner or called anyone,” Nico said.
Gregorio glanced at me as if to tell me that I had to be careful. He continued with the chanting and Colin and another vampire who came out of the crowd disposed of the officer. How they were going to do that was not something that was shared and I didn’t want to know.
Within ten minutes’ time, eleven zombies stood at the circle, each one in front of a candle. Gregorio reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like sand. He said a few things in a language that I did not recognize and sprinkled it on the lit candles as he went around in a circle. As each candle was extinguished, the zombies collapsed onto the ground with a thunk.
Nico appeared more startled than I did.
Gregorio walked out of the circle. “It is done.”
“Done?” Nico asked. “I thought they were going into the ground.”
“That was not the deal. I said I would lay them down. Here they are.”
“Now what?” Nico asked.
Olivier spoke up. “We will slaughter them, burn them, and spread the ashes.”
“Wise,” Gregorio said.
“Why don’t you take Dylan back to the hotel,” Olivier suggested. “She doesn’t need to see this.”
“I want to be sure they are destroyed,” Nico said.
While I knew that it was Nico’s job, I was a little disappointed that he didn’t take me back per Olivier’s suggestion. I didn’t want to see any of this. And my stomach couldn’t handle it.
“Olivier,” Nico said it as though Olivier was supposed to know what needed to be done.
“Would you like me to take her back to the hotel?” Olivier asked.
There was no way that Nico would allow that.
“Yes.”
Holy shit. You could tell that Nico wasn’t happy about it, but he was acting sovereign and he had a responsibility to make sure this was handled properly. He was also trying to look out for me.
“No problem.”
“The hotel room. Leave her on the inside and then go home.”
“No problem,” Olivier repeated.
“I will see you back in the room soon,” Nico said. “I love you,” he whispered, though we both knew all of the vampires could hear and were watching. He kissed me with an intensity that took me by surprise. It wasn’t a kiss of passion but a kiss of ownership and it bothered me. He was putting on a show and using me to make it look good.
Now I was supposed to run along and be a good little pet while he took over the situation here.
Chapter 20
“ARE YOU OKAY?” Olivier asked. We had just walked into my hotel room and I was shaking a little. It was a combination of shock and cold.
I nodded.
“You have to talk to me. You haven’t said anything since we left the Catacombs.”
I nodded again.
“Dylan, fuck.” Olivier sat me on the bed and helped me out of my jacket. He then reached down and untied my shoes.
He went over to the little refrigerator in the hotel room and grabbed a bottle of water. He took off the lid and brought it right up to my face. “Drink.”
I took a sip and nearly choked as the cold liquid rushed down my throat.
“You’re a mess,” Olivier said. He brushed the dark hair out of his face and paced across the r
oom. “I have to get back to help Nico with the zombie bodies. Can you talk to me?”
I nodded.
There were too many thoughts spinning around in my head. Human sacrifice. An officer of the law was killed. Zombies were being burned. And I was a sensitive? What the fuck did that mean? My head just kept spinning as I tried to put into words what I was thinking. Gregorio might be right. Vampires were assholes. What the hell did I get myself into? That Colin guy snapped the officer’s neck without even thinking about it. And the other vampires stood by and snickered.
I let out a violent spasm as it all replayed through my head again.
Olivier reached into his pocket and called Nico.
“One of us need to stay with Dylan,” Olivier said into the phone. “She’s in severe shock.” He waited a few seconds. “You can burn the bodies or I can but it has to be done tonight and she can’t be here on her own.” He nodded as he held the phone and wiped his hand over his face. “I know I have the damn SUV. See if Colin or one of the others have an SUV to borrow for the bodies. What the fuck do you want me to do?” He hung up the phone and sat down on the bed.
I felt my stomach clench and a rush of hot saliva flow into my mouth. Before I could control it or warn Olivier, I leaned forward and vomited.
“Sweetheart,” Olivier cooed, he pulled my hair out of my face and ran his fingers through the tangles. He went into the bathroom and came out with one of my hairclips. He wrapped the length of my hair around his hand and then used the clip so it stayed on the top of my head.
I let out a moan and leaned forward again. Olivier kicked the waste basket in front of me this time, catching the majority of what came out.
There was a knock on the door. Olivier used the peephole to see who it was and then opened it. Gregorio stood there and pushed the door open the rest of the way until he came into my full view.
“She’s a sensitive,” Gregorio announced.
Olivier nodded. “I know. And she’s in shock.”
“I figured. I brought something that should help.” Gregorio pulled out a bag of green and brown flakes.
“Valerian and clove?” Olivier asked.
“Yes.”
“I’ll make a tea with it, thank you,” Olivier said.
Gregorio looked over at me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“That’s all she does when I talk to her,” Olivier said.
“Oh. Make the tea and that should help. I’m leaving to Berlin in the morning. If she needs to talk or needs anything, please have her call me,” Gregorio said and left the hotel room.
Olivier walked over to the coffee maker and crushed up all of the herbs and put them in the top, then grabbed the bottle of water that was on the nightstand. He pressed a button and the percolation began.
A few minutes later, a mug of hot tea was being pressed against my lips. “Drink.”
I drank. It tasted horrible. I hated hot drinks, but I continued to drink, mainly because Olivier wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
It was the last thing I remembered as my head hit the pillow.
***
“Dylan, wake up,” Nico whispered above me. He was shaking me back and forth in the bed.
“Huh?” I asked, opening my eyes.
Nico and Olivier were both leaning over me with concerned looks on their faces.
“What happened?”
“What do you remember?” Nico asked.
I looked back and forth between the two men. “I, um, I remember being at the Catacombs. And the officer. And the vomiting.” I looked at Olivier. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. The tea helped.”
“What tea?”
“Do not worry about it,” Nico said. “We have to go down for the day. It is almost sunrise. Neither of us wanted to leave you.”
His words sunk in. I looked over at Olivier. “Do you have time to get home?”
Olivier shook his head. “Non. I have a room down the hall.”
I nodded. “Okay. Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,” Nico said. “We are going down. You will be okay?”
“Yes. Now,” I said.
“Good,” Olivier said. “I won’t see you again for a while. Not until you come back to Paris.” He looked over at Nico and then gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Be well.” He walked out of the hotel room.
Nico locked the door behind him and then drew the curtains closed. He climbed into the bed where I was sitting. I looked over at him and he kissed me on the cheek. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.”
“When I wake, we will head back home.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Nico stretched out in the bed and I curled up next to him. He smoothed my hair down and I wrapped a leg over his, getting comfortable. It wasn’t hard to fall back asleep.
When I finally woke for the day, Nico was like a stone next to me. He wasn’t breathing and he resembled a statue more than anything else. I had to carefully try to regain my leg that was wrapped in between the two of his, which took longer than it should have. I pulled the comforter over him and then stepped into the bathroom.
I didn’t know how the hell I was supposed to pass the time. Gregorio was back in Berlin, Olivier and Nico were dead to the world, and I had seen my share of Paris for a while. What I really wanted to do was sit around talking with Antonio, drink wine, and have a sense of normal wrapped around me like a blanket for a while.
Last night was, well, last night was fucked up. Between the zombies, the vampires, and the magic, I didn’t know what to make of it all. Thank God for Gregorio and Olivier knowing how to help me. My body went into shock and I still didn’t know if I was completely myself. Hanging out with all of these people took a toll on me and stole parts of my humanity. Antonio had warned me of this, though we both knew there was nothing that could be done about it.
After getting dressed, I went down to the bistro right across from the hotel and did the best thing I could think of. I ordered a carafe of wine and called Antonio.
“Hey you,” he answered. “How did everything go?”
“Where do I begin?” I asked. I told him to grab a glass of wine and take a seat. He did and as I poured wine into my own glass, we talked. Being able to talk to someone who understood from a mortal point of view helped me to breathe easier. After finishing the carafe of wine, I felt better.
“You’re coming home tonight, right?” Antonio asked.
“Yes. I love Paris, but I’m ready to leave it for a while. I want to get back to bartending and surround myself with humans for a while,” I admitted.
“I understand. If it will make you feel any better, I went up to Greve in Chianti and got the newest release of Montepulciano,” he said.
I smiled. “You’re too good to me. I’ll order the pappardelle if you bring the wine.”
“Deal,” he said and we hung up.
I signaled to the waiter to bring me another carafe of wine. Since the hotel was just across the street, I didn’t feel bad about drinking entirely too much. The bistro wasn’t busy, so there was no harm in taking up a table for a few hours. I reached into my messenger bag, grabbed my Kindle, and proceeded to read a novel and drink wine until the sun started to set.
Chapter 21
I WAS EAGER to get back to Nico because I had countless questions for him. Antonio helped to ease my issues with what transpired last night and now I wanted answers. Nico had to do everything on his own with the help of the other vampires of Paris since Olivier was busy with me and my shock.
I wanted to know that the zombies were down and burned with no chance of coming back up. They freaked me out and the fact that the vampires were willing to kill humans that found out about them made me especially on edge.
Nico practically pounced on me when I opened the door to the hotel room.
“You’re up,” I said, thinking there was another hour before he would be awake.
�
�I thought you had left.”
“Left? Where would I go?”
Nico stared at me. “After everything you went through last night, I thought you left me. Left us. Left everything.”
I shook my head and tears welled up at the surface. “I’m not going anywhere.” Nico’s deepest insecurities had come forward and I was shocked that he was showing them. He had shown emotion before, but this was the farthest they had ever gone.
He sat me down on the bed and kneeled in front of me. “Mia mortale, you are my world now. You cannot leave me. I know that last night was difficult and I know that you have questions. We will sort everything out together.”
I nodded.
“Do not nod at me. Not after last night. I need to know that you hear me completely.”
“I do, Nico. I am not going anywhere. Last night was horrible. I do have questions and I will need answers for them. But you and I, we are partners through it all. Acting like an ass in front of the vampires is not something I can tolerate, however. And while I know you are the acting sovereign, there are things you can delegate. Olivier does have my best interests in mind, though you will need to trust him. Trust me.”
Nico nodded. “I understand. Believe me when I say I want to believe Olivier will protect you, but it is not easy for me to see someone who blatantly cares for you when you belong to another man.”
I bristled at the word ‘belong’ but I understood what he was saying. There were times when I had to remind myself that Nico was born in the 1700s when women were meant to obey their men and they were seen as property. It somehow allowed me to turn a cheek every now and then when he used certain words. I knew he did not see me in that way.
“We need to get ready to go,” Nico said.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m already showered and ready. I had gone over to the bistro across from the hotel to drink some wine and talk to Antonio.”
“That explains it.”
“What?”
“The smell of wine on your breath.”
“Oh,” I said. Before I spoke another word, I unzipped my luggage and grabbed my toiletries. Apparently brushing my teeth would be a good idea right about now.
